Into the Land we will go

There was no post on Joshua and while I don’t have a post with a cohesive theme, I thought I would write some observations I noted from Joshua.

Observation 1:

The book opens and closes with the Law of Moses.  In chapter 1, the LORD commanded Joshua “to be careful to do according to all the law which Moses My servant commanded you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, so that you may have success wherever you do.  This book of the law shall not depart from you mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night.”  Throughout the book, the reader is reminded that Joshua does as Moses has written.  In the conclusion of the book, Joshua gathers the people together and tells the to “Be very firm, then to keep and do all this is written in the book of the law of Moses, so that you may not turn aide from it to the right hand or to the left.” Beginning with Abraham, Joshua reminds the people of who God is and how he has been with them since the beginning.   He pleads with them not to turn to other gods but in this new land with cities and vineyards and olive groves that the people did not work for or plant, to serve the LORD faithfully.  This remembering and mediating on the Law of Moses seems to be a central theme in Joshua.  It is the Book of Moses that teaches the people about the LORD and reminds them to be faithful. 

Observation 2:

The LORD fought for Israel.  In Exodus, the LORD took the Israelites out of Egypt and while they cowered at the edge of the Sea, Moses reminds them that, “The LORD will fight for you while you keep silent.”  And the LORD was faithful and fought for them.  However, the people quickly forget and once again cower on the edge of the land that was promised to them.  The people finally make it into the Land under the leadership of Joshua and time and again, the LORD proves faithful and fights for Israel.  After the battle with the five kings at Gibeon, Joshua declares that, “the LORD fought for Israel.”  As the Israelites conquer the land it is noted that “because the LORD, the God of Israel, fought for Israel.”  The LORD protected and was faithful to his people and when they trusted him, he conquered the land for them. 

Observation 3:

In Genesis 17, Abraham is promised a son.  God says that he will make Abraham exceedingly fruitful, and I will make nations of you, and kings will come forth from you.  The sign of this covenant was the act of circumcision.  Immediately following the command, Abraham circumcised his family.   In Joshua, immediately after crossing the Jordan, Joshua was commanded by the LORD to circumcise the people, and like Abraham Joshua immediately obeyed the commanded and performed the sign of the covenant affirming God’s covenant with Abraham and the people of Israel. 

(The conclusion of these three observations is that Joshua seems to be a fulfillment and playing out of the commands of the Law of Moses.  The sign of the covenant remains to show that one day, a king will come out of Israel.  The LORD will fight for Israel and to be a faithful nation, they must mediate of the Law of Moses.)

Observation 4:  I also noted some similarities or parallels to the division of the land and Genesis 49, but I need more time to think about it and I should probably start reading Judges.  If any of you noticed anything, let me know.  

Hatred for the Things of God

Mark 15:10-13 For he perceived that it was out of envy that the chief priests had delivered him up. 11 But the chief priests stirred up the crowd to have him release for them Barabbas instead. 12 And Pilate again said to them, "Then what shall I do with the man you call the King of the Jews?" 13 And they cried out again, "Crucify him."

It is difficult for me to imagine the anger, bitterness and hatred that men can have toward Jesus Christ. Yet, it is real and resulted in the crucifixion of our sinless Lord. These intense emotions did not subside at the cross, but still exist and are growing even as we live. Over the last few months I have experienced such emotions on two occasions targeted toward me, a preacher of the Gospel, and His church. To be honest, at first I was taken back thinking, “What have I done?” Then recently as I was receiving a vulgar, unsolicited, uncalled for tirade against me I realized, “This is not about me. It is about the One whom I represent: Jesus Christ.” You must understand that I do not live in a liberal stronghold, but in a rural community nestled deep in the Bible belt. Even, here, there is a growing hatred for the things of Christ and those who stand for Him. Why? Christ and His teaching stand in opposition to the godless lives men chose to live. Even as the religious leaders of Jesus’ resented Him, not that He had done anything wrong (none could make that claim), but what He represented: the true righteousness of God. Jesus reminded us, His servants, to expect more of the same as He warned, Remember the word that I said to you: 'A servant is not greater than his master.' If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you… John 15:20. Does this hurt? You bet it does, but we must not take it personally. It is simply a result of being representatives of Christ in a lost and dying world. We are living in times where these attacks against Jesus’ ambassadors will become more often and intense. I encourage my young brothers and sisters in Christ to be encouraged and stand strong. Our Lord is still on the throne and He is coming again!

The Wilderness Experience

Deuteronomy 8:2 And you shall remember the whole way that the LORD your God has led you these forty years in the wilderness, that he might humble you, testing you to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep his commandments or not.

Wilderness experiences are some of the most important times in the believer’s life. Admittedly, these are not pleasant but instead times of intense struggle, pain and suffering. Yet, these seasons of wilderness are absolutely essential in the maturation process of every believer. Only in the wilderness will our pride be exposed and stripped away. And only in the wilderness will we discover the true condition of our heart: whether it be a heart of faith or one of self-reliance. The wilderness has a way of exposing us for who we really are and reveals our need for God. It will either provoke us to disqualification or prepare us for the work the Lord has ordained for us. Before Moses led the people out of Egypt he endured a wilderness experience. Before David became the king of Israel he suffered through a wilderness experience. Even before Jesus began His ministry He was tried in a wilderness experience. It is God who allows the wildernesses of our lives but He will never leave us alone there and is always leading the way. We must remember that when we find ourselves in the wilderness, it is a place of revelation and preparation; and all of God’s great servants have walked the rocky path before us.

why then the law

The next two blog posts are going to address two ideas from a passage in Galatians. Galatians 3:15 – 20 says:

15 To give a human example, brothers: even with a man-made covenant, no one annuls it or adds to it once it has been ratified. 16 Now the promises were made to Abraham and to his offspring. It does not say, "And to offsprings," referring to many, but referring to one, "And to your offspring," who is Christ. 17 This is what I mean: the law, which came 430 years afterward, does not annul a covenant previously ratified by God, so as to make the promise void. 18 For if the inheritance comes by the law, it no longer comes by promise; but God gave it to Abraham by a promise.
19 Why then the law? It was added because of transgressions, until the offspring should come to whom the promise had been made, and it was put in place through angels by an intermediary. 20 Now an intermediary implies more than one, but God is one.

We have just read through the law and we are about to read it again – Deuteronomy. You might be asking yourself – “what am I to get from these laws?” Or “am I supposed to follow some and not others?” Well in Paul’s letter to the Galatians he poses his own question about the law – “Why?”

Why the law if God made a promise to Abraham and his offspring?

Now Paul answers this question by saying that the law was added because of transgressions. Now the great thing about the having a printed Bible is that we all have easy access to our own Bibles and can try to see what Paul is saying. So let’s check Paul out. Let’s flip to Leviticus and then Numbers (these are only two examples).

In Leviticus 8 – 10, the story of Aaron and his sons begins with great success. Israel successfully consecrates Aaron and his sons as priests for the Tabernacle and the Lord accepts Aaron’s offering. If you haven’t read it – you need to. It is intense (9:22-24). But guess what happens next. Paul calls it transgression. We call it sin. Aaron’s sons offer an unauthorized offering in chapter 10 and instead of fire coming out from God and devouring the sacrifice, the fire devours and consumes them.

Right after the sons are consumed Moses and Aaron get in dialogue about eating. See 10:16-20. I make this note because it is noteworthy.

So if Paul is correct, what will be next in Leviticus? That’s right – MORE LAWS. “Why then the law? It was added because of transgressions.” Chapters 11 begins with another long section of laws and guess what type of laws begin this section – Eating laws. Interesting. Moses and Aaron were arguing about what to eat and now just two verses after their argument God gives eating laws.

Now lets move to Numbers 13 to see if we can see this same pattern. We all probably are familiar with this passage. It is the passage where Israel sends out 12 spies into the Promised Land.

Moses mentions that on the day their 40-day mission started it was “the season of the first ripe grapes.” (13:20) And the men even “cut down from there a branch with a single cluster of grapes.” (13:23) When the men come back to the people to bring news of their spying the even show them “the fruit of the land.” (13:26)

Sadly we all know what happens next. Only Caleb and Joshua believe the promise of God and the other ten spies influence Israel not to believe God. They sin. Chapter 14 is all about the sin of Israel and then Moses intercedes for them. What will happen next? LAWS.

Beginning in chapter 15 there are new laws concerning sacrifices. Interestingly, they are not really new sacrifices. These new laws only add one thing to the sacrifices – wine. (See 15:5,7, 10) So basically the spies go in to the land, see the grapes, the people sin, and now there are new laws concerning with wine. This is so interesting, but there is more.

At the end of chapter 16, God gives a law about tassels. Basically a tassel is a Hebrew WWJD bracelet. A tassel was to be sewed onto the corners of their garments so that every time that they looked at the tassel they would be reminded “not to follow after your own heart and your own eyes, which you are inclined to whore after. So you shall remember and do all my commandments, and be holy to your God.” (15:39-40)

I highlight the “follow” because Moses intentionally used it here. The word “follow” is used in the entire Hebrew Bible very rarely. Moses though uses this word here to tie his writing together. The word “follow” is used in chapter 13. This word is translated spy out in chapter 13. Most of your Bibles should even note this at the bottom of your page. After the spying in 13, God now says don’t spy out after your own heart.

Do you see how the sin of the people is connected to the law? Paul does. I do.

So what? What is the big deal? The big deal for Paul is that the law does not bring the righteousness that we need to be saved. Stop trying to work for your righteousness. Believe in Christ. “So then, that law was our guardian until Christ came, in order that we may be justified by faith. But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian, for in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith…if you are Christ’s then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to promise.” (Gal 3:24-26, 29)

This is a big deal. I need to mediate on it. Meditate with me.

TG

i know...it's been a while

Hey guys,

I am about to run to small group, but I wanted to let you know that the reading has been great for me even though I have not posted recently. For those of you who have fallen behind we are in Deuteronomy and Mark now. Just flip ahead and start again with us.

I want to post on the some of the interesting important parts of Leviticus and Numbers soon. 

I hope you are all doing well. God bless your reading.

Tanner