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Tag: deuteronomy

  • That you may have Certainty -3- Transitions

    That you may have Certainty -3- Transitions

    That you may have Certainty in these Uncertain Times

    Can you think of any transitions of our years more difficult than dealing with death? Any death of a loved one brings uncertainty for times ahead. 

    Luke and the other Gospel writers must have had second thoughts after the Cross, transitions of faith challenging the teachings of Jesus. “Did you know Him,” those who had witnessed His triumphant entrance into Jerusalem for the Passover festival would have asked?

    The Messiah of God: humiliated, tortured and executed as a spectacle on a Roman cross!

    How those leaving Jerusalem must have hung their heads during the transitions of these three days until certainty of the Resurrection. But then a risen Christ appears. 

    I have always wondered what stories from scripture Jesus must have told his disciples on the road to Emmaus. 

    Luke 24: 27 And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself.

    יָדַע Certainty

    In Hebrew,-יָדַע yâdaʻ, yaw-dah’; a primitive root; to know (properly, to ascertain by seeing); used in a great variety of senses, figuratively, literally, euphemistically and inferentially (including observation, care, recognition; and causatively, instruction, designation, punishment..

    This is the certainty of which Luke, the gentile, speaks of in detailing the record of Jesus’ life. For a Hebrew people conquered by Rome and accustomed to a Greek culture, Jesus assures them of God’s unrelenting faithfulness.

    So what might Jesus have told these defeated Jews after His death and resurrection about Joshua? We might conjecture the inclusion of certainty [yâdaʻ], used roughly 900 times in Hebrew scripture 

    The Certainty of the Jews

    The impact of the resurrection of Jesus surpasses all transitions of history. Yet Jesus speaks first to followers of a past of promise, rather than this new transition for believers. Jesus had spoken often of Moses, but among transitions between Hebrew leaders few surpass the journey of Joshua.

    Moses, David and the Prophets had predicted a Messiah King. The LORD affirms the certainty of His covenant with Abraham through Moses. Yet Moses dies before crossing into the promised land. Transitions from a forty year leadership of the 120 year Moses to following his assistant, Joshua. He would command this untested Hebrew army crossing the Jordan into enemy lands.

    If ever a people journeyed into uncertain times, transitions from the wilderness into lands beyond the Jordan lay before the Hebrew people. Yet here rests faith in the certainty of God’s promise.

    נָגַד More Certainty 

    Another Hebrew root word translated as certainty is  nagad. Without getting into Hebrew and English parts of speech we find an additional 370 uses of this word for certainty.

    נָגַד – nagad – to be conspicuous, tell, make known, to tell, declare, announce, report, expound, to inform of, to publish, proclaim, to avow, acknowledge, confess, to be told, be announced, be reported.. plus a few additional definitions and ‘to bring to the light.’ 

    Luke 24:27 And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself.

    Just a reminder that Moses is synonymous with the Law, Torah and five Books of Moses, from which we will begin.

    From Moses to Joshua

    Deuteronomy 31:

    7 Then Moses summoned Joshua and said to him in the sight of all Israel, “Be strong and courageous, for you shall go with this people into the land that the Lord has sworn to their fathers to give them, and you shall put them in possession of it. 8 It is the Lord who goes before you. He will be with you; he will not leave you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed.”

    Do you know the meaning of Joshua’s name? יְהוֹשׁוּעַ The transliteration is: Yĕhowshuwa` from: יְהֹוָה Yĕhovah – The Existing One and יָשַׁע yasha` – savior.

    The LORD told Moses I AM THAT I AM! He IS The Existing One from whom the Savior is sent.

    14 And the Lord said to Moses, “Behold, the days approach when you must die. Call Joshua and present yourselves in the tent of meeting, that I may commission him.” And Moses and Joshua went and presented themselves in the tent of meeting. 15 And the Lord appeared in the tent in a pillar of cloud. And the pillar of cloud stood over the entrance of the tent.

    16 And the Lord said to Moses, “Behold, you are about to lie down with your fathers. Then this people will rise and whore after the foreign gods among them in the land that they are entering, and they will forsake me and break my covenant that I have made with them.

    Joshua Like Jesus

    Joshua 1:

    After the death of Moses the servant of the Lord, the Lord said to Joshua the son of Nun, Moses’ assistant, 2 “Moses my servant is dead. Now therefore arise, go over this Jordan, you and all this people, into the land that I am giving to them, to the people of Israel. 3 Every place that the sole of your foot will tread upon I have given to you, just as I promised to Moses.

    The LORD’s promise is a promise of certainty.

    … Just as I was with Moses, so I will be with you. I will not leave you or forsake you. 6 Be strong and courageous, for you shall cause this people to inherit the land that I swore to their fathers to give them. 7 Only be strong and very courageous, being careful to do according to all the law that Moses my servant commanded you. Do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may have good success[a] wherever you go.

    Yet as with Moses and later, Jesus, the followers of God fail in their faith. We love to sing of our victories in the Lord [Joshua 6 video], but in these transitions of faith watch what happens next.

    Joshua 7:

    But the people of Israel broke faith… 2 Joshua sent men from Jericho to Ai… 

    5 and the men of Ai killed about thirty-six of their men and chased them before the gate as far as Shebarim and struck them at the descent. And the hearts of the people melted and became as water.

    6 Then Joshua tore his clothes and fell to the earth on his face before the ark of the Lord until the evening, he and the elders of Israel. And they put dust on their heads. 7 And Joshua said, “Alas, O Lord God, why have you brought this people over the Jordan at all, to give us into the hands of the Amorites, to destroy us?

    Uncertain times, then Certainty from the Lord

    And so it goes in difficult transitions. Men (and women) will sin. The Lord must draw us back to faith.

    • Jesus, Savior of sinners, tells His faithful why the Messiah must die. He is resurrected and becomes our resurrection and our life!
    • Joshua, Jehovah is Salvation, appeals to Jehovah God for mercy and the Lord speaks certainty of deliverance.

    Joshua 8:

    And the Lord said to Joshua, “Do not fear and do not be dismayed…

    Following the defeat of Ai, hear this explanation of the certainty of the power of Almighty God.

    Joshua 9:

    3 But when the inhabitants of Gibeon heard what Joshua had done to Jericho and to Ai, 4 they on their part acted with cunning… 8 They said to Joshua, “We are your servants.” And Joshua said to them, “Who are you? … because of the name of the Lord your God. For we have heard a report of him, and all that he did in Egypt, 10 and all that he did to the two kings of the Amorites who were beyond the Jordan…

    They go on with their deception of Joshua, but they praise the Lord. 

    15 And Joshua made peace with them and made a covenant with them, to let them live, and the leaders of the congregation swore to them.

    16 At the end of three days after they had made a covenant with them, they heard that they were their neighbors and that they lived among them. 

    Now comes the assurance of certainty from the Lord. נָגַד

    24 They answered Joshua,

    “Because it was told to your servants for a certainty that the Lord your God had commanded his servant Moses to give you all the land and to destroy all the inhabitants of the land from before you—

    so we feared greatly for our lives because of you and did this thing. 25 And now, behold, we are in your hand. Whatever seems good and right in your sight to do to us, do it.”

    Are you a King?

    What did these kings, destined to fail before the Lord think of Joshua? Surely they feared the anointed of the Lord (though at that time they were not named king).

    Pilate, Governor of Judea had asked the accused Jesus, “Are you the King of the Jews?”  For the Jews had accused Jesus of blasphemy, for He had said: “Before Abraham was, I AM.” Then they crucified Jesus on a Cross and buried our Lord in a grave. Now, in the greatest of transitions ever, the risen Christ tells His followers why He had to be crucified for our sins. He IS and was and is to be, the Lord! He is the redeemer of those facing certain death and inevitable judgement. 

    For fifty days a risen Jesus will once again lead disciples into the uncertainty of a new and everlasting covenant. Like followers of Joshua, these disciples must have had times of uncertainty turn into a certain faith in the Lord. 

    Whether forty years, fifty days, two millennia or a few moments of transitions of this life, certainty remains in Christ the Lord.

    To be continued…

  • You’re a Damn Sinner

    Sinners and Damn Sinners

    Are you offended by me calling you a damn sinner? I must confess: I’m also a sinner every day; in thoughts, words and deeds. In that sense I’m just like you.

    Lord, forgive us our treapasses.

    For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God… – Romans 3:23  (but read further for understanding the Sacrifice of Christ)

    “And if a man has committed a crime punishable by death and he is put to death, and you hang him on a tree, his body shall not remain all night on the tree, but you shall bury him the same day, for a hanged man is cursed by God. – Deuteronomy 21:22-23a ESV

    Damn; Damnation; Damnable:

    I was somewhat shocked to read in a definition that these words have changed meaning.  Yet I acknowledge a contemporary preaching trend toward not offending the hearers of God’s word.  A brief look at the definition of ‘damn, damnation and damnable’ reads:

    These words have undergone a change of meaning since the King James Version was made. They are derived from Latin damnare = ” to inflict a loss,” “to condemn,” and that was their original meaning in English.

    Now they denote exclusively the idea of everlasting punishment in hell. It is often difficult to determine which meaning was intended by the translators in the King James Version. They have been excluded altogether from the Revised Version (British and American).

    Damnation invades the guilty minds of the wicked.  They then accuse the Christian of morality irrelevant to their own demise. Hell for so many revelers is their daily entertainment of self-indulgence. Raising hell becomes their goal of response to a life without meaning and a death without consequence.

    A further defining of the concept of damnation will include uncomfortable synonyms given infrequent consideration by most men of dust. These include:

    condemn, damn, judgment, avenge, accusation, go to law, pernicious, perdition, destruction, waste, die and to perish.

    Not a list of well-used words in our 21st century lexicon or smiling solicitations from some pulpits.

    Hellfire and Brimstone!

    Not to dwell too long in these hell-pointing descriptions above for damnation, but here would be the time to mention that other contemporarily offensive word: sin.

    Sin, damnation and other uncomfortable, almost archaic words like judgement point to man’s accountability to God.

    Jesus, the Messiah, perfect and sinless, became substitution for my sins and for yours. God therefore sacrificed His righteousness, undeserving of death, as redemption from the damnation you and I deserve.

    The sin of man and love of God led to the Cross.

    Jesus and Judgment

    For the LORD is our judge; the LORD is our lawgiver;
    the LORD is our king; he will save us. – Isaiah 33:22

    John 8:

    31 So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples… 

    42 Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love me, for I came from God and I am here. I came not of my own accord, but he sent me. 43 Why do you not understand what I say? It is because you cannot bear to hear my word. 44 You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies. 45 But because I tell the truth, you do not believe me. 46 Which one of you convicts me of sin?

    No, they could not convict the Son of Man of sin. The accusers of Jesus could only bring the righteous Messiah to the Cross by bribery and lies.

    51 Truly, truly, I say to you, if anyone keeps my word, he will never see death.”

    A King’s Condemnation for the Sins of His Subjects

    Matthew 26:

    .. Judas came, one of the twelve, and with him a great crowd with swords and clubs, from the chief priests and the elders of the people…

    55 At that hour Jesus said to the crowds, “Have you come out as against a robber, with swords and clubs to capture me? Day after day I sat in the temple teaching, and you did not seize me. But all this has taken place that the Scriptures of the prophets might be fulfilled.”

    Then all the disciples left him and fled.

    57 Then those who had seized Jesus led him to Caiaphas the high priest, where the scribes and the elders had gathered…

    59 Now the chief priests and the whole council were seeking false testimony against Jesus that they might put him to death, but they found none, though many false witnesses came forward. At last two came forward and said, “This man said, ‘I am able to destroy the temple of God, and to rebuild it in three days.’”

    62 And the high priest stood up and said, “Have you no answer to make? What is it that these men testify against you?”

    63 But Jesus remained silent.

    And the high priest said to him, “I adjure you by the living God, tell us if you are the Christ, the Son of God.”

    Jesus said to him, “You have said so. But I tell you, from now on you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of Power and coming on the clouds of heaven.”

    65 Then the high priest tore his robes and said, “He has uttered blasphemy. What further witnesses do we need? You have now heard his blasphemy. What is your judgment?”

    They answered, “He deserves death.”

    67 Then they spit in his face and struck him. And some slapped him, saying, “Prophesy to us, you Christ! Who is it that struck you?”

    The Damn Shall Hang on a Cross, Yet this Passover Sacrifice is Pure

    Isaiah 42:

    Behold my servant, whom I uphold,
    my chosen, in whom my soul delights;
    I have put my Spirit upon him;
    he will bring forth justice to the nations.
    2 He will not cry aloud or lift up his voice,
    or make it heard in the street;
    3 a bruised reed he will not break,
    and a faintly burning wick he will not quench;
    he will faithfully bring forth justice.
    4 He will not grow faint or be discouraged
    till he has established justice in the earth;
    and the coastlands wait for his law…

    9 Behold, the former things have come to pass,
    and new things I now declare;
    before they spring forth
    I tell you of them.”

    … he suffered. And being made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation to all who obey him… – Hebrews 5:8b-9

    Only two mortal choices: judgement or grace.

    Are you a damn sinner? Or are you a forgiven sinner In Christ?

     

  • Looking Back – Nations in the eyes of the LORD

    “So nation was destroyed by nation, and city by city, for God troubled them with every adversity. – 2 Chronicles 15:6 NKJV

    History from an eternal perspective

    We have begun this year of our Lord, 2018, in consideration of eternal time. Time beyond years and measurement shows a perspective of man peering beyond the beginning and ending of our mortal history.

    The Lord’s voice resounds through those God chooses in both spoken and written words. Therefore books of the Bible also relate stories of the Lord given to mortal men. 

    We occasionally hear God speaking through Prophets of events which the Lord will cause in the future. They speak of Israel and of nations familiar and forgotten. True prophets warn of the consequences of men and nations opposing the will of Almighty God.

    A few Prophets like Ezekiel, Daniel and John reveal events beyond the mortal timeline of all mankind, even to an apocalypse of the heavens and earth!

    Christ Jesus boldly proclaimed not only what was, but the unseen of time before man, now, and forever more.

    This Nation (U.S.) – Looking Back

    Without looking back Americans might not acknowledge some divergent views of actual history of our 17th century founding. (500 years, so long past; yet passes so quickly)

    Notice a Pennsylvania only east of the Alleghenies. You likely haven’t read how a George Washington surrender to the French may have led to the French and Indian War. 

    At the time of the U.S. Constitution, Colonial states claimed lands for future expansion.  America has always been a land of immigrants.

    We the people, while opposing fading European empires, conquered a new world from native nations. Then we the new world people defended it against immigrants from foreign lands of origins other than our own.

    Spain, England, France and other empires expanded then diminished, even to the point of America coming to their aid in the great wars of the twentieth century.

    Yet who remembers the fall (or even existence) of empires besides Rome?

    A Lesson for the Nations from Israel

    What does all of this have to do with the Bible, you may ask?

    Deuteronomy 9:

    “Hear, O Israel: you are to cross over the Jordan today, to go in to dispossess nations greater and mightier than you, cities great and fortified up to heaven..

    4 “Do not say in your heart, after the LORD your God has thrust them out before you, ‘It is because of my righteousness that the LORD has brought me in to possess this land,’ whereas it is because of the wickedness of these nations that the LORD is driving them out before you.

    Israel would not only ignore the voice of the LORD though its Prophets, God’s own chosen people would ignore the Law given for their own holiness. A people of tradition has rejected its own traditions of the Lord their God.

    And empires to follow, including Spain, Great Britain and now the United States of America, which sometimes make claims to new lands of milk and honey, reject the rule of the Righteous One.

    The Lord God brings nations to renewed hope and crushes wickedness in the wilderness of the unknown.

    History beyond claims of conquerors & contentions of analysts

    We the people of the Lord really must hear more than quick sound-bytes of this hour. Godly men and women should seek more than a 60 second headline to the crowds.

    Even now, a boisterous tyrant or reasonable king may proclaim in an instant his partism message of good or evil. Will the world look beyond the agendas of mortals to the written word of Almighty God? Rarely, only the faithful.

    The Lord will lead a remnant of all the nations to eternal life. God has revealed His plan and chronicled events of the past for our understanding.

    Moses did not write the Books of the Law as the events unfolded. The LORD revealed the Beginning, the generations of Noah & Joseph, a great leader of Egypt. God gave instructions to priests, elders and common men and women. In addition to prophesies of the failings of Israel and other nations, the Bible records events for the discovery of God’s will in later generations. Yet will you read God’s word and claim its cautions?

    Looking Back

    “Do not say in your heart, after the LORD your God has thrust them out before you, ‘It is because of my righteousness that the LORD has brought me in to possess this land,’… 

    This caution to a new conquering empire (Israel) might well serve as a lesson of history to many 21st century nations.

    This series will continue with scripture written or chronicled as historic evidence of events for others to read later.

    Stay tuned and read your Bible. It’s all there – history, that is; but we just give a headline glance to most of these pivotal events. For after all, it was a long time ago. What could that matter to a 21st century Christian?

    To be continued..,