2nd Evangelical Free Church

Blogging through Joshua: Events in the life of faith.

Joshua 4

Much is made here about the 2 sets of 12 memorial stones. They are not mentioned elsewhere in scripture, so we may wonder why a whole chapter is devoted to them. Scholars have different opinions about these memorials. Some even claim that the story got mixed up and there was only one set of stones.

For the sake of brevity, we cannot discuss all the possible lessons and symbolism, so we will have to settle for a few thoughts. The first set of stones were taken from the dry bed of the Jordan and set up as a memorial on the bank of the river where Israel set up its first camp in the Promised Land. Remember that Gad, Reuben and half of the tribe of Manasseh had been granted land on the west bank, yet they continued to maintain solidarity with their brethren by sending armies to help them secure Canaan. This first memorial symbolized the unity of the 12 tribes as God’s chosen. This reminds us of our celebration of the Lord’s Supper. One of the reasons we partake is to show our unity as God’s chosen people.

The second set of stones mark the spot where the priests stood holding the ark of the covenant while the people crossed over. They symbolize God’s blessing, presence and deliverance. To us they can symbolize our baptism. In Baptism we went through the waters as a sign that we had died to our self. We rose up from those waters entered a new life in God’s kingdom.

Blogging through Joshua: Crossing Jordan.

Joshua 3

The crossing of the Jordan should immediately remind us of the Exodus from Egypt. Then the Lord parted the Red Sea allowing Israel to cross on dry ground. Then the Hebrews escaped death and slavery at the hand of the Egyptians. Now Israel was completing her journey by crossing over into the Promised Land. Normally the crossing of the Jordan would be easy since the river opposite Jericho is not very wide or deep. However, since this crossing occurred in the spring, the Jordan River was in flood stage. It was much wider, deeper and faster than normal because it carried the run off from the snows in the mountains. Thus the parting of the river so that the Israelites could cross on dry ground is an extraordinary miracle. It confirmed the authority of Joshua and the priests for it demonstrated that the Lord God Almighty is still with Israel.

For us, this crossing is a symbol of transition from one phase of life to another. For we who believe in Jesus it serves a symbol both of the new birth and of death. When we believe and when we die we too are “crossing Jordan” into the Promised Land. This crossing ought to encourage us for it also reminds us that God is with us as we transition from death to eternal life. No believer need fear that crossing because the Lord is with us to lead us through into the Kingdom without trouble.

When I think about the day I was born again I know I was delivered from death to life so dramatic was the transformation. For we who are Christians the day of this crossing may not be as dramatic as mine or that of the Israelites but it is no less a great miracle and cause for remembrance and celebration.

Blogging through Joshua: Rahab’s faith.

Joshua 2

The battle of Jericho is the highlight of the book of Joshua. It occupies a significant portion of the book because it sets the prevailing theme of faith in the Lord and victory by His miraculous power. In this chapter we encounter Rahab the harlot, a Canaanite woman who hid the Hebrew spies when they escaped the king of Jericho. Rahab and all the inhabitants of Canaan had heard of Israel and the Lord. All were quaking in terror but Rahab. She had such faith that she lied to the king of Jericho to save the spies.

We may fault Rahab because she remained a pagan and a prostitute even after she believed. How could a believer continue to practice such a heinous trade? For one thing she did not know the Law. For another poverty often drove single women and widows into prostitution. In addition, many women and girls some were often enslaved and forced into this lifestyle. Rahab was such a prostitute. She supported her whole family on what she earned. It was impossible for her to renounce her lifestyle, even if she believed it was sinful. Yet based on what she knew of God she believed. Perhaps she saw that Yahweh would deliver her. She had faith in Him and ultimately was delivered from sin. 

We must remember then that prostitution is indeed one of the world’s oldest professions but it is also one which robs all those who engage in it of their souls. The Hollywood portrayal of prostitution as glamorous, lucrative and exciting is not true for most of the world’s prostitutes. Rather, young girls are even boys are sold into slavery because of poverty or greed. Prostitution is not glamorous at all but degrading, dangerous and sickening. 

 

Blogging through Joshua: Encouragement from God’s Word.

JOSHUA 1

This book tells of the conquest of Canaan by the Israelites under the leadership of Moses’ successor, Joshua. The opening chapter establishes Joshua’s authority as God’s chosen one. Although God had chosen him, Joshua must have felt unequal to the task when he compared himself with Moses whom he had served 40 years. He knew he was not Moses; he was not as godly; he lacked the stamina and patience to be an effective leader. That is why the Lord spoke such powerful words of encouragement to him. The Lord told him that as long as he and Israel remained faithful to Him and to His word, they would be invincible. 

These words of encouragement are certainly appropriate for us as we embark upon any new phase of life or face grueling trauma or daunting challenges. We, like Joshua, like Israel, must recall how faithful God has been to us in the past even when we were faithless. Jews recall His faithfulness every year at the Passover Seder as they mediate on God’s word which proclaims His great deeds in delivering Israel from Egypt.

In a similar way we Christians celebrate feasts and seasons based on the Word of God. At such times we meet together to meditate on His Word and recall what God has done. As we meditate we come to see how we can walk in obedience to the Lord that He will enable us to do all that He commands. In addition, as we know His word we will realize that when we fail, when we sin we need not be discouraged by the words and criticisms of our own selves or of the devil or of other people especially hypocritical Christians who reduce religion to a set of rules failing to see that God’s love is based on relationship and faith not works. 

 

 

Blogging through Mark: The unbelievable yet factual account of the resurrection.

Mark 16

The first one to proclaim the Lord’s resurrection was an angel. He told the women what had happened and urged them to tell the apostles what had happened. Mark indicates that they were too afraid. Only one of them, Mary Magdalene did as the angel asked, but only after Jesus appeared to her in the flesh. Mary had a lot to be thankful to Jesus for: he had cast 7 demons out of her. Out of love for Jesus she became the first one to tell the disciples that Jesus had risen from the dead. 

We should not fault the disciples for being unwilling to believe Mary. After all, what Jesus had accomplished was something far beyond their capacity to understand for no one had ever risen from the dead on their own power. It was one thing for Jesus to raise others, but for Him to raise Himself that was beyond the scope of reason. For this reason, though many people today scoff at the idea of the Resurrection labeling it a mere myth, the apostles could not have created such an unbelievable story.  The apostles were skeptical too because the story was so bizarre, This is why Jesus had to appear to them in the flesh and tell them to go and preach the gospel about Him. To encourage them He promised that signs, miracles and wonders would confirm their message. They would also be able to cast out demons for Jesus would work through them.

We too are called to preach the gospel as the apostles were since these promises still apply. The greatest and most common of these signs is the evidence lives that have been dramatically changed.

 

Blogging through Mark: Jesus felt abandoned on the cross.

Mark 15

J esus was tried by Pilate and condemned for no particular reason other than to satisfy the demands of the Jewish leadership. They desperately wanted Him dead. They would rather a convicted murderer be released instead of Jesus. Barabbas is a figure for each one of us. He is condemned to die for his sin, but Jesus becomes his substitute. Jesus is tortured and crucified in his place.   

As for Jesus, on that cross He suffered in silence. He did not cry out from the physical pain. He did not answer back those who mocked Him and jeered at Him. He did not come down from that cross although He could have. He remained where He was obedient unto the end out of love for the Father and out of love for us. He cried out only toward the end, for that is when He felt abandoned by God the Father. In that moment, Jesus became sin. The Father could no longer have fellowship with Him. Jesus was unholy and abhorrent in His sight. Since God cannot abide ungodliness, He turned away from Jesus. This was for Jesus the ultimate ordeal. Jesus endured this on our behalf so that we will never have to experience such utter desolation and despair.  

We must be ever mindful of the tremendous sacrifice that Jesus made on our behalf. Our sin was nailed to that cross in the person of Jesus. Perhaps reflecting on this will enable us to be bolder in our witness for Christ. He suffered for us so we must also suffer for Him and the sake of His kingdom. Our suffering is not redemptive but it does bring glory to God. 

 

Blogging through Mark: Jesus thought of us in Gethsemane.

Mark 14

Jesus voiced His anguish to His Father in the garden. He knew what He faced on the cross. He was not dreading the physical pains though they would be severe. He was dreading the greater pain of separation from His Father as well as the enormous and loathsome burden of sin that He would bear. That burden was to Him the worst possible thing. We cannot even begin to imagine what it was like for Him. We can only think of our worst possible fear, or perhaps, as I have often thought, the burden Jesus bore would be as if He drowning in a river of raw flowing sewage. No wonder Jesus was in anguish as He prayed. 

As much as Jesus dreaded the task before Him, He was also thinking about His disciples. They were quite unprepared for what would happen to Him. Now the 3 disciples closest to Him must have heard some of His prayer, but failed to understand what He meant, perhaps because they were drowsy but also because they just did not understand the ministry of Jesus. Consequently, when Jesus was arrested, they would all flee. Jesus knew they would be filled with self-reproach and guilt, especially Peter who was to deny Him at the very moment that Jesus was being mocked and abused by the chief priests and scribes. Jesus prayed for His disciples because they could not pray for themselves. 

Often we Christians lie about our relationship to Jesus, sometimes in words but most often in deeds and by our lifestyle. We pay homage to the things the world values: power, wealth, fame and beauty. We pursue them with our time, talents, energy and money. Though we forsake Jesus He will not forsake His own. Even now He is praying for us for our deliverance through temptation and trials. Even now His has sent His Holy Spirit to strengthen us for the dark days ahead. We must remain loyal to Him despite the pressure to run.

 

Blogging through Mark: Heed the warnings of Jesus.

Mark 13

Here Mark records several prophetic teachings of Jesus. We often hear these teachings in reference to end time events, things that will happen in the future. We often forget that, although these prophecies may have future significance, they have already been fulfilled. What Jesus said concerned the destruction of the city of Jerusalem and the Temple in 70 AD by the Romans. What Jesus was foretelling was unbelievable, a calamitous event of epic proportions that would change the world forever. Jerusalem and God’s Holy Temple would be destroyed and the sacrificial; system would cease. Many Jews would be slaughtered, while the rest would either be enslaved or dispersed throughout the world. 

When the destruction actually occurred, it was as if the world ended. The surviving Jews would have felt something like many Americans initially felt on 9/11. Most people were confused, dazed and filled with terror. Many turned to God and felt the initial pangs of repentance. This revival was short-lived., as people soon began to forget these feelings to return to their old habits of selfishness and self-destruction. 

Yet it is true that many believed that the destruction wrought on 9/11 was God’s judgment on America for her sins, even though many innocent people and even Christians were murdered. God uses all calamitous events and catastrophes to judge sin but also to call out to sinners to repent. Yet it is politically incorrect to say this let alone think it so not even most Christians will even began to admit this as a possibility. However, when Jerusalem was destroyed the Christians knew without a doubt that God’s judgment had fallen. They knew that the reason for this was because the Jews had crucified Jesus. Christians were kept safe from the destruction because they heeded the words of Jesus’ prophecy. 

 

When it is good to be a loser.

MARK 12

The parable Jesus related confirmed God’s judgment on Israel. God would no longer show favor to the Jews only, but would open His kingdom to everyone the Jews hated and despised. The Jewish authorities and leaders of Jesus’ day were too concerned with personal politics and public image to attend to serving the Lord with proper worship, righteousness and justice. The various political factions vying for power united to try to trip up Jesus and make Him look bad, while making themselves look wise and pious. Yet Jesus answered each test with authoritative responses which silenced His opposition. 

Jesus launched a counterattack to point out the hypocrisy of His opponents. Although they claimed to serve God they showed open disdain for Him by abusing their fellow Jews. They kept the poor in bondage while strutting around in their religious garb looking pious, enjoying the praises of men. Outward appearance and public image were more important than true holiness. They rejected Jesus because He revealed their true intentions. 

This should serve as a warning to us. Many Christians today are overly concerned with how they appear to others both in the church and the world. Many avoid being open and honest before God and man. Many are more concerned about looking holy and religious than being holy. They would rather appear to be happy and upbeat in order to cover up their sins, failures, doubts and feelings of discouragement. Yet God cannot use those who are strong. He works through the weak. God calls only losers.

 

The triumphal entry as a sign of God’s judgment.

Mark 11

As Mark recorded the final days of Jesus’ earthly ministry, he included incidents that fulfilled Old Testament prophecies. These he recorded as proofs that Jesus is the promised Messiah. Genesis 49:10-11 and Zechariah 9:9 both tell of the entry of the Messiah riding on a donkey’s colt. Jesus entered the city on a donkey’s colt in apparent triumph to the loud acclamations of “Hosanna”. Yet Jesus’ entry was to bring judgment as it marked the beginning of the end for Israel. The actions of faithless Israel brought down God’s wrath and judgment for Jesus was put to death at the hands of the Jewish authorities.

The cursing of the fig tree confirmed this judgment for it is a symbol of Israel. The Lord cursed it because it did not have fruit. It shriveled up from its roots. By this action, Jesus was demonstrating what was going to happen to Israel. Following this, the Lord cleansed the Temple as the beginning of God’s judgment and rule. The Jews had defiled His holy place and had also cheapened God’s word and His Law. The Lord cleaned out the Temple area called the court of the Gentiles, the place where non-Jews were supposed to be allowed to draw near and worship the Lord. They could not because the Jews prevented them from approaching the Lord even though God had commanded Israel to be His light to the nations. The Jews had ignored God’s word and openly despised the Gentiles. The church today must not exclude anyone from approaching the Lord for He desires to save sinners, losers, the downtrodden and outcasts, the people nobody else wants.