July 4, 2010

Joshua 6
The Lord needs no army to destroy a city. Then why does He make them fight? Is it the glory of the Lord to kill? Is it the glory of the Lord to have His people kill? Joshua’s mission to kill or drive out all the Canaanites is probably one of the most difficult aspects of Scripture to explain. I think that the answer lies in the simplicity of justice. If God is just, then injustice must be punished. That is the nature of justice. With that in mind if justice is served we all should die. So the surprise should be not that He should command that any should die, but that He should show mercy on anyone. How can He be just and show mercy? Only if justice is satisfied can mercy be shown. He can only show me mercy if I die. I am crucified with Christ, nevertheless I live, yet not I, but Christ lives in me, and the life I now live, I live by faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave Himself for me.
Mercy and justice are seen in the same city of Jericho. The harlot and her family received mercy. The rest of the city received justice. Why did the harlot receive mercy? She received mercy because she chose to trust in Yahweh. How did she know to trust in Yahweh? She knew of Him before the spies came. She knew how He had aided Israel from Egypt to the crossing of the Jordan. One can only assume that the rest of the city was aware of the same stories. Would they not have had the same opportunity as she had? Could they not also have called out for mercy? They could, but they did not. The result was that we see both in this city. Sometimes people are the instruments of God’s mercy and justice. We had better be sure that we go no further than what He has assigned with our mercy or justice.
It was the ark that led the way of His justice. The ark was presence of God. My how powerful is His presence! His presence destroys the power of our enemy. That is why we must grasp the glory of His presence every day. It is His glory that destroys the power of the enemy in us. But He expects us participate with Him in putting to death the deeds of the body. In so doing we live. This passage reveals to me His glory in giving me victory over the deeds of the flesh. Indeed we serve a glorious King. Speak His glory to someone today!
--Pastor john

Acts 13:1-35
It was the glory of the Lord to establish a strong Gentile church in Antioch. Saul and Barnabas, Jews, were major tools in the Lord’s hands to build up this church. It had been communicated earlier to Saul and confirmed through the church that God had raised up Saul to minister specifically to the Gentiles. Saul had now gone through years of re-training. It was time for him to embark on His journey.
The Holy Spirit spoke to the prophets and teachers in the Church in Antioch. Jesus usually works by calling someone to a task and then confirming it through the church leadership. Why should it be glory for our Lord to work such a way? We are so full of ego that to get two people to agree about anything is truly amazing. Throw into the mix the fact that Satan is ever seeking to destroy the work of God, then you have a recipe for constant infighting. The Antioch church had a good thing going here. It was large, growing and experiencing peace. Why ruin it by taking away its two key leaders? But the Holy Spirit spoke to the leadership, not just Saul and Barnabas. It was clear that it was time for Saul and Barnabas to begin the work for which God had raised them up. It is the glory of the Lord to call someone to ministry and confirm it through the leadership. From this point on, Saul is called Paul.
Paul is opposed by an emissary of Satan at Paphos. The hand of the Lord blinds the opposition. The result is that the proconsul believes. The Lord is glorified. In Perga, Pamphylia the going gets rough and John Mark abandons them. In the synagogue of Perga, Paul addresses the synagogue. After a brief recitation of the history of the “Son of David”, he declares that Jesus is that Son as is demonstrated in His resurrection as foretold by David in the Psalms. It is the glory of the Lord to have enigmatically foretold what He would do a thousand years before He did it. Paul needed those preparatory years before and after his conversion to see it. And now, God is unfolding the glory of the Lord Jesus through him. Indeed we have a glorious King! Speak his glory to someone today!
--Pastor John