Courageous to Obey

Before the death of Joshua, he gave the people exhortations to fear God and serve Him only.  He also said in Joshua 23:5-8:  "And the LORD your God will expel them from before you and drive them out of your sight. So you shall possess their land, as the LORD your God promised you. ⁶ Therefore be very courageous to keep and to do all that is written in the Book of the Law of Moses, lest you turn aside from it to the right hand or to the left, ⁷ and lest you go among these nations, these who remain among you. You shall not make mention of the name of their gods, nor cause anyone to swear by them; you shall not serve them nor bow down to them, ⁸ but you shall hold fast to the LORD your God, as you have done to this day."  Joshua commanded the people to be very courageous to keep and do all that was written in God's law, and this was what God commanded him when he was made leader after Moses.

God said to Joshua in Joshua 1:6-8:  "Be strong and of good courage, for to this people you shall divide as an inheritance the land which I swore to their fathers to give them. ⁷ Only be strong and very courageous, that you may observe to do according to all the law which Moses My servant commanded you; do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may prosper wherever you go. ⁸ This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success."  It is important for us to realise leaders and all they oversee need great courage to obey all God has said.  Courage, strength, integrity of character, and resolute commitment with diligence is granted us by faith in God.

In Webster's 1828 dictionary, "courageous" is defined as follows:  "brave; bold; daring; intrepid; hardy to encounter difficulties and dangers; adventurous; enterprising."  It takes courage to affirm our belief in the truth of God's word when others do not agree with it.  We must be bold and daring to do what God says is right when it is easy to adopt the world's ways and values, to be willing to stand out in holiness rather than blend in.  Courage makes us resilient to personal insults, being excluded, hated, persecuted and singled out as foolish.  God's people are to be brave to shoulder slanderous labels and false accusations in our pursuit of Jesus Christ, labouring to obediently serve Him and love one another--even  loving our enemies.  Our flesh may not be courageous to fight in hand-to-hand combat, but to be courageous by faith in Jesus is the call of every Christian.  This source of our courage is spiritual and real, and thus it translates into practical decisions we make every day to cling to God and obey Him.

Boldness and courage comes from faith in Christ and the power of the Holy Spirit.  Evidence of this is seen with the marked change in Peter, John and the disciples after they were filled with the Holy Spirit.  After Peter and John proclaimed the Gospel to the Jewish rulers they knew hated and plotted to murder Jesus, Acts 4:13 says:  "Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated and untrained men, they marveled. And they realized that they had been with Jesus."  They decided the best way to silence them about Jesus was to severely threaten them, and Acts 4:18-20 tells us the response of the Christians:  "And they called them and commanded them not to speak at all nor teach in the name of Jesus. ¹⁹ But Peter and John answered and said to them, "Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you more than to God, you judge. ²⁰ For we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard."  More than speaking boldly, the remainder of Acts shows Christians lived courageously to proclaim the Gospel, spoke the truth in love and held fast to Jesus.  May we be strong and courageous by faith in Jesus to obey Him so His name will be glorified now and forever.

Reason and Unity

Because our understanding is limited, misunderstandings are a common part of life.  The more we are exposed to the way people think, what they do and the choices they make, we are exposed to potential conflicts due to misunderstanding when as a result we make judgments.  We can make incomplete or inaccurate assessments and thus poor judgments when we allow our own assumptions or suggestions of others to fill in the gaps in our understanding.  Division and discord can be the result of our reluctance and unwillingness to go to others from the start and simply discuss our observations with brothers and sisters in Christ.  While this may be uncomfortable or the other person might react defensively, when done in a loving manner it works to draw us closer to one another and the LORD.

I suspect we Christians do not always deal with our misunderstandings when we are confident in ourselves as being in the right.  Why should we talk about things with others we have already determined based upon our own observations?  The children of Israel set a good example of how to deal with misunderstandings with our Christian brethren after the tribes of Reuben, Gad and half tribe of Manasseh went to their inheritance on the east side of the Jordan.  The Hebrews on the west were disturbed to see a large altar built after the pattern of the altar at the tabernacle had been erected by the eastern tribes, as the Law of Moses forbade sacrifices to be offered to the LORD on any other altar.  The remaining tribes immediately gathered for battle (if necessary!) and sent a delegation of rulers to inquire further concerning the altar.  This was a good step, but they could have done better to allow and explanation rather than immediately accuse their brothers of sin.

They made their condemnation of building the altar plain in Joshua 22:16:  "Thus says the whole congregation of the LORD: 'What treachery is this that you have committed against the God of Israel, to turn away this day from following the LORD, in that you have built for yourselves an altar, that you might rebel this day against the LORD?"  Sometimes we do others and ourselves the disservice of not voicing our concerns to them, to write them off or even attack them without initiating an opportunity to reason together.  The delegates launched into a long list of the Hebrew's previous sins and lumped the building of the altar in with other infamous rebellions.  It turned out, however, to be a complete misunderstanding.  The tribes of Reuben, Gad and Manasseh understood the optics yet explained their own concern:  because the Jordan river acted as a boundary between them, future generations might not recognise the eastern tribes as belonging to the congregation of the Hebrews.  They built the replica altar not for the purpose of offering sacrifices, but as a witness to future generations they had a portion in the LORD as His people.

Joshua 22:30-31 says, "Now when Phinehas the priest and the rulers of the congregation, the heads of the divisions of Israel who were with him, heard the words that the children of Reuben, the children of Gad, and the children of Manasseh spoke, it pleased them. ³¹ Then Phinehas the son of Eleazar the priest said to the children of Reuben, the children of Gad, and the children of Manasseh, "This day we perceive that the LORD is among us, because you have not committed this treachery against the LORD. Now you have delivered the children of Israel out of the hand of the LORD."  The tribes on the west assumed the worst and accused the eastern tribes of treachery against God, yet when the reason behind the altar was explained their minds changed and the animosity that was stirred up was replaced with encouragement.  The western tribes among themselves could not imagine what good purpose was possible in the building of the altar, and humble reasoning with their brethren led to renewed good will and increased unity.  This interaction teaches me the fear of the LORD ought to unite His people even if we are on the opposite side of the Jordan on an issue, so to speak.  The result of our discussions with one another may not result in us thinking the same way or doing the same things, but we can gain appreciation for why they do what they do without assuming they lack godly character.

In this case it was the the offended party that humbled themselves to accept the altar as a witness between them.  It was not like the western tribes were unwilling to discuss the situation until the eastern tribes removed the abomination they had built.  Imagine the awful damage that would have been done to send the army over before the delegation was sent!  Sometimes we can be like this with differences and misunderstandings--and actual faults--in the church.  We can be quick to contend with or bail on fellow Christians or a church because there are things we do not agree with or that displeases us, even condemning others for what is revealed to be our own misunderstanding.  I'm glad the western tribes did not do this with tribes on the east of the Jordan, and I am grateful for those who have extended grace to me and talked things through before having their mind already made up about my motives.  Let us be the ones who, in love of God and one another, are willing to be wrong about our assumptions and speak directly with others when concerning situations arise.

Forget the Universe

I am always a bit puzzled when I see people reference "the universe" with gratitude for something fortuitous or beneficial.  These references often correlate with how a Christian commonly invokes the name of God or Jesus Christ with thanks or admiration.  I wonder if those who thank the universe or their "lucky stars," consider where or how those things originated.  For those who appeal to the goodness of the universe, one might as well believe the soil or grass under their feet was worthy and able to receive their praise.

The children of Israel were distinct from all the nations of the earth in that they were guided to worship the God Who is the self-existent Creator of all things.  While the heathen nations worshipped the sun, moon and idols of man's devising, the children of Abraham made a covenant with God who revealed Himself to them on Mt. Sinai.  Not only did God create the world, but Scripture testifies along with the annals of history that God also kept His word and gave them the land He promised their fathers.  Joshua 21:43-45 affirms, "So the LORD gave to Israel all the land of which He had sworn to give to their fathers, and they took possession of it and dwelt in it. ⁴⁴ The LORD gave them rest all around, according to all that He had sworn to their fathers. And not a man of all their enemies stood against them; the LORD delivered all their enemies into their hand. ⁴⁵ Not a word failed of any good thing which the LORD had spoken to the house of Israel. All came to pass."

The Hebrews were led out of Egypt by God's mighty hand, passed through the Red Sea, and survived 40 years in the wilderness before the LORD brought them into the land of Canaan.  God providentially supplied food, water and fought their battles.  He was their good Shepherd as well as their refuge, and He has remained faithful to this day.  Even Gentiles such as myself have had our eyes opened to see the majesty and worthiness of God to be trusted, worshipped and praise:  He is a Saviour and there is no other.  He spoke through the prophet in Isaiah 45:22-23:  "Look to Me, and be saved, all you ends of the earth! For I am God, and there is no other. ²³  I have sworn by Myself; the word has gone out of My mouth in righteousness, and shall not return, that to Me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall take an oath."  The universe God created cannot compare with Him, for all God has created is a mere wisp of vapour that disappears in a moment.

The universe was not, than came to be, and suddenly will not be:  how does this compare to God who was, is and will always be?  The universe can make no covenant, promise or provision.  Like an image made by a craftsman that has ears but cannot hear and a mouth that cannot speak, the universe is a mindless thing that expands but cannot draw anyone close.  In stark contrast, the God who made the ear can hear everything without ears, and He who created the mouth does not need vocal cords to speak.  God is entirely other and awesome in comparison to the wondrous things He has made, which makes Him infinitely more worthy of praise than the vast array of sparks and pebbles He has scattered throughout the cosmos.  Because of Jesus Christ who loves us we can say with joy, "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, goodwill toward men." (Luke 2:14)  At the name of Jesus every knee will bow and every tongue confess Jesus Christ is LORD to the glory of God the Father (Phil. 2:9-11).

People can have the universe as their god if they want, but I choose the LORD Jesus Christ.

Waiting on God's Name

"I will praise You forever, because You have done it; and in the presence of Your saints I will wait on Your name, for it is good."

Psalm 52:9

David compared himself to a green olive tree planted in the house of God, and that he would trust in the mercy of God forever.  David realised it was by faith in God he was thus established, having received favour from the living God of Israel.  He had an unshakable hope in the goodness of God presently and for the future because God is faithful, a deliverer and redeemer.

During the Friday night Bible study at Calvary Chapel Sydney, we discussed what it means to "wait on Your name" in relation to God.  In the Bible, God's names describe His glorious unchangeable attributes and good character.  I was led to consider the passage where God's presence was introduced by His name before Moses in Exodus 34:5-7:  "Now the LORD descended in the cloud and stood with him there, and proclaimed the name of the LORD. ⁶ And the LORD passed before him and proclaimed, "The LORD, the LORD God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abounding in goodness and truth, ⁷ keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, by no means clearing the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children and the children's children to the third and the fourth generation."  God's name does not only say what He does but shows us Who He is.

God introduced Himself by calling Himself LORD, the self-existent Creator Who is sovereign over all things.  He stands alone in majesty, glory and power over all, and without Him nothing has been made that is made:  all are beneath Him in every regard.  While He is awesome in power, He has revealed Himself to be merciful, gracious, longsuffering, abundant in goodness and truth.  He does more than show mercy, for God is fundamentally merciful.  Man may show mercy in an instance here or there, yet this is only because mankind has been created in God's image.  Because of man's fall into sin we are not gracious, patient or abundant in goodness and truth.  God is all these things and infinitely more--because He is the LORD God who is good.

God is good to show mercy by forgiving iniquity, transgression and sin.  He is willing to forgive those who repent and trust in Him who are exposed of having selfish motives, who willfully disobey and those who do their best and fail to measure up to His perfect standard.  God is also good to hold sinners to account, allowing sin's unpleasant consequences to draw them to Himself or to administer justice to the unrepentant so others will avoid sin.  God has revealed His goodness to sinful humanity in Jesus coming to earth to break the power of sin over people and their families so generations who would have been lost forever can receive His mercy for thousands of generations to come.

Waiting on the name of the LORD is patient expectation for the LORD God to be and do exactly as He has declared in His word, that He will keep His promises to redeem and save us forever.  Because God is good His love never fails, and we ought to praise God now and forever for being worthy of praise in Himself as David said in Psalm 34:1-2:  "I will bless the LORD at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth. ² My soul shall make its boast in the LORD; the humble shall hear of it and be glad."  Bless the LORD, you His saints, for as Psalm 34:22 says, "The LORD redeems the soul of His servants, and none of those who trust in Him shall be condemned."  Lift up your heads, for even now your redemption draws near.