Leadership what is the Key

 

 

Joshua 19:49-50

 

 

As you read the Scriptures, it has a lot to say about leadership, we see many lessons on the right and the wrong kinds of leaders.  But what is the one key element that is essential to good leadership and what are examples from the Scriptures of men who had it?  It was key for Noah, Abraham,  Joseph, Moses, Joshua, David, Gideon, Isaiah, Daniel, John the Baptist, Peter, Paul.  What was the key item that set them apart as leaders, you could say many things about each of these men, but the key to all was faith, it was the victory, yet we will see that unlike many who may have been more gifted they put faith not in man, nor self, but in a God who was unseen?  They just believed in God and were obedient to what He told them to do.  As you study the life of these leaders, they came from all walks of life, they learned to stand alone, to obey God even when everything in them said it’s impossible, they obey God’s command.

 

But we also have many examples of men who had all kinds of skill sets, were very gifted with both talents, and came from families with wealth, and they look for the role of a leader but drop the ball.  One such man was the first king of Israel Saul.  Saul was handpicked by God the prophet Samuel was used by God to anoint him and give him God’s blessing.  Saul came from a well-respected family and they had wealth and standing among the people.  And Saul had faith in God to a degree, but he also had faith in Saul, and in what he saw.  He was fearful of the people and tried to be a pleaser of men and not of God.  But Saul is not alone in that area of life, many a man has begun strong, but they are men pleaser, and not God pleaser, and it always ends badly for them.

 

Joshua was not that kind of man, he believed in God and was an example to all who desire to be leaders, for example when all the people, the different tribes had been given their part of the land promised by God, Joshua had not carved out any for himself.  But God, the God Joshua, trusted and obeyed, came through, let us look at the account in Joshua 19:49-50, When they had finished distributing the several territories of the land as inheritances, the people of Israel gave an inheritance among them to Joshua the son of Nun.  By command of the Lord, they gave him the city that he asked, Timnath-serah in the hill country of Ephraim. And he rebuilt the city and settled in it.  What can you and I learn from these two verses, leader, put others first, they walk by faith and not by feel, and when they drop the ball, they seek forgiveness.

 

From the Back Porch,

 

Bob Rice

Allotment of the Remaining Land

 

Joshua 18: 1-10

 

Allotment of the Remaining Land

Then the whole congregation of the people of Israel assembled at Shiloh and set up the tent of meeting there. The land lay subdued before them.

There remained among the people of Israel seven tribes whose inheritance had not yet been apportioned.  So, Joshua said to the people of Israel, “How long will you put off going in to take possession of the land, which the Lord, the God of your fathers, has given you?   Provide three men from each tribe, and I will send them out that they may set out and go up and down the land. They shall write a description of it with a view to their inheritances and then come to me.   They shall divide it into seven portions. Judah shall continue in his territory on the south, and the house of Joseph shall continue in their territory on the north.   And you shall describe the land in seven divisions and bring the description here to me. And I will cast lots for you here before the Lord our God.   The Levites have no portion among you, for the priesthood of the Lord is their heritage. And Gad and Reuben and half the tribe of Manasseh have received their inheritance beyond the Jordan eastward, which Moses the servant of the Lord gave them.”

 So, the men arose and went, and Joshua charged those who went to write the description of the land, saying, “Go up and down in the land and write a description and return to me. And I will cast lots for you here before the Lord in Shiloh.”   So the men went and passed up and down in the land and wrote in a book a description of it by towns in seven divisions. Then they came to Joshua to the camp at Shiloh, and Joshua cast lots for them in Shiloh before the Lord. And there Joshua apportioned the land to the people of Israel, to each his portion.

 

Why did the people wait to claim what God had promised them, are you like that and I often ask am I?  Has God made promises that you and I have not acted on, and the answer is yes, but the question is why?   Is it unbelief, or maybe ignorance, why were they not acting on the promises of God, and if you come up with the answer, could that be also why you are not moving on the promises of God’s written word?

 

Joshua sent out three men from each tribe that was still waiting to take action on the promises of God, and they came back with a detailed report for Joshua, and he cast lots to see who got what.  It had taken Joshua over 40 years of being Moses grunt to prepare him to lead this group of people to the promised land, not a job most of us would have wanted, for they were not easily led.  My hope is that as a follower of Christ, we allow the Holy Spirit to lead us and do not make the lives of those the Lord has put over us to be a challenge.

 

From the Back Porch,

 

Bob Rice

Obedience brings Blessings

 Joshua 17:12-17

 

Yet the Manassites were not able to occupy these towns, for the Canaanites were determined to live in that region.  However, when the Israelites grew stronger, they subjected the Canaanites to forced labor but did not drive them out completely.

The people of Joseph said to Joshua, “Why have you given us only one allotment and one portion for an inheritance? We are a numerous people, and the Lord has blessed us abundantly.”

“If you are so numerous,” Joshua answered, “and if the hill country of Ephraim is too small for you, go up into the forest and clear land for yourselves there in the land of the Perizzites and Rephaites.”

The people of Joseph replied, “The hill country is not enough for us, and all the Canaanites who live in the plain have chariots fitted with iron, both those in Beth Shan and its settlements and those in the Valley of Jezreel.”

But Joshua said to the tribes of Joseph—to Ephraim and Manasseh—“You are numerous and very powerful. You will have not only one allotment but the forested hill country as well. Clear it, and its farthest limits will be yours; though the Canaanites have chariots fitted with iron and though they are strong, you can drive them out.”

 

The Manassites were not able to occupy a big area, because they did not do as God had directed them.  Do you recall obedience brings blessings and disobedience brings curses?  It makes one wonder, is the United States, in this mess because we told God to stay out of our schools, our government, and many churches began to teach things that were not in the Bible.

 

What about the people of Joseph’s day, they had seen God fight for them, but now they are fearful of the Canaanites because they have chariots fitted with iron.  Joshua reminds the people of who they are and that they can drive these people out of the land.

 

It is not a new thing that people who have experienced God doing great things for you soon forget, and believe in whatever they see, and not in the God who is unseen.

 

From the Back Porch,

 

Bob Rice

Kevin's Story

 The Story of Kevin Carroll

 

This morning my pastor Ray Still taught us on James 2:1-15 this passage of Scripture is titled, The Sin of Partiality.   The first four verses give us a great understanding of how this played out in the early Church, and the current Church.  I do not believe any who attended have not done this at some point in their lives.  It reminded me of Kevin Carrol.

Kevin's story, and my first time to see Kevin was at Spring Baptist Church, he drove up in an old white van with peace signs and flower stickers all over it.  But it gets better, he had no shoes and was wearing white painter's coveralls with paint all over them, he looked a mess,  with long unkempt hair, totally unkempt, and I’m sure could have used a bath.  The greeter and others were talking about the bare-footed guy in the hippy van, when our Pastor Harlan Caton heard about the young man and found him in a corner, not knowing where to go or what to do.  Harlen put his arm around his shoulders and told him to sit on the front row and to only listen to the message and to pay no attention to what others were saying.

Our Pastor told us he had a special guest on the front row and he expected everyone to treat him with respect, and if you knew Harlen, that meant to be nice.

Now Jan and I did not meet Kevin on his first visit but we saw him and it did make you wonder, where he had come from, and would he be back?  The next Sunday Kevin was back and we noticed his hair was a little shorter and I believe he was wearing shoes.  Each Sunday Kevin was back sitting on the front row and his clothes were nicer and his hair was short and groomed and we found him to be a very nice young man.

Much later Jan and I were talking to Kevin and asking him about that first visit and why he came to Spring Baptist Church.  This is Kevin's story;  he and a friend were camping out in the deep piney woods smoking a joint and out of nowhere a young lady showed up and began to tell them about Jesus and how much He loved them and the price He had paid so that they could have a relationship with His father and Him.  He said then after a while she just got up and left, and they never saw her again.

That began Kevin’s search for Jesus and as he heard the word preached he met Jesus in a real personal way.  Kevin began to work with the youth, and the more Jan and I got to know Kevin the more we loved this new brother in Christ.  God had done a transformation in this young brother, and later we met the lady that would share His life and give him children. 

The last time we were with Kevin’s family He was a youth minister at Ellendale Baptist Church in Tennessee.  It was on that visit I asked Kevin who had been the greatest influence in his life.  Harlan Catan, he said, was the only man who ever showed me that he trusted me.  Now I was listening, how did he do that, I had only been to church a few times and Harlan asked if I would stay in their house while the family was gone for a week.  He knew I was living in that van and thought it would be nice to have me stay there and be able to bathe and cook my food, no person had ever shown that they trusted me like that, they had a lot of nice stuff.  Kevin saw Jesus in Harlan, and he wanted to become a man other men could trust.

Harlan was a great Bible teacher, I learned a lot under his teaching in my 3 ½ years under his teaching.  I love Harlan, and sometimes he could be hard for many who took him on in a business meeting to love.  I’m so thankful that Harlan lived out James 2:1-13 the day Kevin showed up at Spring Baptist Church.

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice

God is a promise keepe

 Joshua 16

 

God is a promise keeper, He was then, and He does not change, many a person believes they have all the answers, but that a person who has little understanding of God’s written Word.  Isaiah 55:8-9, “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, ”declares the Lord.   “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.”

 

You do not have a box God will fit into, nor a building, but He does inhabit the praise of His people, and we have this promise from Jesus, in John 17:22-23,  ^“The glory that you have given me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one,  I in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me.”

 

If God is for you, who can stand against you?  That is what the people of the 12 tribes had come to understand, and this is an account of Joseph’s and Ephraim’s inheritance, as promised by God.  The promise was made to Abram, who became Abraham.  Genesis 12:1-3, Now the Lord said to Abram, “Go forth from your country,  And from your relatives.  And from your father’s house.   To the land which I will show you;  And I will make you a great nation, And I will bless you,  And make your name great; And so you shall be a blessing;  And I will bless those who bless you,  And the one who curses you I will curse.  And in you, all the families of the earth will be blessed.”

 

But a recurring thing happens, and I believe it is happening today in many who go by the name Christian.  They did not do as God had told them, Joshua 16:10, “However, they did not drive out the Canaanites who lived in Gezer, so the Canaanites have lived in the midst of Ephraim to this day but have been made to do forced labor.”

 

I was not able to sleep for a pain in my leg, so I got out of bed and allow God’s written word to speak into my mind and heart, I need to examine myself to see if I’m not guilty of allowing the cares of this world, to deceive me into believing, answer lie anywhere but in the Word of God.  Always wise to do as 2 Corinthians 16:5 states.  “Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves. Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in you—unless, of course, you fail the test?”

 

From the Back Porch,

 

Bob Rice

The Allotment for Judah

 

Joshua 15:1-12

 

The Allotment for Judah

The allotment for the tribe of the people of Judah according to their clans reached southward to the boundary of Edom, to the wilderness of Zin at the farthest south.   And their south boundary ran from the end of the Salt Sea, from the bay that faces southward.  It goes out southward of the ascent of Akrabbim, passes along to Zin, and goes up south of Kadesh-barnea, along by Hezron, up to Addar, turns about to Karka, passes along to Azmon, goes out by the Brook of Egypt, and comes to its end at the sea. This shall be your south boundary.   And the east boundary is the Salt Sea, to the mouth of the Jordan. And the boundary on the north side runs from the bay of the sea at the mouth of the Jordan.   And the boundary goes up to Beth-hoglah and passes along north of Beth-arabah. And the boundary goes up to the stone of Bohan the son of Reuben.   And the boundary goes up to Debir from the Valley of Achor, and so northward, turning toward Gilgal, which is opposite the ascent of Adummim, which is on the south side of the valley. And the boundary passes along to the waters of En-shemesh and ends at En-rogel.   Then the boundary goes up by the Valley of the Son of Hinnom at the southern shoulder of the Jebusite (that is, Jerusalem). And the boundary goes up to the top of the mountain that lies over against the Valley of Hinnom, on the west, at the northern end of the Valley of Rephaim.   Then the boundary extends from the top of the mountain to the spring of the waters of Nephtoah, and from there to the cities of Mount Ephron. Then the boundary bends around to Baalah (that is, Kiriath-jearim).   And the boundary circles west of Baalah to Mount Seir, passes along to the northern shoulder of Mount Jearim (that is, Chesalon), and goes down to Beth-shemesh and passes along by Timnah.   The boundary goes out to the shoulder of the hill north of Ekron, then the boundary bends around to Shikkeron and passes along to Mount Baalah and goes out to Jabneel. Then the boundary comes to an end at the sea.   And the west boundary was the Great Sea with its coastline. This is the boundary around the people of Judah according to their clans.

 

When God is your source, your only source, His provision far exceeds our hopes or expectations.  No one coming out of Egypt could have imagined what God had planned for His people, and today the Church also has little understanding of a Big God.   Often the Church looks to what works in some program, and often it is not based on the leadership of the Holy Spirit, but on what attracts people.

 

Could the problem be that once we have been blessed so much we forgot who our source was and believed it was because of our skills and abilities?

 

From the Back Porch,

 

Bob Rice

 

Caleb's Request and Inheritance

 

Joshua 14

 

Caleb's Request and Inheritance

 Then the people of Judah came to Joshua at Gilgal. And Caleb the son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite said to him, “You know what the Lord said to Moses the man of God in Kadesh-barnea concerning you and me.   I was forty years old when Moses the servant of the Lord sent me from Kadesh-barnea to spy out the land, and I brought him word again as it was in my heart.   But my brothers who went up with me made the heart of the people melt, yet I wholly followed the Lord my God.   And Moses swore on that day, saying, ‘Surely the land on which your foot has trodden shall be an inheritance for you and your children forever because you have wholly followed the Lord my God.’   And now, behold, the Lord has kept me alive, just as he said, these forty-five years since the time that the Lord spoke this word to Moses, while Israel walked in the wilderness. And now, behold, I am this day eighty-five years old.  I am still as strong today as I was in the day that Moses sent me; my strength now is as my strength was then, for war and for going and coming.   So now give me this hill country of which the Lord spoke on that day, for you heard on that day how the Anakim were there, with great fortified cities. It may be that the Lord will be with me, and I shall drive them out just as the Lord said.”

Then Joshua blessed him, and he gave Hebron to Caleb the son of Jephunneh for an inheritance.   Therefore, Hebron became the inheritance of Caleb the son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite to this day, because he wholly followed the Lord, the God of Israel.   Now the name of Hebron formerly was Kiriath-arba.  (Arba was the greatest man among the Anakim.) And the land had rest from war.

 

If Jesus Christ is living in you and you in Him and as my pastor stated yesterday, not the American Jesus, the one that a lot like you, but the real Jesus, the Son of God, then Psalm 28:7, 8, should be the lifeblood of His Church.  Not a building, but a body of believers, a congregation, never a building, no matter how amazing its architecture.  “The LORD is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and he helps me. My heart leaps for joy, and with my song I praise him. The LORD is the strength of his people, a fortress of salvation for his anointed one.”

 

Caleb, was such a man, at the age of 85, he was still a warrior and did not ask for an easy assignment, sure he could have, for he had been a faithful servant of God and believed the battle was the LORD’s and had observed all that God had done, put his trust in God, not in himself.  One wonder, why do followers of Jesus not do the same?

 

From the Back Porch,

 

Bob Rice

Land Still to Be Conquered

 

 

Joshua 13:1-7

 

Land Still to Be Conquered

Now Joshua was old and advanced in years, and the Lord said to him, “You are old and advanced in years, and there remains yet very much land to possess.   This is the land that yet remains: all the regions of the Philistines, and all those of the Geshurites (from the Shihor, which is east of Egypt, northward to the boundary of Ekron, it is counted as Canaanite; there are five rulers of the Philistines, those of Gaza, Ashdod, Ashkelon, Gath, and Ekron), and those of the Avvim, in the south, all the land of the Canaanites, and Mearah that belongs to the Sidonians, to Aphek, to the boundary of the Amorites, and the land of the Gebalites, and all Lebanon, toward the sunrise, from Baal-gad below Mount Hermon to Lebo-hamath, all the inhabitants of the hill country from Lebanon to Misrephoth-maim, even all the Sidonians. I myself will drive them out from before the people of Israel. Only allot the land to Israel for an inheritance, as I have commanded you.   Now, therefore, divide this land for an inheritance to the nine tribes and half the tribe of Manasseh.”

 

Two kinds of letters a person may receive, one is a sham, it may or not have a lawyer's name on it but it’s a con wanting money.  It may look very official and tell you that a large amount of money has been left to you, but it's just someone wanting to make a quick buck.  The other is a real letter and normally from a Trustee or a  law firm, informing you of access left in a will for you.  One letter may have value, but do not be too quick to say yes, because it could end up costing you more than the inheritance is worth in back taxes.

 

But with God, it is not a con job, it is a promise, and all the people were required to do was believe and take action.  Do you recall that obedience brings blessings and disobedience brings curses, and as we keep reading this chapter, we find they chose to be content in the new land?  They were now living in a land flowing with milk and honey, a promised land, in houses they did not build and vineyards they did not plant.  Enjoying all the blessings of God, but were not willing to obey, because they had new plans for this new land.

 

As you keep reading you come across verse 13, Yet the people of Israel did not drive out the Geshurites or the Maacathites, but Geshur and Maacath dwell in the midst of Israel to this day.

 

It makes me wonder if I dropped the ball, did I get so comfortable in all the blessings of the LORD, that I did not take the land I was given, not believing, not understanding, it was mine, but the battle was the LORD's.

 

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice

Conquest of Southern Canaan

  

Joshua 10: 29- 43

 

Joshua 10: 29- 43

 

Conquest of Southern Canaan

Then Joshua and all Israel with him passed on from Makkedah to Libnah and fought against Libnah.   And the Lord gave it also and its king into the hand of Israel. And he struck it with the edge of the sword, and every person in it; he left none remaining in it. And he did to its king as he had done to the king of Jericho.

 So, Joshua struck the whole land, the hill country and the Negeb and the lowland and the slopes, and all their kings. He left none remaining but devoted to destruction all that breathed, just as the Lord God of Israel commanded.   And Joshua struck them from Kadesh-barnea as far as Gaza, and all the country of Goshen, as far as Gibeon.   And Joshua captured all these kings and their land at one time because the Lord God of Israel fought for Israel.   Then Joshua returned, and all Israel with him, to the camp at Gilgal.

 

As you read about this I removed much of the account but it is worth giving thought to.  It is clear that obedience brings blessings and disobedience brings curses.  When even one man sinned, it brought death and defeat to the people of Israel.  We have a clear example of Achan in chapter seven and the defeat of Israel at Ai.

 

God has not changed, yes we have experienced grace, but not license to sin, for our sin will find us out and sin brings not only problems to the Achan family and all of Israel, but the lives of men who did not sin.  We have example after example all around us, obedience brings blessing, and disobedience brings disaster.

 

Many in our churches have little or no fear of sinning, of disobeying God, and have you noticed the mess our nation is in.  God has not changed, He is the same today as tomorrow, and His ways or beyond our understanding.

 

From the Back Porch,

 

Bob Rice

Then Joshua and all Israel with him passed on from Makkedah to Libnah and fought against Libnah.   And the Lord gave it also and its king into the hand of Israel. And he struck it with the edge of the sword, and every person in it; he left none remaining in it. And he did to its king as he had done to the king of Jericho.

 So, Joshua struck the whole land, the hill country and the Negeb and the lowland and the slopes, and all their kings. He left none remaining but devoted to destruction all that breathed, just as the Lord God of Israel commanded.   And Joshua struck them from Kadesh-barnea as far as Gaza, and all the country of Goshen, as far as Gibeon.   And Joshua captured all these kings and their land at one time because the Lord God of Israel fought for Israel.   Then Joshua returned, and all Israel with him, to the camp at Gilgal.

 

As you read about this I removed much of the account but it is worth giving thought to.  It is clear that obedience brings blessings and disobedience brings curses.  When even one man sinned, it brought death and defeat to the people of Israel.  We have a clear example of Achan in chapter seven and the defeat of Israel at Ai.

 

God has not changed, yes we have experienced grace, but not license to sin, for our sin will find us out and sin brings not only problems to the Achan family and all of Israel, but the lives of men who did not sin.  We have example after example all around us, obedience brings blessing, and disobedience brings disaster.

 

Many in our churches have little or no fear of sinning, of disobeying God, and have you noticed the mess our nation is in.  God has not changed, He is the same today as tomorrow, and His ways or beyond our understanding.

 

From the Back Porch,

 

Bob Rice

Five Amorite Kings Executed

 October 20, 2020

 

Joshua 10: 16-28

 

Five Amorite Kings Executed

These five kings fled and hid themselves in the cave at Makkedah.   And it was told to Joshua, “The five kings have been found, hidden in the cave at Makkedah.”   And Joshua said, “Roll large stones against the mouth of the cave and set men by it to guard them but do not stay there yourselves. Pursue your enemies; attack their rear guard. Do not let them enter their cities, for the Lord your God has given them into your hand.”   When Joshua and the sons of Israel had finished striking them with a great blow until they were wiped out, and when the remnant that remained of them had entered into the fortified cities,  then all the people returned safe to Joshua in the camp at Makkedah. Not a man moved his tongue against any of the people of Israel.

Then Joshua said, “Open the mouth of the cave and bring those five kings out to me from the cave.”  And they did so, and brought those five kings out to him from the cave, the king of Jerusalem, the king of Hebron, the king of Jarmuth, the king of Lachish, and the king of Eglon.   And when they brought those kings out to Joshua, Joshua summoned all the men of Israel and said to the chiefs of the men of war who had gone with him, “Come near; put your feet on the necks of these kings.” Then they came near and put their feet on their necks.  And Joshua said to them, “Do not be afraid or dismayed; be strong and courageous. For thus the Lord will do to all your enemies against whom you fight.”   And afterward, Joshua struck them and put them to death, and he hanged them on five trees. And they hung on the trees until evening.   But at the time of the going down of the sun, Joshua commanded, and they took them down from the trees and threw them into the cave where they had hidden themselves, and they set large stones against the mouth of the cave, which remain to this very day.

As for Makkedah, Joshua captured it on that day and struck it, and its king, with the edge of the sword. He devoted to destruction every person in it; he left none remaining. And he did to the king of Makkedah just as he had done to the king of Jericho.

 

As you read this account, I wonder can people be so foolish as to believe they can take on the People of God, His chosen when they know it is God who is fighting for them?

 

Now that was a rhetorical question, sure they do and also His Church, not a building but people who have Christ living in them.  It often looks as if they are winning, but their end is destruction.

 

From the Back Porch,

 

Bob Rice

The Sun Stands Still

 

Joshua 10: 1-14

 

The Sun Stands Still

As soon as Adoni-Zedek, king of Jerusalem, heard how Joshua had captured Ai and had devoted it to destruction, doing to Ai and its king as he had done to Jericho and its king, and how the inhabitants of Gibeon had made peace with Israel and were among them,  he feared greatly, because Gibeon was a great city, like one of the royal cities, and because it was greater than Ai, and all its men were warriors.  So Adoni-Zedek king of Jerusalem sent to Hoham king of Hebron, to Piram king of Jarmuth, to Japhia king of Lachish, and to Debir king of Eglon, saying,  “Come up to me and help me, and let us strike Gibeon. For it has made peace with Joshua and with the people of Israel.”   Then the five kings of the Amorites, the king of Jerusalem, the king of Hebron, the king of Jarmuth, the king of Lachish, and the king of Eglon, gathered their forces and went up with all their armies and encamped against Gibeon and made war against it.

 

What faith the fear of the Lord brought on the people of Gibeon, they were a mighty city with great warriors, and they believed the God of Israel was one to bow to.  They had never seen a missionary, nor a prophet, but they heard what God had done for His people and they feared Him with great fear.  That wisdom, the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.  One wonders what it will take for the local Bible-believing church to gain that kind of wisdom.

 

You do understand they chose to seek a way to live, even if it means being slaves to the nation of Israel.  Yes, they use lies and deception, but are they that much different than many who attend church, and yet cheat in marriage, in business, and lie to their family and friends.

 

Now one should not wonder how this battle turned out, all the nations were going to destroy Gibeon for bowing to Israel, “but God”.  They did not understand, it was not going to be a fair fight, they were many in number, but they had no understanding of whom they were engaging.  Can you get your minds around taking on the God who spoke you into being, who breathes life into a man?  If that is not enough, how about rolling back the waters of the Red Sea, stopping the flow of the Jordan River in flood stage.   Not only were they stupid unlike the people of Gibeon, who allow fear to drive them into being willing to be slaves, but they also chose to enter into battle knowing that God was going to fight for Israel.  More were killed by hailstones than by the sword of the men of Israel, and God allowed the sun to stop for about a full day so that Israel could wipe out every one of them.  I hope you read the account in verses 6-14.

 

From the Back Porch,

 

Bob Rice

Deception of Gibeon of Satan

 October 18, 2020

 

Joshua 9: 1-2

 

“As soon as all the kings who were beyond the Jordan in the hill country and in the lowland all along the coast of the Great Sea toward Lebanon, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, heard of this, they gathered together as one to fight against Joshua and Israel.”

 

You might be wondering why all these enemies came together, why they believed they could stand against the God of Israel.  Could it be that they had heard how the army of Ai and its king had defeated Israel?  Could the sins of Achan have far-reaching consequences?  We do not know from these verses, but something makes them believe they could stand unified against the God of Israel.

 

Deception of Gibeon

 

Is there a lesson in what Gibeon did using deception on the leaders of Israel, should they have not consulted God before making any promise?   If you answer yes, do you always do so?   You and I have a Bible, and maybe many translations, do you understand the number of times we are told in Scripture that Satan is a liar and deceiver?  Not once not twice, but 4,123 Satan, a deceiver!  These people who were in captivity for 400 years did not have the Bible with the many instructions, but they did have the Law of Moses, and Joshua who had learned to seek God's guidance was taken in by these people's deception.

 

Now we the people of I believe the greatest nations in the world today, are we not now taking the same role as the inhabitants of Gibeon?   That is what this election is all about, life or death of a Country founded on the principle written in our Constitution and in the Bill of Rights.  The amendments to our Constitution were as Thomas Jefferson so well put it a gift from God.  To all the citizens, it did not happen overnight, but in God’s timing we became a Nation divided and thousands of men gave their lives in a war we now refer to as the Civil War. That all men no matter what color their skin is can be free.  It even took longer for women to have the right to vote, but we got there.  

 

At some point in the late fifties and sixties, we began to believe God was not all we needed, and the one who is a deceiver of the believers, did I tell you the Bible has warned us 4,123 times that our enemy the devil has plans for your life and mine, not for good, but to steal, kill and destroy.  Jesus also has a plan to give you and me life, in the full, and yet many have rejected life, and have chosen death.  You sinful people that go by the name Christian, who have voted for a party that promotes death, that promises the Government will take care of you and everyone will be a winner.  Let me ask you a bunch of children, who were always getting trophies and being lied to that you were the best, how has life gone for you, let me answer not good because the world requires a person to compete and perform.  And I know that Capitalism is not to your liking, but just wait till you get Communism and a dictator is not going to be to your liking.

 

What are you so willing to give up

Let me share four that I believe are important as many others who have stood and died for them.

 

Amendment 1 - Religion and Expression²

 Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press, or the right of the people peaceably to assemble and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

 

 Amendment 2 - Bearing Arms

 A well-regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.

 

Amendment 4 - Search and Seizure

 The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.

 

Amendment 5 - Rights of Persons

 No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise, infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a Grand Jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the Militia, when in actual service in time of war or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offence to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.

 

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice 

Joshua Renews the Covenant

 

 

Joshua 8: 30-35

 

Joshua Renews the Covenant

At that time Joshua built an altar to the Lord, the God of Israel, on Mount Ebal,  just as Moses the servant of the Lord had commanded the people of Israel, as it is written in the Book of the Law of Moses, “an altar of uncut stones, upon which no man has wielded an iron tool.” And they offered on it burnt offerings to the Lord and sacrificed peace offerings.   And there, in the presence of the people of Israel, he wrote on the stones a copy of the law of Moses, which he had written.   And all Israel, sojourner as well as native-born, with their elders and officers and their judges, stood on opposite sides of the ark before the Levitical priests who carried the ark of the covenant of the Lord, half of them in front of Mount Gerizim and half of them in front of Mount Ebal, just as Moses the servant of the Lord had commanded at the first, to bless the people of Israel.  And afterward, he read all the words of the law, the blessing, and the curse, according to all that is written in the Book of the Law.   There was not a word of all that Moses commanded that Joshua did not read before all the assembly of Israel, and the women, and the little ones, and the sojourners who lived among them.

 

As I read this Scripture a light began to flash in my mind, could that be why some churches teach a person can lose their relationship with Christ.  That is an impossible task, we can never break that relationship, but we have often broken fellowship.  Anyone that can sin willingly and believes they are in Christ and His spirit is alive in them needs to read 2 Corinthians 13:5.  “Examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Or do you not realize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?—unless indeed you fail to meet the test!”

Scripture is very clear about our salvation, it was not earned, nor worked for, it was a gift of grace, we did not earn or deserve what Jesus did for us by becoming sin for us, taking our punishment.  1 Corinthians 16:19-20, “Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own,  for you were bought with a price. So, glorify God in your body.”

Could it be you still do not believe God is able to keep the relationship He has brought you into with His only Son, Jesus Christ?  Well then pay attention to these words from Jesus in John 10:28-30,  ^“I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand.   My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand.  I and the Father are one.”  With no exception can you lose what you got not by works, but by grace.  I had someone I value greatly tell me that a believer could break their relationship with God, and I sadly shook my head and prayed and have for years, for that to happen the person would have to be greater than God, and in short that kind of teaching is blaspheming at best, for it is calling Jesus a liar.  As stated many have been confused about the difference in fellowship and relationship.  No matter what sin my daughter has committed against me, she is still my daughter.  Go back and read the prodigal son in Luke 15:11-32.  And to my knowledge, she has never done so.

 

From the Back Porch,

 

Bob Rice

The Fall of Ai

 

October 16, 2020

 

Joshua 8:1- 9

 

The Fall of Ai

And the Lord said to Joshua, “Do not fear and do not be dismayed. Take all the fighting men with you, and arise, go up to Ai. See, I have given into your hand the king of Ai, and his people, his city, and his land.   And you shall do to Ai and its king as you did to Jericho and its king. Only its spoil and its livestock you shall take as plunder for yourselves. Lay an ambush against the city, behind it.”

So, Joshua and all the fighting men arose to go up to Ai. And Joshua chose 30,000 mighty men of valor and sent them out by night.   And he commanded them, “Behold, you shall lie in ambush against the city, behind it. Do not go very far from the city, but all of you remain ready.   And I and all the people who are with me will approach the city. And when they come out against us just as before, we shall flee before them.   And they will come out after us until we have drawn them away from the city. For they will say, ‘They are fleeing from us, just as before.’ So, we will flee before them.   Then you shall rise up from the ambush and seize the city, for the Lord your God will give it into your hand.   And as soon as you have taken the city, you shall set the city on fire. You shall do according to the word of the Lord. See, I have commanded you.”   So, Joshua sent them out. And they went to the place of ambush and lay

between Bethel and Ai, to the west of Ai, but Joshua spent that night among the people.

 

How does life change when we believe in God and do as He has instructed us to do?  We fear not, we believe the victory is ours and go out with confidence obeying what has been told us to do, living in victory and not defeat.  We do not put faith in our abilities but in God’s promises.  We experience victory before the battle has taken place.

 

Do you recall the mess that happened just a few weeks before, the spies came back and told Joshua they only needed 3 or 4, 000 men to conquer Ai, for they were much smaller in number.  But one man not obeying God, his sin of taking gold and silver that was God’s cost the life of 36 men of Israel and his life, his family life and all that he had was destroyed.  

 

But Israel humbled themselves and sought forgiveness, and did as God had told them to do, so God told Joshua He was with him and the people and gave him a plan of battle.  It was a mighty victory, for they believed God and He always keeps his promises.  It was a great victory and on that day the city of Ai, its king, and all the people was destroyed.  You’re going to also have battled in this life, will you look to God or others?

 

From The Back Porch,

 

Bob Rice

Israel Defeated at Ai

 

October 15, 2020

 

Joshua 7: 1-5

 

Israel Defeated at Ai

But the people of Israel broke faith in regard to the devoted things, for Achan the son of Carmi, son of Zabdi, son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, took some of the devoted things. And the anger of the Lord burned against the people of Israel.

Joshua sent men from Jericho to Ai, which is near Beth-aven, east of Bethel, and said to them, “Go up and spy out the land.” And the men went up and spied out Ai.   And they returned to Joshua and said to him, “Do not have all the people go up but let about two or three thousand men go up and attack Ai. Do not make the whole people toil up there, for they are few.”   So about three thousand men went up there from the people. And they fled before the men of Ai,  and the men of Ai killed about thirty-six of their men and chased them before the gate as far as Shebarim and struck them at the descent. And the hearts of the people melted and became as water.

 

How often have you heard this lame excuse; what I do has no effect on others, why vote, my vote doesn't count.  That is not true in the world economy nor is it true in God’s.  

As a dad, it became very clear that my actions had an impact on my family, at work, the way I represented my company had an impact on the way our customers respected or disrespected our Company.  And most of all as a chosen Follower of Christ, my action impacted my neighbors and friends.

 

One man’s sinning against God cost a nation to go into battle without God fighting for them, and they suffer the loss of 37 fighting men, and the nation, that had seen God fighting for them, and believed He would do so everywhere they went, got blindsided by one unrighteous man, who wanted gold and silver more than God’s blessing.

 

First, we see Joshua and the leadership bowing and looking to God, and He tells them unless they do as He directed, He will not go with them.  Now Joshua was God’s man and he was not about to not follow all that God commanded, now or in the future.  So, as you read the remainder of Chapter first you will come to an understanding that Achan's sin not only cost him but his family a price much higher than he would have been willing to pay.  You will also see that what is done in secret will be exposed in the light for all to see.

 

And last you will see the value God put on sin and the items that drove his greed, a gold bar, and some silver, that cost the lives of 36 men, and his entire family died because of Achan's sin.

 

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice