THE LORD SPOKE (April 05)

Daily Reflections from Scripture:

Old Testament: Joshua 23-24

Now it’s Joshua’s turn for a “Swan Song”. He’s about “to go the way of all the earth” (Josh. 23:14) and he has several important things he wants to say before the curtains go down.

First off, he really wants to remind the people of God’s goodness in fulfilling His promises. Already back in Joshua 21:45 he has said that. “Not one of all the Lord’s good promises to the house of Israel failed; every one was fulfilled.” Now in chapter 23 and 24 he spells it out again with examples. But he also adds a word about the Lord’s bad promises. That is to say, the bad things that God promised as punishment for disobedience.

Now I am about to go the way of all the earth. You know with all your heart and soul that not one of all the good promises the LORD your God gave you has failed. Every promise has been fulfilled; not one has failed. But just as every good promise of the LORD your God has come true, so the LORD will bring on you all the evil he has threatened, until he has destroyed you from this good land he has given you. If you violate the covenant of the LORD your God, which he commanded you, and go and serve other gods and bow down to them, the LORD's anger will burn against you, and you will quickly perish from the good land he has given you. (Josh. 23:14-16)

Sometimes we’re a little quick to emphasize the distinction between correction and punishment. Maybe you’ve heard it said that God’s discipline is always for the purpose of correction, not punishment. Yes, it’s true that God always desires our correction. But it’s not true that discipline is never for the purpose of punishment. It often is. Sin has consequences. When we “violate the covenant of the Lord our God” there is a price to pay. Punishment is certain.

Far better, and this was Joshua’s point all the way through his “Swan Song”, is for us to consider our way carefully. We need to weigh the consequences. Joshua says, “Now fear the Lord and serve him with all faithfulness.” (Josh. 24:14). There’s a fork in the road and we need to make a choice. On this occasion, the people of Israel did just that and Joshua had to knock some more sense into them with rather shocking words:

You are not able to serve the LORD. He is a holy God; he is a jealous God. He will not forgive your rebellion and your sins. If you forsake the LORD and serve foreign gods, he will turn and bring disaster on you and make an end of you, after he has been good to you. (Josh. 24:19-20)

To this they agreed, so Joshua did two more things to set in it stone:

1. He “recorded these things in the Book of the Law of God” (Josh. 24:26). That’s how we know about them to this day! They were written down permanently in Scripture for Israel to never forget and for us to observe as a constant reminder.
2. Joshua literally set it in stone! He took a large stone and set it up (Heb. = matzevah = “standing stone”) as a memorial or a witness for Israel that they had entered into a sacred covenant with the Lord.

That’s not a bad idea. It would be good for you and for me to have some solid, tangible reminder before our physical eyes to remind us of God’s promises to us and of our promise to follow Him.


New Testament: Acts 6

Hard times bring greater blessings. We need to be reminded of that from time to time. After the persecution - even flogging - of the last chapter, Acts 6 begins with “in those days the number of disciples was increasing”. But look what happens next. Internal bickering breaks out. When the Devil can’t get at you with outside influences, he’ll try again from the inside every time. Internal strife can destroy you just as effectively as any outside enemy if you let it.

Up to this point the early church was entirely Jewish. However, there were two groups within the fellowship: (1) Hellenists - Jews who preferred the Greek language and culture and were more Grecian in their thinking and attitudes, and (2) Hebraists - Jews who retained the Hebrew language and Jewish culture and resisted the growing Hellenization that was so prevalent. The rift came over the distribution of food but it could have been almost anything else.

The leadership quickly identified the problem, proposed a solution, put it into place, and moved on to more important things. The solution was a return to the Word of God. It always is! Whenever we begin to neglect the ministry of the Word of God (Acts 6:2) we can expect problems. And whenever we get back to basics and emphasize the Word of God again, we can expect God’s blessings to flow all around us once again. Just look at it:

So the Word of God spread. The number of disciples in Jerusalem increased rapidly, and a large number of priests became obedient to the faith. (Acts 6:7)

Did you notice what happens next? The opposition reappears - now on the outside (Acts 6:9). The Devil shifts his tactics again. That’s because he’s a shifty character. So here’s a plan: stay busy and active on all fronts. Keep him off kilter, wondering what on earth he’s going to have to do next to contain things. Make him scramble. Keep him so busy he’ll decide to go someplace else to do his dirty work. Remember? If you resist him he will flee from you! (Jas. 4:7)

Another result was not so quickly apparent but was fundamentally important because it became a part of basic biblical structure for the Church. Though they’re not called “deacons” here, the men chosen were called to serve (diakonein in Greek). It will be another 25+ years before Paul first uses the term as an office in the church (Phil. 1:1; I Tim. 3:8) but we probably have here in Acts 6 the beginnings of what becomes the two-fold division of church leadership - pastors and deacons.

It’s of more than passing interest that all seven of those who were chosen have Greek names. The original problem had come up over the Greek-speaking part of the church feeling left out. Now their interests would be fairly represented. It’s also of some significance that Luke points out that one was a proselyte to Judaism (like himself) and that he was from Antioch. In just a few chapters that city is going to explode with new spiritual growth and launch the missionary movement that dominates the rest of the book. And it’s important that we’re told that “a large number of priests became obedient to the faith” (Acts 6:7). With their training and religious background they no doubt became many of the early teachers when “the number of disciples in Jerusalem increased rapidly”.

Can conflict bring blessing? It surely can, if it’s handled in the right way.