Forthcoming Reviews:
From Banner of Truth -
Thomas Watson: The Great Gain of Godliness [Paperback]
Frederick S.Leahy: The Hand of God - The Comfort of Having a Sovereign God [Paperback]
Good Reading
Seniors - Caleb's Club
6
I AM ABOUT TO GO THE WAY OF ALL THE EARTH ...
In Joshua 23 we have Joshua's Farewell to Israel. The reason for these words of Farewell are to be found in verses 1and 14. In verse one we're told that Joshua is old and well advanced in years; and in verse 14 he says, "Now I am about to go the way of all the earth." He feels it time that he should may preparation for the time he will no longer be there as leader. And like many leaders we meet with in the Bible who have felt that the time has come for them to lay aside their leadership - Joshua takes the opportunity to instruct and challenge and warn those he has in his care. Three things emerge from this farewell address that Joshua gives. They are, [1] God is Good; [2] Committment is Crucial; and [3] Consequences are Certain.
GOD IS GOOD. First Joshua reminds the Leaders that God is Good. In his Farewell, Joshua doesn't talk much about himself. Although he had been through so much - the Deliverance from Egypt, the Rebellion at Kadesh Barnea, the Wandering in the Desert, and the Conquest itself - he doesn’t talk about his experiences or his life. He dwells on other things. His emphasis is on what God has done for his people; and what the people ought to do for God. And the first thing he does is to focus attention on the Goodness of God to Israel . Let's just pick up on a few things he says that emphasises God's Love for his People:-
[a] God Fought for Israel. For one thing he emphasises that God fought for Israel [Verse 3] "You yourselves have seen everything the Lord your God has done to all these nations for your sake; it was the Lord your God who fought for you." And the implication of what that meant for Israel is brought out in verses 9-10. "The Lord has driven out before you great and powerful nations; to this day no one has been able to withstand you. One of you routs a thousand, because the Lord your God fights for you, just as he promised." There's something very awesome about a small force that has tremendous fire power, and can quickly and efficiently eliminate the enemy. That's the sort of picture we should get here. Israel was small in comparison to their opponents. And yet they were able to overpower them quickly and effectively - not because they had better weapons, but because God was fighting for them. Apart from the defeat at Ai - brought about by the sacrilege of Achan - they had resounding victories over their enemies.
God fights for his People! He fought for them in the past. He fought for them in sending His Son to deliver them from the power of the Devil. And He still fights for them today. And if God fights for his People, who can effectively be against them. As Paul puts it, "If God is for us, who can be against us?" [Romans 8] And if God has won for us the greatest Victory, will he not help us win other great victories as well? We need to give up focusing on numbers and weapons and methods and seek to be the sort of people God wants us to be - a close knit, dedicated, and enthusiastic fighting force committed to Him. And if he goes with us into the battle, numbers don't count very much and who knows what we may accomplish?
[b] God Fulfilled His Promises. But not only had he fought for them; He had been Faithful to his Promises. Notice what Joshua says at verse 14: "You know with all your heart and soul that not one of all the good promises the Lord your God gave you has failed. Every promise has been fulfilled; not one has failed" There's two things we ought to notice about that.
[1] Promises Fufilled. There's the obvious one - God had fulfilled every good promise. Unlike us - who make promises and resolutions and don't keep them - when God makes a Promise He keeps it. He Promised to bring them out of the Bonfage of Egypt, and to bring them into a land flowing with milk and honey. He kept that promise. He promised to go with them to care for and protect them - and he kept that Promise. If we go back to the opening chapter of Joshua we find there God's promise to Joshua and Israel: "As I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you." [Verse 5] In verse 9 he says, "the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go". Those promises had been kept too. Even when they sinned at Ai, He was still with them to set them on the right track again. How Great and Good God is - He fulfills every good promise to his People. And today we can be assured that not one of his Promises that he has made will fail.
[2] They Had Personal Experience of His Goodness. But there's another thing that comes out of these words in verse 14 - and that is the Personal Experience that these People had of the Faithfulness of God. "You know with all your heart and soul ...... that not one thing has failed of all the good things which the Lord your God spoke concerning you." They are not just being told about it; they know it from personal experience. And today, when we're told here about the faithfulness of God to his Promises, we're not just being told about it either. We have experienced it ourselves. Not only do we see the fulfillment of God's Promises in His Word. We see it in Life - and in our own lives, as he has kept us, supported us and cared for us. And as we think about these things, we can see that God is indeed Good. He fights for his People. He cares for them day in and day out, fulfilling in their lives every good promise. God is Good. God is Good to all; but God is especially good to his People. And when you and I come into his presence we will know in a way not known before, with all our heart and soul that not one of the good promises the Lord our God gave us has failed.
COMMITTMENT IS CRUCIAL. The second thing that comes out in Joshua's words of Farewell is that Committment to God is Crucial. After speaking about God's Goodness its natural that Joshua should turn to the thought of Committment to Him. After all, if God is Good and our enjoyment of Everything Good depends on Him, then the most important thing in the world is for us to be loyal to him. On other other hand the most foolish thing in the world - and the most disastrous thing in the world for us - is to turn away from the Source of all Good. And so Joshua emphasises that Committment to Him is Absolutely Crucial. And there are three areas where Joshua emphasises that Committment to God is Crucial.
[a] Committment to God's Word. The first area he mentions where committment is crucial is in regard to the Word of God - The Book of the Law: verse 6. "Be very strong. Be careful to obey all that is written in the Book of the Law of Moses, without turning aside to the right or to the left". In Moses' day "the Book of the Law of Moses" was the only part of the Word of God in existence. And so Joshua says to the People that they are to listen, learn, and put into practice its teaching. They are not to deviate from it either by adding to its requirement, or by taking away from its requirements. And he reminds them that its not going to be easy: "Be strong; be careful to obey" or "Be very courageous to keep and do all that is written in the Book of the Law of Moses." Spiritual strength is needed to put into practice the teaching of the Law of God. It was needed to obey the Lord's terms of Conquest - and Spiritual strength will still be need to remain true to that Law.
And the same holds true for us today who have the completed Revelation of God. Spiritual strength is needed for us to remain true to it and put it into practice in our lives. There's a whole range of issues in which it would be easy to cave into popular pressure today. For example, keeping the Lord's Day; Singing Psalms, or having Women as Ministers. It might make us a little bit more popular, and less odd. But what does the Word of God say to us? That must be our authority. And to cling to that when everybody else is doing something different is not easy. We must be very strong and careful to obey all that is written, "without turning aside to the right or to the left".
[b] Committed to Separation. Another thing that the People must be committed to is their Separation from the Nations round about them. Verse 7. "Do not associate with these nations that remain among you; do not invoke the names of their gods or swear by them. You must not serve them or bow down to them". God's People have a Unique God; they have Unique Revelation from God; they have Unique Beliefs and Teachings that come from that Word of God. And they are to hold to those Unique Beliefs, and Live out their Unique Way of Life without Compromise or Assimilation. They are to be Different and maintain that Difference at all costs. And one of the ways of doing that is avoid mimicking or assimilating the religion of others, forming alliances with them, or by developing close associations with them by way of Marriage. There is to be no Multiculturalism or Integration in Israel. They are to be Distinct and Different - and make sure they do so.
There are two big buzz words - and two great forces of influence in our society today. One is on Multiculturalism - allowing everybody to have their beliefs and culture; and the other is on Integration - building one nation and one world where we're all One Big Happy Family. And you would think that these two great forces would destroy each other: We can be different and We can't be different. But people and Governments do a nice juggling act: You can be different - but not too different - and we'll tell you where you can be different. You can be as different as you want in your beliefs, as long as they don't effect really important things. You can have your religious freedom - but don't criticise certain people. You can have political freedom - but don't you dare say the things some people say. You see how the juggling act goes on between Multiculturalism and Integration. Its just like the Ancient World. The Romans permitted all kinds of Religions - provided everyone recognised the Emperor as God. They allowed Multiculturalism. But it had limits. Integration was based on allegiance to the Roman Emperor as God and Saviour. And if you didn't join the Big Happy Family by worshipping him, you'd better watch out! But God's People refused to Integrate. Indeed, God's People when they're true to their Calling have always refused to Integrate. They are not able to do so because God and His Word makes them different. And as a result they suffered. But that is exactly what we're called to do: Be Separate. And if we put the Lord and his Word first in our lives, then that will happen.
[c] Committed To Love the Lord. And this leads to one other area where Committment is Crucial - and that's in the area of our affections. Look at verse 11. "Be very careful to love the Lord your God" And I believe this is really the most fundamental Committment of all. If we love the Lord then everything else is going to fall into place, isn't it? If we love the Lord in our hearts, then we'll want to listen to his Word, and submit willingly to his authority. If we love him in our hearts, we will want to serve him exclusively. We will not tolerate any rival to him; or any rival way of life to his; and will will want to see that ourselves and our families maintain that exclusive allegiance to him.
The tragedy today is that so many people separate the Law of God and Separation from Love. If we really love, we won't worry about the Law of God. And if we truly Love others we'll say their view is just a different way of looking at the same thing. The truth is that following God's Word and Separation from the World is the evidence of the Supreme Love - Love to our God, who want us to love Him with all our hearts. And to the extent we do that, we'll be more diligent in following his Word, and giving him the exclusive place he deserves in all that we do. We'll love his Word; We'll be proud of Him, simply because we love him. And if we do love the Lord, and demonstrate it in terms of obedience and separation, then, as Joshua indicates here, the sky is the limit to what may happen: "One of you routs a thousand, because the Lord fights for you, just as he promised".
CONSEQUENCES ARE CERTAIN. The last thing that Joshua mentions - and the last thing we'll touch on too - is the thought that Consequences are Certain.
[a] General Principle. For example, there's the General Principle stated: Obedience will lead to Blessing; Disobedience will lead to Curse. If you faithfully follow the Lord, his promises and blessings will be yours. If you do not, then "the Lord will bring on you all the evil he has threatened, until he has destroyed you from this good land he has given you."[Verse 15]. That that was no idle threat. The subsequent history demonstrates it, and it reaches its final fulfillment after their rejection of the Lord Jesus.
[b] Specific Application. And then there is the Specific Example given in verses 12/13. [Read] If they persist in Wrong Association/Alliances then, not only will they not conquer the land but their lives will become a misery. They will be snares and traps, scourges[whips] and thorns and they shall perish from the land. In NT language, "Whatever a man sows, that shall he also reap."
[c] Connection Broken. Can that connection be broken? The Connection between Guilt and Condemnation can be broken through confession and repentance. But many times the connection between the event and the consequences cannot be. David's Sin was forgiven but that sin brought great trouble to his family. And so it will often be. Our sins can be forgiven - but sometimes the unbreakable chain between act and consequence cannot be removed. And this makes it all the more necessary to be very strong and very careful so that we don't put into operation that chain of consequences that will bring sadness and sorrow into our lives. How much pain and suffering, fear and anxiety could be avoided by seeing the deceitfulness of sin and counting the cost.
5. CONCLUSION. God is Good - Good in that He fights for us; and Good in that He keeps everyone of his promises to us. We need to be Committed - to his Word; to Separation from the World, and in our Love for Him. And if we are, the Consequences for us will be good. It not, they will be terrible.
Book Review
Revelation, Apocalypse now and then, by Paul Barnett, Aquila Press, Sydney 1989, ($19.95 at Koorong).
The book of Revelation is daunting to most but this small commentary (157pages) is an excellent introduction and commentary. Paul Barnett, a retired Anglican bishop, is a NT scholar and his scholarship emerges in this book. He provides the reader with interesting historical information regarding the seven churches to which John sent this letter. He agrees that the author is the apostle John.
Revelation is ‘one of the most neglected books of the NT’ according to Barnett. He is probably right, although there have been a number of good commentaries published in recent years, including his, which have given confidence to students and preachers. Of course Revelation is far from neglected by certain groups within the church, and on the fringe. ‘It becomes a preoccupation and obsession for these people’. I had one such person who was always telling me about the prophecy of the red heifer and the restoration of temple worship!
Barnett confronts the problems of interpretation head on. The first few chapters deal with the genre (‘what kind of book?’), the symbolism (the ‘code’), and the layout. He affirms most strongly that Christ and the gospel are at the centre of Revelation. The focus, he says, is upon what Christ has done in his death, resurrection and ascension, rather than the future battle of Armageddon.
The layout he proposes involves parallelism, with four sets of seven running in parallel- seals, trumpets, signs and plagues. With the exception of the signs, the rest are clear in the text of Revelation. Barnett labels these parallels ‘tyranny’, ‘chaos’, ‘persecution’ and ‘destruction’ respectively. His extensive knowledge of the NT emerges in his exegesis of chapters two and three. The problems faced by the churches in Asia were ‘Jewish hostility, Caesar worship and heretical infiltration’.
As with most commentaries he deals with the different interpretations of this book viz, preterist, futurist, and historical. He finds something positive in each of these but agrees with none. He calls his interpretation ‘prophetic-apocalyptic’, while emphasising the need to account for how the first readers understood the text and the genre of literature.
On the millennium, Barnett points out that only once in the Bible (Rev 20:1-6) is ‘one thousand years’ mentioned, yet it has been a highly divisive issue. In stressing the symbolism of this book Barnett sees the millennium as ‘beginning with the first resurrection (20:5), and ending with the second death (20:6)’, and concludes that this is from Christ’s resurrection until hell or the lake of fire.
Barnett does not deal with the OT background to Revelation to the extent found in other commentaries, even brief ones. In fact his emphasis on the historical situation of the first readers almost leads him to a preterist interpretation at times. That worship in Revelation is in a ‘two- beat rhythm’ seems to impress Barnett for some reason. Still, this is a concise, easy-to-read introduction and commentary to the Book of Revelation. An appendix listing numbers and their symbolical meaning is most helpful.