All of today’s readings have particular applications for us as Christians. Yesterday, our readings in Joshua 5 informed us of the circumcision of young males who were born in the desert but who had not undergone circumcision there. I want to touch on that briefly before moving on today. Circumcision was God’s sign of His covenant with Abraham (cf., Genesis 17; Exodus 4:24-26), and it represents the death of the flesh. For the believer in Christ, the flesh is excess baggage that contributes nothing to our spiritual walk with God. Christ’s death becomes a spiritual circumcision that symbolizes our position in Christ through “the putting off the sinful nature” (i.e., especially fleshly lusts; cf., Colossians 2:11). Here, in Joshua 5, the “reproach of Egypt” had to be “rolled away,” and the nation’s identity in Abraham and in God’s covenant with him had to be restored before the Israelites (i.e.,) could receive their promised inheritance as Abraham’s rightful descendants (verses 4-9). In Joshua 5:13-6:27, we see the fall of Jericho, a city which pictures the world – the first enemy of every believer. Here, we also see God’s grace to Rahab and her family for hiding “the men Joshua had sent as spies” (verse 25). However, in Joshua 7, we see the sin of Achan at Ai. This city represents the flesh and its lusts – the second enemy of every believer. Notice that Achan’s confession follows the pattern by which all lustful sins of the flesh are committed: “I have sinned … I saw … I coveted … I took the devoted things” (verses 1; and 20-22). In tomorrow’s reading, we will see a representation of the believer’s third enemy – the devil.
We continue today with Psalm 50:16-23, which points out that unbelievers have no right to participate in God’s covenant with His people. In fact, unbelievers have no business celebrating Christmas or Easter, or ever saying, “God bless you!” to anyone, for they actually “hate” God and His instruction (verse 17). Unbelievers actually do things like this only to be accepted by others with whom they might identify so as to be viewed as “good people.” This is hypocrisy of the first measure, and it prostitutes the hypocrite’s own worldview which is clearly too weak to support his actual view of the world. If our beliefs are so weak and ineffective that we are embarrassed by them, then why should we maintain them? Of course, this is a human weakness, but, as Christians, we should take this lesson to heart. Christians should never be embarrassed by their faith because it is not weak - it is the only beliewf system that can effectively take a person to heaven. Psalm 50 teaches us that God is all around us, and He alone is worthy of our worship.
In Luke 22:39-62, we see this very same problem revealed in Judas and Peter. Standing precariously on the faulty knees of a weak worldview, both men sold their convictions for fool’s gold - the approval of men. After the fact, each disciple realized the awful consequences of seeking man’s approval rather than God’s. Nevertheless, we notice as well how these two men differed in their responses to their own sins. Peter repented in tears and anguish; Judas went out and hanged himself. Again, by way of reminder from the book of Joshua, we see that same problem with Achan’s sin – his greed affected the whole camp. By contrast, the prostitute, Rahab, stood unmoved on her faith in God against all of Jericho with no care for what others thought. Each of these biblical characters teaches us that trying to please men only results in heartache. Why? Because men and women are never satisfied.
Comments