The Distinction of Prophecy

Synopsis     Joshua 23:13-24:4     5/26/2018

Joshua had grown old. He was dying. So he gathered the leaders of the Israelites at Shechem. He warned the Israelites to not intermingle or intermarry with the Canaanites. He challenged them to acknowledge God’s absolute faithfulness.

Then, the word of the Lord was spoken through Joshua. The Lord reminded the people of the long journey from the time of Terah, through Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

The Distinction of Prophecy

Joshua did not commend everything he spoke to the Israelites as prophecy. He began by reasoning with them and reminding them of God’s faithfulness. But he ended his communication with the people in a prophetic utterance. The Holy Spirit, speaking through the prophets, gave an insight into God’s perspective on the Israelite nation.

The Perfect Witness

In a court of law, an expert witness contributes a special kind of testimony. Basically, an expert’s testimony is irrefutable. It must be accepted. And every other testimony that might be offered can only be accepted to the extent it can be integrated with the expert’s testimony.

As Christian’s, this is what’s meant when someone says, “Let’s take this to the Word”, or when people say, “Let’s look at this in the light of eternity”. The scriptures are the inerrant word of God. We bring our challenges and difficulties, our hopes and successes, and gauge them against what we know of God through the things He’s said and the way that he has dealt with others who’ve gone before us.

“All scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching, for refutation, for correction, and for training in righteousness” 2 Tim 3:16