Finally the time came for the actual invasion of the land of Canaan, the land of promise. Moses, the lawgiver and teacher, had been commissioned of God to lead the children of Israel out of Egypt and to bring them to the border of Canaan. Joshua had been the personal servant of Moses throughout the long years of wandering, being prepared by the Lord to lead the now-disciplined host across Jordan and into the land of milk and honey.

There is a time when the Christian is to be a sheep, wandering in the wilderness of instruction under the guidance of the Good Shepherd, sometimes fighting minor skirmishes as the Lord leads. But the day will come when the Christian becomes a soldier in the Lord's army and follows his Commander in Chief, the Lord of Hosts, the Lord strong and mighty in battle, into the crushing assault on all the forces of the enemy.

The kingdom of darkness will be destroyed by Christ acting through the Church, the Body of Christ!

The Ark of the Covenant led the way into Jordan and remained in the midst of Jordan until all the Israelites crossed into Canaan. In like manner the Lord Jesus led the way into the resurrection from the dead, and is remaining in the position of waiting until His army has passed through the resurrection.

And the priests that bare the ark of the covenant of the Lord stood firm on dry ground in the midst of Jordan, and all the Israelites passed over on dry ground, until all the people were passed clean over Jordan. (Joshua 3:17)

Because the battles of the Lord are fought by the army of angels as well as by the army of Israel, it was necessary for Joshua to meet the commander of the angelic troops.

And it came to pass, when Joshua was by Jericho, that he lifted up his eyes and looked, and, behold, there stood a man over against him with his sword drawn in his hand: and Joshua went unto him, and said unto him, Art thou for us, or for our adversaries? (Joshua 5:13)

How often has the Christian Church, and how often have we as individuals, attempted to fight the battles of the Lord using only human strength and wisdom and material resources? But when we come up against strongly entrenched positions of the enemy we begin to understand the Lord Jesus fights in the spiritual and in the natural realms at the same time.

Our struggle is not against flesh and blood but against the rulers of spiritual wickedness in heavenly places. As soon as we achieve victory in the spirit realm, victory is possible on the earth. The cooperation of spiritual and human forces, as the Holy Spirit directs, is necessary before the fortresses of Hell can be demolished. (from The Land of Promise)