FEBRUARY 9, 2023 

 “And from thence” (from Arnon with its brooks of water) “they went to Beer: that is the well whereof the LORD spake unto Moses, Gather the people together, and I will give them water. Then Israel sang this song, Spring up, O well; sing ye unto it:” (Numbers 21:16, 17)

The children of Israel were continually on the move from one location to another, and there was usually a great difference between one place and the next. So, it is with us. We are constantly experiencing variations in our day-to-day walk, and the differences are sometimes quite remarkable.

We inserted a parenthetical note in the text pointing out that the people pitched their tents at one time by the brooks of Arnon where there appears to have been an abundance of water. But now they have moved into the wilderness where there is not a drop of water to quench their thirst. So is it with us. At one time, we are abounding in every good thing, rejoicing with joy unspeakable and full of glory; and at another time, we discover how great our weakness is; finding faith at a very low ebb and our joy seems to have had its very roots frozen.

But, great as the changes of our experiences certainly are, our necessities never change. Whether the Israelites were camped where the water flowed freely and abundantly, or in the dry and thirsty desert where no springs were to be found, the people always needed water. The great multitude must always have a supply or else perish for the want of it. So, at all hours and in all places, believers need the grace which only their Lord can give them. They carried no stores with them, just as we cannot live today on yesterday’s grace. We are daily dependent upon our God. “All our springs are in Thee,” said the psalmist, and every heir of heaven must learn this truth by experience.

We must experimentally come to know this, but we also find that we must learn it again and again.“Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof,” and fresh grace is needed every day. Thank God, His mercies are new every morning. My experience is that they must be new every hour. It is encouraging to know that God’s mercies are prepared mercies. His knowledge of us includes the future as well as the present and the past, and thus, like David, we can trust that today’s mercies and also tomorrow’s are already prepared, waiting only upon our faith to claim them as the needs arrive.

As our text plainly reveals, God is just as able to provide needed water in the midst of a waste-howling wilderness, as He is at Elim where seven springs of cool, refreshing water are flowing. He can give us drink from the flowing streams at Arnon, as it were, when that is our experience; and His grace can provide us a well from which to drink when we come to “Beer.” By the way, “beer” means well, and no doubt was given the name because of this event, which obviously Moses recorded after the fact.

Now, there is one thing certain, that as our experiences vary and our necessities remain the same, the one thing that does not change is the supply that God has provided for our needs. Our experience may be high or low, bright or dark, but Jehovah-Jireh is still the name of our Lord. “In the mount of the Lord it shall be seen,” and in the valley too, that “the Lord will provide.” It is His promise that, “as thy days, so shall thy strength be.” If great our needs, great shall be our supplies. Israel found it so, for when they came to this particular place where there was no natural water, they soon discovered a supernatural supply. As already noted, whether we see the supply as “natural” or “supernatural,” our God is the provider in either case. By this, we are reminded that whatever our circumstances, regardless of how difficult they may become, God’s promise is true: “My grace is sufficient for thee!” Let us joyfully sing praises unto this well!

FEBRUARY 7, 2023 

 “…There is an accursed thing in the midst of thee, O Israel: thou canst not stand before thine enemies, until ye take away the accursed thing from among you.” (Joshua 7:13)

In the previous chapter, Joshua and the people of Israel “conquered” Antioch, the first city on the other side of the Jordan. I put “conquered” in quotes because God did the work, not the Israelites. They just marched around the city until God brought down the walls. After the victory, they were told to leave the spoils of war in the city; for they were to be devoted to the Lord.

At the beginning of this chapter, however, we learn that Achan, one of the people, has betrayed this command. By doing this, he has shown contempt for the Lord and by taking “the accursed thing” has thus made Israel a thing for destruction.

Joshua sends spies to search out the city of Ai, the next city in their way. The spies report back and tell Joshua they only need about 3,000 troops to take the city. But, in the first attack, the troops are repulsed with the loss of thirty-six soldiers. The rest of the men fled before the men of Ai; finding the enemies tougher than they expected. This served a few purposes, of course, but most importantly, it served as evidence of God’s displeasure against Israel and thus, a call to purge the contraband in their midst.

In Vrs. 6-9, we see Joshua’s lament at Israel’s humiliating defeat and the loss of life. He worries that God has turned away from the people. In the following verses, we get God’s response. First, He tells Joshua to chin up, and informs him of the true and only cause of the disaster. He is told to enquire further into it and prosecute the crime. By doing this, Joshua will show the zeal of Israel in searching out the criminal and removing the accursed thing from among them.

Joshua scours the camp and finds Achan out. The judgment was pronounced and that is that the accursed thing is to be destroyed. The accursed thing was not just the stolen objects, but Achan himself. It was his sin that caused the judgment of God to fall upon Israel, which cost the lives of thirty-six soldiers.

In accordance with God’s word, Achan, his family, and the stolen items were taken out of the camp to be destroyed. This serves as a dramatic warning about sin, telling us what God thinks about sin and how we need to deal with it.

In the same way that Joshua scours the camp to find the sin that is keeping Israel from God’s favor, we need to scour the camp that is our hearts to find the sin that is holding us back. We must identify that sin and then excise it as Joshua does here. God is holy and can’t dwell in sin, therefore sin must be removed. To restore favor with God, purging the sin from our lives is required.

FEBRUARY 2, 2023 

 “Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the LORD thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest.” (Joshua 1:9)

At the opening of the book of Joshua, we hear that Moses, faithful leader of the Israelites and writer of the first five books of the Bible, is dead. After a mourning period of 30 days, the Lord comes to Joshua and tells him to take the reins and lead the people, just like Moses did. He tells Joshua that he will be the one to lead the nation over the Jordan and into the Promised Land, just as God told Moses would happen.

Who is Joshua; this second commander that takes up after Moses? Joshua was Moses’ apprentice. He proved himself in Numbers 14:6-10 when twelve scouts were sent to scout out the land of Canaan. Upon returning, ten of the twelve scouts were extremely shaken and warned against invading Canaan. However, two of the scouts, Caleb and Joshua, were unfazed. They said, “If God says this is our land, then it will come to pass.” From then on we start hearing about Moses’ right-hand man, Joshua, more often. He had demonstrated his great faith earlier and rose through the ranks because of that.

It seemed obvious for Joshua to assume command based on his role and his being groomed for leadership by Moses. But he did not take the mantle until God determined the time was right.

Upon determining the time was right, He announces that Joshua is to lead the people across the river Jordan and enter the Promised Land. He tells Joshua that all the land promised to Moses is promised to him also and that if anyone gets in Joshua’s way, He will take care of it; even saying that in all the ways He was with Moses, so also, will He be with him. It makes me think of something that happened last May. The St. Louis Blues were playing the Colorado Avalanche in the NHL playoffs. The Avalanche’s defenseman, Nazeem Kadri, crashed into Blues goalie, Jordan Binnington, injuring him significantly. In the next game, Blues forward and teammate, Brayden Schenn, fought Kadri as retribution for injuring his teammate. Not a perfect metaphor, I know, but this scripture makes me think of that story because when God’s people are wronged, not only will God take up their fight and defend them, He has power to destroy those who try and harm them. He will be with you. The big difference being, when you wrong one of God’s people, He won’t fight you, He will destroy you. We just have to heed the advice the Lord gives Joshua and be strong and of a good courage.

Joshua has to be nervous to lead the Israelites. He’s probably thinking “What if I’m not as good as Moses?” or “What if these people won’t follow me?” Let’s look at our own lives: there are places where we doubt ourselves. God looks at these insecurities in Joshua, and all of His children and says “No, no, no, I got this.” The Lord will see us through because He will be with us wherever we go. There is nothing to fear when God is in our corner.

JANUARY 31, 2023 

 “For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father. The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God.” (Romans 8:15, 16)

These two verses are full of the word “spirit.” Sometimes it is small “s” spirit, and other times it is capital “S” Spirit, meaning the Holy Spirit. But in one instance, though it is lowercase in the text, it might well be considered uppercase. I’m talking about the phrase, “the spirit of bondage.” I think that in this passage we can see the fourfold work of the Spirit: First, the spirit of bondage; second, the spirit of adoption; third, the spirit of prayer: “whereby we cry, Abba, Father” and fourth, the spirit of witness: “The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit that we are the children of God.”

Now, much of the bondage in which we are plunged is not the work of the Holy Spirit at all. Bondage under sin, bondage under the flesh, bondage to the fashions and customs of the world, bondage under the fear of man – this is carnal bondage, the work of sin, flesh, and the devil. But there is a sense of bondage to which the Apostle here surely alludes that is the work of the Spirit of God. Before the Spirit becomes the Spirit of liberty, He is first the Spirit of bondage. The Spirit is not first a quickening Spirit within us, but rather a withering Spirit. (See Isa. 40:6-8; I Pet. 1:24)

Let us notice that there is a kind of bondage, which we sinners experience, that is in part, at least, the work of the Spirit of God. Although it is often darkened and made legal by other agencies, which do not mean to benefit us, it is nonetheless the work of God’s Spirit. When men are brought into bondage by being convinced of sin and judgment that is clearly the work of the Holy Spirit. (John 16:8) It takes a miracle of grace to make a man know and confess that he is a sinner. He will roll sin under his tongue as some sweet morsel until the blessed Spirit causes it to become bitter. He will say as he pursues his sin, “This is living,” until the Holy Spirit convinces him that “there is death in the pot.” Jesus says, “Come unto me, all ye that labour, and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” But man’s sin will never become a heavy burden to him until the Spirit of bondage works to make him feel the overwhelming burden of it.

The Holy Spirit can take the pleasure out of any sin and turn it into a bondage. Even such sins as we might not think so terrible, He can turn a crushing weight. It is indeed nothing less than a miracle! My grandson, Christian, who has now graduated from Reformed Baptist Seminary, and helps with the ministry of BBC, was nine years old when he, being unable to sleep, called out from his bed and said to his dad, “I feel like my sins are dragging my soul down to hell.” What, or rather Who made him to feel so burdened? It wasn’t long until the same Holy Spirit, Who brought that nine-year-old boy under the bondage of his sin, became in him, the Spirit of liberty! Praise God, He who is the Spirit of adoption, liberty, and witness is first, the Spirit of bondage.

The Spirit of God is always the Spirit of truth, and therefore He, only, convinces men of that which is true. “When the Spirit of truth is come,” said our Lord, “He will guide you into all truth.” When He convinces the world of sin, it is because it is sinful. When He puts men into bondage because they are sinners, He only puts them where they belong. When He comes to any of us by the law, He makes us feel what we were by nature; and what we feel and see is the truth. He makes men see themselves as they really are. Some take a quick glance and then go away to forget what they saw. Others, thank God, begin to feel and sense the bondage of their sin, and cry out for deliverance. Blessed liberty and glorious freedom become the longing of their souls. No more slaves in bondage, but children by adoption; enjoying all of the glorious privileges of sonship; and crying out to God, Abba, Father!