John - "The Good Part"

 John 0 Part 1 - The Good Part (Lk 10.38-42) 

John is truly an amazing book.  Written by the apostle John, the "disciple who Jesus loved".  A passage John gives us towards the end perfectly summarizes what John is trying to do with this book he is writing:

John 20:30-31   Therefore many other signs Jesus also performed in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; but these have been written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing you may have life in His name.

Frequencies (word counts) in John:

Know - 116x (most)   Life - 47x (most)

See - 82x (2nd) Eternal - 17x (most)

Believe - 98x (most) Love - 57x (most)

Sign - 17x (most)         World - 78x (most)

Witness - 48x (most) Beginning - 10x (most)

Send - 61x (3rd)          Light - 23x (4th)

Truth - 26x (2nd)         Truly - 54x (most)

Word -32x (6th) “Truly truly” (or, amen amen) 25x!

Gospel - 0x

And to start us off, we need to look at a passage from Luke:

Luke 10:38-42  Now as they were traveling along, He entered a village; and a woman named Martha welcomed Him into her home.  She had a sister called Mary, who was seated at the Lord's feet, listening to His word. But Martha was distracted with all her preparations; and she came up to Him and said, "Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to do all the serving alone? Then tell her to help me." But the Lord answered and said to her, "Martha, Martha, you are worried and bothered about so many things; but only one thing is necessary, for Mary has chosen the good part, which shall not be taken away from her."

I’m an early morning guy.  I’m also an “early evening” guy - I love coming home to my family, to get to be with them, hear about their day.  Coming home is the 2nd best part of my day.  But the best part is early morning.  Early morning.  Well, I don’t know what you would consider “early”.  For me it’s sometime before six, usually.  For some of us, that’s not all that early.  For others of us of course, waking up before 6am is cruel and [inhuman].  Nevertheless.  What I love about that time is that there are no distractions.  It’s fairly dark, and it’s totally quiet.  No phones, no lights, no motor cars.  No tv.  No text messages.  There’s nothing coming at me to bombard my senses.  Nobody else’s noise, none of these external stimuli.  Not yet.  It’s my “Mary time”.  Time to sit and, like Mary, face myself toward the Lord, and listen to Him.  At least, that’s the idea.

Cuz once the sun comes up, once the family gets up, it’s game time.  The day comes crashing in, like a tsunami.  All these distractions.  All these things clamoring for my attention, the things I have to do.  Lots of good things, a few tedious things - but ALL these things come rushing in and make it really hard to be Mary.  Much harder to hear the Lord.  Note the order: having been seated towards the Lord, Mary was hearing Him.  Towards is a word of direction.  It’s a choice.  My choice is to beat the “rush”, and find a quiet space for some quiet time with the Lord.  IF I get to bed early enough (also a choice), then getting up before everyone and everything else is no problem.  Don’t even need an alarm.  No distractions.  And I like to get there before [rush hour], i.e. before what I call the mental rush hour.  If I can get to that quiet place right away, I can beat the mental onslaught - when my mind gets cranked up and the worries and the cares of the day come crowding in.  Cuz once that horse gets out of the barn, it’s really hard to rein it back in.  At least that’s the idea.

This is the Good Part.  Mary time.  “Quiet time”.  Unfortunately, what can happen in that early morning quiet space, even with minimizing all the externals, is sometimes I can still find myself bombarded not by the noise out there but by the noise in here.  In my head.

Like the other morning, as I got down into my “quite space” for my “quiet time”, my head was just filled with all this noise.  All these things, already crashing around through my head, like the proverbial bull in a china shop.  It was just so hard to look away.  Like the switch in our living room that had melted and took out all the outlets - THAT was still needing to be fixed.  Or this Men’s retreat we have coming up, questions of is anyone is even going to go.  And all the serving roles needing to be filled at the church.  Then there’s our son Joshko off in North Carolina, out of sight but NOT out of mind.  How is he doing?  And our other two kids had a bunch of math that needed to be corrected.  And there was this nagging knot in my shoulder that was back in all its furious glory.  And then I had this random song in my head, stuck on repeat.  Hotel California.  I have no idea where that even came from - couldn’t tell you the last time I even heard that song.  But all this stuff, flying around in my head.  A literal cacophony [= an unpleasant mixture of harsh/unwelcome sounds]!

Then on top of all that, to make matters more cacophonous, flying around not IN my head but around my head, in the sacred space of what is supposed to be the sanctum sanctorum of my quiet place, there was this little bloodsucking [mosquito], buzzing around my ears.  Oh man - I can’t tell you how much I do not like mosquitoes.  Anyhow - I took care of that intruder.  But there I was, in this otherwise completely quiet space, and it was like I couldn’t hear a thing.  NOT Mary.  I was channeling my inner Martha.

[40] And I felt just like Martha.  Martha, Martha.  Her heart is totally in the right place.  She’s serving.  She’s welcoming Jesus.  Into her home.  She’s serving Him.  But the Greek says she was literally being drawn around. Turned around and around with all the things she was trying to take care of.  Spinning so many plates [Guinness World Record for #plates spinning =108, btw].

[41] Jesus says she is being worried and she is being disturbed.  The root word for worried refers to things that pull on us.  Pull us in a certain direction.  The more things that pull on us, the more directions we have to navigate.  And Martha has SO many things pulling on her, she is being pulled in circles.  Going round and round.  Going nowhere.  These are the things we believe we can control.  I’ve got this.  I can keep this plate, all these plates spinning.  And the more plates we have spinning, the more they begin to spin us…

Martha is also disturbed.  The root word refers to an uproar. A [riot].  These are the things that are out of our control.  So many things that we can’t control.  Martha can’t control her sister.  She can’t control things breaking down.  She can’t keep accidents from happening.  It IS disturbing.  Being out of control.

But are we ever really in control of anything? [illusion of control]  [Mt 6.27] Jesus asks, “Who of you by being worried (same word) can add even one hour to your life?”  All these things we worry about.  Pulling us in all these different directions.  Things we think we’re in control of.  Jesus says, Your Father knows what you need.  He knows everything that you need.  Jesus says really, only one thing is needed.  It’s about direction.  The passage says that Mariam/Mary only has one direction.  She is seated “towards the feet of the Lord”.  Instead of being pulled in all these different direction, she has one direction (not the boy band).  Again, this is a directional word - towards the Lord.  My eyes, my attention - my trust - is in Him.  Directed towards Jesus.  [and note: there's no autopilot in the Christian life…].  We maintain/reset that direction every day, throughout the day.  Seek first, what?  His kingdom, and His righteousness.  This is a daily choice.  [Fixing our eyes on Jesus…] And what happens?  We get closer to Jesus and become more like Jesus as we fix our eyes on Him.  Gal. 4:19 My children, with whom I am again in labor until Christ is formed in you.  Our goal should be to let nothing keep us from fixing our eyes on Jesus.

We’re coming into a very important season here.  A season when we talk about seeing Jesus.  Advent - isn’t that what Advent is all about?  Preparing to see Jesus.  Behold!  Let every heart prepare Him room.  As a church, we put on the Journey.  Glimpses of Jesus.  And it so happens that we are beginning a study of the book of John.  And what is this book?  Glimpses of Jesus - by a first-hand eyewitness [an eyewitness talks about the things they’ve seen, that are important].  May the Lord give us eyes to glimpse some of the things that John shows us in his book - the good part!  

Joshua 24 - Remembering the (God Who) Promises Pt 2

Ch24 (Joshua speaks to everyone)(in Shechem)

-Joshua says, remember ALL that God has done [2ff].  From the very beginning, way back, starting with Abraham.  And ALL that He’s done since.  Remember all that God has done for you.  Remember.  Don’t forget that.  And the people answer [16-18], we know what the Lord has done for us.  We got it.  We’re good.  We got this.  And right off the bat, we see a potential problem.  Cuz vision leaks.  We forget.  And yesterday’s following, yesterday’s devotion, doesn’t carry over.  My need to trust Christ, my need to depend on His promises is just as great and fresh today.  Obedience means beginning again today as if nothing yet has been done for Christ.  Yes, we remember, we celebrate, we thank the Lord for what He HAS done in us, and thru us.  Remembering what God did yesterday DOES give us hope, assurance today.  But remembering should remind us that TODAY we still need the Lord.  TODAY we still need to remember.

-[14-15] Joshua says, IF you know this - then fear the LORD.  Fear Him, stand in AWE of Him.  Cuz this is not some penny ante deity from beyond the River.  Remember Who we’re dealing with.  This is Elohim.  Jehovah.  Lord God Almighty, King of the Universe.  It truly is a terrifying thing to fall into His hands.  He is not safe (but He IS good and we can trust Him - strong healthy respect).  Where the nations go away in their hearts is that there is NO fear of God in their hearts [Psa. 36:1  Transgression speaks to the ungodly within his heart; there is no fear of God before his eyes.].  So fear Him, remember Him, Who He is, What He has done, …AND serve Him [eved, mentioned 13x in vv14-22]

-This Hebrew word for serve = slave/bondage —> whose slave am I?  Remember, we saw that Moses was called the “eved” of the Lord.  Slave. (Joshua never - he is the servant/attendant of Moses. Only at the end of his life does he get called the eved of the Lord).  But the question is: Will we surrender to the Lord?  Be His slave?  We all [surrender] to something.  Most of us surrender to self.  To my feelings.  To my desires.  Maybe we surrender to the world, to what it wants.  But Who knows us best?  Who knows better what is best for us, than our Maker?  This is why the Bible says those who are not surrendered to the Lord are lost.  Because unsurrendered to Him we wind up living a life we were never designed to live.  Empty.  Hopeless.  Wallowing in a pigsty instead celebrating with our Father and His family.  [13] And Joshua says, the motivation for surrendering to the Lord is not strictly out of fear, but more in response to all He has done, to [His mercies], to the extreme everlasting love of God.  Which is precisely what we need to remember.  God demonstrates His love for us how?  In that while we were sinners, Christ died for us.  While we were His enemies, God sent His Son to pay our death penalty, AND to woo us back to Him.  So, [24] Surrender says, "Lord, I will shama."  I will hear Your voice.  Unlike how my [dog] rolls, we will listen and respond.  (So, fear the Lord, hear Him, serve Him, and…)

-Put away foreign gods [14,23].  Foreign gods - they’re everywhere.  Things that do not belong on the throne of my heart.  They’re foreign.  They [don’t fit].  The God-shaped hole in my heart is not designed to hold any other thing.  Nothing else fits there.  Much as we try [2].  Only the Lord.  Serve Him, seek Him first.  Not these other things.  And Joshua adds, incline your heart, stretch out your heart to the LORD daily.  Every day we ask Him, what do You want, Lord?  Not what I want, but what do You want?  (Take the time to) Listen for the answer.  

Does it start to feel a bit like a broken record at this point?  Joshua (God) repeating Himself?  What we see in play in this book of Joshua is not a battle for land, but an (ongoing) battle for the hearts of His people.  The people He loves, who He would bless for a lifetime.  For all eternity.  Who He would have spend eternity with Him, in a land flowing with the sweet promise of His presence.

-[20] Sadly, what we see playing out, and what is true for each of us, is that we forsake the LORD.  That fateful promise of forgetfulness.  What will I put in His rightful place in my heart?  What DO I want, more than the Lord?  My academics - those come first.  My career - that comes first.  My kids - they come first.  This relationship - I want that more.  This hobby, this food, this piece of tech, this ministry, this thing I’m into - I want this more.  But no matter what it is, it will never fit.

-We forsake the Lord, AND we deny Him [27].   Maybe, like Peter, we flat out deny Him with our words.  But we can also deny Him with our actions.  All the things we try to fit in His place.  Sometimes they even seem like they fit, for a season.  It feels good.  It feels right.  And there is a way that feels right to a man, but its way ends in death.  All these things are nothing more than [shifting sand].  [Cotton candy]. 

-So Joshua throws down this stellar example for us to follow [15].   Choose for yourselves who you will serve.  [Each of us needs to make a choice].  And the Lord heartily agrees.  Serve Me or don’t.  Be all in, be hot for the Lord.  Or be cold, be clearly out.  But being in the middle is no-man’s land.  Lukewarm doesn’t help anyone - in fact Jesus says it does more harm than good.  There are a lot of people running around who name the name of Jesus but don’t really have Him IN their heart.  And His heart doesn’t come out.  Even the world recognizes this.  It’s a problem.  But the problem is not with the Lord, it’s with me.  Us.  His fickle followers.  So choose, Joshua says. 

-[22,26-27] There are always witnesses.  People are [watching].  But re stones having [ears] - do they?  There IS a stone which has a “mouth”, and it contains your -EPITAPH… (meaning “upon - tomb”).  Many things set humans apart from all other living things - words, images, and graves.  No other creatures create these.  [Images], the grandeur of human art, are a way we express our imagination, our appreciation of beauty, our memories.  [Graves] also preserve memories, honoring those we love.  Graves press us to remember our mortality, to consider the meaning of life.  Your epitaph is what people remember about you.  What they say about you, and what your life said about the meaning of life.  And at this point we do need to look at someone who was with Joshua back at the very beginning, when they spied out the land, but he has been noticeably absent for most of this book.  Who’s been missing?  Caleb [14.6-8, 11-12] - Caleb also was “fully after the Lord”.  Fully surrendered.  That is HIS epitaph - if he HAD a tomb, that’s what the tomb would say.  (Of course, it IS written of him…)

-[29] And Joshua has an epitaph too! He gets called, the eved of the LORD.  Joshua served the Lord.  And that’s what he's urging Israel to do.  To their credit, Israel eveds the LORD all the days of Joshua [31].  And while they have leaders who “KNOW” all the deeds of the LORD.  

Sadly, the story doesn’t end well.  Things go well for a while - but the sad story of God’s chosen people is that they do NOT choose the Lord as we would hope.  They serve the Lord, they remember - Who He is, what He has done, what He has said.  Until… less than two chapters later:  Judg. 2:10-12a All that generation also were gathered to their fathers; and there arose another generation after them who did not know the LORD, nor yet the work which He had done for Israel.  Then the sons of Israel did evil in the sight of the LORD and served the Baals, and they forsook the LORD, the God of their fathers.  They did not remember…

What does my life and yours say about the meaning of life?  Why are we here?  And Who are we serving?  Our answer to this will determine our epitaph… 

A couple of notable epitaphs... 

[David Livingstone - who before his death after witnessing atrocities in the interior of Africa said, "All I can add in my solitude is, May Heaven's rich blessing come down… On every one, American, English or Turkwho will help to heal, This open sore of the world."  On his tombstone, after witnessing Muslims massacre the men in the Congolese village where he was staying), they wrote

(“Missionary/Traveller/Philanthropist”) - A philos-anthropos, i.e. he loved people

—> what would it be like to be epitaphed as a Theophilist (God-lover), Christophilist (Christ-lover), Adelphilist (Brother lover)?

Or how about Brother Andrew (Bible smuggler)

“Whenever, wherever, however You want me, I’ll go. And I’ll begin this very minute. Lord, as I stand up from this place, and as I take my first step forward, will You consider this is a step toward complete obedience to You? I’ll call it the step of yes.” ― Bible smuggler Brother Andrew (1928-2022).

The Netherlands: “God’s Smuggler” Dies, Leaving a Spiritual Legacy Andrew Van der Bijl, known around the world as Brother Andrew, died on Tuesday, September 28 at the age of 94. He left this world much as he’d lived his life, with little fuss or fanfare. He died peacefully at his home in the Netherlands, according to a family spokesperson. Although gone, his faithful life and legacy have impacted millions, and will continue to impact millions to come, through Open Doors, the ministry for persecuted Christians he founded. He was “everyone’s brother,” who With complete dependence on Jesus, he risked his life crossing the borders of closed countries, illegally transporting thousands of Bibles to believers who had never seen the Word of God. He made hundreds of these dangerous trips, facing military checkpoints and car searches—earning the nickname “God’s Smuggler” for his daring Bible deliveries. Not once was he caught.

Joshua 23 - Remembering the (God Who) Promises Part 1

Joshua is old.  Very old.  He’s been around a long time.  He’s been helping to lead God’s people for 70 years.  Been there, done that.  A LOT of that.  He’s seen the Lord do A LOT of things.  And in these last two chapters he wants to give the people he’s led, these blessed sheep, some last reminders, pass on some wisdom to God’s people.  Last words.  We want to pay attention.

Ch23 (first he gathers the LEADERS)

-This is for all of us, we all lead someone: church, family, children, self.  Leadership sees beyond the present, beyond the tyranny of the [clamorous now].  Leaders see the future, where we want to go [It's called vision].  W/o vision the people do what? [Prov. 29:18b  Where there is no vision, the people are unrestrained][like a dog off leash and out of its yard].  [3] You HAVE seen.  God has done things.  I.e. leaders also see the past - mistakes to learn from; encouragement to lean on; unchangeable truth to hold on to.  Leaders don’t forget the past - they learn from it; they remember what God did.  Remember what you’ve seen, and know where you’re going.  Especially, remember that…

-[3] The LORD has been fighting for you.  BECAUSE of you, he says.  FOR you.  God is FOR you.  AND, He’s got this.  The battle is the Lord’s.  [10] One of you puts to flight [a thousand].  Such a great promise.  When one of you puts to flight a thousand, there is no earthly way to explain it.  No “scientific” explanation.  That’s what our faith can/should look like.  Inexplicable.  Jesus said, “Greater works than these will you do” - there will be no human explanation for the fruit in your life, in your ministry, Jesus says.  Because I will do it.  I will be at work IN you, and THRU you.  Great works of inexplicable love.  Great works of supernatural long-suffering.  Great works of inconceivable forgiveness.  Great works of miraculous healing.  Great works of indescribable salvation.  He who abides in Me will bear how much fruit? [Jn 15:5 “I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing.].  How well do you and I, how well do our lives fit into this promise of [much fruit]?  Now - at the same time…

-[4] Nations remain… There is still work to be done.  Much work.  Nations remain.   He who began a good work (in you) will continue it towards completion until the day of Christ.  And until then, there’s a mission.  There is much good work still to do.  If you’re not dead, you’re not done.  He leaves us all here for a reason.  What does the Lord have for you to do?  [Eph. 4:16 from whom the whole body, being fitted and held together by what every joint supplies, according to the proper working of each individual part, causes the growth of the body for the building up of itself in love.]  Every part has a part.  AND

-[5] The LORD will thrust them out.  Again, He’s got this.  Whatever this is.  This is not too difficult for the Lord.  Whatever THIS is.  Whatever work remains to be done, He’s got this.  Therefore…

-[8] Cling to the LORD and to His Word [6].  [Clinging/holding on] is a native [reflex].  The trick is learning what to hold onto, and what to let go.  Paul puts it like this: 1Th. 5:21 But examine everything carefully; hold fast to that which is good.  So, first and foremost, the Lord - Who is breathtakingly, incomparably good.  And often times we settle.  For the not-so-bad.  Nothing wrong with it.  Really?  What if clinging to the not-so-bad keeps us from living in God’s land of promise?  So…

-[11] Put Him first in our heart and life.  Abide in Him.  Joshua knew that Israel’s challenges would not be military.  Our greatest challenges are not [military, or political].  They are [spiritual].  Personally.  Culturally.  Who is first in my heart?  Do I want what Jesus wants more than I want what I want?  Put Him first, cling to Him.

-[7] NOT to the nations or their gods.  This is about values, priorities, and about CLOSE associations.  Obviously in order to bless the nations and love our neighbors and our enemies we need to associate with them, but we don’t embrace the same priorities. [12] Specifically, Joshua says, do not intermarry.  Do not give your sons and daughters in marriage to any of the nations who do not know the Lord.  Who we choose for our close associates, and especially who we choose to marry plays a CRITICAL role in how we cling to the Lord.  In how the battle goes for us.  In how large we are able to live into and enjoy the land of His promises.  

About marriage: the person who we choose to marry is the 2nd most important decision in our life.  Second only to saying “I do” to Jesus.  Such that, we should not even consider marrying someone who hasn’t said “I do” to Jesus.  Wise leadership says, I’m not going to let myself (or my kids or my people) go there.  That’s a distraction.  Tommy Nelson always used to say, you focus on [running hard] after Jesus, and then look to see the person He brings along beside you, one who is ALSO running hard after Jesus.  That’s a person you want to spend your life with.  But better by far to go thru life single than to enter into a relationship with someone who will pull you away from devotion to the Lord.  [2Cor. 11:3 But I am afraid that, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, your minds will be led astray from the simplicity and purity of devotion to Christ.]  We must make it our goal to cling to (closely associate with) people who help us cling to the Lord and His Word.  Because, he adds,

-[13] these others will be snare/trap and a whip (on your sides) and thorns (in your eyes).  This is how sin works (putting something else in God’s place).  First, it catches you, and it enslaves you.  It reels you in, gets harder and harder to resist.  Then it turns you in a different direction (one you didn’t even mean to go at first. How’d I get over here?) Finally it blinds you.  You lose sight of where you’re going.  You lose your objectivity.  You come up with excuses.  This is what will happen when we cling to someone who is not clinging to the Lord.  When we cling to anything other than the Lord.  Remember the God Who promises…

My highest devotion - that which belongs exclusively to the Lord, that He alone deserves - must not be directed to any other.  And what is it that warrants and secures such extreme devotion?  Such faithfulness?  The [mercies of God].  I urge you, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your whole selves to God as a living sacrifice.  “If Christ is God and died for me, then no sacrifice can be too great for me to make for Him” (CT Studd).  But on top of this…

-[14] Not one of God’s good words has failed.  Not ever.  Our devotion, our faithfulness finds its fuel, its inspiration, from the faithfulness of God and His Word.  Not one of God’s Promises ever fails.  Never.  Unfailing.  Not the smallest letter or stroke will pass from the Law until until ALL is accomplished [Mt 5.18].  God’s Word always succeeds in fulfilling God’s purposes.

These are Joshua’s final words to his leaders, but again they’re for all of us.  To what, or to whom are you and I clinging?  In place of the Lord?  Nobody else died on the Cross for us.  Nobody else ever rose from the dead to give us eternal life.  These facts are incontrovertible.  Witnessed by hundreds of people.  And ALL this other stuff we cling to, put in God’s place - our feelings, our goals, stuff, people, worldly values and ideas.  It’s not that these things are entirely bad.  They’re just flawed.  Temporal.  They’re the stuff of shifting sand.  You can’t cling to it - it just slips thru your fingers and leaves you empty.  Remember what God has done and said, and cling to Him.  To His Word.  To His unfailing promises.  Eternal.  Unchanging.  Firm foundation for all of life.

Joshua 22 - Navigating the Promises

Navigating can be difficult.  Figuring out where you want to go, how you will get there, what route you will take.  It used to be WAY more difficult [think: printed maps and atlases].  But even today - there are places we want to go, things we want to do, things we want to see.  People we want to see.  Getting to where we want to go isn't always easy - detours, construction, confusing signs, strange places, etc.  But isn’t it true that often the most difficult part about navigating is the people we are navigating with?  Or navigating around?  Back seat drivers, and high-maintenance riders, and small bladders - not to mention other drivers.  And traffic - THAT can be the most difficult thing of all.  Getting somewhere in a smooth and timely fashion would be a piece of cake if it weren’t for all these other folks out on the road.  Yes, navigating can be fraught with difficulties.  People can help us get there, but they can also make it more challenging.  People are messy!

As we come to Joshua chapter 22, the land of promise has been conquered (for the most part), and divided up.  If you remember, back before Israel crossed the Jordan river into Canaan, the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and half of Manasseh told Moses that they wanted to settle in that land on the east bank, that area known as Gilead [map].  And Moses said ok, but on one condition - promise to send your fighting men into Canaan and help your brothers conquer the actual land of promise [that was in Numbers 32].  Which they did.  And now here in chapter 22, the "Reubengadmanites" have stood by the other 9½ tribes for seven long years, helping their brothers go about conquering and taking possession of the actual land of promise, on the west side of the Jordan.  Seven years of faithfulness [1-3].

Finally, they’re released, free to go back home to their families/tents on the other side of the Jordan, with all their spoils [4-9].  Joshua leaves them with one last charge, a holy reminder [5].  

And on their way home, the Reubengadmanites build an [altar] [10].  Why did people build altars in those days?  Altars were for worship.  And Israel already had one [Ex 27]. Deut. 12:13-14  “Be careful that you do not offer your burnt offerings in every cultic place you see, but in the place which the LORD chooses in one of your tribes, there you shall offer your burnt offerings, and there you shall do all that I command you.” Josh. 18:1   Then the whole congregation of the sons of Israel assembled themselves at Shiloh, and set up the tent of meeting there; and the land was subdued before them.   

This new altar isn’t just any pile of stones - it’s a great altar.  And it’s an exact copy of the ONE altar at Shiloh [28].  And their brothers, hear of it.  The Reubengadmanites have built themselves a 2nd altar!  And how do the brothers respond?  [12] They gather for war, at Shiloh.  After all they’ve all been through together.  Their brothers are ready for war.

We can be so quick to rush to judgment, short fuses. Even w our own family.  At least Israel does care enough to be willing to go to war for the sake of their brothers, to help them continue to live into the promises of God.  For everyone’s sake.  ‘Cause our (dis)obedience DOES impact our brothers.  There are consequences not only to us but also to those around us [18].  Thankfully, before they lash out and attack, Israel sends a delegation.  They send Phineas, a priest [13], and 10 leaders, heads of households.  For a face-to-face meeting.  This is no place for an email.  Or even worse, a text or a social media post [thank you iPhone].  Communication is always key to any relationship, and critical conversations are best handled in person (or at least phone) [seriously, we need to be very wary of opting for the text].  

Still, the sons of Israel have jumped to a conclusion about their brothers.  NINE TIMES the Phineas delegation accuses the Reubengadmanites of wrong-doing, before they even hear their side of the story [15-20].  That’s what WE do.  We jump to conclusions, sometimes at the drop of a hat.  We criticize people, our brothers even, often behind their back.  Give people a chance.  Believe the best [1Cor. 13:7 Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.].  And go talk to them.  If you can, go talk to them in person.  Listen to their (side of the) story.  Yes, experience teaches us that people are messy and that they fall short.  We come to expect the worst in people.  But especially in God’s family, we need to give one another the benefit of the doubt.  Believe the best about our brothers and sisters.

How does it feel to be misjudged?  The Reubengadmanites are being misjudged.  But look at the reason they give for building this altar [24-25].  We are concerned about what you may do.  Are they believing the best?  They’re pre-judging their brothers!

I do love their response [22-23].  They know this One in Whom they have believed.  And they know that He knows.  He knows every motive and thought of every heart.  And the Reubengadmanites are surrendered to what the Lord wants, and they are entrusting themselves to Him.  Relationships are tricky.  And people are messy.  And God will help us work it out as we trust Him and believe the best and communicate.

But people are not the problem.  They are not the enemy.  My brother, my sister, the one sitting across from you, the one who [annoys] you to death - they are [precious], made by God, made in His image, with crazy potential to reflect His goodness.  Just as much potential as you and I have.  People are not the problem.  People are the reason.  Remember the first problem in the garden?  It is not good for man to be alone.  People are not the problem.  People are the reason.  Why did Jesus Christ come to earth?  He came for the people.  You and me, and everyone else.  People are not the problem.  People HAVE problems - we all have problems.  But we are the reason, the reason He came.  They’re the reason we’re here this morning.  You might think, well I’m just here to learn to love God more. 1Jn 4:20-21 If someone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for the one who does not love his brother whom he has seen, cannot love God whom he has not seen. And this commandment we have from Him, that the one who loves God should love his brother also.  I learn to love God as I learn to love my brother.  The two are inseparable.  Again, we're not saying it’s always easy - navigating can be difficult.  We all fall short…

Thank the Lord that we are not defined by who we don’t love.  There are things that describe me.  Some of those make it hard for me to love.  Some of those make it hard for others to love me.  But things that describe me don’t define me.  Our culture today insists that we are defined by who we love.  But no - we are defined by Who loves us.  Someday, real soon, each of us is going to meet our Maker, stand before the One Who so loves us, and all that’s going to matter is, what did I do with the [gift of God’s love, Jesus], on the cross.

I see this as a parent.  I so want my kids to know that God so loves them.  I want to protect them from the negative influences, from all the brokenness.  And while I can protect them from a lot of things, I can’t protect them from Adam.  Our cute little bundles of joy need no help living into brokenness.  MINE!  We emerge from the womb wired to choose what we want over what God wants, to love self before God, before others.  We perfect this in adolescence, as we make more and more choices to live into me first.  What I want.  But hopefully, Lord-willing, we come to the place where we come to the end of ourselves and learn to say, what YOU want Lord, thank You Lord, I love You TOO, Lord, love others thru me Lord.  Now THAT is a difficult road to navigate.  But the destination is so worth it!

In the end what we see in Joshua is that the Lord keeps His promise.  He has pulled out ALL the stops to bring the people He loves into the land He promised them, into this place of blessing, where they can pursue and enjoy a relationship w Him, pure and undistracted devotion to the God Who loves them [2Cor 11.3].  AND where they can be a family, a people known by their love, a community of uncommon unity.  In Christ.  Yeshua, the Promised Messiah.  The God Who loves & saves.