Old Jerry

In the Battle of the Five Kings, God fought the whole battle but Joshua was there to assist Him. God fulfilled his promise to Joshua that “no one will be able to stand up against you all the days of your life” be being there for him and by making it possible for Joshua to get control of the situation. But Joshua had to consult God before he did anything major like going to battle. God does expect us to be prepared to fight in the battle with our enemy the devil by staying to Him. We are to study the bible and to pray to Him every day so we know what He wants us to do.

When Joshua failed to consult God before making decisions hurt Israel because they lost one of the battles that they needed to win. Another time they made a treaty with an enemy that God wanted to wipe out and they paid for that. Jesus model of close communication with God before making major decisions by getting up early and going by himself to pray to God. I have a problem in hearing God’s voice to get confirmation from Him for a course of action. But as a rule after I have prayed for something I then try to follow my instincts. I make sure that I am following Jesus direction by reading the Bible daily and taking Bible studies like this one.

The meaning of “take the Lord’s name in vain” is that we use it as an ordinary word and we don’t give it any thought to when we use it. We are tempted to do that when we want are word to mean something. We will swear to God that we aren’t lying and that we are telling the truth. We tend to take our promises so lightly because we live in a world that if it isn’t in writing then it doesn’t mean anything. If people know that we are Christian and if we use these words then we are no different than the rest of the world.

I can see how the rich can suffer from greed because they want more and more and don’t want to give any of it away. The poor could suffer from greed by not sharing what they have with others. Our greed does affect our giving to the church because we might be giving for the wrong reasons. So we think that we need to hang on to all that we have and not give any to God’s church. We Americans are captive of greed. We have the most of all the nations but yet we don’t think that we have enough. I know one way that we can repent and free ourselves from greed and that is to either give it to the church or to some other organization that will help the poor.

The sin of one person can affect a country by letting our secrets that should not be told. In a congregation more than likely more people know about the sin and they are thinking that nothing has happened to them so maybe they could get away with it. I think that my congregation does deal with sin that affects the whole body.

We can take sin seriously without developing a judgmental, legalistic spirit by talking to the person that is sinning. We should deal with it the way that Paul says we should. The importance of confessing sins on behalf of the congregation, a denomination, or a nation is that it shows that we recognize that we did sin and are asking forgiveness for it.

He ordered it because of their sins and because He didn’t want His people to be able to follow them into sin. I am “devoted to the Lord” in the way I live and the Bible that I study and by taking Bible study courses. Metaphorically this relates to us by trying to remove all sins from our lives and fighting the good fight.

I think the meaning of the seven days of marching with the ark is that the King is coming and that they need to watch out. Seven means complete so it might have meant that the fall of the wall would be complete. I don’t know the method that God used to make the walls fall down all I know is that God made it happen.

The significance of the Commander of God’s Armies being with me is that I can do anything that God calls me to do. God does fight my battles for me but I must stay involved. I must follow Him and obey Him.

Joshua wanted to know if the Unknown Warrior was with him or against him. This Unknown Warrior was probably God. This warrior was on God’s side. I am God’s side. An encounter with Him requires us to humble ourselves because He is the King of king and the Lord of lords. The reason it is so hard to submit ourselves to God is because of our pride and we want to be in control.

The manna ceased at this time because God had led them to the land with milk and honey. They were expected to eat off the land. The manna was given at a time when it was needed. I feel that in my stage life I am planting seeds for the future crop.

Joshua had the men from each tribe stack river boulders for a monument so that they would remember that they had crossed the river on dry ground. The river was flooded yet God still provided for them. The effect of this on future generations was to remember that God is always with them even when this look impossible He is still there. The value of faith monuments today should be the same. They make us recall what has happen when thing got really rough. I don’t think that my church has any monuments except the Cross of Jesus. We know that He died for us on the cross.

Joshua was able to announce the miracle of Jordan stopping it flow ahead of the event because God had told him that it was going to happen. It took faith to step out and do what God told him what to do. He didn’t just sit there waiting for God to do the miracle first but stepped out on faith. This act increased his credibility as a leader.

They needed to consecrate themselves because they were about to go to battle. They needed God to help them in battle so they were just getting closer to God. It probably entailed taking a bath and putting on clean clothes and praying to God. I need to reconsecrate myself because of the things that I had done during the day. My reconsecrating myself entails me to ask God for forgiveness and to continue studying the bible.

They have to get into the right mood in order to get things back on track. They had probably gotten to comfortable and laid back. My ways have settled into a routine but I don’t think that is keeping me from following God’s lead. I adjust as needed. I have been doing these Bible studies to make myself ready.

God did not honor Rahab for lying to the king’s men but her lying was justified in this case to save the men’s life. There might be a time to tell a lie but then you are on a slippery sloap. It might be the lessor action in the situation that you are in.

The prostitute was honored by being mentioned three times in the New Testament because God is showing us that he can forgive our sins no matter what they are. God looks down on prostitution as a sin. He loves the prostitutes but hates the sin. Jesus also forgave a prostitute while he was here on earth. God hates the sin but loves the sinner.

Rahab says that she believes in Israel’s God. Then she shows it by hiding the spies and misdirecting the people after her. She believes that He is the only God. She has a deep faith in God because she took chances to save the spies that went into the city. In order to saved from eternal punishment we have to believe in Jesus Christ.