This land will be yours, for the Lord your God will Himself drive out all the people living there now. You will take possession of their land, just as the Lord your God promised you. Joshua 23:5
As they entered the Promised Land, God assured His people of victory over its inhabitants. They were commanded to possess all of the land He was giving to them. Part of that inheritance included the shephelah.
The ancient trade route for the major civilizations ran right through this shephelah. People from far and wide passed through this busy route that connected their world. Because of its strategic spot, whoever controlled the narrow highway bore a large influence on neighbors both near and far. News and ideas flowed here as quickly as the goods they were carrying.
Part of God’s strategy to show the world who He is involved putting His people where they could be seen and His message shared. This included putting them in a land that was a hub for the rest of the world.
God said possess the land. He also said He would drive out those controlling it. But He didn’t say it would be easy for them, they still had to be obedient in pursuing victory. The problem for them was that on the other side of this low land highway was the coastal plain, where the Philistines and pagans lived. It became much easier for these early Israelites to just live up in the Judean hills. That left the shephelah, including the highway, controlled and influenced by those whose worldview opposed God. Their disobedience in not possessing all the land meant a loss of influence and impact on the world. God’s message was not being broadcast as He had intended.
We have shephelahs, too. Those places that God intends us to bear influence where His message can be heard by the whole world. How many of those have we abandoned because we don’t want to engage those with an opposing worldview? I can think of many areas that we have conceded territory – the media, internet, education, entertainment. We’re living in the hills and not the highway. God has promised victory when we go in obedience. He will establish His Truth where it can be seen. It won’t be easy, but we need to engage a world that needs to hear. That’s always been His plan.
Let him do as I have done since ancient times when I established a people and explained its future. Do not tremble; do not be afraid. Did I not proclaim my purposes for you long ago? You are my witnesses—is there any other God? Isaiah 44:7-8
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