Cursed No More

Prior to God's overthrow of Jericho, the Hebrews were strictly warned not to take any spoils from the city.  Joshua warned the people in Joshua 6:18-19:  "And you, by all means abstain from the accursed things, lest you become accursed when you take of the accursed things, and make the camp of Israel a curse, and trouble it. ¹⁹ But all the silver and gold, and vessels of bronze and iron, are consecrated to the LORD; they shall come into the treasury of the LORD."  Anyone who took of the spoil was robbing God of what was consecrated to Him and would bring an accursed thing into the camp.  History has shown that on every occasion God has established something as sin, someone will choose to transgress His command--and the fall of Jericho was no exception.

There was a man named Achan who took gold, silver and clothing from Jericho and buried it in his tent.  No one but his immediate family was privy to this trespass until the children of Israel were routed by a relatively small number of fighting men of Ai.  36 men of Israel died while the rest ran for their lives, unable to even stand before their enemies.  Joshua prostrated himself before the LORD with grief, wondering and questioning why such a disaster had come to pass.  God had full knowledge of what had happened and said in Joshua 7:11, "Israel has sinned, and they have also transgressed My covenant which I commanded them. For they have even taken some of the accursed things, and have both stolen and deceived; and they have also put it among their own stuff."  Bringing the accursed things into the camp brought a curse, and the solution was simple:  identify the guilty, take away the accursed things, and execute judgment upon the transgressors.

It is no surprise the children of Israel were unable to stand and contend with their enemies unless God helped them.  What fills me with wonder is though the children of Israel fell before the men of Ai, by God's grace they were strengthened to overcome the curse of sin by exposing transgression, confessing their sin, and ridding themselves of the accursed things.  Sin is more powerful than any man or army, for there is no man who can purge themselves of sin's curse that brings separation from God and eternal death.  They could not stand before a handful of enemies due to their sin, but by God's power they were able to overcome the great sin that cursed them and rendered them powerless.  By faith in God, repentance of sin and humble obedience to God, God restored the children of Israel to a close relationship with Him.

Here is a great encouragement for Christians who have a relationship with God through faith in Jesus.  We do not have the strength or power in ourselves to save ourselves from sin any more than the Hebrews did when they faced the warriors of Ai.  But when we confess and repent of our sins, we are divinely enabled to cast all accursed things from us and be reconciled to God according to His covenant and grace.  1 John 1:9 says, "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."  As Jesus Christ has overcome the curse of sin and death, we are made victorious by faith and live in joyous submission to His holiness.  

A Soothing Aroma

In preparation for a recent Bible study, I considered how not all smoke is the same.  When I was fitted as a tradesman for a half-face respirator to remove asbestos, we were told to breathe normally while our instructor sprayed irritant smoke all around the seal.  The concept was the irritant smoke would provide clear evidence the mask was incorrectly fitted when the person started coughing.  The irritant smoke was harmless--unlike the microscopic fibres we were trying to prevent from lodging in our lungs that could lead to cancer and death.  Our instructor, because he was a bit of a mean old fellow, insisted everyone take an unmasked whiff of the irritant smoke for his own amusement.  And for the record, it really is irritating.

I have sat around many campfires that resulted in smoke blowing into my eyes that made them burn and water.  After blinking back tears and holding my breath, I moved from one side of the fire only to have the breeze shift and smoke me out yet again.  This was the experience God described in dealings with His people when they provoked Him to anger with their disobedience and hypocrisy in Isaiah 65:2-5:  "I have stretched out My hands all day long to a rebellious people, who walk in a way that is not good, according to their own thoughts; ³ a people who provoke Me to anger continually to My face; who sacrifice in gardens, and burn incense on altars of brick; ⁴ who sit among the graves, and spend the night in the tombs; who eat swine's flesh, and the broth of abominable things is in their vessels; ⁵ who say, 'Keep to yourself, do not come near me, for I am holier than you!' These are smoke in My nostrils, a fire that burns all the day."  The self-righteousness of God's rebellious people were like someone intentionally blowing cigarette smoke right in the face, an unpleasant experience everyone tries to avoid.

In contrast to irritant smoke, the burn of a campfire or the smell of cigarette smoke blown in the face, the gentle waft of smoke whilst smoking meat is another experience all together.  Unlike those who scramble to escape the caustic smoke from a fire outdoors, people are often drawn to the smell of smoked meat to say, "Something smells good!"  The aroma from a smoker is one that speaks of careful preparation, seasoning of select cuts, careful temperature control and the intent to partake of delicious flavours of life-sustaining food with others.  Gatherings before the LORD often involved feasting, and the smell of sacrifices offered by faith from hearts marked with joy, gratitude and generosity were pleasing to both man and God.  After Noah offered clean animals in sacrifice to the LORD following the flood Genesis 8:21 says, "And the LORD smelled a soothing aroma. Then the LORD said in His heart, "I will never again curse the ground for man's sake, although the imagination of man's heart is evil from his youth; nor will I again destroy every living thing as I have done."

It was not the offering of burnt sacrifices that pleased God but hearts that were made righteous by faith in God revealed by obedience to Him.  When the hearts and lives of God's people were not submitted to Him, He wanted nothing to do with their sacrifices--even though the smell of roasted beef smells delicious to us.  God spoke through the prophet in Amos 5:21-22, "I hate, I despise your feast days, and I do not savor your sacred assemblies. ²² Though you offer Me burnt offerings and your grain offerings, I will not accept them, nor will I regard your fattened peace offerings."  The people did not comprehend God valued obedience over sacrifice!  Yet when God's people humbled their hearts in repentance from their sins and amended their ways, He was pleased with their obedience as it is written in Psalm 51:19:  "Then You shall be pleased with the sacrifices of righteousness, with burnt offering and whole burnt offering; then they shall offer bulls on Your altar."

Jesus did not fault the Pharisees for tithing of their firstfruits and herbs, but His complaint was they neglected the weightier matters of the Law.  He said in Matthew 23:23:  "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faith. These you ought to have done, without leaving the others undone."  He also said in Luke 11:42:  "But woe to you Pharisees! For you tithe mint and rue and all manner of herbs, and pass by justice and the love of God. These you ought to have done, without leaving the others undone."  We do well to tithe of our increase of God, but our gifts become the equivalent of irritant smoke before the LORD instead of sweet aroma when we neglect to love others or walk justly.  Let us not pass by or neglect to examine our hearts, confess and repent of sin, and labour to do the things that please God.  If we prepared our hearts before the LORD as circumspectly as we prepare smoked brisket or ribs to serve guests to eat, we will have done well.

Blessed by Jesus

Jesus Christ proved to be the answer to the longing in Job's heart.  When this God-fearing man suffered greatly in a trial, he mused in Job 9:32-35:  "He is not a man like me that I might answer him, that we might confront each other in court. ³³ If only there were someone to arbitrate between us, to lay his hand upon us both, ³⁴ someone to remove God's rod from me, so that his terror would frighten me no more. ³⁵ Then I would speak up without fear of him, but as it now stands with me, I cannot." (NIV)  Job realised God is infinitely greater than man and he lacked a mediator or advocate between himself and God.  Job felt he was being unjustly treated, not realising God's intent to show Himself merciful, compassionate, and to doubly bless him in the end (James 5:11).

What Job observed God also acknowledged by the word of the LORD through the prophet in Isaiah 59:16:  "He saw that there was no man, and wondered that there was no intercessor; therefore His own arm brought salvation for Him; and His own righteousness, it sustained Him."  God saw fit to provide the Man and Mediator man lacked by putting on human flesh and coming to earth.  The living God sent Jesus, His only begotten Son, to seek and to save sinners and to provide intercession for them after His death, resurrection and ascension to heaven.  God Himself brought salvation for sinners, and He provided the required payment for sin by shedding His own blood.  Because Jesus is our great High Priest, He is the one we ought to rely upon to effectively communicate our prayers--not priests, elders or pastors.

Paul explained this important role Jesus continues in to this day in 1 Timothy 2:1-6:  "Therefore I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men, ² for kings and all who are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence. ³ For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, ⁴ who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. ⁵ For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus, ⁶ who gave Himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time..."  God heard the longings of Job and the desire of every human being for justice, help and hope in troubling times, and when we pray to God Jesus is our Mediator and Advocate.  This truth is echoed in 1 John 2:1-2:  "My little children, these things I write to you, so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. ² And He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world."  Scripture tells us Jesus lives to make intercession for us, dedicated to our salvation and every need (Hebrews 7:25).

As we pray for ourselves and others, Jesus also prays for us.  Knowing Jesus Himself is handing our case, we can rest assured He will communicate our desires clearly for our good.  God also blesses us by filling believers with the Holy Spirit who helps us as it is written in Romans 8:26:  "Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered."  Unlike courts that operate with limited hours and plan hearings months in advance, we are invited to enter the LORD's presence in our moment of need by prayer.  Hebrews 4:16 says, "Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need."  Little children may not always be permitted in the presence of an earthly king, but Jesus commanded the little children not be hindered to come to Him.  He took those little ones in His arms and blessed them, and in heavenly glory He lifts us in His arms to the Father so we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

Forgiven, Cleansed and Holy

Memes have their place in this world, but among my general rules of thumb is never to use them as source material for any Christian belief, nor should they be assumed to be accurate.  In the case of one meme I read recently, I was not able to verify the accuracy of the quote so I will not repeat it in full.  With an aim to support the extra-biblical concept of purgatory, the quote suggested it was impertinent to imagine an instant after dying any sinner could enjoy being in the presence of God.  An "additional divine operation" was required on the soul before entering into God's presence with joy, and to say otherwise was to "underestimate either your sinful nature or God's holiness or the gap between them."

When I read this quote a rebuttal came to mind:  "Or the author of this quote seriously underestimates the work Jesus did on the cross."  Jesus said those who receive Him by faith are born again, and this means receiving a new nature and to be washed clean from all sin.  Paul wrote in Romans 6:5-6, "For if we have been united together in the likeness of His death, certainly we also shall be in the likeness of His resurrection, ⁶ knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin."  Whilst we continue to live in bodies of flesh after being born again, our "old man" was crucified with Christ.  Having been cleansed from all sin and filled with the Holy Spirit, we are therefore able to present ourselves as living sacrifices unto God.  The new heart God promised to give His people by the word of the LORD through the prophets is ours by grace through faith in Jesus.

Because God has cleansed us from all unrighteousness and adopted us as His children, it is not presumptuous to say we are positionally holy as God is holy.  There are no degrees of holiness, for all who are born again are sanctified in Christ.  The apostle wrote in 1 Peter 1:13-16 to believers:  "Therefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and rest your hope fully upon the grace that is to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ; ¹⁴ as obedient children, not conforming yourselves to the former lusts, as in your ignorance; ¹⁵ but as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, ¹⁶ because it is written, "Be holy, for I am holy."  Holiness is not something we can muster up or do by any effort of the flesh, but God has created us to be holy by virtue of our spiritual birth.  This new identity in Christ is something we constantly fail to measure up to due to the frailty of our flesh.  That is why believers are exhorted again and again to strive to forsake sin and do what pleases God, working out our own salvation with fear and trembling--for it is God who works in us to both to will and do of His good pleasure (Phil. 2:13).

Having been born again by faith in Jesus, Christians are assured our sins are forgiven.  1 John 1:9 says to the believer who sins:  "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."  Paul was confident at the death of his body he would be in the presence of the LORD (2 Cor. 5:8)--and this wasn't because he was self-righteous or his deeds could make him holy.  He was a man who laid claim to being the chief of sinners!  From his own mouth we can judge him of needing further refinement in the eternal state--that is, if you believe Jesus was unable to cleanse him from all unrighteousness!  There is no need for Christians to go through the "boot camp" of purgatory to enter heaven, for Jesus has already claimed complete victory over sin and death through His resurrection.  By faith in Jesus Christians have been cleansed of all sin, Christ's righteousness has been imputed to us, and we should be holy and without blame before Him in love.  As long as we remain on this earth is the fitting season for our refinement, and may we submit to God in every trial He allows.