When God is at Work

Joshua 6:20-27

20When the trumpets sounded, the army shouted, and at the sound of the trumpet, when the men gave a loud shout, the wall collapsed; so everyone charged straight in, and they took the city. 21They devoted the city to the Lord and destroyed with the sword every living thing in it—men and women, young and old, cattle, sheep and donkeys.
22Joshua said to the two men who had spied out the land, “Go into the prostitute’s house and bring her out and all who belong to her, in accordance with your oath to her.” 23So the young men who had done the spying went in and brought out Rahab, her father and mother, her brothers and sisters and all who belonged to her. They brought out her entire family and put them in a place outside the camp of Israel.
24Then they burned the whole city and everything in it, but they put the silver and gold and the articles of bronze and iron into the treasury of the Lord’s house. 25But Joshua spared Rahab the prostitute, with her family and all who belonged to her, because she hid the men Joshua had sent as spies to Jericho—and she lives among the Israelites to this day.
26At that time Joshua pronounced this solemn oath: “Cursed before the Lord is the one who undertakes to rebuild this city, Jericho: “At the cost of his firstborn son he will lay its foundations; at the cost of his youngest he will set up its gates.”
27So the Lord was with Joshua, and his fame spread throughout the land.

Carpenter

Early in my life, my father made musical tunes while using an ordinary hammer to drive nails. He made a particular rhythm when driving nail into hard wood and different rhythm to softer wood. Because of that, I was fascinated with carpentry. I can’t help but to delight in the idea that the Lord Jesus had similar interest in carpentry because he loves creating musical rhythm out of a hammer.
It says in Psalm 111:2, 2Great are the works of the Lord; they are pondered by all who delight in them.

If we are delighted in God’s work, we may not practically see Him at work, but we can be sure that God is at work, how? The Holy Spirit enables us to recognize some particular elements of His work. His ways are unconventional.

1. Unconventional

20When the trumpets sounded, the army shouted, and at the sound of the trumpet, when the men gave a loud shout, the wall collapsed; so everyone charged straight in, and they took the city. 21They devoted the city to the Lord and destroyed with the sword every living thing in it—men and women, young and old, cattle, sheep and donkeys.

God’s strategy of defeating the people of Jericho was unconventional. The city of Jericho had walls and gates. How would one attack that city? Movies help us imagine about wars in earlier centuries. Attackers used ladders to climb the walls. For sure, that kind of strategy would sacrifice many soldiers.
God’s unconventional strategy saved the lives of the Israelites against Jericho. After marching around the city once in six days and seven times on the seventh day, the wall just collapsed. Just like that!

Some observers suggest that the first six days of marching around the city of Jericho was a psychological warfare. The people of Jericho might have been on the alert 24 hours in six days. They might have been waiting and observing the Israelites. How would they attack? They might not have been able to eat or sleep well. For six days without sleep or lack of sleep, they became very weak.
Whereas, after the Israelites marched around the city, they went back to their camp and rested. So, when the wall collapsed, they took the city and destroyed every living thing in it. No casualty from the Israelites.
It says in Psalm 119:98, 98Your commands are always with me and make me wiser than my enemies.

Joshua followed the instructions of the Lord and they were successful. God’s commands are our guide to reach our potentials He has designed for us.
People may oppose us. We may face trials and struggles before success. When God’s grace is at work in our life, we can be unyielding and uncompromising to the pressure of worldly lifestyle around us.

2. Uncompromising

22Joshua said to the two men who had spied out the land, “Go into the prostitute’s house and bring her out and all who belong to her, in accordance with your oath to her.” 23So the young men who had done the spying went in and brought out Rahab, her father and mother, her brothers and sisters and all who belonged to her. They brought out her entire family and put them in a place outside the camp of Israel.
24Then they burned the whole city and everything in it, but they put the silver and gold and the articles of bronze and iron into the treasury of the Lord’s house. 25But Joshua spared Rahab the prostitute, with her family and all who belonged to her, because she hid the men Joshua had sent as spies to Jericho—and she lives among the Israelites to this day.

It is really amazing that out of all the people of Jericho, God chose Rahab to be saved. Rahab was a reject, an outcast among the people of Jericho. She had no better reputation to be proud of. She could have been despised in public places. But she did not compromise with her faith in the God of Israel.
Rahab believed that the God of Israel is powerful. She virtually placed herself and her family in danger when she hid the two Israelite spies sent by Joshua. Her faith was rewarded because of her uncompromising decision.

Chaplain

A retired chaplain said, “If you’re a Christian and you come into the military today, it’s going to be difficult for you.” Before he was forced to quit the Navy, the retired chaplain found himself in trouble when a lieutenant asked him about his personal views on gay marriage. The lieutenant turned out to be a gay activist. Navy superiors recommended the dismissal of the said chaplain from the service.
However, after “high-level review,” the chaplain was allowed to retire in good standing with 20 years of service. He received his honourable discharge, and a medal of accommodation from the Navy. The retired chaplain is now a lead pastor at a church in Chicago.

If your life, family and future are at stake, will you be uncompromising with your faith? By God’s grace, we can be uncompromising with our faith in the Lord. Rahab has proven that trusting in the God of Israel was the best decision she made. All the people of Jericho were destroyed. She and her family were saved.
In Psalm 127:1-2, 1Unless the Lord builds the house, the builders labor in vain. Unless the Lord watches over the city, the guards stand watch in vain. 2In vain you rise early and stay up late, toiling for food to eat—for he grants sleep to those he loves.
This Psalm has not been explored much, even by Christians. More people try hard to build their household but only to ask what went wrong when things don’t match their expectations. Humans cannot stop what God had decreed. Humans cannot control if God wants to bless those who are obedient to Him.

3. Uncontrolled

26At that time Joshua pronounced this solemn oath: “Cursed before the Lord is the one who undertakes to rebuild this city, Jericho: “At the cost of his firstborn son he will lay its foundations; at the cost of his youngest he will set up its gates.”
27So the Lord was with Joshua, and his fame spread throughout the land.

Joshua listened and followed the unconventional strategy of the Lord. When Joshua became famous throughout the land, it was not just about being popular. He was given great respect. His influence was uncontrolled.
When Joshua declared curse to anyone who rebuilds what they destroyed, would it be easily appreciated in this generation? Joshua could have received hate messages on his social media account if he lives in our time.
There are many things that we cannot control. We cannot control what others would say or think about us. We may be obedient to the Lord, and still others would hate what we do. Humans are harder to please than God.

It says in Psalm 37:34, 34Hope in the Lord and keep his way. He will exalt you to inherit the land; when the wicked are destroyed, you will see it.

To be exalted is to be promoted. God promotes those who obey Him. Our question is when. Will God exalt the obedient in this life or in the next life? Will God make the obedient believer great in this life of in the next life?

The Lord Jesus said Mark 10:43, 43Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant.

Are servants supposed to seek due recognition in this world? Servants work behind the scene. If we seek appreciation, does it define a servant heart?
We get involved in the ministry. We did our best. But we feel like we should be appreciated for our performance, are we not missing the point of greatness according to the Lord Jesus? If God want us to become great in this life or in the next life, we have no control about that. Human flattery have no eternal value.

Human effort craves for appreciation. When God’s grace is at work in us, the Holy Spirit produces joy and peace. Joy and peace are limited description of contentment of what we have done with or without appreciation.

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