The Day the Manna Stopped Joshua 5:1, 10-15

Transcription

1 The Day the Manna Stopped Joshua 5:1, Rev. Michael D. Halley November 16, 2014 Suffolk Christian Church Suffolk, Virginia Twenty-Third Sunday After Pentecost ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Joshua 5:1, New International Version Now when all the Amorite 1 kings west of the Jordan and all the Canaanite 2 kings along the coast heard how the Lord had dried up the Jordan before the Israelites until they had crossed over, their hearts melted in fear and they no longer had the courage to face the Israelites.... On the evening of the fourteenth day of the month, while camped at Gilgal 3 on the plains of Jericho, the Israelites celebrated the Passover 4. The day after the Passover, that very day, they ate some of the produce of the land: unleavened bread and roasted grain. The manna 5 stopped the day after they ate this food from the land; there was no longer any manna for the Israelites, but that year they ate the produce of Canaan. Now when Joshua was near Jericho, he looked up and saw a man standing in front of him with a drawn sword in his hand. Joshua went up to him and asked, Are you for us or for our enemies? Neither, he replied, but as commander of the army of the Lord I have now come. Then Joshua fell facedown to the ground in reverence, and asked him, What message does my Lord have for his servant? The commander of the Lord s army replied, Take off your sandals, for 1

2 Page 2 the place where you are standing is holy. And Joshua did so. The Word of the Lord: Thanks be to God! The long journey from Egypt was now complete and the Israelites had crossed the Jordan River into the land of Canaan, their long-promised homeland. It happened to be the first month of their calendar year, Nissan, and on the fourteenth day of that month Passover was celebrated. You will recall that the first Passover was celebrated just before the Israelites 6 made their escape from slavery in Egypt. And the day after Passover, the people ate the food of this new land they had entered. It was the first time in over 40 years that they ate locally grown food, and it was then that the manna stopped. Manna was the staple food in their diet, given to them every morning. It came as dew, and could be ground into meal. God s people never had to worry about their next meal, for God provided it every morning. But now, in their new land, the manna stopped. Think about that for a moment. A reliable source of food is no longer available. Mothers, concerned about their children, probably worried about how they would now feed them. Fathers, who took seriously their responsibility to provide for their family, probably worried about how they would now feed them. It was a time that called for faith. I often hear the saying that if God brings us to it, he will take us through it. That doesn t mean it will be easy or trouble-free. It means that God will call us to walk with him and he will be with us through every trial we face. Joshua and his people had a huge mission before them, to go forth and

3 Page 3 occupy the land. Of course, they did not know exactly what or whom they would be facing. The first challenge was the city of Jericho. And we read in the text that as Joshua came near that city, he saw a man with a drawn sword. It was a natural question he asked, Who s side are you on, ours or theirs? And the answer was Neither. Do you find that odd? Odd that God would lead these people all the way from Egypt and then have an angel appear before Joshua and not assure Joshua that he is on their side? There is a lesson here, possibly, that we ought not always assume that God takes the sides that we think he should take. So when the man announced that he was commander of the Lord s army, Joshua fell to the ground in reverence. Interesting that the next thing required of Joshua was that he remove his sandals out of respect for the holy ground on which he was standing. This is, of course, also what God required of Moses when he encountered the burning bush (Exodus 3). It was a critical time, a time to walk by faith. A huge mission lay before them, to occupy the land. They would now live like everyone else, subsisting off the land. They had God s promises to rely upon, but there was still a lot they would have to do themselves. Does any of this sound familiar to you? Have you ever been in a place like that? Maybe you are there now. We just heard a report from our Board of Finance that we are going into unfamiliar territory as a church. We are not asking for our members to make a financial pledge for the coming year. Now, this is not a new thing, of course, as many of our sister churches do not ask for pledges. But this is a new thing for us.

4 It is a stepping out, in faith. The manna, you might say, has stopped. We will trust each other that we will trust God and our missions and ministries will be supported. The manna has stopped. Charles Blondin (blan-dah) was a famous French tightrope walker. His greatest fame came on September 14, 1860, when he became the first person to cross a tightrope stretched 11,000 feet (over a quarter of a mile) across Niagara Falls. People came from miles away to see this great feat. Mr. Blondin walked across several times, 160 feet above the falls, and each time with he had a different daring feat: in a sack, on stilts, on a bicycle, in the dark, and even blindfolded. One time he even carried a stove and cooked an omelet in the middle of the rope! And then he came across with a wheelbarrow full of potatoes. Mr. Blondin suddenly stopped and addressed the audience: Do you believe I can carry a person across in this wheelbarrow? The crowd was enthusiastic and they yelled, Yes! You are the greatest tightrope walker in the world. We believe! Okay, he said, Who wants to get into the wheelbarrow? 7 Page 4 Remember, though, that faith does not equate to foolishness, nor does it mean that we do certain tricks to impress people. According to Hebrews chapter 11, verse one, faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see. For Joshua and his people, they knew what they had to do but could not see how it would actually unfold. They walked by faith, careful with every step that they were in God s will, not being foolish or daring, just faithfully walking in the light provided by their God. Just as we should be doing in our own life. When I think of faith I think of Adoniram Judson 8. In February, 1812, he and his wife Ann sailed from Salem, Massachusetts, enroute to India, where they would make their way to Burma. There he witnessed to his faith for 38 years, with very little tangible evidence of much success. But he faithfully

5 Page 5 followed the path that he knew God wanted him to follow. Such faith, with so little sight! There certainly was no manna for Adoniram Judson. So where are you on this matter of faith? Do you believe what God has said to you? Do you believe it enough to act upon it? Is the evidence of faith enough for you to pledge your life to serving God? Or would you rather not? That was the question on the mind of Nicodemus when he came to Jesus that night. He was confused and wanted to know more. After telling Nicodemus that faith was a new birth, a new beginning, he said to him, and I am reading from The Message: This is how much God loved the world: He gave his Son, his one and only Son. And this is why: so that no one need be destroyed; by believing in him, anyone can have a whole and lasting life. God didn t go to all the trouble of sending his Son merely to point an accusing finger, telling the world how bad it was. He came to help, to put the world right again. Anyone who trusts in him is acquitted; anyone who refuses to trust him has long since been under the death sentence without knowing it. And why? Because of that person s failure to believe in the one-of-a-kind Son of God when introduced to him. (John 3:16-18, MSG 9 ) Let us pray: O God, give us faith. Let us walk with You, unafraid of what lies ahead because You are leading our steps and preparing our path. Help us in our struggles to believe and reveal Yourself to us through Your Word. We pray this in our Saviour s name, Amen. +==+==+==+==+==+==+ All Scripture references are from New International Version, NIV, copyright 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc., unless otherwise indicated. +==+==+==+==+==+==+

6 Page 6 Sunday Sermons from Suffolk Christian Church are intended for the private devotional use of members and friends of the church. Please do not print or publish. Thank you. Suggestions for sermon topics are always welcome! 1. The Amorites were a people who occupied part of the Promised Land and often fought Israel. Their history goes back before 2000 B.C. Their most influential king was Hammurabi ( ). See Amorites, by Daniel C. Fredericks, in Holman Bible Dictionary, edited by Trent C. Butler, c Canaan is described as the territory between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River, reaching from the brook of Egypt to the area around Ugarit in Syria or to the Euphrates. From Canaan, by Frank E. Eakin, Jr., in Holman Bible Dictionary, cited above. 3. Gilgal is a place name, meaning circle. Gilgal is most closely associated with Joshua... After crossing the Jordan, Joshua established the first camp at Gilgal (Joshua 4:19 ). There Joshua took twelve stones from the bed of the river to set up a memorial for the miraculous crossing. Gilgal, the first foothold on Palestinian soil, became Israel s first worship place, where they were circumcised and observed the Passover. There God appeared to Joshua and affirmed his mission (Joshua 5:1 ). From Gilgal, by Kenneth Craig, in Holman Bible Dictionary, cited above. 4. The first of the three annual festivals was the Passover. It commemorated the final plague on Egypt when the firstborn of the Egyptians died and the Israelites were spared because of the blood smeared on their doorposts (Exodus 12:11, Exodus 12:11,12:21, Exodus 12:21,12:27, Exodus 12:27,12:43, Exodus 12:43,12:48). Passover took place on the fourteenth day (at evening) of the first month (Leviticus 23:5).... The Passover was also called the feast of unleavened bread (Exodus 23:15; Deuteronomy 16:16) because only unleavened bread was eaten during the seven days immediately following Passover. See Festivals, by Larry Walker, in Holman Bible Dictionary, cited above. 5. Manna was a grainlike substance, considered to be food from heaven, which sustained the Israelites in the wilderness and foreshadowed Christ, the true Bread from heaven. See Manna, by Barbara J. Bruce, in Holman Bible Dictionary, cited above. 6. Israelite is a citizen of the nation of Israel, so named for their patriarch Jacob, who was renamed Israel by God (Genesis 35:10).

7 Page 7 7. Source: In August, 1859, Mr. Blondin s manager, Harry Colcord, did ride on Blondin s back across the Falls. 8. See The Life and Work of Adoniram Judson, Missionary To Burma, by Robert I. Bradshaw, at 9. The Message (MSG), copyright 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene H. Peterson