123020_HDH_Brady

Moses is dead; Joshua carried on!“ So read the editorial caption in the evening paper “Chronicles” dated 1200 B.C. Though the headline is ancient, what better subject for a new year’s message in 2021? Moses is dead; Joshua carries on! Here’s the situation. The promised land has been spied out and all systems are go. The Israelites have followed Joshua to the Jordon River. The long awaited-for promised land is just ahead. A new and exciting day is dawning. But then it happens-trouble-an obstacle! These obstacles may be economic, political, social or personal but they always come.

The year 2020 has been full of obstacles-covid 19, job losses, struggling businesses, racial tension, political turmoil, a contested election, etc. As I said, obstacles always come. Almost as soon as the Israelites set out upon their new adventure, they came to a barrier. It must have been a discouraging moment to say the least. They were so near the goal and yet so far. It was springtime, and the Jordon River was flooding. There were no boats or bridges; just gallons of water. They could see the objective right there before them, but they couldn’t get to it. So what did Joshua do in this despairing situation? We are told that at the end of those three miserable days Joshua sent his officers throughout the camp telling the people that they were to move out when they saw the priests carrying the ark of the Lord. They were to follow the ark (the symbol of God’s presence) so that they would know the way. So they did, and so they arrived safely in the promised land.