Blogging the Bible

Cecelia Crane got the prize today! She noticed that we are way ahead in our blogging, because there is a little gap of time in our schudle to read Joshua and Judges. So we will be off till next Monday. 

Thank you so much!

The party can be over, but God will never be over! Here we see again Israel “cruelly oppressed for twenty years” by the Canaanites (Judges 4: 3) but also we can see God getting ready for action. 

 This time the action will come through a wonderful woman who decided to serve the Lord in times when women were not allowed. Deborah came into action in a very dark time of oppression and suffering. She was the voice of God for his people and because of her obedience the people ofIsrael got a great deliverance and victory.

Every time I read this passage of the bible it’s hard for me not to think what will happen if God talked to Barak directly instead of using Deborah?  I still do not know, but I am glad he used Deborah for this assignment. Deborah and Barak are a good reminder that man and woman under the grace of God can work together for the glory of God.

In Chapter 6-8 the action shifts to Gideon one of my favorite’s heroes in the bible, God called him “mighty warrior” and he was just a farmer at the time. He is the perfect example of one individual who was chosen by God to deliver his people but he felt unfitted for the task that he was picked for.Gideon not only felt unfitted for the task, but had a lot of reasons why God was in the wrong address. He told God: “But sir, how can I deliver Israel? My clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my family” (Judges 6:15). For any excuse that we might present to God, he has one unbeatable answer: “But I will be with you” (Judges 6: 16).

Gideon came through with victory for God and his people, but he also learned a very important lesson, that it does not matter who you are when it comes to do God’s work. What really matters is who God is and what he is telling you to do.

The party is over!  Unfortunately the people of Israel did not remain faithful to God and because of that their blessings in the promise land did not last for long. It’s very tragic that instead of having a picture of joy and hope for the future, the Israelites are described by the author of Judges as people who were “In great distress” (Judges 2: 15)

Great distress is the regular label that we can assign to many people all around the world in this modern time. But what was the reason why the Israelites were in great distress? From the outside we might blame their terrible enemies who were oppressing and plundering them, but from the inside we have a reason that normally we do not want to deal with, and that is ignorance of God and God’s work.

The writer tells us that “Another generation grew up after them, who did not know the Lord or the work that he had done for
Israel.” (Judges 2: 10) No relationship with God at all, for some reason that the author did not tells us, they just withdrew their life from God.

They wanted the gift but they did not want the Giver. The problem was that this wonderful land did not have any joy or grace without the Giver. During these times there is no difference, all of this works exactly the same. People who want to have a good life without the Giver will end up finding only distress.

God’s faithfulness anyway was demonstrated time after time for the Israelites because even thou they did not know him or follow him, He “Raised up judges, who delivered them out the power of those who plunder them.” (Judges 2: 16)

How persistent is our God! He just cannot give up in showing his wonderful love to those he has chosen. Are you aware that God has been using different kinds of situations and people in order to bring you back to his blessings? 

Remain close to the Giver if not your fiesta will be over!

I like the idea of making God’s promises a reality and not only a “nice hope.” The Levites came to Joshua and the rest ofIsrael’s leadership to ask God’s promises towards them to be fulfilled. (Joshua 21: 1-3) they said: “We want what the Lord promised us.”

When was the last time that you asked God to bless you according to His promises in the Bible?  Joshua 21: 45 says: “Not one of the good promises that the Lord had made to the house ofIsrael had failed; all came to pass”

I think it is amazing that the expression “all came to pass” is there, because it shows an extraordinary faithfulness from God towards people who were extraordinarily unfaithful.

Chapters 22-24 talks about a very faithful man of God who even thou he is about to die he is trying to make sure that his people; the people of God remain faithful to their loving Lord. In his famous speech he challenges the Israelites to make a choice and here is what he says: “Now therefore revere the Lord, and serve him in sincerity and in faithfulness; put away the gods that your ancestors served beyond the river and inEgypt and serve the Lord.  Now if you are unwilling to serve the Lord, choose this day whom you will serve…”  (Joshua 24: 14-1 5)

Serving God is not a tradition nor an obligation but a choice. Yes, you have to choose if you want to serve the Lord, but you cannot choose how to serve him because this is God’s business and his way is “in sincerity and in faithfulness.”

In which areas of your service for God do you need a renovation or restoration?

We want to join Joshua today by saying: “But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.”

Some of the most significant teachings of the bible are not explicit.  They are implicit as they are woven in throughout the stories and teachings of the Old and New Testament. What makes them significant is that they are prevalent–always showing up– and they are usually counter-cultural or counter-intuitive.  Almost all of these teachings are universal, meaning they transcend space and time and are teachings that are relevant to all people for all time.  There is one of these teachings tucked quietly in today’s readings.

The daughters of Zelophedad (descendant of Manasseh) had been promised an inheritance along with the male kin.  These brave women now are taking God at his word who had made this promise going clearly against the grain of the culture where only male kin received the inheritance. (17:3-6) And Joshua obeyed the command of the Lord and gave it to them.  This is a wonderful example of God gently but surely helping to bring justice into the world.  Many of the laws of the Old Testament to us still seem very partial and sexist and patriarchal.  But gently woven in all the stories are the movement of God toward the Galatians 3:16 ideal–that in Christ Jesus there is neither slave nor free, Jew nor Greek, male nor female, but all are one.

The scripture is full of these kinds of universal teachings that transcend the particulars of circumstances and are repeated from Genesis to Revelation. The specific ceremonial laws were specific to Israel and the culture of the time. The sacrifice needed for atonement of sin is a universal principle that is fully realized in Jesus giving his life for ours. The laws related to inheritance were very culturally driven, but God is at work behind the scenes beginning to move this people toward laws of greater justice and love. The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, was also the God of Sarah, Miriam, and Rahab!

I wonder what it was like for the Levites in all this hooplah in entering Canaan and conquering the land. They were told before hand and now it was a reality that they had no inheritance in the land.  The Lord God of Israel was their inheritance.  I wonder how they experienced this. Ex. 32:26 tells us that they were set apart for service to the priesthood because of their zeal for the Lord. They were so energetic in their trust of Jehovah that he set them apart from all the other tribes to serve in the temple.  The symbolism of their “landlessness” was that they belonged wholy to the Lord and that he would provide for them all that they needed.  However, they were not left without an inheritance. Their inheritance was much great than a piece of land. They were given 48 cities and a tenth of the produce of all the tribes, so they were provided for amply.

There is another logical reason why they did not receive a land inheritance.  In God’s wisdom they were scattered throughout all of the promised land in order that they might be reminders to the nation of their dependence on God and their need to obey his instructions.  Their primary role in serving Israel was to remind them to follow the Lord God in all that they did.

The faithfulness of God’s promises is demonstrated in these chapters in the life of Caleb.  Caleb  brought an honest report and recommended taking the land when the other spies did not trust God’s word. Moses promised him an inheritance in the land for his faithfulness. What a wonderful legacy Caleb had.  Before all of Israel he is described and rewarded as a man who “wholeheartedly followed the Lord God.” His family for generations would reap the benefits of his faithfulness as assuredly as the family of Achan reaped the consequences of Achan’s disobedience.  The lesson is pretty clear. Our children and our children’s children are affected by how well we follow the Lord God.

Joshua and the battle of Jericho is one of those stories burned in my memory as a child.  It is hard to forget about a city that was conquered using only trumpets and people marching around.  It is hard to forget that , though the people of Jericho were fortressed behind city walls, that the walls of the city came down allowing the Israelites to conquer them. But my favorite part of the story is the evidence of God’s grace and mercy shown to Rahab and all her family.  Just as God promised through the spies of Israel, Rahab and her family were saved because she believed the Lord and protected the Lord’s people.  In all the destruction of whole cities  it is comforting to know that God responds with grace to those that put their trust in him.

It is difficult in the reading of all the massacres to see this grace. We usually assume that these are “innocent” men and women being slaughtered.  A more careful reading of the Old Testament reveals otherwise. These were people who were committing things abhorrant to God, things like the sacrificing of children. They were worshiping gods in ways that were unspeakable.  This is why the Lord warned the Israelites NOT to keep any of them alive, not to intermarry, and not to take up their gods and their worship practices.

Though we do not understand it and we do not like it, the truth is, if God REALLY is the RIghteous One of Israel, Holy, Holy, Holy,  then whatever he does is good and right. (Gen. 18:25) The scripture reveals that God knows the heart of every person, whether it is for him or against him.  Though we think of death as the greatest evil, it is not.  Eternal death is the greatest evil.  A person can live a whole and good life and die without God and be lost for eternity.  This is what Jesus was referring to when he said, “What does it profit a person if they gain the whole world and lose themelves?” (Luke 9:25)  In gathering Israel as a nation, God is preparing the way of salvation for all nations so that “whosoever believes in him (Jesus) will not perish but have everlasting life.” (John 3:16)  All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God and are deserving of death.  But God in his great mercy promises a way of hope, even through our self-destructive ways.  In Abraham he promised that all the nations of the world would be blessed, through the tribe of Judah, the house of David. This is the lineage of Jesus Christ.  Even in the total destruction of entire cities in this part of Israel’s history, Rahab is evidence of God’s tender heart toward those who trust him.  I am so grateful for the story of Rahab in these pages! As we prepare once again to welcome the Christ child this Advent, reading these stories is a great reminder of how very hard and long God worked to bring salvation to the world.

Three times in the first chapter Joshua is told to “be strong and very courageous.”  As God was with Moses, he would now be with Joshua.  God always keeps his promises. It took forty years for Moses to lead them to this day.  That took a lot of strength and courage! Now Joshua has been given the task of leading the people. God promises that he will be with Joshua just like he was with Moses. All that God asks Joshua to do, God will provide the way for him to do it.  God is faithful. That promise is for us as well. I Peter 1:3-11 says that everything pertaining to life and godliness has been given to us in Christ. God never asks us to do anything he does not gives us everything we need to do it. God is faithful. Even the nations that did not worship Jehovah knew this!

2:11 is the testimony of Rahab from outside of the nation of Israel. All the surrounding peoples had seen how God was with the people of Israel. And their “hearts melted” in fear! Rahab says, “the Lord your God is indeed God in heaven above and on earth below.” What a confession of faith from an outsider and a prostitute, too! Here again is the evidence of God’s power to save. Rahab believed what she had heard and seen about God and as a result, even though she is not part of the chosen nation, she is saved by her faith. And she is mentioned in the “Faith Hall of Fame” in Hebrews chapter 11 as an example for us to follow! Though God chose Israel ,God was always including others from outside based on his great mercy and their response of belief.  Rahab is an excellent example of this grace of God.

Finally the fourth chapter is most amazing in the visual symbolism of the stones of remembrance. God clearly demonstrates that he is with Joshua as he was with Moses. It is almost a repeat of the crossing of the Red Sea! Joshua is no “second” to Moses! And, more important, it is the same God that is with them. The stones became a tool for the Israelites to teach their children about God’s faithfulness. 

I wonder what “stones” are in our lives?  What events do we need to mark for ourselves and for our children with stones of remembrance?

I remember one time when I was in seminary and our savings were just about exhausted and Drew and I wondered how we would continue to provide for our three children.  We believed God had called us to this place but the cirucmstances did not seem to be supporting that fact.  Then, just in time, the right employment was offered and some friends and a relative both sent us some financial help without our asking!  It was
God providing every bit as clearly as the parting of the Red Sea and the Jordan River.  God was with them and God is with us!  In memorial of that time I painted five small stones with the word “Ebenezer” on each one. Ebenezer means “God is our help” (1 Samuel 7:12).  And I gave one of the stones to each member of our family.  The stones served as a reminder that God is always with us and is always prepared to help us.  Many times over the years I have taken that stone out of my purse and thanked God.  Many times I have faced problems and difficulties and the stone has reminded me that God is faithful.  Dios es fiel, siempre!

I have such mixed emotions about Moses not going into the promised land. My first reaction is, “How sad!”  Moses worked so hard to get the people to this place to go in, and then he is not able to go with them and experience the fulfillment of God’s promise.  But on further reflection, once again, I see the great wisdom and graciousness of God in the detail.

First, of course is the consistency of God’s character exhibited.  Think of all the detail of the instructions that God gave Moses to lead the people. And think about the consequences of their disobedience.  So too, God had given Moses very detailed instructions  (Numbers 20) about getting water from the rock for the people.  He was supposed to speak to the rock. Moses struck the rock. This was clearly disobedient. There were consequences for Moses, the leader, just as there were for the people.

Yet, upon even deeper reflection, I see the possible tenderness of God’s grace displayed in what at first view looks like sheer punishment. First, in chapter 34, we find out that Moses did get to “see” the promised land.  Graciously, God directs him to Mount Nebo where he was able to see the “whole land” with his own eyes! What a gift! It was no pipe dream. God really had prepared a place for his people and now they were at the door ready to enter it!

But there is another possible grace of God revealed here. Moses was very old.  The remaining work to enter, and parcel out, and conquer the land was very likely much more than Moses would have been able to physically endure.  The Lord allowed him to help identify and prepare the new leader for Israel–Joshua. Moses had seen Joshua’s faithful character and must have been very pleased to know that the Lord had such a person to carry on the task of leading the people.

Even more gracious, perhaps, is what the Lord prevented Moses from seeing and experiencing–the rebellion and disobedience of the nation that would lead to their destruction. After forty years of leading them whining and rebelling through the wilderness, and finally making there, I wonder if Moses would have died of a broken heart to see them spurn the love and providence of God?  I wonder if God knew that Moses had suffered enough from leading this stiff-knecked people, and spared him that heart ache?  The Lord told him they would turn away (ch. 31:14ff) but to actually see it might have been more than Moses could bear! Perhaps this “punishment” really was the merciful deliverance of a kind and loving Father.

A superficial reading of these chapters will bring a person to the conclusion that God is a very controlling and vengeful deity. If one reads quickly and without reflection on all that precedes these chapters, this is a reasonable conclusion. But with careful and reflective reading, keeping in mind the context, the opposite conclusion can be drawn.

This is a very patient and merciful and gracious God! With all that he has done for this people, with all the miraculous deliverance and provision, with all the amazing display of power and might, it should not surprise us that this God acts to judge this people. It should surprise us that he does it so infrequently. Over and over again God gives instruction and over and over again these people disobey. God pleads with them to trust him and obey. He pleads with them to obey and be blessed. He even warns them what will happen if they do not. Over and over again they refuse to believe and obey. And yet he keeps trying!

This is one determined God! Not a God determined to punish, but a God determined to love. God is determined to be in a relationship of love that is reciprocal. We should not be surprised that he punishes and judges their disobedience and sin. We should be amazed that he is so patient and merciful. This God is constantly adjusting the plan to accommodate the faintest evidence of faith and trust. He brings swift and severe judgment at times, but we must remember what is at stake. It is not just the safe entry of the nation of Israel into the promised land. What is at stake is the salvation of the world!

God’s promise to bless all nations through the offspring of Abraham depends on keeping this rag tag group of people together long enough to bring about the birth of Christ. The promise is through the seed of Abraham and through the tribe of Judah. The deliverance of Israel from slavery in Egypt was only a very small demonstration of what was in the heart and mind of God–to deliver humankind of all nations from slavery to sin. Whenever anyone messes with this plan of God–to save the world–God responds swiftly and severely. But his severity is rooted in love. It is tough love, indeed! But it is love, nonetheless.

John 3:16 “For God so love the world that he gave his only Son that whoever believes in him should not perish but have everlasting life. ” The rules and regulations of Deuteronomy are to guide this very rebellious people to the promised land, but also to guide them to deliver the child of Isaiah 9–the child that would be prophet, priest, and king all wrapped up in one! The severity of judgment in these pages is matched only by the depth of God’s love for the world.

Chapter 30 at the end lays out the proposition clearly. When confronted with God’s plan and instructions on how to live, a nation or a person can choose life or death. Obey and choose life. Disobey and choose death. Over and over again God set before them the opportunity to choose life and they chose death. It is the ultimate challenge for all persons–believe God and live or refuse to believe and die.

If God is God, and there is no other beside him, no higher court to appeal to, then we either believe God or we do not. But the consequences are clear. The God revealed in these chapters is a God relentlessly pursuing us in love. (Just wait till we get to the book of Hosea and see how God describes himself there–the jilted lover!) Unfortunately the human race seems to be a people relentlessly pursuing their own destruction. Thank God that he did not give up on us!