16Mar/100

Week 11 Day 2 – Choose This Day!

There are a few lessons for today:

1. The choice is a continual process.

Moses laid before the people a choice between life and death. Now Joshua stands before the people and says, "choose this day whom you will serve." Just because the people had obeyed God and followed Joshua into victorious battle, doesn’t mean that they were automatically going to do right for the rest of their lives. As the blood on the swords was beginning to dry and the crops in the fields were beginning to grow, Joshua knew that the people would have the tendency to forget about the miraculous deliverance of God in their lives. Joshua knew that the only way they would be able to stay within the guardrails of God’s plan was if they made a conscious choice to do so. The same is true for us. Each day we must wake up and choose to live in the Kingdom of God.

2. You can’t choose the Kingdom!

What? One of the most perplexing verses in this passage is Joshua 24:19-20. After Joshua told them to choose, he said, "you are not able to serve the Lord." Why would he say that? Was he messing with their heads? The key to this is found in v. 23. Joshua said that the people must throw away their foreign gods and "yield your hearts to the Lord." That is the key to living in God’s Kingdom. God does not ask you to work harder to obey His commands. He does not ask you to wake up every morning and say, "by the power of my own will I will not steal, not lie, not lust, etc." That mentality will drive us into burnout and idolatry faster than anything. What God asks of us is to wake up every morning and say, "God, I give up. I am not strong enough to follow you. I die to myself. Please fill me up with you and lead me in the paths that you would have me to follow." The key to the kingdom is to yield your heart.

3. Parenting is a key to the Kingdom of God.

When we move into the Judges passage, notice that Joshua’s generation followed God’s laws. But as soon as that generation died off, the next generation quickly strayed and began to follow the baals of Canaan. How can this happen? While the point I’m making is not explicitly in the passage, it is one that can be drawn from simple observation in our own culture. Many times one generation can find an external pattern of worshipping God that flows from an authentic desire to know God, and they can follow that pattern of worship their whole lives. The problem is that they bring their children up in that pattern of worship and believe that by "taking their kids to church" their children will learn to love God as well. There’s the fatal flaw. That pattern of worship may be authentic for the older generation because it flows from their heart for God, but for the children it is nothing more than an external behavior. God has not yet gripped the heart of the child. The best place for the Kingdom of God to be authentically and effectively transferred from one generation to the next is in the home. The parents need to love God with their whole self, and serve the Lord in everything they do. If God is real at home, then the children will meet God and come to know Him. But if God is just something that is talked about at church then "God" will be nothing more than an empty concept, one idea among many, that will potentially get swept away when the child enters into the whirlwind of competing worldviews in the adult world.

4. The battle is healthy.

It was not God’s desire to have Israel spare the nations around them. In the same way, it was not God’s desire for Adam and Eve to turn away from Him. God’s desire and His purpose for us is to live in perfect unity with Him. Yet, He knows the poor choices we continually make and He makes concessions for us, as good parents do. Notice in v. 22-23 what attitude God takes towards the nations that were left behind because of Israel’s disobedience. He says, "I will use them to test Israel...The Lord had allowed those nations to remain." The fact is that the struggle is good for us because it makes us stronger. That is what exercise is for the physical body; it’s a struggle. When you lift weights you put your muscles under stress that actually tears them down a little. As the body heals the micro injury it becomes stronger and more resilient. In our spirit it is the same way. I believe that is what James meant when he said, "Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything." (James 1:2-4) Stay strong, and thank God for the struggles that you face. Keep your eyes on Him and remember that "in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose." (Romans 8:28)

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15Mar/100

Week 11 Day 1 – Conflict Resolution

Joshua 22:1-34

When we see behavior in another person’s life that doesn’t make sense to us and appears to be "wrong," what do we typically do? The average person would jump to a conclusion about the other person, get reactive or defensive about it, and launch an accusation against that person. The bold person would launch a frontal assault and confront the person about their sinfulness. The less bold would harbor ill feelings and possibly gossip about the "strange behavior" that the person was exhibiting.

You probably have never fallen into the trap of judging someone’s behaviors, jumping to conclusions, and getting into messy conflict. Of course not. But I’m sure you know someone who has and would probably benefit greatly from today’s lesson!

Conflict is one of the greatest forces that will pull a church apart. We are all people that are on different legs of our journey with God. We are all battling with different enemies that pester us along the path. We all have different personality traits and different "hot buttons" that, when pushed, can set us off. Conflict in an intimate community is inevitable. We will step on each other’s toes in the dance of life. It’s not a question of "if" it will happen, but "when" it will happen.

One of the best tools and skills we can use to become better travelers together is that of resolving conflict. If we track with today’s story we will see some excellent principles for how to avoid unnecessary conflict. Notice how I said "unnecessary" conflict. Sometimes conflict is necessary. Remember, God told them to go to war against the Canaanites. But, in this situation, we see brothers who are on the verge of conflict. The western tribes observe the large altar that the Eastern tribes have just built. At first glance it looks to the Westies that the Easties have already broken over the guard rail established by Moses and are falling into the pit of false worship. Had this been true, then, according to the Law, they were supposed to rush in and eradicate this cancerous tumor in the nation. Fortunately, they took a slightly different approach and made a bad thing into a good one.

1. When you have a question about a person’s behavior, ask, don’t accuse. In his book, Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, Steven Covey teaches the principle "Seek first to understand, then be understood." The majority of conflict that we encounter is the result of misunderstanding. The Westies interpreted the building of the altar as an act of pagan worship, an offense that required harsh punishment. Had they come in with spears raised and stones in hand, the Easties would have naturally risen to arms to defend themselves. That is only natural. Then a war would have happened, people would have died...for nothing.

We typically make this mistake. We approach this kind of situation with a pointing finger saying, "you have sinned, what were you thinking?" When a person feels attacked, even if they are innocent, they will almost always kick into a self-defense mode that, to the attacker, will prove their guilt. Stop. Ask for clarity. Seek to understand.

2. Actually listen to the answer given to your question. Many times people learn lesson #1 and begin a conflict by asking a question, but while their mouth may be verbalizing the question, their heart is still clenching a stone and is ready to hurl it. When you ask the question, ask it with your whole self. Actually seek to understand the point of view of the accused. Try to crawl into the mind of the other person, see the world through their eyes, and try to understand what their thinking was when they made the decision to do what they did, even if it is different from yours. When the Easties were given an opportunity to explain themselves, there was a total reversal, a "paradigm shift" for the Westies. This action that they thought was sin, was actually a noble action of faithfulness.

3. Be willing to admit you were wrong. Many times, when we jump to conclusions and accuse someone, even when we find out that they were not doing what we thought they were doing, with the motives we had placed in their heart, we don’t want to admit it. Suddenly we find that we are in the wrong and our own tainted motives are exposed to the world. That is a vulnerable place and a scary feeling. The accuser is suddenly the accused. In that moment, stop. Take a deep breath. Admit that you were wrong in your interpretation. Seek forgiveness. And then, rejoice in the fact that you left that meeting with no needless casualties. The Westies went home rejoicing that the nation of Israel was united and worshipping God.

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12Mar/100

Week 10 Day 5 – Caleb, the Unsung Hero

Joshua 14:6-15

Have you ever felt overshadowed by someone else? Even though you have given it your all, done the best you could, remained faithful and full of integrity, someone else has gotten the glory? How do you feel about that person? How do you feel about yourself?

Caleb is a man who could have easily fallen into that category. Back at Kadesh-Barnea he and Joshua stood, side by side, in front of Moses and declared that, despite the giants—the "Anakites" that were in the land—they believed God would deliver the land to the Israelites. Joshua and Caleb...together...equal. But, who gets the big commission? Who gets all the ink and all the credit? Joshua.

Where’s Caleb in all this? He could have been jealous of Joshua and started a rebellion. There was definitely ample opportunity to spark a movement of unrest among the perpetually grumbling Israelites. Yet, He didn’t. Notice how he is described in this chapter. He is 85 years old. He has been a faithful warrior for God, one among the many. Now, after the battle is over, he is as strong as ever. What does he want? Glory, fame, power? No. He just wants to fight for God.

What does God give him? Hebron. To us, Hebron is just a name, but it is so much more than that. Hebron was the highest city in the entire land. Hebron was where Abraham had hung out in the past. Hebron is where David would establish his first capital in later years. But, most importantly, Hebron was where the Anakites lived. Remember the Anakites? They were the giants that everyone feared. When it was time to divvy up the land, Caleb was given Hebron. The Anakites were still there.

Just try to imagine this eighty-five year old man, full of vigor and fervor for the Lord, storming into Hebron and once and for all, in a preview of David vs. Goliath, defeating those giants and establishing Hebron for the Lord. What a glorious day and what a fitting end for a humble hero.

The lesson from Caleb is simple. It doesn’t matter who is in charge and who is getting the "press" in the human realm. The battle belongs to the Lord. Just remain faithful. Keep your eyes fixed on God, not on the approval of men. Stay faithful and strong, and, in the end, you will slay giants.

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11Mar/100

Week 10 Day 4 – The Sun Stands Still

Joshua 10:7-15

This passage has created some of the most heated debate, and has provided some of the best fuel for the skeptic’s attack against the reliability of the Bible. It would benefit us to spend today looking closely at this passage.

Let’s look at this passage in three ways. First, we must look at the physical issues of the Sun standing still in light of our current understanding of physics. Second, we need to look at the theological message of the passage. Third, we need to look at the practical issues of what we can learn from this passage:

Physical Issues:

How powerful is God? Can God do anything? Can God make a boulder so big that He can’t lift it? These kinds of brain teasers have entertained and perplexed theologians for centuries.

In this passage we must ask if God can physically stop the sun. On this side of Copernicus, we know that stopping the sun isn’t even the issue. If the sun stood still in the sky that would mean the earth stopped rotating. Imagine the catastrophic planetary impact that would have.

Could God do it? Sure. Would God do it? We can’t know. It seems like a pretty huge bending of physical laws for a battle that took place on a tiny plot of land with a few hundred men.

Is there another possible explanation?

One alternative explanation makes sense. Remember, this was a hot day in July. It must have been exhausting to chase your enemy across the Palestinian countryside, let alone fight them. God sent a hailstorm to defeat the enemy. Have you ever been in a hailstorm? It is dark and nasty. You can’t see the sun. If it stormed all day and the storm wiped out the enemy, then it would have seemed like the sun never shined at all. The Hebrew term translated stood still can also mean hidden.

Perhaps the "longest day" that saved Joshua was actually a prolongated night. It was a storm that both cooled off the army—a break from the summer heat—and rained soldier-crunching hailstones on the enemy. For an underdog army, that was a double benefit.

Theological Issues:

Any time we read the Bible we must always place ourselves into the perspective of the people to whom the book was written. In our world, when we say "Sun" we think of a big ball of burning gas, called a star, that is one of trillions in the universe, around which our little spherical rock/planet revolves. When we say "moon" we think of a little spherical rock that revolves around our planet and, through gravitational forces, influences the tides of the sea. We think of these as neutral, objective objects in space that have no intrinsic meaning, they simply exist. Not so in the ancient world. For the ancients, the sun and the moon were gods. The sun was the master of the universe, he controlled life and death. He was overseer of all things. The moon, depending upon the individual culture, was sometimes seen as the wife of the sun, that woman who passed through her monthly cycles and gave birth anew each month. The sun and moon were destiny setters, answerable to no man.

Here, as Joshua, the great leader of Yahweh’s army, was leading a day-break assault against the pagan Canaanites, we see a battle of the gods. In the same way that Moses was a conduit of Yahweh’s power over the Egyptian Gods in the plagues of Egypt, so too does Moses demonstrate Yahweh’s power over the Sun and the Moon. At Joshua’s request, the Sun and the Moon are altered and used in favor of Yahweh’s army. This display of power must have completely drained all courage from the hearts of the Canaanites. If their gods were at the beck and call of Joshua’s Yahweh, then what possible chance did they stand of survival?

Practical Issues:

As we have been tracking with the story of the Exodus and the invasion of Canaan we have drawn the analogy to our own hearts. Once again, we can see how God is at work in our battle against the enemy of the sin that has taken residence within us. From this story we can be reminded of one simple truth: God is greater than any "god" that you fear. You may be held captive today by one form of addiction or another. Perhaps you are addicted to alcohol or to sex. Maybe you are addicted to negativity or pessimism. Perhaps you have been chained to bitterness and resentment for so long that you can’t remember what freedom feels like. You have been bowing to this Sun and Moon for too long. Today, as Joshua did, ask God to make the Sun and the Moon serve you. They have no power. God can, and will dethrone them in your life if you will ask Him to do so. He wants to set you free.

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10Mar/100

Week 10 Day 3 – A Tale of Two Cities

Joshua 5:13-7:26

Here’s the devotional thought for today, plain and simple: Sin messes things up! So don’t do it!

God could not have been any clearer to the people. He told them not to take any of the booty from Jericho. The spoils from this victory were to be the firstfruits of Israel’s income from the endeavor God had sent them on. Remember from Exodus that the Israelites were to bring the firstfruits of their harvests to the Lord as an act of sacrifice and faith in God’s provision (Exodus 23:16). For 40 years the people had not planted crops or had an income. The city of Jericho was very symbolic as it represented the firstfruits of the promised blessing that God was fulfilling to His people.

And yet, even with the clarity of instruction, Achan could not resist. When he saw the goods, he knew he had to have it. Perhaps he felt that he deserved it because he had been without for his entire life. Perhaps he thought that God and Joshua would never notice. After all, it was just a trinket in comparison to the vast riches they had just acquired. Whatever his thoughts and rationalizations, the fact remains that Achan blew it and the nation suffered.

As modern, individualistic people, we tend to see the sin of Achan and apply it to our own personal lives. It becomes clear to us that if we get greedy and disobey God, then we will suffer the consequences. While that is a valid application point from this story, there is another that is perhaps deeper and broader. The sin of Achan affected the entire nation, even to the point where 36 innocent men died in battle. As Christians we need to reconnect to the reality that we are parts of the body of Christ. We do not live in a vacuum where our sins affect only us. Just like in the human body, when one cell turns cancerous, it begins to destroy the cells around it.

God knew that sinful attitudes are like a cancer in the collective body of His people. The story of Achan demonstrates that a cancerous cell must be dealt with quickly and decisively for the sake of the health of the body.

The next time you are tempted to give in to your cherished sin again, stop and think about all the other people in your church community. Realize that by committing that sin you are disrupting the flow in your relationship with God. When your flow gets disrupted you will stop overflowing onto others and will become disconnected. This can lead to a cascade failure and destroy a community. If you are in the moment of temptation and feel yourself giving in, reach out to God and reach out to a trusted brother or sister in the church and ask them to give you the strength to turn away and get reconnected to the flow of God. If you have committed a sin that you know is eating at your heart and jeopardizing the collective health of the body, first confess it to God, then confess it to a member of the community. Repent from it. Turn away. The worst thing you can do in that situation is to hide from others because of shame. Bring it into the light, let the fire of God’s truth burn it out, and let the balm of God’s Spirit heal it up.

Don’t just do it for your own sake, do it for the sake of the community. You are not alone.

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9Mar/100

Week 10 Day 2 – The BE Complex

Joshua 1:6-9

I’m no military strategist, but I have a sneaking suspicion that when generals are preparing for battle there are certain processes and checklists that they employ. They probably send out intelligence agents to study the enemy. They count the troops to determine their strength on land, sea, and air. They study strategies of great generals before them to determine the most effective tactic to defeat the foe. This kind of planning just makes sense.

Let’s broaden our perspective on this discussion and see how the same principles apply in many areas of life. When a person is making a career change, she will do her homework, strategize, leverage her resume, outsmart the competition, etc. In something as simple as planning a vacation, we tend to look at the task at hand and map out the best approach to the project.

Joshua was a man who was facing a very daunting task. He was supposed to lead a group of second-generation freed slaves, who have been living a nomadic existence for 40 years, into the land of Canaan to fight against well-trained, well-fortified "giants." The wisest general, as we have already suggested, would have spent this preparation time in strategy sessions. Yet, God pulls a reversal on Joshua. God tells Joshua that, if he wants to be successful, (and who wouldn’t) he is to not spend his time on strategizing, but to spend his time on Prayer and Meditation. God did not tell Joshua what he was to do, he told him how to be.

He said...

BE strong

BE courageous

BE obedient

How could Joshua be strong and courageous in these circumstances? His strength and courage came from the knowledge that God had ordained this attack. Joshua was not being called upon to be a great leader. He was being called upon to be a great follower. God was leading this army. God was going ahead of them to drive out the Canaanites. All Israel had to do was to believe, obey, and follow.

The key to Joshua’s strength and courage was in his obedience. If Joshua would focus his energy on the Law of God, meditate on it daily, keep it in the forefront of his mind and speech (not letting it depart from his mouth), then He would be in tune with the will, heart, and mind of God and would have the strength and courage to do the things that God asked him to do.

Once again, we run right into the overflow principle. If Joshua would detach himself from the task of leading an army and graft himself into authentic fellowship with God through the disciplines of study, prayer, and meditation, then the fruit (or the overflow) of Joshua’s life would be a "success" because it would be orchestrated by God Himself.

Too many times we rush into a venture that we have planned, using our own strength and "wisdom." After noodling it out in our own steam, we then offer it up to God and say, "bless this." Let’s shift our focus. Let’s join with Joshua in his formula for success. Let’s remember that we are called to follow God’s agenda for His Kingdom. Even if we are "leaders" in the church, we are called to simply follow. Let’s let our strength and courage be the result of knowing the mind and heart of God so well that He is naturally flowing through our lives.

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18Oct/090

Message from Joshua 2 – God Loves Prostitutes

This is the manuscript of a Sermon I preached at Good Shepherd Covenant church on October 18, 2009.

Joshua chapter 2.

It’s dark in here. These flax stalks are poking me.
I can’t believe we are in this situation. Why did she hide us in here anyway? Maybe she didn’t want us to see when the guards come and drive their spears through our bodies.
She told us to lie here and wait. I hate waiting.
Let’s assess the situation.
We were camped out in Shittim. Joshua told the two of us to swim across the river and scope out the land. Especially this city – Jericho.
It was easy enough to get through the city gates, but we knew it wouldn’t be long before people recognized that we were not from around here.
That’s when we saw her. The prostitute. For the record, it was my partner’s idea to follow her. I thought he was crazy, but people were starting to talk around us and I knew we had to act fast.
When we approached her, she didn’t even flinch. She just invited us in to her house. I suppose that makes sense. She’s used to letting strange men into her house all the time. Filthy.
A prostitute. Can you believe it. I just hope no one caught this on tape. If that video ever got on YouTube, my life would be destroyed. Can you imagine? They would definitely throw me out of the club. And, what would I tell my mother? She would never understand.
But, here I am, hidden under these flax stalks. My fate in the hands of Rahab, the prostitute.
At first she seemed a little disappointed that we weren’t here on business, but when she heard who we are, she changed. Her face got really serious. Just then some men started pounding on the door. The guards.
She hid us up here, and now we wait.
Shhh. Someone’s coming.
It’s Rahab. She’s telling us to come out. The coast is clear.
She lied to the guards and told them that we had already left and sent them on a wild goose chase after us.
Now she tells us that she believes that our God is the true God and that the whole city of Jericho is melting with fear. They heard how God delivered my people from Egypt and they are afraid that we will be able to destroy them as well.
Now she’s stepping over the line. She’s actually asking me to make a covenant with her. A trade. Our lives for her family’s life. If she let’s us free, then we have to promise to spare her and her family when we invade the city.
Could this situation get any worse? Not only am I in the house of a prostitute, but now I’m making a deal with one? What choice do I have?
We make the deal and I tell her that, on the day we invade, if she hangs this red rope in the window, then anyone who is inside her house will be spared.
She agrees and lets us climb out of her window and we head for the cliffs and hide in the caves.
For three days we wait and then we head back to camp.
I was surprised, but Joshua honored the agreement we made with the prostitute Rahab.

That is the story of Joshua 2.

It’s good to be back with you again.
When Hollis called and told me that he was going to be at a conference and asked if I would be willing to fill in for him I was glad to do it.

He told me that you are studying the first part of Joshua because you are moving into new territory as a church. I think that’s great.

On one hand, it makes sense.
Israel was moving from the desert and heading into Canaan. They were faced with many unknowns. The land was filled with people, fortified cities, and warriors. How would they be able to do it?

There are some great lessons to learn from this passage. It speaks of God’s faithfulness and the people’s obedience.

On the other hand, there are some problems.
If you’ve studied this part of Israel’s history before, perhaps you’ve noticed these things as well.
From where we stand, on this side of Jesus’ life, and his teaching about love and peace and forgiveness, the Old Testament looks like a tale of brutality and bloodshed, and immorality.

First, let’s look back at Deuteronomy 7:1-6, and find the instructions that Moses gave to the people about entering the land.

When the LORD your God brings you into the land you are entering to possess and drives out before you many nations—the Hittites, Girgashites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites, seven nations larger and stronger than you— 2 and when the LORD your God has delivered them over to you and you have defeated them, then you must destroy them totally. Make no treaty with them, and show them no mercy. 3 Do not intermarry with them. Do not give your daughters to their sons or take their daughters for your sons, 4 for they will turn your sons away from following me to serve other gods, and the LORD’s anger will burn against you and will quickly destroy you. 5 This is what you are to do to them: Break down their altars, smash their sacred stones, cut down their Asherah poles and burn their idols in the fire. 6 For you are a people holy to the LORD your God. The LORD your God has chosen you out of all the peoples on the face of the earth to be his people, his treasured possession.

In the law, God told them not to kill.
But here he tells them to go in and kill everyone. How is this possible?
How can this be the same God that would send Jesus to teach us to love our enemies and pray for those who curse us.
In our world, we call this genocide.

Then, there is a second problem with this passage. It’s Rahab. I have two problems with Rahab.
First, God specifically said to not spare any of them and to not make a covenant with any of them. What’s the first thing they do? They make a covenant.

And with whom do they make the covenant?

This is my second problem. They make the deal with a prostitute. What’s up with that?

This issue has plagued Bible students for centuries.
Some have said that the Old Testament should be thrown out all together.
Some have claimed that the god of the Old Testament is actually a different God than the one Jesus called Father.
Before we look at this passage, I thought it might be helpful to adjust our lenses and learn a little bit about how to approach the Old Testament.

When you study the big picture of God’s dealings with the people in Scripture, there is one phrase that summarizes it. One phrase that tells us how God deals with us.

God meets us where we are, and then pulls us forward.
Geography
God meets us in a physical space. In our geography. Yes, geography does matter.

When I was a kid, growing up in Sunday School,
I remember hearing the stories of the Old Testament and thinking they were bigger than life.
I’m not sure what it was about these stories. Maybe it was the flannel board that the teacher used to stick the paper characters to.
Perhaps that board seemed like magic to me. It was a window into a cosmic reality that represented all of life.

The Plagues of Egypt.
Moses parting the Red Sea.
The Ten Commandments on Mt. Sinai.
The Walls of Jericho crashing down at the sound of the trumpet.

When we read these stories it is easy to exaggerate them in our imagination.

As odd as this may sound, it is important that we bring these stories down to size a little bit.

In this passage we see that the tribes of Israel are encamped in a village named Shittim. This is on the east side of the Jordan River. Joshua sends two spies out to scope out the city of Jericho.

Let’s match this to something we know. If the city of Shittim were right here, where Good Shepherd sits, the entire city would be about the size of the Good Shepherd campus combined with Blaine High School next door. That’s it.

Now, in relation to this city of Shittim/Good Shepherd/Blaine, the city of Jericho would be downtown Anoka. Both in distance from here and in total size.

Let’s zoom out a little further. All the great stories of the Bible from the time of the Exodus, all through the Judges, and the Kings, take place on a plot of land stretching from Egypt up to the sea of Galillee.

To put those places and distances into something familiar to us, think of LaCrosse Wisconsin as Egypt. To travel from Egypt to the sea of Galilee would be like going from La Crosse to St. cloud.

We’re talking about 180 miles of land. Zoom out further and look at that in regard to the entire planet. That is just a speck.
At the time of this story there were giant, thriving civilizations all over the planet. Massive dynasties had risen and fallen in China. Philosophers were thinking great thoughts in southern Europe. Civilizations were developing in North, Central, and South America. None of which had any knowledge of Israel, or Egypt.

Think back to the founding father of the Old Testament story, Abraham. When Abraham had his first encounter with God, the pyramids in Egypt were already ancient.

That begs the question.
How did God deal with people before Abraham?
How did God deal with the Chinese?
How did God deal with the Native Americans?
Were all those millions and millions of people condemned to Hell because they lived before Abraham?

That’s not a question we are going to answer in this message, but it is one that helps us to frame the Old Testament.

Here’s what we learn from the geography.
This is not a global story.
This is an Abraham story.
God made a promise to Abraham, and God was faithful to the promise He made to Abraham. He told him that he would make his descendents into a great nation, and he did.

The story of Joshua is a continuation of the story of God’s faithfulness to his promises.

God also meets us in another place. He meets us in our Theology.
Wait a minute. That doesn’t make sense. How can God meet us in our theology? I thought theology was the correct understanding of God.

Actually, theology is our description of God, based on what we know. And our understanding and knowledge base is constantly growing.
Back in the days of Joshua, everyone believed that the world was flat, that the sun, moon, and stars existed in the same space as the clouds, and that the gods lived on the mountains and in the rivers.
That was the Theology of the day, even for the Israelites.

Today, we know that the universe isn’t like that, so our theology has adapted to our knowledge, and we talk about God in a very different way than they did back then.

God meets us where we are, then pulls us forward.

In that day the people believed that the gods lived on the mountains, or in the sea. So, where does he show up to bring the law? On a mountain. Had he done anything else, the people wouldn’t have recognized it as God.

The tribes and people of Canaan were warriors. They fought and killed each other all the time. It was the accepted theology of the day that each city had a god that ruled over that city. When the people warred against each other it was really a battle of the Gods.

My god’s bigger than your god.

As brutal and savage as it may seem to us, it was the way things were back then. That doesn’t make it right, it just was how it was.

So, God revealed himself to them in a way that they could understand and dealt with them at that level.

Not only does God meet us in our understanding of Him, he also meets us in our understanding of ourself – in our identity.
Let’s look to see how this plays out in everyday life. With children.
I have four children, and none of them are alike. They each have a different personality, and a different idea about who they are.

Let’s say you are a parent and you have two children.
One of your children is incredibly outgoing and has a big mouth. She isn’t afraid to talk to anyone. When she meets a stranger she rushes right up to them and starts airing all your family’s dirty laundry.

Your other child is just the opposite. He is extremely shy and won’t look anyone in the eye. He feels like he is invisible and no one would want to talk to him anyway.

Where she exudes confidence and is overbearing, he lacks confidence and is timid.

How do you train these kids? What kind of instructions do you give them about meeting new people?

Is it the same? No, it isn’t.

To the one, you tell her to watch her mouth, slow down, think first, and be polite.

Do you have to tell those things to the other one? No. Just the opposite. You have to push him toward the people and tell him to get aggressive.

God is like that with His children. He has different instructions for different kinds of people and for different kinds of nations.

This is where we run into a lot of problems when we try to interpret the Old Testament today.

Who were the children of Israel in the story of Joshua?
They were a beaten down people. For the last 400 years they had been enslaved in Egypt. Slaves.

We know a little bit about this in our country.
How long were African people enslaved by Europeans in America? 400 years.

That is a really long time. That is twice as long as the United States has been a country.

What do you think happens to a people group after they have been enslaved for that long? What happens to their sense of identity and their place in the world?

It is crushed. They feel helpless. After that long, they feel like it is their only possible place to be. They are beaten and oppressed. They need to be delivered from the hands of the Empire that has beaten them down.

They need to be taught that they are valid human beings, loved by God, and they need to be empowered to stand up for equality.

When we read the Old Testament, we need to think of Israel in these terms. They were the beaten and oppressed, not the mighty nation.

What kind of instructions does God give to a nation that has no idea how to be anything other than servants to a massive empire?
He gives them laws to govern their every action, because they don’t know how to behave in a healthy way.
He tells them to have courage and to go to war against Canaan, because all they have ever known is defeat.

It is through those lenses that we must read the story of Exodus and Joshua.

God meets us where we are. They were oppressed and needed empowerment.

At this point we need to stop and take a reality check.
The United States is not Israel.
The United States is not God’s chosen people.
Also, the United States is not an oppressed nation.
Perhaps, when the country was founded, and we were 13 colonies under the hand of a tyrant, we were a little bit more like Israel was.

But we aren’t today.

If you were to choose who we were in the story of the Exodus, we would be Egypt.

The message to Joshua and his people was a message to a young and weak nation.
Later on, when Israel grew in strength and power, and became a strong nation under David and Solomon, the message from God changed. He started to warn them about abusing their power.

The reason I bring all of this up is because I have heard a lot of Christians use the Exodus story to justify a holy war today. As if killing our enemies was what God wants us to do.

We are not Israel.
We are not the oppressed people.
God met them in that place, and pushed them. We are not in that place.
Regarding Rahab
Hopefully, that crash course in Old Testament interpretation will be helpful for you as you read the rich stories of God’s dealing with Israel throughout history.

But, it leaves us with a big question.

So, where is the message for us, today?
Here we sit, the wealthiest nation on the planet.
The majority of us in this room sit in the highest place of privilege.
We are white, middle to upper middle class Protestants.
We are the Empire and people are banging on our doors trying to take away what we have, or what we think we have.

How should we respond, and what does the book of Joshua have to teach us?

In Joshua chapter 2, there is an important message found in one word, Rahab.

God meets us where we are, and then pulls us forward.

Have you ever noticed that God is in the business of making rules and then breaking His own rules?
Look again at Deuteronomy 7. He said,
Make no treaty with them, and show them no mercy. 3 Do not intermarry with them.

In the very first city they encounter, before they even attack. What does he do? He makes a treaty with Rahab!
Joshua 2:12 (NIV)
12 Now then, please swear to me by the LORD that you will show kindness to my family, because I have shown kindness to you. Give me a sure sign

Not only do they make a treaty with her, but they obviously intermarried with her. Turn to Matthew chapter 1.
This is the geneology of Jesus. It starts with Abraham, goes to David, then ends with Jesus. Look who’s listed in verse 5. Rahab.

God didn’t just break a rule and let it slide under the radar. He broke a rule, big time, and posted it in his son’s geneology so that no one would ever forget.

Now, here’s the really scandalous thing. Rahab was a prostitute.

Let me ask you this question. If you were one of the two spies, would you have gone into the house? What would people think? Guilt by association, right? I mean, a godly, upstanding citizen would never lower oneself to muck around in the mire of such lowliness and sin.

God meets us where we are, then pulls us forward.

That’s what Jesus did all the time.
Jesus took a cup of water from a Samaritan woman. She was a half-breed, divorcee, who was currently living with a man, on the wrong side of the tracks. The conversation itself made Jesus unclean in the eyes of God’s people.

Jesus touched the leper, and in so doing made himself unclean.

Jesus ate meals with tax-collectors, thus becoming unclean.

Jesus worked on the Sabbath, thus making him a law breaker, and unclean.

One of Jesus’ closest disciples was a prostitute.

God loves prostitutes.

I heard a Bible Teacher named Tony Campolo tell this story.

(Although I've heard story many places, I copied this text from http://www.swapmeetdave.com/Bible/Agnes.htm)

A few years ago Tony flew to Hawaii to speak at a conference. The way he tells it, he checks into his hotel and tries to get some sleep. Unfortunately, his internal clock wakes him at 3:00 a.m. The night is dark, the streets are silent, the world is asleep, but Tony is wide awake and his stomach is growling.
He gets up and prowls the streets looking for a place to get some bacon and eggs for an early breakfast. Everything is closed except for a grungy dive in an alley. He goes in and sits down at the counter. The fat guy behind the counter comes over and asks, "What d'ya want?"
Well, Tony isn't so hungry anymore so eying some donuts under a plastic cover he says, "I'll have a donut and black coffee."
As he sits there munching on his donut and sipping his coffee at 3:30, in walk eight or nine provocative, loud prostitutes just finished with their night's work. They plop down at the counter and Tony finds himself uncomfortably surrounded by this group of smoking, swearing hookers. He gulps his coffee, planning to make a quick getaway. Then the woman next to him says to her friend, "You know what? Tomorrow's my birthday. I'm gonna be 39." To which her friend nastily replies, "So what d'ya want from me? A birthday party? Huh? You want me to get a cake, and sing happy birthday to you?"
The first woman says, "Aw, come on, why do you have to be so mean? Why do you have to put me down? I'm just sayin' it's my birthday. I don't want anything from you. I mean, why should I have a birthday party? I've never had a birthday party in my whole life. Why should I have one now?"
Well, when Tony Campolo heard that, he said he made a decision. He sat and waited until the women left, and then he asked the fat guy at the counter, "Do they come in here every night?"
"Yeah," he answered.
"The one right next to me," he asked, "she comes in every night?"
"Yeah," he said, "that's Agnes. Yeah, she's here every night. She's been comin' here for years. Why do you want to know?"
"Because she just said that tomorrow is her birthday. What do you think? Do you think we could maybe throw a little birthday party for her right here in the diner?"
A cute kind of smile crept over the fat man's chubby cheeks. "That's great," he says, "yeah, that's great. I like it." He turns to the kitchen and shouts to his wife, "Hey, come on out here. This guy's got a great idea. Tomorrow is Agnes' birthday and he wants to throw a party for her right here."
His wife comes out. "That's terrific," she says. "You know, Agnes is really nice. She's always trying to help other people and nobody does anything nice for her."
So they make their plans. Tony says he'll be back at 2:30 the next morning with some decorations and the man, whose name turns out to be Harry, says he'll make a cake.
At 2:30 the next morning, Tony is back. He has crepe paper and other decorations and a sign made of big pieces of cardboard that says, "Happy Birthday, Agnes!" They decorate the place from one end to the other and get it looking great. Harry had gotten the word out on the streets about the party and by 3:15 it seemed that every prostitute in Honolulu was in the place. There were hookers wall to wall.
At 3:30 on the dot, the door swings open and in walks Agnes and her friend. Tony has everybody ready. They all shout and scream "Happy Birthday, Agnes!" Agnes is absolutely flabbergasted. She's stunned, her mouth falls open, her knees started to buckle, and she almost falls over.
And when the birthday cake with all the candles is carried out, that's when she totally loses it. Now she's sobbing and crying. Harry, who's not used to seeing a prostitute cry, gruffly mumbles, "Blow out the candles, Agnes. Cut the cake."
So she pulls herself together and blows them out. Everyone cheers and yells, "Cut the cake, Agnes, cut the cake!"
But Agnes looks down at the cake and, without taking her eyes off it, slowly and softly says, "Look, Harry, is it all right with you if...I mean, if I don't...I mean, what I want to ask, is it OK if I keep the cake a little while? Is it all right if we don't eat it right away?"
Harry doesn't know what to say so he shrugs and says, "Sure, if that's what you want to do. Keep the cake. Take it home if you want."
"Oh, could I?" she asks. Looking at Tony she says, "I live just down the street a couple of doors; I want to take the cake home, is that okay? I'll be right back, honest."
She gets off her stool, picks up the cake, and carries it high in front of her like it was the Holy Grail. Everybody watches in stunned silence and when the door closes behind her, nobody seems to know what to do. They look at each other. They look at Tony.
So Tony gets up on a chair and says, "What do you say that we pray together?"
And there they are in a hole-in-the-wall greasy spoon, half the prostitutes in Honolulu, at 3:30 a.m. listening to Tony Campolo as he prays for Agnes, for her life, her health, and her salvation. Tony recalls, "I prayed that her life would be changed, and that God would be good to her."
When he's finished, Harry leans over, and with a trace of hostility in his voice, he says, "Hey, you never told me you was a preacher. What kind of church do you belong to anyway?"
In one of those moments when just the right words came, Tony answers him quietly, "I belong to a church that throws birthday parties for prostitutes at 3:30 in the morning."
Harry thinks for a moment, and in a mocking way says, "No you don't. There ain't no church like that. If there was, I'd join it. Yep, I'd join a church like that."

What kind of Church is Good Shepherd Covenant Church? I honestly don’t know, so I don’t ask the question with any accusation or hidden agenda. I simply ask.

Are you a church that has fallen into the mindset of the Empire. Do you see yourself as the protectors of all that is good and right and try to keep the corruption of the world at bay?

Or, are you a church on an adventure with God? Are you a church that follows the rule breaking pattern of God and reaches out to the people outside the boundaries?

God is a loving God. He meets us where we are, and then he pulls us forward.
He meets the oppressed and beaten people, who function out of the fear of being beaten further down and gives them courage to speak out and fight for what is right.

He meets the powerful people who operate out of the fear of losing their power and comfort, and gives them the courage to open up and touch the unclean.

Where are you today? God wants to meet you there and pull you closer to Him.

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