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06Jos005.mp3
Commentary
Joshua 5
The Lord prepares the way for the People with profound reputation, and it would not be well if any of them were to tarnish that reputation with disobedience. In fact, it was time now to rededicate the covenant of the Lord with the People, in that they all need to be circumsized. After the averse nations had heard about the Jordan river drying up, and the waters stacked upon itself so that the People could pass over safely, and on dry ground, the hearts of the adverse nations had fainted. They no longer harbored any illusion that they would overcome the People of the Lord. This mean that their way of life was now over, and that for many of them, their entire life is now over.
I can understand that the heathen nations would want to fight for a chance to remain in the land that they have come to know as theirs, and that they would fight to the bitter end to stop the Lord's People from swarming in and taking the land, the women and the children. The men of war will be slain, and anyone who is apt to teach the Lord's People the way of false gods will too be slain, so that the People will be clean of the idolatry. God's will is that none of the bad influences in the land are permitted to live. After 40 years of training in the way of the Lord, God would not have it that anyone be led astray by a false god.
It is the nature of God to save alive anyone who will commit himself to the way of God and to completely turn away from his own self will.It is God's purpose to give us life abundant and that none can overcome His own. When Joshua seen the warrior-man with his outstreached sword, he did not commence to fight. Joshua offered the stranger an opportunity to announce his allegiance. Had this been a human warrior, he could have at that instant saved himself by accepting God's way for his own. This was not a human, after all. This was a warrior of God, an angel of war.
We don't yet know why this angel of the Lord has come to the People, but it is certain that he is for war, because he is armed with a sword. Even after all of the mighty works that the Lord had accomplished in the eyes of the People, it would still be a majestic experience to see an angel of the Lord come, well armed, and stand before me with the proclamation of the Lord upon his lips. As the spirits of the enemy had fallen, the Lords People had their spirits lifted even more. I can find it very easy to see why sometimes the People get arrogant and haughty. There are times the victory is so easy that the People get egotistical about the whole thing, forgetting that they done nothing and deserved nothing for the honor of the victory. They temporarily forget that it is the mercy of God that smites the enemy.
God won't share His glory with anyone. We must recognize that we are powerless against even ourselves, and that God is all that we have to sustain us. We can hope for nothing else to preserve us alive. No stone, nor metal, or any material on the earth or abroad, molten to an image familiar to them could ever accomplish a thing. It would only prove to establish an illusion of hope in the hearts of the beholder. This illusion is the sin that we all struggle with daily, and it's this illusion that efforts to separate us from our God provided destination. We must close our eyes and focus on God alone. Remember what He has done and what He will do for us or against us, depending on our heart.
As Joshua asked the warrior I ask you today, "Art thou for us, or for our adversaries?" This will be the question who's answer will determine our fate.
Monday, February 22, 2010 4:15pm
