GOD’s HAND In The LAND-II—Joshua 5:1
Attention:
Husband & wife loading car in preparation for lengthy fishing trip/Husband keeps looking amorously at wife/Felt uncomfortable because it seemed out of place/kept telling her, ‘Honey, I love you”/Getting in her way as she was getting ready/Finally she says, What is on your mind dear? You look like a lost puppy?’/Husband says, ‘I just love you honey. And I know you love me because you think of everything. This is gonna be a great fishing trip because of what great fishing lures those earrings will make!"
When a man is transparent/open/obvious, great & life-changing things happen!
Likewise, when ‘God’s hand’ is obviously ‘in the land’, great & life-changing things happen!
Upon hearing of Israel’s miraculous crossing of the Jordan the surrounding nations recognized their weakened condition.
When God’s power is obvious/clearly seen, those apart from Him perceive their frailty.
What happens when God’s hand is in the land?
2—When God’s hand is in the land...
The WORLD WONDERS(:1)
Explanation:(:1)
:1b—“...the Amorites who were beyond the Jordan to the west...the Canaanites who were by the sea...”
“Amorites”
Our passage seems to vaguely limit the Amorites to an area west of the Jordan. Their history is much like the history of most peoples including ourselves...It was historically in a state of flux—from power wielders to power surrenderers.
The term ““Amorite” is used in the OT to denote—1)The inhabitants of Palestine generally, 2)The population of the hills as opposed to the plain, & 3)A specific people under a king of their own.”.....the indigenous “population of Judah is called Amorite(Josh. 10:5ff.), in conformity with which Ezek. 16:3 states that Jerusalem had an Amorite father.”.....“Num. 13:29 limits the Amorites to dwelling in the mountains, while the Amalekites...lived in the south, & the Canaanites are confined to the Mediterranean coast as well as in the Jordan valley.....In Num. 21:29 & Deut. 2, the man, Sihon is noted as the king of the Amorites, “who had conquered the northern half of Moab.”—ISBE(1979—‘Amorites’)
“The highly civilized Sumerians considered them as barbarians.”—ISBE(1979—‘Amorites’)
In ancient writings “the Mediterranean Sea sometimes appears as the “Sea of Amurru”—a reference to the Amorites.—ISBE(1979—‘Amorites’)
Circa 1300BC Amurru appears as a name for a kingdom whose boundaries reach from Arwad(N in Syria), to Sidon(S in Lebanon), to Damascus(E in Syria).
“In the Annals of Sennacherib”(Assyrian) [704-681BC]...“kings of Amurru” are those of Phonecia, Philistia, Ammon, Edom, & Moab...” —ISBE(1979—‘Amorites’)
“Canaanites”
Our passage seems to vaguely limit the Canaanites to living “by the sea.”
Info & quotes from ISBE(1979—‘Canaan; Canaanites’ & “Ugarit”):
Like the Amorites, their history is one of flux as well. At times, Canaanite ‘land’ “includes all of the land west of the Jordan.”
“Canaanites might well designate an occupational class—specifically, merchants.”
“The heartland of Canaan was the coastal area from Byblos[coastal Lebanon N of Beirut] to Carmel & the Jezreel Valley.” Canaanites are considered the occupants of that land prior to the Israelite occupation. That very land is also attached to the Amorites(see previous discussion).
Canaanites “should not be thought of as a race in modern terms. People in ancient times were identified by the political group to which they belonged—city, tribe, clan, or state.”
In Gen. 10, Canaan is included in the Hamitic family as part of the Egyptian empire, whose sons are Sidon & Heth(the Hittites).
“There are frequent biblical references to the Canaanites as one people among others”, “the longest of which specifies ten different groups.”
*Located on the coast of modern Syria is a city—Latakia—wherein the ancient city-state of Ugarit has been excavated. “It furnishes the most detailed body of material of the Canaanite culture which the Israelite tribes found in the “promised land” at the time of the conquest.”
IF Ugarit can inform us of Canaanite culture, then their society generally consisted of “agricultural villages” controlled by a “state monopoly,” under a king. Those who were dependents of the monarch were highest in the social stratum. “All specialized work was in palace hands”—these included artisans, merchants, military specialists, cult officials, & administrators. Those outside the direct palace umbrella were excluded from political decisions & were at the mercy of disproportionate taxation.
The Amorite & Canaanite nations recognized God’s power over theirs & spoke to His right to sovereignty over them...Limiting & threatening their human sovereignty...Threatening their belief system, & thus their gods as well.
The Gentiles’ curiosity peaked—Stand in awe/Nations Tremble/Signs & Wonders/Ears Tingle
God’s Good News is intended to offer salvation to the whole world.
The Gospel of Christ is not just for Americans & should never be limited or restrained to an American context...it is God’s Kingdom!
Argumentation:
2Kings 21:10-12—“And the LORD spoke by His servants the prophets, saying, “Because Manasseh king of Judah has done these abominations (he has acted more wickedly than all the Amorites who were before him, & has also made Judah sin with his idols), therefore thus says the LORD God of Israel: ‘Behold, I am bringing such calamity upon Jerusalem & Judah, that whoever hears of it, both his ears will tingle.”
Mat. 10:5-18—“These twelve[disciples] Jesus sent out & commanded them, saying: “Do not go into the way of the Gentiles, & do not enter a city of the Samaritans. But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. And as you go, preach, saying, ‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand.’ “Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out demons. Freely you have received, freely give. Provide neither gold nor silver nor copper in your money belts, nor bag for your journey, nor two tunics, nor sandals, nor staffs; for a worker is worthy of his food. Now whatever city or town you enter, inquire who in it is worthy, & stay there till you go out. And when you go into a household, greet it. If the household is worthy, let your peace come upon it. But if it is not worthy, let your peace return to you. And whoever will not receive you nor hear your words, when you depart from that house or city, shake off the dust from your feet. Assuredly, I say to you, it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom & Gomorrah in the day of judgment than for that city! Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves. Therefore be wise as serpents & harmless as doves. “But beware of men, for they will deliver you up to councils & scourge you in their synagogues. You will be brought before governors & kings for My sake, as a testimony to them & to the Gentiles.”
Mat. 12:39—“But He answered & said to them, “An evil & adulterous generation seeks after a sign, & no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah.”
Mat. 16:4—“A wicked & adulterous generation seeks after a sign, & no sign shall be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah.” And He left them & departed.”
Mk. 8:38—“For whoever is ashamed of Me & My words in this adulterous & sinful generation, of him the Son of Man also will be ashamed when He comes in the glory of His Father with the holy angels.”
Jn. 3:16—“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.”
Isa. 55:11—“So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; It shall not return to Me void, But it shall accomplish what I please, And it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it.”
Mk. 11:28—[At the Temple cleansing—the religious leaders]—“And they said to Him[Jesus], “By what authority are You doing these things? And who gave You this authority to do these things?””
Acts 8:18-21—[Former magician—Simon(believed & was baptized)]—“And when Simon saw that through the laying on of the apostles’ hands the Holy Spirit was given, he offered them money, saying, “Give me this power also, that anyone on whom I lay hands may receive the Holy Spirit. But Peter said to him, “Your money perish with you, because you thought that the gift of God could be purchased with money! You have neither part nor portion in this matter, for your heart is not right in the sight of God.””
Simon was not so concerned with bestowing the Holy Spirit to others, but was more concerned with the power & recognition he would possess & receive in doing such.
Illustration:
Prayer for patients—general non-descript unsourced/Patients recover faster/The lost world recognizes this & Wonders/The world gets on bandwagon & perverts it, not accepting the source is God accessed only thru faith in Jesus, God’s Son!/The WORLD WONDERS
The world has less opportunity to & is not brought to Wonder...When His people do not allow God to work thru them!
Application:
?Does the WORLD WONDER at the power of your testimony?
?Does your Gospel have a voice in other lands?
?Are we Christians so strong, or rather, is our witness of God so strong that the WORLD WONDERs at the source of our strength-boldness-freedom-authority?
?Does your witness cause the WORLD To WONDER at God’s power?
3—When God’s hand is in the land...
The LOST LISTEN(:1)
Explanation:(:1) Languish
:1c—“...their hearts melted, & there was no spirit in them any longer, because of the sons of Israel.”
The LOST recognize their insecurities/weaknesses/fallibilities etc. The LOST includeKings, & the World apart from Christ.
The Lost do listen when they come face to face with that which is greater than themselves. It is what we attempt to do when we share the Good News with the lost/unsaved...
*However, listening never guarantees salvation! Hearing & knowing truth NEVER & CANNOT GUARANTEE/ensure a willingness to accept that truth!
There are many people who come here to our gatherings—They may hear the truth continuously for years, but may never commit to that truth. they may languish in their sin, desperately wishing for & ‘trying’ in their own strength ‘to be good enough’ to have what is only given by the Lord God thru personal faith in Christ.
Mat. 7:21—“Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven.”
Mat. 20:1-16—“For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard. Now when he had agreed with the laborers for a denarius a day, he sent them into his vineyard. And he went out about the third hour & saw others standing idle in the marketplace, & said to them, ‘You also go into the vineyard, & whatever is right I will give you.’ So they went. Again he went out about the sixth & the ninth hour, & did likewise. And about the eleventh hour he went out & found others standing idle, & said to them, ‘Why have you been standing here idle all day?’ “They said to him, ‘Because no one hired us.’ “He said to them, ‘You also go into the vineyard, & whatever is right you will receive.’ “So when evening had come, the owner of the vineyard said to his steward, ‘Call the laborers & give them their wages, beginning with the last to the first.’ “And when those came who were hired about the eleventh hour, they each received a denarius. But when the first came, they supposed that they would receive more; & they likewise received each a denarius. And when they had received it, they complained against the landowner, “saying, ‘These last men have worked only one hour, & you made them equal to us who have borne the burden & the heat of the day.’ “But he answered one of them & said, ‘Friend, I am doing you no wrong. Did you not agree with me for a denarius? ‘Take what is yours & go your way. I wish to give to this last man the same as to you. ‘Is it not lawful for me to do what I wish with my own things? Or is your eye evil because I am good?’ “So the last will be first, & the first last. For many are called, but few chosen.”
The first will be ‘equal to’ the last, & the last will be equal to the first, so that there can be no such designations as “first” & “last.” It will be the chosen versus the unchosen.
The Lost find that concept foolish!...They desperately want to earn their way!
Argumentation:
Mat. 8:30-34—“Now a good way off from them there was a herd of many swine feeding. So the demons begged Him, saying, “If You cast us out, permit us to go away into the herd of swine.” And He said to them, “Go.” So when they had come out, they went into the herd of swine. And suddenly the whole herd of swine ran violently down the steep place into the sea, & perished in the water. Then those who kept them fled; & they went away into the city & told everything, including what had happened to the demon-possessed men. And behold, the whole city came out to meet Jesus. And when they saw Him, they begged Him to depart from their region.”
Ps. 83:15-18—“So pursue them with Your tempest, And frighten them with Your storm. Fill their faces with shame, That they may seek Your name, O LORD. Let them be confounded & dismayed forever; Yes, let them be put to shame & perish, That they may know that You, whose name alone is the LORD, Are the Most High over all the earth.”
Jn. 10:37-38—“If I do not do the works of My Father, do not believe Me; but if I do, though you do not believe Me, believe the works, that you may know & believe that the Father is in Me, & I in Him.”
Jos. 2:8-11—“Now before they lay down, she[Rahab] came up to them[Israelite spies] on the roof, & said to the men: “I know that the LORD has given you the land, that the terror of you has fallen on us, & that all the inhabitants of the land are fainthearted because of you. For we have heard how the LORD dried up the water of the Red Sea for you when you came out of Egypt, & what you did to the two kings of the Amorites who were on the other side of the Jordan, Sihon & Og, whom you utterly destroyed. 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 & on earth beneath.”
Ex. 9:13-14, 19-26—“Then the LORD said to Moses, “Rise early in the morning & stand before Pharaoh, & say to him, ‘Thus says the LORD God of the Hebrews: “Let My people go, that they may serve Me, for at this time I will send all My plagues to your very heart, & on your servants & on your people, that you may know that there is none like Me in all the earth.”.....“Therefore send now & gather your livestock & all that you have in the field, for the hail shall come down on every man & every animal which is found in the field & is not brought home; & they shall die.”’” He who feared the word of the LORD among the servants of Pharaoh made his servants & his livestock flee to the houses. But he who did not regard the word of the LORD left his servants & his livestock in the field. Then the LORD said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand toward heaven, that there may be hail in all the land of Egypt--on man, on beast, & on every herb of the field, throughout the land of Egypt.” And Moses stretched out his rod toward heaven; & the LORD sent thunder & hail, & fire darted to the ground. And the LORD rained hail on the land of Egypt. So there was hail, & fire mingled with the hail, so very heavy that there was none like it in all the land of Egypt since it became a nation. And the hail struck throughout the whole land of Egypt, all that was in the field, both man & beast; & the hail struck every herb of the field & broke every tree of the field. Only in the land of Goshen, where the children of Israel were, there was no hail.”
Eph. 2:11-13—“Therefore remember that you, once Gentiles in the flesh--who are called Uncircumcision by what is called the Circumcision made in the flesh by hands-- that at that time you were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel & strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope & without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.”
Illustration:
One day when I was a little kid, Daddy was at work & Momma took me with her clothes shopping in downtown Salisbury, NC/We entered thru the back of ‘Belks’ Dept. Store & exited onto the sidewalk on South Main St./ We worked our way down to the end of the block, to a place that is currently ‘The Thread Shed’(corner of South Main & E. Fisher St.)/I thought it was great fun & adventurous to hide in the round racks of clothes which crowded the store/I busied myself with hiding & reappearing & having imaginary adventures in the racks, all the while being careful not to knock any of the clothes down or get them dirty/As I exited a rack into the ‘real world’, I couldn’t find Momma/I looked ‘everywhere’ but my Momma was nowhere to be found!/Wandering-Separated from Momma!/I realized I was totally alone!/The store was crowded but there were no familiar faces/It scared me so much that I looked outside for Momma, up & down the sidewalk & street...No Momma anywhere!/I sat down on the sidewalk just outside the store between the newspaper rack & the entrance to the store with my back to the wall—I clutched my legs to my chest & I cried!/My heart sank...I had no hope...No one was there who loved me...I had been abandoned!/But then I heard Momma’s voice!, “Oh baby what’s wrong?”—She had been in the store the entire time...In my panic, I had missed her/The LOST LISTEN
The LOST need to hear God’s voice...the One who loves them ‘unconditionally.’
Application:
?Do the Lost Listen at your witness?
?Your witness compelling enough to at least give God an ear?
CONCLUSION:
Visualization:
Husband—"Honey, you think of everything. This is gonna be a great fishing trip because of what great fishing lures those earrings will make!’
Action:
When God’s hand is in the land...
2. The WORLD WONDERS(the Amorites...the Canaanites)
3. The LOST LISTEN(their hearts melted, & there was no spirit in them any longer)
1. KINGS COWER(all the kings of the Amorites & all the kings of the Canaanites)
?Do Kings Cower, Does The World Wonder, Do The Lost Listen because of your obedience to Christ?
?Is God’s Hand In The Land...in your...
Worship?
Church Family?
Giving?
Occupation/Work?
Marriage?
Preparedness/Calm Assurance?
Lifestyle?
Language?
Rev. 3:20— “Behold, I stand at the door & knock; if anyone hears My voice & opens the door, I will come in to him, & will dine with him, & he with Me.”
God will never force Himself upon you. But...Upon your recognition & acceptance of His holiness/call/reverence you will be convicted of the need to mold your life around Him/His desires.
Pts.# 2-3 Presented 09/17/2017pm to:
FBC Cbelle
206 Storrs Ave.(SE Ave. A)
Carrabelle, FL 32322
Pts. 1-3 Presented 03/05/00pm to:
Providence Baptist Church
975 Providence Rd.
Whigham, GA 31797
