Throughout the Old Testament, God showed the nation of Israel that they were nothing without His divine help. When the Israelites showed stubbornness and unfaithfulness, they failed in their endeavors. It was only when they obeyed the precepts of the Lord that they conquered the other nations occupying the land. A great example of this is the overthrow of Jericho, driven by the exact following of God's instructions. Indeed, if the Israelites had taken this correlation between obedience and success to heart, they could have prevented a great deal of future disappointment and pain.
God wants to give every person on earth the eternal bliss of heaven, where they will be united with Him. He wishes to have all souls within His loving embrace forever. As of this moment, we have been given manna from heaven (that is, the flesh of our Lord Jesus Christ), which tastes like honey. However, when we come to the eternal unity of heaven, we will be in the "land flowing with milk and honey." Still, it is not meant to be an easy journey, just as it was not simple for the Israelites to reach the Promised Land.
The main reason that it took Israel so long to reach the Promised Land was because of their lack of obedience to God and their lack of faith in His ultimate plan for them. This was reversed when a faithful man, Joshua, came to be leader of the nation. He was careful to follow all of the laws of God to the letter and, as a result, the nation was prosperous under his rule. Still, after his death, Israel decided to stray from the Lord. Once again, as in the past, this brought ruin to the people and they cried out for help, after which God sent other righteous people to lead them. These people were called judges and a series of events led the nation through much of the same business as happened in the times of Moses and Joshua, alternately.
The main lesson that God was trying to teach them, and is trying to teach us, is that we need to trust in His plan for us. After all, He is the omnipotent being, and Almighty Creator of heaven and earth. One would think that it would be simple to trust such a powerful Lord with our lives. Obviously, this is not the case. Our selfishness and general stubbornness prevents us from realizing true and lasting happiness. When we try to take charge of our lives and push forward without regard for God, we end up hurt and in a bad way. It is only when we pray and lay our lives at the foot of the cross that we can truly be free and conquer sin. So what are we waiting for? Let us make ourselves helpless for Christ.
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