1 Corinthians 10:6(NKJV) 6Now these things became our examples, to the intent that we should not lust after evil things as they also lusted.
We have seen this week that the Red Sea process for winning wars is throughout the bible. We have see it in both positive and negative applications. In Numbers 14 we have seen that the children of Israel did exactly the opposite of this process as they came to the edge of the promised land. They gave in to fear, they ignored the promise of God and they made a decision to try and go backward instead of forward. As a result they all died in the wilderness. From this we learn that to apply this process in reverse causes us to lose both immediate battles and, in the case of this generation of Israelites, to lose the whole war.
On the other hand we saw Joshua and Caleb plead with their countrymen to properly apply the process they had learned at the Red Sea. They told the Israelites that they had nothing to fear. They pointed out that God was with them, implying if not stating the promise of God. They implored them to go forward and claim what God had provided for them. They had to wait for the unbelieving generation to die off, but in the end they won their war.
Today I want to look at this process in relation to the church as opposed to the nation of Israel. In the verse above it says that everything that happened to Israel was for our example. That means the application of this process as well. If we want to win our wars we must fear not, stand on the promises of God and be ready to go forward never backward. When we do these things we will see the salvation of the Lord.
In looking at the children of Israel yesterday, they would not apply these principles because now they would have to fight. At the Red Sea Moses did the work. Here they were going to have to face the enemy. They simply could not apply this process for themselves. This brings me to a major difference in the application of this principle when it is used in the churh.
When Jesus came into the earth it marked a major change in the emphasis in the dealings of God in the earth. Up to that point the focus was on the nation of Israel. Israel was the people of God. They were the only ones who had a covenant with God. They were “the apple of God’s eye.” With the coming of the Messiah that all changed.
You may ask, does Israel still have a special place in God’s heart. I believe they do, but I do not believe it is the place they had before Jesus. You see Jesus was the point of the existence of their nation. Everything God did for and through Israel was to bring about the Messiah. When the Messiah came, Israel and the whole world entered a new era of God’s grace.
We can see this change highlighted in the ministry of Jesus. His focus was never on the nation. In the Old Testament we read of many people. We read of God’s love for individuals, but the story is the nation. We read of good kings and bad kings. We read of the Israelites captivities and their returns to Canaan. We read of prophets and poets, but they are all to and for Israel. Most of the history is one way or another related to Israel.
One of the reasons Jesus gained the ire of the Pharisees was his insistence on going against the traditions of the nation of Israel. He never preached about Israel except to mourn its failures. He did not speak of the nation rising up. He never did what was expected of the Messiah. He never led the nation of Israel back to glory. In fact it could be said that the coming of Jesus marked the end of the nation of Israel as any kind of factor in the world until 1948.
Jesus focus was not on any nation at all. His focus was on the Kingdom of God and on people. He ministered to people. He taught people. He built people. Most of his time was spent with 12 common men, teaching them about the kingdom of God. That was the only nation he came to build.
One of the most interesting stories in the bible is the raising of a widows son in a town called Nain. You can find this story in Luke chapter 7. Jesus is simply passing through the city. He comes upon a funeral. The boy who has died is the only son of a widow. This was an important point, because a widow would have no way to support herself in their culture. Jesus stops the funeral, raises the boy from the dead and gives him back to his mother.
There is no record of these two people ever doing anything of note. We don’t know anything about them. The witnesses proclaimed that a great prophet had arisen in the land. However there is no indication at all that Jesus was doing anything but showing compassion to a widow and her son. This notable miracle had no impact on the nation at all except to bring attention to Jesus.
How does any of this relate to our process. Well, come back tomorrow and we will find out more. For now let me say that, for us, this process of not fearing, standing on the Word and going forward is not about the nation, it is about people. This was the ministry of Jesus. Yet no other ministry has so affected nations and the world as the ministry of Jesus. Think about that.
More tomorrow.
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