Joshua 7 Aachen's Sin

 

·         God was angry with all Israel, not just Aachen.

·         Joshua sent spies to spy out AI. Quote: he did not inquire of God.

·         The spies told Joshua it would be an easy route. You only need to send a couple of thousand men. The army was routed, and 36 died.

·         How many times do we think we can handle something without God's help and end up failing?

·         Should we ever tell God, “ we've got this”?

·         After the failed battle, Joshua went to talk to God.

o   Joshua was on his face before God all day. The elders joined him.

o   Joshua complained to God.

o   Note: God let them be on their faces all day and did not respond until after Joshua had his say, which blamed God.

o   God's response was to say, “Get up, this is Israel's fault, not mine”. They disobeyed, and I am out of here unless you get this straightened out. Now, consecrate the people and in the morning have the people present themselves by tribe, then clan, then family, then man. The guilty one and his stuff will be destroyed by fire.

o   Aachen was the man chosen.

§  He took a robe, 200 shekels of silver, and 50 shekels worth of gold.

§  I wonder if Aachen thought he would be OK if he admitted to what he had done.

§  What Aachen did affected his sons, daughters, the stuff he stole, his cattle, donkeys, sheep, tent, and everything else he had.

§  He and everything he owned were stone and burnt up.

o   Why do you think it was not just Aachen that experienced the punishment?

§  Was the punishment just?

§  Why do you think the punishment was so extreme?

§  Why did Aachen steal the stuff even though he knew God said not to?

§  Why was it important for the Israelites to follow God's orders?

§  What do you think would have been the result if they had not punished Aachen the way God wanted them to?

§  What do you think Aachen was thinking as it was narrowed down to him?

§  Aachen could have turned himself in anytime before they got to him, but didn't. Why do you think he waited?

§  What kinds of things can happen in our lives when we try to hide our sins?

§  How do you think a King's wife and children felt?

§  How or who do you think our sin might affect?

§  Was it fair for God to punish all Israel for the sin of 1?

§  How might we apply this concept to the Church of today?

·         A new recruit told his DI that the reason he joined the Marine Corps was to find his purpose to which the DI responded, The Marine Corps has the purpose; you have an assignment.

Joshua 6-Jericho

 

·         All of Israel's actions commanded by God were a mockery of a ritual or pageant of the Canaanites.

·         What happened at Jericho was possibly related to the marriage festival of the “divine” king, or as part of an annual fertility festival which occurred about the time of the overthrow of Jericho.

·         At that time, the king was considered to be a God and a priest.

·         This king was referred to as “son of God”.

·         Jericho was named for the male moon God Yerech; the female shamash (sun God) was his consort. Later, their names were changed to Baal and Ashtaroth.

·         Why did God tell them to destroy everything?

o   Immorality is the first reason. The Canaanite religion was sex in all its perversions.

o   The second reason would be the sacrifice of children.

o   And the third reason would be their carnality, sodomy, and religious prostitution.

·         There is a legend of Keret.

o   This legend is a story of a king who had a dream about having a son. It provides A feast for all the people and sets out on an expedition. On his expedition, the men of war would be first, the people, then the trumpeters; all are warned to keep silent until the last day. This was over six days, with the climax on the 7th.

o   Parallels:

§ Both the celebration of the Passover and the Canaanite ritual were held at approximately the same time.

§  Israel held a great feast called the Passover.

§  The Jews began to March one time a day for six days and seven times on the 7th day.

§  All kept quiet until the last moment.

·         Jericho was the lowest and oldest town on earth at that time. Above Jericho is the traditional point where Jesus was tempted.

·         Jericho is known as the city of giants. It was inhabited by giants called gibborim.

·         The walls fell outward.

·         There is a theory that some from Jericho escaped to Africa and the Berbers are their descendants.

·         This was the spiritual battle.

·         Sin was a moon God. He had several names, one of them being Yarech, and he was depicted by the Crescent moon or by a bull.

·         Sinai was a sacred mountain to Sin.

·         At Jericho, Yahweh kept the sun from setting for an extended time to keep the moon god (Sin)out of the sky.

·         Jericho was the first city with walls. It was built about 9000 BC, about 800 feet below sea level. Jericho covered about 10 acres. If you were to walk around the 10 acres, you would cover about half a mile, and seven times around would take you approximately 3 1/2 miles. It was destroyed in 1550 BC.

·         Jericho in the New Testament

o   Tradition says John the Baptist baptized Jesus here.

o   This is where Zachias climbed the tree.

o   Near Jericho is where Jesus heals 2 blind men.

o   There were two Jerichos in Jesus' time

§  The ancient city was occupied by Jews.

§  The new city, 2 miles away, is occupied by Gentiles.

o   Jericho was mentioned in the story of the Good Samaritan.

·         Jericho in the Old Testament.

o   Jericho contained a school of prophets.

o   It was the residence of Elisha.

o   Jericho was part of the land given to the tribe of Benjamin.

o   Near Jericho is where Elisha healed the spring of waters, and near it was where Elijah went up into the worldwind.

               

Luke 19:45-48 Jesus at the Temple

 

·         Jesus came directly from riding the colt into town to the Temple.

o   He drove out the merchants.

o   “It is written, ‘My house will be a house of prayer’ but you have made it a den of robbers.”

§  Notice that He did not say that God said, “My house will be a house of prayer”.

§  How have things changed, or have they?

§  Those selling the animals for sacrifice were supposed to be there. The problem came when they were selling their wares at exorbitant prices.

§  God’s house was not to be a house of preaching or teaching, but one of prayer. Have we missed that?

§  Does this describe us/today’s church?

·         Loss of focus

·         Loss of priorities

·         Loss of passion.

·         Loss of commitment.

·         If we are not intentional, a loss of our relationship to God.

§  When we come back to the altar of God as a lifestyle instead of only when we have problems, we will see the power of God work in our lives and those we come in contact with.

§  Where is the prayer in today’s church? We seem to have made the church into a coffeehouse, entertainment center and a country club. If Jesus were to come into today’s church, would He angrily say, “My house is to be a house of prayer, not of all these other things?”

·         How do we make it a house of prayer?

·         Where do we start?

·         If we intend to fight spiritual battles and to resist evil, where will we get the power to do so, if not with prayer?

·         If we wish to take back our country from the evil that has invaded it, we must pray. Right now, we need a tsunami force of prayer. It may not seem that praying would do much, but it has the ability to release spiritual power. We may not always see the result of our prayers, but they do make a difference.

o   He taught in the Temple daily while the religious leaders tried to come up with a way to kill Him, which they could not do, since He was too popular with the people.

§  Would our religious leaders also seek to remove Jesus and His teaching from today’s church? Sadly, they have because Jesus’ popularity with today’s church goer has diminished and been replaced with other teaching promoting self, New Age, and prosperity. Taking up our cross is not appealing to the modern crowd.

Thoughts:Growing in Grace (2 Peter 3:18)

2 Peter 3:18 " ...Grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ"

Marks of Maturing as a Christian

1. Greater desire to study the Scriptures
2. Constant attitude of prayer
3. Interest in the salvation of others
4. Desire to glorify God
5. Careful speech
6. Desire to be natural
7. Charity with faults and failures of others
8. Maturing interests
9. Realism in limiting desires
10. Recognition of the spiritual
11. Pressing toward a goal
12. Creativity

*The goal of every growing Christian is to become like God.
*If grace is a gift (Eph. 2:8-10), what should we do with it?

*Dr. Spirozoahiates "Grace is like God's power generator, and we are like the conduits which carry His power to its intended purposes by the Holy Spirit."

*Are we then to be conduits of God's grace to others since they are not aware of God's unmerited favor except through us?
*How can we show God's grace toothers?
*Does growing in grace mean that we increasingly recognize what God has done and is doing for us therefore we work to transfer that knowledge to others?

Building a Life

• Setting a foundation
• Salvation
•  Putting up the shell (There has to be a solid structure) 
• Sanctification (holiness)
• What is it?
• Why should we desire it?
• Doing the finish work
• Growth in grace
• Wiring for electrical power (Baptism in the Holy Spirit)
• Furnishing the building
• Acting on what we have learned
• Having an Open House
• Inviting others into the experience

*Jesus said I am the vine you are the branches--bear fruit

• By their fruit you will know them. How is your fruit growing?
• Where else does it talk about fruit?
• Gal 5:22
• How could these fruit references be associated with growing in grace? 
• In Gal. 5 Paul gives a list of what the acts of the sinful nature are. A kind of don't do this list, but he also gives a list of the fruits of the Holy Spirit.
• Read Gal. 5:16-26
• How do we keep in step with the Spirit?
• Do any of us have "growth plans"? 
• Where do you want to be a year from now in your Christian walk?
• What are "growing pains" like for the Christian?

Thoughts: Life's Mountains

Jesus taught that having faith the size of a mustard seed had the potential to move mountains, but that doesn't necessarily mean the entire mountain moves in an instant. There are many ways to move a mountain.

1. Dynamite--blow it up
1. What might be the impact of a sudden explosion?
2. A blast leaves a great amount of debris scattered over a wide area.
3. Blowing up the mountain certainly eliminates it quickly.
4. When might we need our mountain dynamited?
2.  Bulldozer
1. Definitely slower than dynamite, but the overall impact is also smaller. 
2. Care is taken to remove the debris one truck at a time.
3. Usually involves other people.
3. Shovel
1. This is by far the slowest way to move a mountain.
2. Can be done with one person.
3. Progress can seem almost non-existent. 

Here's a question: Do you really need to move the entire mountain? Have you looked at other options?

• Build a road/trail over the mountain.
• Go around the mountain.
• Dig a tunnel through the mountain.

 Before we go and tackle our mountain, we need to consider exactly why we must remove it.
List your current mountains

• Which one is closest?
• Which is highest?
• Which would be easiest to handle?
• Are there some closer than others?

*God has promised to be our guide through our mountains. Are you using your guide, or trying to tackle the mountain on your own?
*Are there others on your mountain?
*Sometimes God takes you through the mountain. You may emerge on the other side dirty and scraped, but you emerge safely.
*Sometimes when we pray for God to "cast our mountain into the sea," all we can see is what the mountain is doing to us and God can see how the mountain impacts others and so, instead of dynamite, He chooses a slower removal.
*If we keep our eyes on God, the mountains don't seem so high.

*When I was trying to learn to repel,I learned that the only thing that stood between me and the ground was the repelling rope and the one on belay. The rope incidentally had a certain amount of stretch causing a bit of uncertainty when I first leaned into it. The lesson I learned was that God isn't truly God until He is the only thing keeping me from hitting the ground. I needed to lean into Him. He will hold me, but that also means I have to make my way down the mountain, even if I start to fall, the Holy Spirit is on belay and will check my fall.

Thoughts: John 2:1-11 The Wedding at Cana

1.  Jesus' mother, Jesus and His disciples are at the wedding.
2.  The wine ran out.
3.  Mary must have been close (possibly related) to the wedding host family, otherwise why would the servants listen to her.
4.  Jesus had already been baptized by John.
5.  The wedding was at Cana (place of reeds) of Galilee.
6.  Wine represents joy in the kingdom of the Messiah.
7.  Cana was near Capernaum, about 4.5 miles NW of Nazareth.
8.  Mary tells Jesus they are out of wine. In the oriental world, that would cause major embarrassment to the host. Mary must have been close to the host, otherwise, why would she care about the wedding being ruined by no wine.
9.  Jesus' reply paraphrased, "Mom, what do you want me to do about it?"
10. Mary's response to the servants, "Do what He says."
11. If Mary was not familiar to the household, the servants would have gone to their master and talked to him instead of her.
12. The stone jars were for water purifying rites. Stone containers were not susceptible to ritual uncleanness. Generally wine was kept in wine skins or earthenware jars.
13. Each of the water jars held about 30 gallons, so 6 jars would have made about 180 gallons of wine.
14. The Jews always washed before eating and the water in these jars was for that.
15. Jesus, by using these particular pots illustrated that "true" purification was by drinking wine which actually represented His blood.
16. I'm sure the fact that these jars were stone was not an accident. Christ is the cornerstone.
17. 6 jars why not 5 or 7? God created the world in 6 days and rested on the 7th. Thoughts?
18. Mary was asking for literal wine. Jesus was referring to His death.
19. Why do you think Jesus' first miracle was at a wedding feast?
             *I don't think this was an accident. If you consider it, Jesus' ministry begins with a wedding and will end with a wedding.
20.  Jesus was asked by someone close to Him (His mom) for a miracle. If we are close to Him, do we feel comfortable enough to ask for a miracle?
21. The next time Jesus is in Cana, He heals the son of a royal official. (Jn4:46-54). This was Jesus' second miracle. 

Ask, Seek, Knock

Ask (Strong’s 154) Aiteo ask, beg, call for, crave, desire, require

·         Matthew 7:7 “Ask and it will be given”

o   Why wasn’t this mentioned when Jesus was discoursing on prayer, in Matthew 6:5 for example?

o   In order to receive you MUST ask

o   The preposition “it” is not used in the Greek text for the phrase, “ask and it will be given”. ‘It’ is used regarding the door.

o   Ask and you will be given to

o   You will be given good gifts.

·         The dictionary definition of “ ask” is to put a question to, to inquire about’ to request of or for’ to require or call for’ to expect or demand’ to invite’ to use words in seeking the answer to (a question)

o   Everyone receives if they ask

o   Jeremiah 33:3 “Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable thing you do not know.”

o   John 14:14 “I will do whatever you ask in my name so that the Son may bring glory to the Father. You may ask me for anything in my name and I will do it.”

o   “If you remain in Me and MY words remain in you, ask whatever you wish and it will be given you” John 15:7.

o   1 John 3:22 “We receive from Him anything we ask because we obey His commands and do what pleases Him.”

o   Isaiah 65:24 “Before they call I will answer while they are yet speaking I will hear.”

How to get answers

1.      Ask God for wisdom (James 1:5)

2.      Ask according to His will (1 John 5:14) [according is Vulgate Latin for to be heart to heart with]

3.      Call to Me (Jeremiah 33:3)

4.      Ask (Matthew 7:7)

5.      Ask in Jesus’ name (John 14:14,15)

6.      Remain in Me and My words remain in you (John 15:7)

7.      Obey His commands and do what pleases Him (1 John 3:22)

8.      Share your food (Isaiah 58)

9.      Shelter the homeless (Isaiah 58)

10.  Clothe the naked (Isaiah 58)

11.  Do not turn away from your relatives (Isaiah 58)

12.  Believe (Matthew 21:22)

If you do this:

v  Your light will break forth

v  Your healing will appear

v  Your righteousness will go before you

v  The glory of the Lord will be your rear guard

v  When you call God will answer

v  When you cry for help He will be there

How NOT to get answers (Isaiah 58)

v  Do as you please

v  Exploit your workers

v  Quarreling and striving and fighting among yourselves

v  Have a pointing finger and malicious talk

Why would you ask Jesus in Jesus’ name? Are you not asking the Father in Jesus’ name? Now, we can go directly to the Father because Jesus cleared the way. By going in Jesus’ name, we are saying that Jesus co-signed our loan and the Father has to approve it before it happens. If you do not ask in Jesus’ name, the loan will be turned down because of an inability to pay. Before you ask for the loan think, “Would I be willing to co-sign for what this person wants?”

If you use the definition of ask, “To use words in seeking the answer (to a question”, there must be more to asking than merely asking. The next step is to Seek. 

SEEK

Seek and you will find (Matthew 7:7)

To seek is to search for, to endeavor to obtain or reach; to try; attempt; to aim at; to try to find

Seek (Strong’s 2212) zeteo to seek, specifically to worship God, desire, enquire, endeavor, require

(Strong’s 1245) baquash to search out specifically by worship or prayer

FIND: to come upon by accident or by a search; to attain; to determine; ascertain; to recover; regain, that which is found especially a rare or valuable discovery’ to perceive, learn to decide and declare to be

Find (Strong’s 2147) heureo to find, get, obtain, perceive, see 

Requirements to finding

v  Seek with all your heart (Jeremiah 29:13, Deut. 4:29)

o   Seeking is usually in reference to seeking God

v  Look to the Lord’s strength (Psalms 105:4)

v  Praise: They that seek the Lord will praise Him (Ps 23:26)

Benefits of seeking

v  Finding

v  Lack no good thing (Ps 34:10)

v  Rejoice and be glad (Ps 70:4)

v  Life and receives favor (Pr. 8:35)

o   With God (wisdom) are:

§  Riches

§  Honor

§  Enduring wealth

§  Prosperity

§  Valuables greater than silver or gold

o   (Pr. 8:17-21) Therefore, God (wisdom) bestows:

§  Wealth on those who love Me

§  Makes their treasuries full 

(Matthew 6:33) “Seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these thing will be added unto you.” 

How do you seek with all your heart?

v  Be Pure in heart (Matthew 5:8)

v  Where your treasure is there also is your heart (Matthew 6:21)

v  Jesus was meek and lowly in heart (Matthew 11:29)

v  Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks (Matthew 12:34)

v  Understand with your heart (Matthew 13:15)

v  Realize and avoid evil thoughts that come from your heart (Matthew 15:19)

v  Love the Lord with all your heart (Matthew 22:37)

v  Do not harden your heart (Mark 8:17)

v  Realize that there are both good and evil treasures of the heart (Mark 6:45)

o   The Heart is the thought or feelings (mind), the middle, the innermost area or part. 

If you do something because you are ordered to do it, it is easy not to put your whole heart into it. 

KNOCK

Knock is to rap, knock, to strike with a blow or series of blows; to produce by hitting

DOOR “I am the Door (John 10:9)

OPENED (Strong’s 455) to open up, affording unobstructed passage or entrance and exit; having no cover; exposed; not sealed, tied, or folded; unrestricted; to remove obstructions from; to reveal the secrets of  

OPEN DOOR

v  Knock and it will be opened. (Matthew 7:7)

v  A door of effective work opened for Paul (1 Co. 16:9)

v  Door open to preach (2 Co. 2:12)

v  Christ holds the key of David and opens and shuts things (Rev. 3:8)

ASK—Inquire

SEEK—Worship

KNOCK—Go through Jesus. He has the Key of David (Salvation), we have the keys of the Kingdom (binding and loosing) 

Only by going through Jesus can we get through the door of salvation. He is the ONLY one who has this key; after entering, we will be given the keys of binding and loosing.

Do not be afraid to ask! Remember when you were afraid to ask to use the car because you thought your father would say no, but when you finally got the courage up, he said yes. Do we do the same with our Heavenly Father? 

Why are we afraid to ask?

v  Fear of rejection

v  Afraid the answer will be no anyway (it might not be God’s will)

v  Fear of punishment

v  Fear of getting a long lecture

v  Fear of having past incidences brought up

How well do you know your Heavenly Father?

What does your Father automatically give you? (Matthew 6:25-34)

v  Food

v  Life/Body

v  Clothing

Being afraid to ask generates what kinds of feelings

v  Fear

v  Low self-esteem

v  Worry/anxiety

v  Sadness/depression

v  Guilt

v  Rejection 

Sometimes when we think God is saying no to our request, He is actually giving us something better than what we asked for; it just takes us a while to see it. 

How important is our request to us? Do we continue reminding God of the request because we want it so badly, or are we satisfied asking once, which gives the impression that it is not all that important if He gives it to us or not. If God says no, take it as no and move on, but at least ask until He tells you yes, no, or wait.

We Have the Power

Scripture:

·         Ephesians 3:20  Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us,

·         1Cor. 2:4, 5 ⁴ My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power, ⁵ so that your faith might not rest on human wisdom, but on God’s power.

·        1Cor. 4:20 For the kingdom of God is not a matter of talk but of power.

·        Ephesians 1:19,20 ¹⁹ and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is the same as the mighty strength ²⁰ he exerted when he raised Christ from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms,  (resurrection power)

Definition:

            Power <L to be able> the ability or capacity to act or perform effectively; authority 

Why do we refer to electricity as power?

1.      It can do a lot of things

2.      We do not totally understand it.

3.      We have a certain amount of fear or respect for it.

4.      We cannot see it. We know it by what it does

5.      Unharnessed electricity

a.       Unharnessed, it is not useful

b.      Lightning is electricity generated by a storm

Where do we get electricity?

1.      Hydroelectric dam

2.      Fossil fuel turbines

3.      Solar (from the sun)

4.      Nuclear power plants

*Each of these sources requires the exertion of another form of energy before the production of electricity. 

Where do we get OUR power?

1.      On High (Luke 24:49)  I am going to send you what my Father has promised; but stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high.”

2.      Holy Spirit (Acts 1:8) But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

3.      The Word/Jesus   Ro. 1:16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile.

Matthew 10: And when He had called His twelve disciples to Him, He gave them power (authority NIV) over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease. (NKJV) 

Why do we need power?

1.      It makes life easier and reduces effort

2.      To do things that could not be done otherwise

a.       This applies to our personal lives as well as our day to day electrical usage

What does electricity do?

1.      Illuminates

2.      Attracts

3.      Chemical effects (battery)

4.      Generates the ability for other machine functions

5.      Heats, cools (comforts)

What does the power of the Holy Spirit in our lives do?

1.      Illuminates (John 16:13) Guides into all truth

2.      Attracts (convicts) (John 16:7,8)

3.      Produces changes (2Cor. 5:17, Ga. 5:22)

4.      Comforts  (John 14:16)

5.      Generates ability for other functions

a.       Trample on snakes and scorpions (Luke 10:8)

b.      Overcome all power of the enemy (Luke 10:19)

c.       Drive out unclean spirits (Mt. 10:1)

d.      Heal every disease and sickness (Mt. 10:1)

e.       Preach (Luke 9:2)

f.       Raise the dead (Mt. 10:8)

g.      Cleanse th3e leper (social outcast) (Mt. 10:8)

How do I make it work?

1.      There needs to be:

a.       A power source (God)

b.      We need to be connected to the source (Be a Believer)

c.       Need to be correctly wired (In touch with the Source)

d.      Need to turn the switch (use the Power)

                                                              i.      Unlimited to believers (John 15:7) If you abide, ask what you will.

                                                            ii.      Conditions:

1.       (John 14:13,14) Glorify God

2.      (James 5:14) Call the elders of the church

2.      How do we turn the switch?

a.       Prayer (Mt. 21:22) Ask in prayer, believing

b.      Praise (Acts 16:25,26)

*If we have never actually used electricity, or God’s power, how do we know how it really works? 

*You only get enough power to do the job. You do not get all the power from the plant to light a 60-watt bulb, only enough for your needs. Incidentally, a single electric generator will put out one million Kilowatts at 22,000 volts, which is boosted to 765,000 volts for transmission. In order for us to use the produced power, it must be “stepped down”. God’s power must be “stepped down” for our use also; we would never be able to withstand that great of an amount. 

*A substance that conducts electricity must contain charged particles that are free to move. In order for God to use us, we also must be free to move on demand. 

What about when power blacks out?

            Causes:

1.      Storms

2.      Accidents

3.      Disconnections

Power blackouts between God and us

            Causes:

1.      Stresses, worries, concerns

2.      Something between us and God

3.      Sin

Christians as conductors

            What is a conductor? 

                        A substance that transmits electricity (power) 

            Are you a:

1.      Conductor

2.      Insulator: conducts hardly any electricity (power)

3.      Semi-conductor: conducts better than an insulator, but not as well as a conductor

4.      Super-conductor: conducts electricity (power) without resistance 

*Remember: Christians operate on alternating current not direct current. It is a two-way communication with God, not merely one way. 

*Direct current: an electric current that flows in only one direction.

*Alternating current: an electric current that reverses the direction of its flow many times a second 

*We have the power to light the world, if we use it. What kind of conductor are you? 

*If we never turn the switch, the light will not come on. 

*Electricity travels at the speed of light (186,000 mi. per sec. or 7.5 times around the earth in one second) 

*If we can all agree that we need to use the power provided, why are we still standing in the dark?