So last time i forgot to bring up this passage that should be about something that happened after Moses died & before He was buried. Jude 8 Likewise also these filthy dreamers defile the flesh, despise dominion, and speak evil of dignities. 9 Yet Michael the archangel, when contending with the devil he disputed about the body of Moses, durst not bring against him a railing accusation, but said, The Lord rebuke thee. So the main gist of this section is using Micheal the archangels words as an example of what we are to do instead of talking bad about people especially important people like dignities who we dont like because their policies are against the kingdom of God. As if we have God scold people, it would have a greater impact than anything we have to say to them as His word bends reality to His will - so no matter what we say they may ignore us; but when God rebukes them they will be rebuked. But what we didnt know all throughout the bible between where we are now & this passage is that this event took place, as nobody else speaks about it. Seeing as how i said that the scripture looked like it was a possibility that a manifestation of Jesus buried Moses & this passage says that Micheal the archangel & satan were arguing about his body most likely before it was buried; i can almost see why the Jehovahs witnesses call Jesus, Micheal the archangel. If that is the case then Jesus is only Micheal the archangel by definition (the chief messenger who is as God) & not a created being like every other angel according to my doctrine for one reason Jesus was there with God in the beginning creating stuff (Jn 1:1-3,14) while YHVH was creating stuff alone (Isa 44:24). So why was there a dispute about the body of Moses in the first place? Well seeing as how the passage we read says that nobody knows where Moses grave is, my guess is that satan wanted to take the body & put it someplace that everybody would know where it is & make an idol out of it like how the catholics are sometimes praying to dead people they call saints instead of to God Himself via the highway express lane of Jesus Christ (Jn 14:6) like we are supposed to - 1 Tim 2:5 For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus; - if satan got his hands on Moses body, he could have made a tourist attraction & started a cult to lead people away from the one true God & get them strung out on dead human worship. Josh 1:1 Now after the death of Moses the servant of the LORD it came to pass, that the LORD spake unto Joshua the son of Nun, Moses’ minister, saying, 2 Moses my servant is dead; now therefore arise, go over this Jordan, thou, and all this people, unto the land which I do give to them, even to the children of Israel. 3 Every place that the sole of your foot shall tread upon, that have I given unto you, as I said unto Moses. 4 From the wilderness and this Lebanon even unto the great river, the river Euphrates, all the land of the Hittites, and unto the great sea toward the going down of the sun, shall be your coast. 5 There shall not any man be able to stand before thee all the days of thy life: as I was with Moses, so I will be with thee: I will not fail thee, nor forsake thee. 6 Be strong and of a good courage: for unto this people shalt thou divide for an inheritance the land, which I sware unto their fathers to give them. 7 Only be thou strong and very courageous, that thou mayest observe to do according to all the law, which Moses my servant commanded thee: turn not from it to the right hand or to the left, that thou mayest prosper whithersoever thou goest. 8 This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success. 9 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. K so while looking for information about who wrote the book or who people say wrote it i found this on wikipedia: Although tradition holds that the book was written by Joshua, it is probable that it was written by multiple editors and authors far removed from the times it depicts. The earliest parts of the book are possibly chapters 2–11, the story of the conquest; these chapters were later incorporated into an early form of Joshua written late in the reign of king Josiah (reigned 640–609 BCE), but the book was not completed until after the fall of Jerusalem to the Babylonians in 586, and possibly not until after the return from the Babylonian exile in 539. - Well as we go through it ourselves let us see if we see any changes in style or some clue that could possibly support that theory that there were multiple authors of this book (similar to how some people think Isaiah was written by at least 2 people). Half of the people who say things that sound weird like that dont believe in God Himself or what His word is saying in the first place; so never accept any evidence He provides & only go with what their eyes can see & their hands touch - so if they got an older copy of part of the book than the rest, they could very well assume that the rest was written later as they never found a complete old copy. Well we should all know by now that circumstances happen & perhaps someone found that oldest copy of Joshua before we did & used some of it as toilet paper because he had an emergency & didnt value the contents of the scroll. Well at least i know i have used newspapers & pages from books for that purpose myself at times when i am so poor i cant afford soft toilet paper & dont feel like going & looking for leaves off of trees to use instead. Not to mention that i have seen people use bible papers to roll cigarettes - now why anyone in their right mind would do that i dont know, but it happens. So in the first verse of this book it says that after Moses died YHVH spoke to Joshua, Moses minister - Mt 20:25 But Jesus called them unto him, and said, Ye know that the princes of the Gentiles exercise dominion over them, and they that are great exercise authority upon them. 26 But it shall not be so among you: but whosoever will be great among you, let him be your minister; 27 And whosoever will be chief among you, let him be your servant: 28 Even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many. - God wants leaders who know how to serve - 2 Kin 3:11 But Jehoshaphat said, Is there not here a prophet of the LORD, that we may enquire of the LORD by him? And one of the king of Israel’s servants answered and said, Here is Elisha the son of Shaphat, which poured water on the hands of Elijah. - Elisha became a great prophet of God after spending time being a servant to another prophet of God & doing menial tasks like helping him wash his hands. Joseph was a slave & prisoner learning what it took to be able to sit in his seat of 2nd in command of all Egypt. In any case God wants His human leaders humble because even while they are leading they are serving others. Mt 9:36 But when he saw the multitudes, he was moved with compassion on them, because they fainted, and were scattered abroad, as sheep having no shepherd. - Sheep without a shepherd are fainting because they dont know where to find the still water they like to drink on their own - 23 Ps 2 He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters. - Sheep without a shepherd are scattered & chaotic because they have no guidance showing them how to work together towards a common aim. Jonah 4:11 And should not I spare Nineveh, that great city, wherein are more than sixscore thousand persons that cannot discern between their right hand and their left hand; and also much cattle? - The sinners that Jonah was sent to preach to were basically like sheep without a shepherd - not too smart as they dont even know their right hand from their left - so God wants His leaders humble like a servant & will often train His leaders as servants before they become leaders like both Moses & David were shepherds of sheep before they became leaders of men; as it takes a lot of patience to deal with people like that & not forget that we are supposed to be showing them a picture of Gods love, not frustration. Ha scolding myself here; as i become a great big picture of Gods frustration when people dont understand or agree with (because of what i consider to be a stupid reason) any truth i am giving them. Well normally i will calm down if i can get them to admit that what i am telling them from the scriptures is at least a possibility; as then i know the seed is planted & can move on & let someone else water it (1 Cor 3:6-9). Jer 4:3 For thus saith the LORD to the men of Judah and Jerusalem, Break up your fallow ground, and sow not among thorns. - this verse has a double meaning - not only are we supposed to be creating an environment conducive to the preaching of the gospel (one where the hearer is interested in listening & paying attention; most times this is achieved by showing a stranger love & compassion) to other people, but also we are to be preparing our own hearts to be supple & flexible to be changed by the word of God. Jer 18:3 Then I went down to the potter’s house, and, behold, he wrought a work on the wheels. 4 And the vessel that he made of clay was marred in the hand of the potter: so he made it again another vessel, as seemed good to the potter to make it. 5 Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying, 6 O house of Israel, cannot I do with you as this potter? saith the LORD. Behold, as the clay is in the potter’s hand, so are ye in mine hand, O house of Israel. - we are supposed to be like soft clay in Gods hands allowing Him to make us into whatever He wants us to be - so if we are hard hearted & stiffnecked, not listening to His word & allowing it to change our lives what we are is some hard useless clay that God will wind up throwing out as He cant use it to make whatever He wants out of it. Another reason why the word of God & the Holy Spirit are called water (Eph 5:26; Jn 7:38-39) as they are designed to soften the clay namely us & make us able to be conformed into the image of His son (Rom 8:29). So verse 2 starts in on Gods speech & says Moses is dead now so get moving you & the people across the river Jordan & into your inheritance. The 3rd verse is a heavy duty promise that i claimed after a fashion - maybe i was given it maybe i am hallucinating but every where my feet walks or my bike tire treads God gave it to me as far as it is part of my territory that i am responsible to be praying for & if i meet someone in it acting a fool i should either intervene myself & try to make a difference for the cause of God in that situation or if i get a warning that it is some type of situation that is above my pay grade, to stay back & pray that God handles it another way without my personal involvement from a distance (once or twice He told me to call 911 & let the police handle it while i continue to pray about it). In other words some demons God lets me walk all over them & boss them around & others are stronger than my current obedience & spiritual level to be able to handle without getting embarrassed like this passage over here - Acts 19:13 Then certain of the vagabond Jews, exorcists, took upon them to call over them which had evil spirits the name of the Lord Jesus, saying, We adjure you by Jesus whom Paul preacheth. 14 And there were seven sons of one Sceva, a Jew, and chief of the priests, which did so. 15 And the evil spirit answered and said, Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who are ye? 16 And the man in whom the evil spirit was leaped on them, and overcame them, and prevailed against them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded. - So in other words like i said i admit my obedience level is below 100% & also, so is my doctrine level as i cant possibly hope to know everything about God while in a finite body seeing as how God is infinite (there is loads more information about God to be had than any one person can hold in their brain atm - 1 Cor 8:2), so i cannot go around messing with any demon that needs a higher level of dedication & knowledge than i possess to be not overcome by. And if i am listening to God talk to me all the time i will hear a warning before i walk into a situation that i cant walk out of without looking like a fool. In any case the promise to Joshua is a little more literal as he & his family will be taking actual ownership & not only spiritual responsibilities over the land that he is going to go into. Verse 4 describes the borders of where God expects him to go & take over. All the way north to the river Euphrates is listed again here in this verse - so the thought that occurred to me because this issue about how the maps were drawn Israels land never made it that far north probably even during the reign of Solomon when the country was at its biggest - so perhaps the course of the river Euphrates changed over time & was running a little more south during the bible days than it is now & there is no contradiction because of a reason like that. Because i was not there then i dont know all the facts; but one issue may be that there was some disobedience & laziness issues with the people & they never did go all the way to the river Euphrates ever & it was their own fault as they did not obey Gods perfect will for their lives as this should be the 4th time that land up to that river was promised to them (Gen 15:18; Dt 1:7 & 11:24 being the 1st 3 times). Also another issue could be that the map makers have no idea what they are talking about & the Israelites had more land up to the river Euphrates where it is on our current maps at one time. This is another reason why i cant wait for my new body when God will uncover every secret from underneath every rock & all these questions will be answered to everybody at the same time we we all know the truth & there will be no more arguments about minor things like this that have no bearing on the grand scheme of things. 1 Cor 4:5 Therefore judge nothing before the time, until the Lord come, who both will bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and will make manifest the counsels of the hearts: and then shall every man have praise of God. - When God is revealing secrets we will even know the motives behind why people did the things they did. Verse 5 is a personal promise to Joshua that nobody would be able to get in his face & tell him what to do as he will be the master of his domain or ultimate human authority over the people under God & any other nation who comes against him to make war will be defeated. YHVH saying that He would not fail nor forsake Joshua here is one of the verses that is being quoted here in Heb 13:5 Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee. - So one of the messages of the bible is that if we are humble & allow God to change us like soft clay then when we enter into a covenant with Him, He can give us this type of relationship that Joshua had as far as putting us in charge of something (if not everything) & also making it so your enemies cant win against you - but the most important part more than those blessings as sometimes it appears our enemies do win against us like when Stephen was stoned; is the part that was quoted - God Himself will never leave or fail us nor forsake us - He always has our back & even if we face some scary circumstance here on earth & die as a result if our relationship with God is where it should be then after we die we should be seeing something like this verse - Lk 16:25 But Abraham said, Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things: but now he is comforted, and thou art tormented. This section was a story that among other things had the thought that poor people who are treated badly by rich people will often times be saved & be having good things in the next life in replacement of (or as payment for?) the bad things they had during this one - So we gotta realize that sometimes circumstances happen to us that we consider bad, but the truth of the fact that God will never leave us or forsake us if we truly entered into a covenant or deal with Him remains true, even if we cant tell by our circumstances as we see no blessings from God in our life. In verse 6 YHVH is giving Joshua the same blessing & charge that He told Moses to give him back in Dt 31:7 - So that is one way you can tell that someone works for God; when someone says something & then God later on tells you the exact same thing. Also God knows this is a big job & so wants to encourage Joshua to take it & do it & make sure there are no doubts in his head about what his mission is. So many people i heard tell me that they dont know what Gods will for their life is - well if you spend enough time praying then God should tell you or at least like me, give you a scripture that will give you a clue as to what it is. When you learn what your mission for God in this life is; God wants you out there doing it, not wasting time doubting if you are supposed to be doing it & dealing with internal conflicts about how you dont want to do it instead of doing it. That is why we will read lines like fear not, be courageous & get out there & do something for God often as we go along this verse by verse, chapter by chapter study of the bible. 2 Cor 8:11 Now therefore perform the doing of it; that as there was a readiness to will, so there may be a performance also out of that which ye have. - So this verse was in the context of giving a donation to another church saying that if they did not in fact make a promise to send some, they at least said they would like to & so now is the time to do it not only talk about it - So God being a god of now & caring what we are doing now, if He told us to be doing something & we are confident that He has given us all the instructions we need at this time (He is done talking) then let us be strong & of a good courage to go out there & do it. Verse 7 & 8 is a repeat again YHVH is telling Joshua to be strong & courageous but this time He is giving us one of the keys to the kingdom - Nowadays in our culture there is a multi-million dollar business in our society & it is based on the idea that a motivational speaker can get you to learn something about yourself to unlock your potential for success. Or some guy found a technique with some sort of business or another & if you copy his 10 easy steps that he will teach you for the low low price of $400 to either attend his conference or buy his tapes & pamphlets then you can be successful too. Well first of all does anyone remember Col 3:2 Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth. 3 For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God.-? Well the bible teaches that true success is not something that can be measured with dollars; but only in how deep our relationship with God is. But most people when they hear the word success they think about things that can be bought with money or the blessings from God, & not the most important blessing of having a relationship with God Himself, so as to be able to have Him give us all that other stuff. So the key here is to obey everyting God says to do if you want to prosper & you should always be talking & thinking about the scriptures if you want to be successful. Mt 6:33 But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. - constantly nurturing your relationship with God so that it is a living, growing thing that is getting bigger & stronger over time which is true success (Jn 17:3), will have the effect of all the other things we associate with success coming our way like not having to worry about how to pay the bills. Just like i may have mentioned a few times by now how God told me that His prime directive here on earth is to get some face time with us; He also told me what our prime directives should be. Basically there are only 2 things that we will ever find here on earth that are worth our time, money & energy for us to invest in them & pretty much none it has anything to do with money or wealth or anything else that normally comes to mind when you think of the word invest including the seeking of how to make more money so that you can invest more - the only 2 things that should matter to us on this planet are these: 1) Our relationship with God & 2) Our relationships with other people. Nothing else that you will ever find on earth will exist in the new life as we are going to be given a new heaven & a new earth (Rev 21:1). Everything else doesnt matter if you are rich or poor living in a palace or a gutter it doesnt matter - the only thing that matters is who knows that you love them - does God know that you love Him? Does any other human on the planet know that you love them? If you met every single person on the planet would you know how to conduct yourself in a manner that would convey to them that you love them & have their best interests at heart? Would you want to love them & have their best interests at heart even if they are strangers & sinners against God? These are the main issues that should be occupying our mind & our time & everything else is normally just a distraction from what is really important - us remembering to love God & other people. And because God loves everybody & is seeking to get more & more people to love Him back there are some trippy scenarios that can happen as a result. One being you will meet someone in heaven that you lied to or treated badly for any reason sometimes because you thought they were unsaved. That would just be shame for me & in heaven no less to have to meet someone who i treated like dirt in the name of Jesus in Jesus heaven & have to apologize for my foolish behavior back here on earth. One of the scariest is when someone who calls themself a servant of God who does not spend enough time developing their relationship with God meets someone who does something to hurt their feelings & who knows maybe perhaps also steal or destroy their physical stuff. Now what can happen is that servant of God never forgives that person for what they did, but that person meets God later on & gets forgiven by God & now when it is time to see who goes to heaven the person who hurt you is going & you are not even if you call yourself a servant of God because you never forgave them for hurting you like God commands us to do. So as a result it is possible to meet the murderer of your son in heaven. Just remember if you never forgive the murderer of your son, you wont be going there - Mt 6:14 For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you: 15 But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses. The 9th verse is another confirmation of what was just said as if Joshua is a stupid person who couldnt get it the first time - the thing is no matter how smart we all are we are all stupid to God who is the smartest that knows everything about everything & He knows how forgetful we are - the people had begun to worship a golden calf when Moses was gone for less than 2 months... So drilling the same thought into our heads repeatedly is another common bible theme; the more times God says it pretty much the more God wants us to remember it. So until next time let us pray that if God did not give us the mission of rebuking people, that we copy Micheal the archangels good example of letting God do the rebuking (me he did give that mission & sometimes i wish He hadnt, as almost nobody likes hearing a rebuke even if you have proof that they are wrong as most people think their mistakes are no big deal & acceptable to be done). Prov 9:8 Reprove not a scorner, lest he hate thee: rebuke a wise man, and he will love thee. Prov 13:1 A wise son heareth his father’s instruction: but a scorner heareth not rebuke. Let us also pray that we have faith in the content of the book of Joshua even of the experts dont agree on who wrote it & when. Also let us pray that if we are in charge that we know we are also servants. Let us also pray that God gives us the courage & strength to be able to accomplish the missions that He has for us in our lives & that we develop our relationships with God deep enough to the point to be able to hear Him tell us what those missions are. Let us also pray that we learn what true success is - a relationship with God that is alive & growing & that the people who call themselves Christians learn what their top priorities are - to develop that relationship with God & nurture it & also develop & nurture relationships with other people.
Posted on: Mon, 12 Jan 2015 22:03:51 +0000
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