One Year Bible, April 14

JOSHUA 9:3-10:43                                                                                            
GIBEONITES:   Hypocrites. Terrified by the fate of Jericho and Ai, a company disguised as ambassadors from a far country, their garments and shoes worn, and their provisions moldy as if from the length of their journey, went to Joshua at Gilgal, and persuaded him and the princes of Israel to make a covenant with them. Three days later the deception was discovered and the wrath of the Israelite army was aroused. Joshua sentenced the Gibeonites to being Temple slaves, hauling firewood and water.

THE SOUTHERN CAMPAIGN:   Of course, the other Canaanites (5 kings!) resented the covenant the Gibeonites made with Joshua, and they attack Gibeon as soon as Joshua left to return to Gilgal.   Ai to Gibeon was a forced march at night of 15 miles, up a 1900 ft ascent. He pursued the enemy 48 hours, then fought 11 hours, traveling 30 miles altogether, 2/3 of it under battle conditions. Joshua relied on God for speed, stealth, and knowledge (and the sun standing still for daylight, and a hail storm). He relied on an irresistible tide of God's power and force. THE KEY? Joshua's fearless faith. Joshua exploited his victory by continuing to fight until the enemy was completely destroyed. 10:32, "And all these kings and their land did Joshua take at one time, because the LORD God of Israel fought for Israel."

RESPONSE:   I would hate to be Joshua's enemy. Josh 10:40 says he killed "everything that breathed".  Sounds bloody!   But, that's how the Holy Spirit feels about the flesh. That's because a person's flesh (old nature) is antichristian in nature (Rom 8:7) and God's Spirit won't tolerate that. The flesh really has no future once you are born again. You can come easy or you can come hard.

LUKE 16:19-17:10                                                                                            
TO ALL THOSE SCOFFERS OUT THERE: The Kingdom of God comes in an orderly fashion, but the outcasts are stampeding to get in! It's not that God is reluctant, it is that they are desperate! Meanwhile, the scoffers are hypocrites as they try to "keep up appearances". They burden others with keeping the Law, while they themselves keep adjusting it to suit themselves. AND they do what they do because they LOVE THE MONEY! So, guess who this story is about!??

THE RICH MAN AND LAZARUS:  The rich man dressed extravagantly and ate gourmet food every day - a hollow man. Lazarus, on the other hand, was poor, sick, hungry, covered with loathsome running sores, disgusting but godly.  Both men died. The rich man went to hell. Lazarus went to Paradise. There is a fixed chasm between them that no man can cross. The point of the story is that THEN is determined by NOW. That is reality.

MORE REALITY:   The self-centered superficial teachings of the Pharisees, will undoubtedly offend the "new Christians" coming into the church. And this is a SERIOUS PROBLEM - not for the ones being offended, but for the offenders. So don't be the CAUSE of offense. And if someone "new" (who doesn't know any better) offends YOU, rebuke him, and forgive him quickly. All this takes faith, but the AMOUNT of faith isn't the issue. The issue is not to think so highly of yourself that you are easily offended when you shouldn't be!

WHEN OFFENSES COME: The mature believer ought to absorb offenses and show grace and forgiveness.  Eph 4:2, "Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love."  1 Pet 4:8 "Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins"  Rom 15:1, "We who are strong ought to bear with the failings of the weak and not to please ourselves. "    IF the person's offense is bringing dishonor to God, harm to others, is a repeated pattern, is destroying himself, then rebuke with the goal of repentance.   In other words, don't come on all gangbusters so the other person becomes defensive. The goal is repentance.   If you are at all concerned about being right and them being wrong, THEN, PLEASE, KEEP YOU MOUTH SHUT because you are about to cause trouble.  As a mature believer, we don't have the right to defend being right (Phil 2). 

MORE FAITH?   Actually, what is needed is more obedience! Faith is not quantitative, but is either present, or not present. (Asking for "more faith" puts your attention on yourself.) When we read a particular Scripture passage that seems difficult to do, don't focus on getting more faith. Instead focus on more obedience! More humility! We are to see ourselves as God's slaves who owe Him absolute obedience.

RESPONSE:   Have you ever heard someone say, "What I do is my business!"? No one can be a Christian and ignore others. Every person influences someone. Others' perceptions of our behavior are our problem, not theirs. As we pursue peace (Psa 34:14; Heb 12:14), let's not be pharisaical and drive people out of the kingdom.

PSALM 83:1-18                                                                                                   
CRY FOR DELIVERANCE: The purpose of this "unholy conspiracy" is to destroy any image of God from the earth. The 10-nation confederacy represents the "mind of the flesh", our deadliest enemy. Rom 8:5-7 and Psa 83:2 say that this "natural mind" hates God.   It is arrogant and proud, subtle and craft, aggressive, and conspires with the devil to defeat us. The call here is for God to turn them into 10 kinds of "dung".

PROVERBS 13:4                                                                                                
My mom used to say it like this: "Wish in one hand and spit in the other, and see which one fills up first!" You see, the opposite of grace is not "effort", but "earning". We must "labour" (to use exertion) to enter into God's Rest" (Heb 4:11). And that's where the abundance is!

RESPONSE: A 10-sided conspiracy of our flesh against us sounds overwhelming. But it is no match for the Holy Spirit and for God's fiery jealousy. All we have to do is listen and obey. Or we could try to "wish" our way to God's presence. Sometimes it is hard work to get my flesh to shut up. Some habits are hard to put away. But that's all they are - habits. They are not some part of ME. If they are just habits, then they can be changed. That's all sanctification is - a series of habits. When we make it a new habit to always go to God about everything, we will begin to change. It takes practice. Pretend you are happy and content, and you WILL be. You are not being a hypocrite. You are PRACTICING for when you are ready to be happy.