Were You There?

     There's a song that begins, "Were you there when they crucified my Lord?" 

     Friends, were you there when the Lord spoke, just three months after the Passover? None of those who saw his glory and the miraculous signs he performed in Egypt and in the desert would ever see the land he promised on oath.

     Yours truly, Jimmy Donut ... if we had been there in the same experience, we would have griped and complained as well. 

     They treated God and his Word with ... God said "contempt" ... and so we think, "Shame on them." But we don't imagine responding any differently under those circumstances. 

     Some 400 years after Jacob, were these descendants prepared? They didn't have bibles. They didn't know Samuel, David, Solomon, Daniel, the Psalms, Proverbs or the prophets. They were okay with God so long as their needs were met. 

     They knew Egypt, slavery, false gods and maybe Abraham's story. 

     God forgave them, but with penalty. Only younger men born in the Arabian desert would follow God and Joshua into Canaan. The Lord fought for them, a miracle in itself, including the day the sun stood still.

     After conquering the land and settling into their allotments, the people began to drift. Some worshiped false gods. Joshua warned them thoroughly, but he knew his limits. 

     If serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your forefathers served beyond the river, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord. - Joshua 24:15 

     God chose Abraham's descendants to learn, obey and demonstrate to the lost world the merits of a nation under God. Christians have a new commission...win souls in all nations before the end of this age. 

     All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely, I will be with you always, to the very end of the age. - Matthew 28:18-20

Tomorrow: Exit of the Exodus