2002-01-01
Good Morning Dear Ones,
The issue of trust and obedience comes up so many times in the Scriptures, that it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to guess that God’s patience is really tested by man’s short-comings in this area. One story that really exemplifies the problem is that of the twelve spies that were sent north into Canaan from Kadesh Barnea in the wilderness at Paran [NU 13: 1-33]. Had the Israelites trusted God in the first place, this mission would never have been necessary. The goal of this mission was to find out what kind of country Canaan was and what kind of people lived there. The point that the Israelites were missing was that God had already promised them that land in GN 15: 18-21 as a part of the Abrahamic covenant. Since God had been leading them across the desert and had been supplying them with manna [EX 16: 27-31] to eat and water [EX 17: 5-7], the Jews should have understood that God would provide for them what He had promised. Twelve spies were sent including Joshua, Caleb, and ten others. They were gone for forty days and then returned. While they were in a place called the Eschol Valley, they cut off a branch of grapes so heavy that it took two men to carry it on a pole between them (NU 13: 23) and some pomegranates and figs. These were brought back with them. NU 13: 27-28 was the report delivered to Moses from all the spies but Caleb and Joshua. “…We explored the land and found it to be rich and fertile; and here is some of its fruit. But the people who live there are powerful, and their cities are very large and well fortified. Even worse, we saw the descendants of the giants there.” In (32) we learn that all but Joshua and Caleb spread a false report that Israel couldn’t overcome these Canaanites who were more powerful than them.
The people complained and even talked about selecting a new leader rather than continue following Moses and about going back to Egypt [NU 14: 1-4]. Joshua and Caleb reacted quite differently to what they saw. NU 14: 6-10, “And Joshua son of Nun and Caleb son of Jephunneh, two of the spies, tore their clothes in sorrow and said to the people, ‘The land we explored is an excellent land. If the Lord is pleased with us, He will take us there and give us that rich and fertile land. Do not rebel against the Lord and do not be afraid of the people who live there. We will conquer them easily. The Lord is with us and has defeated the gods who protected them; so do not be afraid.’ The whole community was threatening to stone them to death, but suddenly the people saw the dazzling light of the Lords’ presence appear over the Tent.” God expressed His frustration and wrath, threatening to send an epidemic to destroy the people until Moses interceded with Him on their behalf. Then, our loving Abba agreed to forgive them. However, in NU 14: 23-24, God made a decision. “They will never enter the land which I promised to their ancestors. None of those who have rejected Me will ever enter it. But because My servant Caleb has a different attitude and has remained loyal to Me, I will bring him into the land which he explored, and his descendants will possess the land…” Later, God spoke to the people in NU 14: 30-32, “I promised to let you live there, but not one of you will, except Caleb and Joshua. You said that your children would be captured, but I will bring them into the land that you rejected, and it will be their home. You will die here in the wilderness.”
We know that God made good on His word, just as He always does when we trust and obey Him. We don’t know the reasons that Joshua was chosen over Caleb by God to lead the Israelites into the Promised land. However, we do know that Caleb was with the Jews when, after Moses’ death, they entered it not far from Jericho. God made a promise to the faithful Joshua that is recorded in JS [Joshua] 1: 5-6, “Joshua, no one will be able to defeat you as long as you live. I will be with you as I was with Moses. I will always be with you; I will never abandon you. Be determined and confident, for you will be the leader of these people as they occupy this land which I promised their ancestors.”
I have said so many times that God asks us to carry out assignments which we don’t fully understand. One such assignment has to have been the instructions the Lord gave to Joshua for the campaign against the city of Jericho. JS 6:2-5, “The Lord said to Joshua, ‘I am putting into your hands Jericho, with its king and all it’s brave soldiers. You and your soldiers are to march around the city once a day for six days. Seven priests, each carrying a trumpet, are to go in front of the Covenant Box. On the seventh day you and your soldiers are to march around the city seven times while the priests blow the trumpets. Then they are to sound one long note. As soon as you hear it, all the men are to give a loud shout, and the city walls will collapse. Then the whole army will go straight into the city.” Any soldier would expect to be instructed to get armed with weapons and probably carry out a surprise attack on the city. But this first generation of Jews in the Promised Land had learned God’s lessons well-to listen and obey Him without question.
There was another part to these instructions to which people without faith would have raised objections. It comes in JS 6: 17-19, “The city any everything in it must be totally destroyed as an offering to the Lord. Only the prostitute Rahab and her household will be spared, because she hid our spies, But you are not to take anything that is to be destroyed; if you do, you will bring trouble and destruction on the Israelite camp. Everything made of silver, gold, bronze, or iron is set apart for the Lord. It is to be put in the Lord’s treasury.” They might question taking the lives of women, children, and animals. Keeping the valuable loot for the Lord would seem wrong to them, as they would want it to add to their own wealth. In the 20/20 hindsight that our faith and history gives us, we understand that all of this was the Lord’s way of expunging any hint of idolatry and stopping any intermarriage with those practicing it. After all, that is why God established the nation in the first place. But, for Joshua and his soldiers, this was a leap of faith, one that the Lord was asking them to take. Much to their credit, the Israelites led by Joshua obeyed God. JS 6: 20-21, “So the priests blew the trumpets. As soon as the men heart it, they gave a loud shout, and the walls collapsed. Then all the army went straight up the hill into the city and captured it. With their swords they killed everyone in the city, men, women, young, and old. They also killed the cattle, sheep, and donkeys.” This victory at Jericho proved that God keeps His promises. When we trust and obey Him, His will is accomplished, and we are made the better for it.
PRAYER: O Lord, in the life of Joshua You have given us yet another example of the benefits of trusting and obeying You. The great question is why it takes mankind so long to learn that is what You want us to do for our own good, as well as Yours. We approach You today with the dedication to examine our own lives and to answer for ourselves the question of how willing are we to put our trust in You and to carry out Your commands. Joshua’s leadership at Jericho and the response of his soldiers to Your commands shows us without a shadow of a doubt, that when we obey, even in a situation where we don’t understand Your ways or even Your ultimate goals, we will be blessed. You have the sovereign right to give us commands that are not easy to follow or conveniently timed; it is our responsibility to carry them out. We thank You for being the loving, righteous, and generous God that You are. We offer You honor, praise, worship, adoration, loyalty, trust, and obedience. In Christ’s name, amen.
Tomorrow we will look at the example of the Judean king, Hezekiah, to see how his willingness to trust and obey affected his kingdom. Everything that is good in our lives ultimately comes from God. If we take the time to examine our own lives, we will find many blessings in them. Know you are loved by Him today and always. Peter and I send you our love too.
Grace Be With You Always,
Lynn