On Sunday, during worship, I heard a phrase in my mind, "possess the land". This is reference to the promised land for ancient Israel, but the thought I had was that this phrase has a New Testament, New Covenant, Kingdom of God now, application. I don't believe I have thought that through before and I wanted to take some time to reflect on what that might mean for us today. The original verses I was reading from came from Numbers 33:51-54 NIV:
[51] “Speak to the Israelites and say to them: 'When you cross the Jordan into Canaan, [52] drive out all the inhabitants of the land before you. Destroy all their carved images and their cast idols, and demolish all their high places. [53] Take possession of the land and settle in it, for I have given you the land to possess. [54] Distribute the land by lot, according to your clans. To a larger group give a larger inheritance, and to a smaller group a smaller one. Whatever falls to them by lot will be theirs. Distribute it according to your ancestral tribes."
Now the interesting thing about all this, which I am sure is not news, is that the people actually had to work to possess the land. It was not an empty land and the previous inhabitants needed to be conquered or driven out. Possessing the land requires effort. Possessing the land was their inheritance, but they needed to work to clear the land and settle in it.
Secondly, they needed to purify the land of the idolatry and wrong worship, effectively driving out the territorial spirits that had been resident in that land. God was not just another god, with a small g, but was God of All, and this was His land, and they were receiving their inheritance from Him!
As I was reflecting on these verses I reminded of two things from the New Testament, the sending out the twelve apostles, and the early church accounts found in Acts 2 - 4. The first bit is found in all three of the synoptic Gospels, but I like Matthews version. Matthew 10:1,5-8 NIV:
[1] "Jesus called his twelve disciples to him and gave them authority to drive out impure spirits and to heal every disease and sickness."
[5] "These twelve Jesus sent out with the following instructions: “Do not go among the Gentiles or enter any town of the Samaritans. [6] Go rather to the lost sheep of Israel. [7] As you go, proclaim this message: 'The kingdom of heaven has come near.' [8] Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy, drive out demons. Freely you have received; freely give."
I see in this Kingdom proclamation a similar command to that which was given by the Lord, they are to go in and drive out that which is not of God, while proclaiming His Kingdom. Jesus gave them authority, for it was in His name that they could do these things, as it was in God's name that Israel was able to take possession of the Land. We know that the Kingdom does not exist of geography, but rather of the hearts of men and women, as Jesus says its within us (Luke 17:26). In a very real sense, this sending out of the Twelve, was the first major expansion of the Kingdom, and they were allowing God to take possession of His Kingdom, and driving out the previous inhabitants, sickness, leprosy, demons and even death. The question is whether our command as the church is any different today?
The second bit was the life of the early church, post-ascension. I make that distinction only because Jesus was here on earth during the sending the of the Twelve, and one could think that maybe that command was specific to them, and not the church's command. In Acts 2, immediately after Pentecost, we see an energized new church, 3000 people added to the believers in one day, now meeting regularly. Luke writes the following account of those first days... Acts 2:42-47 NIV:
[42] "They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. [43] Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles. [44] All the believers were together and had everything in common. [45] They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need. [46] Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, [47] praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved."
One could draw some parallels between these first days in the early church and the first days in the Promised Land, if one wanted to, for they both speak of a new era, and change in the destiny of people of God, and the fulfilment of one His promises. Rather than go hard after that comparison, I just want to look at what possessing this new land (if we use that analogy) looked like for this new Church.
It was a time of regular expansion (people were added to their number daily). The Kingdom was rapidly being added to, and they understood this was part of their command (see Matt 28:18-20)
It was a time of regular fellowship and regular communion (breaking of the bread).. The people met together and established their identity, and shared as was needed. The sense was that they were a unique and new people.
They continued in the working of miracles, and signs and wonders, which were the calling card, or proof of God's hand upon them, and their authority as provided by God. It was this that made them different, this authority and miraculous provision for the expansion of the Kingdom.
They focused on the teachings and the Word of God, as spoken by Jesus and revisited by the Apostles. They had a new covenant, and Jesus' teachings were the focus, rather than the Law (I am making an assumption here that is based on the later writings of the New Testament).
This was a time of rapidly increasing belief - God was moving and they were all in.
Continuing on and looking at Acts 4, we find the church continuing to hold onto what they had been taught and commanded to do, and Peter & John were thrown into jail for healing the man that was crippled from birth. They got back together with the other believers after their release and this was how they all responded, praying a bold prayer - Acts 4:29-35 NIV:
[29] "Now, Lord, consider their threats and enable your servants to speak your word with great boldness. [30] Stretch out your hand to heal and perform signs and wonders through the name of your holy servant Jesus.”
[31] After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly.
[32] All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of their possessions was their own, but they shared everything they had. [33] With great power the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. And God's grace was so powerfully at work in them all [34] that there were no needy persons among them. For from time to time those who owned land or houses sold them, brought the money from the sales [35] and put it at the apostles' feet, and it was distributed to anyone who had need."
We find here similar happenings as to what was described in Acts 2. They are proclaiming the word, continuing to work miracles, signs and wonders, continuing to meet together, continuing to share with one another as needed.
I was just thinking, Luke writes, "no one claimed that any of their possessions was their own", and one wonders if this is because they were now focused on possessing something far greater! They went from possessing things, to possessing the Promise, the New Covenant and the Command of the Lord! They were embracing fully the Kingdom of God reality that was evident in their midst.
I am reminded of an interesting point the Lord made concerning possessing the land, found in Leviticus 25:23-24 NIV:
“ 'The land must not be sold permanently, because the land is mine and you reside in my land as foreigners and strangers. [24] Throughout the land that you hold as a possession, you must provide for the redemption of the land."
I am wondering if this bit, was being embraced fully by the early church, recognizing that the possessions they had were actually the Lord's and they were just caring for them, but were free to share them with others, specifically because of that? It seems that they were taking a pretty radical approach, at least in my American mindset, and we don't really see this modeled anywhere else that we know of in the early church. We do know they were encouraged to give freely, to spread the wealth, if you will.
Anyway, things to think more on, things to look at in my own heart, and mostly a Gospel of the Kingdom of God present with demonstration to proclaim!
Lord help us!
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