Joshua 15 (Bible Study) - Pastor Daniel Batarseh

if you have your bibles meet me in the book of joshua and trust that you have your bibles here at bible study joshua chapter 15 is where we left off in our journey through the old testament and god has been so good to us in leading us through these different books and now as you are aware since we started this new section last week we have entered into a portion of the book of joshua that is very very specific and demands greater attention in order to draw greater revelation when we come to chapter 15 what we see here is that it begins the detailed allotment of the lands that were ascribed to the different tribes of israel upon entering into and conquering what god had told them to conquer what you and i are going to read in these next few chapters is an ongoing list of what names and cities and areas and lands that cover really the boundaries of each of these tribes from east and west south to north it's greatly detailed it is exhaustive and the primary reason for the holy spirit to give us this text i mean on the surface level we understand that this portion of the bible had in mind the original readers a historical record of what belonged to who so that it would be a future reference in understanding what belonged to who and that god was the one who gave these different portions to the different tribes of israel that's the historical understanding but listen our bible tells us very clearly that this book is greater than just historical reference the scripture tells us that every single page in this book every chapter every verse was breathed out by god and being breathed out by god there was a purpose and the purpose was not just to give us some again documentation of what happened in ancient history even a section of the bible like this god has in mind for you and me to be perfected in righteousness to be conformed to christ's likeness oh yes even as you read through these names god had in mind from eternity past this is going to contribute something to the sanctification of my people in 2020. you have to believe that every time you come to the word of god and that is the resistance against the temptation to say there's nothing here for me let me just pass on to psalms or the book of john no there's something in for us and we have to remind ourselves of that and you've heard that being said throughout this bible study because again no matter no matter how much we hear it we still face that temptation when we come to a portion like this be reminded that god had something in mind in his wisdom for you and i and we're going to pray fully and carefully consider how what god has in mind for our transforming power for our conformity to the image of his son now here's what we can take from him before we even read a verse you can just look at that chapter and see there's just names that i can barely pronounce right you have your bibles in front of you do you see that name upon name area upon area city upon city and i think one thing that we can draw from this is at least this it's important to know how these places were determined and given to these different tribes let's just settle that matter because this list and these boundaries was not upon human wisdom was not generated by somebody's own mind or intellect or wisdom it was orchestrated and it was it was influenced by god himself how do we know that let's go back to joshua 14. look at verse 2. it says their inheritance was by lot the bible says just as the lord had commanded by the hand of moses for the nine and one half tribes you go back to numbers 26 55 and you see that when moses was still alive and the leader of the people he received instruction from god listen moses when this second generation goes into the land of canaan make sure that they divide the land by lot this was god's idea this was inspired by him and so when we come to this point we realize that this is god's doing and though joshua and the elders are instructed to lead and to to divide it they are instructed by god to do it in a certain way and that is by lot now that is a term that we're not so familiar with in our day but we can equate that practice by lot to flipping a coin or rolling dice not just randomly but as a means to determine something that can't be determined based on human reason alone when the bible talks about casting lots it's talking about an ancient practice and that ancient practice was to seek an unbiased impartial way of determining a decision that did not have the influence of human selfishness making that decision it was a way to eliminate and and just remove any possibility of accusation that a leadership or a certain party was making a choice based on favoritism or politics it was a way of saying okay let's we can't agree on this here i can't agree with you we can't agree with each other let's cast lots and let's figure out by this act who belongs to what and what belongs to who right it was a way of flipping a coin so to speak and this was something that was commonly practiced and interestingly enough it's actually something that is described as a wise thing to do so look at proverbs 18 18. the lot puts an end to quarrels and decides between powerful contenders this ancient practice was observed by solomon as a wise thing to do in particular situations and in this instance when it comes to powerful contenders i can't agree upon something to lean upon the lot was a good thing to do simply means that it is appropriate in some times to come to a place where when there's disagreements that you rely on such a thing and it diffuses any spirit of accusation it defuses any attempt to to bring about some kind of a condemnation of unfairness because this thing has implemented and rendered the choice apart from human thinking and reason now that is why god gave this to joshua because in this time right now joshua's going to implement something that would affect the rest of israel's history and god in his wisdom says joshua i want to free you from accusation i want to free you from judgment i want to free you from being critiqued implement the lot and then give it out that way now they did that but was it superstition was it just relying upon a random chance no i argue that when they implemented the casting of lots they were prayfully dependent upon god to use that to give an answer that makes sense i know this is very historical but we need to learn these things so that makes sense in our bible so you go to a verse like proverbs not 18 18 but 16 33 and see what the scripture says and in light of the lot being used it says here the lot is cast into the lab but it's every decision is from the lord so here we see a connection between what seems to be this random practice what can be more random than rolling dice or flipping a coin but in solomon's mind and in god's mind when this was implemented amongst god's people there was a connection between this random act and god determining the outcome through it and so we can believe that when the israelites did this and they didn't do it for just casual reasons i challenge you to look in your bibles and see every time there is a practice of casting lots recorded it is always for a crucial decision it was always based on leadership trying to determine something that they could not determine on their own and so even this thing it's not random it's not by pure chance they were dependent upon god through it to find out an answer in a difficult circumstance and we read that and we go that's great and we understand the historical implications of that but then we have to ask the application are we invited to practice such a thing such as casting lots and i think it's interesting to note when the last time casting lots is recorded in the bibles i'm going to ask this out loud i know i'm not down there as we usually are on friday nights does anybody know the last place in the bible yeah marvel does any did anybody else know that the last place that casting lots was in acts chapter 1 that's exactly right in acts chapter 1 when judas was when he betrayed the lord and he had killed himself the apostles had gathered together in that upper room and they thought themselves we need a replacement for judas we need to find somebody that will take up his office and then there was a criteria to be an apostle and they they just they funneled it down to two men and when it came to these two men they had to decide well they meet the qualifications so who is it going to be between these two men that will take his place and listen to what it says in acts 1 24 and they prayed and said you lord who know the hearts of all show which one of these you have chosen to take the place in this ministry an apostleship from which judas turned aside to go to his own place and they cast lots for them and the lot fell of mathias he was numbered with the 11 apostles so you see what happens here the connection between a prayerful attitude and casting lots again they were seeking the lord to use this medium as a way to determine something by his sovereign decree and so they cast lots it falls on matthias and then they move on from there that is the last time you ever see casting lots practiced in our bibles now here's the next question and i'm not gonna ask anybody to answer it but just think about it why why is that the last place it happened in acts chapter one and the reason why is because of acts chapter two what happened in acts chapter 2 who comes on the scene the spirit of god the holy spirit comes not that he was never there but he comes to fulfill a specific role in this new covenant that's to indwell the believer permanently to fill these vessels that were blood bought by christ and to make our hearts his home and because of the holy spirit's indwelling presence within you and i and specifically his church the practice of casting lots was never implemented again why because the holy spirit gave guidance now the holy spirit was the one who would speak and reveal and show and he would be the one that would lead them in crucial decisions and you see that throughout the book of acts you see it clearly in acts 13 when paul and silas with his boys were fasting and praying and seeking the lord in worship i hope you have friends like that by the way you have friends where you fast and pray and worship the lord with if not start praying for some new friends they're seeking the lord they're worshiping the lord they're loving the lord and then all for a sudden not casting lots but the holy spirit says the holy spirit said set apart from me paul and silas for the work of the ministry to which i have called them so from that moment on they became dependent upon the leading of the indwelling presence of god in the person of the holy spirit never relying upon casting lots again there's your answer in mind does that mean that if we and minor issues that don't cause great trouble for one party over another cast lots to determine something it's not a sin as long as you and i don't ascribe superstition to it or blame god for the outcome we're safe but what a wonderful new covenant thing you see this casting lots up to the point of the holy spirit coming being practiced and this is how you and i are more rich in the new covenant he is so personal he's willing to answer us and guide us guide church leadership as they seek the lord and fast and worship he's willing to give a crystal clear answer primarily through his written word but also through circumstances and providentially that's what you and i have that's what you and i have and i hope we don't think that casting lot sounds better than that this is our inheritance in christ and so this is this is god ordaining this when these boundaries are set now look at verse 1 and notice that the last verse of chapter 15 is verse 63 if you read this entire chapter you are going to notice a word that keeps recurring and it is no secret it is obvious and if you just even scale with your eyes maybe you'll even see it the word that keeps coming up is the word boundary in fact in my transition i counted 20 times the word boundary coming up in 63 verses and so as you read this you you understand that god is very detailed god is the one who's directing god is the one who's placing every acre every mile every piece of land he is decreeing for specifically judah the first tribe that's receiving their inheritance and as i was reading this i couldn't help but think surely god is so careful with his decisions surely god is so specific surely god is the one who determines these things but here's the wonderful thing as you and i read chapter 15 we shouldn't fall into the despair of thinking god was like this just for israel that god was careful and specific for real estate for his people in the old covenant no god is just as sovereign not over just one nation but over all nations and over all of his children throughout history let me put it this way god was not just concerned about the boundaries of judah and all the other tribes in joshua god is just as more concerned about your boundaries and mine in this generation here's proof acts 17. turn there and see what paul declares in his sermon in athens at the end tell of his message you know what he says he uses a word that we see over and over in this chapter in joshua the word boundaries and look what he says in verse 26 of acts 17 and he made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth having determined look at this allotted periods and the boundaries of the dwelling place also god wasn't just concerned about the nation of israel and where they lived and how far they lived and how long they lived there no god is concerned for all people and he's sovereign over all nations and he's sovereign over every single person verse 27 that they should seek god and perhaps feel their way toward him and find him yet he is actually not far from each one of us you know what paul is saying in the sermon he's speaking to these intellectual athenians and he is coming down to their level of understanding you know what's a wonderful study look at how paul preached to gentiles and look at how paul preached the jews that's a wonderful study when he preaches to jews he's heavy on old testament literature right he goes to the text when he preaches to gentiles he uses a different method and here he's appealing to creation he's appealing to things that we would appeal to to somebody who has no framework of scripture wonderful but he comes to the same conclusion the gospel but what does he say here at this point he goes hey listen god is not just the author of creation he is also the governor of his creation god is not just the architect god is the manager and yes he created the stars and yes he created all things including you and me but listen he doesn't just manage the galaxies he doesn't just govern the ecosystem or the animal kingdom listen he determines where you live and how long you lived there for now we think that he's just talking about nations and how they rise and how they fall true but he says all men he's not just talking about great populations he is specific and he is that sovereign and he is not overwhelmed in that task by the way he's not he doesn't sweat one bit in determining every single person in this place where they were born he determined it what neighborhood they would grow up and what house they would live and how long they would live in that house when they would move where they would move to and what you and i think is that we're just strolling along through life and we're just seeing natural unfoldings of what life brings right here i am i'm going to this school so i have to move away from home and this job has demanded me to move out of state all the while god is sovereign over that and you and i might think well why in the world would god care about determining the address of every single person on this planet does he have nothing else to do no it's because even with such a meticulous even with such a specific task god himself has a purpose behind that god has a purpose behind the allotted periods god has a purpose behind the dwelling place of every man and here's god's purpose verse 27 that they should seek god so all the moving around and all the the circumstances and all the things that we see unfold in life god's ultimate purpose in moving the pieces is so that man would be positioned and it in such a way that they would receive a greater exposure to god and all you have to do really is as a new believer as a believer as a blood-bought christian reflect on your past and realize how that is true of your own life i can testify clearly and with a clear conscience that over the past nine years and even before that before i became a christian i can see how god had moved me from different cities to different countries to different places at different times and not one stretch of any of those seasons was wasted not one not one and i'm sure you have heard testimonies of different people who are moved from one school to another and it was in that school on that football team that somebody on that football team witnessed to them and about this person that moving there and this person and you can see god so merciful seeking us wanting to even place us geographically in such a way that we would hear something of him getting our attention in a more marvelous and powerful way so what's his will for the believer does he still implement this does he still care about where you live as a christian oh you better believe it if for the the lost he moves and he determines and he establishes so that they could seek god what is it for you and me well believe this that when he moves you and he changes you and he removes you from a certain place and takes you to that area so that you can help others seek god that your neighborhood their new neighborhood that new apartment that you live in is your new mission field brother and sister that new school you got you got to be enrolled in and that new job that you got yeah god has a greater purpose than you making more money so you can have a greater retirement so that you can help others seek god so that you can be the light in that area and i just love that truth because it just shows me that god is sovereign over even that even that and in some way you can argue that even in a new season in a new place whether he keeps you in a place for the rest of your life because he determines the allotted periods or he moves you sporadically so many times over five years here's the wonderful truth he has a gospel mission in mind and in some way for you to know something about who god is in a new way in that season so don't let moving be such a treasurous task now don't let packing your bags be something so frustrating when you believe this truth of god being sovereign and you are walking in his will you can be assured that he has something planned for that that's not my opinion this is what paul is preaching he determines that on every scale so here's the truth on grander scales he determines how long empires last god has in mind how long america is going to last by the way you know that right god already knows and that's proven here in job 12 23 he makes nations great who does not presidents not prime ministers not dictators he makes nations great nebuchadnezzar needed to learn that the hard way when he was strolling on his roof and he looked across babylon says am i not the one who made this babylon great and within a moment he lost his mind and was acting like a beast in the field until he acknowledged that it was the one god was the one who elevated him he makes nations great and he destroys them being nations he enlarges nations and leads them away and then you just go to two chapters after job 20 to 12 and then you read this verse 5 of chapter 14. since his days are determined now he goes down to man specifically every man since his days are determined and the number of his months is with you and you have appointed his limits that he cannot pass so when it comes to nations oh god knows the timeline when it comes to your life he knows the timeline every single one of us he knows you know i'm personally reading through the book of isaiah and it is an amazing book if you've read it you know it you can almost put isaiah right beside the four gospels because he depicts christ and his suffering and his burial and his resurrection and exaltation so clearly and there's so many truths throughout that book and one of those truths is found in hezekiah's story you know hezekiah he was a king and he fell sick in isaiah 38 and so sick was was hezekiah clearly he was at a point in his life where he didn't feel like he wanted to die i have so much life to live so he turns to the wall when isaiah says get right with your house put it in order you're going to die of this illness he turns to the wall he weeps he cries out the guy says lord look upon my faithfulness i don't want to go this early and as hezekiah is on his way out he gets a word from the lord he comes back to hezekiah and he says you're not going to die and listen there's so many things about hezekiah's recovery that is amazing about god how he hears your prayer even though your lips are so close to touching the wall because you can barely move he sees every tear you cry all these amazing truths but recently reading that passage there was one truth that i always read by that never shook me like it shook me when i read it this past week and it's a simple one you read isaiah 38 god tells him i'm going to give you a longer life and then there's this little phrase it says the lord will add 15 years to your life i've read that so many times but just recently that shook me to the core the lord will add 15 years who can determine how many years you can live there's god saying i'm going to give you 50 i'm going to punch in 15 more years into your account on the earth that's how sovereign he is that's how powerful that's how in control he is work out all you want take all the vitamins that you want do all these different things god has determined your years on the earth and he can remove those years or he can add those years he can put it to the day he could put it to the minute that your heart stops that's how sovereign god is you know why we need to hear this because we don't understand how big god is in our day we've made him so small so he's just a little more holy than us he's just a little more mighty than us he's just a little more enlightened in what's happening in the world than us no he can decree over your life right now that you can live x amount of years months days he can he can show you the day the hour the minute the millisecond that you will step into glory that's how powerful he is he determined the allotted periods and the dwelling place of man and he shows it in joshua 15 and he shows it throughout the scriptures now we come back to joshua 15. let's read a couple of verses from joshua 15 shall we let's look at verse 13 between 1 and 13 is just a list of names of valleys of hills of mountains and then we come to verse 13. and it says here according to the commandment of the lord to joshua he gave to caleb the son of japhenee a portion among the people of judah kiriath arban that is hebron arba was the father of anak what's happening here well it's in connection to what happened in the chapter prior to this caleb was a leader amongst those of judah he steps up before joshua in great respect and he says joshua you remember you remember joshua then when we spied out the land and we came back and gave a good report god had promised to me through moses that the very land that i treaded on with my feet would be mine when we entered into this place i'm asking you to respectfully give me what belongs to me joshua obviously complies he blesses his friend caleb as a leader and now caleb is claiming what he received from the lord he steps out into battle we learn a great deal about caleb's character we're about to learn so much more and what we read of is in verse 14 and caleb drove out from there the three sons of anak sheshai the descendants of anec now we read these three specific names and it's sandwiched between more names so we think okay what's the deal here it's important to see why these names are mentioned especially if you and i are familiar with the book of numbers you don't have to turn there but i'm going to read to you the text that was recorded when caleb with the others initially spied out the land and look what it said in numbers 13. numbers 13 21 so they went up and spied out the land from the wilderness of zinn to rehob verse 22 they went up into the negev and came to hebron hey amen shasha and tell my the descendants of anak were there the same three names clearly these were important men clearly these men's were threats to them and in fact these were the reasons why the ten other spies came and said we can't do it we're like grasshoppers caleb witnessed these same men at 40 years old now at 85 years old he sees the same men and his faith didn't waver the faith that he had at 40 was the same faith that he displayed at 85 the same belief he had in god at 40 was the same trust that he had in god at 85 nothing changed for this man nothing changed place him in the same situation at 40 place him in the same situation at 85. his trust in the lord is the same that was the secret to caleb's spiritual success throughout his life what was it that no matter what you place before the man no matter what season of life he's in his trust is the same he interpreted all things all challenges in light of god's power and might and strength and this is why no matter when or how or who he still saw victory you saw that he had the same hunger at 85 that he did at 40. and now here he is proving his trust in god to be the same that is possible for you and i that is something that you and i can aspire to that as we grow in age we can also grow and trust and grow in experiencing god's interventions in our lives i can't help but imagine the feeling almost of knowing that there were 10 other spies who have 40 didn't have what this man had at 85. there they are rotting in the wilderness while this man in his old age is seeing god do miraculous things he drove out now that's an important thing caleb drove out not joshua you know we've entered into a new section concerning details of how this narrative plays out but we've also also entered into a new section of how warfare is done in the book of joshua up to this point who is leading the people as commander joshua as warrior joshua as fighter as implementer as determiner of strategy joshua joshua joshua joshua's job had changed joshua from now on you're going to divide the land and you're going to give it to each tribe and each tribe is now going to in their own hands inherit their own promised land you know why that's important because joshua can only take them so far and it came to the tribes and it came to the leaders of each tribe to determine how far they would go on the promises of god is that not a wonderful reminder of how sanctification works to some degree please pay attention this friday night your leaders can only take you so far your pastor can only take you so far counseling can only take you so far expositional preaching can only take you so far a wonderful church community can only take you so far in the end there comes to a point in your relationship with god where you have to determine yourself am i willing to take up arms and fight this thing myself you have to make that choice you are the ultimate determiner of how deep and how far you advance and godliness and relationship with god you yes you you put your name in it you god gives us these different resources and people include it and he helps us come to a certain point as joshua brought them to a certain point but at some place you have to spread your wings and fly and learn how to fly i say that because some people don't believe that and for some reason they've made this about 10 of their will and fill in the rest of that pie with different reasons or different ways they're going to grow in godliness no it's bigger than that it's bigger than that again joshua brought them to a certain point and they had to examine their own hearts and they had to take god by their own hand and say okay lord like caleb did now you're gonna have to lead me and you're gonna have to show me and you're gonna have to provide for me so that i can know all that you have for me that is so crucial to understand especially in a day where everything is being done for us everything almost anything in life you can get a service for and that you don't have to lift a finger unfortunately we've interpreted that in our sanctification and now we are extremely frustrated because we are not implementing our own will to say lord i'm willing to go further and we become overly dependent upon joshua's in life you and i have to make our own choices and this is what caleb did like he said in joshua 14 he goes my brothers they gave a bad report but i said i'm going to holy follow the lord he made a choice he made a choice he made a choice at 40. my brothers don't want to believe i'm going to believe he made a choice at 85. joshua can't go i'm still going that's the kind of mentality that sees wonderful things in god it's not a pro proud thing it's not a it's not a self-reliance thing it's a will thing where you say this is it i'm going to move forward whether people come with me or not whether somebody leads me into it or not i'll lead myself i'll lead myself does that mean that we dismiss leaders no we use them we receive from them but again you come to a point where you have to take up the task yourself and god will honor that and strengthen you in that caleb himself move forward and at the end of the day you and i are responsible for how deep and how much we grow in god now look what happens in verse 16. and caleb said whoever strikes kirieth suffer and captures it to him i will give aksa my daughter as wife. so he overcomes this place hebron he overcomes these giants and now he's come to a new place called deborah in verse 15. and interestingly enough caleb approaches this land and his strategy changes he looks at this land he goes you know and he looks at his army he looks at the group of men from judah and as i lay out a challenge before you today whoever can take over that land you can have my daughter as your wife and when you and i read that we think well caleb must have been very enthusiastic in joshua 14 and in this portion where he thought he can take over himself looks like he ran out of juice looks like caleb's joints are not agreeing with his faith and it looks like he needs some help and so he decides to just park and delegate and say whoever can just tell me out here i'll give you so desperately he wants us that he's saying i'm going to give you one of my most prized possessions here's my daughter no no no no no i don't think that's the case because look at verse 11 of joshua 14. what does he say i am still as strong today as i was in the day that moses sent me my strength now is as my strength was then for war and for going and coming he didn't run out of juice he didn't run out of strength he was not out of breath he knew that he could do this himself if he needed to so what's caleb's thinking again if you admired caleb up to this point we have more reasons to praise his example and godliness and a certain aspect that maybe you and i did not consider realize that caleb is a dad and we're seeing the fatherly side of caleb and you know what caleb's doing in his wisdom knowing that his daughter was at a marriageable age he finds a way to find a suitable husband for her and so instead of doing this himself he pauses and he thinks you know i can take advantage of this situation my daughter needs a husband i think this is the best way to recruit one hey boys if any of you can take over this place you can have my daughter i think that sounds pretty selfish it sounds like axo's not really into that thing well she doesn't show any resistance what was caleb looking for in a man was he looking for strength was he looking for military might was he looking for a man with resources a man who knew how to wield the sword was he looking for somebody that can strategize if you and i have learned anything about occupying the land we have learned this one thing that in order to do so successfully was highly dependent upon a man's complete trust in god if this was going to prove anything to caleb he was going to discover who had enough courage and faith to believe god to take on this task everything about what caleb is laying out here in order to sift out the crowd for his daughter he's trying to determine who is crazy enough to believe god can give him victory over this i like caleb oh caleb wasn't looking at the bank account caleb wasn't looking at whether he had a reputable education or this kind of standing in society no no no caleb was a man of faith and what he was looking for was another man of faith and this is what he determined this is way bigger than warfare this is way bigger than how strong you are everything about this challenge has to do with figuring out who in this crowd is a man of god who in this crowd is a man of god and that's what this test is all about you know what that says about caleb tells us that caleb was not just a man who is desperate to experience god's promises for himself no god's concern in caleb was that his offspring would know the promises of god that his own daughter would know the promises of god that she would experience greater things in god everything that god had promised concerning the israelites he showed that hunger he showed that desperation in joshua 14 but that desperation did not just stay with him he said oh i want my only daughter to know it too and part of the plan for my only daughter to experience greater things in god what to find a man that will lead her into it and so he lays out the challenge and he finds it extremely important to find this kind of a man for his daughter and for good reason because he was a man who lived it out himself was he not a man of great courage and boldness and faith yeah he had every right to look for that in another person because he knew that it was possible to live it out right and so here's a man who not only knew that it's possible he was a man who also experienced the vitality and the joys and the peace and the blessings that come from being wholeheartedly separated unto god he knew how the windows of heaven open upon a life who has set themselves to such a standard of living while everybody else chooses to live a lesser standard and so he had no lesser standard than for his daughter's spouse i know what it's like to walk with god i know how that implements and affects my family life my financial life my moral life every aspect so i have no lesser standard than for my child's future spouse and this was crucial to him and if this was a room filled with fathers and mothers i would drive this point in a different way than i am about to drive it right now i would but i'll say this how important is that quality to you as a single person as a person searching and praying about what to find not just in a man but in a woman it was important to caleb this was his standard wholehearted devotion to god faith in god trusting god priority number one sold out to god you know what's amazing what caleb was trying to find on a man the bible encourages men to find in a woman here's a verse that we all know charm is deceitful and beauty is vain but a woman not a man a woman who fears the lord is to be praised everything else is going to go down sisters brothers looking for a future what everything is going to go down everything is going to be affected but there's one thing that will remain that's the fear of god in somebody's life i was talking to somebody not too long ago and they were talking about somebody that they're currently seeing and that person just looked at me says i'm just looking for what the bible tells me to look for and i found it a girl that fears god i thought wow i haven't heard that in a long time because the reality is proverbs 31 30 says charm is defeat deceitful beauty is vain because if you search for those things apart from fearing god whether in a man or a woman here's another proverb that describes what that reality looks like proverbs not 31 30 proverbs 11 22 like a gold ring and a pig snout is a beautiful woman without discretion so let's just illustrate this i want you to think of a pig i know that's strange to ask of you at a friday night bible study but as you see this pig you see this beautiful gold ring attached to its nostrils with the mud and everything all around it and this is what the writer is saying you know you look at a pig with a gold ring and you might disagree with me but i'll say this that if i see a pig with a gold ring in its nose i'm not concerned about the gold ring i think the fact that it's a pig overwhelms the fact that it has a gold ring if there's anything that's going to grab my attention it's the fact that this is a pig not that it has a gold ring in its nose and that's the point to some degree amongst many other applications that the gold ring is attributed and equal to beauty physical beauty external beauty and that lack of discretion is likened to a pig and the point is almost being driven in this way that if you have somebody who's beautiful physically but they lack the godly moral character that the bible promotes no matter how beautiful that person is you're going to be overwhelmed by the ugliness of the soul more than the beauty of her eyes her figure her hair etc it's very difficult to look at a pig with a gold ring and say that gold ring is amazing it's beautiful what a beautiful thing you're overwhelmed by the fact that it's a pig with stains of mud all around it and likewise when you interpret or you try to filter out an individual and all that they have is physical beauty but they don't have the internal beauty that the bible promotes to match it you will be overwhelmed by the lack of character more than the beauty that that person holds make sense tonight i hope so it's important because all of us to some degree i'm sure can attest to an experience of somebody being physically beautiful but then the more you got to know them the uglier they got it's not because they changed in the way they dress or look it's because they just expose who they are in their heart and the lack of godliness and holiness and love for god swallowed up like a pig will swallow up a golden ring on its nose you just lose attraction so aim for the thing that when the the body wears out and the charm wears out the fear of the lord it will be the source of attraction to you that mean that beauty should be dismissed no i don't think so at all does that mean that attraction should be dismissed absolutely not that's another recipe for disaster but there is a priority and there is a filter in interpreting beauty that the bible has that this world knows nothing of and the more you saturate your mind and the more you convince yourself what the bible says and prayerfully have it implanted over you the more you will be successful in finding who god has in mind for you so we come back to joshua 15. caleb wants a godly man for his daughter and what happens he finds him he finds him he evaluated it he found the man but before we come to the man let's discover the daughter it says here in verse 18 and when she came to him this is they got married so whoever this man is we're going to discover who he is in a moment when she came to him she urged him to ask her father for a field and she got off her donkey and and caleb said to her what do you want she said to him give me a blessing since you have given me the land of the negev give me also springs of water and he gave her the upper springs and the lower springs what you and i may not realize immediately is that the godly man that caleb found for her daughter match because caleb had a godly daughter the criticism of the the ring and the pigs now does not apply to axa no because she is demonstrating something that you see in her daddy was not her father bold and courageous to come before joshua and ask for his inheritance did he not show an unwavering commitment to know what god had for him and now you see the daughter his daughter coming onto the scene and displaying that same kind of spiritual wisdom and boldness and fervency she comes before her dad and some would interpret this as her operating in covetousness i cannot personally hold to that interpretation what's happening here she gets married and almost immediately after she gets married she asks her husband to go and ask her father for land he doesn't move perhaps he's thinking to myself i already have you you're going to ask me right on the wedding day to come up to him and ask him for more i think you was enough so she gets off her donkey she goes up to her dad and says dad you gave me atlanta i'm thankful for that but this land needs some water source i'm asking you for spring so that i can be able to water this that's what she's doing it's a very practical request it's a very not just practical wise request now we see her way of thinking she's not asking for gold she's not asking for this selfishly no she's asking for something that in her newfound journey would be a blessing and a supply of grace and all these other things for her new family her new husband and her future children can you provide this and you think that this is like a proverbs 31 woman almost and rightfully so selflessly she is now stepping out because she's not thinking in the presence she's thinking about the future and during this time of allotment and determining what's what she jumps on the opportunity before that window closes and she says before this whole thing ends can you give me this please what a mind she's thinking beyond she's thinking why is it she's thinking in the future and she's operating in faith and asking for it oh you better believe that the man that she's married to and her they're a godly couple they're a godly couple and so who was the man that passed the test look at verse 17. an othniel there he is there's the lucky guy othniel the son of canada is the brother of caleb captured it and he gave him aksad his daughter as wife othniel othniel specifically was caleb's nephew his brother son and before trying to explain that how that works i think what's more important is to understand that once you look at axa caleb's daughter and once you see othniel caleb's nephew we have a great encouragement that it's possible for an extended family unit to be wholehearted to god because everything from caleb to his daughter to his nephew are demonstrating a brand of sold out faith to the lord and that's possible that's possible for your family that's possible for your children that's possible for your extended family it's possible for whole family units even extended families to be marked by loving jesus christ wholeheartedly i pray that god would revive if he's going to revive anything never mind chicago let him revive the household of faith it should be listen it should not be a foreign thing for families to have family devotion and family worship i know it is because we're living in perilous times but it's possible husband and wife to raise up godly children yes they will make their own decisions at their own time but it's possible and don't strive for anything less don't strive for anything less just because it's the norm it's the pattern where you have one wayward child and one faithful child don't settle for that don't pray into that pray into wholehearted family units this dna that's found in caleb is not just found in caleb it's in his daughter it's in his nephew and you just see an amazing family that's sold out to god may god do so for generations to come with every family in this house and what we see here is that othniel and axa were a wonderful godly couple from the beginning of their relationship and their spiritual dna would attest to that but listen we can argue that such a statement is true for their family not just because of what we see in the beginning but what we see later on with othniel because this is not the last time that othniel is mentioned he's mentioned here we're introduced to him and then we see othniel mentioned again in the next book that we will discover in soon time when joshua dies and a new generation rises up we see a cycle of sin and as a result of sin amongst the people of israel god allows an oppressor to come and dominate them and then we see this pattern in judges do we not that god raises up what judges and deliverers to come and then they have peace for x amount of years and then they go back into their apostate state and then they raise up another deliverer do you know who the first deliverer is for israel othniel go to judges 3. look at judges 3 and look at verse 9 to verse 10 but when the people of israel cried out to the lord the lord raised up a deliverer for the people of israel who saved them othniel there he is again the son of kenneth caleb's younger brother the spirit of the lord was upon him and he judged israel he went out to war and the lord gave kushan king of mesopotamia into his hand and his hand prevailed over cushion so the land had rest 40 years then othniel the son of kin has died it was as though we are informed that caleb was not only one who caleb was not the only one who chose othniel for a faithful task we see that god was the one that chosen for a faithful task down the road and what's so encouraging is that when caleb wanted to find a man a godly man to marry his daughter he found it in othniel and when god wanted to find a deliverer and a judge for his whole people he found it in other straight edge consistent just like his father-in-law what is this proved i hope we're convinced i hope we're convinced that there is great blessing reserved for those who are wholehearted toward the lord do you realize that othniel's life was blessed in every aspect because of one foundational establishment in his soul wholeheartedness toward the lord realize that when caleb said who will take over deborah it would require the same attitude that caleb had i trust in god wholeheartedly and othniel presented that and what you see othniel doing in the beginning you see othniel doing at the end of his life he dies in that state that's how he's found how is he found at the end of his life with the spirit of the lord upon him the spirit of god upon and what do you see what do you see in othniel's short life as recorded for us you see this that god touches every aspect of your life when you give him your whole heart every aspect of your life god doesn't cheapen out when you give him everything god blesses you in everything when you give him everything god will bless you in proportion to what you give to him and some people only give him so much so he can only bless so much but when you give him everything as caleb when you give him everything as othniel did oh he providentially leads you to his will so what does he do with othniel because of his wholeheartedness who knew that othnia and his whole heartedness will be led to axa leads him to axa not saying aksa is your wife no just providentially he was walking in wholeheartedness he stepped out in faith and then down the road later on after he's married what happens whole heartedness still and when god needed the liver he didn't need to look any further than othniel i need you and i'm going to use you i'm going to use you this is no light thing listen i'm closing with this point when we fail to give god our whole hearts it costs us much and when we give god our whole heart we get much there's always a cost in either or you're always going to pay some kind of a price or you're going to get something out of either or remember that you know we always talk about the cost of following jesus what we don't talk about is the cost of not following jesus because there is a cost it's not like there is a cost to follow jesus and if i don't follow jesus there's no cost no risk i'm not missing out on anything wrong wrong there is a cost to not following jesus wholeheartedly and listen it will affect every aspect of your life just like when you give god everything it will affect every aspect of your life so why preserve it why hold it back why not just say lord i give it all to you othniel did and it doesn't mean everything goes right in your life it just means that you can guarantee this one truth god will make sure that you are planted in his will from beginning to end and we see that with this man's testimony when we're introduced them he was willing to find god's enemies and fight them by trusting in god's power and when he dies he's left with that same testimony being the same man he was when we first read of him and the spirit of god was upon him this is a look at verse 63 the last verse of chapter 15. remember last time we were together we saw a verse where we're going to see a very similar verse but the jebusites the inhabitants of jerusalem the people of judah could not drive out so the jebusites dwell with the people of judah as jerusalem to this day as much as they took over as much as they stepped out in faith for some reason and we're going to touch on this more next week for some reason they could not drive out the jebusites and more than one tribe when they were handed the responsibility to take over those lands themselves for some reason we're satisfied with 98 victory and not 100 percent and we're going to discover how that plays out for each of these tribes but until then we received enough i hope to be able to just commune back with god say lord thank you for joshua 15. may these truths be real in my life can we just pause on these truths tonight lord we thank you for how a chapter like this can speak to our hearts so clearly and profoundly lord if there's anything that we leave from this place we leave with the knowledge that you are so wise surely you have every part of this book for our lives today and we pray lord that whether it's the sovereignty of god and determining allotted periods and the boundaries of our dwelling place whether it's the example that we see in caleb or his son-in-law whether it's the things that we heard in between lord may we leave here knowing that these truths are for our lives today and we thank you that you're sovereign and we praise you that you're in control we thank you that despite everything spiraling out of control you are in control and thank you that there is a lane of life there is a journey to embark on when we give you everything in our hearts and the way you let othniel throughout his days surely you will do with the same concerning our lives you will lead us to where we need to be and you will show us what we need to do we don't have to figure it out you're the one who figures it out all we have to do is establish one thing lord i'm not reserving one part of who i am i trust in you completely i live for you completely lord you've made it so simple we are the ones who made it so difficult lord if there's anybody in here who's afraid of letting go of something because they think that they're going to lessen their joy or they're going to dilute their peace help us realize what we heard earlier before we open this text that we have deluded hearts to some degree that lead us to think that what we even hold so closely to us is actually a lie but we don't believe it's a lie so lord help us let go tonight help us let go of anything that you know and we know is not supposed to be in our lives and that can just be our will for the future that can be our decision to say lord you can do whatever you please with my life lord we joyfully surrender we joyfully lay down everything at your feet and lord like caleb we choose to interpret all events in all seasons of life the same way he did god is strong god is mighty god is wise god is able to help me we want to be consistent in that lord help us be consistent in that lord we bless you and we with excitement surrender again we surrender again to you we say lord here's my heart again we trust that once we do that every time we do that you grab a hold of our hand afresh and you lead us where you want us to go we bless you for that truth because you are patient and kind loving and faithful we give you our worship in light of these truths in jesus name amen amen

Channel: UE Church - Chicago

Views: 1,100

Rating: 4.9047618 out of 5

Keywords: Israel, daniel batarseh, uec, ue church, united evangelical church, chicago, des plaines, illinois, bible study, sermon, old testament, joshua, moses, war, god, lord, inheritance, Manasseh, Moab, Levi, Jericho, Jordan, Heshbon, Sihon, Zaphon, Succoth, nimrah, haram, Betonim, mizpeh, Og, Rabbah, Ammonites, Jazer, Gilead, Gad, Reuben, Medeba, baal, Geshurites, Maacathites, Hermon, Rephaim, Midian, Seir, Arabah, Negeb, Reubenites, Conquer, kings, Defeat, Caleb, Judah, Allotment, Edom, Ekron, Jerusalem, Jebusites, drive out, 15

Id: 8PB3gBVZHlw

Length: 61min 43sec (3703 seconds)

Published: Fri Aug 28 2020