What’s that old saying about the ‘devil is in the details’? I don’t know about that, but we sure do read over much of what God has to say in His word like it’s small print. We like to hear about God’s promised blessings yet really don’t give enough time to ‘read the small print’ and how to receive them. The Israelites did that all the time. Moses would lay down God’s laws and the people were all like “Yeah...Yeah...we’ll do everything the Lord commands us.” (Ex. 19:8; Deut. 5:27)
Do you think we are guilty of that today? Look at John 15:9-13. This comes on the heels of Jesus teaching what it means to abide in Him. He tell us He shares these truths with us so that our ‘joy will be full’. What is the needle showing on your ‘joy tank’ these days? Are you filled up? Jesus said: “This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.” (12). Our first thought is to think: “Oh yeah...I do that.” And if we do...then why is it we easily fall in to that trap of ‘biting and devouring’ one another (Gal. 5:15). You know what I’m talking about...we’ve all been guilty of doing that and with the people we should be loving the most...our own flesh and blood...our spouses and children and parents.
And who here has not been guilty of feeling a need to get on social media to voice our displeasure with everyone from politicians to the kid taking your order in a drive-through’. No, that is not ‘righteous indignation’, that is ‘flesh’ showing out with the fruit of impatience and irritability and anger’. IF... we really have ‘put to death’ all that flesh nature, then what is the ‘lowing of the oxen and bleating of the sheep I hear’, asked Samuel of Saul? (1 Sam. 15:14; Gal. 5:24)
Loving others was to be the clear indicator as to who the true disciples of Jesus were. (John 13:35). By ‘their fruit you will know them’, He told us in Matt. 7:20. Jesus commanded to love others as He loved us...as in even our enemies and those who despitefully use us... “If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them.” (Luke 6:32). “Why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord’ and not to the things which I say?” (Luke. 6:46)
You know what is missing in our churches today ...a pile of ‘foreskins’ next to the baptistry. (If you just got whiplash on that line, you may want to read yesterday’s post.)
We were visiting the book of Joshua and read how all the men were circumcised before they began the journey in to possess the land and conqueror their enemies. This was all a blueprint, of sorts, that gives insight to what this walk of faith was to be all about for us today. (1 Cor. 10:1-11)
I think we all understand how important a solid foundation is, be it constructing a house or building, or laying down a good educational foundation to even church doctrines. Jesus used a great illustration on this to wrap up His sermon on the mount in Matt. 7:24-27 saying that ‘doing what He says’ is like a man who built his home on a rock. It withstood the ‘flood’ that beat against it, unlike the man who built his house on sand. The collapse and destruction of his house was ‘great’ when the same flood came against it. Oh, and he was described as ‘foolish’ because he heard the word, but just didn’t put it in to practice. This may also help you understand the difference between the ‘wise and foolish virgins’ we read about in Matt. 25.
So we addressed some foundational truths we read about in Joshua 5...and how first and foremost, before anyone was to take part in this plan God had for them, there was a ‘cutting away’ of some flesh which screams to me, as a man, total commitment. This walk of faith is not something to be ‘tried’ to see how it goes. Granted, it’s hard to ‘build or grow’ a good church if we share all this small print with visitors. But again, I digress.
The second lesson I want to point out from our story in Joshua as they get ready to deal with Jericho was how important that this is done God’s way and with His leading. And we know His ways are different than our ways, yes? (Isa. 55:9-11). Now I was not there at the time, obviously, and scripture does not clearly point this out, but I would suspect that these men probably had a different idea as to how they were about to ‘divide and conqueror’. I could be wrong, but there may have been a bit of testosterone flowing through them as they sharpened their swords and spears and flexed their muscles ready to ‘hit somebody’. (phrase I hear yelled from the stands at football games all the time) lol
But they did not storm the gates and burn down the walls. On the contrary, God had another ‘plan’. He told them to basically keep their mouths shut and just take one hike around the walls and call it a day.
Do what? Yep...it’s all there in Josh. 6 when you get a chance to read it. Oh, they were indeed instructed to hold their tongues; not an easy thing for most of us to do. (James 3)
They were to march this way for six days and then on the seventh day, they were to march seven times around before cutting loose and making a bunch of noise which then led to the collapse of the walls where they then stormed the city and took control. So much we could unpack here, but I want to address two key points or foundational truths that can easily be lost on us.
The first one is...God wants us to know it is ALL Him...that does this work in us. We just need to cooperate and comply or obey.(Heb. 5:9). It’s not by our might or power, but by His Spirit. (Zech. 4:6). Please make note of this next statement: God does NOT need our help nor our advice!
IF we could ever get that through our heads and put it into practice, we might see more of His hand of favor working in our lives. Here is something you may have never seen before...in Ephesians 6, Paul writes: “Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might.” (10). That’s a familiar passage but how might you explain to a new convert how one can “be strong in the Lord”? Deut. 11:8 tells us as a matter of fact: “Therefore you shall keep every commandment which I command you today, that you may be strong, and go in and possess the land which you cross over to possess,”
Do you want to see God’s power released in your life and bring genuine transformation? What was Mary’s advice to the servants who were needing a miracle of transformation as in water being turned into wine? “Whatever He says to you, do it!” (John 2:5). And what does James tell us will happen if we are just a ‘hearer of the word and not a doer’? (1:22)
So imagine those ‘men of war’ as they marched quietly around this daunting fortress of Jericho. I can see the people of the city peering over the walls ...maybe confused at first and then maybe even snickering if not laughing aloud. You know Satan will try and intimidate you like that as well when you start to obey God. And you know what one of the first things God begins to ‘cut away’ in our lives? Pride/Ego. Lots of branches attached to that ‘root of pride’...the concern about how others see us or think of us. Branches like the fear of or needing the approval of men. (John 12:42-43). For me, as God began to strip away pride, it involved that tendency to need to ‘get the last word in’ or ‘always be right’. Pride feels a need to look good and be quick to defend one’s self. Yeah...those ‘foreskins’ being cut away don’t feel good at all. There is a ‘suffering in the flesh’ when He brings those tests my way.
But remember, it is in the process of ‘dying’ that new fruit is produced. (John 12:24). We don’t ‘produce’ any fruit that is pleasing to God. He does. He just asks us to ‘die’. Which is what He came to lead us into doing...telling us to “Follow Me and take up our own cross and die”. We do this as we abide in Him. And who produces the fruit of His spirit? He does. (John 15:1-8)
See you tomorrow.
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