Randy Green's Blog - Posts Tagged "joshua"
What's a "Mahanaim" – Part 1
“Only do not rebel against the Lord; and do not fear the people of the land, for they will be our prey. Their protection has been removed from them, and the Lord is with us; do not fear them.” But all the congregation said to stone them with stones. Then the glory of the Lord appeared in the tent of meeting to all the sons of Israel [Numbers 14:9-10].
In the schoolyard at elementary school the bullies tend to rule. The bullies are the biggest and baddest dudes, of course. If they can hoodwink the rest of the kids into being intimidated by their presence, then they continue to rule.
The next best thing to being the bully in the schoolyard is to be the bully’s best friend. No one picks on you then because no one wants to settle accounts with the bully. In effect the bully’s best friend has the stature of the bully himself.
The Israelites were at Kadesh-barnea. Two years prior they witnessed the Lord inflict the mighty Egyptian god, Pharaoh, with ten plagues, bringing bully Pharaoh to his knees in abject and unconditional surrender. This self-styled “god” cried “Uncle!” and pleaded for mercy from the Hebrew God, YHWH, i.e., the Lord. As terms of his surrender Pharaoh released the Israelites from slavery. Yea, he even begged them to leave his land!
The Israelites then marched to the Red Sea, where Pharaoh attempted to renege on his agreement to set the Israelites free. He charged after them, hemming them in between the Red Sea and his armies. Once again the Israelites witnessed the Lord inflict the mighty Egyptian god, Pharaoh, with utter defeat. Pharaoh and all his military were drowned in the Red Sea, while the Lord’s people Israel crossed the seabed on dry ground.
From there the Israelites marched to Mount Sinai, where they spent a year receiving the Lord’s legal code to govern them in the Promised Land. And they constructed the tabernacle worship structure and crafted the priests’ wardrobe. Now they were able to maintain a covenantal relationship with the Lord. All that was needed was a land to call their own.
So the Lord directed them to leave Mount Sinai and march to the southern border of the Promised Land. And that is how the Israelites found themselves at Kadesh-barnea. The city was on the southern reaches of the Promised Land, on the edge of the Sinai Peninsula.
The Lord directed the Israelites to enter the land, conquer the peoples living there, and exterminate them. The land was their inheritance from the Lord. The Israelites thought it wise to send spies in first to reconnoiter the terrain and peoples, so as to plot a proper military strategy for conquering the land.
The Lord permitted it, though He was none to pleased that they didn’t trust Him enough to enter and conquer the land. So twelve spies went into Canaan and surveilled the territory. Alas, but they didn’t return with a unanimous verdict.
Two spies sided with the Lord and wanted to enter the land and conquer it according to the Word of God. However, ten spies claimed the inhabitants were giants whom the Lord was too small to defeat! To make matters worse, the entire congregation of Israel sided with the ten timorous spies.
This is mind-boggling, dear friends! We need to take our leave for now and gather our thoughts at the feet of Jesus. We will continue this tale tomorrow.
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Numbers: Volume 4 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B005PJ761C
https://sites.google.com/site/heavenl...
In the schoolyard at elementary school the bullies tend to rule. The bullies are the biggest and baddest dudes, of course. If they can hoodwink the rest of the kids into being intimidated by their presence, then they continue to rule.
The next best thing to being the bully in the schoolyard is to be the bully’s best friend. No one picks on you then because no one wants to settle accounts with the bully. In effect the bully’s best friend has the stature of the bully himself.
The Israelites were at Kadesh-barnea. Two years prior they witnessed the Lord inflict the mighty Egyptian god, Pharaoh, with ten plagues, bringing bully Pharaoh to his knees in abject and unconditional surrender. This self-styled “god” cried “Uncle!” and pleaded for mercy from the Hebrew God, YHWH, i.e., the Lord. As terms of his surrender Pharaoh released the Israelites from slavery. Yea, he even begged them to leave his land!
The Israelites then marched to the Red Sea, where Pharaoh attempted to renege on his agreement to set the Israelites free. He charged after them, hemming them in between the Red Sea and his armies. Once again the Israelites witnessed the Lord inflict the mighty Egyptian god, Pharaoh, with utter defeat. Pharaoh and all his military were drowned in the Red Sea, while the Lord’s people Israel crossed the seabed on dry ground.
From there the Israelites marched to Mount Sinai, where they spent a year receiving the Lord’s legal code to govern them in the Promised Land. And they constructed the tabernacle worship structure and crafted the priests’ wardrobe. Now they were able to maintain a covenantal relationship with the Lord. All that was needed was a land to call their own.
So the Lord directed them to leave Mount Sinai and march to the southern border of the Promised Land. And that is how the Israelites found themselves at Kadesh-barnea. The city was on the southern reaches of the Promised Land, on the edge of the Sinai Peninsula.
The Lord directed the Israelites to enter the land, conquer the peoples living there, and exterminate them. The land was their inheritance from the Lord. The Israelites thought it wise to send spies in first to reconnoiter the terrain and peoples, so as to plot a proper military strategy for conquering the land.
The Lord permitted it, though He was none to pleased that they didn’t trust Him enough to enter and conquer the land. So twelve spies went into Canaan and surveilled the territory. Alas, but they didn’t return with a unanimous verdict.
Two spies sided with the Lord and wanted to enter the land and conquer it according to the Word of God. However, ten spies claimed the inhabitants were giants whom the Lord was too small to defeat! To make matters worse, the entire congregation of Israel sided with the ten timorous spies.
This is mind-boggling, dear friends! We need to take our leave for now and gather our thoughts at the feet of Jesus. We will continue this tale tomorrow.
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Numbers: Volume 4 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B005PJ761C
https://sites.google.com/site/heavenl...
What’s a “Mahanaim” - Part 2
“Only do not rebel against the Lord; and do not fear the people of the land, for they will be our prey. Their protection has been removed from them, and the Lord is with us; do not fear them.” But all the congregation said to stone them with stones. Then the glory of the Lord appeared in the tent of meeting to all the sons of Israel [Numbers 14:9-10].
Incredible. Utterly incredible. Ten spies and all Israel witnessed the Lord bring the mighty Pharaoh to his knees. Egypt was the world power of the day, and the Canaanites cowered before Pharaoh. If the Lord made mincemeat of Pharaoh, how could the Israelites believe He was impotent against the Canaanites?! Sin makes us crazy, dear friends. Sin makes us wicked crazy.
The two faithful spies were Joshua bin Nun and Caleb ben Jephunneh. In the Bible verses quoted to kickoff this study, the words in quotation marks were spoken by them. Those words were their ticket into the Promised Land.
Standing opposite those two were the other ten spies, with all the Israelites on their side. Let me tell you, these guys were schoolyard bullies! As reported in the Bible verse, all the Israelites wanted to stone Joshua and Caleb. We might be inclined to ask them why.
I mean, they saw with their own eyes how the Lord put the lumber to the side of Pharaoh’s head and set him straight. It didn’t even require faith to trust the Lord for victory. Eyesight sufficed in their case! But no, they preferred to disobey the Word of God because there wasn’t a soupçon of true spirituality in them.
The Israelites looked at the enemy, then they gazed at themselves, and they drew their conclusions based upon what they saw at the time. This is known in Scripture as walking by sight. Trouble is, without faith it is impossible to please God. They needed to walk by faith in the Word of God. That is how we depend on God to solve the problem.
So there were Joshua and Caleb on one side, and over against them were the other 3½ million Israelites. Joshua and Caleb exhorted them to obey the Word of God. The 3½ million folks threatened to stone Joshua and Caleb to death. But the Lord…
Ah, throughout history those words have spelled the conclusion to the matter. They did so in Egypt. They did so at the Red Sea. They did so at Mount Sinai. And guess what? They did so at Kadesh-barnea too.
The Lord appeared in the tent of meeting as the Shekinah glory, and the matter was resolved pronto. The adult Israelites would not be permitted to enter the Promised Land and receive it as their inheritance because they hadn’t faith in the Word of God. Instead, they would walk the desert sands for another thirty-eight years, until the entire lot of them had died.
After they died, their grown children would be permitted the pleasure of entering the land, conquering it, and receiving it as their inheritance. Joshua and Caleb were the only adult Israelites at Kadesh-barnea who would enter with the younger generation thirty-eight years thence.
The picture painted by the two Bible verses we quoted is an exact replica of all of human history. The world stage is composed of two camps:
1. the Lord
2. mankind
Mankind is made up of two camps (aka Mahanaim):
1. those with faith in the Word of God
2. those without faith in the Word of God
It has always been this way, it is this way now, and it will be this way until Jesus comes again and sets all things right. Every human being is permitted to choose whom he will serve. We can choose to believe the Word of God and act accordingly, or we can choose to believe self and act in kind.
So which camp are you in?
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Numbers: Volume 4 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B005PJ761C
https://sites.google.com/site/heavenl...
Incredible. Utterly incredible. Ten spies and all Israel witnessed the Lord bring the mighty Pharaoh to his knees. Egypt was the world power of the day, and the Canaanites cowered before Pharaoh. If the Lord made mincemeat of Pharaoh, how could the Israelites believe He was impotent against the Canaanites?! Sin makes us crazy, dear friends. Sin makes us wicked crazy.
The two faithful spies were Joshua bin Nun and Caleb ben Jephunneh. In the Bible verses quoted to kickoff this study, the words in quotation marks were spoken by them. Those words were their ticket into the Promised Land.
Standing opposite those two were the other ten spies, with all the Israelites on their side. Let me tell you, these guys were schoolyard bullies! As reported in the Bible verse, all the Israelites wanted to stone Joshua and Caleb. We might be inclined to ask them why.
I mean, they saw with their own eyes how the Lord put the lumber to the side of Pharaoh’s head and set him straight. It didn’t even require faith to trust the Lord for victory. Eyesight sufficed in their case! But no, they preferred to disobey the Word of God because there wasn’t a soupçon of true spirituality in them.
The Israelites looked at the enemy, then they gazed at themselves, and they drew their conclusions based upon what they saw at the time. This is known in Scripture as walking by sight. Trouble is, without faith it is impossible to please God. They needed to walk by faith in the Word of God. That is how we depend on God to solve the problem.
So there were Joshua and Caleb on one side, and over against them were the other 3½ million Israelites. Joshua and Caleb exhorted them to obey the Word of God. The 3½ million folks threatened to stone Joshua and Caleb to death. But the Lord…
Ah, throughout history those words have spelled the conclusion to the matter. They did so in Egypt. They did so at the Red Sea. They did so at Mount Sinai. And guess what? They did so at Kadesh-barnea too.
The Lord appeared in the tent of meeting as the Shekinah glory, and the matter was resolved pronto. The adult Israelites would not be permitted to enter the Promised Land and receive it as their inheritance because they hadn’t faith in the Word of God. Instead, they would walk the desert sands for another thirty-eight years, until the entire lot of them had died.
After they died, their grown children would be permitted the pleasure of entering the land, conquering it, and receiving it as their inheritance. Joshua and Caleb were the only adult Israelites at Kadesh-barnea who would enter with the younger generation thirty-eight years thence.
The picture painted by the two Bible verses we quoted is an exact replica of all of human history. The world stage is composed of two camps:
1. the Lord
2. mankind
Mankind is made up of two camps (aka Mahanaim):
1. those with faith in the Word of God
2. those without faith in the Word of God
It has always been this way, it is this way now, and it will be this way until Jesus comes again and sets all things right. Every human being is permitted to choose whom he will serve. We can choose to believe the Word of God and act accordingly, or we can choose to believe self and act in kind.
So which camp are you in?
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Numbers: Volume 4 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B005PJ761C
https://sites.google.com/site/heavenl...
What's a "Mahanaim" – Part 1
“Only do not rebel against the Lord; and do not fear the people of the land, for they will be our prey. Their protection has been removed from them, and the Lord is with us; do not fear them.” But all the congregation said to stone them with stones. Then the glory of the Lord appeared in the tent of meeting to all the sons of Israel [Numbers 14:9-10].
In the schoolyard at elementary school the bullies tend to rule. The bullies are the biggest and baddest dudes, of course. If they can hoodwink the rest of the kids into being intimidated by their presence, then they continue to rule.
The next best thing to being the bully in the schoolyard is to be the bully’s best friend. No one picks on you then because no one wants to settle accounts with the bully. In effect the bully’s best friend has the stature of the bully himself.
The Israelites were at Kadesh-barnea. Two years prior they witnessed the Lord inflict the mighty Egyptian god, Pharaoh, with ten plagues, bringing bully Pharaoh to his knees in abject and unconditional surrender. This self-styled “god” cried “Uncle!” and pleaded for mercy from the Hebrew God, YHWH, i.e., the Lord. As terms of his surrender Pharaoh released the Israelites from slavery. Yea, he even begged them to leave his land!
The Israelites then marched to the Red Sea, where Pharaoh attempted to renege on his agreement to set the Israelites free. He charged after them, hemming them in between the Red Sea and his armies. Once again the Israelites witnessed the Lord inflict the mighty Egyptian god, Pharaoh, with utter defeat. Pharaoh and all his military were drowned in the Red Sea, while the Lord’s people Israel crossed the seabed on dry ground.
From there the Israelites marched to Mount Sinai, where they spent a year receiving the Lord’s legal code to govern them in the Promised Land. And they constructed the tabernacle worship structure and crafted the priests’ wardrobe. Now they were able to maintain a covenantal relationship with the Lord. All that was needed was a land to call their own.
So the Lord directed them to leave Mount Sinai and march to the southern border of the Promised Land. And that is how the Israelites found themselves at Kadesh-barnea. The city was on the southern reaches of the Promised Land, on the edge of the Sinai Peninsula.
The Lord directed the Israelites to enter the land, conquer the peoples living there, and exterminate them. The land was their inheritance from the Lord. The Israelites thought it wise to send spies in first to reconnoiter the terrain and peoples, so as to plot a proper military strategy for conquering the land.
The Lord permitted it, though He was none to pleased that they didn’t trust Him enough to enter and conquer the land. So twelve spies went into Canaan and surveilled the territory. Alas, but they didn’t return with a unanimous verdict.
Two spies sided with the Lord and wanted to enter the land and conquer it according to the Word of God. However, ten spies claimed the inhabitants were giants whom the Lord was too small to defeat! To make matters worse, the entire congregation of Israel sided with the ten timorous spies.
This is mind-boggling, dear friends! We need to take our leave for now and gather our thoughts at the feet of Jesus. We will continue this tale tomorrow.
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Numbers: Volume 4 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B005PJ761C
https://sites.google.com/site/heavenl...
In the schoolyard at elementary school the bullies tend to rule. The bullies are the biggest and baddest dudes, of course. If they can hoodwink the rest of the kids into being intimidated by their presence, then they continue to rule.
The next best thing to being the bully in the schoolyard is to be the bully’s best friend. No one picks on you then because no one wants to settle accounts with the bully. In effect the bully’s best friend has the stature of the bully himself.
The Israelites were at Kadesh-barnea. Two years prior they witnessed the Lord inflict the mighty Egyptian god, Pharaoh, with ten plagues, bringing bully Pharaoh to his knees in abject and unconditional surrender. This self-styled “god” cried “Uncle!” and pleaded for mercy from the Hebrew God, YHWH, i.e., the Lord. As terms of his surrender Pharaoh released the Israelites from slavery. Yea, he even begged them to leave his land!
The Israelites then marched to the Red Sea, where Pharaoh attempted to renege on his agreement to set the Israelites free. He charged after them, hemming them in between the Red Sea and his armies. Once again the Israelites witnessed the Lord inflict the mighty Egyptian god, Pharaoh, with utter defeat. Pharaoh and all his military were drowned in the Red Sea, while the Lord’s people Israel crossed the seabed on dry ground.
From there the Israelites marched to Mount Sinai, where they spent a year receiving the Lord’s legal code to govern them in the Promised Land. And they constructed the tabernacle worship structure and crafted the priests’ wardrobe. Now they were able to maintain a covenantal relationship with the Lord. All that was needed was a land to call their own.
So the Lord directed them to leave Mount Sinai and march to the southern border of the Promised Land. And that is how the Israelites found themselves at Kadesh-barnea. The city was on the southern reaches of the Promised Land, on the edge of the Sinai Peninsula.
The Lord directed the Israelites to enter the land, conquer the peoples living there, and exterminate them. The land was their inheritance from the Lord. The Israelites thought it wise to send spies in first to reconnoiter the terrain and peoples, so as to plot a proper military strategy for conquering the land.
The Lord permitted it, though He was none to pleased that they didn’t trust Him enough to enter and conquer the land. So twelve spies went into Canaan and surveilled the territory. Alas, but they didn’t return with a unanimous verdict.
Two spies sided with the Lord and wanted to enter the land and conquer it according to the Word of God. However, ten spies claimed the inhabitants were giants whom the Lord was too small to defeat! To make matters worse, the entire congregation of Israel sided with the ten timorous spies.
This is mind-boggling, dear friends! We need to take our leave for now and gather our thoughts at the feet of Jesus. We will continue this tale tomorrow.
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Numbers: Volume 4 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B005PJ761C
https://sites.google.com/site/heavenl...
What’s a “Mahanaim” - Part 2
“Only do not rebel against the Lord; and do not fear the people of the land, for they will be our prey. Their protection has been removed from them, and the Lord is with us; do not fear them.” But all the congregation said to stone them with stones. Then the glory of the Lord appeared in the tent of meeting to all the sons of Israel [Numbers 14:9-10].
Incredible. Utterly incredible. Ten spies and all Israel witnessed the Lord bring the mighty Pharaoh to his knees. Egypt was the world power of the day, and the Canaanites cowered before Pharaoh. If the Lord made mincemeat of Pharaoh, how could the Israelites believe He was impotent against the Canaanites?! Sin makes us crazy, dear friends. Sin makes us wicked crazy.
The two faithful spies were Joshua bin Nun and Caleb ben Jephunneh. In the Bible verses quoted to kickoff this study, the words in quotation marks were spoken by them. Those words were their ticket into the Promised Land.
Standing opposite those two were the other ten spies, with all the Israelites on their side. Let me tell you, those guys were schoolyard bullies! As reported in the Bible verse, all the Israelites wanted to stone Joshua and Caleb. We might be inclined to ask them why.
I mean, they saw with their own eyes how the Lord put the lumber to the side of Pharaoh’s head and set him straight. It didn’t even require faith to trust the Lord for victory. Eyesight sufficed in their case! But no, they preferred to disobey the Word of God because there wasn’t a soupçon of true spirituality in them.
The Israelites looked at the enemy, then they gazed at themselves, and they drew their conclusions based upon what they saw at the time. This is known in Scripture as walking by sight. Trouble is, without faith it is impossible to please God. They needed to walk by faith in the Word of God. That is how we depend on God to solve the problem.
So there were Joshua and Caleb on one side, and over against them were the other 3½ million Israelites. Joshua and Caleb exhorted them to obey the Word of God. The 3½ million folks threatened to stone Joshua and Caleb to death. But the Lord…
Ah, throughout history those words have spelled the conclusion to the matter. They did so in Egypt. They did so at the Red Sea. They did so at Mount Sinai. And guess what? They did so at Kadesh-barnea too.
The Lord appeared in the tent of meeting as the Shekinah glory, and the matter was resolved pronto. The adult Israelites would not be permitted to enter the Promised Land and receive it as their inheritance because they hadn’t faith in the Word of God. Instead, they would walk the desert sands for another thirty-eight years, until the entire lot of them had died.
After they died, their grown children would be permitted the pleasure of entering the land, conquering it, and receiving it as their inheritance. Joshua and Caleb were the only adult Israelites at Kadesh-barnea who would enter with the younger generation thirty-eight years thence.
The picture painted by the two Bible verses we quoted is an exact replica of all human history. The world stage is composed of two camps:
1. the Lord
2. mankind
Mankind is made up of two camps (aka Mahanaim):
1. those with faith in the Word of God
2. those without faith in the Word of God
It has always been this way, it is this way now, and it will be this way until Jesus comes again and sets all things right. Every human being is permitted to choose whom he will serve. We can choose to believe the Word of God and act accordingly, or we can choose to believe self and act in kind.
So which camp are you in?
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Numbers: Volume 4 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B005PJ761C
https://sites.google.com/site/heavenl...
Incredible. Utterly incredible. Ten spies and all Israel witnessed the Lord bring the mighty Pharaoh to his knees. Egypt was the world power of the day, and the Canaanites cowered before Pharaoh. If the Lord made mincemeat of Pharaoh, how could the Israelites believe He was impotent against the Canaanites?! Sin makes us crazy, dear friends. Sin makes us wicked crazy.
The two faithful spies were Joshua bin Nun and Caleb ben Jephunneh. In the Bible verses quoted to kickoff this study, the words in quotation marks were spoken by them. Those words were their ticket into the Promised Land.
Standing opposite those two were the other ten spies, with all the Israelites on their side. Let me tell you, those guys were schoolyard bullies! As reported in the Bible verse, all the Israelites wanted to stone Joshua and Caleb. We might be inclined to ask them why.
I mean, they saw with their own eyes how the Lord put the lumber to the side of Pharaoh’s head and set him straight. It didn’t even require faith to trust the Lord for victory. Eyesight sufficed in their case! But no, they preferred to disobey the Word of God because there wasn’t a soupçon of true spirituality in them.
The Israelites looked at the enemy, then they gazed at themselves, and they drew their conclusions based upon what they saw at the time. This is known in Scripture as walking by sight. Trouble is, without faith it is impossible to please God. They needed to walk by faith in the Word of God. That is how we depend on God to solve the problem.
So there were Joshua and Caleb on one side, and over against them were the other 3½ million Israelites. Joshua and Caleb exhorted them to obey the Word of God. The 3½ million folks threatened to stone Joshua and Caleb to death. But the Lord…
Ah, throughout history those words have spelled the conclusion to the matter. They did so in Egypt. They did so at the Red Sea. They did so at Mount Sinai. And guess what? They did so at Kadesh-barnea too.
The Lord appeared in the tent of meeting as the Shekinah glory, and the matter was resolved pronto. The adult Israelites would not be permitted to enter the Promised Land and receive it as their inheritance because they hadn’t faith in the Word of God. Instead, they would walk the desert sands for another thirty-eight years, until the entire lot of them had died.
After they died, their grown children would be permitted the pleasure of entering the land, conquering it, and receiving it as their inheritance. Joshua and Caleb were the only adult Israelites at Kadesh-barnea who would enter with the younger generation thirty-eight years thence.
The picture painted by the two Bible verses we quoted is an exact replica of all human history. The world stage is composed of two camps:
1. the Lord
2. mankind
Mankind is made up of two camps (aka Mahanaim):
1. those with faith in the Word of God
2. those without faith in the Word of God
It has always been this way, it is this way now, and it will be this way until Jesus comes again and sets all things right. Every human being is permitted to choose whom he will serve. We can choose to believe the Word of God and act accordingly, or we can choose to believe self and act in kind.
So which camp are you in?
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Numbers: Volume 4 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B005PJ761C
https://sites.google.com/site/heavenl...
What's a "Mahanaim" – Part 1
“Only do not rebel against the Lord; and do not fear the people of the land, for they will be our prey. Their protection has been removed from them, and the Lord is with us; do not fear them.” But all the congregation said to stone them with stones. Then the glory of the Lord appeared in the tent of meeting to all the sons of Israel [Numbers 14:9-10].
In the schoolyard at elementary school the bullies tend to rule. The bullies are the biggest and baddest dudes, of course. If they can hoodwink the rest of the kids into being intimidated by their presence, then they continue to rule.
The next best thing to being the bully in the schoolyard is to be the bully’s best friend. No one picks on you then because no one wants to settle accounts with the bully. In effect the bully’s best friend has the stature of the bully himself.
The Israelites were at Kadesh-barnea. Two years prior they witnessed the Lord inflict the mighty Egyptian god, Pharaoh, with ten plagues, bringing bully Pharaoh to his knees in abject and unconditional surrender. This self-styled “god” cried “Uncle!” and pleaded for mercy from the Hebrew God, YHWH, i.e., the Lord. As terms of his surrender Pharaoh released the Israelites from slavery. Yea, he even begged them to leave his land!
The Israelites then marched to the Red Sea, where Pharaoh attempted to renege on his agreement to set the Israelites free. He charged after them, hemming them in between the Red Sea and his armies. Once again the Israelites witnessed the Lord inflict the mighty Egyptian god, Pharaoh, with utter defeat. Pharaoh and all his military were drowned in the Red Sea, while the Lord’s people Israel crossed the seabed on dry ground.
From there the Israelites marched to Mount Sinai, where they spent a year receiving the Lord’s legal code to govern them in the Promised Land. And they constructed the tabernacle worship structure and crafted the priests’ wardrobe. Now they were able to maintain a covenantal relationship with the Lord. All that was needed was a land to call their own.
So the Lord directed them to leave Mount Sinai and march to the southern border of the Promised Land. And that is how the Israelites found themselves at Kadesh-barnea. The city was on the southern reaches of the Promised Land, on the edge of the Sinai Peninsula.
The Lord directed the Israelites to enter the land, conquer the peoples living there, and exterminate them. The land was their inheritance from the Lord. The Israelites thought it wise to send spies in first to reconnoiter the terrain and peoples, so as to plot a proper military strategy for conquering the land.
The Lord permitted it, though He was none to pleased that they didn’t trust Him enough to enter and conquer the land. So twelve spies went into Canaan and surveilled the territory. Alas, but they didn’t return with a unanimous verdict.
Two spies sided with the Lord and wanted to enter the land and conquer it according to the Word of God. However, ten spies claimed the inhabitants were giants whom the Lord was too small to defeat! To make matters worse, the entire congregation of Israel sided with the ten timorous spies.
This is mind-boggling, dear friends! We need to take our leave for now and gather our thoughts at the feet of Jesus. We will continue this tale tomorrow.
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Numbers: Volume 4 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B005PJ761C
https://sites.google.com/site/heavenl...
In the schoolyard at elementary school the bullies tend to rule. The bullies are the biggest and baddest dudes, of course. If they can hoodwink the rest of the kids into being intimidated by their presence, then they continue to rule.
The next best thing to being the bully in the schoolyard is to be the bully’s best friend. No one picks on you then because no one wants to settle accounts with the bully. In effect the bully’s best friend has the stature of the bully himself.
The Israelites were at Kadesh-barnea. Two years prior they witnessed the Lord inflict the mighty Egyptian god, Pharaoh, with ten plagues, bringing bully Pharaoh to his knees in abject and unconditional surrender. This self-styled “god” cried “Uncle!” and pleaded for mercy from the Hebrew God, YHWH, i.e., the Lord. As terms of his surrender Pharaoh released the Israelites from slavery. Yea, he even begged them to leave his land!
The Israelites then marched to the Red Sea, where Pharaoh attempted to renege on his agreement to set the Israelites free. He charged after them, hemming them in between the Red Sea and his armies. Once again the Israelites witnessed the Lord inflict the mighty Egyptian god, Pharaoh, with utter defeat. Pharaoh and all his military were drowned in the Red Sea, while the Lord’s people Israel crossed the seabed on dry ground.
From there the Israelites marched to Mount Sinai, where they spent a year receiving the Lord’s legal code to govern them in the Promised Land. And they constructed the tabernacle worship structure and crafted the priests’ wardrobe. Now they were able to maintain a covenantal relationship with the Lord. All that was needed was a land to call their own.
So the Lord directed them to leave Mount Sinai and march to the southern border of the Promised Land. And that is how the Israelites found themselves at Kadesh-barnea. The city was on the southern reaches of the Promised Land, on the edge of the Sinai Peninsula.
The Lord directed the Israelites to enter the land, conquer the peoples living there, and exterminate them. The land was their inheritance from the Lord. The Israelites thought it wise to send spies in first to reconnoiter the terrain and peoples, so as to plot a proper military strategy for conquering the land.
The Lord permitted it, though He was none to pleased that they didn’t trust Him enough to enter and conquer the land. So twelve spies went into Canaan and surveilled the territory. Alas, but they didn’t return with a unanimous verdict.
Two spies sided with the Lord and wanted to enter the land and conquer it according to the Word of God. However, ten spies claimed the inhabitants were giants whom the Lord was too small to defeat! To make matters worse, the entire congregation of Israel sided with the ten timorous spies.
This is mind-boggling, dear friends! We need to take our leave for now and gather our thoughts at the feet of Jesus. We will continue this tale tomorrow.
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Numbers: Volume 4 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B005PJ761C
https://sites.google.com/site/heavenl...
What’s a “Mahanaim” - Part 2
“Only do not rebel against the Lord; and do not fear the people of the land, for they will be our prey. Their protection has been removed from them, and the Lord is with us; do not fear them.” But all the congregation said to stone them with stones. Then the glory of the Lord appeared in the tent of meeting to all the sons of Israel [Numbers 14:9-10].
Incredible. Utterly incredible. Ten spies and all Israel witnessed the Lord bring the mighty Pharaoh to his knees. Egypt was the world power of the day, and the Canaanites cowered before Pharaoh. If the Lord made mincemeat of Pharaoh, how could the Israelites believe He was impotent against the Canaanites?! Sin makes us crazy, dear friends. Sin makes us wicked crazy.
The two faithful spies were Joshua bin Nun and Caleb ben Jephunneh. In the Bible verses quoted to kickoff this study, the words in quotation marks were spoken by them. Those words were their ticket into the Promised Land.
Standing opposite those two were the other ten spies, with all the Israelites on their side. Let me tell you, those guys were schoolyard bullies! As reported in the Bible verse, all the Israelites wanted to stone Joshua and Caleb. We might be inclined to ask them why.
I mean, they saw with their own eyes how the Lord put the lumber to the side of Pharaoh’s head and set him straight. It didn’t even require faith to trust the Lord for victory. Eyesight sufficed in their case! But no, they preferred to disobey the Word of God because there wasn’t a soupçon of true spirituality in them.
The Israelites looked at the enemy, then they gazed at themselves, and they drew their conclusions based upon what they saw at the time. This is known in Scripture as walking by sight. Trouble is, without faith it is impossible to please God. They needed to walk by faith in the Word of God. That is how we depend on God to solve the problem.
So there were Joshua and Caleb on one side, and over against them were the other 3½ million Israelites. Joshua and Caleb exhorted them to obey the Word of God. The 3½ million folks threatened to stone Joshua and Caleb to death. But the Lord…
Ah, throughout history those words have spelled the conclusion to the matter. They did so in Egypt. They did so at the Red Sea. They did so at Mount Sinai. And guess what? They did so at Kadesh-barnea too.
The Lord appeared in the tent of meeting as the Shekinah glory, and the matter was resolved pronto. The adult Israelites would not be permitted to enter the Promised Land and receive it as their inheritance because they hadn’t faith in the Word of God. Instead, they would walk the desert sands for another thirty-eight years, until the entire lot of them had died.
After they died, their grown children would be permitted the pleasure of entering the land, conquering it, and receiving it as their inheritance. Joshua and Caleb were the only adult Israelites at Kadesh-barnea who would enter with the younger generation thirty-eight years thence.
The picture painted by the two Bible verses we quoted is an exact replica of all human history. The world stage is composed of two camps:
1. the Lord
2. mankind
Mankind is made up of two camps (aka Mahanaim):
1. those with faith in the Word of God
2. those without faith in the Word of God
It has always been this way, it is this way now, and it will be this way until Jesus comes again and sets all things right. Every human being is permitted to choose whom he will serve. We can choose to believe the Word of God and act accordingly, or we can choose to believe self and act in kind.
So which camp are you in?
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Numbers: Volume 4 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B005PJ761C
https://sites.google.com/site/heavenl...
Incredible. Utterly incredible. Ten spies and all Israel witnessed the Lord bring the mighty Pharaoh to his knees. Egypt was the world power of the day, and the Canaanites cowered before Pharaoh. If the Lord made mincemeat of Pharaoh, how could the Israelites believe He was impotent against the Canaanites?! Sin makes us crazy, dear friends. Sin makes us wicked crazy.
The two faithful spies were Joshua bin Nun and Caleb ben Jephunneh. In the Bible verses quoted to kickoff this study, the words in quotation marks were spoken by them. Those words were their ticket into the Promised Land.
Standing opposite those two were the other ten spies, with all the Israelites on their side. Let me tell you, those guys were schoolyard bullies! As reported in the Bible verse, all the Israelites wanted to stone Joshua and Caleb. We might be inclined to ask them why.
I mean, they saw with their own eyes how the Lord put the lumber to the side of Pharaoh’s head and set him straight. It didn’t even require faith to trust the Lord for victory. Eyesight sufficed in their case! But no, they preferred to disobey the Word of God because there wasn’t a soupçon of true spirituality in them.
The Israelites looked at the enemy, then they gazed at themselves, and they drew their conclusions based upon what they saw at the time. This is known in Scripture as walking by sight. Trouble is, without faith it is impossible to please God. They needed to walk by faith in the Word of God. That is how we depend on God to solve the problem.
So there were Joshua and Caleb on one side, and over against them were the other 3½ million Israelites. Joshua and Caleb exhorted them to obey the Word of God. The 3½ million folks threatened to stone Joshua and Caleb to death. But the Lord…
Ah, throughout history those words have spelled the conclusion to the matter. They did so in Egypt. They did so at the Red Sea. They did so at Mount Sinai. And guess what? They did so at Kadesh-barnea too.
The Lord appeared in the tent of meeting as the Shekinah glory, and the matter was resolved pronto. The adult Israelites would not be permitted to enter the Promised Land and receive it as their inheritance because they hadn’t faith in the Word of God. Instead, they would walk the desert sands for another thirty-eight years, until the entire lot of them had died.
After they died, their grown children would be permitted the pleasure of entering the land, conquering it, and receiving it as their inheritance. Joshua and Caleb were the only adult Israelites at Kadesh-barnea who would enter with the younger generation thirty-eight years thence.
The picture painted by the two Bible verses we quoted is an exact replica of all human history. The world stage is composed of two camps:
1. the Lord
2. mankind
Mankind is made up of two camps (aka Mahanaim):
1. those with faith in the Word of God
2. those without faith in the Word of God
It has always been this way, it is this way now, and it will be this way until Jesus comes again and sets all things right. Every human being is permitted to choose whom he will serve. We can choose to believe the Word of God and act accordingly, or we can choose to believe self and act in kind.
So which camp are you in?
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Numbers: Volume 4 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B005PJ761C
https://sites.google.com/site/heavenl...
