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!