The Heaton File

Nevertheless you would not go up, but rebelled against the command of the Lord your God; and you complained in your tents, and said, “Because the Lord hates us, He has brought us out of the land of Egypt to deliver us into the hand of the Amorites, to destroy us. Where can we go up? Our brethren have discouraged our hearts, saying, ‘The people are greater and taller than we; the cities are great and fortified up to heaven; moreover we have seen the sons of the Anakim there.'” (Deuteronomy 1:26-28)

They Are Taller Than Us

Fear comes in many forms. It often comes from the misguided belief that something is false because they believe no greater power exists. Take the nation of Israel. As the Hebrew descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, they held a special place in God’s heart. He saw their oppression and heard their cries. The Hebrews were helpless to defend themselves. They could do nothing to find relief from their Egyptian taskmasters. They never formed an army to rebel against Pharaoh. The leaders of the Hebrews never lobbied the king of Egypt to be set free. They knew their slavery was permanent and nothing could change that.

God set Israel free from bondage. There was nothing the Hebrews could have done to effect change to bring them out of bondage. They left Egypt only because God’s army delivered them. God showed His power in the ten plagues. When the Hebrews stood on the banks of the Red Sea, filled with fear, God delivered them. The splitting of the Red Sea was an awesome, powerful demonstration of God’s power. When the Amalekites attacked the Hebrews, God delivered them. The Hebrews were brick makers, not soldiers. God healed the waters at Marah. He gave the people bread from heaven and water from a rock. Then God gave them a law.

As the newly formed nation of Israel reached the promised land, plans were made to spy out the land to formulate the scheme of attack to conquer the people. After the ten plagues, the Red Sea crossing, the provision of food and water, and God’s victory over the Amalekites, the children of Israel should have easily trusted in God’s amazing power. They did not. When the spies returned to report to the people, ten leaders gave a negative report. They told the people that the land was full of fortified cities, and giants lived there. The hearts of the people melted when they heard the stories of the people who lived in the land and the cities that would be impossible to overcome.

In a cruel irony, the people blamed God for their misery. They suggested the Lord brought them out of Egypt to die by the hand of the Amorites. Israel believed God hated them. How could the Lord do such a thing to His people? There was no way Israel could conquer a land whose people were taller than they were. The strength of the people was too great to fight against, and the sons of the Anakim lived in the land. Anakim were a race of giants who lived in southern Canaan. It would seem Goliath was from this race of warriors, and he stood over nine feet tall. One of the reasons the people of Israel feared going into the promised land was the warriors who were taller than they were. Fear caused Israel to forget who was taller than the giants.

God repeatedly showed His power to the Israelites, but they could only see the giants taller than them. Later, Joshua and Caleb would defeat the giants, and they would disappear from history. Faith knows that God is taller than anyone and everything. As Creator, the Lord God has no equal. Israel was shown the immense power of God that no man or nation could stand against. They stood in fear of men taller than themselves. The powerful message of David and Goliath is how big the Philistine champion was and who killed him. Goliath called David a dog, but that puppy destroyed the hope of the Philistines.

God has no equal. Whatever happens in life, God is bigger. All the challenges men face can be answered with the greatness of a loving Father. There will be many hills and valleys to cross in the course of life, and in that journey will come many giants – challenges taller than the man. Never fear those taller, but fear Him who has no equal in stature. God is above all. No power is greater, and nothing is to fear. See the army of the Lord that surrounds His children. God is taller than anyone and anything.

But avoid foolish and ignorant disputes, knowing that they generate strife. (2 Timothy 2:23)

Speculations Of A Half-Educated Mind

The curiosity of the human mind has always engendered questions that lead to great discoveries. Wanting to know what is beyond the horizon took man around the globe to discover new lands. Science always pokes the curious mind to look deeper into the complex world and its endless discoveries. The human art of investigation has fueled the souls of men to look deeper, longer, and with greater effort to know what is unknown. For all of its value, human curiosity has benefited civilization. For all its worth, human wisdom also falls victim to speculations that lead to ignorance. It seems contrary that seeking knowledge can produce ignorance, but this happens often in the human cycle of curiosity. This can happen all too often in the study of God’s word.

One of the great challenges to the Christian faith in the first two centuries was Gnosticism. Gnostics relied more on human wisdom to discover truth rather than on the word of God. Gnostic teachings emphasized personal spiritual growth and rejected the institutions of authority, traditions, and teachings of the first-century disciples. Paul warned that the growth of human wisdom was a form of foolish, ignorant dispute. The Contemporary English Version suggests these foolish and ignorant disputes are “stupid and senseless arguments.” These discussions have no value. They are useless because they rest on speculation, disinformation, and conclusions not grounded in truth, since God has not revealed those things to the world.

It is important to understand that the Bible is not a book that answers every question a man may have about all things. The Bible does not discuss myriads of topics because God did not include them in the holy text. They are left out because they have nothing to do with the purpose of Scripture: to show man how he can save himself. The human mind wants to know what happened before the world began and whether certain things took place in eternity. The most common question is where Cain got his wife. One old preacher remarked that, when asked about Cain’s wife, the individual should not be so interested in another man’s wife. Moses declared that the secret things belong to God alone. Why? Because God chose to reveal what man needs to know to be saved, and that is all.

When a man is drowning, he does not ask who made the flotation device, how it works, what the chemical makeup of the agent that makes the device buoyant is, or why the color yellow was chosen. All he wants to know is how the device will save his life. Paul correctly pointed out that foolish, ignorant disputes lead to strife, trouble, and quarrels over useless things. God did not tell the world where Satan came from because it has nothing to do with salvation. Speculating about such a subject is stupid because God has not revealed it. If God has not revealed something, who is man to answer? The word of God is unlimited in its message of grace, but it limits itself to the grace of God. Curiosity is a healthy way to look into the word of God, but it must be used with caution. When the mind begins to wander into the areas outside the revealed word, what is known in scripture, it becomes an exercise in spiritual futility. The greater tragedy is allowing Satan to use foolish and ignorant disputes to destroy congregations, families, and souls. He revels in the stupid questions because he knows it will keep the mind away from truth. Remember not to strive about questions without value, which can lead to the destruction of a soul. Profane and idle babblings bring ungodly hearts. The gospel is given for godly edification, which is in faith

Then Moses made careful inquiry about the goat of the sin offering, and there it was—burned up. And he was angry with Eleazar and Ithamar, the sons of Aaron who were left, saying, “Why have you not eaten the sin offering in a holy place, since it is most holy, and God has given it to you to bear the guilt of the congregation, to make atonement for them before the Lord? See! Its blood was not brought inside the holy place; indeed you should have eaten it in a holy place, as I commanded.” (Leviticus 10:16-18)

Eleazar And Ithamar

Aaron, Moses’ brother and Israel’s first High Priest, had four children. His sons were Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar. God called Nadab and Abihu to come with Moses to Mt. Sinai, along with the seventy elders of Israel. The seventy-four men saw the God of Israel, and there was under His feet as it were a paved work of sapphire stone, and it was like the very heavens in its clarity. All four of the sons of Aaron were set apart in the priesthood to minister before the Lord. God directed Moses to include in the Law the priests’ garments, including linen trousers to hide the nakedness of their thighs when serving before the Lord. The penalty of disobedience was death.

Nadab and Abihu understood the penalties of dishonoring God in worship. One day, the brothers took their censers, lit the fire, and put incense on it. The fire they used was profane and unauthorized by God. God acted swiftly and powerfully. Fire came out from the Lord and devoured the two priests, sons of Aaron, and they died before the Lord. There was no time to change or repent. Nadab and Abihu were killed instantly.

Moses told Aaron that he could say nothing about the deaths of his sons. What Nadab and Abihu did was treat God’s sacrifice as unholy, and they did not glorify God. The result was immediate death. Aaron held his peace. Aaron, Eleazar, and Ithamar were told not to grieve the death of Nadab and Abihu. God threatened them with death if they refused. They were not permitted to go out from the door of the tabernacle of meeting, lest they die. The men obeyed the word of the Lord.

Immediately after Nadab and Abihu died, God told Aaron to instruct the priests not to drink wine or intoxicating drink. This law applied to Aaron and his sons when they entered the tabernacle of meeting, lest they die. It became a statute forever throughout all generations. The danger of alcohol was the corruption of the worship of God. Contextually from the story, it seems clear this was part of the reason God struck Nadab and Abihu dead. They had failed to give honor to God in their drunken state and died for offering profane fire. God knew their hearts. He saw their rebellion and struck them dead.

God did not strike all sinners down, but He did bring judgment upon cities and individuals. The world was destroyed in the days of Noah with a flood. God rained brimstone and fire on Sodom and Gomorrah. Uzzah was killed when he reached out to catch the ark from falling. Ananias and Sapphira both died before the Lord in the early days of the church. Herod Agrippa was struck by an angel of the Lord and died of worms. Abraham was not struck down for lying about Sarah. Moses did not give God the glory and was banished from going into the promised land. David and Bathsheba were spared the sentence of stoning for adultery. Peter did not die for denying the Lord three times.

After Nadab and Abihu died, Aaron’s other two sons continued in priestly duties. They sinned when they did not offer the goat’s blood into the tabernacle. Instead of eating the meat, they burned it. Nadab and Abihu were killed; Eleazar and Ithamar were not. God brought judgment upon Nadab and Abihu because He knew their hearts and how rebellious they were. He also knew the hearts of Eleazar and Ithamar, and they did not have rebellious hearts. They sinned, but they had hearts to seek repentance. David was a man after God’s own heart. Peter was a devoted servant of the Lord. When Simon the Sorcerer tried to buy the Holy Spirit with money, Peter severely rebuked him because his heart was not right in the sight of God. Simon was not killed like Ananias and Sapphira. Simon begged Peter to pray for him.

God sees the heart, and He knows if a man truly repents. All men are sinners. The Lord does not strike down a man because he sins, or no one would ever live on earth. Jesus died to save all men from sin and to bring the grace of God. What men see on the outside is not important to God. God sees the inner man, which no man can understand. He saw the heart of Nadab and Abihu and killed them. He saw the hearts of Eleazar and Ithamar and gave them grace. God’s judgment is right, just, holy, and merciful. All men will stand before a righteous judge, and all men will be judged according to the holiness of the Lord God.

You who rejoice over Lo Debar, who say, “Have we not taken Karnaim for ourselves by our own strength?” (Amos 6:13)

Trusting In Lo Debar And Karnaim

The folly of idolatry is that every idol is created by the one who will fall before its own creation and call it their god who has delivered them. Isaiah describes the foolishness of idolatry when a man cuts down a tree to build a fire for warmth and fashions an idol from the same tree as a god to deliver him. An idol never speaks. It never reveals knowledge. Anything an idol does is measured by the wisdom of its creator and the will of its creator. When an idol reveals knowledge, it is the will of its creator – man. So man creates an idol to be his god when man must be the god of his own creation to bend to his whim. Folly.

Amos describes idolatry as nothing and powerless. The word Lo Debar is the Hebrew for nothing. Karnaim literally means “horns,” a symbol of strength. A man forms an idol which is nothing. It has no life. Idols are inanimate objects without life, dead and dumb. Why would a man fall down to a dead object and call it his strength? Human wisdom is the greatest folly. The pride of man rejects the only truth that will save his soul for the foolishness of his own knowledge. History is filled with the consequences of humanity falling at the feet of Lo Debar and Karnaim. Every time men seek to find answers within themselves, they fail. This is without exception. The sad reality is that every generation believes it has improved on the past’s failures, yet it keeps repeating them.

There are still many cultures that worship idols. The Catholic Church and the Orthodox Church continue to defend the use of icons, which are nothing more than idols. Buddhism, Hinduism, and Jainism are founded on idol worship. Idolatry in the literal form has been around since the beginning of time. The nation of Israel was plagued by idolatry from the beginning. At Sinai, when Moses delayed on the mountain, the Hebrews demanded Aaron make them a god to worship. Drawing on ancient Egyptian idolatry, Aaron formed a golden calf as the people’s god. Three thousand men lost their lives as the Lord brought His wrath against the people. Idolatry would eventually destroy Israel.

Idolatry remains a challenge to the people of God today. Few people would consider bowing down to an idol, but many things men serve are idols. Paul wrote that covetousness was idolatry. One of the works of the flesh that will bring the wrath of God is idolatry. The kind of idolatry that challenges the heart today is what men worship or put forth as first in their lives.

Most people worship their jobs above God’s will. They believe their job is more important than keeping the word of God. In a world filled with the ego of self-image, idolatry is found in those who worship their bodies. As they grow older, they want to look younger. While physical fitness is commendable for good health, it is easy for men and women to worship their bodies as idols. America is a land filled with many blessings. Idolatry comes in the form of wanting the best of everything. Wealth and possessions become the idol of the day. Having the best things in life becomes more important than having a relationship with God.

If Amos were alive, he would preach the same message. Trusting in nothing is foolishness. The mad dash to live in a world given over to the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life is a life of nothing. No reward is given. Men seek after nothing and find nothing, because everything in this world becomes nothing. Death separates man from his folly and wisdom. He will spend his whole life seeking after nothing and will find nothing when he dies. How sad. Jesus came to offer an abundant life. For life to be full and filled with hope, the heart must turn to the one true God. True life can only be found in Jesus Christ.

“If you will return, O Israel,” says the Lord, “Return to Me; and if you will put away your abominations out of My sight, then you shall not be moved. And you shall swear, ‘the Lord lives,’ in truth, in judgment, and in righteousness; the nations shall bless themselves in Him, and in Him they shall glory.” (Jeremiah 4:1-2)

How to Return To The Lord

Israel always struggled in its faithfulness to God. From the moment they left Egypt, Israel saw the power of God every day and still managed to rebel. At Sinai, while Moses was on the mountain receiving the Law from God, the people demanded Aaron make them a golden calf to worship. When the Lord brought Israel to the land promised to Abraham, they refused to enter. God punished the people with forty years of suffering. Conquering the land did not improve their faithfulness. Allowing the people to have a king marked the beginning of Israel’s end. The prophets warned the people to return to the Lord, or God’s wrath would destroy them.

Jeremiah tried in vain to turn the nation back to God. His message was a mournful lament of the consequences of sin and the feeble hearts of the unrepentant. The prophet explained what Israel needed to do to receive God’s blessings. They refused to listen, and God destroyed them. Israel served as a pattern to show God’s longsuffering, love, and grace toward sinful men. God’s people also serve as a pattern for how one can return to the Lord and receive the abundant blessings of forgiveness. Israel could not accept God’s grace without acting on it. They had to return to the Lord on His terms, not theirs. Under the covenant of Christ, returning to the Lord follows the same pattern.

The penitent sinner needs to know that God wants him to return to Him. God is not willing that any should perish. The divine will is for all men to enjoy the blessings of a loving father. Jeremiah reminds the people to return to God. Repentance comes with conditions. God’s people must put away their abominations or detestable things. Idolatry was an affront to the holiness of the Lord God. The people must stop what they were doing and give up their evil practices. God will not accept someone who does not repent and change his life. Too often, someone wants to come to God on their terms and conditions. They mistakenly believe that God wants them to be happy so they can continue in the path they desire. God demands repentance. Anything short of repentance, and there is no forgiveness.

Another aspect of repentance is swearing allegiance to the Lord. This oath is based on God’s divine pattern of sovereignty. Jeremiah demanded the people acknowledge that God is the only true and living God (emphasis on living). Idols are dumb. Truth comes from the living God. There is no truth in idolatry. The judgment of the living God is the only true judgment. Idols can never render judgment. What is right is what God says is right. Idols only speak the wisdom of their creator. Human wisdom is a failure.

Returning to the Lord demands obedience. God determines right and wrong. Eternal life comes only from the Father. Christ died to save all men, and that salvation can only come from those who follow the will of the Father – on His terms. Repentance demands change. The heart must see the soul darkened by sin, and the only cleansing is the blood of Jesus Christ. When the early church began to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ, they proclaimed the first word of the gospel to be REPENT. Come back to God.

Even in laughter the heart may sorrow, and the end of mirth may be grief. (Proverbs 14:13)

Living In Two Worlds

The most tragic event in the history of man is when Eve reached forth with her hand and took the fruit forbidden by the word of God. In an instant, everything changed. The world of complete fellowship with God ended. All the beauty and peace infused into the new creation disappeared. Adam and Eve immediately felt shame and guilt. The joyous communion they shared with the Lord God was shattered. God pronounced the consequences of rebellion upon the man and woman. Eve would live a life of sorrow, bearing children. Adam would toil, in the sweat of his brow, to provide for his family. Life would be hard.

Whatever sorrow Adam and Eve felt when removed from the Garden of Eden, that overwhelming sadness would be magnified one hundredfold years later when they found their son Abel dead. As if the story could not grow worse, the parents of Abel learned that their firstborn son, Cain, killed his brother. Adam and Eve faced for the first time the gravity of the consequences of sin. Death filled their hearts with an unimaginable pain that tore their souls apart. As they buried their son, they pondered the reasons why and how to move through the feelings of grief. Cain and his family would disappear and become fugitives and vagabonds on the earth. In time, Adam and Eve welcomed another son. Eve called him Seth, meaning that God appointed for her another offspring instead of Abel, for Cain killed him. In the midst of sorrow came joy.

The two worlds of grief and joy would forever mingle in the hearts of men. During the flood, Noah’s heart was broken for all the lives lost, yet he rejoiced in the salvation of his family. David and Bathsheba faced the certain death of their child and mourned his passing. Joy returned to the heart in the birth of Solomon, meaning “Beloved of the Lord” (Jedidiah). The widow of Nain was overwhelmed with grief when her son died, yet found the joy of God’s grace when Jesus restored his life to him. Mary and Martha were grieved with the death of their brother Lazarus, complaining to Jesus that if He had been there earlier, Lazarus would not have died. Jesus wept! Then the Son of God took their sorrow away and raised Lazarus from the dead.

Paul calls death a sting, something destructive and painful. The metaphor is like the sting of a bee or scorpion, or the venomous sting of a serpent. There would be no death without sin. Death comes upon all men because of what happened in the garden. God does not allow Satan to roam the earth killing people, nor does God carry out His justice by “taking” people. The Lord is not in the business of killing people. Natural laws bring about death. Falling off a cliff will bring death because of the law of gravity and the misjudgment of the victim. Disease kills millions because the body is a corrupt vessel. There is hatred, prejudice, and violence that kill untold numbers of people. Death brings sorrow and seldom gives answers.

The wise man noted the character of two worlds in contrast with one another. Laughter can conceal a heavy heart. The face may show a sense of peace, but inside the heart, feelings of grief swirl, unbearable to accept. When the laughter ends, all the emotions of grief remain. Understanding the conflict between these two worlds is where man’s faith is tested. Job’s friends saw the immense grief in his heart after losing his ten children. The loss of his property was not central to his grief. Job mourned the loss of those servants who had been killed. Death filled his soul to the filling point. When his health deteriorated, his grief was magnified. He could regain his possessions. His health may improve. The ten children would never be seen again. His prayers for them ceased. Mrs. Job was stricken with a grief only a mother who bore ten children could bear.

To everything there is a season and a time for every purpose under heaven. Everyone knows there will be times of joy in the birth of a child and there could be nights of sorrow in their deaths. There will be times of weeping, and there will be times to laugh. Joy and sorrow go hand in hand. A person’s grief may be overshadowed by times of joy and laughter, but the grief remains. There will never be a time of getting over or moving on from the pains of grief. Laughter is a false positive that betrays the heart’s true feelings. God has blessed His people with His love and grace to give joy to the downtrodden. For the child of God who trusts in the blessings of the eternal Father, an acceptance of sorrow becomes real. In the midst of the deepest grief comes the joy of the Father’s love to soothe and temper the pains of grief. The hope that resides in the hearts of God’s people is the moment in death when God will wipe away every tear from the eyes of His children. And then, what a moment – eternal joy begins without sorrow, pain, and tears. Lord, come quickly.

This I recall to my mind; therefore I have hope. Through the Lord’s mercies we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness. (Lamentations 3:21-23)

New Every Morning

Jeremiah’s lament is a mournful dirge telling the story of Jerusalem’s destruction by the Chaldeans. Jerusalem was the city of God and the city of David. It was the heart of Israel, with its gleaming Temple showing the blessing of God upon His people. It was inconceivable to think the city could ever be destroyed. In 586 BC, the Babylonians destroyed the city along with the Temple of Solomon. The words of the prophets came true.

Lamentations is a book of poems reflecting the significance of the divine judgment against the people of God. Israel was the chosen nation of the Lord God, and because of their rebellion, God destroyed them. The book also carries a message of hope amid the people’s suffering. Zion was under the judgment of the Lord. Jeremiah examines suffering and how sin brought it upon the nation. He concludes the lamentations with a prayer. In the midst of the lamentation, the prophet shows the glimmer of hope and the kernel of joy that can be found in the storm of sorrow.

Sorrow can take away hope, but hope can be found in sorrow. With all the sorrow surrounding the prophet, he still found hope. Jeremiah did not blame God; he accepted God’s will, and his faith in it gave him hope. Suffering does not have to destroy the soul. Enduring pain can bring hope when the heart turns to God. Life’s trials can strengthen faith. Seeing God’s hand in guiding and protecting us is a positive way to view suffering.

Job struggled with his faith, but he never lost sight of God’s love. His pain was deep. The grief was immense. No words could describe or explain what he and his wife (the mother of ten children) endured. The book of Job can be viewed as a book of suffering or as a message of hope that in the darkest hour, God has never abandoned His people. Job and his friends tried to rationalize and explain his suffering, but only when the Lord came and challenged Job with 72 questions did the man of God realize God’s incredible grace. Suffering challenged Job and his wife for the rest of their lives, but their hope remained in God.

When the heart trusts in God, each day is a new day of beginning. The book of Lamentations is about suffering. Joy can still be found in the book. Jeremiah knows that God’s lovingkindness is endless. His gracious love overshadows the faithful. The mercy of God is everlasting. His faithfulness is great. The mercies of the Lord God Almighty are fresh each morning. What Jeremiah, the mournful prophet, reminds the people of God is that each day is a fresh day to begin anew and see the glory of the Divine in their lives. Each day is new – make it new with God.

Jesus came to bring the abundant life to those who would follow Him. The peace of God, which passes all understanding, guards the heart and mind in the valley of darkness to see the eternal light of God’s love. Suffering will darken the day but should never darken the spirit. God allowed a wicked world to mistreat, abuse, mock, spit upon, beat, scourge, and then torture His Son on a cross. Jesus said He could bring twelve legions of angels to deliver Him. God did not move. Jesus did not move. The twelve legions of angels never moved. In the darkest hour in the history of man, Jesus suffered so that His people could find joy in the midst of grief. God lives. He loves. Jesus died to redeem His people to Himself. Find joy in sorrow. It’s a new day.

Then you went over the Jordan and came to Jericho. And the men of Jericho fought against you—also the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Girgashites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. But I delivered them into your hand. I sent the hornet before you which drove them out from before you, also the two kings of the Amorites, but not with your sword or with your bow. (Joshua 24:11-12)

What God Did For Israel

The history of Israel was never about what Israel had done. It was always about what God had done for Israel. The Hebrew descendants of Abraham formed the nation of Israel. Formed from the twelve sons of Jacob, the Hebrew people numbered seventy-five when they moved to Egypt at the invitation of Joseph. Over a few hundred years, the Hebrews multiplied to the point that the Pharaoh feared them because of their number. Pharaoh tried to deal with the Hebrews by oppressing them, but to no avail. The king decided to thin the ranks of the people by killing all the boys born to the Hebrews. This did not prove successful.

As the Hebrew people suffered under the bondage of the Egyptian ruler, God sent Moses to deliver them from the harsh king. Ten plagues came upon the Egyptian nation that destroyed their economy, military, religion, and spirit. All these events came by the hand of God. In a final act of rebellion, Moses led the Hebrews out of Egypt through the Red Sea. God parted the waters to set the people free. For the next forty years, the Lord God delivered the Hebrews from their enemies, winning every battle fought except for Kadesh-Barnea. God gave the people food and water. Their clothes never wore out, and the shoes did not wear down. Everything the people needed, God provided.

The Hebrew people did not deliver themselves from Egypt. God brought them out of bondage by His powerful hand. The crossing at the Red Sea was not a weather event but the hand of God. Every victory over the enemies of Israel came by the hand of God. When the Hebrews gathered at Sinai, God made them a nation. Israel was born of God, not man. The Lord gave Israel a law from His mouth. Israel did not write a declaration of independence to establish itself as a nation. Only God created Israel, and only God could destroy Israel. When Joshua led the nation into Canaan, God defeated all their enemies.

The great battle at Jericho was where God showed His might and power to Israel. Jericho and the surrounding area were a virtual stronghold, well defended with soldiers from the Amorites, Perizzites, Canaanites, Hittites, Girgashites, Hivites, and the Jebusites. Israel was a nation made up of second-generation bricklayers. Their victories came by the hand of God. Israel did not win their victories by their swords or bows. Victory came from the hand of God. The land they would inherit was given to them by God. It was called the Promised Land because God promised it.

God created the world and established its laws. Man was created by God to have dominion over the earth. The sun rises by God’s power, and each star is in its place because of God. Every breath comes from the hand of God. The world remains as it is because of the will of its Creator. There is nothing man can do to destroy the world. God reigns as sovereign over His creation. The larger problem man faces is how to prepare for death. Eternal life comes from the hand of God. Jesus is the gift of God. Man has done nothing. God established a law of grace to save man, and if a man chooses to obey the will of God, he will be granted eternal life. Everyone can choose to obey God or refuse. God has given man the free will to choose. That is what God has done.

So the men said to her: “We will be blameless of this oath of yours which you have made us swear, 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.” (Joshua 2:17-18)

Hope Is A Line Of Scarlet Cord

The army of Israel amassed outside the walls of Jericho, a strong Canaanite city. Its walls were so large that houses were built upon them. Israel would fight not only the residents of Jericho, but the Amorites, Perizzites, Canaanites, Hittites, Girgashites, Hivites, and the Jebusites. Before approaching the city, Joshua sent two men to spy secretly to view the land, especially Jericho. The men entered the city and came to the house of a prostitute named Rahab, where they stayed. When the king of Jericho heard the men had come into the city to search the land, he sent men to search for the Israelite spies. Hiding the two men on the roof among stalks of flax, the men went undetected.

Before the men lay down, Rahab came to them and asked to be spared when the attack began. She was not born when Israel crossed the Red Sea, but as a child, she grew up hearing the stories of the Israelites in the wilderness. The people were terrified of the Hebrews. Rahab came to believe the Lord God of Israel was the God of heaven and earth. She asked the two men to spare her and her family from destruction. The men promised to spare her and her household, but with conditions. Rahab must bind a scarlet cord in the window, and anyone to be saved had to be in her home. Anyone not in the home would die with the rest of the inhabitants.

The Hebrew word for the scarlet cord means “hope.” It comes from the Hebrew, “bind together.” Rahab put the scarlet cord out her window in the hope and expectation that when the army of Israel attacked the city, she would be spared. It was a few days before Israel returned and began the siege of Jericho. Rahab did not know the battle plan. When she saw the army approach the city, her heart believed the word of the men that she would be spared. She had gathered all of her family on that first day, expecting the Hebrews to attack at any moment. Instead, Israel marched around the city and left. They did this for six days. No one knew the battle plan. Was Rahab’s heart tested? Did she doubt the promises of the men? Why did Israel not attack?

On the seventh day, everything changed. Israel again approached the city and marched around seven times. Then the priests blew the trumpets, and Joshua told the people to shout, for the Lord had given the city to them. As the people shouted, the walls of Jericho fell flat, and the people of Israel swarmed across the doomed city, killing all the inhabitants. As the walls of the city fell, a great noise filled the house of Rahab. The earth trembled, but her house did not fall. Soon, two men appeared at her door and led Rahab and her family to safety outside Israel’s camp. Jericho was burned to the ground.

Hope is a scarlet cord that carries God’s promises. The Lord kept His promise to spare Rahab. Her faith saved her and her family. In the days before the fall of Jericho, Rahab looked at the scarlet cord as a promise the God of Israel made to save her. She believed to the saving of her household. Her hope lay in the impossible. Hope bound her heart together to believe the promise of salvation would be her salvation. Her scarlet cord was a covenant between her faith and the Lord God.

Christians have been given the greatest hope through Jesus Christ. Instead of a scarlet cord, the crimson blood of Jesus Christ is the assurance of the promises of God. When Jesus returns, He will be looking for those resurrected in the blood of Jesus Christ. Each person who has placed the crimson cord of Jesus Christ in their heart will be spared the destruction of the wrath of God. All who are outside the church will be destroyed. Only those in the body of Christ will be spared the eternal destruction. Rahab found salvation in the hope of the scarlet cord. The only hope given to the world is the crimson blood of Jesus Christ. Hope is a crimson cord of faith.

Now it happened as He went to Jerusalem that He passed through the midst of Samaria and Galilee. Then as He entered a certain village, there met Him ten men who were lepers, who stood afar off. And they lifted up their voices and said, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!” So when He saw them, He said to them, “Go, show yourselves to the priests.” And so it was that as they went, they were cleansed. And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, returned, and with a loud voice glorified God, and fell down on his face at His feet, giving Him thanks. And he was a Samaritan. So Jesus answered and said, “Were there not ten cleansed? But where are the nine? Were there not any found who returned to give glory to God except this foreigner?” And He said to him, “Arise, go your way. Your faith has made you well.” (Luke 17:11-19)

The Grateful Sinner

Leprosy was the scourge of the Bible world. There was no cure. No medicine would heal it. The disease came with a death sentence. It was a horrible way to die. The body begins to crust over with white scales and causes terrible sores and swellings. Leprosy becomes more horrific as the disease eats inward to the bones, rotting the body progressively, leading to a final relief in death. Under the Law of Moses, leprosy was regulated by the priests who determined the severity of the disease. Leprosy was considered unclean, and lepers had to live alone.

Many lepers lived in the days Jesus taught and performed miracles. A leper appealed to Jesus to heal him, and the Son of God reached out and touched the man and healed him. Jesus sent out the apostles with the power of the Holy Spirit to heal lepers. When John the Baptist asked if Jesus was the expected one, Jesus sent messengers to tell John that great miracles were being done, including healing lepers. Scripture records many miracles, but many more remain unwritten. Lepers were among those who received Christ’s compassion and were healed.

As Jesus approached a certain village, there were ten lepers camped outside the town. They had heard of Jesus and knew of His power. When the Lord came by, the ten cried out to Jesus, calling Him “Master,” and sought His mercy. They believed He had the power to heal them. When Jesus saw them, He told them to show themselves to the priests. He did not heal them immediately, but as they went, they were cleansed. What a remarkable feeling to have the scourge of leprosy removed from the body in an instant. The cleansing was complete, whole, and powerful. What no man could do, Jesus did by directing the men to those who served the law of God.

The Law of Moses required a man who thought he might have leprosy to show himself to the priest and receive the blessing that cleared him of the dreaded disease. This would allow the man to return to his family, his place in society, and his place in the Temple. To be cleansed of leprosy was the most powerful demonstration of God’s grace toward disease known to man. From a disease that meant only a death sentence to the joy of having all the leprosy removed and cleansed of the horrible disease. Ten men went on their way healed, whole, and cleansed.

As one man went his way, he realized what had happened beyond the leprosy. One man turned and came to Jesus to glorify God with a loud voice, giving thanks for Jesus’ compassion, His love, and His abundant mercy. He had been healed of leprosy. There had been no hope. He had hope. There was no compassion. He felt the compassion of Jesus. There was no cure. Jesus took his leprosy away. He wanted to praise God for the cleansing. His heart was filled with thanksgiving because he no longer lived under a death sentence. He had risen from the putridity of disease to the healing by the hand of God.

All men suffer from the same disease. Leprosy is a horrible, disfiguring, painful, stench-filled experience that leads to certain death, but it is only a disease of the body. What all men suffer from is the disease of sin. Sadly, most do not look at sin as a horrible disease. They cannot see how it disfigures the soul. There is little pain in sin because it is such fun. And the stench of sin to the nostrils of God does not bother the sinner. When the one leper realized what Jesus had done, he returned to honor God. Sin, like leprosy, has no cure. The end is death. Yet Jesus came to take away the disease of sin from those who will come to Him for healing. Jesus has the power to wash away all sins. He will turn a death sentence into an eternal life sentence. Through the blood of Jesus, sin can be washed away.

The one leper shows the heart of thanksgiving. Everyone who has washed their sins away in baptism knows the feeling of cleansing. What may be lacking in many hearts is the heart of gratitude suggested by the lone returning leper who came to give God the glory. There must be a deep gratitude for what Jesus has done. Being cleansed of sin is a joyful, thankful time that must never fade. The healed leper rejoiced the rest of his life for what Jesus did. Do you rejoice that Jesus washed away your sins? Listen to the lone leper. Glorify God. Thank God. Show thanksgiving in the way you live – washed from your sins.