United in a Quest for Rest – 1:10-18

Once, almost a hundred years ago, a group of boys ended up on an almost deserted island. The group was diverse, yet the same. All of the boys were raised properly in Britain, but no two boys were the exact same age or size (except for a set of twins who were the same age). They fell into two clear groups—"littluns" and "bigguns"—though there was no clear place where one group ended and the other began. Things began well for them, though they were by no means perfect. They decided that they needed a leader, so they voted for one, and one boy was made chief. This immediately upset the boy who was not chosen, and he quickly showed his disapproval by belittling the elected chief every chance he could. The chief decided their best chance for survival was to keep a fire blazing on top of the mountain in the middle of the island so that a passing ship would notice it and rescue them. Time passed. What becomes clear is that children can’t focus on tasks. As such, the chief was constantly stressed about keeping the fire going, and those under him were too concerned about exploring or swimming or hunting to care. As such he constantly called meetings to remind his tribe about the need to keep a fire going. Everytime he called a meeting, his antagonist caused problems, until the antagonist took over the whole island and was out to kill the original chief.

While William Golding’s Lord of the Flies is seeking more to explore the topic of innocence and evil and breakdown of society, I couldn’t help but notice as I read it again this week that the main character simply wants to achieve a state of rest, but the disunity among the boys doesn’t ever allow for rest to occur. This is pertinent for the next section of text in the Old Testament book of Joshua.

Our historian writes, “Then Joshua commanded the officers of the people: ‘Go through the camp and tell the people, “Get provisions ready for yourselves, for within three days you will be crossing the Jordan to go in and take possession of the land the LORD your God is giving you to inherit.”’ Joshua said to the Reubenites, the Gadites, and half the tribe of Manasseh: ‘Remember what Moses the LORD’s servant commanded you when he said, “The LORD your God will give you rest, and He will give you this land.” Your wives, young children, and livestock may remain in the land Moses gave you on this side of the Jordan. But your fighting men must cross over in battle formation ahead of your brothers and help them until the LORD gives your brothers rest, as ⌊He has given⌋ you, and they too possess the land the LORD your God is giving them. You may then return to the land of your inheritance and take possession of what Moses the LORD’s servant gave you on the east side of the Jordan.’ They answered Joshua, ‘Everything you have commanded us we will do, and everywhere you send us we will go. We will obey you, just as we obeyed Moses in everything. And may the LORD your God be with you, as He was with Moses. Anyone who rebels against your order and does not obey your words in all that you command him, will be put to death. Above all, be strong and courageous!’”

So far, all we have seen in the book of Joshua is Joshua being commissioned by God. With that in mind, remembering God’s promise to give them the land and to be with Joshua as He had been with Moses, the following words from a commentator make sense: “The two speeches of Joshua that follow (vv. 11, 13-15), by virtue of their content, are the functional equivalent of what Genesis said of Abram after he received promises from God: ‘And he [Abram] believed Yahweh’ (Genesis 15:6a). It could be said of the Joshua who speaks in ch. 1 that ‘Joshua believed Yahweh.’”[1] Thus, everything we see in today’s text, and the remainder of the book (as far as Joshua himself is concerned), though certainly not perfect, is proof of faith.

Our historian today brings up the concept of rest and points out the unity that must exist for rest to be fully realized. He does this through two sections: first, Joshua talks to the elders of the people in verses 10-11; and second, Joshua talks to a separate group within Israel—who might have thought they could rest early—in verses 12-18.

Joshua addresses the elders of the people so that Israel will be aware of the plan. The text says, “Then Joshua commanded the officers of the people: ‘Go through the camp and tell the people, “Get provisions ready for yourselves, for within three days you will be crossing the Jordan to go in and take possession of the land the LORD your God is giving you to inherit.”’” Very simply, Joshua wants the people to prepare themselves for another march. At this point they are still on the plains of Moab (cf. Deuteronomy 34:1), and will be making their next move as a group in three days. It is at this point that chapter 2 takes place because the spies are gone for three days. When they return the people set out.

Beyond that though, we must notice that Joshua doesn’t speak to the people himself. Rather, Joshua has officers of the people to go out and tell the groups under them the news that he has for them. The officers of the people would be the positional equivalent of pastors/elders in churches today. One commentator explains, “The ‘officers’ here are more administrative officials than military officers.”[2] And while pastors today are much more than simply administrators—or at least should be—the point here is that we should not look to Joshua as an example of a pastor. Hebrews will more closely connect Joshua as a foreshadow of Jesus, and thus those under him, obeying his orders and instructing the people, are closer to pastors. The point being that it is biblical to have multiple pastors in a local church body; one man should not be doing all the work. And since pastors prepare their people for the work of the ministry (Ephesians 4:12), it is fitting that these men go out to get the people ready for their departure in three days.

The people had three days to prepare to depart. These three days probably involved prayer and spiritual preparation. Since the spies in chapter 2 are gone for three days according to 2:22, the three days here are probably equivalent to the forty days in Numbers 13:25—the end of which was met by rebellion. Joshua called the people to prepare themselves for three days so that 1) the spies would return with positive news, and 2) so that the people would respond positively regardless of the news. Joshua adds that the purpose of their setting out in three days was “to go in and take possession of the land the LORD your God is giving you to inherit.” This is to spur them on to have faith in God.

The officers of the people take the news to the people, and Joshua turns to another group—a group who had probably just received the news from the officers.

Joshua reminds a separate group of their promise to Moses. The text says, “Joshua said to the Reubenites, the Gadites, and half the tribe of Manasseh: ‘Remember what Moses the LORD’s servant commanded you when he said, “The LORD your God will give you rest, and He will give you this land.” Your wives, young children, and livestock may remain in the land Moses gave you on this side of the Jordan. But your fighting men must cross over in battle formation ahead of your brothers and help them until the LORD gives your brothers rest, as ⌊He has given⌋ you, and they too possess the land the LORD your God is giving them. You may then return to the land of your inheritance and take possession of what Moses the LORD’s servant gave you on the east side of the Jordan.’ They answered Joshua, ‘Everything you have commanded us we will do, and everywhere you send us we will go. We will obey you, just as we obeyed Moses in everything. And may the LORD your God be with you, as He was with Moses. Anyone who rebels against your order and does not obey your words in all that you command him, will be put to death. Above all, be strong and courageous!’” The Reubenites, Gadites, and half the tribe of Manasseh were part of the twelve tribes of Israel. They had fallen in love with the land east of the Jordan River, had asked Moses if they could make homes and dwell there—for which he’d said “yes” with a caveat—and as such were already technically at rest in the land promised to them.

First, within this second section is Joshua’s words in verses 13-15. “Remember what Moses the LORD’s servant commanded you when he said, ‘The LORD your God will give you rest, and He will give you this land.’ Your wives, young children, and livestock may remain in the land Moses gave you on this side of the Jordan. But your fighting men must cross over in battle formation ahead of your brothers and help them until the LORD gives your brothers rest, as ⌊He has given⌋ you, and they too possess the land the LORD your God is giving them. You may then return to the land of your inheritance and take possession of what Moses the LORD’s servant gave you on the east side of the Jordan.” Moses had spoken for God when he promised these tribes rest in the land directly east of the Jordan River. Joshua here reminds them of God’s promise to them. But then he reminds them that their brothers still have battles to fight before they can rest. As such their warriors must cross over the River and help the rest of Israel take the land before they can be allowed to rest with their families on the eastern portion of the Promised Land.

All of Israel was expected to enter rest at the same time. If any part did not achieve a state of rest, then none did. This is the unity of the people of God. There are hundreds—if not thousands—of churches across the earth. None of them have arrived at a state of rest yet. All of them are certainly farther along than Israel ever was—simply because of Christ—but none is in a perfect state of rest because we are still waiting for Christ to come and take visible control of His Kingdom. As such, no church should ever act like they are better than another because they cross their theological t’s “the right way” and dot their theological i’s “biblically.” As church members we should watch out for this thinking in ourselves as well. We must seek to help our brothers and sisters understand the beautiful truths we know—through discussion and debate—but always with love at the center. We should never criticize or laugh at a fellow believer because they just don’t get the doctrines of grace, or creation in six literal days, or the Baptist view of the sacraments. Until we have all arrived, which won’t happen until Christ returns in glory, we must cross the Jordan of our pride and bear with our brothers and sisters in love and grace—showing unity.

Second, within this second section is the peoples’ response in verses 16-18. “Everything you have commanded us we will do, and everywhere you send us we will go. We will obey you, just as we obeyed Moses in everything. And may the LORD your God be with you, as He was with Moses. Anyone who rebels against your order and does not obey your words in all that you command him, will be put to death. Above all, be strong and courageous!” The people of the eastern tribes recognized God’s ordination of Joshua as their leader and give him the respect and honor he deserved. They promise to follow his military orders, they promise to obey his laws, and they pray for blessing on Joshua’s life. They even ascribe death to anyone who rebels against Joshua. Ultimately, they echo God from verses 5-9, and it assuredly encouraged Joshua: “be strong and courageous!”

The people of Reuben, Gad, and half of Manasseh were humble. They believed in uniting with the rest of their brothers and fighting the war for the Promised Land. They didn’t claim to be better than the rest because they’d already received their part of the Promised Land. In fact, according to chapter 22, they are still humble and want to show just how united they really are, even though this attempt causes serious confusion (but more on that when we get there). They believe so highly in this unity that their statement, “Anyone who rebels against your order and does not obey your words in all that you command him, will be put to death,” means that those who refuse to help fight with their brothers shouldn’t even be considered part of Israel. Rather, they should be killed and cut off from the Promised Land. Unity is huge!

Unity is huge, but it is not the most important thing. As we all know about happiness, “if we idolize happiness, it will always elude us,”[3] so it is with unity: if we idolize unity it will always elude us. As important as unity is—and I don’t mean to discount unity—it is not the main thing. Unity is achieved through knowledge of ourselves as sinners; knowledge of God as holy, and just, and loving; knowledge of Christ as gracious; recognition of the grace and love that has been poured into our hearts; and refusing to treat other believers any differently than Christ has treated us. He bore with us—He still bears with us—and we should do the same with each other.

As we will see in our continuation through this book, wars and battles were required before rest could be had. Joshua commands the officers to get the people prepared for war, and then he speaks to the eastern tribes about their promise, and connects it to rest for all Israel. In the New Testament, Hebrews 4 speaks of rest and ties it to Joshua. I’ll copy the whole chapter here:

Therefore, while the promise to enter His rest remains, let us fear that none of you should miss it.  For we also have received the good news just as they did; but the message they heard did not benefit them, since they were not united with those who heard it in faith  (for we who have believed enter the rest), in keeping with what He has said:

So I swore in My anger, they will not enter My rest.

And yet His works have been finished since the foundation of the world,  for somewhere He has spoken about the seventh day in this way:

And on the seventh day God rested from all His works.

Again, in that passage ⌊He says⌋, They will never enter My rest.  Since it remains for some to enter it, and those who formerly received the good news did not enter because of disobedience, again, He specifies a certain day—today—speaking through David after such a long time, as previously stated:

Today, if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts.

For if Joshua had given them rest, God would not have spoken later about another day.  Therefore, a Sabbath rest remains for God’s people.  For the person who has entered His rest has rested from his own works, just as God did from His.  Let us then make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one will fall into the same pattern of disobedience.  For the word of God is living and effective and sharper than any double-edged sword, penetrating as far as the separation of soul and spirit, joints and marrow. It is able to judge the ideas and thoughts of the heart.  No creature is hidden from Him, but all things are naked and exposed to the eyes of Him to whom we must give an account.  Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens—Jesus the Son of God—let us hold fast to the confession.  For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tested in every way as we are, yet without sin.  Therefore let us approach the throne of grace with boldness, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us at the proper time.

It says that Joshua didn’t give them rest. The end of Joshua says that he did, but the problem with that is that it wasn’t the  true, eternal, soul-secure rest found in Jesus; it was simply rest from war. In Hebrews 4:16 it says that Jesus is our High Priest, and as such He is able to give us rest.

Hebrews 4:12 relates the Word of God to a sword. As such it calls it a weapon of warfare. As believers, we are to spiritually fight—using the Word of God (the Gospel)—against the darkness in the world, and claim the world for Christ and His Kingdom. Only when the last person has come to Jesus will Christ return and will we finally be truly unified and truly resting. Until then, we must walk with one another in love and lovingly add people to the kingdom through the preaching of the Word of God—wielding a sword that kills all that is opposed to Christ.

So maybe you’re reading this and you say, “You keep saying Christ. You keep saying Jesus. Who is that?” (And I’ll flat out say I’m not naïve enough to think that everyone has heard about Jesus.) I’ll answer and say, “Thanks for asking. Let me tell you about my Savior.” Jesus Christ is God. He created the world perfectly. But Adam and Eve—our first parents—disobeyed God’s Word and ate from a tree of which they were not supposed to—instantly breaking the unity between mankind and God. And here’s the thing: mankind is fine to be disunited from God. But another thing: God wants to be united to mankind. For this reason He sent His Son—Jesus Christ—to earth to be a visible—living, breathing, eating, sleeping, relational—picture of exactly who God is. After walking the planet for 33 years, He was nailed to a cross where He died, taking the punishment we deserve for our rebellion against God (remember the threat to rebels against Joshua?). After three days He rose again because the grave can’t hold a perfect God. He will return some day to lovingly commune with His people for eternity in perfect unity. Acts 16:31 says, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved.” Just believe. He wants you to believe and I beg you to heed His call. If you don’t, death and eternal separation in hell await.

But with that, I must say that unity and rest are the ultimate goals of God’s people, but they will never be achieved in this life. However, Jesus Christ can be known in this life, and knowing Him will greatly affect our capacity for unity in this life. Let’s keep Christ the main thing. He’s the light on top of the mountain that we must never forget or else we’ll end up like the characters in Golding’s book—for all intents and purposes cutting each others’ throats, even if just verbally. We’re in this thing together, so let’s love each other.

Solus Christus

Soli Deo Gloria

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[1] Victor P. Hamilton, Handbook on the Historical Books (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2008), 20.

[2] David M. Howard, New American Commentary – Volume 5: Joshua, (Nashville, TN: Broadman & Holman, 1998), WORDsearch CROSS e-book, 89.

[3] Edward T. Welch, Depression: Looking up from the Stubborn Darkness (Greensboro, NC: New Growth Press, 2011), 103.

The Roadmap for Routing – 1:2-9

As a retail employee, there are always things that frustrate me, but at the top of the list would have to be the playlist that I’m forced to listen to day in and day out. When you hear the same (what feels like) ten songs every day for over a year, it gets very old very fast. However, when this is the case, you also have the opportunity to dissect the lyrics in your mind, which is something I enjoy doing. The lucky song most recently is sung by Charlie Puth, is called, “Then There’s You,” and is dangerous if you take its title line all by itself. If you were to text it to your significant other, and they’d never heard the song, they could break up with you for calling them ugly. Here it is, “There’s beautiful and then there’s you.” Now yes, in the song it’s clear he’s saying that the girl is “beyond beautiful,” but if you were just to hear the main line, you could understand it completely differently (though wrongly of course). It’s the same way in Biblical studies. We need to understand the context or we will understand the passage wrongly. Let’s read today’s text and then I’ll talk more about context.

Our historian writes, “Moses My servant is dead. Now you and all the people prepare to cross over the Jordan to the land I am giving the Israelites.  I have given you every place where the sole of your foot treads, just as I promised Moses.  Your territory will be from the wilderness and Lebanon to the great Euphrates River—all the land of the Hittites—and west to the Mediterranean Sea.  No one will be able to stand against you as long as you live. I will be with you, just as I was with Moses. I will not leave you or forsake you.  “Be strong and courageous, for you will distribute the land I swore to their fathers to give them as an inheritance.  Above all, be strong and very courageous to carefully observe the whole instruction My servant Moses commanded you. Do not turn from it to the right or the left, so that you will have success wherever you go.  This book of instruction must not depart from your mouth; you are to recite it day and night so that you may carefully observe everything written in it. For then you will prosper and succeed in whatever you do.  Haven’t I commanded you: be strong and courageous? Do not be afraid or discouraged, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.”

Something I failed to mention in the previous installment is that whereas the book of Joshua is categorized with the Historical Books in our English Bibles, originally—in the Hebrew Scriptures—it was the first of the Former Prophets. In order to better understand exactly what is going on in the book—and the author’s intention in writing it—we need to understand what a prophet is.

To get to that understanding, we must ask what makes Joshua different from Deuteronomy or Leviticus (other than the obvious fact that on the surface it’s much more interesting). Deuteronomy 34:10 says, “No prophet has arisen again in Israel like Moses, whom the LORD knew face to face.” And as such, why isn’t Genesis to Deuteronomy referred to as prophetic books? And here’s my musings on the answer: God gave Moses the Law, and thus we refer to the first five books as “the Law.” Genesis isn’t law, but it falls under because it sums up the story of God’s dealing with mankind from the beginning of time and intensified and focused in His relationship with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Exodus gives us a visual picture of exactly who God is and then turns into law, which goes from the middle of Exodus to the end of Numbers (with some history thrown  in as well). Deuteronomy forms a fitting conclusion with Israel on the verge of receiving the promises God made to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and shows Moses recounting the Law to Israel, reminding them that they must obey the Law to be successful as God’s people. As such Moses was the first prophet, by which all other prophets were to be judged. Since God spoke directly to Moses, the words Moses recorded as Scripture are (in a way of understanding) the only Scripture we really need.

Now don’t misunderstand. God—in His goodness and grace—gave us sixty-one other books of Scripture, all of which expand upon and clarify the themes laid down within the first five. The word translated “prophet” in the Hebrew Scriptures comes from a root that means “to call out” or “to be called.”[1] Thus, to be a prophet is to be one who is called by God to call out for God. From my understanding—a certain way of thinking—the only truly original prophecies occurred by Moses, and the other prophets that followed simply expanded on what he had first spoken. This view makes sense especially when we look at books like Amos or Isaiah or Hosea, where the prophet says, “Thus says Yahweh,” and then proceeds to delineate how the  nation’s failure to live in covenant obedience with God is why God is bringing trouble on them. So, in Joshua, our historian is showing God fulfilling His promise to Abraham so that in the future the people of Israel can look to their history and know that Yahweh is faithful and good, so that they have no excuse to live in covenant disobedience to God.[2]

So that’s the wider context of this book. And it’s fitting that this book falls under the category of “Prophetic” because from verse 2 to verse 9, we have a recording solely of God speaking to Joshua. We discussed verse 2 last time, but in the discussion of context I must share one thing. Verse 2 starts with God reminding Joshua, “Moses is dead.” Origen—an early church father—writes,

The book does not so much indicate to us the deeds of the son of Nun as it represents for us the mysteries of Jesus my Lord. For he himself is the one who assumes power after the death of Moses; he is the one who leads the army and fights against Amalek. What was foreshadowed there on the mountain by lifted hands was the time when ‘he attaches [them] to his cross, triumphing over the principalities and powers on it.’

Thus Moses is dead; for the law has ceased. . . . Do you want me to bring forth proofs from the Scriptures that the Law is called Moses?[3]

We have to keep context in mind, and Origen completely failed here. While the book of Joshua does speak of Jesus in many ways, this is not one of them. First, the Law can’t possibly have ceased with Moses’ death, because of what God says in verse 7 (keep reading). Secondly, Origen messed up his own analogy; he wants Jesus to be Joshua, but Moses was the one with outstretched arms on the mountain in Exodus 17:11, so his analogy is that Moses died on the cross. This is what we call mixing metaphors. It is also a plain example of why we must refrain from allegorical explanations of Scripture. They ignore context and make things say what they don’t say.

What our historian wants us to see from the text today is God’s faithfulness, through His keeping His promises, through His intimacy with His people, and through His Law. In showing these three ways God proves faithful, our historian also gives us a general outline of the book.

First, our historian shows God’s faithfulness through keeping His promises in verses 2-4. God says, “Moses My servant is dead. Now you and all the people prepare to cross over the Jordan to the land I am giving the Israelites.  I have given you every place where the sole of your foot treads, just as I promised Moses.  Your territory will be from the wilderness and Lebanon to the great Euphrates River—all the land of the Hittites—and west to the Mediterranean Sea.”

This is showcased through the second major portion of the book—the distribution of the land. Here God is reassuring Joshua by telling him, “Yes, Moses is dead, but regardless of that fact, I am giving this land to Israel like I promised.” One commentator explains, “The boundaries of Canaan as presented here are listed in their widest extent (cf. also Gen. 15:18; Deut. 1:7; 11:24). Only during the period of Israel’s greatest territorial expansion, under David and Solomon, were these boundaries approximated.”^[4] This is proof that God keeps His promises, because David and Solomon both came after the dark period of the judges and before the split of the kingdom that turned into the descent into idolatry and wickedness. As long as the people sought God—clearly seen when their leader was a seeker of God (Moses, Joshua, Samuel, David)—they possessed more of the land; when they forgot God, they lost land. God is faithful, and the book will expand on this fact.

Second, our historian shows God’s faithfulness through intimacy with His people in verses 5-6. God says, “No one will be able to stand against you as long as you live. I will be with you, just as I was with Moses. I will not leave you or forsake you. Be strong and courageous, for you will distribute the land I swore to their fathers to give them as an inheritance.”

This is showcased through the first major portion of the book—the taking of the land. With their leader having recently passed—a leader who had direct discourse with God on a daily basis (often for extended days)—the people, and Joshua especially, would be wondering, “Is God still here with us?” In addition, Moses, and his whole generation—except Joshua and Caleb—had died because they were too fearful to take the Promised Land. Even though Moses had just told the people they would enter the land (see Deuteronomy), he had also just died, which could cast doubt on his statement.

By God telling Joshua, “I will be with you as I was with Moses,” God is proving His faithfulness to the people. By Him adding, “Be strong and courageous, for you will distribute the land I swore to their fathers to give them as an inheritance,” God is pointing out the needed attitude to be successful in the venture. Fear kept it from being possible forty years earlier—fear isn’t faith—and God wants them to be faithful, not fearful. By God saying, “I will be with you,” He is grounding the command to be strong and courageous in a theological reality. “If God is for us, who can be against us?” Paul will later ask. What Paul means by asking it, is a very loud, “No one!”

John Calvin writes, convictingly, “If Joshua, who was always remarkable for alacrity, required to be incited to the performance of duty, how much more necessary must it be that we who labor under so much sluggishness should be spurred forward.”[5] And it’s on this note that I want to pause for a moment. This was the last book John Calvin commented on before he died. His translator explains, “The Commentary on Joshua was the last literary labor of its venerable author. When he engaged in it, his constitution, which had never been strong, was completely worn out by excessive exertion, and almost every line of it must have been dictated to his amanuensis during momentary intervals of relief from severe bodily pain.”[6] As a dying man, Calvin wanted to stay busy. People told him to relax and rest, and he replied by saying, “Would you that the Lord, when He comes, should find me idle!”[7] As we progress through this wonderful book, we will see better just how being strong and courageous looks in our day and time, but for now let me ask this: “what are you doing for the Kingdom of God?”

Let it sink in. It hits me too. I write, but it’s questionable how much that actually accomplishes for the kingdom. I should be out vocally proclaiming the gospel to the lost in my city. I should be out spending my money helping believers through tough times instead of spending $200+ dollars on video game consoles and games. What should you be doing for the Kingdom? Are you going to stay fearful and not enter the land God is giving you, or are you going to courageously trust Him and do what He’s called you to? God is with you; you cannot fail if it’s what He has called you to.

Third, our historian shows God’s faithfulness through His Law in verses 7-9. God says, “Above all, be strong and very courageous to carefully observe the whole instruction My servant Moses commanded you. Do not turn from it to the right or the left, so that you will have success wherever you go.  This book of instruction must not depart from your mouth; you are to recite it day and night so that you may carefully observe everything written in it. For then you will prosper and succeed in whatever you do.  Haven’t I commanded you: be strong and courageous? Do not be afraid or discouraged, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.”

This is showcased through the third major portion of the book—holding onto the land. Quite clearly, courage and strength are not solely a thing for achieving victory, but also for continuing victory. And God’s faithfulness is clearly shown in that He points Joshua and the people to the Law as their source of success. Since God gave the Law, and since God doesn’t change, it follows that the Law doesn’t change either. The statutes that God gave Moses reflect His perfect nature, and thus we have more reason to trust God. What He says is true, because He never changes. The day will never come when God can condemn someone because He came up with a new law. He is faithful!

And God goes so far as to give very specific instruction on how to know God’s faithfulness through the Law. He says, “This book of instruction must not depart from your mouth; you are to recite it day and night so that you may carefully observe everything written in it.” We have to get God’s Word in us. We have to read it! We have to pray over it! We have to memorize it! And this is not just the case for Genesis through Deuteronomy. Those were the only books of Scripture that existed at this point for the world. Now we have sixty-six books, all of which are birthed from the themes that originate in the first five. God is faithful, and we need to know all of what He says about His plan for the world, and the growth of His Kingdom, and the Love He has for the world. When we spend time on all these things, God promises that we will have success.

And this is again why context matters. Success here is not worldly, monetary, health success. This success is specifically speaking in the original time and place about what God says to Joshua in verse 5. “No one will be able to stand against you as long as you live.” The Israelites had to know the Law to rout the enemy. They couldn’t just know of the Law. They had to intimately, experientially know the Law. We will never have victory for God’s Kingdom in the spiritual realm until we are intimately acquainted with God’s Word.

How acquainted with God’s Word are you? Even more than the written Word, I would ask you how acquainted are you with the Living Word? Jesus Christ came to earth 2,000 years ago, lived a perfect life—fulfilling every point of God’s Law—was crucified on a cross—satisfying God’s wrath that our failure to follow God’s Law brought upon us—rose again, and ascended to the right hand of the Father, where He is now LIVING! He pleads with you to believe in Him today.

And in a much fuller way than they could ever know in Joshua’s day, Jesus says, “Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe everything I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age” (Matthew 28:19-20). The writer of Hebrews sums up the point beautifully when he says of Jesus, “He Himself has said, ‘I will never leave you or forsake you’” (Hebrews 13:5). Jesus is here. If you believe in Him He makes you one with Himself. This truth should make us strong, courageous, and full of faith, all because we know intimately that He is faithful!

Soli Deo Gloria

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[1] See extended discussion in R. Laird Harris, Gleason L. Archer, Bruce K. Waltke, ed., “1277: ‏נָבָא‎,” in Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament, (Chicago: Moody Press, 1980), WORDsearch CROSS e-book, 544; also, G. Johannes Botterweck, Helmer Ringgren, H. J. Fabry, Theological Dictionary of the Old Testament – Theological Dictionary of the Old Testament: Volume 9, Revised, (Grand Rapids, Michigan: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 09/16/2016), WORDsearch CROSS e-book, 129.

[2] This also necessarily means—since I argued for early authorship of this book last time—that Genesis through Deuteronomy had to be finished prior to the writing of Joshua (before Moses died).

[3] John R. Franke, ed., Joshua, Judges, Ruth, 1-2 Samuel, Ancient Christian Commentary On Scripture (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2005), 2.

^[4] Martin H. Woudstra, The Book of Joshua, NICOT (Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co: 1981),  59-60.

[5] John Calvin, Commentary on Joshua.

[6] Henry Beveridge in John Calvin, Commentary on Joshua.

[7] Ibid.

The Story Begins – 1:1-2

When many people think of the book of Joshua, the first thing that comes to mind is often, “Joshua fought the battle of Jericho,” or potentially the story of the sun standing still at the battle of Gibeon, or maybe the verse that is hung up on the entryway at my parent’s house, “As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord” (Joshua 24:15). What the first two typical thoughts have in common is that they both describe wars, battles, death, and blood. And I had a thought last night while playing Call of Duty: “We can’t understand the book of Joshua, as many people do, as Call of Duty: Canaan Ops.” The first two verses of the book help to demonstrate my point.

The author states, “After the death of Moses the LORD’s servant, the LORD spoke to Joshua son of Nun, who had served Moses:  “Moses My servant is dead. Now you and all the people prepare to cross over the Jordan to the land I am giving the Israelites.”[1]

There are several key things to say about this small chunk of text, but we first need to clarify several other points first. You may have followed along in my Galatians series, the first post of which can be found here, and if you did, you saw me introduce the text every time by saying, “Paul wrote in Galatians . . .” You’ve probably already noticed a difference in today’s post. Here I said, “The author states,” because we don’t know who wrote the book of Joshua. John MacArthur argues that “the most probable candidate is Joshua,”[2] and while there’s no proof that he wasn’t the author, I hesitate to agree with MacArthur for several reasons. First, Joshua could not have written the ending of the book, describing his death.[3] Second, even though Joshua is recorded as having written stuff down (24:26 for one example), nowhere does it specifically refer to events (such as those recorded in the book of Joshua), but rather always to the Law of God and the peoples’ response to it. Third, the following verses from Joshua 10 seem to be referring back to something that was originally written in Joshua’s day (a day which I’d argue has passed by the time the book was written):

And the sun stood still and the moon stopped until the nation took vengeance on its enemies. Isn’t this written in the Book of Jashar? “So the sun stopped in the middle of the sky and delayed its setting almost a full day.”  There has been no day like it before or since, when the LORD listened to the voice of a man, because the LORD fought for Israel (10:13-14).

The author explains that this day was described in a book that still existed at the time of writing. He explains that no day like it had happened since, which might prove that it was written by someone who was young at the time of the occurrence, and could confidently say as an elderly man that it hadn’t happened since. If Joshua had written the book, not enough time would have passed to give credence to this passage or the passages that say, “until this day.” Again, we can’t know for sure, but since the Bible doesn’t tell us who wrote it, this is where I’d prefer to fall.

Thus, I’d like to refer to the author as “the historian,” but due to biblical scholarship in the Old Testament, I can’t call him that in good conscience, because a lot of people think differently when they think of “the Historian” as it relates to the Old Testament.

An alternative hypothesis that has implications for the Book of Joshua (and the books following it) was given its classical formulation in 1943 by [Martin] Noth. Noth saw a literary unity beginning with Deuteronomy and stretching through 2 Kings that he called the “Deuteronomistic History.” He contended that this was the work of a single theologian, the “Deuteronomist,” who wrote after the fall of Jerusalem to offer a historical-theological explanation for the events of 722 and 587 BC (the falls of Samaria and Jerusalem). Noth saw this work as attempting to demonstrate that these events were the direct consequence of Israel's unrepentant following after other gods and their failure to obey God.[4]

This view detrimentally calls into question the historical reliability of a significant chunk of the Old Testament, and argues that the books of Deuteronomy through 2 Kings were written by one person, but not until the exile to Babylon. This is why I will refer to the author of this book as “our historian” from this point on.

I brought up the fact that the Deuteronomic Historian view calls into question the historical reliability of the book, so a statement on historical reliability must be made before continuing. What we see recorded in the book of Joshua really happened in real time. However, in saying that, it is important to note that the history in the Bible is not the same as the history you learn in school. It’s similar, but it’s not the same. In American history, for example, you learn about the progress we made from east coast to west coast throughout the 1800s, and it’s called just that, “progress.” However, if you ask a Native American about that time period, they’ll choose a different word than “progress” to describe it: pillaging. In the same way, the history presented in the Old Testament describes Israel’s history as interpreted through God’s interaction. It is not a history of the world, and thus it doesn’t have to be 100% historically accurate in every little detail for the Bible to still be the inspired, inerrant, infallible Word of God (2 Timothy 3:16). It is 100% historically accurate as regards Israel, because Israel is the focus of the story—the avenue through which God would bring salvation to the ends of the earth: Jesus. The Israelites believed the earth was flat—and the Bible presents it as such—but even though we now know the earth to be round, this new scientific knowledge does not mean the Bible cannot be trusted. It isn’t a world history book; it isn’t a science book; it isn’t a self-help book. It is God’s self-disclosure of Himself and of how He interacts with His creation to bring people into relationship with Himself. And that is ultimately what the book of Joshua is about. Using the history of Israel entering the promised land, our historian will show us more about God’s nature and relationship with His creation, and how we are to respond to that.

The first words of the book tie us back to the first five books of the Bible: “After the death of Moses the LORD’s servant.” This places us at a concrete point in time. Moses’ forty years of leading Israel are at an end, and the mantle of leadership is in transition. However, what is also clear here is that this book is building on what comes before—what, based on my understanding of when this book was written, would have to already have been written—from Genesis to Deuteronomy. In a brief catch up: God created the world, Satan deceived Adam and Eve and sin entered and corrupted the world, God called Abraham, Abraham’s family ended up in Egypt and multiplied greatly; Moses led the people out of Egypt, the people rebelled, they wandered in the desert for 40 years, and at the end of forty years, Moses died. Moses was the pinnacle—especially up to this point in time—of what a relationship with God looked like; he spoke to God face to face and served the LORD mightily. Now he’s dead and the people are leaderless.

But our historian continues, “the LORD spoke to Joshua son of Nun, who had served Moses:  “Moses My servant is dead. Now you and all the people prepare to cross over the Jordan to the land I am giving the Israelites.” If you’re familiar with the book of Deuteronomy, you will note that they were never really leaderless after Moses died, because Deuteronomy 31 relates Moses transferring leadership to Joshua in the presence of the LORD before Moses died. It says that Joshua had served Moses, which is important to relate, because later writers will utilize the word used to refer to someone who would ultimately carry on another’s legacy for God.[5] Thus, the fact that Joshua had served Moses is a concrete sign that Joshua would assume Moses’ position of leader for Israel.

God’s words to Joshua in verse 2 seek to point out to the new leader, “Yes, Moses is dead. Your time for leadership has come. It may be unreal for you, and hard to process, but it’s time to move on.” This will be further elaborated on next time in verses 5-9 specifically.

And then God explains the point of the book. The people and Joshua are to cross the Jordan River and enter the land God is giving them. It is very important—as my intro stated—to point out what is not being said here. God is not saying, “Cross the Jordan River and take the land.” He’s not saying, “Go kill everyone!” He is saying, and we cannot afford to miss this, “I am giving this to you.” And this point goes back to Genesis 12:7, where God said to Abram, “I will give this land to your offspring.” The book of Joshua, more than the battles and the death and the miraculous happenings, is the book of God’s faithfulness in fulfilling His promise to Abram.

And it’s on that note that I end the comments today, and transition to a different style. As we go through the book of Joshua together over the coming months, my prayer is that we would all see God’s faithfulness much more clearly in our own lives. As of beginning this study I have just moved halfway across the country, and I am eager to see God’s faithfulness at work in my own life, even if nothing super positive or negative were ever to happen as a result. As Paul said in 2 Timothy 2:13, “if we are faithless, He remains faithful, for He cannot deny Himself.”

However, as the book of Joshua shows, before Jesus’ coming to the earth this was impossible in its realest sense. The story in Joshua 7 proves this without a shadow of a doubt. As such, Jesus is a fuller, and more accurate picture of God than what we see in the Old Testament, even though the God of the Old Testament is the God who gave His Son in the New Testament. In fact, the whole book of Joshua screams, “Jesus is better!” One commentator says of Christ, “He is Jesus, the name corresponding to the ‘Joshua’ of the Old Testament, the ‘saviour’ of God’s people (for so the name can be translated), who will lead them into the inheritance promised by God.”[6] Jesus is the ultimate proof of God’s faithfulness, as is shown by the cross, but also clearly shown in Galatians 3:16, where Paul writes, “Now the promises were spoken to Abraham and to his seed. He does not say ‘and to seeds,’ as though referring to many, but referring to one, and to your seed, who is Christ.” It is mandatory to note that all the promises spoken to Abraham and his seed (Christ according to Paul) have to do with inheriting the land. Thus the land was not truly possessed—in it’s fullest sense—and God  had not fully proved faithful to His promise to Abraham—in the realest sense—until after Christ came to earth, which our study will also seek to show.

So do you know God’s faithfulness personally? It was shown clearly when Jesus came to earth and died the death that we all deserved for our unfaithfulness to God. And it was proven when God raised Him from the dead to show that death doesn’t have the final word. He wants your faith. If you haven’t trusted Him yet, please believe in Him now!

While the battles in the book of Joshua are real and historical, we miss the point of the book if we make them our sole focus. God is faithful, and our historian who penned this book wants us to know God’s faithfulness more fully from reading and studying his work that we now refer to as “the book of Joshua.”

Soli Deo Gloria

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[1] Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture quotations used in this study are taken from the Holman Christian Standard Bible, © 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission.

[2] John MacArthur, The MacArthur Study Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2010), 301.

[3] This does not mean Moses did not write the first five books of the Old Testament since his death is recorded in Deuteronomy 34. The books we attribute to Moses are attributed to Moses in the biblical text (cf. Jesus in several places), but nowhere is the text of Joshua said to have come from Joshua. It’s very likely that whoever composed the book of Joshua also added the ending of Deuteronomy.

[4] David M. Howard, New American Commentary – Volume 5: Joshua, (Nashville, TN: Broadman & Holman, 1998), WORDsearch CROSS e-book, 51. The “Deuteronomist” is also often referred to as “the Deuteronomic Historian.”

[5] G. Johannes Botterweck, Helmer Ringgren, H. J. Fabry, Theological Dictionary of the Old Testament – Theological Dictionary of the Old Testament: Volume 15, Revised, (Grand Rapids, Michigan: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 09/16/2016), WORDsearch CROSS e-book, 505.

[6] R. Alan Cole, Tyndale New Testament Commentaries – Galatians, (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Academic, 2008), WORDsearch CROSS e-book, 241.

The People God Used

The past year has been extremely tough, and as such I just need to thank the people who—prior to me returning to California—have helped me stay sane the past six months.

First off, I need to thank Jeff and Christina for allowing me to rent their extra house from them for the months of December to May. It was extremely beneficial in many respects, including, but not limited to, easily allowing me to have a cat that helped me to stay sane and also helping me to remove myself from a very unhealthy roommate situation just prior. You guys rock. Thanks again.

Next, I need to thank Jacob. You’ve put up with me and my need to talk to someone from back home exceptionally well for the past 6 months. You also helped continue to convince me that California is where I need to be.  Congrats on getting married in a week, and I’m extremely sorry I won’t be able to make the wedding. :(

Next I need to give a shout out to the Facebook group I discovered partly through Ryan and Gregory. The Reformed Pub has greatly helped me stay theologically grounded and encouraged in faith and fun (jokes and memes mainly) for the past six months. Keep doing what you’re doing and ignore the naysayers.

Thanks to that Facebook group, I also have to thank Nathan. We met and talked over coffee at the perfect opportunity. I was seriously struggling in my walk and with the church I was at, and you introduced me to the Way Church and thus Seth and Matt. In addition, I love that we could talk theology late into the night.

In addition to Nathan, I also met Brandon through the Facebook group. Thanks for taking time to meet and talk theology, even though it was an already scheduled time. I bought Thomas Schreiner’s book and am eager to dive into it in the next few weeks.

I mentioned Seth a paragraph ago. Thanks for being eager to meet with me and encourage me in the faith. Your five sermons I heard over the month I was at your church were the five most biblical, gospel-oriented sermons I heard in-person the whole time I was in Missouri. Thank you. In addition, thanks for preaching your last one (of the ones I could go to) directly to me. ;)

In addition, I mentioned Matt. Thanks for being so welcoming to me, even though I was hesitant about getting involved somewhere that I’d ultimately just be leaving in a few weeks. Your time and encouragement meant the world.

Finally, it would be wrong of me not to give a shout out to Nick and Alysia. Thanks for organizing Taco Tuesdays and going out of your way to see if I could make it. Those times were superb, and some really great memories from Missouri. In addition, I must also thank Sunni (a superb store manager) for finally letting me have Tuesdays off for it around my last month of work. I’ll miss Walgreens 11666 for sure!

To conclude, thanks again to all of you. You mean the world to me, and I hope we can somehow stay in touch over the next months and years despite the distance. If you know the Lord, I’m praying for you to grow in Him. If you don’t, in addition to praying for your health and safety, I’m also praying that you would come to know Him. He is good, and His goodness is shown in the people He puts in our lives. He put Jesus in everyone’s life by sending Him to earth 2,000 years ago. Then He allowed Him to be crucified for our sins and raised Him up three days later for proof of eternal life to those who believe. Do you believe?

Thanks again, to everyone named in here. Praying for you!

“Welcome to da Faith” – Some thoughts for you

If someone handed you a roadmap for life, how would you react? I’m sure you would be happy. Now, don’t get me wrong: I’m not saying that this album will guide you through life, but I’m pretty sure it can encourage you when life gets tough, and help you make steps toward being successful as a believer. Success as a believer is not defined as an easy, comfortable life, as the album art describes

Lyrics for the album can be found here: http://lilfytr.blogspot.com/p/welcome-to-da-faith-2017-anthem-intro.html. And I would say that these alone can potentially help encourage you when life gets tough.

So, my goal for this post is to do three things with each track that ended up on this album: first, share the Scripture that forms the background to it; second, excplain what events lay behind each track being written; third, how it specifically ties in to the theme of the album. John 15:5 has Jesus saying, “I am the vine; you are the branches. The one who remains in Me and I in him produces much fruit, because you can do nothing without Me.” This faith race that believers are placed in is a race of remaining in Him, knowing that apart from Him we are incapable of anything.

“Anthem” begins the album, and attempts to summarize the whole album. It attempts to be a fun, synthed-out/scratched-out, introduction that sets the tone for the rest of the album. It’s based on 2 Corinthians 5:7, where Paul writes, “For we walk by faith, not by sight.” While the album has ups and downs of fun and serious, so does this track in lyrical content, and also the verse on which it is based. While everything might look dark, believers have the hope “post tenebras lux” (Latin for “after darkness, light”). I wrote this song a day before I recorded it, reflecting on the past seven years, and some of the lessons I’ve learned.

“Get Crazy” follows. As is clear from the first verse, it is based on 2 Corinthians 5:17, where Paul writes, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, ⌊he is⌋ a new creation; old things have passed away, and look, new things have come.” I wrote this song during the summer of 2012, which in all honesty was probably the start of the peak of my walk with Christ so far. After I moved to Missouri about a year later, everything grew much more difficult. But, the point of this song within the theme of the album is as follows: as believers we need to act like we’re different. “Get Crazy” implies rejoicing. It also implies a total change in our life to the point where others can say, “You’re crazy.”

“Welcome to da Faith” is the title track. If you listen to it, it’s clear that it’s based upon Hebrews 12:1-2, where the writer says, “Therefore, since we also have such a large cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us lay aside every weight and the sin that so easily ensnares us. Let us run with endurance the race that lies before us, keeping our eyes on Jesus, the source and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that lay before Him endured a cross and despised the shame and has sat down at the right hand of God’s throne.” This one was written probably early spring of 2013, and I say that for two reasons: 1) I can’t remember precisely, 2) the line, “the best way to get over a breakup / is to fall for someone new” would have taken place around that point in time. Ultimately though, the point of the song is a theological look at the Christian race—what it consists of, what is important, and how to keep going when tough—and not so much a personal story.

The first interlude, given by Pastor Mo Khazaal of Sovereign Way Christian Church in Hesperia, CA, is included after the prior track as if to say, “the best way to keep going in this race is to join a local church.” I worried about people thinking that I was just saying, “Join my church”—well soon to be again my church—but no, what Mo does in this clip is explain what churches should look like—both leadership and fellowship. “I’m not saying you have to come to this church. I want you where God wants you.” And in the past few weeks I’ve become convinced that there are probably solid churches within driving distance of just about anywhere in the United States. (I’ve met people from two separate solid churches in my current area in the past three weeks alone.) The point being: join a local body of believers who can help you in this race.

“L.I.L.F.Y.T.R, pt. 2” is based on 1 John 4:15-17, where John writes, “Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God—God remains in him and he in God.  And we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and the one who remains in love remains in God, and God remains in him.  In this, love is perfected with us so that we may have confidence in the day of judgment, for we are as He is in this world.” I wrote it after writing my essay “Love Wins” found here, and after reflecting on the original that I released (hear it here). In the original, I focus on the “confidence in the day of judgment” aspect, but totally ignored the “one who remains in love . . . love is perfected” aspect. This new version is the core of my theology and exegetical hermeneutic. In the days since, I’ve realized that it is an extremely hard theology to live out, but by the power of Jesus it is possible.

The second interlude, given by Pastor Josh Ritchie of Sovereign Way Christian Church in Hesperia, CA, further elaborates and expands on the prior song. It is taken from a sermon on 1 John 4:13-21.

“Who I AM (is)” comes next and tries to paint a picture of God. It is based on the whole of the Bible, and seeks to paint Jesus as the same as Yahweh. We don’t worship a different God as believers in Jesus than the Israelites in the Old Testament did. I wrote this in the summer of 2012, at the height of my spiritual journey thus far. It fits with the theme of the album because as believers—running this race—we need to know Who it is we worship.

“Garden” comes from John 15, and also ties in Luke 8:4-15. I wrote this one in the summer of 2012 as well. John 15 discuuses vitality in the Christian life and relates it directly to intimacy with Christ—comparing Him to a vine. Since Jesus compares humans to seeds planted in Luke 8, I take them both together and ask that I would grow well, letting God prepare my heart to be the fruitful soil. I actually wrote the chorus to this song the week I met the Lord, back in 2010. It was one of my first real prayers. As believers, we must stay close to Christ and trust Him to grow us, even if some of His methods surprise us.

“Role Models” follows, because, it seeks to thank some people who have been invaluable in helping me to stay close to Christ. It is based on 2 Timothy 2:1-2, which says, “You, therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus.  And what you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses, commit to faithful men who will be able to teach others also.” I wrote this song sometime before fall of 2013, before leaving the noteworthy (main portion of song) role models behind in Southern California. They are still the greatest role models I’ve ever had, and I’m excited to get back to them in about a month. The point: as believers we need people to train us up in the faith.

“Fear Is” is based on Proverbs 1:7, where Solomon says, “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and discipline.” I wrote this in 2011 or 2012 when I was coming to terms with the concept of sola fide (faith alone), and it encourages us to grow in wisdom by God. The greatest wisdom we can find is to be humble, admit our sinfulness, and turn to Jesus in faith to fulfill righteousness for us. The greatest theologians in history and modern day have this understanding.

“What to Do?” speaks of the need for evangelism, and living to back it up. It is based on 2 Corinthians 5:18, 20, “Everything is from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation . . . Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, certain that God is appealing through us. We plead on Christ’s behalf, “Be reconciled to God.” As I wrote on Facebook a few weeks ago, “Based on 2 Corinthians 5:19-21, if you don’t speak about the gospel as a believer—especially as a minister—and call for repentance and belief, you are actually actively muzzling Christ.” I wrote this song originally in 2013 after a breakup, when I found out that she hadn’t been a believer while we were together (which ultimately explained the breakup). This song has grown more and more pertinent to me throughout my last few years, as I’ve been at churches where the Gospel is not explicitly preached. As the chorus says, “there’s a million possible things that we can try, but only the gospel can change their life,” which means, we don’t need programs or fads; we need Jesus, preached in the gospel: bad news, good news, repent, believe! This explains the concluding note from Pastor Mo Khazaal. Paul said the same in 1 Corinthians 9:16: “woe to me if I do not preach the gospel!”

“Ammunition” follows, and verse 1 picks up where the prior song left off. Satan doesn’t want the Gospel preached. Verse 2 elaborates on what the gospel actually teaches. And verse 3 is an extremely personal verse reflecting on the specific time I wrote the song. The song is based on James 4:7, “Therefore, submit to God. But resist the Devil, and he will flee from you.” We submit to God by drawing near in prayer and Scripture reading. By putting this in our minds, we have ammunition to use against the Devil’s lies.

“Get Out” is based on 2 Timothy 2:22-26, and I’ll admit straight out that I’ve probably confused Satan with my flesh in this song. The passage explains, “Flee from youthful passions, and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace, along with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart.  But reject foolish and ignorant disputes, knowing that they breed quarrels.  The Lord’s slave must not quarrel, but must be gentle to everyone, able to teach, and patient,  instructing his opponents with gentleness. Perhaps God will grant them repentance leading ⌊them⌋ to the knowledge of the truth.  Then they may come to their senses and escape the Devil’s trap, having been captured by him to do his will.” I wrote this song originally completely differently in the summer of 2012. I rewrote it about this topic in the fall of 2015, but it reached it’s final form (only verb tenses in verse 3 changing) after my breakup in March of 2016. As believers we have all we need to ignore the lies of the devil/our flesh, but too often we lazily prefer to follow our flesh.

The third interlude comes from Pastor Stephen Feinstein of Sovereign Way Christian Church in Hesperia, CA. In it, he proves my point above, about having all we need to resist Satan and temptation, and also leads in to the next song, speaking directly about the temptation I struggle with.

“Tearing Down the Walls” comes next. It is based on a whole lot of verses, but the one I’m gonna quote here is found in 2 Corinthians 10:3-5. “For though we live in the body, we do not wage war in an unspiritual way,  since the weapons of our warfare are not worldly, but are powerful through God for the demolition of strongholds. We demolish arguments  and every high-minded thing that is raised up against the knowledge of God, taking every thought captive to obey Christ.” I wrote and recorded this song in 2015, and it was quality enough at the time of release that I left the phrase “three years of longing to be sexually pure” as “three years” even though at this point it’s been 6 years of actively fighting, and seven years of knowing I need to. I don’t spend an insane amount of time reflecting on my sin; I try to lay out my understanding of Romans 7 in a practical way, which is further elaborated on here, and is due for an even lengthier treatment in the future. We must look to Christ, not ourselves, to overcome sin in our lives.

“No Fear” is based on Hebrews 4:16. “Therefore let us approach the throne of grace with boldness, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us at the proper time.” The first verse was written on August 2, 2015 while listening to a sermon where the pastor had completely sucked the grace out of Psalm 51, which added to my depression because he was also the one “counseling” me on sexual purity at the time. The next two verses were written in the months that followed, reflecting on the grace that God offers at His throne of grace. God wants us to pray to Him; as believers, we must do it often.

“Trippin” is based on 1 John 1:8. “If we say, ‘We have no sin,’ we are deceiving ourselves, and the truth is not in us.” I wrote this one toward the beginning of 2012, probably one of the first songs from this album to be finished. As believers, we will never be free from sin entirely in this life. As such we must be honest about it. At the same time though, we aren’t excused from sin, because we have the Holy Spirit.

“What Did You See?” is not really based on any specific passage, though passages do show up throughout it. I guess the best verse to give that sums it up is Romans 5:10, “For if, while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, ⌊then how⌋ much more, having been reconciled, will we be saved by His life!” The song, especially the first verse, is heavy, as my intro states. I wrote the first verse around the end of 2015 when I received news that an acquaintance from youth group as a kid had gotten in a car accident and died on the spot. It made me seriously think about my life and what I was doing with it. The last two verses were written in early 2016, reflecting on my treatment by a church over struggles I’ve faced for multiple years. The point of the song is ultimately that God chose us when we were dirty and as such He can handle our sin now; He’s in control and we can trust Him.

“Ask Me About My Father” is based on John 3:16. “For God loved the world in this way: He gave His One and Only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life.” That simply sums up my Father. In addition, my first idea for this song originated from my song, “Ask Me About My Savior,” from 2012. Perhaps “Ask Me about My Keeper” will come out in the future? It serves as a happy conclusion to the album, calling people again to believe in Jesus. It elevates the fact that believers are adopted. It plays off the line from “Welcome to da Faith” where I say, “We got the same Father, His name’s I AM.”  Believers must know God as Father.

“But, that’s not the last song on the album,” you protest. You’re right! “Somewhere, Someday” serves as a postscript. It’s based off Matthew 6:33, which is one of the hardest verses to practice in daily life. “But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be provided for you.” Verse 3 is the most important, and I thought about changing the last line from “the sooner the better—this is all true,” to “Your timing’s the best—this is all true,” but for several reasons I kept it how it is. Here’s why: there’s no sin in desiring marriage. First Corinthians 7 and Matthew 19 would agree with me. Keeping Christ my primary focus is extremely hard, and it comes out in that concluding line.

In conclusion, as believers, the key is to keep our focus on Christ. Everything we do must be done “by the Spirit, for the Father, through the Son / 1 Corinthians 10:31.” As you listen to the album, I pray that it would help you to fix your eyes on Jesus. If you don’t know Jesus, every song seeks to be evangelistic so I can welcome you to da faith; trust Him today. Also, in listening to the album myself, I found a factual error (the Bible says the exact opposite) in one of the songs. If anyone can point it out to me also, I’ll do something (though I’m still contemplating what). Maybe buy you lunch… J

Soli Deo Gloria.

“I Was There” – Some thoughts for you

So, as many of you know, the past two years have been two of the hardest years in my life. And that’s where this story takes place. In fact, I started writing it before it fell even farther south, and in my personal opinion, I felt like the story would work just fine being kept there—let’s say around the end of August 2016. So the attitudes and actions read of there, were—for the most part—how I was thinking in September of 2016. Before moving on, I would encourage you to read the story which can be found here: http://lilwritr.blogspot.com/2017/04/i-was-there.html.

I was broken up with just over a year ago, which totally threw away all the plans I had for my life at the time. In so doing, anger was uncovered in my heart—anger that was much deeper than just not seeing eye-to-eye with my parents and conversations getting loudly out of hand. Three months later I began talking to another girl, but that was a waste of time that I don’t need to get into here, except to say that after this I became extremely jealous and bitter about the relationships of those closest to me in my life. It was at this point that the introductory section to the story was written, and while it’s done by Good Friday 2017, my original goal had been Easter of 2016, though I don’t think it would have been the same kind of story if it had come out then, because the last six months of serious heart stretching would not have happened yet.

This was the hardest story I’ve ever written. When you write a sentence and you have to pray for forgiveness for each one because it is exemplifying your sinfulness, it makes it extremely hard to write. The inspiration for the story—besides just the fact that it’s the Easter season—was a song from Shai Linne where he raps,

[Jesus is] sent to Pilate, to Herod, back to Pilate

The violence of humanity at its finest

So now He stands before the crowd doomed to die

An angry mob who’s yelling out “crucify”

The way they treat the Lord of glory is debased and it’s foul

But you miss the point if you don’t see your face in the crowd

…

We see disciples sleep and mock today with a lot to say

But we do the same thing when we don’t watch and pray

Like Judas, we sell Christ out to get the treasure

Whether it’s the cheddar or forbidden pleasure

Like the chief priests, we want Christ to surrender

But we want Him out the way when He doesn’t fit our agenda

Like Peter, we have misplaced, fleshly confidence

But we’ll deny the Lord when faced with deadly consequence

Like Herod, we’re curious about Christ because He’s famous

But we quickly get bored with Him when He doesn’t entertain us

Like Pilate, we see Christ and find nothing wrong with Him

But when the world chooses the wicked, we go right along with them

Despite His kindness, we seek to do our Maker violence

The fallenness of humanity at its finest[1]

And, to take it even further, the sermon clip that Shai Linne includes at the end of the song from pastor C. J. Mahaney elaborates,

“‘Were you there when they crucified my Lord?’ the old negro spiritual asks. And we must answer, ‘Yes, we were there.’ Not as spectators only, but as participants, guilty participants, plotting, scheming, betraying, bargaining, and handing Him over to be crucified. We may try to wash our hands of responsibility like Pilate, but our attempt will be futile. Before we can begin to see the cross as something done for us, leading us to faith and worship, we have to see it as something done by us, leading us to repentance. Only the man or woman who is prepared to own his share in the guilt of the cross may claim his share in its grace.”[2]

And it’s been my goal to write it for the past year, placing myself at the scene, putting myself back in the mindframe of an unbeliever, and reflecting on how I would have acted had I been there then. It was a very humbling experience. While most of my attitudes presented in the story were present in my mind in September of 2016, I also drew some parallels to attitudes that were much more prominent in 2010 when I was saved.

I italicize Mahaney’s sentence above, because when you see yourself beating on Jesus Christ—the Creator and Lord of heaven and earth, who holds your life in His hand, who could let you go at any moment—it is impossible to continue living as if nothing happened. When we sin we act like we’re still unbelievers (Romans 6:16), and it looks as though we want to crucify Jesus again, because every sin we commit is one that He was on the cross for already. Without getting into the crazy specifics, I believe Hebrews 6 may speak to this in verses 4-8, when it reads,

For it is impossible to renew to repentance those who were once enlightened, who tasted the heavenly gift, became companions with the Holy Spirit,  tasted God’s good word and the powers of the coming age,  and who have fallen away, because, to their own harm, they are recrucifying the Son of God and holding Him up to contempt.  For ground that has drunk the rain that has often fallen on it and that produces vegetation useful to those it is cultivated for receives a blessing from God.  But if it produces thorns and thistles, it is worthless and about to be cursed, and will be burned at the end (emphasis added).

The writer is explaining, “Look! Take a good look at your life and see what defines you. Is your life defined by rebellion against Jesus? If so, it doesn’t matter what ‘good things’ you may have done, because every time you sin you are telling Jesus to take another beating. If this defines you, you may be too far gone. But, if your life is faithful to Jesus, though you sin here and there—even daily (as we all do)—keep pressing on, watching out that you don’t make a habit of beating Jesus, because to continue in that lifestyle shows that you aren’t saved.”

When you realize the attitudes in your heart that pinned Jesus to the cross, you realize the areas of your life that need to be put to death (Romans 8:13). Repentance from a sin is completed when that sin is crushed and uprooted by the Spirit. Looking at Jesus on the cross, and seeing how you are responsible for that atrocity must necessarily lead to repentance.

So my question for you today is: Were you there? Do you see yourself in that crowd? Even if you have to go back to the day you were saved—and reflect on what He saved you from—can you see yourself there as one of the bad guys?

Or maybe you’re reading this but you’ve never even trusted Jesus. Do you realize you’ve sinned? Have you ever lied? Have you ever stolen anything? Have you ever disobeyed a parent? Have you ever practiced sexual activity outside of the covenant of marriage? If the answer to any of these questions is “yes,” then you deserve to be on the cross that Jesus was crucified on. You deserve the beating that He received.

But even more than the beating He received, you deserve what was going on in the darkness:

Jesus cried out in agony as well. “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?”

…

Jesus groaned in pain, and His groans continued for the next several hours.

In my mind I wondered why He was groaning. No one’s doing anything to You now. The pain is over. You’re just up there now until You die.

He screamed. He wept. His teeth started grinding. He groaned again.

“You weren’t acting like this an hour ago!” I yelled. “What has changed?”

He kept yelling, crying, and grinding His teeth.

“What has changed?” I asked in the story. Everything changed. This is the reason why Jesus was sweating blood in the garden. And it’s the part of the crucifixion that is much too often skipped over in Christian circles these days, especially since it’s the most important part. Throughout church history many martyrs have died in much more brutal ways than crucifixion—even Peter was crucified upside down—so why would Jesus be so worried about facing the cross? It’s because while He was up there, for the second set of three hours, He drank the full fury of the wrath of God—the same that those who don’t believe in Christ will face for eternity in hell.

I don’t want you to have to face that. Jesus doesn’t either. It’s why He drank it Himself. However, you must believe that the forgiveness He cried for on the cross counts for you too. You have to see yourself murdering Him, and as such repent for the things that pinned Him there that you didn’t know you were doing (Luke 23:34). A parachute won’t save anyone who doesn’t put full trust in it and wear it when they jump out of the plane; the plane of life crashes for everyone at a different time, and the question is: have you put full trust in Jesus?

Soli Deo Gloria.

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[1] Shai Linne, “Were You There?” The Atonement (Lampmode Recordings, 2008), MP3.

[2] Ibid. Emphasis mine