joshua

Chaplain Daily Touchpoint #407: With His Drawn Sword

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This evening after a supper with my bride, I sat down in my library to read and study. I was in Joshua. The passage I focus upon herein is found in Joshua 5:

13 When Joshua was by Jericho, he lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, a man was standing before him with his drawn sword in his hand. And Joshua went to him and said to him, “Are you for us, or for our adversaries?” 14 And he said, “No; but I am the commander of the army of the Lord. Now I have come.” And Joshua fell on his face to the earth and worshiped[c] and said to him, “What does my lord say to his servant?” 15 And the commander of the Lord’s army said to Joshua, “Take off your sandals from your feet, for the place where you are standing is holy.” And Joshua did so. (Joshua 5:13-15)

Context, Context, Context: Of the 24 chapters in Joshua, this is chapter 5. This is a subsection of the book of Joshua that recounts Joshua leading Israel and crossing into the land promised to them by the Lord. As in any conquest, one is sure to meet friends and foes. The issue? How was Joshua to know which was which? Who was a friend and who was a foe?

When you examine the story, you discover that this event precedes the Fall of Jericho. But before the Lord gives Jericho into the hands of God’s people, the leader (Joshua) is confronted. He is confronted by a man standing before him and that man stood “with his drawn sword in his hand” (v. 13). That’s a posture for battle, for warfare, for blood.

And what does Joshua do? He asks the man a question: “Are you for us, or four our adversaries?” (v. 13). In other words, Joshua wants to know if the armed man is on God’s side or on the side of God’s enemies. And the response Joshua received could be viewed as cryptic: “No; but I am the commander of the army of the LORD. Now I have come” (v. 14).

That “No” the man answered was emphatic. He was revealing to Joshua that he was bigger than Joshua, Israel, and the enemy pagans into whose territory Joshua was leading God’s people. Now, the text says, the man was here. Not later, but now. At the right time. In the fullness of time.

Teaching: After studying this passage, and Scripture as a whole, for years now, it is my belief that this event was a Christophany, an event of the preincarnate Christ appearing in the Old Testament. God is omnipresent, of course. There is no place God is not. However, God makes special entrances at times of particular importance in salvation history.

When Joshua was about to lead his people into Jericho, it was an important time in salvation history. Why? Because God was continuing to reveal his covenantal promises to his people, that he would never leave them or forsake them.

Encouragement: I do not know where you are spiritually today. But this is one more example in Scripture of God demonstrating in real space-time history that he is in the midst of his people. Our job is to do as Joshua did–fall on our faces before the Lord. Why? Because he wields a drawn sword, and victory belongs to the Lord of hosts.

Jericho would be given to God’s people. God’s covenantal promises to his people would continue. And so should believers’ faith in the God who cannot lie.

Chaplain Daily Touchpoint #406: Rahab’s True Confession

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Rahab’s True Confession.

Issue: The fundamental issue in the book of Joshua centers around the theme of the promise of God to conquer his enemies. Any organization must have a clear and defined leader, and that leader is to be a godly man, a man of God’s own choosing. Why? Because if unregenerate sinners choose the leader, disaster will be the result. And the books of Joshua and Judges demonstrate again and again what choosing the wrong leader leads to, and it’s not pretty.

Questions:

  • Would the nation of Israel keep its promise to obey God?
  • Would the nation of Israel step out in faith in God?
  • Would the nation of Israel enter the Promised Land with an undivided heart?
  • In short, would the nation of Israel be faithful?

Context, Context, Context: The historical account is found in Joshua 2. Joshua, Moses’ successor, was God’s appointed leader of the nation of Israel. Remember God’s words to the people: “No man shall be able to stand before you all the days of your life. Just as I was with Moses, so I will be with you. I will not leave you or forsake you. Be strong and courageous, for you shall cause this people to inherit the land that I swore to their father to give them” (Joshua 1:5-6).

Joshua, God’s appointed leader, sends out two men as spies. To do what? A reconnaissance mission. He sends them to spy out the land, to get a snapshot of the geography and people. They were what we might term “scouts.”

Rahab Enters the Story: The prostitute Rahab was just that—a prostitute. But God was at work in her life. He was calling her to himself. How do we know this? Follow the story:

Before the men lay down, she came up to them on the roof and said to the men, “I know that the Lord has given you the land, and that the fear of you has fallen upon us, and that all the inhabitants of the land melt away before you. For we have heard how the Lord dried up the water of the Red Sea before you when you came out of Egypt, and what you did to the two kings of the Amorites who were beyond the Jordan, to Sihon and Og, whom you devoted to destruction. And as soon as we heard it, our hearts melted, and there was no spirit left in any man because of you, for the Lord your God, he is God in the heavens above and on the earth beneath. Now then, please swear to me by the Lord that, as I have dealt kindly with you, you also will deal kindly with my father’s house, and give me a sure sign that you will save alive my father and mother, my brothers and sisters, and all who belong to them, and deliver our lives from death.” And the men said to her, “Our life for yours even to death! If you do not tell this business of ours, then when the Lord gives us the land we will deal kindly and faithfully with you.”

   Then she let them down by a rope through the window, for her house was built into the city wall, so that she lived in the wall. And she said to them, “Go into the hills, or the pursuers will encounter you, and hide there three days until the pursuers have returned. Then afterward you may go your way.” The men said to her, “We will be guiltless with respect to this oath of yours that you have made us swear. Behold, when we come into the land, you shall tie this scarlet cord in the window through which you let us down, and you shall gather into your house your father and mother, your brothers, and all your father’s household. Then if anyone goes out of the doors of your house into the street, his blood shall be on his own head, and we shall be guiltless. But if a hand is laid on anyone who is with you in the house, his blood shall be on our head. But if you tell this business of ours, then we shall be guiltless with respect to your oath that you have made us swear.” And she said, “According to your words, so be it.” Then she sent them away, and they departed. And she tied the scarlet cord in the window (Joshua 2:9-21).

Teaching: In short, Rahab believed God, and her actions demonstrated genuine saving faith in the person and work of God.

Encouragement: Look back at the (4) questions I asked above. Sadly, the answer to all (4) questions is a resounding no. The nation of Israel fell short. They doubted. They were cowardly. They did not trust the Lord fully. They were half-hearted at best and deeply idolatrous. Joshua and Judges provide myriad examples of some of the practices of child sacrifice, bestiality, and sexual perversions that boggle a good person’s mind. Yet God saved Rahab and her family. How? Be granting repentance and faith to her. It’s that simple and that profound: God came to save sinners. Prostitutes like Rahab were not outside of God’s reach. There’s hope for us, dear ones. There is hope. How? Be turning to God and his saving gospel.

Chaplain Daily Touchpoint #279: Divine Battle Tactic

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Bottom line up front: Divine Battle Tactic

Context: God had revealed to Israel’s leader, Joshua, that the future conquest of Jericho was already planned (Joshua 6:2); it would be conquered by the Lord via His servant. God commanded Joshua to be strong and courageous (Joshua 1:18). Would Joshua do it? Would he be faithful to God’s revealed will? It’s easy for us, thousands of years removed from the directives given by God to Joshua, to nod and smile, as if it were all no big deal. But it was a huge deal. The people of Canaan were vicious pagans, given over largely to deviance, child sacrifice, and abominations that you still find today in come countries. Anybody who thinks depravity was confined to 1400s Palestine needs to travel a bit and/or read actual history. These people were wicked, vile, and given over to the forces of darkness. Yet God was on the move through a remnant of believers.

God’s Divine Battle Tactic: You remember the plan, right? March around Jericho. Do it for (6) days, in fact. On day (7), march around the city (7) times and have the priests blow their trumpets and blast the ram’s horn and then shout (cf. Joshua 6:3-5). Huh? Really? You’ve got to be kidding. This is a battle tactic? Those are natural, doubting, sinful reactions. Why? Because they doubt God’s power to do things God’s way via obedience. The point was that God was and is the greater Joshua. Victory comes through the divine Warrior, the Lord Himself. The believer’s duty is the faithful discharge of his lawful orders.

Encouragement: Joshua and his people obeyed; the army marched and carried out the mission; the walls of Jericho fell. Rahab and her family were saved (Joshua 6:22-23), demonstrating God’s covenantal faithfulness and Rahab’s true faith in the Lord. I love the way Joshua 6 ends: “So the LORD was with Joshua, and his fame was in all the land” (Joshua 6:27, ESV).

The divine battle tactic hinges on that precept: the Lord is with His people; He is the sole 100% faithful covenant-keeper. There would be times when Joshua would doubt; there would be times Gideon would doubt; there would be times when Solomon would blow it, just like his father, David. There are times when all of us fall short; that is why we are taught again and again to look to the holy Commander and His divine battle tactics. “Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the Lord our God” (Psalm 20:7, ESV).

The Scarlet Cord of Belief

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Question: Is it possible to trust the Lord when most others seem to have rejected Him?

Context: In the Old Testament book of Joshua, the commanding general of Israel’s forces, Joshua, sent two of his men to spy out the land of promise. It was filled with largely unregenerate pagans. Surely, this could not be the land promised, right? This place? 1400s B.C. in the land of ancient Canaan? There’s no way God could or would grip anyone in this place, right?

Joshua’s command: And Joshua the son of Nun sent two men secretly from Shittim as spies, saying, “Go, view the land, especially Jericho.” And they went and came into the house of a prostitute whose name was Rahab and lodged there. And it was told to the king of Jericho, “Behold, men of Israel have come here tonight to search out the land” (Joshua 1:1-2, ESV).

A few important details are here:

First, Joshua believed the Lord. He was living out his name, which means “The Lord saves,” or “The Lord is salvation.”

Second, human depravity was on display, but God was very much at work amidst the spiritual darkness.

Rahab, after all, was a prostitute, but her heart had been opened by the Lord. She told the two Israeli spies, “And as soon as we heard it [of God’s previous works of providence and judgment on behalf of His people], our hearts melted, and there was no spirit left in any man because of you, for the LORD your God, he is God in the heavens above and on the earth beneath. Now then, please swear to me by the Lord that, as I have dealt kindly with you, you also will deal kindly with my father’s house, and give me a sure sign that you will save alive my father and mother, my brothers and sisters, and all who belong to them, and deliver our lives from death.” 14 And the men said to her, “Our life for yours even to death! If you do not tell this business of ours, then when the Lord gives us the land we will deal kindly and faithfully with you.” (Joshua 2:11-14, ESV)

Third, obedience to God was rewarded, but it entailed many painful trials. “Behold, when we come into the land, you shall tie this scarlet cord in the window through which you let us down, and you shall gather into your house your father and mother, your brothers, and all your father’s household” (Joshua 2:18, ESV).

Encouragement: Just as Noah and his family were saved when the rest of the world perished. Rahab and her family were saved, but judgment fell upon the other Canaanites. The same pattern, you see. Faithfulness and obedience are commanded by the Lord because He is so eager to pardon repentant sinners and show mercy rather than judgment. Rahab, this Canaanite prostitute, is commended in the New Testament. How encouraging should that be for you and me. Why was she commended? Because of her faith, because of her turning to the Lord, while most around her remained recalcitrant.

“By faith Rahab the prostitute did not perish with those who were disobedient, because she had been given a friendly welcome to the spies” (Hebrews 11:31, ESV).

Rahab did not perish. She displayed the scarlet cord of belief in the covenant-keeping God, and was saved both temporally and eternally. This, dear reader, is good news.