“Boarders, Not Barriers”

Without getting too ahead of myself, GOD’s been downloading the next thing He wants me to study, so it’s been “different” balancing where I am in studying as well as keeping up with where He’s leading me to..

In Chapters 15 & 16, the Israelites find themselves in a similar position; though they’re still conquering the remaining portions of the land, they now have to begin occupying and establishing themselves as well. For this new generation of Israelites, occupation is a new thing. They’ve been nomadic, moving and living in the wilderness, never having a place to settle and remain for an extended duration of time. Safe to say even though they know how to fight for something, they haven’t been shown how to defend and fortify that same thing.

The chapters lay out how the lands given to the tribes of Judah and Ephraim boarder “this & that” area. And though the tribes have occupied the land, there were inhabitants (the Jebusites & Canaanites) that the Israelites were unable to push out from it and as a result, the non-Israelites live among them. The Holy Spirit highlighted one important message to me in this: “boarders aren’t barriers”!

While meditating on GOD’s words to me this morning about foundation and walls, it made me think of how in one season there were walls that needed to come down so GOD’s people could walk into the promise, but now the absence of a similar structure allowed the enemy to continue to occupy the place they were supposed to be driven away from. So is the same with us in our lives. When we remove our own internal enemies, not having separation, a divider, and not having up protection or “walls” allows that enemy to return. Even further, not allowing GOD’s Spirit to occupy or be active in us produces the same result. Matthew 12:43-45 accounts for this in detail.

While we’re praying for GOD to remove and break down walls that are keeping us from Him and His promise(s), let us also pray for spiritual structures to keep us from being vulnerable to enemies that will try to encroach on us as we occupy the places GOD has called us to!