God is showing us a helpful way to look at generations. He calls generations: “generations of My Purposes”. Looked at this way, we focus less on simply natural generations in terms of age, and start to look at seccessive and linked purposes of God.The enemy of life, tries to place wedges between natural generations, for He knows that God has them in order for a progressive revelation of His Purposes. But God always fulfills that generation of His puposes. You see this in Joshua.
Joshua’s natural generation, for the most part, did not fulfil the generation of God’s purpose of them, but through Joshua, God did.
Generations of God’s purposes fit together each supplying what is needed in succession. it is not a question of whether God can fulfill his Own purposes in order, it is a question of whether we will join Him!
Joshua’s generation was to carry the vision of Sinai and the rememberance of slavery into the promised land. So that through the meditation on the law and words of God, the people would stay connected to God, as they battled for the land. Here is another parallel-this next generation is one of possesing the land, we are to through vision to help keep them anchored in the word and equip them with His Plans. Also like Joshua, to call them forth, as we “muster” the general Body. You see joshua going in between the levites or front runner artisans and judahites; and the general body of the tribes of Israel. He reveals God’s will and Vision to both-telling the general Body what is going to happen and when to move, while going to the front lines and instructing and naming the levites and those getting their backs, the Judahites.
The levites and the judahites have always had these identities and been in relation to one another. Levites are to be the place of meeting and carry the ark; Judah to war from worship. This is who God sent in first then, and it is now!
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But God was also concerned with gettng the whole of Israel across the jordan! So you see Joshua like water running back and forth getting everyone informed-and you see the general Body’s respect for him.
OUR GENERATION and its prophetic purpose:
it is hard for our generation to imagine receiving this level of respect-as we feel mislabeled and cynical towards the preceeding two generations in the natural. But God is healing us and them! And these geneartions of His Purposes will work together in a harmonious and powerful pattern to prepare the way for The Lord!
Many in Joshua’s gen. did not get to fulfill God’s purposes on them collectively. Joshua did, however, for the purposes of God do not die with man, but get fulfilled. In this sense it is less about us and more about generations of God’s Purposes.
I think our generation-what is called gen X-must be looked at in terms of God’s purposes. What is God’s purpose for this gen.? I think it is very similar to that of Joshua’s. It is to come through the in-between experience of the church’s wilderness, and carry the revelation of Sinai into the land. It is also, as you see, in the life of Joshua to name others-to be a people of revelation. We have been given a unique awareness of overarching systems, and an ability to name them in a way which is authentic and fresh. Our eyes see both the systems and what they are serving. So we are in a unique position to help things see what they are. We are in this way, a generation of clarifying identity by naming it from this larger awareness or scope. We are not merely “players” but are aware of the rules of the game itself. We can deconstruct or construct with this unique gifting.
At the crossing of the Jordan, you see also that Joshua is the one who is given the instructions from heavenly vision as to who goes where, and when to move. It is a military vision, but also a priestly one. He tells both the priest and the leaders of the tribes what is to happen, and when to move. So there is a naming from vision here. You see that Joshua’s gen. suffered from grumbling. They had seen so much and were to carry it into the land, but began to complain about, what seemed to be the slow fulfillment of the promises.
How similar is that to this genereation. And yet, Joshua made it to carry that generation of God’s Purposes. And so will we. It is not a matter of whether, but who will join and partner with God. The purposes of God will be fulfilled, but will we repent of all cynical complaining and give him our anger at our elders for misjudging us, and move on with the purposes of God?
