Hebrews 13:7 says, “Remember the ones leading you, who have spoken to you the word of God; and considering the issue of their manner of life, imitate their faith.”
In the recent July training on Numbers, we learned that the army which the Lord used to take the good land of Canaan was composed primarily of the generation of the children of Israel who were either born in the wilderness or who were still youths when they left Egypt.
They were the ones who were numbered just before entering the land and who were to fight for the taking of the land. Yet, we also saw that this army still needed the preceding generation–in their case, Joshua and Caleb–to pass on all the lessons learned and to take the lead in the fighting.
Before entering the land, the army was numbered and there was a harmony between the generations. Imagine though, for a moment, what would have been the second generation’s fate if, rather than taking Jehovah’s arrangement to follow Joshua and Caleb, they would have spurned their leadership and attempted to do something on their own.
Whether it was journeying back to Egypt, dwelling among the nations, or trying to take the land, surely their end would not have been positive. The Lord had ordained that Joshua and Caleb would lead the children of Israel into the land. So, to go against this arrangement would have been to go against God and to forsake all that He had wrought in the previous generations.
I was impressed in this recent training on Numbers that the Lord is now in the process of numbering His army, which is composed of those who have grown to the spiritual age of 20. His relatively mature army will possess the all-inclusive Christ as typified by the good land, slaying all the evil occupants. In this way, God’s kingdom is finally brought to this earth and Satan and his kingdom are finally extricated. The kingdom age is brought in! As a brother in the second generation, I want to be a part of this army and of this great accomplishment.
Since we are so close to entering the land and doing significant damage to Satan’s kingdom, it is no surprise that he would attempt to compromise our position by driving a wedge between the generations in the churches. The older, more mature saints, have been through many battles and have learned many lessons in warfare. Today, the second generation needs their portion and their leadership.
Therefore, we can be sure that any speaking or thought which would cause us to question the Lord’s care for us through them, to withdraw from fellowship with them, or to murmur against their leadership, is from the enemy. It is an attack on us by attacking them, our supply and covering. Any attack on them, and any attack which would prompt us to allow space between the generations, is actually an attack on us.
Perhaps this strategy of the enemy could be likened in part to the destruction of our harvest or the stopping up of our water supply.
We may be an army, but if we have no supply, how can we fight? We may be an army, but if we have no Joshuas or Calebs, where is God’s ordained leadership? How can we benefit from all that the Lord has done in the generations preceding us? In short, we can’t carry out God’s purpose apart from close fellowship between the generations. We need each other and God needs us to fight together.
I now realize more than ever before of my need for more fellowship with the mature saints. If the fellowship wasn’t so thorough in the past, may it be thorough now. If it wasn’t so transparent before, may it be like clear glass today. If the enemy would like for us to withdraw, may we press closer.
If the enemy would like for us to murmur, may we pray instead. If the enemy would like for us to criticize, may we rather speak well of the dear saints who have been through so much and who have poured out their lives for our sake.
Only through the strengthening of the fellowship between the generations will we be able to enter and possess the good land by fighting against all the enemies for the establishing of God’s kingdom on earth. In these days, may we focus on the increase of Christ as life and on fellowshipping more than ever with those who have gone before us.