Josué 1
G. Campbell Morgan · Citado em PreceptAustin
Josué 1
Morgan - From This Verse) Meditating upon God’s Word— Joshua had just succeeded Moses in the leadership of the nation Israel. Moses had led the nation for 40 years and had the benefit that all the wisdom and culture of Egypt and the king’s household could provide. Moses was a seasoned, multitalented man who had walked closely with God. Joshua, by contrast, was relatively untried. He was assuming an awesome responsibility in taking command of two-and-a-half million people. If anyone needed a formula for success, Joshua did. Likely there were many well-meaning people with all kinds of advice and formulas to help Joshua in the seemingly impossible task that lay ahead. What comfort and assurance it must have been as the Lord (Yahweh) spoke directly to Joshua, assuring him of His presence with him as He had been with Moses (Jos1:5), and giving him the key to success—meditating upon God’s Word. Joshua is to meditate upon the Word of God day and night (i.e., at all times), and is promised (1) prosperity and (2) good success in the God-given task that lies ahead. Reading and memorizing God’s Word provide the basis for meditating upon God’s Word. You meditate upon the Word of God by rehearsing its thoughts over and over in order to understand its implications for the situations of life. Meditating upon the Word of God will guarantee prosperity and success in the new life. GEORGE BUSH Notes Critical and Practical on the Book of Joshua - Chapter 1 Review by Cyril Barber on George Bush - Bible students, whether laypeople or pastors, should eagerly acquire the writings of this fine biblical scholar and for their own edification and enrichment read what he wrote. (The Minister's Library - Vol 2 The Minister's Library - Vol 3) This book of the law: That is, by way of emphasis, ‘the book of the law,’ the law of Moses, to which, as he well knew, God attached the utmost importance, and of which he speaks as if it were at that moment in Joshua’s hand, or at his side, as it continually ought to be. Shall not depart out of thy mouth. Thou shalt constantly read and ponder it; it shall incessantly employ thy lips; thou shalt have thy heart so constantly imbued with its letter and spirit, that thy mouth shall, as it were, overflow with its rich contents, as ‘out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh.’ The same phrase occurs but once elsewhere in the Scriptures, Is. 59:21. ‘As for me, this is my covenant with them, saith the Lord. My spirit that is upon thee and my words which I have put in thy mouth, shall not depart out of thy mouth, nor out of the mouth of thy seed, nor out of the mouth of thy seed’s seed, saith the Lord, from henceforth and forever;’ where it is implied that the covenant promise should be deemed so precious, that it should be a perpetual theme of meditation and discourse; that it should constantly dwell on the tongues of those interested in it. It is moreover implied, in this charge to Joshua, that he was not only to make the book of the law the subject of assiduous study for his own personal benefit, but also to make it the sole rule and standard of all his public and official proceedings; he was to issue orders and pronounce judgments according to its precepts, and that too without exception or reserve—he must ‘do according to all that is written therein.’ Though appointed to the rank of supreme head and magistrate of the nation, he was not to consider himself elevated in the slightest degree above the authority of the Divine law, or the necessity of consulting it; nor should any Christian magistrate at this day consider himself at liberty to dispense with the light which beams from the word of God, in regard to the great matters of his duty. The higher any man is raised in office, the more need has he of an acquaintance with the sacred oracles, and the better will he be qualified by the study of them for the discharge of his arduous duties. Thou shalt meditate therein day and night. This is the character of the good man as described by the Psalmist, Ps. 1:2, in words which are almost an exact transcript of those here employed. The Heb. term for ‘meditate,’ (חגה hâgâh) implies that kind of mental rumination which is apt to vent itself in an audible sound of the voice. See my Comment, on Ps. 1:2. Make thy way prosperous—have good success. Two different words are here employed, the latter of which is the same with that remarked upon above, v. 7, and which should probably be rendered here also, ‘do wisely,’ ‘conduct understandingly,’ as otherwise it is little, if any thing, more than a bare repetition of the preceding phrase. The Arab. renders it, and thy ways shall be directed. Joshua 1:9 "Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous! Do not tremble or be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go." Have: De 31:7,8,28 Jud 6:14 2Sa 13:28 Ac 4:19 Be strong: Jos 1:6,7 Do not tremble: Ge 28:15 De 20:1 Ps 27:1,2 Jer 1:7,8 for the Lord: Ps 46:7 Isa 43:1,5 Joshua - Portrait of the Man God Uses - overview of Joshua's life Joshua 1 Resources - Multiple Sermons and Commentaries THE THIRD CALL TO COURAGE Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous! Do not tremble or be dismayed - NET has "Don't be afraid and don't panic." The task Joshua faced was huge and he was as human as any man, and God Who knew his heart, knew he needed re-affirmation. For the LORD your God is with you wherever you go - The "for" explains why Joshua could obey the exhortation to not tremble or be dismayed. The answer? God's presence. Of course Joshua still had to fight, but he fought with a Mighty Warrior at this side. God’s Presence is the Difference Maker -- Paul Apple I love the words of the angel Gabriel to Mary when he appeared to her and told her about how God wanted her to give birth to the Savior of the world, and she asked the very logical question, "How can an unwed teenage girl get pregnant?" Gabriel's response was this (American Standard Version, 1901): "For no word from God shall be void of power." (Lu 1:37+) The very word that God speaks has in it the power of fulfillment. Our call is to trust God's word and walk in obedience to it. For Joshua, in the twenty-five years (plus or minus) that are to come, whenever he faced enemy opposition and was tempted to be afraid (he was human!), he would recall these truths to mind that he has been personally commissioned by the Almighty God Who promised to provide all the resources (especially His presence) necessary to fulfill the task. Whenever things went wrong---and they did---he would be tempted to be dismayed, but could claim the presence and power of the God who commanded him and the influence of the word of God upon which he had meditated. Joshua will allow the encouragement of God to invigorate him over and over again. THOUGHT - What are you being called of God to arise and do today? What obedience to truth is required of you? How has God personally commissioned you to serve him and His people? Is there someone in whose giant shadow you will be serving, a loved leader you're being asked to follow, perhaps as a Sunday School teacher, staff person, or whatever? If none of these questions connects with you, then you have a different issue to deal with. It might mean that you're idling in neutral---gradually sliding backward, losing ground in your spiritual journey. Perhaps the call to you is to stand up and step out. Maybe it means saying, "Okay, Lord, what do you want me to do? What do you want me to possess? What do you want me to move into?" I pray that you're encouraged by this text, that it strengthens you and gives you a brave heart (one of my all time favorite movies!) Campbell - Joshua probably had times when he felt weak, inadequate, and frightened. Perhaps he considered resigning before the Conquest even began. But God knew all about his feelings of personal weakness and fear and told Joshua three times, Be strong and courageous (vv. 6–7, 9; cf. v. 18). God also urged him not to be afraid or discouraged (cf. Deut. 1:21; 31:8; Josh. 8:1). These charges with their accompanying assurances (God’s promise, God’s power, and God’s presence) were sufficient to last a lifetime. Believers in all ages can be uplifted by the same three assurances. (The Bible Knowledge Commentary)
Josué 1:8
Morgan - Glimpses Of Jesus In Joshua (August 19, 2001) One of my goals in preaching is to one day complete thirty-nine messages or series of messages on the subject of Glimpses of Jesus in each of the Old Testament books. I’ve already preached a series of messages called "Glimpses of Jesus in Genesis," and another on "Glimpses of Jesus in Exodus." Next year I’d like to devote a more extensive series of messages to how Jesus is portrayed in the tabernacle in the wilderness which is described in the final chapters of Exodus. This morning, I’d like to skip ahead of Joshua, and show you three portraits of Christ that we have in that ancient book. Why Joshua? Well, I’ve been studying Joshua in preparation for a series of sermons on leadership. That series has been frustratingly slow to come together, but in the process I’ve been deeply impressed at how Jesus in portrayed in this book. We have three wonderful glimpses of Jesus within the 24 chapters of Joshua. So will you turn with me please to Joshua, chapter 1. After the death of Moses the servant of the Lord, the Lord said to Joshua son of Nun, Moses’ aide: "Moses my servant is dead. Now then, you and all these people, get ready to cross the Jordan River into the land I am about to give to them—to the Israelites. From time to time, most Christians are plagued with little arrows of doubt about the truthfulness and veracity of their faith. How do we know the Bible is true? How do we know that Jesus Christ is God made flesh? What proof do we have? Jesus said, "If you want evidence that I’m who I claim to be, search the Scriptures." And by "Scriptures," He meant the Old Testament, for those were the only Scriptures of His day. On the Emmaus Road in Luke 24, he said to the doubting disciples, "How foolish you are, and how slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken!" And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself. Someone said that Jesus Christ pervades the Old Testament the way salt pervades the ocean. If so, we should be able to get a glimpse of Jesus in the book of Joshua. And we do, in three ways. In Joshua Himself First, we see Jesus in Joshua Himself, who was a type of Christ. How do we know? Because our Lord Jesus Christ was named the same name as this great Old Testament leader. The name Jesus is the Greek form of the Hebrew Joshua. Now, Joshua was not Joshua’s original name. Look with me at Numbers 13. In this chapter, Moses selected twelve men to spy out the land of Canaan in preparation for the Israelite invasion. The names of the twelve men are listed. The Lord said to Moses, "Send some men to explore the land of Canaan, which I am giving the Israelites. From each ancestral tribe send one of its leaders." So at the Lord’s command Moses sent them out from the Desert of Paran. All of them were leaders of the Israelites. These are their names… from the tribe of Ephraim, Hoshea son of Nun…" Now, verse 16: These are the names of the men Moses sent to explore the land. Moses gave Hoshea son of Nun the name Joshua. Why did he do that? Most commentators are mystified. The two names are very similar. Hoshea in the Hebrew means May Jehovah Save. Joshua means Jehovah Is Salvation. It seems to me that Moses was led by God to strengthen Hoshea’s name to make it more solid, more durable, more certain, more dogmatic, as a personal name for the coming Messiah: Jehovah Is Salvation. Here is one who is God Himself who has come to save His people. And these two men not only share the same name, but a similar task. Joshua took over after the giver of the law had died, and he led the people into the future that God had planned and designed for them. The Bible teacher Paul Van Gorder points out, The book begins with the words, "Now after the death of Moses…" Moses represented the law. The people could not enter the land of Canaan until Moses was dead. "For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh, that the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh but after the Spirit (Rom 8:3,4)…. Joshua led the children of Israel to victory after crossing the Jordan. He was their advocate in time of defeat. It was Joshua who allotted them their portions within the land. All of this beautifully pictures the work of the Lord. Rahab’s Crimson Cord Now, there is a second picture of Jesus in the book of Joshua, and it is found in a coil of scarlet roping that plays a prominent role in the story of Rahab the prostitute in Joshua 2. In this passage, the children of Israel, still on the east bank of the Jordan, are massing for the invasion; but Joshua, being a shrewd and wise general, still needed some advance military intelligence. So he secretly sent two spies on a three-day mission into the Promised Land. They secretly entered the city of Jericho, but something went badly wrong and their covers were blown. The city authorities mobilized to track them down and kill them, but a prostitute named Rahab took them in and hid them. Her heart was hungry for God, and she recognized these men as representatives of God. She had a crimson cord which she tied to the window of her house, which was attached to the city wall, so that the men could rappel down the wall and escape. She said to them, "I know that you are going to capture this city. I know that God is with you. When you do, I beg that you’ll spare me, my father and mother, my brothers and sisters and all who belong to them. Save us from death." Their response is in verse 14: "Our lives for your lives!" the men assured her. "If you don’t tell what we are doing, we will treat you kindly and faithfully when the Lord gives us the land." So she let them down by a rope through the window, for the house she lived in was part of the city wall. Now she had said to them, "Go to the hills so the pursuers will not find you. Hide yourselves there three days until they return, and then go on your way." The men said to her, "This oath you made us swear will not be binding on us unless, when we enter the land, you have tied this scarlet cord in the window through which you let us down, and unless you have brought your father and mother, your brothers and all your family into your house. If anyone goes outside your house into the street, his blood will be on his own head; we will not be responsible. As for anyone who is in the house with you, his blood will be on our head if a hand is laid on him. Verse 21: "Agreed," she replied. "Let it be as you say." So she sent them away and they departed. And she tied the scarlet cord in the window. What a picture of Christ. Judgment is coming. The Bible says that the world is about to be invaded by the judgment of God. Acts 17:30-31 says that God "now commands all men everywhere to repent, because He has appointed a day on which He will judge the world in righteousness by the Man whom He has ordained." There is only one place where we may find safety and deliverance. Just as the Israelites were told to remain in their houses with the crimson blood of the Lamb painted on the door posts, just as Rahab was told to remain in her room with the crimson cord tied to the window, so we must be under the protecting, saving power of the crimson blood of Christ. There’s an old song that says: What can was away my sin? Nothing but the blood of Jesus. What can make me whole again? Nothing but the blood of Jesus. Oh! Precious is the flow that makes me white as snow; No other fount I know, Nothing but the blood of Jesus. Now, can you imagine how diligently Rahab sought to get her loved ones into that room? The invasion was imminent, and nothing else mattered to her except to get her father and mother, her brothers and sisters and their children into that upper room. It’s the same sort of diligence we see in the apostle Paul as he scurried about the Roman Empire, begging everyone he met to come to Christ for salvation. It’s a picture of the burden we should have for our own loved ones who know not Christ. The Captain of the Lord’s Host We also see Jesus in what I believe is a special pre-incarnate appearance in Joshua 5. This is one of the most unusual scenes in the Old Testament. After the Israelites crossed the Jordan River and prepared to fight for the city of Jericho, the Lord Jesus Himself—God the Son—left the throne of heaven for a few moments to impress something on the one who would later be His earthly namesake. Look at Joshua 5:13ff: Now when Joshua was near Jericho, he looked up and saw a man standing in front of him with a drawn sword in His hand. Joshua went up to Him and asked, "Are you for us or for our enemies?" "Nether," He replied, "but as commander of the army of the Lord I have now come." Then Joshua fell facedown on the ground in reverence and asked Him, "What message does my Lord have for His servant." The commander of the Lord’s army replied, "Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy." And Joshua did so. There are two things to notice here. First, the identity of this strange commander. Why do I say that this is a pre-incarnate appearance of Jesus Christ? By pre-incarnate appearance, I mean that Jesus came down to earth in the form of a human being before He actually became a human being at Bethlehem. Jesus Christ, being God, has always existed as God. He existed in Old Testament days. The prophet Micah tells us that His comings and goings are from old, even from eternity. We’re also given the indication in the Bible that God the Father and God the Holy Spirit remain invisible, but it is one of the jobs of God the Son to manifest the presence of God to His creation. John 1:18 says, "No one has ever seen God, but God the One and Only (Son), who is at the Father’s side, has made Him known." So there are several times in the Old Testament when we get glimpses of the physical, literal appearance of Jesus Christ prior to His birth in Bethlehem, and theologians call these sightings under a special name—Christophonies. But notice in this passage the strange message. When Joshua realized that He was speaking with the Lord Himself, he asked, "What message to you have for me? What do I need to know?" We would have thought that the Commander of the Lord’s Hosts would give him some military instruction or some spiritual insight. Instead the only message is: "Take off your shoes. The place where you are standing is holy." What can we glean from that? Look back at chapter 1. In the introduction of the book, in the initial set of instructions that God gives to Joshua, He reminds him of His constant, abiding Presence: No one will be able to stand up against you all the days of your life. As I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you—verse 5 The Lord your God will be with you wherever you go—verse 9 The pillar of cloud may have vanished. The column of fire may no longer be seen. Moses is dead. But I have not gone anywhere. My presence is just as real and just as near and just as powerful as it ever was. The angelic armies are hovering unseen over your head. Wherever you are is holy, because I am with you. The Lord Jesus wants us to regard wherever we are as a holy place, because He is with us. Your living room is holy ground, for when you are there, Jesus is there. Your bedroom is holy ground. Your office at work is a holy place when you are there, for Christ is there with you. Brother Lawrence, the Carmelite mystic, was assigned to the monastery kitchen, and he was unhappy there until he realized one day that even the most menial tasks, if undertaken for God’s glory, are holy; and wherever the Christian stands--even in a hot, thankless kitchen--is holy ground, for the Lord is there, too. It was said about Brother Lawrence that in the great hurry of business in the kitchen he still preserved his recollection and heavenly-mindedness. He was never hasty nor loitering, but did each thing in its season, with an even, uninterrupted composure and tranquility of spirit. "The time of business," said the Brother, "does not with me differ from the time of prayer, and in the noise and clatter of my kitchen, while several persons are at the same time calling for different things, I possess God in as great tranquility as if I were upon my knees at the blessed sacrament." And Joshua went forth with a newfound confidence, knowing that even if he could not see the Lord, the Lord was there, present, hovering near with His divine armies, ready to fight on his behalf, even as our Lord Jesus Christ said as He ascended into heaven, Lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the world. And so we see Jesus in Joshua… Through the man Joshua himself whose name made him a prototype of the Coming Messiah: Jehovah is Salvation; Through the scarlet cord signifying the saving power of the blood of Christ; Through the mysterious Captain of the armies of God whose presence is near us. Whenever Jesus is with us wherever we are standing is holy ground. These three glimpses of Jesus in Joshua are given to us over a thousand years before our Lord’s birth in Bethlehem. Today I’m going to ask you to put your trust in Jesus Christ. His name, His blood, and His presence are available to you right now. Rob Morgan JOSHUA 1:8 SERMON One of my earliest memories goes back to when I was four or five years old. Either my dad or mom came to have a talk with me, telling me they were enrolling me in the kindergarten program at the First Methodist Church. In those days, the school system in my hometown of Elizabethton didn’t offer kindergarten, but some of the churches did. My memory of this conversation is not distinct; I simply recall felling very unhappy about the news. My entire life to that point had been within the security of the four walls of my own home and with my two parents, and I wasn’t ready to be thrust out of the nest, so to speak. They told me that another little boy down the street was also going into the program, and that signaled an adjustment, too, because I had never really had a buddy. It was just hearth and home. Not even my sister had yet been born. Well, I did attend kindergarten at the First Methodist Church, and I did eventually adjust to it barely. But it’s interesting to me that one of my first memories is the fear and insecurity that I felt at an impending change in my young life. From time to time, we all have to start new chapters in our lives. I don’t like reading a book that doesn’t divide into chapters, or that has chapters that are so long that it takes forever to get to the end of them. I think the great Russian novels like those of Dostoyevsky and Tolstoy would be easier to read if the chapters were a little shorter. But in life, we don’t always want to start new chapters. Some of these chapters are dreaded; others are welcomed. But they all involve change. When we get married or have a child or get a new job or when our children leave home, that’s opening a new chapter. When we lose our job or have to relocate or suffer a major loss in life like the death of a spouse… those things, too, open a new chapter. Our lives are divided into chapters. Well, there’s a passage in the Bible devoted to this very thing, to starting new chapters. It is a chapter about chapters. It’s found at the beginning of the book of Joshua. Background Perhaps you know the story behind the book of Joshua. If you don’t, I can give you the sixty-second summary. The first book of the Bible, Genesis, ends with the descendants of Abraham migrating down to Egypt because of a severe famine. In the book of Exodus, these descendants grow large in number, but they became an enslaved nation under the tyranny of Egyptian Pharaohs. Moses instigated a rebellion and led them out of Egypt. Because of their grumbling and unbelief, they wandered in the Arabian Desert for forty years until a new and more obedient generation arose. This story is told in the book of Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. Finally this vast migration of people came to the edge of the Promised Land, to the banks of the Jordan River, and their longtime leader, Moses, died. He had led Israel for four decades. But now a new leader named Joshua took over. In the next book of the Bible, here in Joshua 1, the people of Israel prepared to cross the Jordan, to conquer the land, and to begin a new chapter in the history of the Jewish people. Big changes were coming. A new epoch was beginning. A new era was at hand. Joshua 1 was given to help prepare these people for the new change that was coming, and as we read this chapter—and especially these first nine verses—we can find three great patterns for handling chapter-changes in our lives, too. If anyone here today is at a chapter-change in your life, this is the passage for you. 1. The Future Belongs to God (vv. 1-5) First, realize that the future belongs to God. Someone said, “I don’t know what the future holds, but I know who holds the future.” That’s the message of verses 1-5: After the death of Moses the servant of the Lord, the Lord said to Joshua son of Nun, Moses’ aide: “Moses my servant is dead. Now then, you and all these people, get ready to cross the Jordan River into the land I am about to give them—to the Israelites. I will give you every place where you set your foot, as I promised Moses. Your territory will extend from the desert to Lebanon, and from the great river, the Euphrates—all the Hittite country—to the Great Sea on the west. No one will be able to stand up against you all the days of your life. As I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you.” The first thing these people needed to realize is that the Lord (being eternal) was already in the future, and that He was literally going to lead them step by step. When you’re in God’s will, He will lead you step by step and day by day. The Bible says, “The steps of a good man (or woman) are ordered by the Lord” (Psalm 37:23, NKJV). The book of Isaiah is full of this emphasis and of similar promises. Let me show you some examples from several consecutive chapters in Isaiah. Look at Isaiah 42, 43, 44, 45, and 46: • I will lead the blind by ways they have not known, along unfamiliar paths I will guide them; I will turn the darkness into light before them and make the rough places smooth. These are the things I will do; I will not forsake them—Isaiah 42:16 • But now, this is what the Lord says—He who created you, O Jacob, He who formed you, O Israel: “Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze. For I am the Lord, your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior—Isaiah 43:1-3 • This is what the Lord says—Israel’s King and Redeemer, the Lord Almighty: I am the first and I am the last; apart from Me there is no God. Who then is like me? Let him proclaim it. Let him declare and lay out before me what has happened since I established my ancient people, and what is yet to come—yes, let him foretell what is to come. Do not tremble, do not be afraid. Did I not proclaim this and foretell it long ago? You are My witnesses. Is there any God besides Me? No, there is no other Rock; I know of not one.—Isaiah 44:6-8 • I will go before you and will level the mountains; I will break down gates of bronze and cut through bars of iron. I will give you the treasures of darkness, riches stored in secret places, so that you may know that I am the Lord, the God of Israel, who summons you by name—Isaiah 45:2-3 • Listen to Me, O house of Jacob, all you who remain of the house of Israel, you whom I have upheld since you were conceived, and have carried since your birth. Even to your old age and gray hairs, I am He, I am He who will sustain you. I have made you and I will carry you; I will sustain you and I will rescue you—Isaiah 46:3-4 Our Heavenly Father has given us many promises in the Bible regarding the chapter changes in life. He knows the future. He promises to lead us, to go before us, to be with us, to make a way for us, to carry us, to sustain us, to rescue us. The future belongs to Him, and He leads His children step by step through all the chapter changes of life. One of my favorite old hymns says: In heavenly love abiding no change my heart shall fear, For safe is such confiding and nothing changes here. The storm may rage without me; my heart may low be laid; But God is round about me, and can I be dismayed. Wherever He may guide me, no want shall turn me back. My Savior is beside me and nothing can I lack. His wisdom ever waketh, His sight is never dim. He knows the way He’s taking, and I will walk with Him. The Lord said, “I will give you every place where you set your foot… I will be with you… I will never leave you or forsake you.” 2. We Must Trust Him and Obey (vv. 6-7) Now, that leads to the second emphasis in this passage. Since the future belongs to God, we must trust Him fully and obey Him completely. Look at verses 6-7: Be strong and courageous, because you will lead these people to inherit the land I swore to their forefathers to give them. Be very strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go. The implication is that when we set out to do what God calls us to do, we’ll run into pressures, problems, and even enemies. But we must trust God, summon our strength, determine to press on, and obey Him as carefully as we know how. This is a great passage for teenagers. I read this week about a teenager in California—he is fifteen—who got tired of hearing so much profanity at school. So he started what he called a “No Cussing Club.” He suggested using words like “Pickles” and “Sassafras” instead of profane or obscene terms. A lot of people have agreed with him, and his club has grown to over 20,000 members. But he apparently has an equal number of enemies. He can’t believe the rage people are exhibiting. Students are going out of their way to cuss at him in school, and on the internet, and on the telephone. People have sent him pornographic magazine subscriptions. And the FBI is currently investigating death threats against his life. For some reason, the world cannot stand it when we live a life of faith and obedience. Just as the Israelites had enemies in the mountains of Canaan, we’ll have opposition in life. But we’re to trust God anyway, and we’re to obey Him anyway. We’re to be strong and careful to obey. So we’ll trust and obey, for there’s no other way, to be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey. 3. Success Depends on Meditating on God’s Unchanging Word (vv. 8-9) And that brings us to the third pattern for handling change. We can deal with changes in our lives so much better if we learn to meditate on God’s Unchanging Word. Verse 8 is our specific memory verse for today, and it’s one of my favorite verses in the Bible. So let’s take a moment to dissect it. The first phrase is a little awkward when it’s translated into English: Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth. Now, I believe this is referring to what our Jewish friends call the Torah—the first five books of Moses, the first five books of the Bible. There were still 61 books to go—Joshua himself would write one of them that bears his name. But the foundation of the Bible was in his hands. The first phrase is a little awkward when it’s translated into English: Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth. That means keep speaking it, keep reading it, keep repeating it, keep hearing it. But don’t stop there. As you read and hear it, think about it constantly. Meditate on it. The Hebrew word for “meditate” is from the same Hebrew verb that literally means to mutter, to read in a low voice. It’s the idea of muttering it to yourself. I had two experiences during my college years that made an impression on me. The first was during my freshman year at KingCollege in Bristol, Tennessee. It was announced with great excitement that the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi was going to visit our campus and lecture about meditation—specifically Transcendental Meditation. (I think I’m recalling this correctly, but it could have been one of the Maharishi’s associates). At any rate, I went to the lecture. The premise was, as I understood it at the time, that I as the practitioner should use some specific word or sound that had no meaning, a mantra. And I should find a comfortable place to sit and then repeat that mantra over and over again, until basically all my other thoughts had drained away and I was left with this sound which, in itself, had no thought content either. And then my near-empty mind could transcend itself and get in touch with the transcendent being, whoever or whatever that might be to me. That, as I understood it at the time, was Transcendental Meditation. Well, some of the students really liked these ideas and they followed the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, but I confess that I wasn’t one of them. At that point in my life, I was empty-minded enough to begin with, and the last thing I needed was to empty my mind further than it already was. The next year, 1971, I transferred to another college and I came in contact with another group call the Navigators. These were Christian young people, and I started studying the Bible in this group. Someone gave me a little booklet published by the Navigators and it was entitled “A Primer of Meditation.” But as I read this book, it took exactly the opposite approach to the Maharishi. Instead of meditating to empty our minds, it said, we should meditate to fill our minds—and to fill our minds with God’s Word. This little booklet said: Meditation is the skeleton key that unlocks the greatest storeroom in the house of God’s provision for the Christian…. (It is) holding the Word of God in your heart until it has affected every phase of your life…. Beware of getting alone with your own thoughts. Get alone with God’s thoughts. There is danger in rummaging through waste and barren desert-thoughts that can be labeled daydreaming or worse. Don’t meditate upon yourself but dwell upon God…. Make this a built-in habit of daily living…(“A Primer on Meditation” is a 9-page booklet that published by the Navigators, no author is given and no date is cited. The quotes are from pages 2, 4, and 5.) Well, this made a good deal more sense to me, and I began to discover a very powerful technique that really makes the Scriptures come alive. If I take a verse or a passage and I study it very carefully at my desk, then I come to understand something of its meaning. But if I memorize it or internalize it as best I can and then think about it while I’m driving down the road or taking a shower or going to sleep at night, I begin to develop fresh and exciting insights about that verse or passage. And I learned that it’s virtually impossible to teach or preach on a passage if you bypass the process of meditation. It is by meditation that the Word of God is broken down, digested, and assimilated in our minds and souls and spirits. One day shortly afterward, while I was in college, I studied the first chapter of the prophet Jeremiah. I was impressed with this chapter and wanted to prepare a sermon, but I could not figure out how to develop the outline. I read the passage over and over and over. I can’t say that I had it memorized exactly, but I became very familiar with it. But I could not come up with a way to present it in a lesson or sermon. I thought about it day and night. One day I went for a walk in the woods, and suddenly while I was walking a perfect outline formed in my mind. I ran back to my dormitory room and wrote it down, and to this day if I’m in a real pinch I pull out this old outline and preach from it. There is in the natural world, in the world of zoology, a perfect metaphor for meditation. I’ve shared this before, but I just can’t think of a better analogy, and it’s the picture of a sheep chewing her cud. We had a small flock of sheep that were our pets when the children were younger. One day I went down into the field and our daughter Hannah was sitting there beside the sheep just laughing and laughing. I asked what she was laughing at, and she was laughing at the sheep. The old sheep (it might have been Lucy) was laying there on the grass chewing and chewing, just as if she had a wad of bubblegum in her mouth. And then she would swallow it all. But in just a moment she would kind of burp and she’d start chewing again. I explained to Hannah that Lucy had two sections in their stomach. She would graze in the field all morning and swallow all that grass more-or-less whole and it went down into one section of her stomach. And then she would find a shady spot during the afternoon, and she would regurgitate it one mouthful at a time and chew it up. And this time when she swallowed it, it would go into another part of her stomach and be digested and assimilated to all parts of her body. When we read and study the Bible, we’re putting information into one part of our brain. We store the information there. But later we recall it, we chew on it, we roll it around in our brain, we meditate on it, and it becomes digested and assimilated to every part of our body and soul. And that leads to obedience: Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. When we learn to meditate on God’s Word, our minds are improved. They are God-conditioned. They are Jesus-conditioned. They are transformed by the renewing of our thoughts. And we become more obedient people. And that leads to success in life. Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful. This means succeeding in life’s most important endeavors, in life’s proper pursuits, in those things that God Himself calls you to do. And God will bless us even during the change-chapters of life. If you are facing a transition in your life, remember: The future belongs to God, you must trust Him fully and obey Him completely, and success depends on meditating on the wonders of God’s Word. Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful. Rob Morgan - Insoluble Problems Joshua 6 July 28, 2002 What To Do With Insoluble Problems Topics: Morgan; Jericho; Problems; Difficulties; Prayer; Faith; Perseverance; Praise It seems very often true that as we grow older, our problems grow worse. I’m not sure what that is, except that life just becomes more and more complicated the older we become. And from to time, we run into problems that are insoluble. I remember very clearly that it came as quick to shock to me about a dozen years ago when I suddenly realized that there are some problems in life that we just cannot solve. Until then, I had always assumed that with enough energy and creativity, I would never face any problem I couldn’t solve. I had been taught, “Where there’s a will, there’s a way.” I had heard that phrase almost from infancy. And it was a terrible blow to realize that some problems exist that we can never solve, that there are some situations we can never change. What do we do in such cases? Well, today, I’d like to take a break from our series of sermons on the Tabernacle to show you another Old Testament story that perfectly illustrates something for us along these lines. It’s the story of the city of Jericho in Joshua 6. Now Jericho was securely shut up because of the children of Israel; none went out, and none came in. And the Lord said to Joshua: “See! I have given Jericho into your hand, its king, and the mighty men of valor. You shall march around the city, all you men of war; you shall go all around the city once. This you shall do six days. And seven priests shall bear seven trumpets of rams’ horns before the ark. But the seventh day you shall march around the city seven times, and the priests shall blow the trumpets. It shall come to pass, when they make a long blast with the ram’s horn, and when you hear the sound of the trumpet, that all the people shall shout with a great shout; then the wall of the city will fall down flat. And the people shall go up every man straight before him” (Joshua 6:1-6, NKJV). The city of Jericho is the oldest known inhabited city in the world. It’s about twenty miles from Jerusalem, but in driving from Jerusalem to Jericho you drop over 3000 feet in elevation, Jerusalem being 2500 feet above sea level, and Jericho being 800 feet below sea level. I’ve visited Jericho many times, most recently in the year 2000, and I always enjoyed it. It is literally an oasis in the desert, fed by several abundant springs, and very verdant. There’s a special kind of orange you can purchase in Israel called “The Jericho Orange,” that has a sweetness you’ll not find in any other citrus. But Jericho wasn’t a welcome sight for the children of Israel. It represented an insoluble problem. It was a powerful, well-armed city, sitting squarely in the middle of the route into the Promised Land. And the Israelites had no way to defeat it. They had no canons, no battering rams, and few weapons of war. The children of Israel, marching to Zion, had literally run up against a wall. Now, let me ask you, what is your Jericho? Your insolvable problem, securely shut up? Recently a gentleman in Missouri told me of a problem that was so great and so hard that I wondered if it could ever be resolved. I told him, “Don’t give up!” but he replied, “Sometimes it’s hard not to give up.” And I had to agree with him. A few weeks ago, a young lady came to see me, and by the time she had described her problem, I was almost too depressed to give any counsel. I wondered how in the world people can end up in such perplexing and paralyzing situations. What is your Jericho? Do you have one? What do you do about it? Encompass the Problem with Prayer First, we must learn to encompass our problem with prayer. This is what the Israelites did. For six days they silently encircled the city one time, and on the seventh day they encircled the city seven times. What were they doing as they silently walked around in this large circle? I’m sure that many of them, the spiritually-minded among them, were praying. They were literally encircling their problem in prayer. Joy Ridderhof, born in 1903, started an organization called Gospel Recordings, Inc. to record the gospel for every language group on earth. It is now approaching five thousand languages, and millions around the world have heard of Christ through GR recordings. But it wasn’t easy. Joy, a single career woman, faced loneliness, sickness, dangerous travels, foreign intrigue, and financial crises at every step. One year, Gospel Recordings badly needed more room at its Los Angeles base. Joy and her staff prayed about it for months, and suddenly a large site became available. It seemed ideal, and the board authorized a $6,000 deposit. The property cost ten times that much, but Joy refused to publicly appeal for funds. She was in Wheaton, Illinois, as the deadline approached. If $60,000 didn’t materialize within a week, the property would be lost along with the $6,000 deposit. Only half the amount was on hand, and Joy’s staff called her in crisis. Her laconic instructions were to claim Joshua 3:5 and to follow the Jericho pattern for the remaining seven days. And cable the branch offices to join us. No other explanation was given, but none was needed. The staff understood. Cables flew around the world : BUILDING DEADLINE OCTOBER NINTH FOLLOW JERICHO PATTERN NEXT SEVEN DAYS JOSHUA 3:5. The walls of Jericho had fallen after the Israelites had circled them for seven days. In the same way, the staff of Gospel Recordings encircled the problem with prayer, two hours a day for seven days. The walls fell. In an overseas call from London, a British GR staffer announced an unexpected legacy had just arrived for the ministry, and it was exactly enough to complete the building’s purchase. The home staff burst into the Doxology, and Joy Ridderhof continued her speaking tour through Illinois with a new story of God’s faithfulness. This is the pattern we see throughout the Scripture. · When King Hezekiah’s city of Jerusalem was surrounded by the invading troops of the Assyrian King Sennacherib, he took the threatening letter from the Assyrian ruler to the temple and spread it out before the Lord, praying for deliverance. · When Daniel was up against the stone wall of death in the lions’ den because of the political machinations of his enemies, he went to his upper room, knelt, prayed, and gave thanks as he had done from the days of his youth. · When Peter was imprisoned and scheduled for execution, the early church gathered at the home of John Mark’s mother and prayed without ceasing for him. Learn to encompass your problems in prayer. Encircle them. Surround them. Pray without ceasing, and don’t get discouraged. Jesus said, “We should always pray and not give up.” Encompass the Problem with Faith Second, we must also encompass our problem with faith. Sometimes we use the term “walking by faith” in a figurative sense, but here these Israelites were doing it literally. I’ve been impressed recently at the way the Bible assures us that God responds to faith, and at the same time, I’ve been convicted about my lack of faith. Recently as I was reading in the Bible, I was stuck by what the shepherd boy David said when confronted with the gigantic problem of Goliath. He said simply, “The Battle is the Lord’s.” I began checking the cross-references to that statement, and I was shocked and greatly encouraged at how often the heroes of the Bible used statements like that. I’d like to share with you a medley of Scripture readings I put together based on this concept. I don’t have time to give you all the chapter-and-verse references or to share the context and circumstances around all the statements. But just listen: Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. Today you are on the verge of battle with your enemies. Do not let your heart faint, do not be afraid, and do not tremble or be terrified because of them; for the Lord your God is He who goes with you, to fight for you against your enemies. »»» Do not be afraid nor dismayed because of this great multitude, because the battle is not yours, but God’s. You will not need to fight in this battle. Position yourselves, stand still and see the salvation of the Lord…! »»» You must not fear… for the Lord your God Himself fights for you. You will not need to fight in this battle…. The Lord is a man of war; the Lord is His name. With (our enemy) is an arm of flesh; but with us is the Lord our God, to help us and to fight our battles. Who is this King of glory? The Lord strong and mighty, the Lord mighty in battle. »»» We are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. »»» You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you in greater than he who is in the world… And this is the victory that has overcome the world--our faith…. Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit… (Ephesians 6:12; Deuteronomy 20:3-4; 2 Chronicles 20:15, 17; Deuteronomy 3:22; Exodus 15:3; 2 Chronicles 32:8; Psalm 24:8; Romans 8:37; 1 John 4:4, 5:4; Zechariah 5:6) The hymn writer said: O, for a faith that will not shrink, Though pressed by every foe, That will not tremble on the brink Of any earthly woe! A faith that shines more bright and clear When tempests rage without; That when in danger knows no fear, In darkness feels no doubt. Encircle the Problem with Perseverance Third, we must encircle our problem with perseverance. Let me ask you a question. Why seven days? The Lord could have delivered the city on the first day, or on the second. But why an entire week, day after day after day, trampling around in circles, praying, believing, but seeing nothing happen, seeing no progress, for seven days? One of the reasons was undoubtedly to teach the Israelites the quality of perseverance—the ability to keep on going in the face of difficulty. I don’t know why the Lord values this quality so much, but He does. Look at the way it’s put in these verses: Romans 5:1ff says: Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, trough whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. 3 And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; 4 and perseverance, character; and character, hope. 5Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us. James 1 says: Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, 3 because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. 4 Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything (NIV). In Ephesians 6, Paul instructs us to pray “always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints.” Most of us give up praying too soon. Some prayer-battles requires years of faithfulness before the walls fall down, but we mustn’t give up. Encircle the Problem With Praise Fourth, we must encircle our problem with praise. Now, we very often praise the Lord after the deliverance has been gained. The great song of the Israelites in Exodus 15 was an eruption of praise that occurred after they had all passed through the Red Sea. But in this case, it was an even great form of praise, because the shout of joy went up before the wall fell down. Have you ever noticed this? Their shouts of joy, praise, and thanksgiving didn’t come after the victory, but before. Look at verse 15ff: But it came to pass on the seventh day that they rose early, about the dawning of the day, and marched around the city seven times in the same manner. On that day only they marched around the city seven times. And the seventh time it happened, when the priests blew the trumpets, that Joshua said to his people: “Shout, for the Lord has given you the city!…” So the people shouted when the priests blew the trumpets. And it happened when the people heard the trumpet, and the people shouted with a great shout, that the wall fell down flat. Then the people went up into the city, every man straight before him, and they took the city.” They were praising the Lord—not for what He had done—but for what He was going to do. It reminds me of the prayer of praise at the end of the book of Habakkuk, when Habakkuk said, in effect, even if it appears that everything is going wrong, I am going to praise the Lord.” Recently we had a delegation of South Korean businessmen who visited our church, and afterward I quizzed them a great deal about the conditions Christians are facing in North Korea. They told me terrible stories of suffering and martyrdom. But perhaps the thing that moved me most was when they said that when little groups of Christians—churches—meet in North Korea it is under the greatest cloak of secrecy. They gather together, open their hymnbooks, and they sing praises in unison. But because of fear of detection, they sing silently. And so you have a room full of Christians, all with their hymnbooks, all singing in unity. Their mouths are moving, but they are unable sing audibly. They are singing in unison in their hearts. But they are praising the Lord. Isn’t it terrible that we have the opportunity of voicing our praises to God, and so many us just don’t do it. When I was in college, I learned a simply hymn which has come to us from the German Catholic Church. The author is unknown, but whoever that German Catholic was, he or she knew how to praise the Lord, because the words say: When morning gilds the skies my heart awaking cries: May Jesus Christ be praised! Alike at work and prayer, to Jesus I repair: May Jesus Christ be praised! I didn’t realize until recently that this song has fifteen verses! The other morning, I sang all fifteen in my devotions. I’m not going to quote all fifteen now, but listen to just a few of them: When you begin the day, O never fail to say, May Jesus Christ be praised! And at your work rejoice, to sing with heart and voice, May Jesus Christ be praised! Whene’er the sweet church bell peals over hill and dell, May Jesus Christ be praised! O hark to what it sings, as joyously it rings, May Jesus Christ be praised! My tongue shall never tire of chanting with the choir, May Jesus Christ be praised! This song of sacred joy, no power can destroy,, May Jesus Christ be praised! Does sadness fill my mind? A solace here I find, May Jesus Christ be praised! Or fades my earthly bliss? My comfort still is this, May Jesus Christ be praised! Be this at meals your grace, in every time and place; May Jesus Christ be praised! Be this, when day is past, of all your thoughts the last May Jesus Christ be praised! When sleep her balm denies, my silent spirit sighs, May Jesus Christ be praised! When evil thoughts molest, with this I shield my breast, May Jesus Christ be praised! The night becomes as day when from the heart we say: May Jesus Christ be praised! The powers of darkness fear when this sweet chant they hear: May Jesus Christ be praised! Do you have an insolvable problem? Encompass it with prayer, faith, perseverance, and praise. And either those walls will fall down in God’s good timing…. Or at just the right moment He will airlift you over them. Either way, the battle is the Lord’s. And as He goes out to fight for us, may our constant cry be: May Jesus Christ be praised! Greek Verb: Meletao Meletao (from melete = care, meditation, which is from mélō = to be of interest, to concern oneself) (3191) means to continue to perform certain activities with care (root word = melete = care) and concern and thus to practice, to continue to do, to cultivate. It means to give careful thought to (to think about, to meditate upon) which is the primary sense in 1 Ti 4:15. Meletao is used in a negative sense in Acts 4:25 where it is used with the adjective kenos meaning vain or empty and thus means to think vain thoughts or to conspire in vain (quoting the Septuagint of Psalm 2:1, cp similar use in Ps 38:12). Meletao is used 34x in the Septuagint compared to only 2 times in the NT and often conveys the idea of to meditate (or to delight in) the Word of God (or some synonym) or upon God Himself (Ps 63:6). The derivative in Lk 21:14 promeletáō (4304) means to premeditate. Gilbrant on meletao - In classical Greek the primary meaning of the verb meletaō is “to take thought for, attend to, care for.” It can also mean “to exercise” or “to practice,” for example, an orator who practices speaking or reviews a speech in his mind before addressing an audience. The Septuagint uses meletaō mainly to translate hāghâh which means “to meditate” or “ponder” on something by talking to oneself. The Lord spoke to Joshua and advised him to meditate on the Book (the Torah) day and night (Joshua 1:8). The same is said of the righteous man (Psalm 1:2). The Psalmist meditated on the precepts, decrees, and promises of the Lord (Psalm 119:15,48,148 [LXX 118:15,48,148]). Meletaō occurs only three times in the New Testament (Gilbrant is counting the use in Mk 13:11 which other manuscripts do not have). In Mark 13:11 the King James Version translates meletaō with “premeditate.” The idea is that the disciples should not “rack their brains” when they are brought to trial because the Holy Spirit will give them wisdom and words to say. Acts 4:25 is a literal quotation of Psalm 2:1 from the Septuagint. In this place it is best rendered by “plan” or “plot.” Timothy was exhorted to meditate on a number of things including the public reading of Scripture, preaching, and teaching (1 Timothy 4:15). Following the use of meletaō in some papyri, it would be preferable to translate the passage, “Exercise yourself in (practice, cultivate) these things” (Moulton-Milligan). (Complete Biblical Library Greek-English Dictionary) Meletao - to care for [τινι] Isa 16,7; to meditate, to think about [abs.] Ps 77.6; id. [τι] Job 6.30; to meditate on, to study [ἔν τινι] Jos 1,8; to meditate on [εἴς τινα] Ps 63,7; id. [τι] Job 27,4; to plot to [+inf.] Isa 27,8; to heed, to pay attention to [τι] Pr 19,27; to mutter, to mourn Is 38,14 (Greek-English Lexicon) Meletao - used only in Acts 4:25 and 1 Ti 4:5. KJV has another use translated "premeditate" in Mark 13:11, but the Greek phrase "mede meletate" is not found in the newer Greek manuscripts. Acts 4:25 who by the Holy Spirit, through the mouth of our father David Your servant, said, ‘WHY DID THE GENTILES RAGE, AND THE PEOPLES DEVISE FUTILE THINGS? 1 Timothy 4:15 Take pains (present imperative = make this your habitual practice) with these things; be absorbed in them, so that your progress will be evident to all. Other translations - Meditate upon these things, KJV: Care about these things, SEB... Think about all this, NLT... Attend to your duties, NAB... Practise these things, TCNT... Continue cultivating these things; be devoted to them, Williams. Comment - This summary verse refers to what Paul had just written in 1 Ti 4:13, 14. This sense is given in the NIV: "Be diligent in these matters." The next clause, "give thyself wholly to them," is literally "be in them." The purpose for Timothy's diligent and wholehearted involvement was to be an effective witness to everyone, thus giving no one grounds for "despising" or looking down upon him because of his youth. Meletao - 34 uses of meletao in 33 verses in the Septuagint. Joshua 1:8 "This book of the law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it; for then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have success. Job 6:30 "Is there injustice on my tongue? Cannot my palate discern calamities? Job 27:4 My lips certainly will not speak unjustly, Nor will my tongue mutter deceit. Psalm 1:2 But his delight is in the law of the LORD, And in His law he meditates (Lxx = meletao) day and night. Psalm 2:1 Why are the nations in an uproar And the peoples devising (Lxx = meletao) a vain thing? Comment: Quoted by Luke in Acts 4:25 in a prayer by the disciples just released by the Jewish authorities. Note that they based their petition on the inspired Word of God, spoken by the Holy Spirit through the mouth of King David Psalm 35:28 And my tongue shall declare Your righteousness And Your praise all day long. Psalm 37:30 The mouth of the righteous utters wisdom, And his tongue speaks justice. Psalm 38:12 Those who seek my life lay snares for me; And those who seek to injure me have threatened destruction, And they devise treachery all day long. Psalm 63:6 When I remember You on my bed, I meditate (Lxx = meletao) on You in the night watches,