Joshua. Long ago, church leaders were told, "Don't go into a bar to talk to someone about Christ because you might be seen by someone who knows you and your testimony could be smeared." I'm not sure the same stigma exists today. However, if you or I did something that made others question our motives, I hope the questioners would be as integrous as the Israelis were; they sent a delegation to get answers before they sent the army to wipe their brothers out.
The final chapter of this book reminds me of how different it was when the people didn't have the power and conviction of the Holy Spirit within them. He (the H.S.) lives in Christians today because we live after the crucifixion and resurrection. The Day of Pentecost (Acts 2) was when God chose to start baptizing Christ's followers in the Holy Spirit. During the Old Testament, the Spirit came upon certain people at specific times for special tasks, but they didn't know the presence of the Spirit in them.
That said, I think they meant to serve God from then on, but they quit after Joshua died. It's as if the leader who kept them in line was gone and they ran the other way.
No comments:
Post a Comment