Blogging Bible Study: Digging in the Desert -- Caleb's Confidence

Posted by Lisa Laree to Beer Lahai Roi

Skimming through Joshua, looking for references to containing the word 'desert'...the next stop is chapter 14, verse 10; in the midst of a passage that is relating the division of the land and the assignment of the inheritance.

'Now then, just as the LORD promised, he has kept me alive for forty-five years since the time he said this to Moses, while Israel moved about in the desert.  So here I am today, eighty-five years old!'

Of course, the speaker is the oldest living Israelite at that time...Caleb, the son of Jephunneh the Kennizite.  Joshua would be the only other person over the age of sixty-five in the entire camp.  They had shared quite a history together, being the only two of the twelve men sent to look round the Promised Land a generation ago who actually believed God would do what he said he would do and give them the land.  Joshua became Moses' successor, and Caleb had a promise from Moses:

'So on that day, Moses swore to me, "The land on which your feet have walked will be your inheritance and that of your children forever, because you have followed the LORD my God wholeheartedly." '  (v. 9)

Caleb remembered Moses' words.  When the plagues hit, when people died en masse, it did not come near him.  Everyone of his generation, save Joshua, had died in the desert. He no doubt helped bury the dead...over and over. But Caleb survived.  Furthermore, he flourished. He continued

'I am still as strong today as the day Moses sent me out; I'm just as vigorous to go out to battle now as I was then.  Now give me this hill country that the LORD promised me that day. You yourself heard then that the Anakites were there and their cities were large and fortified, but, the LORD helping me, I will drive them out just as he said.'   (vs. 11 - 12)

He had his promise, and as soon as it was feasible he stood up and claimed it.  He was ready to walk out the promise he had been given forty-five years earlier.

And he absolutely did it.

Then Joshua blessed Caleb son of Jephunneh and gave him Hebron as his inheritance.  So Hebron has belonged to Caleb son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite ever since, because he followed the LORD, the God of Israel, wholeheartedly. (vs. 13 - 14)
 
Do you think Caleb got discouraged during all those years in the desert?  Do you think he saw his friends dying and wondered if he really would survive?  Do you suppose he had moments when he wondered if God really would remember him?

Hey, the guy was a human, just like the rest of us.  I'm sure he had his moments.  But I also think when he had those down days, he went out and drew a map in the dirt of the territory he'd been promised...where the fortifications were, how he could get around the defenses, who in his household he could assign to do what in the battle...and where he would put his house when it was over.  And maybe he did some sword work and some exercising, just to keep his shape up and his battle skills honed. So when the day came, he could stand there and say, " I am just as vigorous to go out and do battle now as I was then."...and it was the truth.

So, now, I'm looking at myself and wondering...if my dream opened up tomorrow (well, maybe not tomorrow...but, you  know, when everything opens up again, lol)...would I be ready to throw myself into it and see it through?  Have I kept my edge, my enthusiasm and my confidence up by training with the Lord through the years when it feels like nothing is happening?   Am I ready?

Ouch...

Look! Hodgepodge is back...for a season...

Posted to Beer Lahai Roi by Lisa Laree

So, Joyce over at From This Side of the Pond reached back and pulled out the discussion meme that ran for something like 4 years...maybe...back in the day before it was retired.  But, you know, discussions like this help build community and connection...which is a really good thing right now.

So, here's how it works:  She poses some questions on Tuesday, bloggers write posts to  answer them, then link those posts, via the linky gizmo,  to her Wednesday post, which has her answers,  and go read each other's answers  and, hopefully, comment on at least a few.  If you have a blog or you want to see the other answers, click the image above to join the discussion!

But in any case...here are my answers...

1. Howdy Hodgepodgers. It's kind of fun to be back, isn't it?  Last time we met was September, 2018. Tell me something big-important-happy-or sad that's happened in your life since that date. Just one thing. We don't know how long this current isolation situation is going to last and we might need to dole out our news bit by bit.

Let's see...what has been Big News since Sept. 2018... Well, I went to Israel last May.  That was a pretty big deal.

2. Might as well get this out of the way early on...COVID-19. On a scale of 1-5 how serious are you about keeping your distance? Explain. fyi-I didn't create the scale but have seen it several places online. Also fyi-we won't only have virus related questions each week, but for this first one it feels right.

1-Not at all, living normally

2-Cautious but still going out

3-Going out as needed, mostly home or working from home, still seeing friends/family

4-Extremely limited, only going out when unavoidable, minimal contact with people

5-Full lockdown, no one in or out

Probably about a 3.5.  Trying not to go out any more than is necessary, but we might could tighten down the definition of 'necessary' somewhat.  My Sweet Babboo is 100% working from home; I'm still venturing into the office a bit.  Let's face it...I can focus on work better at work.  Too much other stuff needs doing at home.  And we have a big building with our people spread way out.  So it's not too big of a risk.  It's the errand running on the way home that may be the problem.

3. Raise your hand if you think you might run out of steam in the cooking department before it's all said and done? What's something delicious you've cooked or eaten in your own kitchen in the past week?

Lawd have mercy!  To think I did this cooking thing ALL THE TIME back in the day!  We normally are only home a couple of nights a week on average, so cooking is not a big deal,  and carryout is easy, but now it seems like all I'm getting done is putting in my time via the internet at work and cooking stuff.  But yesterday's bean soup (since I WAS able to get beans!), just made according to the instructions on the bag, with a chunk of ham thrown in, sure tasted good.  And I have plenty for the next few days.

4. What's a television show or movie you've seen recently (it could be an oldie) that you really liked?

Son Number One, AKA The Artist around here, has been by a few times...before the quarantine to begin with, but he did drop in for supper on Saturday...and he has a Netflix subscription.  So he's been casting the Dark Crystal series for us to enjoy together when here.  We're halfway through it and, while parts are really gross and gruesome, it's so well done (puppets!  Those characters are all PUPPETS!!!) that we have really enjoyed it.  Looking forward to the rest of the series...whenever we can get to it...

5. Share something funny you've seen or heard this week.

My dad posted this to my Facebook page yesterday.  If I tried that with my kitty...well, let's just say I'd probably go through a box of band-aids really fast.

6. Insert your own random thought here
We have had it very easy since the end of WW2.  Our Grandparents and Great-Grandparents lived through difficult times...war, epidemics, economic depression, drought...  Time to learn from them.
 

Digging in the Desert: Battle of Ai - Joshua 8.

Posted by Lisa Laree to Beer Lahai Roi

One of the richest bits of Scripture in the Old Testament is, in my opinion, Joshua 5 - 7, which is the Battle of Jericho and the events that followed.  So many lessons in that passage.

But not one mention of the word 'desert', so we will pass right over those chapters and land on Joshua 8, which is another key battle in the military campaign to possess the Promised Land, but it doesn't get nearly as much press as the previous battle.

See, they had attacked Ai once before, on the heels of their victory at Jericho, without any directive from God to do so and been soundly defeated (Josh.7:1-8).  By all human reasoning, it should have been an easy victory. But, there was a problem that they had not identified or dealt with and, because they elected to attack Ai without consulting the Lord for a strategy, they were ignorant of their vulnerability and it cost them.  THEN they sought God's counsel, rooted out and dealt with the issue, and when it was done God said 'Don't be afraid or distressed; I will give you the victory.  Go set an ambush behind the city.  Oh, and THIS time...you can keep the plunder.' (highly paraphrased  Josh 8:1 - 2)

Also, this time, apparently the fighting men of Bethel, the next little town up the road, joined  the Ai army as well (8: 17): this means the defeat of Ai was also the defeat of Bethel.

The strategy God gave Joshua was a pincer ambush movement.   Joshua sent 30,000 prime fighters under cover of darkness to camp out covertly between Ai and Bethel.  Then, the next morning, Joshua and about 5,000 fighting men made a big show of marching off to battle Ai and set up camp just north of the city, then moved into the valley near they city during the following night.  The king of Ai, apparently thinking he would catch Israel in battle preparations and not quite ready, led an attack early the next morning.

Joshua and all Israel let themselves be driven back before them, and they fled toward the desert. (verse 15)

The men of Ai and Bethel, thinking this was a repeat of the previous battle, gleefully pursued the 'fleeing' Israelites.  According to verse 17, they completely emptied the city of all fighting men to join the pursuit.

Bad move.

Once they were away from the city, God told Joshua that it was time to turn the battle, and Joshua stopped and clearly pointed his javelin back toward Ai.  That was the signal for the men who were camped between Ai and Bethel, and all 30,000 of them stormed the now defenseless city; they quickly captured it and set it on fire.

The men of Ai looked back and saw the smoke of the city rising against the sky, but they had no chance to escape in any direction, for the Israelites who had been fleeing toward the desert had turned back against their pursuers. (v. 20).

Now the opposing armies of Ai and Bethel were trapped between the troops coming out of the defeated city and the troops who had turned back towards them.  They didn't have a chance.

When Israel had finished killing all the men of Ai in the fields and in the desert where they had chased them, and when every one of them had been put to the sword, all the Israelites returned to Ai and killed those who were in it. (v.24)

After the battle was over and the king executed, Ai was left as a heap of ruins, with rocks piled on the body of the king in front of what was the gate. Which, the chronicler of the events noted, was still there when the record was written down (8:29).

Here's why I think it was a key battle...1) it reaffirmed to the Israelites that, when they do things the way God instructs, they win; and 2) it created such an atmosphere of fear in the surrounding cities that they began to band together to do battle against the Israelites.  Israel rarely fought a single enemy in a battle...they fought alliances, so one battle defeated multiple armies.  The next mention of the word 'desert' is in 12:8, which is in a description of all the territory the Israelites had conquered in these battles --

The hill country, the western foothills, the Arabah, the mountain slopes, the desert and the Negev -- the lands of the Hittites,  Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites

It is true that all these references are purely geographical, but if you consider the desert to be the location of Israel's testing, which it was, the inclusion of it takes on a little more significance.  The Israelites appeared to run back towards where they came from...but they turned around.  The desert at their back became a part of the strategy. Then, when their enemies fled toward the desert; Israel chased them into the desert and slaughtered them there.   The Israelites had been tested in the desert and come through it; now it was their ally.  Israel could face, and conquer, enemies who tried to flee to the environment they had survived.  The desert had no power over them any longer, but instead became part of their strength.

That's a lesson that we all could ponder right now...

Digging in the Desert- Rolling away the Reproach: Joshua Part 1

Posted by Lisa Laree to Beer Lahai Roi

As I'm doing these things, I'm looking for, well, sort of natural breaks...clusters of verses, if you will.  And the first cluster in Joshua has to do with an event that happened just after the people of Israel crossed the Jordan River.  It is, really, the final closure on the end of the 40 years in the desert.

'Desert' is actually mentioned in the first chapter...as God is affirming his promise to Joshua, and it's a geographical reference.

'Your territory will extend from the desert to Lebanon, and from the great river, the Euphrates -- all the Hittite country -- to the Great Sea on the west.' (Josh. 1:4)

But the cluster of desert verses is in Chapter 5, verses 4 - 6; I'm starting in verse 2 and going through verse 9 for context:

     At that time the LORD said to Joshua, "Make flint knives and circumcise the Israelites again."  So Joshua made flint knives and circumcised the Israelites at Gibeath Haaraloth.
     Now this is why he did so:  All those who came out of Egypt -- all the men of military age-- died in the desert on the way after leaving Egypt.  All the people that came out had been circumcised, but all the people born in the desert during the journey from Egypt had not.  The Israelites moved about in the desert forty years until all the men who were of military age when they left Egypt had died, since they had not obeyed the LORD  For the LORD had sworn to them that they would not  see the land that he had solemnly promised their fathers to give us, a land flowing with milk and honey. So he raised up their sons in their place, and these were the ones Joshua circumcised.  They were still uncircumcised because they had not been circumcised on the way.  And after the whole nation had been circumcised, they remained where they were in the camp until they were healed.
     Then the LORD said to Joshua, "Today I have rolled the reproach of Egypt from you."  So the place has been called Gilgal until this day.

A little aside..My Sweet Babboo, being a participant in a 18th century frontiersman organization, actually has a hand-knapped flint knife and it is EXTREMELY sharp.  Almost surgical scalpel sharp. Definitely as sharp as a ginsu knife, lol. So it is quite believable that they could make really sharp knives for that task.  Just, you know, worth noting.

So, the deal was that none of the guys who had been born since leaving Egypt had been circumcised. They had crossed the Jordan; it was a new beginning.  And, just as if they were newborns, it was time for the males to be circumcised...to renew the covenant.

Now, if the whole fighting force was circumcised, they would have been particularly vulnerable had anyone attacked them in the following week. But...as is noted in verse 1, anyone who would potentially have attacked them was on lockdown, afraid.  The dramatic crossing of the Jordan had put the surrounding cities in terror of the Israelites and their God.  So, while they were weak, they were not challenged.

The phase 'today I have rolled away the reproach of Egypt from you,' has always intrigued me.  It seems, after the people saw the Egyptian army defeated and  wandered forty years in the desert, with the passing of the generation that had actually served as slaves in Egypt, the reproach of Egypt should already have more or less dissipated.

But...no, it hadn't.

Hunting around in Blue Letter Bible (not happy with the new format over there but I supposed I'll get used to it) I found that the word translated 'reproach' is Strong's H2781 - cherpah, which, in this case, means 'a condition of shame or disgrace'.

I pondered it some more.  Circumcision was a physical mark declaring the individual...and, incidentally, his household...as one being in a covenant relationship with Yahweh. God instructed them to renew the covenant, and they did.  By renewing the covenant, they put themselves in position for God to remove the shame and disgrace of having served as slaves to the Egyptians.

Ok.  I'm going to do a bit of rabbit chasing here...yesterday, somewhere on social media I read a quote from someone who considers themselves a progressive Christian (I would quote it directly but, I don't know where I was when I read it and I didn't know at the time I would want the quote later), addressing someone who had a more biblical standard of right and wrong, saying something to the effect of 'You folks are in bondage to your legalistic views, but we are free to do what we want.'....and immediately I heard in my heart, 'Anyone who sins is a slave to sin.'  I thought it was in one of Paul's epistles, but when I looked it up this morning I found it was John 8:34...it was Jesus speaking.  Worth noting that Jesus himself said that choosing to do what is wrong is enslaving yourself.

Then I found the passage I had in mind...it's Romans 6, starting in verse 16:

Don't you know that when you offer yourselves to someone to obey him as slaves, you are slaves to the one whom you obey -- whether you are slaves to sin, which leads to death, or to obedience, which leads to righteousness? But thanks be to God that, though you used to be slaves to sin, you wholeheartedly obeyed the form of teaching to which you were entrusted.  You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness.

Paul's explanation is basically...ain't nobody who is their own god, determining what is right for them.  Everyone serves something.

The dear progressive brother isn't, as he thinks, free to do whatever he wants...he is choosing to serve the desires of the flesh, the desires of the eyes and the pride of life; which is a more demanding and severe bondage than serving righteousness...because that 'whatever I want' is never satisfied but keeps demanding more.  That slavery has reproach.  And this really isn't about the obvious sins...typically those involving physical appetites such as lust, fornication, homosexuality, gluttony, drunkenness.  No, it includes the less obvious ones such as gossip, manipulation, lying, rebellion...anything that is done to serve a personal agenda.   Even if we shut our eyes and stick our fingers in our ears and sing 'lalala,' or compare ourselves to others, saying, 'Well, this isn't as bad as that....'  It's still slavery and there is still reproach.  And, if we are honest, deep down we know that.  Because, if we belong to God, he doesn't let his children off the hook.  Sooner or later, the reproach rears up. 


But God is faithful.... He will roll away the reproach of that servitude when we come to him.  Even if we wander away in the desert, there is a place of new beginning where we renew our devotion and our covenant to Him...and he removes the reproach.  Immediately.

I've had lots of reproach over the years over stupid things I said and did...typically because I was following my own agenda.  I am slowly learning the lesson, and I am very, very grateful that He rolls away the reproach of my bullheadedness.

Where I've been...

Posted by Lisa Laree to Beer Lahai Roi

Well, last weekend was the National Royal Rangers Lead Conference...an event for all the Senior Commanders (there's a new term now...maybe it's 'Outpost Coordinator'?) from around the country (and even a few from other countries; we hung out with a guy from Australia) to come together to get encouragement and strategy.  In the last year, our church has upgraded My Sweet Babboo's title in his work with our Urban Ranger program (a ministry to low income boys) from 'Deputy Senior Commander' to 'Senior Commander' since he is responsible for that ministry...which means that we were now candidates for the National conference.  They had a program for wives, so, well, I went too.

I got to hear three of the main sessions; the other two I was with the ladies.  But those three sessions gave me enough meat to chew for quite a while.   It's not often that I get to hear someone who is addressing leaders of leaders and the messages I heard were top notch.  It was definitely worth the trip.

But beyond the speakers, it was really neat to see the heart of so many guys for the boys in their outposts.  They were passionate about teaching the boys what they need to know to grow up in a difficult world.  It WAS encouraging.

Then...we hopped in the car as soon as we dismissed at 11:30 and beat it south...trying to get home before too terribly late, as we had to get up extra early to be at church in time to collect a church van to meet up with choir members and drive to our westernmost campus...an hour and fifteen minutes away...where we joined their team for worship Sunday morning.  The first 'choir tour' to connect with all of our campuses.  I don't know who thought Daylight Savings Sunday would be a good time for that, though...still, we persevered...lol.

My laundry now overfloweth, though. Time to catch up.