Joshua 3 - The Promise of Wonders

We come to Joshua 3, and the people are full of confidence!  God's promise of presence, and success.  And Joshua’s two spies have returned from scoping out Jericho and the hill country (home to the gigantic sons of Anak), and they report that everyone is terrified of this nation Israel and its ”god”: Josh 2.23-24 Then the two men returned and came down from the hill country and crossed over and came to Joshua the son of Nun, and they related to him all that had happened to them.  They said to Joshua, “Surely the LORD has given all the land into our hands; moreover, all the inhabitants of the land have melted away before us.”

Sadly, this is same song different verse:  [Ex. 15:1,11,14-18  Then Moses and the sons of Israel sang this song to the LORD, and said, “I will sing to the LORD, for He is highly exalted; the horse and its rider He has hurled into the sea.  Who is like You among the gods, O LORD?  Who is like You, majestic in holiness, awesome in praises, working wonders? The peoples have heard, they tremble; anguish has gripped the inhabitants of Philistia. Then the chiefs of Edom were dismayed; the leaders of Moab, trembling grips them; all the inhabitants of Canaan have melted away. Terror and dread fall upon them; by the greatness of Your arm they are motionless as stone; until Your people pass over, O LORD, You will bring them and plant them in the mountain of Your inheritance. The LORD shall reign forever and ever.”].  Right after this Israel takes out the Amalekites.  Stopover at Mt Sinai, then they spy out the land - and overnight Israel becomes the ones who melt away [Deut 1.28*].  What happened?  How do you go from melter to meltee so quickly?

But so now here we are, a new generation, on the [overflowing banks] of the Jordan, overflowing with confidence, ready to trust the Lord.  Trusting the promise of God.  Who works wonders.  Josh. 3:5 Then Joshua said to the people, “Consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow the LORD WILL do wonders among you.”  God promises wonders - and He delivers [13-17].  The flooded Jordan river rises up in a heap at Adam (~15-20mi north?).  And the people walk across on dry ground!

But here’s the point: Wonders are NOT the point.  Wonders are not the end.  The point of wonders is to produce wonder and awe [9-10a].  The point of wonders is ultimately to point people to the God of wonders.  The end game, if you will, of the awesome is to end in awe.  But it’s no game.  And even awe is not the end.  

Joshua says, the holy awesome God of wonders is going to do what He do - so consecrate yourselves.  The root idea of consecration is something that is holy.  Set apart.  Sacred.  Devoted TO the Lord.  Earthly things and beings come to be regarded as sacred because they have been devoted to the Lord.  The end of awe - is devotion.

Israel are promised a wonder.  And God brings it, big time.  We may not have that same promise per se, but we have the same awesome God of wonders (Who is the same today, yesterday and forever).  So the question for us remains that of devotion.  And should we not devote ourselves, consecrate and set apart OURselves, OUR hearts, OUR lives to that which is supremely awesome and wondrous?  This God of glory?  Consecrate yourselves, he says.

And does it not follow that, as we consecrate ourselves, as we devote ourselves to knowing/following/pursuing this great God of glory, that our chances of glimpsing glory increase exponentially?  A prospect of wonders...!

Some of us may wonder, what wonder has the Lord done for me?  I’ve never seen a wonder.  Really?  How about YOU?  You ARE a wonder.  A wonderful impossible.  Psa. 139:13-14  For You formed my inward parts; You wove me in my mother’s womb. I will give thanks to You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; wonderful are Your works, and my soul knows it very well.  I’m not so sure we do know it very well anymore.  Each and every person is a living breathing miracle.  A wonderful impossible.  And I know, you might be thinking, well, some of these wonderful impossibles sure are impossible.  Sure would be easier if everybody were just like us, just as wonderful as we are.  But how boring would that be?  Isn’t part of the adventure of life learning to appreciate the unique fingerprint of God, the expression of His breathtakingly good image we find in each one of His precious image-bearers?  People may be messy, but we’re all messy miracles.

We need to understand what’s going on in our society today.  In our world.  A world which is desperate to remove God from the equation.  A world which wants to be free of all restraints, free to do anything it wants.  Our society has been systematically trying to dilute and remove the truth about God as Creator from the public square for generations, and look at the result.  Look at the trends, rise in hopelessness, rise in suicides, rise in violence, rise in family breakdown and disrespect of authority, rise in skepticism and cynicism and confusion.  If you remove God from the equation, what you’re left with is a fluke.  A hopeless accident.  A freak of nature.  A cosmic coincidence.  And coincidences are meaningless.  If you remove God from the equation, life becomes meaningless.  It IS just survival of the fittest, literally dog eat dog till you die and then the dogs (or the worms) eat you.

Some of us never get to the place of wonder.  We’ve never been awed by the God of wonders.  We’ve yet to be floored by His greatness, His holiness, His awesome majesty.  We’ve swallowed the lie.  "God doesn’t do that."  "He definitely didn’t do that."  A lot of us, we just aren’t looking in the right place.  We’re looking at screens [a whole lot of them].  We’re looking at our problems.  Navel gazing.  We’re looking around at all the brokenness.  I get it.  But where we spend our time looking makes a huge difference.  How much time do you & I devote to pursuing glimpses of greatness?  We definitely need to be on the lookout for wonders.  [This is one reason I began having our family take not just play/lie on the beach vacations, but actual Adventure vacations - looking to increase the prospects for glimpsing greatness!]

God says, I promise you, this is who I am - the wonderful wonder-working God.  Consecrate yourselves, devote yourselves.  Cuz this is what I do, I work wonders.  Astonishing, awesome, supernatural wonderful impossibles.  I’ve recorded them for you in the pages of My Book.  The promise of God to you - He is the God of wonders.  And He is still in the wonder-working business.  Every morning - ponderous new mercies.  Wonderful grace.  At the cross and the empty tomb - talk about a whoa moment!  Miracles of cleansing and forgiveness and healing.  Each time a new life is conceived in the womb of a daughter of Eve - a miracle of new life, fearfully and wonderfully made [140m babies born/yr plus another 24m/yr who never make it out of the womb —> 5/sec][ Simply making it out of the womb is a whoa moment!]  And the list of whoa-moments goes on and on [read "Heavenly Man" to find a BUNCH!].  We really only need to open our eyes.  And ask…

For what wonder I wonder am I asking?  James 4:2b You do not have because you do not ask. The corollary is also true - James 4:3 You ask and do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, so that you may spend it on your pleasures.  Do you want this miracle for yourself?  Or do you have a view to others getting a glimpse of the God of glory? Eph. 3:20 Who is able to do far more than we could ever ask for or imagine…

So the question for us as we finish today is, to what am I devoting myself?  What are my enthusiasms?  My enthusiasms.  What kind of excellence am I rooting for?  Am I devoting myself to?  Maybe some sports team?  I think we will each find that, in the light of the glory and grace of our great God and Savior, the things of earth do grow strangely dim.  Which of my enthusiasms are pointing my heart and others to the God of wonders?  

*Deut. 1:28 ‘Where can we go up? Our brethren have made our hearts melt, saying, “The people are bigger and taller than we; the cities are large and fortified to heaven. And besides, we saw the sons of the Anakim there.”’

Joshua 2 - "The Promise of The Thread of Red"

The Israelites are camping out near the Jordan River.  Joshua has received these amazing promises.  I will give the people the land I have promised.  You will lead the people in.  No one will be able to stop you.  And I will be with you.  And so far, their next gen army is undefeated in battle.  2 and 0.  Sihon the king of the Amorites, and Og, the king of Bashan [Deut 1.4].  Across the banks of the [flooded Jordan], what do their eyes behold?  Before them lies the plain of Jericho.  And in the distance, that [great walled city].  Fortified.  Impregnable.  Just beyond visual range?

[v1] Joshua sends out 2 men.  Why does he do this?  Lack of faith?  What is his background?  Soldier.  Joshua is using sound military strategy.  Careful consideration.  Having a promise of God doesn’t preclude the need for planning [cf 1.10-11].  Planning is not at cross purposes with faith.  Apostles made plans.  2Cor. 1:15-16  In this confidence I intended at first to come to you, so that you might twice receive a blessing; that is, to pass your way into Macedonia, and again from Macedonia to come to you, and by you to be helped on my journey to Judea. James 4:13-15 Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, and spend a year there and engage in business and make a profit.” Yet you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow. You are just a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away. Instead, you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and also do this or that.” We make plans with the Lord’s help - and we leave the outcome in His hands.

"Enter Rehab.”  The spies stay in her house.  And she is not perfect.  Far from it.  She is unclean.  A filthy Gentile.  And even worse, she is an [ishshah zanah] - a woman of fornication.  She sleeps with men she’s not married to, for money.  Truth be told - the fallen world doesn’t always see that as wrong (unless maybe your husband is the one sleeping with the ishshah zanah…?).  Indeed, the world has a way of taking God’s sacred gifts, and turning them into all kinds of self-serving and warped forms of brokenness.  But truth be told, shouldn’t we all find traces of our own story in the narrative of Rahab?  This ishshah zanah?  Is. 64:6  For all of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like a filthy garment; and all of us wither like a leaf, and our iniquities, like the wind, take us away. [And in the end, is this not a strategic hiding place?]

[2-4] What we see with Rahab is that she is actually trying to do the right thing, offering shelter to Joshua’s spies.  Altho even as she does the right thing by hiding these men of Israel, she is lying to the authorities.  But she knows.  She has heard.  Here comes this new nation. The news has preceded them [2.8-11]. They have this foreign god.  But THIS god is clearly far superior to any god or spirit Rahab has ever known.  THIS is the almighty holy God with Whom we have to do.  This is the One Who put the knowledge of Himself deep down inside each of our hearts, and gave us this innate knowledge of Who He is, of what is right, and what ain’t right.  [Rom. 1:19 because that which is known about God is evident within them; for God made it evident to them.]

Most people try to do the right thing.  [Rom. 2:14-16 For when Gentiles who do not have the Law do instinctively the things of the Law, these, not having the Law, are a law to themselves, in that they show the work of the Law written in their hearts…]  But we ALL fall short.  We are unable to maintain even the most minimal morality we design for ourselves.  Don’t we all like sheep stray in our hearts from the God Who made heaven and earth and all that is in them?  Don’t we all find ways to enjoy the life HE has created APART from Him?  And like He does for Rahab, God in His mercy sends us a warning - destruction is coming.  Yes, destruction is coming, but there IS a way for you to be spared/saved: hang this scarlet cord from your window [2.17-19].

A strange promise, a scarlet cord.  This Thread of [Red].  But through this promise of the thread of red, Rahab’s house will be the only part of the mighty wall of Jericho that survives divine [destruction].  Thru this, Joshua - Yeshua - saves her family.  The promise of God.  This thread of red will mark out your house - and the ones in it - as those to be saved, spared from destruction.  Shelter in this place with the thread of red when the destruction comes - if you go out, your blood is on your heads.  Is it possible that we see another passover in this? [Ex. 12:21-23  Then Moses called for all the elders of Israel and said to them, “Go and take for yourselves lambs according to your families, and slay the Passover lamb. You shall take a bunch of hyssop and dip it in the blood which is in the basin, and apply some of the blood that is in the basin to the lintel and the two doorposts; and none of you shall go outside the door of his house until morning. For the LORD will pass through to smite the Egyptians; and when He sees the blood on the lintel and on the two doorposts, the LORD will pass over the door and will not allow the destroyer to come in to your houses to smite you.].

But do you see what the Lord does for Rahab?  He provides a promise of deliverance, a way for her to be saved from the coming destruction.  And clearly she has come to this place of faith, revering the Lord God of Israel, trusting in Him FOR deliverance, and in His promise to save her [2.21].  So much so that, simply by virtue of her simple faith, Rahab, this ishshah zanah, gets included in the “Faith Hall of Fame” [Heb. 11:31 By faith Rahab the harlot did not perish along with those who were disobedient, after she had welcomed the spies in peace.]!  Amazing!  Remember, Joshua didn’t even get in!  God has changed Rahab’s heart - and He changes her life.  Look ahead: Matt. 1:4-5 Ram was the father of Amminadab, Amminadab the father of Nahshon, and Nahshon the father of Salmon. Salmon was the father of Boaz by Rahab, Boaz was the father of Obed by Ruth, and Obed the father of Jesse.  Judah, Perez, Hezron —> Ram, Amminadab, Nahshon, Salmon —> Boaz by Rahab… Boaz, Obed, Jesse —> David —> Jesus.

Check this out - so, after the Exodus, Nahshon was the leader of Judah, the largest tribe in Israel: Num. 2:3-4 “Now those who camp on the east side toward the sunrise shall be of the standard of the camp of Judah, by their armies, and the leader of the sons of Judah: Nahshon the son of Amminadab, and his army, even their numbered men, 74,600.

[Nahshon] for his part died in the wilderness w all the rest of the adults who did not trust in the Lord’s promise of deliverance.  But his son Salmon enters in to the Promised Land.  And Salmon marries Rahab, the ishshah zanah, this filthy Gentile.  Which by all accounts he ought not have done.  But the promise of the God Who saves is for even the filthiest among us.  Rahab - saved by the thread of red, cleansed by the grace of God through faith - gets included in the family of the Messiah.  And so does everyone who trusts in the promise of God.  Yeshua.

Note that she didn’t need to be perfect.  She didn’t need to clean up her life first, before she trusted in the Lord.  Trust first.  Grace first.  Then, a new start.  God does the cleaning.  The Lord washes our own unfaithful hearts whiter than snow by the thread of red, the precious blood of Jesus.  He gives us a new heart, then He gives us the strength every day to follow Jesus, and become more and more like Him.  He changes our heart, He changes our life, then He changes the world!

The [thread of red] is a beautiful picture that looks to God’s promise to make a way for each of us to be delivered from destruction.  [Rom 3.23, 6.23].  But Yeshua.  God saves.  The promise of God.  The blood of the perfect Lamb, Jesus the Son of God, was poured out on the cross and covers our hearts when we trust in Jesus.  He takes away the sin of the world!  And what we celebrate this day, is [new life]!  Isn’t that true for Rahab as she and her family was out of that place of death? Jesus rose from the dead - He guarantees our forgiveness, and He gives us a new heart for a new start.