Podcasts about Amorites

Caleb waited 45 years for a promise. When he finally got the chance to collect it, he didn't ask for the easy plot — he asked for the hardest territory in the land.In Week 7 of Uncharted, we put God's track record on trial. We look at Joshua 14 and 21 and ask: has the wait made you bitter, or has it made you better, bolder? Because the same God who kept every promise to Israel hasn't forgotten the one He made you either.

07/19/2026 Jacob Kim   Judges 2:20-3:6   20 So the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel, and he said, “Because this people have transgressed my covenant that I commanded their fathers and have not obeyed my voice, 21 I will no longer drive out before them any of the nations that Joshua left when he died, 22 in order to test Israel by them, whether they will take care to walk in the way of the Lord as their fathers did, or not.” 23 So the Lord left those nations, not driving them out quickly, and he did not give them into the hand of Joshua. 3 Now these are the nations that the Lord left, to test Israel by them, that is, all in Israel who had not experienced all the wars in Canaan. 2 It was only in order that the generations of the people of Israel might know war, to teach war to those who had not known it before. 3 These are the nations: the five lords of the Philistines and all the Canaanites and the Sidonians and the Hivites who lived on Mount Lebanon, from Mount Baal-hermon as far as Lebo-hamath. 4 They were for the testing of Israel, to know whether Israel would obey the commandments of the Lord, which he commanded their fathers by the hand of Moses. 5 So the people of Israel lived among the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. 6 And their daughters they took to themselves for wives, and their own daughters they gave to their sons, and they served their gods.

Joshua 2:1-24 [1] Now Joshua the son of Nun sent out two men from Acacia Grove to spy secretly, saying, “Go, view the land, especially Jericho.” So they went, and came to the house of a harlot named Rahab, and lodged there. [2] And it was told the king of Jericho, saying, “Behold, men have come here tonight from the children of Israel to search out the country.” [3] So the king of Jericho sent to Rahab, saying, “Bring out the men who have come to you, who have entered your house, for they have come to search out all the country.” [4] Then the woman took the two men and hid them. So she said, “Yes, the men came to me, but I did not know where they were from. [5] And it happened as the gate was being shut, when it was dark, that the men went out. Where the men went I do not know; pursue them quickly, for you may overtake them.” [6] (But she had brought them up to the roof and hidden them with the stalks of flax, which she had laid in order on the roof.) [7] Then the men pursued them by the road to the Jordan, to the fords. And as soon as those who pursued them had gone out, they shut the gate. [8] Now before they lay down, she came up to them on the roof, [9] and said to the men: “I know that the LORD has given you the land, that the terror of you has fallen on us, and that all the inhabitants of the land are fainthearted because of you. [10] For 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 the two kings of the Amorites who were on the other side of the Jordan, Sihon and Og, whom you utterly destroyed. [11] And as soon as we heard these things, our hearts melted; neither did there remain any more courage in anyone because of you, for the LORD your God, He is God in heaven above and on earth beneath. [12] Now therefore, I beg you, swear to me by the LORD, since I have shown you kindness, that you also will show kindness to my father’s house, and give me a true token, [13] and spare my father, my mother, my brothers, my sisters, and all that they have, and deliver our lives from death.” [14] So the men answered her, “Our lives for yours, if none of you tell this business of ours. And it shall be, when the LORD has given us the land, that we will deal kindly and truly with you.” [15] Then she let them down by a rope through the window, for her house was on the city wall; she dwelt on the wall. [16] And she said to them, “Get to the mountain, lest the pursuers meet you. Hide there three days, until the pursuers have returned. Afterward you may go your way.” [17] So the men said to her: “We will be blameless of this oath of yours which you have made us swear, [18] unless, when we come into the land, you bind this line of scarlet cord in the window through which you let us down, and unless you bring your father, your mother, your brothers, and all your father’s household to your own home. [19] So it shall be that whoever goes outside the doors of your house into the street, his blood shall be on his own head, and we will be guiltless. And whoever is with you in the house, his blood shall be on our head if a hand is laid on him. [20] And if you tell this business of ours, then we will be free from your oath which you made us swear.” [21] Then she said, “According to your words, so be it.” And she sent them away, and they departed. And she bound the scarlet cord in the window. [22] They departed and went to the mountain, and stayed there three days until the pursuers returned. The pursuers sought them all along the way, but did not find them. [23] So the two men returned, descended from the mountain, and crossed over; and they came to Joshua the son of Nun, and told him all that had befallen them. [24] And they said to Joshua, “Truly the LORD has delivered all the land into our hands, for indeed all the inhabitants of the country are fainthearted because of us.”

Joshua 3Early in the morning Joshua and all the Israelites set out from Shittim and went to the Jordan, where they camped before crossing over. 2 After three days the officers went throughout the camp, 3 giving orders to the people: “When you see the ark of the covenant of the Lord your God, and the Levitical priests carrying it, you are to move out from your positions and follow it. 4 Then you will know which way to go, since you have never been this way before. But keep a distance of about two thousand cubits[a] between you and the ark; do not go near it.” 5 Joshua told the people, “Consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow the Lord will do amazing things among you.” 6 Joshua said to the priests, “Take up the ark of the covenant and pass on ahead of the people.” So they took it up and went ahead of them. 7 And the Lord said to Joshua, “Today I will begin to exalt you in the eyes of all Israel, so they may know that I am with you as I was with Moses. 8 Tell the priests who carry the ark of the covenant: ‘When you reach the edge of the Jordan's waters, go and stand in the river.'” 9 Joshua said to the Israelites, “Come here and listen to the words of the Lord your God. 10 This is how you will know that the living God is among you and that he will certainly drive out before you the Canaanites, Hittites, Hivites, Perizzites, Girgashites, Amorites and Jebusites. 11 See, the ark of the covenant of the Lord of all the earth will go into the Jordan ahead of you. 12 Now then, choose twelve men from the tribes of Israel, one from each tribe. 13 And as soon as the priests who carry the ark of the Lord—the Lord of all the earth—set foot in the Jordan, its waters flowing downstream will be cut off and stand up in a heap.” 14 So when the people broke camp to cross the Jordan, the priests carrying the ark of the covenant went ahead of them. 15 Now the Jordan is at flood stage all during harvest. Yet as soon as the priests who carried the ark reached the Jordan and their feet touched the water's edge, 16 the water from upstream stopped flowing. It piled up in a heap a great distance away, at a town called Adam in the vicinity of Zarethan, while the water flowing down to the Sea of the Arabah (that is, the Dead Sea) was completely cut off. So the people crossed over opposite Jericho. 17 The priests who carried the ark of the covenant of the Lord stopped in the middle of the Jordan and stood on dry ground, while all Israel passed by until the whole nation had completed the crossing on dry ground. 1. God goes before His people Joshua 3:1 NIV Early in the morning Joshua and all the Israelites set out from Shittim and went to the Jordan, where they camped before crossing over. Joshua 3:3, NIV3 … “When you see the ark of the covenant of the Lord your God, and the Levitical priests carrying it, you are to move out from your positions and follow it. Joshua 3:4 NIV 4 Then you will know which way to go, since you have never been this way before. But keep a distance of about two thousand cubits[a] between you and the ark; do not go near it.” 2. God prepares His people before He moves them Joshua 3:5 NIV 5 Joshua told the people, “Consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow the Lord will do amazing things among you.” 3. Faith steps before it sees Joshua 3:7 NIV 7And the Lord said to Joshua, “Today I will begin to exalt you in the eyes of all Israel, so they may know that I am with you as I was with Moses. Joshua 3:8 NIV 8Tell the priests who carry the ark of the covenant: ‘When you reach the edge of the Jordan's waters, go and stand in the river.'” Joshua 3:13 NIV 3 And as soon as the priests who carry the ark of the Lord—the Lord of all the earth—set foot in the Jordan, its waters flowing downstream will be cut off and stand up in a heap.” Joshua 3:15 NIVNow the Jordan is at flood stage all during harvest. Yet as soon as the priests who carried the ark reached the Jordan and their feet touched the water's edge, Joshua 3:16 NIV 16 the water from upstream stopped flowing. It piled up in a heap a great distance away, at a town called Adam in the vicinity of Zarethan, while the water flowing down to the Sea of the Arabah (that is, the Dead Sea) was completely cut off. So the people crossed over opposite Jericho. Joshua 3:17 NIV 17 The priests who carried the ark of the covenant of the Lord stopped in the middle of the Jordan and stood on dry ground, while all Israel passed by until the whole nation had completed the crossing on dry ground. Joshua 4:1-3 NIV When the whole nation had finished crossing the Jordan, the Lord said to Joshua, 2 “Choose twelve men from among the people, one from each tribe, 3 and tell them to take up twelve stones from the middle of the Jordan, from right where the priests are standing, and carry them over with you and put them down at the place where you stay tonight.” Joshua 4:6-7 NIVto serve as a sign among you. In the future, when your children ask you, ‘What do these stones mean?' 7 tell them that the flow of the Jordan was cut off before the ark of the covenant of the Lord. When it crossed the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan were cut off. These stones are to be a memorial to the people of Israel forever.”

On today's page, ⁠Chullin 77, a discussion about avoiding the practices of the Amorites becomes a meditation on Jewish identity. Recorded around a barbecue table in upstate New York, this special summer episode with Rabbi Dovid Bashevkin and producer Josh Kross considers how traditions, customs, and everyday habits shape a uniquely Jewish way of life. Is Jewish continuity built on laws alone, or on culture as well? Listen and find out.

In the case of a bone fracture, as long as the greater portion of the bone is covered by flesh and skin, it is acceptable for consumption. With an apparent treatment of regeneration of an animal's limb via another animal's bone, which seems to have been a serious treatment at the time, with consult between the sages and veterinarians. Also, a new mishnah! One who can manage it can each the following potentially stomach-turning delicacies -- including the amniotic sac. Though the partial emergence of the amniotic sac would render all of it not-kosher. Note the practices of the Amorites that were prohibited. Also, when it comes to the idea of giving the placenta to the dogs -- what is the rationale to specify this? Note that the question is based on the potential sanctity of a potential "bekhor" -- first-born -- of the animal. Which leads to the math of how many animals would be first-borns in sanctity.

Five enemy kings join forces. Israel is exhausted, outnumbered, and already fighting a battle they never should have signed up for. And in the middle of it, Joshua prays one of the boldest prayers in all of Scripture — he asks God to stop the sun.In this message from our Uncharted series in the book of Joshua, we dig into Joshua 10 and ask a question every one of us needs to answer: what audacious, impossible-without-God prayer have you stopped praying? We'll look at why bold prayers can only be prayed with humility, why God invites us into partnership rather than doing everything for us, and why the prayers we fail to pray in the ordinary moments often create the crises that require the extraordinary ones.Whether you're walking through something that feels beyond fixing or you've just gotten comfortable praying safe, predictable prayers, this message will challenge you to bring your biggest asks to the God who is able to do "infinitely more than we might ask or think" (Ephesians 3:20).

This recording is a condensed version of the sermon preached at the Land Dedication Service of Immanuel Evangelical Lutheran Church in Mankato, Minnesota at Reserve Park on July 12, 2026. You can watch the full recording on our YouTube Channel.   Sermon Text: Numbers 13:17-33 (NKJV) Then Moses sent them to spy out the land of Canaan, and said to them, “Go up this way into the South, and go up to the mountains, 18 “and see what the land is like: whether the people who dwell in it are strong or weak, few or many; 19 “whether the land they dwell in is good or bad; whether the cities they inhabit are like camps or strongholds; 20 “whether the land is rich or poor; and whether there are forests there or not. Be of good courage. And bring some of the fruit of the land.” Now the time was the season of the first ripe grapes. 21 So they went up and spied out the land from the Wilderness of Zin as far as Rehob, near the entrance of Hamath. 22 And they went up through the South and came to Hebron; Ahiman, Sheshai, and Talmai, the descendants of Anak, were there. (Now Hebron was built seven years before Zoan in Egypt.) 23 Then they came to the Valley of Eshcol, and there cut down a branch with one cluster of grapes; they carried it between two of them on a pole. They also brought some of the pomegranates and figs. 24 The place was called the Valley of Eshcol, because of the cluster which the men of Israel cut down there. 25 And they returned from spying out the land after forty days. 26 Now they departed and came back to Moses and Aaron and all the congregation of the children of Israel in the Wilderness of Paran, at Kadesh; they brought back word to them and to all the congregation, and showed them the fruit of the land. 27 Then they told him, and said: “We went to the land where you sent us. It truly flows with milk and honey, and this is its fruit. 28 “Nevertheless the people who dwell in the land are strong; the cities are fortified and very large; moreover we saw the descendants of Anak there. 29 “The Amalekites dwell in the land of the South; the Hittites, the Jebusites, and the Amorites dwell in the mountains; and the Canaanites dwell by the sea and along the banks of the Jordan.” 30 Then Caleb quieted the people before Moses, and said, “Let us go up at once and take possession, for we are well able to overcome it.” 31 But the men who had gone up with him said, “We are not able to go up against the people, for they are stronger than we.” 32 And they gave the children of Israel a bad report of the land which they had spied out, saying, “The land through which we have gone as spies is a land that devours its inhabitants, and all the people whom we saw in it are men of great stature. 33 “There we saw the giants (the descendants of Anak came from the giants); and we were like grasshoppers in our own sight, and so we were in their sight.”   Theme: This Land Is God's Land

(This podcast was previously published on August 23, 2021)   Jesus Ministries, Joan Boney  ...   Adam was created by God from the dust of the ground.    Genesis 1   First God created everything the man and woman would need:  The heaven and earth, plants, animals, fish and fowl, trees for fruit.   Then God created man.   26 And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.   27 So God created man in HIS own image, in the image of God created HE him; male and female created HE them.   28 And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.   31 And God saw every thing that HE had made, and, behold, it was very good.  And the evening and the morning were the sixth day.   Genesis 2   7 And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.   18  And the LORD God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him.   21-22  And the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept: and HE took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof;  And the rib, which the LORD God had taken from man, made HE a woman, and brought her unto the man.   23 And Adam said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.   24 Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.  

Introduction: I Will Doubt... (Numbers 13:1-14:38) If I Am Paralyzed by MY CIRCUMSTANCES . (Num 13:25-33) If I Choose the Comfort of MY PAST . (Num 14:1-4) Romans 6:20-21 - For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness. But what fruit were you getting at that time from the things of which you are now ashamed? For the end of those things is death. If I Tune Out GODLY COUNSEL . (Num 14:5-10a) James 1:22-25 - But be doers of the Word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the Word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like. But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing. If I Follow the CROWD . (Num 14:10b-38) Sermon Notes (PDF): BLANKHint: Highlight blanks above for answers! For Our Example: Ancient Warnings for the Church Today - Do Not Be Doubters Taylor Brown Download Audio Transcript 00:48Well, please turn your Bibles to Numbers chapter 13. Numbers chapter 13.00:55Now, as you turn there, I have a question for you. Have you ever been sent on a spy mission?01:02Really, nobody. I was sent on a spy mission in college. Do you want to hear about it?01:09All right, so in college, I worked for a pet sitting service. I would walk dogs, feed cats, and stay at people's houses while they were on vacation. And one day, my boss asked me to come into her office, and she sat me down for story time. Apparently, she had a client who was a local celebrity, who I won't name here, but this guy was having romantic troubles, to say the least. He and his girlfriend couldn't even be in the same room as each other anymore. And so he asked her to move out and take her stuff with her.01:45And I thought to myself, okay. Interesting, but what does this have to do with me? My boss told me, well, our client doesn't want to go to the house to see if his girlfriend has left or not. He wants one of us to do it. He's going to pay us to do it. And you're the only guy on my payroll, and I don't want to ask the women to do it. Don't worry, you're not breaking and entering. We have his garage code. We have his permission. I know this is a lot to ask, but I'll pay After a lot of reassurance, I would not be arrested or stabbed.02:20I drove over to this guy's house, and I sat on his street for a while.02:25Just like, what am I doing?02:27And there was no car in the driveway.02:30So I eventually get the courage to get out of my car, walk up the driveway.02:34I peek into the garage.02:35It's empty.02:38Type in the garage code.02:40Slip in.02:41And I just keep yelling out, hello, hello.02:44Don't worry.02:45I'm not a burglar. Your boyfriend sent me over. I don't know if that would have really been helpful. Or not. I don't really know. It's what I said. I was really nervous. I wasn't getting sneak attacked or pepper sprayed. But it became very clear that the woman was not there. But here's the problem. All of her stuff was still there. So I had to go back to my boss and our client with a bad report. The woman is gone, but her stuff ain't.03:15I knew that my boss and my client would not be very happy with this bad report from my spy mission. This morning we are studying a biblical spy mission. Twelve Israelite spies are sent on an important assignment and most of the spies come back with a report that won't make Moses or God himself very happy. In my case, I simply reported what I saw all those years ago.03:45But when it comes to the Israelite spies, the unfaithful Israelite spies, they report what they wanted to see. They report what they saw through the eyes of fear when they should report on what they saw through the eyes of faith. These unfaithful spies experience doubt. And at its core, doubt is distrust in the character, purposes, and promises of God. They allow doubt to cloud their vision and make their decisions for them.04:23What about you? You may not be a spy like me, but can you relate to the 10 unfaithful spies at all? Do you ever experience doubt? Do you ever look at your life through the eyes of fear instead of the eyes of faith?04:46Do you ever allow doubt to cloud your vision and make your decisions for you? We are taking a short pause on the book of 1 Corinthians to focus on the books of Exodus and Numbers. This is the second week of our latest series for our example, Ancient Warnings for the Church today. Ancient Israel's history of disobedience should be studied for the sake of our obedience.05:16today. Throughout Exodus and Numbers, the Israelites set negative examples for us to avoid, and God provides warnings that we should not ignore. Last week, we studied the golden calf incident at Mount Sinai, and we received the warning to not be idolaters. This morning, we will receive another warning from God. Do not be doubters. Do not be doubters.05:45You know, heeding this warning, listening to this command from God may be a tall order for some of you. We live in such a stressed out and anxious culture where worry is normalized and excused. Everyone is worried about something. Politics, gas prices, the economy, house projects, young children inside the home, grown-up children outside the home.06:15the home, personal appearance, public opinion, the list is endless. You know, worry and doubt are not just problems out there. Worry and doubt are problems in this room. The outside culture has invaded the church. Many professing Christians are just as stressed out and worried as the unbelievers around them.06:45of faithful dependence upon God, we can so often be negative examples of disbelief in God and his plans for our lives. Maybe your worry is obvious to everyone around you besides you. Maybe you justify your worry in saying, well, I can't help it. This is my personality type. There's nothing I can do. Or maybe you are very well aware of your anxiety.07:15The doubts pile up in your mind, and you don't know what to do next. You don't know how to handle this serious issue. Thankfully, no matter where you fall on the spectrum of doubt, the Lord tells you what to do next in His Word. In Numbers chapter 13 through 14, the Lord calls you to avoid the negative examples of the 10 unfaithful Israelite spies, and He calls you to follow the positive of the two faithful spies. In these chapters, God shines a light on the potholes and pitfalls that will trip you up and cause you to fall into doubt. So before we continue, let's go to the Lord and ask for his help. Please pray for me. I will faithfully proclaim God's word and I will pray for you that you will faithfully receive God's word. Father, you have never once given us a reason to doubt you.08:18But we come before you today to acknowledge that we doubt you all the time.08:23We worry, we stress, we give ourselves over to anxiety.08:30Father, we repent of this and we ask for your help to change.08:35May you use your word to transform us.08:39May you use your word to remind us of your past faithfulness.08:44So the Israelites have escaped slavery in Egypt. They were delivered from the Egyptian army and they passed through the Red Sea. Last week we learned they survived their horrible act of idolatry at the base of Mount Sinai.09:14of disobedience, they're finally at the edge of the promised land. They made it. This journey was a lot harder than it needed to be, but they're finally here. It's like when you're driving on vacation in bumper to bumper traffic and your kids are arguing the whole time. The trip was really painful, but it's going to be worth it, right? The trip's going to be worth it. The destination is going to make all that worth it, right?09:44of the Israelites. Not so much when it comes to the Israelite family vacation.09:50They botched the trip to the promised land, and they're about to botch the trip into the promised land.09:58Twelve spies are sent to spy out the land, scope out the enemies that occupy it, and bring back a report.10:05Before they head out, Moses gives them a pep talk in chapter 13, verse 20.10:10He says, be of good courage and bring some of the fruit of the land. As you discussed, only two of the spies listen to Moses. Only two of them are of good courage and bring back a good report. Ten of them are cowards and they bring back a very negative report. These men choose to travel down the path that leads to doubt. And their path to doubt is the same exact path to doubt that you and I willingly walk down all the time.10:45So what is the path to doubt?10:49There are four attitudes and actions that will lead you to doubting the Lord and His good purposes for you.10:56So on your outline, I will doubt if I am paralyzed by my circumstances.11:02I will doubt if I am paralyzed by my circumstances.11:10Let's read verses 25-27 of chapter 13.11:36It flows with milk and honey. And this is its fruit. So far, so good, right? The first section of this report seems faithful. They give a positive description of the land. It's flowing with milk and honey. They even obey Moses' command and bring back some of the fruit of the land. Good job, guys. Well, this thumbs up is about to turn to a thumbs down. Very quickly, this report goes off the rails in verses 28 through 29.12:06However, that's when it goes wrong. However, the people who dwell in the land are strong, and the cities are fortified and very large, and besides, we saw the descendants of Anaknir.12:19The Amalekites dwell in the land of the Negev.12:21The Hittites, the Jebusites, and the Amorites dwell in the hill country.12:25And the Canaanites dwell by the sea and along the Jordan.12:31They're doing great until that, however, changes everything.12:38Yes, the land has a lot of flocks.12:40It has a lot of fruit.12:42It's a great land.12:44But the people there are really scary.12:47They are freakishly tall.12:48They have huge cities with massive walls.12:51They are way too strong.12:56There are enemies everywhere.13:00The unfaithful spies overshadow the goodness of the land with their however talk.13:07They downplay God's good gift to them, and they overhype the obstacles in their way.13:14You and I are great at this kind of however talk as well.13:19You think to yourself, yeah, I should be more present at home and engaging with my kids.13:24However, I'm just so exhausted when I get home.13:27I have nothing left to give.13:31Oh, I know I should take part in the New Testament reading plans that they're doing at Harvest. However, I'm just way too busy to commit to something like that. Maybe whenever life slows down. I should lead my family in devotions. However, I don't really know what I would say. I don't really know what I would do, so I'm just going to avoid that. I know I should share my faith and tell people about Jesus. However, I'm an introvert.14:00And it really makes me uncomfortable to do that. However talk leads to doubt. Doubt leads to disobedience. And disobedience leads to a denial of the blessings that God wants to give to you. A voice of reason cuts through their however talk in verse 30. Caleb, one of the faithful spies, speaks up for God and tells the truth. He calls people to action. Look at verse 30. But Caleb quieted the people before Moses and said, let us go up at once and occupy it for we are well able to overcome it. The unfaithful spies are dumping gasoline on the fire and fueling the fear of the people. The Israelites must respond in a loud panic because Caleb has to shut them up. He says, shush them so that they will listen to them.15:00And Caleb says, guys, let's stop talking and let's start going. We will defeat them. This is Caleb's epic movie moment. He is rallying the troops like William Wallace and Braveheart or Theoden in Lord of the Rings. If this were a movie, the epic music would blast. They would all raise their swords and storm the promised land. Happy ending. Is that what happens?15:30Now, the response to Caleb's epic speech is more however talk. The unfaithful spies ratchet up. They intensify their bad report in verses 31 through 33. Then the men who had gone up with him said, we are not able to go up against the people for they are stronger than we are. A.K.A. they are stronger than God.16:01So they brought to the people of Israel a bad report of the land that they had spied out saying the land through which we have gone to spy out is a land that devours its inhabitants and all the people that we saw in it are of a great height and there we saw the Nephilim the sons of Anak who come from the Nephilim and we seem to ourselves like grasshoppers and so we seemed to them. In verse 27 They mix in a positive description of the land. It's flowing with milk and honey. In these verses, they are straight negative. Now on second thought, the land isn't so great. Actually, it's a terrible place that will destroy us, that will devour us, and the people there are way too strong. We will lose if we go. What is their problem? Why are they saying these things?17:00making a bad decision you'll say and do just about anything to carry that out you'll exaggerate you'll lie you'll steamroll over others who disagree with you never underestimate the power of fear and its ability to distort your perception of reality the unfaithful spies are paralyzed by what they saw in the promised land and they are too and do what God said.17:35Can you relate to the ten unfaithful spies at all?17:40Do you ever exaggerate your problems?17:44Do you ever catastrophize your life?17:49Do you feel paralyzed by your circumstances right now and unable to move forward?17:56Maybe you are paralyzed by the difficult circumstances of your marriage right now.18:01Your marriage hasn't been good for months, maybe even years, and you've given up hope that it will ever change, so you just sleepwalk through life.18:11Maybe you are paralyzed by the difficult circumstances of your children not really caring about Jesus, constantly disobeying you, and you've just given up.18:23You doubt that things will ever change. So you wave the white flag. Maybe the difficult circumstance you are paralyzed by right now is a relational strain in your life. You and a family member haven't talked for a long time. Whenever you're in the same room, there's a lot of tension. And you doubt that it will ever improve. So you stop doing your part in reconciling the relationship. Maybe you are paralyzed by the difficult circumstance of a very hard decision that you need to make very soon. And you think to yourself, there's no way there will be a positive outcome to this, so it doesn't really matter what I decide. You're paralyzed. You don't know what to do, so you decide to do nothing. You decide to disobey the Lord. And please hear me, I know that many of you are going through an intense season of suffering. Some of which I know, some of which I don't know. You're experiencing loss, isolation, sickness, deep wounds in your family. The hits keep on coming and you don't see an end in sight. I do not want to minimize your pain, but I do want to maximize your view of the Lord. You will continue to be paralyzed by your circumstances until you choose to focus on the God who is far greater and far stronger than your circumstances. You may have been thrown for a loop by what happened to you, but God wasn't. Instead of being paralyzed by the immensity of your problems, be encouraged by the immensity of your God. When you have a small vision of God, your problems seem unbelievably out of control.20:27But when you have a big vision of a big God, your problems are teeny tiny in comparison.20:34Small God, big problems.20:36Big God, small problems.20:38Do that with me.20:39Small God, big problems.20:42Big God, small problems.20:45Remember, I will doubt if I am paralyzed by my circumstances.20:50Secondly, I will doubt if I choose the comfort of my past. I will doubt if I choose the comfort of my past. The day after a presidential election is a fascinating social experiment, isn't it? Does the losing side really respond with grace and poise? Almost never. You turn on the TV, no matter who wins, no matter who loses, there is a temper tantrum.21:20There's upset feelings. There's even crying. People threatening to leave the country, which never actually happens. I've never seen that. People actually follow through on that. The Israelites react to this bad report in a very similar way at the beginning of Numbers 14. Look at verses 1 through 4 of chapter 14. Then all the congregation raised a loud cry, and the people wept that night. And all the people of Israel grumbled against Moses and Aaron.21:50The whole congregation said to them, Would that we had died in the land of Egypt, or would that we had died in the wilderness?21:56Why is the Lord bringing us into this land to fall by the sword?22:00Our wives and our little ones will become a prey.22:03Would it not be better for us to go back to Egypt?22:08And they said to one another, Let us choose a leader and go back to Egypt.22:15Wouldn't you know it, it's pity party time.22:18The Israelites are feeling bad for themselves. Do you see yourself in this response at all? I know that I do. I had a very bad reaction a few weeks ago. I had a very long and frustrating day, and I just wanted to go to bed. Anybody else, has that ever happened to you? You're just like, I'm just done with this day. I want to start over fresh tomorrow. And I thought to myself, you know what, I'm just going to fill up my water bottle, just in case I'm thirsty in the middle I'm going to go to bed. So I fill it up to the brim. It's a pretty big water bottle. Here's the problem. I didn't tighten the lid. So when I go to grab it, it spills over the entire counter. It goes down into all the drawers and it goes back behind the oven. And I just sit there and be like, what just happened? The water was everywhere. It took me 20 minutes to clean it up. I had to pull the oven out and dry behind there. And then you see all the stuff that's under your oven, which is really gross. So I'm scrubbing. I'm vacuuming. I'm doing all that. I have to pull all the drawers open and towel them dry. All of our pans are soaked. All of our bread bags are soaked. I'm fuming. And I go up to my bedroom and I tell my wife all about it. I have a very bad reaction. I say, why does this stuff always happen to me? I'm like a magnet for annoying and embarrassing stories. And then I proceeded to list all the embarrassing things that happened to me recently.23:47Like getting hit by an uninsured DoorDash driver. Who else has that happened to? Breaking my foot on stilts. Who else has that happened to? If you don't know that story, take me to Chick-fil-A sometime and I'll tell you all about it. But anyway, I'm going through this list and I finally finish my monologue. And my wife says, nothing. And she looks at me with the look that only a wife can have.24:17This water incident was not ridiculous. My response was ridiculous. Even more than that, my response was ungodly and wrong. The Israelites' response in this passage is ridiculous. It's ungodly. It's wrong. They grumble and complain against their leaders. They grumble and complain against God. They even accuse God of pulling a cruel prank on them.24:45Oh, God only brought us out of Egypt so we could die here. He did that to kill our children. Yeah, that makes a lot of sense, guys. God did all that just to zing you. Right. It's ridiculous. Foolish thinking leads to foolish behavior. I don't want to focus too much on their grumbling because we're going to talk about their complaining more at the end of this series. The Israelites not only complain and make accusations, They also openly rebel against God. And they start a mutiny. They refuse to enter the promised land. And they say, we're going back to Egypt. They want to go back to slavery. Why would they want to do that? Why would the Israelites want to go back to slavery? Because it's familiar. Because it's comfortable. Because there are no surprises.25:46They know what to expect from day to day. A life of bondage is more comfortable than a life of trusting God. And the same is true for Christians today. This is why in times of trial and uncertainty, you are the most tempted to go back to who you used to be and what you used to do before Jesus Christ saved you. You are the most tempted to slip back into your old sinful patterns.26:16And Paul warns against this temptation in Romans 6, 20-21. He says, For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness. But what fruit were you getting at the time from the things of which you were now ashamed? What good did it do you? For the end of those things is death. There is no upside to sin. There is no benefit to going back. It is pointless.26:46You will be disappointed when you slip back into your old self. When you slip back into your old sinful patterns. It's like watching a movie that you used to love when you were a kid, but now it does nothing for you. Just turn it off and move on. It's like slipping into an old jacket that used to fit you so well in high school or college, but now it's way too loose, it's way too tight. Take it off, throw it in the trash, and wear something that's fits who you actually are now.27:20I could spend the rest of this sermon listing off all the sinful patterns you are tempted to slip back into.27:26But that's pointless because you know exactly what sinful pattern you are tempted to slip back into.27:35Maybe you're feeling that itch right now.27:39Maybe you've scratched that itch already and you're feeling that urge yet again.27:46Well, please consider the answer to these two questions with me. When has sin ever helped you? What's the answer to that question? Never. When has sin ever been the right solution to your problem? Not even once. Going back to your past sin will only hurt you and it will never help you. It will only amplify the fears and doubts that you're already experiencing.28:14experiencing. Sometimes it feels like the current of temptation is impossible to resist.28:20But that's not true.28:22Don't just give up and go back.28:24Instead, by the grace of God, by the power of the Holy Spirit, dig in and move forward.28:31Be honest with a Christian friend or family member.28:36Talk to me or one of the elders after service.28:38We would love to pray for you.28:39We would love to give you the counsel that you need.28:43Listen to the warning of this passage. I know that many of you just need to hear from the Lord. You don't have to go back. You don't have to do this. Do you believe that? You don't have to go back. You may feel like you have to give in to your sin, but you don't. You don't have to do this. You I will doubt if I am paralyzed by my circumstances. I will doubt if I choose the comfort of my past. I will doubt if I tune out godly counsel. I will tune out if I tune out godly counsel. At this point, most of the Israelites are packing their bags and typing the address for Egypt in their GPS. They are ready to go.29:43But there are four men who are willing to stand in the gap and go against the grain of this insanity. And two of these men are the faithful spies, Joshua and Caleb. They speak up and give godly counsel. In chapter 14, verses 5 through 9.30:13and said to all the congregation of the people of Israel, the land which we passed to to spy it out is an exceedingly good land.30:22If the Lord delights in us, he will bring us into this land and give it to us, a land that flows with milk and honey.30:30Only do not rebel against the Lord.30:33And do not fear the people of the land, for they are bred for us.30:37Their protection is removed from them, and the Lord is with us.30:41Do not fear them. Caleb is two for two with the inspiring speeches. And this time Joshua, his friend, backs him up. You think, okay, maybe this time the people will listen. Maybe this time they will respond in faith instead of doubt. Look at their response in verse 10. Then all the congregation said to stone them with stones. Once again, you just want to reach the Pages of Scripture and shake them by the shoulders. Why won't you listen? Why do you keep disobeying? Why do you keep doubting? Those are great questions. Let me answer those questions with questions of my own. Have you ever not listened to God's Word in the past? Have you ever closed your Bible after reading it and not done what it said?31:41Have you ever not lived out what you were called to in a faithful sermon? Have you ever tuned out godly counsel from a wise Christian friend? I see a lot of nodding heads. I hear some yeses. But why? Why didn't you listen to God's word? Why did you tune out godly counsel? Because you thought you knew better than God. You trusted yourself.32:11when you should have trusted him. That godly counsel from a solid Christian friend wasn't what you wanted to hear, so you chose to go with your own way. You chose to follow your own advice. Like mold, doubt thrives in the darkness. Doubt will continue to spread in your heart and your mind if you do not willingly expose yourself to the light of God's word. But here's the thing.32:41It's not enough to just buy a lamp and put it in your living room.32:46What do you need to do next?32:49Turn it on.32:50That's the only way you can experience the illuminating power of the lamp.32:54You have to do something.32:56This requires action.32:58It's the same with God's Word.33:00It's not enough just to have the Bible on your nightstand, on your bookshelf.33:05You have to actually do something.33:07You have to actually read it.33:10It's not even enough just to read the Bible. It's not enough just to come every Sunday and hear the Word. You have to actually do something with it. You have to actually have action and follow through. You have to live in obedience to it to truly experience the life-giving power of God's Word. The death-destroying power of Scripture. This requires you doing what it says.33:40I stole it from the Bible. Listen to James.33:45But be doers of the word and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.33:48For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in the mirror.33:55For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like.33:59But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing.34:11The Israelites hear what God has to say, but they do not do what God says. They are hearers who forget and not doers who act, so they forfeit God's blessing. Are you a hearer who forgets? Or are you a doer who acts and receives God's blessing? Could it be that you are so worried, anxious, and filled with doubt because you know a lot this book, but you're not doing a lot with this book.34:46Your knowledge of Scripture is very high, but your obedience percentage is very, very low.34:55I have to tell you, that's a very destructive place to be, and you do not want to stay there.35:01If you stay in that position of knowing a lot, but not doing what the Bible says, you will doubt that God knows what He is doing.35:09You will doubt that God loves you. You will doubt your salvation. You will not have an assurance of your faith. This is why so many believers do not believe in the truth of the gospel, not trust that they have an assurance. They're not living in obedience to Scripture. They're not enjoying that close fellowship that comes with doing what God says. You know the Bible, but don't live it out. You will doubt.35:39It's just a matter of time.35:43I will doubt if I am paralyzed by my circumstances.35:47I will doubt if I choose the comfort of sin.35:50I will doubt if I tune out godly counsel.35:53And finally, I will doubt if I follow the crowd.35:58I will doubt if I follow the crowd.36:04Israel is about to treat Joshua and Caleb like human pinatas.36:08They're about to stone them.36:11Then in chapter 14, verse 10, God shows up on the scene himself and stops the whole thing, and he takes Moses aside for a personal conversation.36:22It's very similar to what we studied last week in Exodus chapter 32.36:26Once again, God tells Moses, I'm going to destroy this rebellious people and start over with you.36:33Once again, Moses pleads for mercy.36:37And once again, God responds that plea for mercy and chooses to save the Israelites. God answers Moses' request, but there will be consequences. There will be consequences for the doubters, and there will be blessing for those who remain faithful. Let's look at these consequences and blessings in chapter 14, verse 20 into 38. I know it's a lot, but please stay with me.37:07But truly, as I live, as all the earth shall be filled with the glory of the Lord, none of the men who have seen my glory and my signs that I did in Egypt and in the wilderness, and yet have put me to the test these ten times, and have not obeyed my voice, shall see the land that I swore to give to their fathers, and none of those who despise me shall see it. But my servant Caleb, because he has a different spirit and has followed me fully, I will bring him to the land into which he went, and his descendants shall possess it.37:37Now since the Amalekites and the Canaanites dwell in the valleys, turn tomorrow and set out for the wilderness by the way of the Red Sea. And the Lord spoke to Moses and to Aaron saying, How long shall this wicked congregation grumble against me? I have heard the grumblings of the people of Israel which they grumble against me. Say to them, As I live, declares the Lord, what you have said in my hearing I will do to you. Your dead bodies shall fall in this wilderness.38:07who have grumbled against me. Not one shall come into this land where I swore you, where I make you to dwell, except Caleb, the son of Jephunneh, and Joshua, the son of Nun. But your little ones, who you said would become prey, I will bring in, and they shall know the land that you have rejected. But as for you, your dead bodies shall fall in the wilderness, and your children shall be shepherds in the wilderness 40 years, and shall suffer for your faithlessness. And for the last of your dead bodies lies in the wilderness.38:38According to the number of the days in which you spy out the land, 40 days, a year for each day, you shall bear your iniquity 40 years, and you shall know my displeasure. I, the Lord, have spoken. Surely this I will do to all this wicked congregation who are gathered together against me. In this wilderness they shall come to a full end, and there they shall die. And the men whom Moses sent to spy out the land, who returned and made all the congregation grumble against him, by bringing up a bad report, the man who brought up a bad report of the land died by a plague before the Lord. Of those who went out to spy the land, only Joshua the son of Nun and Caleb the son of Jephunneh remained alive. Let's cover the consequences first. The older generations who doubted and grumbled will never see the promised land. They will die in the wilderness. And along the way they'll have to wander for 40 years.39:37One year for every single day the spies were in the land. The younger generations will see the promised land, but they have to wait for 40 years. So if you are 19 when this happened, how old will you be when you see the promised land? 59 years old. These are the consequences for doubting the Lord. These are the consequences for caring about public opinion more than God's definitive word.40:06These are the consequences for following the crowd instead of following the Lord. But there is blessing for those who follow the Lord instead of follow the crowd. God says only two of the spies will not die. Only two of the spies will see the promised land. Joshua and Caleb. These men remain faithful when everyone around them is faithless. They choose to trust when everyone else doubts.40:37Why? What makes them so special? Well, God tells us. God says it's about Caleb. He has a different spirit than the rest of the Israelites. He says he follows the Lord fully. What does that mean? It means that Caleb does whatever God says, no matter what. When it's easy, when it's not so easy, when it seems impossible.41:10He only cares about what God says. He doesn't lick His finger and try to figure out which direction the wind is blowing. He is willing to stand out as different. He refuses to blend in and be like everybody else. Do you have a different spirit than the non-believers around you? Do you have a different spirit than the non-Christians at work, your non-Christian neighbors? Or do you look just like them? Do you follow the Lord fully, or do you follow the Lord half-heartedly? I said at the beginning of this message that many Christians look just as anxious, stressed out, and worried as the non-Christians around them. Is that you today?42:08If that's you, you can have a different spirit today. You can follow the Lord fully today. You can bring all of your cares, all of your intrusive thoughts to God, and His perfect peace will guard your heart and your mind today. You can cast all of your anxieties on Him today because He cares for you today. And every other day after that, you can make a change today.42:36I really don't want you to mishear me. Please listen carefully.42:40You will experience doubt. You will experience worry. You will experience fear.42:47These are just the realities of living in a fallen world. But you do not need to be controlled by these things any longer. You don't need to be worried all the time. Do not sentence yourself to a life of stress.43:02It may be a badge of honor in this sinful culture, but it will not be rewarded in heaven. Being worried all the time may seem normal by this world's standards, but it is not normal by heaven's standards. Do not follow the crowd and willingly travel down the path to doubt any longer. Be on guard against the four attitudes and actions that will lead you down the path to doubt.43:31You will doubt if you are paralyzed by your circumstances. You will doubt if you choose the comfort of your past. You will doubt if you tune out godly counsel. And you will doubt if you follow the crowd. The Lord is so faithful in giving us what we need to fight against doubt. He has given us His word. He has given us prayer. He has given us His people.44:01and he has given us the Lord's Supper. You may be wondering, how does communion help me to fight against doubt? Every single time we share in this meal together, we are rejecting the lies of this world and we are proclaiming the truths of God's word. Every single time we take part in this meal together, we are rejecting the lies that Jesus is just a made-up fairy tale or some moral teacher who has nice things to say 2,000 years ago. We are proclaiming that Jesus Christ is Savior and Lord. We are rejecting the lies that we're not sure what happens after you die, or there are multiple ways to God. No, instead, we are proclaiming that Jesus Christ is the only way, the only truth, and the only life. We are rejecting the lies that God doesn't care about us. We are proclaiming that God is our Father, and He adopted us through faith in His Son.45:00We are rejecting the lie that we could ever be good enough to earn God's love and we are proclaiming that in Christ we are loved by God. We are accepted by God. We are forgiven. We are made new. Every single time we share this meal together we are rejecting the lies of this world and proclaiming the unshakable truths of heaven. What better way is there to fight against doubt than that? Our communion servers and our worship team can now make their way forward.45:31You do not need to be a member of Harvest Bible Chapel to take part in the Lord's Supper, but you do need to be a member of the family of God. There are some of you in this room who do not have faith in Jesus Christ. You doubt what the Bible says about who He is and what He has done. If that's you, I encourage you to stay seated. I encourage you to consider where your doubt has led you. Doubting Jesus has only led to misery, heartache, and pain. I implore you today to be done with doubt and to place your trust in Jesus Christ alone for salvation. If you are a born-again believer in Jesus, in a few moments you will walk down one of the center aisles and come receive the elements from one of our servers. You will go back to your seat and wait until we take the Lord's Supper together. You can come as you are ready. Small Group DiscussionRead Numbers 13:1-14:38What was your big take-away from this passage / message?Why has worry become such an acceptable sin in the church? What do you tend to worry and stress about the most?What circumstances are you paralyzed by and how can you begin to move forward?What biblical command or godly counsel do you need to apply to your life right now?BreakoutPray for one another.

The world can be a scary place – so many things that strike fear in our hearts. And yet over and over again, God says "Do Not be Afraid." What does that mean? How does that work?   Spiders and Snakes I don't know about you but as I look around, it seems to me that the world can be a scary place. Take spiders and snakes – I mean, depending on where you live in this world, they are either dangerous or they're not. Here in Australia we are seriously over represented in the world's "top ten" list of most venomous creatures, so when I was growing up as a child I had good reason to be afraid of them. And still today, the idea of a spider crawling into my bed … ! It's one of the scariest thoughts I can come up with. Let me tell you a funny story. One of the most venomous snakes on the planet is the death adder – great name isn't it? When I was in the Army training to be an officer at the Royal Military College Duntroon, we were one day out doing some grenade practice and that meant you had to sit in bunkers and the person who was throwing the grenade would go out and throw their grenade. Now we had New Zealanders as well as Australians at the Royal Military College and in New Zealand there are no venomous animals at all, so when the Kiwis come across the ditch to Australia, they are petrified of our snakes and our spiders. Well one Kiwi, we'll call him Rock – I've got to tell you this death adder story. He went out of the bunker to go and throw his grenade and we had a dead death adder. So we positioned it in the bunker so he had to sit down right next to it when he came in. Well he came in and he sat down and he looked at it and I've got to tell you, his legs were going before his backside was up off the log and he was running out. We can laugh about it now but the world can be a scary place, especially with friends like me. In my defence I was a young man at the time. So this week we are starting a new series on the programme, it's called "Do Not be Afraid". There is a reason for that – there are lots of people in this world who spend much of their lives living in fear. Sometimes it's because they are living in a war zone – I mean there are plenty of people listening to this programme today who know that only too well. People in the Democratic Republic of Congo for instance, where there is war raging in parts right now – some of those people are sitting in their homes listening to this programme today wondering whether they will see tomorrow or next week or next year. Other times there are different life threatening things that happen. We can have a health scare. The morning I sat down to prepare this message was the morning of the funeral of a friend of mine. Now, he was just a couple of years older than me and he died suddenly of a heart attack. It's easy to be afraid – and it rocks our confidence. And yet other people, they just live lives with a real sense of dread. There is always something there for us to be afraid of or to dread. There is always something lurking out there. For me honestly, if I allowed it, I could be afraid of quite a few things. I mean, I have some things in my life right now that could cause me to experience fear – and that's the thing. It doesn't matter who we are or where we live or … whatever, we all go through times of fear. And that fear can rob us of life itself but time and time and time again, you read in God's Word, these words from God to His people. He says, "Do not be afraid." And He speaks them right at the time when the people He is talking to have every reason to be afraid. They have got people and circumstances coming against them and conspiring against them and they're experiencing fear and yet God wades in and says, "Do not be afraid." Now if God doesn't want me to be afraid when I have every reason to be afraid, you know something? I want to have a piece of His brand of confidence. Don't you think? I mean, think about it! What's the point of God saying, "Do not be afraid", when we have no reason to fear? It's right in the middle of our fear that we need His confidence. I definitely want that – how about you? Well, how can we have that confidence? That's a good question – that's what today's programme is about – that's what this whole four week series is about … "Do not be afraid." So I invite you to come on a journey with me. We are going to start that journey with an account of a time when God's chosen people, Israel, had every reason to be afraid. They were in exile – they had been living in the Promised Land for about five hundred years and yet they had struggled with God. They had worshipped idols and other gods and eventually the Lord their God lost His patience. So in around 586BC, the Babylonians, who were the dominant world power of the day, invaded Jerusalem. They destroyed the place – they destroyed the temple, the place where God's presence dwelt and they took this remnant of God's people back to Babylon as slaves. Talk about a crisis of confidence! Think about it – God made all these promises to Abraham and to Isaac and Jacob and then when Israel was enslaved in Egypt, He sent Moses and did amazing miracles and the whole Red Sea thing and the exodus and the manna from heaven … everything that got them to the Promised Land. And when they got there, with Joshua as their leader, they fought battle after battle against nation after nation that was bigger and stronger than Israel itself and yet God was with His chosen people and they took the land that God had promised them. And now … now Babylon wins! God's own temple is destroyed! Where is God? What happened? Are the Babylonian gods stronger than our God? They have a loss of confidence – it's a big thing. I mean we hear people talking about shareholder confidence and consumer confidence and that feeling when you go to sleep at night, you know, you get that falling sensation and you wake up in a panic, grabbing onto the bed. Confidence is the trust that the earth beneath our feet won't move. It's the trust that the stock market won't fall; it's the trust that the plane we are flying in won't fall off the sky; it's the trust that our governments will do the right thing – it's about trusting, whatever. And then, it's like the rug gets pulled out from under your feet and you lose confidence and panic and fear set in. Why? Because we no longer feel safe – we are no longer able to trust in the things that we have always trusted in. That's where Israel was – there was a complete loss of confidence in their God. Now He was punishing them but they couldn't quite see that. It was like they were flying in a plane at thirty two thousand feet above the ground and all of a sudden, all the engines are silent – panic, fear! And fair enough too! So what does God say to them right in the middle of their fear and panic ... what does God have to say? We are going to take a look at that next.   I am Your God So here is Israel in this scary, fearful place. They have in slavery, exiled in Babylon for the best part of three generations – that's a long time – so only a handful of Israel's elders who can even remember Jerusalem in its heyday. So what does God have to say to these people of His who are cowering in fear under the yoke of slavery? If you have got a Bible, grab it and open it up at Isaiah chapter 41, beginning at verse 8 – he says this: But you Israel, My servant Jacob whom I have chosen, the offspring of Abraham, My friend; you whom I took from the ends of the earth and called from its farthest corner, saying to you, "You are My servant, I have chosen you and not cast you off. Do not fear for I am with you. Do not be afraid for I am your God. I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with My victorious right hand. See, the first thing that God does is He reminds them of His promises to Abraham. When Abraham stood in that Promised Land, centuries before, this is what God promised him – just flick back to Genesis chapter 15, verse 18: On that day the Lord made a covenant with Abraham, saying, "To your descendants I give this land; from the river of Egypt to the great river, the Euphrates, the land of the Kenites and the Kenizzites and the Kadmonites and the Hittites and the Perizzites and the Rephaim and the Amorites and the Canaanites and the Girgashites and the Jebusites. See, God's promise is that God had chosen them; God had chosen Abraham, their ancestor, God had promised this land and God said, "I will do this." Notice it is all about God! Do not fear, I am with you; I am your God; I will strengthen you. I will help you; I will uphold you with My victorious right hand. The whole thing that God relies on here in talking to His people in their fear and in their despair, is not who they are or how strong they are or how clever they are, or how well they have done because they haven't, they are there being punished. No, He is saying to them, "Look who I am, My promise, I am your God, I am with you," but how does that help them? Isn't He the God who failed them seventy years earlier? Okay, so He sends them some prophet, Isaiah, to tell them this – BIG DEAL! And that may well be what you are going through right now. You look at your circumstances – they are so fearful! Okay, so God sends you some joker on the radio with a smooth voice who says "Do not be afraid", but how can you put your confidence in that? It was exactly the same problem that the Israelites had. Their circumstances, the Babylonians, looked so much bigger than their God. I mean, you think about it in your head and you know God is bigger than the things that we are confronting but in your heart, it's so hard to believe in your heart – the fear is destroying any confidence that you might have in God. God knew that – that's why He also said this to them: have a listen to this … this is powerful stuff! So let's pick it up in Isaiah chapter 40 – this is the chapter before the one we have been looking at, verse 18. Have a listen to what God says about Himself: To whom then were you likening God or what likeness compare with Him, an idol? A workman casts it and a goldsmith overlays it with gold and casts for it silver chains. As a gift one chooses mulberry wood – wood that will not rot – then seeks out a skilled artisan to set up an image that will not topple. Haven't you known? Haven't you heard? Hasn't it been told to you from the beginning? Haven't you understood from the foundations of the earth? It is He who sits above the circle of the earth and its inhabitants are like grasshoppers; who stretches the heavens out like a curtain and spreads them like a tent to live in; who brings princes to nothing and makes rulers of the earth as nothing. Scarcely are they planted, scarcely are they sown, scarcely has their stem taken root in the earth, when He blows upon them and they wither and the tempest carries them off like stubble. "To whom then will you compare Me, or who is My equal?" says the Holy One. Lift up your eyes on high and see: Who created these? He who brings out their host and numbers them, calling them by name, because He is great in strength and mighty in power, not one of them is missing. Why do you say, O Jacob, and speak, O Israel, "My way is hidden from the Lord and my right is disregarded by my God?" Haven't you known? Haven't you heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint and grow weary; His understanding is unsearchable." Do you see how powerful this is? God is saying, "Look, I am God. I created the whole shooting match. See those trillions of stars up there – lift up your eyes, have a look, who do you reckon put them there? I know the Babylonians worship them but I created them. They are out there every night because I tell them to march out there. This is Me who is talking to you – not some crummy idol like the stuff that Babylonians worship – I am bigger than your circumstances. It makes absolute sense to put your confidence in Me.' See, God is speaking this stuff into the hearts of His people when they are afraid; when they have no hope and no future, God comes along and says, "Do not be afraid. Not because of who you are; not because of your circumstances, no, do not be afraid because of who I am. I will come to help you; I will fight your battles for you; I will be your God; I will keep My promises to you."   A Part for God to Play The hardest thing I think in overcoming fear in life is actually getting to the point where we have a high level of confidence in God; in who God is, what He has done – His might and His power and His sovereignty. That all sounds great in theory but what about the practice; what about when the rubber hits the road, then what? See, I used to think it was up to me and I guess in part it is, but not completely. That's just as well because you and I, we're human. We can't conjure up confidence; we can't take this theory about who God is and let the theory somehow wipe away the fear because fear is real. Now, I need something more than that; I need something more than promises on paper and fortunately, that's exactly what God had planned too. He didn't want to leave it all up to us – He wants us to actually experience His peace – not our strength – but a "peace" and a "strength" that come from Him and Him alone. Let's pick up the rest of this story in Isaiah chapter 40, beginning at verse 28. This is what it says: Haven't you known? Haven't you heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary; His understanding is unsearchable. Great, there was the theory again! But now, watch for what comes next! Verse 29: He gives power to the faint and strengthens the powerless. Even youths will faint and be weary, and the young will fall exhausted but those who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength, they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint. Do you see the point? The power and the strength, where do they come from – do you or I conjure them up? No, they come from God. He gives those things to us, why? Even youths will faint and be weary and the young and the strong will fall exhausted, but….." And here's the 'but' – the glorious, wondrous, powerful 'but,' "but those who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength, they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not grow faint." You know what it means to wait? It does not mean to wait with a bad attitude; it does not mean to wait with grumbling in our hearts and on our lips; it doesn't mean to stand there paralysed by fear either. No, it means to wait expectantly; to wait on God with the expectation that He is who He says He is and that He will do what He says He is going to do. To wait, right in the middle of our fear – boy that's hard – with our emotions on a rollercoaster; with our enemies around us; with our hearts cast down but with an expectation, never the less, that somewhere deep inside, that God is going to act. Who knows – will God give us victory over our enemies today? I don't know! I mean there were more Christians martyred in the twentieth century than in the whole two thousand years before that, combined. We all die sometimes – is He going to heal this cancer or let it take its course? I don't know! But this one thing I do know, that: those who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength, they will mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint. God is saying, indeed He is commanding us through His Word today, "Do not be afraid" instead, wait on Him. You know, when we are waiting in fear and when we are waiting in pain and when we are waiting and it is uncomfortable and unpleasant, we want to grumble and whinge and complain and blame everyone else and have bad stuff coming out of our mouths and have grumbling in our hearts … isn't that what we want to do? We don't like being uncomfortable; we don't like being afraid, we just want it all to finish – "God what are You doing? Come on, move along, let's get over this." But those who wait….who wait expectantly for the Lord shall renew their strength, they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint. See, come what may, if I am diagnosed tomorrow with terminal cancer, I still am going to put my confidence in God who has given me a life eternal with Him. Because Jesus said to His disciples when they were afraid…..listen to this, John chapter 14, verse 27: Peace I leave with you. My peace I give to you. I don't give it to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled; do not let them be afraid. And yet, so far as we know, each of these disciples, other than Judas, went on to do mighty things for God and then … then they died for their faith. So often, we are focused on the here and now but God's plan for my life and for your life is a life eternal. God's perspective is an eternal perspective and that … that my friend is why you and I can put our confidence in Him. When we are afraid ... when we are in this place that is so scary, we can go to His Word and say, "You know what it says – it says here that 'those who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength'." You know, you never feel big; you never feel strong when you are waiting for God. When we are afraid we feel so small – you know, I think God means it to be that way. When we humble ourselves and we just come before God and say, "God, I can't do this. I don't know. I'm afraid; I don't know what to do next. I'm just going to wait on You. I'm just going to wait for You – I don't know what You are going to do – I don't know if You are going to show up, I don't know if You are going to talk, I don't know. I am going to put my faith in You and I am going to wait on You and I know my emotions are going to go up and down. I know it is going to be hard but I'm just going to wait for my God." That's an eternal perspective – that's a God perspective. Jesus had to put His faith in God. Jesus lay all His glory aside and He was there in the Garden of Gethsemane, just before He was crucified – struggling – He was afraid and He was hurting and He just put His trust in God. Do not be afraid. God gives us His peace; that's what this passage from Isaiah says: "Those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength," the strength comes from God. The "mounting up with eagles" doesn't come because we flap a lot; it comes because we waited on God. The 'running and not being weary' comes from God. "Do not be afraid" – take God's peace from Him – go and wait ... just go and wait before Him and let Him pour His love and His peace into your life. It doesn't matter how big or bad or ugly the enemy is. It doesn't matter how fearful we are. It doesn't matter how dire the consequences of this particular situation might be. Why? Because God is the God who created the whole shooting match – every star in the sky, every part of creation -–God created it. God has an eternal perspective and when we wait on Him, He gives us His peace. That's the promise my friend! "Do not be afraid." Let your confidence rest in God Himself and then, let Him do the rest. Wait on the Lord and you shall renew your strength. Wait on the Lord and you shall mount up with wings like an eagle. That's the promise – it's a God thing!

Today Pastor Jeff shares how the way we treat others reveals who we serve, reminding us that every act of kindness is an opportunity to serve God. Joshua 24:15 But if you refuse to serve the Lord, then choose today whom you will serve. Would you prefer the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates? Or will it be the gods of the Amorites in whose land you now live? But as for me and my family, we will serve the Lord."

7/5/2026: Rev. Jacob Kim   No King in Israel: A Series in the Book of Judges (Part 2): Drive Out Your Idols, Or Else   Judges 1:22-2:5   English Standard Version     22 The house of Joseph also went up against Bethel, and the Lord was with them. 23 And the house of Joseph scouted out Bethel. (Now the name of the city was formerly Luz.) 24 And the spies saw a man coming out of the city, and they said to him, “Please show us the way into the city, and we will deal kindly with you.” 25 And he showed them the way into the city. And they struck the city with the edge of the sword, but they let the man and all his family go. 26 And the man went to the land of the Hittites and built a city and called its name Luz. That is its name to this day. Failure to Complete the Conquest 27 Manasseh did not drive out the inhabitants of Beth-shean and its villages, or Taanach and its villages, or the inhabitants of Dor and its villages, or the inhabitants of Ibleam and its villages, or the inhabitants of Megiddo and its villages, for the Canaanites persisted in dwelling in that land. 28 When Israel grew strong, they put the Canaanites to forced labor, but did not drive them out completely. 29 And Ephraim did not drive out the Canaanites who lived in Gezer, so the Canaanites lived in Gezer among them. 30 Zebulun did not drive out the inhabitants of Kitron, or the inhabitants of Nahalol, so the Canaanites lived among them, but became subject to forced labor. 31 Asher did not drive out the inhabitants of Acco, or the inhabitants of Sidon or of Ahlab or of Achzib or of Helbah or of Aphik or of Rehob, 32 so the Asherites lived among the Canaanites, the inhabitants of the land, for they did not drive them out. 33 Naphtali did not drive out the inhabitants of Beth-shemesh, or the inhabitants of Beth-anath, so they lived among the Canaanites, the inhabitants of the land. Nevertheless, the inhabitants of Beth-shemesh and of Beth-anath became subject to forced labor for them. 34 The Amorites pressed the people of Dan back into the hill country, for they did not allow them to come down to the plain. 35 The Amorites persisted in dwelling in Mount Heres, in Aijalon, and in Shaalbim, but the hand of the house of Joseph rested heavily on them, and they became subject to forced labor. 36 And the border of the Amorites ran from the ascent of Akrabbim, from Sela and upward. Israel's Disobedience 2 Now the angel of the Lord went up from Gilgal to Bochim. And he said, “I brought you up from Egypt and brought you into the land that I swore to give to your fathers. I said, ‘I will never break my covenant with you, 2 and you shall make no covenant with the inhabitants of this land; you shall break down their altars.' But you have not obeyed my voice. What is this you have done? 3 So now I say, I will not drive them out before you, but they shall become thorns in your sides, and their gods shall be a snare to you.” 4 As soon as the angel of the Lord spoke these words to all the people of Israel, the people lifted up their voices and wept. 5 And they called the name of that place Bochim.[a] And they sacrificed there to the Lord.

Group Guide Use this guide to help your group discussion as you meet this week. 2 Samuel 21 Chet Phillips Download TranscriptGood morning. My name is Chet. I'm one of the pastors here. If you will grab a Bible and go to 2 Samuel, chapter 21. We've been working our way through 1 and 2 Samuel and we have reached what commentators call the epilogue of 2 Samuel that the main story has ended.And in the final four chapters, we're going to be in chapter 21. In the final four chapters, we're going to have six pictures that are kind of closing pictures on the kingship of David. And they are not in chronological order. They are in a thematic order. And they're meant to kind of sum up the picture of David for us.The actual story of David's death and Solomon becoming king, that doesn't happen until 1 Kings. You got to work all the way through into 1 Kings for that to kind of to pick up there. So, what this is is almost like the movie's ended, the end credits are rolling, and then it's cutting to different scenes or showing you different pictures of things to try to kind of give you the last picture that it wants you to have of King David. And so, we're going to see two of those pictures today. Now, I heard one pastor put it this way in regards to this text.It's not difficult to understand, but there are aspects of it that are difficult to accept. And so, we're going to go through this text that has some difficulties in it for us. Our hope is to understand why it's here. What was the author trying to tell the people in the original the original hearers? What how would they have understood this?What are we trying to see about David? And then as from our standpoint, what should we do with a text like this? And how do we understand this kind of text? And so hopefully we'll be edified by it, pointed towards Jesus in it. But let's pray and then we'll jump in.Lord, we ask for your mercy. We ask for your grace. and we ask that we would honor you well in the reading and the studying of your word and in submission to it. May your spirit be at work and help us to love Jesus more in Jesus name. Amen.Chapter 21 verse one. Now there was a famine in the days of David for three years year after year and David sought the face of the Lord. Okay, so famine in this region is not uncommon, but three years of it is is getting bad. And we're told that David starts asking the Lord. We don't know exactly when he began, but he's seeking the Lord to understand what's going on here. it's starting to seem like one of the covenantal curses, which is in the in Deuteronomy and Leviticus, if they don't follow the law, it says that your your crops won't yield their fruit.You you will find that your trees don't produce. And so he's starting to go and ask the Lord, is something going on? What's happening here? And this is what happened. Says David sought the face of the Lord.And the Lord said, there is blood guilt on Saul and on his house because he put the Gibeonites to death. So the king called the Gibeonites and spoke to them. Now the Gibeonites were not of the people of Israel, but of the remnant of the Amorites. Although the people of Israel had sworn to spare them, Saul sought to strike them down in his zeal for the people of Israel and Judah. Now, there are several things we need to consider that are going on right here in this text.One is Saul was the original king. Saul is not king anymore. Saul is dead. But there is guilt on Saul, on Saul's house. This blood guilt on Saul. in Saul's house for something that Saul did and the entire nation is paying for it.There's a famine in the land because of blood guilt. Now, blood guilt is a specific thing in the law that is the shedding of innocent blood. And so, there's blood guilt because Saul led the people to attack the Gibeonites. And it says they weren't the Gibeonites aren't the people of Israel, but the people of Israel had promised to protect them. Now, that going to take a little history lesson.That happens in Joshua chapter 9. So, Joshua is sent in with the people of Israel to take over the land. They're they're marching through. They're supposed to get rid of all the Amorites. Well, the Amorites who live in Gibby find out that they're coming and they think this isn't going to go well.So, they come up with a trick to make it seem like they're from another place. They show up. They meet with the people of Israel and they make a covenant with them. People of Israel shouldn't have made this covenant. They should have consulted the Lord, but they make it.When they find out they've been tricked and that the Gibeonites aren't from a far land, but they're from right here and they're a part of the people group they're supposed to get rid of, the people of Israel are like,"Let's kill them."And Joshua and the elders say,"We can't. We promised that we wouldn't. We co we signed the Lord up in covenant with them that we would not kill them."So we we can't. Then we would make it seem like God is a liar and he is not. And so we have to keep this promise.Well, Saul in his zeal not for the Lord, but for the people of Israel and Judah. So, he's running around going,"Israel, Israel, Judah, Judah, Judah, oi, oi, oi."Stuff like that. He's super zealous for his people. He decides the Gibeonites, who've been here forever, who are a subjugated people, we're just going to kill all of them. And so, this would have been a massacre.These people would not have been, they were surrounded by the people of Israel. They were servants to the people of Israel. they would not have been in a position to defend themselves. And he just starts killing them. That story, this is all we get of that story. There's no place that tells us that anywhere else in the text.And so David says,"Why is there a famine?"And God says,"Saul broke a 400year-old covenant that he was supposed to keep."So there's a couple of things. One is God expects you to keep your promises. We ought to be people who keep our promises. Now, if you want to not make a lot of promises, that's fine. Like, if if today you came over to me and said,"Why haven't you given me $5?You've sinned against me."I might would argue,"No, I haven't. That's not like a thing I have to do. I have not sinned against you."But if I had promised to give you $5 and then didn't give it to you, have I sinned against you? Yes. And have I sinned against the Lord?Yes. So somehow in our agreement, the Lord gets involved. He binds covenants together. Now they specifically had done it in the name of the Lord. But even as we make agreements with one another, we can still sin against God by being the type of people who don't keep up with our end of the agreement.And we'll say things like,"Yeah, but we made that deal like 10 years ago."This was 400 years old, and Saul was meant to keep it.Here's the other thing that's happening in this text. Saul was the representative head for the people of Israel. So as king, he can sin on their behalf and lead them all into sin. He's the representative head of the people of Israel of his family. And so he sins and it spreads.The consequences spread. And David as the representative head of the people of Israel now is going to have to figure it out. That's why it says he calls the Gibeonites. When he finds this out, he's got to fix the problem. Now, we don't think about headship that often, but one of the New Testament pictures we're given, it's Old and New Testament, is that husbands are the head of their family.They're head of their wife. They're the head of the household. So, I want to say to husbands in the room, every problem in your house is your problem. You don't get to say,"Well, that's her thing. Well, she's the one who deals with the kids.Well, she told me she didn't want me to be involved in that, so we'll just see how it goes."That's not how it works. David doesn't get to go,"Well, that was Saul's fault. take it up with Saul. Oh, he's dead. Let's move on. David has to try to figure out this problem because he's the representative head for the people of Israel.So, that's where we are. That's what's happening at this moment in the text. Okay.So, he's called the Gibeonites.Verse three. And David said to the Gibeonites,"What shall I do for you? And how shall I make atonement that you may bless the heritage of the Lord?"There's blood, guilt, there's sin. There needs to be atonement. How can we atone for this sin?That's what he's asking. The Gibeonites said to him,"It is not a matter of silver or gold between us and Saul or his house. Neither is it for us to put any man to death in Israel."And he said,"What do you say that I shall do for you?"So he calls them together and says,"How do we make this right? How do we atone for this?"And they say,"Is it sitting the sort of thing that we can settle out of court? It's not the sort of thing that's not a matter of silver and gold.You can't just pay off this debt with money. And then they say,"And we're not allowed to put people to death. That's not the position that we're in."And then they stop talking. Because what they're saying to him is,"But you can put people to death."So he says,"What do you want me to do for you?"Because there's a blood debt.Verse 5. They said to the king,"The man who consumed us and planned to destroy us so that we should have no place in all the territory of Israel, let seven of his sons be given to us, so that we may hang them before the Lord at Gibeah of Saul, the chosen of the Lord."And the king said,"I will give them."So they said,"We want seven of his sons. He killed us in our place. We want to kill them in his place. in his location. We want to hang them before the Lord as a representative sacrifice.That's what they're going to propose. David says,"We can do that."So, they're going to take these seven sons, seven relatives of Saul because Saul is dead, and they're going to make them pay this blood debt. Now, it's not equal because for Saul to try to eradicate them is basically what they're saying. He tried to wipe us out of here. I seriously doubt he'd only killed seven men.So what they request is representative atonement. And even if it's horrific and gruesome, this idea of rounding these guys up, going to their home, knocking on the door, and saying,"Hey, you're related to Saul. You've got to come. You're going to pay this debt."And having to go kill them publicly, have a public execution. At least the impulse should make some sense to us.If you found out that in North Korea they had overthrown the rule of the Kims and that they had gone into the royal palaces and they had killed every Kim they could find, we go,"Well, that I mean I understand it. I understand that they don't want that household, that family rising up again. I understand that they're trying to make them pay for all that they've done in their um ruling over them and their hardship."It's like we can understand the impulse even if there's parts of it that are revuls repulsive to us. But they asked for seven and David says yes. And then it says this verse 7.But the king spared Mephibosheth the son of Saul's son Jonathan because of the oath of the Lord that was between them between David and Jonathan the son of Saul. Now we don't exactly know when this took place but we know it does seem like it's after Mephibosheth has been found and is apart. Then it says,"The king took the two sons of Rizpah, the daughter of Aiah, whom she bore to Saul, Armoni and Mephibosheth."That's a different Mephibosheth. That's uncle Mephibosheth. And the five sons of Merab, the daughter of Saul, whom she bore to Adriel, the son of Barzillai, the Meholathite.If you remember Barzillai from a couple days ago, the 80-year-old man, that's not him. It's a different Barzillai. So, we got two Mephibosheth, two Barzillai. and he gave them into the hands of the Gibeonites, and they hanged them on the mountain before the Lord, and the seven of them perished together. They were put to death in the first days of the harvest at the beginning of the barley harvest. Now, this would have been a scant barley harvest or a non-existent barley harvest, but right at the beginning of the barley harvest, in the middle of this famine, which the Gibeonites are also having to deal with the famine, they hang them and put them to death.This next part is very sad. Then Rispa, the daughter of Aiiah, took sackcloth and spread it for herself on the rock from the beginning of the harvest until rain fell upon them from the heavens. Now, the beginning of the harvest is in April. Guaranteed normal rainy season. That's the starting of the dry season.Normal raining season doesn't start till September, October. Rain is almost non-existent during that middle period. It is possible there was some rain that came sooner, but it's also possible she was doing this for months. She did this until rain fell from the heavens and she did not allow the birds of the air to come upon them by day or the beasts of the field by night. So she sets up a vigil.She was not able to save her sons and her nephews from death, but she goes and camps out in front of them. She's not going to let birds pick their eyes out. And she's not going to let beasts come by and eat them. And she sits in front of them while they bake in the sun, while they rot, while they decompose. And she gives them as much honor as she can possibly give them, which is the only thing she knows how to do.It's horrific. But she has two sons and she's not going to let them be dishonored any further than they have to be.Verse 11. When David was told what Rispa, the daughter of Aiah, the concubine of Saul, had done, David went and took the bones of Saul and the bones of his son Jonathan from the men of Jabeshgilead, who had stolen them from the public square of Bethshan when the Philistines had hanged them on the day the Philistines killed Saul on Gilboa. Those are all events that have been we've gone through previously in 1 and 2 Samuel. And he brought up from there the bones of Saul and the bones of his son Jonathan. And they gathered the bones of those who were hanged.And they buried the bones of Saul and his son Jonathan in the land of Benjamin and Za in the tomb of Kish his father. And they did all that the king commanded. And after that God responded to the plea for the land. David finds out what she's doing and he goes,"Okay, they're still hanging there."He's going to finish putting into this. He goes and gets the bones of Saul and Jonathan, the bones of the men who've been hanged, and he buries them.And after that, God responds to the police. So this agreement made between David and the Gibeonites, God honors the payment, accepts the atonement of blood for blood, and responds to the plea. That's the first picture that we're given that it's about to immediately swap to another picture. We're going to take a moment when we get done with both of them to try to understand what is it saying to them. How would they have understood this?And then how do we understand it? So second picture, that's first picture.Second picture, there was war again. And this is again not in chronological order. There's no really these are just kind of floating out there. There was war again between the Philistines and Israel. And David went down together with his servants, and they fought against the Philistines.And David grew weary. And Ishbi Benob, one of the descendants of the giants, whose spear weighed 300 shekels of bronze, and who was armed with a new sword, thought to kill David. But Abashai, the son of Zerui, came to his aid, and attacked the Philistine, and killed him. Then David's men swore to him,"You shall no longer go out with us to battle, lest you quench the lamp of Israel."There's several things that are going to happen in this section. First, we see that David at some point was getting older, was getting tired.They said,"Look, you can't go out with us."So, they're giving some explanation to why David quit going out with the army the way that he used to. We see Abashai, the son of Zerui, who's shown up consistently throughout this, showing up and saving David's life. We also see a giant and there's going to be several giants in this text. And so I have a couple of things to say when it comes to the idea of giants. One, this does not have to be the most fantastic thing in your mind.The idea that there are giants. There are giants in the Bible. We're going to talk a little bit about the fantastic side of that in a second. But it doesn't have to be the most fantastic side of things. I want to show y'all a picture.This is a picture. I had AI put two pictures together, but the guy in the middle is 5 foot seven, 5 foot eight. He would walk amongst us and not really stand out. You wouldn't be like,"Wow, what an average fellow."That's always you just be here fine. To his left is a tribe of pygmies.This was taken recently. They exist in Africa in the jungles. The average height of the pygmy tribes is about 5t tall for males. So they're about 5t tall. To his right in South Sudan, there are the Dinka people who have whole families at the average height is 6'5.If the Pygmies had to go fight the Dinka, they might be like,"Oh my goodness, those guys are huge."They may say,"We spied them out and they look like they made us feel like grasshoppers."So all I'm saying, the whole point of showing you this, other than I think the picture is neat looking, is that that's just normal genetics at play right now. These families of giants were just families that had genetics that we're playing into they're really big. And in a world where the biggest baddest guy kills people and gets all the women, he can have a whole lot of children. And so what we have is several families, sons of Anoch, sons of Rafa, that just were really big. And there's several giants.It doesn't have to be this big fantastic thing. You can pull that picture down. The other thing is, just side note, there are some things in the Bible that we don't have all the answers to. How exactly does this work? How many were there?What did they look like? Why does this one guy we're about to read about have six fingers and six toes? I don't know. But if you get on the internet, you can get sucked into a black hole of weird stuff that is unhelpful. And there are people who some are I would say lack wisdom or misguided and I would say some who are evil and demonically led who are trying to pull people into the oddest corners of the Bible.And they want to tell you that well you really got to find out. We we've got to we got to get behind this thing. We got to figure it out. We got to get underneath it. There's something really going on.There's a secret in the Bible and you got to hold it like this and squint with your left eye. It's like what are you talking about? That that's not how it works. So whenever there's like this mystery, this hidden thing, this secret thing, only we know about it. We figured out where the lost 12 tribes went.All this mess, the Bible is extremely clear. There was a mystery. It's been revealed in Christ. All the wisdom and knowledge is found in Christ. He's the revealing of God's promises.The book of Revelation, which is going to reveal, pull back the curtain and show you, it's the revelation of Jesus Christ. It is not unclear. So, if somebody's pulling you into some weird niche thing and they're like,"You have to know this."If I did, can I tell you, it would be in here very clearly. Do you know how many times Paul repeats himself? If I had to know it, he'd have written it in like four of his letters.If it was the most important thing, like it would be showing up and stuff. Now, there are times where we're basing some information off of one piece of little thing we have, but the non-essential pieces of the faith is clear. The revelation of Christ is clear. So, I would suggest you do what David does, what his mighty men do here, which is put the giants to death and then live your life free of them. So, if there's weird little things you like to get into, get done with that and live your life in the joy and the freedom and the hope of the gospel and the clarity of the scriptures.That's all I'm going to yell at you about that at this moment.Verse 18. After this, there was again war with the Philistines at Gob or Gob. Then Cib Cibekiah the Hushathite struck down Saf who was one of the descendants of the giants. And there was again war with the Philistines at Gob. And Elhan the son of Jaier Orahim the Bethlehemite struck down Goliath the Gitite, the shaft of whose spear was like a weaver's beam.Okay, Goliath the Gitite is just another way of saying Goliath of Gath, which means a whole lot of ink has been spilled over this one verse where people are talking about what does this mean? And there's all kinds of weird theories like Elhanan must have been David's nickname. I don't think so. Couple of options for who this Goliath of Gath is. One, there were two guys named Goliath.That's possible. We already ran into two Mephibosheths and two Barzillais. Two, Goliath is a title, not a name. Three, there is a textual issue here and it's supposed to say brother of Goliath of Gath, which is what sec first Chronicles, I have it written down, 1st Chronicles 20:5 says that Elhanan killed his brother. And there are only a few places in the Old Testament we have very trustw trustworthy manuscripts, but it's possible that we're just missing a word here.Anyway, we're not going to spend any more time on that. But he kills a giant.Verse 20. And there was again war at Gath. It's verse 20. And there was a man of great stature who had six fingers on each hand and six toes on each foot, 24 in number. He also was descended from the giants.So there's some genetic anomalies going on here. Also, whenever they start telling you how much their clothes weighed or how many fingers they had or whatever, usually those people are going to die. And I think they just count that out and weigh it later. I don't know if he was swinging his spear and they were like ducking and being like,"Does his hand look weird?"I think maybe they figured it out later. I high-fived him.It felt like a lot. All right, verse 21. And when he taunted Israel, Jonathan, the son of Shimi, David's brother, struck him down. These four were descended from the giants in Gath, and they fell by the hand of David and by the hand of his servants. And those are the two pictures we're going to look at today.Now, the first thing I want to ask quickly is why? What is this serving? In the epilogue of David, what point is this making? I think the first story is reminding us, putting in our head that David is sorting out the leftover problems from Saul. That some of the problems that happened during David's reign weren't even David's fault.He He's coming in and fixing problems caused by Saul. I also think it's showing that even when David had negative things happen in his reign between his house and Saul's house, it wasn't David just seeking to get revenge on Saul. That David was trying to navigate difficult situations. And at the end of this, he even tries to show as much honor as he can to them by burying them even though the Gibeonites hadn't treated him that well. I think that's the first story.David as representative head is fixing problems on behalf of the nation, fixing problems left by Saul and not trying to have a ton of hostility between his house and Saul's house. I think the second picture is, hey, you remember how there used to be giants? You know how there aren't anymore? Y'all should be thankful to David. That's the second picture is just the Philistines used to be a big problem after David.They're not a big problem. Giants used to be a big problem after David and his mighty men. They're not a big problem. like it's just a picture of remember that David went to war for us. Remember that David cleared out problems. Remember that David defended us.I think that's basically what that second picture is doing. Now for us as we read this story and we try to understand how should we think about things like this.The first thing that I would recommend to us is that there's something going on with the idea of blood guilt. This idea of collective guilt, this idea of headship, representative headship that has guilt on us that we ought to consider. And I specifically had this in mind as we're going into Fourth of July and celebrating this this, you know, America 250. You I'm glad America's been here for 250 years. And if the Lord delays his return, I hope America hits another 250.I hope there's an America 500 and that all the states in the union allow fireworks and it's a blessed occasion. But I hope that the next 250 years are years of peace, justice, righteousness, goodness. I hope they're years of obedience. I hope they're years of worship. I hope that this isn't just a a pagan nation that exists for a long time, a powerful nation that exists for a long time.I hope it's a faithful nation. And we ought to consider if there is shared guilt and blood guilt that can spread to peoples and to a nation and that can pollute the land. The Lord even talks about when sexual sin in Leviticus, he says that the land will vomit you out because they've piled up this sin. Then we ought to be people who pray for our nation, for our leaders, who repent for our nation, for our leaders. I came across this quote as I was studying this this week, and I want to share it with you. says,"We think of the unknown slaves who died in despair on southern plantations, the unknown immigrants who died in squalor outside northern factories, and the unknown faces of infant children today who will never see the light of day because of the sins of their mothers and the conspiracy of a wicked society."None of these names are unknown to God.None of the crimes forgotten in the annals of his perfect justice. How great is the blood guilt on this land as with the land of so many other nations that have already fallen under the sword of God's providential justice. So may the Lord bless us, but may he be merciful on us. And may we be people who pray for the grace and the mercy of the Lord and for things to change and for things to be good and for there to be righteousness here. And the idea that everything the US does is excellent because the US did it.Let us not be fooled into believing that. But let us be people who long for another kingdom where certain things never take place. I think that's one of the things that we should see in this text as we consider the idea of blood guilt and shared guilt and representative headship. May we be repentant and prayerful and hopeful in the light of God's goodness to move forward well. But I think there's a problem in the middle of that that we have to reckon with.When we read this story, we we see that there's shared guilt, which is foreign to us. Feels wrong. That Saul could commit a sin and that it would be on his family and that it would the whole nation would have to pay for it and then Saul's children would have to pay for it feels wrong. And that God would accept the sacrifice at the end feels wrong. You almost want God to show up at the end and go that y'all did this wrong.Why are you rounding up people and killing them for something Saul did? But he doesn't. He says he accepts. He accepts the plea for the land. And so there's part of us that is like,"This doesn't feel fair.This feels off."We want to look at this text and go,"This text, this is unfair. That idea is unfair. And therefore, it's unjust and therefore wrong. And maybe God's evil."That's kind of the track we follow. So I want to share a story with you, and I'm kind of coming at this from the side to try to help us wrap our head around something.So we're going to change subjects for just a second. I want to read a story. This was recently posted online by Nouaga, if I'm pronouncing that correctly. He's Japanese. He wrote this story, posted it online.Some of you may have seen it, maybe you haven't. I want to read it to you. He says,"USA, a Mexican restaurant. We had not yet ordered anything and the food was already arriving. Chips, salsa, unrequested, free.I stopped the waiter. We have not earned these. They just come with the table, man. Okay.Now, he didn't say,"We've not ordered these."He's Japanese. He said,"We have not earned these."There's something going on here for him. Let's see what happens. They come with the table. In my land, hospitality is a debt.Every gift creates an obligation weighed carefully, returned in the proper season with interest of feeling. Here, the gift arrives before you have even proven you can pay for dinner. This is not an appetizer. This is a declaration. We trust you.Eat. chips hit the table and he starts having psychological problems. He is working his best to process what on earth is happening. And it is culturally cross so many lines for him that they've made a declaration of trust. Now, do you feel well trusted when chips hit the table? I don't think you've ever thought about it.I ate with the gravity the moment deserved. People are snacking, eating chips. He's eating with gravity over here. And then I must report this calmly. The basket emptied and a new one appeared.Did we? Like he's trying to What is happening? Refill. The waiter said it's bottomless. Bottomless.They have wells of salsa. The supply lines of this nation are beyond anything my ancestors imagined. My friend warned me,"Don't fill up on chips, dude. Too late."I had accepted three baskets. Honor demanded each one be finished.An unfinished gift is an insult. By the time my actual food arrived, I was a ruined man. This is a trap for a Japanese person because if you finish the chips, they're going to give you more. But he has to finish the chips or he's dishonoring the whole group of people that have brought him here. He's dishonoring those who have handed to him.He's got to honor the gift. He's got to finish the chips. And when he does it, another basket arrives. He says,"Thank you."And goes back to eating with the gravity the moment demands. It says this,"I was not hungry.I was not comfortable. I had been defeated by a courtesy."Generosity that arrives before the request cannot be repaid. It can only be survived. I know the rule. I have made my peace with the basket.One basket. Two at the most. Who am I deceiving? There is no number of baskets I would refuse. The trust of a nation is in that salsa and I intend to honor all of it.Now, have you ever been in a Mexican restaurant and thought,"The trust of the nation is in this salsa. I must honor their trust."Not once, not ever. And as he describes this to you, it's like,"What are you even talking about? How is this an honor shame situation? This is we're at a restaurant.How are you having to honor their gift? They're just giving you chips. Like the it doesn't compute for us. And what happens when we interact with someone who has a completely different culture because you've just been trained in a culture. You've just been equipped in one.And there are things that are ingrained in you. If I'm somewhere and there are no seats and there's a lady, I have to get up. And I'll say,"Here, you have the seat."And if they say,"No, you sit."Then we both just stand because I can't sit back down because I'll die inside and think about it later. I'll ride in my truck later and be like,"I was sitting. They were standing.What have I not?"Like it messes with me because it's been it's built into me. We We all have these things. He has that. So he's overthinking chips where we're all free and we can explain it to him, but he can't not feel it. He can't not feel the chips sitting in the basket.I'm sure there was a moment when he was thinking,"Don't eat But he's like,"I have to or I'm bringing shame and not handling this well and I've got to be thankful and the trust of the nation is in this salsa, whatever that means."Now, what happens when we interact with people of other cultures like that is that we'll often look at them and go,"Huh, that's how y'all think about that? That's interesting. That's not how we think about it, but that's interesting. It's it's weird. You might ask more questions, but there's this level of humility.We'll read things in the biblical text where we're bringing our same American, Western sensibilities. We'll run into something that we don't understand and we'll go,"Well, that's wrong. Feels unfair to me. Unfair means unjust. Unjust means wrong.Wrong means evil. If God's like this, then he's unfair. Unjust, wrong, evil. I don't have to follow him. I don't have to believe him."and we will come with the most insane level of blind confidence that if it goes against my sensibilities, I'm right, it's wrong, and God can be dismissed.Now, in this situation, if we're going to have a handful of humility and a handful of blind confidence, and we have to choose who we're going to interact with, God or noaga, who gets humility and who gets confidence? I'd say let's hit Nounaga with blind confidence and let's walk towards God with some humility. But we so often just go, it feels sideways to me, so it must be wrong. And if I feel it, then it's wrong and so this can't be good and therefore I can get rid of it. What ought to happen when we hit a text and we go,"Wait a second.Headship guilt. Wait a second. Blood sacrifice from family members to pay this back. There's blood guilt. I don't understand that.What we ought to realize is there's something wrong in my understanding. I'm missing a piece and I've got to submit to this because God has authority over me and he's right. I'm not wrong. If God is real and we believe that he's real and that he's over all things, then we should expect to find things in the Bible that confront us and that correct us. If every time you run into one of those, God has to conform to you, well then you're God and you're in charge.So, we should expect there's going to be moments like this. And y'all, you you can come to the scriptures and go, I don't understand that, but I'll submit to it. I don't understand exactly how that works, but I'll I'll believe it. And that exact same framework I just gave you, you use all the time. You use it, you've used it with your parents, you've used it with a mechanic, you use it with an accountant, you've used it with a doctor.They explain something to you and you don't go,"In order for me to take this medicine, I'm I too must become a doctor. You just go,"I don't understand. I don't understand half the words you just said, but I trust you. And we come to the scriptures and we'll read something we don't understand and go, I guess it must be wrong. I guess I can dismiss God.And that is the most arrogant, prideful, nonsensical position to hold. This is hard to understand. It's hard to It's easy to understand. It's hard to accept. It's hard to get our jump past our sensibilities.This idea of guilt that spreads. But what that means is that there's more to sin than you understand. There's more to sin than you realize. If sexual sin can pollute the land, and if blood guilt can pollute the land, and if it can be shared down to families, and if everybody can pay for it, there's more to sin than you understand. It's actually more dangerous than you think it is.It's like if you tell a child to wash their hands and they look at their hands and go,"They're not dirty."It's like,"That's not how it works."Your hands could be coated in diseases. We don't know. Just wash your hands. And knowing you, they probably are. Go wash your hands.Like, that's And we're like, well, that's not how sin works or this sin isn't a big deal or it's just my sin or it's just their sin or it should it's like that's not how it works. And we should look at passages like this and realize there's more to it and it's more dangerous and it's more heinous. And that we should walk with some level of humility. And whether you like it or not, this idea of representative headship and representative atonement, it's the exact situation you find yourself in. We had a representative named Adam who is the representative head over all of humanity.And he rebelled against God. And we've all been born into Adam into sin because of what he did. This is why the Bible will say things like,"In Adam all die."When you were born, before you got a birth certificate, you were theologically, metaphorically handed an undated death certificate. It's a guarantee because we're in Adam and his sin has spread. and it has to be paid for. And if we read something like this and go there's a 23 and me roundup where they went and got these guys to have their blood pay for this debt and we we repulsed by it.But there's a reality of Jesus showed up to pay a blood debt so that there might be forgiveness. That's what Hebrews 9:22 says. Indeed, under the law, almost everything is purified with blood and without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness of sins. So that Jesus has to come pay a debt. So that in this story, it's as if David were to respond and say,"Well, Saul sinned on behalf of the people.He was the king. I'll pay the debt on behalf of the people. I'm the king. I'll be their new representative. Hang me up."the gruesome picture of a son being stripped and impaled before his mother to be laid out in the sun to die on behalf of others for sin he didn't commit is the exact picture of the cross and the exact hope that we have that there was a representative head who did not sin on beha our behalf but saves on our behalf who paves on our behalf This is what 1 Corinthians 15:21-22 says.For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive. I want to read a quote by Charles Simeon in reference to this passage. He was a pastor in England. He says,"The blood of Saul's sons was poured forth as a sacrifice to national justice and as a means of averting the divine displeasure."And it was considered by God as an atonement for the sin which Saul had committed.How much more then will God accept in our behalf the blood of his own son who was sent into the world for the express purpose that he might expedate our guilt and procure for us reconciliation with our offended God. You are either in Adam alone or you're in Christ. We're all in Adam and you can stand in Adam and be under guilt or you can have Christ be your representative head to pay the guilt for you. And you don't have to understand how that works. You just need to understand that it works.That you can humbly walk to the Lord and say,"I don't exactly know how guilt works. I don't exactly know how sin works this way. I know that I've sinned, but I don't know how it works that I'm under this curse. But I understand that you're willing to accept the sacrifice of Jesus. You're willing to accept his atoning blood.You're willing to let him pay on my behalf. And I want him to pay on my behalf. I want to be saved. I want to be rescued. I want him to be my representative head.And you don't have to understand exactly how that works, but you just need to know that that's how it works. And that we get to have Jesus represent us to the father so that we might be forgiven. And if Jesus represents you to the father, you are forgiven. The atoning sacrifice has been paid. So, may we read texts like this with a level of humility, and may we read texts like this in a way that helps us appreciate the goodness of Christ on our behalf.The band's going to come back up.In a moment, we're going to receive communion, which is where we as Christians take time to remind ourselves of the hope of the gospel. We have communion elements set up in the front here. Here we have them in the back. And in that corner there, if you have a gluten allergy, we have a a gluten-free table. And what we do when we take communion is we remind ourselves that there is blood that has been shed on our behalf, that an atoning sacrifice has been paid, that the debt has been covered, that Jesus Christ really came for the express purpose to bridge and reconcile us back to God.It is something for Christians to partake in where we take the body where Jesus said on the night he was betrayed he took bread and he said this is my body broken for you and he gave it to them and said take this and then he took a cup and he said this is my blood shed for the forgiveness of sins take drink and so we take the bread reminding us of the body of Christ that's broken we take the cup we drink reminding us of the blood that was shed and the new covenant that was made with us and we take it reminding ourselves that the atonement has been made.If you are not a Christian, then do not take communion. But we would invite you to come to know Christ and to ask him to be your representative head to rescue you and to get you out of this problem.Let's pray.Lord, may we approach you with humility. May we honor your sacrifice and your generosity and your grace. And Lord, may we hide behind the representative sacrifice of Christ that pays for sin. Trusting in you and you alone in Jesus name. Amen.When you are ready, take and eat.

Matthew 25: verses 1 to 13 – This was a story about 10 virgins, 5 virgins who were wise in what they did while waiting for Jesus and, 5 virgins who were not wise, in what they did while waiting for Jesus. In this story, 5 virgins decided to be prepared for the Lord and 5 virgins decided not to prepare for the Lord. One of the main items that was needed, while waiting for the Lord was oil in the lamps of each virgin. How can we maintain and increase oil, to be prepared for Jesus? The Bible says to choose this day whom you will serve in Joshua 24:15 - 15 And if it seems evil to you to serve the Lord, choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the river, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell; but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord. Commentary - To make a choice is to pick a side to stand on and then follow that choice up with the actions that support that choice. We must choose Jesus, then follow him. You can choose good or evil. Example, A person can choose the color red and not green. If every day they are wearing green, then their actions in their life support the green side. Even if they say with their mouth that they support Red. What are your actions saying about whether you serve the devil or serve the Lord? It doesn't matter how a person appears, the words they say. It's about what a person does in their life when no one is looking. That's who they really are. The actions they take and live by, shows the real God they serve. In Matthew 25: verses 1 to 13 – the 10 virgins get to dedicate their time to being obedient to what Jesus requires of them in order to get into His kingdom. Commentary – How many of us are trying to follow and do what Jesus said? How many of us are looking for destiny helpers, someone else to do the work, we should be doing. If you don't do the work to be in Christ then you won't be submitted to Jesus or be a part of His kingdom. Your mom can't do your work. Your pastor can't do your work. Your good friend can't do your work. It must be you that remain in Christ. Yourself, no one can do it for you. Even now you have time to make a choice of whom to serve daily, Jesus or the devil. Are you the wise virgins or are you the foolish virgins? What exactly is needed to have oil for the lamp that leads to Jesus. If Jesus and His Kingdom is the prize are you still pursuing the Lord as valuable? Topics this week: - Making sure you have oil in your lamp and not to run out - Those choosing to neither serve Jesus or serve the devil - Those choosing not to prepare for Jesus and serve His will - Signs of Jesus returning so you can get prepared and be wise This program covers the following Scriptures from the Amplified Classic version (AMPC): Matthew 25:1-13, Joshua 24:15, Proverbs 31:18, Revelation 3:15-16, Matthew 6:24, 2 Timothy 3:5, 2 Timothy 3:7, Matthew 9:37, Luke 14:27, 1 John 4:17, Acts 10:38, Mark 16:15-17, Ephesians 5:27, Matthew 24:6-8, Revelation 16:12, Revelation 9:15, Revelation 9:18, Revelation 9:4, Revelation 9:20, 1 Timothy 1:4.Support the showClick Here to Send Us Your Prayer Request.

We review the journey of the Israelites as they navigated the challenges and triumphs of their covenant with God. From the construction of the Tabernacle and the initial journey from Sinai, to the complaints about manna and the provision of 70 leaders, we delve into the faith and failings of the people. We recount the pivotal moments, including the exploration of Canaan by 12 spies, Korah's rebellion, and more complaining about water. We also discuss the battles against the Amorites and Bashan, Balaam's attempted curses, and Phinehas' decisive actions. Finally, we reflect on Moses' final speech, his death, and the transition of leadership to Joshua. Support the showRead along with us in the Bible Brief App! Try the Bible Brief book for an offline experience!Get your free Bible Timeline with the 10 Steps: Timeline LinkSupport the show: Tap here to become a monthly supporter!Review the show: Tap here!Want to go deeper?...Download the Bible Brief App!iPhone: App Store LinkAndroid: Play Store LinkWant a physical book? Check out "Bible Brief" by our founder!Amazon: Amazon LinkWebsite: biblebrief.orgInstagram: @realbiblebriefX: @biblebriefFacebook: @realbiblebriefEmail the Show: biblebrief@biblelit.orgWant to learn the Bible languages (Greek & Hebrew)? Check out our partner Biblingo (and use our link/code for a discount!): https://biblin...

In this preach, Dion van Breda reminds us that our lives leave a legacy for those who follow after us. Preaching from Joshua, we see that Joshua wanted the people to remember all that God had done for them, so that they would continue to follow Him faithfully even after Joshua was gone.Joshua 24: 1 - 18 (NIV)Then Joshua assembled all the tribes of Israel at Shechem. He summoned the elders, leaders, judges and officials of Israel, and they presented themselves before God.2 Joshua said to all the people, “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘Long ago your ancestors, including Terah the father of Abraham and Nahor, lived beyond the Euphrates River and worshiped other gods. 3 But I took your father Abraham from the land beyond the Euphrates and led him throughout Canaan and gave him many descendants. I gave him Isaac, 4 and to Isaac I gave Jacob and Esau. I assigned the hill country of Seir to Esau, but Jacob and his family went down to Egypt.5 “‘Then I sent Moses and Aaron, and I afflicted the Egyptians by what I did there, and I brought you out. 6 When I brought your people out of Egypt, you came to the sea, and the Egyptians pursued them with chariots and horsemen as far as the Red Sea. 7 But they cried to the Lord for help, and he put darkness between you and the Egyptians; he brought the sea over them and covered them. You saw with your own eyes what I did to the Egyptians. Then you lived in the wilderness for a long time.8 “‘I brought you to the land of the Amorites who lived east of the Jordan. They fought against you, but I gave them into your hands. I destroyed them from before you, and you took possession of their land. 9 When Balak son of Zippor, the king of Moab, prepared to fight against Israel, he sent for Balaam son of Beor to put a curse on you. 10 But I would not listen to Balaam, so he blessed you again and again, and I delivered you out of his hand.11 “‘Then you crossed the Jordan and came to Jericho. The citizens of Jericho fought against you, as did also the Amorites, Perizzites, Canaanites, Hittites, Girgashites, Hivites and Jebusites, but I gave them into your hands. 12 I sent the hornet ahead of you, which drove them out before you—also the two Amorite kings. You did not do it with your own sword and bow. 13 So I gave you a land on which you did not toil and cities you did not build; and you live in them and eat from vineyards and olive groves that you did not plant.'14 “Now fear the Lord and serve him with all faithfulness. Throw away the gods your ancestors worshiped beyond the Euphrates River and in Egypt, and serve the Lord. 15 But if serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.”16 Then the people answered, “Far be it from us to forsake the Lord to serve other gods! 17 It was the Lord our God himself who brought us and our parents up out of Egypt, from that land of slavery, and performed those great signs before our eyes. He protected us on our entire journey and among all the nations through which we traveled. 18 And the Lord drove out before us all the nations, including the Amorites, who lived in the land. We too will serve the Lord, because he is our God.”

What's your golden calf? In this conversation, Dot and Cara dig into one of the most honest questions we can ask ourselves: have we quietly given something, or someone, the place that only God deserves? Drawing from Exodus 23, they walk through how to recognize an idol, why good things can end up in the wrong position, and what it really means to surrender something to God without the fear that He'll take it away. Pull up a chair, grab your Bible, and lean in with us.Got a question about today's episode or something else you'd like to hear us talk about on the show? Let us know! Episode RecapIntro (00:00)Write this down: Exodus 23:23-25, God's warning to Israel about worshiping the gods of the land they were entering (00:00)How do we even know if something is an idol? Cara asks the question most of us have probably wrestled with at some point (00:04:52)Dot's working definition: an idol is something you love more than God, depend on more than God, or find your worth and value in more than God (00:08:15)Cara shares how she realized time was her idol — not something she trusted more than God, but something that had quietly become the controlling factor in her life (00:08:29)Good things can become idols; it's not always the thing itself but the position it's holding in your heart (00:10:56)Surrendering an idol doesn't mean God will take it away — His heart is that you'd let go so you can actually enjoy the gift He gave you (00:12:11)Most idols form in seasons of waiting, just like the golden calf — the Israelites got tired of waiting for Moses and fashioned something to fill the gap (00:17:30)"I will become what I worship" — what holds your full heart and attention is quietly shaping who you are (00:19:36)What to do: ask yourself if you're willing to let it go, bring it to God, repent, and surrender it — He is the only one who can actually bring real value and purpose to your life (00:27:55)Are you interested in having Dot come and speak to your community? Email us at hello@dotbowen.com.Watch Write this Down! on YouTubeFind Dot Bowen on Instagram and Facebook This Episode's Scripture VerseExodus 23:23-25 (NASB 1977) — "For My angel will go before you and bring you into the land of the Amorites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Canaanites, the Hivites and the Jebusites; and I will completely destroy them. You shall not worship their gods, nor serve them, nor do according to their deeds; but you shall utterly overthrow them, and break their sacred pillars in pieces. But you shall serve the LORD your God, and He will bless your bread and your water; and I will remove sickness from your midst."

Did the Nephilim truly disappear after the Flood... or did some survive?In this episode of Free The Rabbits, Joel Thomas follows the biblical trail of Og of Bashan and Sihon, two mysterious Amorite kings whose kingdoms stood directly in the path of Israel's conquest of the Promised Land. Scripture identifies Og as one of the last Rephaim, while multiple passages connect the Anakim, Rephaim, and the Nephilim into a much larger post-Flood mystery.Together we'll examine the biblical text, Hebrew word studies, historical sources, and ancient Jewish writings surrounding these giant bloodlines. We'll also explore why these giant kings occupied the Promised Land, what made Bashan such an important location, and whether the surviving Nephilim deliberately opposed God's covenant with Israel.Could Og and Sihon represent the final remnants of an ancient rebellion stretching back before the Flood?Merchandise: https://freetherabbits.myshopify.comBuy Me A Coffee: DonateFollow: Website | Instagram | X | FacebookWatch: YouTube | RumbleMusic: YouTube | Spotify | Apple Music Films: https://merkelfilms.com Email: freetherabbitspodcast@gmail.comDistributed by: merkel.mediaIntro Music:Joel Thomas – Free The RabbitsYouTube | Spotify | Apple MusicOutro Music:Joel Thomas – GreyYouTube | Spotify | Apple MusicTopics Discussed:Og, Sihon, King of Bashan, King of the Amorites, Nephilim, Rephaim, Anakim, Giants After the Flood, Bashan, Mount Hermon, Numbers 13, Deuteronomy 3, Joshua's Conquest, Caleb, Sons of Anak, Amorites, Amalekites, Promised Land, Giant Bloodlines, Hebrew Word Studies, Rapha, Rephaim, Genesis 14, War of the Kings, Valley of Rephaim, Ancient Jewish Traditions, Book of Jubilees, 2 Baruch, Amorite Witchcraft, Biblical Giants, Fallen Angels, Post-Flood Nephilim, Ancient Canaan, Old Testament, Biblical Archaeology, Biblical History, Supernatural Bible Study

One of the more pivotal chapters. The people of God have moved to kadesh barnea The Lord spoke to Moses saying send men to spy out cannan Deut 1:19 Go up take possession and do not fear nor be afraid, but the people want to send in spies. Moses said let's go take it but they want to check it out first Now in numbers 13 this is what is happening V8 God changes The name from God saves to Yahweh saves so he is now Joshua. V17 go see what the land is and what the people and land is like, warriors or fortified cities, or camps and weak people Go and spy out from the bottom to the top Cut cluster of grapes, need a pole to carry and Eschol means cluster George Whitfield with out amplification could preach and Benjamin Franklin figured out 24000 people could hear him when he preached: Everything that is needed to live here it is flowing with milk and honey and God is right.  This is the report but However, the people who dwell in the land are strong, and the cities are fortified and very large. And besides, we saw the descendants of Anak there. - Numbers 13:28 The Amalekites dwell in the land of the Negeb. The Hittites, the Jebusites, and the Amorites dwell in the hill country. And the Canaanites dwell by the sea, and along the Jordan." - Numbers 13:29 All these people were Canaanite people and were descendants of Noah. God said he would punish them but was waiting on their sin to be full grown and He is going to use the Israelites to judge them 30 But Caleb quieted the people before Moses and said, "Let us go up at once and occupy it, for we are well able to overcome it."31 Then the men who had gone up with him said, "We are not able to go up against the people, for they are stronger than we are." - Numbers 13:30-31 They saying this land devours its inhabitants means they are always at war and there are giants in the land. They say these are like the Nephilim. Josh believes these are the great and mighty people of Seth.  They believe the Nephilim survived the flood and we cannot win against them. Ch 14 The people wept because the went through the wilderness and now are at the promised land and it is over since we cannot go in and do what God says to do.  They say we no longer trust God anymore Moses and Aaron fall on their face and worship God since they reject God and their leadership   Joshua and Caleb tear their clothes and said to all the congregation of the people of Israel, "The land, which we passed through to spy it out, is an exceedingly good land. - Numbers 14:7 The battle is between faith and fear.  Then all the congregation says to stone them with stones now But the glory of the Lord appeared int the tent 11 And the LORD said to Moses, "How long will this people despise me? And how long will they not believe in me, in spite of all the signs that I have done among them? 12 I will strike them with the pestilence and disinherit them, and I will make of you a nation greater and mightier than they." - Numbers 14:11-12         In spite of God had done they still don't believe.. God says He will disinherit them, destroy them and make a nation of Moses       We cannot be paralyzed and live in fear of the obstacles that are in the way of God's plans How many times do we have to see in Scripture and our lives God doing his will in spite of the obstacles and yet we still don't believe We must believe no matter what.  Remember what God says to Joshua after Moses dies and He says be strong and courageous and do my will and you will have success God had proved His supernatural power to the Israelites many times since they left Egypt. How easily we forget when we focus on the wrong things. "The will of God will never lead us where the grace of God can't provide for us or the power of God protect us. If our daily prayer is, 'Thy will be done,' and if we walk in obedience to God's will, then what is there to complain about? A complaining spirit is evidence of an ungrateful heart and an unsurrendered will. By our grumbling, we're daring to say that we know more than God does about what's best for His people!" (Warren Wiersbe) They allowed their fear to steal their faith and trust in God. Instead of trusting they grumbled. They wanted to return to Egypt, where they were slaves. Their old life is what they knew, but it is what God freed them from, now they keep wanting to return.             Why do people return to their old life? What causes them to do this? Focusing on circumstances and relying on their own ability, instead of focusing and relying on God and trusting Him.       They keep looking back instead of pressing on forward. Lot's wife looked back longing for her old life in Sodom, what happened to her?         Philippians 3:12-17 Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me.  13 Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, 14 I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. 15 Therefore let us, as many as are mature, have this mind; and if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal even this to you. 16 Nevertheless, to the degree that we have already attained, let us walk by the same rule, let us be of the same mind. 17 Brethren, join in following my example, and note those who so walk, as you have us for a pattern. Proverbs 26:11, As a dog returns to its vomit, so a fool repeats his foolishness. Instead of pressing on forward with the LORD, they kept wanting to return to their slavery, how foolish. Do the best to come up with the best we can conceive of God's greatness and then realize that it's infinitely greater than all we can ask or believe.. ATTEMPT great things for God and expect great results. God doesn't want our ability but our availability God was teaching the Israelites a basic lesson of the life of faith, namely, that the real power in the lives of God's people is God's power. As we trust and obey God, He releases His power through us. We are never adequate in ourselves, but God empowers the obedient and trusting. Jesus taught His disciples the same lesson when He multiplied the loaves and fishes— twice. 2Co 3:5 Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think of anything as being from ourselves, but our sufficiency is from God, Power of intercession prayer 13 But Moses said to the LORD, "Then the Egyptians will hear of it, for you brought up this people in your might from among them, 14 and they will tell the inhabitants of this land. They have heard that you, O LORD, are in the midst of this people. For you, O LORD, are seen face to face, and your cloud stands over them and you go before them, in a pillar of cloud by day and in a pillar of fire by night. - Numbers 14:13-14                The failure of the Israelites grew out of unbelief (cf. Heb. 3:19). The majority failed to believe that God would give them the land of their enemies as He had promised.            "Like Pharaoh, they were hardening their hearts and ignoring God's clear command. Moses Intercedes              In verses 13-19 Moses intercedes again for the people. Similar to the last lesson, Moses appeals to the LORD's character and reputation. He repeated God's words back to Him-praying scripture. Not important that his name is great but God's glory is important Plead for God's grace Our prayers matter         "Here is a whole nation rescued from ruin by the effectual fervent prayer of one righteous man [cf. James 5:16]."            V17 Let your power be great This rebellion was a test for Moses, similar to the test that Abraham faced when God told him to sacrifice Isaac (Gen. 22) If He had actually done what He threatened to do, God could still have fulfilled His promises to Abraham, by destroying and dispossessing all the other living Israelites, and by sparing only Moses and his descendants. However, God could not have fulfilled the prophetic promises that He had given through Jacob (Gen. 49)—had He done so. There would have to be descendants of Judah, from whom a great ruler would come (Gen. 49:10), as well as some future for the other tribes.             Perhaps God meant that He would completely destroy that older generation of Israelites immediately, wiping them out in one blow, instead of gradually (cf. Exod. 32:10). Our sins can have irreversible consequences in our lives even though they are forgiven 20 Then the LORD said, "I have pardoned, according to your word.21 But truly, as I live, and as all the earth shall be filled with the glory of the LORD, 22 none of the men who have seen my glory and my signs that I did in Egypt and in the wilderness, and yet have put me to the test these ten times and have not obeyed my voice, 23 shall see the land that I swore to give to their fathers. And none of those who despised me shall see it. - Numbers 14:20-23 Children will inherit and will not be prey All but Joshua and Caleb will die in the desert and will not enter into His rest Leadership die immediately because they have the greater responsibility       This oath was fulfilled partially when Israel entered the Promised Land (cf. Josh. 2:9- 11), but it will be fulfilled completely when God consummates His dealings with Israel in the future.              The failure of the Israelites would not frustrate God's purpose to manifest His glory throughout the earth, through the seed of Abraham. Even though the present generation would die in the wilderness, Caleb (and Joshua, not mentioned here in v. 24 but in v. 30) would enter the Promised Land.          Though some take the number ten as a round number, the text does record ten times the Israelites tested God (v. 22) by complaining: At the Red Sea (Exod. 14:11-12) At Marah (Exod. 15:23) In the wilderness of Sin (Exod. 16:2) In the wilderness of Sin (Exod. 16:20) In the wilderness of Sin (Exod. 16:27) At Rephidim (Exod. 17:1-2) At Horeb (Exod. 32) At Taberah (Num. 11:1-3) At Kibroth-hattaavah (Num. 11:4-34) At Kadesh (Num. 14:1-3) "… this passage intends to show that the people failed to inherit the Promised Land and hence died in the wilderness without inheriting the blessing, not so much for a specific act of disobedience or for fear of the battles that lay ahead, but rather for the simple fact of their unbelief. They failed to trust in God."                   Next the people repent, now we will go. It is too late at this point.  Is this not scary to us.  The Lord has every right to say no.  The Lord does not have to save any of us.  It is a privilege not a right. The lesson is don't sin, live in faith and trust Him Two things, don't presume on Gods grace Don't try to do what God only can do They were only 3 days away. They could have been on their way to conquer the land, but they refused. This section of text teaches us important lessons about inadequacy and adequacy. The 10 spies, who did not want the Israelites to enter the land, felt inadequate (cf. John 15:5). In this, they were being realistic. However, they should have compensated for their feelings of personal inadequacy, by reminding themselves of God's complete adequacy (cf. 2 Cor. 12:9; Luke 1:37; Matt. 19:26; Phil. 4:13). 1Sailhamer, p. 388.            God was teaching the Israelites a basic lesson of the life of faith, namely, that the real power in the lives of God's people is God's power. As we trust and obey God, He releases His power through us. We are never adequate in ourselves, but God empowers the obedient and trusting. Jesus taught His disciples the same lesson when He multiplied the loaves and fishes— twice. Joshua 14 Josh's one of his favorite scriptures Just whipped everyone and now Joshua says it is time to conquer the land, won the major battles.  Joshua and Caleb are 45 years older than everyone else.  Took five years to get to this place. Caleb says give me the mountains and the giants and I will show you what I SAID 45 years ago about GOD is true and He will win the battle The old name was for the leaders of these people and now it is the mountains of God 6 Then the people of Judah came to Joshua at Gilgal. And Caleb the son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite said to him, "You know what the LORD said to Moses the man of God in Kadesh-barnea concerning you and me. 7 I was forty years old when Moses the servant of the LORD sent me from Kadesh-barnea to spy out the land, and I brought him word again as it was in my heart. 8 But my brothers who went up with me made the heart of the people melt; yet I wholly followed the LORD my God. 9 And Moses swore on that day, saying, 'Surely the land on which your foot has trodden shall be an inheritance for you and your children forever, because you have wholly followed the LORD my God.' 10 And now, behold, the LORD has kept me alive, just as he said, these forty-five years since the time that the LORD spoke this word to Moses, while Israel walked in the wilderness. And now, behold, I am this day eighty-five years old. 11 I am still as strong today as I was in the day that Moses sent me; my strength now is as my strength was then, for war and for going and coming. 12 So now give me this hill country of which the LORD spoke on that day, for you heard on that day how the Anakim were there, with great fortified cities. It may be that the LORD will be with me, and I shall drive them out just as the LORD said." 13 Then Joshua blessed him, and he gave Hebron to Caleb the son of Jephunneh for an inheritance.14 Therefore Hebron became the inheritance of Caleb the son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite to this day, because he wholly followed the LORD, the God of Israel. 15 Now the name of Hebron formerly was Kiriath-arba. (Arba was the greatest man among the Anakim.) And the land had rest from war. - Joshua 14:6-15

Welcome to Day 2888 of Wisdom-Trek. Thank you for joining me. This is Guthrie Chamberlain, Your Guide to Wisdom. Day 2888 – Wisdom Nuggets – Psalm 136:17-26 Daily Wisdom Wisdom-Trek Podcast Script - Day 2888 Welcome to Wisdom-Trek with Gramps! I am Guthrie Chamberlain, and we are on Day 2888 of our Trek. The Purpose of Wisdom-Trek is to create a legacy of wisdom, to seek out discernment and insights, and to boldly grow where few have chosen to grow before. The title for today's Wisdom-Trek is: The Cosmic Land Transfer – Inheritance, Remembrance, and the God of Heaven In our previous episode on this grand, historical expedition, we marched through the dramatic midsection of the Great Hallel: Psalm One Hundred Thirty-Six, verses ten through sixteen. We stood alongside the liberated community of Israel as they witnessed the devastating, courtroom judgment executed against the Egyptian pantheon. We watched the Divine Warrior split the primordial chaos waters of the Red Sea, carving a dry, safe highway right through the abyss, and effortlessly shaking off the arrogant, imperial army of Pharaoh like an annoying insect on His sleeve. We closed our trek by following our heavenly Shepherd into the terrifying, uncreated wilderness wasteland, discovering that His Hesed—His fierce, unyielding, and covenant-keeping faithful love—is uniquely durable enough to sustain us through our most parched, desperate chapters. Today, we have arrived at the magnificent, soaring crescendo of this ultimate liturgical masterpiece. We are completing our journey through Psalm One Hundred Thirty-Six, by exploring verses seventeen through twenty-six, in the New Living Translation. The antiphonal chant of the temple choir continues to ring out across the stone courts of Jerusalem, with the massive congregation roaring back the rhythmic drumbeat of faith after every single line. The historical narrative now shifts from the survival of the wilderness, to the violent, supernatural conquest of the Promised Land. The psalmist pulls back the cosmic curtain to show us that our ultimate inheritance was secured by a God who systematically dismantles giant rebel kings, remembers us in our deepest human weakness, and universally sustains every living thing from His heavenly throne room. Let us step onto the final ridge of this specific trail, adjust our cosmic lenses, and listen to the final chords of the Great Hallel. The first segment is: Dismantling the Giant Proxies of the Underworld Stronghold Psalm One Hundred Thirty-Six: verses seventeen, eighteen, nineteen, and twenty. Give thanks to him who struck down mighty kings. His faithful love endures forever. He slaughtered powerful kings. His faithful love endures forever. Sihon king of the Amorites. His faithful love endures forever. Og king of Bashan. His faithful love endures forever. The final historical movement of the psalm opens with a thunderous, dual celebration of military and cosmic triumph. “Give thanks to him who struck down mighty kings... He slaughtered powerful kings... Sihon king of the Amorites... Og king of Bashan.” To fully unlock the massive, explosive spiritual warfare embedded in these specific names, we must integrate the profound insights of the Ancient Israelite divine council worldview, as masterfully taught by Doctor Michael S. Heiser. To a modern reader, the mention of Sihon and Og can feel like a repetitive, boring footnote from an ancient Near Eastern border dispute. We might wonder why a psalm focused on the eternal love of God would spend so much time naming dead kings. But to the ancient Israelite pilgrim marching up Mount Zion, these names were filled with holy terror, and monumental cosmic victory. These were not ordinary human rulers; they were the terrifying, giant gatekeepers of the cosmic rebellion. We must look back to the foundational blueprint of cosmic geography recorded in Deuteronomy, chapter thirty-two. When the Most High disinherited the seventy nations at the Tower of Babel due to their rebellion, He placed them under the jurisdiction of lesser spiritual beings—the sons of God, the territorial elohim. These principalities subsequently mutinied, demanding worship for themselves, and establishing dark, spiritual strongholds across the earth. But the most concentrated, defiant center of this rebellion was located in the north, in the region of Bashan, at the foot of Mount Hermon—the exact geographic site where the rebel watchers originally descended to stage their coup against the Almighty. Sihon, the king of the Amorites, and Og, the king of Bashan, ruled over this demonic geography. According to the historical records of Moses, Og was a literal remnant of the giant Rephaim, possessing an iron bedstead that was over thirteen feet long! In the ancient mindset, the Rephaim were the physical, and spiritual, anomalies produced by the corruption of the Watchers—the Nephilim lineages designed by the rebel gods to contaminate humanity, and permanently block the chosen family of Yahweh from ever establishing the Kingdom of God on earth. Bashan was poetically recognized as the "place of the serpent," and the literal gate of the underworld. When the psalmist declares that Yahweh “struck down mighty kings” and “slaughtered powerful kings,” he is describing a spectacular, cosmic cleansing of the geography. The Divine Warrior marched directly into the teeth of the underworld stronghold, confronted the most monstrous, intimidating avatars of the rebel council, and completely obliterated them. He proved that giant physical stature, demonic lineages, and ancient spiritual fortresses are absolutely nothing but chaff before the wind when the High King of the cosmos extends His hand. And why did He slaughter these terrifying giants? The congregation roars the answer after every name: “His faithful love endures forever.” Love for the covenant family required the violent, total eradication of the supernatural forces that sought to destroy them. The second segment is: The Cosmic Land Transfer and the Realignment of Geography Psalm One Hundred Thirty-Six: verses twenty-one and twenty-two. He gave their land as an inheritance. His faithful love endures forever. A special possession to his servant Israel. His faithful love endures forever. Having executed the giant kings and cleared the spiritual contamination from the landscape, the True King performs a monumental, legal act of property reallocation. “He gave their land as an inheritance... a special possession to his servant Israel.” This section of the liturgy celebrates the glorious, geographic reversal of the Tower of Babel. The Hebrew word used for inheritance here is nachalah, which refers to a permanent, legally binding family allotment that can never be sold, or stolen. In the cosmic courtroom, the land of Bashan, and the territories of Canaan, had been illegally occupied by the rebel elohim and their corrupt proxies. They had turned the earth into a playground of idolatry, violence, and darkness, claiming that Yahweh had no authority within their boundaries. But Yahweh executed a magnificent, sovereign eviction notice. He took the very land that the giant kings had fortified, completely stripped the rebel gods of their titles, and transferred the property deeds over to His segullah—His private, prized, and treasured possession, the family of Israel. The text notes that He handed it over to His “servant Israel.” This language of servitude is beautiful; it implies that Israel does not own the land as an autonomous empire, but holds it as a sacred trust, acting as the loyal stewards of Yahweh's earthly estate. By turning the land of the giants into an inheritance for Israel, the Creator successfully reestablished a beachhead of Eden right in the middle of a disinherited world. Mount Zion became the centralized command center where heaven and earth intersected, a sacred space where the laws, the justice, and the true cosmic order of the Almighty could safely flourish. When the congregation chants, “His faithful love endures forever” after these verses, they are recognizing that their physical homes, their fields, and their security are the direct, tangible evidence of a love that can redefine the boundaries of the planet to protect the family of God. The third segment is: From Cosmic Warfare to Intimate Grace and Universal Provision Psalm One Hundred Thirty-Six: verses twenty-three, twenty-four, and twenty-five. He remembered us in our weakness. His faithful love endures forever. He saved us from our enemies. His faithful love endures forever....

Pastor Dobbs ministers from Joshua 24:15 and how families need to be God conscious when serving the Lord. It starts with us and ministers to those in our family. Scripture: Joshua 24:15 - And if it seems evil to you to serve the Lord, choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”

Pastor Dobbs ministers from Joshua 24:15 and how families need to be God conscious when serving the Lord. It starts with us and ministers to those in our family. Scripture: Joshua 24:15 - And if it seems evil to you to serve the Lord, choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” Hit the notification bell so that you do not miss our most recent video. From your mobile device, to sow a financial seed into the ministry you may visit us at occvr.org and click the menu tab to locate the donate button. The donate button will provide two options for online giving. You may utilize “Text To Give” in which you will text “give” to the phone number 770-692-2225 to setup your monthly gift or one time financial gift. The additional method for online giving is simply click on the paypal “donate” button. Thanks to our generous partners in ministry, we are able to continue spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ with our local and foreign outreach ministries. For further information on Overcomers Christian Center including address, service times, and other information please visit occvr.org. Also you may visit us at the following: Facebook: @occvr Podcast: The Overcomers

Study Passage:Then Joshua rose early in the morning and they set out from Shittim. And they came to the Jordan, he and all the people of Israel, and lodged there before they passed over. 2 At the end of three days the officers went through the camp 3 and commanded the people, “As soon as you see the ark of the covenant of the LORD your God being carried by the Levitical priests, then you shall set out from your place and follow it. 4 Yet there shall be a distance between you and it, about 2,000 cubits in length. Do not come near it, in order that you may know the way you shall go, for you have not passed this way before.” 5 Then Joshua said to the people, “Consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow the LORD will do wonders among you.” 6 And Joshua said to the priests, “Take up the ark of the covenant and pass on before the people.” So they took up the ark of the covenant and went before the people.7 The LORD said to Joshua, “Today I will begin to exalt you in the sight of all Israel, tha they may know that, as I was with Moses, so I will be with you. 8 And as for you, command the priests who bear the ark of the covenant, ‘When you come to the brink of the waters of the Jordan, you shall stand still in the Jordan.'” 9 And Joshua said to the people of Israel, “Come here and listen to the words of the LORD your God.” 10 And Joshua said, “Here is how you shall know that the living God is among you and that he will without fail drive out from before you the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Hivites, the Perizzites, the Girgashites, the Amorites, and the Jebusites. 11 Behold, the ark of the covenant of the Lord of all the earth is passing over before you into the Jordan. 12 Now therefore take twelve men from the tribes of Israel, from each tribe a man. 13 And when the soles of the feet of the priests bearing the ark of the LORD, the Lord of all the earth, shall rest in the waters of the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan shall be cut off from flowing, and the waters coming down from above shall stand in one heap.”14 So when the people set out from their tents to pass over the Jordan with the priests bearing the ark of the covenant before the people, 15 and as soon as those bearing the ark had come as far as the Jordan, and the feet of the priests bearing the ark were dipped in the brink of the water (now the Jordan overflows all its banks throughout the time of harvest), 16 the waters coming down from above stood and rose up in a heap very far away, at Adam, the city that is beside Zarethan, and those flowing down toward the Sea of the Arabah, the Salt Sea, were completely cut off. And the people passed over opposite Jericho. 17 Now the priests bearing the ark of the covenant of the LORD stood firmly on dry ground in the midst of the Jordan, and all Israel was passing over on dry ground until all the nation finished passing over the Jordan.4 When all the nation had finished passing over the Jordan, the LORD said to Joshua, 2 “Take twelve men from the people, from each tribe a man, 3 and command them, saying, ‘Take twelve stones from here out of the midst of the Jordan, from the very place where the priests' feet stood firmly, and bring them over with you and laythem down in the place where you lodge tonight.'”19 The people came up out of the Jordan on the tenth day of the first month, and they encamped at Gilgal on the east border of Jericho. 20 And those twelve stones, which they took out of the Jordan, Joshua set up at Gilgal. 21 And he said to the people of Israel, “When your children ask their fathers in times to come, ‘What do these stones mean?' 22 then you shall let your children know, ‘Israel passed over this Jordan on dry ground.' 23 For the LORD your God dried up the waters of the Jordan for you until you passed over, as the LORD your God did to the Red Sea, which he dried up for us until we passed over, 24 so that all the peoples of the earth may know that the hand of the LORD is mighty, that you may fear the LORD your God forever.”

Today in History: Joshua commanded the sun and moon to stand still during the battle with the Amorites (according to tradition, see Joshua 10:11–14). “There was no day like that before it or after it, when the LORD listened to the voice of a man; for the LORD fought for Israel.“This week's portion is called Korach (Korah)TORAH PORTION: Numbers 17:1–9[16–24]GOSPEL PORTION: John 11:17–37What verse spoke to you most today and why?Did you learn something about God?Daily Bread for Kids is a daily Bible reading podcast where we read through the Torah and the Gospels in one year! Helping young Bible-readers to study God's Word, while also discovering its Jewish context!THE KIDS' JOURNAL is available from ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://arielmedia.shop⁠⁠⁠⁠BUSY MOMS who want to follow the Daily Bread readings on podcast for adults, can go to ⁠⁠https://dailybreadmoms.com⁠⁠The Bible translation we are reading from is the Tree of Life Version (TLV) available from the Tree of Life Bible Society.INSTAGRAM: @dailybreadkids @arielmediabooks @dailybreadmomsTags: #DailyBreadMoms #DailyBreadJournal #BibleJournaling #Messianic #BiblePodcast #BiblicalFeasts #Journal #biblereadingplan #Messiah #JewishRoots #Yeshua #GodIsInControl #OneYearBible #MomLife #MotherCulture #FaithFilledMama #BiblicalWomanhood #Proverbs31woman

Welcome to Day 2883 of Wisdom-Trek. Thank you for joining me. This is Guthrie Chamberlain, Your Guide to Wisdom. Day 2883 – Wisdom Nuggets – Psalm 135:15-21 Daily Wisdom Wisdom-Trek Podcast Script - Day 2883 Welcome to Wisdom-Trek with Gramps! I am Guthrie Chamberlain, and we are on Day 2883 of our Trek. The Purpose of Wisdom-Trek is to create a legacy of wisdom, to seek out discernment and insights, and to boldly grow where few have chosen to grow before. The title for today's Wisdom-Trek is: The Silent Idols and the Living King of Zion In our previous stop along this grand, poetic landscape, we explored the powerful, historical midsection of Psalm One Hundred Thirty-Five, verses eight through fourteen. We watched the temple liturgy transform into a dramatic victory march through time. We looked back at how Yahweh systematically dismantled the greatest earthly empires, and broke the power of the dark spiritual principalities operating behind the scenes. We stood in awe as the Divine Warrior shattered the gods of Egypt, and slaughtered the terrifying giant rebel kings, Sihon of the Amorites, and Og of Bashan, who ruled over the demonic stronghold of the underworld gates. We celebrated the truth that Yahweh vindicates His people, and pours out His fierce, fatherly compassion upon His treasured heritage. Today, we have arrived at the magnificent, soaring finale of this great temple hymn. We are completing our journey through Psalm One Hundred Thirty-Five, by exploring verses fifteen through twenty-one, in the New Living Translation. The psalmist shifts his strategy one final time. He has already proven Yahweh's supremacy over nature, and His absolute dominance over history. Now, he launches a devastating, mocking, and highly sarcastic assault against the very nature of the gods worshiped by the surrounding nations. He forces the congregation to confront the ultimate, ridiculous contrast between a living, speaking, and history-shaping Creator, and the dead, manufactured metal status symbols of the rebel powers. Let us step onto the trail, open our minds, and listen to the final verdict of the cosmic courtroom. The first segment is: The Pathetic Anatomy of Manufactured Gods Psalm One Hundred Thirty-Five: verses fifteen, sixteen, and seventeen. The idols of the nations are merely things of silver and gold, shaped by human hands. They have mouths but cannot speak, and eyes but cannot see. They have ears but cannot hear, and mouths but cannot breathe. The final indictment begins with a brutally honest, reductionist look at the objects of pagan devotion. “The idols of the nations are merely things of silver and gold, shaped by human hands. They have mouths but cannot speak, and eyes but cannot see. They have ears but cannot hear, and mouths but cannot breathe.” To fully unlock the brilliant sarcasm, and the intense spiritual warfare embedded in these three verses, we must look through the lens of the Ancient Israelite divine council worldview, as masterfully taught by Doctor Michael S. Heiser. In the ancient Near East, the surrounding pagan nations did not believe their gods were only pieces of wood or metal. They knew the statues were made by craftsmen. However, they practiced a highly elaborate, mystical ritual known as the "Washing of the Mouth," or the "Opening of the Mouth." Through these esoteric ceremonies, pagan priests believed they could enchant the physical statue, prompting a territorial spiritual entity—a rebel elohim of the divine council—to actually come down, inhabit the metal image, and animate it. The idol was viewed as a localized, physical conduit for a supernatural power. The pagans believed that through these animated statues, their gods could look at their sacrifices, hear their prayers, and speak prophetic directions over their empires. The psalmist stands in the courts of Yahweh, looks at these highly intimidating, gold-plated cultural icons, and completely exposes them as a cosmic fraud. He strips away the mystical propaganda, and mocks the absolute helplessness of the material. He says, “Look closer at these terrifying gods of Babylon, Egypt, and Canaan. What are they, really? Strip away the smoke and mirrors, and they are merely static pieces of silver and gold. They are completely dependent upon the very humans who built them. If a human hand didn't shape them, they wouldn't even exist!” He then executes a brilliant, sensory takedown of their anatomy. He catalogs their organs, matching them against their total lack of functionality. “They have beautifully carved mouths, yes, but they are utterly mute. They cannot speak a single word of comfort, or declare a single true prophecy. They have glistening, jeweled eyes, but they are completely blind. They cannot see the suffering of their followers, or perceive the movements of history. They have elaborate ears, but they are totally deaf to the cries of the oppressed. They have a second mouth carved on their faces, but there is absolutely no ruach—no breath of life, no spirit—inside their lungs.” This is a devastating, logical checkmate. In the ancient world, breath was the defining evidence of life. Yahweh is the self-existent, living God who breathed the breath of life into the nostrils of humanity, and who effortlessly controls the winds of the cosmos. But the gods of the nations are spiritually suffocating. They are paralyzed, inanimate prisoners trapped inside their own expensive silver and gold armor. Why would an intelligent, eternal human being bow down to a physical object that possesses less vitality than a common insect? The second segment is: The Ontological Decay of the Idolater Psalm One Hundred Thirty-Five: verse eighteen. And those who make idols are just like them, as are all who trust in them. Having exposed the pathetic nature of the false gods, the psalmist delivers a chilling, psychological, and spiritual law of human nature. “And those who make idols are just like them, as are all who trust in them.” This is one of the most profound, terrifying warnings in the entire Old Testament. It outlines the law of spiritual assimilation: you will inevitably become just like the object of your ultimate alignment. You cannot give your worship, your devotion, and your deepest trust to a specific spiritual system without taking on the ontological characteristics of that system. In the biblical worldview, human beings were uniquely created to be the tselem—the physical images and reflections—of the living God, Yahweh. We were designed to mirror His life, His speaking truth, His clear-seeing justice, and His active compassion into the physical realm. But when a human being turns away from the Creator, and locks their loyalty onto the dead, manufactured systems of the rebel principalities, a horrific process of spiritual deformation begins. The psalmist is saying, “If you trust in a mute, blind, deaf, and breathless god, your own soul will slowly become mute, blind, deaf, and breathless.” The craftsmen who forge these idols, and the cultures that depend upon them, suffer a catastrophic degradation of their humanity. They lose their spiritual perception. They develop mouths, but they can no longer speak words of true wisdom or justice. They have eyes, but they become entirely blind to the cosmic reality of God's sovereignty. They have ears, but they become totally deaf to the warnings of divine judgment. They become spiritually dead, hollowed out, and as lifeless as the silver and gold statues they worship. To worship a fraud is to transform your own life into a permanent illusion. The Third segment is: The Unified Anthem of the True Council Psalm One Hundred Thirty-Five: verses nineteen and twenty. O family of Israel, praise the Lord! O family of Aaron, praise the Lord! O family of Levi, praise the Lord! All you who fear the Lord, praise the Lord! In stark, brilliant contrast to the silent, suffocating isolation of the idolaters, the psalmist turns back to the vibrant, living congregation of Zion. He organizes the assembly into concentric circles of roaring, unified praise, calling upon each sacred order to testify against the darkness. “O family of Israel, praise the Lord! O family of Aaron, praise the Lord! O family of Levi, praise the Lord! All you who fear the Lord, praise the Lord!” Notice the beautiful, structured hierarchy of this liturgical call. He begins with the widest circle of covenant identity: the “family of Israel.” This is the entire nation, the collective segullah—the private, prized treasure of Yahweh. They are commanded to raise their voices to boast in the God who physically pulled them out of the jaws of Egypt. Then,...

We journey with the Israelites as they face resistance and hostility from nations like Edom and the Amorites on their way to the Land of Canaan. Despite these challenges, God continuously provides victory for His people. The Israelites face a significant event where God sends serpents due to their lack of faith and continuous complaints. However, they find healing by looking at a bronze serpent that Moses sets up on a pole. Support the showRead along with us in the Bible Brief App! Try the Bible Brief book for an offline experience!Get your free Bible Timeline with the 10 Steps: Timeline LinkSupport the show: Tap here to become a monthly supporter!Review the show: Tap here!Want to go deeper?...Download the Bible Brief App!iPhone: App Store LinkAndroid: Play Store LinkWant a physical book? Check out "Bible Brief" by our founder!Amazon: Amazon LinkWebsite: biblebrief.orgInstagram: @realbiblebriefX: @biblebriefFacebook: @realbiblebriefEmail the Show: biblebrief@biblelit.orgWant to learn the Bible languages (Greek & Hebrew)? Check out our partner Biblingo (and use our link/code for a discount!): https://biblin...

Senior Minister Margie Smith of Overcomers Christian Center ministries from Joshua 24:15 on the importance of a family choosing to serve the Lord. For a family to function productively and live together in peace, God's Word must have authority in the home. Scripture: Joshua 24:15 - And if it seems evil to you to serve the Lord, choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of [a]the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” Hit the notification bell so that you do not miss our most recent video. From your mobile device, to sow a financial seed into the ministry you may visit us at occvr.org and click the menu tab to locate the donate button. The donate button will provide two options for online giving. You may utilize “Text To Give” in which you will text “give” to the phone number 770-692-2225 to setup your monthly gift or one time financial gift. The additional method for online giving is simply click on the paypal “donate” button. Thanks to our generous partners in ministry, we are able to continue spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ with our local and foreign outreach ministries. For further information on Overcomers Christian Center including address, service times, and other information please visit occvr.org. Also you may visit us at the following: Facebook: @occvr Podcast: The Overcomers

Senior Minister Margie Smith of Overcomers Christian Center ministries from Joshua 24:15 on the importance of a family choosing to serve the Lord. For a family to function productively and live together in peace, God's Word must have authority in the home. Scripture: Joshua 24:15 - And if it seems evil to you to serve the Lord, choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of [a]the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”

Welcome to Day 2882 of Wisdom-Trek. Thank you for joining me. This is Guthrie Chamberlain, Your Guide to Wisdom. Day 2882 – Wisdom Nuggets – Psalm 135:8-14 Daily Wisdom Wisdom-Trek Podcast Script - Day 2882 Welcome to Wisdom-Trek with Gramps! I am Guthrie Chamberlain, and we are on Day 2882 of our Trek. The Purpose of Wisdom-Trek is to create a legacy of wisdom, to seek out discernment and insights, and to boldly grow where few have chosen to grow before. The Title for Today's Wisdom-Trek is: The Sovereign of History – Dismantling the Rebel Giant Kings In our previous stop along this grand, poetic landscape, we explored the opening movement of Psalm One Hundred Thirty-Five, where we witnessed a magnificent temple liturgy that unmasked the false gods of the nations. We watched as Yahweh effortlessly demonstrated His total, seamless mastery over nature—commanding the clouds, directing the lightning, and releasing the wind from His royal celestial storehouses. We saw how the psalmist executed a brilliant, razor-sharp polemical attack against Baal, stripping the Canaanite storm god of his fraudulent resume. We discovered the comforting truth that Israel is Yahweh's segullah—His private, prized, and treasured possession, chosen out of the chaotic landscape of a disinherited world. Today, the temple liturgy takes a powerful, dramatic turn. The psalmist shifts his focus away from Yahweh's absolute sovereignty over nature, and directs our eyes to His absolute, undeniable sovereignty over human history and spiritual geography. He takes the traveling assembly on a historical tour, demonstrating that the True King doesn't just manage the weather; He systematically dismantles the greatest earthly emp'res, and violently crushes the giant rebel kings who attempt to block the expansion of His kingdom. We are exploring Psalm One Hundred Thirty-Five, verses eight through fourteen, in the New Living Translation. Let us step onto the trail, adjust our cosmic lenses, and watch the Righteous Judge execute justice against the principalities of darkness. The First Segment is: The Judgment of Egypt's Incarnate Gods Psalm One Hundred Thirty-Five: verses eight and nine. He destroyed the firstborn in each Egyptian home, both people and animals. He performed miraculous signs and wonders in Egypt against Pharaoh and all his people. The historical narrative begins in the dark, oppressive brick-kilns of Egypt, tracing the opening lines of Israel's great cosmic liberation. “He destroyed the firstborn in each Egyptian home, both people and animals. He performed miraculous signs and wonders in Egypt against Pharaoh and all his people.” To fully comprehend the sheer scale of the spiritual warfare embedded in these familiar words, we must look past our modern, secular history books, and view the Exodus through the profound lens of the Ancient Israelite divine council worldview, as masterfully taught by Doctor Michael S. Heiser. In the book of Exodus, chapter twelve, verse twelve, Yahweh explicitly declares the ultimate, underlying purpose of the plagues. He states, “Against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgment; I am Yahweh.” The Exodus was not merely a political dispute over human labor; it was an open, aggressive courtroom trial, and a declaration of war against the corrupt, territorial elohim of the Nile. Egypt was the premier superpower of the ancient world, operating under the direct spiritual inspiration of powerful, rebellious members of the heavenly host. Pharaoh himself was not viewed merely as a human politician; he was worshiped as an incarnate god—the living proxy, and the supreme avatar, of the rebel spiritual principalities. When Pharaoh oppressed the chosen family of God, he was acting as the mouthpiece for the cosmic rebellion. Therefore, when Yahweh unleashed His miraculous signs and wonders, He was systematically target-shooting the Egyptian pantheon. He turned the Nile into blood to humiliate the river gods; He blocked out the sun to blind the sun god, Ra; and He paralyzed the land with darkness. The terrifying, ultimate climax of this cosmic execution occurred when the Lord destroyed the firstborn of both people and animals. In the ancient Near East, the firstborn son represented the strength, the legal inheritance, and the future legacy of the household. By striking down the firstborn—including the firstborn son of Pharaoh himself—Yahweh permanently broke the spiritual back of the empire. He demonstrated that the gods of Egypt were utterly helpless, completely unable to protect their own biological and spiritual lineages from the superior authority of the Creator. The proud, arrogant principalities of the Nile were weighed in the celestial balances, found wanting, and publicly stripped of their power. The Second Segment is: Dismantling the Gatekeepers of the Underworld Psalm One Hundred Thirty-Five: verses ten through twelve. He struck down great nations and slaughtered mighty kings— Sihon king of the Amorites, Og king of Bashan, and all the rulers of Canaan. He gave their land as an inheritance, a special possession to his people Israel. The historical tour moves from the waters of the Red Sea, to the rugged, bloody battlefields on the eastern side of the Jordan River. “He struck down great nations and slaughtered mighty kings—Sihon king of the Amorites, Og king of Bashan, and all the rulers of Canaan. He gave their land as an inheritance, a special possession to his people Israel.” To the casual reader, the names Sihon and Og might seem like obscure, boring footnotes from ancient military history. But to the ancient Israelite pilgrim singing this song, these two names triggered a profound sense of awe, and holy terror. These were not ordinary human kings; they were the terrifying, giant gatekeepers of the cosmic rebellion. Let us unpack the spiritual geography of these territories through Doctor Heiser's research. In the book of Deuteronomy, we discover that Og, the king of Bashan, was a literal remnant of the giant Rephaim. His massive iron bedstead was over thirteen feet long! In the ancient Near Eastern mindset, the Rephaim were not just tall people; their lineage was directly connected to the Nephilim—the hybrid offspring resulting from the spiritual corruption of the Watchers recorded in Genesis chapter six. They were the physical, and spiritual, anomalies produced by the rebel gods to contaminate the human race, and block the redemptive plans of Yahweh. Furthermore, the region of Bashan was universally recognized as the geographic and spiritual epicenter of darkness. Located at the foot of Mount Hermon—the exact site where the rebel angels originally staged their mutiny—Bashan was poetically referred to as the "place of the serpent," and the literal "gate of the underworld." Sihon and Og ruled over this demonic stronghold, acting as a massive, supernatural wall designed to intimidate Israel, and prevent them from ever entering the Promised Land. When Yahweh struck down great nations, and slaughtered these mighty giant kings, He was not just clearing a physical highway for Israel. He was executing a spectacular, cosmic cleansing of the geography. The Divine Warrior marched into the very territory of the dead, confronted the most terrifying, monstrous proxies of the rebel council, and completely obliterated them from the face of the earth. He proved that giant stature, demonic lineages, and ancient spiritual fortresses are absolutely nothing but dust in the presence of the Almighty. And look at the ultimate, glorious result of this victory in verse twelve: “He gave their land as an inheritance, a special possession to his people Israel.” This is the beautiful, geographic reversal of the Tower of Babel. At Babel, humanity was disinherited, and handed over to the rule of the lesser elohim. But here, Yahweh violently reclaims the land from the rebels, completely evicts the demonic tenants, and hands the territory over to His segullah—His special possession. The Promised Land becomes a restored beachhead of Eden, a sacred space where the cosmic order, truth, and righteousness of the true King can finally flourish. The Third Segment is: The Eternal Courtroom Verdict Psalm One Hundred Thirty-Five: verses thirteen and fourteen. Your name, O Lord, endures forever; your fame, O Lord, is known to every generation. For the Lord will vindicate his people and have compassion on his servants. Having demonstrated Yahweh's absolute mastery over history, the psalmist transitions into a magnificent, courtroom declaration of praise, drawing a sharp contrast between the mortality

Now in the twenty and fourth day of this month the children of Israel were assembled with fasting, and with sackclothes, and earth upon them.2 And the seed of Israel separated themselves from all strangers, and stood and confessed their sins, and the iniquities of their fathers.3 And they stood up in their place, and read in the book of the law of the Lord their God one fourth part of the day; and another fourth part they confessed, and worshipped the Lord their God.4 Then stood up upon the stairs, of the Levites, Jeshua, and Bani, Kadmiel, Shebaniah, Bunni, Sherebiah, Bani, and Chenani, and cried with a loud voice unto the Lord their God.5 Then the Levites, Jeshua, and Kadmiel, Bani, Hashabniah, Sherebiah, Hodijah, Shebaniah, and Pethahiah, said, Stand up and bless the Lord your God for ever and ever: and blessed be thy glorious name, which is exalted above all blessing and praise.6 Thou, even thou, art Lord alone; thou hast made heaven, the heaven of heavens, with all their host, the earth, and all things that are therein, the seas, and all that is therein, and thou preservest them all; and the host of heaven worshippeth thee.7 Thou art the Lord the God, who didst choose Abram, and broughtest him forth out of Ur of the Chaldees, and gavest him the name of Abraham;8 And foundest his heart faithful before thee, and madest a covenant with him to give the land of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Jebusites, and the Girgashites, to give it, I say, to his seed, and hast performed thy words; for thou art righteous:9 And didst see the affliction of our fathers in Egypt, and heardest their cry by the Red sea;10 And shewedst signs and wonders upon Pharaoh, and on all his servants, and on all the people of his land: for thou knewest that they dealt proudly against them. So didst thou get thee a name, as it is this day.11 And thou didst divide the sea before them, so that they went through the midst of the sea on the dry land; and their persecutors thou threwest into the deeps, as a stone into the mighty waters.12 Moreover thou leddest them in the day by a cloudy pillar; and in the night by a pillar of fire, to give them light in the way wherein they should go.13 Thou camest down also upon mount Sinai, and spakest with them from heaven, and gavest them right judgments, and true laws, good statutes and commandments:14 And madest known unto them thy holy sabbath, and commandedst them precepts, statutes, and laws, by the hand of Moses thy servant:15 And gavest them bread from heaven for their hunger, and broughtest forth water for them out of the rock for their thirst, and promisedst them that they should go in to possess the land which thou hadst sworn to give them.16 But they and our fathers dealt proudly, and hardened their necks, and hearkened not to thy commandments,17 And refused to obey, neither were mindful of thy wonders that thou didst among them; but hardened their necks, and in their rebellion appointed a captain to return to their bondage: but thou art a God ready to pardon, gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and forsookest them not.18 Yea, when they had made them a molten calf, and said, This is thy God that brought thee up out of Egypt, and had wrought great provocations;19 Yet thou in thy manifold mercies forsookest them not in the wilderness: the pillar of the cloud departed not from them by day, to lead them in the way; neither the pillar of fire by night, to shew them light, and the way wherein they should go.20 Thou gavest also thy good spirit to instruct them, and withheldest not thy manna from their mouth, and gavest them water for their thirst.21 Yea, forty years didst thou sustain them in the wilderness, so that they lacked nothing; their clothes waxed not old, and their feet swelled not.22 Moreover thou gavest them kingdoms and nations, and didst divide them into corners: so they possessed the land of Sihon, and the land of the king of Heshbon, and the land of Og king of Bashan.23 Their children also multipliedst thou as the stars of heaven, and broughtest them into the land, concerning which thou hadst promised to their fathers, that they should go in to possess it.24 So the children went in and possessed the land, and thou subduedst before them the inhabitants of the land, the Canaanites, and gavest them into their hands, with their kings, and the people of the land, that they might do with them as they would.25 And they took strong cities, and a fat land, and possessed houses full of all goods, wells digged, vineyards, and oliveyards, and fruit trees in abundance: so they did eat, and were filled, and became fat, and delighted themselves in thy great goodness.26 Nevertheless they were disobedient, and rebelled against thee, and cast thy law behind their backs, and slew thy prophets which testified against them to turn them to thee, and they wrought great provocations.27 Therefore thou deliveredst them into the hand of their enemies, who vexed them: and in the time of their trouble, when they cried unto thee, thou heardest them from heaven; and according to thy manifold mercies thou gavest them saviours, who saved them out of the hand of their enemies.28 But after they had rest, they did evil again before thee: therefore leftest thou them in the land of their enemies, so that they had the dominion over them: yet when they returned, and cried unto thee, thou heardest them from heaven; and many times didst thou deliver them according to thy mercies;29 And testifiedst against them, that thou mightest bring them again unto thy law: yet they dealt proudly, and hearkened not unto thy commandments, but sinned against thy judgments, (which if a man do, he shall live in them;) and withdrew the shoulder, and hardened their neck, and would not hear.30 Yet many years didst thou forbear them, and testifiedst against them by thy spirit in thy prophets: yet would they not give ear: therefore gavest thou them into the hand of the people of the lands.31 Nevertheless for thy great mercies' sake thou didst not utterly consume them, nor forsake them; for thou art a gracious and merciful God.32 Now therefore, our God, the great, the mighty, and the terrible God, who keepest covenant and mercy, let not all the trouble seem little before thee, that hath come upon us, on our kings, on our princes, and on our priests, and on our prophets, and on our fathers, and on all thy people, since the time of the kings of Assyria unto this day.33 Howbeit thou art just in all that is brought upon us; for thou hast done right, but we have done wickedly:34 Neither have our kings, our princes, our priests, nor our fathers, kept thy law, nor hearkened unto thy commandments and thy testimonies, wherewith thou didst testify against them.35 For they have not served thee in their kingdom, and in thy great goodness that thou gavest them, and in the large and fat land which thou gavest before them, neither turned they from their wicked works.36 Behold, we are servants this day, and for the land that thou gavest unto our fathers to eat the fruit thereof and the good thereof, behold, we are servants in it:37 And it yieldeth much increase unto the kings whom thou hast set over us because of our sins: also they have dominion over our bodies, and over our cattle, at their pleasure, and we are in great distress.38 And because of all this we make a sure covenant, and write it; and our princes, Levites, and priests, seal unto it.

13.1 The Lord said to Moses, 2 “Consecrate to me all the firstborn. Whatever is the first to open the womb among the people of Israel, both of man and of beast, is mine.”3 Then Moses said to the people, “Remember this day in which you came out from Egypt, out of the house of slavery, for by a strong hand the Lord brought you out from this place. No leavened bread shall be eaten. 4 Today, in the month of Abib, you are going out. 5 And when the Lord brings you into the land of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, which he swore to your fathers to give you, a land flowing with milk and honey, you shall keep this service in this month. 6 Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread, and on the seventh day there shall be a feast to the Lord.7 Unleavened bread shall be eaten for seven days; no leavened bread shall be seen with you, and no leaven shall be seen with you in all your territory. 8 You shall tell your son on that day, ‘It is because of what the Lord did for me when I came out of Egypt.' 9 And it shall be to you as a sign on your hand and as a memorial between your eyes, that the law of the Lord may be in your mouth. For with a strong hand the Lord has brought you out of Egypt. 10 You shall therefore keep this statute at its appointed time from year to year.11 “When the Lord brings you into the land of the Canaanites, as he swore to you and your fathers, and shall give it to you, 12 you shall set apart to the Lord all that first opens the womb. All the firstborn of your animals that are males shall be the Lord's. 13 Every firstborn of a donkey you shall redeem with a lamb, or if you will not redeem it you shall break its neck. Every firstborn of man among your sons you shall redeem. 14 And when in time to come your son asks you, ‘What does this mean?' you shall say to him, ‘By a strong hand the Lord brought us out of Egypt, from the house of slavery. 15 For when Pharaoh stubbornly refused to let us go, the Lord killed all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both the firstborn of man and the firstborn of animals. Therefore I sacrifice to the Lord all the males that first open the womb, but all the firstborn of my sons I redeem.' 16 It shall be as a mark on your hand or frontlets between your eyes, for by a strong hand the Lord brought us out of Egypt.”

NKJV 16 Go and gather the elders of Israel together, and say to them, 'The Lord God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob, appeared to me, saying, "I have surely visited you and seen what is done to you in Egypt; 17 and I have said I will bring you up out of the affliction of Egypt to the land of the Canaanites and the Hittites and the Amorites and the Perizzites and the Hivites and the Jebusites, to a land flowing with milk and honey." ' 18 Then they will heed your voice; and you shall come, you and the elders of Israel, to the king of Egypt; and you shall say to him, 'The Lord God of the Hebrews has met with us; and now, please, let us go three days' journey into the wilderness, that we may sacrifice to the Lord our God.' 19 But I am sure that the king of Egypt will not let you go, no, not even by a mighty hand.

Now when these things were done, the princes came to me, saying, The people of Israel, and the priests, and the Levites, have not separated themselves from the people of the lands, doing according to their abominations, even of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Jebusites, the Ammonites, the Moabites, the Egyptians, and the Amorites.2 For they have taken of their daughters for themselves, and for their sons: so that the holy seed have mingled themselves with the people of those lands: yea, the hand of the princes and rulers hath been chief in this trespass.3 And when I heard this thing, I rent my garment and my mantle, and plucked off the hair of my head and of my beard, and sat down astonied.4 Then were assembled unto me every one that trembled at the words of the God of Israel, because of the transgression of those that had been carried away; and I sat astonied until the evening sacrifice.5 And at the evening sacrifice I arose up from my heaviness; and having rent my garment and my mantle, I fell upon my knees, and spread out my hands unto the Lord my God,6 And said, O my God, I am ashamed and blush to lift up my face to thee, my God: for our iniquities are increased over our head, and our trespass is grown up unto the heavens.7 Since the days of our fathers have we been in a great trespass unto this day; and for our iniquities have we, our kings, and our priests, been delivered into the hand of the kings of the lands, to the sword, to captivity, and to a spoil, and to confusion of face, as it is this day.8 And now for a little space grace hath been shewed from the Lord our God, to leave us a remnant to escape, and to give us a nail in his holy place, that our God may lighten our eyes, and give us a little reviving in our bondage.9 For we were bondmen; yet our God hath not forsaken us in our bondage, but hath extended mercy unto us in the sight of the kings of Persia, to give us a reviving, to set up the house of our God, and to repair the desolations thereof, and to give us a wall in Judah and in Jerusalem.10 And now, O our God, what shall we say after this? for we have forsaken thy commandments,11 Which thou hast commanded by thy servants the prophets, saying, The land, unto which ye go to possess it, is an unclean land with the filthiness of the people of the lands, with their abominations, which have filled it from one end to another with their uncleanness.12 Now therefore give not your daughters unto their sons, neither take their daughters unto your sons, nor seek their peace or their wealth for ever: that ye may be strong, and eat the good of the land, and leave it for an inheritance to your children for ever.13 And after all that is come upon us for our evil deeds, and for our great trespass, seeing that thou our God hast punished us less than our iniquities deserve, and hast given us such deliverance as this;14 Should we again break thy commandments, and join in affinity with the people of these abominations? wouldest not thou be angry with us till thou hadst consumed us, so that there should be no remnant nor escaping?15 O Lord God of Israel, thou art righteous: for we remain yet escaped, as it is this day: behold, we are before thee in our trespasses: for we cannot stand before thee because of this.

864 They Will Heed Your Voice, A Guided Christian Meditation on Exodus 3:16-19 with the Recenter With Christ app The purpose of this podcast is to help you find more peace in  and connect with the true source of peace, Jesus Christ.  Outline: Relaxation, Reading, Meditation, Prayer, Contemplation and Visualization.  You can sit comfortably and uninterrupted for about 20 minutes.You should hopefully not be driving or anything tense or unrelaxing.  If you feel comfortable to do so, I invite you to close your eyes.   Guided Relaxation / Guided Meditation:   Breathe and direct your thoughts to connecting with God. Let your stomach be a balloon inflate,  deflate. Scripture for Meditation Exodus 3 NKJV 16 Go and gather the elders of Israel together, and say to them, 'The Lord God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob, appeared to me, saying, "I have surely visited you and seen what is done to you in Egypt; 17 and I have said I will bring you up out of the affliction of Egypt to the land of the Canaanites and the Hittites and the Amorites and the Perizzites and the Hivites and the Jebusites, to a land flowing with milk and honey." ' 18 Then they will heed your voice; and you shall come, you and the elders of Israel, to the king of Egypt; and you shall say to him, 'The Lord God of the Hebrews has met with us; and now, please, let us go three days' journey into the wilderness, that we may sacrifice to the Lord our God.' 19 But I am sure that the king of Egypt will not let you go, no, not even by a mighty hand. 2 RSV 16 Go and gather the elders of Israel together, and say to them, 'The Lord, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob, has appeared to me, saying, "I have observed you and what has been done to you in Egypt; 17 and I promise that I will bring you up out of the affliction of Egypt, to the land of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Per′izzites, the Hivites, and the Jeb′usites, a land flowing with milk and honey."' 18 And they will hearken to your voice; and you and the elders of Israel shall go to the king of Egypt and say to him, 'The Lord, the God of the Hebrews, has met with us; and now, we pray you, let us go a three days' journey into the wilderness, that we may sacrifice to the Lord our God.' 19 I know that the king of Egypt will not let you go unless compelled by a mighty hand. Reflection on Scripture: God called Moses to listen to the voice of a burning bush in the wilderness and from the beginning God told him that the people would accept him and that the Pharaoh would not. God knew with precision what would be required to deliver His people from bondage and He told Moses all about it. This was an unknown blessing. Moses did not understand the blessing that he was given. He was given the answer for how it would pan out. Many times in our lives we take steps into what seems to be darkness to our eyes. There have been many times in my life and my ministry where I feel I have gotten only a small partial direction without any indication of what would happen. In fact my whole journey to become a Chaplain took me a total of 8 years and I had no assurance that my path would end in success as it has.  Invariably I suspect for most things God directs us to do we will not get clear direction on the outcome. DIcernment in and of itself is a valuable thing. After we are reasonably assured we have been given a direction the battle is not over. We have to just roger up and do the best we can and stay open to further guidance God gives us along the way. Moses was told the people would listen and that Pharaoh would only respond when compelled but many times Moses didn't know what was coming next.  God invites us into a relationship of trust. He had no such relationship with king of Epypt. So in this situation although it would be very challenging to be Moses, it would be far worse to be the king who opposed him, who opposed God. So the invitation stands to each of us. Do we respond to the call of the Lord or do we choose what our human passions desire? Do we bravely wade into the deep waters, sustained by a God of wonders or do we cower in fear hiding from the Lord? I know what I want that answer to be for me, what is left is actually doing it.  Meditation of Prayer: Pray as directed by the Spirit. Dedicate these moments to the patient waiting, when you feel ready ask God for understanding you desire from Him. Meditation of God and His Glory / Hesychasm: I invite you to sit in silence feeling patient for your own faults and trials. Summarize what insights you have gained during this meditation and meditate and visualize positive change in your life: This is a listener funded podcast at patreon.com/christianmeditationpodcast Final Question: If you consider the invitation and command to persevere in the faith, what change in your life does that bring to your mind?  FIND ME ON: Download my free app: Recenter with Christ Website - ChristianMeditationPodcast.com Voicemail - (602) 888-3795 Email: jared@christianmeditationpodcast.com Apple Podcasts - Christian Meditation Podcast Facebook.com/christianmeditationpodcast Youtube.com/christianmeditaitonpodcast Twitter - @ChristianMedPod

“Into the Water”Joshua 3:1-171 Early in the morning Joshua and all the Israelites set out from Shittim and went to the Jordan, where they camped before crossing over. 2 After three days the officers went throughout the camp, 3 giving orders to the people: “When you see the ark of the covenant of the Lord your God, and the Levitical priests carrying it, you are to move out from your positions and follow it. 4 Then you will know which way to go, since you have never been this way before. But keep a distance of about two thousand cubits[a] between you and the ark; do not go near it.”5 Joshua told the people, “Consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow the Lord will do amazing things among you.”6 Joshua said to the priests, “Take up the ark of the covenant and pass on ahead of the people.” So they took it up and went ahead of them.7 And the Lord said to Joshua, “Today I will begin to exalt you in the eyes of all Israel, so they may know that I am with you as I was with Moses. 8 Tell the priests who carry the ark of the covenant: ‘When you reach the edge of the Jordan's waters, go and stand in the river.'”9 Joshua said to the Israelites, “Come here and listen to the words of the Lord your God. 10 This is how you will know that the living God is among you and that he will certainly drive out before you the Canaanites, Hittites, Hivites, Perizzites, Girgashites, Amorites and Jebusites. 11 See, the ark of the covenant of the Lord of all the earth will go into the Jordan ahead of you. 12 Now then, choose twelve men from the tribes of Israel, one from each tribe. 13 And as soon as the priests who carry the ark of the Lord—the Lord of all the earth—set foot in the Jordan, its waters flowing downstream will be cut off and stand up in a heap.”14 So when the people broke camp to cross the Jordan, the priests carrying the ark of the covenant went ahead of them. 15 Now the Jordan is at flood stage all during harvest. Yet as soon as the priests who carried the ark reached the Jordan and their feet touched the water's edge, 16 the water from upstream stopped flowing. It piled up in a heap a great distance away, at a town called Adam in the vicinity of Zarethan, while the water flowing down to the Sea of the Arabah (that is, the Dead Sea) was completely cut off. So the people crossed over opposite Jericho. 17 The priests who carried the ark of the covenant of the Lord stopped in the middle of the Jordan and stood on dry ground, while all Israel passed by until the whole nation had completed the crossing on dry ground.CONNECT WITH USIf you have any questions or would like to get to know us further, head over to https://www.triumphlbc.org/connect and fill out our online connection card.ABOUT TRIUMPHTriumph wants to see the life and message of Jesus transform your heart, home, and city. To learn more visit https://www.triumphlbc.org/

It's so easy to look at God and come to the conclusion, well I want that part of Him – but not that part. And definitely not that bit. It seems that all too often, we want Him on our terms rather than His. But God just doesn't work that way.   Take it Back Have you ever wanted something in life – I mean really, really, really wanted it and then when you finally get it, you just want to give it back? I think we have all experienced that at some point and you know, I think that for some people, it can be the case with God. I know people, lots of people, who hunger to be close to God. I know there are people listening today – maybe you are one of them – and all their lives they have wanted God – whatever that means. But can I tell you something? Even something really good – I mean really, really good like God, well, it can be a shock to the system and the reason is that we have these idealised, unrealistic notions of what that good thing will be like. Take the young woman who wants more than anything else, to be married and she meets her knight in shining armour, she marries him and a year later she is wondering, "What happened to all my ideas of romance 24/7?" Today on the programme we are going to take a look at some people who got God and couldn't wait to give Him back. Now over these last few weeks we have been working our way through the story of Hannah and Eli and his sons in the Book of First Samuel. And the crux of it is that Hannah honours God but Eli and his sons don't and the turning point of the whole story comes in the verse First Samuel – if you have a Bible, grab it, open it up here in First Samuel chapter 2, verse 30. God says: I will honour those who honour Me but those who despise Me, will be treated with contempt. And we have seen how the central reality of that verse has played itself out in the lives of Hannah, who was blessed when she couldn't have a son and she honoured God and God gave her a son Samuel and the opposite is Eli and his sons Hophni and Phinehas who didn't honour God and were greatly punished, in fact they lost their lives because of that. This story plays its self out in the storms of life. I mean Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, they were the priests; they should have been bringing God's people close to God yet they were living life of Riley, as we saw last week on the programme. And God had them killed. They're job was to bring people close to God and yet they were not honouring Him. Instead they had led Israel to a place of defeat. We saw last week in First Samuel chapter 4 where the Philistines attacked, Israel thinks "Oh well, God is always on our side – we will go to battle" and they had a huge defeat – thirty thousand of their soldiers were killed. The Ark of the Covenant, the presence of God itself, was captured by the Philistines. See the Ark of the Covenant was where God actually sat in the midst of His people. You see that in the journey through the Exodus – forty years in the Tent of the Meeting and later on in the temple. The Ark of the Covenant in the Holy of Holies; it is the very presence of God. And strangely, you know, when the Philistines are close to capturing the Ark they kind of realise, with a sense of foreboding, what this is about. It says in First Samuel that: When they learned that the Ark of the Lord had entered the camp of the Israelites, the Philistines were afraid. "A god has come into their camp" they said "we are in trouble. Nothing like that has ever happened before. Woe to us. Who will deliver us from the hand of these mighty gods?" And so it goes on … Well, it turns out that they should have followed their instincts. Today we are going to look and see what happens to the Philistines and to the Israelites when the presence of God comes close to them. Let's have a look at it. If you've got a Bible, open it up at First Samuel chapter 5, we are going to begin the story at verse 1. After the Philistines had captured the Ark of God, they took it from Ebenezer to Ashdod. Then they carried the Ark into Dagon's temple and set it beside Dagon. When the people of Ashdod rose early the next day, there was Dagon, their god, who had fallen flat on his face on the ground before the Ark of the Lord. They took Dagon and put him back in his place. The following morning when they rose, there was Dagon, fallen on his face on the ground before the Ark of the Lord. His head and hands had been broken off and were lying on the threshold – only his body remained. That is why to this very day, neither the priests of Dagon or any of the others who enter Dagon's temple in Ashdod, step on the threshold. The Lord's hand was heavy upon the people of Ashdod and its vicinity. He brought devastation upon them and afflicted them with tumours. When the men of Ashdod saw what was happening they said "The Ark of the God of Israel mustn't stay here with us because His hand is heavy upon us and upon Dagon our god." So they called together all the rulers of the Philistines and ask them "What are we going to do with this Ark of the God of Israel?" And they answered "Have the Ark of the God of Israel moved to Gath." So they moved the Ark of the God of Israel but after they had moved it, the Lord's hand was against that city, throwing it into great panic. He afflicted the people of the city, both young and old, with an outbreak of tumours so they sent the Ark of God on to Ekron. As the Ark of God was entering Ekron, the people of Ekron cried out "They have brought that Ark of the God of Israel around to kill us and our people." So they called together all the rulers of the Philistines and said "Send that Ark of the God of Israel away. Let it go back to its own place or it will kill us and our people," for death had filled the city with panic and God's hand was very heavy upon it. Those who did not die were afflicted with tumours and the outcry of the city went up to heaven. Do you see? The Philistines looked like they had won and yet they take the presence of God; the Ark of the Covenant, they put it in their temple next to their god and Dagon falls down, face down in front of the God of Israel. And the second time his head and his hands are cut off and then wherever they took the Ark of the Covenant, the impact of God, as a captive in their midst, was devastating – they got tumours, we will see later, there were plagues of mice. They had captured God – in human terms, they had won but you know what they had forgotten, in fact they had never realised it in the first place? God is not subject to people – God is not someone you can capture and stick in your temple. He is not someone you can tame and subdue. Why are we talking about this stuff today? Because you and I, deep down, we try and tame and subdue God – we try and swing Him around to our way of thinking; to meet our needs. We put Him in the temple of our choice; we put Him in the town and the city of our choice. You know what happens when we try to do that? We discover exactly what the Philistines discovered – we discover that God is not someone you can push around. "Well, I'll just take this God and He'll bless me whenever I want Him to." Ok, we can't see Him! Our present circumstances perhaps, appear much more powerful than Him but if we want to have our feet on solid ground, amidst the storms of life, (that's what we have been talking about over these last few weeks) we look at this maelstrom of the storm; the battle between the Philistines and the Israelites – thirty thousand Israelites killed because they didn't honour their God. Who appeared to win? Who should have been, according to our simple human expectations, on solid ground? The Philistines – they won the war. They captured Israel's God but who they captured was the God who created the entire universe – not some idol; not some tin pot little god. They captured God and He wrought destruction upon them because they tried to subdue God. So much so they couldn't wait to get rid of Him. Do you get it? When we try to take God by force – force of argument, force of opinion, force of anything – anything that doesn't recognise Him for who He is – watch out! There are so many people playing "church". There are so many people playing at being Christians; playing at religion, putting God here, putting God there. That's not what it is about. As Dagon found out, the only way you honour God is when you bow down before Him because of who He is – the sovereign God, above every name and every power and every authority in heaven and earth. That's what Hannah discovered; that's what Eli discovered; that's what Israel discovered and that's what the Philistines discovered, the hard way. You can't have God on your own terms. You can only have Him on His terms.   We Don't Want Him Well, the Philistines finally came to their senses. They realised they couldn't have God on their terms. They had a choice – you either accept God on His terms or you get rid of Him. So they decided to send Him back from whence He came. Now, let's have a look at how they did that. We are going to pick this up in First Samuel – grab your Bible – First Samuel chapter 6, beginning at verse 1 – it's a great story. When the Ark of the Lord had been with the Philistines for seven months, they called for the priests and the diviners and they said "What are we going to do with this Ark of the Lord? Tell us how we should send it back to its place." They answered "If you return the Ark of the God of Israel, don't send it away empty, but by all means, send a guilt offering to Him then you will be healed and you will know why His hand has not been lifted from you." The Philistines ask "What guilt offering should we send Him?" and they replied "Five gold tumours and five gold rats, according to the number of Philistine rulers because the same plague has struck both you and your rulers. Make models of the tumours and of the rats that are destroying the country and pay honour to Israel's God. Perhaps He will lift His hand from you and your gods and your land. Why do you harden your hearts as the Egyptians and the Pharaoh did when He treated them harshly, didn't they send the Israelites out so that they could go their way? Now then, get a new cart ready with two cows that have just calved and have never been yoked. Hitch the cows to the cart but take their calves away and pen them up. Take the Ark of the Lord and put it on the cart and in a chest beside it put the gold objects you are sending back to Him as a guilt offering. Send it on its way but keep watching it. If it goes up to its own territory towards Beth-shemesh then the Lord has brought this great disaster on us. But if it doesn't then we will know that it was not His hand that struck us but all this happened just by chance. So they did that – they took two such cows, hitched them to the cart, penned up their calves. They placed the Ark of the Lord on the cart, along with the chest containing the gold rats and the models of the tumours. Then the cows went straight up towards Beth-shemesh, keeping on the road, lowing all the way. They didn't turn to the right or to the left. The rulers of the Philistines followed them as far as the border of Beth-shemesh It is fascinating stuff! See, these people didn't know God – they got their own pagan spiritual leaders to advise them. Now their system of faith was not one God; that's called mono-theism. No, they believed in many gods; they were poly-theistic. And so they see the God of Israel as just another god on their list who may or may not have power. Now, He clearly does because He has brought all of this destruction on the Philistines. So they devise a test for this God. They get these two milk cows, with their calves. You see there is no way two cows that have just calved are going to leave their calves and these cows have never been yoked. So only God could cause them to go back to Israel, away from their young and that is exactly what ends up happening. They don't turn to the right or the left – they are lowing all the way. They don't want to go but they go and clearly this is an act of God. That's how the Philistines saw it. This is a story about so many people in this world who don't know God. See, they hear about God – it's amazing, God is still speaking. The number of times that I have had a letter or an email that says "You know something – I just happened to flick on the radio or turn to a channel and your programme was on and God spoke to me and changed my life." I'm going to share one of those at the end of this programme – an amazing story of a rebel fighter in Africa who laid down his arms. See, God is still speaking today, all over the place, and He reaches out to us and He ends up in our midst, one way or another, as He did with the Philistines. Remember back, how did the presence of God, the Ark of the Covenant, come to be in the midst of the Philistines? The Philistines fought Israel, Israel hadn't honoured their God – they got defeated by the Philistines big time. Eli the priest and his sons, Hophni and Phinehas were killed in that battle. They expected God to show up like He always did, but He didn't. And it was a sovereign act of the sovereign God to allow defeat to come upon Israel and to allow His presence, the Ark of the Covenant to be captured by the Philistines. God's own decision was to be in the midst of the Philistines those seven months. And they discover that you can't have Him on your own terms, so they give Him back – they send Him packing. That's what I did for many, many years of my life. Every now and then I encountered God. And you see I had my own agenda for my life; I had my own plans. God didn't fit so I would send Him packing. And it seemed like He would like to cause me grief and pain; want me to give up things I didn't want to give up. And time and time again I'd want to hang onto Him on my terms. Let me tell you something – it never, never, never worked so I sent Him packing. I rejected Him like the Philistines. I wonder if that has ever happened in your life. Come on, how much do we want God, but on our terms? Well, I believe this about abortion or I believe that about sexuality or I believe this about the different roles of men and women and when I discover what God has to say about those I say to myself "Well, I can't believe that! No, either I have God on my terms or not at all." Come on, there is a reason that God went to the trouble of recording this story about the Philistines and the Ark of the Covenant and then preserving it for a few thousand years and then broadcasting it on this radio station today. There is a reason! He is speaking to us through His story today. To all those people who would have God on their own terms, He is saying "No, you can't have Me on your terms. You can't capture Me and stick Me in your temple. You can only have Me on My terms." And as we are going to see soon, this problem was not reserved for the Philistines – it's not just for the people who didn't really know God but it was also for God's own people – God's own people who would push Him away. This series that we are going through is called "On Solid Ground". We need solid ground beneath our feet and we are going to discover next, exactly how to get it.   When Will We Learn? As I said earlier, the problem wasn't just restricted to the Philistines, sending God packing with those cows with the Ark of the Covenant in tow – it was also a problem that happened with the Israelites. Let's see what happened when the Ark of the Covenant arrives back with Israel - First Samuel chapter 6, beginning at verse 19. The Ark has just wandered down the road with the cows and this is what happened: God struck down some of the men of Beth-shemesh, putting seventy of them to death because they had looked into the Ark of the Lord. The people mourned because of the heavy blow the Lord had dealt them and the men of Beth-shemesh asked "Who can stand in the presence of the Lord, this holy God? To whom will the Ark go up from here?" Then they sent messengers to the people of Kiriath-jearim, saying "The Philistines have returned the Ark of the Lord, come down and take it up to your place." So the men of Kiriath-jearim came and took up the Ark of the Lord. They took it to Abinadab's house on the hill and consecrated Eleazar, the son to guard the Ark of the Lord. See, God is a sovereign God. We get Him on His terms and not ours. And the Israelites dealt casually with God's presence when He came back – they looked upon Him. Now God says "You can't look upon Me and live." How often do we treat the mighty sovereign casually? You and I – we take on God. Can I tell you who is going to win? Not us! Israel was God's people – they should have known better but they didn't. So what was their reaction? The same as the Philistines – "Who can stand in front of this sovereign God. Where are we going to send Him?" They sent God packing and it's a pattern repeated over and over and over again. So what is the answer? What these people needed was some solid ground beneath their feet. What you and I need is some solid ground beneath our feet. Well, that comes next in this story – it's exactly what happened. First Samuel chapter 7, verse 2: It was a long time, twenty years in all, that the Ark remained a Kiriath-jearim and all the people of Israel mourned and sought after the Lord and Samuel the prophet, said to the whole house of Israel "If you are returning to the Lord with all your hearts, then rid yourselves of the foreign gods and the Ashtoreths and commit yourselves to the Lord and serve Him alone and He will deliver you from the hand of the Philistines. So the Israelites put away their Baals and their Ashtoreths and they served the Lord alone. And then Samuel said "Assemble all Israel at Mizpah and I will intercede with the Lord for you." When they had assembled at Mizpah they drew water and poured it out before the Lord. On that day they fasted and they confessed "We have sinned against the Lord." And Samuel was the leader of Israel at Mizpah. When the Philistines heard that Israel had assembled at Mizpah, the rulers of the Philistines came up to attack them and when the Israelites heard of it they were afraid because of the Philistines. They said to Samuel "Don't stop crying out to the Lord our God for us, that He may rescue us from the hand of the Philistines." So Samuel took a suckling lamb, offering it up as a whole burnt offering to the Lord. He cried out to the Lord on Israel's behalf and the Lord answered him. Whilst Samuel was still sacrificing the burnt offering, the Philistines drew near to engage Israel in battle but that day the Lord thundered with a loud thunder against the Philistines and threw them into such a panic that they were routed before Israel. The men of Israel rushed out of Mizpah and pursued the Philistines, slaughtering them along the way to a point below Beth-car. Then Samuel took a stone and set it up between Mizpah and Shen and he named it Ebenezer, saying "Thus far the Lord has helped us." So the Philistines were subdued and did not invade Israelite territory again. Throughout Samuel's lifetime, the hand of the Lord was against the Philistines. From the towns of Ekron to Gath – that the Philistines had captured from Israel - they were restored to Israel and Israel delivered the neighbouring territory from the power of the Philistines and there was peace between Israel and the Amorites. First Samuel chapter 2, verse 30 says this: I will honour those who honour Me but those who despise Me will be treated with contempt. See, that's the place of solid ground – Israel finally got it right here! See, before they had had priests who were sleeping around with prostitutes, priests who were dishonouring God, priests who were plundering the sacrifices of the people to God and God said, "You know something? If your leaders are going to be doing that I am not going to bless you." So Israel fights the Philistines and Israel loses. And so the Ark of the Covenant of God goes to the Philistines and there is devastation there because of the presence of God and they send it back to Israel. And there is devastation there because of the presence of God because everyone was trying to have God on their own terms. Here is the place of solid ground: If you want to return to the Lord with all your heart, put away all your foreign gods. And that is God's Word for you and me today. Put away all your foreign gods – all the other things that you put before God – all the other things that you and I worship – put them away and worship God alone. Come to God on His terms, not ours, because He is the sovereign God. He is the God of the whole universe. He is the God – not just one other god amongst many – He is THE God; the only God and He calls us to worship Him and Him alone. So the people did that and right at the moment they did that, the Philistines were going to attack them again, but this time, the moment they began to honour their God – this verse First Samuel chapter 2, verse 30 – came into their experience. I will honour those who honour Me, but those who despise Me will be treated with contempt. People – that is the place of solid ground. It is the only place of solid ground. God is a sovereign God. He is not my performing puppy and He is not your performing puppy. He is not there to do tricks on our command. He is above us and we are His people and God is calling us today to accept Him on His terms as the sovereign God – just the way Samuel told the people. Samuel said to them "You have got to accept God on His terms" – they did and immediately, when a storm arose, God blessed His people. And that blessing went on for many, many years and their feet were on solid ground.

Study Passage: Numbers 32Now the people of Reuben and the people of Gad had a very great number of livestock. And they saw the land of Jazer and the land of Gilead, and behold, the place was a place for livestock. 2 So the people of Gad and the people of Reuben came and said to Moses and to Eleazar the priest and to the chiefs of the congregation, 3 “Ataroth, Dibon, Jazer, Nimrah, Heshbon, Elealeh, Sebam, Nebo, and Beon, 4 the land that the LORD struck down before the congregation of Israel, is a land for livestock, and your servants have livestock.” 5 And they said, “If we have found favor in your sight, let this land be given to your servants for a possession. Do not take us across the Jordan.”6 But Moses said to the people of Gad and to the people of Reuben, “Shall your brothers go to the war while you sit here? 7 Why will you discourage the heart of the people of Israel from going over into the land that the LORD has given them? 8 Your fathers did this, when I sent them from Kadesh-barnea to see the land. 9 For when they went up to the Valley of Eshcol and saw the land, they discouraged the heart of the people of Israel from going into the land that the LORD had given them. 10 And the LORD's anger was kindled on that day, and he swore, saying, 11 ‘Surely none of the men who came up out of Egypt, from twenty years old and upward, shall see the land that I swore to give to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, because they have not wholly followed me, 12 none except Caleb the son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite and Joshua the son of Nun, for they have wholly followed the LORD.' 13 And the LORD's anger was kindled against Israel, and he made them wander in the wilderness forty years, until all the generation that had done evil in the sight of the LORD was gone. 14 And behold, you have risen in your fathers' place, a brood of sinful men, to increase still more the fierce anger of the LORD against Israel! 15 For if you turn away from following him, he will again abandon them in the wilderness, and you will destroy all this people.”16 Then they came near to him and said, “We will build sheepfolds here for our livestock, and cities for our little ones, 17 but we will take up arms, ready to go before the people of Israel, until we have brought them to their place. And our little ones shall live in the fortified cities because of the inhabitants of the land. 18 We will not return to our homes until each of the people of Israel has gained his inheritance. 19 For we will not inherit with them on the other side of the Jordan and beyond, because our inheritance has come to us on this side of the Jordan to the east.” 20 So Moses said to them, “If you will do this, if you will take up arms to go before the LORD for the war, 21 and every armed man of you will pass over the Jordan before the LORD, until he has driven out his enemies from before him 22 and the land is subdued before the LORD; then after that you shall return and be free of obligation to the LORD and to Israel, and this land shall be your possession before the LORD. 23 But if you will not do so, behold, you have sinned against the LORD, and be sure your sin will find you out. 24 Build cities for your little ones and folds for your sheep, and do what you have promised.” 25 And the people of Gad and the people of Reuben said to Moses, “Your servants will do as my lord commands. 26 Our little ones, our wives, our livestock, and all our cattle shall remain there in the cities of Gilead, 27 but your servants will pass over, every man who is armed for war, before the LORD to battle, as my lord orders.”28 So Moses gave command concerning them to Eleazar the priest and to Joshua the son of Nun and to the heads of the fathers' houses of the tribes of the people of Israel. 29 And Moses said to them, “If the people of Gad and the people of Reuben, every man who is armed to battle before the LORD, will pass with you over the Jordan and the land shall be subdued before you, then you shall give them the land of Gilead for a possession. 30 However, if they will not pass over with you armed, they shall have possessions among you in the land of Canaan.” 31 And the people of Gad and the people of Reuben answered, “What the LORD has said to your servants, we will do. 32 We will pass over armed before the LORD into the land of Canaan, and the possession of our inheritance shall remain with us beyond the Jordan.”33 And Moses gave to them, to the people of Gad and to the people of Reuben and to the half-tribe of Manasseh the son of Joseph, the kingdom of Sihon king of the Amorites and the kingdom of Og king of Bashan, the land and its cities with their territories, the cities of the land throughout the country. 34 And the people of Gad built Dibon, Ataroth, Aroer, 35 Atroth-shophan, Jazer, Jogbehah, 36 Beth-nimrah and Beth-haran, fortified cities, and folds for sheep. 37 And the people of Reuben built Heshbon, Elealeh, Kiriathaim, 38 Nebo, and Baal-meon (their names were changed), and Sibmah. And they gave other names to the cities that they built. 39 And the sons of Machir the son of Manasseh went to Gilead and captured it, and dispossessed the Amorites who were in it. 40 And Moses gave Gilead to Machir the son of Manasseh, and he settled in it. 41 And Jair the son of Manasseh went and captured their villages, and called them Havvoth-jair. 42 And Nobah went and captured Kenath and its villages, and called it Nobah, after his own name.

“Into the Water”Joshua 3:1-171 Early in the morning Joshua and all the Israelites set out from Shittim and went to the Jordan, where they camped before crossing over. 2 After three days the officers went throughout the camp, 3 giving orders to the people: “When you see the ark of the covenant of the Lord your God, and the Levitical priests carrying it, you are to move out from your positions and follow it. 4 Then you will know which way to go, since you have never been this way before. But keep a distance of about two thousand cubits[a] between you and the ark; do not go near it.”5 Joshua told the people, “Consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow the Lord will do amazing things among you.”6 Joshua said to the priests, “Take up the ark of the covenant and pass on ahead of the people.” So they took it up and went ahead of them.7 And the Lord said to Joshua, “Today I will begin to exalt you in the eyes of all Israel, so they may know that I am with you as I was with Moses. 8 Tell the priests who carry the ark of the covenant: ‘When you reach the edge of the Jordan's waters, go and stand in the river.'”9 Joshua said to the Israelites, “Come here and listen to the words of the Lord your God. 10 This is how you will know that the living God is among you and that he will certainly drive out before you the Canaanites, Hittites, Hivites, Perizzites, Girgashites, Amorites and Jebusites. 11 See, the ark of the covenant of the Lord of all the earth will go into the Jordan ahead of you. 12 Now then, choose twelve men from the tribes of Israel, one from each tribe. 13 And as soon as the priests who carry the ark of the Lord—the Lord of all the earth—set foot in the Jordan, its waters flowing downstream will be cut off and stand up in a heap.”14 So when the people broke camp to cross the Jordan, the priests carrying the ark of the covenant went ahead of them. 15 Now the Jordan is at flood stage all during harvest. Yet as soon as the priests who carried the ark reached the Jordan and their feet touched the water's edge, 16 the water from upstream stopped flowing. It piled up in a heap a great distance away, at a town called Adam in the vicinity of Zarethan, while the water flowing down to the Sea of the Arabah (that is, the Dead Sea) was completely cut off. So the people crossed over opposite Jericho. 17 The priests who carried the ark of the covenant of the Lord stopped in the middle of the Jordan and stood on dry ground, while all Israel passed by until the whole nation had completed the crossing on dry ground.CONNECT WITH USIf you have any questions or would like to get to know us further, head over to https://www.triumphlbc.org/connect and fill out our online connection card.ABOUT TRIUMPHTriumph wants to see the life and message of Jesus transform your heart, home, and city. To learn more visit https://www.triumphlbc.org/

And Joshua the son of Nun sent[a] two men secretly from Shittim as spies, saying, "Go, view the land, especially Jericho." And they went and came into the house of a prostitute whose name was Rahab and lodged there. 2 And it was told to the king of Jericho, "Behold, men of Israel have come here tonight to search out the land." 3 Then the king of Jericho sent to Rahab, saying, "Bring out the men who have come to you, who entered your house, for they have come to search out all the land." 4 But the woman had taken the two men and hidden them. And she said, "True, the men came to me, but I did not know where they were from. 5 And when the gate was about to be closed at dark, the men went out. I do not know where the men went. Pursue them quickly, for you will overtake them." 6 But she had brought them up to the roof and hid them with the stalks of flax that she had laid in order on the roof. 7 So the men pursued after them on the way to the Jordan as far as the fords. And the gate was shut as soon as the pursuers had gone out. 8 Before the men[b] lay down, she came up to them on the roof 9 and said to the men, "I know that the Lord has given you the land, and that the fear of you has fallen upon us, and that all the inhabitants of the land melt away before you. 10 For we have heard how the Lord dried up the water of the Red Sea before you when you came out of Egypt, and what you did to the two kings of the Amorites who were beyond the Jordan, to Sihon and Og, whom you devoted to destruction.[c] 11 And as soon as we heard it, our hearts melted, and there was no spirit left in any man because of you, for the Lord your God, he is God in the heavens above and on the earth.....

NLT 7 Then the Lord told him, "I have certainly seen the oppression of my people in Egypt. I have heard their cries of distress because of their harsh slave drivers. Yes, I am aware of their suffering. 8 So I have come down to rescue them from the power of the Egyptians and lead them out of Egypt into their own fertile and spacious land. It is a land flowing with milk and honey—the land where the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites now live. 9 Look! The cry of the people of Israel has reached me, and I have seen how harshly the Egyptians abuse them.

858 I Have Heard Them Cry Out, A Guided Christian Meditation on Exodus 3:7-9 with the Recenter With Christ app The purpose of this podcast is to help you find more peace in  and connect with the true source of peace, Jesus Christ.  Outline: Relaxation, Reading, Meditation, Prayer, Contemplation and Visualization.  You can sit comfortably and uninterrupted for about 20 minutes.You should hopefully not be driving or anything tense or unrelaxing.  If you feel comfortable to do so, I invite you to close your eyes.   Guided Relaxation / Guided Meditation:   Breathe and direct your thoughts to connecting with God. Let your stomach be a balloon inflate,  deflate. Scripture for Meditation Exodus 3 NIV The Lord said, "I have indeed seen the misery of my people in Egypt. I have heard them crying out because of their slave drivers, and I am concerned about their suffering. 8 So I have come down to rescue them from the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land into a good and spacious land, a land flowing with milk and honey—the home of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites. 9 And now the cry of the Israelites has reached me, and I have seen the way the Egyptians are oppressing them. NLT 7 Then the Lord told him, "I have certainly seen the oppression of my people in Egypt. I have heard their cries of distress because of their harsh slave drivers. Yes, I am aware of their suffering. 8 So I have come down to rescue them from the power of the Egyptians and lead them out of Egypt into their own fertile and spacious land. It is a land flowing with milk and honey—the land where the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites now live. 9 Look! The cry of the people of Israel has reached me, and I have seen how harshly the Egyptians abuse them. Reflection on Scripture: I want you to stop everything you are thinking and hone in on this call from the Lord. I am aware of your suffering is what he says to you. I know what you have been through. This scripture points out that he could tell you clearly, I know your victories and your setbacks. I know your heart. I know what you need. I know what it takes to craft you into the image I want from you. Not only do I know all these things but I am strong. I am strong enough to save you. I have that power. The greatest challenge of all the one we should be most desperate for is a forgiveness of our sin.  Each one of us has weakness within our mind and heart. Take this moment to turn from that weakness toward the strength God offers. Working with people in the most challenging of circumstances has shown me again and again that each of us have our own story with plenty of deep valleys. As an example It has been a few weeks since I put out an episode. I got sick then had a family member in the hospital and then someone I minister to in a professional context was in the hospital. So I have had many things up in the air. And at the end of all that I ended up traveling to support a family member and I am not at home to celebrate Mother's Day with my wife. At certain points I have been quite low recently. And yet I know that my struggle is knot unknown to God. He knows it. And he lets these things happen because he knows what is required to cause us to grow. He knows what is required for us to overcome. Please trust the one who has power to save.  Meditation of Prayer: Pray as directed by the Spirit. Dedicate these moments to the patient waiting, when you feel ready ask God for understanding you desire from Him. Meditation of God and His Glory / Hesychasm: I invite you to sit in silence feeling patient for your own faults and trials. Summarize what insights you have gained during this meditation and meditate and visualize positive change in your life: This is a listener funded podcast at patreon.com/christianmeditationpodcast Final Question: If you consider the invitation and command to persevere in the faith, what change in your life does that bring to your mind?  FIND ME ON: Download my free app: Recenter with Christ Website - ChristianMeditationPodcast.com Voicemail - (602) 888-3795 Email: jared@christianmeditationpodcast.com Apple Podcasts - Christian Meditation Podcast Facebook.com/christianmeditationpodcast Youtube.com/christianmeditaitonpodcast Twitter - @ChristianMedPod

Ezra 9 After these things had been done, the officials approached me and said, “The people of Israel and the priests and the Levites have not separated themselves from the peoples of the lands with their abominations, from the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Jebusites, the Ammonites, the Moabites, the Egyptians, and the Amorites. 2 For they have taken some of their daughters to be wives for themselves and for their sons, so that the holy race has mixed itself with the peoples of the lands. And in this faithlessness the hand of the officials and chief men has been foremost.” 3 As soon as I heard this, I tore my garment and my cloak and pulled hair from my head and beard and sat appalled. 4 Then all who trembled at the words of the God of Israel, because of the faithlessness of the returned exiles, gathered around me while I sat appalled until the evening sacrifice. 5 And at the evening sacrifice I rose from my fasting, with my garment and my cloak torn, and fell upon my knees and spread out my hands to the Lord my God, 6 saying: “O my God, I am ashamed and blush to lift my face to you, my God, for our iniquities have risen higher than our heads, and our guilt has mounted up to the heavens. 7 From the days of our fathers to this day we have been in great guilt. And for our iniquities we, our kings, and our priests have been given into the hand of the kings of the lands, to the sword, to captivity, to plundering, and to utter shame, as it is today. 8 But now for a brief moment favor has been shown by the Lord our God, to leave us a remnant and to give us a secure hold[b] within his holy place, that our God may brighten our eyes and grant us a little reviving in our slavery. 9 For we are slaves. Yet our God has not forsaken us in our slavery, but has extended to us his steadfast love before the kings of Persia, to grant us some reviving to set up the house of our God, to repair its ruins, and to give us protection[c] in Judea and Jerusalem. 10 “And now, O our God, what shall we say after this? For we have forsaken your commandments, 11 which you commanded by your servants the prophets, saying, ‘The land that you are entering, to take possession of it, is a land impure with the impurity of the peoples of the lands, with their abominations that have filled it from end to end with their uncleanness. 12 Therefore do not give your daughters to their sons, neither take their daughters for your sons, and never seek their peace or prosperity, that you may be strong and eat the good of the land and leave it for an inheritance to your children forever.' 13 And after all that has come upon us for our evil deeds and for our great guilt, seeing that you, our God, have punished us less than our iniquities deserved and have given us such a remnant as this, 14 shall we break your commandments again and intermarry with the peoples who practice these abominations? Would you not be angry with us until you consumed us, so that there should be no remnant, nor any to escape? 15 O Lord, the God of Israel, you are just, for we are left a remnant that has escaped, as it is today. Behold, we are before you in our guilt, for none can stand before you because of this.”

Mother's Day 2026Joshua 24:14-15,14 Now therefore fear the Lord, and serve him in sincerity and in truth: and put away the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the flood, and in Egypt; and serve ye the Lord.15 And if it seem evil unto you to serve the Lord, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.Sermon Outline:1. I Can Believe in My House2. I Can Brace My House3. I Can Build My House4. I Can Battle for My House

In the Bible, the Amorites are an ancient, Canaanite people, described as extremely powerful warriors who clashed often with the Israelites in the Old Testament. Believe it or not, the Amorites may have had a settlement beyond the Middle East. According to Fritz Zimmerman, an explorer and writer, the Amorites were likely the advanced tribe behind the mysterious and extremely complex Ohio Mounds and earthworks, thought to be thousands of years old. These ancient burial mounds have been found to hold skeletons, as well as cremated remains. Fritz describes the advanced mathematics that would have gone into creating these earthworks. He also compares unusual human skulls found in Stonehenge to seemingly identical skulls found in Ohio. How did the Amorites end up in North America? Some were scattered there after the Flood, Fritz notes, and absorbed into the Dakota, a Native American tribe within the broader Sioux. TAKEAWAYS Fritz says the skulls in Ohio and across the ocean in Stonehenge suggest a different supernatural species The burial mounds in Ohio are extremely famous, and many are World Heritage Sites Some believe that the untethered souls of these Nephilim Amorites still roam Ohio, sparking supernatural phenomena The Amorites controlled Babylon for several centuries before their rule was ended by the Hittites

“And if it is evil in your eyes to serve the Lord, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your fathers served in the region beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” ‭‭- Joshua‬ ‭24‬:‭15‬ ‭ESV

Our Broken Arrow Senior Pastor, Ethan Vanse, continues week three of our teaching series, The Life of Abraham. In Genesis 15, we see that at the center of everything is a God who pursues us, initiates covenant, and invites us into something unbreakable. Abraham shows us what that kind of relationship looks like: bringing God his deepest desires, his honest doubts, and even his greatest shortcomings. And instead of pushing him away, God meets him there—making a promise Abraham could never fulfill on his own and carrying the weight of it Himself. In this message, Pastor Ethan explores the following Scriptures: Genesis 15:1-18 ESV 1 After these things the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision: "Fear not, Abram, I am your shield; your reward shall be very great." 2 But Abram said, "O Lord God, what will you give me, for I continue childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?" 3 And Abram said, "Behold, you have given me no offspring, and a member of my household will be my heir." 4 And behold, the word of the Lord came to him: "This man shall not be your heir; your very own son shall be your heir." 5 And he brought him outside and said, "Look toward heaven, and number the stars, if you are able to number them." Then he said to him, "So shall your offspring be." 6 And he believed the Lord, and he counted it to him as righteousness. 7 And he said to him, "I am the Lord who brought you out from Ur of the Chaldeans to give you this land to possess." 8 But he said, "O Lord God, how am I to know that I shall possess it?" 9 He said to him, "Bring me a heifer three years old, a female goat three years old, a ram three years old, a turtledove, and a young pigeon." 10 And he brought him all these, cut them in half, and laid each half over against the other. But he did not cut the birds in half. 11 And when birds of prey came down on the carcasses, Abram drove them away. 12 As the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell on Abram. And behold, dreadful and great darkness fell upon him. 13 Then the Lord said to Abram, "Know for certain that your offspring will be sojourners in a land that is not theirs and will be servants there, and they will be afflicted for four hundred years. 14 But I will bring judgment on the nation that they serve, and afterward they shall come out with great possessions. 15 As for you, you shall go to your fathers in peace; you shall be buried in a good old age. 16 And they shall come back here in the fourth generation, for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete." 17 When the sun had gone down and it was dark, behold, a smoking fire pot and a flaming torch passed between these pieces. 18 On that day the Lord made a covenant with Abram, saying, "To your offspring I give this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the river Euphrates, Psalm 25:14 ESV 14 The friendship of the Lord is for those who fear him, and he makes known to them his covenant. Hebrews 4:16 ESV 16 Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need. – Next Steps Looking to take a next step? We'd love to help you get connected.

In our last episode, Joshua and his troops defeated Jericho, but one man chose to reject God's command to set apart everything for destruction, which led to a heartbreaking defeat at Ai and a difficult task for Joshua. After the guilty party is stoned, the Lord turns from his burning anger and Joshua leads the people to victory. The nations hear of Israel's conquests and plan to form a coalition and fight against Israel, but the inhabitants of Gibeon decide to take a different approach. Later, the sun stands still as Joshua fights the Amorites and the Lord kills more of their foes with hail than Israel kills with the sword. Joshua 8 - 1:06 .  Joshua 9 - 9:08 .  Joshua 10 - 14:28 .  Psalm 72 - 20:12 .  :::Christian Standard Bible translation.All music written and produced by John Burgess Ross.Co-produced by the Christian Standard Bible.facebook.com/commuterbibleinstagram.com/commuter_bibletwitter.com/CommuterPodpatreon.com/commuterbibleadmin@commuterbible.org

TEACHING TEXT:  Exodus 3:1-12,” Now Moses was tending the flock of Jethro, his father-in-law, the priest of Midian, and he led the flock to the far side of the wilderness and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. 2 There the angel of the Lord appeared to him in flames of fire from within a bush. Moses saw that though the bush was on fire it did not burn up. 3 So Moses thought, “I will go over and see this strange sight—why the bush does not burn up.”4 When the Lord saw that he had gone over to look, God called to him from within the bush, “Moses! Moses!” And Moses said, “Here I am.” 5 “Do not come any closer,” God said. “Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground.” 6 Then he said, “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob.” At this, Moses hid his face, because he was afraid to look at God.7 The Lord said, “I have indeed seen the misery of my people in Egypt. I have heard them crying out because of their slave drivers, and I am concerned about their suffering. 8 So I have come down to rescue them from the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land into a good and spacious land, a land flowing with milk and honey—the home of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites. 9 And now the cry of the Israelites has reached me, and I have seen the way the Egyptians are oppressing them. 10 So now, go. I am sending you to Pharaoh to bring my people the Israelites out of Egypt.”11 But Moses said to God, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?” 12 And God said, “I will be with you. And this will be the sign to you that it is I who have sent you: When you have brought the people out of Egypt, you will worship God on this mountain.” See the Power of God.Exodus 3:2-6,”4 2 There the angel of the Lord appeared to him in flames of fire from within a bush. Moses saw that though the bush was on fire it did not burn up. 3 So Moses thought, “I will go over and see this strange sight—why the bush does not burn up.”When the Lord saw that he had gone over to look, God called to him from within the bush, “Moses! Moses!” And Moses said, “Here I am.” 5 “Do not come any closer,” God said. “Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground.” 6 Then he said, “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob.” At this, Moses hid his face, because he was afraid to look at God.”Charles Spurgeon - “Where God is present, the place becomes holy ground, though it be a desert and a bush.”Exodus 3:6,”6 Then he said, “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob.” At this, Moses hid his face, because he was afraid to look at God.”Matthew Henry - “God's covenant-relation to us as our God is the best support in the worst of times, and a great encouragement to our faith in particular promises. When we are conscious to ourselves of our own great unworthiness we may take comfort from God's relation to our fathers,”Charles Spurgeon - “A sense of the divine presence will make a man cover his face in humility. The nearer we come to God, the more conscious we are of our own unworthiness.”Recognize who God is. Exodus 3:11-15,”11 But Moses said to God, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?” 12 And God said, “I will be with you. And this will be the sign to you that it is I who have sent you: When you have brought the people out of Egypt, you will worship God on this mountain.” 13 Moses said to God, “Suppose I go to the Israelites and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,' and they ask me, ‘What is his name?' Then what shall I tell them?” 14 God said to Moses, “I am who I am. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: ‘I am has sent me to you.'”15 God also said to Moses, “Say to the Israelites, ‘The Lord, the God of your fathers—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob—has sent me to you.' “This is my name forever, the name you shall call me from generation to generation.”A. W. Tozer - “God exists in Himself and by Himself, and all other beings exist only because He wills that they should.”God extends the call. Exodus 4:1-11 “Moses answered, “What if they do not believe me or listen to me and say, ‘The Lord did not appear to you'?” 2 Then the Lord said to him, “What is that in your hand?” “A staff,” he replied. 3 The Lord said, “Throw it on the ground.”Moses threw it on the ground and it became a snake, and he ran from it. 4 Then the Lord said to him, “Reach out your hand and take it by the tail.” So Moses reached out and took hold of the snake and it turned back into a staff in his hand. 5 “This,” said the Lord, “is so that they may believe that the Lord, the God of their fathers—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob—has appeared to you.” 6 Then the Lord said, “Put your hand inside your cloak.” So Moses put his hand into his cloak, and when he took it out, the skin was leprous[e]—it had become as white as snow. 7 “Now put it back into your cloak,” he said. So Moses put his hand back into his cloak, and when he took it out, it was restored, like the rest of his flesh. 8 Then the Lord said, “If they do not believe you or pay attention to the first sign, they may believe the second. 9 But if they do not believe these two signs or listen to you, take some water from the Nile and pour it on the dry ground. The water you take from the river will become blood on the ground.” 10 Moses said to the Lord, “Pardon your servant, Lord. I have never been eloquent, neither in the past nor since you have spoken to your servant. I am slow of speech and tongue.” 11 The Lord said to him, “Who gave human beings their mouths? Who makes them deaf or mute? Who gives them sight or makes them blind? Is it not I, the Lord? 12 Now go; I will help you speak and will teach you what to say.”Exodus 3:7-8,”7 The Lord said, “I have indeed seen the misery of my people in Egypt. I have heard them crying out because of their slave drivers, and I am concerned about their suffering. 8 So I have come down to rescue them from the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land into a good and spacious land, a land flowing with milk and honey—”Moses sees → resists → God still sends God answers every excuse except one: unwillingness Charles Spurgeon - “The Lord's eye is never closed to the sorrow of His people.”Ask God to reveal His power to you.Ask God to reveal His identity to you.Ask God to send you. GOD ALONE SUSTAINS  ...

The Amorite spirit is pride dressed in religious clothing. Humble yourself under God's mighty hand — or He will humble you. Those who exalt themselves will be humbled; those who humble themselves will be exalted (Matthew 23:12). The Amorite spirit must be conquered to reach the Promised Land. ---------SUBSCRIBE ▶️   Receive our latest videos:https://www.youtube.com/c/PastorSteve...ABOUTPastor, author and speaker Steve Berger is known for his straight talk in dealing with various hot-topic cultural issues that many pastors avoid. In 2021, he founded Ambassador Services International with his wife, Sarah. He serves on the Executive and Pastoral Advisory Boards for Promise Keepers International, and the Jerusalem Prayer Breakfast Board, and is Pastor Emeritus of One Church Home in Fairview TN. Whether preaching or writing, in great joy or pain, Steve longs to be a proclaimer of the grace and hope that Jesus came to offer. Since June of 1987, he has been married to Sarah, the love of his life, and together, they have four beautiful children and five grandchildren.LEARN MORE