Is The Battle Yours?

March 17, 2019

Josh Trombley

Reference

Joshua 5&6

What is the deal with these bloody, gruelling massacres in the Bible? How can we claim to be a religion of peace when there are passages like this in our holy book? Listen in as we wrestle through these and other questions related to violence in the Bible. This is one you definitely don't want to miss!

Is The Battle Yours?

Many Scriptures can be troublesome.

Is it not somewhat hypocritical to admit that an action is ‘horrific’ or ‘macabre’ when carried out by a deity in someone else’s sacred literature but to then insist that this same action is ‘good,’ ‘just,’ or ‘holy’ when ascribed to God in our own sacred literature..integrity and fairness requires us to hold our own sacred literature to the same moral standards we hold other people’s. ~ Gregory Boyd

The Old Testament isn’t about an angry God who kills his son to deal with his rage. The Old Testament is about a loving and patient God who is trying to move his people forward in ways they understand.

The error of their beliefs and grotesqueness of their actions notwithstanding, we must confess that Moses, Joshua, and other biblical heroes often demonstrated a devotion to God that Most of us likely fall far short of. ~ Gregory Boyd

What we think

We see a God who is for all people.

Why are your interests more important than anyone else?

Love our nmes

When we look at our life through who Jesus is, it becomes clear that we are to lay down our life for others, sacrifice our interests for the sake of others, and love our enemies and not destroy them.

God isn’t on your side. God is on peoples’ side.

Get into a holy place

When we act and react it doesn’t leave us time to wait in the presence of God.

To be strong and courageous, for us to cross the rivers, for us to conquer the challenges before us we must first get into God’s presence.

Praise

Every struggle in our life must begin with praise.

Our praise isn’t because our enemies are God’s. We praise because our battle is not against flesh and blood.

…but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the power of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms ~ Ephesians 6:12

And the devil, who deceived them, was thrown into the lake of burning sulfer, where the beast and the false prophet had been thrown. They will be tormented day and night for ever and ever. ~ Revelation 20:10

Justice is not ours, for the perfect judge who comes in love, compassion, understanding, strength, and true justice, it is his.

Patience

But you, dear friends, by building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in God’s love as you wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to bring you to eternal life. ~ Jude 20:21

It may seem at times that all hope is lost, but our hope is being fulfilled through Jesus.

God has a plan

Three days from now you will cross the Jordan here to go in and take possession of the land the Lord your God is giving you for your own. ~ Joshua 1:11

The walls that resist our progress may be high to heaven, and manned by mighty foes; but they shall crumble before the assault of the heavenly legions, and we shall go forward and take. ~ F.B. Meyer

Devotions

Yahweh is often portrayed as prohibiting soldiers from using was as an accession to advance their own self interests (e.g., pillaging) or satisfying personal decadent desires (e.g., raping). ~ Gregory Boyd

Should we not have a deep commitment to God now that he has been revealed through Jesus?

Blesses us despite us

…still we miss the mark

And this is where we see the true character of God.

While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. ~ Romans 5:8

It’s not because we are good, great, or worthy. Jesus gave his life for us because we weren’t any of them.

Application