Joshua and his friend Hermen Eutic

I was scheduled to teach the book of Joshua beginning sometime in May or June, but circumstances have changed and it appears that I will not be teaching after all. Here I am, all dressed up and nowhere to go! I thought I would take advantage of my preparation and share a couple of keys to understanding the book.


My last post dealt with the importance of the book in the Bible and biblical history.

In this post I want to talk about Joshua and his friend Hermen Eutic. “Hermen who??” Ha! I refer to hermeneutics (hərməˈn(y)o͞odiks), the principles and methods of interpretation. When you read the book of Joshua the question is, “How do we interpret or understand the book?”

This is not a book on hermeneutics, I only want to share how I read the book.

I believe the book is historical. This means I believe these things really happened. Joshua claims to be the story of how Israel came into Canaan and I believe that. I read it as plain and straightforward history, not as symbolism or allegory.

What about supernatural things that are found in the book? Such as:

Joshua 1:1 Now after the death of Moses the servant of the LORD it came to pass, that the LORD spake unto Joshua the son of Nun

Joshua 10:12 Then spake Joshua to the LORD in the day when the LORD delivered up the Amorites before the children of Israel, and he said in the sight of Israel, Sun, stand thou still upon Gibeon; and thou, Moon, in the valley of Ajalon.
13 And the sun stood still, and the moon stayed, until the people had avenged themselves upon their enemies. Is not this written in the book of Jasher? So the sun stood still in the midst of heaven, and hasted not to go down about a whole day.
14 And there was no day like that before it or after it, that the LORD hearkened unto the voice of a man: for the LORD fought for Israel.

They happened just like it says. How do I explain, So the sun stood still in the midst of heaven, and hasted not to go down about a whole day? I’ll be honest, I can’t. It’s a miracle, the work of God. But it happened!

As we read through the book we find spiritual truths that relate to walking with God under any covenant, such as, This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success. This is exciting! We are not Israel, coming into Canaan, nor do we wrestle with flesh and blood, but there are spiritual principles revealed in their various circumstances that we can apply to our walk and spiritual warfare! And we don’t have to twist anything or turn this into symbolism or allegory to find them!

Christ. Yes, Christ is in this book! Both directly and by typology. Typology? This is an important feature in the Old Testament and I’ll explain this in my next post.

All dressed up and nowhere to go

I was scheduled to teach the book of Joshua beginning sometime in May or June, but circumstances have changed and it appears that I will not be teaching after all. Here I am, all dressed up and nowhere to go! I thought I would take advantage of my preparation and share a couple of keys to understanding the book.

First, the importance of the book in the Bible and biblical history. 

This is actually very simple: the book of Joshua explains how the people of Israel came to live where they live. More importantly, it explains why they live where they live.

History is full of stories of nations and tribes and peoples moving from one area to another and, if necessary, subjugating or annihilating those who lived there. This is the story of humanity. Is this how Israel came to live in Canaan – they needed more space and simply moved into someone else’s territory? Not exactly. Well, not even close!

Way back in Genesis 12 we read, Now the LORD had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house, unto a land that I will show thee: And I will make of thee a great nation . . . 

Genesis 12 is a signal event in the Bible, this is when salvation history kicks into gear. God calls Abram and promises him a land and to make of him a nation. The Old Testament is the history of this nation, Israel. Several times God repeated the promise of a land for this nation. Abraham lived in this land; Isaac and his family lived here; Jacob and his family lived here, all as pilgrims. Before long the size of this “nation” was 70 souls (Exodus 1:5  And all the souls that came out of the loins of Jacob were seventy souls). At this point, they relocate to Egypt to escape a severe famine in the land. Life must’ve been good there because they remained in Egypt for some time. And the children of Israel were fruitful, and increased abundantly, and multiplied, and waxed exceeding mighty; and the land was filled with them. They were well on their way to being a nation, but they were still homeless.

And then that famous and poignant statement, Now there arose up a new king over Egypt, which knew not Joseph. And, as a result, the children of Israel were reduced to slavery. The Book of Exodus tells us how God rescued them from Egypt and Joshua tells us how God brought them into the land of Canaan. All this to fulfill His promise to Abraham. This is precisely why it is called the promised land.

And the LORD gave unto Israel all the land which he sware to give unto their fathers; and they possessed it, and dwelt therein. And the LORD gave them rest round about, according to all that he sware unto their fathers: and there stood not a man of all their enemies before them; the LORD delivered all their enemies into their hand. There failed not ought of any good thing which the LORD had spoken unto the house of Israel; all came to pass. Joshua 21:43-45

The land is a vital part of the existence of Israel. The normal life of Israel is in the land. It is the mark of God’s blessing on them: sin kept them out of it, sin got them removed from it, and when they were restored to God they were returned to the land. The book of Joshua explains how the people of Israel entered and occupied this land. More importantly, it explains this is the promised land.

Joshua is a most important book in the Bible and the history of the children of Israel.

Adam Clarke, in the introduction to his commentary on Joshua, expands on this:

“The Book of Joshua is one of the most important writings in the old covenant, and should never be separated from the Pentateuch, of which it is at once both the continuation and completion. Between this Book and the five Books of Moses, there is the same analogy as between the four Gospels and the Acts of the Apostles. The Pentateuch contains a history of the Acts of the great Jewish legislator, and the Laws on which the Jewish Church should be established. The Book of Joshua gives an account of the establishment of that Church in the Land of Canaan, according to the oft-repeated promises and declarations of God. The Gospels give an account of the transactions of Jesus Christ, the great Christian legislator, and of those Laws on which his Church should be established, and by which it should be governed. The Acts of the Apostles gives an account of the actual establishment of that Church, according to the predictions and promises of its great founder. Thus, then, the Pentateuch bears as pointed a relation to the Gospels as the Book of Joshua does to the Acts of the Apostles.”

The Book of Joshua is one of the most important writings in the old covenant.

Amen.

I am the one who destroyed death

This is an excerpt from an Easter sermon by Melito, Bishop of Sardis, preached around AD 167. The Sermon is titled, Peri Pascha (On the Pascha). What a message!





And so he was lifted up upon a tree and an inscription was attached indicating who was being killed.

Who was it?

It is a grievous thing to tell, but a most fearful thing to refrain from telling.

But listen, as you tremble before him on whose account the earth trembled!

He who hung the earth in place is hanged.
He who fixed the heavens in place is fixed in place.
He who made all things fast is made fast on a tree.

The Sovereign is insulted.
God is murdered.
The King of Israel is destroyed by an Israelite hand.

But he arose from the dead and mounted up to the heights of heaven.
When the Lord had clothed himself with humanity,
and had suffered for the sake of the sufferer,
and had been bound for the sake of the imprisoned,
and had been judged for the sake of the condemned,
and buried for the sake of the one who was buried,
he rose up from the dead,
and cried aloud with this voice:

Who is it who contends with me? Let him stand in opposition to me.
I set the condemned free;
I gave the dead life;
I raised up the one who had been entombed.
Who is my opponent?

I, he says, am the Christ.
I am the one who destroyed death,
and triumphed over the enemy,
and trampled Hell under foot,
and bound the strong one,
and carried off mortals to the heights of heaven,
I, he says, am the Christ.

Therefore, come, all families of the earth,
you who have been befouled with sins, receive forgiveness for your sins.
I am your forgiveness,
I am the passover of your salvation,
I am the lamb which was sacrificed for you,
I am your ransom,
I am your light,
I am your saviour,
I am your resurrection,
I am your king,
I am leading you up to the heights of heaven,
I will show you the eternal Father,
I will raise you up by my right hand.

This is the One who made the heavens and the earth,
and formed mankind in the beginning,
The One proclaimed by the Law and the Prophets,
The One enfleshed in a virgin,
The One hanged on a tree,
The One buried in the earth,
The One raised from the dead and who went up into the heights of heaven,
The One sitting at the right hand of the Father,
The One having all authority to judge and save,
Through Whom the Father made the things which exist from the beginning of time.

This One is "the Alpha and the Omega,"
This One is "the beginning and the end"
The beginning indescribable and the end incomprehensible.

This One is the Christ.
This One is the King.
This One is Jesus.
This One is the Leader.
This One is the Lord.

This One is the One who rose from the dead.
This One is the One sitting on the right hand of the Father.
He bears the Father and is borne by the Father.

To him be the glory and the power forever. Amen.

What do you think is our greatest enemy?

Saturday night, my grandson spent the night with me. We didn't make it to church on Sunday, so I thought I would redeem the time a little and minister to him.

I asked him, “What do you think is our greatest enemy?”

He thought for a minute and ventured, “The environment? Nature?”

“No. Death. It gets everybody. You. Me. Your dad. This is our greatest enemy. It's like a period - the end of your life. I die and can’t see you anymore and you can't see me anymore.

"Why doesn't God just put an end to it?" (Don’t they ask great questions?!!)

l explained about sin, that we die because of sin; not some specific personal sin, but sin brought death. And then of course we spend our lives running from God, so the enemy is death, but the problem is sin. I asked him, "Why do you think Jesus came?"

"To die on the cross?"

“Yes. Death was lording it over us, laughing at us, and Jesus came to fight death for us. But he died. Death got him, too. Looks like Jesus lost. What happened after he died?”

“He was buried.”

“Yes, And after that?” He was silent. “He rose from the dead. He beat death! He did that for us and now offers us victory on death.”

"Then why do people still die?" (I’m telling you, grandchildren ask great questions!!)

"That’s a good question. Jesus defeated death and offers us victory over death. He will raise us from the dead and give us a new body. Both my eyes will work, I won't be old, no more aches and pains, no more getting sick, no more dying, no more parting, pain, or sorrow. And now, because of this hope we have, He has delivered us from the fear of death.

Our discussion then moved to some personal particulars surrounding this issue. What a great discussion. And I love the questions my grandchildren ask! They are basic, yet deep, and I have to be able to offer more than platitudes, clichés, truisms.

But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, 

crowned with glory and honour; that he by the grace of God should taste death for every man.

A wonderful word of encouragement

I recently had a meeting with some important people that did not go well. Oh the meeting was civil, but the fall out from that meeting has been very discouraging.

Today I came across this from Derek Prince, Rules of Engagement :

"Sometimes it may take a crisis—or even a seeming disaster—to bring us to the place where we fully acknowledge our dependence on God. I think of Paul’s journey to Rome, described in Acts 27–28. God had a special plan for Paul to go to Rome, the capital of the Roman Empire. As the “apostle of the Gentiles,” he had a unique contribution to make to the Church there.
Yet Paul traveled as a prisoner in chains. The ship he traveled on encountered a storm so terrific that for two weeks they never saw the sun by day or the stars by night. Finally, they were all shipwrecked on the rugged coast of Malta. There—to cap it all—Paul was bitten by a poisonous snake! If it was God’s will for Paul to go to Rome, why did he experience such extraordinary trials on his journey there?
As I pondered this, I recalled a phrase in Acts 27:20: “All hope that we would be saved was finally given up.” That was the purpose of Paul’s trials: to bring him to the place where all hope was given up. Now Paul had nothing left to hope in but God Himself. That was when he proved in experience that God is all-sufficient. God brings us to the place of total dependence upon Himself to demonstrate that He is totally dependable.
Having come to this place of total dependence, Paul was ready for his ministry to the Christians in Rome. His journey there had prepared him. Emptied of all self-sufficiency, he was a yielded channel through which God’s blessings could flow. We tend to forget that although Paul was an apostle, he was also still a disciple—under the Lord’s discipline.
Gradually—through the years—I have been learning this lesson of total dependence. I have to confess that I have been a slow learner. God has used different circumstances at different times to enforce the lesson. But I have discovered that the more completely I depend on God, the more He surprises me by the results that follow—results that I could never have achieved as long as I depended on my own efforts."

Amen! I don’t wish to relate the particulars of my meeting or of my resulting discouragement, except to say that all of this wants to drag me back to where I was many years ago. But this is a good word! I need to trust in the Lord, to completely depend on Him, and He will bring to pass His will in my life. In His time. In His way. And it will be “results that I could never have achieved as long as I depended on my own efforts.”

Thank you, Lord!

And this portion of Psalm 34

I will bless the LORD at all times: 
his praise shall continually be in my mouth.  
My soul shall make her boast in the LORD: 
the humble shall hear thereof, and be glad.  
O magnify the LORD with me, 
and let us exalt his name together.  
I sought the LORD, 
and he heard me, 
and delivered me from all my fears.  
This poor man cried, 
and the LORD heard, 
and saved him out of all his troubles.  
O taste and see that the LORD is good: 
blessed is the man that trusteth in him.  
O fear the LORD, ye his saints: 
for there is no want to them that fear him.  
The young lions do lack, and suffer hunger: 
but they that seek the LORD shall not want any good thing.  
The LORD is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart; 
and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit.  
The LORD redeemeth the soul of his servants: 
and none of them that trust in him shall be desolate.

Amen and amen!

Give none offence

Give none offence, neither to the Jews, nor to the Gentiles, nor to the church of God
1 Corinthians 10:32

In our Sunday morning Bible study, at one point we went to this verse. As the pastor commented on it I thought, and asked, “How is this to work? Just by being Christians we give offence.” I decided to look into this.

When I read it Sunday, I was carried away by the contemporary idea of offence, hurting someone's feelings, and as such the command is impossible! Especially in America where people are “offended” by everything. I did a search and found the word only occurred three times in the New Testament (the pastor had pointed this out). I was immediately reminded that “offend” in the Bible has nothing to do with hurting someone’s feeling, rather the idea here is not leading others into sin by one's mode of life. I decided to go through 1 Corinthians 8-10 and see if I could gain an understanding from the context. It worked!

1 Corinthians 8 begins, Now as touching things offered unto idols. It would seem that the Corinthians had written Paul and asked about eating meat that had been offered to idols. In chapter 8 he gives truth and principles concerning this matter. In chapter 9 he offers an illustration from his ministry. In the first half of chapter 10 he deals with a very real aspect of idolatry, then returns to their question. And my question.

23 All things are lawful for me, but all things are not expedient: all things are lawful for me, but all things edify not.
24 Let no man seek his own, but every man another's wealth.
25 Whatsoever is sold in the shambles, that eat, asking no question for conscience sake:
26 For the earth is the Lord's, and the fulness thereof.
27 If any of them that believe not bid you to a feast, and ye be disposed to go; whatsoever is set before you, eat, asking no question for conscience sake.
28 But if any man say unto you, this is offered in sacrifice unto idols, eat not for his sake that shewed it, and for conscience sake: for the earth is the Lord's, and the fulness thereof:
29 Conscience, I say, not thine own, but of the other: for why is my liberty judged of another man's conscience?
30 For if I by grace be a partaker, why am I evil spoken of for that for which I give thanks?

First, A principle: 23 all things are lawful for me, but not everything is expedient and not everything edifies. The general application of this truth: 24 let no one seek his own -- but each another's. In other words, Love your neighbor as yourself.

Second, 25-28 Specific Application:
-Whatever is sold at the market, eat, asking no questions.
-If someone makes an issue of it, don’t eat.
All this for conscience sake. First, your conscience. Second, the other man’s conscience.

Third, Why should my liberty be judged by another man’s conscience? If I partake by grace and give thanks, why should it matter to you?
This is the interesting Christian twist. I am free to do these things, who cares what you think? Ah but that’s it, I care. This is love. I am free in these matters to do what I want, but more importantly, I don’t want to do anything to cause my brother to stumble. And by stumble he means sin, fall back into sin with possibly deadly results.

31 Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.
32 Give none offence, neither to the Jews, nor to the Gentiles, nor to the church of God:
33 Even as I please all men in all things, not seeking mine own profit, but the profit of many, that they may be saved.
This is the final application and this is where the verse under question comes:

Do all to the glory of God. This is what he has explained in ch 8-10. It doesn’t bring glory to God if by acting on my freedom I cause a brother to fall into sin and perish.

Give none offence. Again, this is what he has explained in ch 8-10. In this matter of eating meat offered to idols, I do not believe that eating it is sinning against God, but my brother does - I do not want to do anything to encourage him to sin. I don’t want to be the example that encourages someone to continue in or fall back into sin. This is love – I am willing to give up what I believe I am free to do so I don’t encourage you to do what you believe to be sin.

Conclusion? As I said earlier, when I read it Sunday I was carried away by the English idea of offence, hurting someone's feelings, and it has nothing at all to do with this. Give none offence is, in context, referring to matters of Christian liberty, where some brothers think a certain behavior is sin while I don't. I am free to do it, but I don't want to cause them to stumble and fall back into sin.

I'm excited! It was a good study and it's neat when the Word clears up your misunderstandings. Now to work on give none offence.

This is awesome

On September 22, 2015, I had the joy of preaching a sermon on the second coming of Christ I titled, They Say He is Coming Again. In my application (based on Matthew 24:14) I said,

I’m holding a 3 page document called, No Christians, No Scriptures, No Missionaries. It’s a list of all the people groups with no Christians and no work.

I urge the church, specifically the leadership, to adopt at least one of the people groups on this list and to regularly pray for them.

The pastor agreed and appointed me a one person committee to find a people group to adopt. I found the Southeastern Luoluopo, an unreached people group on the China-Vietnam border, and the church adopted them.

Consequently, once a month we have a specific prayer time for the Luoluopo. As I was gathering information for this month, I was focusing on Christians in Yunnan Province (where the Luoluopo live), and I came across a couple of wonderful stories.

The Eastern Lipo live in the northern part of Yunnan Province. The majority of the Eastern Lipo are professing Christians. They were first converted under the ministry of Australian missionary-doctor Arthur Nicholls (China Inland Mission), who traveled to the area in 1906. Conversions occurred almost immediately. In 1913 the four Gospels were translated into Eastern Lipo, and the entire New Testament in 1951. They experienced severe persecution during the 1960s and 1970s. Most of their culture is now centered around the church and their strong Christian faith. In 1998 the Eastern Lipo churches sent evangelists to ten unreached minorities throughout southern China. (Operation China)

Amen!

The A-Hmao live further north in Yunnan Province. In 1904 missionary Samuel Pollard (known in Chinese as Bo Geli; he was a British Methodist missionary with the China Inland Mission) arrived and found the A-Hmao trapped in slavery and overwhelmed with poverty. Together with Francis Dymond he converted them to Christianity, invented an alphabet for their language, and taught them to read and write (the New Testament was printed in 1917). Pollard baptized 10,000 believers, and before the mission was expelled from China, 80,000 had turned to Christ. Some estimate that 80% of the A-Hmao today are Christians.
After the departure of the missionaries, the church stayed steadfast to Christ. In 1974 many believers were massacred by Chinese troops when they met secretly for prayer in a cave. Instead of destroying the church, the massacre caused a doubling in the number of Christians over a short time. (Operation China)

Amen again!

What does this have to do with the Luoluopo? We are confessing, I believe God will answer us- this is an encouragement for our faith: God has worked mighty things in the past, near them! And the Lipo are sending evangelists to unreached minorities in southern China. This is awesome!

In Psalm 2, the Father said to the Son:

Ask of me, and I shall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, 
and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession.

And we are joining with the Son, “Give us the Luoluopo.”

The witness of the Spirit

This past Sunday I had the opportunity and privilege to preach. My text was Romans 8:16. Here is a excerpt from that teaching:

16 The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God

What the verse says:
The Spirit bears witness with our spirit – this is something that He does, that we can expect him to do. This is something definite, something positive.

That we are the children of God – this is the witness, this is what he testifies

What the verse does not say:
It does not tell us what this will look like, what it will feel like. In one way, it would be nice if this verse said, “the Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit” and then described this witness in detail. How easy it would be then to test myself, Do I have this witness of the Spirit?

No. Unlike most politicians, this witness is not scripted. This witness is to me, to you, and is fitted to each one. And it gives us assurance.

So, what is it?

I believe John Wesley expressed it best:

But what is that testimony of God's Spirit, which is superadded to, and conjoined with, this? How does he "bear witness with our spirit that we are the children of God?" It is hard to find words in the language of men to explain "the deep things of God." Indeed, there are none that will adequately express what the children of God experience. But perhaps one might say… The testimony of the Spirit is an inward impression on the soul, whereby the Spirit of God directly witnesses to my spirit, that I am a child of God; that Jesus Christ hath loved me, and given himself for me; and that all my sins are blotted out, and I, even I, am reconciled to God.

Amen!

A Poem

Alas!
Grievous was the sin
Great was the fall
Like a heavy cloud
It darkens all
Will the sun ever shine?

Lo, on yonder tree
One who dies for me
“O Jesus,” I cry
“Can you rescue me?
Can you set me free?”



Is there an answer to my cry? Yes!

Psalm 130
Out of the depths have I cried to thee, O Lord.
O Lord, hearken to my voice; let thine ears be attentive to the voice of my supplication.
If thou, O Lord, shouldest mark iniquities, O Lord, who shall stand?
For with thee is forgiveness:
for thy name's sake have I waited for thee, O Lord, my soul has waited for thy word.
My soul has hoped in the Lord; from the morning watch till night.
Let Israel hope in the Lord: for with the Lord is mercy, and with him is plenteous redemption.
And he shall redeem Israel from all his iniquities.  (LXX)



I saw One hanging on a tree,
In agony and blood;
He fixed His languid eyes on me,
As near His cross I stood.

Sure, never, till my latest breath,
Can I forget that look;
It seemed to charge me with His death,
Though not a word He spoke.

My conscience felt and owned the guilt,
And plunged me in despair;
I saw my sins His blood had spilt,
And helped to nail Him there.

Alas! I knew not what I did -
But now my tears are vain;
Where shall my trembling soul be hid?
For I the Lord have slain.

A second look He gave, which said,
"I freely all forgive;
This blood is for thy ransom paid,
I die that thou may'st live."
                              ~ He Died for Me by John Newton

For with thee is forgiveness