August 3, 2025 • 25 mins
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
One of the fundamental principles back then and today is
that God keeps his word.
Speaker 2 (00:08):
Doctor Toni Evans reminds us that God's promises never expire.
Speaker 1 (00:13):
God is faithful to do what he said he would do.
Speaker 2 (00:17):
This is the alternative broadcast featuring the timeless biblical teachings
from the archives of doctor Tony Evans. We've all heard
that actions speak louder than words, and that's certainly true
when it comes to loyalty. Today, doctor Evans explains how
loyalty to God isn't just a declaration, it's a lifestyle
(00:38):
that trusts his word, obeys his commands, and holds fast
even in times of trouble. Let's join him as he
begins today's study.
Speaker 1 (00:47):
In the Book of Joshua, in chapter twenty one, we
are finishing this land survey to the household of Levi,
and the Levites are given forty eight cities to live in. Now,
the Levites, according to Deuteronomy chapter thirty three, Verse ten,
(01:08):
were responsible to teach God's law to the people. Verse two.
They spoke to them at Shiloh in the land of Canaan,
saying the Lord commanded through Moses to give us cities
to live in with their pasture lands for our cattle.
So that leads to the central point in the book.
(01:29):
That central point is verses forty three to verses forty
five of chapter twenty one. Let me read them. So
the Lord gave Israel all the land which he had
sworn to give to their fathers, and they possessed it
and lived in it. And the Lord gave them rest
(01:50):
on every side according to all that he had sworn
to their fathers. And no one of all their enemies
stood before them. The Lord gave all their enemies into
their hands. Not one of the good promises which the
(02:11):
Lord had made to the house of Israel failed. All
came to pass over and over in those three verses,
All that God promised came to pass, said over and
over again, and he gave them rest. One of the
(02:39):
fundamental principles for back then and today is that God
keeps his word. God is faithful to his word. If
you can ever grab that count said that God is
(03:03):
faithful to do what he said he would do, it
is a life transforming concept and it is the key
to the book. Now, let's do a little history. It
was some six hundred years earlier. All the way back
in Genesis chapter twelve, God promised Abraham, I'm going to
(03:25):
make your descendants great. I'm gonna make your name great,
and I'm going to give you this land. That was
six hundred years, and for a lot of reasons, it
took that long for them. Part of it. You know,
Israel didn't operate by faith, and so that delayed it.
(03:45):
But your delay is not God's denial. Your delay only
affects your time that you get what God promises, or
whether you get it at all. But if you can
accept the act in spite of what your two eyes
tell you, in spite of what your twenty twenty vision
(04:08):
or whatever your eyeglasses help you with, that God is
faithful to keep his word. Hebrews chapter ten twenty three.
Let us hold fast to the confession of our hope
without wavering, for he who promised is faithful because he
(04:35):
keeps his word. He says, I want you to hold
fast to the confession of your hope. Hope is something
you've not realized yet. You're looking to it, you're looking
forward to it, you haven't realized it yet. But because
God is faithful, he says, keep confessing your hope, Keep
(04:55):
confessing the expectation that's based on God's promise us, because
God's promises are often not visible till their rive. So
he says, keep your confession. To confess something is to
declare it. So declare the faithfulness of God to what
he has promised. Look at Tewod Corinthians, Chapter one, verse twenty.
(05:23):
For as many as are the promises of God in Him,
they are yes. Therefore also through Him is our amen
in the glory of God. Through us, his promises in
Christ is yes. In other words, it's dependable. You and
(05:44):
I must grab the dependability of God. And the only
way to grab dependability of God is by faith. That's
the only way to do that by faith. That's why
when Hebrews eleven talks about it by faith's happened by faith?
That happened by faith, that happened. And often many of
(06:05):
those things that they describe that happened by faith did
not happen because people could see it. So they're hoping
for this and the very opposite is a caring And
that's why you have to keep the confession and be
around people who will help you to keep the confession
(06:25):
of faith, because faith often has to work in a
context of doubt. The thing that cancels our faith is
not your doubt. The thing that cancels out faith is
your disobedience. See, even if you got questions, if you're
still moving in faith, then that's faith. So faith moves
(06:49):
even sometimes when it has to move in the faith
of doubt. But the key to remember is that God
is dependable. His word is true and it can be
dependent upon Now, notice it says God gave it, and
(07:12):
watch this. It says God gave it, but watch this,
they had to go get it. Okay, So let's learn
another principle about God's promises. God's promises are in your grasp,
but not necessarily in your hand. In other words, they
(07:35):
are accessible to you and available to you. But you
lay hold of it, you grab it, you go get it,
you take it. They had to go take the land
every place on where I placed your foot. I have
given it to you, he told them in chapter one.
I've given it to you. So it's been pregiven. But
(07:57):
you go get it. Why Why if God gave it,
do I have to get it? Because he wants to
see that you believe he gave it. So he's calling
for faith God's promises are true, and he gave them rest,
and not one of their enemies stood before them, and
they had some pretty big time enemies. They had some
(08:20):
pretty big time people to defeat. God is faithful, his
word is true, and he can be depended upon. But
for many people that's not real to them because they
don't move in faith. They don't go get what God gave.
God's promises are legal, you make them literal for you.
(08:46):
So this is assuming something. This is assuming you know
what those promises are. You know what to look forward to,
you know what to expect. But when you do, it
changes your view of the power of circumstances. Circumstances now
don't have the final say. It also enables you to
(09:12):
deal with things you don't understand happening around you because
you don't understand it. But because you know the promise,
you can experience what God gave them rest. He gave
(09:32):
them rest, and that rest came because they kept going
and they kept moving by faith. So it wanted you
to know that God kept his word. And I love
this verse forty five. Not one of the good promises
which the Lord had made to the House of Israel
(09:54):
fail all came to pay. He ain't missed a b
not one. Not only does God keep his promises, he
keeps them in detail. Not one did he come short on.
We live in a world of broken promises. We live
(10:15):
in a world even if people mean well, even if
people mean well, their humanity gets into the way, or
there their circumstances get into the way. We live in
a world of broken promises. And everybody in here to
some degree has broken promises, has said we would do
things we didn't do. It made promises we didn't fulfill.
You know, borrow money we still haven't paid back. You know,
(10:39):
comes in all shapes and sizes and forms. But in
God's case, not one of his promises fail.
Speaker 2 (10:49):
Doctor Evans will come back in a moment to show
how God's unbroken promises played out for the Israelites in
the Old Testament and what we can learn from that today.
Before he does, though, I want to remind you that
Tony's current sermon series from the Book of Joshua is
available for you in its entirety, and that includes material
we won't have time to present on the broadcast. This
(11:11):
nine message audio collection is a deep dive into how
God's guidance can help you navigate both triumphs and trials
as you pursue His promises for your life. When you
support the Ministry of the Alternative with the donation, we'll
send you the complete Joshua series as our thank you gift.
And because God has a plan for every part of
(11:32):
our lives, including our families, we'd also love to include
the Kingdom Family Devotional as a special bonus. This fifty
two week devotional, written by Tony and his sound Jonathan,
covers practical topics like faith, priorities, relationships, and handling life's
every day challenges. Each Weekday offers short but meaningful devotions
(11:56):
that are engaging for kids and spiritually enriching for p parents.
Don't wait, We'll only be offering this exclusive double resource
package through tomorrow. Visit us today at Tonyevans dot org
to make your request or call our resource Request line
at one eight hundred eight hundred thirty two twenty two.
(12:17):
Our team is available around the clock to assist you.
That's one eight hundred eight hundred three two two two. Well,
now let's get back to doctor Evans with part two
of today's message from the Book of Joshua.
Speaker 1 (12:30):
In chapter twenty two, we've got Ruben, We've got Dad,
and we got a half tribe of Manasa on the
east side of the Jordan River. But if you recall,
they left the east side to go to the west
side to help their brothers fight against the Emirates, Hitites,
Canaanites and all the enemies in taking the land. Well,
(12:51):
now that the land is resting, it's time for them
to go back home, because this has been like almost
seven years that they've been away from home at family
and all that, and so it's time to go back.
So the Reubenites and Gadites and the half tribe of Manassa.
Chapter twenty two says, you have kept all the Moses,
the servant of the Lord commanded you, and you have
listened to my voice and all that I've commanded you.
(13:14):
You didn't forsake your brothers. In other words, you came
over to help them these many days to this day,
but have kept the charge and commandment of the Lord.
And now the Lord your God has given rest to
your brothers as he spoke to them. Therefore, turn now
and go to your tents, to the land of your possession,
which is the east side of the Jordan which Moses,
(13:35):
the servant of the Lord gave you. Beyond this Jordan,
only be careful to observe the commandment and the law
which Moses, the servant of the Lord, commanded you. To
love the Lord your God, and walk in all of
his ways, and keep his commandments, and hold fast to
him and serve him with all your heart and with
all your souls. So he says, Look, even though you're
(13:57):
leaving your brothers and everything, you hold tightly to everything,
God says. So he challenges them as they're about to
go back. When they came verse ten, to the region
of the Jordan, which is the land of Canaan, the
sons of Reuben, the sons of God, and the half
tribe of Nasa, built an altar there by the Jordan,
(14:19):
a large altar in appearance. So they build this huge
thing of worship altar when they get to the Jordan,
and they getting ready to cross over to Jordan and
go home. So when they get to the Jordan, they
build this large, huge among us altar. Houston, we have
a problem Verse eleven. And the sons of Israel heard it, said,
(14:44):
behold the sons of Reuben, the sons of God and
the half tribe of Manasa have built an altar at
the frontier of the land of Canaan in the region
of Jordan, on the side belonging to the Sons of Israel.
So they built it on Israel sign. But they crossing
over to the east side, so they build it before
(15:04):
they cross over. When the Sons of Israel heard of it,
the whole congregation of the Sons of Israel gathered themselves
at Shiloh to go up against them in war because
they have built an altar. Okay, what's the issue. Well,
(15:25):
the issue is an altar is the place of worship.
They've already been told, don't you have any other God?
The place of worship was in Shiloh. The tabernacle was
in Shiloh. To build another huge altar was to say
that we have our own place of worship, separate from
(15:46):
the Tabernacle of God, which was the place, the official
place of worship. So that was viewed as sacrilege, and
so Israel in Canaan said, they are brothers and everything,
but we got to deal with this lest their idolatry
comes back on us. So that's why it was a
(16:08):
big deal, and it was a matter of war, because
their whole message was you got to hold to the Lord,
your god, and not the gods of the idols in
the area. So they're getting themselves a war. However, Pios
verse thirteen and ten of the chiefs from each father's
verse fourteen, household from each of the tribe. They came
(16:32):
to them and said, let us go down here and
find out what's really going on. So they come down
to them before the day everybody starts fighting and going
to war, and spoke with them in verse sixteen. Thus,
as the whole congregation, what is this unfaithful act which
you have committed against the God of Israel. So say
it was a spiritual issue, turning away from following the
(16:55):
Lord this day by building yourselves an altar to rebel
against the law this day. If you rebel against the
Lord today, he will be angry with the whole congregation
of Israel tomorrow. You mess up today, you're gonna mess
us up tomorrow. So he's telling them what the problem is. If, however,
verse nineteen, the land of your possession is unclean, then
(17:16):
cross into the land of the possession of the Lord,
where the Lord's tabernacle stands and take possession among us,
come the Shinoh, where the real tabernacle is. Only do
not rebel against the Lord, or rebel against us by
building an altar for yourselves beside the altar of the Lord.
I got, in other words, a competing altar. So that
(17:36):
is the problem. But then the sons of Reuben, the
sons of God, and half da Varanasa, say whoa, oh, nelly,
haul up here, and they do something very interesting Verse
twenty two. The Mighty one God he knows, and may
Israel it self know if it was in rebellion or
(17:57):
if in an unfaithful act. Again, thanks the Lord, do
not save us today. If we're doing what you said
to do, then let God judge us. If we have
built us an altar to turn away from following the Lord,
or if to offer a burnt offering or grain offering
on it, or if to offer sacrifices of peace offering
(18:18):
on it, may the Lord himself require it. But truly
we have done this out of concern, he says, we
had a reason for doing this. What was the reason
for a reason? Saying, in time to come, your sons
may say to our sons, what have you to do
with the Lord, the God of Israel. Okay, your sons
(18:42):
of Reuben and the sons of God, you have no
portion in the Lord, because y'all over there. So your
sons may make our sons stop fearing the Lord. We
were concerned that the next generation is in conflict because
of our different locations. Therefore we said, let us build
(19:05):
an altar for the bird offering or for sacrifice. Rather,
shall be a witness between us and you and between
our generation after us, that we are to perform the
service of the Lord before him with our tent offerings
and with our sacrifices and peace offerings, so that your
(19:26):
sons will not say to our sons in time to come,
you have no portion in the Lord. He says, no,
you have misunderstood our motives. Have you ever done that?
You thought somebody was doing something for one reason and
was prepared to make war, go off on them until
(19:51):
you got clarity. So instead of allowing them to go
out the war, they got clarity first, and they say, no,
you've misunderstood our motives. We're thinking generationally, and we know
it could come where when we're off the scene and
our children grow up, and this separation of the Jordan
(20:12):
River is there. They're going to raise the question are
we part of them? So we wanted to put something
in place for it to be visible on your side
that we on our side are still committed to the
same God. So they got clarity. So that's why we
(20:33):
said it far b At verse twenty from us that
we should rebel against the Lord and turn away from
following the Lord this day by building an altar for
burnt offering. Because the altar of the Lord, which is
his tabernacle, that was at Shiloh. So if any of us,
and the priest and the leaders of the congregation, even
the heads of the family of Israel who were with
(20:54):
him heard the words with the sons of Reuben and
the sons of God and the sons of Manasa spoke,
it please them. And so today we know verse thirty one,
that the Lord is in our midst because you have
not committed an unfaithful act against the Lord. Verse thirty three,
the words please the sons of Israel, and the sons
of Israel bless God. And they did not speak of
(21:17):
going up against them in war to destroy the land
in which the sons of Reuben and the sons of
God were living, the sons of Reuben. The sons of
God called the altar witness, for they said, it is
a witness between us that the Lord is God. So
there are a few lessons here. One is to not
act hastily. The Bible says, a fool acts before he's
(21:42):
heard the whole side of a matter. Get clarity before
you go to war, before you fight. This happens in homes,
It happens with couples. It happens with friends, where a
little lack of clarity, if it were made or allowed
to be made, would not have produced World War III.
(22:05):
You don't compromise, but you do see clarity. In other words,
don't embrace their gods, don't embrace their value systems. You
are distink you are unique. First Peter says, you are
a peculiar people. That's why the Bible says, don't love
the world the things in the world. Anyone who loves
the world, the love of the Father is not in him.
(22:27):
You cling to the Lord, for the Lord verse nine
has driven out great and strong nations from before you.
Now behold today, I am going the way of all
the earth. I'm getting ready to die and you know
in all of your hearts and in all your souls,
that not one word of all the good words which
(22:48):
the Lord your God spoke concerning you has failed. God
has not failed you in one way. In closing, he
says that God's word is sure, but he's asking for
loyalty and commitment. Loyalty does not mean perfection. None of
us can meet that. But loyalty means direction. When you
(23:11):
fall away, you as quickly as possible come back. So
let's stay with our direction so that we can experience
all that God has for us.
Speaker 2 (23:20):
Amen, Doctor Tony Evans, encouraging us to keep our hearts
pointed toward God regardless of where we find ourselves in
life's journey.
Speaker 1 (23:32):
Now don't forget.
Speaker 2 (23:33):
Today's lesson is part of Tony's powerful nine parts sermon
series from the Book of Joshua, a journey through spiritual victories,
life lessons, and God's promises. When you support Tony's ministry,
we'll say thanks by sending you the full audio series
along with a bonus copy of The Kingdom Family Devotional,
a fifty two week guide designed to strengthen your family's
(23:56):
faith one day at a time. But this special double
offer ends tomorrow, so visit Tonyevans dot org right away
to make your request, or give us a call at
one eight hundred eight hundred thirty two twenty two. That's
Tonyevans dot org. Or call one eight hundred eight hundred
(24:16):
three two two two. When our schedule revolves around success
status or screens, that may be a sign we're serving
something other than God. Tomorrow, Doctor Evans takes us to
the final chapter of Joshua for a powerful look at
what it means to choose whom you will serve. Be
(24:36):
sure to join us
One of the fundamental principles back then and today is
that God keeps his word.
Speaker 2 (00:08):
Doctor Toni Evans reminds us that God's promises never expire.
Speaker 1 (00:13):
God is faithful to do what he said he would do.
Speaker 2 (00:17):
This is the alternative broadcast featuring the timeless biblical teachings
from the archives of doctor Tony Evans. We've all heard
that actions speak louder than words, and that's certainly true
when it comes to loyalty. Today, doctor Evans explains how
loyalty to God isn't just a declaration, it's a lifestyle
(00:38):
that trusts his word, obeys his commands, and holds fast
even in times of trouble. Let's join him as he
begins today's study.
Speaker 1 (00:47):
In the Book of Joshua, in chapter twenty one, we
are finishing this land survey to the household of Levi,
and the Levites are given forty eight cities to live in. Now,
the Levites, according to Deuteronomy chapter thirty three, Verse ten,
(01:08):
were responsible to teach God's law to the people. Verse two.
They spoke to them at Shiloh in the land of Canaan,
saying the Lord commanded through Moses to give us cities
to live in with their pasture lands for our cattle.
So that leads to the central point in the book.
(01:29):
That central point is verses forty three to verses forty
five of chapter twenty one. Let me read them. So
the Lord gave Israel all the land which he had
sworn to give to their fathers, and they possessed it
and lived in it. And the Lord gave them rest
(01:50):
on every side according to all that he had sworn
to their fathers. And no one of all their enemies
stood before them. The Lord gave all their enemies into
their hands. Not one of the good promises which the
(02:11):
Lord had made to the house of Israel failed. All
came to pass over and over in those three verses,
All that God promised came to pass, said over and
over again, and he gave them rest. One of the
(02:39):
fundamental principles for back then and today is that God
keeps his word. God is faithful to his word. If
you can ever grab that count said that God is
(03:03):
faithful to do what he said he would do, it
is a life transforming concept and it is the key
to the book. Now, let's do a little history. It
was some six hundred years earlier. All the way back
in Genesis chapter twelve, God promised Abraham, I'm going to
(03:25):
make your descendants great. I'm gonna make your name great,
and I'm going to give you this land. That was
six hundred years, and for a lot of reasons, it
took that long for them. Part of it. You know,
Israel didn't operate by faith, and so that delayed it.
(03:45):
But your delay is not God's denial. Your delay only
affects your time that you get what God promises, or
whether you get it at all. But if you can
accept the act in spite of what your two eyes
tell you, in spite of what your twenty twenty vision
(04:08):
or whatever your eyeglasses help you with, that God is
faithful to keep his word. Hebrews chapter ten twenty three.
Let us hold fast to the confession of our hope
without wavering, for he who promised is faithful because he
(04:35):
keeps his word. He says, I want you to hold
fast to the confession of your hope. Hope is something
you've not realized yet. You're looking to it, you're looking
forward to it, you haven't realized it yet. But because
God is faithful, he says, keep confessing your hope, Keep
(04:55):
confessing the expectation that's based on God's promise us, because
God's promises are often not visible till their rive. So
he says, keep your confession. To confess something is to
declare it. So declare the faithfulness of God to what
he has promised. Look at Tewod Corinthians, Chapter one, verse twenty.
(05:23):
For as many as are the promises of God in Him,
they are yes. Therefore also through Him is our amen
in the glory of God. Through us, his promises in
Christ is yes. In other words, it's dependable. You and
(05:44):
I must grab the dependability of God. And the only
way to grab dependability of God is by faith. That's
the only way to do that by faith. That's why
when Hebrews eleven talks about it by faith's happened by faith?
That happened by faith, that happened. And often many of
(06:05):
those things that they describe that happened by faith did
not happen because people could see it. So they're hoping
for this and the very opposite is a caring And
that's why you have to keep the confession and be
around people who will help you to keep the confession
(06:25):
of faith, because faith often has to work in a
context of doubt. The thing that cancels our faith is
not your doubt. The thing that cancels out faith is
your disobedience. See, even if you got questions, if you're
still moving in faith, then that's faith. So faith moves
(06:49):
even sometimes when it has to move in the faith
of doubt. But the key to remember is that God
is dependable. His word is true and it can be
dependent upon Now, notice it says God gave it, and
(07:12):
watch this. It says God gave it, but watch this,
they had to go get it. Okay, So let's learn
another principle about God's promises. God's promises are in your grasp,
but not necessarily in your hand. In other words, they
(07:35):
are accessible to you and available to you. But you
lay hold of it, you grab it, you go get it,
you take it. They had to go take the land
every place on where I placed your foot. I have
given it to you, he told them in chapter one.
I've given it to you. So it's been pregiven. But
(07:57):
you go get it. Why Why if God gave it,
do I have to get it? Because he wants to
see that you believe he gave it. So he's calling
for faith God's promises are true, and he gave them rest,
and not one of their enemies stood before them, and
they had some pretty big time enemies. They had some
(08:20):
pretty big time people to defeat. God is faithful, his
word is true, and he can be depended upon. But
for many people that's not real to them because they
don't move in faith. They don't go get what God gave.
God's promises are legal, you make them literal for you.
(08:46):
So this is assuming something. This is assuming you know
what those promises are. You know what to look forward to,
you know what to expect. But when you do, it
changes your view of the power of circumstances. Circumstances now
don't have the final say. It also enables you to
(09:12):
deal with things you don't understand happening around you because
you don't understand it. But because you know the promise,
you can experience what God gave them rest. He gave
(09:32):
them rest, and that rest came because they kept going
and they kept moving by faith. So it wanted you
to know that God kept his word. And I love
this verse forty five. Not one of the good promises
which the Lord had made to the House of Israel
(09:54):
fail all came to pay. He ain't missed a b
not one. Not only does God keep his promises, he
keeps them in detail. Not one did he come short on.
We live in a world of broken promises. We live
(10:15):
in a world even if people mean well, even if
people mean well, their humanity gets into the way, or
there their circumstances get into the way. We live in
a world of broken promises. And everybody in here to
some degree has broken promises, has said we would do
things we didn't do. It made promises we didn't fulfill.
You know, borrow money we still haven't paid back. You know,
(10:39):
comes in all shapes and sizes and forms. But in
God's case, not one of his promises fail.
Speaker 2 (10:49):
Doctor Evans will come back in a moment to show
how God's unbroken promises played out for the Israelites in
the Old Testament and what we can learn from that today.
Before he does, though, I want to remind you that
Tony's current sermon series from the Book of Joshua is
available for you in its entirety, and that includes material
we won't have time to present on the broadcast. This
(11:11):
nine message audio collection is a deep dive into how
God's guidance can help you navigate both triumphs and trials
as you pursue His promises for your life. When you
support the Ministry of the Alternative with the donation, we'll
send you the complete Joshua series as our thank you gift.
And because God has a plan for every part of
(11:32):
our lives, including our families, we'd also love to include
the Kingdom Family Devotional as a special bonus. This fifty
two week devotional, written by Tony and his sound Jonathan,
covers practical topics like faith, priorities, relationships, and handling life's
every day challenges. Each Weekday offers short but meaningful devotions
(11:56):
that are engaging for kids and spiritually enriching for p parents.
Don't wait, We'll only be offering this exclusive double resource
package through tomorrow. Visit us today at Tonyevans dot org
to make your request or call our resource Request line
at one eight hundred eight hundred thirty two twenty two.
(12:17):
Our team is available around the clock to assist you.
That's one eight hundred eight hundred three two two two. Well,
now let's get back to doctor Evans with part two
of today's message from the Book of Joshua.
Speaker 1 (12:30):
In chapter twenty two, we've got Ruben, We've got Dad,
and we got a half tribe of Manasa on the
east side of the Jordan River. But if you recall,
they left the east side to go to the west
side to help their brothers fight against the Emirates, Hitites,
Canaanites and all the enemies in taking the land. Well,
(12:51):
now that the land is resting, it's time for them
to go back home, because this has been like almost
seven years that they've been away from home at family
and all that, and so it's time to go back.
So the Reubenites and Gadites and the half tribe of Manassa.
Chapter twenty two says, you have kept all the Moses,
the servant of the Lord commanded you, and you have
listened to my voice and all that I've commanded you.
(13:14):
You didn't forsake your brothers. In other words, you came
over to help them these many days to this day,
but have kept the charge and commandment of the Lord.
And now the Lord your God has given rest to
your brothers as he spoke to them. Therefore, turn now
and go to your tents, to the land of your possession,
which is the east side of the Jordan which Moses,
(13:35):
the servant of the Lord gave you. Beyond this Jordan,
only be careful to observe the commandment and the law
which Moses, the servant of the Lord, commanded you. To
love the Lord your God, and walk in all of
his ways, and keep his commandments, and hold fast to
him and serve him with all your heart and with
all your souls. So he says, Look, even though you're
(13:57):
leaving your brothers and everything, you hold tightly to everything,
God says. So he challenges them as they're about to
go back. When they came verse ten, to the region
of the Jordan, which is the land of Canaan, the
sons of Reuben, the sons of God, and the half
tribe of Nasa, built an altar there by the Jordan,
(14:19):
a large altar in appearance. So they build this huge
thing of worship altar when they get to the Jordan,
and they getting ready to cross over to Jordan and
go home. So when they get to the Jordan, they
build this large, huge among us altar. Houston, we have
a problem Verse eleven. And the sons of Israel heard it, said,
(14:44):
behold the sons of Reuben, the sons of God and
the half tribe of Manasa have built an altar at
the frontier of the land of Canaan in the region
of Jordan, on the side belonging to the Sons of Israel.
So they built it on Israel sign. But they crossing
over to the east side, so they build it before
(15:04):
they cross over. When the Sons of Israel heard of it,
the whole congregation of the Sons of Israel gathered themselves
at Shiloh to go up against them in war because
they have built an altar. Okay, what's the issue. Well,
(15:25):
the issue is an altar is the place of worship.
They've already been told, don't you have any other God?
The place of worship was in Shiloh. The tabernacle was
in Shiloh. To build another huge altar was to say
that we have our own place of worship, separate from
(15:46):
the Tabernacle of God, which was the place, the official
place of worship. So that was viewed as sacrilege, and
so Israel in Canaan said, they are brothers and everything,
but we got to deal with this lest their idolatry
comes back on us. So that's why it was a
(16:08):
big deal, and it was a matter of war, because
their whole message was you got to hold to the Lord,
your god, and not the gods of the idols in
the area. So they're getting themselves a war. However, Pios
verse thirteen and ten of the chiefs from each father's
verse fourteen, household from each of the tribe. They came
(16:32):
to them and said, let us go down here and
find out what's really going on. So they come down
to them before the day everybody starts fighting and going
to war, and spoke with them in verse sixteen. Thus,
as the whole congregation, what is this unfaithful act which
you have committed against the God of Israel. So say
it was a spiritual issue, turning away from following the
(16:55):
Lord this day by building yourselves an altar to rebel
against the law this day. If you rebel against the
Lord today, he will be angry with the whole congregation
of Israel tomorrow. You mess up today, you're gonna mess
us up tomorrow. So he's telling them what the problem is. If, however,
verse nineteen, the land of your possession is unclean, then
(17:16):
cross into the land of the possession of the Lord,
where the Lord's tabernacle stands and take possession among us,
come the Shinoh, where the real tabernacle is. Only do
not rebel against the Lord, or rebel against us by
building an altar for yourselves beside the altar of the Lord.
I got, in other words, a competing altar. So that
(17:36):
is the problem. But then the sons of Reuben, the
sons of God, and half da Varanasa, say whoa, oh, nelly,
haul up here, and they do something very interesting Verse
twenty two. The Mighty one God he knows, and may
Israel it self know if it was in rebellion or
(17:57):
if in an unfaithful act. Again, thanks the Lord, do
not save us today. If we're doing what you said
to do, then let God judge us. If we have
built us an altar to turn away from following the Lord,
or if to offer a burnt offering or grain offering
on it, or if to offer sacrifices of peace offering
(18:18):
on it, may the Lord himself require it. But truly
we have done this out of concern, he says, we
had a reason for doing this. What was the reason
for a reason? Saying, in time to come, your sons
may say to our sons, what have you to do
with the Lord, the God of Israel. Okay, your sons
(18:42):
of Reuben and the sons of God, you have no
portion in the Lord, because y'all over there. So your
sons may make our sons stop fearing the Lord. We
were concerned that the next generation is in conflict because
of our different locations. Therefore we said, let us build
(19:05):
an altar for the bird offering or for sacrifice. Rather,
shall be a witness between us and you and between
our generation after us, that we are to perform the
service of the Lord before him with our tent offerings
and with our sacrifices and peace offerings, so that your
(19:26):
sons will not say to our sons in time to come,
you have no portion in the Lord. He says, no,
you have misunderstood our motives. Have you ever done that?
You thought somebody was doing something for one reason and
was prepared to make war, go off on them until
(19:51):
you got clarity. So instead of allowing them to go
out the war, they got clarity first, and they say, no,
you've misunderstood our motives. We're thinking generationally, and we know
it could come where when we're off the scene and
our children grow up, and this separation of the Jordan
(20:12):
River is there. They're going to raise the question are
we part of them? So we wanted to put something
in place for it to be visible on your side
that we on our side are still committed to the
same God. So they got clarity. So that's why we
(20:33):
said it far b At verse twenty from us that
we should rebel against the Lord and turn away from
following the Lord this day by building an altar for
burnt offering. Because the altar of the Lord, which is
his tabernacle, that was at Shiloh. So if any of us,
and the priest and the leaders of the congregation, even
the heads of the family of Israel who were with
(20:54):
him heard the words with the sons of Reuben and
the sons of God and the sons of Manasa spoke,
it please them. And so today we know verse thirty one,
that the Lord is in our midst because you have
not committed an unfaithful act against the Lord. Verse thirty three,
the words please the sons of Israel, and the sons
of Israel bless God. And they did not speak of
(21:17):
going up against them in war to destroy the land
in which the sons of Reuben and the sons of
God were living, the sons of Reuben. The sons of
God called the altar witness, for they said, it is
a witness between us that the Lord is God. So
there are a few lessons here. One is to not
act hastily. The Bible says, a fool acts before he's
(21:42):
heard the whole side of a matter. Get clarity before
you go to war, before you fight. This happens in homes,
It happens with couples. It happens with friends, where a
little lack of clarity, if it were made or allowed
to be made, would not have produced World War III.
(22:05):
You don't compromise, but you do see clarity. In other words,
don't embrace their gods, don't embrace their value systems. You
are distink you are unique. First Peter says, you are
a peculiar people. That's why the Bible says, don't love
the world the things in the world. Anyone who loves
the world, the love of the Father is not in him.
(22:27):
You cling to the Lord, for the Lord verse nine
has driven out great and strong nations from before you.
Now behold today, I am going the way of all
the earth. I'm getting ready to die and you know
in all of your hearts and in all your souls,
that not one word of all the good words which
(22:48):
the Lord your God spoke concerning you has failed. God
has not failed you in one way. In closing, he
says that God's word is sure, but he's asking for
loyalty and commitment. Loyalty does not mean perfection. None of
us can meet that. But loyalty means direction. When you
(23:11):
fall away, you as quickly as possible come back. So
let's stay with our direction so that we can experience
all that God has for us.
Speaker 2 (23:20):
Amen, Doctor Tony Evans, encouraging us to keep our hearts
pointed toward God regardless of where we find ourselves in
life's journey.
Speaker 1 (23:32):
Now don't forget.
Speaker 2 (23:33):
Today's lesson is part of Tony's powerful nine parts sermon
series from the Book of Joshua, a journey through spiritual victories,
life lessons, and God's promises. When you support Tony's ministry,
we'll say thanks by sending you the full audio series
along with a bonus copy of The Kingdom Family Devotional,
a fifty two week guide designed to strengthen your family's
(23:56):
faith one day at a time. But this special double
offer ends tomorrow, so visit Tonyevans dot org right away
to make your request, or give us a call at
one eight hundred eight hundred thirty two twenty two. That's
Tonyevans dot org. Or call one eight hundred eight hundred
(24:16):
three two two two. When our schedule revolves around success
status or screens, that may be a sign we're serving
something other than God. Tomorrow, Doctor Evans takes us to
the final chapter of Joshua for a powerful look at
what it means to choose whom you will serve. Be
(24:36):
sure to join us
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