http://www.krististephens.

com

A Note of Introduction

Hello!

I’m thrilled that you’re interested in studying God’s Word

with me! Before you jump into this study, allow me to
introduce myself and explain what this study is about.

I am a full time wife and mom who loves to teach God’s

Word through our local church and through blogging.
These studies spring from my training in the Bible
department at Cedarville University, alongside my own study of the
Scriptures and time teaching Bible studies based on the Old Testament
books.

What you will find in this e-book is a continued “big picture” overview of
God’s unfolding story of redemption. I trust that what I have written here
will be useful and helpful for you, but in no way is this intended to be read
in lieu of your own Bible study. In fact, as you progress through these
studies I assume that you are reading and studying on your own as we go.
These are my words, not God’s. While I strive to be accurate in my
explanations and applications, and while I have found these things to be true
in my study of the Scriptures, nothing can take the place of your own time
reading the Bible itself.

I pray that as you open your Bible that God will challenge and excite you
through the study of His Word. I also pray that through looking at the “big
picture” of what God is doing in history that you will gain a deeper
understanding of your own need for Jesus Christ and grow in your daily
walk with Him.

May God bless you!

- ^Ü|áà|
So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in him,
rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught,
and overflowing with thankfulness.

Colossians 2:6-7

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The renewing of your mind

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Today is a momentous post: we are finished with the Pentateuch and forging ahead into
Joshua! But wait, not so fast! Before you close your mental book on our previous
discussions, let's take a look at the stated purpose of Joshua:

"After the death of Moses the servant of the LORD, the LORD said to Joshua son of Nun,
Moses' aide: "Moses my servant is dead. Now then, you and all these people, get ready to
cross the Jordan River into the land I am about to give to them—to the Israelites. I will
give you every place where you set your foot, as I promised Moses.
Your territory will extend from the desert to Lebanon, and from the great river, the
Euphrates—all the Hittite country—to the Great Sea on the west.
No one will be able to stand up against you all the days of your life. As I was with Moses,
so I will be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you.
"Be strong and courageous, because you will lead these people to inherit the land I
swore to their forefathers to give them."
(Joshua 1:1-6)

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See any connection here to our previous studies? What aspect of the Abrahamic covenant
(Genesis 12:1-3 - LAND, NATION, and LEADER) will this book fulfill?

Clearly, the LAND promise. And indeed, the book of Joshua is completely dedicated to
God's fulfillment of His promise! This is not just a group of people looking for a place to
live. It's not just a story of a good man who follows God. The entire book is a powerful
statement that God can and will fulfill His part of this covenant relationship. [This is
another case of how we get sidetracked as we read Scripture - we read chapter one and
get hung up on God's promise to never leave or forsake Joshua, apply it straight to us, and
completely skip the step of studying what's going on here! Before we apply, we must
think! Ok, I will step down from my soapbox now.]

In the next verses, God gives Joshua specific instruction on how to succeed on this
mission of claiming the land He promised them:

"Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave
you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful wherever
you go. Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and
night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be
prosperous and successful. Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do
not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you
wherever you go."
(Joshua 1:7-9)

First of all, what is this "Book of the law" He's referring to? Deuteronomy! Again, we
see the importance of this book!

This idea of not letting it "depart from you mouth" or "leave your lips" is so interesting.
This carries the idea of speaking it softly to yourself constantly in order to memorize it.
Imagine Joshua going through his day, speaking very softly to himself all day long-
"Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. Love the LORD your God with
all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments
that I give you today are to be upon your hearts..."

Why was he supposed to do this? "...meditate on it day and night, so that you may be
careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful."
Joshua was to commit this book not just to memory, but to heart. He was to know God's
Word fully and obey it completely. How could he not be strong and courageous if He
constantly remembered God's character, His promises, His faithfulness? What would be a
better guard against the subtlety of sin than constantly bathing his mind and heart in
truth? By the way, God very specifically instructs the future kings of Israel to do this, as
well - Deuteronomy 17:18-20. Clearly, this isn't followed, and the results of this failure
are disastrous.

I am impressed and convicted at the thought of what this means. I am all for a daily
"quiet time" with God - a frequent topic of discussion in Christian circles referring to

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daily Scripture reading and prayer. I wish I could say I do this every day without fail! It is
a daily battle to carve out time to spend with the Lord.

That being said, I think that we have an overly simplified view of walking with the Lord.
Did I read my verse/ paragraph/ chapter today? Check! Did I pray today? Check! Wow - I
am such a good Christian! Put your star sticker on that mental sticker chart and feel good
about your spirituality. I am not saying this to be harsh - I find myself in this way of
thinking far too often, although never in those overt terms! This is a subtle error in our
thinking that can lead to an arrogant, yet superficial or fake, perspective.

I once heard Ravi Zacharias talk about people who, over the years, have expressed their
spiritual despondency to him. The Bible says that when we are in Christ, we are a new
creation - the old has gone, the new has come (2 Corinthians 5:17)! However, they were
still struggling with sin, still "old" in their thinking and way of life. What is the problem?
Ravi talked about the difference between reading, or even memorizing Scripture, and
meditating on it.

Meditation here is not some trance-like state or feeling of calm. Biblical meditation is
very different from the meditation associated with Eastern religions and philosophies. It
is not an emptying of your mind, it's a filling of your mind. Turning the Scripture over and
over and over and over in your mind until it becomes the way you think. This is what
Joshua and the kings were commanded to do in order to keep them from falling away -
read it, memorize it, meditate on it every single day. To think Biblically - consistent with
the way God thinks, and thus act in accordance with His nature. (obviously, we're still
sinful and can't do this 100% of the time!)

It is my challenge to both you and me today to consider our relationship to God. Do I

know things about Him, or do I know HIM? Do I know things about His Word, or do I
KNOW His Word? When confronted with daily problems or situations, is Scripture what
comes immediately to mind? Do I really think Biblically about everything?

Pick a passage or chapter to memorize (I think memorizing "chunks" of Scripture rather

than a verse here or there is much more profitable) and start working on it. (Need help
with how to work on memorization?) Repeat it to yourself throughout your day. Meditate
on it - think about what it means. Turn each word over carefully in your mind. Consider
carefully the implications of that Truth. Do this carefully and consistently, and you will
begin to renew your mind, think Biblically, and act in accordance with His nature. "Do
not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing
of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is—his good,
pleasing and perfect will." (Romans 12:2-3)

How can a young man keep his way pure? By living according to your word.
I seek you with all my heart; do not let me stray from your commands.
I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you.
Praise be to you, O LORD; teach me your decrees.
With my lips I recount all the laws that come from your mouth.

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I rejoice in following your statutes as one rejoices in great riches.

I meditate on your precepts and consider your ways.
I delight in your decrees; I will not neglect your word.
(Psalm 119:9-16)

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Why did the Israelites cross the Jordan?

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...not just to get to the other side!

And Joshua said to the people, “Sanctify yourselves, for tomorrow the Lord will do
wonders among you."
...And the Lord said to Joshua, “This day I will begin to exalt you in the sight of all
Israel, that they may know that, as I was with Moses, so I will be with you.
You shall command the priests who bear the ark of the covenant, saying, ‘When you have
come to the edge of the water of the Jordan, you shall stand in the Jordan.’ ”
So Joshua said to the children of Israel, “Come here, and hear the words of the Lord
your God.” And Joshua said, “By this you shall know that the living God is among you,
and that He will without fail drive out from before you the Canaanites and the Hittites
and the Hivites...
Joshua 3:5,7-10

This is the beginning of the story of the the Israelites crossing the Jordan river - their
official entry into the promised land! The way God does this is fascinating. For most of
the year, the Jordan was a glorified creek. However, Joshua 3:15 indicates that they
arrived at the Jordan when it was at flood stage. At flood stage this river was, humanly
speaking, impassable for a huge army and nation of people! After 40 years of wandering,

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couldn't God have timed their arrival a little better?

There were clearly at least a couple of reasons for their "bad timing." If you were Joe
Israelite, looking at this raging, flooding river, you might have thought to yourself, "This
is really poor administration, Joshua. Moses would have thought ahead and not brought
us here at this time..." By parting the river and allowing them to cross on dry ground
(sounds a lot like... the Red Sea! The first great obstacle in Moses' time of leadership!),
God was planning to show that Joshua had been divinely appointed for this task. “This
day I will begin to exalt you in the sight of all Israel, that they may know that, as I was
with Moses, so I will be with you. (3:7)

Remember back to the plagues on Egypt (review "The King of kings and Lord of lords")
- those plagues were not arbitrary judgments on Egypt. They were theological statements
- there is only one God!

This situation in Joshua is actually very similar. You see, the Canaanites worshiped a god
named Baal - Baal was "the god of the storm." As the Canaanites were shaking in their
boots within the walls of Jericho (and Rahab has already told us they were doing just that
- see Joshua 3:9-11) and looking out their windows at the vast sea of Israelites on the
other side of the river, they must have taken quite a bit of comfort in the fact that they had
arrived just in time for Baal to protect them! Clearly, their god of the storm was flooding
the Jordan and was protecting them from the Israelites and their God. ...or, perhaps not.

So it was, when the people set out from their camp to cross over the Jordan, with the
priests bearing the ark of the covenant before the people, and as those who bore the ark
came to the Jordan, and the feet of the priests who bore the ark dipped in the edge of the
water (for the Jordan overflows all its banks during the whole time of harvest), that the
waters which came down from upstream stood still, and rose in a heap very far away at
Adam, the city that is beside Zaretan. So the waters that went down into the Sea of the
Arabah, the Salt Sea, failed, and were cut off; and the people crossed over opposite
Jericho. Then the priests who bore the ark of the covenant of the Lord stood firm on dry
ground in the midst of the Jordan; and all Israel crossed over on dry ground, until all the
people had crossed completely over the Jordan. (Joshua 3:14-17)

So, picture this mentally. The priests stood in the middle of the river bed holding the ark
of the covenant - the representation of God's unique covenant with Israel and the actual
physical place where His glory dwelt among them. The Jordan has completely stopped
and piled in a heap! They're not standing in mud, they're on dry ground! And the entire
nation of Israel walks across into the land promised to them by Yahweh, their one True
God.

This was a huge lesson both to Israel and to the Canaanites. By this you shall know that
the living God is among you, and that He will without fail drive out from before you the
Canaanites... (3:10) There is one True God, He is supreme, and He will keep His
promises!

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God doesn't always take us on the easiest path to our destination. We wonder about His
timing... couldn't He have gotten us here a bit sooner and avoided the raging rivers? This
story of God's plan for Israel is meaningful to me. We must remember that God's agenda
is not just to "get us to the other side," so to speak. It's all about Him! His purpose is not
just to keep us safe, happy, comfortable, and prosperous. His purpose is to reveal Himself
to us and through us. Yes, He could have had the Israelites avoid this situation all
together. But, would they have had to rely on Him? Would they have seen Him reveal
Himself and show His glory to them and to their enemies? Would they have known,
without a doubt, that God was with them and would be faithful to His promises?

Next time you're standing on the edge of a raging river in life, ask God to show Himself
in a big way - He will probably surprise you.

Give unto the Lord, O you mighty ones,

Give unto the Lord glory and strength.
Give unto the Lord the glory due to His name;
Worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness.
The voice of the Lord is over the waters;
The God of glory thunders;
The Lord is over many waters.
Psalm 29:1-3

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What Joshua 5 has to say about baptism!

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In our last post, we looked at how God's timing for the Israelites' crossing of the Jordan
was different than they may have expected. He didn't just want them to get to the other
side - He had lessons for them to learn in the process.

In chapter 5, that lesson immediately is followed up with another one.

At that time the Lord said to Joshua, “Make flint knives for yourself, and circumcise the
sons of Israel again the second time.” So Joshua made flint knives for himself, and
circumcised the sons of Israel at the hill of the foreskins. And this is the reason why
Joshua circumcised them: All the people who came out of Egypt who were males, all the
men of war, had died in the wilderness on the way, after they had come out of Egypt. For
all the people who came out had been circumcised, but all the people born in the
wilderness, on the way as they came out of Egypt, had not been circumcised. For the
children of Israel walked forty years in the wilderness, till all the people who were men of
war, who came out of Egypt, were consumed, because they did not obey the voice of the
Lord—to whom the Lord swore that He would not show them the land which the Lord
had sworn to their fathers that He would give us, “a land flowing with milk and honey.”
Then Joshua circumcised their sons whom He raised up in their place; for they were
uncircumcised, because they had not been circumcised on the way. So it was, when they
had finished circumcising all the people, that they stayed in their places in the camp till
they were healed. Then the Lord said to Joshua, “This day I have rolled away the

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reproach of Egypt from you.” Therefore the name of the place is called Gilgal to this day.
(Joshua 5:2-9)

Picture the scene. The Israelites have just crossed over the Jordan, which means that not
only is the Jordan no longer protecting their enemies from them, the Jordan is no longer
protecting them from their enemies! Joshua 5:1 indicates that all the area kings knew that
they had crossed.

So, now that they are in enemy territory, God decides that it is the appropriate time for
them to fulfill the covenant of circumcision! I am positive that we women cannot fully
understand the ramifications of this. But, think back to Genesis 34. We didn't talk about
this specific story, but it is the account of the vengeance of Simeon and Levi against the
men of Shechem after their sister Dinah was raped. They tell the men of Shechem that
they would love to intermarry with them and do business with them, if only they would
be circumcised. The Shechemites agree, and while they are all incapacitated because of
their pain, Simeon and Levi go and slaughter the entire town. [It's another lovely story
that never made it into your childhood Sunday school curriculum, I'm sure.]

With this backdrop in mind, having the entire army circumcised in enemy territory
obviously does not sound like that great of a plan from a human perspective. Why now?

1. They were forced to be completely dependent on God to protect them.

There was no "God helps those who help themselves" here. This was "God helps those
who are unable to help themselves and believe in Him." They had just watched God
make water pile up in a heap and had walked across a dry riverbed in the middle of flood
season. Now, put that faith in action.

2. The point of circumcision to begin with? A Sign of Faith in the Promises!

Romans 4:11 tells us: And he received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the
righteousness of the faith which he had while still uncircumcised... Abraham was not
considered righteous because he was circumcised: Abraham was considered righteous
because of his faith in God's promises. He demonstrated that faith by circumcising
himself and his household. At this point in Joshua, the people are getting ready to watch
the walls of Jericho fall and claim the land. If they truly believe that God is giving them
the land He promised to Abraham, this is a reasonable response: show your faith by
obeying. It would be inappropriate to experience the fulfillment of this covenant without
the most basic expression of faith!

For our application today, I would like to look at the connection the Bible makes between
baptism in the New Testament and circumcision in the Old: In Him you were also
circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the sins
of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ, buried with Him in baptism, in which you also
were raised with Him through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the
dead. (Colossians 2:11-12)

Just as Abraham's faith was outwardly shown in the sign of circumcision, and the rest of

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Israel also showed their faith by obeying the command to be circumcised, the ordinance
of baptism is the outward sign of faith under the New Covenant. Just as the Israelites
would have been remiss to claim God's promises without exhibiting their faith externally
and receiving the sign of the covenant, we, as believers, have a responsibility to obey
God's command and be baptized, the outward sign of the New Covenant we have in
Christ. How can we seek to claim the good things God has for us as we walk in Him if
we refuse to honor Him by publicly professing His lordship over us?

I love that God says after the Israelites were circumcised, "This day I have rolled away
the reproach of Egypt from you." (Joshua 5:9) In the same way, baptism signifies the
death and burial of our old nature, and that we have been raised in newness of life.
Baptism is much more than a ritual, just as circumcision was more than a ritual. It is the
outward sign of an inward change - the reproach of your old slavery to sin is rolled away,
and you have been outwardly proclaimed to be a new creation!

I do want to say that there is debate within Christian circles about infant baptism, since
circumcision was done to infant Israelites. If you want to read more about this, I
recommend John Piper's article on the subject. He also does an excellent job of
explaining the difference between the Old Covenant with Israel and the New Covenant
with the Church, and why the two cannot be interchanged. I highly recommend you read
it!

And so, I will end with the well-stated words from Piper:

"I pray that you will be persuaded of these things, and that many who have been holding
back will be baptized, not to comply with any church constitution, but by faith and
obedience to glorify the great new covenant work of God in your life. Have you been
washed by the blood of the Lamb? Are your sins forgiven? Have you died with Christ
and risen by faith to walk in newness of life? Does the Spirit of Christ dwell in you? Is
the law being written on your heart? Come, then, and signify this in baptism, and glorify
God's great new covenant work in your life." - John Piper

For we died and were buried with Christ by baptism. And just as Christ was raised
from the dead by the glorious power of the Father, now we also may live new lives.
Since we have been united with him in his death, we will also be raised as he was. Our
old sinful selves were crucified with Christ so that sin might lose its power in our lives.
We are no longer slaves to sin. For when we died with Christ we were set free from the
power of sin.
(Romans 6:4-7, NLT)

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Firstfruits

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Picking up with our study of Joshua, we left them just after they had miraculously
crossed the Jordan river, and after they had obeyed God by having the nation circumcised
as a sign of faith in God's promises. They had entered the land only by God's power, He
had protected them in their state of complete vulnerability as they gave an external sign
of faith, and now in chapters 5 and 6 they have their first major battle: Jericho.

Joshua receives his "marching orders" directly from God in chapter 5. I wonder what the
generals were thinking, waiting for these divine battle plans? They must have been
pumped up and ready to go! Imagine their internal response upon hearing the plans:

“You shall march around the city, all you men of war; you shall go all around the city
once. This you shall do six days. And seven priests shall bear seven trumpets of rams’
horns before the ark. But the seventh day you shall march around the city seven times,
and the priests shall blow the trumpets. It shall come to pass, when they make a long
blast with the ram’s horn, and when you hear the sound of the trumpet, that all the people
shall shout with a great shout; then the wall of the city will fall down flat. And the people
shall go up every man straight before him.”
Joshua 6:3-5

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Ah, yes. You will be led by the musicians. You will march around the city for 7 days
(while the people of Jericho surely must have been mocking them), and then you will
blow the trumpets and shout and the walls will collapse!

There is no macho glory here. Who is getting the glory in this battle? God alone. Just in
case you still think (after the Jordan, after the circumcision) that you're coming into the
land in your own might and are going to conquer it with your skill, here is one vivid
lesson. You will conquer the stronghold of Jericho only through faith and humble
obedience. ("Trust and obey, for there's no other way...")

Now, keeping in mind that this generation has lived in the wilderness all their lives,
eating manna for each and every meal of every day of every year, waking up in a tent in
the desert every single morning... Jericho would have been one attractive place.

This city was in a beautiful spot. In fact, Herod had a summer palace in Jericho because it
was a gorgeous oasis. I'm sure the thought of taking this city and living in it would have
been extremely appealing. Now, look at God's command:

"Now the city shall be doomed by the Lord to destruction, it and all who are in it. Only
Rahab the harlot shall live, she and all who are with her in the house, because she hid the
messengers that we sent.
And you, by all means abstain from the accursed things, lest you become accursed when
you take of the accursed things, and make the camp of Israel a curse, and trouble it. But
all the silver and gold, and vessels of bronze and iron, are consecrated to the Lord; they
shall come into the treasury of the Lord."
Joshua 6:17-19

The city is doomed by the Lord to destruction. In other words - completely destroy it and
all who live there, and keep NOTHING for yourselves.

This would have been one hard command. Why? Is God being cruel and controlling?
[This would be a great time for the classic question, "If God is such a good and loving
God, doesn't He want me to be happy?"]

This city was a giant "first fruits" offering to the Lord. In the Old Testament, you would
give a first fruits offering at the time of the harvest, giving the first yield of your crops to
the Lord before keeping any for yourself. Yes, it was an act of worship and obedience,
and it was also an act of great faith: You have provided this much so far - it is all a gift
from You. I will now give it back to You in faith that you will continue to provide.

That "if God is so good..." question is completely flawed. The issue is not "if God is
good." We KNOW that He is good. The issue is, "God is holy, and everything, including
me, belongs to Him." As living, breathing memorials of His nature, His power, His
mercy, His forgiveness, what is His greatest goal for us? Not happiness, but holiness -
being wholly set apart for Him.

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Not that God is against happiness! In fact, in their next battle, God told them that they
could keep everything for themselves! The question is: do you recognize that everything
belongs to Him? Do you believe that He can continue to provide if you give the first
fruits to Him?

Image from wikipedia

I think that the issues of giving and finances are excellent tests of the authenticity of our
walks with God. Why does "God love a cheerful giver?" (2 Cor. 9:7) Why was it that
when the rich young ruler asked Jesus what he must do for eternal life, Jesus told him to
give all he had to the poor? (Matt. 19:21-22 - From the rest of Scripture, we know that
giving away money doesn't save us. What was His point?) Giving freely out of a heart of
gratitude and faith is an evidence that we have this right - God owns all, I deserve
nothing. He blesses me, not just to provide for me and allow me to "be happy," but in
order that I may bring Him glory and honor in my response.

The first few years of our marriage were "lean" financially, to say the least. My husband
was in graduate school, and although he had some part time work, the vast majority of
our income was from me- the Bible teacher at a Christian school! We also lived in the
Virginia Beach area, which was quite expensive. I still think back through our budget and
have no IDEA how we lived on our income without going into serious debt (well, besides
school loans!). I vividly remember working on our budget for the first time and coming
face to face with the reality of our financial situation. We began working on it and I
remember looking at the space at the top of the budget for "tithe" and discussing, "do we
tithe on gross, or net?" It didn't make that big of a difference in terms of dollars, but to
our meager budget, it made a HUGE difference.

God taught us a lot during those very, very strapped years. We can tell you way too many
stories about things in our house that were given to us, found in the trash, recycled from
something else... :) But God never, EVER failed to care for us. We learned to give when
it didn't make sense, and we never went without. We never missed a bill, we never went
hungry. We received random checks in the mail that we didn't know were coming, which
occasionally even allowed us to go out for dinner! I really believe that because we gave
the first fruits, even when it seemed illogical, He provided what was lacking. It might not
have made sense on paper, but it was an act of faith that God honored.

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Our God is faithful. Our God is holy. Our God is able to provide. Believe Him! Even in
the financial crisis that's happening around us - McCain cannot provide for you. Obama
cannot provide for you. Greenspan cannot provide for you. God will provide for you. If
you believe that, live like it.

So let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity; for God
loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you,
always having all sufficiency in all things, may have an abundance for every good
work.
2 Corinthians 9:7-8

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Faith over pedigree

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I apologize for the long delay between posts! Somehow time has slipped away from me
this week. So, now we will pick back up where we left off with the Israelites.

Remember that God had given them very specific instructions about the battle against
Jericho - and He was very specific about the plunder from that battle: it all belonged to
Him. They were to dedicate it all the the Lord - And you, by all means abstain from the
accursed things, lest you become accursed when you take of the accursed things, and
make the camp of Israel a curse, and trouble it. (Joshua 6:18) In words that come out of
my mouth about 1,000 times per day at this stage, "NO TOUCH!"

Unfortunately, one man had the self-control of my 9 month old, and it did not turn out
well.

But the children of Israel committed a trespass regarding the accursed things, for Achan
the son of Carmi, the son of Zabdi, the son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, took of the
accursed things; so the anger of the LORD burned against the children of Israel. (Joshua
7:1)

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Now, Achan is the only one who knows what happened at this point. Joshua just knows
that they had a huge victory at Jericho, and that they are on to the next battle: Ai.
(Usually pronounced like the letters! A - I) He sends some spies, and they tell him that Ai
is small, and that they didn't need the whole army. Two to three thousand men were
plenty to take care of this.

So about three thousand men went up there from the people, but they fled before the men
of Ai. And the men of Ai struck down about thirty-six men, for they chased them from
before the gate as far as Shebarim, and struck them down on the descent; therefore the
hearts of the people melted and became like water.
Then Joshua tore his clothes, and fell to the earth on his face before the ark of the LORD
until evening, he and the elders of Israel; and they put dust on their heads. And Joshua
said, “Alas, Lord GOD, why have You brought this people over the Jordan at all—to
deliver us into the hand of the Amorites, to destroy us? Oh, that we had been content, and
dwelt on the other side of the Jordan! O Lord, what shall I say when Israel turns its back
before its enemies? For the Canaanites and all the inhabitants of the land will hear it,
and surround us, and cut off our name from the earth. Then what will You do for Your
great name?” (Joshua 7:4-9)

36 out of 3,000 doesn't seem like that bad of a loss. Why is Joshua so panicked? 36
people would be a big loss for those 36 families, yes, but Joshua recognizes the bigger
issue: Why is God not fighting for us? Something is wrong! If He isn't with us we're toast!

God tells Joshua that someone has sinned and taken from the "accursed things." So, they
all assemble, God identifies the tribe of the sinner, then the family, then the household,
then the man himself: Achan. [I definitely would not have wanted to be in his shoes while
this was happening!!] The nation stones him because of his sin.

Now, I want to draw a contrast here between Achan and Rahab. We didn't specifically
talk about Rahab, so if you haven't read this story before, or aren't very familiar with it,
please take a minute to read Joshua chapter 2.

Between Achan and Rahab, who should have come out better in the end?

Achan was a Judahite. If you're an Israelite at this time, being from the tribe of Judah is a
great place to be - it's the tribe where rulers come from, and specifically, where THE
Leader was prophesied to come from! His future? He could have been in the lineage of
Christ! He, as a member of the nation of Israel, had been promised by God that he could
live in the promised land. He was watching the unfolding of God's covenant with
Abraham right before his eyes!

Rahab was a Canaanite. No promises to her. Really, the only guarantee was that she and
her people would be wiped out for their idolatry and immorality and that God would
supernaturally give the land to His people. She was also not that great even as Canaanites
went - she was a prostitute! Her future? She was supposed to be dead under the rocks as

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the walls of Jericho fell.

The interesting thing here is that the outcomes of these two stories are flipped - Achan
dies under the rocks, and Rahab lives in the land and actually ends up in the lineage of
Christ (take a look at Matthew 1)!

What's the lesson? Achan had the right "pedigree." He should have been the one
inheriting all these blessings, right? I think between the two, it is obvious that Rahab had
genuine faith in the God of Israel (Josh. 2:9-11). If Achan had faith it is certainly not
apparent in his actions.

I am convinced that there are many people in our churches today who feel like they are
entitled to access to heaven: their parents were Christians, they know a lot about God and
the Bible, they do good things. But, they don't have true faith - and it will not work out
well for them in the end. On the flip side, I think there are a lot of people who don't
believe they are "good enough" to be saved. They have a past. They've made terrible
choices. They don't have a shot.

Guess what, people? Pedigree doesn't matter. What matters is your faith. Rahab, a
prostitute from a pagan nation had genuine faith in God - and God delivered her from
certain death and grafted her right into His people - and eventually into the lineage of
Jesus Christ Himself! No matter how bad you think you are, what a mess you've made of
your life - God is big enough to redeem it.

One more comment about Rahab - I wonder how the Israelites reacted to her when she
joined them in their journeys? When I taught high school Bible, I remember talking to
one of my classes after we had watched a Focus on the Family film about serial killer Ted
Bundy and his interview with Dr. Dobson - he professed that he had come to know Christ
as Savior while in jail and was sharing his story before his execution. Several of my
students (who, I might add, were not shining examples of love for Christ) were outraged
at the idea that Ted Bundy might be in heaven with them. How could God forgive such
grievous sin?

That whole conversation left me sick and often comes to mind. We have such a perverted
idea of grace. Have I killed anyone? No. Is the sin of a serial killer horrific? Yes.
However, does my "lesser sin" make me any more deserving of heaven? No way! All of
us deserve hell! I remember one of my former pastors talking about grace - if we all lined
up on the edge of the grand canyon and attempted to jump across it, you might jump
farther than me, I might jump farther than someone else, but the fact of the matter is that
none of us will make it across! Our fate is sealed! Our relative goodness to one another
doesn't matter as we think about salvation - the fact of the matter is that we're all
plummeting to the bottom of the Grand Canyon and there is only One who is able to save
us. Sadly, many will ignore His offer of salvation believing that they are able to jump the
chasm alone.

There are some shady characters in the lineage of Christ! Jacob, the ultimate schemer and

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deceiver. Tamar, the daughter-in-law of Judah who dressed as a prostitute in order to

trick Judah into fathering a child through her. Rahab the prostitute from Jericho. David
and Bathsheba and their son Solomon.

God isn't interested in people who think they're good enough to know Him on their own.
He desires the broken ones - the ones who know they could never earn it, were never
"good enough." The ones who will proclaim His grace to the world.

I will close with the words of a simple shepherd boy turned king turned adulterer turned
murderer... turned repentant man after God's own heart: {David}
You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it; you do not take pleasure in burnt
offerings.
The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will
not despise.
(Psalm 51:16-17)

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Not a word failed...

Image from Bible Picture gallery: http://www.instonebrewer.com/bpg2009

Before we begin, open your Bible and skim through Joshua chapters 13-19.

Seriously... do that! :)

Riveting reading, isn't it? Why is so much ink spilled on supremely boring information?
There really is a point - God is keeping His promises. The land is theirs, and they are
dividing it among the tribes! I love the summary in 21:43-45.

So the Lord gave to Israel all the land of which He had sworn to give to their fathers, and
they took possession of it and dwelt in it. The Lord gave them rest all around, according
to all that He had sworn to their fathers. And not a man of all their enemies stood
against them; the Lord delivered all their enemies into their hand. Not a word failed of

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any good thing which the Lord had spoken to the house of Israel. All came to pass.

Amen. Our God is faithful. In the words of Beth Moore, God is who He says He is, and
He can do what He says He can do!

[Note that the entire nation wiped out the major coalitions and cities. "Mop up"
operations are left to the individual tribes to complete as they conquer their own
territories allotted to them by God. We'll come back to this in the next post.]

In the midst of this land discussion is tucked an awesome little story about Caleb.
Remember back to Numbers - Joshua and Caleb were the only two men out of their entire
generation who were allowed to enter the land. They were the only ones who believed
God and wanted to enter the land the first time around. The rest of the nation refused to
believe, and as a result, they all wandered around the desert for 40 years waiting for the
rest of them to die off. I'm sure it had been a LONG 40 years of wandering for Joshua
and Caleb.

Now, also remember what had scared everyone away from believing God- "...the people
who live in the land are strong, and the cities are fortified and very large; and moreover,
we saw the descendants of Anak there... all the people whom we saw in it are men of
great size. There also we saw Nephilim (the sons of Anak are part of the Nephilim); and
we became like grasshoppers in our own sight, and so we were in their sight." (Numbers
13:28, 32b-33)

The Anakites! Only Caleb and Joshua had the eyes of faith to see these men as what they
were - big men against a much bigger God.

Flip back and read Numbers 14:6-15. Please read the whole section - we'll just highlight a
portion of it here.

"And now behold, the Lord has let me live, just as He spoke, these forty-five years, from
the time that the Lord spoke this word to Moses, when Israel walked in the wilderness;
and now behold, I am eighty-five years old today... Now then, give me this hill country
about which the Lord spoke on that day, for you heard on that day that Anakim were
there, with great fortified cities; perhaps the Lord will be with me, and I shall drive them
out as the Lord has spoken." (Joshua 14:10, 12)

I absolutely love this. Caleb, an 85 year old man, goes to Joshua and asks that the portion
of the land where the Anakites live be given to him. Caleb still understands. He still sees
through eyes of faith - he might be just one 85 year-old man, but fortified cities of giants
cannot stand against His God. Joshua 15 fills in the rest of the story for us:

"And Caleb drove out from there the three sons of Anak: Sheshai and Ahiman and
Talmai, the children of Anak." (Joshua 15:14)

What a bittersweet story for Caleb - if only the people had believed 45 years ago. If only

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they had seen how big their God really was.

What are the giants in your life today? Do some problems, sinful patterns, or wounds in
your heart seem so huge that they are insurmountable? That you feel like a grasshopper in
your own eyes, so to speak?

Our God is bigger. Believe Him.

"Not one of the good promises which the Lord had made to the house of Israel failed;
all came to pass."
Joshua 21:45

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You can't add God to your pantheon

pantheon

Image from Bible Picture gallery: http://www.instonebrewer.com/bpg2009

In Joshua 23-24, Joshua gives his final appeal to Israel. I will quote quite a bit today, just
to highlight the progression of this address and their response.

"Now I am about to go the way of all the earth. You know with all your heart and soul
that not one of all the good promises the LORD your God gave you has failed. Every
promise has been fulfilled; not one has failed. But just as every good promise of the
LORD your God has come true, so the LORD will bring on you all the evil he has
threatened, until he has destroyed you from this good land he has given you. If you
violate the covenant of the LORD your God, which he commanded you, and go and serve
other gods and bow down to them, the LORD's anger will burn against you, and you will
quickly perish from the good land he has given you." (23:14-16)

"Now fear the LORD and serve him with all faithfulness. Throw away the gods your
forefathers worshiped beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the LORD. But if
serving the LORD seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom
you will serve, whether the gods your forefathers served beyond the River, or the gods of
the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will
serve the LORD." (24:14-15)

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Then the people answered, "Far be it from us to forsake the LORD to serve other gods! It
was the LORD our God himself who brought us and our fathers up out of Egypt, from
that land of slavery, and performed those great signs before our eyes. He protected us on
our entire journey and among all the nations through which we traveled. And the LORD
drove out before us all the nations, including the Amorites, who lived in the land. We too
will serve the LORD, because he is our God." (24:16-18)

Joshua said to the people, "You are not able to serve the LORD. He is a holy God; he is
a jealous God. He will not forgive your rebellion and your sins. If you forsake the LORD
and serve foreign gods, he will turn and bring disaster on you and make an end of you,
after he has been good to you." (24:19-20)

But the people said to Joshua, "No! We will serve the LORD." Then Joshua said, "You
are witnesses against yourselves that you have chosen to serve the LORD." "Yes, we are
witnesses," they replied. (24:21-22)

"Now then," said Joshua, "throw away the foreign gods that are among you and yield
your hearts to the LORD, the God of Israel." And the people said to Joshua, "We will
serve the LORD our God and obey him." (24:23-24)

Now, reading through this, notice that Joshua has two commands he repeats: serve the
Lord, and throw away the foreign gods. The people are very clear that they intend to
serve the Lord... did they ever say anything about throwing away the gods they have with
them? There is a deafening silence in their response. They want God and His blessings,
but will just keep holding onto these other ones for extra insurance, thanks.

In their polytheistic mindset, they wanted to just add God to the pantheon of other gods
that they worshipped. He wouldn't mind, right? They're still serving Him too, so why
would it matter? Maybe He could even be the "chief" God of the pantheon! Serving Him
sounds like a great idea, especially in light of the promised blessings. Purging their lives
of the other ones... that would be too extreme.

This speaks to me loudly about our postmodern culture today. God, Jesus, salvation, the
Bible and it's "inspiration," messages of hope and peace; maybe even going to church,
doing community service... those all sound like good things! But, if you start making
claims about the exclusivity of serving God - that you cannot serve Him and the other
gods we worship - then you are being extreme. Unreasonable. Intolerant.

Unfortunately, I am not just pointing the finger at those "out there" outside the realm of
the Church. Christians are becoming more and more comfortable with an extremely split
dualistic mindset. I am a Christian, and I am also... [a mother, a teacher, a journalist, a
counselor, a businessman, an accountant, etc.] Rather than being compelled by the all-
encompassing Truth of who God is in each and every aspect of our lives, we live our
lives and occasionally briefly pause to give God his due - a brief prayer, a 10 minute
Bible reading, weekly church attendance, whatever. Sometimes we even dress it up and

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talk about "integrating" our faith into our lives.

Really knowing and serving God is all consuming. You cannot add Him to the pantheon
of gods that the rest of the culture embraces - money, success, busyness, entertainment,
security...

Rather than discussing the integration of faith and life, we should be talking about the
character, nature, and plan of God - ask not how He fits into our lives, but ask how our
lives fit into His will.

God's Word clearly presents Truth. And to fully embrace it means that it will radically
change my daily life. Should I recycle? How should I interact with my husband and other
men in my life? What activities should I involve my children in? What is the goal of
educating them? What should I read? How should I spend my money? Why do I have
money? What should I say on my facebook status?

Living in accordance with Truth is so much more than "spiritual activity." Truly being a
follower of Christ is intensely practical. If we think that we are "good Christians" because
we had our short quiet time today or went to church on Sunday and now can continue on
our merry way, we're in the same boat as the Israelites. We cannot add God to our
pantheon - He wants our complete allegiance.

Here is my life Lord - every aspect, from the large life-changing questions down to the
nitty-gritty of the way I waste or utilize my time while my children nap. I choose You.
Show me those gods I've carried into my life from the surrounding culture - give me the
determination to throw them away and cling only to You.

"Now fear the LORD and serve him with all faithfulness. Throw away the gods your
forefathers worshiped beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the LORD. But if
serving the LORD seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom
you will serve, whether the gods your forefathers served beyond the River, or the gods
of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will
serve the LORD."
Joshua 24:14-15

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