Blogging Bible Study: Joshua 23 - Joshua's Words to the Leadership

Posted by Lisa Laree to Beer Lahai Roi

After a long time had passed.... (Jos.23:1)

Years, since Joshua had sent the tribes to their territories to clean out the rest of the pagan population in their respective regions.  They had broken the military strength of their enemies; all that was left was to clear the rest of the folks out.

Joshua was now an old, old man.  He and Caleb were the only guys over 60 years old when they crossed the Jordan, all those years before, and he knows his time to depart is near.  He called in all the elders, leaders, judges and officials to him and reminded them of what they had lived through since they crossed the Jordan.

"I am old and well advanced in years.  You yourselves have seen everything the LORD your God has done to all these nations for your sake; it was the LORD your God who fought for you.  Remember how I have allotted as an inheritance for your tribes all the land of the nations that remain -- the nations I conquered -- between the Jordan and the Great Sea.  The LORD your God will drive them out of your way.  He will push them out before you, and you will take possession of their land, asl the LORD your God promised you." - 23:2a - 5

Then, he solemnly charges the leaders what to do after he's gone:

1) Be strong and courageous and live by the Law given by Moses (v.6)
2) Do not in any way serve or honor the gods of the pagans left among you (v. 7)
3) Do not associate with the people who do not honor God (v.7)
4) Hold fast to the LORD your God (v. 8)

He reminded them again, that it was the LORD who drove out their enemies; it was the LORD who made one man able to defeat a thousand enemies; they had not done it in their own strength. 

'So be very careful to love the LORD your God.' (v.11)

He continues with a warning of what will happen if they fail to follow those instructions.  And it's interesting to note what constituted failure: making alliances with the foreigners, intermarrying with them and socializing with them. And this wasn't about racial differences...it was about belief systems.  Because fraternizing with people whose beliefs are fundamentally opposed to the worship of God is a huge trap.  It began with the serpent in the Garden and it remains the same even today.  The arguments sound reasonable, even.  What could it hurt?  One bite?  One bit of incense?  A few little wooden images?  Is it really that big of a deal? 

Yes.  Because it always leads to death.  And what was the choice Moses gave them back in Deuteronomy 30? 'This day I call heaven and earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live...' (Deut. 30:19)  That was no random selection of words...the pagan cultures ALL practiced child sacrifice.  Choosing the culture of death would literally kill their offspring.

Look at words of the warning:  'If you turn away and ally yourselves with the survivors of these nations that remain among you and if you intermarry with them, then you may be sure that the LORD your God will no longer drive out these nations before you.  Instead, they will become snares and traps for you, whips on your back and thorns in your eyes, until you perish from this good land, which the LORD your God has given you.' (Josh. 23:12-13)

It was a big deal.

And, just in case the message hadn't gotten through, he repeats it for emphasis, because, just as God has been faithful to keep His promises, He will also be faithful to execute His judgment.

'You know with all your heart and soul that not one of all the good promises that 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.'  - (vs. 14b -16)

It is a big deal. 

Of course, we all know the rest of the story; that the people of Israel repeatedly fell into the patterns of the people around them and repeatedly suffered for it, until the Babylonians finally destroyed their capital city and place of worship and drug all the leaders and their households off to exile.  Not because they refused to serve God, but because they kept trying to mix the worship of God with the worship of the gods of the unbelievers.  Because it was what the folks around them were doing.

Not this generation, or even the one after, but eventually...a generation grew up that didn't really believe what they'd been taught about what God had done and said.

But I'm getting ahead of myself.  Next week...Joshua's last words to the nation.

How much of the ungodly culture am I allowing to influence my worship? How can I remove the influences of the culture from my worship and still remain relevant enough to be an influence on folks who just don't get the whole One True God thing? 

..In the Midst of the Mess, Part 2

Posted by Lisa Laree to Beer Lahai Roi

Ok, I admit it.  Last night...I was ready to throw in the towel.  I mean, really throw in the towel.  I had decided that I was incapable of doing...well, what I was doing...and perhaps if I stepped down someone who had better people skills than me could take over.  And do a better job of pulling opposites together.  At least without inadvertently running roughshod over folks who were legitimately doing their best under circumstances I was clueless about.

I was ready to bail out,  run for cover, shut myself up at home because I didn't think I could EVER get this thing right.

But this morning...

Our first speaker was a lady I hadn't heard before, Amie Dockery.  I had no idea what she was going to talk about and, to be honest, I was expecting it to be good but not, you know, specifically applicable to my situation.

O mi goodness.

I do not know when I have EVER sat in a service in which the speaker described, right down to the words floating around in my brain in the last 18 hours, exactly what was going on in my life.

Now, there are a bazillion topics that she could have talked about in a women's meeting.  But she chose to talk about the lures the enemy uses to pull us away from God's purposes.  And these weren't the same ol' same ol' things normally heard.  No, she dug into the temptation of Jesus in a way I had never heard before.  I mean, I thought I knew what she was going to say...and she said nothing like I thought she was going to say.  She talked about three specific lures.

Not gonna go into her descriptions, but  all three lures had been cast at me since the sun went down last night.  And I was perilously close to falling for them.

That doesn't mean that I'm not a socially awkward person who routinely puts her foot in her mouth.  But what it does mean is that that is not a disqualification from service. I'm not allowed to quit just because I am flawed.

Ultimately, those flaws simply mean that I have to lean harder into God and my relationship with Him.

That's actually why they are there.

I told you.  Every year it happens this way...first breaking, then restoration and refreshing.  I should quit being surprised by it.

A not-Bible-Study-post in the midst of my mess

Posted by Lisa Laree to Beer Lahai Roi

I didn't get the Joshua post up today; it's Conference Weekend.

The weekend after Labor Day, in which we switch over the church to all things feminine and host a weekend for women.  It's always powerful, always stretching, always needed. What usually happens at the conference is a breaking and a restoring. The Spirit puts a finger on what's ugly, what's inhibiting growth, what's got. to. go.  And by the end of the weekend, the Spirit has also washed away the broken bits of the ugly and given a fresh perspective and purpose to take its place.

Now, as a staff person, I get a whole nuther aspect on the weekend.

And sometimes, the thing that unmakes me really has nothing to do with the service or the speaker.

Sometimes, in the logistics and the planning, I get my lessons.

Tonight was one of those times.

A friend held up a picture of how my attempts to help...to fix...to catch things...looks to other folks.

It wasn't a pretty picture.

Sort of like the picture above; my old attempt to re-liquify honey that had crystallized.  Only I made a mess instead.

The speaker was good, but I sat in my spot and processed the picture I'd seen.  It was a rough go, I'll be honest.

And that's one thing that I don't know how to fix. 

 So I'm looking for the second half...the restoration, the encouragement...tomorrow. I honestly don't know how God can redeem this mess...but I do know that He can.

I am really ready to stop being the bull in the china shop.  Just bein' real. 

So I'm putting a demand on the anointing for part two.  The redemption and refreshing. 

I'm ready.

Blogging Bible Study: Joshua 22 -- Disaster of Assumptions

Posted by Lisa Laree to Beer Lahai Roi

What an example we have here of the dangers of assumption and lack of communication.

The chapter starts off well enough; Joshua calls the Trans-Jordan tribes in, commends them for their faithful service, challenges them to be very careful to keep the commandment  and the law that Moses the servant of the LORD gave to you:  to love the LORD your God, to walk in all his ways, to obey his commands, to hold fast to him and to serve him with all your heart and your soul (22:5),  blesses them and sends them home to their families and possessions.

So the Reubenites, the Gaddites, and half the tribe of Manasseh headed home across the Jordan River.

Where they proceed to build an enormous altar.

Now, the law was clear that all the sacrifices were to be made at the tabernacle,  on the altar consecrated in the wilderness and carried about by the priests. So, to all appearances, this was flagrant disregard for the Law and all that Moses had instructed them about sacrifices and worship.

Now, the Trans-Jordan tribes had not discussed this altar with anyone on the west side of the Jordan.  They just built it.  The rest of the Israelites noticed the altar and immediately concluded that the folks across the river were in rebellion.

The whole assembly of Israel gathered at Shiloh to go to war against them.  (v. 12).

But someone thought a parlay might be worth a try, before they wiped out a sizeable portion of their nation.

Always good to get the other side of the story before taking action.

So the Israelites sent  Phinehas, son of Eleazer, the priest, to the land of Gilead -- to Reuben, Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh.  With him, they sent ten of the chief men, one for each of the tribes of Israel, each the head of a family division among the Israelite clans. (v. 13).

When the deputation arrived, they got in the faces of the Trans-Jordan tribes:

How could you break faith with the God of Israel like this?  How could you turn away from the LORD and build yourselves an altar in rebellion against him now? (v. 16)

They  reviewed the history of rebellion in the people...they reminded them of the judgement that happened after the sin of Peor,  of what happened to the whole nation when Achan sinned at Jericho.

The accusation was clear.  Judgement was impending.  What could those folks say for themselves?

No!  We did it for fear that some day your descendants might say to ours, 'What do you have to do with the LORD,  the God of Israel?  The LORD has made the Jordan a boundary between us and you - you Reubenites and Gadites!  You have no share in the LORD.'  So your descendants might cause ours to stop fearing the LORD.  

That is why we said, 'Let us get ready and build an altar -- but not for burnt offerings or sacrifices.'
 On the contrary,  it is to be a witness between us and you and the generations that follow, that we will worship the LORD at his sanctuary with our burnt offerings, sacrifices and fellowship offerings.  Then in the future your descendants will not be able to say to ours, 'You have no share in the LORD.' (vs. 24-27).

There's more in the following verses, but it basically reiterates the declaration that the massive altar is there as a talisman of their devotion to God, not  meant to be any kind of substitution for the actual altar.

The delegation let out a big sigh of relief, I'm sure, after they heard this explanation.

Today, we know that the LORD is with us, because you have not acted unfaithfully toward the LORD in this matter.  Now you have rescued the Israelites from the LORD's hand. (v. 31)

To make it all official, the Trans-Jordan tribes named their altar 'A Witness Between Us that the LORD is God.' (v. 34), and everyone went home.

There's a lot to consider in this story. 

What strikes me immediately is how quickly both sides of the issue assumed the worst.  The Trans-Jordan tribes looked at the Jordan River -- which they had chosen to not cross -- and considered it a barrier between them and the rest of the nation. And they immediately were afraid that one day in the future their kids would be rejected by the rest of the nation because of that barrier.  Now, they had had lots of opportunities in dealing with both Moses and Joshua to come up with some sort of insurance that such a thing would not happen, but they did nothing about it until they got home from war.  And then they put up this really suspicious looking thing without any kind of explanation to anyone.

They did it because they were afraid of something that might happen in generations to come.  They did it because they felt their choice would be held against them in the future.  There were probably other ways to address the issue...all involving dialogue with the very folks they were ultimately afraid of.  Would that offend them?  Better to just do what we need to do, right?

The rest of the country reacted, based on what they observed.  They assigned the worst possible motives to the erection of the altar.  And they did not consult with the Lord or inquire of Him what should be done about it.  Which was part of the reason they had such disastrous outcomes regarding Achan and Baal Peor.  They were afraid, too....of the consequences of the sin of part of the nation on the whole body.  They were angry and offended anyway.

Wouldn't it have been better to discuss this before anyone took any action?

Fortunately, there was discussion.  And the explanation was deemed valid and not what had been anticipated.

The church split...er, war between the tribes...was averted.

We relive this scenario over and over again in modern Christianity.  Congregations split, folks get offended, often because no one wants to talk about things in the early stages.  Unfortunately, we rarely get the deputation to see what the truth about a dispute may be, and folks become more entrenched in their opinions....one side justifying their actions, incredulous that anyone would think they would be THAT wrong in their intentions, offended  because those others really believed they could have such devious motives, whilst the others can't believe their brothers and sisters could do something so...inconsiderate...of the body as a whole, offended that the others considered them so inconsequential that they weren't even worth TALKING to, for goodness sake...and opinions fly and feelings get hurt and ...in the worst cases, the local body collapses and the building goes up for sale.  At the very least relationships are severed and people are wounded and the body suffers.

Things are almost never as bad as they seem.  How can we all learn to take a breath and LISTEN to concerns  and pray with the folks who are seeing things from a different viewpoint so that we ALL can come to an agreement that's based on God's care for His people?  If both sides truly fear God and want His will...there will be an explanation and a way through that preserves the integrity...in every sense of the word... of the body.

Blogging Bible Study:Joshua 21 -- The Cities of the Levites

Posted by Lisa Laree to Beer Lahai Roi

After the cities of refuge were designated, the heads of the Levite clans came to Joshua and reminded him that the command of the Lord to Moses regarding the division of the land included cities for the Levites to possess and dwell in, since they were not given a territorial inheritance like the rest of the tribes.

The total number of cities given to the Levites is forty-eight, but even though that averages out to 4 cities per tribe, because of the difference in tribal allotments it didn't actually pan out quite  that way, although it was close.

There were three branches of Levites: the Kohathites (who included the descendants of Aaron), the descendants of Gershon and the descendants of Merari.  The descendants of Aaron, being the line of the priesthood, had a special designation and were allotted thirteen towns from the territories of  Judah/Simeon and Benjamin.  The rest of the Koathites were given ten towns, split up amongst the territories of Issachar, Naphtali, and the territory of Manasseh  that was on the west side of the Jordan. (twenty-three towns altogether, almost half of them, were for the Kohathites). The descendants of Gershon were allotted thirteen towns from the territories of Issachar, Asher, Naphtali and the east-of-the-Jordan territory of  Manasseh.  The final twelve towns, from the territories of Reuben, Gad and Zebulun went to the descendants of Merari.

Having split the Levites amongst the tribes, now they had to designate the cities from each of those areas.

From Judah/ Simeon (remember, Simeon's inheritance was within the borders of Judah), there were nine towns:  Hebron*, Libnah, Jattir, Eshtemoa, Holon, Debir, Ain, Juttah and Beth Shemesh.
From Benjamin, they designated four towns: Gibeon, Giba, Anathoth and Almon..
From Ephraim, four towns: Shechem*, Gezer, Kibzaim and Beth Horon.
From Dan, four towns: Eltekeh, Gibbethon, Aijalon and Gath Rimmon.
From the western bit of Manasseh, two towns: Taanach and Gath Rimmon.
From the eastern territory of Manasseh,  two towns: Golan* and Be Eshtarah.
From Issachar, four towns:  Kishion, Daberath, Jarmuth and En Gannim.
From Asher, four towns: Mishal, Abdon, Helkath and Rehob.
From Naptali, three towns: Kedesh Galilee*, Hammoth Dor and Kartan.
From Zebulon, four towns: Jokneam, Kartah, Dimnah and Nahalal.
From Reuben, four towns: Bezer*, Jahaz, Kedemoth and Mephaath.
And, finally, from  Gad, four towns: Ramoth Gilead*, Mahanaim, Heshbon and Jazer.

For all the towns, the Levites were given the town and the surrounding pastureland for their livestock so they could make their living when they were not serving.  It is interesting to note that all six of the cities of refuge were given to the Levites (the starred towns in the list).  The priests and servants of God were spread all through the nation.  I wonder if the intention was merely to split up the obligation among all the tribes, or if the idea of the Levites being all throughout the nation would encourage the people to be more intentional about following the decrees of God.  Or, maybe, a bit of both.

All the allotments were made; all special cities designated.  The land belonged to the Israelites.

So the LORD gave Israel all the land he had sworn to give their forefathers, and they took possession of it and settled there.  The LORD gave them rest on every side, just as he had sworn to their forefathers.  Not one of their enemies withstood them; the LORD handed all their enemies over to them.  Not one of all the LORD's good promises to the house of Israel failed, every one was fulfilled. (21:43-45).

What a statement.  NOT ONE had failed.  Despite the fact that the Israelites had rebelled again and again on the journey from Egypt; they tried to do things according to what made sense to them instead of making sure they were following God's instruction; they even failed to make sure all the cities in the realm had been defeated and the altars destroyed...IE, they gave up before God acted  (see Judges 2).  But  God gave them the land, he gave them peace in the land and, after it was all done, he gave them rest.  Rest was something they had not known for a really, really long time. But now it was time to live in the covenant and walk out the promises and simply keep the commandments God gave them.  That's all he asked of them. God had done his part.

It remained to be seen if the people would do theirs.

Have I truly pursued the heart of God in my own life?  Have I made provision to continue to follow God after He has blessed me? Will I intentionally seek out His way...or will I default to the way that makes sense to me?

Catching up

Posted by Lisa Laree to Beer Lahai Roi

We've had a busy couple of weeks.

The Grand Opening of the new sanctuary was August 5.  Packed house and a boatload of data entry.

Worked extra hours but still left work for my co-workers to cover, because we had to hit the road to Indiana to celebrate my parent's 60th wedding anniversary.  It was a pretty low-key celebration, actually, just a dinner with all the family who could make it, but it was a blessing to get to be there on their special day.

60 years looks good on them, don't you think?

And, it just so happened that My Sweet Babboo had a class reunion the following weekend, so we headed up to Elkhart for Saturday night.   The reunion somehow didn't get well publicized...or organized, which is odd because the previous ones have been well done.  If that had been the only reason for the trip north, I think we would have felt kinda miffed, but not only did we hit my folks' anniversary, there was also the 104th annual Pippenger family reunion on Sunday, so the trip was worth it nonetheless. 

We did miss the official dedication of the new sanctuary, but, thanks to the wonders of modern technology we were able to watch the video on You Tube from Elkhart

 We split the trip back home up, stopping at Mom & Dad's and picking up a cooler of sweet corn on the way.  Got in too late on Tuesday to freeze corn, so I threw some more ice in the cooler and planned to do it after work on Wednesday, feeling only a little remorseful for missing the Wednesday night service.

However, The Flute Player (whose job is toy sanitation in the staff day care) was playing catch up for missing the first two days of the week and we were very late getting out of the office.  So it was nearly midnight when all the corn was bagged and in the fridge to chill. 

Thursday was the 38th anniversary of the date that My Sweet Babboo and I tied the knot ourselves, but all we did was exchange cards; we both worked straight through to choir practice in the evening. I ended up going to the office to work for about 3 hours yesterday to get some documentation ready for training that starts Monday morning...which is why I didn't get the next Joshua post up.  I plumb forgot it was Friday.

We dodged some thunderstorms to get an anniversary dinner last night and I'm doing laundry like a crazy lady today.  Tomorrow, we're doing a community thank-you service and hosting a 'pep rally'/ tour for the alumni of the high school that has become our church.  Next Sunday will be a day of thanksgiving and praise, with guests David and Nicole Binion.  Labor Day weekend follows, with our annual women's conference (albeit a bit abbreviated version) the weekend after.  So...maybe we'll see life start falling into a normal routine again somewhere around the middle of September, lol.

So, catching my breath just a bit before wrapping up Joshua.  Should be back in that groove by Friday.  I think. 

Blogging Bible Study: Joshua 20 -- Cities of Refuge

Posted by Lisa Laree to Beer Lahai Roi

The 'Cities of Refuge' are an interesting study in judicial process.  There were no Miranda rights, not even a true police force to bring criminals to justice.  It was up to the tribes to police their own people.  There were penalties laid out in The Law for various crimes...both intentional and unintentional.  Chief among them was causing the death of another person.

There was a designated 'Avenger of Blood' if someone died as the result of the actions of another person.  Usually a near kinsman, the Avenger of Blood was to fulfill the 'life for a life' penalty; that is, the death penalty for murder.  But not all killing is murder, and there had to be some provision for accidents.  So the Cities of Refuge were designated; six cities that one who had caused a death could go to for protection while the event was investigated to determine if he was guilty of murder or unintentional manslaughter.

When he flees to one of these cities, he is to stand in the entrance of the city gate and state his case before the elders of that city.  Then they are to admit him into their city and give him a place to live with them.  If the avenger of blood pursues him, they must not surrender the one accused, because he killed his neighbor unintentionally and without malice aforethought.  He is to stay in that city until he has stood trial before the assembly and until the death of the high priest who is serving at that time.  Then he may go back to his own home in the town from which he fled.   -- 20:4 - 6.

This hearkens back to Numbers 35: 6 - 34.  If the accused person was found to be guilty of murder, he was to be handed over to the avenger of blood to execute.  If he was found innocent of murder, but guilty of manslaughter, he could live, but only within the confines of the city to which he had fled.  If he ever went outside the city limits, the avenger of blood could strike him down without penalty.  Assuming, of course, that the avenger of blood was hanging around the city waiting to catch the accused wandering about.  When the current high priest had died, the sentence was lifted and the accused could return to his home without fear; it would now be illegal for the avenger to kill him.

There were six such cities, spread across the whole nation, six on the west side of the Jordan and six on the east side:  Kedesh, in Galilee, in the hill country of Naphtali, Shechem in the hill country of Ephraim,  Hebron (AKA  Kirath Arba) in the hill country of Judah  on the west and, on the east, Bezer in the desert plateau of Reuben, Ramoth Gilead in the land of Gad and Golan Bashan in the land of Manasseh.

Complicated in some ways, simple in others.  Life was valuable to the Israelites and taking of life...even accidentally...had consequences.  The law applied equally to Israelites and aliens living among them. Anyone who accidentally caused the death of another could go...flee, the NIV reports...to these cities and be protected from vengeance until the assembly could hear the case.

But...the individual had to go immediately.  As fast as they could go, carrying only necessities.  No family, nothing that would slow the person down from getting to the safe place.  It was urgent, a matter of life and death; sure safety could only be found in one of those cities.

So, how fast am I to run to my City of Refuge when the accuser is pursuing?  How difficult is it to leave behind everything that would hinder my approach to the One who will give me safe haven? What trappings of my comfort zone am I trying to drag along with me...which slows my progress and leaves me vulnerable?