Circumcision in the Promised Land

Synopsis     Joshua 4:22-5:6     4/14/2018

After building the stone memorial commemorating the crossing of the Jordan on dry ground, Joshua reminded the people to use the memorial as a testimony. They should, he directed, use the monument to inform all the people throughout the world that the God of Israel was mighty.

Upon realizing that Israel had begun the invasion into the land, all the peoples who lived there previously were dispirited. They were in dread of Israel.

At Gilgal, God directed Joshua to have all the uncircumcised people amongst the Israelites circumcised with flint knives.

Circumcision in the Promised Land

Circumcision means separating a token of flesh as a sign of my commitment to God. It isn’t something the Israelites invented for themselves. It was part of the covenant that God gave to the Israelites through the patriarch Abraham.

The constant movement of the exodus made circumcision in the desert an impossibility. The plain of Jericho gave a moment of rest. No uncertainty of moving. Time for healing. Time for entering fully into the covenant before entering fully into the promise.

Circumcision in the Heart

Circumcision of the heart means separating from the things that keep me from doing the entire will of God.

So, my call, my purpose, my telos, my reason for being, my meaningfulness, my happiness – all these are contingent on my willingness to separate from those things that keep me from doing the will of God. The false self. The mask. The super-ego. All these things I find in my heart.

No one can cut these away without my willing to allow it.

One is not a Jew outwardly. True circumcision is not outward, in the flesh. Rather, one is a Jew inwardly, and circumcision is of the heart, in the spirit, not the letter; his praise is not from human beings but from God” Rom 2:28-29

Faithfulness in the Quiet

Synopsis     Joshua 4:-21     4/13/2018

Joshua had led the Israelites across the Jordan. Once they had safely passed, the Ark of the Covenant moved to the front of the Israelite formation. The warriors from the tribes of Reuben, Gad and Manasseh protected the assembly while the other tribes brought all their worldly possession into the new land.

That night, the Israelites made camp at Gilgal in the plains of Jericho.

Faithfulness of the Eastern Tribes

The warriors from Reuben, Gad and Manasseh were faithful to their word and to the community. That’s good. But it wasn’t like they did something over and above what they had negotiated. They did what they promised to do. They were faithful in helping Joshua and the remaining tribes clear the land for occupation.

Faithfulness in the Quiet

This is the way it works. God doesn’t seem to need the extraordinary from us in order to fashion a heroic life. But, He needs commitment. We need commitment. We need to be committed.

Entering into the possibility of your life doesn’t require you to invent some extraordinary goal that you must achieve. It requires that you meet the challenge of this moment. God can work with that.

“if then my people, upon whom my name has been pronounced, humble themselves and pray, and seek my face and turn from their evil ways, I will hear them from heaven and pardon their sins and heal their land” 2Chron 7:14

What Do These Stones Mean to You

Synopsis     Joshua 3:16-4:8     4/12/2018

Once the Jordan crossing was complete, God instructed Joshua to have men collect 12 stones and build a memorial of the crossing.

What Do These Stones Mean to You?

The memorial stones were intended to serve as a reminder of God’s great faithfulness to the Israelites. The Israelites were instructed to tell future generations about the memorial and to use it as a remembrance of the miracle that God had done on behalf of the people.

Never Forgetting

Forgetting is the issue. We forget. As individuals and as communities, our challenge is in the remembering.

We forget, but when we don’t want to forget, we tie a string to our finger, or we take a picture or we make a monument of stone. And this becomes the touchstone, the reference, the place to which we harken back.

And with this we remember.

It’s only a cross; on the necklace of a young girl, or the roof of a church, or a hand signal that I make over myself. God has been good to me – I will not forget.

He said in reply, “I tell you, if they keep silent, the stones will cry out!” Luke 19:40

Walking Through the Miracle

Synopsis     Joshua 3:5-15     4/11/2018

Joshua ordered the people to sanctify themselves the night before the Jordan crossing. The next morning, God promised Joshua to exalt him as leader over all Israel. Joshua commanded the priests to enter the waters of the Jordan, in accordance with God’s direction.

As the priests entered the water, the upstream waters piled up in a heap and did not flow, even though it was the harvest season when the river usually flooded its banks.

Miracles and Obedience

The people had a sense of their destiny – what their purpose was and how they were to enter into the possibility of their lives. They knew they were chosen. They knew they would enter into the land. They knew they would displace the people who lived there.

But they still had walking to do. They still had to enter in. They still had to follow.

Walking Through the Miracle

It’s the walking it out that creates a new set of possibilities. Because of their obedience, the Israelites were positioned to walk through the miracle. They participated in the miracle. Knowing and agreeing with God’s purposes has this effect.

When it’s obvious what God is working to accomplish, then the fact of miracles is totally unsurprising:

That He caused more than a million people to cross a river on dry ground in the middle of a flood is what had to happen. He commanded the people to go through the river. That He made a way should come as no surprise. He always makes a way.

Still, the “how” of the miraculous will never lose its surprise. Stopping the river wasn’t His only option to get the people across – it was just the one He chose.

God intends a miracle in your life. You know this. He intends for you to be free from everything that keeps you from entering into the possibility that He built into your life when He created you. That’s the miracle.

So, the miracle of your emerging freedom should also come as no surprise. Still, you can be sure the “How” of how he plans to set you free will be an awesome and surprising miracle story.

“You are the God who does wonders; among the peoples you have revealed your might” Psalm 77:15

Three Days Hidden Away

Synopsis     Joshua 2:17-3:4     4/10/2018

The spies made an oath to protect Rahab’s family as long as they remained inside the house that Rahab marked with a scarlet thread. In accordance with Rahab’s instruction, the spies escaped from the city and went to the hill country. They hid there until their path back to the Israelites was clear. Then they returned to their camp.

Upon return, the spies assured Joshua that Jericho and the surrounding land would fall to the Israelites.  Joshua moved the camp from Shittim to the edge of the Jordan in preparation for crossing.

Hidden Away for Three Days

The spies hid three days in the wilds of the hill country. No one would be looking for them there.

Death and Life

As inevitable as it is that love should conquer evil, it is just as inevitable that evil will fight to the death.

Fighting evil is no small thing.

Three days. Desolate. Afraid. Cutoff. Alone. Like a tomb. Like men who have died but who have not quite died.

Death is the last place that anyone looks for life.

Just as Jonah was in the belly of the whale three days and three nights, so will the Son of Man be in the heart of the earth three days and three nights. Matt 12:40 

Turn Aside from Destruction

Synopsis     Joshua 2:5-16     4/9/2018

Two spies were saved by the prostitute Rahab in the walled city of Jericho. She protected them and helped them to escape the city in exchange for their promise to save her and her family when the city would be attacked by the Israelites.

Anticipation of Total War

What does it feel like, the anticipation of total war?

As moderns, “total war” basically means “OK to bomb population centers” – cities are appropriate targets for destruction regardless of the cost in civilian lives.

But even that doesn’t really compare to living in Jericho in the time of the exodus. Imagine it: There are far more than a million people camped in the nearby wilderness. They have 600,000 warriors ready to fight.

And this is no ordinary conflict. They aren’t coming to steal your crops, or your animals, or your young men, or your young women – and then return from wherever they came. No, these people intend to annihilate your population and takeover. They intend to take your house, your farm, your everything and live in it after you’re dead. Their intention is to replace you.

That’s a little intimidating. That’s a lot intimidating.

Rahab’s decision to save herself and her family made sense.

Turn Aside From Destruction

We live in a world that sometimes seems filled with grave threats of every kind. There is only one answer.

The astute see an evil and hide, while the naïve continue on and pay the penalty” Prov 22:3

A Promise of Faithfulness

Synopsis     Joshua 1:12-2:4     4/8/2018

Reuben, Gad and Manasseh were the three tribes that had petitioned Moses to give them land east of the Jordan. Joshua confronted them to ensure their willingness to go into the Promised Land along with the rest of the tribes. The leaders of the tribes committed to following Joshua just as they had followed Moses.

About the same time, Joshua sent 2 men to spy out Jericho.

A Promise of Faithfulness

In the Proverbs it is written, “Many say, ‘My loyal friend,’ but who can find someone worthy of trust?” Prov 20:6

Joshua had to know if he could count on the three tribes before making preparations to enter the land. He forced the issue by confronting them. He received their assurances and pledge of fidelity.

Do You Also Want to Leave?

Jesus once said to the Twelve, “Do you also want to leave?” John 6:67

He didn’t say this because he wasn’t sure. He knew what each one would do. He asked the question in order that each one could make a declaration. It was an opportunity for each of His disciples to declare their intention to be faithful – or not.

This way of givenness is public. A place of commitments that we make out-loud. We declare our intention to follow not because it assures God, but because it drives a stake in the ground as a reference concerning what I believe and what I intend to do about it.

Be on your guard, stand firm in the faith, be courageous, be strong. 1 Cor 16:13

I Will Not Leave You Nor Forsake You

Synopsis     Joshua 1:1-11     4/6/2018

God spoke to Joshua. He told him that it was time for the Israelites to enter the land. God confirmed that everywhere Joshua had previously visited 38 years before, would be given to the Israelites. And, He promised Joshua that He would be with him as He was with Moses.

God commanded Joshua that the book of the law should never depart from his lips – that he should always be meditating on the law.

Joshua sent officers throughout the camp directing the Israelites to prepare provisions and to be ready to cross the Jordan.

I Will Not Leave You Nor Forsake You

Psalms 37:5 says, “Commit your way to the LORD; trust in him and he will act.” God promised Joshua success if he meditated on His law always. He said, “I will not leave you nor forsake you.” The knowledge of God’s law was Joshua’s hope for success in accomplishing the extraordinary mission of invading the Promised Land.

Tuning Yourself to God

We all have, more-or-less, the same human capacities. We have the ability to pay attention, to know things, to take action, to relate to God and others, and to value the things and relationships that fill our lives. But as we grow and develop, these capacities grow and change with us – hopefully they mature with us.

What’s interesting is that all of these are capacities that we have some control over. We can develop a greater ability to focus our attention. We can learn really important things. We can develop relationship skills. And we can even train our minds to recognize what’s truly valuable.

And when we use God’s truth as the means by which we train these capacities, then we find ourselves attuned to the God of all creation. And when a human being is attuned to the Word of God, anything is possible.

“But when he comes, the Spirit of truth, he will guide you to all truth. He will not speak on his own, but he will speak what he hears, and will declare to you the things that are coming.” John 16:13

Turn the Page

Synopsis     Deuteronomy 34:1-12     4/6/2018

Moses climbed Mount Nebo, beheld the beautiful land of Judah, and died. No one knew where he was buried. The Israelites wept for him for thirty days. Joshua was filled with the spirit of wisdom because Moses had laid hands on him and the people obeyed him.

Turn the Page

This is the completion of the Torah, the first five books of the bible. They chronicled God’s creative plan from the origin of the universe and the world through the time of the Israelite exodus to Palestine.

And the story ended with Moses ordaining Joshua so that he was equipped to lead the Israelites.

The end of the story brings an awareness of legacy and the turning of a new page.

Laying On Hands

I tend to take it casually – the laying on of hands – the apostolic succession from Christ through Peter. A nice tradition. A pleasant liturgy.

But this is about power. A real transfer of power. A real imbuement of power. A legacy. A turning of the page.

There is a certain danger in approaching this casually. May the holy remain undefiled first in my heart.

Do not neglect the gift you have, which was conferred on you through the prophetic word with the imposition of hands of the presbyterate” 1Tim 4:14

Happy Are You Israel

Synopsis     Deuteronomy 33:17-29     4/5/2018

Moses conveyed the completion of his blessing for each of the twelve tribes.  He then declared the glory of the Lord and the good fortune of the Israelites to be the chosen people of God.

Happy Are You Israel

The richness of the anticipation of good for the Israelites eclipses all of the warnings and prophetic anticipations of doom. In this, Moses’ final act, he simply rejoices in the glory of God and the great good fortune of Israel.

Happy Are You Christian

Utter freedom in this day-to-day life and the hope of absolute joy in the beatific vision. One great God and the amazing good fortune of those who are called to serve Him.

“Blessed are you when they insult you and persecute you and utter every kind of evil against you [falsely] because of me” Matt 5:11