"Joshua 4 & 5: Rock and Roll and Party on!"
Living Word Fellowship 10-24-15 Arlyn Drew
Text: Joshua 4 & 5 Scripture: Joshua 5:8-9
Opening Hymn: A Mighty Fortress is our God 506 Closing Hymn: Marching to Zion 422
Equipment: 12 paper rocks from kids , cellphone, butchers block with knife, red Apple, bag of rubber bands, ziploc of frosted flakes (or oyster crackers), naan, ziploc of corn nuts. Slides of gilgals. (Tablecloth with communion cup and bread and fruit, server in apron)
Topic: Preparing God's People
Rock- Commemorate
Roll- Circumcise
Party- Celebrate
Intro:
Wow! The Israelites have just crossed the swollen Jordan river! Joshua is like Moses! He has re-enacted for the next generation the miracle of Crossing the Red Sea! The canaanite’s hearts are melting away in fear, this is the Perfect time to strike! The target city- Jericho is within eyesight! Everyone is armed for battle and on the move- all signs are go, go, go!
But, Jericho is a totally different challenge- Israel has won battles of hand to hand combat, they have no experience in siege warfare- no equipment, no battering rams, catapults, ladders to scale walls- they were a roving horde of slaves in the desert. Jericho’s gates are shut tight, no one is sallying forth for engagement. All of Canaan is watching this first strike, there is just no room for mistakes. Joshua is no Moses. Moses was a rigorous mountain climber in his 100’s scaling active volcanoes, coming back with a face so ablaze they had to throw a towel over it, and even his daily meetings with God were unmistakably awe inspiring for the huge cloud would settle and envelop the tent of the meeting and all the people would reverently pray at their tent flaps until he emerged, alive. Compared to that, Joshua's leadership was totally low key- private devotions behind a bush, with no one else around to verify it, completely subjective and unverifiable. Then he says a man told him to play- um, excuse me but in modern terms “ring around the rosy” and yell at the walls of Jericho? This is not a strategy you could imagine ever coming out of Moses’ mouth.
Just to give you an idea of what they are facing, here are slides of Jericho. (Slides) Clearly God needs to prepare His people for a whole new level of faith.
So, nestled between the two greatest miracles of the Conquest- is Joshua 4 & 5. And this is pertinent for us who are nestled between the two greatest miracles of the Great Controversy- the first and second Advent. What does the preparation of Israel as the people of God in Joshua 4 & 5 have to say to us today, who need to be prepared for our final victory? Remember it as this: They Rocked and Rolled and Partied.
1. “Rock” stands for Commemorating God’s miracles. I have picked 12 young people to make paper rocks- go ahead, smash the papers into rocks and bring them up here. (have kids come up with paper rocks) These twelve rocks represent the 12 spies who represented the 12 failed tribes that rebelled and lost their first chance to go in to Canaan at Kadesh Barnea. Within the first two years of the wilderness sojourn, they came right up to the border and lost their faith and nerve. They broke their covenant with God and tried to stone Moses and Aaron. Since then, they have been wandering for 40 years without Passover or circumcism, the signs of the covenant. EGW (Patriarchs and Prophets p. 485, chapter 44).
This generation has crossed over! And human creatures have a natural desire to commemorate significant events. Abraham built altars, Isaac dug wells, Jacob set up pillars. We collect souvenirs from vacations. But how do we commemorate God’s blessings and miracles in our lives? What is our "rock"? I carry one everywhere and you do too. It’s this thin flat memory rock. Cellphone photos- (invite audience to take them out and do this)- I invite you to find your rock and make an album labeled -"blessings, God's love for me, awesomeness!" The catholics have a rosary to grow their prayer life, why can‘t SDAs have a memory rock? You can pray through your blessings while waiting in lines, if you missed devotions, to start and end each Sabbath. For God gave us the Sabbath to create a time to remember.
Memories is what feeds spirituality. That’s why sermon Bible sermons are long recitations of history- spiritual events kept alive for each generation. So parents, before we cry ourselves to sleep because our adult children have left the church, we need to ask ourselves now- while they are still under our roof- are we creating good memories or bad ones around family worships, church and Sabbaths? Pastors, do people like being around you, are you a good ambassador for God or bad? Memories are the building blocks of our spiritual journey. We cannot change our past, but we can choose what to dwell on. And we need to commemorate - what God has done for us, in order to ground and anchor our faith in real facts of our lives.
2. Roll - Since kadesh barnea there has been 40 yrs without circumcism. Sure, they walked by Grace- God still provided air conditioning in the daytime, heat warmer at night, manna 6 days a week and water from rocks. In addition, "During the forty years that I led you through the desert, your clothes did not wear out, nor did the sandals on your feet." -- Deu 29:5
But now, (butchers knife and block), it’s time to make a covenant commitment.
Let me share three points on cutting a covenant.
1. It’s about God circumcising our hearts. (apple slice) God is not so interested in having a peculiar people who have strange looking privates, but in piercing the heart, with what? Fear? No, Love.
Deut 10:15-16 Yet the LORD set his affection on your ancestors and loved them, and he chose you, their descendants, above all the nations--as it is today. Circumcise therefore the foreskin if your hearts and be no more stiff necked.
Deut 30:5,6 He will bring you to the land that belonged to your ancestors, and you will take possession of it. He will make you more prosperous and numerous than your ancestors. The LORD your God will circumcise your hearts and the hearts of your descendants, so that you may love him with all your heart and with all your soul, and live.
2. It’s about us Cutting Off what keeps us from full obedience- “cutting a covenant.” What is it that is holding you back from a full covenant experience? Secret sins, secret addictions, secret or not so secret habits. Let me ask you- Are you an “uncircumcised Israelite”- part of the people of God but not willing to “cut” yourself? It’s simple but not easy.
Practical Hint: It is hard to circumcise yourself- ask someone you trust to help you cut it out of your life. (Me and Zoe and Facebook)
And what is the result? Gibeat Ha-araloth- a hill of the foreskins. How many foreskins? (Joshua 4:13) 40,000 armed men crossed the Jordan and they were deadly serious (Pile of rubber bands) on this side of Jordan two monuments rose up proving their fidelity - one of Rocks, and one of Foreskins.
3. And finally, some cuts are deeper than others. Israelites needed to be Cut like a diamond- in order to make their faith shine! So, by what method does God cut deeply? He places us in situations that are impossible - so we can learn to depend solely on Him. At Gilgal, they are completely humbled-
No natural protection- plains.
On the same side - of Jordan river.
Within striking distance of enemy.
Physically immobilized- in raw pain.
Totally dependent on the womenfolk for everything.
God becomes their only defense. ---- Israel was never stronger!!!!
The Bible says tells us gently “They rested in their places at camp- Til they became whole" (Josh 5:8) …. not just physically but also spiritually. There was never a generation afterwards like this in united in commitment to the Lord, in the rest of Israel’s long sad history.
The Result? God was rolling away the "Reproach of the Egyptians." Now, what does this mean? Well, whenever God threatened to wipe Israel out, both at Mt Sinai (Exodus 32:12) and Kadesh (Numbers 14:13-16) like bookends, Moses pulled out his ace card- the Egyptians. He would point out that Egyptians in scoffing unbelief will then say that God was not able to bring them to the Promised Land.
And so, finally, at Gilgal- God makes good his promise- Joshua 5:9 “I have rolled away the reproach of the Egyptians from you.” Gilgal is a noun derived from galgal which refers to –rolling. Gilgal is not a unique geographical location but a man-made geographical feature. (Spread out hill of paper stones). Slideshow
Footprint=ownership. We have arrived. We own this land. Praise the Lord!
4. Passover Party-"Pre-emptive strike" is the "pre-emptive celebration" in the Bible. They Celebrate God's deliverance in Egypt (before they experienced it), they celebrate deliverance in Canaan (before the Fall of Jericho), we celebrate communion (before the Great Controversy ends!). Only 3 Passovers mentioned. (Egypt : Ex 12------- Mt Sinai: Numbers 9------- Canaan : Joshua 5) But it is also a graduation feast. For there is a big change.
No more manna.
A. Counting on miracles is not God's best for Israel- it doesn't guarantee faith and obedience. Jesus sighs and gets fed up with insatiable sensationalism - John 4:48 Unless you people see signs and wonders," Jesus told him, "you will never believe." Baby food for baby Christians:
B. It’s time to Break the poverty mentality and Get into an Abundance mentality.
It’s time to break the Wilderness mentality and get into the Promised Land mentality.
It’s time to break the Survival mode and get into the Flourishing mode.
It’s time to break the Manna mentality and get into the Meat mentality (Daniel’s meat meant grains and vegetables).
There a need to: plow the fields, rotate the crops, help each other harvest, give of their abundance. In the Promised Land, there is serious work to do!
What does an abundance mentality look like?
1. Stop blaming others for your spiritual apathy, start breaking up the hard soil of your hearts
2. Stop obeying feelings over faith, sow the seeds whether in sunshine or rain.
3. Stop procrastinating about Christian living, and act out the Bible commands vigorously like fertilizer, regularly.
4. Trust in God's grace for your needs, praise God in advance for His answers to your prayers
6. Live as citizens of the Kingdom of God, not visitors or aliens, be bold in your spiritual life and say- Why Not?
So, what did the Israelites do when they first stepped foot on the other side of Jordan? They Rocked and Rolled and Partied! Joshua 4 & 5. They commemorated, circumcised and celebrated in the Promised Land.
5. Now, will we also have that kind of experience in our lifetime? When the disciples asked Jesus, tell us about the kingdom of God, what did he tell them? It is like a party- a marriage feast! Luke 24 and Matt 22:2 "the kingdom of God is like a king who prepared a wedding banquet for his son. And Jesus loved partying- Jesus was even called a wine bibber and a glutton by those Pharisees who were party poopers! But what party is God most looking forward to?
John tells us, Revelation 19:9 “And the angel said[a] to me, “Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.” And he said to me, “These are the true words of God.”
And when we see the thousands gathered around those endless banqueting tables, how will we recognize God, Our master, Jesus Christ? He will be the one busing those tables, waiting on us.
Luke 12:37 "It will be good for those servants whose master finds them watching when he comes. Truly I tell you, he will dress himself to serve, will have them recline at the table and will come and wait on them."
Isn’t that just like God? God our Savior, will himself will serve us- Just like when He, Our Creator, served us our first meal in the Garden; just like when he washed the disciples’ feet and broke the bread and passed the wine at the Last Supper, he will be in his favorite role, serving those He loves.
And after he has filled every cup with wine, and he takes his place at the head of the table and lifts up his cup, those of you who know true history will remember that God has been fasting for 2000 years from any grapejuice in order to save it for this time- when He brings his children home again. For he promised his disciples at the Last Supper he had with them…
Mark 14:25 "Truly I tell you, I will not drink again from the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God."
I don’t know about you, but I wouldn’t miss that party for the world!
*Alternate ending: I want you to leave you with just one word ringing in your ears. Help me with the last verse: this biblical call to the greatest party of the universe – have audience say “Come”. (read following verse and have them supply the word, Come)
"And the Spirit and Bride say Come! And he that heareth, let him say Come! And he that is athirst, let him Come." Rev. 22:17.
