- araratchurch
- Sep 19, 2022
- 3 min read
“When I saw among the spoils a beautiful Babylonian garment, two hundred shekels of silver, and a wedge of gold weighing fifty shekels, I coveted them and took them. And there they are, hidden in the earth in the midst of my tent, with the silver under it.”
Joshua 7:21 NKJV
In 2016, over a very short period of time, a would-be kidnapper, waved a $100 bill at least 19 little girls across nine counties in Iowa, in an attempt to abduct them. Thankfully, he was pursued and captured before being able to carry through with his horrendous plan.
Sadly, children are very vulnerable to being enticed away from safety by offers of money, candy, interaction with a cute animal, or any number of things and scenarios used to entice children. It’s a terribly evil phenomenon, sometimes ending tragically.
But does this phenomenon end with children? Sadly, it doesn’t; even as adults—even as Christian adults—we may be tempted, enticed, by something we find “irresistible.” Tragically, the cost of attaining that thing, might be our own well-being.
“Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am tempted by God”; for God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He Himself tempt anyone. But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death.”
James 1:13-15 NKJV
Indeed, the original Fall of man was the result of enticement by a “shiny object,” and an accompanying voice saying, “Why shouldn’t you be able to have that?”
“So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate.”
Genesis 3:6 NKJV
To say that there is no pleasure in sinful behavior, is disingenuous. But the pleasure of sin is very temporary and can come at the cost of an eternal reward.
“By faith Moses, when he became of age, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin, esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt; for he looked to the reward.”
Hebrews 11:24-26 NKJV
Here, the writer of Hebrews makes clear that there were pleasures to be had in the house of Pharaoh; but Moses, chose to suffer temporarily, in order to receive a greater reward.
We do well to follow this admonition:
“Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not of the Father but is of the world. And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever.”
I John 2:15-17 NKJV
Today we find Achan confessing to transgressing against the command of God.
“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. 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.”
Joshua 6:18-19 NKJV
The people had been instructed not to take any of the spoil from Jericho for themselves. Rather, they were to destroy everything except the gold, silver, bronze, and iron, which were to be consecrated to the Lord.
Now, not only did Achan take a beautiful garment into his possession, he also took things God had specifically said belonged to Him. The end for Achan and his family was not pretty.
“Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning.”
James 1:17 NKJV
Remember, God is a good Father and He is also our King. We do what He commands because He is God. But make no mistake, the Lord won’t withhold any (truly) good thing from you (Psalm 84:11). So, don’t let the enemy of your soul deceive you into pursuing something that will cost you everything.
For today write this in your “wilderness journal”:
Don’t let the pursuit of a “shiny object” lead you to destruction.
- araratchurch
- Sep 18, 2022
- 4 min read
“You shall march around the city, all you men of war; you shall go all around the city once. This you shall do six days. And seven priests shall bear seven trumpets of rams’ horns before the ark. But the seventh day you shall march around the city seven times, and the priests shall blow the trumpets. It shall come to pass, when they make a long blast with the ram’s horn, and when you hear the sound of the trumpet, that all the people shall shout with a great shout; then the wall of the city will fall down flat. And the people shall go up every man straight before him.””
Joshua 6:3-5 NKJV
In May of this year, an air traffic controller and a passenger on a Cessna 208 single-engine aircraft, would meet under extreme circumstances.
The air traffic controller, Robert Morgan, had just gone on break when he received a desperate call saying that a non-pilot passenger had radioed in and was trying to land a plane.
Passenger, Darren Harrison, was on a flight that left out from the Bahamas. At some point in the flight, the pilot became incoherent with some sort of medical emergency. Darren Harrison was willing to land the plane to save his and the other passengers’ lives, but he had no flying experience. His only hope was that someone could talk him down. As it turned out, that “someone,” would be Robert Morgan.
Fortunately, Robert Morgan was not only an air traffic controller, but also a flight instructor. He had never piloted this particular plane, but secured a diagram of the control panel. The first instructions given were to help Darren Harrison fly in such a way that the control tower could locate his position. Then, step-by-step, Morgan talked Harrison through the procedure to effect a soft landing on terra firma.
Harrison remained calm, following instructions as given. In doing so, a near tragedy was averted.
Now, I want you to imagine—if you will—what might’ve happened if the passenger had insisted on having everything explained to him before complying. Of course, you can be sure that the story would’ve ended very differently. Again, the only hope for a safe landing was that the passenger would successfully follow the instructor’s commands, without question.
This is but one of countless stories where the ability of someone to follow someone else’s instructions has saved lives.
A story I have told before, I will offer again here:
My mother often recounted that when she was a child, her father instructed his children that if he were to ever tell them to stop, not to question, just stop. You see, they lived in South Georgia and there was always a risk of running up on a rattlesnake. He knew that there would not be time to keep a child from being attacked by a snake if they had to know why they were to stop. Their part was just to obey the command.
Sadly, in their walk with the Lord, there are many people who want the Lord to explain every action He has taken, and/or, every action He has instructed them to take.
“For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways,” says the Lord. “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways, And My thoughts than your thoughts.”
Isaiah 55:8-9 NKJV
But the fact is, God is…well, God! He knows what we don’t know. HE HAS ALL KNOWLEDGE. He IS all knowledge!
“Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and His ways past finding out!”
Romans 11:33 NKJV
And—although God is basically unknowable, He, through Jesus Christ, has given us His own Holy Spirit to lead and guide us into all truth!
“For who has known the mind and purposes of the Lord, so as to instruct Him? But we have the mind of Christ [to be guided by His thoughts and purposes].”
1 Corinthians 2:16 AMP
“However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come.”
John 16:13 NKJV
Today we see that Joshua has been given a very unusual strategy to follow in the effort to take Jericho. As we noted yesterday, Joshua was a great general. But, part of what makes for a great general, is the ability to recognize when you are out-ranked. Joshua knew that if the Lord commands a strategy, it will never fail, whether or not he understood the rationale behind it. You see, with the Lord, the rational behind the strategy is always the same: He is God and we are not; if we do what He says to do, He will do what He said He would do for us. So, Joshua obeyed and the walls fell down.
I understand the desire to understand. But—the fact is—being led by the Spirit of God does not necessarily produce a course which is intuitive to us. But, the more we listen and obey, the more we will be able to respond without hesitation: He says stop; we stop. He says go; we go. He says walk around the wall all these times; we walk. And…well, you know the rest of the story.
For today write this in your “wilderness journal”:
You don’t need to understand; just do it.
- araratchurch
- Sep 18, 2022
- 3 min read
“And it came to pass, when Joshua was by Jericho, that he lifted his eyes and looked, and behold, a Man stood opposite him with His sword drawn in His hand. And Joshua went to Him and said to Him, “Are You for us or for our adversaries?” So He said, “No, but as Commander of the army of the Lord I have now come.” And Joshua fell on his face to the earth and worshiped, and said to Him, “What does my Lord say to His servant?” Then the Commander of the Lord’s army said to Joshua, “Take your sandal off your foot, for the place where you stand is holy.” And Joshua did so.”
Joshua 5:13-15 NKJV
Wars have been fought, won,
and lost, under the direction of generals. In fact, a great general can make the difference between victory and defeat.
Some great generals are known for a single decisive victory; others are best known for successful military campaigns. But whatever the scope of their prowess, great generals were/are the driving force toward great victories throughout all time.
Think for a moment about ancient era generals such as Alexander the Great, Julius Caesar, and Attila the Hun, who are still spoken of today as having been great generals. Even those who have very little knowledge of world history have probably heard these names. Why? Because they presided over great victories.
Whether remembered for a reign of terror, sweeping conquests, or righteous campaigns, a great general makes a mark on history.
Joshua was a great general. He, as Moses’ successor, led the children of Israel into the Promised Land. Think about it: if he had faltered, the people would have perhaps fallen short of walking into their inheritance! But, he did not falter. And we know why he did not falter: he—as a great general—served under One greater than he. That brings us to today.
In our opening passage we find Joshua encountering someone identifying Himself as the “Commander of the army of the lord.” Notice, Joshua immediately falls on his face, worships Him, then asks what this Commander has to say to him. More precisely put, Joshua was asking for His orders, which he received.
Now, we know that the Commander of the army of the Lord, is Jesus Christ the Lord of glory. In fact, whenever you read the term “Lord of hosts,” you are reading what means the “Lord of heavens armies.”
“O Lord God of Heaven’s Armies, how long will you be angry with our prayers?”
Psalms 80:4 NLT
The exciting thing to know is that one of these days (soon!), this great general will not only return to the earth, but we will return under His command!
“Then I saw heaven opened, and a white horse was standing there. Its rider was named Faithful and True, for he judges fairly and wages a righteous war. His eyes were like flames of fire, and on his head were many crowns. A name was written on him that no one understood except himself. He wore a robe dipped in blood, and his title was the Word of God. The armies of heaven, dressed in the finest of pure white linen, followed him on white horses. From his mouth came a sharp sword to strike down the nations. He will rule them with an iron rod. He will release the fierce wrath of God, the Almighty, like juice flowing from a winepress. On his robe at his thigh was written this title: King of all kings and Lord of all Lords.”
Revelation 19:11-16 NLT
Be encouraged, child of God. Yes, we are in a battle as we head toward our Promised Land. But victory is certain when you’re fighting under this General!
For today write this in your “wilderness journal”:
The greatest General of all time is commanding you.