Introduction to the Book of Joshua

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Introduction to the Book of Joshua

Dr. Jim Denison

Joshua before Joshua

The man known as Joshua was first named Hoshea (Numbers 13:8, 16), which means “salvation.” Later Moses changed his name to Joshua, meaning “the Lord saves” or “the Lord gives victory.” “Joshua” and “Jesus” are both derived from the same Hebrew word Yehoshua. The similarity of their names and work is striking—both led God’s people to salvation by conquest over the enemies of the Lord, establishing the possibility of eternal rest in the providence of the Father.

As the NavPress commentary makes clear, Joshua served a critical role in the early chapter of Israel’s history as a nation. When the people crossed the Red Sea, they met the Amalekites in their first military battle, and were led by Joshua to victory (Exodus 17:8-16). Joshua quickly became Moses’ understudy and disciple, sharing his experience atop Mt. Sinai (Exodus 24:9-13) and in the tabernacle (Exodus 33:7-11).

After Moses led the nation to the edge of the Promised Land, Joshua and Caleb were sent with ten other tribal representatives to spy out the land. Only they reported favorably; the nation shrunk from their heritage in fear, and their generation was forced to wander in the desert until they died. Moses then led them again to the boundary of the land, where he was taken to heaven. Leadership of God’s people now rested humanly in the hands of Joshua.

He would prove faithful to his calling. He would lead the nation miraculously across the Jordan, victoriously at Jericho and across Canaan, and strategically in dividing the land among the tribes. At the book’s end, he would challenge the people spiritually even as he had led them militarily.

At the book’s beginning, Moses was described as “the servant of the Lord,” and Joshua as his “aide” (1:1). At its end Joshua was granted the same title as his mentor: “the servant of the Lord” (24:29). His courageous faithfulness earned him such tribute.

Joshua the book

Setting and theme: The book opens with Israel on the edge of the Promised Land, camped on the eastern shore of the Jordan River. It ends with the people in possession of that land which will be the focus of divine activity and revelation from this point to the coming of their Messiah. And Joshua is the central figure and leader in this story of conquest and celebration.

The name of the book: The Hebrews used the first words of a book to constitute its name, thus calling our text “Now After the Death of Moses.” Those who translated the Hebrew into Greek (creating the Septuagint), three centuries before Christ, named the book “Joshua” in honor of its leading character. When Jerome later produced the Latin Vulgate, he expanded the book’s title to “The Book of Joshua.” And so it remains today.

Authorship: The book of Joshua does not name its author. In this it is similar to other Old Testament histories, all of which are named for their leading character rather than an identified writer. While Paul tells us who wrote Philippians, Joshua does not tell us its author’s name. As a result, questions regarding authorship are not crucial to understanding the book. And one authorship theory should not be defended as more “biblical” than another.

As the NavPress commentary notes, Jewish tradition claimed that Joshua wrote all of the book bearing his name except the descriptions of his and Eleazar’s deaths at the end (Josh 24:28-33). Modern opinion ranges from the belief that Joshua was alone responsible for the book to assertion that he had nothing to do with its composition, which occurred some eight centuries after the events the book describes.

Here is “internal evidence” (facts found within the book) which helps us form a position on this issue. We know that Joshua was himself literate, given that he carved the law onto stones (8:32) and later “recorded these things in the Book of the Law of God” (24:26). We find eyewitness accounts within the book, such as 5:1: “Now when all the Amorite kings west of the Jordan and all the Canaanite kings along the coast heard how the Lord had dried up the Jordan before the Israelites until we had crossed over . . .” (italics added). These facts, added to early Hebrew tradition, argue for Joshua as the author of most or all of the book.

Joshua 15:63 also contributes to an early authorship position: “Judah could not dislodge the Jebusites, who were living in Jerusalem; to this day the Jebusites live there with the people of Judah.” The men of Judah defeated the Jebusites later (Judges 1:8), and still later, David made the city his capital (2 Sam 5:6-10). But these events obviously occurred after Joshua was written, arguing for authorship at a time when the events transpired.

However, Joshua 4:9 suggests that an editor worked with the book after the events recorded had occurred: “Joshua set up the twelve stones that had been in the middle of the Jordan at the spot where the priests who carried the ark of the covenant had stood. And they are there to this day” (italics added).

My own belief is that the book was written primarily by Joshua, and that it was later edited by his followers into the form we have today, including an account of his death. But given that the book identifies no author, the issue is not foundational to the trustworthiness of Scripture or our interpretation of this text.

The nature of the book: Joshua is written as prophetic history. Like other books of biblical history, this is an interpretive narrative. The author’s purpose was not to detail or describe every event which occurred during the years encompassed by his work. Such would be no less possible then than today. Imagine writing a complete and exhaustive history of just this day in your life. All history is interpretive, by virtue of the sheer fact that what we include and exclude is the product of our own subjective purposes and biases.

So with the book before us. The author’s purpose was to show us how God kept his promise to his covenant people. Against all odds, fighting entrenched opponents who were defending their homeland and civilization, this band of former slaves came to possess one of the most fertile and politically significant regions in all the world. The author selects and interprets those events which tell his story most effectively.

And so this literature must be interpreted according to its authorial intent. In each passage we will seek to discover and apply the purpose intended for that text. Each week you will find another way to glorify the God who is the true Hero and Conqueror of Joshua, and of life and history today. Truly “history” is still “his story.”

The conquest and the love of God

The book of Joshua presents most readers with a troubling question: how can a God of love command his followers to destroy an entire nation of people? The Canaanites had lived in their land for centuries before Joshua and his people came to claim it for themselves. While some in Canaan fought against God’s people and were destroyed as a result (cf. the battle of Ai, 8:14ff), others mounted no armed aggression against Israel. The people of Jericho, for instance, retreated inside their city walls and mounted no attack against the Jews. Nonetheless, following divine orders, the Israeli soldiers “destroyed with the sword every living thing in it—men and women, young and old, cattle, sheep and donkeys” (6:21).

The God of Joshua also required a similar kind of wrathful judgment against his own people when they sin. Following the battle of Jericho, a soldier named Achan took in plunder “a beautiful robe from Babylonia, two hundred shekels of silver and a wedge of gold weighing fifty shekels” (7:21). This in direct disobedience to the divine command that “All the silver and gold and the articles of bronze and iron are sacred to the Lord and must go into his treasury” (6.19).

For this sin, the Israeli army was defeated in the first battle of Ai. When Achan admitted his disobedience, he and his family were taken to the Valley of Achor where they were stoned to death and then burned (7:25).

Such vengeance sounds very little like the God who is love (1 John 4:8), the One who would send his own Son to die on a cross in place of our disobedient race. How are we to reconcile the first Joshua with the Second? Four facts may help your class.

First, the Promised Land belonged to God before the Canaanites established temporary residency there. It had always been his plan to give this land to the descendants of Abraham: “In the fourth generation your descendants will come back here” (Gen 15:16a). The Lord did not take from them that which was “theirs”—he reclaimed that which was his according to his foreordained purposes.

Second, the Canaanites lived in wicked rebellion against the will and purposes of God. The Lord had predicted that Abraham’s descendants would claim the land when “the sin of the Amorites” reached its “full measure” (Genesis 15:16b). This “full measure” of sin was attained by the Canaanites in the generation leading to the Jewish conquest.

Moses warned his people about these sins they would encounter upon entering the Promised Land: “Let no one be found among you who sacrifices his son or daughter in the fire, who practices divination or sorcery, interprets omens, engages in witchcraft, or casts spells, or who is a medium or spiritist or who consults the dead” (Deuteronomy 18:10-11). He stated that anyone who practices such sins is “detestable to the Lord,” and explained that “because of these detestable practices the Lord your God will drive out those nations before you” (v. 12). Those who were conquered by Joshua and his armies were not innocent victims, but wicked sinners who received the judgment their transgressions had warranted.

Third, the blood retribution practiced by ancient tribal culture required the Jewish armies to destroy not only the soldiers of their enemies, but their families as well. So long as one member of a family remained, that person was bound by cultural law to attempt retribution against the enemies of his people. Such unrest and hostility would have persisted throughout the nation’s history, with no possibility of peace in the land. What appears to be genocide was actually the typical way wars were prosecuted.

Fourth, in these formative early years of Israel’s history it was imperative that the people be kept from the influence of sinners without or within their nation. The holy God who gave them their land would uproot them from it if they rebelled against him (Deut 28:63-68). This warning came to pass centuries later at the hands of Assyria and then Babylon, and ultimately in the national destruction wrought by Rome in the first century after Christ.

And so God had to bring severe judgment against Achan, lest he and his family spread the cancer of their disobedience within the nation. And he ordered his people to destroy all they found within Canaanite civilization, lest it continue to tempt them to disobedience and eventual destruction. We find similar severity during the formative years of the Christian movement in God’s judgment against Ananias and Sapphira (Acts 5:1-11).

God does not change. But his purposes are fulfilled in different ways at different times in redemptive history. Justice required retribution against the sinful Canaanite civilization. And his salvation plan required a purified nation through whom he could bring the Messiah of all mankind. When Christ came, Joshua’s leadership of conflict and conquest was fulfilled.

Now we are taught to love our enemies and pray for our persecutors (Matthew 5:44). Not because God has changed, for such love proves that we are “sons of your Father in heaven” (v. 45). Rather, because such love expresses his grace toward us and all mankind.

Why study Joshua now?

Joshua is a perennial favorite for Bible study groups, given its exciting stories of conquest and faith. Crossing the Jordan River miraculously, parading around Jericho, and watching the sun stand still are experiences worthy of any Sunday school literature.

I never enjoy teaching a class without expounding a specific text of Scripture. And so let’s close this introduction to the book of Joshua with a brief exploration of its first two verses: “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.”

Moses was the foundational and formative leader of the nation. He was her first prophet and guide, leading her people from four centuries of Egyptian slavery to the edge of their Promised Land. Israel had seen God do remarkable miracles through Moses: bringing plagues upon the entire Egyptian nation, parting the Red Sea and destroying the mightiest army the world had ever seen, and receiving the very words and Commandments of God by his divine hand. Truly, “No one has ever shown the mighty power or performed the awesome deeds that Moses did in the sight of all Israel” (Deuteronomy 34:12), until the Lord himself descended in his Son.

Now Moses is gone. If colonial America lost George Washington their military hero, Thomas Jefferson and John Adams their political leaders, and Benjamin Franklin their man of wisdom, all in one moment, they would be in no greater peril than Israel when the book of Joshua opens. The very future of the nation rests humanly with him.

But Joshua has the very resource which empowered his mentor and hero: the word and will of the Lord God Almighty. God makes clear that the nation is his, their future is secure in his hands, and their destiny is sure. He will give them their land and their dreams. He will keep his promises and make them his own.

This same Lord now stands ready to guide and empower all who follow him by faith. What purpose has he assigned your life and work? What enemies are you to defeat in his power? What land are you to possess for his glory? What does he intend you to do next to fulfill his will for your life?

If your dreams are large enough to be accomplished without fear or faith, they are not large enough. God intends to do through us that which is beyond our ability. He will not share his glory. And so his call is always to that which will bring him honor, as he demonstrates his power and grace through our lives and work.

As you know, our church has been working toward a capital project of historic significance. “Continuing the Vision” has been motivated by a statement I first heard from my friend John Haggai: “Let us attempt something so great it is doomed to fail unless God be in it.” I am convinced that is God’s intent for our church, and for each of our personal lives and ministries.

At the beginning of the book which bears his name, Joshua faced a life purpose he could not accomplish without God. Let’s join him, for that is the very best place to be.

Jordan Crossing

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Jordan Crossing

Joshua 3:1-4:24

Dr. Jim Denison

Thesis: We must step by faith into the purpose of God to receive the power he gives.

Goal: Step into the next stage of faithfulness as revealed to you by God.

There’s an old story about a council meeting in the halls of Hell. Satan was seeking an infallible strategy for defeating God’s Kingdom on earth. One demon stood and said, “I shall go to men and tell them there is no heaven.” But Satan said, “That will never work, for in the heart of all mankind there beats a hope of life eternal. They will not believe that there is no heaven. You shall not go.”

Another demon stood and said, “I will go and tell them there is no Hell.” And Satan said, “That will not work either. Men know that there is right and wrong, and that wrong must be punished. They will not believe there is no Hell. You shall not go.”

Finally a small demon at the back of the meeting room stood and said, “I will tell men that there is a Heaven and there is a Hell. But then I will tell them that there is no hurry.” And Satan said, “Go!”

He’s still in our world and our minds today. Joshua is calling our people and church to follow the Lord into his future by faith. If our enemy cannot persuade us to refuse the Promised Land intended for us by our Father, he will do all he can to distract us, to lead us to complacency and delay. For he knows that “later” with God means “no” today.

For each of us, there is a call of God to go forward now. We each have a flooded river to cross if we would enter the purpose of God. Where is yours? What step will you take today?

Prepare to see the power of God (3:1-13)

We must build the fireplace before God can send the fire. A couple must prepare for a baby before an adoption agency will give one to them. Joshua and his people were called by God to prepare for his power before they would see it. So are we.

Trust in his presence (vs. 1-4)

Joshua’s officers began with this word to the nation: “When you see the ark of the covenant of the Lord your God, and the priests who are Levites, carrying it, you are to move out from your positions and follow it” (v. 3). This “ark” was the most sacred possession of the people. It was first built for the Tabernacle (Exodus 25:10-22), the portable sanctuary used by Israel until they came into their permanent homeland. Overlaid with gold, it was constructed with a golden angel at either end. Only four feet long by 2.5 feet wide and 2.5 feet deep, it was so sacred that it was carried on poles attached permanently to its sides, because no human was allowed to touch it. It contained the ten commandments, as well as a jar of manna from the wilderness (Exodus 16:33-34) and a copy of the book of Deuteronomy (Deuteronomy 31:24-26).

The ark was kept at Gilgal, Shechem, Bethel, Shiloh, and Keriath-Jearim before being placed permanently in Solomon’s temple at Jerusalem. It was the most significant symbol of the Jewish nation, much more than a flag to us, for it represented the throne and presence of Almighty God himself.

When the ark preceded the people, they would know that the Lord was present with them, marching at their front, leading them into the river and the land beyond. The ark gave them courage and faith to know that their Lord would indeed never leave or forsake them. But they must follow it at a distance of a thousand yards (v. 4), for it was too sacred for their close presence. So long as the ark went before, they could follow behind in confidence.

Today the ark is no more. Lost or destroyed in the Babylonian captivity, its fate has never been determined with certainty. Some Jewish archaeologists believe that it was stored by the rabbis in tunnels beneath the Temple Mount when the Babylonians were approaching, and awaits discovery at a time when the Muslim authorities permit such excavation. Others think it was taken with Jeremiah to Egypt in exile, or to Babylon. And some think the Jews destroyed it lest it fall into pagan hands. But no one is certain.

Nor is it needed now. Jeremiah told his people not to mourn the loss of the ark, but to trust in the God it represented. When the Messiah comes, the prophet promised, “men will no longer say, ‘The ark of the covenant of the Lord.’ It will never enter their minds or be remembered; it will not be missed, nor will another one be made. At that time they will call Jerusalem The Throne of the Lord, and all nations will gather in Jerusalem to honor the name of the Lord. No longer will they follow the stubbornness of their evil hearts” (Jeremiah 3:16-17). Now that the Messiah has arrived, his followers are God’s temple, with God’s Spirit living in us (1 Corinthians 3:16). His word is no longer kept in a box, but is alive in our hearts (Hebrews 4:12).

He is just as present in our lives as he was with their ark. As we step into the water of obedience, we can trust his presence and protection. He will lead us wherever we are to go. When we follow in reverent faith, the other side is sure.

Consecrate yourself (v. 5)

In preparing to see the power of God, the people must first believe that his presence would lead and protect them. Next, they must be ready spiritually to walk in that holy presence: “Joshua told the people, ‘Consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow the Lord will do amazing things among you'” (v. 5).

To them such “consecration” meant to wash their clothes and bodies, to abstain from sexual relations, and to prepare spiritually (Exodus 19:10, 14-15). To us it means preparation which is more spiritual than physical. At issue is not what we can see with our eyes, but what the Lord can see by his Spirit. In calling the Pharisees to such spiritual consecration, Jesus had to say to them, “on the outside you appear to people as righteous but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness” (Matthew 23:28). We must be clean in our hearts to be close to God with our lives.

How do we “consecrate ourselves” today? We ask the Holy Spirit to show us anything which is wrong between us and God, and write down what comes to mind. We then confess these sins specifically, humbly, and honestly to God, claiming the forgiveness he offers by grace (1 John 1:8-10). We throw away the paper in gratitude, and submit our wills and ambitions to his perfect purpose. We crown him our Lord anew, placing him on the throne of our hearts. We draw close to him, knowing that he will draw close to us.

You would prepare for any task which is significant to your life. Think back to a job interview, and the attention you gave to every detail of the day. If you are married, remember all the months of work invested in 30 minutes of wedding ceremony. Does our Father deserve less? If we are not experiencing the power of God in our lives and ministries, perhaps this is an issue worth examining. When we humble ourselves and pray, seek his face and turn from our sins, then our God can hear from heaven, forgive our sin, and heal our land (2 Chronicles 7:14).

Follow his leadership (vs. 6-8)

Leaders must lead. Paradoxically, no fact is more self-evident or as easily forgotten. We cannot ask others to go where we will not. And so our leaders must follow God before their people can follow them by faith.

Every person present that day on the banks of the flooded Jordan River was required to make a courageous step of faith. First Joshua himself (v. 7). He had one last chance to turn back, to step away from the bank and the failure it might represent. But God promised he would redeem his faith and exalt his leadership, and he did (4:14).

Next the priests, who would step into the river while it was still flooded, carrying the symbolic presence of the Lord into the torrent (v. 8). Theirs would be the first lives risked in faith. And then the people, who would follow on dry land.

God here promised a repeat of the Red Sea miracle, a physical manifestation of his universal power. People in these ancient times imagined local deities who lived and ruled in particular localities. Baal was the local god of the Canaanites, worshipped because they believed he defeated the sea-god on their behalf. They often tested the truthfulness of a person’s statement by throwing him into a river; if he drowned, Baal had punished him for his guilt. And so the flooded River was part of his domain, under his direct power.

The defeat of this river and its water-god would have enormous significance for the Canaanites on the other side. It was as though their water deity had lost to the Jewish God, who won the victory so his people could cross Baal’s boundary into his territory. If our president were to fight at the front lines of a battle on our national borders, and lose, the invading army would win a battle of enormous symbolic significance.

Here God would prove his claim to the Promised Land, by going before his people into the flooded river which marked its boundaries and staying there until the entire nation had crossed over. This would be an event of historic and enduring significance for Israel.

Expect all he promises (vs. 9-13)

Joshua made clear the theological and symbolic significance of what lay before the nation (vs. 9-11). Then he led the people to choose representatives to take part in what would soon occur, so that the entire population would be included in national leadership (v. 12).

And he offered the people his promise: when the priests stepped into the flooded river, its waters would be cut off (v. 13). He did not merely state that God had promised this would occur, so that if it did not the fault would lie with the Lord. He put his own character, integrity, and leadership on the line. He made this promise as his own, on the basis of the Lord’s word and power. He staked everything on the faithfulness of his God.

Such trust is essential to experiencing all that God wants to give. Not because we must earn his favor by our faith. Rather, because such trust positions us to receive all that God wants to bestow but cannot without our acceptance. A surgeon cannot perform a life-saving procedure unless the patient will trust in his skill. Such faith does not earn the surgery, but receives it.

In preparing to see the power of God, we trust in his abiding presence; we consecrate ourselves through confession and repentance; and we step out by faith, following his leadership so that we might receive the power he wishes to give. These steps are as essential to our experience with God as they were for Joshua and his people.

Step into the miracle (vs. 14-17)

The people broke camp and marched toward their future (v. 14). What did they find? The Jordan “at flood stage all during harvest” (v. 15a). The river flows north to south, over 200 miles from Mt. Hermon to the Dead Sea. It plunges nearly 2000 feet down across its journey, but typically flows in a peaceful, meandering stream.

However, every year the spring rains and melted snow from Mt. Hermon combined to turn the stream into a raging torrent. The harvest period was roughly between Easter and Pentecost; this event most likely occurred in early April.

And at a river now a mile wide, 12-15 feet deep, rushing by so swiftly that it promised to drown any who stepped into it. The cattle and possessions of the nation would be lost. The children would have no chance to survive. Few adults could expect to live through this flood. To the Canaanites, Baal would destroy the intruders before they ever stepped foot on his territory.

Now came the moment of history, with the future of the nation suspended in the balance. Picture the scene in your mind. The priests take up the Ark, grasping the poles which support its weight. They lift these poles to their shoulders. They march toward the river. They stop. No one speaks. You can hear only the pounding of the water as it rushes by, crashing against the shore. You can feel its spray against your face and smell the mist as it rises. It’s a torrent.

They don’t have to do this. They can stay where they are, secure and at ease. But they’ll never inherit the promises and power of God. They can try to find their own way across the river, but they’ll likely fail and drown. Or they can step out in faith. And they do.

Instantly, the pounding waters stop. The foam ceases, the spray dies. The river’s roar falls silent. All is quiet and still. And where only moments before there had been a deep, torrential river, now there lies before them a dry bed anyone can cross.

How did it happen? The river “piled up in a heap a great distance away at a town called Adam in the vicinity of Zarethan” (v. 16). Adam was some 20 miles upstream. The Jordan would take several hours to flow from there to here. And so God began this miracle hours before his people knew it or could participate in it.

Some have suggested a natural explanation, such as an earthquake. As the NavPress commentary states, such an earthquake occurred in the region in 1927, blocking the Jordan River for 20 hours (p. 52). But note that the moment the priests stepped into the river it stopped flowing (3:15), and that the moment they stepped out of the river bed, the flood began again (4:18). Such timing strains the explanation of a natural phenomenon beyond credulity. If God chose to use an earthquake, he clearly retained control over its force and exact timing, which is itself no less a miracle.

Now the people were required to demonstrate their own faith (v. 17). Would the flood stay blocked? Was it safe to step into the river bed? It would take the nation half a day to cross. Imagine parents with children in hand, all their worldly possessions at their side. What would your response have been?

Theirs was unanimous—the entire nation followed God by faith. They stepped into the miracle. And only when they did, could they see its power and experience its provision. It is still the same with us today.

Remember the future (4:1-24)

We exist to glorify God and enjoy him forever, as the Westminster Catechism correctly states. And so a miracle from God must be shared with as many as possible, to bring the Father the greatest glory. Not just those in our day, but those who will come after us. They will need the same encouragement we experience when we meet the power and presence of the God of the universe.

The steps are the same for our generation as they were for Joshua’s day. First, we find a way to share our faith with those who will follow us. God called for a man from each tribe to take twelve stones from the middle of the Jordan, and use them to build a permanent memorial to the history-making event of this day. Stone monuments were common in the Old Testament era (24:26; 1 Samuel 7:12; 7:26; 24:26-27; Genesis 28:18-22; 31:45-47). And so each representative brought a stone which signified his tribe’s faith and faithfulness. And Joshua used them to build a monument to a miracle.

Note the courage required by this act. The flooded river was still stopped. The men were to walk in the river bed, holding a rock. No activity would be more disastrous if the flood returned. But they believed that God had not brought them this far to abandon them. So should we.

After the priests and their people crossed the river into their future, God anointed again their leader for the days and battles which would come (v. 14). For the rest of his life, Joshua and his nation would remember this day. Whenever fear about the future attacked, they would hearken back to that pile of stones made possible by the miraculous power of their God. And they would be encouraged.

After the stones of remembrance were secured, and the last person of the nation had left the river bed, the priests brought the ark of the covenant to the shore of the Promised Land. And immediately the Jordan returned to its flooded place, further proof that God was the director and orchestrator of the events of this epochal day. It all occurred “on the tenth day of the first month” (v. 19), evidence of the historical nature of this narrative. When biblical writers wish to speak in analogy or symbol, they avoid historical references such as dates and geographical locations. Here the writer makes clear the fact that these events are facts.

Joshua then presided over the service of remembrance, securing the miraculous nature of this day for all who would come after them. And he taught them the ultimate significance of the event: “He did this so that all the peoples of the earth might know that the hand of the Lord is powerful and so that you might always fear the Lord your God” (v. 24). God’s purposes are always global in significance. He cares not just for Jewish tribes on a riverbank 35 centuries ago, but for “all the peoples of the earth” this day.

He wants us to trust his power. And he wants us to “fear” him. To “fear the Lord” means to revere, to yield to or respect supremely. Such “fear” is the beginning of all true wisdom (Proverbs 1:7). And it is essential to the spiritual life. God can only give us what we will receive. Our hands must be empty of pride and self to be filled with the glory and presence of the Lord.

In 1961, J. B. Phillips published a small book which became a classic, Your God Is Too Small. According to him, some of us see God as a kind of policeman or parent, regulating our lives. Others see him as a grandparent, kind and benevolent but not very active in life. Others view him as the “grand old man” of heaven, waiting for us there but not much good down here. Still others identify him with a church building—a one-day-a-week sermon or religious event. And still others see him as the giant Clockmaker who made the universe and now watches apathetically as it all runs down.

How do you see God? As the creator of the universe, the One who still rules it today? The God who can stop any flooded river on any continent, at any point in history? The God who will guide, protect, and empower every child of his who is willing to walk in his purpose and will? What floods stand between you and your life purpose? Remember your future: the One who stilled the Jordan will calm your heart and change your circumstances this very day. Unless your God is too small.

Conclusion

You and I have only today to follow the Lord. Yesterday is gone and “tomorrow” does not yet exist. We cannot lead our classes or congregation further than we are willing to follow. Is there a step of faith before you just now? A commitment to which the Lord is calling you? A sacrifice of finances, time, or prestige? A greater work to be done for his greater glory?

The instant the priests stepped into the torrential flood, the waters stopped. Not a moment before. We must step by faith into the purpose of God before that purpose will come to pass. It has ever been so.

Noah builds an ark as God requires, when it’s likely never rained before. He spends a century at the task. He steps into the river by faith and saves a race. Abraham leaves his family, his home, and goes out “not knowing.” He doesn’t know where he’ll be until he arrives. He steps into the river by faith, and begins a nation. Moses stands before Pharaoh king of Egypt, and shouts, “Let my people go!” He doesn’t know what will happen until it does. He steps into the Red Sea by faith and leads a nation. Jesus heals a blind man after he washes in the river by faith; he heals a paralytic in the instant he takes up his mat to go home; he sends his Spirit at Pentecost only after his people have prayed in faith. We must step into the river before it will part.

Now you and I are led by another Joshua—Yeshua, Jesus—to the edge of a land and purpose promised to us. A land of abundant life, joy, and power, and the thrill and privilege of fulfilling the reason for our existence. But we must step out in faith, first. What is this step for you today?

On Jordan’s stormy banks I stand, and cast a wishful eye

To Canaan’s fair and happy land where my possessions lie.

All o’er those wide extended plains shines one eternal day;

There God the Son forever reigns and scatters night away.

I am bound for the promised land, I am bound for the promised land;

O who will come and go with me? I am bound for the promised land.

If you’ll step into the waters, they will part. This is the promise of God.

Marching Orders

Written by

Marching Orders

Joshua1:1-18

Dr. Jim Denison

Thesis: God calls us to fulfill his highest purposes by faith.

Goal: Identify and embrace God’s highest calling for your life.

Oswald Chambers lived one of the most extraordinary Christian pilgrimages of the 20th century. A native of Scotland, his ministry of preaching and teaching took him to the United States and Japan. He founded a Bible Training College in London, then served as chaplain to British troops in Egypt during World War I. His death at age 43 was a tragedy to the troops he served and the family he loved. But his ministry has touched millions of souls he had no opportunity to know, myself included.

Oswald’s wife Biddy made his life motto the title of the devotional book she created from his various sermons and talks: “My Utmost For His Highest.” I’ve been reading daily from this guide for twelve years now, and have found it to be the most essential book in my spiritual life next to Scripture. Its title motivates me constantly: find and give my “utmost” gifts and service to God’s “highest” purpose for my life and work.

What is your “utmost”? What is its “highest” purpose in the will of God? How can you help your class find and fulfill God’s greatest plan for their lives? These were the issues facing Joshua as our text unfolds. The answers given to Joshua are precisely God’s guidance for us this week.

Listen for the call of God (vs. 1-5)

Alexander the Great led his armies by the strength of his single focus and indomitable will. After his death, his generals met to plan their future. To their dismay, they discovered that they had marched off their maps. They were in an unknown location, facing an unknown future. They were not the first, or the last.

Listen in the hard places

So it was for Israel as the book of Joshua opened. Moses had died. This was easily the most traumatic event in the young life of the nation of Israel. He had been the “servant of the Lord” (v. 1), an exalted title given only to Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and Caleb to this point in Jewish history (Joshua would be added to the list at the end of his life and work; cf. 24:29). Now their mentor, guide, and hero was gone, and the future was uncertain at best.

The book of Joshua connects its narrative directly to this crisis. Its first word, translated “After” in the NIV, is “and” in the Hebrew. The narrative continues directly from the end of Deuteronomy and the death of Moses. Perhaps the thirty days of mourning for Moses had now ended (Deut 34:8). But the crisis facing the nation had not.

God often calls us to his highest purposes in the midst of personal and corporate crisis. Isaiah heard the word of the Lord “in the year that King Uzziah died” (Isaiah 6:1), as the prophet mourned the death of his king and relative. God began to use Elisha immediately after his mentor Elijah had been assumed to heaven (2 Kings 2:19ff).

It has been calculated that the typical adult faces six crises in his or her life. Not just the routine problems of daily living, but major issues such as death, divorce, and serious disease. If a person graduates from adolescence without trusting personally in Christ, he or she is typically open to the gospel only during such times of crises. It is then that Christians who have built relationship with the person can show God’s love in theirs.

It is also in such periods of crisis that we can hear the Lord most clearly. He speaks far more than we are willing to stop and listen. But when we know that we need his word and help, that we have come to the end of our own wisdom, we will listen for his voice with desperation and faith. And we will always hear him speak. So, whatever your circumstances may be, ask God to use them to bring his word to your heart. And he will.

Expect God to speak to you

In the immediate context of Moses’ death, “the Lord said to Joshua son of Nun, Moses’ aide….” (v. 1b). Theologian and apologist Francis Schaeffer was right: he is there and he is not silent. God speaks far more than we hear his voice. Just as the room where you are reading these words is filled with radio and television waves you are not hearing, so the Spirit is speaking constantly to his people. But we must “tune in” to his frequency.

God spoke the universe into being. He spoke to and through the prophets, so that their most common refrain was “Thus says the Lord….” Jesus spoke constantly to the disciples and the crowds during his incarnational ministry. His Spirit spoke to those he inspired to record the rest of his written revelation. He speaks now through this word to and through preachers and teachers of his truth. He speaks when we are willing to hear him in silent prayer. He speaks to us through the words and music we use in worship. All truth is his truth, so that every word we hear or read which contains truth comes ultimately from him.

Joyce Huggett has written a marvelous book titled The Joy of Listening to God. She’s right—whenever we are still enough to hear God’s Spirit speak to us, the result is joy. Whenever we are yielded to the truth of Scripture, to the words of a sermon or Bible study, to the truth contained in a worship song, to the truth of God revealed through human agents and means, there is joy.

So it was for Joshua, even in the crisis of the moment. So it will be for you. But you must expect God to speak to you, if only you will listen. You must tune the frequency of your spirit to his voice.

Seek his will for the now

God does not reveal himself in five-year strategies. You and I have inherited the Western worldview, with its linear philosophy of history. We like to think of history as a line on a page, progressing logically toward some conclusion. But God knows that this day is the only day which exists. His will is first and foremost for the here and now. He speaks to us in the present, about the present.

Joshua needed to know the next step to take. He didn’t need a long-range plan, but a present-tense guide. Not a map, but a flashlight. God gave him exactly what he needed to know, for the moment he needed to know it.

God gave him the who: “you and all these people, get ready….” (v. 2a). Not just the leaders of the tribes. Not just the army. Not just the priests. Not just some part of the population. The entire nation intended by God to live west of the Jordan River was now involved in the call and purpose of God.

He gave Joshua the where: “get ready to cross the Jordan River into the land I am about to give to them” (v. 2b). The Jordan is typically only 80 to 100 feet wide, and not deep. I baptized a large group there, and had no difficulty wading out into the middle of the slow-moving current. But when the spring rains come, the river can flood its larger bed. Where Joshua and his people would be crossing, the river would be more than a mile wide and a raging torrent. They didn’t know what the Lord already knew—that they would face an insurmountable obstacle which he would lead them across miraculously. We are called to follow God today, and leave tomorrow in his hands. He already knows every step he intends us to take.

Next the Lord gave Joshua the what: they would inherit “the land I am about the give to them” (v. 2b). God had earlier promised this land to Abraham for his descendants (Gen 15:18-19), and had renewed his promise to and through Moses (Deuteronomy 11:24-25). Now he would bring it to fulfillment.

He would give them “every place where you set your foot” (v. 3). The Hebrew tense indicates that the land was already theirs, though it remained to be taken. It already belonged to God, and thus to his heirs. They just had to go and claim it. Each Christmas some very kind friends give our family gift certificates to restaurants (the boys’ favorite) and bookstores (Janet’s and my favorite). Our possession is already purchased and belongs to us—we need only claim it. So it is always with God’s planned future for us, on earth and in heaven. He already owns all that is; we need only go and “set foot” on that which he wants us to have.

Note that the full dimensions of this land would belong to Israel only under David and Solomon, five centuries after the time of Joshua. God’s plans are seldom fulfilled in our sight, or our lifetime. A great leader plants trees he or she will never sit under.

God did not give Joshua the long-term plan, but only the immediate next step to take. This is always how we will hear his call. We must be close enough to hear his voice when he calls to us. We are to be faithful to the last word we heard from the Lord. Only then can we hear the next.

Trust his provision for his purpose

God knew that his people would face opposition for the land he had promised them. Jesus warned us of the same fact: “In this world you will have trouble” (John 16.33a). Then he added, “But take heart! I have overcome the world” (v. 33b). The Lord made the same promise to Joshua: “No one will be able to stand up against you all the days of your life” (v. 5a). Why? Because “As I was with Moses, so I will be with you: I will never leave you nor forsake you” (v. 5b).

To “forsake” meant to abandon, to turn loose of. Imagine a mountain climbing guide, holding the lifeline for a climber who has lost his grip on the mountain. This is precisely our condition spiritually. But our Father will never turn loose of our rope. He will always hold us up until we have climbed to his full purpose and will.

Jesus likewise promised his followers that he would be with them always, to the very end of the age (Matthew 28:20). When he calls us, he goes before us. We will journey to no place in his will which he has not already prepared for our arrival. We can always trust his provision, so long as we are willing to walk in his purpose.

Have you heard the call of God for your life and work? Can you identify the “utmost” which is God’s “highest” for you? If not, stop now, wherever you are, whatever the crisis or circumstances which surround you. Expect God to speak to you, if only you will listen for his voice. Seek his will for the now, the next step you are to take into his purpose. Trust him to provide for every step of that pilgrimage. Sign a blank check to him. Give him your unconditional commitment to his purpose, whatever it might be. And you will know what you are to do next in the plan of God for your life.

Choose courageous obedience (vs. 6-9)

The next words Joshua heard from God were a direct command: “Be strong and courageous” (v. 6a). “Be strong” translates a Hebrew word which means to be bound strongly together, to be put together well. To be “courageous” meant to be firm-footed, to take a strong stand, the opposite of shaking or quaking knees.

Three times God repeated these words to his servant. Later the people gave Joshua the same exhortation (v. 18). Paul’s word to Timothy brings this encouragement to New Testament believers as well: “God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline” (2 Timothy 1:7).

Why would Joshua need such courage? Because “you will lead these people to inherit the land I swore to their forefathers to give them” (v. 6b). Even Moses did not fulfill this purpose. Their greatest leaders had not brought them to this place of victory. Now Joshua would lead a nation numbering in the millions into hostile territory inhabited by some of the most wicked cultures known to human history. Indeed he would attempt something so great it was doomed to fail unless God was in it.

What is the secret to such courage? Faithful obedience: “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” (v. 7). Obedience was and is the prerequisite for divine power and protection. The land was not unconditionally theirs, as Deuteronomy 8:1 made clear; they had to obey the Lord to receive it. Such obedience was not works righteousness—they could do nothing to earn or deserve this grace gift. Rather, their obedience would position them to receive the power and provision God intended to give.

So what is the secret to such obedience? Constant communion: “Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth” (v. 8a). Those in the biblical era typically read the Scriptures aloud, whether to others or themselves (see Acts 8:30 for one example). We would do well to follow their practice, as we remember far more of what we hear than what we see. And so Joshua and his people were not to allow the word of God to “depart from your mouth.”

Rather, they were to “meditate on it day and night” (v. 8b). “Meditate” in the Hebrew describes a low murmuring sound made by a person contemplating something. We will not simply read the words and leave them on the page, but we will bring them into our hearts and lives. When you read the word of God, first read its words aloud. Then use all your senses. Imagine yourself in this setting—how it feels to your skin, smells, tastes, sounds, looks. Experience these words fully and sensually. Then ask the Lord for one thing you should do differently because you have spent this time with him in his word. Write down that idea or fact; read it over through the day; ask the Lord to apply it to your unconscious thoughts as well as your intentional decisions.

When you “meditate” on the word of God “day and night,” the result will be that “you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful” (v. 8c). As we commune with God in his truth, we find his help in practicing the faithful obedience which creates courageous strength.

Last, what is the secret to such constant communion? Trusting the presence of God: “Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go” (v. 9). He is “the Lord your God.” Martin Luther believed that the most important single word in the 23rd Psalm is found in its first clause: “The Lord is my shepherd.” Not just the shepherd or even our shepherd, but my shepherd.

Likewise, the Lord is your God. You can go no place which is exempt from his providence and presence. If you will trust him to be present in your life in this and every moment, you can then practice his presence through communion in his word. When you commune with him in his word, you have his guidance to practice faithful obedience. And as you are obedient to his word and will, you will have his strong courage to fulfill that purpose.

As we will see across this study, Joshua experienced precisely such strength and courage. He would lead the people to the great military conquest which would create their nation. He would establish them in their Promised Land, and make of their roving tribes a permanent and mighty people. His God will do no less with us.

Stand publicly for God’s purpose (vs. 10-18)

Now the crisis moment has come. Joshua could lead the people to stay where they are. The nations surrounding them are not yet strong enough to threaten their short-term safety. They could camp on the eastern side of the Jordan and declare victory.

He could abdicate leadership. After all, he’s already done so much, and is now advancing in years. If he was only 20 when he began his service to Moses, and then endured 40 years in the wilderness with the people, he would now be over 60 years of age. This was nearly twice the typical life expectancy in the ancient world. Joshua could with merit claim that he had led the people as far as he could, and ask God to find another to finish their pilgrimage to their land.

He could enter the land privately, seeking his own fortune and his family’s security. Then if he failed, none would know. If he succeeded, he would only take his just reward for his years of faithful service.

Or he could make public his commitment to God and his purpose. This was a true hinge point for Jewish and redemptive history. Would God have a people in this land, or not?

His decision was clear and instantaneous: “So Joshua ordered the officers of the people…” (v. 10). With this commitment, he assumed full command of the army and the nation. Their destiny would be his. He would step into the office vacated by Moses’ death and now assigned him by God. He would stand publicly for the purpose of God.

And he would call the nation to follow him. He sent the officers throughout the nation to prepare the people for their pilgrimage across the Jordan and into their Promised Land (vs. 11-12). Then he spoke personally to the tribes of Reuben and Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh with them (v. 12), calling them to public obedience as well.

Why did he single them out for special encouragement? Their story takes us back to Numbers 21, where Moses and the people took possession of the land immediately east of the Jordan River. Og, king of Bashan, and Sihon, the king of the Amorites, had possessed this fertile land before Moses and his army took it from them. The large tribes of Reuben and Gad soon found this land to their liking. They owned very large herds and flocks, and discovered the land to be excellent for ranching. And so they asked permission to stay on it permanently (Numbers 32).

Half of the tribe of Manasseh chose to join them. Remember that Joseph had two sons: Ephraim and Manasseh. Both were adopted by Jacob as his own children, so that Israel was in fact composed of thirteen tribes. However, God made clear that the tribe of Levi was to have no assigned land, but would live on the support of the others as it served the tabernacle and later the Temple. The twelve tribes which remained would all receive land in due time. The tribe of Manasseh chose to divide in two; half wanted to stay east of the Jordan and raise their cattle with Reuben and Gad.

Moses gave them permission, with the proviso that when the nation was prepared to cross the Jordan and take the rest of Canaan, their soldiers must fight with the rest of the army. This they had agreed to do.

Now Joshua came to remind them of their agreement (vs. 13-15). The situation was potentially dangerous. They already had “rest” (v. 13), an Old Testament concept which includes secure borders, peace with neighbors, absence of threats to life, and security for the future. Now God wanted to give this “rest” to all the nation, with their military help (see the NavPress discussion on page 28 for further insight). But the people would need their “fighting men” (v. 14), all those over the age of 20 who were physically able to wage war. Would they keep their promise? Or would the nation move into the land without a significant part of its military strength?

These “transjordan” tribes gave Joshua their immediate and unconditional support (v. 16). But they made two requirements of him, the same expectations every group has the right to ask of its leaders. First, “may the Lord your God be with you as he was with Moses” (v. 17). They wanted to follow him only if he would follow God. Second, “Only be strong and courageous!” (v. 18). He could not expect them to follow where he would not lead. They wanted an example of godly courage they could follow into battle, and into their future together. And Joshua would answer their call, with miraculous results.

Conclusion

When this pivotal chapter opened, we found Joshua and the people still mourning the death of their beloved hero and leader. Their future was uncertain in the extreme. Their leadership was unclear, their direction undetermined. Joshua had not yet determined to follow God’s purpose for his life and leadership, nor had the people chosen to follow him.

When the chapter ends, the people are one. Joshua is their strong and courageous leader. The people are unified and resolved to follow him into their future. And they will find that future to be as bright as the promises of God.

We need Joshua-type leaders today. Will you follow the Lord with your personal obedience and faithful commitment? Will you trust God, commune with him in his word, and practice his presence? A study group cannot be expected to go further with God than the leaders are willing to lead them. If your class were as close to the Father as you are this moment, would this be a good thing?

Perhaps this chapter could be as pivotal to your soul as it was for Joshua. The choice is yours.

Putting God First

Written by

Putting God First

Matthew 6:25-34

Dr. Jim Denison

On Saturday morning, August 30, I read these words from Oswald Chambers’ My Utmost for His Highest:

“Jesus Christ says, in effect, Don’t rejoice in successful service, but rejoice because you are rightly related to Me. The snare in Christian work is to rejoice in successful service, to rejoice in the fact that God has used you. You can never measure what God will do through you if you are rightly related to Jesus Christ. Keep your relationship right with Him, then whatever circumstances you are in, and whomever you meet day by day, He is pouring rivers of living water through you, and it is of His mercy that He does not let you know it. . . .

“It is the work that God does through us that counts, not what we do for Him. All that Our Lord heeds in a man’s life is the relationship of worth to His Father.”

These last two sentences were a bolt of electricity to my heart. They stunned and shocked me. Hear them again: “It is the work that God does through us that counts, not what we do for Him. All that Our Lord heeds in a man’s life is the relationship of worth to His Father.” Here are some facts which came to my mind as I pondered these words:

What I do for the Lord does not count unless he does the work through me. Unless he preaches the sermon, writes the commentary or devotional, speaks the words, what I have done is of no worth to him whatsoever. No matter how much I have studied, how hard I have prepared, how zealously I have served, how sincerely I have wanted to honor and obey my Lord, if he did not do the work through me, it is of no worth. In fact, it is all wasted time and effort.

All the Lord heeds in my life is my relationship to him. If he is not first in my heart, first in my priorities, first in my life, I am in the wrong. And he cannot use me. He cannot work through me. The channel is blocked, the artery clogged, the pipeline corroded and corrupted.

Thus, the evil one will let me serve the Kingdom so long as my heart is not right with its King. He will let me preach sermons and write commentaries. He will let you attend worship and teach classes and give money and volunteer your time. Why? Because he knows that unless our hearts are right with God, such service does not count. It will not last. It is of no worth.

As a result, any sin between me and my Father is good enough for the enemy. Murder isn’t necessary, just anger. Not adultery, just lust. Not theft, just coveting. Satan would prefer the sin to be enacted so that others would be hurt as well, but the thought or emotion is enough to break my fellowship with my Father, thus rendering my service worthless and powerless.

And any service to Christ is acceptable to the evil one, so long as it comes before the One we serve. So long as we do it for him, or even better, for ourselves. So long as I preach to grow the church, or advance an idea, or even better, promote myself. So long as you give to pay the bills, or to earn the blessing of God. So long as you teach, or sing, or attend to be seen by others, or to be rewarded by God, or to “get something” out of church today. Any purpose which does not put God first is worthless. It is a waste of our lives. And the enemy is pleased.

When these reflections came so powerfully to my heart a week ago, I did not then know that they would be the center of this message. The dots connected later. But I now know that I was given this truth for us all, as God’s word to our entire church family. So that we would learn the urgency of Jesus’ command to “seek first his kingdom and his righteousness,” so that then “all these things will be given to you as well” (v. 33). We must understand and live out the truth of these words, for they are crucial beyond description to our church and our future this Fall. If we do not, nothing else we will do will matter. Nothing at all.

How to seek first the kingdom of God

The “kingdom of God” is that place where God is king.

In his Model Prayer, Jesus taught us to pray that “your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven” (Matthew 6:10). This is Hebrew parallelism, a kind of poetry where the second line repeats the intent of the first. His kingdom comes wherever his will is done.

This happens wherever and whenever God is King. In Jesus’ day, when someone was king of a land, he was more than its president or prime minister. He did not lead the nation—he controlled it. He did not govern the land—he owned it. Every part of it.

Every resident of the kingdom owed allegiance and service to the king. Every inhabitant was given land and house by the king’s mercy, so long as he would work the soil and bring the king his harvest. So long as he would serve the king in war and in peace. So long as he was faithful to his sovereign master.

The laws were written by the king. And transcended by the king. His word was inviolate and absolute. His subjects served only one lord, named only one master.If you and I choose to “seek first the kingdom of God,” we determine to become exactly this kind of subjects of God as our Master, Lord, and King. As a result, first our possessions belong to him, for they are his.

Our land and house are his, loaned to us to use for his purposes. We owe him all that we have, for it is his possession. He will hold us accountable for how we use his property.

Not just what we give back to him in our tithes and offerings, but what we keep as well. How we spend every penny of every dollar, how we buy and use our houses and cars and clothes and other possessions.

What we do with our bodies and abilities—all of it belongs to him. One day it will all go back to him, and our bodies to the ground from which they were taken.

Our time belongs to him, for it is his gift to us.

Not just what we do at church, but with the rest of our week as well. If you come to church four hours a week, every week, you are exceptional. And you spend 2.3% of your week here. If God is your King, he is as much Master of the other 97.7% of your week.

The time you spend at work—your business ethics, language, relationships, witness. The time you spend at school—how well you use your abilities for his glory, your friendships, your witness. The time you spend in entertainment—the movies you see, the Internet sites you visit, the music you hear, the books and magazines you read. The time you spend in your home—how godly you are with your family, how spiritual your influence, how significant your witness.

Our thoughts and ambitions belong to him, for he is watching them as our Lord.

This is where Satan’s temptations are most subtle. We think that so long as we do not commit public sins, all is well. Our service to God is secure. But remember: only that which God does through us is worthwhile. And anger blocks his Spirit as fully as murder, coveting as much as embezzling, private slander as much as public stealing. Lust in the heart is adultery to God. Bitterness toward a fellow believer breaks our relationship with our Father.

He sees what we do not. He knows our thoughts, our motives, our ambitions. He knows why we do what we do. And his Holy Spirit can only work through that which is holy.

Is it possible to “seek first the kingdom of God” as fully as this? The word of God will never ask us to do that which we cannot do by the Spirit of God. Not in our strength, but in his. Asking for his help, seeking his power.

Choose to die to yourself, that you might live to Christ. Decide to be crucified with Christ, so that he lives in you (Galatians 2:20). Determine that Christ in you is your hope of glory (Colossians 1:27). Live the exchanged life by which you ask God in faith to take control of your mind, your personality, your emotions, your decisions, your actions. Ask Jesus to be as incarnate in your life today as he was when he first walked this planet.

Oswald Chambers from August 31: “Be rightly related to God, find your joy there, and out of you will flow rivers of living water. Be a center for Jesus Christ to pour living water through.”

And from September 1: The Atonement means that God can put me back into perfect union with Himself, without a shadow between, through the Death of Jesus Christ…Holiness [now] means unsullied walking with the feet, unsullied talking with the tongue, unsullied thinking with the mind—every detail of the life under the scrutiny of God.”

The King will empower us to put first his Kingdom. But we must ask his help. We must choose his allegiance. The decision must come from us.

What happens when we seek first the kingdom of God

What will happen to our worship services this Fall if we put God first? He will become the only audience of worship.

You are the performers; we on this platform exist only to help you worship God. Our preferences don’t matter—it’s not what I happen to like to preach, or the musicians happen to like to play, or the vocalists happen to like to sing, or you happen to like to hear.

The question each week will be: what will lead you most fully to worship your King? We’ll unpack that question each week this Fall. Come prepared each week to worship the only King of Kings and Lord of Lords, your audience of One.

When we put God first, his Spirit will fall on us. He will inhabit the praises of his people. He will lift up his Son in our midst. We will see our Lord, high and lifted up, his train filling this temple. The doorposts will shake; the house will fill with the smoke of his Spirit’s presence. Our Lord and Savior will be exalted every week. And we will never be the same. But only if we put God first.

What will happen to our building project this Fall if we put God first? He will get the glory for whatever is built on this campus.

If we raise the remaining $10 million, it will be because he provided from his resources for our need. It will be because he moved in the hearts of his people to give sacrificially and faithfully out of what he has loaned to their use. It will be because we prayed, not because we performed. Because we trusted God, not ourselves. It will not be because we have the resources, but because he does.

And the resulting structures will bring more people to Jesus than we have ever been able to reach before. We will have facilities to reach the next generations for our Lord. We will build his Kingdom more fully than ever in our history. But only if we put God first.

What will happen to our ministries this Fall if we put God first?

Souls will be saved, for only his Spirit can convict us of sin and make us the children of God. Saved souls will be discipled and grown, for only his Spirit can make us more like Jesus. Those who are discipled will be used in ministry, for only his Spirit can call and use us in that place of service which is his will for us.

We will see evangelism, equipping, and engaging occur as never before. We will be an army of faith, marching on our knees. We will take Christ to our community and beyond in the power of the Spirit. True revival and awakening will come through our service to our Lord. But only if we put God first.

What will happen to our families and lives this Fall if we put God first?

We will find that purpose and significance which gives us true joy. God’s Spirit will bring healing to hurting hearts, direction to confused lives, fulfillment to frustrated souls. “All these things will be given to you as well,” for “My God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:19). Our Dad is rich. Our Father is the Lord who “longs to be gracious to you; he rises to show you compassion” (Isaiah 30:18). And he loves us beyond description or compare.

But he can only bless that which honors him. No father should encourage or enable behavior which harms his child. Only when we seek first his kingdom can we know the blessing and provision of the king. True abundant life will come to us. But only if we put God first.

Conclusion

This sermon has been prepared unlike any other in my entire preaching ministry. At home last Monday afternoon, after a time of prayer, I sat down in front of my computer to make some notes for the message. And the sermon came. Without translating the text, doing research, consulting commentaries, studying resources. It was as though I were simply taking dictation, writing what the Spirit spoke to my heart.

It was made clear to me that the most significant challenge facing Park Cities Baptist Church is simple: we must put God first. We must trust his power over our own abilities and resources, through heart-felt intercession and daily prayer and prayer meetings. We must put his glory ahead of our own preferences in worship. We must put building his kingdom ahead of buying our own possessions. We must put reaching others for Jesus ahead of our own wishes and desires.

This is not your church, where you pay the money and receive the benefits as members of a club, where you elect leaders who run the church according to your wishes. This is not my church, where I preach the sermons and call the shots. This is his church. There is only one King. And only one Kingdom.

If we put God first, everything else will be added to us by the Lord of the universe. Imagine it. And choose wisely. Don’t waste another day. Put God first.

Reconnaissance In Jericho

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Reconnaissance in Jericho

Joshua 2:1-24

Dr. Jim Denison

Thesis: God goes ahead to provide for all he purposes us to do.

Goal: Identify ways God has prepared for current ministries, and step into the calling with confidence and obedient trust.

Oswald Chambers once said: “If we are going to live as disciples of Jesus, we have to remember that all noble things are difficult. The Christian life is gloriously difficult, but the difficulty of it does not make us faint and cave in, it rouses us up to overcome.” All noble things are difficult.

My father fought in the Army during World War II, and experienced horrific atrocities in helping to win victory for his country. Our military is currently engaged in a war against terror around the world, protecting our very lives from those who would take them. Freedom is difficult.

Most adults we know completed thirteen years of education; the large majority completed four years of college afterwards; and a sizeable number completed several years of advanced study still later. Educational preparation is difficult.

The 40-hour week is now a thing of the past. Fortune magazine recently reported that 75% of CEOs work 60 hours a week or more. Vocational success is difficult. It is no different in serving the Lord in building his Kingdom. William Barclay was right: we progress in life and faith in proportion to the fare we are prepared to pay.

The book of Joshua is calling you and your class this fall to a higher level of obedience to God’s purpose, to unconditional commitment to his plans for your life and church. Chapter two will encourage us to know that God precedes us—he has already provided for all he purposes us to be and to do. When we see all God has done to prepare us, we can step into our callings with confident obedience.

Take the risk to serve the Lord (v. 1)

The battle for Canaan was about to begin. Where should Joshua commence the attack?

Making a courageous choice

Jericho was a logical first option. Standing just north of the Dead Sea, five miles west of the Jordan River and about 20 miles from what would become Jerusalem, the city stood at the base of roads which climbed beyond into the mountains of Palestine. Its location made it a strategic military base. Once the city was captured and the roads beyond made defensible, it would be an easier matter to claim the mountains and use them for attacks into the valleys beyond.

However, the city was extremely well fortified. Fed by natural springs within the city walls, it was self-sufficient and could withstand years of siege. Its walls were among the tallest and thickest known to the culture of the day. Archaeologists have discovered multiple layers of populations which lived at the site, going back in time as far as 7,000 B.C. and making Jericho the oldest continuously-occupied city on earth.

Victory would encourage the children of Israel and discourage their enemies, something like the air raid on Tokyo which was accomplished early after Pearl Harbor for the same purpose. It would give Joshua’s armies a strategic base for the operations to follow.

But defeat here would be catastrophic. The Jewish army would be forced to withdraw and attempt to enter the land elsewhere. The Canaanites would be strengthened in resolve, and fortified in defense of their land. The Israelites would be discouraged, and might well despair of Joshua’s leadership. Moses had never led them to defeat; Joshua must win his first battle in the Promised Land for the sake of his future as their leader.

So, should they attack Jericho? Or should they go around this fortified city and attack later after their armies are stronger? Jericho lay in the middle of Canaan; there were other ways to enter the land. At question was not whether the Jews would begin their conquest of their Promised Land, but where.

Choosing courageous men

Joshua will prove himself a brilliant military strategist all through this book. He began his career as leader of the nation with this decision: he would send two spies into Jericho and the surrounding area. They would help him decide whether or not the Lord intended this to be the first stage in their battle strategy. He sent the two spies from the plains of “Shittim,” which means “acacia trees” (v. 1a). These trees would mark the location of the great victory to come for all the generations who would follow.

But first the spies must exercise enormous courage. They could expect their enemies to anticipate their arrival, as they did. If the king of Jericho could capture them, he could defeat Joshua’s attack before it began. The military attention of the entire city and area would be focused against them. These soldiers are two of the unnamed heroes of Scripture, models of risk-taking, courageous faith.

They slipped across the Jordan River and into the city, and “entered the house of a prostitute named Rahab and stayed there” (v. 1b). Few biblical people or stories are more famous than the account which follows. Who was this woman?

Finding a courageous woman

The Hebrew word translated “prostitute” can also be rendered “inn-keeper,” as the NIV textual note shows. Josephus and some other Jewish historians attempted to defend Rahab’s honor, arguing that God would not select a woman of such immoral character for a responsibility and honor so great as this. But the New Testament describes Rahab with words which leave no question as to her occupation. Hebrews 11:31 calls her “the prostitute Rahab”; James 2:25 likewise calls her “Rahab the prostitute.” The Greek word translated “prostitute” can mean only this. She was clearly a woman who sold sexual favors as her livelihood.

Why did the men enter her house first? For several reasons. First, strangers would be less unusual entering a prostitute’s house than other homes or businesses in Jericho, as it was customary for a man to travel away from his own home and city when visiting the house of a harlot.

Second, her house was easily accessible to them, as it was situated on the edge of the city, inside its walls (v. 15). Archaeological evidence demonstrates that the Jericho city walls were so thick that many were made into apartments. Those living in the walls would be a first line of defense for the city, warning of intruders long before those inside would know of their presence. But such apartments were less desirable than the houses in the city, and in time came to be used commonly by social outcasts such as Rahab.

Third, Rahab’s occupation would likely make her less supportive of her king and fellow citizens than those in other vocations. She would know the sexual sins of many of the “leading citizens” of her people. Perhaps she had been sold into prostitution years earlier by her family to pay debts to wealthy leaders of the city. Or perhaps she was forced into prostitution at the death of her husband, when no one in the city would provide for her family. It was likely that she would resent the current authorities, and be more amenable to the Jewish army and its plans for the city.

While the spies chose her house for logical reasons, she received them for reasons which speak less of reason than of faith. She took an enormous risk in welcoming them. She knew far more about them than they might have expected, as we will soon see (vs. 8-11). She could expect the king to send his soldiers to seek them, and knew that she would be killed if they were found in her shelter. Rahab demonstrated courage no less significant than that of the spies she protected.

Here is an appropriate place to glance at the rest of her story. As you know, Jericho would fall to the Jewish armies; Rahab and her family would be spared as a result of her faithfulness. For her obedience, she would be preserved in God’s word as a model of courageous faith: “By faith the prostitute Rahab, because she welcomed the spies, was not killed with those who were disobedient” (Hebrews 11:31); “was not even Rahab the prostitute considered righteous for what she did when she gave lodging to the spies and sent them off in a different direction?” (James 2:25).

What’s more, Rahab would enter the genealogical line of the Messiah himself: “Salmon the father of Boaz, whose mother was Rahab” (Matthew 1:5). Rahab’s son Boaz would marry Ruth in one of the great love stories of all literature. He would continue the line from Abraham to David, making her part of the royal family. And that line would eventuate in the birth of Jesus the Christ, making Rahab part of the Messiah’s family line. In a very real sense, all of us who have Christ for our Savior are part of her family. She is a spiritual ancestor to us all.

Thomas a Kempis once wrote, “If thy heart were right, then every creature would be a mirror of life and a book of holy doctrine. There is no creature so small and abject, but it reflects the goodness of God.” Rahab proves that it is so.

If your service to the Lord does not involve risk, it is not noble enough. But when you are about to step courageously into God’s purpose, know that the Father has gone before you. He has already prepared the way.

Many years ago, a shipwreck off the Japanese islands resulted in a small New Testament being washed ashore. A man walking on the beach found the tiny volume, and judged its paper just the right dimensions and weight for cigarettes. As he tore a page from the book to roll a cigarette, he would read what was printed on it. And so he came to trust in Christ, and to start a church in his village. Years later, when missionaries first visited his island, they found a thriving community of faith awaiting their arrival.

Take the risk to serve the Lord. You will find that it is really no risk at all.

Expect God to provide for your needs (vs. 2-7)

The king of Jericho was lord of a miniature kingdom. Egypt was the great power in control of Canaan at this stage of history. So long as the rulers of local cities and communities paid tribute to the Pharaoh, they could manage their kingdoms as they wished.

The walled cities of this period in ancient history were not large; as the NavPress commentary states, the city itself was probably about nine acres in size. The king, his nobles and the wealthier citizens of the area would actually live inside the walls. Tenant farmers lived further out, and paid taxes to the king for his protection.

The king and his military leaders had already heard about the Jewish people camped across the Jordan River, as Rahab will make clear shortly. They were on “terror alert,” as America is today. They knew somehow that Jewish spies had come and went to Rahab in seeking them, perhaps for the same reasons the spies chose her house when they entered the city. They wanted to find and kill them, to dissuade the Jewish people from crossing the river to attack. Likely such an action would have had the desired effect. On some level, the conquest of Canaan hung in the balance.

Rahab’s report to the king’s men was both brilliant and unexpected. She patently lied to these messengers (vs. 4-5). If they had chosen to search her house and found the spies, she could make no claim of ignorance. Hers was an unlikely source of protection for the soldiers of God’s army, but it was part of his plan. Straight licks with crooked sticks, as the saying goes.

It may bother some in your class that God appears to have used deliberate deceit to further his purposes. Rahab clearly broke the ninth commandment (Ex 20:16). While we cannot expect her to know the Torah or keep it, we would expect God’s people to refuse such deception. But sometimes we must choose which commandment to break. If she had kept the ninth prohibition against lying, she would have broken the sixth commandment against murder. When Corrie ten Boom and her family kept Jewish refugees during the early days of Nazism in Holland, and German soldiers would ask if they had Jews, they had to make Rahab’s choice.

When forced to make such a decision, always choose the highest value. In this case, the most significant purpose of God was the military defeat of Jericho and conquest of the land for his covenant people. Deceiving the pagan king was less important, so long as such deceit was intended to accomplish the larger good.

There is much to discuss here ethically. Does the end always justify the means? Are we here espousing situational ethics? Note that the book of Joshua describes Rahab’s behavior, but it does not prescribe it for us. There is much sin described in the Bible (David’s sin with Bathsheba comes to mind immediately); never does the Bible teach us to practice the immorality it describes.

In any case, Rahab hid the two Jewish spies under stalks of flax on her rooftop, in case the king’s soldiers did not believe her. To this day people in that arid climate lay crops and clothes on their rooftops to dry in the hot sun. But never has a rooftop hidden more important figures than here.

The result was that the king looked no further inside his city for these spies. Instead, his soldiers were occupied for days outside its walls. The Jewish soldiers had complete safety to complete their reconnaissance of the city and bring their report to their general.

The will of God never leads where the grace of God cannot sustain. When you cannot find the answer around you, look up. There is always a rooftop of safety. There is always a Rahab waiting to help God’s people fulfill God’s purpose by God’s provision. Always.

Look to the past to find faith for the future (vs. 8-13)

What follows is one of the most remarkable confessions of faith to be found in the word of God. Rahab began: “I know that the Lord has given this land to you” (v. 9a). Her word for God, “the Lord,” was the Hebrew name Yahweh. This was his covenant name, the “I Am,” the One who was, is, and ever shall be. Here we find instant indication of her faith in Israel’s God. If someone calls Jesus “the Lord,” you have a clear sense that he trusts in Christ personally.

She knew that God had already given them the land. She has seen what God has already done for them (v. 10). Now she knows that their God is God in heaven above and on the earth below (v. 11).

Note the unusual structure of her statement of faith. Begin at the lower left of the diagram, and follow the arrows:

“We have heard how the Lord

dried up the water of the Red Sea for you

when you came out of Egypt, and what you did

to Sihon and Og, the two kings of the Amorites

east of the Jordan, whom you completely destroyed” (v. 10).

“A great fear of you has fallen”When we heard of it, our hearts

on all of us, so that all who livemelted and everyone’s courage

in this country are melting in fearfailed because of you” (v. 11a)

because of you” (v. 9b).

“I know that the Lord”For the Lord your God is

has given this land to you” (v. 9a).God in heaven above and

on the earth below (v. 11b).

Rahab knew what God had done in the past, and trusted him for what he would do now and in the future. She trusted these foreign spies and their nation for her own future, more than her own king and people (vs. 12-13). And she was right.

She asked the Jewish soldiers for “kindness” (v. 12), using hesed, one of the great Hebrew words. Akin to agape in the Greek, it stands for unconditional love, absolute acceptance, grace and mercy bestowed.

It is a covenant word within the context of Hebrew faith. By using it she was asking them to treat her as a member of the covenant community. It was a “profession of faith” on her part, stating that she believed in their God as hers and asked them to receive her and her family as part of their own.

Coming into Jericho, there could have been no more unlikely candidate for such a faith commitment to the God of Israel than Rahab the prostitute. If you were assigned a part of Dallas as your mission field, you might begin by walking its streets to gain a feel for the community. If you met immediately one of the most notorious and public sinners in the entire city, and won her to Christ on your first attempt, you would know that God plans to use you greatly in this place. The conversion of a Hugh Hefner or a Mike Tyson would be a fair analogy.

Not only could Rahab look to God’s dealings in the past to find faith for her future, now these spies could look to their experience with her as encouragement for the entire nation. And they did (v. 24).

Step with obedience into the plan of God (vs. 14-24)

But there was a catch: obedience was required of Rahab (vs. 14, 17-20). And she did as she was told, refusing to betray the soldiers and attaching the scarlet rope which would signify her home to the Jewish attackers to come (v. 21). The Jews would see in this scarlet rope a reminder of the blood placed over their homes at the Passover (Exodus 12:13, 22-23). And Christians would forever find in it a foreshadowing of the blood of Christ shed on the cross for us (cf. Hebrews 9:11-14; 1 Peter 1:19).

The soldiers would demonstrate their own obedience, returning at risk to Joshua and his army (vs. 22-23a). They fled to the west of Jericho, where the hills and mountains are dotted with caves made by centuries of weather beating against the sandstone. They would be difficult to find, but less secure than with Rahab. But disobedience was no option for their courageous faith.

When they returned to their general, they gave a full report of their reconnaissance (vs. 23b). And in marked contrast to the spies who had first surveyed this land with Joshua 40 years before, they concluded, “The Lord has surely given the whole land into our hands; all the people are melting in fear because of us” (v. 24). Joshua had all the answer he would need. And the most important military battle in the conquest of the Promised Land would commence shortly.

Conclusion

God promises that he will always prepare his servants for the purpose to which he calls them. He promises to precede us into battle, with the assurance of his providence and power. We can seldom know beforehand how he will keep these promises; none would have imagined at the start of chapter two that Rahab the prostitute would be its central hero and become one of the great figures in biblical history. But now we know what they did not. And all we have seen of God teaches us to trust him for all we have not yet seen.

Look in the rearview mirror of your own faith pilgrimage for a moment. Who brought you to Christ? Who has been instrumental in your walk with the Lord? What likely and unlikely figures have been used by his providence to bring you to your current place of ministry and discipleship? Step into God’s calling for your future with the same confidence and obedience we have discovered in our study. He did not bring us this far to leave us. This is the promise of God.

Reconnaissance In Jericho

Written by

Reconnaissance in Jericho

Joshua 2:1-24

Dr. Jim Denison

Thesis: God goes ahead to provide for all he purposes us to do.

Goal: Identify ways God has prepared for current ministries, and step into the calling with confidence and obedient trust.

Oswald Chambers once said: “If we are going to live as disciples of Jesus, we have to remember that all noble things are difficult. The Christian life is gloriously difficult, but the difficulty of it does not make us faint and cave in, it rouses us up to overcome.” All noble things are difficult.

My father fought in the Army during World War II, and experienced horrific atrocities in helping to win victory for his country. Our military is currently engaged in a war against terror around the world, protecting our very lives from those who would take them. Freedom is difficult.

Most adults we know completed thirteen years of education; the large majority completed four years of college afterwards; and a sizeable number completed several years of advanced study still later. Educational preparation is difficult.

The 40-hour week is now a thing of the past. Fortune magazine recently reported that 75% of CEOs work 60 hours a week or more. Vocational success is difficult. It is no different in serving the Lord in building his Kingdom. William Barclay was right: we progress in life and faith in proportion to the fare we are prepared to pay.

The book of Joshua is calling you and your class this fall to a higher level of obedience to God’s purpose, to unconditional commitment to his plans for your life and church. Chapter two will encourage us to know that God precedes us—he has already provided for all he purposes us to be and to do. When we see all God has done to prepare us, we can step into our callings with confident obedience.

Take the risk to serve the Lord (v. 1)

The battle for Canaan was about to begin. Where should Joshua commence the attack?

Making a courageous choice

Jericho was a logical first option. Standing just north of the Dead Sea, five miles west of the Jordan River and about 20 miles from what would become Jerusalem, the city stood at the base of roads which climbed beyond into the mountains of Palestine. Its location made it a strategic military base. Once the city was captured and the roads beyond made defensible, it would be an easier matter to claim the mountains and use them for attacks into the valleys beyond.

However, the city was extremely well fortified. Fed by natural springs within the city walls, it was self-sufficient and could withstand years of siege. Its walls were among the tallest and thickest known to the culture of the day. Archaeologists have discovered multiple layers of populations which lived at the site, going back in time as far as 7,000 B.C. and making Jericho the oldest continuously-occupied city on earth.

Victory would encourage the children of Israel and discourage their enemies, something like the air raid on Tokyo which was accomplished early after Pearl Harbor for the same purpose. It would give Joshua’s armies a strategic base for the operations to follow.

But defeat here would be catastrophic. The Jewish army would be forced to withdraw and attempt to enter the land elsewhere. The Canaanites would be strengthened in resolve, and fortified in defense of their land. The Israelites would be discouraged, and might well despair of Joshua’s leadership. Moses had never led them to defeat; Joshua must win his first battle in the Promised Land for the sake of his future as their leader.

So, should they attack Jericho? Or should they go around this fortified city and attack later after their armies are stronger? Jericho lay in the middle of Canaan; there were other ways to enter the land. At question was not whether the Jews would begin their conquest of their Promised Land, but where.

Choosing courageous men

Joshua will prove himself a brilliant military strategist all through this book. He began his career as leader of the nation with this decision: he would send two spies into Jericho and the surrounding area. They would help him decide whether or not the Lord intended this to be the first stage in their battle strategy. He sent the two spies from the plains of “Shittim,” which means “acacia trees” (v. 1a). These trees would mark the location of the great victory to come for all the generations who would follow.

But first the spies must exercise enormous courage. They could expect their enemies to anticipate their arrival, as they did. If the king of Jericho could capture them, he could defeat Joshua’s attack before it began. The military attention of the entire city and area would be focused against them. These soldiers are two of the unnamed heroes of Scripture, models of risk-taking, courageous faith.

They slipped across the Jordan River and into the city, and “entered the house of a prostitute named Rahab and stayed there” (v. 1b). Few biblical people or stories are more famous than the account which follows. Who was this woman?

Finding a courageous woman

The Hebrew word translated “prostitute” can also be rendered “inn-keeper,” as the NIV textual note shows. Josephus and some other Jewish historians attempted to defend Rahab’s honor, arguing that God would not select a woman of such immoral character for a responsibility and honor so great as this. But the New Testament describes Rahab with words which leave no question as to her occupation. Hebrews 11:31 calls her “the prostitute Rahab”; James 2:25 likewise calls her “Rahab the prostitute.” The Greek word translated “prostitute” can mean only this. She was clearly a woman who sold sexual favors as her livelihood.

Why did the men enter her house first? For several reasons. First, strangers would be less unusual entering a prostitute’s house than other homes or businesses in Jericho, as it was customary for a man to travel away from his own home and city when visiting the house of a harlot.

Second, her house was easily accessible to them, as it was situated on the edge of the city, inside its walls (v. 15). Archaeological evidence demonstrates that the Jericho city walls were so thick that many were made into apartments. Those living in the walls would be a first line of defense for the city, warning of intruders long before those inside would know of their presence. But such apartments were less desirable than the houses in the city, and in time came to be used commonly by social outcasts such as Rahab.

Third, Rahab’s occupation would likely make her less supportive of her king and fellow citizens than those in other vocations. She would know the sexual sins of many of the “leading citizens” of her people. Perhaps she had been sold into prostitution years earlier by her family to pay debts to wealthy leaders of the city. Or perhaps she was forced into prostitution at the death of her husband, when no one in the city would provide for her family. It was likely that she would resent the current authorities, and be more amenable to the Jewish army and its plans for the city.

While the spies chose her house for logical reasons, she received them for reasons which speak less of reason than of faith. She took an enormous risk in welcoming them. She knew far more about them than they might have expected, as we will soon see (vs. 8-11). She could expect the king to send his soldiers to seek them, and knew that she would be killed if they were found in her shelter. Rahab demonstrated courage no less significant than that of the spies she protected.

Here is an appropriate place to glance at the rest of her story. As you know, Jericho would fall to the Jewish armies; Rahab and her family would be spared as a result of her faithfulness. For her obedience, she would be preserved in God’s word as a model of courageous faith: “By faith the prostitute Rahab, because she welcomed the spies, was not killed with those who were disobedient” (Hebrews 11:31); “was not even Rahab the prostitute considered righteous for what she did when she gave lodging to the spies and sent them off in a different direction?” (James 2:25).

What’s more, Rahab would enter the genealogical line of the Messiah himself: “Salmon the father of Boaz, whose mother was Rahab” (Matthew 1:5). Rahab’s son Boaz would marry Ruth in one of the great love stories of all literature. He would continue the line from Abraham to David, making her part of the royal family. And that line would eventuate in the birth of Jesus the Christ, making Rahab part of the Messiah’s family line. In a very real sense, all of us who have Christ for our Savior are part of her family. She is a spiritual ancestor to us all.

Thomas a Kempis once wrote, “If thy heart were right, then every creature would be a mirror of life and a book of holy doctrine. There is no creature so small and abject, but it reflects the goodness of God.” Rahab proves that it is so.

If your service to the Lord does not involve risk, it is not noble enough. But when you are about to step courageously into God’s purpose, know that the Father has gone before you. He has already prepared the way.

Many years ago, a shipwreck off the Japanese islands resulted in a small New Testament being washed ashore. A man walking on the beach found the tiny volume, and judged its paper just the right dimensions and weight for cigarettes. As he tore a page from the book to roll a cigarette, he would read what was printed on it. And so he came to trust in Christ, and to start a church in his village. Years later, when missionaries first visited his island, they found a thriving community of faith awaiting their arrival.

Take the risk to serve the Lord. You will find that it is really no risk at all.

Expect God to provide for your needs (vs. 2-7)

The king of Jericho was lord of a miniature kingdom. Egypt was the great power in control of Canaan at this stage of history. So long as the rulers of local cities and communities paid tribute to the Pharaoh, they could manage their kingdoms as they wished.

The walled cities of this period in ancient history were not large; as the NavPress commentary states, the city itself was probably about nine acres in size. The king, his nobles and the wealthier citizens of the area would actually live inside the walls. Tenant farmers lived further out, and paid taxes to the king for his protection.

The king and his military leaders had already heard about the Jewish people camped across the Jordan River, as Rahab will make clear shortly. They were on “terror alert,” as America is today. They knew somehow that Jewish spies had come and went to Rahab in seeking them, perhaps for the same reasons the spies chose her house when they entered the city. They wanted to find and kill them, to dissuade the Jewish people from crossing the river to attack. Likely such an action would have had the desired effect. On some level, the conquest of Canaan hung in the balance.

Rahab’s report to the king’s men was both brilliant and unexpected. She patently lied to these messengers (vs. 4-5). If they had chosen to search her house and found the spies, she could make no claim of ignorance. Hers was an unlikely source of protection for the soldiers of God’s army, but it was part of his plan. Straight licks with crooked sticks, as the saying goes.

It may bother some in your class that God appears to have used deliberate deceit to further his purposes. Rahab clearly broke the ninth commandment (Ex 20:16). While we cannot expect her to know the Torah or keep it, we would expect God’s people to refuse such deception. But sometimes we must choose which commandment to break. If she had kept the ninth prohibition against lying, she would have broken the sixth commandment against murder. When Corrie ten Boom and her family kept Jewish refugees during the early days of Nazism in Holland, and German soldiers would ask if they had Jews, they had to make Rahab’s choice.

When forced to make such a decision, always choose the highest value. In this case, the most significant purpose of God was the military defeat of Jericho and conquest of the land for his covenant people. Deceiving the pagan king was less important, so long as such deceit was intended to accomplish the larger good.

There is much to discuss here ethically. Does the end always justify the means? Are we here espousing situational ethics? Note that the book of Joshua describes Rahab’s behavior, but it does not prescribe it for us. There is much sin described in the Bible (David’s sin with Bathsheba comes to mind immediately); never does the Bible teach us to practice the immorality it describes.

In any case, Rahab hid the two Jewish spies under stalks of flax on her rooftop, in case the king’s soldiers did not believe her. To this day people in that arid climate lay crops and clothes on their rooftops to dry in the hot sun. But never has a rooftop hidden more important figures than here.

The result was that the king looked no further inside his city for these spies. Instead, his soldiers were occupied for days outside its walls. The Jewish soldiers had complete safety to complete their reconnaissance of the city and bring their report to their general.

The will of God never leads where the grace of God cannot sustain. When you cannot find the answer around you, look up. There is always a rooftop of safety. There is always a Rahab waiting to help God’s people fulfill God’s purpose by God’s provision. Always.

Look to the past to find faith for the future (vs. 8-13)

What follows is one of the most remarkable confessions of faith to be found in the word of God. Rahab began: “I know that the Lord has given this land to you” (v. 9a). Her word for God, “the Lord,” was the Hebrew name Yahweh. This was his covenant name, the “I Am,” the One who was, is, and ever shall be. Here we find instant indication of her faith in Israel’s God. If someone calls Jesus “the Lord,” you have a clear sense that he trusts in Christ personally.

She knew that God had already given them the land. She has seen what God has already done for them (v. 10). Now she knows that their God is God in heaven above and on the earth below (v. 11).

Note the unusual structure of her statement of faith. Begin at the lower left of the diagram, and follow the arrows:

“We have heard how the Lord

dried up the water of the Red Sea for you

when you came out of Egypt, and what you did

to Sihon and Og, the two kings of the Amorites

east of the Jordan, whom you completely destroyed” (v. 10).

“A great fear of you has fallen”When we heard of it, our hearts

on all of us, so that all who livemelted and everyone’s courage

in this country are melting in fearfailed because of you” (v. 11a)

because of you” (v. 9b).

“I know that the Lord”For the Lord your God is

has given this land to you” (v. 9a).God in heaven above and

on the earth below (v. 11b).

Rahab knew what God had done in the past, and trusted him for what he would do now and in the future. She trusted these foreign spies and their nation for her own future, more than her own king and people (vs. 12-13). And she was right.

She asked the Jewish soldiers for “kindness” (v. 12), using hesed, one of the great Hebrew words. Akin to agape in the Greek, it stands for unconditional love, absolute acceptance, grace and mercy bestowed.

It is a covenant word within the context of Hebrew faith. By using it she was asking them to treat her as a member of the covenant community. It was a “profession of faith” on her part, stating that she believed in their God as hers and asked them to receive her and her family as part of their own.

Coming into Jericho, there could have been no more unlikely candidate for such a faith commitment to the God of Israel than Rahab the prostitute. If you were assigned a part of Dallas as your mission field, you might begin by walking its streets to gain a feel for the community. If you met immediately one of the most notorious and public sinners in the entire city, and won her to Christ on your first attempt, you would know that God plans to use you greatly in this place. The conversion of a Hugh Hefner or a Mike Tyson would be a fair analogy.

Not only could Rahab look to God’s dealings in the past to find faith for her future, now these spies could look to their experience with her as encouragement for the entire nation. And they did (v. 24).

Step with obedience into the plan of God (vs. 14-24)

But there was a catch: obedience was required of Rahab (vs. 14, 17-20). And she did as she was told, refusing to betray the soldiers and attaching the scarlet rope which would signify her home to the Jewish attackers to come (v. 21). The Jews would see in this scarlet rope a reminder of the blood placed over their homes at the Passover (Exodus 12:13, 22-23). And Christians would forever find in it a foreshadowing of the blood of Christ shed on the cross for us (cf. Hebrews 9:11-14; 1 Peter 1:19).

The soldiers would demonstrate their own obedience, returning at risk to Joshua and his army (vs. 22-23a). They fled to the west of Jericho, where the hills and mountains are dotted with caves made by centuries of weather beating against the sandstone. They would be difficult to find, but less secure than with Rahab. But disobedience was no option for their courageous faith.

When they returned to their general, they gave a full report of their reconnaissance (vs. 23b). And in marked contrast to the spies who had first surveyed this land with Joshua 40 years before, they concluded, “The Lord has surely given the whole land into our hands; all the people are melting in fear because of us” (v. 24). Joshua had all the answer he would need. And the most important military battle in the conquest of the Promised Land would commence shortly.

Conclusion

God promises that he will always prepare his servants for the purpose to which he calls them. He promises to precede us into battle, with the assurance of his providence and power. We can seldom know beforehand how he will keep these promises; none would have imagined at the start of chapter two that Rahab the prostitute would be its central hero and become one of the great figures in biblical history. But now we know what they did not. And all we have seen of God teaches us to trust him for all we have not yet seen.

Look in the rearview mirror of your own faith pilgrimage for a moment. Who brought you to Christ? Who has been instrumental in your walk with the Lord? What likely and unlikely figures have been used by his providence to bring you to your current place of ministry and discipleship? Step into God’s calling for your future with the same confidence and obedience we have discovered in our study. He did not bring us this far to leave us. This is the promise of God.

The Sin of Greed

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The Sin of Greed

Dr. Jim Denison

In the Bible, “greed” is choosing to sin for material gain: “A greedy man brings trouble to his family, but he who hates bribes will live” (Proverbs 15:27). Note the Hebrew parallelism: greed = bribery. We are greedy when we will commit illegal or immoral acts to get more.

Jeremiah adds: “Like a partridge that hatches eggs it did not lay is the man who gains riches by unjust means” (Jeremiah 17:11a). Greed is at the heart of every sin for material gain. Remember the Enron scandal, government corruption, and marketplace imbezzlement in recent news stories. Each is motivated by material greed.

It comes from needing more than we need: “Whoever loves money never has money enough; whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with his income. This too is meaningless” (Ecclesiastes 5:10)

What is wrong with greed?

In Scripture, there are at least six reasons why greed is a sin.

It harms the innocent: “A greedy man brings trouble to his family, but he who hates bribes will live” (Proverbs 15:27).

•”When the owners of the slave girl [in Philippi] realized that their hope of making money was gone, they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them into the marketplace to face the authorities” (Acts 16:19).

•”At the same time [Felix] was hoping that Paul would offer him a bribe, so he sent for him frequently and talked with him” (Acts 24:26). Thus Paul was kept in prison in Caesarea for two years.

It harms the greedy: “We will get all sorts of valuable things and fill our houses with plunder” (Proverbs 1:13). But with this result: “their feet rush into sin, they are swift to shed blood. How useless to spread a net in full view of all the birds! These men lie in wait for their own blood; they waylay only themselves! Such is the end of all who go after ill-gotten gain; it takes away the lives of those who get it” (vs. 16-19). James warns us: “Your gold and silver are corroded. Their corrosion will testify against you and eat your flesh like fire. You have hoarded wealth in the last days” (James 5:3).

We can never have enough: “Whoever loves money never has money enough; whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with his income” (Ecclesiastes 5:10). One of the Rockefellers was asked how much money is enough. He smiled and replied, “Just a little more.”

Wealth alone will fail us: “When [a greedy man’s] life is half gone, [riches] will desert him, and in the end he will prove to be a fool” (Jeremiah 17.11b).

Greed will lead us from the faith: “The love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs” (1 Timothy 6:10).

•Judas asked, “‘What are you willing to give me if I hand him over to you?’ So they counted out for him thirty silver coins. From then on Judas watched for an opportunity to hand him over” (Matthew 26:15-16).

•”They have left the straight way and wandered off to follow the way of Balaam son of Beor, who loved the wages of wickedness” (2 Peter 2:15).

Greed will bring the judgment of God: Remember the sin of Achan: “When I saw in the plunder a beautiful robe from Babylonia, two hundred shekels of silver and a wedge of gold weighing fifty shekels, I coveted them and took them. They are hidden in the ground inside my tent, with the silver underneath” (Joshua 7:21).

With this result: “Then all Israel stoned him, and after they had stoned [his family], they burned them. Over Achan they heaped up a large pile of rocks, which remains to this day. Then the Lord turned from his fierce anger. Therefore that place has been called the Valley of Achor ever since” (vs. 25-26). This was one of the sins of the Jews, for which they were brought to disaster by God: “They trample on the heads of the poor as upon the dust of the ground and deny justice to the oppressed” (Amos 2:7).

Who is susceptible to greed?

Religious leaders: “Israel’s watchmen are blind, they all lack knowledge; they are mute dogs, they cannot bark; they lie around and dream, they love to sleep. They are dogs with mighty appetites; they never have enough. They are shepherds who lack understanding; they all turn to their own way, each seeks his own gain. ‘Come,’ each one cries, ‘let me get wine! Let us drink our fill of beer! And tomorrow will be like today, or even far better'” (Isaiah 56:10-12); “[Israel’s] leaders judge for a bribe, her priests teach for a price, and her prophets tell fortunes for money” (Micah 3:11).

Religious children: “[Samuel’s] sons did not walk in his ways. They turned aside after dishonest gain and accepted bribes and perverted justice” (1 Samuel 8:3).

The wealthy: A study of 26 Wall Street account executives reports that NYC stockbrokers pulling down the biggest paychecks were also those suffering higher levels of depression, burnout and other afflictions. “In essence, these . . . brokers appear to be paying for financial success with their mental health and quality of life,” report the researchers (Casualties of Wall Street: An Assessment of the Walking Wounded by Alden M. Cass, John Lewis and Ed Simco).

The poor: Wanting what we don’t have can lead to sin as easily as wanting more of it. Thus we see looting in Iraq, corruption in Russia, crime in American ghettoes.

The cure for greed

Don’t confuse wealth with worth (1 Timothy 6:6)

Money must be combined with godliness, to be gain with God. Wealth doesn’t disqualify us from godliness. Many wealthy men in the Bible were also used greatly by the Lord:

•”Abram had become very wealthy in livestock and in silver and gold” (Genesis 13:2).

•”Isaac planted crops in that land and the same year reaped a hundredfold, because the Lord blessed him. The man became very rich, and his wealth continued to grow until he became very wealthy” (Genesis 26:12-13).

•”[Jacob] grew exceedingly prosperous and came to his own large flocks, and maidservants and manservants, and camels and donkeys” (Gen. 30:43).

•”[David] died at a good old age, having enjoyed long life, wealth and honor” (1 Chronicles 29:28).

•”[Solomon] made silver and gold as common in Jerusalem as stones, and cedar as plentiful as sycamore-fig trees in the foothills” (2 Chronicles 1:15); “King Solomon was greater in riches and wisdom than all the other kings of the earth” (2 Chrronicles 9:22).

•”[Job] owned 7,000 sheep, 3,000 camels, 500 yoke of oxen and 500 donkeys, and a large number of servants. He was the greatest man among all the people of the East” (Job 1:3).

•”As evening approached, there came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who had himself become a disciple of Jesus. Going to Pilate, he asked for Jesus’ body, and Pilate ordered that it be given to him. Joseph took the body, wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, and placed it in his own new tomb that he had cut out of the rock” (Matthew 27:57-60).

But wealth doesn’t guarantee worth, either. The old Jewish theology held that wealth proves righteousness. God always rewards the righteous with prosperity and punishes the wicked with poverty. If you’re wealthy, you must be right with God. If you’re poor, you’re being punished.

If this is true, why did Jesus have no place to lay his head? Why were his disciples itinerant in their ministries? Why were most of the early church the common people, many of them slaves in the Empire? Because there is no direct correlation between wealth and godliness.

Don’t let your possessions make you spiritual complacent. And don’t identify your worth with your wealth, or you’ll always need more. You’ll sin for material gain, and need more than you need.

Trust God, not gain

Money is always an unstable foundation for life. You can take nothing with you when you die. So don’t build on this foundation. Don’t trust gain but God. Money is unstable.

Have you heard of “The Seven Ages of Man”?

•First age: the child sees the earth.

•Second age: he wants it.

•Third age: he hustles to get it.

•Fourth age: he decides to be satisfied with half of it.

•Fifth age: he’s satisfied with less than half of it.

•Sixth age: he’s content to possess a six-by-two foot section of it.

•Seventh age: he gets it.

Proverbs 27:24 is clear: “Riches do not endure forever, and a crown is not secure for all generations.” I’ve never seen a U-haul attached to a hearse. The Spanish have a proverb: a burial shroud has no pockets. When we bury our deceased, we put nothing in their pockets.

An American tourist was visiting a Jewish rabbi in Israel. The rabbi’s home was very simple: a bed, a change of clothes, a towel and blanket. No television, radio, or computer. “Why do you live so simply?” the tourist asked. “Well, you have only enough things to fill a suitcase. Why do you live so simply?” the rabbi replied. “But I’m just a tourist. I’m only passing through,” the man responded. “So am I,” smiled the rabbi.

We are tempted to greed when we think that gain is a solid foundation for life. Thus we sin for material gain, and need more than we need. But having things today is no guarantee that we will have them tomorrow.

Refuse the love of money

God’s word does not condemn money as evil, but it does condemn the “love of money.” When our work for material provision leads us to sin, it is greed. And this is a deadly sin, indeed. Here are some reasons why.

When we love money, we compromise our integrity: “One eager to get rich will not go unpunished. To show partiality is not good—yet a man will do wrong for a piece of bread. A stingy man is eager to get rich and is unaware that poverty awaits him” (Proverbs 28:20-22). When we love money, we’ll use people to get it. We’ll compromise our integrity and character. We can have wealth and integrity—but we cannot love both. One will always serve the other.

When we love money, it’s hard to love God: “The worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth and the desires for other things come in and choke the word, making it unfruitful” (Mark 4:19). When we’re serving money, it’s hard to serve God: “You cannot serve God and money” (Matthew 6:24).

When we love money, it’s easy to forget God: “When the Lord your God brings you into the land he swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, to give you—a land with large, flourishing cities you did not build, houses filled with all kinds of good things you did not provide, wells you did not dig, and vineyards and olive groves you did not plant—then when you eat and are satisfied, be careful that you do not forget the Lord, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery” (Deuteronomy 6:10-12).

Make the prayer of Proverbs yours: “Two things I ask of you, O Lord; do not refuse me before I die: Keep falsehood and lies from me; give me neither poverty nor riches, but give me only my daily bread. Otherwise, I may have too much and disown you and say, ‘Who is the Lord?'” (Proverbs 30:7-9). When we love money we become self-sufficient rather than Christ-dependent.

So refuse the love of money, or it will lead you to the deadly sin of greed. Remember: the most important things in life are not things.

Use your means for the Master

Put your hope in God. Use your money for the kingdom. Invest in eternity. And you will receive the joy and eternal reward only he can bestow.

The Sin of Pride

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The Sin of Pride

Dr. Jim Denison

The major was promoted to colonel and received a fancy new office. As he entered it for the first time, sitting in the nice new chair, a knock came at the door. He said, “Come in,” then quickly picked up the telephone as a corporal walked in.

“Just a minute,” the colonel said to the corporal. “I have to finish this telephone call.” Then the colonel began speaking into the mouthpiece: “Sorry about the interruption, General. Yes, sir, I will take care of that. Yes, I’ll call the President after I finish talking with you, General.”

The colonel ceremoniously put the telephone down, turned to the corporal, and said, “What can I do for you?” The corporal replied, “Well, colonel, I just came in to connect your telephone.”

Pride is always listed at the top of the “seven deadly sins.” Thus we will begin our study of these sins at this place. Not that any of us need such a study; Humility and how I perfected it is the book we each could have written. But what does the Bible say to the rest of the race, prideful as it is?

What is pride?

The Bible uses several words for the first deadly sin. Gea (Hebrew) means “haughty” (“I hate pride and arrogance, evil behavior and perverse speech,” Proverbs 8:13). Huperephania (Greek) means “arrogant,” literally “being lifted up” (cf. Mark 7:22). The various Hebrew and Greek words point to the root of pride: being lifted up high. The high waves of the sea are said to be “proud” (Job 38:11). When attributed to humans, this exaltation can be either positive or negative. The question is whether the height is attributed to God or to us.

There is such a thing as “good” pride. For instance, Paul writes, “I glory in Christ Jesus in my service to God” (Romans 15:17, using the Greek word for being lifted up). But why? “I will not venture to speak of anything except what Christ has accomplished through me in leading the Gentiles to obey God by what I have said and done–by the power of signs and miracles, through the power of the Spirit” (vs. 18-19).

By contrast, “bad” pride is exaltation we attribute to ourselves. Examples:

•”You said in your heart, ‘I will ascend to heaven; I will raise my throne above the stars of God; I will sit enthroned on the mount of assembly, on the utmost heights of the sacred mountain. I will ascend above the tops of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.’ But you are brought down to the grave, to the depths of the pit” (Isaiah 14:13-15).

•”The ground of a certain rich man produced a good crop. He thought to himself, ‘What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.’ Then he said, ‘This is what I’ll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. And I’ll say to myself, ‘You have plenty of good things laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry.’ But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?’ This is how it will be with anyone who stores up things for himself but is not rich toward God” (Luke 12:16-21).

The sin of pride is the sin of self-reliance and self-exaltation. It is trusting ourselves and promoting ourselves. Why do we commit it so frequently?

Why do we commit the sin of self-reliant pride?

Nietzsche was right: the “will to power” is the basic drive in human nature. Satan said to Eve, “you will be like God, knowing good and evil” (Genesis 3:5). And she saw that the fuit was “desirable for gaining wisdom,” and ate it. She gave it to Adam as well, and he ate it (v. 6). And we’re still eating it.

Very little that we strive to possess and achieve possesses intrinsic merit worthy of the sacrifices it requires from it. Money is just green paper. A $100,000 vehicle is not so much more efficient than a $20,000 car. Most of us could live in half the house we occupy, and get by. At issue is the will to power. The more we do and own, the more powerful we feel we are. Pride is the basic motive of all fallen humanity.

Conversely, pride covers our self-perceived inadequacies. We were each made by a perfect God, for perfect relationship with him. Though we have fallen into sin, we “remember” the way things should be, and wish they were that way still.

So we know our failures and weaknesses. Rather than admit them, we compensate for them. Our prideful actions cover our self-esteem issues and inadequacies. We act in prideful ways, to convince others that we are what we pretend to be. Years ago, a psychologist friend of mine stated our self-awareness this way: “I am not what I think I am, or what you think I am. I am what I think that you think I am.”

Pride is the expectation of our culture. How does our society define success? Performance, achievement, drive, initiative. The “self-made man.” Jon Gruden, head coach of the once world champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers, arrives at his office at 3:58 each morning. He is so driven that during the season he rarely sees his wife and children. His voice is constantly strained with all the talking and yelling of his job. The world celebrates his success. When last was a truly humble person elevated as a role model for our youth? We are to be driven, prideful, perfectionists or we are not a success.

Self-reliant pride is the basic strategy of the enemy. Jesus’ temptations were each to self-reliant pride. Turn the stone to bread yourself; jump from the temple and impress the people; worship me and I’ll give you the kingdoms of the world. Satan knows that this is where the spiritual battle is won or lost. So he works on us here if nowhere else.

Who is susceptible to sinful pride?

•Religious leaders: “The Pharisee stood up and prayed about himself: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men—robbers, evildoers, adulterers–or even like this tax collector'” (Luke. 18:11).

•Religious people: Job said “I am pure and without sin; I am clean and free from guilt” (Job 33:9). This from a man described as “blameless and upright; he feared God and shunned evil” (Job 1:1).

•Followers of Jesus: “Some of you have become arrogant, as if I were not coming to you” (1 Corinthians 4:18).

•Churches: “You say, ‘I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.’ But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked” (Revelation 3:17).

•Anyone who believes that he or she is not.

What is wrong with sinful pride?

It rejects the Lord: “Pharaoh said, ‘Who is the Lord, that I should obey him and let Israel go? I do not know the Lord and I will not let Israel go” (Exodus 5:2). This is the sin of idolatry.

It uses others: “In his arrogance the wicked man hunts down the weak, who are caught in the schemes he devises” (Psalm 10:2); “Pride is their necklace; they clothe themselves with violence” (Psalm 73:6). When we come first, everyone else comes second and is a means to our end.

It is destructive: “When pride comes, then comes disgrace, but with humility comes wisdom” (Proverbs 11:2); “When Haman saw that Mordecai would not kneel down or pay him honor, he was enraged” (Esther 3:5); “Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall” (Proverbs 16:18). Self-reliance always leads to failure, for we are failed human beings.

It leads to the judgment and punishment of God: “After Uzziah became powerful, his pride led to his downfall. He was unfaithful to the Lord his God, and entered the temple of the Lord his God to burn incense on the altar of incense” (2 Chronicles 26:16).

“Hezekiah’s heart was proud and did not respond to the kindness shown him; therefore the Lord’s wrath was on him and on Judah and Jerusalem” (2 Chronicles 32:25).

To Belshazzar, “You have set yourself up against the Lord of heaven. You had the goblets from his temple brought to you, and you and your nobles, your wives and your concubines drank wine from them. You praised the gods of silver and gold, of bronze, iron, wood and stone, which cannot see or hear or understand. But you did not honor the God who holds in his hand your life and all your ways” (Daniel 5:23).

God must judge and punish anything which robs his glory and harms his created children.

The Bible concludes: “Haughty eyes and a proud heart, the lamp of the wicked, are sin!” (Proverbs 21:4).

What is the answer to sinful pride?

Refuse self-exaltation

•”Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord and shun evil” (Proverbs 3:7).

•”Do you see a man wise in his own eyes? There is more hope for a fool than for him” (Proverbs 26:12).

•”Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes and clever in their own sight” (Isaiah 5:21).

•”The man who thinks he knows something does not yet know as he ought to know” (1 Corinthians 8:2).

Know that everything which tempts you to self-exaltation is the sin of pride. Turn this temptation into humility. Erasmus was wise in this regard: “If Satan tempts you toward boasting, double your efforts to be humble in all things. If Satan tempts you to withhold your prayers, increase them. If your inclinations are to be greedy and selfish, increase your donations to charity. This way you can find in temptation renewed provocation to increased piety. This procedure galls Satan the most. It makes him afraid to tempt you because nothing is more hateful to the Evil One than that he should be responsible for some good.”

See your need for God

“Do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what a day may bring forth” (Proverbs 27:1). When you are tempted to boast, think of all the ways God has blessed you, and of your utter dependence on these blessings.

See yourself as the valuable child of God

“You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. . . . If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed and heirs according to the promise” (Galatians 3:26, 29).

Everything which tempts you to self-rejection will lead to pride as compensation. When you are tempted to self-loathing, remember that you have been “died for.” Much of our external pride compensates for such self-deprecation, which is not biblical humility at all.

Value humility as the path to the power of God

•”Moses was a very humble man, more humble than anyone else on the face of the earth” (Numbers 12:3). His pride, however, kept him from the Promised Land.

•Daniel replied, “No wise man, enchanter, magician or diviner can explain to the king the mystery he has asked about, but there is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries” (Daniel 2:27-28). His humility enabled God to use him.

•Jesus: “I tell you the truth, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing” (John 5:19).

Martin Luther was right: “God creates out of nothing. Therefore, until a man is nothing, God can make nothing out of him.”

Seek the help of God

Every day of his life, Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones prayed the same prayer, “Lord, keep me from pride.” When last did you make this your prayer?

When God Shows Up

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When God Shows Up

Isaiah 6:1-8

Dr. Jim Denison

Karl Barth, the eminent theologian, claimed that “Christian worship is the most momentous, the most urgent, the most glorious action that can take place in human life.”

All of creation worships its Creator: “The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of their hands. Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they display knowledge. There is no speech or language where their voice is not heard. Their voice goes out into all the earth, the words to the ends of the world” (Psalm 19:1-4). All we see worships the One we cannot see.

But we alone have a choice in the matter. We can worship our Creator or his creation. This fall, we will learn how to choose wisely. As we seek to put God first, to make him not just our Savior, but our King, we will focus each week on an attribute of our heavenly Father and ask what that characteristic means to our worship and our lives.

We begin this morning with the most foundational statement in all of Scripture regarding the King we have come to honor today. When we get this right, our Lord will show up in our worship and our lives. This is the promise of God.

Who is the God we worship?

Hebrew is a strange language to Americans. It reads right to left; the original had no vowels; their poetry never rhymed. And they made an adjective superlative by repeating it; we would say, “good, better, best”—they would say “good, good, good.”

Only once does Scripture say something three times about God: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty” (Isaiah 6:3). Quoting the “four living creatures” of heaven, Revelation says: “Day and night they never stop saying, ‘Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty, who was, and is, and is to come'” (Revelation 4:8).

Over and over the Bible proclaims this fact about our King.

God calls himself holy: “Consecrate yourselves therefore, and be holy; for I am holy” (Leveticus 11:44).

Scripture agrees: “Who among the gods is like you, O Lord? Who is like you—majestic in holiness, awesome in glory, working wonders?” (Exodus 15:11).

“There is no one holy like the Lord; there is no one besides you; there is no Rock like our God” (1 Samuel 2:2).

“Who can stand in the presence of the Lord, this holy God?” (1 Samuel 6:20).

“The Lord our God is holy” (Psalm 99:9).

“You alone are holy” (Revelation 15:4).

What does it mean for God to be “holy”?

The Hebrew word is qadosh, to be clean, hallowed, pure, sacred, different from all else.

Such a being is the superlative of every good. Think of the universe, 13.7 billion light years across—this God measures it in the palm of his hand (Isaiah 40:12). Think of the nanotechnologies now being developed, using particles which are no larger than one 75th of a millimeter. This God designed the atoms and molecules they use, and tracks each one. Think of the most loving, gracious, godly person you know—this God is such character to infinity.

The Jewish scribes, men who devoted their lives to copying the word of God, knew something of his holiness. They would not even speak his name, so that today we don’t know how it was originally pronounced. They would not write it, so that today it is common to see Jews write G-d so as not to spell his full name. Typically, when a scribe came to the name of God he would bathe, put on new clothes, grasp a new quill, write the name; then discard the quill and burn his clothes, bathe again, put on his old clothes, take up his old quill, and continue.

By contrast, think of the ways our culture takes his name in vain; of the ways we take his blessings, his grace, his forbearance, his worship for granted. Of the ways we come to worship when it suits us, pray when we need something, read Scripture when it’s convenient.

Why do we worship him?

What does our King expect us to do in response to his holiness?

Here is his command: “Exalt the Lord our God and worship at his holy mountain, for the Lord our God is holy” (Psalm 99:9).

Our first response to our holy God is worship. The word in Hebrew is shachah, “to bow down, to do homage;” in Greek it is proskuneo, “to kiss toward,” to reverence. Why do we pay such homage to this King?

First, because he deserves our worship.

It was “the year that King Uzziah died” (v. 1a). Uzziah had been the greatest king the nation had known since Solomon. He had ruled for 52 years, modernizing their army, conquering the Philistines, extending commerce, bringing peace and prosperity such as the nation had not known since Solomon.

Now their great king lay in his grave. However, their greatest King was not: “I saw the Lord seated on a throne, high and exalted, and the train of his robe filled the temple” (v. 1b). In the ancient world, the higher a king’s throne, the greater his power. This King’s throne stands above Uzziah’s, or any other’s. The longer the train of his robe, the greater his royalty; this King’s robe filled the Holy of Holies, some 40,500 square feet, 30 by 30 by 45 feet high.

This is the creator of the universe, the ruler of all that is, the One who gives us life and life eternal. He deserves our worship.

Second, we honor our King because he demands our worship.

Isaiah said, “I saw the Lord.” “Lord” is Adonai, used over 300 times in the Bible. It means owner, ruler, one who reigns over all, the King. And the King expects the worship of his subjects.

King Uzziah died because he failed this very demand. He had entered the Temple himself, with a golden censer to burn incense, a job only the priest could perform. The priests cautioned him, and he flew into a fit of rage against them. Immediately he was smitten with leprosy, banished from the kingdom, and lived alone to the day he died.

Our God cannot share his glory. For us to worship anyone or anything but him is idolatry. Worshiping God is the purpose for which we exist. Our Creator knows that such a lifestyle is the most fulfilling way for us to live. And so he demands our worship, for his glory and for our good.

Third, we reverence our King because he empowers our worship. When we connect with our God in heart-felt, genuine commitment, walking on our knees, we enable him to empower us for his purposes.

John Wesley was saved from a burning building when he was a child. The experience of being saved by a loving God who deserved his worship never left him. In serving that God he traveled 250,000 miles on horseback, averaging 20 miles a day for 40 years; he preached 4,000 sermons, produced 400 books, and learned to use 10 languages. At the age of 83 he was annoyed that he could not write more than 15 hours a day without hurting his eyes, and at 86 was ashamed that he could not preach more than twice a day. He complained in his diary that there was an increasing tendency to lie in bed until 5:30 in the morning.

Such is the way our King “adds everything else to us” (Matthew 6:33), when we give him the worship which is his due. When we walk on our knees, living a life of worship, he shows up.

How do we worship him?

So we close with the practical question: how do we worship this King? What do we do so that he can show up in our church and our lives? Each Sunday this fall, we will follow Isaiah’s example. His experience began with adoration.

The prophet was granted a vision of the God we worship today in his Holy of Holies. Surrounding him were the “seraphs.” This is the only time they are found in all God’s word. Their name means “burning ones,” as they were burning with the glory and worship of their Lord.

“With two wings they covered their faces,” indicative of humility in the presence of One greater. “With two they covered their feet,” recognizing the holiness of the One they worshiped, as when Moses removed his shoes because he was standing on holy ground. “With two they were flying” around the throne of their God.

Worship begins with adoration. We admit that he is the great I Am, and we are the I Am Not. He is worthy of all praise and honor and glory. We enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise (Psalm 100:4). All this fall we will seek ways to begin worship with the adoration of our King.

Next comes revelation.

“They were calling to one another”—the Hebrew indicates that one called out to another, who then called out to another, who then called out to another. One cried “Holy”; the second then cried “Holy”; the third then cried “Holy.” And on and on and on.

Such proclamation indicated not only God’s character, but his essence. Heaven proclaimed that he was, is, and ever shall be the “Holy One of Israel.”

When we step into the presence of God through adoration, we then hear his word revealed to us. Not by a preacher, but by the Lord Himself by his Spirit. All this fall we will seek to hear the word and will of God.

Third, biblical worship creates transformation.

Isaiah saw the Lord, and then he saw himself: “Woe to me! I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the Lord Almighty” (v. 5). “I am doomed!” is a more literal translation. The Hebrews knew that they words revealed their hearts, so that “unclean lips” means an unclean soul.

Then one of the seraphs took a live coal from the burning altar, to show that what was about to transpire was at the cost of sacrifice. With it he purged Isaiah’s lips and his soul. He was forgiven, cleansed, transformed.

We have not worshiped God until the same has happened to us. Each week this fall, we will seek times of confession, cleansing, transformation as we worship God.

Last, biblical worship leads to service.

Now came a call Isaiah could not have heard or heeded when this chapter began: “Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?” Now Isaiah could answer, “Here am I. Send me!” (v. 8).

His lips had been unclean; now he is willing to use them to answer the call of God. Worship leads to commission. Each week we will seek the way God would have us serve the King we worship.

Conclusion

Let’s begin today. We have adored our God in worship, and we have heard the proclamation of his truth. Will you be transformed by what you have experienced?

First, will you confess your sin and claim God’s cleansing forgiveness?

Then, will you ask the Lord to use you this week, to show you how to serve his Kingdom and make him your King?

This past summer, Ryan and I were privileged to join Dale Jones, one of our lay leaders, and some 25,000 college students on a farm outside of Sherman, Texas for an event called OneDay03. It was one of the most powerful worship experiences of my life. The weekend before the event began, however, a horrific thunderstorm swept through the area. Lightning hit some of the students, though none were seriously injured. Wind swept away dozens of tents, so that students slept on gym floors. Many lost clothes, food, everything.

When Louie Giglio, the organizer of the event, stood to welcome the students the next day, he recounted all they had endured—the storms, the rain, the sleepless nights. I thought he was going to thank them for their sacrifice and patience. Instead he said, “And our God is worth all that.”

He was right.

When You’re Ready To Quit

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When You’re Ready to Quit

Isaiah 40:27-31

Dr. Jim Denison

There is a story going around that at a computer exposition, Bill Gates compared the computer industry with the automobile industry and stated, “If GM had kept up with technology like the computer industry has, we would all be driving $25.00 cars that got 1,000 miles to the gallon.”

It goes on that in response, GM issued a press release stating that if GM had developed technology like Microsoft, we would all be driving cars with the following characteristics. (1) For no reason whatsoever, your car would crash twice a day. (2) About every two to three years, you would have to buy a new car. (3) Occasionally your car would die on the freeway for no reason. You would have to pull over to the side of the road, close all the windows, shut off the car, restart it, and reopen the windows before you could continue. For some reason, you would simply accept this. (4) The oil, water temperature, and alternator warning lights would all be replaced by a single ‘This Car Has Performed An Illegal Operation’ warning light. (5) The airbag system would ask ‘Are you sure?’ before deploying. (6) Occasionally, for no reason at all, your car would lock you out and refuse to let you in until you simultaneously lifted the door handle, turned the key and grabbed hold of the radio antenna. (7) Every time a new car was introduced car buyers would have to learn how to drive all over again because none of the controls would operate in the same manner as the old car. (8) You’d have to press the ‘Start’ button to turn the engine off.

Life is filled with challenges which technology cannot solve for us. There are times when life crashes with no reboot in sight, when the road dead ends no matter what car we’re driving. What is your greatest struggle, or shame, or disappointment? Where does it seem God is silent to your cries, unreceptive to your prayers, distant to your pain? What do we do there?

Our text tells us to keep worshiping God. Keep trusting God. Keep going to God. Don’t give up. Don’t quit. But why not, when you’ve given God all the time and opportunity he needs and he is still silent? Let’s see how God answers our question.

Where has God disappointed you? (v. 27)

Judah was all that is left of God’s chosen people. But now the nation is in exile in Babylon, her homeland burned and destroyed. She is the South just after Sherman’s march through Atlanta. Her people feel they have no future, that their God has abandoned them or is too weak to help them. This was never to happen to them. So God’s people are “weak” and “weary”—these words appear in every verse from 28 to 31. They are depressed and ready to quit on God.

They’re not the last.

Philip Yancey’s classic book, Disappointment With God, tells the stories of suffering souls he has known and interviewed, many of whom felt they had reason to give up on their faith. In a fascinating irony, I noticed this week that my copy has a label on the cover which says, “100% Money Back Guarantee. If for any reason you are dissatisfied with ‘Disappointment with God,’ return it postpaid (with the receipt) to Zondervan Publishing House for a complete refund.” The book comes with a money-back guarantee. But the faith it describes does not, in the experience of many of us.

We become disappointed with God for two reasons.

Sometimes we feel, “My way is hidden from the Lord.” “Way” in the Hebrew means our “condition;” “hidden” means “unknown.” My condition or problem is unknown to God, or he would do something about it. He doesn’t know about me.

Or he doesn’t care: “my cause is disregarded by my God.” He knows about me, but doesn’t care to get involved. It’s not his intelligence which is limited, but his love.

Either he doesn’t know, or he doesn’t care. Otherwise, why won’t he help us? Why won’t he get us out of our Babylonian slavery and transport us to the Promised Land? Why is he unfair, or silent, or hidden?

Be honest and specific: aren’t you asking such questions in your mind or spirit, either consciously or unconsciously? Don’t you have nagging doubts, or even worse, shouting pain in your soul? You prayed for a loved one who died anyway; you asked God to keep you from falling into sin again, but you fell anyway; you asked God to guide your decision, but it was the wrong one; you asked him to heal you, but he hasn’t; you asked him for a job, but you’re still unemployed; you’ve told him of your loneliness, but you’re still alone.

Why hasn’t he helped you? (v. 28-31a)

Why hasn’t this God helped you?

It’s not because he doesn’t know, that your “way is hidden from the Lord.” You see, “The Lord is the everlasting God” (v. 28a). He is the God of all time. He is present in every moment, aware of every event, omniscient in every second, in ancient Babylon and in Dallas this morning.

And it’s not because he can’t help, for he is “the Creator of the ends of the earth” (v. 28b). He is the God of time and space. He created Babylon; he created Dallas; he created you.

“He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom.” It’s not because he doesn’t know or cannot help.

Then why? It’s not because he doesn’t want to help us: “He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak” (v. 29). These verbs are in the active sense—this is his initiative, his choice, his action. They are in the present tense—he is still doing this.

Then why not for you?

Perhaps he is answering your prayers in ways you do not yet see. Before your next employer can call you with a job opening, the person in that position must move to California to take a job with a firm there. God is engineering that step, so he can then move you. Dominoes you cannot see must fall first.

Perhaps he is meeting your needs in ways you will never see. Silent angelic protection from unseen harm; anonymous donors of time, money, and support; a greater good through the present pain than you will be able to recognize this side of glory.

But I’m convinced that much of the time, our problems apparently go unsolved and our prayers apparently unanswered because we do not put ourselves in position to receive all that our Father wants to give.

Our culture is tempted daily to trust in ourselves, to solve our own problems, to meet our own needs. Some sociologists believe that the two most pressured, stressed, driven cultures in the world are Tokyo, Japan and North Dallas.

But “even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall” (v. 30). “Youths” is a technical Hebrew word for those specially trained and selected for hazardous battle due to their unusual physical strength and endurance. Even the youngest and the strongest will inevitably grow weary and fail. An Olympic swimming champion cannot swim to Hawaii.

So what does he want us to do? “Hope in the Lord” (v. 31a).

This Hebrew phrase means to trust in the Lord, to stay connected to him, to remain dependent upon him. To “place your hope” in God, rather than in yourself or any anything or anyone but him. This is an active word, not passive—to find ways to trust in God.

Don’t give up, or give out, or give in. Keep worshiping God even when you don’t feel like it or want to, for that’s when you need such worship the most. Healthy people don’t need doctors, Jesus said. Keep reading his word, keep praying, keep obeying, keep trusting. Keep hoping in the Lord. A power tool can be connected to only one source. And it must stay connected to that source until the power comes on.

When we “hope in the Lord,” what does he promise he’ll do?

What will he do for us? (v. 31)

There are four promises, four “wills” here. First, you “will” renew your strength.

“Renew” means to exchange our strength for his, in the sense of trading an old Volkswagen Beetle for a new Ferrari. He will replace our failing strength with his divine, omnipotent power.

Paul heard this God say, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness” (2 Corinthians 12.9). His grace, his power—not ours. And so Paul could testify: “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me” (Galatians 2:20). Paul knew about the exchanged life, ours for God’s. His strength, his power, his help, his resources flowing into us and through us. If we don’t quit. If we stay connected to this God in trusting worship.

Then we “will” soar on wings like eagles. Sometimes we need God to set us free from our bondage, our failures, our past. And he will.

We “will” run and not grow weary. Sometimes we need God to empower us as we run the race before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith (Hebrews 12:1-2).

And we “will” walk and not be faint. This is sometimes the hardest thing to do—to keep on going, no matter what happens to us. To walk and not faint, even when we should and even when we want to.

But note this fact: the Lord says that we “will” renew our strength, but he doesn’t say when: “Let us not become weary in well doing, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up” (Galatians 6:9).

We may see today God’s plan and purpose in this problem and disappointment; we may see it tomorrow. Or we may not see it until we are in glory with our Lord: “Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known” (1 Corinthians 13:12).

When Mike Yaconelli and his wife lost their young child, someone asked him how he was doing. He replied, “We’re making it day to day, knowing that one day we will be able to ask God some very hard questions.”

We have learned that our God is holy, thus deserving of worship brought to him with clean hands and hearts. We have learned that he is forgiving, so that he will cleanse every sin we confess and purify us so that we can worship him. We have learned today that our God is love, so that he will hear every prayer we offer in worship, and meet every need we trust to him according to his will and timing, for his glory and our good.

Conclusion

So we will make intercession part of our worship each week and each day. We will bring our disappointments, frustrations, and pain to this God who is love. And we will trade in our strength for his, as we hope in him. When we’re ready to quit, we will not give up on God. Because he will not give up on us.

Missionary Thomas Dooley told the story of an old Chinese man who had once worked on a commune in Red China with his son. During harvest, his son had taken a few handfuls of rice to give to his starving mother. He was discovered. The authorities imprisoned him in a cage so small that the boy could not move or sit up straight. They placed his cage in the center of the city. His father was forced to watch, as day after day he died slowly, under the broiling sun with nothing to eat or drink, covered with flies and ants. The father said, “It was good when the guards pronounced him dead.”

If a father chose to watch his son die in your cage, for your crimes, would you ever doubt again his love for you? Make the words of the hymn writer your commitment today:

Beneath the cross of Jesus

I fain would take my stand,

the shadow of a mighty rock

within a weary land;

a home within the wilderness,

a rest upon the way,

from the burning of the noontide heat,

and the burden of the day.

Upon that cross of Jesus

mine eye at times can see

the very dying form of One

who suffered there for me;

and from my stricken heart with tears

two wonders I confess:

the wonders of redeeming love

and my unworthiness.

I take, O cross, thy shadow

for my abiding place;

I ask no other sunshine than

the sunshine of his face;

content to let the world go by,

to know no gain or loss,

my sinful self my only shame,

my glory all the cross.

You worship today the God who is love. Don’t give up on him, for he will never give up on you.

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