Fellow Jews: they keep coming after us

 The reality is that we are ever the scourge of the world. Kanye West let his hair down last week against the Jews, the ADL (anti-Defamation League) reported this 3 days ago:

"Ye, formerly known as Kanye West, has recently used his media presence and social influence to espouse antisemitic tropes about Jewish intimidation, power and control. 

On October 6, Ye joined Fox News’ Tucker Carlson after his decision to wear a “White Lives Matter” shirt at Paris Fashion Week garnered heightened media attention. During the interview, some of which was not aired on Fox that evening, Ye made a series of offensive and conspiratorial claims about Jewish people and Jewish identity. Ye claimed that Jews are actually Black people, saying that when he refers to Jews he means “the 12 lost tribes of Judah, the blood of Christ, who the people known as the race Black really are [sic],” and posited that Planned Parenthood was the product of a collaboration between the KKK and Margaret Sanger “to control the Jew [i.e. Black] population.” He also said that it is impossible for him to be fairly described as antisemitic because as a Black person he is actually a Jew.

Ye also told Carlson that he believed Jared Kushner only arranged peace agreements between Arab nations and Israel “to make money.” At another point, Ye stated that he wished his children had learned about Hannukah instead of “a complicated Kwanzaa,” because Hannukah would at least “come with some financial engineering.”

The next day, Ye shared screenshots of text messages on Instagram insinuating that Jews are using their purported control over his peers in the music industry to intimidate him and defiantly said that “no one can threaten or influence me.” The post has since been deleted.

Ye also said that Jewish people “toyed with” him and that they “tried to blackball anyone who opposes” their “agenda.” This tweet, in which Ye ominously referred to going ‘death con 3 on JEWISH PEOPLE,” raising the spectre of violence, was later removed by Twitter."

There is plenty to cry about and to decry. There is much the rest of the world should announce as wrong, but at this point, few non-Jews are joining the multitude of Jewish people who are notifying the goings-ons. 

What about the Labor party in Australia who announced on Monday that they would follow up on their campaign promise to reverse the commitment of the Morrison government to stand with Israel and its capital in Jerusalem? A few years ago then leader Bill Shorten made that a significant statement.

Back in 2019, the Times of Israel reported, https://www.timesofisrael.com/as-australia-heads-to-polls-labor-vows-to-reverse-jerusalem-recognition/ and Monday under new Prime Minister Anthony Albanese Labor followed through. As a result there is no official statement currently on the Australian websites indicating a previous commitment to recognize the capital to be in Jerusalem. 

Does that change anything? It is often shown that an anti-Israel view links with an anti-Semitic one. That's not always the case, but it is often enough that mention seems appropriate. 

The capital of Israel is Jerusalem. When the world will set up there, and when the world's nations will recognize that, this will be significant. Then Zechariah chapter 13 will come into view and we are that much closer to the end of time. 

Created to proclaim by Avi Snyder (Part 1)

 CREATED TO PROCLAIM

By Avi Snyder

 

Dedicated to Three of the Chosen

 

© Jews for Jesus 2007

 

 

Chosen

 

Mordecai and I had agreed to meet in order to “exchange our points of view.”  But both of us knew what we really meant by that phrase.  I wanted to tell him about my faith in Yeshua, and I hoped that he might come to believe in Him as well.  Mordecai wanted to tell me about the joys of living an orthodox Jewish life, and he hoped that I might come back “into the fold” of rabbinic Judaism.    So there we were.  Two young men in their early thirties (this was some time ago, mind you); each one intent on changing the other one’s mind.  Now, it was Mordecai’s turn to speak.

            “Avi, Avi, Avi,” he moaned.  His voice carried a sorrow that you’d expect to hear from a patriarch three times his actual age.  “I look at you, and I see such a tragedy.  You’re like a man who went searching for treasure.  But instead of looking in your own backyard, you decided to dig in the gentiles’ yards.  Whatever you think you’ve found, it can’t compare with the beauty of what you’ve left behind.”  He drew in a mournful breath, then let out a sigh.  “Come back, Avi.  You’re one of God’s chosen.  Come back.”

            Now it was my turn.  “Mordecai,” I began without trying to match his gravity.  “You’re right.  We’re chosen.  By why are we chosen?”

            It seemed like Mordecai’s profound sorrow suddenly evaporated into indifference, tinged perhaps with a little bit of annoyance at what I’d asked.  “Who knows why we’re chosen,” he shrugged.  “That’s Ha-Shem’s business.  It’s enough to know we’re chosen.  So come back.”

            I leaned a bit closer.  “Mordecai,” I said, grinning like a conspirator, “I know why we’re chosen…”

 

            There’s a good deal of talk these days, especially among Christians in Germany, the United Kingdom, and the United States, about blessing Israel, and praying for Israel, and acknowledging that we Jews are still God’s chosen people.  The only problem is, too many believers have no real understanding of how to bless Israel, how to pray for Israel, and what it means when the Hebrew Scriptures call us chosen.

            When the scriptures speak of the nation of Israel as “chosen,” the word “chosen” does not mean that we Jews are individually and automatically “saved” from our sins.*  When God in the Hebrew Scriptures refers to us Jews as chosen, He’s referring to the fact that He selected us to serve a specific purpose and to carry out a particular task.  Throughout our history, our track record for fulfilling that task has been less than stellar.  But because of God’s grace and mercy, He has neither rejected the people He chose, nor has He reassigned the national task to somebody else.  We’re still chosen, and God is still waiting for us to do what He called us to do.  But what’s the task?  Why did God choose us?  What’s the call – in fact, the only call – that the people of Israel has ever received?  To put it a little more mundanely, what’s the job that God is waiting for us to do?  And how can the church – God’s “people” of individually saved persons from every nation, both Jews and gentiles – how can the church bless the chosen nation and pray so that the task is picked up and performed?

            Let me begin to answer these questions by taking you back to one of the most important moments in our national history as Jews – the moment when God clearly stated our call and revealed in a single phrase our entire reason for existing as a people.  Let me take you back to Sinai.

 

The Summation of our history in a single phrase

 

            You may know the context already, but let me “set the stage” a little bit, all the same.  In Exodus 19, we find my ancestors gathered at Mount Sinai, about to receive the Law. A few weeks before, God had brought us out of our bondage to Pharaoh with “a mighty hand and an outstretched arm.”  He had poured out His plagues upon Egypt.  He had brought us through the Red Sea on dry ground while burying our pursuers in the waves.  Now, we camped before Mt. Sinai while Moses ascended the mountain to receive further instructions from the Lord.  It was there that God told Moses...

 

 “Thus you shall say to the house of Jacob, and tell the children of Israel:  ‘You have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles’ wings and brought you to Myself.  Now, therefore, if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, then you shall be a special treasure to Me above all people; for all the earth is Mine.  And you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’” (Exodus 19:4-6)

 

            With the phrase, “kingdom of priests,” God communicated nothing less than the specific reason for our national existence.  But in order to understand what God was telling us, we need to understand what that central phrase means.  So, who were the priests, and what did they do?

In the ancient world, priests essentially performed two types of tasks.  They instructed people about God, and they interceded for people before God.  To put it another way, the priests talked to the people about God, and they talked to God about the people.  Now, if the entire nation of Israel was called to be a kingdom of priests, then we have to ask ourselves a question:  What other people were we supposed to instruct, and for what other people were we supposed to intercede?  Well, who’s left?  The rest of the nations of the earth.  Simply put, the call to be a kingdom of priests amounted to nothing less than a call to missionary service.  God so loved the world, that He called a particular people to inform the nations about the Lord, and to intercede before the Lord on the nations’ behalf.  At Sinai, we received more than the Law of Moses; we received a missionary mandate, rooted in God’s passion for the nations and grounded in His desire to see His revelation go out to all the families of the earth.

            God planned to establish a kingdom of priests -- a nation of instructors and intercessors, messengers and mediators -- so that the rest of the nations might learn Who He is and come to worship at His feet.  He created us to proclaim His love to the nations.  He called us to be witnesses to the world.  This mandate to be a community of witnesses runs through our entire history, beginning as far back as the call of Abram.  For…

(stay tuned....MUCH more to come tomorrow)

Those walls will come down: Joshua and the Battle for Jericho

 Living in the Promised Land: A study in the book of Joshua

A 24-week series given in 2021

Lesson Six (Joshua Chapter 6)

To view this online as a video:  https://youtu.be/lB4Svzqb1MY

Lesson Six: Joshua fit d’battle ob Jericho

 

A.     Introduction

 Overview. [For those online, see this book overview from The Bible Project (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JqOqJlFF_eU )

B.     Taking Jericho:

For some of us taking a territory that belongs to another seems like stealing, and probably therefore against the 8^th commandment. For others, this land is the Promised Land to Abraham and therefore to the Jewish people, and they, under Joshua, had the right to go in take this land, which rightfully is ours. In reality, it’s God’s land, and he extends his regency to others to maintain it and to dwell in it under his rubric, under his guidance, under his command. 

Maybe that’s where you are in your view of the Land we today all Israel. 

Without getting to that question just yet, and the whole idea of ‘holy war’, let’s remind ourselves of God’s word to Abraham in Genesis 15.

¹⁴ “But I will also judge the nation whom they will serve, and afterward they will come out with many possessions. ¹⁵ “As for you, you shall go to your fathers in peace; you will be buried at a good old age. ¹⁶ “Then in the fourth generation they will return here, for the iniquity of the Amorite is not yet complete.”

God is telling Abraham here that we would go to Egypt, and we will exit there with many goods. Abe, you will die and be buried when an old man. And the people of your descendants will return here (obviously saying we are going to go and return) when the ‘iniquity of the Amorite is complete.’ In other words, God was waiting until the Amorites had filled up their iniquity quotient so that he could eradicate them from his sight, and from this site. Israel would take the land after the fulness of the Amorite was a settled matter. 

Those of you who know the Newer Testament in the letter to the Romans know that the Apostle Paul used a similar sentiment when he mentioned Israel coming to faith in Yeshua, when he says, 

“For I do not want you, brethren, to be uninformed of this mystery — so that you will not be wise in your own estimation — that a partial hardening has happened to Israel until the fulness of the Gentiles has come in; ²⁶  and so all Israel will be saved;”

This idea of the fulness of the Gentiles and then the entry of Israel into salvation is fittingly seen in the conquest of the Land of Promise under Joshua. It’s not a complete action and is only representative, but that may help some of you. 

One more introductory comment, from Paul Toms in a 1977 book

“There is a final lesson in the conquest of Jericho. The real battle about which we are reading is not with the Canaanites at all. It is with God’s own people...All this blowing of trumpet, all of this numerical listings of sevens, were not really necessary to knock down a little wall. ..The real battle of Jericho was with the human heart, not with the wall of a city. God was seeking to overcome the Israelites rather than simply to overcome the Canaanites.”  (page 170)

 

Here is our outline today:

1.     We have the instructions (.1-5)

2.     The execution of the plan, day by day Days 1-6: (.6-14)

3.     Then Day 7 (.15-21)

4.     Rahab and family (.22-25)

5.     Final wrap up and Joshua exalted (.26-27)

Let’s go through this section by section:

C.     First, then we have the instructions (.1-5)

Verse 1:

  סֹגֶ֣רֶת וּמְסֻגֶּ֔רֶת

 Again, the Bible uses the doubling of a word to emphasize the strength of it, here, shut is used twice, so we read in English ‘tightly shut.’ We could say ‘seriously shut’ whilst others say the gates were shut and the bar behind the gate made it tighter yet. 

Then in English we say ‘because of the Jews’ but the Hebrew is ‘from the face of the children of Israel.’ A lot of resistance in that ‘the face of’ mention. I think of the adulteress in Proverbs 30 who “eats and wipes her mouth, and says, “I have done no wrong.”

An ‘in-your-face’ action if I’ve ever seen one. 

Or the men of Sodom

וַיִּפְנ֤וּ מִשָּׁם֙ הָֽאֲנָשִׁ֔ים

Who turned their panim away from there after God said he would go down and see and he would know (Genesis 18.18-21) about Sodom and Gomorrah, their turn away was a statement of resistance. 

So here in Joshua, the Jericho people heard the same reports the people had heard throughout the region and their hearts could have melted, and turned towards faith in God, but they steeled themselves against God and turned away, against the Jewish people. And their walls were strengthened. 

That makes verse 2 all the more significant.

“See” “I have given it” How does Joshua know this? Chapter 5, the captain had visited him, and he should have known, that God’s will would be accomplished. “Be strong, be courageous…everywhere you place your foot, I’ve given it to you.”

Oswald Sanders wrote in his book, “Promised Land Living” about this. “God had a triple purpose in mind. First it would test the rebellious nation’s obedience to God. Second it would deepen the fear already clutching at the hearts of the people of the land. Third, when victory came, altogether apart from military prowess or intervention, it would convince God’s people that the overthrow of Jericho was entirely a victory of faith” (page 67)

D.    Then the execution of the plan, day by day Days 1-6: (.6-14)

Joshua calls the leadership and gives them the plan, and they execute it perfectly. Daily march. Daily 7 shofars. Ark. Military men in front and rear. The people are to remain silent. That’s the plan, and that’s what happened. 

But so far, this is a failed mission. The walls of the city are intact. The people are inside with weapons at the ready. We are on the hill or in the valley, but we are not inside. The city is not yet ours. 

After each day, 1 through 6, the people marched silently, the shofars blew, but nothing more, and the people went back to camp. Imagine the beginning of the 1812 overture, slow, steady, rhythmic. Nothing boisterous or stupendous. Not yet.

 

E.     Then Day 7 (.15-21)

The culmination of the campaign happens on one day—the 7^th day. We don’t know if this is Shabbat but we do know that one of the 7 days had to be Shabbat, so this is as good a day as any to count. The day started the same as all the others. See verse 15. And imagine after round 2 or round 3 of the final day. The anticipation was massive. They’ve been en route for 40 years, remember? They came out of Egypt, they marched and sat, and marched and then through the Jordan River on dry ground and God was with them. Joshua has supplied food for them, and the manna stopped in its heavenly supply. We’ve been going out and marching every day for a week, and we are supposed to be silent now? And how much longer is this? Or as your kids would say on that road trip, “Are we there yet?”

They have marched 6 days one time each, and now it’s circumference 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12… isn’t that enough? Then we have to go around one more time. 13, almost done. OK, that’s it, right? Wait, nothing has happened! Come on Joshua, what gives? Then the signal is sent. The trumpets sound, and Joshua gives the command, “SHOUT!” “Shout for the Lord has given us the city.” I hear Tchaikovsky’s crescendo. In a heartbeat, the city walls fall. The Israelites ran ahead under instructions from General Joshua and took the city, the gold and certain commodities and destroyed most everything else. They preserved Rahab as we recall. The victory was ours. All we did was march and shout. But honestly there was much more going on. 

One thing I thought about the other day was that the song, Joshua fit da battle ob Jericho, is really not accurate. Of course, ‘fit’ is Early American black jargon for ‘fought’ but what makes that inaccurate is that God alone did the fighting. Joshua’s fight was not a military one, but a battle of faith. And he won. And the people of Israel won. It WAS a great victory, and that’s an encouragement to me in my ongoing life of faith in Sydney, and maybe it is for you as well. 

Much of your work at the office, sometimes much of your planning for a wedding or any major event, seems like it would be forever to accomplish and then, just like that, it’s over. Weeks in planning for our community seder and then in 2 short hours it was over. Your wedding took months to ready; your pre-marital counselling… months. And then the wedding and that’s it. The rest is the back side. We don’t think about that very much or very often, but it’s the whole reason for the campaign, for the outreach, for the planning in the first place. The reason for the event was for the Day 8 and beyond. 

We had to be ready for the military campaign. We had to be ready. We had to be compliant. The purpose of the fall of the walls of Jericho went beyond that moment. It was to establish the taking of the Land. Jericho was Stop #1 and a significant strategic stop on that campaign. 

F.     Rahab and family (.22-25)

The Day 8 for Rahab is well known. Joshua sent the 2 spies whom she saved back to retrieve Rahab and whoever else she had with her. Remember, Rahab is a harlot and preserving her is gutsy, full of chutzpah. This chutzpah is probably better to title ‘faith.’ She is in the genealogy of King David and thus of King Messiah as well. Remember her story? If you missed that class a few weeks back, when we studied chapter 2, please revisit that on YouTube soon. (See it here: https://youtu.be/p7fu4jS4qGY ) She carried on her faith in the God of Israel. She persisted and represented well the Kingdom of God.

G.    Final wrap up and Joshua exalted (.26-27)

The amazing story of Joshua’s victory ends with his exaltation once again. That seems to be a pattern in this book. What the people of Israel need is a man of faith who is to lead them well. Joshua who fought the battle of Jericho is a story of faith unleashed. The faith that obeyed God, the faith that was disciplined (they didn’t shout when required (Can you imagine telling 1 million Jews to walk quietly?, they did shout when required, they stayed in the camp until, etc…), and the faith that persevered. Finally, it’s the faith that shouted in victory and maybe you’ve experienced that as well. When I came to faith in Yeshua in 1971, it wasn’t exactly a shout, but it was a broadcast, I wanted everyone everywhere to hear the Good News. 

And these last 5 decades, God has made me to be a winner. Victory is ours! Not because I’m so kosher, or my deeds are so good. The reason I live in victory? He’s so great! He wants to make his name known. So, actually this is not a faith that ENDS in victory; it’s a faith that glorifies God. 

Hebrews 11 says, 

“By faith the walls of Jericho fell down after they had been encircled for seven days. ³¹ By faith Rahab the harlot did not perish along with those who were disobedient, after she had welcomed the spies in peace.” (verses 30-31)

 

Invitation

Dear friends, do you have such victory today? if you have never asked Yeshua to be your Saviour, today as we keep learning from Joshua, would you choose to believe the Lord of life?   What does it mean to be strong and courageous in light of learning about Yeshua? Would you be willing to take a stand for him who took a stand and died on a Roman cross for you? Today is Good Friday, the day when Yeshua died 2,000 years ago. For most, this is a secular, unimportant day. In Australia, it’s a public holiday when people get paid without working. I guess for them payment without work makes the day ‘good.’ No, it’s good because historically, today our Messiah died. It’s good because Messiah’s death accomplished salvation for all people. 

Without that kipporah (sacrifice) we would be hopeless, but because Yeshua died in our place on Passover, as the Passover lamb, and his blood was applied to the doorposts of our hearts, we can be forgiven. 

If you’d like to receive that today, just now, join me as we pray.

Say something like this: “Father in Yeshua’s name, forgive me my sin, I was wrong to dismiss you and to disbelieve in you. I need your mercy. I deserve punishment but you are kind and merciful and I receive your grace. I repent. I receive Yeshua as my saviour and Lord. I will live because of my faith in Messiah Yeshua. Amen.

If you prayed that, please let us know of your profession by writing straightaway, won’t you?Bob@JewsforJesus.org.au We’d love to hear from you.

 

Conclusion

We are delighted you have joined us today. Please join us next week and learn with the others how you can stay on track in 2021 and beyond.   I hope to see you next week as we continue our studies in Joshua.  You will certainly see yourself in the readings and in the lessons. It will be worthwhile!  Next week we will look at chapter 7 and see what lessons we can draw for ourselves from Jericho and a man named Achan-- another major event!

Hope to see you then… until then, Shabbat shalom!

 

 

 

Bibliography

Butler, Trent C., Word Biblical Commentary, Volume 7. Joshua. Word, Waco, 1983.

Davis, Dale Ralph, Joshua: No Falling Words, Christian Focus, Fearn, Ross-shire, Scotland, 2019.

Hess, Richard. Tyndale Commentary Complete. 

Meyer, F.B., Joshua and the Land of Promise, Christian Literature Crusade, Ft Washington PA, 1977.

Sanders, J. Oswald, Promised-Land Living, Moody Press, Chicago, 1984.

Toms, Paul, This land is your land. Gospel Light Publishing, Glendale CA, 1977.

Weirsbe, Warren. Be Strong: Putting God's Power to Work in Your Life. David C. Cook Publishing, Colorado Springs, 2010.

-------------------

D-Groups for this week

1)              Tuesday 11 am Sydney time. Led by James Howse

2)              Monday 7 pm, Sydney time, led by James White

(Contact our office for zoom details)

If you’d like to host a D-Group either online or in person, please contact bob@jewsforjesus.org.au for further details. It’s time to step up. Ponder this—who will be in your D-Group?

 

The Book of Joshua:   Outline. (This is the current plan for the series)

 

I.               Entering the Land (Chapters 1-4)

a.     Chapter 1: A funeral and a promise (Leadership Lesson 1)

b.     Chapter 2: A harlot saves the day 

c.      Chapter 3: Go against the flow (Part 1)

d.     Chapter 4: Go against the flow (Part 2)

 

II.              Taking the Land (5-12)

a.     Chapter 5: Roll away iniquity: a study in sacraments 

b.     Chapter 6: Joshua fit d’battle ob Jericho

c.      Chapter 7: Getting it very wrong: Achan and his mistakes

d.     Chapter 8: Combat and Covenant

e.     Chapter 9: Common sense is not so common

f.      Chapter 10: Southern dominance

g.     Chapter 11: How not to win

h.     Chapter 12: God is faithful

 

III.             Possessing the Land (13-21)

a.     Chapter 13: Inheritance lessons

b.     Chapter 14:  For example

c.      Chapter 15: Geography lesson

d.     Chapter 16: Trends of note (Part 1)

e.     Chapter 17: Trends of note (Part 2)

f.      Chapter 18: Apportionment (Part 1)

g.     Chapter 19: Apportionment (Part 2)

h.     Chapter 20: Provisions (Part 1)

i.       Chapter 21: Provisions (Part 2)

 

IV.            Retaining the Land (22-24)

a.     Chapter 22: Can an altar alter anything?

b.     Chapter 23: Staying on edge

c.      Chapter 24: Three funerals and Renewing the covenant

 

 

Go against the flow: Jordan crossing (Part 1)

To view this online as a video: https://youtu.be/OtsTPOjqses

[For those online, see this book overview from The Bible Project (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JqOqJlFF_eU )  

Here in Australia we regularly see drought conditions throughout this sunburned country of ours. Then after several years of harsh conditions, we experience a La Niña and all of a sudden, we have plenty of rain. In some areas, floods occur where droughts have been the norm, and the weatherman apologizes to the people. (https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-06-24/la-nina-watch-issued-increasing-chance-of-rain-2020/12385876) The dams will diminish to within 2 years of supply (20%) and then increase, even to overflow. For instance, the Warragamba outside Sydney is currently at 96.1%. 

And just up the state and inland, our Border Rivers is at 12%! All within one state.

In today’s episode at the Jordan River, the usual reality was that the Jordan would overflow at this season, bringing its own irrigation to the many. Verse 15 says, 

“When those who carried the ark came into the Jordan, and the feet of the priests carrying the ark were dipped in the edge of the water (for the Jordan overflows all its banks all the days of harvest)”

Butler says this, 

“Whereas the opening section of the chapter centred on the person and office of Joshua, the final verses centre on the words and actions of Yahweh for Israel at the waters. The living God, the Lord of all the earth, moves before his people and makes good his claims to universal dominion.”

God indeed is Lord over all the earth and the usual flooded Jordan now becomes a heap. Remember when Moses led the Jewish people out of Egypt, the Red Sea also became a heap, and according to the traditions, there were actually 12 lanes of escape, one for each of the 12 tribes to facilitate the escape/ the Exodus from Egypt. 

In today’s episode, which is actually the first half of two chapters (chapter 4 is the conclusion of this event), God demonstrates his power to his people, so that we will trust him and trust his soldier/ general Joshua. And the main item in view today is the Ark of the Covenant. Next week we will centre on the stones, but for now, the main item is the ark. Mentioned 17 times in the dual chapters. Speaking of a central position, that’s pretty clear. 

And you want to see it more clearly, then stand 2000 cubits away at the closest! By the way,  later we learn that a Jew was permitted to travel a maximum of 2,000 cubits on the Sabbath (Exod. 16: 29 and Num. 35: 5), which is about 1.2 km. (¾ mile)

 That distance is not the crucial thing to note. You want to note that the ark is that much more central when the people are ‘giving it space.’ The ark stands out. The ark is observable by everyone as they pass by. Imagine 3 million Jewish people. Have you ever watched a large crowd trying to get a glimpse of a celebrity from Hollywood or a sports hero? When everyone stands back, the hero is more visible. Think of a noteworthy person in centre stage at the Opera House or at the crease at the SCG. So it is with God that he wanted everyone to know that it was HIS presence which was the centre of their lives. He had saved us from Pharaoh; He had supplied manna and water (yes, and even quail) in the wilderness; he was going to save us and empower us against the enemies in the new land of promise. We needed always to look to him for sustenance and strength. The ark would symbolize that. 

Back to verse 1: Joshua rose early in the morning. This is a characteristic of all those who have made a difference in biblical history. Abraham rose early. (Gen 21.14, 22.2) as did Jacob (Gen. 28.18), Moses (Ex. 9.13), Gideon (Judg. 7.1), Samuel (1 Sam. 15.12), even Yeshua (Mark 16.9, Luke 21.38, John 8.2, Mark 1.35). I believe it’s a spiritual principle. Since Watchman Nee mentioned that in one of his books I read in the mid-1970s, I’ve tried to be up and about early. Everyone is different, of course, and modern living allows for dark shades and quiet windows, but generally speaking, if you rise early, the day is yours for the taking.

“Before they crossed” ַעֲבֹֽרוּ

22 times in chapters 3 and 4 we see this verb, to cross over, in various forms. It’s hard to miss. The purpose of the people at the river is not to remain there, but to cross over. The river stands as a shield, a guard, a prevention, and a test. Today’s lesson will feature the ark and the people; next week we’ll see some memorials. And we will cross!

The word “Ya’avoru” = “before they crossed”. What is the name of the Jewish people in the time of the book of Exodus, that is, what are we called? Hebrews. The same root word is used in that word. We are those who cross over. We left one place and are destined for another. But friends, it’s not only geography, but kingdom change. We are destined for a King who is eternal. We are destined to live in the Kingdom of Light, not the Kingdom of Darkness. We are to be a different people, a peculiar people, a people for God’s own possession. We are born to cross over!

Verse two, the officers go through the tribes and command the people. The officers are under authority and don’t lead their own lives. They are commanded and they pass on those commands. Joshua again comes out as primary commander-in-chief. 

Remember back in the 10^th chapter of Numbers, Moses led a chorus, 

קוּמָ֣ה ׀ יְהוָ֗ה וְיָפֻ֙צוּ֙

אֹֽיְבֶ֔יךָ וְיָנֻ֥סוּ מְשַׂנְאֶ֖יךָ מִפָּנֶֽיךָ׃

Kuma Adonai v’yafutzu oyvecha, viyanusu misanecha mipanecha. What was that occasion? The moving out of the ark of the covenant!  But here in Joshua it’s not for war as it was in Bamidbar. It’s for focus. All Jewish people were going to pass by, and thus it’s for focus. Not on a box, but on the God who is over all. He is to be our focus. 

Verse three—follow the ark. It’s now going to lead us, not into battle, but into the Promised Land. 

Verse four- We’ve already covered the distance for the sake of showing the pre-eminence of the ark to all Israel. 

Verse five- Consecrate yourselves. This is not the first time we have seen this phrase. Moses used it at Sinai. (Ex. 19.22) and Samuel later will say this at Bethlehem (1 Sam. 16.4-5). It carries with it the idea of sexual abstinence and prayerfulness. And also carries an ‘extra day’ often in Scripture. 

Verse six- The command is sent out…. March! And they marched. Again, the writer testifies to Joshua’s authority. 

Verse seven- Assurance of God’s presence, even as he was with Moses. This is designed to comfort the new leader, but when you think about it, it may also highlight the end of the honeymoon period. Think about it. God was with Moses in Egypt, but the Jewish people were not always keen to follow him. Again, after the Exodus, God was with Moses, but again the Jewish people were not always keen to follow him, certainly not without complaining. So here in verse 7 when God assures Joshua, it may be an assurance, but also a testimony that says, “Joshua, you will be misunderstood and your role of leader, although significant today, will be undermined and rejected down the road. But hang in there, I’m with you.” 

Verse 8, God tells Joshua to command the priests to wait right there at the river. 

עַד־קְצֵה֙ מֵ֣י הַיַּרְדֵּ֔ן בַּיַּרְדֵּ֖ן תַּעֲמֹֽדוּ׃

When you get to the Jordan River’s edge, in the Jordan you shall stand. 

No alternate opinions allowed. No minority reports. Here’s Plan A. Get it? Got it. Good.

Then Joshua gives charges to the people. Now that he has the priests’ actions sorted, he moves to the general public’s activities. 

Verse 9- Come and listen. What I’m telling you is significant and requires a Sh’ma moment. It’s not Sinai, but it’s significant. When God speaks we should listen. 

Verse 10- We are introduced to the name of God as 

אֵ֥ל חַ֖י

The Living God. Butler says, 

“Israel’s God is thus contrasted to the other claimants to the title. Only Yahweh is active and alive. Only Yahweh intervenes in the affairs of his people. God’s actions for his people prove his power and demonstrate the nature of his person.” (Cf. H. Ringgren, “חיה,” TWAT 2 [1977] 891–93).

And this God of Life will cause us to possess the land of the 7 nations listed. That’s a confidence that Joshua gave when the spies returned from their month-and-a-half survey in Numbers and he still has it to this day. A man of faith doesn’t stop believing because he hasn’t yet received the promises. In fact, this is precisely when he has to believe! Faith which is seen is not faith. (Romans 4.18) Joshua continues to demonstrate his faith and his encouragement to the people that God is to be trusted, for he is trustworthy, and the Land is going to be possessed by our tribes.

Verse 11- God’s presence in the ark is our assurance. Trust him! He’s not only the Living God, or the God of Life, he’s also the Lord of all the earth. Nothing is outside his realm. He is omnipresent and he is not simply a tribal deity like the Girgashites or Hittites admired and to whom they offered sacrifices. He is THE God of the whole earth. Israel, no matter where we are, in Egypt, in the Wilderness, and even crossing the Red Sea—he’s God and trustworthy. 

Verse 12- Choose 12 men, one from each tribe. No one is left out. No territory is out of his domain. No tribe is left out of God’s sovereignty either. Each tribe is represented. Even the 2 and a half whose homes are east of the Jordan. Everyone is there—all hands on deck! And be sure that when the people start to march, you are going to be the flagbearers, just like the Olympic carriers of each national flag. 

Verse 13- Again the phrase of God as Lord over all the earth

אֲד֤וֹן כָּל־הָאָ֙רֶץ֙

Comes to the front. The priests are getting soggy and muddy feet, but God is Lord over all the earth. The waters of various kinds are mentioned 10 times in this section. You can’t miss it. The drama of the ark, the priests and their feet, and the waters are all in view. And above and beyond it is the Lord of all the earth, the Living God. 

I love the drama of it all. God chooses the most auspicious time of year to perform the river crossing. Now sometimes the Jordan can be as wide as 14 miles! The flood plain can be anywhere from a few hundred yards to a mile wide. In that plain were all kinds of brush and jungle vegetation. This is the season of the year when it’s wet—really wet—and the floods take place. The priests walk out along the flood plain and trust Joshua and trust God himself. Can you hear the musical score building as the tension mounts? Imagine Tchaikovsky’s “1812 overture” or Modest Petrovich Mussorgsky’s “Pictures at an Exhibition.” The crescendo and the drama match one another. 

Waters will stop? This is unheard of—except that 40 years before it happened to Israel and will happen again!

Verse 14—so it happened. The priests moved out.  The people followed. The ark was there. 2000 cubits distant from at least the closest. 

Verse 15- Ark bearers stood in the water. Priests stood in the water. Soggy. Wondering if this would work. Were they meshuggener? Would God come through? Skip ahead and you will see the water dries up!

THEN verse 16—it happened. Upstream the waters stopped. The river stopped flowing.  The people crossed. I’m guessing they ran a bit. I’m guessing they didn’t linger to shoot a selfie with the water dammed up river. I certainly would have been hurrying!

Verse 17- The priests stood. Verse 16- the waters stood. Everyone is standing at the command of the Lord of all the earth. Now look at the riverbed—it was dry. For the priests and for the people. Even as the Red Sea was dry for the Hebrews (but very wet for the Egyptians who chased them (Ex. 14.21, 15.4))

God is sovereign. He knows how to accomplish his work and to make things happen for his people, and at times against others.

Dear friends, the Lord is over all the earth, even over your earth. Over New Zealand and over Japan. He’s over South Korea and over Perth. And we know his love and life is ours as we gaze at the Saviour whom he has sent.

We are not his because of something we earned; we are his because he made us and made us to know and love him. Unfortunately, we fall short of that love and reject him and sin against him. Yet his plan is ever to reach out to his own and draw us to himself. 

Our response is faith. Our response is to believe him for what he says and what he says about us and our sin, and what he says about his love to us. Our response is faith.

Invitation

Dear friends, do you have such faith today? if you have never asked Yeshua to be your Saviour, today as we keep learning from Joshua, would you choose to believe the Lord of life?   What does it mean to be strong and courageous in light of learning about Yeshua? Would you be willing to take a stand for him who took a stand and died on a Roman cross for you?

If you’d like to do that today, just now, join me as we pray.

Say something like this: “Father in Yeshua’s name, forgive me my sin, I was wrong to dismiss you and to disbelieve in you. I need your mercy. I deserve punishment but you are kind and merciful and I receive your grace. I repent. I receive Yeshua as my saviour and Lord. I will live because of my faith in Messiah Yeshua. Amen.

If you prayed that, please let us know of your profession by writing straightaway, won’t you? Bob@JewsforJesus.org.au We’d love to hear from you.

 

Conclusion

We are delighted you have joined us today. Please join us next week and learn with the others how you can stay on track in 2021 and beyond.   I hope to see you next week as we continue our studies in Joshua.  You will certainly see yourself in the readings and in the lessons. Line by line. It will be worthwhile!  Next week we will look at chapter 4 and see what lessons we can draw for ourselves especially about 12 large memorial stones!

Hope to see you then… until then, Shabbat shalom!

 

 

 

Bibliography

Butler, Trent C., Word Biblical Commentary, Volume 7. Joshua. Word, Waco, 1983.

Davis, Dale Ralph, Joshua: No Falling Words, Christian Focus, Fearn, Ross-shire, Scotland, 2019.

Hess, Richard. Tyndale Commentary Complete. 

Meyer, F.B., Joshua and the Land of Promise, Christian Literature Crusade, Ft Washington PA, 1977.

Sanders, J. Oswald, Promised-Land Living, Moody Press, Chicago, 1984.

Weirsbe, Warren. Be Strong: Putting God's Power to Work in Your Life. David C. Cook Publishing, Colorado Springs, 2010.

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D-Groups for this week

1)            Tuesday 11 am Sydney time. Led by James Howse

2)            Monday 7 pm, Sydney time, led by James White

(Contact our office for zoom details)

If you’d like to host a D-Group either online or in person, please contact bob@jewsforjesus.org.au for further details. It’s time to step up. Ponder this—who will be in your D-Group?