Reading notes - week 17

This week’s reading was rich! Parts of it give us pause, don’t they? Seeing how seriously God takes sin - gulp. The destruction - complete destruction - of the lands (the peoples!!) Israel conquered. I fear I would have balked at some of that. How I praise Him that He appointed me to live on THIS side of Calvary, where I have the privilege of His complete Word to guide me!

Included in the passages we read this week is one of my most favorite parts of Scripture. It reminded me of a post from several years ago…”And the sun stood still”. I’ve included that for us today.

I've had this post on my heart for quite some time but I've been hesitant to share it. Not because I don't completely believe every word. Not at all. But I fear that some extrapolations of it might cause someone to feel condemnation or defeat. Where there is none. So, if you've made a different decision than the one urged in this post, please don't think I am judging you or denouncing you. This post is meant to encourage those still in the fight. To give hope and strength. Please know that.

Sometimes marriage doesn't turn out like the fairytales promise. (Make that "never" instead of "sometimes"...) Sometimes things get really bad and feelings of desperation set in. I've seen it happen hundreds of times. Then feelings of regretted decisions follow. As in "I never should have married him" etc. There may be times where those regrets are legitimate. But don't let the wrong action make it worse. The consequential decisions have critical repercussions and the fallout is forever. Good and bad. Forever.

If you're in a marriage that you think never should have happened, and if you are thinking about calling it quits, I ask that you wait. And read this passage from Joshua 10 -


But first a little background.....

The Israelites were under the leadership of Joshua. Moses was gone and Joshua was in charge. He was doing a great job, except for one mistake. He made a decision without asking God for input. The Israelites sampled their provisions but did not inquire of the Lord. Then Joshua made a treaty of peace with them to let them live, and the leaders of the assembly ratified it by oath. (Joshua 9:14,15)

Maybe that doesn't sound like a big deal - Joshua making peace with these folks. In fact, it sounds like a good thing, doesn't it? Except that God had said not to. He repeatedly told Joshua to be careful to observe all that He had commanded Moses to do. And His instructions to Moses included making no covenant with the inhabitants of the land He was giving them (Exodus 23:31-33).
But Joshua was deceived by the group of Gibeonites that came asking for a covenant of peace. They said they were from far away when in fact, they were inhabitants of the land that God had promised to Israel. Making a peace treaty with them would be a direct violation of God's command.

Shouldn't we let Josh off the hook? I mean, seriously, he was a great leader and this error wasn't his fault. These Gibeonites lied to him! Not his fault at all!

Except that it was his fault. He acted without asking God what to do. Big mistake. Costly one.

OK, so we'll go with that. But then, once he found out the truth and realized his error, he could be released from this covenant, right?

In a word, NO. We see in this passage (and over and over throughout Scripture) how seriously God takes covenants. The covenant of marriage is His picture to the world of His commitment to us. Once God enters into a covenant, HE DOES NOT LEAVE. He commits Himself to us forever.
And when God's people made a covenant - even one with the deceitful Gibeonites - He would not allow them to leave. He required that His people live up to the promises made and not only live in peace with these people but also protect them from harm.

Wow. God expected a lot of His people, didn't He?

But look what He did on their behalf!!!! Let me warn you - this is so exciting you might need to sit down. This is positively awesome. And true.

The Gibeonites were being attacked by five other nations. It looked hopeless. They sent word to Joshua, informing him of their plight and reminding him that their covenant relationship bound him to fight for them, to protect them, to come to their aid.
I can't help but wonder if Cap'n Josh had a moment where he thought, "They deserve to be defeated after what they did to me". But Scripture doesn't tell us that. What it does say is that Joshua went to their aid.

More importantly, God came to Joshua's aid.

7So Joshua marched up from Gilgal with his entire army, including all the best fighting men. 8The Lord said to Joshua, “Do not be afraid of them; I have given them into your hand. Not one of them will be able to withstand you.”9After an all-night march from Gilgal, Joshua took them by surprise. 10The Lord threw them into confusion before Israel, so Joshua and the Israelites defeated them completely at Gibeon. Israel pursued them along the road going up to Beth Horon and cut them down all the way to Azekah and Makkedah. 11As they fled before Israel on the road down from Beth Horon to Azekah, the Lord hurled large hailstones down on them, and more of them died from the hail than were killed by the swords of the Israelites.12On the day the Lord gave the Amorites over to Israel, Joshua said to the Lord in the presence of Israel:“Sun, stand still over Gibeon,and you, moon, over the Valley of Aijalon.”13So the sun stood still,and the moon stopped,till the nation avenged itself onb its enemies,as it is written in the Book of Jashar.The sun stopped in the middle of the sky and delayed going down about a full day. 14There has never been a day like it before or since, a day when the Lord listened to a human being. Surely the Lord was fighting for Israel Notice that not only did the Israelites prevail, the Gibeonites were preserved and the true enemy was annihilated. If you are in a covenant that's being attacked, even a covenant that you never should have made, I am praying that you will follow Joshua's example and ask God to rain down hailstones on the enemy and even to make the sun stand still while He defeats the one who desires your destruction. That enemy is not your covenant partner.


Reading notes - week 16

Deuteronomy 28 was in this week’s reading and it reminded me of a post from a while back. I am recycling that for us today…

"Finally, my brothers, (uh, sisters), rejoice in the Lord. To write the same things again is no trouble to me and it is a safeguard to for you."  Philippians 3:1

I must have read the book of Philippians a hundred times before I saw the last clause of this verse.  Rejoicing as a safeguard.  Whatever could the Apostle have meant by that?

 God is certainly serious about rejoicing......commentaries tell me that "rejoice in the Lord" is mentioned nearly 200 times in Scripture. Let's unpack what He means, why it's important, and how it is a "safeguard for us".......

What does it mean to "rejoice"?  To find joy?  I think it's as simple as it sounds - being happy and satisfied and content and pleased. 

We all want to be happy and satisfied.  All of us.  We pursue it, whether we realize it or not. To quote one more wise (and famous!) than I -
.  Blaise Pascal, who saw that "all men seek happiness. This is without exception. Whatever different means they employ, they all tend to this end. . . . The will never takes the least step but to this object. This is the motive of every action of every man, even of those who hang themselves"

Some Christians think that seeking to be happy is wrong.  That we should just want to be holy. (Note to self:  those are hard friends to have fun with!)  I don't think that's God's perscpective - He made us to long for happiness.  He even commands us to be happy!  And He lovingly guides us to the source of immutable happiness....Himself.    Finding our joy is who He is.....that's what "rejoicing in the Lord"means.

Why is it important?  Well, back to those folks that think we should just be holy -- do they make you long for a deeper walk with Christ?  Mmmm, didn't think so.  I like what John Piper says - "God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in Him."  Joy in the Lord is magnetic.  It draws others, not really to us, but to the source of the force field within us.....Jesus.  And that honors the Lord.

But rejoicing in the Lord is not only about Him.  Or others.  That's where the "safeguard" part comes in.  It is for us.  Since we are designed to seek happiness, we are going to do it....automatic pilot, sort of.  The decision on our part isn't whether we will seek to be happy but rather where we are going to find that joy.  Being satisfied....content.....happy....joyful in the Lord means I don't need to find it anywhere else.  Not in other relationships or possessions or status or circumstances.  When those things "all line up", they are just icing on the cake.  But when they don't, my joy is not threatened. And if I can grasp the Truth that those things really can't deliver on the "joy" promise like Christ can, then I don't wear myself out trying to get them to.

Here is how God explains it through Moses, in Deuteronomy 28:47-48 - "Because you did not serve the Lord your God with joy and a glad heart . . . therefore you shall serve your enemies" .  And that's exactly what happens.  When we aren't satisfied in the Lord, we wind up a slave to whatever else we think will make us happy.  Beauty.  The opinions of others.  Material gain.  Whatever promises to make us feel valued or loved or accepted.  Unlike our powerful Heavenly Father, those things are hard masters.  They demand our time and affection....and yet they don't make good on their promise.  Any happiness we find is temporary, subject to unceasing demands to give more, more, more of our time or energy or emotion. And yet delivering less, less, and less happiness.

So that's what the "safeguard" part of that verse means.  Finding my joy in the Lord keeps me from looking for it in all the wrong places.

Rejoice, sisters, rejoice!