“They ate of the fruit of the land of Canaan that year.” Joshua 5:12
Israel’s weary wanderings were all over, and the promised rest was attained. No more moving tents, fiery serpents, fierce Amalekites, and howling wildernesses: they came to the land which flowed with milk and honey and they ate the old corn of the land. Perhaps this year, beloved Christian reader, this may be your case or mine. Joyful is the prospect, and if faith be in active exercise, it will yield unalloyed delight. To be with Jesus in the rest which remains for the people of God is a cheering hope indeed, and to expect this glory so soon is a double bliss. Unbelief shudders at the Jordan which still rolls between us and the good land, but let us rest assured that we have already experienced more ills than death at its worst can cause us. Let us banish every fearful thought and rejoice with exceeding great joy in the prospect that this year we shall begin to “always be with the Lord” (1 Thes. 4:17).
A part of the host will this year tarry on earth to do service for their Lord. If this should fall to our lot, there is no reason why the New Year’s text should not still be true. “For we who have believed enter that rest” (Hebrews 4:3). The Holy Spirit is the assurance of our inheritance, and he gives us “glory begun below.” In heaven, celestial spirits enjoy communion with their Lord, and this is not denied to us. They rest in his love, and we have perfect peace in him. They hymn his praise, and it is our privilege to bless him too. We will this year gather celestial fruits on earthly ground where faith and hope have made the desert like the garden of the Lord. Man did eat angels’ food of old, and why not now? O for grace to feed on Jesus, and so to eat of the fruit of the land of Canaan this year.
Adapted from Morning and Evening.
