Of Joshua and Acts-Part 2
In the second part of my message on the similarities that exist in the Books of Joshua and Acts, we shall cast the spotlight on some "NEGATIVE INCIDENTS" to start with. Firstly...
RETRIBUTION...
Oh yes, there was Achan, who grossly underestimated the omniscience of God, even as greed held sway in his life (Joshua 7) and there were Ananias and Sapphira who too took God’s omniscience lightly even while being swayed by that very same lure of the lucre (Acts 5:1-11). The result? A swift retribution sending the guilty ones’ to an early grave!!! With folded hands, let me plead (I am speaking to myself too) a casual attitude towards God in matters of public obedience can cost highly (Leviticus 10:1)!!!
COMMOTION...
Oh how much of confusion and commotion Joshua and his co-leaders could have avoided by seeking God’s counsel in matter of entering into a peace pact with the guileful Gibeonites (Joshua 9:1-20), similarly how much of commotion, could Paul and Barnabas have avoided by praying for Almighty’s guidance in the matter of deciding of taking John Mark or not in their second missionary journey (Acts 15:36-39). However sadly they let their personal egos’ get the better of them. It is quite another story that the good Lord used even the lapses of great leaders’ for bringing greater glory to Himself. If not for peace pact with the Gibeonites, eventually that great miracle of the Almighty stopping the sun and the moon in its tracks would not have come about (Joshua 10), similarly but for the parting of ways of Paul and Barnabas, Gospel could not have reached all those places where it was not preached hitherto, with these estranged leaders going in different directions now (Acts 15:39-41). Fast forward to Colossians 4:10, do not we see patching-up of differences?
All said and done, the lesson to be learnt here is, whenever confronted by tricky situations, it would serve the Church leaders better to look prayerfully unto the Lord rather than acting hastily and then repenting at leisure.
DISCRIMINATION... (Joshua 22/ Acts 11:1-18)
In the Book of Joshua, nearing the end we see the Trans-Jordan tribes (with genuine motives) coming up with an alternate altar location (permit me some alliteration) which led to an altercation between them and other tribes (Joshua 22:10-30). Originally the Brazen altar for offering of the sacrifices was there at Shiloh (Joshua 18:1) as a part of the Revered tabernacle. But the Trans-Jordan tribes whilst going to occupy their land on the Eastern side of River Jordan after a 14 year "Conquest of Canaan" with an honest intention had constructed yet another altar resembling the Brazen one hoping it would "unalterably" serve as a "memorial of their Jewish antecedents for all posterity".
However, their motives were not sought initially and the other tribes simply wanted to wipe em’ out for "blasphemy". Fortunately wiser counsel prevailed eventually and their motives behind such a "brazen action" of coming up with a replica of the Brazen altar were sought. When God-honoring reasons were doled out by these tribes at the receiving end of accusations, the anger of the other nine and half tribes was pacified. Similarly knives and daggers were out when the pre-dominantly Jewish Early Church in Jerusalem heard that Peter had visited a "gentile home" of Cornelius (Acts 11:1-3). However, calm and tactful handling of the situation by wise Peter made his critics realize the folly of their ways (Acts 11:14-18).
Dear Christian friends, do we also on "slightest suspicion" of immorality/wrong-doing by our fellow brethren sound our "war buglers" or do we care to thoroughly check-out the facts first (I Tim 5:19) before taking public action.
COMING BACK TO LESSONS FROM SOLELY POSITIVE EVENTS...
GLORIFICATION...
Joshua never took the glory for the mighty deeds wrought through him nor did the Apostles. Nearing the end of his life, in his rousing farewell message Joshua makes a proclamation giving glory where it is due...
"The LORD has driven out before you great and powerful nations; to this day no one has been able to withstand you. One of you routs a thousand, because the LORD your God fights for you, just as he promised. So be very careful to love the LORD your God.- Joshua 23:9-10
By the same token, consider this Scripture culled from Acts 14. After their first missionary what did Paul and Barnabas do?
On arriving there, they gathered the church together and reported all that GOD HAD DONE through them and how he had opened a door of faith to the Gentiles vs 27.
At the end of his third missionary journey too, Paul sings the same song
Paul greeted them and reported in detail what GOD HAD DONE among the Gentiles through his ministry Acts 21:19
When it comes to evaluation of our God-ordained Ministries toeing the Pauline line would serve us well...
But whatever I am now, it is all because God poured out his special favor on me--and not without results. For I have worked harder than any of the other apostles; yet it was not I but God who was working through me by his grace.- I Cor 15:10
DEDICATION...
If Joshua and his generation were faithful till the end, so were the Apostles.
Even at the cost of sounding repetitive, I would like to reiterate here that all throughout his life, barring a minor blip here and there (for which he cannot be wholly blamed...like falling for the Gibeonites’ guile) Joshua who stepped into the huge shoes of Moses was an exemplary leader. He led the tiring conquest of Canaan, literally and figuratively speaking "from the front". Not for him, the cool shade of a tent, faraway from the blazing war front (Joshua 6-12) when his soldiers were shedding their blood and sweat in fighting the enemies. No wonder then, even towards the end of his life we see him coming up with an exemplary, emphatic statement in his rousing swan song speech "...as for me and my family, we will serve THE LORD" (Joshua 24:15)! Leading from the front and setting an example was this great leader, even as it were, with his dying breath (he would die very soon Joshua 24:29)! Die, he did soon, BUT ARE NOT HIS WORDS IMMORTALISED IN THAT THEY ADORN THE ROOMS OF INNUMERABLE CHRISTIAN HOMES EVEN TODAY ENSHRINED INVARIABLY IN A SCENIC PLAQUE? What would be Joshua’s declaration, had he been living today? Do not regard my words as those making up a mere decorative ornament, rather TAKE EM’ SERIOUSLY!
"I have fought the good fight..." (II Tim 4:7), oh how this proclamation of victory by Apostle Paul in the last leg of his earthly journey, still continues to inspire us!!! Not for him any shedding of cold sweat, with execution imminent, rather only expression of concern for the fledgling Churches he had planted. In his final epistle to his young disciple Timothy, we see him exhorting his protégé to follow the example of a soldier, an athlete, and a farmer - 2 Tim 2:3-7 -passionately in Christian service! If for Indian Ex-Prime Minister Shri Lal Bahadur Shastri the winning slogan was "Jai Jawan, Jai Kissan" (Hail the Farmer and Soldier), for apostle Paul, it could well have been "Go about God’s work like a Jai Jawan, Jai Kissan and a Jai Pehelwan" (Hail the Farmer, Soldier and Wrestler). Do not Paul’s Final words heralding victory still continue to challenge us.... even after two thousand years...with the truth that the END IN THE SPIRITUAL RACE IS AS IMPORTANT AS THE START, especially when we consider the grim reality, just a few verses away .... the fall of Paul’s associate in the Ministry namely Demas (II Tim 4:10), who had made such a good start (Col 4:14, Philemon 1:24)?
Brothers aspire to inspire, even while you expire... because if you do that, rest assured, you would continue to inspire long after you expire.
(Suresh Manoharan)
Ps...this essay replete with the pics/animations is also available in the following URL...
http://www.jandsmministries.com/message_june1_12.asp
