From Holiness to Cherem

Joshua  •  Sermon  •  Submitted   •  Presented   •  54:27
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Recap:

Christians must obey all of God’s Word, not pick and choose.
Kings of the land fear and despair, but don’t repent.
Israel acknowledges wrong and corrects it.
Proposition: God is for God and He will graciously bring about delays in your life so that you will repent.

Exposition:

Joshua 5:10 NASB95
10 While the sons of Israel camped at Gilgal they observed the Passover on the evening of the fourteenth day of the month on the desert plains of Jericho.
Israel is in the land, and you almost anticipate them to go running in the land like Mel Gibson in Braveheart against the King Edward I .
But instead of charging, they were delayed by circumcision.
And now they are being delayed because they are going to “preform” (ויעשו) the Passover.
Passover marked the end of their time in Egypt
Passover now will mark the beginning of something new.
They are celebrating “in the plains of Jericho” (בְּעַֽרְב֥וֹת יְרִיחֽוֹ). They are no longer outside of the land. They are in the land that God promised them!!!
Why are they in the land? Because God has been faithful to them.
God has judged the sinners, but He kept His word in bringing them into the land.
Joshua 5:11 NASB95
11 On the day after the Passover, on that very day, they ate some of the produce of the land, unleavened cakes and parched grain.
While they went into the land, their were fields that they had not planted, but they were harvesting. They were not eating food they brought over, they were eating food from what the land produced.
God blessed the ground and gave strength to the people of Jericho to work, because God was preparing food for His people!
Did Jericho think they were serving the Lord?
No, but God took it from them anyways.
It is better to go ahead and give the the Lord.
Joshua 5:12 NASB95
12 The manna ceased on the day after they had eaten some of the produce of the land, so that the sons of Israel no longer had manna, but they ate some of the yield of the land of Canaan during that year.
God stopped giving them manna. Which might seem mean of God. But God had given them something even better, a whole land that can grow all types of fruits and vegetables. A land that has coastal waters to fish, land to have cattle and herds.
They were able to eat a whole year off God’s provision through the people of the land.
Why did God not just continue giving the manna and the land? The text does not answer that question specifically.
But human condition would be that they might satisfy themselves with manna and never cultivate the blessings of the land God had given them.
God sometimes takes good things away from us because He has something better for us.
I say sometimes because, sometimes God takes away good things because we have taken good things from God and turned them into an idol.
Don’t despair when God takes something away from you. See what God is doing, don’t focus on the loss.
Joshua 5:13 NASB95
13 Now it came about when Joshua was by Jericho, that he lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, a man was standing opposite him with his sword drawn in his hand, and Joshua went to him and said to him, “Are you for us or for our adversaries?”
The text presents a shift – another delay. Again the delay serves to teach a theological lesson. Life is so short, why does God not just get them to conquer the land? Because God cares more about their relationship with Him then the time it takes to help them grow.
Joshua is by Jericho (בִּֽהְי֣וֹת יְהוֹשֻׁעַ֮ בִּירִיחוֹ֒ Joshua was in Jericho) (The Lexham Hebrew Bible. Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2012. Print). Which makes the threat much more real. Who knows who is walking about.
Joshua “lifted” (וַיִּשָּׂ֤א Q. PTN) his eyes
Then Joshua “saw” (וַיַּ֔רְא Q PTN). The author delays by giving a sequence of events.
Joshua saw a man, and the man was “opposite” (לְנֶגְדּ֔וֹ Prep.). The idea it communicates is that the person is in front of Joshua, but it could also mean that the is standing against him or in opposition. The man is not standing with Joshua but opposite to him.
The man has a sword and the sword is drawn!!!
Joshua walks up to the guys and wants to know how the man is going to relate himself to Israel. Will he be with Israel or an adversary.
Joshua 5:14 NASB95
14 He said, “No; rather I indeed come now as captain of the host of the Lord.” And Joshua fell on his face to the earth, and bowed down, and said to him, “What has my lord to say to his servant?”
The man does not answer Joshua’s question.
First, the man tells Joshua who He is: Commander of the Army of the Lord.
The commander of the army was the highest raking officer.
But the statement is in a constructive state (Genitive or Possessive). He pertained to someone. Which means there was someone higher them him. Who could this be?
An angel
God
Christ. It seems the image we see of Christ in Revelation seems to show Christ as being.
Second, the Commander orders Joshua to come. The response of Joshua was to:
Fell on his face towards the ground
He worshiped the Commander. The word could also mean that he bowed. It is used in Gen. 18:2 and Gen. 19:1 to bow. And in Ex. 4:31 for worshiping.
Joshua wants to know what did the Lord want to communicate to him. Which shows a humble attitude and one ready to listen.
Joshua 5:15 NASB95
15 The captain of the Lord’s host said to Joshua, “Remove your sandals from your feet, for the place where you are standing is holy.” And Joshua did so.
The Commander tell Joshua to take his sandals off because the ground is holy. This brings to mind the narrative of Moses and the burning bush.
Just as with Moses encountering God lead to something new.
So with Joshua, encountering God will lead to something new, but tied to their past! Just like God identified Himself to Moses as being the God of Abraham.

Application:

God’s Blessing

Many time we accept the blessings from the Lord and we think that God intends us to fully enjoy those blessings. Many times that is the purpose.
But this text presents another truth, that God might be blessing you, so that you can be a blessing to others.

God’s Taking

God took the manna from the Israel. He had given them the land, and they no longer needed the manna.
The sinful attitude could be to focus our life on what God takes away from us. Many people live that way. They might not blame God, but since God is sovereign, ultimately they are mad with God.
The blessing of the land was much better than the blessing of manna.

God’s Side

God does not get on our side. We get on God’s side.
There has been a theology of “name it and claim it.” A gospel of prosperity that says that God wants to give you everything your little heart wants and desires!!!
God is on God’s side. God reveals Himself to allow us to get on His side.
God blesses us with HIM!!!
There is not greater blessing than being blessed with being able to be on the side of God!

Conclusion

Proposition: God is for God and He will graciously bring about delays in your life so that you will repent.
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