When Good Intentions Are Not Enough

“So honor the LORD and serve him wholeheartedly. Put away forever the idols your ancestors worshiped when they lived beyond the Euphrates River and in Egypt. Serve the LORD alone.” ­– Joshua 24:14 NLT

I think they meant well. The Israelites that is. They had been challenged by Joshua to serve God and serve Him alone, and their response was a strong affirmative. They all gave Joshua a thumbs up and said, “Far be it from us that we should forsake the Lord to serve other gods.” (Joshua 24:16 NASB). Twice in chapter 24 they swear to worship God alone – even after Joshua somewhat pessimistically warns them, “You are not able to serve the LORD, for he is a holy and jealous God. He will not forgive your rebellion and sins” (Joshua 24:19 NLT). But they assure him that they will. And I think they meant it. They sincerely wanted to serve God alone. But the problem was that they still had idols they were worshiping in place of or in addition to God. I think it is interesting that they never seem to come right out and say that they are willing to worship GOD alone. While a few of the translations add this word, it does not seem to appear in the original manuscripts. So the people seem to conveniently leave out the word “only” or “alone” when assuring Joshua that they will serve God. They seem to be leaving themselves an out – a way to keep their existing gods while assuring Joshua that they will serve Yahweh as well.

Joshua seems to sense this when he tells them to, “destroy the idols among you, and turn your hearts to the LORD, the God of Israel” (Joshua 24:23 NLT). He knew that they were going to have a hard time giving up their idols, their substitutes for the one true God. They wanted both. They wanted the freedom to worship God, but also keep their alternative gods carefully tucked away in their tents – just in case. It’s kind of like us saying that we will trust God to provide for us, but all the while we keep checking on the status of our 401k or mutual fund, just to make sure that we have something else to fall back on in case God doesn’t come through for us. Sure, we’ll worship God, but we want to make sure we have other options when it comes to meeting our daily needs.

Joshua warned the people that God is a holy God and a jealous God. He doesn’t like to play seconds. He doesn’t like being an option. He wants His people to serve Him wholeheartedly, in sincerity and truth, totally committed, showing loyalty and not allowing anyone or anything else to compete for our love or attention. But we allow so many things to stand as replacements for God. We put all kinds of things in His place, turning to them for comfort, assurance, hope, help, power, rescue, joy, contentment, and a sense of peace. God made it clear in the opening verses of this chapter all that He had done for the people of Israel. Over and over again He said, “I gave,” “I sent,” “I brought,” “I delivered,” and “I destroyed.” From the day He had called Abraham out of Ur, He had been leading, guiding, protecting and providing for them in incredible ways. He deserved their sold-out allegiance, their non-distracted commitment to Him and Him alone. But they would struggle with faithfulness for generations to come. Just as we do. James gives us a powerful warning in his letter about allowing anything to come between our love for God. He is as jealous for us as He was for the people of Israel. “You adulterers! Don’t you realize that friendship with this world makes you an enemy of God? I say it again, that if your aim is to enjoy this world, you can’t be a friend of God. What do you think the Scriptures mean when they say that the Holy Spirit, whom God has placed within us, jealously longs for us to be faithful?” (James 4:4-5 NLT).

So are you friendly with the world? Is your aim to enjoy this world and all it has to offer? If so, then James says you can’t be a friend of God. Sound a bit harsh, doesn’t it? But God jealously longs for us to be faithful and He knows how easily it is for us to become distracted by the things of this world. Maybe its time for a reality check. What ARE we worshiping other than God? What are the idols in our life? Are we willing to remove them?

Father, I say I worship You and You alone, but the truth is, I have so many things that compete for my love and attention. They show up as the things I worry about, think about, stress over, and spend my time with. In giving them my valuable time and attention, I am in essence worshiping them. I am giving them something of value that I should be reserving for You. Give me the ability to recognize the idols in my life and the strength to remove them. Amen

Ken Miller
Grow Pastor & Minister to Men
kenm@christchapelbc.org

The Faithfulness of God.

“Not one of the good promises which the Lord had made to the house of Israel failed; all came to pass.” ­– Joshua 21:45 NASB

Sometimes we fail to recognize the faithfulness of God. In fact, we oftentimes doubt it and complain that God is not doing His part. We take a look at our circumstances and determine that God has not done for us what we assumed He could or should do. If we find ourselves going through difficulty, we assume that it is NOT from God, and therefore He has dropped the ball and inadvertently allowed the difficulty to take place. At other times we may feel like God is nowhere to be found. He is absent or preoccupied with other things and too busy to help us. Or perhaps we think that God is angry with us and has decided to punish us for something we have done or haven’t done. In all these cases, we fail to understand the unfailing faithfulness of God. The end of chapter 21 of Joshua is a welcome reminder that we serve a faithful God who never fails to follow through on His promises.

Joshua reminds his readers that God had done all He had promised to do. “So the Lord gave to Israel all the land he had sworn to give their ancestors, and they took possession of it and settled there. And the Lord gave them rest on every side, just as he had solemnly promised their ancestors. None of their enemies could stand against them, for the Lord helped them conquer all their enemies” (Joshua 21:41-44 NLT). Now the reality was that they had not yet occupied ALL the land. There were not enough Israelites available to take possession of all the land that existed. But they had taken possession of great portions of the land, and as the previous chapters indicate, they had divided up the land between all the tribes, including the Levites. Now it was up to the Israelites to do their part. God had done His. In verse 45 Joshua seems to be illustrating the fact that God had been faithful to His promises up to that point in time. He had promised possession of the land, rest on every side, and victory over enemies. And the truth was, Israel had experienced all of these to some degree. God had been faithful to the “good promises” He had made to them when they had prepared to cross the Jordan (Joshua1:1-9).

God had been faithful and would continue to be so. The only reason the Israelites would not take possession of some of the land would be due to their own infidelity, not God’s. Any future conflicts with their enemies in the land would be their own fault, not God’s. God had given them the land and victory over their enemies. It was up to the Israelites, by faith, to make it a reality. But they would prove to be unfaithful. Just like we tend to be. We don’t lack peace and joy because God is unfaithful to provide it, but because we turn to anything and everything else to get it, other than God. It is ours for the taking, but we will only find it in Him. Chapter 21 tells how the Israelites gave portions of their land and cities to the Levites, the priestly family. This assured that priests were close by all throughout the land. The priests were to instruct the people in regard to the Law of God and help them keep it. In Shiloh, the tabernacle was erected, the place where God’s presence dwelt. Shiloh was in the middle of the Promised Land. So God’s presence was always in the middle of the people of Israel. God’s priests were always close at hand. They had no excuse for not following God. But they would do so any way, and on a regular basis. But so do we. God has given us His Word, He has provided us with places of worship and ministers to instruct us in His Word. But we still turn to other things for comfort, happiness, and significance. God has been faithful to us, but we regularly reveal our unfaithfulness to Him. If only we could open our eyes and recognize His presence and power in our midst. He is there. He is faithful.

Father, help me grow in my awareness of Your unfailing faithfulness. I have no reason to doubt You. You are a constant presence in my life – whether I see You or not. You are there and You care. Your promises are as good as fulfilled. Even your promise of eternal life. It is a done deal. Nothing can change it. Thank You. Amen

Ken Miller
Grow Pastor & Minister to Men
kenm@christchapelbc.org

Possess the Land.

“How long will you put off entering the land which the Lord, the God of your fathers, has given you? – Joshua 18:3b NASB

The land had been promised by God. Now all they had to do was take possession of all that had been given to them. Without doing so the inheritance would remain unofficial. It had to be received, possessed, and appreciated. But seven of the 12 tribes still stood around waiting to take what had been given to them by God. The land had been subdued (Joshua 18:1), but unoccupied. So Joshua confronts the remaining tribes and asks them a somewhat uncomfortable question: “How long will you put off entering the land which the Lord, the God of your fathers, has given you? (Joshua 18:3b). “What are you waiting for?,” he seems to ask them. “Why are you procrastinating?” “What’s keeping you from enjoying what God has already given you?

Those same questions could be asked of you and me today. Like the Israelites, we have incredible promises made to us by God. We are heirs of God with access to everything from peace and joy to abundant life and contentment. We have the promise of His constant presence through the indwelling Spirit. We have the promise of His power. We have the promise of His provision. Yet we fail to take advantage of all the promises of God. We live like paupers instead of princes in the land. There is so much waiting for us, yet we seem content to settle for less. We have learned to accept a weak and powerless brand of Christianity that is far from what God has promised. That may be why so many of our lost friends, neighbors, and co-workers are turned off by what we offer up as the “good news” to them. There is far more at our disposal than we are taking advantage of. We have become satisfied with a steady diet of beans and weenies when we have a sumptuous banquet right at our fingertips. We have put off entering the land.

It’s interesting that right in the midst of all this, we read about the tent of meeting or tabernacle being set up in Shiloh. The name literally means, “place of rest.” God had given His people the promise of His abiding presence. And His presence was to dwell wherever the tabernacle was erected. So when they set it up in Shiloh, the place of rest, there seems to be a not-to-subtle reminder that God’s presence and rest go hand in hand. The sanctuary of God was to be right in the middle of the people of God. So they set up the tabernacle in the central hill country – smack dab in the middle of the land allotments to the various tribes. The presence of God should bring the peace and rest of God. He is with us. He will never leave us or forsake us. He is there to empower us.

When we fail to “possess the land” we fail to enjoy the full extent of His presence and peace. We live in weakness and fear. We fall prey to the powers and the worries of this world. He is there, but we do not sense or see Him. He is with us, but instead of the peace of His presence, we suffer from a feeling of aloneness and emptiness. Both of these we attempt to fill with other things. But God is offering us a place of rest. He is offering us the power of His presence. He is offering us joy in the midst of the battle. But we must take possession of what He has given us – in faith.

Father, forgive me for failing to take possession of what You have already provided. I don’t enjoy Your peace. I fail to live with a sense of contentment and joy. I don’t recognize and utilize the power You have made available to me through the Holy Spirit. I live too often like a pauper instead of a prince. I act like a squatter in the land instead of an heir of the king with the full rights and privileges that come as one of Your sons. Help me to step out in faith and take hold of all that You have put at my disposal. Let it begin today. Amen

Ken Miller
Grow Pastor & Minister to Men
kenm@christchapelbc.org

When Almost Isn’t Good Enough.

“But the descendants of Manasseh were unable to occupy these towns. They could not drive out the Canaanites who continued to live there. Later on, however, when the Israelites became strong enough, they forced the Canaanites to work as slaves. But they did not drive them out of the land. – Joshua 17:12-13 NLT

They couldn’t drive out the Canaanites. That little statement speaks volumes. Their inability or unwillingness to completely exterminate the Canaanites from the land would come back to haunt them. It didn’t really matter that they would occasionally make them slaves. They were supposed to purge them from the land. And they didn’t. However big or small this remnant of Canaanites was, they would continue to have a negative influence on the people of Israel. It would be like attempting to break a nasty drug habit all the while keeping an assortment of drugs in your pantry. The likelihood of you remaining “drug free” would be minimal at best. The same was going to prove true for the Israelites. They would find themselves constantly harassed and negatively impacted by the presence of these people. No matter how much Israel may have felt that they had the Canaanites conquered, their presence would prove to be a continual problem.

What a reminder to you and me about the sin in our own lives. We can learn to tolerate it and live with it – rationalizing it away. But sin is sin and its presence will have consequences. That is why it is so critical for us to deal with it seriously and often. Which is why John encourages us, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9 NASB).

Father, forgive me for the many times I have allowed the “Canaanite” to  remain the land. Help me see the seriousness and the dangerousness of sin in my life. Don’t allow me to grow complacent of comfortable with it – no matter how small I may think it is. Help me to see it, acknowledge it, and confess it on a regular basis. Give me the strength to remove it from my life with Your help. Amen

Ken Miller
Grow Pastor & Minister to Men
kenm@christchapelbc.org

Dripping With Devotion to God.

“Nevertheless my brethren who went up with me made the heart of the people melt with fear; but I followed the LORD my God fully.” – Joshua 14:8 NASB

Remember Caleb? He was the one, who along with Joshua, went in to spy out the land more than 40 years earlier. Twelve men were sent by Moses to check out the condition of the Promised Land prior to them taking possession of it. But ten of the spies came back with a bad report. They said there were giants in the land. Their report scared the people so badly, that they refused to go in. “Where can we go up? Our brethren have made our hearts melt, saying, ‘The people are bigger and taller than we; the cities are large and fortified to heaven. And besides, we saw the sons of the Anakim there'” (Deuteronomy 1:28 NASB). The result was that God condemned them to wandering in the wilderness until that generation died off. Caleb and Joshua were the only two spies who recommended that the people obey God and enter the land – in spite of the presence of the Anakim or giants. These two men trusted God and now, more than four decades later, Caleb is coming to Joshua to claim his inheritance. God had said, “Caleb the son of Jephunneh; he shall see it, and to him and to his sons I will give the land on which he has set foot, because he has followed the LORD fully” (Deuteronomy 1:36 NASB).

The amazing thing is that Caleb is now 85 years old! But his faith and determination have not weakened over the years. In fact, he claim, “I am as strong now as I was when Moses sent me on that journey, and I can still travel and fight as well as I could then” (Joshua 14:11 NLT). Not only does he want to inherit the land God had promised, he wants to occupy the land of the Anakim – the giants whose presence scared off the first generation 40 years earlier. At 85 years of age, Caleb is ready to take on the Anakim and their fortified cities. He says to Joshua, “So I’m asking you to give me the hill country that the LORD promised me. You will remember that as scouts we found the Anakites living there in great, walled cities. But if the LORD is with me, I will drive them out of the land, just as the LORD said” (Joshua 14:12 NLT).

Caleb got his wish. He was given the city of Hebron and the hill country surrounding it as his inheritance. But he still had to go out and conquer and occupy it. Which he did. Then after all that, Caleb would willingly give the city he fought and won to the Levites as a city of refuge. He would then live in the pasture lands surrounding it (Joshua 21:12).

What a picture of devotion to God. Caleb is the epitome of what we should look like when it comes to our love and devotion to God. He followed the Lord FULLY. That word is rich in meaning. It conveys the idea that he was wholehearted in his devotion to God. He gave himself totally to God. In other words, he loved God with all his heart, soul, mind, and strength. His was not a wishy-washy relationship with God, but a totally sold-out, lay-it-all-on-the-line kind of relationship that flowed from every pore of his body. His devotion to God didn’t diminish with age, it got stronger. Years of wandering and waiting in the wilderness didn’t staunch his passion, it increased it. One of the possible meanings of the word “fully” is that Caleb was literally “dripping with” devotion to God. He was soaked through and through. He was brimming over with his commitment to and love for God. Nothing would stand in his way when it came to following after God. And that’s exactly the kind of mindset we need today. God is looking for more Calebs – men and women who are His fully devoted followers – sold out and dripping with devotion to Him. Age, income, education, upbringing, talent – none of it matters. Nothing stands in the way of someone who is willing to follow God FULLY. Their devotion to God is full, drenched, running over, complete, wholehearted, and overflowing. Does that describe you?

Father, I have to admit or confess that my devotion to You is far from full. I am not dripping with devotion to You. I find that it is sometimes in short supply. Circumstances, time, and the cares of this life take their toll. I find myself devoted to a lot of other things, including my own agenda or my own comfort and convenience. But I want to be a Caleb. I want to follow You fully, not half-heartedly. I want to be defeating the giants in the land when I’m in my 80s, not resting in some retirement home or driving golf balls into the high grass in an attempt to wile away the waning days of my life. Give me the heart and passion of Caleb so that I might give all that I have to You. Amen

Ken Miller
Grow Pastor & Minister to Men
kenm@christchapelbc.org

Still Work To Be Done.

“Now Joshua was old and advanced in years when the LORD said to him, ‘You are old and advanced in years, and very much of the land remains to be possessed.’“ – Joshua 13:1 NASB

Joshua is probably 80 years old at this point in time. Since entering the Promised Land, he has been a busy guy. He has led the people of God in their conquest of the land and helped them defeat 31 different kings. But they are far from done. After seven years of fighting the people of God occupied very little of the land. “Very much” of it remained for them to possess. Now it was going to be up to the individual tribes to finish what Joshua has begun. There would be no more large-scale battles involving the combined forces of Israel. Instead, each tribe would be responsible for the lands allotted to it. While the major cities and military threats had been taken care of, there were still going to be serious work required to purge the land of its remaining inhabitants. The goal was not to completely eliminate other people groups from the land, but to ensure that Israel was in control and had eliminated all remaining threats to its rightful possession of the land.

The next chapters are going to relate the dividing up of the land to the various tribes. That was the easy part. Now the real work would be the actual taking possession of the various territories by each of the tribes. This was going to require real faith. The people of God were not to be content with the conquests of Jericho and Ai, or the defeat of the 31 kings mentioned in chapter 13. They had much more to do. This is all about the inheritance that God had promised them. He had given them this land, but they were the ones who would have to conquer and colonize it with God’s help.

“Resisting the temptation to skip over this section of Joshua [chs. 13—21] can result in an appreciation of important features of God’s covenant with Israel. Beyond the obvious detail of the content of these chapters and the means by which God blessed those who remained faithful in the conquest of the land, this passage also addresses the question why the land formed so significant a part of God’s promises to the patriarchs and remained a key feature of the covenant.” – Richard S. Hess, Joshua: An Introduction and Commentary

Eleven different times in chapter 13 the word “inheritance” is used in speaking of the land. This land was God’s gift to His people, but they had to take possession of it. They had to conquer it. They had to colonize it. This was going to require effort on the part of the people. It would not be easy. The inhabitants of the land did not roll over and play dead. They were going to put up a fight. The same is true for us as believers. We have been promised abundant life, not just in the future, but now. But to experience and enjoy it requires that we “take possession” of it. We must purge our lives of the remnants of sin that remain.

“…throw off your old evil nature and your former way of life, which is rotten through and through, full of lust and deception.” – Ephesians 4:22 NLT

“Do not lie to one another, since you laid aside the old self with its evil practices.” – Colossians 3:9 NASB

“We know that our old man was crucified with him so that the body of sin would no longer dominate us, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin.” – Romans 6:6 NET

“Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires.” – Galatians 5:24 NIV

“So put to death the sinful, earthly things lurking within you. Have nothing to do with sexual sin, impurity, lust, and shameful desires. Don’t be greedy for the good things of this life, for that is idolatry.” – Colossians 3:5 NLT

For most of us, “very much of the land remains to be possessed.” We are not experiencing the fullness of life promised by God and made possible by Christ. Why? Because we have allowed a lot of our sinful habits to remain. We have not remained faithful to work alongside the Holy Spirit allowing Him to purge our lives of our old sin nature. Like Israel, we have failed to finish the task at hand. “But the Israelites failed to drive out the people of Geshur and Maacah, so they continue to live among the Israelites to this day” (Joshua 13:13 NLT). Let’s allow God to finish what He has begun.

Father, You are not finished in my life. But I can easily become content with where I am. I can grow complacent in my faith journey and become perfectly fine with the status quo. But You have called me to more. You have promised more. Never allow me to remain satisfied with less than Your best for me. Amen

Ken Miller
Grow Pastor & Minister to Men
kenm@christchapelbc.org

War Before Rest.

“So Joshua took control of the entire land, just as the LORD had instructed Moses. He gave it to the people of Israel as their special possession, dividing the land among the tribes. So the land finally had rest from war.“ – Joshua 11:23 NLT

The Promised Land turned out to be one tough place. The original spies were right. It was a land filled with formidable enemies. From the first day Joshua and the people had set foot in the land, it had been one conflict after another. God had given them a miraculous victory over Jericho, but then it had become one war after another. They had been routed at Ai, then turned around and returned the favor after having purged the sin from their camp. Next, a group of Amorite nations form a coalition against the cit of Gibeon, because they had made a covenant with Israel. Joshua is forced to defend the city because of the treaty he had made with them. God miraculously destroys the armies of the coalition and then Joshua and his forces destroy their cities in a clean-up operation. The move from city to city, destroying everything and everyone. In spite of the Lord’s presence, this would have been a wearying endeavor. They were having to march across vast amounts of land to accomplish their task. But Joshua and the people were able to capture all the kings and their cities because the Lord, the God of Israel, was fighting for them (Joshua 10:42).

But their victories led to more battles. The kings of the northern cities of Canaan heard about Israel’s conquests and formed a coalition against them. And the size of their combined armies was massive. “All these kings responded by mobilizing their warriors and uniting to fight against Israel. Their combined armies, along with a vast array of horses and chariots, covered the landscape like the sand on the seashore” (Joshua 11:4 NLT). The Jewish historian, Josephus said that the northern armies had 300,000 infantry, 10,000 cavalry, and 20,000 chariots. That’s some army! Yet we are told, “the LORD gave them victory over their enemies. The Israelites chased them as far as Great Sidon and Misrephoth–maim, and eastward into the valley of Mizpah, until not one enemy warrior was left alive” (Joshua 11:8 NLT). Joshua went on to capture every city within the enemy coalition, destroying, burning, and plundering them. Joshua and his forces march throughout the land, from city to city, fighting and taking the land into their possession. It wasn’t just handed to them. Yes, God was involved and performed significant miracles to make their job easier, but the people of God still had to do their part. They even went on to destroy the Anakim, the giants who had terrorized the spies more than 40 years earlier (Numbers 33). Joshua and the people conquered the entire land and its inhabitants. In doing so, they were being obedient to the call of God to Moses. But it required hard work and determination. We are told that “Joshua waged war a long time with all these kings” (Joshua 11:18 NASB). We tend to read these condensed versions of these stories and lose the significance of the energy and effort expended in order for victory to be accomplished. Taking the Promised Land had turned out to be hard work. Even dangerous at times.

But all their effort turned out for the best. Their obedience resulted in rest. Because they had done what God had commanded them to do, “the land had rest from war” (Joshua 11:23 NASB). There was a time when the battles ceased and the people could rest. Their efforts were rewarded with rest. The fighting stopped and they could enjoy the fruits of their labor – without fear of attack. So what does this have to do with you and me? Well, we have to realize that we too are in a battle. We live in the midst of a spiritual war where the enemy is attacking constantly, trying to destroy us every chance he gets. John 10:10 records the words of Jesus warning us that the enemy comes to steal, kill, and destroy. Satan is out to annihilate us. We, like the Israelites, are invading his land. He wants to stop the advancement of God’s people and His kingdom. And he will do everything in his power to make that happen.

But we want rest. We want peace. We want to enjoy ourselves and have fun. We have lost sight of the reality of the spiritual war in which we find ourselves. This is NOT heaven. We do have God presence and power available to us, but we are also under attack. Which is why we are encouraged to put on arm ourselves for battle. It is why we are admonished to fight. Paul encouraged Timothy to “fight well in the Lord’s battles” (1 Timothy 1:18 NLT). Paul reminds us that, “We use God’s mighty weapons, not mere worldly weapons, to knock down the Devil’s strongholds. With these weapons we break down every proud argument that keeps people from knowing God. With these weapons we conquer their rebellious ideas, and we teach them to obey Christ” (2 Corinthians 10:4-5 NLT). He also warns us to “Stay alert, stand firm in the faith, show courage, be strong” (1 Corinthians 16:13 NET). Why? Because we are at war. We live in difficult days. This is no time for the feint-hearted. We fight for the Lord. We are part of His army and represent His kingdom on this earth. We are part of His invasion force, taking back what rightfully belongs to God. We have a job to do. Rest will come. But first we must do the work He has called us to do.

Father, forgive me for wanting rest before I’ve even fought the good fight. I have a peacetime mentality in a time of war and nothing could be more dangerous. The enemy tries to convince me that there is no war. He wants to make peace with me like the Gibeonites did with Joshua. He attempts to deceive and delude me. Open my eyes to the reality of the war being waged all around me. Give me the strength I need to fight the good fight of faith. You’ve promised me rest, but that does not mean I don’t have to fight and do my part. Amen

Ken Miller
Grow Pastor & Minister to Men
kenm@christchapelbc.org

Taking God For Granted.

“So the Israelite leaders examined their bread, but they did not consult the LORD.“ – Joshua 9:14 NLT

Once the Israelites had purged the sin from their camp, they easily defeated the city of Ai – mainly because purging of sin had restored the presence and power of God. He was with them once again and He gave the city into their hands. Word of their subsequent defeat and destruction of the city of Ai, coupled with their victory over Jericho, had gotten around. A group of Canaanite nations joined forces to fight against Israel. They had seen what had happened to Jericho and Ai, and knew that their only hope was in an alliance against the people of Israel.

The Gibeonites, another Canaanite nation, took a slightly different approach. They decided to use deception. They used the “if-you-can’t-beat-them-join-them” approach. They sent a group of emissaries to seek peace with Israel, but they dressed them in worn-out clothes and gave them old provisions and dried-out wine skins to carry. They were to tell Joshua that they were from a far-off country and head heard of the power of Israel. Their goal was to seek a peace treaty or covenant with Israel. It was perfectly acceptable for Israel to make covenants with distant cities, but they had been commanded by God to destroy ALL Canaanite cities. The city of Gibeon was just 6.5 miles from Ai!

Joshua and the leaders of Israel took the bait. They bought the lie. And the writer of the book of Joshua makes it painfully clear why they were so easily deceived. They did not seek the counsel of God. They just assumed He was with them, so they didn’t bother to ask Him. This is especially odd considering all the times Joshua had seen Moses ascend the mountain to talk with God. He should have known better. He should have realized that no matter was too small to consult with God about. It was never safe to assume that God’s input was unnecessary. Joshua had even been given clear instructions how to seek the will of God in any matter. “When direction from the LORD is needed, Joshua will stand before Eleazar the priest, who will determine the LORD’s will by means of sacred lots. This is how Joshua and the rest of the community of Israel will discover what they should do” (Numbers 27:21 NLT).

I see two truths revealed in this chapter. First of all, the enemies of God’s people will always align themselves against us. They will join forces in an attempt to defeat the kingdom of God. But they will also use deception and alliances to get us to accept them as they are. They will make peace treaties with us and encourage us to allow them to live with us in the land. Which is exactly what Joshua did. He failed to seek God’s will and so he bought the lie of the Gibeonites and made a covenant with them. When he discovered his mistake, he attempted to correct it by making the people of Gibeon slaves of Israel. But while this sounds like a fitting punishment for their deception, it allowed the people of Gibeon to remain alive and infiltrate the nation of Israel. Their presence would have long-lasting influence over the people of Israel. This allegiance would lead to future problems for the people of Israel. Years later, King Saul would attempt to wipe out the Gibeonites as part of a purge. In doing so, he would violate the covenant. The result would be famine in the land. “During David’s reign there was a famine for three consecutive years. So David inquired of the Lord. The Lord said, ‘It is because of Saul and his bloodstained family, because he murdered the Gibeonites'” (2 Samuel 21:1 NET).

God tells us, “Good advice and success belong to me. Insight and strength are mine” (Proverbs 8:14 NLT). We are to seek His counsel about any and all matters. But it is so easy to assume that some things are just up to us. We can easily fall prey to the idea that we can make decisions on our own, without seeking His advice. The world is out to deceive us. It is constantly trying to trick us and cause us to make false alliances with it. Compromise is a constant threat to God’s people. Which is why we need to seek His face. We need His counsel each and every day for each and every circumstance. It is when we get comfortable making decisions without Him that we are in real danger.

Father, I confess that there are so many times I do not seek Your counsel. I either don’t think I need it or I just don’t want to take the time. I also probably fear that if I ask Your advice, You will contradict the decision I have already made. But it is clear that living my life apart from Your input is dangerous. I am easily deceived. I am prone to make decisions that will have long-lasting implications on my life. Teach me to seek Your face in all things – big and small. Amen

Ken Miller
Grow Pastor & Minister to Men
kenm@christchapelbc.org

Sin in the Camp.

“Get up! Command the people to purify themselves in preparation for tomorrow. For this is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: Hidden among you, O Israel, are things set apart for the LORD. You will never defeat your enemies until you remove these things.” – Joshua 7:13 NLT

These three chapters offer us two extremes. On one hand we see the incredible, miraculous victory of God over the fortified city of Jericho. In a strangely fable-like story, the walls of Jericho fall after the people spend seven days marching around them and simply shouting. But then we see a demoralizing defeat take place against the much smaller city of Ai. In a matter or days, the people go from ecstasy to agony, from victory to defeat. What happened? Sin in the camp. They had disobeyed God. But not everyone. Just one man had decided to ignore God’s command not to covet and take anything under the ban.

Do not take any of the things set apart for destruction, or you yourselves will be completely destroyed, and you will bring trouble on all Israel. Everything made from silver, gold, bronze, or iron is sacred to the LORD and must be brought into his treasury. – Joshua 6:18-19 NLT

They were to completely destroy the city, its inhabitants, and everything in it. Only the gold, silver, bronze and iron were to be given to the Lord’s treasury. Nothing else was to be taken by the people. But someone decided to take matters into his own hands. And his disobedience led to the defeat at Ai. “But Israel was unfaithful concerning the things set apart for the LORD. A man named Achan had stolen some of these things, so the LORD was very angry with the Israelites. Achan was the son of Carmi, of the family of Zimri, of the clan of Zerah, and of the tribe of Judah” (Joshua 7:1 NLT). Isn’t it interesting that chapter seven starts off with the phrase, “But Israel was unfaithful”? Even though one man had sinned, the whole nation was held guilty. While only Achan had ignored the ban and disobeyed God, the entire nation was being held responsible.

There was sin in the camp. And as long as there was sin in the camp, there would be no victory. The presence and power of the Lord would no longer be available to them. “That is why the Israelites are running from their enemies in defeat. For now Israel has been set apart for destruction. I will not remain with you any longer unless you destroy the things among you that were set apart for destruction” (Joshua 7:13 NLT).

God wanted them to purge the camp. He wanted them to expose the sin and remove it from their midst. Until they did, they would continue to suffer defeat. “”Rise up! Consecrate the people and say, ‘Consecrate yourselves for tomorrow, for thus the LORD, the God of Israel, has said, “There are things under the ban in your midst, O Israel. You cannot stand before your enemies until you have removed the things under the ban from your midst.” (Joshua 7:13 NLT). In our day, we have decided that faith is an individualized thing. It is something that is simply between God and myself. What I do is my own business. But we have lost sight of the reality of the fact that we are part of the body of Christ, and our sins have impact on everyone, not just ourselves. Our individual sins have corporate consequences. The power of God is limited by the presence of sin in the camp. And we seem content to tolerate it. To turn our heads at the sins being committed by the people of God that end up preventing the power of God to be displayed among us. This is not a call for a witch hunt, but a reminder that God takes sin seriously and so should we. We cannot afford to wink at sin and tolerate its presence. It is serious business and has serious consequences. Defeat is a result of disobedience. God is ready to give us victory, but first we must purge the sin from the camp.

Father, show us the sins that exist in our camp. Open our eyes and let us see where we are being disobedient to You. Maybe it is our love affair with the world. Perhaps it is the sins of immorality that exist among us. But whatever it is, help us to see it and deal with it. To confess it and allow You to cleanse us so that we can experience the full extent of Your presence and power. Amen

Ken Miller
Grow Pastor & Minister to Men
kenm@christchapelbc.org

The Crossing.

“Today you will know that the living God is among you.“ – Joshua 3:10a NLT

This day has been long in coming. For more than 40 years, the people of God have been waiting for this moment to take place – the crossing over into the land of Canaan, the long-awaited Promised Land. This is the event that all their decades of wandering has been leading to. They are getting ready to move from the wilderness to living in the land that was flowing with milk and honey. But before they could get there they were going to have to cross the Jordan. Once again, the people of God found themselves faced with a daunting task – somehow getting the tens of thousands of their people, not to mention livestock, from one side of the Jordan to the other. And at the time of year when the Jordan was at its highest and widest.

It is no coincidence that they had arrived at the Jordan when they did. This was God’s timing. The Israelites were to cross the Jordan when the river was at its widest, deepest, and swiftest, in late April or early May. At this time of year, the snow on Mt. Hermon melts and the rainy season ends. The Jordan rises to a depth of 10-12 feet and floods to a width of 300-360 feet at this point even today. This was not going to be easy. But God never said it would be. This was going to be an opportunity to see God work. It was going to be a chance for God to prove the reality of His presence.

The plan was simple. The Levites would carry the Ark of the Covenant into the waters of the Jordan. When they stopped in the middle of the river, the waters would cease to flow and the the people would walk across on dry land. This wasn’t just a miracle, as amazing as it was. It was a statement of God’s presence and a reminder of His covenant promise to deliver the people of Israel to the Land of Promise. The Ark was a visual representation of God. “The ark is the very symbol of the covenant of the Lord. Thus the full light falls on the redemptive significance of the event. No mere recalling of a miracle is envisaged. The miracle is to be viewed as an expression of covenant fidelity” (Martin H. Woudstra, The Book of Joshua). God was fulfilling His promise. He was doing what He said He would do.

Getting from one side of the Jordan to the other was an event. It was a day worthy of remembering and that is exactly why Joshua had the people set up two memorials. One in the middle of the river and one on the far bank of the river. One would be seen for generations and serve as a reminder of God’s covenant faithfulness. God does what He says He will do. God is present with His people. His power protects and provides for His people. The other memorial would be under the water of the Jordan – invisible to human eyes  – except in times of drought. But even then, it would be a reminder that God is with them.

The conquest of the land had to begin with the crossing of the river. If they didn’t get over the river, they would never take possession of the land. It all began with God. That’s the way it has to be. Even for us. Our victories in this life all begin and end with God. He must go ahead of us, providing what we need every step of the way. God wants to prove that He is among us, even today. He wants to show His power. He wants to reveal His presence to us. He is still the covenant keeping God.

Father, You go ahead of me every day. You provide the way when there is no way. You do signs and wonders – even though sometimes I don’t even notice them. You are at work in my world. You are parting the waters of my life. Open my eyes so that I can see more clearly Your presence. Amen

Ken Miller
Grow Pastor & Minister to Men
kenm@christchapelbc.org