Mercy in the Midst of Judgment

Transcript

GRS 2-44
10/8/2006
Mercy in the Midst of Judgement
Joshua 9-10
Gil Rugh


We are studying the Book of Joshua together, and you may turn to Joshua Chapter 9 in your Bibles. Joshua and the Ninth Chapter, Israel has moved into the land of Canaan and the conquest of the land has begun. It began with a great victory the conquering of Jericho with God’s super natural intervention to demonstrate that it would be his power that would give them the victory over their enemies. That was followed by a crushing defeat when one of the Israelite Achan took some of the spoils from the victory at Jericho that were to be devoted to the Lord and hid them in his tent. The result was Israel could no longer stand before their enemies. And that perhaps God’s judgment on the nation and that sin is dealt with Achan and his family must die.

And with that at the very beginning of Israel’s conquest to the land has established the reality of God’s holiness and the seriousness of sin before him. You remember at the beginning of the church, in the Book of Acts, in Act Chapter 5 you have Ananias and Sapphira who claimed to have given the total amount that they had received for a piece of property they sold when really they only gave part of it, and for that unfaithfulness, that act of sin God struck them both dead. They’re at the beginning of the church’s life they have that reminder that God is serious about the holiness of his people and their obedience to him. Having dealt with the sin in the midst and the death of Achan and his family then Israel goes on to conquer Ai the city that before they were not able to successfully take that was in Joshua 7 and 8.

Chapter 8 of Joshua did record, remember Israel at Mount Ebal and Mount Gerizim and those two mountains would come down and then they form a natural amphitheater and Israel gathered at the base of those mountains and on the sides, the lower sides and for Mount Ebal they would read the – those at Mount Ebal would read the curses, there’s a Mount Gerizim would read the blessings of the Mosaic law and there Israel is being reminded there is blessing for obedience, there would be curses for disobedience and the altar of the Lord was located then on Mount Ebal to show the provision to take care of the sin of the people and the judgment, the curses would bring by God’s grace. He made a provision.

Now with chapters 9 and 10 of Joshua is talk about really by the time we get done chapter 10 we will summarize the conquering of the southern portion of the land. The prime focus here is the Gibeonites and their deception to check Israel into entering into a covenant with them which will keep Israel from destroying them. And there are people who are spared destruction and you see a remarkable faith on the part of the Gibeonites and what they do which is similar to the faith of Rehab manifested in a little different way but remember both used deception, Rehab lied and said the spies weren’t tin her house that they have left and they were really in here house and helped these the spy’s from Israel to escape successfully which is a testimony of faith. The Gibeonites are similar kind of people they would come and deceive Israel but the basis of their deception comes from a strong unshakable faith that the God of Israel is the sovereign God and is going to deliver all of Canaan into the hands of his people.

So let’s look at Chapter 9 in verse 1 and 2 of Chapter 9 really form the introduction to Chapters 9 through 11 it came about when all the kings were beyond the Jordon in the hill country in the low land all the coast to the Great Sea towards Lebanon, the Hittite, the Amorite, the Canaanite, the Perizzite, the Hivite and the Jebusite, heard of it, that they gathered themselves together with one accord to fight with Joshua and with Israel.

Indication is that the people of the land of Canaan, the God has promised to Israel are of one mind and one purpose in resisting Israel so they join forces against the common enemy. It’s common for these various peoples mentioned to fight against each other to maintain their territory. But now with Israel having moved into the land they have a common enemy and they are willing to set aside their personal differences to unite against Israel. So Israel now has to do battle with a great host and yet that’s not a major issue because God will give them the victory.

Look at verse 3 in this context you have all the people united together but there is an exception to Gibeonites. When the inhabitants of Gibeon heard what Joshua had done to Jericho and to Ai they also acted craftily and set out as envoys and took worn-out sacks on their donkeys, and wineskins worn-out and torn and mended, worn-out in and patched sandals on their feet, worn-out clothes on themselves; all the bread of their provision was dry and become crumbled.

So all of this to give the appearance of age of a long arduous trip that had worn them out, their clothes had become worn and tattered, their sandals had become worn and tattered, the bread that had been fresh out of the oven when they left is now just hard and you touch it and just crumbles it’s all to give the appearance that they have come from a long distance. So that’s the deception that they want to foist on the Israelites.

They went to Joshua to the camp at Gilgal and said to him and to the men of Israel "We have come from a far country, now therefore make a covenant with us". Perhaps the Gibeonites are familiar with some of the provisions of the law God had given to Moses because in Deuteronomy Chapter 7 and Deuteronomy Chapter 20, there are restrictions placed upon Israel in making any covenants with the people of the land. So the Gibeonites know they just can’t come and sue for peace because the Israelites are not to make any covenants, so they have rather elaborate deception to get Israel to come into a covenant because they also realize that a covenant once established will be binding even though it was established with deception as the Gibeonites are doing.

Joshua asked them verse 8; they said to Joshua "We are your servants." Joshua said to them "Who are you, where do you come from." They said to him "Your servants have come from a very far country because of the fame of the LORD your God; for we have heard the report of him and all that he did in Egypt," that’s forty years ago the Exodus. Their reports, they do know about Egypt but they don’t pick real recent events because if they came from a far country they wouldn’t have started a long journey they wouldn’t have heard about recent events so they’re smart.

All that he did to the two kings of the Amorites, who were beyond the Jordan to Sihon king of Heshbon and to Og king of Bashan who was at Ashtaroth, accounts given in Numbers 21 and Deuteronomy 2. They don’t mention Israel’s most recent victories because that would give them away. So they mentioned these things that took place, the Exodus forty years ago then the battle with and the victory over Sihon and Og which took place a little while back. So it allows for them to have heard this and all the fame of your God has reached us, we’ve heard the report.

And so verse 11 "All our elders and all the inhabitants of our countries spoke to us saying take provisions in your hand for the journey, go to meet them and say to them we are your servants, now then make a covenant with us." I mean we’re from a far country; we’re not in this land here, so we’re not part of those people that you can’t make covenants with, but nonetheless we’re willing to be your servants. And we want you to make a covenant with us and it sounds well, we’re not part of Canaan but we also realized what happen if you started to spread out you might come into our land and you wouldn’t have to fight with us, we’d be willing to be your servants so make a covenant with us.

And then here’s the proof that we came from a far land. This is our bread, this our bread was warm when we took it for our provisions out our houses on the days we left to come to you but now behold it is dry and become crumbled. These wineskins which we filled were new and behold they are torn, these are cloths, our sandals are worn-out because of the very long journey. So the men of Israel took some of their provisions. They examined the evidence, they did not ask for the counsel of the Lord. So they act on the evidence. This is something they can decide, you think well their actions that well we go before our God and see what he says but they don’t.

So verse 15. Joshua made peace with them, made a covenant with them to let them live; and the leaders of the congregation swore an oath to them. You saw this thinking of Israel been natural; I read this you think you’d said, because we know it’s a deception. Joshua didn’t know, the people didn’t know, we read it and say well they could have been saved they should have gone to the Lord. But you know why bother the Lord with this, I mean obviously look at this bread, that wasn’t baked yesterday. Look at these clothes, I mean their story make sense. No problem in making a covenant with them, they’re obviously not part of the land. They are sort of like us, some of these things we just don’t need to see what the Lord would have us do, we don’t need to go before him and pray, we don’t need to seek his guidance on this we can handle this matter to Israel is here.

Verse 16, it came about at the end of three days after they had made a covenant with them that they heard that they were neighbors and they were living within their land. Only takes a few days for Israel to become aware of the deception you know what, Israel’s at Gilgal, these men who said they came from so far came from the city of Gibeon 20 miles. So they aren’t very far away they’re 20 miles away. So three days somehow Israel finds out, you knows those men we made a covenant with, they weren’t from a far country, they’re just down the road, they’re Gibeonites.

They heard they were living within their land. Then the sons of Israel set out and came to their cities on the third day. Now their cities were Gibeon, Chephirah, Beeroth and Kiriath-jearim. The sons of Israel didn’t strike them they couldn’t, go in and kill them because they made a covenant and their covenant obligated them before the Lord. They can’t go back and undo what they did, so now what. Israel did not strike them because leaders of the congregation had swooned to them by the Lord the God of Israel and the whole congregation grumbled against the leaders, something consistent down through history that we’re all good second guessers and that’s true all the time.

Turn on the news and see how many people know what the leaders of our country ought to do, we are all experts aren’t we? I mean I watch the news and I say why in the world can’t they do this, why don’t they do that. They should call me the President should call me I mean, obviously he and the leaders aren’t, don’t have near the wisdom I do and it happens in the church, it happened in Israel.

The whole congregation grumbled but the leaders tell them you can’t undo what’s been done. The leaders said to the whole congregation "We have sworn to them by the LORD, the God of Israel, now we cannot touch them." Your criticism’s right, we didn’t handle it as we should but the fact of the matter is we can’t undo what we did, we did swear to them, now we have a covenant obligation to them. So there’ no sense in rehearsing what we did three days ago. We are not able to destroy them.

Verse 21, the leader said to them "Let them live" so they became hewers of wood and drawers of water for the whole congregation just as the leaders had spoken to them. Joshua called for them, so you have a summary there, what happens they are going to become servants in Israel as they said they were willing to do remember, in that end of verse 11 "We are your servants make a covenant with us."

So they enter into this covenant, the men of Gibeon know where it’s going to end up, their lives will be spared but they will end up the Israelites servants or slaves. Joshua questions them in verse 22 "Why have you deceived us saying 'we are very far from you' when you are living within our land? Now therefore you are cursed and you shall never cease being slaves, both hewers of wood and drawers of water for the house of my God."

Their response to Joshua is interesting, this ties to what I said at the beginning, "because it was certainly told your servants that the Lord your God had commanded his servant Moses to give you all the land and to destroy all the inhabitants of the land before you; therefore we feared greatly for our lives because of you and have done this thing. Now behold we are in your hands do as it seems good and right in your sight to us."

I mean it shows a remarkable faith, we had been told that the Lord your God commanded Moses to have all the people of the land destroyed. Now you might think well, can’t be much to that because Moses is dead you know the great leader of Israel he did, he never even got to cross into the land, we don’t have to be concerned about that. They have a great faith that what God told Moses even though Moses died without going into the land, they really believed what God told Moses going to happen.

Lord your God had commanded his servant Moses to give you all the land and destroy all the inhabitants of the land before you therefore we feared greatly for our lives because of you. They have great faith in the word of God and that it would come true and so in that sense they are very much like Rehab and their lives are spared because of that. They are going to be servants but they are going to survive and this covenant is taken seriously by God. Hundreds of years later when Israel breaks this covenant it will bring judgment on the nation we’ll say more about that in Romans.

So even though they used deception, even though Rehab lied, the scripture doesn’t focus on that it focuses on Rehab say. Here these Gibeonites believe what God said and are willing to enslave themselves to Israel. To avoid destruction they used deception but they do demonstrate here significant faith and turn over to Chapter 11 verse 20.

Chapter 11 verse 19 there was not a city which made peace with the sons of Israel accept the Hivites living in Gibeon; they took them all in battle. For it was of the Lord to harden their hearts to meet Israel in battle in order that he might utterly destroy them, that they might receive no mercy, but that he might destroy them just as the Lord had commanded Moses. And in light of that statement, we have to say that it was God’s gracious action that preserved the Gibeonites because for all other people in the land he hardened their hearts but for some reason he was pleased to soften the hearts of these Gibeonites so that they might believe his truth and seek deliverance from coming judgment.

So I would say in light of verse 20 of Chapter 11 that here you have an evidence of God’s mercy in the midst of judgment because if God had hardened their hearts as he did the rest of the people, they would have gone out to meet Israel in battle. So it’s an act of grace that God is sovereignly chosen to spare these people.

Back in Chapter 9 verse 27 in verse 25 the people of Gibeon say "We are in your hands do as it seems good and right in your sight to us." So they are spared, they didn’t kill them the Joshua made them that day hewers of wood drawers of water for the congregation and for the altar of the Lord to this day in the place which he would choose. You know you have all the sacrifices going on in Israel, all the ritual washings and cleansing. Tremendous amount of wood for burning, tremendous amount of water to be hold, remember you didn’t just go turn on a spigot or run a pump, they had to do well, the water had to be halved that would become the ministry of the Gibeonites as servants and slaves in Israel.

As I mentioned several hundred years later under the reign of Saul, Saul broke this covenant and killed the Gibeonites, turn over to Second Samuel. Second Samuel 21 starts out verse 1 now there was a famine in the days of David for three years, year-after-year. David sought the presence of the Lord and the Lord said it is for Saul and his bloody house because he put the Gibeonites to death. So Saul in his zeal killed the Gibeonites, not everyone obviously because we’re going to talk about some survivors here, but he killed the Gibeonites as the violation of the covenant, the covenant that Joshua and the people of Israel had entered into under the deception of the Gibeonites hundreds of years earlier. But it meant that Israelites couldn’t kill the Gibeonites.

When Saul kills the Gibeonites he violates that covenant, got serious about these matters. For three years Israel’s in a famine, I mean that’s a serious matter, three year famine on the land of Israel to disaster. David recognizes this is the hand of God, this is the judgment of God and when he seeks the Lord, the Lord tells him Saul broke the covenant. So, as long as Israel kept it for a while he got to say the Gibeonites to seek into their covenant anyway, don’t expect to be go in for hundreds of years later covenant made for the Lord is a covenant before the Lord its binding.

So the king called the Gibeonites, David the king here and spoke to them, now the Gibeonites were not the sons of Israel but the remnant of the Amorites and the sons of Israel made a covenant with him but Saul had sought to kill them in his zeal for the sons of Israel and Judah. I mean now he’s going to go, it was Saul, he’s always wrapped up driven by emotions more than faithfulness to the Lord and acting on the spur of the moment and always in trouble.

David said to the Gibeonites what should I do for you, how can I make atonement that you may bless the inheritance to the Lord. Now he’s got to seek if you will remedy and you got to seek it from the Gibeonites, what can I do to make this right. We broke the covenant, Saul did it, Saul’s dead so the matter, those Gibeonites, those Israelites who entered into the covenant are dead it doesn’t matter it was between the two groups of people. Saul did it but he’s dead, still doesn’t matter Israel remember is responsible for the actions. Remember that corporate identity as well as individual responsibility as the people of God.

So the Gibeonites don’t ask for silver and gold, but they ask for justice. And verse 5 they said to the king, "The man who consumed us and who planned to exterminate us from remaining within any border of Israel, let seven men from his sons be given to us, and we will hang them before the Lord in Gibeah of Saul, the chosen of the Lord." Some of these matters stresses themselves wow, they tell King David we want seven of Saul’s sons so we’re going to hang them on the trees and that will be testimony and that will satisfy us and we accept that as payment. David does it and seven of Saul’s sons are hung, one of the mothers of those that are hung spreads her garment remember and she for months is out there keeping the birds from eating the flesh of her son and others, the other sons and then David buries them in a common place with Saul and so on as the account goes on.

All that to say back in Joshua Chapter 9, # they deceived and they entered into the covenant, but now they are bound by it. And in that God had made gracious provision he did not harden the hearts of the Gibeonites like he did the rest of the land, and we know that because remember that this is a time of Judgment, remember Genesis 15, the reason there would be another 400 years before Israel would enter the land one of the reasons God gave to Abraham is the inequity of the Amorites is not yet ripe. So, now the people of the land of Canaan is ripe for judgment but even in that God has mercy and Gibeonites are spared.

Chapter 10 talks about the deliverance of Gibeon. Now not the deliverance of Gibeon from the Israelites but what happens now when other kings and other peoples in the land hear that the Gibeonites had entered into a relationship with Israel, now the Gibeonites become their enemy and you don’t want this to spread as possible. And now the Gibeonites had enough faith in the word of God, they knew would take deception but for these other kings they just see it as something if we allow this to spread pretty soon we’ll have people, surrendering if you will to the Israelites wouldn’t be a possibility because that’s not going not happen God’s going to harden their hearts but here’s a manifestation of their hardened hearts.

So what these other kings are going to do is attack Gibeon to teach a lesson and to be an object lesson to the other cities no one better try to break the unity of our opposition to Israel. It starts out with Adoni-zedek king of Jerusalem, and interesting Adoni-zedek, Adoni lord, the lord of righteousness is the king of Jerusalem. Back in Genesis Chapter 14 in verse 18 Melchizedek is the king of Salem.

Melchizedek means the king of righteousness. Adoni-zedek means the lord of righteousness. Interesting that, that is a name because we’re six hundred years after Abraham here in his confrontation with Melchizedek an ongoing name interesting king of righteousness, lord of righteousness. Melchizedek has of course typological significance as is unfolded in the Book of Hebrews. By here you have a king six hundred years after Melchizedek and he’s called Adoni-zedak, the lord of righteousness, now he’s not a righteous man but the connection with that city is interesting.

Verse 2 we are told that Gibeon had been a great city, so you shouldn’t think of Gibeon as a little insignificant city with a few people and so they came to deceive Israel. Here you have what in the land in Canaan what viewed as a powerful city. It was like one of the royal cities, it was greater than Ai and all its men were mighty. So you see the faith of this city, they are willing to enslave themselves but in the land of Canaan they have reputation for being a mighty city with mighty soldiers, mighty warriors but they so believe the word of God that they are willing to turn themselves over as saves to Israel because they really there is not hope to do battle against the people that God, the God of Israel has promised victory. So you gain a greater appreciation for their faith.

So Adoni-zedek king of Jerusalem sent word to the kings here and he says in verse 4 "Come and help me, let’s attack Gibeon, for it has made peace with Joshua and with the sons of Israel." So you have five kings here and tells where they come from in verse 5 joined together to go and teach Gibeon a lesson if you will and punish them for breaking the alliance of the people of Canaan. So these five kings come up with their armies now to attack the city of Gibeon.

Now verse 6 the men of Gibeon sent word to Joshua at camp at Gilgal saying "Do not abandon your servants; come up to us quickly and save us and help us, for all the kings of the Amorites that live in the hill country have assembled against us." Now obviously from the accounts here Israel has told the Gibeonites what their position will be, their role will be. Obviously you would assumed that they have been disarmed but that doesn’t mean that they have all now been taken into their slavery position, Israel has some fighting to do. So the position of the Gibeonites has established in all likelihood they had been disarmed because they are to be Israel’s servants. But the actual function in that capacity will probably not take place in one movement because Israel is in the midst of warfare they have to conquer the land before they can settle down and do some of the other things.

So they called to Joshua any way and asked for his intervention. Joshua went up from Gilgal he and all the people of war with him. Joshua responds because they have a covenant with Gibeon and the attack on Gibeon really is an attack on Israel now. The Lord said to Joshua do not fear them for I have given them into your hands not one of them shall stand before you. I mean, what’s the issue we don’t have the count how many are there in the armies of these five kings it just doesn’t matter. Don’t be afraid of them I have given them into your hands not one of them shall stand before you.

Now that doesn’t mean Joshua doesn’t do anything, remember we talked about that with Jericho, we talked about with Ai the fact that the Lord gives a victory doesn’t mean that we sit back and wait and we are passively waiting for the Lord to do his work. Joshua travels all night to bring a surprise attack on the armies that are preparing to attack the city of Gibeon. Joshua came upon them suddenly by marching all night from Gilgal. And the Lord confounded them before Israel, and slew them with a great slaughter at Gibeon. They fled from before Israel and God’s not done he threw a large stone from heaven on them verse 11 there were more who died from the hailstones than those whom died from the sons of Israel killed with the sword. You cannot get away from the judgment of God. You cannot run the armies of Israel because if you do God just rains down huge hailstones and there were more of these soldiers killed with the hailstones than killed with the swords of the Israelites.

And the battle goes on but it still not over. And so there is one of the greatest miracles of the Old Testament here the sun stand still. Evidently we’re getting near the end of the day Joshua realizes when darkness come we won’t be able to pursue this battle and it will be possible for these armies, these people are well familiar with the territory to get away under the cover of night. So verse 12 then Joshua spoke to the Lord in the day when the Lord delivered up the Amorites before the sons of Israel, and he said in the sight of Israel, “O Sun, stand still at Gibeon, and O moon in the valley of Aijalon." So the sun stood still, the moon stopped until the nation avenged themselves of their enemies. Is it not written in the Book of Jashar? And the Book of Jashar was not preserved as part of inspired scripture, but a record was there and was familiar to the writer of the Book of Joshua.

The sun stopped in the middle of the sky, did not hastened to go down for about a whole day. So you have the lengthening of the day, Joshua’s long day there was no day light that before it or after it when the Lord listened to the voice of a man; for the Lord fought for Israel. And they have complete victory here obviously. You know periodically you’ll see articles on the last day of Joshua and someone say well we’ve done the scientific analysis and we found there is a day missing. That would be fine but I don’t think that’s necessarily required, it may be a localized miracle here for this particular battle field that the Lord keeps the sun shining in this place.

So that could be the way it happened, I have no problem if the Lord did a worldwide miracle although that wouldn’t be necessary here, if he did that would be fine, but I am not sitting around looking for scientific articles that prove there’s a missing day because where we one there although you find, you find somebody who’s written to say that, that’s not true. But I do know what happened here on this battle field in Canaan. In Canaan the sun kept shining. Some have suggested it was refraction or extension of the sun’s rays or however, the Lord chose to do it, it didn’t get dark. So there was no hiding, no getting way for these armies.

So verse 16, you continue with the matter of the battle, the five kings you summarize it in verse 15 Joshua and all Israel were then returned to the camp of Gilgal but here you have, now let’s talk about some of the details here the finishing up of this battle verse 16. The five kings fled and they are hiding in a cave and word comes to Joshua from some men who found that where they are hiding Joshua says just roll some stones in front of the mouth of the cave, don’t stop the battle, keep on the relentless pursuit of the enemy soldiers. They don’t want to stop and get taken up with these five kings and allow the enemy soldiers to disappear into the country side.

So they rolled large stones away verse 19 "Pursue your enemies attack them in the rear don’t allow them to enter their cities," because once they get back into the cities and close the gates and then It just becomes all the more difficult. "So the LORD your God has delivered them into your hand." And then when Joshua and the sons of Israel had finished slaying them with a great slaughter, until they were destroyed the survivors who remained of them they had entered their fortified cities they’ll have to be taken care of along the way. All the people returned to the camp to Joshua at Makkedah in peace. And then Joshua said "Open the mouth of the cave bring these five kings out the cave." So they bring the five kings who have been hiding out.

Verse 24 They brought these kings to Joshua, Joshua called for all the men of Israel, said to the chiefs of the men of war who had gone with him "You come here" so what they do is have these kings laid down and then the leaders of Israel’s army come and put their feet on the neck of these kings which obviously displace these subjection of them and their total defeat and humiliation but that’s not the end. But Joshua says to them in verse 25 "Do not fear or be dismayed, be strong and courageous, for thus the Lord will do to all your enemies with whom you fight." Afterward Joshua struck them, put them to death, hanged them on five trees; left them there till evening. At sun set they took them down from the trees threw them into the cave where they had hidden and piled the stones back up and that sealed tomb is there to this very day the writing of the book.

And then the capturing of the city of Makkedah, the destroying of every person not one survivor and the king of Makkedah is killed. Then Joshua and all Israel with him passed on from Makkedah to Libnah fought against Libnah and the destruction of these cities and down through verses 29 to 39 you have the subjugation of southern Palestine. So the southern portion of the land of Canaan, by the time you get the verse, down through verse 39 has taken place.

So you have the summary in verses 40 to 43 Joshua struck all the land, the hill country, the Negev, the lowland the slopes all their kings, left no survivor. He utterly destroyed all who breathed just as the Lord, the God of Israel had commanded struck them from Kadesh-barnea as far as Gaza, and all the country of Goshen even as far as Gibeon. Joshua captured all the kings and their lands at one time why, because the LORD, the God of Israel fought for Israel. Then they returned to the camp at Gilgal.

Then in Chapter 11 he is ready for the northern conquest, conquest of the northern part of Palestine. In all of this what is reminded, the Lord fights for Israel, the Lord has promised this to Israel, the Lord keeps his promises. The men of Gibeon have spared because they believed in the God of Israel and the word of the God of Israel. These great victories but they don’t come without human effort and work. In other words God gives Israel the victory as he works through them. Sometimes he works through for naturally he throws hailstorms down to destroy part of the army, other time and most of the time Israel has to do the hard work of going to battle but they win not because of their superior military might they win because God gives them the victory but he doesn’t give them the victory without going to battle.

And we are all aware God could have told Israel you just camped on the banks of the Jordan and I’ll send a wasting disease, I mean it could kill a hundred and eighty thousand Assyrian soldiers in one night. He could fight battle all the Palestine, he doesn’t need the armies of Israel to do it and after I kill everybody in the land with the plague or with whatever then you just go in and take possession. He could have done that way but he didn’t because Israel has to learn and grow. They have to trust the Lord, they have to be obedient to the Lord, they have to be mature through the difficulties and the trials. Their faith has to be a living faith not a passive faith, not an indifferent faith but an active faith that acts upon the word that God has given.

In Second Corinthians Chapter 10 verse 3 and 4 Paul says "For though we walk in the flesh we do not war according to the flesh, for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but divinely powerful through the destruction of fortresses." We are involved in a spiritual warfare you are aware, we wrestle not against flesh but the principalities and powers and the same God who acted for Israel we do the same thing. And the Christian life I sometimes wonder Lord why isn’t it easier because how would I grow. Lord you could take care of this situation, this problem, this obstacles, this difficulty, he could but he’s working so that I might become what he intends me to be isn’t it true? In the trials and difficulties, the conflicts, the pain those are our growth times. It’s the time for Israel to grow to be God’s instrument in accomplishing God’s work that they might receive the fullness of blessings. So true for us.

You know that all our God is sovereign I don’t have to worry what’s going to happen tomorrow. What if this doesn’t work out? What do you mean what if it doesn’t work out? I mean God falls off the thrown of the universe, I mean here I read the last Chapter, you have read the last Chapter; we know how it works out. It’s just as sure as reading the history of Israel in the Book of Joshua. And the Book of Revelation is just assured the promises of God are just assured. So the battle might not be pleasant and it sometimes the enemy seems difficult, the situation seem overwhelming, but the Lord the God of Israel fought for Israel, that’s all it took, and he is our God and he fights for us.

Let’s pray together. Thank you Lord for Israel. Your marvelous grace manifested to that nation, a nation you chose for yourself, a nation that experience the power of your redemption, a nation that you patiently and lovingly cared for and provided for. And even now hundreds of years after your promises you are giving them what it was promised. Lord, we would take heart as we read of this historical account and realize that you are our God, you are the unchanging God, you are faithful to your people, you are faithful to the promises to your people. We have nothing to fear.

We have no worries because you are our God; our one concern is to walk faithfully and obediently before you so that you might do your work in us and through us. Lord, may we have that confident assurance in the days that are before us of this week and the difficulties and the trials, the fearful situations and the good times all of this, may our eyes be up on you. May we have that settled confidence that the victory is ours, that you are our God and everything you are doing in our lives is for our good and your glory as you prepare us as sons of glory, we praise you for that in Christ’s name, Amen.