Need a Witness? Joshua 22-24

May the mumbling commence!

Do you need a witness?  Our faith provides us with many opportunities to give witness.  There are a few examples of these kinds of witnesses in today’s readings that finish up the book of Joshua.  In chapter 22, the tribes of Reuben and Gad and Manasseh were released to return to their inheritance on the east side of the Jordan.  Before they crossed over the Jordan River, they built a large stone altar.

This altar caused much trouble to arise in Israel.  They feared that these tribes were wandering from the Lord.  It seemed that they were building an altar to sacrifice to the Lord rather than going to the place that the Lord would choose for His name.  The other tribes were afraid of a repeat of the problems that Achan caused by taking the devoted things.  They also mentioned the sin of Peor. 

So, what was the sin of Peor?  It was when the men of Israel began to commit sexual immorality with the women of Moab and Midian.  These women began to lead the men of Israel to worship their gods and bow down to them.  The Lord sent a plague among them that was stopped when Phinehas killed an Israelite man and a Moabite woman who were committing this sexual immorality among the leadership of Israel.  It seems right, then, that Phinehas was leading this group of Israelites to confront the tribes of Reuben, Gad and Manasseh.

The tribes who built the altar replied that the altar was not meant for sacrificing.  They built the altar as a witness between the tribes of Israel who are west and east of the Jordan River.  It was a reminder that the tribes east of the river were a part of Israel who followed the Lord.  They wanted to prevent the children of the tribes west of the river from thinking the tribes east of the river had no part in the Lord.  All the tribes, then, accepted the altar as a replica and a witness between them and their descendants.

Another witness occurs in chapter 24.  Joshua chapter 24 has challenging words of choice.  My family has this quote from Joshua hanging on a plaque in our front room, where it can easily be seen.  It comes from verse 15: “But if serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your forefathers served beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.” 

Who do I choose to follow?  Who does my family choose to follow?  Who does my faith family choose to follow?  These are important questions.  We must be careful how we answer them.  Just as Joshua cautioned Israel to be careful.  The Lord is a jealous God.  He will not take second place to anyone or anything.  If we choose to serve the Lord, there is no turning back.  Our thoughts, words and actions will be witness either for us or against us.

In verses 25-27, Joshua sets up a stone reminder under a tree as witness.  Joshua wrote the words of the Book of the Law on the stone.  The stone was set up to be a witness, a reminder.  When children grow up knowing nothing of the miracles of the past, the stone would cause discussion.  It would give parents the opening to teach their children the way of the Lord.

As we move forward in our walk with the Lord, witnesses to our past are important to construct.  Witnesses give us opportunity to share our faith walk with those new to the faith.  We may explain the meaning of the garden near the church building or the stain glass windows in the sanctuary.  We may explain the plaques on our walls at home or the bumper stickers on our vehicles.  We may explain the messages on our t-shirts.

And because of these things, we need to be careful to guard our thoughts, words, and actions so that they will match the witnesses that we have constructed around us.  Just as Joshua reminded the Israelites, I remind myself (and you) that I need to be careful to follow the call of the Lord to love the Lord, walk in His ways, obey His commands, and serve Him with all that I am (Josh 22:5).  

Enough mumbling for now…  

Peace Out

Lost in the Promised Land, Part 3; Joshua 19-21

May the mumbling commence!

It’s me again.  I am still lost in the Promised Land.  I wonder if I could get a GPS.

Are you iron deficient in your diet?  There is a dose of irony in the choice of one of the cities of refuge.  In case you forgot, cities of refuge were to be set aside throughout the Promised Land so that someone who unintentionally kills someone else would have a refuge to run to from the avenger of blood. 

One of these cities of refuge was set up in the hill country of Ephraim.  Shechem was set aside in Ephraim for a city of refuge.  It is highly ironic that Shechem was chosen for a city of refuge.  Shechem was the scene of the crime.  Do you remember the story of Dinah, the sister of Simeon and Levi, from Genesis 34?  Dinah had gone into town, where the prince of Shechem raped her.  The king approached Jacob and his sons to ask for Dinah as a wife for his son.

Jacob’s sons asked for the entire male population of Shechem to be circumcised in order to make marrying a possibility.  They agreed and did as they were told.  While they were still hurting, Simeon and Levi attacked the city and killed every male.  What vicious hatred and retaliation!  It was because of instances like this one that the Lord set restrictions on human vengeance in the first place.

Now, this city was to be a city of refuge.  Its past of rampant retaliation was being transformed by the Lord.  I wonder if the choice was intentional.  I wonder if it was a foreshadowing of hope that the Lord had for Israel coming to fruition.

And the irony runs even deeper than this!  The cities of refuge were set aside for the Levites.  Levi’s wrath on the city of Shechem and Levi’s fervor for the Lord which atoned for this wrong had come full circle.  The city that their father once helped to destroy now was theirs.

Sometimes, our lives seem to go in cycles.  My hope and prayer is that these cycles in my life will lead me ever closer to the man that the Lord has created me to be.  May the hatred and vengeance that I carry within me be transformed to fervor for the Lord.  May I own and transform the memories of my past failures.

Enough mumbling for today…

Peace Out

Lost in the Promised Land Part 2; Joshua 16-19

May the mumbling commence!

Here I am again.  I am still lost in the Promised Land.  In the midst of today’s allotment of the Promised Land, another hidden promise is fulfilled.  Do you remember the daughters of Zelophehad?  Read this excerpt from Joshua 17:

Now Zelophehad son of Hepher, the son of Gilead, the son of Makir, the son of Manasseh, had no sons but only daughters, whose names were Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah and Tirzah.  They went to Eleazar the priest, Joshua son of Nun, and the leaders and said, "The Lord commanded Moses to give us an inheritance among our brothers." So Joshua gave them an inheritance along with the brothers of their father, according to the Lord's command.  Manasseh's share consisted of ten tracts of land besides Gilead and Bashan east of the Jordan, because the daughters of the tribe of Manasseh received an inheritance among the sons. The land of Gilead belonged to the rest of the descendants of Manasseh. (Verses 3-6)

The precedent had been set by the Lord through Moses and the promise was carried out by the Lord through Joshua and Eleazar.  Manasseh’s inheritance was increased because of Zelophehad’s daughters.  The Lord always fulfills His promises even at great cost and at great irritation to larger humanity. 

No, the Lord does not have a preferential option for the poor and vulnerable – even though it may look that way to some people.  The Lord blesses everyone the same, and sometimes it looks scandalous to our eyes.  The Lord is always fair and just.

But, at times, people do question the fair distribution of God’s blessings.  Look at this passage from later in Joshua 17:

The people of Joseph said to Joshua, "Why have you given us only one allotment and one portion for an inheritance? We are a numerous people and the Lord has blessed us abundantly." 

"If you are so numerous," Joshua answered, "and if the hill country of Ephraim is too small for you, go up into the forest and clear land for yourselves there in the land of the Perizzites and Rephaites." 

The people of Joseph replied, "The hill country is not enough for us, and all the Canaanites who live in the plain have iron chariots, both those in Beth Shan and its settlements and those in the Valley of Jezreel." 

But Joshua said to the house of Joseph – to Ephraim and Manasseh – "You are numerous and very powerful. You will have not only one allotment but the forested hill country as well. Clear it, and its farthest limits will be yours; though the Canaanites have iron chariots and though they are strong, you can drive them out." (Verses 14-18)

Joseph’s sons thought that their inheritance was too small.  Their fear confined them in the hills.  Though there were valleys and plains in their allotment, they feared the iron chariots of the people of the valley and the plains. We often like to cling to the familiar and comfortable. 

We often wish to stay with the Lord in the mountaintop experiences.  Yet, we learn much about ourselves, develop our faith, and cement our character in the experiences we have in the valley and it the plains.  With the Lord, we can conquer our times in the valleys and the plains – just like the sons of Joseph were invited to do.

I will leave us with the question from Joshua 18:3b – "How long will you wait before you begin to take possession of the land that the Lord, the God of your fathers, has given you?”  Let us wait no longer to place our claim on being children of God and take possession of the Promised Land that is before us – life eternal with God.  Eternal life starts when you choose to take possession of it through faith in Jesus.  And eternal life is not only about quantity, it is also about quality.  The caliber of eternal life is so great that our wildest imaginings fall far short.  I praise the Lord for the promises that He sets before me.  

Enough mumbling for now…  

Peace Out

Lost in the Promised Land; Joshua 13-15

May the mumbling commence!

OK, I admit it.  I am geographically challenged.  For me, it makes the allotment of the Promised Land less than spiritually inspiring.  And, in Joshua, the allotment of the Promised Land takes seven chapters.  That makes today’s reading, tomorrow’s reading, and a part of the next day’s reading – almost to the end of March!

It’s time for me to buckle down and dig for something good these next few days.  Today, my eye was caught by the steadfast nature of Caleb.  Caleb was Joshua’s counterpart in spy gate.  Both Caleb and Joshua tried to encourage Israel to enter into the Promised Land with the Lord at their lead.  Of their generation, only Joshua and Caleb survived to see the Promised Land.  Read this passage from Joshua 14:

Now the men of Judah approached Joshua at Gilgal, and Caleb son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite said to him, "You know what the Lord said to Moses the man of God at Kadesh Barnea about you and me.  I was forty years old when Moses the servant of the Lord sent me from Kadesh Barnea to explore the land. And I brought him back a report according to my convictions, but my brothers who went up with me made the hearts of the people melt with fear. I, however, followed the Lord my God wholeheartedly.  So on that day Moses swore to me, 'The land on which your feet have walked will be your inheritance and that of your children forever, because you have followed the Lord my God wholeheartedly.' 

Now then, just as the Lord promised, he has kept me alive for forty-five years since the time he said this to Moses, while Israel moved about in the desert. So here I am today, eighty-five years old!  I am still as strong today as the day Moses sent me out; I'm just as vigorous to go out to battle now as I was then.  Now give me this hill country that the Lord promised me that day. You yourself heard then that the Anakites were there and their cities were large and fortified, but, the Lord helping me, I will drive them out just as he said." (Verses 6-12)

Caleb followed the Lord wholeheartedly, and the Lord followed through on His promise.  Caleb was to receive the land that he set foot upon.  Just as he spoke his heart’s convictions forty-five years ago, Caleb once again spoke his convictions – despite the mighty Anakite presence and despite the fortified cities, Caleb would drive them out.  Caleb would drive them out with the Lord’s help.  These were the same encouraging words that Caleb spoke so long ago.

Now, at the age of eighty-five, Caleb spoke these words of great faith in the Lord and committed himself to action.  There are second chances.  So, when we look back on our lives and see failures of faith, we can be assured if we strive to keep to the path we will be given another chance to test our faith and prove worthy of the title of children of God.

Do NOT give up on the journey.  If you hear this advice, it is Satan trying to deceive you.

I thank God this day for second chances to prove our faith in the Lord and to allow the Lord’s light to shine through us.

Enough mumbling for now…

Peace Out

Protecting the Deceivers; Joshua 10-12

May the mumbling commence!

And, now, Israel was to protect the deceivers!  The men of Gibeon, who had deceived Israel, came under attack from the surrounding kingdoms.  The other kings feared that Israel and Gibeon would combine forces and be unstoppable.  (Like Israel hadn’t been unstoppable before.  Yes, there was that episode with Ai; but that was Israel’s failings NOT the failing of the Lord of Israel.)

With five kingdoms at their doorstep, Gibeon sent for aid from Israel.  Israel could have thought, “Serves you right.  You not only deceived us.  You betrayed your neighbors.”  Israel’s oath to the Lord had only to do with Israel not destroying the Gibeonites.  Why should they rise up and protect them?  It seems to be a debatable question.  Yet, Israel did not hesitate to come to Gibeon’s aid.

Gibeon had not shown fear of Israel.  They had shown fear and trust in the Lord of Israel – like Rahab.  Note these verses:

"Your servants have come from a very distant country because of the fame of the Lord your God. For we have heard reports of him: all that he did in Egypt,  and all that he did to the two kings of the Amorites east of the Jordan – Sihon king of Heshbon, and Og king of Bashan, who reigned in Ashtaroth.” (Josh 9:9b-10)

Rahab received protection from the Lord, and Gibeon would receive the same protection.  The entire Israel army went to rescue Gibeon.  But the Lord fought for Israel and for Gibeon.  Read this passage from Joshua 10:

So Joshua marched up from Gilgal with his entire army, including all the best fighting men.  The Lord said to Joshua, "Do not be afraid of them; I have given them into your hand. Not one of them will be able to withstand you." 

After an all-night march from Gilgal, Joshua took them by surprise.  The Lord threw them into confusion before Israel, who defeated them in a great victory at Gibeon. Israel pursued them along the road going up to Beth Horon and cut them down all the way to Azekah and Makkedah.  As they fled before Israel on the road down from Beth Horon to Azekah, the Lord hurled large hailstones down on them from the sky, and more of them died from the hailstones than were killed by the swords of the Israelites. 

On the day the Lord gave the Amorites over to Israel, Joshua said to the Lord in the presence of Israel:

 "O sun, stand still over Gibeon,

O moon, over the Valley of Aijalon." 

So the sun stood still,

and the moon stopped,

till the nation avenged itself on its enemies,

as it is written in the Book of Jashar.

The sun stopped in the middle of the sky and delayed going down about a full day.  There has never been a day like it before or since, a day when the Lord listened to a man. Surely the Lord was fighting for Israel! (Verses 7-14)

Neither Israel nor Gibeon had any need to fear.  The Lord fought for them.  Because of their faithfulness to each other and their faithfulness to the Lord, the Lord won the day.  Confusion in the enemy ranks ruled.  Large hailstones fell from the sky and crushed the opposition – more so than the swords of Israel.  The Lord even listened to the prayer of Joshua and made time stand still – both sun and moon.

Let us give thanks and seek to protect all who place their trust in the Lord – regardless of misguided reasons and methods to communicate that trust and damage to our self-image.  

Enough mumbling for now…  

Peace Out

Confidence in the Lord Alone; Joshua 7-9

May the mumbling commence!

A whole nation suffers from the indiscretion of one person.  One person’s sin can cause the death of others.  This hard lesson is found in Joshua 7.  Achan took some of the devoted things from the city of Jericho.  Achan carefully hid these items away in his tent.  He buried these items that he coveted for himself – a beautiful robe, five pounds of silver and one-and-a-quarter pounds of gold.  Of all the plunder available, it must have seemed a small, insignificant amount to Achan.  Who would know?  God would know.

And the nation of Israel found out the hard way.  Israel looked to the next city they would conquer, Ai.  They spied out the city and found it small, so they decided to send only a small portion of their fighting men.  They were confident that a small army would take the city.  But Israel was routed, and thirty-six men were killed in battle.

Joshua wondered if the Lord truly wanted Israel to invade the Promised Land.  Joshua fell facedown in prayer, asking God what He would do to uplift His great and holy name.  I have, at times, commended Moses and Aaron when they fell facedown before the Lord; but there are times when a leader must stand against sin in the midst of the community.  It takes wisdom to know the difference.  Human leaders must inquire of the Lord, or the time to stand and the time to fall facedown will be confused.

I say this now because of the Lord’s answer to Joshua, “Stand up!  What are you doing down on your face?  Israel has sinned.”  Yes, sometimes, we need to stand – just as Moses stood in his anger when he returned to Israel’s camp with the first set of commandments on the stone tablets to find Israel worshiping a golden calf.

When Achan was found out by lot, Joshua and the people showed Achan their anger.  Achan had caused the death of thirty-six men in battle and had put all of Israel underneath the ban of God.  All of their lives were at risk.  As Joshua rightly knew, if the people of the land heard of this defeat, Israel would be quickly surrounded and wiped off the face of the earth.  Here is how the chapter ends:

Joshua said, "Why have you brought this trouble on us? The Lord will bring trouble on you today." Then all Israel stoned him, and after they had stoned the rest, 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. (Josh 7:25-26)

Achan had to be disposed of from their midst, and then the Lord turned His fierce anger away.  Trouble (Achor in Hebrew) would then be lifted from Israel.  May we be on guard against letting “small” things slip from what the Lord commands us, because the fortunes of the entire community of God’s people will be put at risk – not just our own lives.

Had Israel been overconfident in their own military prowess in their first attempt to take Ai?  Perhaps.  They took only a small portion of Israel’s fighting men.  The second time God commanded them to take everyone.  God wanted all they had, but God won the day.  Let us trust in God alone – not in our own wisdom or wealth or prowess.

Now, the Lord called Joshua to use the overconfidence of Ai to their destruction.  Israel set up an ambush behind the city of Ai, and a smaller group openly attacked Ai.  This smaller group fled before the men of Ai, who all came in pursuit of Israel.  They left the city unprotected.  They lost their city and were trapped between the two groups of Israelites.

Joshua 9 shows, once again, the dangers of not inquiring of the Lord.  They were fooled by the Gibeonites.  Israel thought that they were from a distant land, so they promised not to harm them – they gave Gibeon an oath sworn to the Lord.  And oaths could not be broken, so Israel forced the Gibeonites to hard labor of woodcutting and water carrying.  When in doubt – take it to the Lord in prayer.  Otherwise, we will be fooled into wrong moves. Our confidence is in the Lord alone!  

Enough mumbling for now…  

Peace Out

Is God on Our Side? Joshua 3-6

May the mumbling commence!

Is God on our side?  When nations or factions are at war, this question is often asked.  Most people believe the answer is yes, but most people are wrong.  The answer is quite simple.  Read this exchange between Joshua and the commander of the army of the Lord:

Now when Joshua was near Jericho, he looked up and saw a man standing in front of him with a drawn sword in his hand. Joshua went up to him and asked, "Are you for us or for our enemies?" 

"Neither," he replied, "but as commander of the army of the Lord I have now come." Then Joshua fell facedown to the ground in reverence, and asked him, "What message does my Lord have for his servant?" 

The commander of the Lord's army replied, "Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy." And Joshua did so. (Josh 5:13-15)

Is God for us or our enemies?  The answer from the Lord is NEITHER.  The better question to ask is this: Are we on God’s side?  Like Joshua, do we fall facedown before the Lord and ask for His guidance?  Do we humble ourselves and take off our sandals on holy ground?  These questions are much more important than asking the question, “Is God on our side?”  And these questions are much harder to answer.  That’s why we fall facedown and humble ourselves before the Lord and wait upon the Lord’s instruction – no matter how long it takes.

And God commands us in ways that are contrary to worldly wisdom.  After Israel crossed the Jordan River on dry ground, the Lord commanded Joshua to circumcise all the Israelite men again.  These men were born during the desert wanderings and had not been circumcised.  There was Israel on the doorstep of the enemy, and they circumcised all their fighting men.  They reclaimed the sign of their covenant with God and left themselves vulnerable to attack.  Do you remember how the sons of Jacob deceived the men of Shechem by asking them to circumcise all their men only to attack them while they were still sore and aching from the procedure? 

Israel now found themselves with the shoe on the other foot, but the Lord protected them through the fear that He caused with the drying up of the Jordan River at flood stage that allowed Israel to walk over on dry ground.  Perhaps, the people of the Promised Land thought that the flood season was buying them some time before Israel could cross the Jordan.  Now, they quaked with fear with Israel at their doorstep.

I wonder what Israel’s fighting men thought of the strategy that Joshua used at the command of the angel of the Lord.  Marching around Jericho once for six days must have seemed useless because it only delayed the inevitable fight.  And, did things get better on the seventh day?  They marched around the city seven times, and on the seventh time, at the command of Joshua, all men were to shout then storm in to take the city.  Would Israel be the laughing stock of the Promised Land?  They may have thought so.  

But as the song teaches us, the walls came tumbling down.  The Lord delivered Jericho into their hands.  What an awesome act of God!  This victory had nothing to do with the fighting men of Israel or their strategy.  God was the victor; Israel had only to obey and take nothing devoted to the Lord – an issue that will come up tomorrow.

And, what about Rahab?  Do you remember her?  She lived in the outer walls of the city.  She was told by the spies to remain in her home for protection until they came and got her and her family.  The act of staying in her home while the outside walls of Jericho were crumbling around her must have taken immense faith.  Rahab trusted in the Lord’s protection, and her trust in the Lord ushered her into Israel.  Rahab even makes it into the genealogy of Jesus from the Gospel of Matthew.

May you and I show such faith in the Lord for our protection – against all circumstances that the world will throw at us.  Then, we can begin to answer the question, “Are we on God’s side?”  with a firm “Yes.”  Let us humble ourselves, fall facedown, and wait on the Lord’s salvation.  

Enough mumbling for now…  

Peace Out

Be Strong and Courageous; Joshua 1-2

May the mumbling commence!

Be strong and courageous.  Be strong and courageous.  No matter the mission the Lord gives you, be strong and courageous.  The Lord will go with you.  The first chapter of Joshua has this impassioned plea repeated four times.  Be strong and courageous.  Disregard the mighty people and the high-walled cities.  Disregard the fear in your budding nation.  God will neither leave you nor forsake you (if you are careful to follow and obey the Lord’s commands Josh 1:7b).  Do you think it is important for us to be strong and courageous?  I think the message is undeniably important – essential.

Joshua had the fickle people of Israel that he was leading and the towering walls of the cities Israel was supposed to lay siege to and the mighty people occupying the land.  He had toured the land and seen the people forty years ago, and he was ready to trust God to win the day for them.  But forty years had passed – forty years of wandering, forty years of extra mileage.  Did Joshua still trust God to win the day for them?  Be strong and courageous.  Guess so!

The message “Be strong and courageous,” was repeated four times in a chapter that is only 18 verses long.  How could Joshua miss this important message?  How does the second chapter of Joshua start?  “Then Joshua son of Nun secretly sent two spies from Shittim.”  Wasn’t the sending of spies the beginning of the ruin of the first time Israel was at the doorstep of the Promised Land?  What happened to the idea of being strong and courageous?

And that’s not all!  Where did these unnamed spies go in Jericho?  They went to the house of a prostitute!  Is that a great place to do some reconnaissance?  Maybe.  But will it help the effort to conquer the city of Jericho?  Probably not.  Why didn’t Joshua remember the steadfast protection of the Lord from Egypt to the wanderings in the desert?  He had seen most of his generation die in the desert, yet God sustained Joshua because of his faith.  Where had that faith gone?

Surprise, surprise!  Remembering rightly did happen – but not through someone from Israel and not even from a man.  Right remembering happens through Rahab, a prostitute who lived on the outskirts Jericho.  She lived in the outside wall itself.  Take a look at the speech she gave to the two spies that she protected from harm:

"I know that the Lord has given this land to you and that a great fear of you has fallen on us, so that all who live in this country are melting in fear because of you.  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.  When we heard of it, our hearts melted and everyone's courage failed because of you, for the Lord your God is God in heaven above and on the earth below.” (Josh 2:9b-11)

The people of Jericho had heard about the episode at the Red Sea, and they had heard about the battles that Israel handily won against the Amorites.  They heard and trembled in their boots.  Rahab wanted protection from this mighty Lord of heaven and earth.  Imagine that!  Rahab trusted in the protection of the Lord and Joshua did not.  What irony!  What shame!

The sign for her protection in the siege of the town was a scarlet cord that hung from her window.  Remind you of anything?  It reminds me of the lamb’s blood that Israel put on their doorframes during the Passover to protect them from the angel of death.  Rahab was sacrificing the good graces of the king of Jericho to throw herself totally into the arms of the God of Israel – the Lord, who was proving that He was God of all.

God does shame us from time to time by showing great strength and courage in a person quite young in the faith – someone that we would overlook as unimportant.  Let this be a lesson to us.  No one is unimportant to God.  All people are created in the image of God.  All people have the potential to display great strength and courage for the Lord.  May we find this strength and courage in ourselves and seek to uncover it in others.  

Enough mumbling for now…  

Peace Out

Song of Confession; Deut 32

May the mumbling commence!

Let us lift up our hearts to God in steadfast worship – for the Lord alone is worthy of our worship.  Read the words of Moses in the song that was to be a witness to Israel in the future – and continues to be a witness even unto our day.

I will proclaim the name of the Lord.  

     Oh, praise the greatness of our God! 

He is the Rock, his works are perfect,

     and all his ways are just.

A faithful God who does no wrong,

     upright and just is he. (Deut 32-3-4)

What a Rock to cling to – great, perfect, just and upright!  Why would we exchange the Lord for our Rock, our Anchor, for anything or anyone else?  If you are not convinced, read another section of Moses’ song of witness.

For the Lord's portion is his people,

     Jacob his allotted inheritance. 

In a desert land he found him,

     in a barren and howling waste.

He shielded him and cared for him;

     he guarded him as the apple of his eye, 

like an eagle that stirs up its nest

     and hovers over its young,

that spreads its wings to catch them

     and carries them on its pinions. 

The Lord alone led him;

     no foreign god was with him. (Deut 32:9-12)

The Lord chose His people.  They did not choose Him.  God adopted them in the barren desert.  He cared for them like the apple of His eye – no one meant more to Him.  The Lord alone led Israel from slavery, through the desert, and into the Promised Land.  No, the conquest of the Promised Land was far from achieved, but Moses accepted this miracle too on the basis of the mighty hand and powerful arm that the Lord displayed in Egypt and in the desert.

But Israel (here called Jeshurun or upright one in Hebrew) would forget and leave the Lord behind in their prosperity:

                        Jeshurun grew fat and kicked;

                             filled with food, he became heavy and sleek.

He abandoned the God who made him

     and rejected the Rock his Savior. 

They made him jealous with their foreign gods

     and angered him with their detestable idols. 

They sacrificed to demons, which are not God –

gods they had not known,

gods that recently appeared,

gods your fathers did not fear. 

You deserted the Rock, who fathered you;

           you forgot the God who gave you birth. (Deut 32:15-18)

Yes, this song of Moses is a witness both to the Lord’s steadfast nature and to Israel’s fallen nature.  And we are no different than Israel.  In this song, we see both sides of the coin of confession – confessing the awesome nature of God and confessing our own fallen nature.  Both are a part of healthy worship. 

In this season of Lent, we tend to focus more on the latter and neglect the former.  Sometimes, I believe that we short change the awareness of the confession of God because we get caught up in the confession of our personal and corporate sins.  While we should not forget these (so we can learn from our sins), we should not short change God the worship He so rightly deserves.  If we forget, there will be consequences:

                        I will make them envious

                             by those who are not a people;

                        I will make them angry

                             by a nation that has no understanding. (Deut 32:21)

The Lord can rise up children from the stones to raise our envy and return us to Him.  Any other rock is not like the Rock we have in our Lord.  In a time of Lent, I take time to praise the Lord my Rock and my Redeemer.  Let us travel to Jerusalem with Jesus and surrender our wills to God – just as Jesus did.  

Enough mumbling for now…  

Peace Out

Be Strong and Courageous; Deut 29-31

May the mumbling commence!

Be strong and courageous.  Do not be afraid.  Do not be discouraged.  These are the themes of Deuteronomy 31, where the leadership torch is passed from Moses to Joshua.  Was there a reason to fear for Israel as they entered the Promised Land?  Look at what the Lord said to Moses (31:16b-18):

"You are going to rest with your fathers, and these people will soon prostitute themselves to the foreign gods of the land they are entering. They will forsake me and break the covenant I made with them.  On that day I will become angry with them and forsake them; I will hide my face from them, and they will be destroyed. Many disasters and difficulties will come upon them, and on that day they will ask, 'Have not these disasters come upon us because our God is not with us?'  And I will certainly hide my face on that day because of all their wickedness in turning to other gods.”  

Israel would prostitute themselves to foreign gods, forsaking the covenant with the Lord.  Did they not remember the disaster that happened when they worshiped the golden calf?  Because of their actions, the Lord would forsake them, hide his face from them, and they would be destroyed.  Not exactly a rosy picture of life in the Promised Land!  There was reason to fear and reason for Moses to be thankful that he would not be a part of it.  And Moses repeated these words of God to the people in verses 27-29.

And, that’s not all.  If we look back to Deuteronomy chapter 29, there is more evidence of the great potential of Israel to fall.  Look at what the Lord told Israel through Moses (verses 2b-6):

“Your eyes have seen all that the Lord did in Egypt to Pharaoh, to all his officials and to all his land.  With your own eyes you saw those great trials, those miraculous signs and great wonders.  But to this day the Lord has not given you a mind that understands or eyes that see or ears that hear.  During the forty years that I led you through the desert, your clothes did not wear out, nor did the sandals on your feet.  You ate no bread and drank no wine or other fermented drink. I did this so that you might know that I am the Lord your God.

How frustrating and discouraging!  What great signs and wonders the Lord performed for His people!  But the minds of Israel were muddled.  Their eyes were sealed shut.  And their ears were stopped up.  They did not remember or understand the miracles of the Lord.  Some of the miracles their eyes would not allow them to see nor would their ears allow them to hear.  And we are not any different.  In the rush of our lives, we often miss the movement of the Holy Spirit even when it is right under our noses.

Where is the reason to be strong and take courage?  Everything seems to be working against us.  Are we set up for the fall?  There is good news in Deuteronomy 30, which is sandwiched between these two chapters.  Read the beginning of the chapter (1-3; 6):

When all these blessings and curses I have set before you come upon you and you take them to heart wherever the Lord your God disperses you among the nations, and when you and your children return to the Lord your God and obey him with all your heart and with all your soul according to everything I command you today, then the Lord your God will restore your fortunes and have compassion on you and gather you again from all the nations where he scattered you…  The Lord your God will circumcise your hearts and the hearts of your descendants, so that you may love him with all your heart and with all your soul, and live. 

God cannot forsake His covenant with His people.  Neither does God make His covenant too hard for us.  The word is near us; it is in our mouths and in our hearts so we may obey it (verse 14).  So we have a choice before us, even as Israel did.  “This day I call heaven and earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live and that you may love the Lord your God, listen to his voice, and hold fast to him. For the Lord is your life… (19-20a)” May we be strong and courageous and choose wisely.  

Enough mumbling for now…  

Peace Out