Immediately after the defeat of Jericho, Joshua sends out spies to the land of Ai, and subsequently, a small army of soldiers. But they are surprisingly defeated. So Joshua comes before the Lord and addresses Him with these words:

“Alas, O Lord God, why have you brought this people over the Jordan at all, to give us into the hands of the Amorites, to destroy us? Would that we had been content to dwell beyond the Jordan! O Lord, what can I say, when Israel has turned their backs before their enemies! For the Canaanites and all the inhabitants of the land will hear of it and will surround us and cut off our name from the earth. And what will you do for your great name?”

Notice a few things:

First, notice that Joshua seems to instinctively assume that there is some sort of problem in God, not in him or them. That is, rather than coming before the Lord and humbly asking what the problem is with him or the people, Joshua comes before Him and asks what is going on with Him!

Lest we jump all over his case and get down on Joshua, this simply shows how human he was, for we are all inclined to do the very same thing. If God doesn’t seem to fulfill His promise to us, we are oftentimes inclined to believe that there is a problem with God, not us. We should instead, come before Him humbly, asking Him for insight into what is going on, rather than jumping to conclusions that end up far from the truth.

Second, notice that Joshua instinctively runs with this negative result of the war with Ai to the point where the people are wiped from the face of the earth. That is, this one incident leads him to believe that all is lost.

Now, I realize that the situation the people were in was rather perilous. For they were trying to take over a vast amount of land already inhabited. However, when the odds are against us in anything, we must never forget ‘the God factor.’ If God is for us, who can be against us? So if we are thinking clearly, let us come before the Lord with the incident itself and not jump to conclusions that will not occur.

Third, notice that Joshua asks the Lord, “What will you do for your great name?” This is wisdom. Here is what motivates God. His name. His fame. His glory. This is what gives power to Joshua’s prayer and to ours. Petitioning the Lord to act for the sake of His name.

Fourth, notice the Lord’s response to Joshua in verse 10.

“The Lord said to Joshua, ‘Get up! Why have you fallen on your face? Israel has sinned; they have transgressed my covenant that I commanded them; they have taken some of the devoted things; they have stolen and lied and put them among their own belongings. Therefore the people of Israel cannot stand before their enemies. They turn their backs before their enemies, because they have become devoted for destruction. I will be with you no more, unless you destroy the devoted things from among you. Get up!…”

No doubt our God is patient with us, but like a good parent, He also isn’t shy about rebuking us and setting our thoughts upon the right track. In this instance, the Lord speaks plainly with Joshua, confronting his foolish thinking and unbelief. He is still gracious with Joshua, but He is also quite firm, for Joshua’s good and the good of the people.

Fifth and finally, notice that Joshua gains clarity after coming to the Lord. Even if he didn’t come with a whole lot of wisdom, at least he left with a whole lot of wisdom. We are wise to follow in his steps.

“So when Pilate saw that he was gaining nothing, but rather that a riot was beginning, he took water and washed his hands before the crowd, saying, ‘I am innocent of this man’s blood; see to it yourselves.’ And all the people answered, ‘His blood be on us and on our children!’ Then he released for them Barabbas, and having scourged Jesus, delivered him to be crucified.”

A few lessons…

1) “So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin” (James 4:17)

Pilate seeks to clear himself of injustice with words and a symbolic washing. But his indecisiveness was a decision for injustice itself. He knew why the leaders had come. He realized that Jesus was innocent. But he gave way to the crowd. He protected his own temporal status and in turn, lost his soul. And, no doubt, his temporal position was soon to give way as well. For anytime you seek to maintain power by appeasing the crowd, you inevitably face a day when the crowd can no longer be appeased.

2) Let us beware of speaking for our children.

The Jewish people present at the ‘trial’ of Jesus cry out, “His blood be on us and on our children!” So sure were they are their righteous stance, that they put the lives of their children on the altar of injustice and sin. Let us beware. For in 70 A.D. Jerusalem was destroyed by the Romans. And anyone who believes the Scriptures cannot doubt that such a judgment came from the hand of the Lord. The legacy of those who crucified Jesus did not end well.

I have read this account numerous times, but every time I do, I find that there is something within me that wants Jesus to act just a bit different than he really did. In particular, I would like Him to switch things up a bit after He was spit and struck in the face and challenged to prophesy to the leaders, and to tell them who it was who struck Him.

Every time I read such words, I want to hear Jesus cry out, “Listen here and listen well, religious leaders, the first one who struck me was ‘John’, son of whoever, from the town of whatever, who grew up and did this and that at the age of nine, and who just did this or that yesterday, and who is thinking this right this moment.”

Interestingly enough, I imagine Jesus saying all this and the religious leaders stopping for a moment or maybe even bowing down before Him. But the fact is, this is not what would have taken place. And, more importantly, if Jesus had uttered such words, His glory would not have been more fully revealed. In fact, He greatness is more revealed by His silence than if He has chosen to speak…at least at this time.

If He had said the words I offered above, the fact is that the religious leaders would have probably said He was demon-possessed. Their hearts were too hard. They were much too concerned about their own position of authority and privilege to allow the truth to get in the way. They were the ones who had succumb to darkness. For they were the ones who could not keep their wicked mouths shut.

But then there is Jesus, who “committed no sin, neither was deceit found in his mouth. When he was reviled, he did not revile in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten, but continued entrusting himself to him who judges justly. He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness” (1 Peter 2:22-24).

Jesus endured His suffering on His terms. Amazingly enough, He was in full control in the midst of the greatest injustice the world has ever seen. Where I would have let lose on the foolish and wicked Pharisees, Jesus opened not His mouth. Or at least He opened His mouth exactly as was best, for the glory of God and the good of His people.

May such simple silence in the fact of such great injustice make us marvel at our Savior as we ought. And may it also help us learn when it is wise for us to speak and when it is wise for us to keep our mouths shut.

After being sent into the land of Canaan to survey the land and its people, the Israelite spies return with a report (and some good fruit). The majority give a report full of unbelief, while Caleb and Joshua give a report full of faith.

Caleb said, “Let us go up at once and occupy it, for we are well able to overcome it.”

The majority said, “We are not able to go up against the people, for they are stronger than we are.”

Notice: faith speaks with a confidence that we can overcome, because of the One who is with us and fights for us. Unbelief, on the other hand, focuses only on the strength of the obstacle and forgets the power of God.

This is true not simple for the Israelites, but for all of us, all the time. We are either viewing things in faith or unbelief. One or the other is winning out. The key seems to be to continually keep in view the power and promises of God. To make sure that your entire understanding of things is clouded, as it were, with His presence and His power. For the moment you lose sight of Him, all you can see is the greatness of the obstacle that stands in your way.

Right now, the Lord may have a ‘promised land’ for you, some sort of dream or desire of your heart. Is unbelief standing in your way? Do you see only the obstacles that keep you from that land? Or, while noting the strength of the obstacles, do you remember and rejoice in the power of Almighty God? Do you believe it can be yours? Or are you like the majority who forget God and therefore, lack faith?

No matter which side you may be on right now, there is still only one thing to do: fuel the fires of faith. Think only and continually of the power and promises of God. Seek Him until you believe. Then seek Him all the more.

One quick lesson from this Psalm:

Remembering what God has done for us in the past strengthens and emboldens us to pray for help in the present.

We are wise to remind ourselves daily of the acts of God, particularly in Jesus Christ. For it is in remembering that our faith finds the strength to pray with confidence for help right now. Looking back enables us to look forward with confidence, no matter how difficult our present circumstances may be.

In this Psalm, the people of God count themselves rejected. It’s as if the Lord were sleeping, they say. And all of this is true even though they have not forsaken Him. Yet because they spent the first part of the Psalm looking back upon the Lord’s previous mercies, they can confidently petition the Lord to act for them once again. They can call upon Him with fervency to come to their help, to redeem them, and to show His power once again.

Which brings to mind another lesson hidden within this Psalm:

God may sometimes remove His favor in order to bring us into a humble frame of mind, so that we might look to Him for help with greater fervency and fire. The removal of His favor should stir us to seek Him all the more.

And one more:

God may sometimes remove His clear favor, so that He might reveal His power and glory all the more by working for His people in response to their pleas for help.

The last two lessons certainly go together. If the Lord does not seem near to us, we have no reason to pout or throw some sort of pity party, but instead, reason to seek Him all the more. For no doubt He is jealous to work for us and to reveal His glory and wisdom and power in the process. He knows when it is good for us to enjoy His presence and power with ease. And when it is good for us to long for Him as if we were in the desert longing for food and water.

We can trust the Lord in both circumstances. And either way, we are responsible to seek Him. For if we remain persistent in pursuing Him, we will be better for it and God’s glory will be more manifestly displayed. We just can’t go wrong in maintaining a fervent pursuit of the Lord.

Nadab and Abihu are consumed by the fire of the Lord after they offer up ‘strange fire’ in the Temple. They were being careless and were possibly under the influence of alcohol. This showed that they lacked reverence for the Lord and His commands. After they were killed, no doubt a holy reverence was upon all the people. Even Aaron feared the Lord to such an extent that he did not offer one of the following sacrifices to its perfect completion.

I can’t help but wonder whether or not the Church is weak today in large part because her vision of God does not include scenes such as the one in Leviticus 10. There is little fear of the Lord God. Little awe. Little joy-filled reverence. Because we hear so much about the mercy of God, we think it is a light thing to enter into and enjoy His presence. Maybe we take Jesus and the presence of the Holy Spirit for granted, failing to recognize what an awesome privilege it is to be in right relationship with the King of kings.

Scenes such as this one should wake us from our slumber, because our God is the same God that wiped out Nadab and Abihu for their disobedience. It is good for us fear the Lord. It is healthy to stand in awe of Him while keeping Jesus in view. When we pray, do we recognize, really recognize, that we are speaking to the King of kings? When we read and make petitions…or even when we complain…do we recall the God with whom we have to do? Do we remember who He really is in all His glory or are we apt to presume upon His presence and favor?

These are difficult questions that we must all answer ourselves. But we must also answer them corporately as well. We must take a hard look at ourselves to see whether or not we lack the fear of the Lord. For this fear, when rightly engaged in and enjoyed, will prove to be a sweet blessing to the people of God and to the world.

As always, much could be said about this Psalm. Here are a few things that stood out to me this morning:

1) A conscious awareness of the brevity of life helps us to live our lives to the full–provided we are thinking rightly.

I suppose it is possible for a man to contemplate the brevity of life and therefore declare, ‘Eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow we die!’ But that man is not thinking rightly. For he is failing to consider what will take place after his brief life here is done. And he is failing to recognize that what he does here on this earth carried consequences in the land of forever.

If we are thinking about life in this fashion, then it is good to think about how short our lives are. Which is to also imply that it is good to think of the fact that we will soon die. For such things, when combined with a solid understanding of the life that awaits us, serve to give us a certain urgency to live well here and now. If we realize that what we do now matters forever, we are much more apt to do all we can to get our acts together now.

That being said, I suppose it should at least be mentioned that a proper understanding of what awaits us is necessary. That is, we must understand not only the fact that there is a Heaven and Hell, but what kind of places Heaven and Hell will be. For if we understand Heaven to be floating in the clouds, we will live a certain kind of way now. Maybe we will care only for saving souls. But if we embrace the biblical picture of Heaven as a New Earth, with the strong possibility that many of our cultural works will be carried over onto that New Earth, our perspective will change and we will no doubt live differently.

2) We need to pray consistently for this conscious awareness of the brevity of life.

It’s not enough to read it as it was said by someone else in the Psalm. We must pray it ourselves, for it is only with the Lord’s help that we will really become consciously aware of the brevity of our lives. It is only through prayer that this plain reality will sink in deep enough so as to have a dramatic impact on the way in which we live our day to day lives.

Every time I read the book of Leviticus, I cannot help but give thanks for the Person and Work of Jesus Christ–and that I live in the time period I do now. For the freedom we enjoy in Christ is unparalleled. It is, historically speaking, wonderful, unimaginable, even enviable.

Just imagine yourself as a Jewish priest in the year 1400 B.C. All the rules and regulations have recently been introduced and you must keep them to a ‘T’! Or, as we are told time and again through the book, ‘that person shall be cut off from his people.’ I simply cannot imagine it. Burn this. Don’t burn that. Eat this. Don’t eat that. No doubt I would have messed something up sooner or later. And that wouldn’t have been fun.

Sure, messing up is never fun, but in Christ, we have a much lesser chance of messing something up and a perfect chance of being forgiven if we do. We have freedom to worship in a variety of ways, so that we shouldn’t often hit a ‘rut’ or some sort. And we need not be afraid that we will be separated from the people of God if we take a wrong turn here or there. Even more than that, we need not approach the priest every time we want to come before the Lord. Because of Christ, we can walk right into His presence, into the Holy of Holies as it were, and fellowship with Him as was always intended.

Chapters 5-7 or Leviticus surely give us much greater insight that what is offered above, but at the very least, we should read them and give thanks for the Person and Work of Jesus Christ, and the fact that we live in days after Christ has come.

v. 5-8 It is interesting that the dreams were themselves a means to their own fulfillment. Of course, Joseph had to convey the dreams (either because he was insecure or because he was foolish or both), but he would not have told the dreams to his brothers if he had never had them. His telling the dreams to them led them a greater disdain for him and thus, moved them closer to doing what they already wanted to do…get rid of him. But it was their desire to get rid of him that fulfilled the dreams themselves.

The Lord knew all of this before it took place and ordained things accordingly. He knows what our response will be to a thousand different circumstances or situations. And because of His love, He makes sure that nothing occurs that will drive us to utter despair. But He also ordains certain things that end up bringing a great deal more difficulty than would be desired. Yet in the end, it is for the good of those who believe. This is certainly evident in the story of Joseph.

v. 18-24 The wickedness of the brothers is obvious. It must be remembered that they were not boys, but men, grown men with their own families plotting to kill one whom they were supposed to look out for (dreams or not). Their envy and jealousy is no doubt one of the fruits of polygamy. Though such desires are found within every heart, polygamy gives a great environment to the easy rise of them.

v. 29 Eldest brother Reuben was looking out for Joseph, but apparently, he was also a part of the cover-up. Note: One sin inevitably leads to another if it is not repented of. After selling Joseph off into slavery, they then lied to Jacob. The heart grows harder with every unrepented sin. So also, the heart grows softer with every sin that is repented of.