Gooding, David: 12 - Summary of Sections 2 and 3

This session, gentlemen, is one of those sessions, uh, scheduled for a short talk without any questions. That means without any questions from you. Ah, but I claim civil rights, you'll see. I am allowed to ask questions. What I want to do now in this short mo- pa- uh, uh, uh, period is just to go over a summary of sections two and three that might confirm these sheer facts into our minds. Whether we have fully understood them or not, just getting the facts of scripture on our mind is very important, and it is, of course, hard work. One of the things we can do to help us remember is to see the comparison and contrast between things. It helps them to stick in our minds, to see the difference. So here are some similarities and contrasts between the sections two and three that we have been studying in some detail. In the preliminary chapter to section two, namely chapter five, We had the preparation of Israel to be the executors of God's judgment. We reminded ourselves of that solemn responsibility that they had. They didn't just preach that judgment was coming. They had to be God's executives of the judgment. God could have left them in the desert and gone himself and destroyed the Canaanites and fumigated the land, so to speak, and then brought the Israelites in. He didn't do that. He used Joshua and the Israelites as the executives of his judgment. That meant, of course, that Israel had to agree with God. And that was not always so easy. Particularly later on, when God had commanded that they fight and conquer and eliminate the Canaanites, the Israelites found it more convenient very often to compromise and not eliminate the Canaanites. For that se- serious responsibility of being the executors of God's judgment, they had to be very well prepared. And we read, you may remember, of the circumcision, number one preparation. Then number two, the keeping of the Passover. And number three, the coming of the captain of the Lord's host, the pre-incarnate Christ, to take command. If in section two the preliminary chapter five dealt with the preparations of Israel to be the executors of God's judgment, in section three the preliminary chapter, namely chapter nine, recorded the steps taken by the Gibeonites to escape God's judgment. That's easy to remember, isn't it, Wato? Should be anyway. To understand it is perhaps another thing. In section two, the next big element was the destruction of Jericho. And to enforce it on our memories, we do need to remember how that destruction was accomplished. The method used was, as far as we know, unique to Jericho. It was the encircling of the city by the people of Israel, soldiers and priests, and the priests were to carry the Ark of Go- of the God of all the earth around the city once every day for six days, and seven times on the day of judgment. And we noticed the significance of the ark, for the kings themselves had noticed it, that God had opened up the River Jordan so that Israel could pass through. Israel carried the ark around on their shoulders. They scarce need to say anything. They weren't to shout or make any noise. Canaanites, looking over the wall, if they did so, saw the ark. It contained the guarantee that the ark that had come through the Jordan and up again the other side and split the waters of Jordan, they would not keep that god out of Jericho. And we applied that at the time to the message preached by Paul, for instance, to the Stoics and Epicureans. According to his gospel, there's going to be a judgment. How do we know it for sure? Whereof God hath given an assurance to all men, in that he has raised Jesus Christ from the dead. We are to parade the fact, or if you like, the person who died for our sins according to the scripture, was buried, raised the third day according to the scripture. The God's guarantee that there's going to be a day of judgment. I listen to many gospel sermons. I expect you do too. I can only talk of my own country, and I'm not telling tales out of school, for I listen to many excellent messages. Very few of them, curiously enough, talk of the resurrection of Christ. We must be wise in our preaching of the gospel, mustn't we? Yes, Christ is there to help the needy and support the weak and comfort the sorrowing. We're missing a very big part of the gospel if we do not preach the resurrection and the evidence for it, such as the New Testament gives, and the assurance, not only that there is life in Christ, but there is going to be a judgment on this world. Thank the Lord that God isn't going to allow sin to go on forever. That's a gospel message, you know. The key, therefore, to the destruction of Jericho, the ark of God, the God of all the earth, coming up out of Jordan and surrounding the city. On the other side, in section three, the key to the rescue of Gibeon and the destruction of their attackers. God sending down judgment from heaven and causing sun and moon to stand still, so that nothing escaped. Two different interpositions by God. Oh, you'll want to add to that when you're preaching the Christian gospel. That great event for the salvation of mankind, when the sun refused to shine and there came a darkness over all the land. Will you not preach it? The physical disturbance that accompanied the sufferings of our Lord at Calvary. Third big element in section two was the ACAN AI incident that led to Israel's self-judgment and the repudiation of ACAN. If Israel are to be the executives of God's law, they must be prepared for honest, thoroughgoing self-judgment. That's a lesson that we have to learn as Christians too, isn't it? Regarding the Lord's Supper. At the Lord's Supper, we take the cup on the hand of the Lord Jesus. He himself told us what it represented. This is the cup of the new covenant in my blood. The new covenant's terms are that God will write his laws on our hearts and on our minds he will inscribe them. When I take that cup, I'm saying, Lord, yes, write your laws on my heart and on my mind inscribe them ever more deeply. If, therefore, I am to be sincere at the Lord's Supper, I am required to examine myself, lest I should come frivolously to the Lord's Supper, guilty of sin, unrepented of, and persisted in those very sins which caused our Lord's death. Now, God doesn't demand that we come, uh, uh, uh, uh, um, perfect. In many things we all offend. But we are to examine ourselves. Where need be, repent. And so we may come and eat of that cup. And thank our blessed Lord both for dying for us and for the guarantee of his covenant that he will continue writing his laws on our hearts and minds. But if we don't examine ourselves, then says scripture, we are chastened of the Lord. When we are judged, we're chastened of the Lord, so we be not condemned with the world. We have to engage, therefore, in self-judgment, do we not? And you will remember the argument that Paul uses into the Corinthians and the way they were treating each other and hailing each other to law courts and I don't know what. And he says, my brethren, have you forgotten that one day the church will judge the angels? And are you behaving like this now? You need to remember the calling to which you are called. And because one day we shall reign with Christ. We need now to temper our behavior in the light of our coming responsibilities. On the other side, the attempt by the five kings to escape judgment. But not by repenting, as the Gibeonites had done, and seeking mercy and salvation, but the attempt to ward off the judgment of God upon them by hiding in a cave. The Revelation depicts similar scenes. When the sixth seal, as when the sixth seal is opened, the kings of the earth call upon the hills to cover them, don't they, and try to hide in the caves on the face of him that sits upon the throne. They are discovered, of course, and all five are hanged. So shall the Lord do to all your enemies. And finally, final, in section two, the law of Moses established, written on the altar, some say on the altar itself, on the stones of which the altar was composed, and some on the standing stones that were put there. Whichever way it is, this was the great objective in section two, the establishment of the law of Moses in the land of Canaan. And we thought a while on what that means in New Testament terms, establishing the law of Moses. We establish the law, says Romans three, by the great doctrine of justification by faith, that we are all guilty and worthy of condemnation. With our mouths shut, we deserve the penalty of the law. That establishes the honor of the law. Uh, when we do that, God has a savior for us who paid the penalty of that law so that we can be forgiven, which likewise establishes the honor of the law. Whereas the idea that God will save us by our good effort to keep the law, and when we come short, he will say, well, that didn't matter, you only came a little bit short, instead of establishing the law, undercuts the law. So this business of the law being established. And now we look at the other side and what finally happened. The Gibeonites sought and found mercy. The southern and northern kings could have done the same, but they refused. The northern kings were then hardened, so that they attacked Israel and were destroyed, as the Lord commanded Moses. The two sections, when put together, help us to remember their context, and help us perhaps to remember the, uh, major points in those two sections. With all then, as we come to the end of these three sections of the first half of the book, let us recap and point out the three big objectives. The one was to get Israel across the Jordan. Joshua achieved it. The second was the establishment of the law of Moses in Canaan, and the third was the putting down of all rule and authority. What Moses couldn't do, that God did through Joshua. All three objectives were achieved. Handy little way of summing up the main points of the first half of the book. I have some questions, you see, because by your silence I took it to mean your consent. And have you forgotten yesterday? For I haven't. I was bold enough to express my own views on the significance of that section two and suggested it made us think in part of the epistle of Paul to the Galatians. And I pointed out to you the vocabulary common to both those stories. And I was interested to hear from you, not merely whether you agreed with me or not, you probably don't, but what do you think is the main point of the story of Jericho and then of Ai? Left to yourself, if you had to preach it, and a pistol was pointed to your head and say, you have to get up, my brother, and say something about these chapters, if you not, we shall shoot you through the head. Um, and you had to say something, what would you now say? So I'm all ears. The miracle is they were fully relied upon the Lord, and Aye, they were lifted up in their own pride and relied upon themselves. And that's why they came unstuck. Well, that wasn't the only reason, but they, but I'm saying they, they, they should have sought the Lord and said, what should we do? And, and he would have revealed to them about Achan before, before they ever gone to Ai and gotten Mm. defeated. I see. They waited till after the defeat before they sought the Lord. Mm-hmm. So that, uh, they, you feel that the message of Jericho and Ai is to the effect that we must always be careful in our work for the Lord, never to do anything in independence of the Lord. Mm? Any other view? There's a man there in a red shirt. Um, I'm not so sure about that. I think that he already told them that one of them, that hosts would flee before one of them. I mean, he already told them that they didn't, that they would be overpowering to their enemies. Mm-hmm. Uh, I don't know. It doesn't seem like they would have had to consult him. He already given them instructions on what to do. Mm-hmm. They should have expected victory if they, of course, not knowing of the sin of Achan. Mm-hmm. To me, it seems like they would have expected victory. Mm-hmm. Not knowing that there was sin in the hand. That's right, yes. But then, according to you, sir, could you perhaps sum it up? What does it mean to you? What do you normally say about that whole section, the conquest of first Jericho and then Ai. I don't know whether you preach or not, or whether you take a Sunday school class or not, or whatever you do. What do you normally say and think about it? That's what I'm interested, as a mere Englishman, to say. Just seven says, and when Joshua fell on his face and says, alas, O Lord, God worked for us out all profit of his people over Jordan, delivers them to the hand of the Amorites to destroy us. Would the God that we have been content, been content and dwell on the other side of Jordan? Yes. I mean, that's not a lack of faith and trusting God. Now he's very faced with the dilemma of, you know, here I thought we were operating according to your instructions, and and we've fallen on our faces. Why? I mean, that would be a natural, a natural. Yes. The answer, of course, that God gave to, uh, Joshua's, uh, prostrate fear. You see, in the commander, that would be understandable that if his forces were so easily overcome and he was faced with endless cities with their kings and armies, the man would be panic stricken, in a sense, if, uh, at the early or so early on, uh, he was, his forces were repulsed. But what, what do you say about it, or don't you say, or uh, is there somebody there in a, in a yellow shirt? When you say what you say about it, you're saying the relation between the destruction of Jericho and then the conquest of Ai, or specifically the sin of Ai? Well, either any of the, I'm talking about that, that whole section, gentlemen, Jericho, Ai, Achan, whatever you like. What do you normally preach about it, my brother? Do you ever preach? No, we ever preach. I have found Jericho, uh, clearer to preach than Haifa. And, uh, uh, one of the things that come to my mind in listening to what we've heard is, again, how the Jericho was that first city that was unique in itself, and how it was destroyed by the very power of the ark of God. It was not an obstacle that men had set up. Yes. It, it was God specifically coming in Yes. and doing the whole thing, and that speaks of the complete work of the Lord Jesus, it seems to me, to deal with our enemy in that sense and effectuate that salvation for us of suffering for our sin. Now, after that, then comes that danger, it seems, with taking something out of that city that has been accursed. It's as if, well, you know, that salvation and that work of the Lord Jesus is not enough all by itself. Perhaps I need to keep a little and add a little of my flesh and my something to secure it. And that was completely judged because it puts us on the ground of being cursed and not saved. Now, Israel then having dealt with that, now Israel deals with that, and by experience now, they deal with something that now, after dealing with it, they can attack AI, and in attacking AI and rehearsing, as you said, uh, uh, the defeat, self-judgment, it now in the progress of the Christian right or the progress of the conquest after Jericho, which is all done by God. I learned by my mistake when I judged the sin, and now I'm allowed to take a spoil from it. Mm-hmm. Something of benefit to me by my own dealing with my sin that I could not do with Jericho because it was all over. That- that- that's the most that I've been able to. Well, thank you very much. Now let's hear, let me hear the other preacher. There surely are some preachers here. I can see a hand away in the distance there somewhere. In uh, Joshua seven five. we learned that the men of Ai smoked 30 and six of the men of Israel. These are men that died, did not return to their wives in transit. Whatever you may think of taking as a subsequent event, these thirty and six men did not. So I found it instructive to learn myself from that fact that my sin can have devastating effects on others. Mm-hmm. Thank you, yes. And someone there, back there somewhere. I, uh... I, I turn it around a little bit and, and show it as a, as a family, and the ho- husband being the father of the family and the wife, and you have kids. And, um, when they, when, when you're a family, if one of your kids sin and do things that you tell them not to do, um, it affects your whole family. And that, uh, not necessarily you have to stone your son, I'm not saying that. But what I am saying, it shows that the relationship, um, that Israel had as a company was supposed to be like a family. Mm-hmm. And that, uh, the, the... there, there is like a twofold thing. One is that you're supposed to know what's going on in your family as being a leader. Mm-hmm. The other is that, uh, when sin comes into your family, that it has to be dealt with before your family can grow and move on. Mm-hmm. And that's what I see in the Old Testament, uh, with what is going on in the life of Israel, because I see Israel as having a life of its own when you look at it through the Old Testament, and it's separate from individuals. Yeah, righto. It mirrors a family image Mm-hmm. as you would your own family, have to take discipline action, um, with your family, and that you, you have to Yeah. with that. Thank you very much. And, uh, the principle that the sin of one affects the others is a principle enunciated in the New Testament. A little leaven leavens the whole lump. Said in Galatians of doctrine that is not true to the gospel. Said in one Corinthians of immoral behavior by members of a church. A little leaven leaveneth the whole lump, and therefore we do have to be careful, uh, a- a- about that very principle. I tell I'm very interested, forgive me being so interested, and may be rude on my part, but I like to examine other people who are preachers, and better preachers than I am, of course. And what do you say about it, gentlemen? Don't be afraid to share your sermons in case somebody else steals them. Yeah. How, how there there's a good man here. Oh, this man here, yes? I would say, I look at these, I try to look at the spiritual lessons of the cities, and as you, as you look at the flow they're going in, you know, east to west, uh, in scripture, the Western seniors speak, uh, going toward God. And Jericho, uh, would seem to be this beautiful city, perhaps, having much for it, and, and I think that can be a distraction to many Christians, the world as a distraction. Mm-hmm. And, uh, as it was Lakin, of course, the lesson of Lakin. But then they go on to Ai. Of course, Jericho is a place of palm. So you go to Ai, and then they really understand after they've fallen the importance of that the world has nothing to offer them, because Ai means heap of ruins, and that's what it is. The world is really a heap of ruins. It's gonna be judged by God. Mm-hmm. And uh, and then they go from there, and of course they had to issue the law, uh, to mountains. Mm-hmm. Uh, that's the place where Abram had his tent. Mm-hmm. That's facing Bethel. Mm-hmm. And you can go back to that, some great lessons with that, and the fact that, you know, Abraham faced Bethel, not Ai. Mm-hmm. He faced the house of God, not the people. Mm-hmm. So he does not focus on the world. There- there's many more lessons there, but. Yes. Yes. More spiritual lessons. I see, yes. And there was a, there was a hand that went up over here somewhere. I suppose I'll comment. Uh, Jericho represents a s- tremendous victory in the heart of Joshua. It was a stronghold, it was the stronghold before they could get to Ahab. The walls, in their estimation, were so high, and it was insurmountable. In order for them to enter the inheritance, this was the obstacle that they had to demonstrate their complete dependence on the presence of God to bring these walls down or even destroy this stronghold. Mm-hmm. Within the city. It is interesting to me that the para- the parallels in the book of the Revelation, when the Lord, the Lamb of God, lays siege once again upon planet Earth, the illusions of Jericho are brought up again, and the cry of of Babel, the city falling, is an interesting observation to me. So I do think in not only in its uniqueness and how it came down, but it means something that perhaps you would like to expound a little more upon. Uh, in order to get to AI, they had to, they had to go to Jericho. Yeah, surely. Well, there's a verse in the New Testament, and it's 2, in two Corinthians, that is saying something very similar to what you said at the beginning, my good brother. Uh, the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God, to the casting down of strongholds and every thought that, uh, uh, uh, uh, exalts itself a- above God, you see. Yes, this is part of our spiritual warfare, yes? To, uh, cast down, uh, uh, strongholds of thought, uh, uh, an opposition to God at that level, uh, and we need, uh, weapons, spiritual weapons of our warfare so to do, yes? May I take for my, this is very selfish of me, you see, but may I take a, a straw poll, as they say? Now, I, I, I, I, no reason why I should think that all are preachers. Preachers are in minority. Are all apostles? No. Are all preachers? No, certainly not, mercifully. Are all, uh, teachers? Well, no. But, uh, some are Sunday school teachers, and some are this and that and the other. And I just take a straw poll for my own education and interest. How many of you gentlemen have ever given a talk, serious, at length or short, on the quest story of Joshua and Ai. How many have ever given a, a talk upon it? Let me see how many. Yes. I see that is very interesting. Can I ask a second question? After this week, how many of you are determined to preach Joshua and Jericho? Oh, good. Yes, that's very good. Yes. Someone else wants to say something? You, sir. I'm not sure if this observation was made yet or not, um, but I like to be reminded of in, um, of the magnitude of God's grace in saving Rahab. Mm-hmm. At the end of chapter six, where we read that Joshua spared Rahab, and she has lived in the midst of Israel to this day, where she hid the messengers whom Joshua sent to spy out Jericho. And then remind ourselves of what's written in Ephesians two. Mm-hmm. Remember that formerly you, the Gentiles in the flesh, who were called on circumcision by the so-called circumcision, which is performed in the flesh by human hands, remember that you were at that time separate from Christ, excluded from the Commonwealth of In- Israel, and strangers to the covenants of promise, promise, having no hope and without God in the world. But now, in Christ Jesus, you who were formerly far off have been brought near. Yes. Excellent, sir. Example, if I may say, of Rahab, and to think that she eventually became an ancestress of Christ, and that the Lord is not ashamed to own her as one of his ancestresses. That is magnificent, and was incorporated into Israel. And so with the Gibeonites, likewise, if I may say, God's magnificent grace to them. And, uh, as to us, our fellow heirs, no longer strangers to the covenants of promise. Our fellow heirs. Yes? Yes, sir. Uh, one simple observation, um, in the taking of the city of Jericho, uh, and I'm not sure how much stock to put into the phrase, but in verse twenty of chapter six it says, uh, the people went up to the city, every man straight before him into the city. Now, I'm not sure how much to take of that, but it's a very unusual phrase, as if to say maybe the walls all fell straight in, and it was like a, or however it fell, it was easy for them to work. But the point is, everybody could go straight in because God had given total victory. Mm-hmm. But then what I noticed was that when they go to take Ai, uh, it's a different set of circumstances, but as they go in, uh, it says in verse nineteen, they entered the city and took it. And so what clicked in my head is, in trying to take these strongholds, if they followed God and his direction, it might come in different ways, but it is a complete victory because of following God. Yes, so. Yes. Hello? I'm, uh, thinking that, uh, two aspects in Jericho and Ai. One, we could think of the preaching of the gospel in Jericho was pure. They obeyed the Lord, and how they conducted themselves in the battle, and all went well. Uh, it also resulted in salvation of Rahab and her family. In Ai it was this mix. They had brought in elements, we would say, uh, of the law, of the old system, and went to Ai, and uh, none were saved alive out of there. Mm-hmm. Yes, and someone over there's got a hand up. Well, it gives a very... As the, the, someone standing up already. In the blessings and the curses, we're told that your enemies will, uh, flee before you seven ways. It says in verse ten of chapter twenty eight of Deuteronomy, they'll be afraid of you. You find in AI that they don't measure the first time, they don't measure against the revelation. Instead, they measure against their own sight. They look, they evaluate by numbers, and they go in in verse three of chapter seven. they go in at their own strength, evaluating by sight, by the numbers. And God has them, would have them to always evaluate according to the revelation, and revelation by having talked to the Lord. Now look at the sin of, uh, the sin of Achan in chapter seven. It says, verse twenty. so Achan answered Joshua and said, truly I've sinned against the Lord, the God of Israel, and this is what I did. Listen to what he did. I saw among the spoil a beautiful mantle, two shekels of silver, and a bar of gold, fifty shekels of it. I coveted them, and I took them. This was the sin of Eve. She saw that it was good for food. Mm-hmm. And she desired to have it, and she took it. We find that again in, I believe, it's in First John, we have the same, the same, uh, Mm-hmm. right thing. And, uh, compares to... in six nineteen, what he took was of the Lord. Mm-hmm. Then you go to Malachi, and they say, where have we stolen from the Lord? Mm. He doesn't realize he is, he's that man. Mm-hmm. He's stolen. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Well, thank you very, very much, and thank you all for your patience with me, uh, and it, and forgive me for trying that patience excessively. But now, uh, time is that we must cease, uh, and go our ways to the evening meal. Larry Sterling, do you give thanks?