Participants: Pr. Doug Batchelor
Series Code: EG
Program Code: EG002711
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00:09 It's been 2000 years since the glorious light of the cross
00:12 illuminated a world veiled in darkness and confusion about the 00:14 character of God and still today the greatest need of mankind is 00:18 a revelation of God's love as revealed in the life of Christ. 00:23 Amazing Facts presents the Everlasting Gospel with Pastor 00:27 Doug Batchelor coming to you each week from Sacramento 00:30 Central Church in sunny California. Discover hidden 00:33 treasures in God's word today. 00:36 Good morning. Isn't spring time wonderful? It's just been so 00:43 beautiful the last few days and I've been praising God for this 00:50 time of year. If you are visiting today, we are 00:56 continuing with a series on the book of and the character of 01:01 Joshua. Today will be the fifth installment. I anticipate there 01:06 will be one more beyond this presentation. Just a little 01:10 background for you. Joshua is a great book to study because it's 01:14 the book where the children of Israel transition from their 01:20 status of pilgrimage to the Promised Land. They are led by 01:25 the ultimate general, Joshua. The name Joshua is identical to 01:32 the name that Mary gave to Jesus and of course it wasn't given by 01:36 Mary. It was given by God. God picked the name and gave it to 01:41 Joseph and Mary. The name Jesus is the Greek form of Yeshua. 01:46 He's called in the Old Testament Joshua the son of Nun. Joshua 01:54 means Jehovah saves. Nun means eternal or perpetual. He is the 02:00 Savior, Son of the Eternal, perpetual. So there are a lot of 02:06 parallels between the Old Testament character and our 02:10 Savior. We're learning a lot as we go along the way. To bring 02:13 you up to speed, in our last study we talked about this 02:18 battle with the people of Ai. You remember Achan had stolen 02:22 something and they were defeated by the people of Ai initially. 02:28 They went back and they actually used an element of diversion. 02:33 It appeared that they were losing. It looked like they were 02:39 retreating, but then they turned around and they got the victory. 02:42 Sometimes God's church looks like it's retreating but 02:45 ultimately God is going to give us the victory. Now that brings 02:49 us up to where we are. After they won, go in your Bibles, 02:53 please to the book of Joshua chapter 8. After they won that 02:57 battle with the people of Ai, they totally destroyed the city, 03:01 they defeated the people there, they took possession. They're 03:05 sort of the in the middle of the Promised Land now. There was 03:09 no single kingdom that could fight against them because when 03:14 they overtook Jericho was the biggest beach head and Ai, the 03:18 only other way the other nations could fight against them would 03:23 be through a confederacy and that's still coming. They're in 03:26 the middle of the Promised Land they decided look, first thing 03:30 you do when you plant a nation is you must have a constitution. 03:34 You've got to have you're bylaws for a corporation. And they 03:38 now we've got a breather, it's time for us to ratify and renew 03:43 our covenant with God. So they demonstrated their love for the 03:49 word. Joshua loved the word. And of course Moses wrote the 03:53 the first five books of the Bible if you include the book of 03:58 Job and that would be six books and that was the existent 04:02 scripture they had then. If you look in the book of Deuteronomy, 04:08 turn in your Bibles to Deuteronomy chapter 11 04:10 to start with and in Deuteronomy chapter 11 they were given some 04:15 interesting instructions regarding the blessing and the 04:18 cursing. Keep in mind, Deuteronomy is the last 04:21 message of Moses written just before he died. And he told them 04:26 in verse 29, Deuteronomy 11, when they come into the land 04:31 that God has brought you into to possess that your to put the 04:35 blessing on Mount Gerizim and the curse on Mount Ebal. 04:40 The people in the middle of the Promised Land were these two 04:43 mountains. By the way when Jesus met with the woman at the well, 04:47 the woman at Samaria, it was in the valley between these two 04:51 mountains, Mount Gerizim and Mount Ebal. Now go with me to 04:56 Deuteronomy chapter 27, look at verse 1. Then Moses with the 05:01 elders of Israel commanded the people saying keep all the 05:06 commandments that I command you today and it will be on the day 05:10 when you cross over the Jordan to the land which the Lord your 05:15 God has given you that you shall set up for yourselves large 05:19 stones and whitewash them with lime, they were to plaster these 05:24 stones. You shall write on them all the words of this law when 05:28 you shall have crossed over that you may enter the land which the 05:31 land which the Lord your God has given you, a land flowing with 05:35 milk and honey, just as the Lord the God of your fathers has 05:38 promised you. Therefore it shall be when you have crossed over 05:42 the Jordan that on Mount Ebal you shall set up these stones 05:46 that you shall whitewash with lime and you shall build an 05:49 altar to the Lord your God there, an altar of stones. 05:52 You will not use your tool on them, in other words, don't make 05:55 a graven image, don't chisel any design. It's to be a natural 05:58 altar helping them avoid idolatry. You will build it with 06:02 whole stones, the altar of the Lord your God and offer burnt 06:06 offerings on it, and you will offer peace offerings. You will 06:09 eat there and will rejoice before the Lord your God and you 06:13 shall write very plainly on the stones all the words of this 06:17 law. Now did you catch this. Moses said when you cross over 06:20 you're to go to these two twin mountains in the middle of the 06:24 Promised Land and you are to set up an altar to the Lord, offer 06:29 sacrifices and other large stones, probably with a flat 06:34 surface, and you shall whitewash or plaster them with lime and 06:38 engrave, that was primitive concrete, and engrave the words 06:43 of the law. Now some have argued now was that talking about just 06:46 the ten commandments that he quotes in Deuteronomy chapter 5 06:50 or was it the entire book of Deuteronomy and there is some 06:53 debate about that, but the word of God was to be inscribed on 06:57 this so that it basically became the constitution for this new 07:01 nation based on the word. By the way, for the church that makes 07:06 it into the Promised Land, what is our constitution? Am I right? 07:10 The Bible is the basis for what we believe. It is the ultimate 07:14 litmus test by which we calibrate who we are, where 07:18 we're going and what we believe. So now when you get back into 07:22 the book of Joshua, they do exactly as they had been told. 07:26 They not only heard the commandments, they did them. 07:28 Chapter 8 of Joshua, verse 30: Now Joshua built an alter to the 07:34 Lord God of Israel on Mount Ebal just as he had been told, 07:38 as Moses the servant of the Lord commanded the children of Israel 07:42 as it is written in the book of the law of Moses. We just read 07:45 that. An altar of whole stones over which no man has wielded 07:49 any iron tool. And they offered on it burnt offerings to the 07:53 Lord God and sacrificed peace offerings and there in the 07:57 presence of the children of Israel he wrote on the stones a 08:01 copy of the Law of Moses which he had written. And then all 08:04 Israel with their elders and their officers and their judges 08:09 stood on either side of the Ark. Now what's in the Ark? The 10 08:13 commandments. They stand on either side of the Ark before 08:16 the priests, the Levites, who bore the Ark of the Covenant of 08:20 the Lord, the stranger as well as he who was born among them. 08:23 Any alien who comes to America must swear allegiance to our 08:27 constitution, isn't that right? So they were saying even the 08:30 aliens among us must vow allegiance to the word of God. 08:38 And that he commanded before them that they should bless the 08:42 people of Israel. And afterward he read all of the words of the 08:45 law, the blessing and the cursings according to all that 08:47 is written in the book of the law. There was not a word of all 08:52 that Moses had commanded which Joshua did not read before all 08:56 the congregation of Israel with the women and the little ones 09:01 and the strangers that were living among them. You know 09:04 that's our challenge as pastors. When we met toward the end of 09:09 this last year, 2006, we talked about a preaching plan for the 09:14 new year and our goal is to cover as much of the word of 09:17 God and make sure that we cover at least the pillars of our 09:22 faith and the needs of the flock in our presentations. There is 09:25 actually a method to what we're doing. And that's our challenge 09:30 is to rehearse and to teach all of the word of God to you that 09:35 you might be skilled for what purpose? To live the life and 09:38 for you to teach the word of God to others that you might be 09:42 equipped for that purpose. So Joshua loved the word of God. 09:45 He was committed to the word of God. He recited the word of God 09:49 in the nation. Now go to chapter 9 verse 1 and this is where we 09:54 get to the title for our message The Gibeonites. Now it came to 09:58 pass when all of the kings who were on this side of Jordan, 10:02 meaning the west side of the Jordan, in the hills and in the 10:06 lowlands and in the coasts of the great sea, that's the 10:08 Mediterranean, towards Lebanon, that's the north, the Hittite 10:12 and the Amorite and the Canaanite and the Perizzite and 10:16 the Hivite, and the Jebusite, when they heard about it, when 10:20 they heard that they had conquered Ai, when they heard 10:22 that they had basically planted their constitution and set up an 10:26 altar in the middle of the land, it's like when Columbus came to 10:29 the shores of the New World and they stuck a flag and claimed it 10:33 for the Queen of Spain or the King of Spain, that was really 10:38 saying this is our land. That made them very nervous all these 10:43 other nations heard that. They gathered together to fight with 10:47 Joshua. They were organizing to have this great army to come and 10:52 to fight in one consolidated battle against the children of 10:55 Israel. Not just one nation here and there, but all of the 10:59 remaining nations said, you know we used to fight among ourselves 11:03 now we're going to have to pull together to fight you. And while 11:08 that's happening it says, but when the people of Gibeon, the 11:12 inhabitants of Gibeon, heard what Joshua had done to Jericho 11:18 and Ai, they worked craftily, cunningly, and they went and 11:23 they pretended to be ambassadors and they took old sacks on their 11:29 donkeys, I'm assuming old donkeys too, old wine skins torn 11:34 and mended. Make some notes here you might underline these words. 11:39 Old patched sandals on their feet, old garments on themselves 11:44 and all the bread of their provision was dry and moldy, old 11:49 old, old. And they went to Joshua to the camp of Gilgal, 11:55 that's when they still had their base camp down near the Jordan 11:58 River. And they said to him and to the men of Israel, We have 12:03 come from a far country, now therefore, make a covenant with 12:07 us. Now why did they do that? Why did they have to pretend 12:12 that they were people from some far distant country? Turn in 12:17 your Bibles, don't lose you place there in the book of 12:19 Joshua, to Deuteronomy chapter 7, or listen as I read it. Moses 12:24 had given them a clear mandate. They were not to enter into any 12:29 covenant of the nations that lived in the territory of Israel 12:34 When the Lord your God, Deuteronomy 7 verse 1, when the 12:38 Lord your God shall bring thee into the land whither thou goest 12:42 to possess it, and has cast out many nations before thee, the 12:45 Hittites, the Girgashites, the Amorites, the Canaanites, the 12:49 Perizzites, the Hivites and the Jebusites, seven nations greater 12:52 and mightier than thou and when the Lord your God shall deliver 12:57 them before thee, thou shalt smite them and utterly destroy 13:02 them. Notice this: Thou shalt make no covenant with them nor 13:06 show mercy unto them. They were not to make any allegiance, they 13:11 were not to tolerate any agreement with the nations that 13:15 lived in that land. They were to be totally evicted, expelled or 13:21 annilated because they worshipped pagan Gods. They were 13:24 involved in diabolical worship, sacrificing their children, 13:28 things that we can't even repeat in church that was part of their 13:32 religion is what was happening among those nations. You've got 13:35 to have a picture. They had become a very base people. 13:41 Now the people of the Gibeonites also known as the Hivites, they 13:45 were something of an exception. For one thing, instead of 13:48 becoming part of the confederacy that was going to fight with 13:52 Israel, their leaders got together and they looked each 13:54 other in the eye and they said we'd better think of some other 13:58 strategy. The Israelites have God on their side. It was so 14:02 obvious when they saw the walls of Jericho fall. You just think 14:06 about it. They could look outside of their mountains from 14:11 the walls of the city Gibeon and they could see the children of 14:14 Israel camped on the other side of Jordan with a pillar of fire 14:19 at night. They could see the people going out and gathering 14:23 manna. They knew the history of how they parted the Jordan River 14:26 when they crossed over. The obvious miracles of God. 14:29 They saw the walls of Jericho fall and now they think we can't 14:34 beat them, so what do you do? Jesus talks about this. Luke 14:40 chapter 14 verse 31: What king going to make war against 14:46 another king does not sit down first and consider whether he is 14:51 able with 10,000 to meet him who comes against him with 14:54 20,000 or else yet while he is still a great way off he sends 14:59 a delegation, sends his ambassadors and asks 15:02 for conditions of peace. They said we better make peace. 15:06 We can't beat them. But they're not allowed to make peace with 15:11 anybody that's entrenched in the Promised Land, so we better 15:16 pretend that we've come from another land. You got the 15:20 picture here. Because otherwise they're under a death decree. 15:24 Now we have a lot to learn from the Gibeonites. You know Jesus 15:30 is coming to this world, our Joshua. The Bible says the vast 15:36 majority of the world unfortunately will not 15:38 be saved. It doesn't have to be that way. Christ has died that 15:42 all might be saved but most don't believe. Straight is the 15:46 gate that leads to life and few there be that find it. Broad is 15:49 the way that leads to destruction. The Bible says 15:53 when Jesus comes all the tribes of the earth will mourn. All of 15:56 these pagan nations of the world that have not accepted 15:59 Jesus and become part of spiritual Israel, they're in 16:01 trouble. If you want to survive the coming of Joshua with his 16:07 angels, you better make peace now, because we've got a king 16:11 who is coming with 20,000 and you and I only have 10,000. 16:15 I mean that's the comparison in the parable. So if you're smart 16:20 you make peace. But how are we going to make peace. We do what 16:24 the Gibeonites did. Now it's not that God is endorsing deception. 16:29 You remember Jesus told the parable of the shrewd steward. 16:32 He realized he was going to be put out of his office and so he 16:36 went and made friends of the unrighteous mammon that they 16:39 might receive him into their habitations. It's not that Jesus 16:43 is endorsing deception. He is commending thinking ahead and 16:47 making a plan. God wants us to think ahead. Most people live 16:51 their lives as though this is it. Eat and drink for tomorrow 16:55 we die. Isn't that how most of the world thinks? They don't 16:58 really think about the eternal picture. The Gibeonites were 17:03 looking ahead so they made a plan. Their plan was to feign 17:07 that they were from a far country and to reinforce this 17:12 deception, they had everything about their appearance look like 17:15 they had made a long journey even though they were actually 17:18 the nearest city to where they were camped at the time. They 17:21 were next in line for destruction. So they've 17:25 got to make it look good. Actually they had to make it 17:28 look bad for it to be good. I remember when I went to military 17:35 school and I went camping one time with the kids in the spring 17:40 and it was one of the most miserable experiences of my life 17:43 and the other cadets because that's when I really discovered 17:47 I've got hay fever and I had nothing for it. And they pitched 17:50 our tents in the springtime out in the middle of this very weed 17:54 I was allergic to. I just had fits of breathing and snorting 17:57 and sneezing and I couldn't do anything with all my friends. 18:00 I was miserable. Well I heard that they were going out on 18:03 camping exercises again and I didn't want to go. So I thought 18:07 I've got to find a way to get some special consideration. 18:10 Now my brother taught me how to act sick. And my brother told me 18:17 I remember we were very young when we learned this, he said 18:20 Dougy, he said what you do, he didn't want to go to school one 18:23 day, so he spit on his hands, he rubbed them together and he 18:27 rubbed his face so his face was kind of red and clammy, then he 18:31 said Mom I think I've got a fever. She felt his head. He'd 18:33 just been rubbing his face so it was a little hotter than normal. 18:35 She said well let me take your temperature. So she gave him 18:37 the thermometer. Back then you remember those thermometers. 18:40 You had to wait like three or four minutes. So you give it to 18:42 the kid and you walked away and you come back and you check it. 18:46 Remember that kind. That's the kind we insisted on, you know 18:50 what I mean. Well my brother said then you take the 18:52 thermometer and you rub it against the sheets and it gets 18:57 hot and put it back in your mouth. So I went to the school 19:01 nurse and I said I've got a fever you know, face all red. 19:05 She said well let me give you a thermometer. She puts it in my 19:07 mouth. She walks out of the room I shh, shh, shh and put it under 19:10 my tongue. She comes that and she says yah low and behold you 19:13 have 102. Well we better watch you. So I got out of the camping 19:16 trip. But I'm lying there for a day or two. I thought this is 19:19 pretty good. I'm not having to wake up for drill, I'm not 19:21 having to do any of the things anyone's doing. So I was trying 19:24 to milk this out as long as I can. So I remember for two or 19:27 three days she'd come in, she'd give me the thermometer, she'd 19:30 always walk out. Matter of fact I went on line to New York 19:33 Military Academy, this is trivia that I'm telling you, and I 19:37 found a picture of the school nurses there and this story came 19:41 back to me. I would rub the thermometer, put it back in and 19:45 you know spit on my hands and rub me face. One day she came 19:49 in and she said you know it looks like you're getting better 19:53 it's only about 99 degrees. I think we can let you out. She 19:56 said we'll check you this afternoon. So that afternoon I 19:59 thought ah oh I don't want to go out. I don't want to go back. 20:02 So I took it and I rubbed the thermometer and she came back in 20:05 to pull it out of my mouth and she said well you should be dead 20:12 it's 110. But I was pretending to have this bad condition so 20:17 I'd get special treatment. Now I won't ask for a show of hands 20:21 of any of you that have tried to exploit the sympathies of others 20:24 that way, but that's sort of what they're doing. They're 20:27 saying look we've come on this long journey to make peace with 20:31 you because we've heard about your God and how mighty your God 20:34 is and we want to make a league with you. See the children of 20:37 Israel were allowed to make leagues for the purpose of trade 20:40 with other surrounding nations but no body that was living 20:43 within their boundaries. So they had to make it look like they 20:47 came from a long distance. Now I want you to notice specifically 20:52 some of the things that are mentioned. It tells us that they 20:57 had old sacks, old wine skins, old sandals, old garments, dried 21:02 moldy bread, far country. They are giving the appearance of 21:07 wretchedness. What is it that helps us be prepared for 21:14 receiving of God's spirit. Isn't it an awareness of our condition 21:18 You know, one of the problems of the church in the last days 21:22 is they don't know their condition. See what the 21:25 Gibeonites do is they come and everything about them is 21:29 wretched, everything from the shoes on their feet to the 21:32 clothes on their back to the animals they rode to their 21:35 provisions. It is old, it is wretched. It looks like they've 21:38 come a long way. It looks like they have been through a lot 21:40 and so they are looking for mercy. They're looking for 21:46 sympathy. Now I want you to take these components one by one. 21:50 Let's look at them. First of all it says they've got old sacks. 21:55 What does that represent. What do you do with a bag. A bag 21:59 holds your provisions. In the Bible they kept their resources 22:04 in bags. You remember when the brothers of Joseph took some of 22:07 the provisions from Egypt, they put them in their sacks. That's 22:11 what you carried the provision for yourself and for your 22:14 animals during your journey, your pilgrimage. You know the 22:19 Bible says that for the lost our bags have holes in them. 22:24 I remember one time my mom said she was coming home late from 22:29 work and my brother and I sometimes had to fend for 22:31 ourselves. At this point my brother used to be my cook but 22:33 he went to live with dad and I was by myself and my mom gave 22:37 me five dollars for dinner so I could just go eat out and that 22:39 was a lot back then. But all she had was a five dollar bill. 22:42 So she gave me this five dollar bill and I went to the 22:44 restaurant and I ate like a king with great confidence. Then when 22:50 it finally came time they gave me the bill to pay I reached in 22:54 my pocket and I reached deeper than I had expected because I 22:58 had a hole in my pocket and the money was gone and I'm 23:02 looking at the cashier and I wanted to say along with Isaiah 23:07 Woe is me, I am undone. I couldn't find my money and what 23:11 I finally did was I said please trust me I'll come back and they 23:14 were very dubious, but I did. I brought the money back and paid 23:16 but I never felt so helpless before because to think I had 23:20 these resources and then you reach in and it's gone. And you 23:25 know for the world everything we have, all our treasury, is so 23:29 exposed. Jesus said in the world you're putting your money in 23:33 bags with holes. Thieves break through and steal, rust and moth 23:37 do corrupt and you know everything is under a curse. 23:41 It reminds me of what it says in Haggai chapter 1: You've sown 23:46 much and you bring in little. You eat but you do not have 23:50 enough. You drink but you are not filled with drink. 23:52 You clothe yourselves but no one is warm. Catch this. He who 23:56 earns wages earns wages to put them in a bag with holes. What 24:01 often causes the hole in the bag the holey bag is the parasites 24:06 the plagues. That's why it says that God would rebuke the 24:09 devourer for those that trust God and he opens the windows 24:12 of heaven. If you're putting all the bounty in bags with holes, 24:16 what good is the bounty? So they've got old sacks. Next 24:22 thing we find, old wine skins. Now in the Bible it's hard for 24:27 us. Maybe you've been to Spain and you've seen now like you 24:30 find on like a picture of one of these Spanish wine skins, but 24:33 really they were like the white one at the top of the screen. 24:36 They used to take these goat skins. They'd tie off the 24:38 openings after they borrowed the skin from the goat and they 24:43 would seal them very well and they'd fill them with wine, but 24:47 it tells us that these wine skins were old and patched. 24:51 That means along the way they were so old they cracked and 24:55 they sprouted holes and they'd tried to sew them up or sew 24:58 patches on them and you know when it comes to holding liquid 25:02 that never works very well. And so here they've got these leaky 25:06 wine skins that are patched. What does wine represent in the 25:11 Bible? What did Jesus say when he gave grape juice to the 25:15 disciples at the last supper? What did that represent? This is 25:19 my blood. The wine represents the blood of the covenant or the 25:23 gospel of salvation is often in the context of that wine. 25:26 You know in Revelation chapter 17 it tells us that the scarlet 25:30 harlot you find there, she's got a golden cup in her hand and 25:34 it's filled with wine. It's called the blood of the martyrs. 25:38 And she has made the inhabitants of the world drunk with her wine 25:43 It's fermented. You only get drunk on fermented wine, right? 25:47 Now is fermented wine new wine or old wine? Old wine. 25:50 This isn't too fast for you, right? New wine is unfermented 25:54 grape juice. What kind of wine does Jesus compare the gospel 25:57 to? He says I've come to give you good news and you put the 26:02 new wine in new wine skins. So God's message is new wine in new 26:08 wine skins, right? What did these Gibeonites have? Old wine 26:12 skins. They represent the lost. But they know they are lost. 26:16 They're doctrines are patched. You know one of the things I 26:20 found so frustrating before I discovered the truth of the 26:25 remnant church is how vacillating and changeable the 26:30 doctrines are in many churches. I'm telling you the truth, 26:32 friends. You've got to believe me. I've gone to many different 26:35 churches, many different denominational backgrounds and 26:37 sometimes their theology would radically change from one pastor 26:41 to the next in the same church. Just whatever that particular 26:44 pastor happened to believe could have been totally different. 26:47 They just put patches on the other doctrines and it was all 26:52 patched and leaking and intoxicating. That's the kind of 26:55 wineskins that the world has. They have maybe elements of 27:00 truth but it's made the world drunk on the wine of Babylon. 27:05 Old wine skins. By the way, that's Revelation chapter 17 27:10 verse 2 and Matthew chapter 9 where Jesus said new wine is put 27:14 in new wineskins. What do they have on their feet? Sandals. 27:21 What kind of sandals? New, Echo sandals, Rockport Sandals. What 27:28 does it say? Old, patched and in the original it says clouded. 27:34 What that means is that sometimes the sandals would come 27:37 apart and they'd tie them off with strips of cloth. I found 27:40 this picture on line. First of all there are some ancient 27:42 sandals made of rope there. That's probably different from 27:45 what they wore in Palestine but it would give you a picture and 27:48 I've seen stuff like this in Africa before. Someone very 27:50 clever, they're very poor. They took some of the discarded 27:53 bottles used by the tourists and they made a pair of sandals out 27:56 of the drinking water liter bottles. Isn't that interesting? 27:59 You'd be amazed at how resourceful the poor can be 28:03 there. But what does sit tell you about the men wearing those 28:07 sandals? Poor. What else? Do you think he could run in those? 28:11 Do you think his walk might have been halting and inhibited a 28:16 little bit when you're walking on liters of plastic? When I 28:21 lived in the hills remember one time, I don't know why, on long 28:25 trips I used to hike but one day I went off with a friend. I also 28:28 had some sandals I'd wear around the cave and I wore my sandals. 28:32 And we took off and I said oh well they'll work. But you don't 28:35 want to go out and do rock climbing with regular walking 28:37 sandals on because it's too much strain for them. They shift too 28:41 much on your feet. And while I was miles from home, the cave, 28:46 one of them broke. I don't know, I don't remember what I did, I 28:50 did something to temporarily rig it and the problem was I 28:54 couldn't walk normally. I had a halting, kind of a crippling 28:58 walk. I had to walk very tenderly or it would break again 29:02 So when people have got these old patched sandals what does it 29:07 do to their walk. It cripples it it inhibits it. You can't run if 29:10 you get along at all. What does a walk represent in the Bible? 29:15 A walk represents the life you live and if you're walking in 29:19 old patched sandals what kind of life are you living? 29:21 What kind of walk do you have? It's a crippled, halting walk. 29:25 You remember what Elijah said to the people of Israel? How long 29:29 will you halt between, it means how long will you hobble, 29:32 between two opinions? The people were crippled because they 29:35 they couldn't make up their mind whether to serve Jehovah or 29:38 whether to serve Baal. Their walk was inhibited. When Jesus 29:41 washed the feet of the disciples what's the significance of that? 29:45 Cleansing the walk. How beautiful upon the mountain are 29:51 the feet of those that bear good news, Isaiah tells us. Those who 29:54 have the gospel they will run and not be weary. They've got to 29:57 walk and not only are they going to walk they've got running 29:59 shoes. See so the walk represents your walk with the 30:04 Lord, your path through life. It was crippled, old patched 30:08 sandals. You know I love the story in the Bible. Contrasted 30:11 with the Gibeonites who got these old sandals wrapped up 30:16 with rags. By the way rags. All of our righteousness is like 30:21 filthy rags. It's all pictures of the wretchedness of the lost. 30:26 Contrasted with that the children of Israel with the 30:30 blessing of God when they went through the wilderness do you 30:34 remember what it says there. Moses: Deuteronomy 29 verse 5 30:37 and 6: I have led you 40 years in the wilderness and your 30:42 sandals have not worn out on your feet. The Gibeonites, these 30:46 ambassadors, ostensibly had just come from a far country and 30:50 their sandals are all patched and worn out. The children of 30:53 Israel said well we've been using these for 40 years and 30:57 they're still good. What's that telling us. When you're walking 31:01 with God you walk differently don't you? What's your walk 31:06 like? How does the world see you walk? Are you wearing old 31:10 rotted rags on your feet or have you got the gospel shoes? 31:15 That's what this is about friends. You remember when John 31:20 the Baptist was talking about... I don't want to belabor my shoe 31:23 aspect of the sermon, but it's got a lot of theology here. When 31:27 John the Baptist talked about Jesus coming, he said that he 31:30 who is coming after me is mightier than I whose sandals 31:33 I'm not even worthy to carry. What do sandals represent? The 31:37 walk. Who had a perfect walk? Jesus. John said I am not even 31:42 to bear his sandals. Blessed is the man who walks not in the 31:47 counsel of the ungodly. These Gibeonites have got rotten 31:53 raggy sandals like all the lost, Amen? Oh one more thought. 31:59 When the prodigal son came home, came limping home from his job 32:04 at the pig pen one of the things the father said was put sandals 32:09 on his feet. He was either bare foot or he had some bad shoes 32:15 or the father never would have said that. Is that right? 32:17 So when we come to the Lord do we get new shoes. How were the 32:21 children of Israel supposed to eat the Passover. Specifically 32:26 with their staff in their hand and their gospel shoes on their 32:30 feet. When you accept the blood of Christ you get new shoes, 32:34 amen, because you're supposed to have a new walk. Are Christians 32:38 just forgiven or do we walk differently? There's supposed 32:42 to be a difference. But these Gibeonites are pleading their 32:46 old sandals. The other thing we find is the old garments. 32:52 We come to Jesus in our rags. They've got old garments. What 32:55 does clothing represent? You know this, we've talked about 33:00 it so many times. Clothing represents character. Filthy 33:05 rags represent unrighteous character. Isaiah 64: We are all 33:10 like an unclean thing. This was part of our memory verse. And 33:15 all of our righteousness is like what? Filthy rags. You remember 33:20 in the story in Zechariah chapter 3 when Joshua the high 33:26 priest stood before the Lord and he had filthy garments on and 33:30 he's bearing the sins of the people and his garments are 33:34 filthy for their sake and devil, the adversary, is there pointing 33:38 at his dirty garments and the Lord says give him new garments. 33:43 Give him a new suit. You know I also like the story in Mark 33:49 chapter 10 verse 50 when blind Bartemeus calls out Son of David 33:53 have mercy on me, wants his eyes to be opened. Jesus calls him 33:58 and as that poor blind beggar came to Jesus he was the epitome 34:03 of someone who is poor, wretched, miserable, blind and 34:06 naked. He threw aside his rags when he came to Jesus. It says 34:11 throwing aside his garment he came to Christ. So how do we 34:15 come. We've got our filthy rags. We come just like we are and 34:19 asking for his robe. We throw aside ours. When the prodigal 34:23 son came home what did he get? New robe. So everything we're 34:28 reading about these Gibeonites is picturing for us their old 34:33 wretched condition. What do they have in their provisions. Well 34:37 they've got holey bags and that which has not fallen out of the 34:42 bags is moldy, dry bread. Now here's a pretty picture for you. 34:48 I remember one time leaving my lunch in my lunch box untouched 34:54 over the weekend because something else had come up at 34:56 school and then Monday opening my lunch box. Any of you ever 34:59 have that experience? And there is something wretched happening 35:04 in there. Would you eat that. I've got news for you. That's 35:09 what most of the world is eating Not only is it moldy bread, it's 35:14 dry bread. No moisture, no life in it. I love history and I 35:19 remember reading some of these stories, many accounts, of these 35:23 sailors that would go on these voyages and when they left they 35:27 had good fresh provisions. But sometimes back when they used 35:30 sailboats it took months to get across an ocean, especially if 35:34 they got caught in a dead calm and they'd pull their food out 35:37 of these barrels and sometimes by the time they got halfway 35:40 through a barrel... Have you ever heard the expression the 35:43 bottom of the barrel? When they started getting down there not 35:48 only was the bread moldy, it was dry. They called it hard tack. 35:51 But they were starving and when you're starving you will even 35:55 eat... I won't ask for a show of hands, but how many of you 35:59 before were hungry and you get to the end of the loaf and you 36:02 notice that there's a little bit of mold around the edges. And 36:05 you look both ways and you just tear off the mold. When you're 36:08 hungry you still eat it. I see you nodding. I'll take that as a 36:11 yes. Some of you who have really lived through dire straights 36:15 when you're hungry enough you'll even eat moldy bread. It won't 36:18 kill you but it tastes awful. And if you eat moldy rye bread 36:24 it's got something in it called ergot that has a chemical called 36:29 LSD and you can hallucinate. It's true. Won't tell you how I 36:35 know that. But here all they've got is this moldy bread. That's 36:42 a symbol for what the world is feeding on. Isaiah said why do 36:47 you spend your money for that which is not bread and your 36:52 wages for that which does not satisfy. Not only was this bread 36:57 old and moldy, it probably was crawling with vermin. During 37:02 World War II a lot of prisoners of war were given bread that was 37:07 crawling with maggots and worms. We've had the experience before, 37:12 not frequently, where in our pantry we saw things hatching. 37:16 We had neglected some flour or something like that and 37:20 something got in and laid some bugs. I remember listening to a 37:24 friend of mine who was in prisoner of war camp during 37:26 World War II and he says when you first get there you won't 37:29 eat it because you're just absolutely revolted that there 37:33 are bugs in the bread. He said, by the time you've been there 37:37 for a few months you're actually eating everything. You go out of 37:42 you way to eat the bugs for the protein. That's the food of the 37:47 world. You know what most of the world feeds on? Did you 37:53 every read the headlines in the supermarket? I don't just mean 37:57 the tabloids, any of the magazines. It is vanity. 38:01 The programs people watch on television, vanity of vanities. 38:07 The fodder of the world is dry, moldy, vermin infested bread. 38:12 This is what people are feeding on. It's why they are sick from 38:17 their head to their foot. This is the food of the world. When 38:21 the children of Israel went through the wilderness, God gave 38:25 them fresh bread every day. This is what he wants for you and me. 38:31 Except on Friday he gave them twice as much because that was 38:35 to sustain them through the Sabbath. Matter of fact if they 38:39 went out Sabbath morning or if they tried to store up extra 38:42 or if they tried to store it up another day, they didn't find 38:45 any Sabbath morning. If they tried to store up extra bread on 38:47 any of the other days more than what they needed for their fresh 38:50 daily allowance what would happen to it the next morning? 38:53 It bred worms and it stunk. What kind of bread does the Lord want 38:59 us to eat? How many of you like hot, fresh bread right out... 39:04 You know when I lived up in the mountains, this is a very real 39:10 point for me, a lot of my food came from the dumpster behind 39:14 the bakery because there was this bakery in Palm Springs and 39:19 their big brand motif was fresh every day. And what they could 39:23 not give away at the end of the day they then threw out and it 39:28 was day old bread and I've gone into the dumpster many times and 39:32 gotten the old bread. That's how a lot of the world eats. Well 39:36 these Gibeonites came and they said, Look let's show you how 39:40 far our journey is. It's taken months to get here because our 39:44 bread was hot out of the ovens when we left. Look at it now. 39:47 It doesn't specifically mention it but if they went to all of 39:51 this trouble to make their shoes and their clothes and their bags 39:54 and their bread all look moldy and old, what do you think the 39:58 donkeys looked like. They had come from a farrr country and 40:03 traveling through those desert regions evidently they were 40:07 probably a little gaunt. I couldn't find a picture of 40:09 an old donkey but I thought that one would do. What does an 40:14 animal represent. It represents strength. You remember the good 40:18 Samaritan took the man that was injured and put him on his own 40:22 beast because he couldn't carry him himself. 40:24 So their weak. We've come from a far country. What does far 40:31 country represent? Luke chapter 15 verse 13. And after many days 40:38 the younger son gathered all together and he journeyed away 40:42 from his father into a far country and there he wasted his 40:46 possessions with prodigal living Our sins have separated us from 40:50 God. There is a great distance between us and heaven. We in 40:55 this world are in a far country. Are you beginning to get the 41:00 picture? Everything about this story is telling us that they 41:05 were separated from God. It's a picture of the lost. Now why is 41:11 this important to us. I'll let you read it right out of the 41:18 Bible. Go with me back to chapter 9 of Joshua and it says 41:24 in verse 13, chapter 9, these wine skins which we filled were 41:28 new. See they are torn and these our garments and our sandals 41:32 have become old because of the very long journey. Then the men 41:36 of Israel took some of their provisions, that doesn't mean 41:39 they ate it, you wouldn't want to eat any of that or drink any 41:42 of that. It means they took it and examined it. They looked at 41:46 their stuff. But they did not ask counsel of the Lord. They 41:49 trusted the evidence of their eyes rather than inquiring of 41:55 the Lord. So Joshua made peace with them and made a covenant 42:03 with them to let them live. Ooo! This is so potent friends. 42:10 I love this story. Are you getting this. What are they 42:13 doing? They're coming to Joshua and they're pleading their 42:18 unworthiness. They're pleading their poverty. What is it that 42:22 gives us the right to come to Jesus expecting mercy. It is our 42:27 goodness. It's our badness. Have you ever thought about it? Who 42:31 in the Bible of the disciples of Christ does the Lord honor the 42:35 most by revealing his resurrection to? Who was the 42:37 first at the scene of the resurrection? Mary Magdalene. 42:40 Was she the holiest among them or did she have the worst 42:44 reputation? And Peter. Lord depart from me, I am a sinful 42:48 man. Was that true? Yes. You notice that through the Bible 42:53 God often chooses the least, those who are the farthest to 42:56 magnify himself. Some of us have stayed away from God 43:00 because we think I'm not good enough. Well that might be the 43:03 very thing that qualifies you. Are you listening to me friends? 43:06 This is good news. First of all for some of you who think well 43:10 you know I'm not as bad as some people out there so maybe I'm 43:13 not qualified. You're bad. You're worse than you think, 43:15 that's all. It's like that story when Jesus is at the feast in 43:21 Simon's house and Mary is washing and kissing his feet. 43:25 And wiping his feet with her hair. And Jesus says to Simon 43:30 the host, he said Simon I've got something to say to you. 43:35 He says, say on Master. He said a certain man had two people 43:42 that owed him money. One owed 50 and one owed 500 pence. And 43:46 he freely forgave them both. They could not pay. Which of 43:50 them do you think will love him more? Simon said, the one who 43:54 was forgiven the most. And he said this woman has come to my 43:57 house. She's been kissing my feet. You didn't greet me with a 44:00 kiss. She's been washing my feet with her tears. You did not wash 44:03 my feet. Her sins, which are many, are forgiven for she loved 44:06 much. For to whom much is forgiven the same loves much. 44:09 You got that? Now the Lord is not saying you've got to go out 44:13 there and be a big sinner in order to appreciate salvation. 44:17 He's saying you need to realize what a big sinner you already 44:22 are. Because no matter how miniscule you may think your 44:24 sins are, your sins were big enough to put Jesus on the cross 44:27 We're all big sinners. And realizing our wretchedness 44:32 is what qualifies us. You remember the story: Two men went 44:36 into the temple to pray. One is a Pharisee, one is a publican. 44:40 Pharisees were known for being fastidious and righteous in all 44:45 the little minute details. And the Pharisee stands and he prays 44:49 thus with himself. Lord I thank you that I'm not like other men. 44:53 I pay tithe of all that I have, I fast twice a week. 44:56 Thank goodness I'm not like this publican, this tax collector 45:00 back here. The publicans on the other hand were known for their 45:03 riotous living. They did not observe the law, they hung out 45:07 with the prostitutes, they were the tax collectors and back then 45:10 that was a little different than they are today. They sort of 45:14 were the extortionists. They were the Mafia. You got that? 45:17 And Jesus said now the publican is in the back. He will not so 45:21 much as lift up his head but he bows his head and he smites 45:24 beats his breast and he says Lord have mercy on me a sinner. 45:28 Now catch what Jesus says. Who would you think, especially if 45:31 you were a Jew back then, who would deserve forgiveness more? 45:34 The Pharisee who is very observant and obedient or the 45:39 publican who recognizes his wretchedness. Jesus said it's 45:44 the publican who confessed. He brought to Joshua his 45:49 wretchedness. He confessed it. He was forgiven instead of the 45:51 one who was pleading his righteousness. The Lord is not 45:55 condoning sin. He's not saying that you should go out there 45:58 and sin and say well that's who Jesus is going to save. He is 46:02 saying you must recognize and confess and present your sin and 46:06 then he can cleanse you. The publican went home justified. 46:12 The Gibeonites presented their torn clothes, their rags, their 46:17 broken sandals, their holey bags their ripped wine skins, their 46:22 skinny donkeys. They presented their unworthiness and that's 46:28 what commended them to Joshua. I guess I'm not getting through. 46:33 Whenever I read this story I just want to shout Hallelujah! 46:36 I think this is such good news that that means that nobody here 46:40 is going to be disqualified because you're too bad. 46:43 There may be some here that are disqualified because you think 46:47 you're too good. Jesus never turned anyone away because they 46:50 were too bad but many people in his time were rejected because 46:55 they thought they were too good. Maybe some of you think you're 47:00 too good. That's why you look depressed. Well we'll have a 47:04 visit later and I can tell you what's wrong with you if you 47:10 don't know. It's probably the same sin that is customary of 47:16 all men. So what did Joshua do? It says he made a covenant with 47:21 them. What does that mean? Well in the original language here it 47:27 means they offered sacrifice and they ate a feast. They would 47:31 offer sacrifice and some of that sacrifice was also incorporated 47:35 into the feast just like the Passover is a sacrifice and a 47:39 feast. So they probably sacrificed a lamb, they ate a 47:43 feast to seal the promise that we will not make war with you 47:46 but we will enter into trade with you that we will be at 47:50 peace between our nations. Now I always think it's very 47:54 interesting that they go through all of this to talk about this 47:56 far country, this nation they've come from. They were ambassadors 47:59 You notice something that's obviously missing? What's the 48:02 name of the country. What's the name, where are you from. Name. 48:07 The name is left blank. Did you catch that. What did I say? 48:12 What's it called? There must be a name. Is it north, south, east 48:15 or west? They didn't even tell them what direction they came 48:18 from. We've come from a far country. Where is it? Ah it's a 48:21 long way. What's the name of it? You've never heard. Just trust 48:25 us. You can't pronounce it so why bother. It's a blank. 48:30 You know why it's a blank? Because you get to fill in the 48:35 blank with your name. This story is talking about the country you 48:40 and I come from. It's talking about our background, our 48:44 experience. I don't know what it is, but whatever it is you get 48:47 to fill in the blank. We are all separated from the Promised Land 48:51 We are all doomed because Joshua is coming and unless we make a 48:55 covenant with him we're in big trouble. Now I'm running out of 49:00 time. I've got more story left. There will be one more 49:04 installment in Joshua, God willing. So they made a 49:08 covenant. The whole congregation swore to them a vow. Has the 49:12 Lord given us his word? Does he make promises to us? Has he made 49:16 a covenant with us, our Joshua, our Jesus? Then it happened at 49:19 the end of three days... When did Jesus eat the last supper? 49:24 Three days later they suddenly realize who he was. At the end 49:28 if three days after they made the covenant with them, they 49:31 realized they were their neighbors and they dwelt right 49:35 next door. I don't know how they found out. We can only speculate 49:38 but maybe they saw one of the fellows who had made the 49:44 covenant, one of these supposed ambassadors, they were watching 49:48 him and he snuck in the walls of Gibeon and they realized that he 49:52 was a Gibeonite. Maybe they saw him a little later with new 49:56 shoes on that they had given them. Don't you think that the 49:59 Israelites since they made this covenant, don't you think they 50:01 gave them some new shoes and some new clothes. I mean, they 50:04 came all this way. And when we come to our Joshua does he give 50:06 us some new provisions. We get a new robe just like that 50:10 prodigal son. I think they're sporting these new Israeli 50:14 clothes. That's because you've become part of the church, you 50:17 get a new robe. And maybe they saw them going in and out of 50:20 Gibeon. And they said, hey that's my clothes I gave that 50:22 guy. They live right near us. They say, Oh we're going to get 50:26 even with them. And you know what Joshua said? Can't do it. 50:30 But God said we're supposed to destroy all the inhabitants. 50:34 Can't do it. Why? We have given our word. We have made a promise 50:40 we've made a covenant with them. We're at peace with them. And 50:45 when I go on to the next story you're going to find out Joshua 50:50 not only allowed them to live he ends up protecting them. So what 50:55 did they do? They said we've got to do something. In verse 21, it 51:00 says the rulers said, Let them live... Oh friends underline 51:04 that in your Bible. Let them live. The gospel is about 51:09 eternal life, amen? Whoo! Do we make this covenant with Jesus 51:15 that we might live. This is a life and death thing they did, 51:20 isn't it. But let them be wood cutters and water carriers for 51:24 the congregation. And it's not just for the congregation. It's 51:28 talking about something specific You go down to verse 23. It says 51:33 you will not be freed from being slaves, wood cutters and water 51:37 carriers for the house of my God Joshua said, Look we're going to 51:42 let you live. We're going to keep our word, but there's a 51:46 condition. We promised to let you live but it's on the 51:50 condition that you agree to be our servants. You are to be wood 51:55 cutters and water carriers for the house of God. What does that 51:59 mean? First of all the house of God is the church. Isn't that 52:04 right? What, don't you know that ye are the temple of God? What 52:08 did they cut wood for? To keep the fire burning on the altar. 52:13 They were to keep that fire burning all the time. That's 52:16 representing the intercession of Christ. What did they draw water 52:20 for? The two main things you saw in the first apartment of the 52:24 sanctuary that needed a constant fresh supply were the altar that 52:28 was always burning and the water was kept flowing in the 52:32 laver. That represents the sacrifice of Christ and baptism. 52:37 The water and the fire, they're the essence of the gospel. Think 52:42 about this. Jesus said unless you are born of the water and 52:46 the Spirit, baptized in fire at Pentecost, right. Water and fire 52:51 you cannot enter the kingdom of heaven. I like the truth that 52:57 back in the days of Noah the world was washed in water. Jesus 53:01 is coming again. The world will be washed in fire and then he 53:05 makes a new heaven and a new earth. Elijah prayed for rain 53:09 but he prays that fire comes down first like in altar; first 53:13 thing fire. He prays fire comes down and then he prays water 53:17 comes down, right? Fire and rain. That's talking about the 53:21 ministry of the Christian. We are to keep the gospel going. 53:25 The children of Israel crossed the Red Sea. They went through 53:28 the water and God had anointed them with a pillar of fire. The 53:32 water and the fire it's talking about that we must be doing the 53:35 work of Christ. We are to be servants in the house of God. 53:39 Now there's a condition. How many of you want to make a 53:43 covenant with Joshua? How many of you know that you are poor 53:47 and wretched and miserable and blind and naked. We, like those 53:51 Gibeonites, are doomed and we can present our wretchedness. 53:55 We can plead our poverty and will the Lord reject us? No. 53:59 He'll accept us, he'll embrace us. A poor leper came to Jesus 54:02 one day full of leprosy. He said Lord if you will you can make me 54:07 clean. He was poor and wretched, just a mess. Jesus said, I am 54:10 willing and he touched him and cleansed him. We're all like 54:13 leper. We come with our poverty. The Lord accepts us and then he 54:17 cleanses us and then he puts us to work. You cannot be stagnant 54:21 or you will lose it. If you want to keep the covenant you've got 54:24 to be willing to be a servant in the house of God. Oh friends, 54:27 this is such a wonderful truth. I think I've got some other 54:32 verses for you here. Listen to this. Psalm 84 verse 10: For a 54:36 day in your courts is better than a thousand. I'd rather be 54:40 a doorkeeper in the house of my God than to dwell in the tents 54:44 of wickedness. What are the redeemed going to do in heaven? 54:49 Revelation 7 verse 15: Wherefore they are before the throne of 54:56 God and serve him night and day in his temple. Even in heaven 55:00 you're going to be a servant in the house of God there. So if 55:05 we're going to be serving before the Lord in heaven then we 55:09 shouldn't chafe if he wants us to serve him here. You want to 55:13 live? Yes I want to live. Plead your poverty, make a covenant 55:17 with Joshua, accept that sacrifice. The new clothes that 55:22 the church gives you, the new robe, the new shoes, and then 55:26 be willing to be a servant. How did Paul identify himself when 55:31 he wrote his letters? Paul, a slave of Jesus Christ. Is it bad 55:35 to serve Jesus? You know I've got to give you a little more 55:39 history. This covenant that they made with the Gibeonites, it 55:42 lasted all the way into the New Testament. Matter of fact, even 55:46 after the Babylonian captivity, the Gibeonites were a nation 55:49 that just became a nation. It was a caste within Israel of 55:53 servants for the temple. They were a special group and their 55:57 purpose of existing was to serve in the temple. You can read here 56:01 in Nehemiah 3:7 talking about those who built the wall: Next 56:05 to them Melatiah the Gibeonite, Jadon the Meronoth, the men of 56:09 Gibeon. Here they are after the Babylonian captivity. The people 56:13 of Gibeon are still there. They are building up the city of 56:17 Jerusalem. By the way, Gibeon was just about eight miles south 56:21 west of Jerusalem. That's where this city was. This is a 56:26 wonderful story of salvation, friends. Joshua wants to make a 56:29 covenant with us. Are you afraid that you're not good enough. 56:33 Don't be afraid of that. All you've got to be afraid of is 56:36 that you think you're too good. If you're aware of your sin, you 56:40 can come just like you are. Father in heaven, Lord, our 56:46 hearts are thrilled as we see the beautiful message of the 56:51 gospel woven into this story of Joshua. How we like those 56:56 Gibeonites can think ahead and come into your presence pleading 57:01 our poverty, recognizing that we're doomed unless we make that 57:06 covenant of peace. Lord I am so thankful that Jesus is willing 57:12 to forgive us, that he's willing to accept his blood sacrifice 57:17 that we might have that covenant of salvation. Lord, it give us 57:21 great joy to know that and we are willing to be servants in 57:26 your house. If it means that we must keep the fire going and the 57:29 water flowing that people might find cleansing, what a privilege 57:34 Lord to serve in your temple. Bless each person here. Save us 57:37 Lord. Help us to have those new sandals that we might walk a new 57:41 walk and that new robe of righteousness that we might 57:45 reflect your kingdom and be ambassadors of your people. 57:48 Be with each person in their lives and family and in a 57:51 special way those who've responded this morning to the 57:54 gospel invitation. I pray that they can become rooted and 57:58 grounded in the truth. We ask in Christ's name. Amen. |
Revised 2014-12-17