Please. Thousand doctors see my This is James Kennedy, inviting you to stay tuned to another message of God's sovereign grace.
So We gather at the river where bright angels feed and trod with his crystal type forever going by the throne of God. Yes, we'll gather at the river, the beautiful, the beautiful river, gather with the saints of the river that falls by the throne of God where we reach the shining river, lay we every burden of Grace our spirits will deliver and provide our own crown Yes we're gather up to rail the beautiful the beautiful river Gather with the saints at the rail that goes by the throne of God Soon will reach a silver Soon our pilgrimage shall cease Soon our happy hearts will quaint With the melody of peace. Yes, we'll gather in the rail, the beautiful, the beautiful river gather with the saints and the rail that flows by the throne of God. Yes, we'll gather in the railroad, the beautiful, the beautiful river gather with the saints and the rail that flows by the throne of God. Today on the Baptist Bible Hour we continue with the second portion of the message titled Life in the Land from Joshua chapter 21.
In the first part of this message we considered God's faithfulness in bringing Israel into their inheritance and fulfilling his promises. In this concluding message we focus on what it meant to live in the land God had given them, and how those lessons apply to believers to day as they seek to walk by faith and enjoy the blessings of God's grace. La Saire Bradley Junior now brings the concluding portion of the message, Life in the Land. And then Jesus said in John 14, 21, He that hath my commandments and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me.
So once again, here's the confirmation of how you find out if you love him. It's not by how much you talk about it, how much you say, how much you even might try to convince yourself. I really do love the Lord.
Well, Jesus said: if you love me, you're going to keep my commandments. He it is that loveth me, and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father. And I will love him and will manifest myself to him. Can't think of the exact words, but there's words in an old hymn that says something about how our love to him is so cold and faint. And yet his love for us so strong and great.
Must we not acknowledge that to be so? And make it part of our prayers. Lord, I want to love thee more. Got a song in our book that says something about that. I want to love thee more.
And that ought to be our prayer and our desire from day to day to love him more.
Well, the next thing we observe in the folding down of the book of Joshua. is to see here that there was a conflict resolved. The two and a half tribes are starting on their journey home. As we say, they've been away from their families for seven years, so this has to be something of great anticipation. We're finally going home.
Peace has come. The battles have ended. We're looking forward to it.
So As they're on their way and they come near the River Jordan, which they'll be crossing to go back to the other side, which is their allotted territory. Sazon Chapter 22, verse 8. And he spake unto them, saying, Return with much riches unto your tents. And with very much cattle, with silver, and with gold, and with brass, and with iron, and with very much raiment. Divide the spoil of your enemies with your brethren.
Now being in these battles for seven years fighting in these many cities in the land. They had accumulated a lot of material that was valuable. And so Joshua's saying as you go back. and you're taking with you much cattle. and silver and gold and brass and iron and much raiment.
When you get home, you need to divide that with your brethren. See, there wasn't any room for being selfish as to go back and say, well, we're the ones that went on the battlefield, we're the ones that faced the enemy, and this is ours.
Well, there were some that obviously had to stay home to keep life moving on there. And so those who stayed home were were to reap the benefits of the spoil. I want you to share it. with them.
So the whole idea of sharing with others. is a practical lesson to be learned as we observe this.
Now as they near the river, brings back memories. when they first crossed the river to come into the land. and there were twelve stones put there by the riverside as a memorial. The Lord said, set them up so that in time to come your children will ask, what mean these stones? and you'll be able to remind them.
We were a people that had been in slavery, in bondage in Egypt. And God led us out, and we wandered through the wilderness as a people for 40 years, and then we came to the river. God rolled back the waters of Jordan when it was at flood stage and the people came safely across. And these stones are set up as a memorial that you can be reminded of what God has done for us as a people.
Well, it may be that when they saw those stones and it triggered some emotion in them. And they became concerned. And we'll see what their thinking was as we go along here. But they decided to build an altar. Verse 10 of chapter 22.
And when they came unto the borders of Jordan, That are in the land of Canaan, the children of Reuben and the children of Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh built there an altar by Jordan, a great altar.
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So It was large. It was going to be easily seen by anybody coming that way. They decided to build an altar.
Now We see the result of this was that It could have led to war. Verse 12. And when the children of Israel heard of it, the whole congregation of the children of Israel gathered themselves together at Shiloh to go up to war against them. Out here. The war has just ended.
And what a relief it is when there have been years of battles. The war is over. And now they're talking about a civil war. going to war against these two and a half tribes.
Well, there's much to be learned from this. We'll see some of it as we go along, but one of it initially is to say that um sometimes people get Perturbed and upset about something, and they're ready to go to battle. And they haven't explored it, they haven't thought through the whole situation, they don't have all the facts. And so there were at least some in the group that said, let's go to war now. Verse 16 says, Thus saith the whole congregation of the Lord, What trespass is this that ye have committed against the God of Israel to turn away this day from following the Lord, in that ye have builded you an altar, that ye might rebel this day against the Lord?
So they're rebuking them because they built this altar saying you're rebelling against the Lord. And you have to know the background. that God had stipulated there would be but one altar. And that altar was at the place where the Ark of the Covenant. was situated.
denoting the very presence of God. And there were not to be any other altars built.
So they were disturbed. And from one standpoint, we understand why. Verse 17. Is the iniquity of Peor too little for us? From which we are not cleansed until this day.
Although there was a plague in the congregation of the Lord. But that ye must turn away this day from following the Lord? And it will be, seeing ye rebel to-day against the Lord, that tomorrow he will be wroth with the whole congregation of Israel.
So they feel that these have committed a great offence. There you have it. disobeyed the Lord, they dishonored him. And their fear is that judgment will come on the whole nation. And although they were not a partaker of it, That the consequences will be falling upon them as well as those that built the altar.
Now, they use some pretty strong arguments here to talk about how serious the matter can become if you've offended the Lord. They talk about what took place at Peyor.
Well, the problem there was, this was back before they came into the land. People were attracted by the false gods of the pagans around them. and they began to participate in this false worship. And as so often the case, the pagan worship involves sinful actions. And the men became involved with the women.
And so they were guilty of idolatry and whoredom. And as a result, God said a plague. and 24,000 of the people died.
So sometimes the question is raised. Does God in fact Send plagues. on people because of sin.
Well, here's an example that he does. We're not able. To be specific and say when troubles come, when plagues come, this is exactly what God's purpose is, what He's doing, and why. But here was the case: that this plague came and 24,000 died. And they're saying We're still not cleansed of this unto this day.
which may have indicated The same weakness of human nature, the same sinful desires are still prevalent among us and have to be coped with, and suggesting that what they have done in the building of this altar was a sinful action and that they had not considered What happened in a former day when the nation sinned.
Well They did say this. If you find the term. Your position on the other side of Jordan. is not adequate. You're considering it to be unclean, then just pack up and move.
only to come back over on our side of the river.
So that was a generous attitude that we'd like to resolve this thing. And if you've got a problem over there, just come over here. It's going to obviously be some inconvenience as people had to scourch in a little bit and give up some of the territory that they were already occupying so that their brethren could come in. And then they give another word of warning in verse 20. Did not Achan the son of Zerah commit a trespass in the accursed thing?
And wrath fell on the congregation of Israel, and that man perished not alone in his iniquity.
So they thought if it wasn't enough to remind them of what happened at Peor, we'll remind them what happened at the defeat of Ai when Achan had taken to the forbidden. possessions that he found in the place of battle. And God was displeased and it brought about a defeat And Aiken and his family perished.
So they're giving strong arguments. that if you're going to disobey God, you're treading on dangerous territory.
Well Then the people that built the altar come forward with their explanation. They declare we have not built this altar. as a place of sacrifice. We only built it as a place To be a reminder. They built it large so it would be easily seen and recognized.
And they go into more detail about the background of it. The stones We're there As we've said, place. On a heap. By divine direction, God had told them when they came across there were 12 stones put in the river and the waters covered it up and then 12 stones put on the bank and this was appropriate because God said do it. But now This altar that they have built was not built by divine direction.
It was according to human reasoning. And you can see problems in that area that Any time We move in a direction that's just on the basis of what we prefer, what's comfortable to us, rather than by divine direction. Where Treading on dangerous territory.
Now verse 24. And if we have not rather done it for fear of this thing, saying, In time to come your children might speak to our children, saying, What have ye to do with the Lord God of Israel? For the Lord made Jordan a border between us and you. Ye children of Reuben, And children of Gad, Ye have no part in the Lord.
So your children make our children cease from fearing the Lord.
So, the excuse they're giving as to why they built this large altar. Time become. The river separates us. We're not going to be having a lot of ongoing contact with each other. Not going to be able to.
be together very often. And so in the future... Your children say to our children, You're not any part of Israel. You're over on the other side of the river. Our God is not your God.
And they may lead them down the wrong path. and turn them away from believing in the true God.
So we built this altar that it would be a reminder. That We are also worshipers of the true and living God. In other words, we did not build it with the idea that there was going to be a sacrifice put on it. We did not build it in competition to the one altar that God recognized. Verse 29, God forbid that we should rebel against the Lord and turn this day from following the Lord to build an altar for burnt offerings, for meat offerings, or for sacrifices beside the altar of the Lord our God before the tabernacle.
That was not our intention. We had no idea. of violating God's law in building a second altar whereupon sacrifices would be offered.
Now There's a peaceful resolve. Phinehas, the priest, was pleased with the explanation that was given. And in verse 31, He said, this day, We perceive that the Lord is among us, because ye have not committed this trespass against the Lord.
Now ye have delivered the children of Israel out of the hand of the Lord. As far as these people are concerned, they thought they were already in God's hands, just about to receive judgment. And now that we understand you've delivered us, there is no offense. Verse 33. And the thing pleased the children of Israel, and the children of Israel blessed God.
and did not intend to go up against them in battle to destroy the land wherein the children of Reuben and Gad dwelt. Yeah. All of these things are written for our learning and admonition. What are some things we can learn from this? incident that is described in detail.
Well Ruben Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh. Knowing what the law was. that there is to be just one altar. might have thought ahead and say Now we know why we're building this altar, but you know Somebody could misunderstand this.
Somebody could think that we are ignoring God's law and trying to build a second place for sacrifices to be offered.
So, to be on the safe side, Let's get word over to our brethren what our motive is. They didn't do that. They were excited about their project, so they just went ahead and built the altar. What are we learning for that?
Sometimes it's best to think ahead. And if we're doing something that we recognize could be questionable, that we want to avoid controversy. wherever it is possible. And Then we see they express concern about their children. Saying this is the reason we built it.
We didn't want our children to be distracted and confused in time to come.
Well, there's a bit of hypocrisy there because if they were adequately concerned about their children, They would have thought about that when they chose that particular part of the land to dwell in. They requested that from Moses and Moses granted it to them. But the reason they chose it was because it was excellent land for pasturing cattle. And they had a lot of cattle.
So the motive in selecting that place to live was strictly for material gain. They weren't thinking about How is this going to affect our children? Is this going to create any problem for us spiritually? All they were thinking about was getting the most appropriate land for their cattle.
Well Watch again. emphasizes to us that in the decisions that we make in life, We want to be careful that they're not made selfishly. Are made from the standpoint of just material gain, but we're thinking about the whole scope of things. You remember that when um In the Old Testament times when a lot and Abraham were parting company. And Lot chose.
the land Toward Sodom, because it was a prosperous place. He wasn't thinking about all the entanglements that were going to come from the wicked cities. And show Care must be taken. to make decisions that in every detail are going to honor God. And Yet another positive thing can be said about this group.
they discuss the matter without being offended. Knowing how some people are, you could imagine that when they were approached and said, we're concerned about this altar you built. Thank you, Let's Who do you think you are challenging us? We got a right to do what we think is right. Uh you got no business coming to us and challenging us.
Well, they didn't respond that way. They responded gently and kindly and reasonably, trying to work through the problem. Proverbs 18, 1 says, A soft answer turneth away wrath. But grievous words stir up anger. Oh, what a lesson to learn.
A soft answer. turneth away wrath. Then we think about the other tribes. They should not have been considering war before they had the facts. They jump to conclusions.
They jumped to the conclusion that if they had built this altar, it was to be in competition with the altar that already existed. This was displeasing to God, and therefore they're ready to go to war. And how often there are people that are not ready to go to physical battle, maybe, but they're ready to dig in and. condemn somebody when they don't know the facts. They don't know all behind the scenes.
It's wrong to judge people's motives based on circumstantial evidence. On the other hand, They were right. in that they were not going to compromise if indeed This altar had been built for the purpose of offering sacrifices because they knew it was wrong.
So they weren't going to just maintain peace for the sake of peace, but in the process compromise what was right. They were going to stand for truth. for righteousness. And oh, how vital that is. in the church in this day and time.
Well, there often there's a tendency to compromise. that we want to stand firm, but do it in the right spirit. And of course they Came with very strong arguments because they supported their claims and their concerns by citing the previous judgments that God had set upon the people in their times of disobedience. But Positively, they accepted the explanation. Peace was maintained.
And so it was a blessed time. as these Two and a half tribes that had come across the river, stayed faithfully in the battle clear to the end. could now depart and go home in peace. And then there is A great lesson that stands out for us to learn here. The sacrificial offering.
could be offered only in one place. There were not many places. Deuteronomy chapter 12, verse 13. Take heed to thyself that thou offer not thy burnt offering in every place that thou seest, but in the place which the Lord shall choose in one of thy tribes. There thou shalt offer thy burnt offerings, and there thou shalt do all that I command thee.
God specifically says There's to be one altar in one place. That's where the sacrifice was to be made. What's that tell us? Come to the New Testament, find these words. There is no other name given under heaven whereby we must be saved.
No other name but Jesus. One place. One place of salvation, one Savior.
So, much of the thinking that many adopt today is that as long as a person is sincere, it really doesn't matter. They ought to be able to adopt whatever religious idea is suitable for them. Yeah. Jesus says, I am the way, the truth, and the life. He that cometh unto the Father must come by me.
There was only one place for the sacrifice to be made and only one sacrifice. as the lamb was offered on the day of atonement. It's blood sprinkled on the mercy seat. This pointed to the fact that one day the Lamb of God would come. and go to the cross.
Redeeming his people. but the shedding of his blood. Only one place, only one Savior, only one offering. Jesus Christ. the Saviour.
of sinners. Oh how wonderful and all But though we feel our own unworthiness. We rejoice in his grace, in his salvation. that is given us not on the basis of our merit. but on the basis of His wonderful love and mercy.
His sacrifice. at Calvary's Cross. Oh for a priest of hell. As we've heard today, the God who brought Israel into the Promised Land is the same God who remains faithful to his people today. His promises are sure, His provision is abundant, and His grace is sufficient for every need.
May we live with grateful hearts, trusting His Word, rejoicing in His faithfulness, and seeking to honor Him in every area of life. Thank you for listening to today's broadcast. And until next time, may the Lord richly bless you all. Address all mail to the Baptist Bible Hour, Cincinnati, Ohio, 45217. That's the Baptist Bible Hour, Cincinnati, Ohio, 45217.
I need the influence of thy grace to speed me on my way Blessed I should lord in my grace Lord turn my feet of stray
