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[Today's Comments]
Passage: Joshua 5-8

On Wednesday, March 21, 2018, Yujin wrote,

He wrote there on the stones a copy of the law of Moses, which he had written, in the presence of the sons of Israel...Then afterward he read all the words of the law, the blessing and the curse, according to all that is written in the book of the law (Joshua 8:32,34).

What a way to celebrate their victory! They wrote out the Law of Moses on stones and then read them aloud to the entire community. Who does this?!

Yet, should we not also celebrate our great God in this way when He gives us victories in our lives? We throw parties and celebrate each other's achievements, but should we not celebrate the Lord in this way? Is He not the reason for our victories?

Therefore, let us remember to celebrate the Lord in our victories. Let us acknowledge His faithfulness and goodness, and let us collectively raise our voices in praise of Him who gives us the victory.

We had two successful TaeKwonDo launches over these past few weeks. Lord help me to remember to guide our communities to praise you in these victories.

Have you experienced victories for which you can praise the Lord? Plan to celebrate the Lord and do it!

 

Passage: Joshua 5-8

On Thursday, March 21, 2013 (Last Updated on 3/21/2015), Yujin wrote,

Their children whom He raised up in their place, Joshua circumcised; for they were uncircumcised, because they had not circumcised them along the way (Joshua 5:7).

There is no indication here that God told Israel not to circumcise their children in the wilderness. The suggestion here is that the previous generation of Israel either failed or refused to obey God in circumcising their children, as God prescribed. This is further vindication for God destroying all of them in the wilderness over the forty years. Even after the incident at Kadesh-Barnea, when they grumbled against God's command to take the Promised Land the first time, the people of Israel remained rebellious and disobedient. 

Circumcision was very important because not only was it commmanded in the Law of Moses, it was also commanded of Israel as the sign of God's covenant with Abraham. It served to identify Israel as the people of God. If you recall, God almost killed Moses for this failure with respect to his son (cf. Exodus 4:24-26). Consequently, writing of the generation of Israel that perished in the wilderness, we read in Hebrews:

“Today if you hear His voice,
Do not harden your hearts as when they provoked Me,
As in the day of trial in the wilderness,
Where your fathers tried Me by testing Me,
And saw My works for forty years.
“Therefore I was angry with this generation,
And said, ‘They always go astray in their heart,
And they did not know My ways’;
As I swore in My wrath,
‘They shall not enter My rest’” (Hebrews 3:7-11).

We learn from this that the generation, twenty-years-old and over, of Israel remained entrenched in their unbelief throughout the forty-years of wandering in the wildnerness. Therefore, God destroyed them, not merely physically, but I believe spiritually as well. This is the meaning of the expression, "They shall not enter My rest." Again we read,

Therefore, let us fear if, while a promise remains of entering His rest, any one of you may seem to have come short of it. For indeed we have had good news preached to us, just as they also; but the word they heard did not profit them, because it was not united by faith in those who heard (Hebrews 4:1-2).

Friends, there is a theological doctrine called the "perseverance of saints." It is kind of a misnomer because perseverance usually has to do with effort, yet the doctrine teaches rather the "preservation" of saints by God's grace into eternity. It expresses the teaching, "once saved always saved." The basis for this unshakeable salvation, even an unshakeable faith, is the sovereign will and power of God. This is beautifully illustrated by our Lord:

My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me; and I give eternal life to them, and they will never perish; and no one will snatch them out of My hand. My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand (John 10:27-29).

This text pictures the Lord Jesus holding the believer in His hand. Then, as if this were not secure enough, God the Father then puts His hand over Jesus' hands to secure the believer in His hand as well. Thus, the believer's eternal destiny is secure, not on the strength of our faithfulness but on the strength of God's promises.

Passage: Joshua 5-8

On Wednesday, March 21, 2012 (Last Updated on 3/22/2014), Yujin wrote,

When Joshua was near the town of Jericho, he looked up and saw a man standing in front of him with sword in hand. Joshua went up to him and demanded, “Are you friend or foe?” “Neither one,” he replied. “I am the commander of the LORD’s army.”At this, Joshua fell with his face to the ground in reverence. “I am at your command,” Joshua said. “What do you want your servant to do?” The commander of the LORD’s army replied, “Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy.” And Joshua did as he was told. (Joshua 5:13-15 NLT)

I find this exchange very interesting. Joshua sees a warrior standing in front of him. This warrior has a sword in his hand. Joshua needs to know whether he should fight him or recruit him. So he asks, "Are you friend or foe?" I love the response. The warrior says that he is neither Joshua's friend nor his enemy. He is the commander of the LORD's army!

What Joshua needed to realize was that he was not the one calling the shots in the ensuing conquest of the Promised Land. The issue was not whether this angel was Joshua's friend or foe but whether Joshua and all Israel would be the Angel's friend or foe. Joshua's response revealed his immediate understanding and discernment of his situation. Joshua prostrated himself in reverence and submitted himself to whatever the LORD commanded.

Today, I reflect on our response to God. Are we dictating terms to Him? Are we ordering God's priorities around our own? Are we trying to enlist Him in our personal ambitions? Is His will merely tacked on as one of many considerations in our busy lives? 

I've never known anyone like Joshua, and there is no one that I know who is like him. But I want to have his attitude in my heart. In the battle against Ai, Joshua kept his spear raised until everyone was destroyed, just as the LORD commanded him (Joshua 8:18, 25-26). I want to raise my spear and keep it raised until God's will is completely fulfilled in me. Even if my arms are tired with each passing hour and every fiber of my body yearns for relief, I want to fully submit to the LORD. And I know this yearning in me is not from me but from the LORD. O LORD, command what You will and do what You command in me.

Passage: Joshua 5-8

On Tuesday, March 22, 2011, Unmi wrote,
Circumcision and Passover at Gilgal (Joshua 5:2-12)
Circumcision was instituted in Genesis 17:10-14 "Every male among you shall be circumcised. You are to undergo circumcision, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and you. For the generations to come every male among you who is eight days old must be circumcised, including those born in your household or bought with money from a foreigner—those who are not your offspring. Whether born in your household or bought with your money, they must be circumcised. My covenant in your flesh is to be an everlasting covenant. Any uncircumcised male, who has not been circumcised in the flesh, will be cut off from his people; he has broken my covenant.”
 
Circumcision was a sign of the Abrahamic covenant. There are several components of this covenant.  One component was to have "descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as the sand on the seashore" (Genesis 22:17).  This promise was fulfilled through the Promised child, Isaac, and then through Jacob. Jacob's descendants grew from approximately 70 to >600,000 fighting men alone by the time of the Exodus. Another major component of the Abrahamic covenant was the Promised Land, Canaan. God is just about to fulfill this aspect of His promise as well, but He requires the circumcision to be done as a sign of that covenantal promise.
 
In preparation for the first passover while they are still in Egypt, everyone was circumcised. Only those boys who were born during the 40 years in the wilderness were not circumcised yet. Now why they were not circumcised is not clearly answered. Was it because of disobedience? Was it because they were constantly on the move in the wilderness?
 
Also, all males are required to be circumcised in order to celebrate the LORD's passover. “A foreigner residing among you who wants to celebrate the LORD’s Passover must have all the males in his household circumcised; then he may take part like one born in the land. No uncircumcised male may eat it. The same law applies both to the native-born and to the foreigner residing among you.” (Exodus 12:48-49)  There is documentation of the passover being observed in the second year after coming out of Egypt. The LORD spoke to Moses in the Desert of Sinai in the first month of the second year after they came out of Egypt. He said, “Have the Israelites celebrate the Passover at the appointed time... So Moses told the Israelites to celebrate the Passover, and they did so in the Desert of Sinai at twilight on the fourteenth day of the first month. (Numbers 9:1-5) But I wonder if the Passover was observed in the 39 years in between this Passover celebration and that of Gilgal.  Perhaps it was observed with the exclusion of those boys who weren't circumcised yet?  However, as time went on, the population of uncircumcised males would have grown larger and those who were circumcised would have died in the wilderness!
 
By the time the Israelites arrive at Gilgal, the majority of population of fighting men would have been uncircumcised which makes the circumcision at Gilgal very interesting.  Because all the fighting men were circumcised on the same day, the entire Israeli army would have been at their most vulnerable time for attack from the enemy. Remember Jacob's daughter, Dinah and the Schechemites in Genesis 34? Simeon and Levi tricked the Schechemites to circumcise themselves. "All the men who went out of the city gate agreed with Hamor and his son Shechem, and every male in the city was circumcised. Three days later, while all of them were still in pain, two of Jacob’s sons, Simeon and Levi, Dinah’s brothers, took their swords and attacked the unsuspecting city, killing every male." (Genesis 34:24-25) Because the men of Schechem were in pain, Simeon and Levi were able to kill everyone of them. Likewise after the Israelites circumcised themselves at Gilgal, they would have been in the same vulnerable position.  This speaks a lot of Joshua's faith. From a human perspective, as the commander of the army, it wouldn't have been a "wise" decision for Joshua to have all the men circumcised at the same time.  Joshua trusted that the the hand of the Lord would protect them from their enemies.
 
After their obedience in this matter, God says “Today I have rolled away the reproach of Egypt from you.” (Joshua 5:9) The event of Gilgal is a pivotal point in the history of Israel.  It is on this day that God "rolled away" their past existence; their oppressive life of slavery in Egypt, their 40 years of wandering in the wilderness and living just to stay alive.  On this day, God is prepared to give them the land flowing with milk and honey that was promised to Abraham. No longer will they eat manna, but will now eat the produce of the Promised Land. No longer will they wander aimlessly in the dessert, but will now establish their permanent dwelling places.  How wonderful it must have been when they first ate of the produce of the land!
 
Praise be to God who never forgets his promises!
Passage: Joshua 5-8

On Monday, March 21, 2011, Sherry wrote,
This book is about obedience. God is preparing both Joshua & the nation by teaching them the importance of courageous & consistent faith. The city of Jericho, built thousand of years before Joshua was born, was one of the oldest cities in the world. In some places it had fortified walls up to 25 feet high and 20 feet thick. Soldiers standing on top of the walks could see for miles. Jericho was a symbol of military power and strength. The Canaanites saw it as invincible. I think it took a lot of obedience & faith to follow God's strange military maneuver to bring down Jericho.

Passage: Joshua 5-8

On Monday, March 21, 2011, Stephen wrote,

I always enjoy reading this wonderful story of victory when the Israelites conquered Jericho.  One of the reasons why this is famous is that God literally torn down the wall of Jericho when the Israelites walked around the city once a day for 6 days and seven times on the seventh day just as God commanded.  I would like to talk about how this story can be twisted and used as a presumptuous biblical basis for an aberrant act done by Korean christians who are very zealous for the Lord.  This happened several months ago in Seoul, Korea.  A group of students from "Praise School"(I don't know exactly what it is) went to one of the most historically famous Korean buddhist temple in Seoul and started walking in and out of the temple, praying and praising God just as the Israelites did in Joshua chapter 6.  They called it "treading the land."  This act for zealous heart for the Lord brought so much criticism from Korean society and the principal of the school had to apologize publicly to the head of the temple.  Why was it exactly biblical?  Since the wall of Jericho tumbled down by the Israelites circling around the city a certain number of times, should we do the same thing to bring down buddhist temples or mosks?  In case of Jericho, God's specific instruction was given to the Israelites to accomplish His will which was giving the city over into their hands.  The act of circling around the city was not the cause of the miraculous victory but their obedience to the Lord brought down the wall!  We can see somewhat similar story in 1 Samuel chapter 4.  The Israelites went to war against the Philistines with the Ark of Covenant with them, assuming that the Ark has some sort mysterious power like a lucky charm to bring victory to them, but they lost the war and the ark was captured by their enemy.  Was the Ark itself powerful?  Not at all!  God is!!  Obedience moves God's heart, resulting in ultimate victory.  Let us examine our lives to see whether we do the same thing and eradicate it completely to be holy before the Lord!!

Passage: Joshua 5-8

On Monday, March 22, 2010, Ellen wrote,

The Israelites thought that victory over their enemies would be a foregone conclusion.  Then they lose 36 men & feel discouraged - not sure if discouraged w/ the loss of lives or the loss in & of itself.  Either way, they then ask God why & find out someone disobeyed.  God could have said, Achan stole from me & you need to stone him & his family.  But no, the process was drawn out.  The 12 tribes go in front, one by one, then clan, then family.  I can't imagine it being an efficient way of identifying the disobedient.  It begs the question why God would choose to do things this way vs calling out Aschan.  I can imagine the whole camp waiting to see who was [stupid enough to defy God, audacious enough to disobey, greedy enough to take, responsible for the death of the 36 men]  (you fill in the blank).  I can imagine the chatter & them dying to know.  'Cause clearly, everyone would have known what is going on b/c they all had to gather or at the very least be ready to be gathered to be judged.
So what's really interesting to me is that he punished the whole for the individual decisions of Aschan.  I can imgine being the family in the same clan as Aschan.  What if my husband was the one & I just didn't know.  There's some type of psychological angst that goes w/ coming up to be judged like that. 
 
So getting to my point, those 36 that died certainly didn't know what Aschan had done, nor nearly all of Israel.  It seems to beg the question, to what extent are we held accountable for the individual actions of our neighbors, our city, our nation, our world?
Given the context of Derek's sermon this Sunday, we repent & humble ourselves for our sins & the sins of our forefathers.  We should repent for actions for whatever identity you have.  Certainly, I understand Derek wasn't basing the reconcilation movement on OT passages necessarily since he quoted John.  But this Joshua passage seems to reinforce the idea that we are accountable for the acts of our community.  Though God did not have the community repent per se at the end.

So all this to beg the question, how accountable are we for all the stuff going on in our world right now?  I could see some argue that this Joshua passage doesn't apply in this way b/c it was different w/ Israel back then & this is too literal of a interpretation.  I dunno if I buy that.  We're called to repent when there's failures in our local church, our global church.  We're called to repent for a whole bunch of stuff.  I mean, if a pastor, or elder, or any individual at church did something bad, wouldn't we be called to repent?  I remember in a Philly church, a member was murdered.  A black church came in to repent for the acts of a totally random black person that committed the murder.  I see the power of redemption.  But if it really is true that we should be repenting for our community & we're held accountable, man, we got major repenting to do all over the place.  Do you think there's even a line anywhere?  Derek draws the line at our idenities.  Isreal's line was clear: Israel.  Do I kinda even feel remotely like repenting for a home invasion murder in Dallas somewhere?  I am a Dallasite, no?

Okay, this was kinda a ramble & not really thought out.  One of my flaws is that i'm verbose.  I'm sure i'd do a tighter editing/revision if it was more public.  Any thoughts would be appreciated.

Also kinda related is that I always feel gravity w/ confirmation or baptism/infant dedication or going to marriage ceremonies b/c I believe that as attenders we're kinda affirming that as a community we'll try to help uphold that union or the spritual growth of that believer.  So in the context of community, if I'm at churchk & see some kid not doing something totally wrong but somewhat wrong, do I correct?  I believe the general mom consensus would be only if it's really bad/as in physical harm.  B/c people don't like other strangers correcting your kid.  Some fly off the handle.  But given it's a "community", don't u think u should be obligated to correct?  So then does it change if u're at your neighborhood park.  Your community.  What if that wrongdoer is an adult? 

Okay, I realize that last bit wasn't totally connected, but it seems to go to the issue of do you let sin just happen in your community?  I'm trying to formulate some ideas about where the boundaries are & pushing scenarios.

Yujin responded... Your question about Achan's guilt and the associated loss of lives by others is an excellent one. Although our focus is on those who lost their lives, I sense the biblical focus is on God and the violation of His holy standards. Remember, at one point, God was intent on destroying all of Israel and building up a new people through Moses. Now, because of Moses' intercession, punishment was reduced to a delayed judgment over a period of forty years and only for adults. Yet, God was intent on killing everyone. Again, when David sinned with Bathsheba, the first victim was their first-born child, who was killed as punishment for David's sin. Consider Job. He was afflicted and his family killed even though he was an upright person. Oftentimes, any attempt to define God's justice that excludes His freedom to do with His creation whatever He pleases will come short of good biblical support. Somehow we have to get out of our minds that we deserve to be blessed or to be saved or even to live. At one point some people were amazed that a hundred people died when a tower fell on them. Jesus told them not to be amazed that these people died but rather that they themselves were still alive. We all live by the grace of God.
 
So, in this context of God's sovereign freedom to act in keeping with His will, let us look at the account of Achan. Now, I'm only suggesting here, but perhaps Achan's family all knew what Achan did but failed to come forward. And as they were going through each tribe, clan and family in a process of elimination, each layer may perhaps have been a missed opportunity for repentance by Achan and his family, until it was too late. We find a similar scenario with a couple named Ananias and Sapphira in Acts 5, where the husband is judged for lying, but when the wife is given opportunity to come clean, she does not do it, and so is judged too.
 
As for the military men who died in the first bout with Ai, this certainly is not the first time the whole group is punished for the sin of a few. When certain men intermarried with the women of Midian, all Israel was punished for it, until they zealously removed the sin from their midst. In the Ten Commandments, God speaks of judging children for the sins of their fathers to the third and fourth generation. Therefore, even the "innocent" (in quotes, because no one is truly innocent before God) sometimes die with the guilty. Now, this kind of generational punishment was broken by the New Covenant, so that each person is responsible for themselves (cf. Ezekiel 18; Jeremiah 31:27-34). Under the Old Covenant there was certainly a place for praying on behalf of the nation of Israel, because everyone's fate was interconnected with everyone else in the nation, whether for good or for evil. So, when men like Daniel and Nehemiah prayed, they confessed not only their sins but also the sins of their people. Now, after Christ's death, I don't see this happening any more. With His death, He inaugurated the New Covenant (cf. Hebrews 8-10). Now, everyone confesses their own sins to receive forgiveness (1 John 1:9), and there is no mandate to confess the sins of your family, group, church or family.
 
Now, on the matter of correcting others, even the children of others, here are my thoughts. The Bible teaches us both to encourage and admonish one another (cf. Colossians 3:16; 1 Thessalonians 5:14). We are told to rebuke one another with the goal of restoration (cf. Matthew 18:15-17; James 5:19-20). The Bible is to be our primary tool for this (2 Timothy 3:16-17). Unfortunately, we are not yet a community, where biblical correction, discipline and restoration are frequently practiced. Now, regarding the children of others, since parents are given the primary responsibility for raising their kids in the instruction of the Lord (cf. Ephesians 6:4), I would encourage you to talk to the parents about the discipline issues of their children before speaking to the children directly.
 
I'm not sure if this addresses all of your questions, so feel free to interact. I praise God for your pursuit of life-applicable truth.