Rebuke

“And Joshua said unto the children of Israel, how long are ye slack to go to possess the land, which the Lord God of your fathers hath given you?” (Joshua 18:3 KJV).

Although they were allotted land in Canaan, seven tribes of the children of Israel had not yet taken possession of their land. Joshua was upset about their failure to possess the land. In our verse he rebukes these tribes for their failure. Thus we want to note the procrastination of these tribes, the promise for these tribes, and the preacher for the tribes.

Procrastination – “How long are ye slack to go to possess the land…?” These seven tribes delayed conquering the land that was allotted to them. This delay resulted in disobedience to God. Procrastination is a common sin which may not seems as bad a sin as murder. But procrastination is just as bad because delay is disobedience, and disobedience is defiling. Furthermore, delay shows a lack of dedication in doing the will of God. To be blessed by God promptly, we need to obey God promptly. Some people complain that their blessings are overdue. Yet the real problem is that their obedience is overdue.

Promise – “Which the Lord God of your fathers hath given you.” While this promise encourages obedience, it is also a rebuke for failing to obey. It rebukes disobedience. There is no legitimate excuse for disobedience. When God commands, He enables us to fulfill that command. Israel was to conquer the land of Canaan, and God gave them all the help they needed to conquer the land. Failure to conquer the land was simply inexcusable. We too like to excuse our lack of consecration. But all excuses are condemning, for God has made it possible for us to live a consecrated life.

Preacher – “Joshua said unto the children of Israel.” Joshua was a faithful preacher. He did not tolerate failure in consecration. Today, many preachers stand in direct contrast to Joshua. Their main goal is to well liked, be popular, and to be accepted by people. They do not seem to care how the people live. Joshua’s concern was that the people do the will of God. He was not concerned about his popularity. We need more Joshua’s in our pulpits today.

(Adapted from Butler’s Daily Bible Reading)

Soli Deo Gloria (To God Alone Be The Glory)

Quotation of the Week

“Delayed obedience is disobedience!”

Anonymous

Word Study

Condemns

In Romans 8:34 we read, “Who is the one who condemns? Christ Jesus is He who died, yes, rather who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who also intercedes for us” (NASB).

Condemns is the Greek word katakrino (κατακρινω). It is made up of two words: “kata” which means down, against, and “krino” which means to assess, to separate or distinguish, to give an opinion, to judge. The word means to give judgment against, pass sentence upon, pass judgment against and hence to condemn. It means to pronounce sentence against or to adjudge guilty and always denotes an adverse sentence.

In secular Greek, katakrino was a legal technical term for pronouncing a sentence after reaching a verdict or decision against someone. It was used to declare an evildoer guilty. In today’s culture, the word condemn often means to censure, to express strong disapproval, or to denounce. However, as can be seen from most of its Biblical uses, katakrino is a much stronger term as seen in its use to describe Jesus being condemned to death.

It is important to note that the opposite of condemnation is justification. God alone is the Judge of people. In His demand for righteousness, sin leads invariably to condemnation and death. Yet Christ died for us and condemned sin in the flesh. Not only that, but He was raised to life for our justification, and He is now seated God’s right hand in power, interceding for us. Because believers are identified with, and in union with Him, it is unreasonable to think that He is going to condemn us. Not only is our guilt set aside, but we have His power imparted to us (His life in us). This is the glory of Christianity. The unique distinction of Christians is that we have Jesus on the inside.

Bible Facts

Even at 65 years old Sarai was still very beautiful. She is the first woman who is specifically named and described as beautiful in the Old Testament (Gen. 12:11; c/f Gen. 17:17).

Bible Trivia

What sin did Isaac commit that was similar to that of his father Abraham?

**Answer to last week’s trivia: How did Abimelech, king of the Philistines knew that Rebekah was Isaac’s wife? He saw Isaac caressing her (Gen. 26:8).

That’s in the Bible

“Lost and found”

“For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found. And they began to be merry” (Luke 15:24 KJV).

We normally look for lost items in the ‘lost and found’ department of some store or establishment. A ‘lost and found’ scenario occurs in the story of the prodigal son. Here, a wayward son was lost but was later found. ‘Lost’ is the right description for the person without God. Just like the lost traveler, the wayward sinner rarely admits that he is lost. Yet, God provides a spiritual road map and waits at the door with open arms for all those wanting to come home.

Did You Know – Christian History

Johann Gutenberg was born in 1398 in the German city of Mainz. He was a blacksmith, goldsmith, printer, and publisher who introduced printing to Europe. His invention of mechanical movable type printing started the Printing Revolution and is widely regarded as the most important event of the modern period. On March 13, 1456, Gutenberg completes publication of the Bible on his printing press. This Bible was the first copy of the Scriptures produced with movable type.

A Little Humor

An 80-year-old couple was worried because they kept forgetting things all the time. The doctor assured them there was nothing seriously wrong except old age, and suggested they carry a notebook and write things down so they wouldn’t forget. Several days later, the old man got up to go to the kitchen. His wife said, “Dear, get me a bowl of ice cream while you’re up.” “Okay,” he said. “...and put some chocolate syrup on it and a few cherries, too,” she added. “You’d better write all this down.” “I won’t forget!” he said. Twenty minutes later he came back into the room and handed his wife a plate of scrambled eggs and bacon. She glared at him. “Now, I told you to write it down! I knew you’d forget.” “What did I forget?” he asked. She replied, “My toast!”

Thought Provoking Church Sign

“Christ became a curse for us to remove sin’s curse from us!”