Bible Men: Caleb: A Giant of Faith

Now therefore give me this mountain, whereof the LORD spake in that day; for thou heardest in that day how the Anakims were there, and that the cities were great and fenced: if so be the LORD will be with me, then I shall be able to drive them out, as the LORD said. Jos 14:12  

Mountains and Hills

Imagine a mediaeval knight wearing an iron armour and hurtling forward with his sword drawn, ready to draw blood, and you have an inkling of what sort of man Caleb was. He was a born soldier. And he wore no iron armour.

You can also have a picture of those poor ten spies who gave an evil report which sent shivers down the spines of the whole Israel congregation in the wilderness. Their words melted the hearts of the people. Their tenor is full of defeat.

The land, through which we have gone to search it, is a land that eateth up the inhabitants thereof; and all the people that we saw in it are men of a great stature… the sons of Anak, which come of the giants: and we were in our own sight as grasshoppers, and so we were in their sight. Numbers 13:32-33

They are not words a father can repeat in front of his children. They are traumatizing.

So we have a grudging admiration for men of great courage. But they also fill us with rage. They make us feel like grasshoppers.

It is nearly impossible to praise (or love) our equals, wrote the preacher Morrison. We hate them. So a beautiful woman cannot stand a fellow beautiful woman in the same room, a doctor a fellow doctor, and a preacher’s greatest critics are his fellow preachers.

So Caleb with all his bravery (together with Joshua) come in, and yet all that the people want to do with them (in gratitude!) is to stone them! (Nu 14:10).

And apostle Paul, that other giant of faith, elicited much love and much scorn at the same time, but chiefly from his fellow apostles. “At my first answer no man stood with me, but all men forsook me,” he cries to Timothy.

Men can only praise their fellows for a time. After a while that admiration wears off. But it is not so with God.

Greatness comes at a high price, chiefly loneliness. So Jesus too died alone:  “Then all the disciples forsook him, and fled.” His most avowed loyalist denied him in the most disparaging fashion to save his own life.

Preacher, do you feel like you are alone in the whole congregation? Please don’t lose heart! Hasn’t Christ promised to be with you until the end?

The Word “Mountain” in the Bible

Now I’m a student of the Bible. I’m also a lover of the language and everything that is beautiful. A study of the word “mountain” in the Bible unearths an interesting detail.

We associate a mountain with the place where God dwells (even in our traditional beliefs). So the psalmist sings, “I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help. My help cometh from the LORD, which made heaven and earth.” A mountain is where we go for a transfiguration.

A poet will see gorges, ravines and the smoking peaks in a mountain, and in a sense, he will know he has seen God. “The world is charged with the grandeur of God.”

But a mountain can also be an obstacle: “Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low: and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places plain” (Isa 40:4). Pride and fear may be counted as examples of mountains we pray to God to remove.

A mountain can also be a challenge in life to be reckoned with. I think the latter interpretation is the one holding sway in Caleb’s “Give me this mountain” prayer. It is both a poetic and hyperbolic expression. And that is the nature of faith. It can only go up towards the clouds but never below!

Jesus answered and said unto them, Verily I say unto you, If ye have faith, and doubt not, ye shall not only do this which is done to the fig tree, but also if ye shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; it shall be done. And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive. Mat 21:21-22  

It Pays to be Specific in Prayer

A prayer like “Give me this mountain” isn’t quite enough. It wants a qualifier: A mountain of what? Is it faith? Is it God’s presence? Or is it health or peace?

I remember the prayer of Jabez. It is noted for its specificity. Nothing is left hanging. He goes directly for what he wants. “And Jabez called on the God of Israel, saying, Oh that thou wouldest bless me indeed, and enlarge my coast, and that thine hand might be with me, and that thou wouldest keep me from evil, that it may not grieve me! And God granted him that which he requested” (1Ch 4:10).  

Caleb prayed for Hebron, that hilly and rich (in both history and fertility) country, so he called it a mountain (for a hill and a mountain are the same thing to a Jew). And Joshua gave it to him.

And now, behold, the LORD hath kept me alive, as he said, these forty and five years, even since the LORD spake this word unto Moses, while the children of Israel wandered in the wilderness: and now, lo, I am this day fourscore and five years old. Jos 14:10  

As yet I am as strong this day as I was in the day that Moses sent me: as my strength was then, even so is my strength now, for war, both to go out, and to come in. Jos 14:11  

Now therefore give me this mountain, whereof the LORD spake in that day… Jos 14:12 

And Joshua blessed him, and gave unto Caleb the son of Jephunneh Hebron for an inheritance. Jos 14:13

So there goes Caleb, a man of endearing courage, and a man of daring faith. May he be an example to us all. Let us work too until we drop dead, if God so grant us the strength. Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year 2022 everybody! God loves you and so do I! God willing let us meet here next year.  

Bible Men: Joshua: War and Peace

For the LORD hath driven out from before you great nations and strong: but as for you, no man hath been able to stand before you unto this day. Jos 23:9 

Sin Brought War and Hatred for Peace

Generally there are two wars which plague mankind. The temporal war which everyone can see. And the war of the mind and heart which is invisible. Someone has called it the universe within. Anyone can glean the light outside. It’s the light inside which astonishes.

Men are drawn to a fight like a moth to light.

A brawl will break out in the street, and suddenly men will gather. The combatants will breath fire. Men will cheer and anyone who tries to break it will be the new enemy. Why should he spoil other people’s fun?

I watched a thief being beaten to death and I’ve never forgotten it. First the thief was cornered. He was caught in the act having broken into someone’s house. He was a young man. I saw the terror on his face. Then the blows followed. Blood spurted out. For about half an hour that young man bore it all. Stones crashed on his head. But still he didn’t die. And still people didn’t stop. He died after about one hour. And like Saul at the death of Stephen I stood quietly nearby consenting to his death.

My girlfriend was livid that I felt mercy for such a man. She had been in the middle of the fight hurling stones. Just before the young man died, she confided to me in horror, his manliness passed out. As a writer I thought that was very interesting. That there’s a point in pain where it ceases being pain anymore but glory. And that is a terrifying thought for a man to dwell on. It is strange after the young man died everybody walked away in haste.

So we lost much more in Eden than we shall ever perceive. Sin brought war. And in our hatred and rejection of God, we threw out the baby with the birth water. We hated peace. In fact we scorned it and everything which reminded us of God. He became our chief enemy. His glory became a burning a fire. Our glory became a dark spot in the sky of the mind. War became a sport. People wrestled and killed for spoils and wives. Today war is much more subtle than that, but we still fight.

The Light in the Shadows

Of course light has shone. Men cannot deny that. It’s what keeps hope burning. It’s what keeps faith going. We believe God even though we don’t know him.

We watch the happenings outside in horror. But it’s the horror within our own hearts which keeps us awake. It’s that which drives us to our knees at midnight. Now a man can rise to his feet, go to his bed and sleep soundly until morning. He does that because he has a God who is larger than his horror.

Have you known such a God? Have you tasted his peace which passes understanding? Imagine he’s there. He’s not a dream. He’s real!

He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the LORD, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust. Surely he shall deliver thee from the snare of the fowler, and from the noisome pestilence. He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust: his truth shall be thy shield and buckler. Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night; nor for the arrow that flieth by day; Nor for the pestilence that walketh in darkness; nor for the destruction that wasteth at noonday. Psa 91:1-6  

The Evasions and Nuances

In a way life is about evasion. And it is good because it enables people to avoid the unpleasant and to dwell on the bright. We evade war to stay alive.

That’s why books and movies are an antidote to the malaise of lethargy. Christians fly to fellowships and prayers and singing of psalms. We know what things to dwell on and what things not to (Phi 4:8).

Now the peculiar thing about war and peace is not that the Bible denies they are there. The peculiar thing is that it admits they are there.

When we talk of salvation people imagine it is a permanent escape from such wars, but that’s not true. Life may become harder just because the light has come.

What makes the difference is that the yoke of Christ (the Prince of Peace) is easier, just because the fight is no longer ours but God’s. It’s easier because of his promises.

The victory is not in winning the war. The chief war is always in keeping the victory which has been won. “But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved” (Mat 24:13). 

So we read about the murder of Abel and the birth of Seth, about Abraham’s waiting, about Israel and slavery in Egypt, about Israel’s redemption and exodus, about Israel’s exile and Israel’s return – and suddenly we know God is true because Israel is still standing today, being so small, and yet invincible in world history.

And in that note we understand why Joshua believed God, why he fought and why he won.

Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the LORD thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest. Jos 1:9  

There failed not ought of any good thing which the LORD had spoken unto the house of Israel; all came to pass. Jos 21:45  

Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever. Psa 23:6  

What comfort! What peace! What joy! So Joshua ends with this testimony (for Israel and for us) - that God is indeed faithful! He promised. He delivered. He still does. I pray you will believe that too!

Bible Men: Joshua: Whose Land?

So Joshua took the whole land, according to all that the LORD said unto Moses; and Joshua gave it for an inheritance unto Israel according to their divisions by their tribes. And the land rested from war. Jos 11:23 

Crime and Punishment

Adam had no parents. He had no land and he had no home of his. Everything Adam had was given him by God including his wife. God gave him Eden and God took away Eden.

What do you or I have which we didn’t receive?

“Dust to dust and ashes to ashes.” It is a chime we hear every day when “man goeth to his long home”. So Adam came into this world with nothing and he left with nothing.

The story of our beginning is humbling. But our fall sometimes blurs that. Sometimes we imagine we own the world.

It is true no one can diminish the achievements man has made by God’s grace. “Go forth and multiply…and have dominion over everything on earth” said God, and it is a call humanity has excelled in.   

Today the world is a village. And we can hardly keep up with the new inventions appearing on the scene almost daily. We have conquered ignorance, disease and poverty. Everywhere you look you find the imprint of man. We have kept the faith. We have multiplied. And we have dominion over everything. Glory be to God!

The Holy Land as Center of World History

But we are still human, and dark passions sometimes run roughshod over us. We love, but we also kill for love… The Cain heart is still beating in our chests. Abel dies. And he dies because of land.

It is worse in Holy land. The Jews claim it is theirs from God, as the Arabs also do, since they are all descendants of Abraham. But who are the original owners of the land? The Bible calls them Amorites, or the Canaanites tribes. Why did God take their land away from them and give it to others?

The Bible is plain. It’s because of their sins. God gave them time (four hundred years to change) but they didn’t. So God punished them for their crime. He took the land from them and gave it to Abraham’s descendants, according to scripture. God did with them as he did with Adam.

The earth is the LORD'S, and the fulness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein. Psa 24:1  

But in the fourth generation they shall come hither again: for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet full. Gen 15:16  

Defile not ye yourselves in any of these things: for in all these the nations are defiled which I cast out before you:  And the land is defiled: therefore I do visit the iniquity thereof upon it, and the land itself vomiteth out her inhabitants.  Ye shall therefore keep my statutes and my judgments, and shall not commit any of these abominations; neither any of your own nation, nor any stranger that sojourneth among you. Lev 18:24-26 

For thou art an holy people unto the LORD thy God: the LORD thy God hath chosen thee to be a special people unto himself, above all people that are upon the face of the earth. Deu 7:6  

Of course later God also got angry with Israel for their idolatry and he exiled them to Babylon. But after seventy years of tears Israel returned to her land. She came back to find a mixed lot though. The Assyrians had intermarried with the Jews (who remained) to give birth to Samaritans. The Arabs too were in Jerusalem.

So the story of Middle East is long and bloody. But it had been prophesied. All that history (through Adam) and how after Noah’s flood humankind spread throughout the world to become the tribes that we are today is all in the Bible.

Of course evolutionists too have their say. But it is not a dignified beginning. Moreover their history is forever being revised up to this day.

But it is not so with the history of the God of the Bible. His truths are eternal. He never changes. That’s why we believe him. His testimony is there for all to see. Whom do you believe and why? “And all the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing: and he doeth according to his will in the army of heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth: and none can stay his hand, or say unto him, What doest thou?” (Dan 4:35).  

Children of Faith

But we are here not to understand God to perfection but to believe! That’s why we are children of faith.

We started by listening to our parents and obeying them. Next we moved to school and college and universities. We were obedient and patient so eventually we understood. So is it with the knowledge of God. He wants to reason with you. Will you take up the challenge?  

World History is Shaky and Uncertain

Let us for a moment agree with our ancestors’ logic. Kenya is our land. But history also says that some came from Congo and others up the Nile! So who are the original owners of Kenya? Whose land is the Americas? Or Europe? Or Asia? Or USSR? Where are the great world empires of yester years and their cities? Looks also like God took away from some and gave it to others!

That’s why a man can buy land anywhere in the world today and call it his home from the Lord. “Every place that the sole of your foot shall tread upon, that have I given unto you, as I said unto Moses” (Jos 1:3). But we are still in the world with its glamour and hostility! So we shall not put down our cross, rather we shall carry it until the end, until Jesus comes back and receives us in his rest.

Land is a blessing, but it’s also a curse. To the extent one increases in possessions in this world to that extent he will never know peace, like Solomon boldly intimated. So don’t let covetousness kill you! Have you a very big land? Be content. Have you a very small land? Be content. Have you no land at all? Be content. Remember your treasure is where your heart is, so Jesus taught. Invest in the “lands” in heaven, he said, “where moth and rust doth not corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal.”

  

Bible Men: Joshua: Achan and the Fatal Sin of Covetousness

When I saw among the spoils a goodly Babylonish garment, and two hundred shekels of silver, and a wedge of gold of fifty shekels weight, then I coveted them, and took them; and, behold, they are hid in the earth in the midst of my tent, and the silver under it. Jos 7:21 

The Tragedy of Taking Sin Lightly

The story of Achan is tragic.

Either it will leave a man angry after reading it or it will throw him at the feet of God panting. Anger because from a purely human point of view one feels the punishment meted on Achan and his family was extreme.

But sin is equally extreme. Whether small or big sin is deadly.

And besides, God had carefully laid down all the rules and conditions which were to be met before their taking over of Jericho. “And the city shall be accursed, even it, and all that are therein, to the LORD… And ye, in any wise keep yourselves from the accursed thing, lest ye make yourselves accursed, when ye take of the accursed thing, and make the camp of Israel a curse, and trouble it” (Jos 6:17-18).   

But Achan, undoubtedly because of seeing so much gold and silver before his eyes, forgot everything about curses as his taste buds went on rampage. “But the children of Israel committed a trespass in the accursed thing: for Achan, the son of Carmi, the son of Zabdi, the son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, took of the accursed thing: and the anger of the LORD was kindled against the children of Israel” (Jos 7:1). 

The temptation was big. But equally the consequences were huge. “And Joshua said, Why hast thou troubled us? the LORD shall trouble thee this day. And all Israel stoned him with stones, and burned them with fire, after they had stoned them with stones” (Jos 7:25). 

It is easy to blame God for his lack of mercy. It’s not so easy to examine our own hearts.   

The Bible calls covetousness the sin of idolatry. “The strong desire to have that which belongs to another.” It is greed and it is a grievous scriptural offence.

It is Unbelief

Pastor Jon Piper has done a wonderful piece on covetousness in his book Future Grace.

At the bottom of it, he argues, covetousness is a sin of unbelief. It is seeking our satisfaction in something else other than God.

“Covetousness is a heart divided between two gods” he writes. So it is rightly called idolatry. “Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth; fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry” (Col 3:5).

Covetousness, according to Piper, is the opposite of faith. It’s the loss of contentment in Christ where we start to crave other things.

Covetousness chokes out spiritual life in a person as it gives birth to many sins. It is the seed which fell on thorny soil. “And the cares of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the lusts of other things entering in, choke the word, and it becometh unfruitful” (Mar 4:19). 

In the battle with covetousness Paul advises believers to run. “But thou, O man of God, flee these things.” What things? “For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows” (1Ti 6:10). 

So Paul urges young Timothy to flee “and follow after righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, meekness” (1Ti 6:11). 

And in the end, says Piper, covetousness destroys the soul. “But they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition” (1Ti 6:9). 

Remember Judas and Balaam. They went out and met their darkness.

But instead of following these things Paul offers something better. “But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. And having food and raiment let us be therewith content” (1Ti 6:6-8).  

Choose the Eternal over Temporal Things

God has given us everything but set a limit on a very few things. Eden was lost because of one tree out of a thousand.

Achan had just set foot in Promised Land but he never lived to enjoy it because of a few scraps of silver and gold which were forbidden.

So too it is easy to miss our chief goal of attaining eternal life because we are too busy pursuing the present. But we are here to be transformed rather than to conform to this world.

Covetousness breeds the half-hearted heart and which in turn is the mother of a halfhearted happiness.

From The Valley of Achor to a Door of Hope

Achan must have struggled with his temptation. He must have sweated blood just before he succumbed to his ruin.

Temptations don’t just happen. They are borne of character. But they are always preceded by a warning. We have all been there. The heart burned with a note not to do it but we did it nevertheless. And that was our ruin.  

The valley of Achor is the place where Achan met his death. It’s a horrible place with horrible memories. Yet “a door of hope” (Hosea 2:15) can still emerge from such a place!

Is it such a valley you are in right now my friend? But now a better hope is here in Christ!

God killed his own Son so that all who would believe in him would not die but live. “He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?” (Rom 8:32).  

All things: death or life, riches or poverty. For better for worse. For what can separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus?

Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them. Heb 7:25  

For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more. Heb 8:12  

There’s nothing impossible with God. Please remember that!

  

Bible Men: Joshua: Enjoying God

Then ye shall return unto the land of your possession, and enjoy it. Jos 1:15

Joy and Guilt

In the field of joy it’s hard to please everybody. It is even harder to please fellow Christians.

To one group God is holy and should be enjoyed holily. To the other God cannot be enjoyed as if one was in mourning. Joy should radiate not only from the face but from the whole body. Every muscle, every pore and arm should redound to the glory of God. So hands shoot in the air, voices ring, and the sanctuary shakes.

But the other group frowns. God is not manic. God is orderly and not chaotic. Worship is solemn. But the second group counters that there is no spirit in that form of worship. And “where the Spirit of the Lord is, there’s liberty,” they affirm.   

But Christians still disagree over many things. Dancing especially has never been comfortable with the church. It was never comfortable with David’s wife Michal either. She thought it was disgusting and not right for a king to dance like common people. But David enjoyed it. And God censored Michal and not David.

So what exactly is enjoying God and what is appropriate? And if it is wrong before the eyes of men is it wrong before the eyes of God also?

Faith and Works

There was a time I equated holiness with being serious minded at all times also. Being too happy made me uneasy.

I thought it displeased God. I was a works minded believer. And so I was sad. And so I was angry also. I hated everybody who didn’t look serious!

Did Martin Luther not feel something like that before he became reformed? “The just shall live by faith” so I discovered the gem in God’s word too, and it set me free!

There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. Rom 8:1  

There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love. 1Jn 4:18  

That change was revolutionary. In one fell swoop my eyes were opened and now I could see – “and your joy no man taketh from you”!

The fact of hell can easily instill morbid fear especially in the introverted types, so that the line between godly fear and demonic one becomes very thin indeed.

Satan can use the threat of hell to terrorize the heart of a weak believer, plunging one into a life of perpetual sorrow and joyless rigidity. “For if our heart condemn us, God is greater than our heart, and knoweth all things. Beloved, if our heart condemn us not, then have we confidence toward God” (1Jn 3:20-21).  

And if you can believe that too without a single doubt dear Christian then you are much closer to heaven than you think!

Pastor John Piper argues, in his Desiring God, Meditations of a Christian Hedonist, that true joy is not removed from self-interest. He scoffs at the idea of disinterested joy. You’ll admire his boldness! “This is a serious book about being happy in God” he opines. “It’s about happiness because that is what our Creator commands.”

C.S. Lewis thinks the world is weary of serious enjoyment. “God finds our desires not too strong but too weak.” He contends that we settle for far less in life than we are really worth. Are you enjoying him yourself? If not pray to God to rekindle that joy. “Search me,” cried the psalmist. And a bruised reed God will not break.

The Bible and Contradiction

The knowledge of the word of God is very crucial for one to be truly happy in God. The Bible has many apparent contradictions and without acknowledging that is to fall into one perpetual extreme or another. Jesus is the prince of peace, but Jesus also came not to bring peace but a sword.

And the Preacher would have us all go to the house of mourning rather than the house of mirth. James is even more forthright: “Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness.” 

So which way for true enjoyment? Is God not equal? God forbid!

The Bible is a double edged sword. Just as in life it cuts both ways. What you feel tonight may not be what you’ll feel in the morning. Our enjoyment is contextual. We rejoice but we rejoice tremblingly as the psalmist cautions. There’s a joy of the world and there’s a joy of the Spirit. May God grant us the love for the latter!

Howbeit we speak wisdom among them that are perfect: yet not the wisdom of this world, nor of the princes of this world, that come to nought: But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom, which God ordained before the world unto our glory. 1Co 2:6-7.  

Which things also we speak, not in the words which man's wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual. 1Co 2:13.  

Let scripture interpret scripture. Else the temptation will always be there for man to exceed his God in spirituality, or to sway to the other extreme and act profanely. 

It bothered the Pharisees once for example that Jesus ate and drank with sinners. But Jesus who knew the heart of every person regarded them with bemusement on one hand and on another he lambasted them for their hypocrisy.

Refusal to be happy is a sign of ingratitude. It is a disdain at God’s works. And when one is possessed of a thankless heart even the grasshopper becomes a burden.

So we enjoy God in worship. We enjoy him in our hobbies and families. We enjoy him in our professions. The extrovert will enjoy him in his dance and feast. But the introvert enjoys his God best in silence. All are God’s people and there’s neither Jew nor Greek. “Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God” (1Co 10:31).  

Jesus is the author and finisher of our faith. He started it and he’s going to complete it. May we now return to the land of our possession and enjoy it!

Bible Men: Joshua: Blood, Death and Freedom

Only be thou strong and very courageous, that thou mayest observe to do according to all the law, which Moses my servant commanded thee: turn not from it to the right hand or to the left, that thou mayest prosper whithersoever thou goest. Jos 1:7 

The Blood

The Old Testament is bloody. There’s no doubt about that. And Joshua is a book of war. By God’s own confession he refused David to build him a house because his hands were full of blood.

We flinch at the sight of blood. It is death.

Then the Old Testament punishments were crude. The modern heart recoils when we read them.

So we tremble at the sight of blood. But even more we tremble at the thought of such a cruel God. How can one possibly love a God like that?

These questions are valid. Enlightenment has come and gross darkness is behind us. We ask because we want to know.

“Come and let us reason together,” God throws out the invitation. “Produce your cause, saith the LORD; bring forth your strong reasons, saith the King of Jacob” (Isa 41:21). 

Is God cruel? Is it hard to love him? Let us find out.

Are we Good?

The question of God is hard to answer straight because he is supernatural and we are not. We die but he does not die. And yet God feels like we feel. He knows pain and he knows love. He knows laughter and he knows tears.

Beyond that he cannot be adequately explained by human logic. We are at sea.

In Genesis we meet a God who has created everything from – nothing. He called everything by name and it was. And it was very good.

But sin happened!

The story of Adam and Eve and The Fall is well known. Sin came into the world and sin brought death as God had said. It is why today there’s hate, blood and death everywhere.

The first murder in the world of Cain to his brother Abel awakens us violently to our own nature of evil.

This is the testimony of God: “And GOD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually” (Gen 6:5).  

And this is the testimony of Paul – a saint! “For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not. For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do” (Rom 7:18,19). 

Satan’s great lie is that we are good and not rebellious. But everyday proves the opposite. We try honestly. But the sweetness of rebellion always overrides obedience.

Our sins testify against us… and we know them. Isa 59:12

Truth is fallen in the street, and equity cannot enter… and he that departeth from evil maketh himself a prey. Isa 59:14,15

And there’s nothing so enchanting to a child as saying to its parents “I won’t do it!” or saying “I will do it” and then going right ahead and not doing it. If you remember your childhood well nothing gave us so much thrill.

Spiritually we are still children. “As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one” (Rom 3:10). 

And God cannot lie.

The Testimony of History

Cruelty runs the gamut of humankind. Some ate others. In Athens lions were let loose on slaves. And Nero burned Christians alive.

History is full of blood.

World War I and II. Nazi Germany and Holocaust.  Secular tyranny of formerly Soviet Union, the Sino-Japanese Wars, the Wars of Independence in Africa and the Americas. And now drugs and crime. We can’t pin these cruelties on God.

The Redemption

Sin brought war. It is still wrecking humankind up to this day. The war Joshua is leading is not only a war of conquest but chiefly a war against sin.

But the Bible is the story of God trying to reconcile man to himself. He has done this through his begotten Son Jesus Christ. He’s the Lamb which was slain from the foundation of the world (Rev 13:8). Through his blood we are saved.

So God is not cruel but sin is. God’s war is for the redemption of humankind, but man’s war is for him to be left alone! “I am for peace: but when I speak, they are for war” (Psa 120:7). 

“For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing,” declares the apostle. And those are the words of a courageous man.

We should’ve seen this before but we couldn’t because of sin. “But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear” (Isa 59:2). 

And the next question is: “What should I do that I may be saved?” And the courageous answer is “Repent.”

If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land. 2Ch 7:14.  

For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. Rom 10:13  

So for believers blood is very important. It’s no longer a symbol of death but life. For by his blood the power of sin has been dealt a blow. 

So today at Holy Communion we eat his “flesh” and drink his “blood” in remembrance of his death. To one blood signifies wrath, to another its freedom. To one it is hope, to another it’s a dark tunnel. That’s the difference Christ makes. “If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed” (Joh 8:36).  

Joshua is a great war strategist and general. But it is not his war or strategy but God’s. It is the same strategy he still gives to all his soldiers. The promises he gives to Joshua are our promises and victory too.

Does the sight of blood scare you? Look to Christ and be saved! 

Bible Men: Joshua: Why Good Courage is Taught

Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the LORD thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest. Jos 1:9  

The Changing Face of Courage

There was a time when an old man’s cough left no doubt what it meant. It sent shivers down the spines of men. Today a man coughs for fear of darkness.

At one time Saul wreaked havoc on the young church in Jerusalem. No one doubted his courage. It took the coming down of Jesus to face him. On the road to Damascus one courage died and a new one was born. “Lord, what wilt thou have me to do?” 

We knew John (together with his brother James) as the “sons of thunder.” Today we know John as the apostle of love. So the times have changed. And the nature of courage too.

Our grandfathers’ courage was raw. They lived and died as lions. Today a man would draw curious looks for behaving like a lion.

The tough ideals have thawed. Tolerance has flattened the field and made everybody a hero in his own right.

Men escaped to live in the deserts once. They inspired awe. Today men have gone to the moon and come back. What is a desert?

And then God went to Job’s sick bed and commanded him to behave like a man. Of course today saying such a thing might sound grossly insensitive, especially to a dying man.

If you would pay a visit to any of our national hospitals something strange will strike you. The difference between male wards and female ones is stark. In the male wards the silence is daunting. In the female wards you will pause for a minute just to confirm you’re in the right place.

So our fathers spoke their minds and they suffered no depression. Today we suppress speaking our minds until we fall sick. We have extensive knowledge, but we are also extensively uncertain. A man’s kingdom has shrunk. And so has his heart.

Tolerance has dignified fear. And so the diseases which afflict us have also become bold. But “at midnight Paul and Silas prayed, and sang praises unto God, and the prisoners heard them.” In prayers prison doors break open (Acts 16:25-26).

Life is war. Fight it to death. Sun Tzu taught the physical war very well. But life is not only physical, life is also spiritual, and in the latter, I need someone superior than Sun Tzu. I need God. He has never gone wrong and never will. He is the same yesterday, today and forever.      

God’s Encouragement to Joshua

“The LORD is a man of war: the LORD is his name” (Exo 15:3). 

And from childhood we know Joshua as a man of war. As Moses’ assistant his courage was never in question. And in the school of wilderness only he and Caleb passed the test of courage.

The rest died. Fear and lack of a high ideal killed them.

We know Joshua’s courage stemmed from his knowledge of God. He was there as Moses took his commands. He was there as Moses rose and fell and rose again. He had proof of God’s faithfulness.

But here is God commanding him again to be courageous!

His first assignment was done and it was good. His next assignment was harder. We rise from one hard assignment into a harder one. Getting saved is fairly easy. It’s the keeping of faith which is always difficult.

God knows that. So he says again and again “Don’t fear. Just believe.”

Temptations come. We mourn, we cry, we are torn and we’re bruised. But he restores the broken parts. And not a single word of his falls to the ground.   

Jesus birth was hard. His life harder. And his death the hardest. Yet throughout it all Christ triumphed. And it is through such testimonies that courage is built.

We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair. 2Co 4:8  

Persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed. 2Co 4:9  

Patience as Courage

So Joshua studied courage under Moses. He waited many years. Waiting pays a good dividend in the end. Can you picture Moses as the teacher of courage? Yet with God nothing shall be impossible.

Moses, the one who started in fear, has ended up as the greatest encourager of all time. His courage didn’t come suddenly. It came in drips. And Joshua watched. They sat at the feet of God for long periods of time. And in the end they were not ashamed.

For ye have need of patience, that, after ye have done the will of God, ye might receive the promise. Heb 10:36 

And so, after he had patiently endured, he obtained the promise. Heb 6:15  

That ye be not slothful, but followers of them who through faith and patience inherit the promises. Heb 6:12   

So courage is something we learn every day for the rest of our lives. Even on the last day on our death beds we shall pant for a word of encouragement. So give it freely. Give as much as you’ve received. “Who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God” (2Co 1:4).  

So God encouraged Joshua. Think of someone you may encourage today and encourage them too. They may just have been waiting for such a word.

Enduring to the End

We live in perilous times. Daily we are weighed down by questions we cannot find answers to. We need courage. And God gives that and much more.

So he says “Come unto me all ye that are heavy laden and I will give you rest,” and “Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and shew thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not… For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.”

And always when God calls it is because he wants to give more. In the end Joshua’s life testified of God’s faithfulness. “But as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.”

May your life and mine too draw to such a resounding conclusion. So too may we say with the apostle in valediction, “I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith.” 

Bible Women: Elisabeth and Mary: When the Old and Young meet in Reformation Times

And, behold, thy cousin Elisabeth, she hath also conceived a son in her old age: and this is the sixth month with her, who was called barren. For with God nothing shall be impossible. And Mary said, Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word. And the angel departed from her. Luk 1:36-38  

The Excellency of God

“And so I despaired,” cried the Preacher. And so suddenly I felt exhausted too. I said to myself, 'I will only rest this Sunday and the next I will start again.' But Sunday came, and the pall of lethargy was still insurmountable.

But it actually felt good to take a breather. God knows I needed it. So I wanted to go to “Bithynia” but the Spirit constrained me to go to “Macedonia.” I’m sorry I went off radar, dear reader, I vanished, but my landing has been safe, by God’s grace. “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose” (Rom 8:28).  

Yes, God has been extremely gracious. He has paid all my debts, both physical and spiritual. He has given me the peace which passes understanding. Surely what does a man want?

When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained; What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him?... O LORD our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth! Psa 8:3-4,9 

From the Gardens into the City

The Old Testament feels like sea waves building into a herculean landing, which it does in the New Testament.

We were used to men and women like us before. We were used to speeches like our own (though we’ve never dwelt in tents and trekked on desert sands like they did); we were used to barren women and loving men who trusted God to the end; we were used to songs which we sang in the night while strange thoughts rampaged through the mind.

We left our dwelling lands to embark on sojourns whose ideal was nothing but faith. God visited, God promised, and God hath made us believe.

So the New Testament opens on a completely new trajectory. In the old we were heading to a place where God promised he would be, but in the new God has come and is dwelling in our hearts. We have left the land behind us and now we’ve entered into the city.

In the Mount of Spices

The air is rich with hope in the new. Elizabeth and Mary merge in a splash of praise. We know them even before we meet with them in the outdoors. Not that they were vastly different from the women we’ve studied before.

We’ve known Sarah, we’ve known Lear and Rachel, and Ruth and then we’ve known Hannah. And anyone of these women might’ve been an Elisabeth or Mary but that wasn’t God’s design, for each had their lives to live and each had their deaths to die.

So what part of the journey of faith are you in, and will you carry it to the end?

Faithful is he that calleth you, who also will do it. 1Th 5:24  

Now there are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit. And there are differences of administrations, but the same Lord. And there are diversities of operations, but it is the same God which worketh all in all. 1Co 12:4-6  

And he said unto them, These are the words which I spake unto you, while I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled, which were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the psalms, concerning me. Luk 24:44  

Every life God touches he leaves it with the imprint of his loveliness. And so were the lives of all the women who believed, and so will be the lives of all the men who shall never doubt.

May you too be one of those men and women who every day see the star and who follow it faithfully without doubting that it will lead them home.

Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem, Saying, Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him. Mat 2:1-2  

And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down, and worshipped him: and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts; gold, and frankincense, and myrrh. Mat 2:11  

We know Elisabeth, but perhaps we know Mary better. They are cousins. And they visit each other as all girls with expectant news visit, and because of the latter the world will never forget, “Hail, thou that art highly favoured, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women.” 

May you too be blessed among the women in your own home. May you too have a husband and bear your own children. May you too be welcomed in the end by the king himself with open arms saying, “Enter thou into the joy of thy lord.”

Suddenly a new scent pours forth. Flowers bloom in a desert, and rivers break from rocks. The streets we walk on become adorned with gold. And beautiful things always begin to happen when the throne of God is in the heart.

May you behold him today. May you drink him to your fill. “O friends; drink, yea, drink abundantly, O beloved.”  In Jesus God has served us the best wine last.

My stay in “Macedonia” is over. I have been refreshed. “The night cometh, when no man can work,” says Christ. So let us get back to work now while it is still day. Let us delve into it with all our heart. Let us work as unto the Lord. See you next week in a new blog series and in a new fortnightly pace!