Milo

VICTORY, THEN DEFEAT
Joshua 6–8

“When the trumpets sounded, the people shouted, and at the sound of the trumpet, when the people gave a loud shout, the wall collapsed; so every man charged straight in, and they took the city” (Josh. 6:20).

Obedience to an obviously foolish command brought Israel victory and taught a vital lesson. The key to winning is doing everything God’s way.

Definition of Key Terms
Devoted. The Hebrew word is used of items which are dedicated to God, and thus cannot have any common or secular use. When the Israelites “devoted” an enemy city to God, they killed all its inhabitants and herds, and either burned all its wealth or brought it to the tabernacle as a gift to God. In this passage Jericho, the first of the pagan cities of Canaan to be attacked by the Israelites, was so devoted. This meant that no soldier was to take any loot for himself, a proscription which one man, Achan, defied with terrible consequences.

Overview
Israel obeyed God’s command and successfully assaulted Jericho (6:1–27). But the sin of one soldier, Achan, caused defeat at Ai (7:1–21). Achan was executed (vv. 22–26). With the sin purged, Ai was taken (8:1–29). A solemn religious ceremony reminded Israel to keep God’s Law (vv. 30–35).

Understanding the Text
“March around the city” Josh. 6:1–27. Jericho was a walled city. Excavations there reveal that its fortifications featured a stone base wall 11 feet high. At its top was a smooth stone slope, angling upward at 35 degrees for 35 feet, where it joined massive stone walls that towered even higher.
In ancient warfare such cities were surrounded and starved into submission, or were taken by assault. The attackers might try to weaken the stone walls with fire or by tunneling. Or they might simply heap up a mountain of earth to serve as a ramp. Each of these methods of assault took weeks or months, and the attacking force usually suffered heavy losses.
God’s command to Joshua—to have the people march silently around Jericho for six days, and then after seven circuits on the seventh day to shout—was strange indeed. Yet Joshua followed His instructions to the letter. When the people did finally shout, the massive fortifications crumbled, and Israel won an easy victory.
The victory at Jericho was orchestrated to teach several lessons. Most important was that obedience, even when God’s commands seem foolish, brings victory. The miraculous victory also confirmed Joshua’s leadership. And it showed that God would surely fight for Israel in the battles ahead.
Each of us needs a Jericho at times. But Jericho victories are won only when obedience is complete.

“Joshua spared Rahab the prostitute” Josh. 6:25. Rahab’s belief in Israel’s God, shown when she hid two Israelite spies (Josh. 2), was rewarded. She and her family were spared when Jericho fell.
God still singles out believers when nations fall. See Ezekiel 18.

“They were routed by the men of Ai” Josh. 7:1–9. Ai, a small city above Jericho, defeated the 3,000 men Joshua set against it, killing 36 of the Israelites. The defeat panicked Joshua. As a good general, Joshua knew that a terrified army had little chance on the battlefield. Victory at Jericho had led to Joshua’s “fame [being] spread through the land” (6:27). Joshua feared that news of the defeat at Ai would give heart to the Canaanites, and that they would unite and crush Israel.
Fear is never very far from any of us. Even when we have experienced God’s blessing, as Joshua had, we’re prone to forget if some setback comes. Looking back and remembering what God has done for us brings comfort. Looking ahead and worrying about what might happen is both foolish and useless.

“Israel has sinned” Josh. 7:10–21. When Israel was defeated at Ai, Joshua foolishly focused on the possible consequences. His prayer (vv. 7–9) clearly reveals his panic and worry about what might lie ahead. God’s next words to Joshua put a new perspective on the situation. “Israel has sinned.” Joshua was not to worry about possible consequences of defeat, but to look for the cause of defeat. Why Israel lost the battle was far more important than what the loss might mean in terms of enemy morale.
When we experience a setback, it’s better for us too to look for the cause than to worry about consequences. If we examine ourselves and find no known sin, then we can advance with confidence. If we do find sin, even unintentional sin, we need to deal with it immediately.
In this case, Joshua apparently used the Urim and Thummim worn by the high priest to locate the man who had sinned. That man, Achan, then confessed to taking loot from Jericho even though he knew the city was devoted to God. The cause of the defeat was known. The sin then had to be dealt with.

“All Israel stoned him” Josh. 7:22–26. Some have expressed shock that Achan’s theft merited the death penalty. But it was not for theft that Achan was stoned. His sin had caused Israel’s defeat and the deaths of 36 men at the hands of the enemy. Achan was stoned because he “brought this disaster” on his people.
This event reminds us of an important reality. Anytime we sin we affect others. Like a stone tossed in a quiet pond, the ripples of human sins go on and on, disturbing not only our own peace but also the peace of others. Before we sin knowingly we should pause and consider how our act might affect others who love or depend on us.
But why was the family of Achan also stoned? Perhaps the best answer is seen in Achan’s confession that he hid his plunder “inside my tent.” The rest of the family shared his guilty secret, and thus became responsible as well.

“I have delivered into your hands the king of Ai, his people, his city and his land” Josh. 8:1–29. With the cause of Israel’s defeat dealt with, God granted His people total victory over Ai. The city with its people were wiped out, fulfilling God’s command to either drive out or destroy all the Canaanites, whose idolatry and other sins merited this punishment.

“Joshua built on Mount Ebal an altar” Josh. 8:30–35. After the victory at Ai Joshua fulfilled a command given by Moses (Deut. 27). He set the people on two opposing mountainsides, and after sacrificing to the Lord had them shout aloud the curses (disastrous consequences) of disobeying God’s Law.
How powerfully that message was driven home to the men and women who had experienced defeat at Ai, had participated in stoning Achan, and had then seen defeat transformed into victory.

DEVOTIONAL
Perspective
(Josh. 6)
Imagine yourself standing on the wall at Jericho. Put your hands on one of the massive stones in that wall, lean out, and look down from the dizzying height. Then look out and watch those crazy Israelites. For six days they’ve marched, without a word, around your city.
The first day, when you saw them coming, you and all your friends were terrified. You remembered all the stories about them and their God, and you trembled. When they didn’t mount an assault, but just walked silently around your six-acre fortress, everyone was worried. You all sat up most of the night, talking, wondering what their plan was.
Then, the next day, they did the same thing. The third day they marched around Jericho you began to feel a little better. Maybe there wasn’t a plan, after all. The fourth day, everyone felt relieved. You patted the walls, felt the solid rock, and began to feel safe. The fifth day, and the sixth, everyone was feeling bold. You began to shout insults. You laughed and ridiculed. Of course you were safe! How could anyone break through Jericho’s walls? How could you all have been afraid of this band of barbarians, these desert wanderers who lived in tents, who had no idea at all how to attack a fortress like yours!
And so the fear you once felt turned to relief, and the relief to contempt. Those crazy Israelites. Let them march all they want. What can they do to you? Nothing! Nothing at all.
I suspect that Christians often look foolish to the people of the world. We march to a different drummer. We obey the commands of a hidden God. In a real sense we’re outsiders, not insiders. It’s not surprising if we seem a little ridiculous to the people of this world.
If you ever feel foolish for a stand you take as a Christian, remember that today is only the first day, or the third, or the sixth, of your march around Jericho. It’s not until the seventh day comes, and this world crumbles like Jericho’s walls, that those who have truly been foolish will be revealed.

Personal Application
No matter what others think, it is never foolish to obey God.

Quotable
“What else do worldlings think we are doing but playing about when we flee what they most desire on earth, and what they flee, we desire? We are like jesters and tumblers who, with heads down and feet in the air draw all eyes to themselves. . . . Ours is a joyous game, decent, grave, and admirable, delighting the gaze of those who watch from heaven.”—Bernard of Clairvaux

Joshua

INTRODUCTION
The book takes its name from Joshua, who replaced Moses as Israel’s leader. Moses had led the people of Israel out of Egypt to the border of the land God promised to give Abraham’s descendants. Joshua commanded the forces that would conquer Canaan. The Book of Joshua tells the story of that Conquest and covers a period from about 1400 to 1375 B.C.
This is the first of several books that give Israel’s national history from the time of Joshua to the Babylonian Conquest in 586 B.C. It is also a book with a message. Canaan is God’s gift to His people. But that gift can only be claimed and held by obedience. Disobedience assures defeat.

OUTLINE OF CONTENTS
I.
Preparation for War
Josh. 1–5
II.
The Military Campaign
Josh. 6–12
III.
The Division of the Land
Josh. 13–21
IV.
Joshua’s Call to Commitment
Josh. 22–24

READYING FOR CONQUEST
Joshua 1–5

“Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the Law My servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go” (Josh. 1:7).

Sensing God’s presence gave Joshua and the Israelites the courage they needed to move ahead. That same sense of “God with us” is the key to our spiritual victories today.

Background
When Israel invaded Canaan around 1400B.C, the land was populated by a number of different peoples, organized in relatively small city-states. Yet many of the cities were protected by massive walls. The people were used to war, and some states maintained war chariots, the tanks of the ancient world. Though the city-states were independent, and had often warred with each other, cities in the north and south united to resist their common enemy, the Israelites.

Overview
God encouraged Joshua, Moses’ successor (1:1–9). Joshua mobilized Israel to prepare militarily (v. 10–2:10) and spiritually (3:1–5:15) for the invasion of Canaan.

Understanding the Text
“As I was with Moses, so I will be with you” Josh. 1:5. Joshua had been the aide of Moses from the beginning. He led Israel’s army from the first (cf. Ex. 17:9–13), a fact that has led some to suppose that Joshua had served as an officer in the Egyptian army. This is possible, as Egyptian texts listing soldiers with Semitic names have been recovered by archeologists. More important, Joshua was one of the original spies sent into Canaan some 40 years before. At that time only he and Caleb urged Israel to invade, sure that God could guarantee victory despite the military superiority of the Canaanites. Thus Joshua’s credentials, both as a military and spiritual leader, were well established.
Perhaps, however, the greatest advantage Joshua had was to have served under Moses. He observed both that humble man’s commitment to the Lord, and God’s commitment to Moses. When God promised, “As I was with Moses, so I will be with you,” those words must have brought great assurance.
Each of us needs a relationship with someone who can serve as a model. We each need to see in others both faithfulness to God, and God’s faithfulness to them.

“Be strong and courageous” Josh. 1:1–9. Note particularly God’s repeated words of exhortation and encouragement.

Exhortation
Encouragement
Be strong, courageous
I will be with you
Be careful to obey
I will give to you
Meditate on the
I will never leave
Book of the Law
I will never forsake
Be careful to do it
You will prosper, and succeed
Do not be terrified
God will be with you
Do not be discouraged
wherever you go

In just these few verses, Scripture sums up the way to victory in any situation we may face.

“Get your supplies ready” Josh. 1:10–18. Joshua took immediate steps to prepare Israel militarily. His first step was to have the people check their supplies and organize for a river crossing. The people prepared too—by agreeing to obey Joshua as their commander.
The next step that Joshua took was to send spies to check out Jericho.

“Everyone’s courage failed” Josh. 2:1–24. Jericho was a walled city that controlled passes leading up into Canaan’s central highlands. Two spies who slipped into the city were sheltered by Rahab, a prostitute who very likely, as was quite common in those days, operated an inn. Rahab hid the spies and asked them to spare her life when Israel took the city.
The New Testament looks back on Rahab’s act and commends her for this act of faith. James says, “Was not even Rahab the prostitute considered righteous for what she did when she gave lodging to the spies and sent them off in a different direction?” (2:25)
The incident shows us that in Old Testament times as well as today people of any nationality who trusted God could find salvation. It also reminds us that our past does not stand in the way of a personal relationship with God. It was not the good life Rahab had lived that saved her, but her active faith in Israel’s God.

“The LORD will do amazing things among you” Josh. 3:1–17. The first element in Israel’s spiritual preparation for the Conquest was clear evidence of God’s continuing presence. This evidence was provided when the river waters ceased flowing as soon as the priests who carried the ark of the covenant set foot in the river.
Joshua displayed faith in announcing ahead of time that this would happen. When it happened as he said, Israel’s confidence in both God and Joshua deepened.
God often gives us some special sign of His presence when we set about a difficult task. It’s not wrong to ask God to encourage us with an answer to prayer, or some other sign of His presence.

“These stones are to be a memorial to the people of Israel forever” Josh. 4:1–24. The Hebrew word for “memorial” is zikkaron. This is a technical theological term for a thing, place, or repeated event intended to serve as a vivid reminder of some act of God on behalf of His people. For instance, the Passover festival was a zikkaron. Those who shared the Passover meal relived the experience of the Exodus generation. Each family sharing that meal realized that God had delivered them, not just their ancestors.
The heap that Joshua formed from the 12 stones taken from the Jordan River was to be a symbol to future generations. When “in the future” children ask, “What do these stones mean?” parents were to tell the story of how God caused the river to stop flowing. Touching and feeling these stones would help make history—and God—real to future generations.
Note Joshua’s words of dedication when the heap of stones was set up at Gilgal. God had dried up the river as He earlier dried up the Red Sea, “so that all the peoples of the earth might know that the hand of the LORD is powerful and so that you might always fear the LORD your God” (v. 24).

15: Joshua commanded one man from each tribe to bring a large stone from the Jordan riverbed to Israel’s campsite. The 12 stones were then heaped in a pile. That heap of stones served as a zikkaron, a permanent reminder to Israel that God parted the waters of the Jordan so His people could enter the land.

“These were the ones Joshua circumcised” Josh. 5:1–9. Male circumcision is cutting off the flap of skin that covers the penis. During the years of wandering in the wilderness, the Israelites failed to circumcise their children, as they failed to obey other commands of the Lord. Now, before setting out on the Conquest, God told Joshua to have the Israelites perform this rite. Modern medicine has shown circumcision to have a number of health benefits. But in Israel it served a religious rather than public-health purpose. Circumcision was given the descendants of Abraham as a sign of their participation in the covenant of promise that had been given to him.
Among the promises given Abraham was a commitment to free Abraham’s descendants from slavery and to give them “this land . . . the land of the Kenites, Kenizzites, Kadmonites, Hittites, Perizzites, Rephaites, Amorites, Canaanites, Girgashites and Jebusites” (Gen. 15:7–21). Circumcision, at this critical juncture in history, was an act of faith claiming God’s ancient promises.
While the Book of Joshua stresses obedience, that obedience was rendered by those who had a faith relationship with God. Circumcision speaks of faith, not Law. Only the person with faith in God has any claim to His aid.

“The Israelites celebrated the Passover” Josh. 5:10. This was the final act of spiritual preparation: remembering God’s provision.
When we put the sequence together we find a prescription for spiritual readiness: Sense God’s presence. Set up reminders. Reaffirm faith. And celebrate what God has already done.

“The manna stopped” Josh. 5:10–12. From now on Israel would live by faith, not sight. The manna now ceased. No fiery pillar would lead. Daily, visible evidence of God’s presence would be absent for the first time in the memory of many of the Israelites. Yet the people under Joshua would trust and obey God. Seen or unseen, God is with His people. We can trust Him to lead us to victory.

DEVOTIONAL
When Knowing Isn’t Enough
(Josh. 2)
Rahab’s confession was stunning. “The LORD your God is God in heaven above and on the earth below.”
This pagan woman, a prostitute, had heard how the Lord dried up the water of the Red Sea. She’d heard of Israel’s victory over kings east of the Jordan. And she had drawn a simple conclusion.
“The LORD your God is God.”
What’s even more striking is Rahab’s report, “When we heard of it, our hearts sank and everyone’s courage failed.” All the people of Jericho had the same information. And all of them drew Rahab’s conclusion. “The LORD your God is God.”
The difference is that the people of Jericho decided to hold out anyway, while Rahab determined to commit herself to the God of the enemy.
I suspect that many today who are not believers share the conviction of the people of Jericho. They too know that “the Lord your God is God.” But somehow they remain enemies. They erect walls, not of stone, but of good works, of excuses, of ridicule, of belief in evolution, or even of religion, and desperately try to hide behind them. They know. But knowledge alone cannot save.
Rahab teaches us the difference between knowing God as an intellectual act and knowing God personally. What Rahab did was to act on her knowledge that “God is.” Rahab was willing to commit herself completely to God, sure that otherwise she had no hope.
How good to have made Rahab’s choice. How good to have made our knowledge of God a stepping-stone to a decision to trust ourselves to Him. How good to know that we too are now safe.

Personal Application
How might the story of Rahab help a friend or relative who knows, but hasn’t yet chosen to trust God?

Quotable
“God is more anxious to bestow His blessings on us than we are to receive them.”
—St. Augustine

CHRIST IN US
2 Corinthians 12–13

“He is not weak in dealing with you, but is powerful among you. For to be sure, He was crucified in weakness, yet He lives in God’s power. Likewise, we are weak in Him, yet by God’s power we will live with Him to serve you” (2 Cor. 13:3–4).

Christ in us remains the source of our strength.

Overview
Paul’s chronic illness exhibited Christ’s power at work through weakness (12:1–10). Paul’s “defense” had been motivated by a desire to help the Corinthians understand and repent (vv. 11–21). Christ will surely discipline those who do not test themselves (13:1–10). Paul closed abruptly, with very brief greetings (vv. 11–14).

Understanding the Text
“Visions and revelations” 2 Cor. 12:1–6. Anyone other than Paul would have quickly broadcast reports of the stunning vision of paradise he alluded to here. Paul, however, preferred to highlight his weaknesses. Why? In part perhaps because the revelation Paul mentioned may have been personal: an encouragement from God strengthening Paul for the hardships ahead.
But Paul had another reason. He knew that no one’s faith can rest on secondhand experiences. The conversion and growth of the Corinthians must be a response to the Word Paul had been called to teach, not to Paul’s report of a personal supernatural experience.
Paul wanted the Corinthians to base their belief on what Paul said (his teaching of truth) and did (his modeling of truth). In this way the Corinthians’ faith would be rooted in their own experience of God, not Paul’s.
You and I can testify to what God is doing in our lives, and so bless others. But no one can have our experience “secondhand.” At best such testimonies encourage others to step out in personal response to God’s Word, and experience Him for themselves.

“There was given me a thorn in my flesh” 2 Cor. 12:7–10. Scholars still debate the nature of Paul’s “thorn in the flesh.” Most often mentioned is a disfiguring eye disease that made it difficult for Paul to read and write (cf. Gal. 6:11). All we really know is that it troubled Paul greatly. So greatly that he prayed futilely for its removal and that he finally came to appreciate his thorn as a weakness through which Christ’s power might be more clearly displayed (see DEVOTIONAL).
The lesson Paul learned can encourage us all. That sense of weakness we feel need not keep us from ministering confidently. In fact, it is a source of confidence. The more clearly I realize that God’s power is best expressed in weak human beings, the more freedom I will have to serve. And the more Christ will use me.

“I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses” 2 Cor. 12:9. In a significant little book on ministry (When the Vision Has Vanished), Bob Girard reviews the weaknesses that Paul mentioned in 2 Corinthians 11–12. He notes that Paul admits:
he was not a skillful speaker (11:6)
he was seen as a “weak” leader (11:21)
he had a prison record (11:23)
he was wracked by internal conflict (11:28–29)
his prayers had gone unanswered (12:8–9)
he had been insulted (12:10)
he had been in distress (12:10)
he had experienced persecution (12:10)
he had been afraid of disappointments (12:20)
he had been afraid of rejection (12:20)
he had been afraid of facing difficult situations (12:20)
he had feared public humiliation (12:21)
he had feared he would break down and cry publicly (12:21)
he had been afraid people would not listen, but keep on being rebellious (12:21).
Yet all these things which might make us stamp “failure” on Paul’s forehead were actually turned by God into strengths. Paul faced his weaknesses, accepted them, and in complete confidence that God would work through a weak—and thus humble—man, set out to serve with all his might.
When we catalog Paul’s successes, the churches he planted, the letters he wrote, the clarification he brought to the nature of Christian faith, we might well stand amazed. All this done by an admittedly weak man? Yes. Because in his weakness this man trusted himself completely to Jesus, so that Christ’s power might rest on him.
What an exciting prospect for you and me. Let’s not conceal our weaknesses, or deny them. Let’s learn to use them, to turn our hearts to Christ that we might know His power.

“The things that mark an apostle” 2 Cor. 12:11–18. The Corinthians were unwilling to take weakness as a mark of apostleship. Or even Paul’s failure to demand money! So Paul reminded them that God “persistently” performed miracles among them while he was there.
Paul became a bit sarcastic now. What a crafty fellow! He tricked them into following him by not demanding money! And the only explanation he had was love!
How strange that some Christians are totally loyal to those who exploit them for money. More than one minister has said, and truthfully, “My people want me to drive a Mercedes. They expect me to have a half-million dollar home.” And more than one congregation has been contemptuous of those who serve them out of love.
The things you and I see as marks of apostleship are often the measure, not of the man we evaluate, but of our own spiritual maturity and insight.

“Everything we do . . . is for your strengthening” 2 Cor. 12:19–21. When I first read 2 Corinthians, I was embarrassed for Paul. I misunderstood what he was doing in sharing so openly. Only later did I understand how a careful study of 2 Corinthians is not only a course in Christian leadership, but a guidebook for congregations. If the Corinthians would only understand the implications of Paul’s sharing in this deeply personal book, their view of ministering and ministry would be transformed.
Then they would respond, not to the exploitative “super-apostle,” but to the “weak” Paul. And following him rather than other divisive leaders would bring an end to the “quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, factions, slander, gossip, arrogance and disorder” that marked the church.
Have you learned the lessons Paul was so eager to teach? Does your church understand? Look around. The existence in any church of these sins of Corinth suggests that leaders and people alike have missed Paul’s point.

“He is not weak in dealing with you” 2 Cor. 13:1–10. Paul now warned the Corinthians. If they did not respond, he would use the authority he had been given by God to discipline them.
The issue of authority has troubled the church in every age. Too often authority has meant power, and power the ability to punish. Thus some leaders have assumed a worldly kind of authority, and ruled over God’s people. Paul rejected worldly authority in all its forms. Yet he warned the Corinthians of the danger of resisting the authority he had received from Christ.
What is this authority Paul had, and how was it exercised? Paul said simply “He [Christ] is not weak in dealing with you, but is powerful among you” (v. 3). Paul’s authority was from Christ, and rested entirely on Christ’s work among His people. He, Paul, didn’t have to do anything to discipline the Corinthians. Jesus, living in His church, “is powerful among you.”
When Suzie began living with a married man, we elders went to see her. We encouraged her to see that what she was doing was sin, and to break off the relationship. When she refused, we followed the biblical pattern for discipline laid down by Paul in 1 Corinthians. But we also rebuked Suzie. God does not permit His own to ruin their lives by habitually practicing sin. Exercising our authority, we sternly warned her.
What were we elders going to do? Put her in jail? Fine her? Burn down her house? Of course not. We had no worldly power. But we knew that Christ lives, and is powerful in His church. Our warning simply meant that unless she repented and turned back to the Lord, Christ Himself would act.
And He did.
True spiritual leadership relies on God for spiritual results. And relies on Him to exercise authority over the church which is Christ’s body.

“Aim for perfection” 2 Cor. 13:11–14. It’s not enough to be an “average church.” It’s not enough to wait patiently for Jesus to return. God calls us all to aim for perfection: to work toward the goal of fulfilling Christ’s purpose in our individual and corporate lives. For this we too must hear Paul’s appeal to the Corinthians, to be of one mind, and to live with one another in peace.

DEVOTIONAL
Unexpected Gifts
(2 Cor. 12:1–10)
“Why has this happened to me?” She was a young woman, with two children. An aerobics instructor, and a teacher. She’d hurt her back, and been told an operation would solve the problem. But something terrible went wrong. Nerves were cut, and suddenly she found herself able to walk only with the aid of a walker and, most awful of all, without bowel or bladder control.
Some Christians give peculiar answers to the question of “why?” “You didn’t have enough faith,” some will say. And they are likely to add, “Claim the promises of God and even now He’ll heal you.” Another person will say, “You sinned in going to a doctor. You should have relied on God only.”
I suppose that Paul offered the strangest answer of all. It’s found in verse 7. “Your back injury and the operation were a gift from God.”
That’s what pops out if you look at this verse in the Greek. Edothe moi skolops te sarki, it says. “THERE WAS GIVEN ME a thorn in the flesh.” And that word “was given” is a word used to denote special favors given by the Lord to His saints (cf. Gal. 3:21; Eph. 3:8; 1 Tim. 4:14).
God gave Paul a terrifying weakness, a chronic illness, and though Paul prayed desperately for relief, God caused Paul to live with it the rest of his life.
As a gift.
You and I do others no favor when we tell them that God guarantees His children health and wealth in this life. That simply is not true. We do them no favor when we tell them if they only have enough faith, they’ll be healed. That’s not true either. Paul prayed with total confidence, only to learn that the answer was no.
He learned in time that the weakness which devastated him was truly a gift from God. A gift that enabled him to experience God’s grace, presence, and power, in ways he would never have experienced them otherwise.
Perhaps this is what we need to tell others, or remind ourselves of, when tragedy strikes and disaster comes. God gives His own strange gifts. But gifts they are. As we seek His strength, we’ll discover a depth to our relationship with the Lord that we would otherwise never have known. And a strength that makes weakness a triumph and a joy.

Personal Application
God’s best gifts are often wrapped in tragedy and suffering.

Quotable
“I do not believe that sheer suffering teaches. If suffering alone taught, then all the world would be wise. To suffering must be added mourning, understanding, patience, love, openness and the willingness to remain vulnerable.”—Anne Morrow Lindbergh

PAUL’S APOSTLESHIP
2 Corinthians 10–11

“ ‘Let him who boasts boast in the Lord.’ For it is not the one who commends himself who is approved, but the one whom the Lord commends” (2 Cor. 10:17–18).

The differences between true and false servants of God are surprising.

Overview
Paul further explained his New Covenant ministry, touching on its resources (10:1–6), its essential character (vv. 7–18), its counterfeits (11:1–15), and its costs (vv. 16–33).

Understanding the Text
“ ‘Timid’ when face to face” 2 Cor. 10:1. These words reflect charges made against Paul by those in Corinth who shrugged and tried to dismiss the apostle as an insignificant man.
They surely had their reasons. Paul wasn’t much of an orator (cf. 1 Cor. 2:4). He wasn’t a dominating personality: “timid” fit far better than “bold.” If we can believe early descriptions Paul was unimpressive physically. The earliest account we have describes Paul as a wizened little man, with a large hooked nose, peering up through eyebrows that met in the center of his forehead. Only his bright, twinkling eyes reflected the force of his personality.
It’s all too easy for us to dismiss others on the basis of appearances. Or to be overly impressed. The last four chapters of 1 Corinthians serve as an important corrective, as Paul helps us better understand the qualities that make for spiritual power.
Judging by appearances is neither right nor safe!

“We do not wage war as the world does” 2 Cor. 10:2–6. Paul had been dismissed as spiritually irrelevant. He was not. Christians do not “live by the standards of this world” and there is a vast difference between spiritual and worldly power.
Paul relied not on weapons of the world but on “divine power to demolish strongholds.” The image here is of an ancient fortified city set to resist a conqueror by taking refuge behind strong walls. Paul knew that those who resisted his authority resisted Christ, who appointed him an apostle. Paul was absolutely confident that God’s “divine power” would “demolish” the arguments of those who resisted his authority, for Paul’s sole goal was to bring every thought of the Corinthians into harmony with Christ’s will.
Three things here lie at the root of spiritual power. To be called by Christ. To have confidence in spiritual rather than worldly power. To desire only to bring others to obedience to Jesus.
Too many try to rest ministries on a two-legged rather than three-legged stool, and thus fall. Some are called and confident, but desire personal power over others. Some are called and seek to bring others into obedience to Jesus, but rely on worldly styles of “leadership.” But effective ministry must rest on all three legs for spiritual power.

“Once your obedience is complete” 2 Cor. 10:6. Paul was sure that God’s power would work within the Corinthians, to change the minds and hearts of the majority and reestablish their obedience. Any who then continued to resist would be disciplined.
Let’s be among the first to respond when called back to Christ. It’s dangerous to be among the last.

“Building you up rather than pulling you down” 2 Cor. 10:7–11. Paul used this same phrase again in 13:10 to describe his authority.
This is a critical difference between spiritual and worldly authority. Spiritual authority builds up others. Worldly authority builds up leaders. Watch a parade in Russia, and you see gigantic pictures of Marx and Lenin, with the current Chairman. In a land supposedly dedicated to equality, the fluttering portraits bear witness to the fact that in this world, leaders exalt themselves, not others.
Christians become so used to worldly leadership that unless Christian leaders behave in the same way, we assume they are weak. We want “strong leaders.” Leaders the world will look at as “great” because they exalt themselves. It makes us feel good to be the followers of an acknowledged “great man.”
But Paul, and mature believers today, knew that spiritual authority is given leaders to build others up. The test of spiritual leaders is not how “weighty and forceful” they appear to the world, but whether they are effective in helping others follow Jesus more closely.
Don’t be taken in by the world’s fascination with “great men.” Choose instead the “timid,” unimpressive man or woman who sees authority as the privilege of building others up.

“When they . . . compare themselves with themselves, they are not wise” 2 Cor. 10:12–18. Paul was picturing the yearly denominational get-together. One pastor in Chattanooga is on five radio stations. His friend in Nashville is on six. One candidate for the “fastest growing church” has increased in membership 89 percent. Another candidate claims 89.5 percent. There’s a hot debate over baptisms. Seven churches have baptized 38 folks since the last annual meeting. But three of them counted people who were rebaptized, and some of the brethren think this shouldn’t count.
Paul looked at this kind of thing and simply said, “They are not wise.” Numbers do count. But comparing numbers—measuring ourselves by ourselves—isn’t wise.
Paul didn’t say exactly why, but I suspect there are several reasons. It makes us unduly proud. It makes us self-satisfied. It shifts our focus from Christ to ourselves. It shifts our focus from the people leaders are called to serve to the leaders themselves. It makes us look to others for approval rather than to Jesus.
Paul avoided all these traps, and simply said he wanted to reach out as far as he could with the Gospel of Christ. And that his hope was the Corinthian’s faith would continue to grow.
I suspect if our whole motivation is to share Christ and see Christians grow, the numbers will take care of themselves. And our commendation will come from the Lord rather than from ourselves.

“Sincere and pure devotion to Christ” 2 Cor. 11:1–6. Paul’s great frustration was to see the Corinthians showing devotion to human leaders—some even to him!—rather than to Christ. How baffling when modern “super apostles” appear, and our friends seem more committed to them than to Jesus.

“Preaching the Gospel of God to you free of charge” 2 Cor. 11:7–12. We recently had a TV “expose” of a tent evangelist in St. Petersburg. They took him to task for the usual things—an emphasis on money, a lavish lifestyle, a million-dollar home. We’re so used to such things that it’s almost stunning to realize that Paul was being criticized in Corinth for not taking money!
There is one thing anyone in ministry can count on. Whatever you do, someone will be there to criticize you.
Paul was not one of those hard shell types, able to shrug off criticism. It hurt Paul. Just as it hurts most of us. When we do something out of love for others, to have that act twisted and used as a club against us is painful indeed.
In this case, Paul reacted strongly. He explained why he acted as he did, expressed the love that motivated his action, and said he would “keep on doing what I am doing.” There are times it may be best to suffer in silence. But there are times when we need to confront criticism, and make our motives clear.

“Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light” 2 Cor. 11:13–15. Don’t expect the spiritual fraud or pseudo-apostle to appear wicked. In fact, such people “masquerade as servants of righteousness.”
Paul’s point was that we must be rigorous in testing those who announce themselves as heaven’s great gift to the church! If we stick to the context of these two chapters, we have several tests we can apply. Are our leaders concerned with building us up—or themselves? Do they rely on worldly leadership practices, or the spiritual armory of Paul? Are they eager for personal wealth, or indifferent to it?
If we move to other passages on false teachers we find more specific tests. Is their teaching true to the Word? And do they live what they teach?
Let’s not be fooled by the masks people wear, or their pious talk. It doesn’t take too much wisdom to distinguish those who want to exploit you from those who wish to serve.

DEVOTIONAL
Hire This Man!
(2 Cor. 11:16–32)
The ad said “Résumés Professionally Prepared.” It went on to say how important it is to make a good first impression. And how the professional resume service would help emphasize strengths, and even shape the presentation to the specific job you were looking for. What would happen if the Apostle Paul walked hesitantly into such an office, and diffidently held out the handwritten list of accomplishments that are found in 2 Corinthians 11:16–33? Well, let’s listen to the resume writer.
“A Jew? That’s one strike against you, Paul, if you really want to work in Gentile society.
“Ummm. Let’s see. In prison. Flogged. Beaten five times by the Jews, three times with rods by the Gentiles. Stoned by a mob. It seems, Paul, you have a hard time getting along with people.
“And this. In danger a lot. From bandits? At sea? In the city? The country? I guess your judgment isn’t too good, eh? Always getting yourself in these difficult situations.
“Worked hard, gone without sleep. Often gone without food? I’m afraid your only experience is in the unskilled, low-pay labor market, Paul. You can’t expect to get an important job with this your only experience.
“This mention of ‘pressure’ and ‘feeling weak’ has got to go. Makes you sound emotionally unstable, you know.
“Oh, no. Fled arrest in Damascus?
“Paul, there’s nothing we can do for you. Your resume reveals far too many weaknesses for you to succeed at anything.
“Oh? The job you’re applying for requires weaknesses? What in the world could that job be? Oh, the ministry.
“I see. It’s so whatever you accomplish will clearly be through Christ’s power, not your own? And so you won’t rely on your own strengths or talents?
“Let me make a phone call. ‘God, I’ve got an . . . What? Oh, sure.’
“Paul. You’re hired.”

Personal Application
God still looks for weak people in whom to display His strength. Want the job?

Quotable
“When God delivered Israel out of Egypt, He didn’t send an army. We would have sent an army or an orator. But God sent a man who had been in the desert for 40 years, and had an impediment in his speech. It is weakness that God wants! Nothing is small when God handles it.”—D.L. Moody

NEW COVENANT GIVING
2 Corinthians 8–9

“Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver” (2 Cor. 9:7).

God wants the giver, then the gift.

Overview
Paul reminded the Corinthians of the Macedonians’ generosity (8:1–7), and urged them to give (vv. 8–13). Giving is sharing (vv. 14–15): a proof of love (vv. 16–24), and a service to the saints (9:1–5). God will supply those who give (vv. 6–11), for giving stimulates praise and thanksgiving to the Lord (vv. 12–15).

Understanding the Text
“Their overflowing joy and their extreme poverty welled up in rich generosity” 2 Cor. 8:1–5. The poor still tend to be more generous than the rich. Perhaps it is just that those who are needy can better identify with others in need. Or perhaps it’s that those with little have learned to trust the Lord so much that they do not fear giving.
When I was in seminary my Uncle Al sent us $20 a month. I was very concerned, because I knew something of the financial burden my uncle labored under. I even (foolishly and most ungraciously) wrote and said that if it was a burden for them, we could get along. They were hurt, but like the Macedonians in Paul’s time, “they urgently pleaded with us for the privilege of sharing in this service to the saints.” I was relieved, because that $20 was often all we had for food the last week of the month! And I hope I learned then that giving is a joy of which no one should be deprived.

“I am not commanding you” 2 Cor. 8:6–9. Paul brought up the subject of giving because he had sent Titus to Corinth, and one of his tasks was to receive the funds that had been collected there for the needy. Yet Paul maintained a delicate balance in dealing with the topic, and was very careful not to “command” giving.
The Old Testament did command giving. The Law required that a tenth of the produce of the land be contributed for the support of the Levites and priests who led the community in worship. An additional tenth was gathered every third year and placed in local storehouses, for distribution to the poor and needy. Later in Israel’s history additional amounts were collected as taxes by Jewish kings, and then by the Gentile emperors who dominated Syria-Palestine. Each of these contributions was required: one had to pay.
Now Paul introduced another principle. No one has to give. And no fixed percentage of income was set as the “right” amount! Moreover, while some giving did go to the support of missionaries (cf. Phil. 4:14–19), most collections mentioned in the New Testment were in the nature of disaster relief, and sent to saints in parts of the world stricken by drought or devastated by war.
No one was commanded to give to meet such needs. But, as Paul reminds us, giving is (1) a grace to be developed (2 Cor. 8:7), (2) an evidence of sincere love (v. 9), and (3) an appropriate response to Jesus, who “though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, so that you through His poverty might become rich” (v. 9).

“If the willingness is there, the gift is acceptable” 2 Cor. 8:10–12. It’s easy to daydream about how generous we’d be if we suddenly inherited millions of dollars. But giving is a matter of “what one has, not . . . what he does not have.”
God isn’t as interested in the amount as He is in our willingness. Ten dollars from a poor widow may mean more than $10,000 from a wealthy man—and that $10 may have a greater spiritual impact on others.

“That there might be equality” 2 Cor. 8:13–15. The giving we see in the New Testament is sharing, not giving. In fact, the word “share” (koinonia) is used more often by Paul in these chapters than the word “give” (doron).
What Paul pictured for us is Christ’s living body, extended over the entire earth. Money in this analogy is the sustenance carried by the blood supply. It needs to reach every cell, so that each will be able to carry out its function.
Paul did not want one part of the body bloated and fat, while another is starved to helplessness. Instead the part of the body that has shares with that which lacks, aware that one day positions may be reversed. If such sharing does take place, the whole body of Christ on earth will be strong, able to carry out God’s will for humankind.
We moderns have a tendency to lose sight of Paul’s worldwide vision. We give to pad our own pews, or enlarge our church buildings. Such giving may be valid. But it is not that sharing that Paul or the New Testament envisions in 2 Corinthians 8–9 and similar passages.

“We are taking pains to do what is right, not only in the eyes of the Lord but also in the eyes of men” 2 Cor. 8:16–24. What a principle for modern media ministries to remember. And for the local church as well.
We’re all vulnerable to money; if not to cash itself, to the power money represents. This is one reason why every Christian ministry must be protected by establishing financial controls, and establishing a policy of absolute openness concerning its books.
Don’t be insulted if someone asks to check on your receipts and expenditures. Thank him. He’s doing you the service of holding you accountable to man as well as God.

“Then it will be ready as a generous gift” 2 Cor. 9:1–5. I know some folks think that church budgets are at best unspiritual, and a pledge drive is close to satanic. These can be, if they’re manipulative. Any approach to raising money for Christian work is wrong if it operates by producing guilt or twisting arms.
But Paul reminds us that it’s not wrong for giving to be organized and systematic. If you pledge, and set apart a certain amount each week, you’re more likely to be able to give what you intend to than if you wait till the last moment, and find you’re short on cash.
Lack of planning and organization can transform what was intended to be spontaneous and joyful into grudged giving.

DEVOTIONAL
Joyful Giving
(2 Cor. 9:6–14)
Emphasize the benefits! According to my friends in marketing, this is the key to good advertising. Make sure folks see the benefits that accrue if they buy your product.
I imagine that makes it tough for an ad agency trying to sell cigarettes. And for a preacher trying to sell giving! Paul, however, was a master salesman. He stuck strictly to the truth. He didn’t push. And yet he made it clear that joyful giving has tremendous spiritual benefits.
No one has to give. In fact, Paul didn’t want any reluctant givers. A person who feels he has to give, or gives grudgingly, shouldn’t drop a single coin in the collection plate. God doesn’t need the money. And that kind of giving won’t bring the giver any blessings at all! But if we want to give—ah, then we reap tremendous blessings.
So Paul reminded the Corinthians and us of the blessings that make Christian giving such a joy.
First, giving benefits you materially and spiritually. You see, it’s impossible for us to outgive God (vv. 6–11). God is able to pour so much grace into our lives, that having been “made rich in every way” we “can be generous on every occasion.”
This isn’t a “send in 10 dollars and God will send you 100” kind of promise. It is simply a reminder that God is the source of bread as well as the inner joy we experience in Christ. We give only money. God meets our material needs, and gives us spiritual riches as well.
Second, giving permits us to bless others. What you give supplies “the needs of God’s people.” Even more, our giving deepens the relationship of others with the Lord. As they realize God prompted us to give, they “will praise God for the obedience that accompanies your confession of the Gospel.”
Third, giving stimulates others to pray for us. As others identify us as the means God used to meet their needs, they will respond with gratitude and appreciation. And each of us needs all the prayers we can get!
God doesn’t really care about our money. After all, His resources are infinite. But He does care about the spiritual benefits that generosity brings the giver and the recipient of this unusual grace.

Personal Application
Give joyfully, for you will be blessed.

Quotable
“The New Testament does not teach us simply to give away possessions for the sake of giving them away or appearing virtuous. Nor does it encourage us to adopt a ‘simple lifestyle’ because simplicity has merit in itself. Rather, all of these commands are put in the context of glorifying God and furthering the work of His kingdom, and of laying up treasures in heaven and increasing our heavenly reward.”—Wayne Gruden