I Spy     01/13/19

Gamble Rogers Memorial State Recreation Area, Flagler Beach, Florida

But we said to him, ‘We are honest men; we are not spies.  ~Genesis 42:31

We just couldn’t help ourselves.  We spied on our neighbors this morning.  Before church.  Of course, we made sure we watched from behind our blacked-out windows.  We wouldn’t want him to know we were spying!

We watched as the husband/father next door pulled things out of their basement.  (A really messy, cluttered basement, I might add.)  Then we watched as he brought out a full garbage bag from inside their coach and put shoes in it.  Then he took some of the shoes out, looked around, put some on the ground and then put some back in the bag.  He carried some over to the rear tire of their Jeep.  They have a lot of shoes.  But then again, there are four of them.

But then he got out more shoes and lined them all up in pairs.

What in the world he was doing, we have no idea.

Because then, we got tired of watching him and left.  I guess we’re not really good spy material.  We get bored too easily.  😊

 

We were finally able to engage in corporate worship!  I took a handful of Ricolas to keep me from coughing (I sucked down two), and I refrained from actually singing out loud (in an attempt to discourage additional irritation), but other than that, it was wonderful to be back in God’s house with God’s people once again!

We visited the First Baptist Church of Flagler Beach this morning.  Very friendly, very kind people in this congregation.  The message was entitled “The Thrill of Victory”.  Guess what next week’s is?  You got it!  “The Agony of Defeat”.

So the message was based on Joshua 6:6-20, when the walls of Jericho fell after the Israelites walked around outside them and shouted and blew trumpets.  Remember that Old Testament history?

Blaine and I have been in church since before we were born.  It never ceases to amaze us how the same verses in Scripture take on new meaning and messages over and over.  That’s why the Bible says, the Word of God is living and active . . . Hebrews 4:12.  Because it’s living and active, it’s not dead.  That means every time you read it you glean something new from it.  I once gave a Bible to a friend who wasn’t a Christian yet.  She told me she’d return it when she was done reading it.  I told her she’d never be done, and smiled as I walked away, because I knew the truth of those words.  It doesn’t matter how many times you read scripture, there’s always something new!

But I digress.

Let’s get back to how Joshua fit the battle of Jericho.

This was the first battle by Israelites inside the Promised Land.  They’ve just completed their desert wanderings and learning to trust in God.  (They were a bit hard-hearted, so it took a while.  Not unlike us!)  They’re now just beginning their journey of faith, with the next generation because all but two of the first generation have died – including Moses and his brother Aaron.

When we hear/think about the battle of Jericho, we think fighting.  After all, it’s called a battle, right?  But there was no fighting.  As the Pastor pointed out, when an enemy approached a city in order to capture it, they didn’t attack, wielding their swords or stones or arrows or whatever.  And they couldn’t storm the walls because then they’d get shot from above or have molten (something) poured on them. So they laid siege to the city.  That meant waiting them out.  No supplies in or out of the city, so the people starved or died of thirst unless they surrendered.  This took many weeks or months.

In this case, God doesn’t want the Israelites to wait.  He wants it done quickly.  Oh!  And lest we forget, this is also the city Moses had sent the 12 spies to and the prostitute, Rahab helped them out.  So the Israelites help her and her family out by protecting them.  And Rahab just happens to end up becoming the great-great-grandmother of King David!  This is just another example of how God works through time and history to bring about His Plan!

And I digress once again.  I can’t help it!  There’s sooooo much good stuff here!  I honestly don’t know how Pastor’s stay on track when they teach.

The Israelites are not soldiers.  They haven’t fought for centuries.  And they’re not fighting now.

There’s all kinds of speculation about how many people actually made up the Israelite community.  They weren’t counted when they entered the Promised Land.  There were 600,000 men (only men were counted) who left Egyptian captivity with Moses.  All but two of them ended up dying during the forty years of desert wandering, but they had children who went in with the new God-appointed leader, Joshua.  Other than that, no one knows.  But suffice it to say, there were probably a lot of them!

So now, all these people are approaching the city of Jericho.  Do you suppose these Canaanites were scared of the Israelites?  I would think terrified!

So, the Israelites were given two tasks in this battle.  Be quiet.  And walk.  Don’t talk.  Just walk.  That’s lesson number one for us too.  When you’re relying on God, don’t talk, just walk.  We have to learn to be quiet because when you’re quiet, that’s when you can feel the power and presence of God.  When the Israelites were quiet and walking, they had plenty of time to contemplate those stone walls around Jericho.  Remember, they didn’t know how they would take the city, just that God said they would.  We also look at our “walls” and wonder “How, God?” And God says, “I will”.

Every day for six days the entire Israelite nation walked silently around the walls of Jericho.  The only sound was the trumpets blown by the seven priests who walked in front of the Ark of the Covenant, which was carried by four priests.  The trumpets announced that God was coming.  The Ark, that He was there.  The people following, that these are God’s people and they are not afraid because God is with them.

But even though the Israelites wholly believed God was going to give them victory, the Israelites still had to act.  God calls us to an active faith.  You need a job?  You trust God for that job?  You don’t wait around for the phone to ring.  You put yourself out there and ask God to let you know which one He wants you to have.  (Although, I must confess.  Once, my phone did ring with a job offer I wasn’t expecting, and I took the job. 😊 But I had been actively seeking and praying, not just sitting around waiting.)  What good is it, my brothers if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds?  ….faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.  ~ James 2:14, 17

So for six days the people waited obediently, unsure of how or when God was going to bring this victory about, but trusting without question that He would.

And then, on the seventh day, Joshua told them they would be marching around the city seven times, and on the seventh time, when he gave the command, all the people were to shout and the walls would fall and they would take the city and everything in it was to be killed or devoted to the Lord.  They were not to keep any of the plunder for themselves.  (Wanna guess what next week’s lesson’s going to be on?  You got it.  Someone didn’t listen.  Someone didn’t trust God’s provision for them.  Yikes! You can continue the story by reading Joshua 6:20-7:26)

So the next lesson here?  When the time is right, we are to shout!  We’re not to be embarrassed by our faith.  We are to be bold.  Do you ever forgo giving thanks in a public restaurant because of what people might think?  Do you ever keep your (God’s) opinions to yourself about an issue because of what people might think?  Do you avoid talking about or even mentioning your faith to others because of what they might think?  Do you do it because you’re afraid for them to know?  Because you’re afraid of being teased or even out-right persecuted?  Skipped over for a promotion, etc.?  Jesus has some pretty strong words for that – Whoever is ashamed of Me and My words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of them when He comes in His glory and in the glory of the Father and of the holy angels.  ~ Luke 9:26  And Paul addresses us about this as well.  Several times.  Here’s three:  For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes:  first to the Jew, then to the Gentile.  ~ Romans 1:16,  Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the Word of Truth.  ~ II Timothy 2:15, and later in his ministry, after suffering persecution for his faith numerous times,  I eagerly expect and hope that I will in no way be ashamed, but will have sufficient courage so that now as always Christ will be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death.  ~ Philippians 1:20

I confess my weakness in this area.  Even after all these years.  Even though I live in a land where persecution is practically nothing compared to other nations.  Even though I love my Lord with all my heart.  Even though I tell myself that I would die before denouncing Him.  I still often consider what people (strangers) might think.  And I shouldn’t.

Finally, In your hearts set apart Christ as Lord.  Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have.  But do this with gentleness and respect.  ~ I Peter 3:15

Today’s quest took us on a ½ hour drive to check out another trail in the area.  The Intracoastal Waterway Trail is five miles round trip.  You could walk or ride, but today, we walked.  Our bums needed the rest.  😊

It’s a good thing we chose to walk though, because there were a lot of people on this trail – both walking and biking!  Plus it was a gorgeous day!  With gorgeous views!  They advertise dolphins, manatees and gopher tortoises, but we didn’t see any.  ☹  Of course, we weren’t really too surprised, there were a lot of boats zooming up and down the river!

 

 

We’ve sort of fallen in love with this area of the country.  Flagler County has a lot to offer us.  And on our walk, we passed several condominium communities.

 

Could it be our final resting place?  (not final final!)  Who knows.  God willing, we still have quite a few years to decide on that.  😊