Not By Chance!

June 8, 2014
Joshua:  Turning Obedience Into Blessing
Joshua 18-19                                                    Not Edited

SIS – When it comes to possessing the promises of God, nothing is left to chance—choice, not chance determines one’s destiny.

Men have been gambling sense the dawn of time.  According to an online source gambling can be defined as, the wagering of money or something of material value (referred to as "the stakes") on an event with an uncertain outcome with the primary intent of winning additional money and/or material goods. Gambling thus requires three elements be present: consideration, chance and prize (Wikipedia).  A common form of gambling dates back to Chinese culture and involved the throwing of marked sticks. The throwing of objects has been a common theme in gambling from the time of Chinese marked sticks, to the casting of lots, and finally to the development of the square dice.  The idea of throwing something in regard to gambling even has a connection to meeting out justice.  In the Bible lots were cast to find a guilty party (Jos. 7:14).  The casting of lots, or dice, was used in many cultures to dispense justice and point out criminals at trials—in Sweden as late as 1803 (E. Brittanica).  Remember that the Roman soldiers “cast lots” for the garment of the Lord.  These most likely could have been knucklebones.  The casting of lots, or gambling, was regulated in ancient cultures which indicates gambling was tolerated, but viewed with skepticism. 

While gambling involves the idea of chance, the Biblical casting of lots is quite the opposite.  It does not involve chance at all.  Proverbs 16:33 makes this clear for example:

We may throw the dice, but the Lord
determines how they fall (NLT).

God is not a gambler.  The casting of lots is the opposite of chance.  It is a demonstration of a complete and total trust in the sovereign, powerful will of God.  A man’s destiny does not involve even an ounce of chance.  A person’s destiny is all a matter of choice, beginning first and foremost with God’s choice, or election.  God’s election of Israel as a “people of His own choosing.”  Deu. 7:6 says,

⁶ For you are a holy people  belonging to the Lord your God. The Lord your God has chosen you to be His own possession  out of all the peoples on the face of the earth.

The doctrine of God’s election is taught throughout the Bible.  1Peter 2:9 uses the language of Deuteronomy 7:6 to demonstrate that God’s choosing of Israel was a foreshadowing of God’s broader choice that would include all the elect down through the ages, both Jew and Gentile.

But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for His possession, so that you may proclaim the praises

of the One who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.

Here in Joshua 18-19 we see God establishing His people in the Promised Land by the casting of lots.  Do not confuse this with a game of chance such as rolling the dice.  When it comes to possessing the promises of God nothing is left to chance.

As we weave our way in, out and around various places in the Promised Land here in Joshua 18-19 one overarching shadow falls over these verses—and indeed the entire Bible—that is the sovereign plan of Almighty God working itself out in the lives of His chosen people.  This should give us enormous boldness and courage as we seek to bring about God’s Kingdom on earth.  This is not the first time we have seen the shadow of God’s sovereignty cast over the lives of His people, and it will not be the last.

As we watch God’s electing grace transform His promises into the possessions of His people let us keep in mind what Paul admonishes us to do in regard to God’s electing grace in our lives (2Pet. 1:10):

Therefore, brothers, make every effort to confirm your calling and election, because if you do these things you will never stumble.

“Confirming our calling an election” does NOT mean we have anything at all to do with creating that election, nor even sustaining it.  Election is an act of God’s sovereign grace and requires no contribution whatsoever from man.  Confirming our election simply means, “conforming our daily practice to our heavenly position.”

We are elect so therefore we can stand steadfast on the promises of Almighty God and perform as if the victory has already been won.

Just as we watch the “Promised” Land become the “Possessed” Land in the life of Israel, we can see that same transaction take place in our individual lives and the collective life of our church.  Several elements impact upon the transaction of turning God’s promises into our possession—or as Peter declares, “making our election sure.”

1.  A Constant Concern (18:5-7)

Throughout the chronicle of entering and possessing the Promised Land, the Bible places a heavy emphasis on the use of the number 12. Recall that Israel was arranged according to the “twelve sons of Jacob” (Gen. 35:22ff).  The number, “12,” held special significance prior to the arrival of Jacob and his sons.  Job 38:32 speaks of the arrangement of constellations which may refer to the twelve signs of the Zodiac.  Bible numerology, while fascinating, would lead us away from the import of the numbers, 12 and 7, as used in the Book of Joshua

In Joshua the importance of the number 12 can be seen in that when the tribe of Levi was left off the list to inherit land leaving only 11 tribes, the tribe of Joseph was divided into Manasseh and Ephraim (as we saw in previous chapters to bring the total back to 12.  Now, look at verses 5-7:

Then they are to divide it into seven portions. Judah is to remain in its territory in the south and Joseph’s family in their  territory in the north.  ⁶ When you have written a description of the seven portions of land and brought it to me, I will cast lots for  you here in the presence of the Lord our God.  ⁷ But the Levites among you do not get a portion, because their inheritance is the priesthood of the Lord.  Gad, Reuben, and half the tribe of Manasseh have taken their inheritance beyond the Jordan to the east, which Moses the Lord’s servant gave them.”

Now follow the Biblical math.  Joshua said, “Divide up the land in “7” portions.”  Add that to Judah’s and Joseph’s tribes which whose inheritances were established in chapters 16 and 17.  “7” plus 1 plus 1 ½  (Ephraim plus ½ of Manasseh in the East) that makes 9 ½ .  Now, add one-half for the Eastern portion of the tribe of Manasseh.  Are you following the math?  That’s “7” plus  1 plus  “1 ½ ” which equals 9 ½ on the East Side.  Add “½” for Manasseh on the West side.  That totals 10.  To this add the tribes of Rueben and Gad who stayed on the West side.  Our total comes to:  9½ plus “½” plus “2,” or 12 total tribes.  That’s the math of unity.  The number twelve represents a complete and unified whole, especially in regard to an organization such as a nation or a church.  Don’t forget that there were 12 disciples.  When Judas hung himself, eleven were left.  They added Matthias to get back up to twelve.  Here’s the deal:  God’s constant concern is that His people would be a unified organization pursuing the mission of extending His Kingdom on earth.

How many of you were able to keep up with the math here in Joshua 18?  How many had to take off your shoes to account for the two and one-half tribes on the western side of Jordan?  This exercise is very important to understanding our text and the importance of the doctrine of God’s election.

So what exactly is the lesson for you and I today?  Let me say it as clearly as possible:  if you are not connected to a local church body and pursuing a unified purpose of extending the Kingdom of God, you are out of fellowship with God and beyond the touch of His blessings.

Recall what God said about Israel, and what Peter reminds us about God’s church.  God chose us to be a “nation,” and a “people,” both collective nouns.  God calls us to salvation one by one but He does not leave us to ourselves.  God adopts us into His family, the church.

Listen carefully:  a person will never fully, if at all, experience the overwhelming love of God and invigorating sense of purpose in life apart from being a significant member of a Christ-centered church pursuing a heaven ordained mission.  LET ME REPEAT THIS BECAUSE IT IS OF UTMOST IMPORTANCE.  A person will never fully, if at all, experience the overwhelming love of God and invigorating sense of purpose in life apart from being a significant member of a Christ-centered church pursuing a heaven ordained mission.

Christianity is the ultimate team sport!  Do you know what society calls a person who has no family?  An orphan.  Do you know what the Devil calls a Christian outside of the care of the sheepfold?  LUNCH!  When God’s sheep wander into the wilderness of individualism, they become easy prey for the Devil who is described in the Word as a “lion seeking whom he may devour”  (1Pet. 5:8). 

In the next book of the Bible, we see what happened to Israel when individual citizens did things their own way.  The Book of Judges archives the repeated failures of Israel to “make sure their calling and election” and fall into the clutches of evil.  The last verse of Judges summarizes the reason for the downward spiral of defeat in the life of Israel with this concluding verse of the book:

^{Jdges 21:25} In those days there was no king in Israel;  everyone did whatever he wanted.

The God-math of Joshua 18 shows us a constant concern God had for his people—that they would be a group of individual God-followers that were passionately pursuing the unified vision of extending the Kingdom of God on earth.  This is the one and only mission God has established for us as believers, and more importantly, as a church.

God did not leave His mission to chance, but put it into the hands of a people He called unto Himself.  Let me drive this point home with a verse from 2Pet. 1:3:

³ His  divine power  has given us everything required for life and godliness through the knowledge of Him who called us by  His own glory and goodness.

God’s greatest concern is the unified effort of His people in fulfilling His commission.  He has given the church all the resources she needs to turn promises into possessions.  He has not left the matter to chance.

Another element that reinforces the importance of aligning our lives with the electing grace of Almighty God is:

2.  A Dangerous Laxity (18:3)

I am almost reluctant to share this part of the message with you because it seems so brutally honest.  I am coming to the conclusion that in regard to spiritual matters—in these days of apathy and disobedience—the only “true” honesty is “brutal” honesty.  Look for yourself in verse three:

So Joshua said to the Israelites, “How long will you delay going out to take possession of the land that the Lord, the God of your fathers, gave you?

Years later the great prophet, Elijah, would ask an equally brutally honest question to a continuingly disobedient nation (1Kngs. 18:20f):

²⁰ So Ahab summoned all the Israelites and gathered the prophets at Mount Carmel. ²¹ Then Elijah approached all the people and said, “How long will you hesitate between two opinions?  If Yahweh is God, follow Him. But if Baal, follow him.”  But the people didn’t answer him a word.

Of course, there is no sting at all to these two brutally honest questions if we simply apply them to the wicked, rebellious, lazy, apathetic citizens of the nation of Israel.  Yet, we know God is no respecter of persons and if His truth applies to anyone it applies to all—including you and I.  So, we must deal with this question of spiritual laxity. 

The verbal idea, “delay going out,” is a participial form.  The text is not suggesting that a follower of Christ, or Yahweh, will not make a mistake—or many of them in fact.  A participle describes an “on-going or persistent attitude,” rather than a particular act, or acts.  The root of Israel’s problem was not their behavior, but their attitude.  A bad attitude will always lead to bad behavior.  We see this in churches all the time.  Israel was God’s chosen people but they were not “making their election and calling sure” by matching their practice in the world to their position in Christ.  Or, as it has been said by many preachers:  they talked the talk but didn’t walk the walk!

Joshua has become frustrated with Israel because they were more content in become “campers” than “conquerors.”  They had allowed a spirit of laxity to overcome a spirit of loyalty.  They had let a spirit of complacency take up residence in their hearts instead of commitment.  Joshua was frustrated.  Verse one indicates why Joshua was frustrated

18:1  the land had been [past tense] subdued

Not only is this in the “past” tense referring to an act already completed, but it is in the Hebrew “perfect” tense which is a way of expressing a completed event that cannot be undone.

Now, if God had given them an impossible task and had not provided the resources for victory, it would have been another matter.  In the very first chapter of Joshua God promised: 

^1:5 No one will be able to stand against you as long as you live.  I will be with you, just as I was with Moses. I will not leave you or forsake you.

The word translated, “will not leave,” means literally, “will not drop.”  It is the same word used in 18:3, translated, “delay.”  In other words God did not “drop the ball,” but Israel “dropped the ball.”  Israel became lax and apathetic concerning the very mission for which God in His Sovereign Will had elected, or chosen, them to accomplish!

We must pose to ourselves the same question Joshua posed to Israel:  “how long will you delay possessing the promise?”  A dangerous laxity, or spiritual lukewarmness, will prevent God’s promises for His chosen people from becoming possessions.  Spiritual laxity is disobedience and God never blesses disobedience.

Now, that stings a little bit, and it should.  Every time I think about how the truth of God stings upon the open wound of my sinfulness, I think of Merthialate—the miracle cure of my youth.  I’d get a boo-boo and the next thing I see is that little bottle of red pain.  Oh, did it sting!  But, it killed the infection.  So, think of Joshua 18:3 as God’s Merthialate.

Put your chin up.  There’s some really good news in this passage.  Remember, our victory in life—come whatever—is not determined by chance.  Our victory is determined by the sovereign election of Almighty God.  Look at the third element in our passage that reinforces this truth:

3.  An Enduring Witness (19:49-50)

⁴⁹ When they had finished distributing the land into its territories, the Israelites gave Joshua son of Nun an inheritance among them. ⁵⁰ By the Lord’s command, they gave him the city Timnath-serah in the hill country of Ephraim,  which he requested. He rebuilt the city and lived in it.

Notice especially those words, “they had finished.”  I don’t know about you but my mind immediately jumps to the last words of Jesus before He surrendered Himself into the arms of God.  Jesus said,

“It is finished!”  (John 19:30)

Here we have the resounding melody that weaves in and out of the scores of the symphony God has written for the lives of His Elect.  Like a musical score there are high notes and low notes, times of arpeggio and times of pause.  God’s symphony has grandiose crescendos and some rumbling lows.  But, one persistent melody dances its way through the orchestration of The Divine Symphony—“It is finished!” 

“It is finished.”  This is the bedrock upon which Christian truth rests.  Sure Israel would rise in times of great triumph, but more often sink to depths of defeat.  Yet, the standing witness, the “unchained melody,” is always that God’s chosen people will prevail.  Ultimately, it is God’s choice, not chance that determines the destiny of His people.

One of the greatest verses highlighting the enduring power of God’s electing grace comes from the Book of Job.  At a time when every voice around him shouted “You” are finished, God’s enduring witness shouted, “It” is finished!  Job 42:2 states it like this:

 “I know that you can do anything, and no one can stop you.” NLT

Archie Karas, Greek-American gambler, high roller, poker player, and pool shark famous for the largest and longest documented winning streak in gambling history simply known as The Run when he turned $50 in December 1992 into more than $40 million by the beginning of 1995, only to lose it all later that year.  Archie Karas, like all men without God, may manage to dance with Lady Luck for a time, but time will always run out.

Cast your lot with God and there’s not a chance that you will be anything less than blessed.  When it comes to possessing the promises of God, nothing is left to chance—choice, not chance determines one’s destiny.

<<end>>