Welcome to the Covenant and the Cross Podcast. This is episode #116. I am your host, Daniel Whyte III, president of Gospel Light Society International. This podcast is designed to help you better understand the Word of God — both the Old and New Testaments. The Old Testament is the story of the Covenant which God made with His chosen people Israel. And the New Testament is the story of the Cross which signifies the fulfillment of the Old Covenant with Israel and the formation of a New Covenant with redeemed people from many nations.
We always like to start out with the Word of God, and today’s passage of Scripture is from Joshua 6:22-27 which reads: “But Joshua had said unto the two men that had spied out the country, Go into the harlot’s house, and bring out thence the woman, and all that she hath, as ye sware unto her. And the young men that were spies went in, and brought out Rahab, and her father, and her mother, and her brethren, and all that she had; and they brought out all her kindred, and left them without the camp of Israel. And they burnt the city with fire, and all that was therein: only the silver, and the gold, and the vessels of brass and of iron, they put into the treasury of the house of the Lord. And Joshua saved Rahab the harlot alive, and her father’s household, and all that she had; and she dwelleth in Israel even unto this day; because she hid the messengers, which Joshua sent to spy out Jericho. And Joshua adjured them at that time, saying, Cursed be the man before the Lord, that riseth up and buildeth this city Jericho: he shall lay the foundation thereof in his firstborn, and in his youngest son shall he set up the gates of it. So the Lord was with Joshua; and his fame was noised throughout all the country.”
Regarding this passage, Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown wrote in their commentary: “It is evident that the town walls were not demolished universally, at least all at once, for Rahab’s house was allowed to stand until her relatives were rescued according to promise. Rahab and her kindred underwent a temporary exclusion, in order that they might be cleansed from the defilement of their native idolatries and gradually trained for admission into the society of God’s people. They burned all that was within the city except the silver, gold, and other metals, which, as they would not burn, were added to the treasury of the sanctuary. Rahab dwelleth in Israel unto this day is a proof that this book was written not long after the events related. Joshua imposed upon his countrymen a solemn oath, binding on themselves as well as their posterity, that they would never rebuild that city. Its destruction was designed by God to be a permanent memorial of His abhorrence of idolatry and its attendant vices. Whoever makes the daring attempt to build Jericho shall become childless–the first beginning being marked by the death of his oldest son, and his only surviving child dying at the time of its completion. This curse was accomplished five hundred fifty years after its denunciation.”
Today’s quote about the Bible is from Helen Keller. She said: “Unless we form the habit of going to the Bible in bright moments as well as in trouble, we cannot fully respond to its consolations.”
Our topic for today is titled “The Best of Times, the Worst of Times, Part 9” from the book, “The Promise and the Blessing” by Dr. Michael A. Harbin.
That night Gideon arranged his “army” around the Mi-di-a-nite camp just after they had changed the mid-watch. Each of his soldiers had a trumpet, a torch under a pitcher, and a sword. At Gideon’s command, they all broke their pitchers, whipped their torches into flame, sounded the trumpets, and shouted. This racket awoke the camp of the Mi-di-a-nites and their allies. In the darkness, these disparate armies began fighting each other—while Gideon and his army observed. Soon Gideon and his handful of troops were pursuing the remnant. They also sent messengers to nearby tribes and asked for help. Several tribes, including Ephraim, sent help. After they had finished mopping up, the Ephraimites complained that they had not been in on the original battle. But Gideon was able to mollify them by pointing out that they had captured two of the key Mi-di-a-nite leaders.
However, not everyone was willing to help. As Gideon and his troops crossed over into the region of Transjordan, he asked for provisions from the Israelite towns of Suc-coth and Pe-ni-el. He was refused this aid, and he promised retribution on his return. After routing the last of the Midianite army and capturing its leaders, he returned and exacted retribution as promised. At this point, the Israelites asked Gideon to be king, but he refused. He desired to focus the worship of Israel on God and decided to set up an ephod with contributions from each of the Israelite leaders. Even these good intentions went wrong, however, and the ephod became a religious snare for the Israelites.
Gideon then retired. He had many wives who produced seventy sons, as well as at least one concubine who had a son named A-bi-me-lech. After Gideon died, the people again went after false gods (this time the text says they “prostituted themselves”). Law and order also broke down, and A-bi-me-lech persuaded the people of She-chem to make him king. They gave him silver from their temple, which was dedicated to Ba-al-Be-rith, and with this money he hired a gang of ruffians. A-bi-me-lech then took this gang to his father’s house at O-phrah and executed all but one of his brothers. The youngest brother, Jot-ham, escaped, but before he fled, he gave a parable to the people of She-chem and pronounced a curse on them for their dishonorable deeds.
Three years later there was a falling out between the men of She-chem and A-bi-me-lech (their “king”). A-bi-me-lech led his forces against the town and destroyed it. He then advanced on the nearby town of The-bez, which had apparently joined She-chem in the revolt. As they assaulted the town, a woman dropped a millstone from the tower on his head, mortally wounding him. At this he requested that his armor-bearer finish him off so that it could not be said that a woman had killed him.
Lord willing, we will continue this topic in our next broadcast.
Let’s Pray —
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Before we close, dear friend, I want to remind you that the most important thing you should know about the Bible is that it is the story of God working to save humanity from sin and the consequences of sin. He did this by sending His Son, Jesus Christ, to die on the cross for our sins and take the punishment that we deserve on Himself. Romans 5:8 says, “God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.”
If you do not know the Lord Jesus Christ as your Savior, and you want to get to know Him today, here’s how.
All you have to do is believe “that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; and that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the Scriptures” and you will be saved. The Bible states in the book of Romans 10:9, 13: “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised Him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.”
Pray and ask Him to come into your heart and He will.
Until next time, remember the word of God is the foundation to a successful life. God bless.
BCNN1 WP 