sword

David was the pinnacle godly king in Israel's glory years. Solomon may have been flashier and smarter, but David embodied the full-on love of God while he aggressive led the nation to worship or war.

David was a passionate man. And when he should have been off to war his passions failed him with a glance. When he normally would have been "in the game" he was at home, on his roof, missing the action. His glance? Downward to a rooftop nearby where a young woman was bathing. Passion flares, David engages, the king is obeyed, pregnancy is discovered a couple weeks later. 

David called the husband home, Uriah the Hittite (yes a foreigner!). He is a warrior of the highest caliber, totally dedicated to his king, his unit and the cause. He will not enjoy his wife until all his mates have returned. David's plan is thwarted, a new one hatches in the dark. 

The letter Uriah takes back carries his doom. "Attack with Uriah in the front," it read, "then pull back from him." The order is followed, Uriah is killed in the battle, his wife mourns, finally after the appropriate time David "graciously" brings Bathsheba into the palace to join his harem. Problem solved.

Not really. God was watching and was displeased. God pulled away from David. David sensed the loss, but felt like it would be best for the world to just move along. Avoid the embarrassment.

Then Nathan, a trusted prophet, confronted David, saying "Why did you despise the word of the Lord by doing what is evil in his eyes? You struck down Uriah the Hittite with the sword and took his wife to be your own." I Samuel 12:9 a,b. 

WAIT a minute there, Nathan! David at no time handled a sword! David did no killing this time! How can you pin this on David? How can God be so wrong? 

And that my friends, is where we get it wrong. All of those self-justifying statements are technically true but factually a lie. The reality is in the last line of the verse: "You killed him with the sword of the Ammonites." I Samuel 12:9c. David is held to a personal accountability for the deceitful way he used the position Uriah was in. His coverup led to a valient story for Uriah's memory, but was a lie straight from the evil heart of David. There was enough plausible deniability for the plan to work, except for Nathan. 

We live in a world that really doesn't believe the simple truth of the Word. Many "christians" ignore the plain reality of the social calls in Scriptures, writing them off to archaic times, or bad translations, or whatever. None of it fools God. And those who know better keep their mouths shut in order to keep the peace. How foolish! What a road to hell this is. To stand quiet is to use the sword of the media to kill the souls of misguided believers. 

Here's my point: You and I are accountable to God who sees everything. All the good David did in his life didn't matter at this one point. God wants our best, he wanted David sexually happy so he gave him a wife, then allowed wives according to the custom. God saw David's heart and gave him a kingdom. God knows that certain actions bring irrepairable harm to relationships and tried to give us the rules of interpersonal engagement. God created shalom. That's why he is so angry when we screw it up.

And it really peaves hiim when we try to pass it off on someone else. 

The Ammonites were simply the tool David used to commit murder to cover his adulterous night. Don't do the same with your sins, friend. Flee from the temptation to what God has already given you to satisfy that urge. Then you will save yourself a world of trouble from a God who sees all, and wants the shalom he offers to be a core of your being.

fame

How does one handle sudden fame? 

Generally, sudden fame is not handled well. Super star failures are the norm, millions of dollars do not make up for significant moral weaknesses. How many musicians have commited suicide at age 27, stunning the world's admirers but fooling no one. 

For this blogger, Kurt Cobain was a train wreck waiting to happen. He led the Grunge movement out of the northwest, a movement dedicated to the leveling of life with their clothes, lifestyle and words. His music lashed out at the dollar driven world and advocated that the best life was one unshackled from materialism. Cobain became a hit, was given millions of dollars, then fell into a deep despair because of the tear between he believed and what life gave him. He chose neither and instead tried to live in the gap between. The lostness was overwhelming until he killed himself. He is much like King Saul, the first of the Isrealite kings.

In contrast, a young man with a clear foundation for life's troubles arose with the blessing of both God and men. He was the youngest in a large family, was left to do the simplest jobs, and really wasn't expected to amount to much. His older brothers discounted his small stature and devotion to God as unmanly. The blessing of God was on the big, strong warmonger Saul, wasn't it?

Samuel the prophet  was pleased when God spoke about a new king to replace the egomaniac that Saul had become. Samuel was stunned that God was about to leave the conventional wisdom behiind to choose the shepherd with spunk. God said not to look on the outward appearances, because He looked at the heart for his choice. David arrives, smallish but handsome, well worn by the elements and smelling of the combination of sheep and hillside. David is chosen, anointed, will be king. 

I believe Saul, like Cobain, was a humble man at the start of his career. I also believe that they both were trapped in the chasm between expectation and reality. When they tried to mold reality to fit their expectation they failed and lost hope. Saul becomes paranoid and sees himself as a savior, dying on a hill with his sons. Cobain dies of suicide amid a pile of cash he did not want or believe he earned honestly. David rises because he can go to God in the pit, or praise God violently on the mountaintop. 

So, how do you handle sudden fame? How would you want to handle sudden fame?

pastors

This post is solely concerned with Samuel's promise to the people in I Samuel 12:20-25. He pledges to pray for the people and to teach them. That's it. 

Let's not get beyond ourselves with analysis of this statement or the circumstances that surround the event. Context is important. So is the historical movement. Not to mention the spiritual quake shaking the flow of God's desire. No, instead I want to take a quick look at Samuel's conclusion of his prime duties in his last years of life as the pastor of the flock known as Israel.

I will pray for you.

I will teach you.

What a simple job description! What a horrible burden on the people! 

Samuel had learned that leadership is hard. Families are difficult. People are constantly failing your expectations. Samuel learned that he could not save anyone, but that each could come to a point of personally being right with God. He took that terrible burden off himself and placed it where it should be for every man who represents Jesus Christ: on those who hear.

I will pray for you. Our intersessions with God for others make a bit difference in the spiritual flow of life. It is a key to the position and should never be cheated.

I will teach you. This is the Word, and this is the plain meaning of the Word. Now do it! This is not easy in a charisma oriented media flashy mushy doctrine world. But that is what Samuel promised to do for the people. 

The rest is gravy, pastors. All the rest of it is secondary: business skills, oratory excellence, size or age of the congregation, even the degrees you can earn. Your denomination and theology are almost nothing in the heavenly sphere. All of this gets in the way of prayer and teaching. 

So pastors, do yourself a favor: stop whatever you are doing now and spend a half hour with a pad and a pen. Listen to God and let him tell you the people with concerns that need your intervention. What would God say to them? How do you know from God's Word? Then after that half hour, teach what you have learned that others will come closer to the Lord and known that He has spoken. Do this in a spirit of humilty and grace. But do it, and make it a habit to merge the two practices of prayer and teaching. 

Oh, and what if you spend a half hour and nothing comes? Then perhaps you need to spend more half hours until you once again recognize the voice of God leading you. 

government

God laid out the absolute need for personal salvation through a series of historical failures. He built his case by giving man the opportunity to try every human option available in order to witness the senseless destruction of their ideal. Man to this day reasons that man alone is the source of our salvation, except for those who have come to know the final solution to man's guilt does not originate from man to God, but instead is from God for man.

The ideal of personal perfection failed in the Garden of Eden: two perfect people in a perfect locale with perfect lives still disobeyed a simple direction. Personal perfection will not bring the salvation of man.

The idea of sacrifice being sufficient was destroyed when Cain killed his brother Abel.

The idea of the "collective" leading to salvation was scattered at the Tower of Babel.

The idea of total freedom was shut down before the flood.

The idea of the "fresh start" died with Noah, and Abraham, and Moses, and . . .

The idea of a perfect Law didn't even make it down Mt. Sinai the first time.

The idea of the military salvation died with Joshua.

The idea of the charismatic leader died with Samson.

The idea of the prophet slipped away with Samuel, who spoke God's Word as he anointed the next historical attempt at man's salvation: a king.

"Do not be afraid, Samuel replied, You have done all this evil; yet do not turn away from the Lord, but serve the Lord with all you heart. 

"Do not turn away after useless idols. They can do you no good, nor can they rescue you, because they are useless.

"For the sake of his great name the Lord will not reject his people, because the Lord was pleased to make you his own. As for me, far be it from me that I should sin against the Lord by failing to pray for you. 

"And I will teach you the way that is good and right. 

"But be sure to fear the Lord and serve him faithfully with all your heart; consiser what great things he has done for you. Yet if you persist in doing evil, both you and your king will perish."

I Samuel 12:20-25

You: Face the Lord and serve Him. Do not turn to idols.

The Lord: Will not reject his people, you are still His own.

Samuel (God's representative): Will pray for you and teach you.

Man's government, here represented by a king, is a concession to man by God. Men have sought to put a distance between the Holy and the inward sin that gnaws at us all. All these major attempts to soothe that gnawing failed to provide the shalom of soul the person desired. There are too many trials and failures recorded in the Scriptures to make specific note of them all. The great themes are above and man made a joke of them all. 

(Today the idea is that money and technology will be the salvation of man is considered the new hope in medicine, personal happiness, and government. We will be satisfied when our technology serves us perfectly. However the idea of technology dies with the dream of every scientist who watches their invention for good become twisted into terror very quickly. Just ask Mr. Nobel, or Solomon with his "chariots for peace" program.)

So what can we apply to our lives from the introduction of the idea that government is our savior, here in the form of an anointed king? 

1. As individuals trusted in the judgement of the king they were much less likely to attend to their personal condition. The king is our representative of God, both ways, so follow the dictates of the king no matter if it aligns with God's word or not. People turned to the king as an idol instead of to their own alignment with God. Learn the lesson of personal devotion to God, His Law and His Savior: Jesus.

2. The king is a man. Unless he attends to the Lord as a servant he will govern as a man above the law. We cannot trust any person in government to be a savior, or perfect, or particularly wise unless they are willing to submit to God and His revealed Word. Always hold a healthy mis-trust of the ones in power over you, especially when they direct against the clear teaching of that Word.

3. Charisma, media savvy, politics, fine speeches, political machines, political parties, and even most legislation is a false sense of security for choosing the right persons to lead other people. The only quality that works for the people's benefit is that the government be founded on the truth revealed in God's Word - the people chosen and the work they do to govern. All of man's efforts to work the system are dangerous at least and fatal at worst. Do not believe anything that comes from a person's mouth seeking office. Only believe what his actions reveal about his heart's direction in life.

Finally, if you want to see the results of centuries of men leading government and the testing of these ramblings just read through I & II Samuel, I & II Kings and I & II Chronicles. One last note: Solomon's journey through life was documented in three books of his thoughts: Song of Songs when he was young and newly lifted to royalty; Proverbs which reveals his thoughts as a mature leader; and Ecclesiastes which are his thoughts as the well worn life expert. Enjoy!

foreigner

Jews Elimelek and Naomi left their home near Bethlehem and traveled East to Moab. They were hungry. Moab had food. Easy choice. Now they were foreigners but fed. 

Their two sons grew to age and married local women. Local women bring local gods and customs. Local women change foreign men to conform to local gods and customs. Slowly, surely, change.

Elimelek dies. Ten years slip by and the two sons die. Bethlehem's harvests return. Naomi is left with two foreign women as daughters-in-law and no desire to stay near the death of her family. She wants to return to the known: her God and her customs. The story of devotion is well known for Ruth chooses to follow Naomi. 

Somehow, Ruth sees in Naomi something of intrinsic value: faith. The Moabite gods instill fear, Naomi's God shows love. Ruth wants to live in that glow even if it means she will be the forever outsider.

Here is where the story veers sharply for a striking reason: God needs this foreigner in the line of Christ. This Ruth has royal blood and has no clue it exists. Her eventual husband, Boaz, has royal blood without a clue either. This couple plays out a drama that is as old as time: odd couple finds attraction in mutual helping, fall in love and have a child. But God has different plans for this pairing. King David will shepherd the descendents of the sheep of Boaz, probably on the same fields that brought Ruth into the family.

How often do we misinterpret the daily events of our life as ordinary? We forget the simple moments of love, attention and joy in our Lord, never wondering if God might have something deeper going on! 

Naomi missed those clues, in her loss she renames herself "Bitter". But God has a name for her at this time as well, "Blessed". It is good that she opens up to the possibility of hope in the customs of the Jews regarding the kinsman-redeemer to coach Ruth on the path to Boaz. Naomi had lost much in her life during the stay in Moab. She did not forget her faith in a God who did amazing things for women. Naomi is restored as Ruth is joined to Boaz and the grandchildren denied to her in Moab arrive. 

What do you make of this? Do you view your life from the narrow, selfish perspective of me, myself and I? Open your eyes to the miracle of faith in a foreign land, for this is what we are: foreigners and strangers in a foreign and strange land. Show faith, hope and love to those in your sphere of influence and perhaps there will be a king or queen that comes from the moment. If not, there will be a story to share in heaven that perhaps you had forgotten about on earth. To someone it may have made an eternal difference.

Gotcha Day?

Grinch here. 

There seems to be a trend of celebrating "Gotcha Day" with adoptive families. That's the day of the introduction of a new child to their "forever family". I suppose its a day that is meant to be filled with promise and joy.

Well it may be for the adoptive family, but how can it be seen the same way by the child? 

Adoption may be beautiful in the big picture. Onlookers see it as such. That poor child, can't stay with their parents and have to be placed with the next set of parents... 

Let's face it, children placed in adoptive families are often birthed to dysfunctional parents who may or may not be involved in the life of the child ever again. Each child has their own story, even within sibling groups. And rarely are the stories clean. 

From the child's viewpoint the parent(s) they have known are no more. Yes, the pain of living with them may be gone, but still constant dysfunction is their normal. Peace and quiet without threat is so out of the ordinary that many create chaos so that the situation feels right! The child's environment changes drastically. The child's food changes drastically. The attention the child gets changes drastically. The physical attention the child receives changes drastically. The language, tone and force of the voices used to communicate with them changes drastically. Gotcha day can only bring back those memories and cause a key question I've heard: "Just how bad were my birth parents?"

Gotcha Day is a nightmare from a child's perspective. 

That's why we don't, and won't, emphasize the day of adoption. We will celebrate the day of birth, for that is a day that was blessed regardless of condition. It is the day that God saw fit to bring a new life to fruition. That was a day God smiled with a tear of knowing that the short term pain would end in a much better place than the child was born into. That was a day filled with wonder and joy in the heavens because this was a new opportunity to love.

And we are the beneficiaries of that blessing, entrusted to us to love, nurture and guide as best we can. But I cannot imagine celebrating the horrible disruption that causes a child to be placed forever away from its birth parents.  Told ya, total grinch today.

generations

It has long been observed that family businesses rarely survive the third generation. One multi-national company I'm well acquainted with followed that pattern very closely. The founder was one who liked the work, liked to innovate but most of all enjoyed the product. It was his great fortune to create what many others around the world appreciated enough to pay top dollar to own. His fortune was a joy to share. The Lord had helped him with his business so he praised God, supported the church universal and humbly served his Lord. Generation One.

His son loved the business, and loved to see it go well. He loved guiding the business to greater heights. His wife loved the fortune with frequent shopping trips to famous expensive locations around the world. She did not like the town or the people in the town where the business was located. She did not like the Lord or his Word. But because that town was the source of their income, she participated in the life of the community, led good works projects and became respected for her philanthropy. Many wanted to emulate her. Many despised her. Generation Two.

The grandchildren hated the discipline of work, grew to see business as a necessary evil to gain the money to establish their lifestyle and finally threw off the pretense of the town. The grandchildren abused their friends and ignored their counselors. Generation Three.

The son (G-Two) was wise enough to know that his children (G-Three) would never pay enough attention to the family business to keep it going well. Thus, the business was sold and the fortune set for the lives of the third generation and their immediate families. The founder (G-One) died knowing his business was gone and his generations did not respect what he loved.

The business? It still exists, the family name exists and many people still buy this product. But the soul of the product is now gone with the founder and his love for that work. Is the product as profitable or respected as it once was? No, but the product still makes a huge profit for the corporation that owns it.

Why do I relate this story?

Because it explains the book of Judges and the rapid degradation of a people. By the time Joshua and those who served with him in the conquest of Canaan grew old and died there were grandchildren to assume control of the nation. "Another generation grew up who knew neither the Lord nor what he had done for Israel." Judges 2:10

The third generation syndrome.

Of the nations Joshua left the Lord states "I will use them to test Israel and see whether they will keep the way of the Lord and walk in it as their ancestors did." Joshua 2:22

And what did the Lord do? "the Lord raised up a judge for them, he was with the judge and saved them out of the hands of their enemies as long as the judge lived; for the Lord had compassion on them as they groaned under those who oppressed and afflicted them." Judges 2:18. Leadership through strength and charisma.

And what did the people do? "But when the judge died, the people returned to ways even more corrupt than those of their fathers, following other gods and serving and worshiping them. They refused to give up their evil practices and stubborn ways." Judges 2:19

Billy Graham is our judge. His life is fading and his message is now being ignored. The current president pays token attention to the Word of the Lord. The society openly attacks the clear and simple teaching of the Word. The enemies of the Lord are brutally advancing. The Judge is almost done and our generation will see the oppression of the people.

People of the Word should not be too much surprised by this, though the contemporary world of 2015 would revolt against me should anyone read this analysis. But the daily news reinforces the downward spiral of our moral character. Chaos reigns and those who should be supported to protect the "common man", the police, are under attack for doing their job. People of the Word who apply their faith to their business are sued for being "intolerant". Pastors who speak up for the Word and apply it to politics are investigated and threatened by the IRS. "Christian" denominations now endorse the wholesale exclusion of clear teachings in the Word as being "irrelevant" or "culturally ignorant" or "out of context". Babies have been, for decades, slaughtered in the name of convenience. The Affordable Care Act legislates the President's wishes that grandma gets a pain pill instead of that new hip because she is past her useful years.

Americans do not respect the young or the old. Americans fight the Word. Americans twist the law and the Law to advance the immoral (as outlined in Scripture) desires of the unredeemed flesh.  Our judge will soon be gone and the full fruits of the third generation are about to come to pass.

As a member of Generation Two, my simple expression is "God help us." May Generation Four understand and apply that message too.

crescent

Joshua 1 & 2 highlight the initial battles for the conquest of the Promised Land. The first section is a glimpse of the extent of this kingdom: including the Hittites and the River Euphrates. The entire fertile crescent was to belong to the Israelites.

The fertile crescent today is largely controled by the nations that practice Islam such as Jordan, Syria, Iraq and Iran. These are the nations of Ishmael, the turned out firstborn son of Abraham with the Egyptian concubine servant Hagar. This family had enjoyed centuries of semi-peace through war. But now their history was to come to a close. Powerful nations trembled, rose up, bargained, battled and lost. 

War is a brutal thing, especially when the goal is total elimination of the enemy. The reality is that the Israelites grew tired of the battles and pushed only so far as was convenient for all the people to have room for their own families. Israel never finished God's plan for their land. 

How history would have been different without the bitter, warring peoples who were left in the lands God wanted for Israel! How our world today would be different, but sadly it is not.

Herein is the key lesson from this review: When God sees something that will become a trap or limiter of our soul He speaks up and asks us to eliminate that something. Kill the destroyer! Why? Because it will limit our peace, our shalom, our life with God. 

So what to make of the hard sayings in Scripture? The ones that tell people, "No, you can't do that." You follow them. Or, like the Israelites, live compromised, at war, vulnerable and ultimately die separate from the relationship with God. Follow them and live.

honor

honor

Moses knew about honor. Or thought he did.

The Israelites grumbled a second time about their thirst. Moses and the Lord had always provided before. It is too bad that this people didn't develop the habit of making their needs known to the Lord directly. He always heard them anyway!

As we tell our grumbling kids "Words work, and clear words work best." 

God changed the instructions to Moses (in Aaron's hearing) by instructing to speak to the rock, not strike the rock as he had done before. We don't know why Moses chose to strike the rock twice. But it was a fatal mistake.

God was clear about two things: He wasn't about to appear weak or powerless, so the water gushed from the rock and all were watered. And second, He wasn't going to let Moses and Aaron off the hook for their disobedience. His honor was at stake and He called them on it. Neither would see the Promised Land under their feet. They would die with the others who disobeyed earlier.

This may seem stiff, unyielding, and arbitrary from our viewpoint. What about grace? Forgiveness?  

But what about the public disobedience of Moses and Aaron? Would the lifegiving words of the Lord have the same directive, absolute power to guide if they could be flouted by the most worthy of all? What about those down the ages who would claim 99.99% pure like Moses and should be considered as the Savior? No, to honor God meant to completely follow His revealed Word. All of it.

This single minded vision of obedience is what is so unnerving to those who would seek to take the moral high ground in social debates. We do not claim to be infallible, nor do we claim to know everything. The only claim we can make is that the Lord has spoken and we have heard it. To honor our Lord is to follow what we have heard and not vere to the right or the left. 

This is also unnerving to us, because we know that we fail to follow everyday. And that is why we glory in a Savior who was perfect, heard unerringly, and followed the honor of the Word to the cross. 

So, who, or what are you honnoring with your life today?

rookie

rookie

"Then the Lord said to Moses, 'Write this on a scroll as something to be remembered and make sure Joshua hears it...'" Ex. 17:14
"Then Moses set out with Joshua his aide" Ex. 24:13
"but his young aide Joshua son of Nun did not leave the tent." Ex. 33:11

Where does one start?

I'm a big football fan, but I do not like the buildup of the new guys to the NFL: the rookies.

They proved to be good in the amateur level of college football. They are hyped as the next wonder to play the game. Rookies are watched, feted, and have some cash for the first time in their life. Their character is tested after the victories but before the real games begin.

Rookies. Potential. The "could" and the "ought" collide in an untested person. What a set up for failure.

Perhaps that is why Joshua drew my attention today. A little phrase sparked interest: "But his young aide Joshua son of Nun did not leave the tent." Ex. 33:11 Was that the first time Joshua is noted in the Bible account? No, Joshua was present when Moses first went up the mountain to receive the Law, and he was part of a battle that preceded the encampment at Mt. Sinai. What we see in these three glimpses is the molding of Joshua to be the warrior-priest the LORD needed when the people entered Canaan.

The Amalekite people witnessed a living horde entering their land. A warlike people, jealous to retain their land, they amassed to push back this hated band of Isaacites. Slaves like these should be easy to defeat was their rationale.

Instead, Moses tells the rookie Joshua to gather a small army and go against the Amalekites. Moses will stand overlooking the battle with arms lifting the staff of God's wonders over the battlefield. The battle is won, but only as the Lord intervenes when the staff is raised. It takes Aaron and Hur holding the arms of Moses to make it all the way to the end of the battle, but the battle is won and "Joshua overcame the Amalekite army with the sword." Ex. 17:13

And this is the first glimpse of the molding of Joshua. The rookie is showing his potential: leadership, organizational skills, determination. He is also showing his skills: swordsmanship, battle tactics, survivability. Is he ready?

The Lord thinks not, because the key to this battle was not on the field but on that mountaintop. "The Lord said to Moses, 'Write this on a scroll as something to be remembered and make sure Joshua hears it because I will completely erase the memory of the Amalekites from under heaven.'" Ex. 17:14. The rookies shows potential but needs to be groomed.

Can you imagine the conversation?
"Way to go, Joshua!!! You da man!!! We got this made!!!"
"Um, no. We saw this one start to finish, Joshua. Listen to what really happened. You fought the battle in the valley, but only won when the Lord was lifted high by the elders on the mountain. We don't know what really happened that we cannot see, but we do know that whenever we faltered, so did the army."

What did Joshua do with this information? He believed it. Then he wanted to be in on that knowledge, on that wisdom, on that God who fights for His friends through unseen arms.

Joshua become the young aide who stays with Moses. He apprentices, faithfully.

The second glimpse is the trip up Mt. Sinai for the first time. Moses is going to meet with the Lord face to face. The people are terrified of the smoke and flame and beg Moses to go alone to speak with this Deity. Joshua has been through battle with Moses before and goes willingly with Moses to a point. Then he waits.

Moses spends weeks with the Lord. The people get bored and pressure the priest Aaron to fashion a gold god for worship. And where is Joshua? He's still on the mountain, and we know this because he doesn't know what the noise is when Moses and he return. Is it battle we hear? (Joshua is only drawing from personal experience here.) No, says Moses, it is singing. Instead of mindful waiting the people are partying.

The rookie learns to wait on the Lord for instruction, else the wrath of God may come on the presumptuous.

The third and final glimpse of Joshua is the one that caught my attention. Moses set up a tent well outside the borders of the camp. There he met with the Lord, who showed his presence with the pillar of smoke by day, fire by night. Moses would consult with the Lord for a time, then return with what he learned to teach the Israelites.

What do we find Joshua doing?

Staying, waiting, more listening, more contemplating at the door of the tent of meeting. Joshua stayed at that door until the cloud or the fire lifted. He showed that he wanted to hear the entire Word of God until there was nothing left to hear. The fire would rise, the smoke would clear, the tent would be silent, Moses' voice would filter over the barren waste to Joshua's ears but he had already heard these words. Joshua was letting the words do their work on his soul. This was the hard work of discipleship, sanctification, life change, or spiritual growth. This time was the maturation of a man of God.

Moses had his bush and his trials by fire in front of Pharaoh.
Joshua had Moses and the Lord.

The rookie's preparation is almost complete.

Joshua was chosen to spy out the land of Canaan as the representative of his tribe. It is no wonder that he and his friend Caleb returned with the report that "Their protection is gone, but the Lord is with us. Do not be afraid of them." Numbers 14:9

The people, sadly, reject Joshua's advice and instead wallow in their doubt. The Lord decides to grant them their stated wishes: Joshua and Caleb will enter the Promised Land, the rest of them will die in the wilderness. Forty years later Joshua assumes the mantle of leadership from Moses and leads a young, prepared, discipled and disciplined force into Canaan.

What should we take from this study?

Our sons and daughters may be very talented, promising perhaps, but what is tempering their soul? What is testing their worldview? What is challenging them to depend on when the world goes crazy? We should make it a goal to let that challenge come from the Word and example of Joshua. Analyze, listen, attempt, and grow to have a soul that views the world from the mountaintop, as the Lord sees it.

Then they, we, will be ready for the battles ahead.

firstborn

The arrival of the angel of death was the fulfillment of God's fatal promise to Pharaoh. "Let my people go" the Lord warned through Moses and Aaron. "Or else."

The other plagues were confounding. Could they happen without divine intervention? I've read that they could flow from one to the next based on natural occurrences. However, the final one, the selective death of the firstborn, was clearly supernatural.

Think about the firstborn. Books have been written about the firstborn. First borns are known for leadership, vision, courage, being headstrong, successful, and independent. These were the people stripped from the fabric of Egyptian society. Yes, there were other birth orders that infiltrated the ranks of managers, captains and officials.  But most probably they were not the front runners in the crisis management ops manual.

In fact, it is interesting to question "Why didn't Pharaoh die? Was he not considered the firstborn?"

What was left was Pharaoh as single leader and sole voice of the hordes of Egyptians. Most of those he could have listened to were dead. The ones left probably were workers and appeasers stung by the loss of their older siblings. "Do something!" Pharaoh responded with what he knew best: his army.

In the end, not only did Pharaoh lose the firstborns of his country, he lost his weapon too. The army's defeat was total, including their armament. It would take decades to recover from this disaster. In the meantime Israel was able to enter the Promised Land and flourish as the People of God.

If you are a firstborn take heed at the important place you have in the Kingdom. In ancient society you received a double portion of the inheritance. You were the first to receive the blessing from the dying father. You were the one entrusted with the workings of the family business. You were called on to be the protector of the family, the nurturer of the elderly, the haven of rest, the one to provide order and guide the success of  the family. It was a heavy burden that was carried quietly. It was assumed.

How can someone achieve all of this burden? Only with the presence and power of the Lord who saves. The Lord who orders the death angel to pass over... the sprinkled doorposts. The Lord who speaks, empowers and leads.

Are your doorposts sprinkled, figuratively, with the blood of the passover Lamb? That Lamb has a name, and it is Jesus who is the Christ. Apply the blood, learn from his wisdom, apply his leadership and your home will be a haven of life for all who abide within.

donkey

donkey

Genesis 16: 11, 12

The angel of the Lord also said to her:

“you are now with child

and you will have a son.

You shall name him Ishmael,

for the Lord has heard of your misery.

He will be a wild donkey of a man;

his hand will be against everyone

and everyone’s hand against him,

and he will live in hostility toward all his brothers.”

Oh, Hagar! First you are ripped from your Egyptian family and bound to a rich vagrant. Then after serving faithfully and well you discovered that your exaltation to become the Master’s concubine for the purpose of mothering an heir has become a nightmare. Your haughty attitude came from the quick insemination from the elderly Abram, while his long suffering wife remained barren. Sarai’s understandable angst turned against you and here you are: fleeing, angry and scared. 

Did the angel of the Lord give you a vision of the hordes of people who would point to you and Abram as the fountainhead of their people? Did you connect the promise in verse 10 “I will so increase your descendants that they will be too numerous to count.” to the term hostility? 

What was going through your soul at that moment? What did you see, hear, feel or believe?

What we do know is that the attitude and thinking you entered this encounter with endured in your son and his descendants. And yes, they are numerous on the earth. They have always been more numerous than the descendants of Isaac, Abram’s son by Sarai (later Sarah). For those sons are known crudely as Arabs, and most follow the religion of Mohammed today. To this day the common dialogue is the same as that uttered in this fateful description of the child, Ishmael.

• Oppressed, miserable, at a disadvantage because of the people of Isaac.
• Wild and donkey-like: obstinate and strong, self willed and clannish.
• His hand will be against everyone: not just Abraham, Isaac and their line… everyone.
• Everyone’s hand against him: this is a conflict that must be resisted, and will be resisted.
• He will live in hostility toward all his brothers: this child and his offspring will never value shalom.

Never.

Mohammed simply codified the angel’s pronouncement and added regulations to make it work. Then by conquest and dominion sought to establish what was believed to be a birthright. 

Ishmael, firstborn, rejected because he was not a purebred child of the promise, sired a people with the same attitude as he grew up with. In the ancient world birth order meant something important: double portion of the estate, control of the family business at the right time, authority that was second only to the master of the house and the blessing of the patriarch. Ishmael, the unchosen one, was excluded from all of this. Ejected from the family because of his arrogant, haughty and threatening behavior he worked his life and built his line on his own with a huge chip on his shoulder. A chip so huge the splinters remain on a billion shoulders to this day.

So what are we to make of this? Especially today, with the decedents of Ishmael convulsing the peoples once again?

1. Do not be dismayed, as the Lord God has protected his people so he will do so now.Though some may die at the hands of Ishmael's seed, the Remnant will remain.
2. Be aware of the language of victimhood, and the passive resignation to battle that stems from it. It is fuel for the hostility and anger.
3. Do not be amazed at the brutality or universal nature of the hostility. No one on earth is spared this constant barrage of mistrust, aggression or attack.
4. Salvation is open to all, as evidenced by the many of Ishmael’s line who have come to understand, trust and follow Jesus as Messiah of the world. Acceptance and shalom only come through Him.

naked

naked

Genesis 3:7 & 10

• Genesis 3:7 “Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made covering for themselves.”
• Genesis 3:10 “He answered, “I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid.””
• Naked: Adam and Eve had no coverings when they were created. It was no big deal. 
• Naked: Adam and Eve had nothing between them and the still small voice of God either. They existed in total openness to the Creator.
• Until they were introduced to the knowledge of good and evil.
• Welcome to the dawn of mental illness!
• Self doubt, paranoia, a vague sense of dis-ease with the natural order of the world, that began to manifest itself by odd behaviors that interfere with the very source of restoration: God. 
• Adam and Eve hid their nakedness behind makeshift coverings.
• Adam and Eve hid their whole bodies from God.
• This has been passed down through the ages from parent to child. 
• It is why thoughtful people still have an issue with nakedness, there is a knowledge that somehow there is an evil attached with total exposure that needs to be hid. 
• It is also why those who thrust their nakedness on others are not liberated from that knowledge, but instead emulating the serpent in declaring “Did God really say you will die?” if you gaze on my naked frame?
• God’s original Creation was that Adam and Eve, and all Creation, should not have coverings or shame. God intended that his Creation should be open, honest and avoid the temptations associated with the lingering glance at nakedness. 
• But because of Adam and Eve’s introduction of what is “good and evil” into the human psyche people are trapped in the endless debates about morality and mores. People are bent toward suspicion and aggression. People have rejected God's order and find there is no order in their own crooked thinking. 
• People are naked, they know it, and they don’t like it. All because the knowledge of good and evil was introduced.
• And so what to do with this revelation?
• 1. Recognize our inbred tendency to hide. Even when we are not wrong!
• 2. Understand our desire to be known fully.
• 3. Seek diligently the truth of God that helps us come to think and live in shalom with God.
• 4. Learn to relate to others in ways that help them to shalom with God and themselves.
• We cannot recreate the pre-Fall Garden of Eden state simply by taking our clothes off. But we can come to peace with our broken natures and world through the freedom given to us through the sacrifice of Jesus. Then we are set right with God, and can begin to be set right with one another.
• Until He comes again and sets all things new, we have this covering for our nakedness: His blood and body broken for you for the forgiveness of sins and the restoration of the relationship between God and man.