Humble Faith Follows – 3:1-17

As a writer, there are lots of things to keep in mind as a story progresses. Characters, plot, setting. The longer the story the more characters and settings there will be, and they somehow have to tie into the plot in a smooth way. However, that’s not all: theme and symbolism also play a huge role. These are ultimately what makes the story more than just another story; they are what keep a story around for several generations, or ultimately what constitute a classic. However, though there are many other things that go into a good story, pace is what I want to focus on today. The speed at which the story is told is important. It can be used to build suspense, or it can be used to mitigate suspense. It causes the reader to say, “Hurry up already and get to the point,” which keeps them turning the page until they reach a conclusion. Or it can cause a reader to say, “I just didn’t really get into it, because it was all over too quickly.” In the same way, our historian is a master of pacing, as our text today will prove.

Our historian writes, “Joshua started early the next morning and left the Acacia Grove with all the Israelites. They went as far as the Jordan and stayed there before crossing.  After three days the officers went through the camp and commanded the people: ‘When you see the ark of the covenant of the LORD your God carried by the Levitical priests, you must break camp and follow it.  But keep a distance of about 1,000 yards between yourselves and the ark. Don’t go near it, so that you can see the way to go, for you haven’t traveled this way before.’  Joshua told the people, ‘Consecrate yourselves, because the LORD will do wonders among you tomorrow.’  Then he said to the priests, ‘Take the ark of the covenant and go on ahead of the people.’ So they carried the ark of the covenant and went ahead of them.  The LORD spoke to Joshua: ‘Today I will begin to exalt you in the sight of all Israel, so they will know that I will be with you just as I was with Moses.  Command the priests carrying the ark of the covenant: When you reach the edge of the waters, stand in the Jordan.’  Then Joshua told the Israelites, ‘Come closer and listen to the words of the LORD your God.’  He said: ‘You will know that the living God is among you and that He will certainly dispossess before you the Canaanites, Hittites, Hivites, Perizzites, Girgashites, Amorites, and Jebusites  when the ark of the covenant of the Lord of all the earth goes ahead of you into the Jordan.  Now choose 12 men from the tribes of Israel, one man for each tribe.  When the feet of the priests who carry the ark of the LORD, the Lord of all the earth, come to rest in the Jordan’s waters, its waters will be cut off. The water flowing downstream will stand up ⌊in⌋ a mass.’  When the people broke camp to cross the Jordan, the priests carried the ark of the covenant ahead of the people.  Now the Jordan overflows its banks throughout the harvest season. But as soon as the priests carrying the ark reached the Jordan, their feet touched the water at its edge and the water flowing downstream stood still, rising up ⌊in⌋ a mass that extended as far as Adam, a city next to Zarethan. The water flowing downstream into the Sea of the Arabah (the Dead Sea) was completely cut off, and the people crossed opposite Jericho.  The priests carrying the ark of the LORD’s covenant stood firmly on dry ground in the middle of the Jordan, while all Israel crossed on dry ground until the entire nation had finished crossing the Jordan.”

So by this point the spies have just returned to Joshua. They had spent three days in the mountains after speaking with Rahab. Joshua had told Israel in chapter 1:11 that they would be moving in three days. With that knowledge, it is time for the people to move again. After a focus on the spies for three days, it is now time to zoom out and look at the whole nation again. Through the use of expert narrative pacing, our historian wants to show us that God is faithful to keep His promises, and that He is present with His people. He shows us this through the use of multiple speeches.

But before getting to the first speech, we read in verses 1-2, “Joshua started early the next morning and left the Acacia Grove with all the Israelites. They went as far as the Jordan and stayed there before crossing.  After three days the officers went through the camp.”

For convenience sake, let’s say that the spies entered Jericho on Sunday. They would have returned to Joshua on Tuesday night. Wednesday morning they all left the Acacia Grove and set up a new camp on the eastern shore of the Jordan River. After three more days, action happens.

The first speech is given by the officers to the people in verses 3-4, “When you see the ark of the covenant of the LORD your God carried by the Levitical priests, you must break camp and follow it.  But keep a distance of about 1,000 yards between yourselves and the ark. Don’t go near it, so that you can see the way to go, for you haven’t traveled this way before.”

So, to keep the convenient time scale going, the officers go throughout the camp three days after the Wednesday march. Sometime on Friday the officers go throughout the camp and tell the people what they need to be watching for. They tell the people that the ark of the covenant of Yahweh their God being moved by the Levitical priests is their sign to move out. However, in telling them this, they also give a boundary. They say that the people must not come within 1,000 yards—literally 2,000 cubits—of the ark because the ark is their guide. One commentator says, “The distance of 2000 cubits was approximately that of the outer bank of the Jordan to the inner bed.”[1] The people were to have faith and follow the ark, and they were not to pridefully think that they were wiser than God; their faith was to be shown in humble following at a distance of more than half a mile.

So, before moving on, I must ask us, do we trust God humbly? Or are we insistent on always saying, “God, I know what’s best for me, and You need to do it for me”? Do we follow too closely in a prideful—God can’t lead me best—mindset? Of course God wants us to follow Him, and to follow Him closely—possible only through Jesus—but we must be humble in our following and not insist that we know better than God. If we act in that way, we really aren’t following God, we’re telling God to follow us, which is the height of sinful pride.

There is another, very real sense in which the people were told to follow at that great distance simply for their own safety. Second Samuel 6 tells the story of a man being struck dead for touching the ark. God wants us to follow Him because He knows best and because He wants to protect us. When we say, “God, You’d better do what I want You to do,” we’re ultimately saying, “I want pain and sorrow to come to me, because I know better than the one who works everything out for my good.” This is why many times our prayers seem like they are not answered. God does not want to harm us, so we need to humbly trust and follow Him like the Israelites were called to do on the shores of the Jordan.

The second speech is given by Joshua to the people in verses 5, “Consecrate yourselves, because the LORD will do wonders among you tomorrow.” Joshua tells the people to consecrate themselves for the next day: Saturday (for our convenient calendar of events). He says that the reason they need to consecrate themselves is because God would do wonders among them the next day. This makes me think: how often do we miss the wonders of God that He is doing in our own lives because we are not consecrated? How often do we expect His wonders to look like a parted body of water, when His greatest wonder of all occurred on a bloody cross? The greatest wonders of God occur in everyday moments when our hearts are prepared to experience them. This is why we should never pridefully tell God that we know better than Him, but rather humbly follow Him even when it looks like the odds are totally against us.

The third speech is given by Joshua to the priests in verse 6, “Take the ark of the covenant and go on ahead of the people.” This looks like it takes place the next day. Joshua orders the priests to move out ahead of the people so as to get the 2,000 cubit separation in place. The priests response is recorded at the end of verse 6: “So they carried the ark of the covenant and went ahead of them.” The priests obey immediately, showing respect for their new leader. As of this point there has been no disrespect shown to Joshua. The tribes all agreed on moving out after three days, including the ones who would eventually move back east of the Jordan after the conquest. The spies did their job and returned with a positive report. The people all set out from the Acacia Grove and were now camped at the edge of the Jordan. This fact leads well into the next speech.

The fourth speech is given by Yahweh to Joshua in verses 7-8, “Today I will begin to exalt you in the sight of all Israel, so they will know that I will be with you just as I was with Moses.  Command the priests carrying the ark of the covenant: When you reach the edge of the waters, stand in the Jordan.”

Yahweh wants Joshua to know that He chose him. He wants Joshua to know that He will be with him. He tells him that today Joshua will begin to see explicit proof of it. He tells Joshua more that Joshua relays to the people in verses 9-13, which ultimately form the main point today, but God primarily wants Joshua to know that He is with him. God wants Joshua to know that he can trust Him, so that Joshua can be a godly leader who exemplifies trust in God. If Joshua follows God like the people were commanded to follow God, then the people would be much more likely to follow God, especially if God could be visibly seen to be with their leader.

Before Joshua speaks God’s words to the people, God gives him some words for the priests, which likely means that this conversation occurred before the priests left in verse 6. Not only were they to go ahead of the people, but they were to stand in the water when they got there. The priests obeyed, as verse 6 demonstrates.

As the priests march towards the Jordan, Joshua gives the final speech of our passage to the people in verses 9-13, “‘Come closer and listen to the words of the LORD your God.’  He said: ‘You will know that the living God is among you and that He will certainly dispossess before you the Canaanites, Hittites, Hivites, Perizzites, Girgashites, Amorites, and Jebusites  when the ark of the covenant of the Lord of all the earth goes ahead of you into the Jordan.  Now choose 12 men from the tribes of Israel, one man for each tribe.  When the feet of the priests who carry the ark of the LORD, the Lord of all the earth, come to rest in the Jordan’s waters, its waters will be cut off. The water flowing downstream will stand up ⌊in⌋ a mass.’”

He tells the people to listen up to God’s Word. God had a message for His people. This God—their God—is named Yahweh in verse 9, and in verse 13 He is described as the “master of all the earth.” The God who is in a personal covenant with Israel is the God who rules the whole earth. This is mind-blowing. What’s even more mind-blowing is what He says next: Israel would know that God was present with them, and they would know that God was going to give them victory over the inhabitants of the land when “the ark of the covenant, the Lord of all the earth,”[2] went into the Jordan. Howard writes, “If the Hebrew is correct as it stands, then the ark is identified all that much more closely with God himself, that is, the ark (or the covenant) is equated with the Lord himself.”[3] God’s presence is located in the ark. This was why the people were called to humbly respect the ark by keeping a certain distance from it. (Verse 12, about twelve men, is a parenthesis that heightens suspense, but since it isn’t mentioned again until chapter 4, I will bring it up next time.) God explains, through Joshua, the sign that would prove that He was with them and giving them the land would occur when the priests went into the water: “When the feet of the priests who carry the ark of the LORD, the Lord of all the earth, come to rest in the Jordan’s waters, its waters will be cut off. The water flowing downstream will stand up ⌊in⌋ a mass.”

Finally, we see played out in detail in verses 14-17 what was previewed through the speeches in 3-13, “When the people broke camp to cross the Jordan, the priests carried the ark of the covenant ahead of the people.  Now the Jordan overflows its banks throughout the harvest season. But as soon as the priests carrying the ark reached the Jordan, their feet touched the water at its edge and the water flowing downstream stood still, rising up ⌊in⌋ a mass that extended as far as Adam, a city next to Zarethan. The water flowing downstream into the Sea of the Arabah (the Dead Sea) was completely cut off, and the people crossed opposite Jericho.  The priests carrying the ark of the LORD’s covenant stood firmly on dry ground in the middle of the Jordan, while all Israel crossed on dry ground until the entire nation had finished crossing the Jordan.”

Before explaining in detail, let’s read a more literal translation. Howard translates verses 14-16,

And it happened—when the people set out from their tents to cross the Jordan, with the priests carrying the ark of the covenant before them, and when those carrying the ark came as far as the Jordan, and [when] the feet of the priests carrying the ark were dipped into the edge of the waters (now the Jordan overflows all its banks all the days of the harvest)— that the waters coming down from above stood! They rose up [in] one heap, a very far distance away, at Adam, the city that is opposite Zarethan, and the [waters] coming down upon the Sea of the Arabah, the Salt Sea, were completely cut off. And the people crossed opposite Jericho.[4]

It’s quite a mouthful. The author wants to draw out the suspense as long as possible. Starting with, “and it happened,” the author proves that God’s word came true. “The people set out” is a loaded phrase. This was not a small band of friends. According to Numbers 26, there were 601,730 men over twenty years old. Assuming for a moment that every man twenty years old has a wife (which is a semi-safe assumption back then) and at least one child, we’re easily looking at a number of 1,805,190 people—male and female—of all different ages. We must also keep in mind that this count does not include any of the Levites, of whom it is safe to assume that there were at least 20,000 men over twenty years old, which means at least 60,000 more people, bringing the total to at least 1,865,190 people about to cross a flooded river (cf. 3:15).

When this crowd saw the ark set out, they broke camp, which must have been a sight to see. Think about the noise from this throng of people. It’s no wonder the people of Jericho were shaking in their boots at the thought. The priests were in the front with the ark. When the ark reached the flooded bank of the Jordan it happened: the water stopped. When they crossed the Red Sea forty years earlier, it was a still body of water, the parting of which was described as, “the waters ⌊like⌋ a wall to them on their right and their left” (Exodus 14:22). Here, they are crossing a river which flows south. It is described as, “the water flowing downstream stood still, rising up ⌊in⌋ a mass that extended as far as Adam, a city next to Zarethan. The water flowing downstream into the Sea of the Arabah (the Dead Sea) was completely cut off.” Our historian tells us that the waters stood up at Adam, which is next to Zerathan. “Adam . . . on the eastern shore of the Jordan . . . about sixteen miles north of Jericho.”[5] I point this out because verse 16 says that the people crossed opposite Jericho. The water stood up sixteen miles north of them, and then south of them flowed into the Dead Sea until there was nothing left to flow into the Dead Sea. This was quite the miracle! God could have done anything, such as parted the water so two or three people could cross at a time, but instead He dried up the whole southern section of the river, including sixteen miles north of them, and said, “Cross!”

Verse 17 is huge! “The priests carrying the ark of the LORD’s covenant stood firmly on dry ground in the middle of the Jordan, while all Israel crossed on dry ground until the entire nation had finished crossing the Jordan.” The ark stayed in the middle of the river while the people crossed. The 2,000 cubit distance was kept, because they had multiple miles of dry ground on each side of the ark. But the point is that not only does God lead His people, but He goes with His people and stands in the midst of their trouble until the last one of His people is through. We must humbly follow our God because He humbly leads us, even though He could powerfully smash any of us at any moment, and be perfectly just to do so.

You see, not one of us deserves to have God in our midst. And at the same time, since God is the Master of all the Earth, He is everywhere and thus always in our midst. For this reason every breath we take is grace. God could have denied you that last breath because you’re sinful. You’ve lied, stolen, cheated, idolized something, etc. However, not only is God the Master of all the Earth, but Jesus Christ is too. Instead of clinging to that title though, He shed it and lived amongst us and our trouble 2,000 years ago. He was unjustly condemned and nailed to a cross even though He did nothing wrong, and He hung there on the cross for 6 hours until every last sin of every person who would ever place their faith in Him was paid for. Then He died. The wrath of God covered Him like the Jordan River refilled its valley after the people were safely across. However, after three days in the tomb, Jesus rose from the grave, emerging from the River victorious to show that death had no hold over Him.

Just like God didn’t cross the river immediately, but stayed in it until His people came through safely, Jesus didn’t think about Himself first either. He gave His life for each and every one of His people. He enables us to do the same for those in our lives. And He urges us to trust Him fully and follow Him even when nothing makes sense because He is with us.

If you’ve never trusted Jesus before, please do so today!!

So the Bible has suspenseful sections contained in its pages. In fact, while the book of Genesis covers 2,000 years and the book of Exodus covers 400 years, the book of Leviticus maybe covers thirty days. The time focus alone in that example shows us that Leviticus is a key focus from the Bible’s point of view since the pace almost slows to a stop. However, in much the same way that we often stop reading when we get to Leviticus, when the pace slows anywhere in the Bible we decide its boring, instead of doing what we do in other reading, where we say, “I gotta get through this so I can get answers.” The “boring” parts are part of the story too—a necessary part. Let’s repent of our judgment of them and follow God humbly, accepting all of His Word as worthwhile, rather than pridefully just enjoying the parts that interest us.

Solus Christus

Soli Deo Gloria

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[1] Marten H Woudstra, The Book of Joshua, NICOT (Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans, 1981), 81.

[2] David M. Howard, New American Commentary – Volume 5: Joshua, (Nashville, TN: Broadman & Holman, 1998), WORDsearch CROSS e-book, 127.

[3] Ibid. Rather than translating it, “the ark of the covenant of the Lord of all the earth.”

[4] Ibid., 129.

[5] Trent C. Butler, Joshua, WBC (Waco, TX: Word, 1983), 48.

The Return of the King

For some unknown reason, I have recently decided to attempt to nail down my eschatological position which is like nailing spaghetti to a wall. In addition to all of this, I have been convinced of several things. First, none of the three primary eschatological positions we know of—postmillennial, amillennial, or premillennial—are how it’s ultimately going to work. Jesus told the disciples Himself in Acts 1:7, “It is not for you to know times or periods that the Father has set by His own authority.” If it wasn’t for them to know how it would work—and they were given much inspired writing material—why would we be prideful enough to say, “This is how it has to work!” Second, no one is ultimately heretical or unsaved for holding a different position on these matters (unless one denies the bodily resurrection of believers or the literal return of Jesus Christ), and as such this should be able to be a point of discussion and not a point of division. There are much more important things for churches to divide over, and eschatology is not one. Third, and where I want to focus this post, Jesus is coming at a time we do not know.

Matthew 24:44 says, “This is why you also must be ready, because the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.” The background to this statement is found in Matthew 24 and continues through chapter 25; all of it discusses the last days and chapter 25 specifically gives parables expanding on 24:44, and concludes with a prophecy of the final judgment (25:31-46). Jesus gives many reasons throughout chapter 24 that could be referred to when He says in verse 44, “this is why,” but for my purposes in this post I’d like to simply look at the final reason, also found in verse 44. It could be rewritten, “You must be ready because the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.”

I heard a sermon earlier this week that stated, “The Bible does not teach that every generation of Christians has to believe that Christ could come at any moment. The Bible does not teach that and the apostles didn’t believe it in their day.”^[1] Begging your pardon, sir, but Jesus says the exact opposite. He says, “Be ready! It can happen any time!” Jesus goes so far as to say, “It will be when you don’t expect it.”

And so far what I’ve learned in my studies is that for a classic, “orthodox” postmillennialist, Christ cannot come back until after the golden age of 1000 years, whether literal or symbolic. Sorry, but I’m not buying that one. For an amillennialist, the millennium is figurative for eternity. Geerhardus Vos explains, “The symbolism of the one thousand years consists in this, that it contrasts the glorious state of the martyrs on the one hand with the brief season of the tribulation passed here on earth, and on the other hand with the eternal life of the consummation.”^[2] I’m sorry, but immediately following the millennium, regardless of your understanding of Revelation’s literary structure, Satan is released from prison and again attacks God’s people (Revelation 20:1-10 is one thought, though there are two visions—seemingly one heavenly in vs. 1-3 and one earthly in vs. 7-10 with vs. 4-6 not entirely clear on locale). Satan cannot be released post-eternity. And for a premillennialist, Christ returns to set up His Kingdom, time passes while He sets up His rule and reigns, after His rule Satan is allowed to deceive the nations again, and then Jesus defeats this rebel group and returns again to execute the Final Judgment. The problem here is that now there are now three comings of Christ—Bethlehem 2,000 years ago, in the future before the millennium (typically against Antichrist), and 1,000 years farther in the future before the last Judgment as described in Matthew 25. (Will a premillennialist correct me if I’m misunderstanding the viewpoint, please?) As of right now I can’t hold to any of these views.

But there’s something bigger. Amongst Christians today—at least American Christians—there’s a thought that goes around to this effect, “The Greek phrase for “all nations” is “panta ta ethne” which refers to all of the ethnicities or people groups of the world. We believe that Jesus was very clear in stating that His gospel would be preached to all nations/ethne/people groups before He would return.”^[3] In the same article, they cite the Joshua Project website which explains,

Global Summary^[4]

An overview of the people groups of the world

People Groups:

16,858

Unreached Groups:

6,994

% Unreached Groups:

41.5%

________________________________________

Population:

7.47 Billion

Popl in Unreached:

3.15 Billion

% Popl in Unreached:

42.2%

While I absolutely admire their desire for every people group in the world to hear the good news about Christ, and while I hope to play even a microscopic role in that task, and especially while calling their organization the Joshua Project draws to mind conquering the nations and inheriting the earth through the Gospel message as opposed to the sword and simply the land of Canaan in the book of Joshua, I believe it poses a problem. The problem is this: instead of needing a “millennium” of church prosperity—as postmillennialists typically teach—we have to make sure there is at least one representative of each of the 16,858 people groups in the world who believes in Christ. This doesn’t sit well with me for two reasons. First, it means it will be at least—if not much more—a few years before Christ can return. Second, it means—because of the first—that we need not get ready yet. It means we can let our robes get dirty and live in drunkenness and carousing until the Joshua Project website says there are only 94 people groups left to reach (contra Revelation 16:15; 22:14; 1 Thessalonians 5:6-8).

This contrasts greatly with the primary goal of eschatology. Donald Hagner explains, “Eschatology is never presented for the sake of mere information but always and consistently as the motivation for ethical living. Again, the fact of the Parousia [i.e. Christ’s appearing], not the time of the parousia, is what matters. The evangelist stresses the need to be prepared for that coming reality.”^[5] Christ is coming when we do not expect, so if we expect it at the end of reaching every people group with the gospel, He will not be coming then. We must always be ready.

But what does being ready look like? It looks like several things. First, it looks like striving for holiness in life. Revelation 22:15 describes the things believers should avoid—things that are specifically unholy—“Outside are the dogs, the sorcerers, the sexually immoral, the murderers, the idolaters, and everyone who loves and practices lying.” We must also keep in mind that Jesus elevated most of these above the physical act: murder is hatred in the heart, sexual immorality is lust in the heart, idolatry is worshipping anything more than God, which could even include your eschatological viewpoint. All of these must be avoided to be able to say you are living a holy life. But we must also remember it’s impossible apart from the Holy Spirit’s help. On our own we are unable to live holy. If we have the Spirit we will live holy, and never make the excuse, “It’ll be a while before Christ returns.” With that said, as preachers and disciplers we should not put a timeline on when Christ can return because that could potentially be a stumbling block to someone, who could use the excuse I stated above. Christ will come at any moment and we must be ready!

Secondly, this readiness looks like the following: proclaiming the gospel wherever you go and helping to promote the gospel even in places where you are not. One other debated point in Christian theology is whether or not the Jews as a people group will return to Christ. If so, I believe the representative of each nation view is ridiculous and we should be praying for massive revival across the world—including Israel. If not, then the representative view makes more sense, but at the same time I’d say it’s already complete: I fully believe that children who died in childbirth or miscarriages (or abortions) already make up people of every nation, tribe, and tongue in heaven. So either way, Christ has not returned yet, which means the task of evangelism is not yet complete. The Great Commission has not yet come to the Great Conclusion, so we must be out in the fields working for the harvest. Jesus said, “The harvest is abundant, but the workers are few.  Therefore, pray to the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into His harvest” (Matthew 9:37-38).

Will the Lord find you ready when He comes at a time you don’t expect? Or will He find you lazy or sinning?

Soli Deo Gloria!

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[1] Rev David Silversides, “Postmillennialism and Rev 20,” preached April 12, 1997, www.tinysa.com/sermon/9130414633, time of quote: 57:00.

[2] Quoted in Robert B. Strimple, “Amillennialism,” in Three views on the Millennium and Beyond, Counterpoints series (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1999), 128.

[3] https://globalfrontiermissions.org/gfm-101-missions-course/the-unreached-peoples-and-their-role-in-the-great-commission/.

[4] For more info, visit www.Joshuaproject.net.

[5] Donald A. Hagner, Matthew 14-28, Word Biblical Commentary (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 1995), WORDsearch CROSS e-book, 721.

Open Letter, pt 2

August 31, 2017

To the person watching the screen,

This is probably the hardest of the letters to write. And it’s not primarily because it’s the section that would preach most clearly to me, since I’ve often found myself in this position over the past fifteen years. The reason it’s the hardest is because I’m at a loss for how to best go about writing this. I could come with the “you’re helping people stay enslaved in sin” approach, which if you don’t know Christ doesn’t mean anything to you, and if you do know Christ just adds unnecessary condemnation to your plate. However, I could also come with the “Jesus loves you” approach, which if you don’t know Christ won’t change your outlook on this sin, and if you do know Christ it will come across as, “cool, I knew that.” So I don’t exactly know what to say. Except for this:

The Law of God is divided into two portions. “Love God and love people.” This law is universal, and not simply for believers. The whole world will be judged for failing to live up to this law. And while the only way to truly love other people is by being confronted by the life-changing love of Jesus (which I will hit on in a second), the fact is that we are expected to love people—thinking of them and their good before we think of ourselves and our selfish wants. In fact we were preprogrammed to be selfless and loving, but when sin came in with Adam and Eve, hatred, selfishness, and apathy entered—making love an almost impossible reality. This is why everyone falls in and out of love so easily. We don’t know how to think of others’ needs before our own.

So here’s my conclusion: if you’re a believer, you’re called to love fellow believers, your family, your neighbors, and even your enemies. In short, you’re called to love everyone without question. No one should be exempt from your love. And this love—believer, family, neighbor, enemy—must always be selfless love. Therefore when you are gazing at a person/persons on a computer screen, you are fulfilling your own selfish pleasure and not at all being loving. In which case you are not fulfilling the basic requirement of being a Christian as described in James 1:27, “Pure and undefiled religion before God the Father is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself unstained from the world” (emphasis added). What are pornstars but very literally orphans and widows? By gazing at them and enjoying what they’re doing, you are not looking after them, but looking at them and doing nothing for them.

If you’re not a believer, you more than likely don’t care about following God’s law. You don’t care about truly loving others. You really want to just get what you can out of this life—selfishly or otherwise. Here’s the thing though: as a nonbeliever, you are judged by what you do. Revelation 20:12 makes that blatantly clear. If you don’t love others as Christ loved, you will be judged for that. However, if you turn to Christ and put your faith in Him, your imperfect love will be placed on Him, and you will be judged by His perfect love. Everyone is judged by what they do: if in Christ, you are judged by what Christ did, if outside of Christ, you are judged by what you have done yourself. If, as most, you are an unloving, selfish person, you will be judged as such. If you trust Christ, you are judged as a perfectly loving person, even though you will occasionally, and frequently, fall.

So let me explain why I can say that Jesus is so loving. He came to earth—from God—as an infant. God in the bod of a totally helpless babe. Selfless. He grew up, never disobeying his parents—loving and compassionate—despite the fact that they weren’t perfect parents. And then He started a ministry of love where He gave hope to society’s outcasts: tax collectors, prostitutes, military rebels. And then, to prove just how much He loved them, He died on the cross that we all deserved. Three days later He rose to prove that His life was spotless, even though He spent time with society’s outcasts. He never sinned; He loved perfectly; and He is God Almighty.

I plead with you to place your faith in Him and turn from your life of sin.

And if you already believe, please recommit to Him and living like Him in this world!

I am on this road with you. Let’s walk it victoriously!

Sincerely,

JW

Part 1: girl on the other side of the screen

Part 3: guy on the other side of the screen

Part 4: person behind the camera

Open Letter, pt 1

August 31, 2017

To the girl on the other side of the screen,

Let me just begin by saying, “I love you,” and it’s based on that truth that I write what I write in what follows. I realize that that phrase has probably been destroyed for you over the years. Perhaps someone told you, “If you do this, then I’ll love you,” and if that’s true, I’m immensely sorry for you. It crushes my heart to know that those kind of things are said and done. When I say, “I love you,” I also don’t mean, “I love what you have to offer.” That’s not love.

Let me explain what true love is. Jesus said, “Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends.” And while we’ll probably never meet, my prayer is that you would stumble across this post and be affected by it for better. Loving people is not about what I can get out of it, but how the recipient of the love can benefit. Considering that Jesus was known during His time on earth as a “friend of sinners,” which specifically referred in many instances to being a friend to the sexually deviant, I want you to know that Jesus doesn’t consider Himself too good for you.

And even though your experience with religious people throughout your lifetime may have showcased the exact opposite, and even though you probably now think, “there’s no way for me to escape this life, because who else would hire me so I can make a living?” I need you to know that there is hope for you still. As long as you’re still breathing, Jesus is calling out to you, saying, “I don’t condemn you. Leave your life of sin.”

Perhaps you think, “Why would I want to have anything to do with Jesus? Christians are just a bunch of holier-than-thou, stuck up, prudes.” And I would agree that too often that assessment is true, but I would also say that based on the way Jesus lived, Christians should absolutely not act this way. Jesus embraced with open arms those who were hurting, low, and despised by the “religious people” of His day. Jesus died the death they had all earned—I have earned, you are earning—in order to say, “I love you enough to suffer for you,” because there is no better way to empathize with someone than to suffer in their place.

He died on the cross 2,000 years ago, taking your sin upon himself. When God says, “Do not commit adultery,” which means, “Sexual activity outside marriage is off limits,” and a person engages in sexual activity outside marriage (of which I am not innocent either), that sin alone is enough to earn eternal death because it is against an eternal God. But when Jesus died, He said, “I am willing to die this death in their place, Father. Accept me in their place.” And the proof that God accepted Him was when He was raised again three days later. For this reason, I plead with you: Believe in Jesus, and leave this life you’ve grown used to. It doesn’t have to be this way for you. Jesus offers something better.

If this message affects you for the better, please seek out a church to join. Please don’t stop looking for one until you find a church that teaches Jesus as central and lives like He lived—loving those that are hurting. Praying for you.

Sincerely,

JW

Part 2: person watching the screen

Part 3: guy on the other side of the screen

Part 4: person behind the camera

A Prostitute’s Plea for Preservation – 2:1-24

The Ancient Church Father, Cyril of Jerusalem, who lived around 350, said,

Pass now, pray, to the others who were saved by repentance. Perhaps even among the women someone will say, “I have committed fornication and adultery. I have defiled my body with every excess. Can there be salvation for me?” Fix your eyes, woman, upon Rahab, and look for salvation for yourself too. For if she who openly and publicly practiced fornication was saved through repentance, will not she whose fornication preceded the gift of grace be saved by repentance and fasting? For observe how she was saved. She said only this: “Since the Lord, your God, is God in heaven above and on earth below.” “Your God,” she said, for she did not dare call him her God, because of her wantonness. If you want scriptural testimony of her salvation, you have it recorded in the Psalms: “I will think of Rahab and Babylon among those who know me.” The salvation procured by repentance is open to men and women alike.[1]

And that right there is exactly the point of this passage. Deuteronomy 7:1-6 says,

When the LORD your God brings you into the land you are entering to possess, and He drives out many nations before you—the Hittites, Girgashites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites, seven nations more numerous and powerful than you—and when the LORD your God delivers them over to you and you defeat them, you must completely destroy them. Make no treaty with them and show them no mercy.  Do not intermarry with them. Do not give your daughters to their sons or take their daughters for your sons, because they will turn your sons away from Me to worship other gods. Then the LORD’s anger will burn against you, and He will swiftly destroy you.  Instead, this is what you are to do to them: tear down their altars, smash their sacred pillars, cut down their Asherah poles, and burn up their carved images.  For you are a holy people belonging to the LORD your God. The LORD your God has chosen you to be His own possession out of all the peoples on the face of the earth.

Because of that, it should be very surprising what we instantly read in Joshua 2. And our historian intends for that to be the case.

Our historian writes, “Joshua son of Nun secretly sent two men as spies from the Acacia Grove, saying, ‘Go and scout the land, especially Jericho.’ So they left, and they came to the house of a woman, a prostitute named Rahab, and stayed there.  The king of Jericho was told, ‘Look, some of the Israelite men have come here tonight to investigate the land.’  Then the king of Jericho sent ⌊word⌋ to Rahab and said, ‘Bring out the men who came to you and entered your house, for they came to investigate the entire land.’  But the woman had taken the two men and hidden them. So she said, ‘Yes, the men did come to me, but I didn’t know where they were from.  At nightfall, when the gate was about to close, the men went out, and I don’t know where they were going. Chase after them quickly, and you can catch up with them!’  But she had taken them up to the roof and hidden them among the stalks of flax that she had arranged on the roof.  The men pursued them along the road to the fords of the Jordan, and as soon as they left to pursue them, the gate was shut.  Before the men fell asleep, she went up on the roof  and said to them, ‘I know that the LORD has given you this land and that the terror of you has fallen on us, and everyone who lives in the land is panicking because of you.  For we have heard how the LORD dried up the waters of the Red Sea before you when you came out of Egypt, and what you did to Sihon and Og, the two Amorite kings you completely destroyed across the Jordan.  When we heard this, we lost heart, and everyone’s courage failed because of you, for the LORD your God is God in heaven above and on earth below.  Now please swear to me by the LORD that you will also show kindness to my family, because I showed kindness to you. Give me a sure sign  that you will spare the lives of my father, mother, brothers, sisters, and all who belong to them, and save us from death.’  The men answered her, ‘⌊We will give⌋ our lives for yours. If you don’t report our mission, we will show kindness and faithfulness to you when the LORD gives us the land.’  Then she let them down by a rope through the window, since she lived in a house that was ⌊built⌋ into the wall of the city.  ‘Go to the hill country so that the men pursuing you won’t find you,’ she said to them. ‘Hide yourselves there for three days until they return; afterward, go on your way.’  The men said to her, ‘We will be free from this oath you made us swear,  unless, when we enter the land, you tie this scarlet cord to the window through which you let us down. Bring your father, mother, brothers, and all your father’s family into your house.  If anyone goes out the doors of your house, his blood will be on his own head, and we will be innocent. But if anyone with you in the house should be harmed, his blood will be on our heads.  And if you report our mission, we are free from the oath you made us swear.’  ‘Let it be as you say,’ she replied, and she sent them away. After they had gone, she tied the scarlet cord to the window.  So the two men went into the hill country and stayed there three days until the pursuers had returned. They searched all along the way, but did not find them.  Then the men returned, came down from the hill country, and crossed ⌊the Jordan⌋. They went to Joshua son of Nun and reported everything that had happened to them.  They told Joshua, ‘The LORD has handed over the entire land to us. Everyone who lives in the land is also panicking because of us.’”

So we have quite the story presented to us here today (in addition to this being the largest chunk of text I’ve ever tried to tackle in one setting before). I pray that I can do it justice and be accurate and Christ-exalting in my explanation of it. But so far in the book we have not exactly gotten to any action; that changes today. We began by looking at the fact that God put Joshua in charge of His people after the death of Moses. Then we saw God speak comfort and reassurance to Joshua and charge Joshua with the priority of God’s Word for success in everything he was to do. Then Joshua spoke publicly to the people and told them to prepare for the journey across the Jordan which would happen in three days. This brings us right up to speed with Joshua 2:1, the first part of which reads, “Joshua son of Nun secretly sent two men as spies from the Acacia Grove, saying, ‘Go and scout the land, especially Jericho.’” This secret sending out occurs in the midst of Joshua’s speeches in 1:10-18. There he told them they’d march in three days; here he sends guys out who return three days later (2:22-23).

There is a lot going on in this very first sentence of the chapter. The suspense should already be mounting, because the last time spies were sent out from Israel Joshua was one of them and ten of the twelve said, “We can’t do it!” and it caused a rebellion—the consequences of which lasted forty years. So right off the bat we should be wondering, “Will it be different this time? What if they all fail again?”

In addition, Acacia Grove is an interpretation of the place called Shittim. “This place was where the Israelites had rejected their God earlier and prostituted themselves by consorting with Moabite women and gods at Balaam's instigation (Numbers 25:1–3; 31:16).”[2] The fact that verse 1 ends by saying, “So they left, and they came to the house of a woman, a prostitute named Rahab, and stayed there,” instantly raises the question, “Is Israel going to prostitute itself again?”

So before we read any farther the writer wants us to wonder just what is going to happen, and ask, “Are they going to trust God this time, or fail miserably, yet again?” The following 23 verses expand and clarify on this concern and give a sure sign of just how big the grace of God really is.

First we see Rahab’s faith shown through her actions at the time. Joshua 2:2-7 says, “The king of Jericho was told, ‘Look, some of the Israelite men have come here tonight to investigate the land.’  Then the king of Jericho sent ⌊word⌋ to Rahab and said, ‘Bring out the men who came to you and entered your house, for they came to investigate the entire land.’  But the woman had taken the two men and hidden them. So she said, ‘Yes, the men did come to me, but I didn’t know where they were from.  At nightfall, when the gate was about to close, the men went out, and I don’t know where they were going. Chase after them quickly, and you can catch up with them!’  But she had taken them up to the roof and hidden them among the stalks of flax that she had arranged on the roof.  The men pursued them along the road to the fords of the Jordan, and as soon as they left to pursue them, the gate was shut.”

Already our historian wants us in suspense at the state of their mission. The spies had hardly gotten there when the king sent word to Rahab about the spies who had come to her house. Rahab had already hidden them though. This gives more suspense: she hid the spies; the king knows they are there; what should she do? She lies. However, we must look closely at her lie. She does not say, “I don’t know what you’re talking about; I never saw anyone.” She doesn’t say, “Spies, here? You joking?” She says, in effect, “They were here, but they already left.” Her lie—we will find out in the next section—continues when she says, “I don’t know where they’re from, and I don’t know where they’re going. Chase them and you might catch them.” Our narrator reminds us of the truth before telling us that the soldiers of the king believed her, and went out the city gate. John Calvin adds, on the last phrase in verse 7, “the gates being shut, the city like a prison excluded the hope of escape. They were therefore again aroused by a serious trial to call upon God.”[3]

So at this point, what do we know about Rahab? First, we know she’s a prostitute. Second, we know she lies. But I introduced this first section of text as, “Rahab’s faith shown through her actions,” so how can that be true if she’s a liar? Let’s look at what she was lying about. We see very clearly that her lie was not to harm someone. Her lie was not to discredit someone. The soldiers and the king would both assume her as telling the truth, and thus, when they proved unable to find the spies, would be forced to return home admitting, “They must have just been too fast for us,” and no one would lose their head for it. In addition, her lie was in order to protect—and thus show love to—God’s people. The Law states, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, and love your neighbor as yourself.” Rahab’s faith is demonstrated in that she showed faith by lying to the king of Jericho. If she’d been found out as a liar, she could have been killed; she put her life on the line so God’s people could go free. Calvin helps us keep a balanced perspective by saying,

As to the falsehood, we must admit that though it was done for a good purpose, it was not free from fault. For those who hold what is called a dutiful lie to be altogether excusable, do not sufficiently consider how precious truth is in the sight of God. Therefore, although our purpose, be to assist our brethren, to consult for their safety and relieve them, it never can be lawful to lie, because that cannot be right which is contrary to the nature of God. And God is truth. And still the act of Rahab is not devoid of the praise of virtue, although it was not spotlessly pure.[4]

God is a God of truth, and truth is extremely important to God, but He is also a God of love, and He expects those who call themselves His to be loving as He is. Sometimes this might mean bending the truth—when in a life-threatening situation like this one. At this point in the story Rahab is most certainly not thinking about herself.

Second we hear Rahab’s faith through her words. Joshua 2:8-13 says, “Before the men fell asleep, she went up on the roof and said to them, ‘I know that the LORD has given you this land and that the terror of you has fallen on us, and everyone who lives in the land is panicking because of you.  For we have heard how the LORD dried up the waters of the Red Sea before you when you came out of Egypt, and what you did to Sihon and Og, the two Amorite kings you completely destroyed across the Jordan.  When we heard this, we lost heart, and everyone’s courage failed because of you, for the LORD your God is God in heaven above and on earth below.  Now please swear to me by the LORD that you will also show kindness to my family, because I showed kindness to you. Give me a sure sign  that you will spare the lives of my father, mother, brothers, sisters, and all who belong to them, and save us from death.’”

After the soldiers rush out the gate, Rahab goes up to the roof to check on her fugitives. Her words evidence clearly that she has heard much of Israel in the recent weeks—even as much as forty years earlier. Perhaps the fact that Israel had wandered in the wilderness for forty years only exaggerated Canaan’s fear at their arrival? She says flat out, “the LORD your God is God in heaven above and on earth below,” and she uses that as a way to say, “We know this is true, and it’s scary.” While the rest of her town sought to flee from that reality, Rahab sought it out, as the conversation shows. She didn’t want to flee the terror to come; she wanted to adjust her allegiances so she didn’t have to be afraid. She asked for a sign that she would be saved from the wrath to come. And her selflessness is shown again in that she didn’t seek just for her own salvation but the salvation of her family also. Since her salvation—in its truest sense—wouldn’t come until the future, the spies’ response is in the next section.

Third we look forward to her faith being proved through actions to come in the future. Joshua 2:14-21 says, “The men answered her, ‘⌊We will give⌋ our lives for yours. If you don’t report our mission, we will show kindness and faithfulness to you when the LORD gives us the land.’  Then she let them down by a rope through the window, since she lived in a house that was ⌊built⌋ into the wall of the city.  ‘Go to the hill country so that the men pursuing you won’t find you,’ she said to them. ‘Hide yourselves there for three days until they return; afterward, go on your way.’  The men said to her, ‘We will be free from this oath you made us swear,  unless, when we enter the land, you tie this scarlet cord to the window through which you let us down. Bring your father, mother, brothers, and all your father’s family into your house.  If anyone goes out the doors of your house, his blood will be on his own head, and we will be innocent. But if anyone with you in the house should be harmed, his blood will be on our heads.  And if you report our mission, we are free from the oath you made us swear.’  ‘Let it be as you say,’ she replied, and she sent them away. After they had gone, she tied the scarlet cord to the window.”

John Calvin explains about her house,

Her house was contiguous to the wall of the city, nay, its outer side was actually situated in the wall. From this we may infer that it was some obscure corner remote from the public thoroughfare; just as persons of her description usually live in narrow lanes and secret places. It cannot be supposed with any consistency to have been a common inn which was open to all indiscriminately, because they could not have felt at liberty to indulge in familiar intercourse, and it must have been difficult in such circumstances to obtain concealment.[5]

I share that first, because it is relatively clear that the verses here are presented out of order. Given that soldiers were looking for the spies, it is clear that the spies couldn’t have been either on the rope or at the bottom of the rope when she speaks in verses 16-21. The description of her house is given in verse 15 to help us understand how the spies were afforded an exit from the city even though the gate was closed and people were searching for them.

But the most important thing in these verses is the content of the discussion that I believe occurred before they were let down. The spies say that if she doesn’t report them they will treat her family well when Yahweh gives them the land. They repeat the same general thing in verse 20. The interesting part about verse 14 is that it says, “when the Lord gives,” and not “if the Lord gives.” The spies totally trusted God that He would deliver the land into their hands. Perhaps this faith was due to Rahab’s words in the prior section; they now knew the land was terrified of them and it encouraged them to press on.

Rahab then continued to give them guidance on how to get back to their camp. She told them to hide out in the mountains for three days and then to go home. She wanted to make sure that they were absolutely safe, and thus told them to hide in the exact opposite direction from the way they had originally come,[6] since the soldiers wouldn’t be looking there.

The spies speak at this point and specify the conditions of their protecting Rahab when they take the land. These provisions conclude in verse 20 with the same condition as verse 14. The fact that the narrator repeats it again after she tells them where to go from there is because the narrator wants us to see that she is who she is claiming to be. The narrator wants us to trust her. The other conditions that the spies lay out are as follows: she was to tie a scarlet cord in the window and bring her entire family inside her house, if someone inside died, the spies would assume the blame, but if someone went outside and died, that would be on them.

After the spies are let down the rope, out the window, and on their way to hide in the mountains, Rahab ties the scarlet cord in her window, which again shows us that she is genuine.

The passage concludes in Joshua 2:22-24, “So the two men went into the hill country and stayed there three days until the pursuers had returned. They searched all along the way, but did not find them.  Then the men returned, came down from the hill country, and crossed ⌊the Jordan⌋. They went to Joshua son of Nun and reported everything that had happened to them.  They told Joshua, ‘The LORD has handed over the entire land to us. Everyone who lives in the land is also panicking because of us.’” What we see here is that God protected the spies and brought them back to Joshua safely. The fact that the spies were outside of Jericho for three days is good proof that no sexual business happened while the spies were with Rahab—and is also more proof that her faith was genuine—since their trip only lasted for three days. The other thing we see here is the fact that their report was positive: the land would be theirs and it propved that God was faithful. So this spy trip had been better in every way than the previous—forty years earlier.

So we’ve come to the end of the text, and we’ve seen a woman show all the signs of being a believer. She claims Israel’s God as her God; she protects and cares for God’s people; she wants her family to be saved; she’s turned her back on her old lifestyle. What is clear throughout the text is “that God uses not only his own prophets and leaders to bring faith and courage to disconsolate Israel. God uses the most unexpected and immoral persons to further his purposes in the world. . . . People of God must be open to learn from all sources which God would use.”[7]

And perhaps you stumbled upon this blogpost today and you feel totally unworthy. Perhaps you’ve lived a wretched life of sin and it’s not fulfilling you. Perhaps you feel as used and abused as Rahab probably felt. Man or woman, I’m talking to anybody right now: God doesn’t make junk, and no one is too far gone for His grace. God has used many “total screw-ups” to further His plan, and He is calling you today as well. Turn from your sin as Rahab did, and know that Rahab was one of Jesus’ ancestors. And just as the spies said that anyone hiding in Rahab’s house would be saved when the city fell, so also if you are hiding in Christ when the sky rolls back and He appears, you will be saved. Place your faith in Him and seek Him daily. He is your only hope and sign for salvation. Please believe today.

And with that, we have seen—in a book of conquest and war—the most complete and thorough conquest explained in the book of Joshua. Rahab, a former prostitute turned woman of God. This is the type of conquest the whole book previews by shadows and types, boldly displayed in 1080p high definition as early as chapter 2. Just as the Israelites were to take the land of Canaan, so also Christ said, “The Kingdom of God is near.” When He rose from the dead it came, and now it spreads through the preaching of the gospel. This is much bigger than what nation a person belongs to—as referenced at the beginning of this post.

Turn to Him and be saved—all the ends of the earth!

Solus Christus

Soli Deo Gloria

---

[1] John R. Franke, Joshua, Judges, Ruth, 1-2 Samuel, Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture (Downers Grove, Ill.: InterVarsity Press, ©2005), 12.

[2] David M. Howard, New American Commentary – Volume 5: Joshua, (Nashville, TN: Broadman & Holman, 1998), WORDsearch CROSS e-book, 97.

[3] John Calvin, Commentary on Joshua.

[4] John Calvin, Commentary on Joshua.

[5] John Calvin, Commentary on Joshua.

[6] David M. Howard, New American Commentary – Volume 5: Joshua, (Nashville, TN: Broadman & Holman, 1998), WORDsearch CROSS e-book, 113. “She shrewdly sent them in the opposite direction from where the pursuers had gone: they had headed east, toward the Jordan River and its fords (see v. 7 and comment there), whereas the hills near Jericho were to the west of it, as it lay in the Jordan valley.”

[7] Trent C. Butler, Joshua, Word Biblical Commentary (Waco, TX: Word, 1983), 35.

God's Glorious Works and Word (neither will fall flat) -- Psalm 19

“My very educated mother just served us nine (pizzas).” “A long time ago in a galaxy far far away.” “Space—the final frontier.” Astronomy has always been interesting to me. And while the three statements that opened this post are all space related—the last two are movie quotes, and the first is a mnemonic device to remember the planet’s names—the first two mean the most to me. Star Wars has always been entertaining, and the various planets all supporting life—sitting there unsupported in space—with ships and space stations everywhere you look, can drive a youngster’s imagination and creativity for years. But to bring it closer, facts and figures abound on the internet and in science books about Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune—sorry Pluto. I can spout off a ton of these facts if you were to ask me because this was my favorite subject in grade school.

And biblically, this is right. God speaks to all humanity through His creation, and it only makes sense to be totally awed by them. Psalm 19:1 says, “The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky proclaims the work of His hands.” And there’s no escaping this truth. Whether a person claims that the universe exploded out of a big bang and has expanded over billions of years; or claims that out of the gigantic vastness of the universe our small earth is the one place that God has chosen to place His intimate attention on; or claims that the earth is immovable, flat, and the center of everything because God wants it to be clear that this is all there is for us, God WILL GET HIS GLORY—at least on the last day (for the first claim).

And while I laughed at first, and people I know have laughed at me since—I think there is definitely something to say for the third view laid out above. However, let’s hear first what David has to say in Psalm 19:

The heavens declare the glory of God,

and the sky proclaims the work of His hands.

Day after day they pour out speech;

night after night they communicate knowledge.

There is no speech; there are no words;

their voice is not heard.

Their message has gone out to all the earth,

and their words to the ends of the world.

In the heavens He has pitched a tent for the sun.

It is like a groom coming from the bridal chamber;

it rejoices like an athlete running a course.

It rises from one end of the heavens

and circles to their other end;

nothing is hidden from its heat.

The instruction of the LORD is perfect,

renewing one’s life;

the testimony of the LORD is trustworthy,

making the inexperienced wise.

The precepts of the LORD are right,

making the heart glad;

the command of the LORD is radiant,

making the eyes light up.

The fear of the LORD is pure,

enduring forever;

the ordinances of the LORD are reliable

and altogether righteous.

They are more desirable than gold—

than an abundance of pure gold;

and sweeter than honey,

which comes from the honeycomb.

In addition, Your servant is warned by them;

there is great reward in keeping them.

Who perceives his unintentional sins?

Cleanse me from my hidden faults.

Moreover, keep Your servant from willful sins;

do not let them rule over me.

Then I will be innocent

and cleansed from blatant rebellion.

May the words of my mouth

and the meditation of my heart

be acceptable to You,

LORD, my rock and my Redeemer.

And at this point, my desire is not so much to try to convince you that I am right about my emerging view of cosmology, as it is my desire to briefly explain how this psalm points 1) to the glory of God, and 2) to Jesus Christ as the only way to be reconciled to God. However, with that said, I will bring out some of the stronger points when suitable to the discussion.

Before venturing into the text, every commentator points out that there are two distinct sections in the psalm that can be conveniently explained as general revelation (vs. 1-6) and special revelation (vs. 7-11) followed by a third section that I call the response (vs. 12-14). It is very easy when talking about poetry, especially Biblical poetry for some unknown reason[1], to call into question the literal aspect of what the author is saying because of the poetic nature of the text. If a person wants to use the “poetic language argument” on psalm 19, then they need to be consistent and use it all the way from verse one to verse fourteen. This is not to say that there are not poetic portions in the psalm, but it is to say that the main emphases in the psalm are to be taken literally.

First, we have general revelation in verses 1-6. David writes, “The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky proclaims the work of His hands. Day after day they pour out speech; night after night they communicate knowledge. There is no speech; there are no words; their voice is not heard. Their message has gone out to all the earth, and their words to the ends of the world. In the heavens He has pitched a tent for the sun. It is like a groom coming from the bridal chamber; it rejoices like an athlete running a course. It rises from one end of the heavens and circles to their other end; nothing is hidden from its heat.” All six of these verses seek to prove the fact that the heavens speak of the glory of God. We cannot lose sight of this fact in any discussion of the passage. David is not seeking to be scientific, but rather is seeking to give glory to God. This is what we must all seek to do no matter what time we find ourselves in.

It is pretty clear that verse 2 is expanding upon verse 1. In the daytime creation speaks; at night creation gives knowledge. Derek Kidner explains, “Knowledge is well matched with night, since without the night skies man would have known, until recently, nothing but an empty universe.”[2]

Verse 3 is hard to understand, but after some Hebrew explanation, it begins to be clearer, and most of verse 4 goes with it. Calvin explains that it does no harm to the text to translate it as, “There is no language, there is no speech, [where] their voice is not heard.” Then he proceeds to interpret it as follows: “Different nations differ from each other as to language; but the heavens have a common language to teach all men without distinction, nor is there any thing but their own carelessness to hinder even those who are most strange to each other, and who live in the most distant parts of the world, from profiting, as it were, at the mouth of the same teacher.”[3] The fact of the matter here is that any so-called scientist who refuses to acknowledge God’s hand in creation really has no business being in that field of study. Romans 1:18-23 describes this type of person perfectly.

The end of verse 4, through the end of verse 6, describes the sun. This description is beautiful, and I will repeat it here: “In the heavens He has pitched a tent for the sun. It is like a groom coming from the bridal chamber; it rejoices like an athlete running a course. It rises from one end of the heavens and circles to their other end; nothing is hidden from its heat.” David’s poetic language hits a high point in verse 5. Verse 4 and verse 6 are simply stating facts. To an observer, the sun is moving—not the earth—and as such, it dwells in the tent of the heavens—within our own atmosphere—running a racetrack around the earth. And while David’s point is not to prove this—our Bible is a trustworthy book, and several things need to be stated. First, if the earth is orbiting the sun, how did the earth get formed on the second and third days of creation, but the sun didn’t get formed until the fourth? Second, if the earth is spinning 1,000 miles an hour on its axis (and its unchanging motion is why we don’t notice it), why does Joshua 10 simply say, “the sun stood still,” and not something along the lines of, “the sun stood still, and we all flew east because the earth actually careened to a halt”? (I recognize that God is powerful enough to keep everyone from flying away, but I also believe that God is a God of simplicity, proven by, “Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved”; the simplest way for the sun to stand still is literally for the sun to stand still). Finally, if God sits above the circle of the earth—and the circle is actually a sphere, which isn’t textually supportable[4]—wouldn’t He technically be under the earth anywhere in the southern hemisphere?

But I digress. While other religions worshipped the sun, David is here saying, “Lord, you are glorious because You gave the sun a job to do and it does it: day in, day out, for weeks on end and years untold.” This is what set Judaism—and now sets Christianity—apart from any other religion on earth. Other religions worshipped the heavens; we see them as pointing to God.

Second, we have special revelation. David writes, “The instruction of the LORD is perfect, renewing one’s life; the testimony of the LORD is trustworthy, making the inexperienced wise. The precepts of the LORD are right, making the heart glad; the command of the LORD is radiant, making the eyes light up. The fear of the LORD is pure, enduring forever; the ordinances of the LORD are reliable and altogether righteous. They are more desirable than gold—than an abundance of pure gold; and sweeter than honey, which comes from the honeycomb. In addition, Your servant is warned by them; there is great reward in keeping them.” David here makes six statements about God’s Word—that special revelation by which man can be put into covenant with God. If there is poetic language in the first half of the psalm besides David’s description of the sun’s movement as a bridegroom/athlete, then it is in the fact that the sun could be used as a simile for all six statements about God’s Word.

First, the sun is bright, and who is not cheered by the light of the sun on a cloudless day? In a much greater way the Word of God renews life.

Second, the sun follows a trusted course, and wise people understand this. In much the same way—though greater—the Word of God can be trusted to make people wise.

Third, though it is hard to see how the sun can be right, it isn’t hard to see how it makes hearts glad. When it rises people rejoice at getting another day to live. In a much greater way, the Word of God is right—never wrong—and this should lead to gladness for those who rely on His Word.

Fourth, the sun is radiant, and if you look at it, it hurts your eyes. In a much greater way, God’s Word is radiant with truth, and looking in there will leave a glow on your face like Moses’ (Exodus 34:29).

Fifth, the sun is pure light. And its continuous circuit through the heavens would evidence that it is never going anywhere for good. It is “everlasting.” What is truly everlasting though, is God’s Word. Revelation says that there will be no sun on the New Earth, but the Word of God will be there.

Sixth, and finally, the sun is reliable. It rises in the east and sets in the west. It sinks lower in the sky as winter comes and rises higher as summer draws near. It has done this for 6,000+ years. It isn’t stopping anytime soon (unless Jesus returns). However, the Word of God is much more reliable, and it—not the sun nor any other part of creation—is what we must place our trust in.

David then adds two things at the end of the section. First, he says he’d rather have God’s Word than riches/wealth or delicacies of diet. Second, he says that it warns him of sin and encourages him to run with perseverance for his reward (Hebrews 12:1-2). How much attention/praise do we give to God for His Word? Do we want it more than a steak dinner or a six figure job? If we don’t, we should. We don’t want a created object to obey God better than we do; though sadly, the sun is always a much more faithful servant of God than we are.

Finally, we have David’s response where he says, “Who perceives his unintentional sins? Cleanse me from my hidden faults. Moreover, keep Your servant from willful sins; do not let them rule over me. Then I will be innocent and cleansed from blatant rebellion. May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable to You, LORD, my rock and my Redeemer.” In reflecting upon the sun and how nothing is hidden from its heat, and in reflecting upon the amazing law of God, David is reminded that not only is the Law amazing and positive for the child of God, but also that it searches him out and he cannot escape it. Derek Kidner calls it “the spiritual counterpart of verse 6c.”[5]

If it wasn’t for the Word of God and its searching, sword-like nature, none of us would care about how we live our lives. In fact, many people in this world recognize the truth about the Word of God, know it makes a huge claim on their lives, and refuse to submit to it, and rebel in every way possible. There are some who believe in a flat earth who would argue that our government—NASA specifically—knows that the world is flat and have decided to create and promote the globe model in umpteen different ways to deceive the world. Now, while I don’t like conspiracy theories—and I find them foolish—I would like to say that if this was proved to be true then it only casts more credence to the Word of God. Romans 1:18-23, Colossians 2:8, and 1 Timothy 6:20—among others—all talk about people being deceived or simply ignoring and rebelling against the truth that is right in front of them. But I digress again.

David recognizes that he is a weak human who obeys God less faithfully than the sun, and for this reason he asks God to cleanse him even from sins he doesn’t yet recognize in his own heart. (I’m so thankful that God took almost seven years to reveal as much of my wickedness as I am now aware of—there’s so much more I’m still oblivious to—and that He didn’t drop it all on me the first day I came to Christ.) David knows his heart is wicked (Jeremiah 17:9) and he wants God to deal with it. He even asks the Lord to keep him from willful sins. He wants God to keep him from false testimony, adultery, idolatry, etc. He knows he is incapable of avoiding these on his own. He knows he’s weak. But he also knows that if God answers this prayer then he would be blameless, and that is what all of God’s people should desire—holiness and blameless living.

He closes with a plea that even his speech and thoughts be pleasing to God. Do we desire this much to be close to God and in blameless, uninterrupted communion with Him? I’m praying that I would become this way.

But maybe you’re reading this and you think, “this guy is crazy—even more than the average, ‘kooky’ Christian—because he thinks the earth is flat.” Or maybe you don’t. Maybe your issue is more substantial, “Who is this Jesus he is talking about? Why would he want to live a blameless life? My life is anything but blameless.” I have good news for you.

First, you need to understand that the same man who wrote this psalm fell into the vilest of sins at one point in his life, and it took a story about sheep to get him out (2 Samuel 11-12). If a guy can be so dedicated to God that even looking at the sun convicts him of wrong heart motives he might have, and then he falls into the “worst” of sins later on in life, then I must say that there is nothing you can possibly do to keep yourself from God’s love and grace.

Second, you need to understand that the reason anyone would desire to live blameless is because they want to please those who love them. No one loves greater than God, and since God desires holiness, those whom He has loved desire freely to please Him by striving to live a blameless life. If this desire is absent in a person’s life then they are not a believer.

Third, you need to understand just how God’s love is greater than anyone else’s love. There is a Son much greater than the sun that was discussed extensively in this post. Jesus Christ is the Son of God, born of a virgin who lived a perfectly sinless life. As such, He had not earned death as the punishment for sin, and as such He had done a life full of good deeds that we couldn’t even come close to equaling. But, He was unjustly tried, sentenced to death and crucified on a cross. Three days later He rose from the dead because death had no claim on Him, and for those who believe in Him death won’t have the last word either. So with that, I plead with you to give your life to Him.

So as my title implies, God’s glory is seen in both His works and His Word, and His glory in both will never fall flat, because He upholds the world by the word of His power, and His Word outlives everything on earth (Isaiah 40:8). God’s Word even outlived Pluto as a planet (which causes one to wonder when they’ll decide seven other objects in the sky aren’t planets either). But let me suffice it to say: you can’t prove that the earth is flat any more than you can prove that the earth is a globe. Mathematical calculations can work either way and there are also scientific explanations either way. However, what can be proved is that God is glorious, and that His works and Word demonstrate this truth. The question is: you have faith in your view of the structure of our planet, but do you also have your faith placed firmly in Jesus Christ? That’s the only question that ultimately matters.

Solus Christus

Soli Deo Gloria

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[1] I think I know the reason: people don’t want to accept the plain facts the Bible is saying—like how in Genesis 1-2 God created the world Himself, and He did it in six literal days. Instead, “that’s poetic language, so we must understand it as poetry.” Give me a break.

[2] Derek Kidner, Psalms 1-72, TOTC (Downers Grove, IL: Inter-varsity Press, 1973), 98.

[3] John Calvin, Commentary on the Psalms.

[4] “To render chûgh, the LXX strangely uses the rare word gýros, “ring, circle,” used especially for a circular trench around a tree, gyróō, “bend, make round, make a circular trench” (cf. gýrōsis). The image conveyed by this word appears to express the classic Babylonian idea of the ring of water surrounding the earth’s surface.”
G. Johannes Botterweck and Helmer Ringgren, Theological Dictionary of the Old Testament – Theological Dictionary of the Old Testament: Volume 4, Revised, (Grand Rapids, Michigan: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 09/16/2016), WORDsearch CROSS e-book, 246. Interestingly, as seen in the word “strangely” in the prior quotation, the LXX could have used sphaira, “sphere” instead of circle if that’s what God had intended to convey. See David Wardlaw Scott, Terra Firma (original copyright 1901), 113.

[5] Derek Kidner, Psalms 1-72, TOTC (Downers Grove, IL: Inter-varsity Press, 1973), 100.