Conquest & Compromise

Today’s passage has us reading about the land allotments for Judah, Ephriam, and Manasseh. While passage like this with an inventory of town names that mean little to those among us who have never been to Israel or studied ancient geography. But! There is a very interesting pattern that emerges in today’s chunk.

Judah received their allotment of land, but could not drive the Jebusites out of Jerusalem. And this despite the fact that the King of Jerusalem had already been captured and killed along with, presumably, many of his fighting men. Ephriam and Manasseh were also unable to remove the Canaanites from their allotments of land. Curiously, however, they were eventually able to subjugate the people as slaves.

Did the Israelites forget the command God gave them?

But in the cities of these peoples that the LORD your God is giving you for an inheritance, you shall save alive nothing that breathes, 17 but you shall devote them to complete destruction, the Hittites and the Amorites, the Canaanites and the Perizzites, the Hivites and the Jebusites, as the LORD your God has commanded,

Deuteronomy 20:16-17

Did the Israelites forget what they were able to do in Egypt despite being slaves? Did they forget what happened to Achar? Compromise might be a good way to mediate a dispute, but it is a terrible way to serve God! Watch over the coming months how things go with the Judges, and then the Kings, and then the Captivity. It’s so sad to watch the fall of the chosen people of God.

As a Christian, compromise is a concession to defeat. To compromise is to the wave the white flag at Satan and drop the drawbridge. It’s either conquer with Christ or be conquered by death. To compromise is to choose the latter.

Choose wisely.

Joshua 15:20-17:18 | 086-365

The Long, Long Awaited Promise

When Moses sent in his 12 spies, only two of them came back with a good report. Caleb and Joshua. Joshua took the mantle of leadership from Moses while Caleb was passed over for that role. But when the time came to send in spies again, Caleb was called on once more. And once more he believed the Lord.

40 years passed between these two incidences. 40 years.

After the first show of faith, Caleb was promised (Num 13:24) to inherit the land that his fellow spies didn’t believe God could give them, and then he had to wait. And wait. And wait.

This is how it can feel sometimes, isn’t it? we feel like God is leading us somewhere, we get a glimpse of our own “Promised Land” and then we are asked to wait. Doors close in front of us. I, myself, feel like this happened to me for about 4 years while God was preparing to bring me back into ministry. But while the wait for God’s faithfulness to come through often feels… long, He knows better than we do why the fulfilment of that promise will come when it does.

Israel had to wait through 400 years of prophetic silence for John the Baptist to show up on the scene and herald their long-awaited messiah. Abraham was shown told about the Promised Land — again — 400 years before his descendants would actually possess it WELL after his death.

What I am saying is that while the waiting is indeed the hardest part, it is worth it. When the fulfillment finally comes it is incredible to look back at the path you’ve come down and how thoroughly it has prepared you for what lies ahead.

Be blessed today, friends.

Joshua 12:7-15:12 | 085/365

The Sun Stood Still… Really?

One of the most contested passages in the entire canon of Scripture. It reads:

Then Joshua speaks to YHWH in the day of YHWH’s giving up the Amorites before the sons of Israel, and he says before the eyes of Israel, “Sun—stand still in Gibeon; and moon—in the Valley of Ajalon”; and the sun stands still, and the moon has stood—until the nation takes vengeance [on] its enemies; is it not written on the Scroll of the Upright, “and the sun stands in the midst of the heavens, and has not hurried to go in—as a perfect day?” And there has not been like that day before it or after it, for YHWH’s listening to the voice of a man; for YHWH is fighting for Israel.

Joshua 10:12-14, Literal Standard Version

I chose the most literal English translations I could find to talk about this passage. Theories to explain this phenomenon abound but I will briefly touch on the five most common ones, why I think rigid literalism is dangerous, and which one I find the most compelling.

Theory 1: The Earth LITERALLY Stopped Rotating

Is this possible? Yes. Of course it is. Any Christian who thinks this is not possible grossly underestimate God. He created the universe, including all the laws of physics that would send a suddenly-stopped earth into chaos the likes of which humanity has never seen before. He could certainly pause all of that as well. Yes this is unequivocally possible! BUT the sheer number of Christians I have seen who say that if you believe anything OTHER than a literal interpretation, you are denying the existence of miracles and therefore the resurrection of Christ and therefore Christianity itself… is staggering to me! If that’s you, please just take a beat and think about this for a moment. My thoughts about any one thing are not equally applied to all things of that type. If I think a patent-leather dress show looks great with a tux, that does not mean I feel the same way about Crocs. Every shoe is no more the same than every miracle is the same.

Again, this is certainly possible for God, but I think it is unnecessary in scope to explain the evidence.

Theory 2: Appearance of Extended Sunlight Only

This theory essentially says that time proceeded as normal, and the miracle that happened was the appearance of extended sunlight to those fighting the battle. Of course if we factor in that verse 9 tells us Joshua attacked in the morning… why would Joshua be asking the Lord for more daylight in the morning? Did he already know that the battle would go on for longer than the typical daylight hours?

This is also possible, but I don’t find this theory especially compelling.

Theory 3: A Solar Eclipse

This is pretty far-fetched to me. Joshua asks the sun to stand in Gibeon and the moon in the valley of Ajalon. Gibeon is to the east and Ajalon is to the west. These are on opposite ends of the sky. This is about as far away from a solar eclipse as we can get, yet we are told that “God listened” to Joshua. By giving him the opposite of what he asked for? This is highly doubtful to me.

Theory 4: Figurative Language

This theory basically holds that the language of Joshua is poetic and symbolic rather than literal. There are times when we see things attributed directly God which are more likely indirectly attributable to God. Perhaps this is another one of those times. Recognizing that things went well in that battle and rightly thanking God for His provision and leadership. This would turn the events into a glorious abstract attribution to God of the victory over their foes. And if I’m honest, I can see why this is so appealing. It neatly sidesteps actually dealing with the problem presented by the text. We no longer need to do the work of sorting out what has happened, and we can instead just say, “God was with Israel” and move on.

But that easy way out is the very reason I also find this theory un-compelling.

Theory 5: A Bad Omen

This theory takes the reader from a 21st century AD world of cosmology and physics into a 14th century BC world of symbols and omens. Joshua, not given to omens but knowing his opponent is, looks into the sky and sees the sun over Gibeon and the full moon over Ajalon. This would have been a fantastic sign to Israel’s enemies that they would be successful in battle… if this were the 14th day of the month. Any other day of the month and this would be a terrible sign. Joshua knew that and also knew that the sun and the full moon would only be visible in the sky together for about 4 minutes. His prayer was that God would hold those things in place long enough for Israel’s enemies to see them and become demoralized by them. If you are interested in additional reading about this theory, a more robust treatment can be found here.

This is my preferred theory. I think it makes the most sense of all the data…. and I love the idea of Joshua and the Lord using the omens and signs and superstitions of their enemies against them. Something very poetic about that in my mind.

In conclusion, feel free to adopt whichever theory you believe makes the best sense of the Biblical data. This is very much a secondary issue. One on which believers can disagree in good faith. Be blessed today my friends!

Joshua 10:1-12:6 | 084/365

Exercising Control In Order To Yield It

All to Jesus I surrender,
All to Him I freely give;
I will ever love and trust Him,
In His presence daily live.

I surrender all, I surrender all;
All to Thee, my blessed Savior,
I surrender all.

All To Jesus I Surrender // Judson W. Van DeVenter (1896)

This old hymn exemplifies what I want to focus on in today’s passage. The story of Achan. Israel is given the city of Jericho and Achan decides to keep for himself some of the things to be set aside for consecration to the Lord. Dude literally steals from God.

Steals.

From God.

But what is interesting is that this one guy — out of a nation of more than 1 million members — decides to go rogue and cuts off the blessing of the Lord for everyone! The Apostle Paul gives this analogy in his first letter to the Corinthians:

Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain it. Every athlete exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable. So I do not run aimlessly; I do not box as one beating the air. But I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified.

1 Corinthians 9:24-27

One rogue member of our body NOT under submission can jeopardize everything. Your hands, eyes, mouth, heart, mind? Is everything ‘disciplined’? Satan only needs a foothold, he is patient and willing to play the long game. He’s not likely to jump out and challenge you to abandon God, but rather take our uncontrolled mouth and use it as a vector for attack that will rob us of the blessing of God. And slowly, insidiously, he will rob us of our imperishable reward. And just like Achar, that one area that went unchecked will disqualify us from receiving the prize that had been waiting for us.

Don’t let any part of you be an Achar, bring every part of you under control. So that you can indeed surrender all to our blessed Saviour.

Joshua 7-9; 1 Chronicles 2:7 | 083/365

Let’s Try That Again

This is the testimony of Rahab in Joshua 2:9-11:

I know that the Lord has given you this land and that a great fearof you has fallen on us, so that all who live in this country are melting in fear because of you. We have heard how the Lord dried up the water of the Red Sea for you when you came out of Egypt, and what you did to Sihon and Og, the two kings of the Amorites east of the Jordan, whom you completely destroyed. When we heard of it, our hearts melted in fearand everyone’s courage failed because of you, for the Lord your God is God in heaven above and on the earth below.

Note the two things cited by Rahab of Jericho. 1) Crossed the sea on dry land and 2) Completely destroyed the kingdoms of Sihon and Og. Step 1, part the sea. Step 2, conquer.

Here is Joshua 3 we see the very fears of the people of Jericho realized. Step 1 has come to pass. And the Jerichoians… Jerrricans? Jerichoites? Jerichoers? The citizens of Jericho know that step 2 is coming. The smart ones will have fled beforehand, and those who chose to stand their ground would have to contend with the God of Joshua, Moses, Joseph, and Jacob.

God once again had Israel cross the sea on dry land and step into the promise He had been holding for them the last 40 years (or 400, depending when you started counting). And there’s no reason God can’t do it again for you. Let him move you. Step into the water of the overflowing river and watch Him make a way where there was no way before. Your enemies are only as big as you think they are if God is with you.

Joshua 3-6 | 082/365

LATEST SERMON

Ruth 2:2-9a

Bold as Love

songcraft

Intro:
Hallelujah, Hallelujah

Verse One:
I have always been the one to corronate the king
To put him on his throne and in charge of everything
He said he’ll always rule the court benevolently
He said he’ll overlook my flaws
Hallelujah

Verse Two:
The king’s command is just as he rules over the land
From me he asks one simple thing: that I would choose to stand
For he has heard it from the Lord that we must all defend
Never to withdrawl
Hallelujah

Verse Three:
He told us of the outside world where heathens did abound
They celebrated sin, yes, we were told so by the crown
They were doomed to damnation, should not have them around
They might corrupt us all
Hallelujah

Verse Four:
We stood and watched the heathens from the towers of the gate
We know they’ll try to break it down, one day they’ll penetrate
So we cannot sit back and watch lest it become too late
It was a rally call
Hallelujah

Verse Five:
We had to win some converts by an edict of the court
So grab your swords and muskets, boys, we’re riding with the Lord
If they refuse our gift of love, we’ll rend them with the sword
Love at the end of a gun
Hallelujah

Verse Six:
One by one they turned us down and so we ran them through
Sent them to the damnation that they were destined to
We just followed orders, did what we were asked to do
For the King has the ear of God
Hallelujah

Verse Seven:
As I watched the last of them be rolled into their graves
I stood upon this land of theirs, that for the king we’d claimed
And I began to wonder: did we need it anyway?
Was I proud of what I’d done?
Hallelujah

Verse Eight:
So I sought an audience with his majesty
That he would dain to entertain a lowly serf like me
I watched his face tighten as I sought for clarity
Then he stood up tall
Hallelujah

Verse Nine:
He straightened out his arm and threw his finger in my face
He declared disloyalty and labelled me disgrace
The rhetoric of brotherhood has fallen by the way
Execution for treason
Hallelujah

Verse Ten:
And as I stood before the Lord and maker of us all
There was such sadness in his eyes for all the pain I caused
He said his heart breaks for me, too, because I chose him not
How could I be so wrong?
Hallelujah

Verse Eleven:
Now as the darkness covers me and as I fade away
For my brothers and my sisters in the kingdom I do pray
The king knows nothing of the Lord, we’ve all been led astray
The King, he is a fraud
The state, it is his god
Hallelujah
Hallelujah

Backstory

I was inspired by the religious love some people have for their political leaders while listening to The Ballad of Hollis Brown by Bob Dylan. I think when we try to marry the church and the state it more often than not leads to the state getting priority. It’s good to take your civic duties seriously and to vote for policies that align with your faith, beliefs, and worldview. But the State makes a terrible God.

Song Info

Author: Conrad MacIntyre
Feel: Folk Ballad
Tempo: 104bpm
Key: D Major
Time: 4/4

Ballad of the King, The

WEB PROJECTS

Blackjack

One of the assignments while I was a student at BCIT was to create a game. There were a plethora of different options from a simple number generator, up to a game of Blackjack. I opted for the hardest option, wanting to get the most out of my opportunity at school. I was extremely pleased with how it came out. It is relatively simple and uses HTML, CSS, and jQuery to run the whole thing. You can play a hand at 128k.ca/blackjack.

View project All web projects

Video projects

I’ve always loved the 1990 “IT” miniseries. I taped it off TV when it originally aired and it stayed in my collection for years; until the tape wore out. Now I have a Blu-Ray copy. The director’s commentary is wonderful, by the way. So, it is announced that the new “IT” re-adaptation is coming out in September of 2017. Of course, I’m super excited to see what this will look like with modern effects and budgets. My take? It was fine. Without Stephen King’s insane, coked-out, sex-pervert novel as the source material and especially without the iconic miniseries and work of Tim Curry (and — I would argue — Jonathan Brandis), I doubt folks turn out in droves for it after the string of poor King adaptations recently (Cell, Carrie, Dark Tower, etc)....