Mick Roberts - Class 2: You Servants from a Far Country

Automatically transcribed. Accuracy is good but not perfect, and words are sometimes wrong. Trust the audio over the text.

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   We will now call upon our brother Mick Roberts to speak to us through the second talk this afternoon. Abraham's faithful, sorry, your servants from a far country. I almost had you doing the same one again.

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   So more lessons from servants, brother sisters, and a very different set of circumstances, and a very different group of people that we're to look at. But I think nevertheless, there are some interesting lessons, perhaps, that we can draw for ourselves. Neither Sister Mary nor myself have parents who are Christadelphians. And so, in that sense, we never had the benefit of the kind of conversations that you perhaps have had with your parents.

3. 1:09

   Mealtimes, about the truth, and about Sunday school lessons that you may have had. We both had Sunday schooling, but not parents in the meeting. And I think if I had had parents in the meeting, and had had the lesson that we've just been looking at from Joshua 9, I don't know whether the kind of questions I would have asked are the kind of questions that you've had asked of you, or you've asked yourself about these people.

4. 1:44

   We're very quick to label people. And you probably do this already. It's a kind of a national trait, isn't it? We all have the ability to label entire nations of people. You know that being English, all I talk about is the royal wedding and the weather. I know that you, being Canadian, only talk about ice hockey.

5. 2:11

   And the weather. Yeah. You've probably got in your head that sort of mental response. I won't ask you to shout them out, but you've got the mental responses about different cultural national groups. If I say to you just to think Italians, I can tell what you're thinking already. Or if we were saying Arabs, you've got words that come into your head.

6. 2:41

   And what if I say Gibeonites? Straight away, I wonder what comes into your head. You see, I can imagine the conversations will be the way this group are portrayed. We know the story so well. These were deceitful, crafty, scheming individuals. They used and abused Joshua. They were underhand. They were not trustworthy. Apart from that, they were okay.

7. 3:15

   But the sort of picture that we get when we, again, back to our Sunday school lessons, and from just glancing at this quickly, is we do see a people that we perhaps don't see in a good light. We see them with those sorts of attributes tainted by the way in which they were.

8. 3:35

   And clearly what they did, many things that they did, were clearly wrong and dishonest. But I want us to take another look at these people. And again, we're looking at lessons for servants, remember? Lessons for servants. And we've read in Joshua 9 that these people came along and said, we are your servants.

9. 3:53

   And we saw how the chapter ended with them, yes, they are going to be servants. But the way in which they got there and the lessons which are there, maybe just have some more lessons for us beyond the sort of Sunday school lesson. We know that there's plenty of lessons from the point of view of how Joshua and the children of Israel acted.

10. 4:13

    In that throughout the chapter, they didn't turn to God for advice, for counsel. That they relied upon their own wisdom and therefore fell into the trap that was laid. There's a lesson in itself there from Joshua and the children of Israel. But there's lessons too from these Gibeonites.

11. 4:37

    Clearly they're Gentiles. And clearly they're scared. It's no surprise that they're scared because we knew right back from the time of Genesis when the children of Israel came out of Egypt. And the way in which the greatest army that existed in the world at that time were destroyed. That the rest of Canaan were going to be scared.

12. 5:01

    Their hearts will melt, says the song of Moses. We know how the likes of Rahab had heard as a Gentile and had acted in order to find a means of salvation. But here we've got a whole community, a whole nation of people who are scared. And they don't know what to do. They're scared and they don't know what to do.

13. 5:28

    And yet on the surface and humanly speaking, they had all manner of things that they can do. Because in Joshua we read that they were indeed a people who were mightier than Ai. Who in the first instance had been able to suppress the attack of Israel. They had mighty cities.

14. 5:48

    They were strong. They were capable. In human terms. But the lesson that we get, brothers and sisters, of how they acted is really a story of people who come to a frame of mind where they know they need to do something. Because they cannot resist the power of the God of Israel. And they decide that they have no alternative but to put themselves forward in a position of declaring themselves to be servants.

15. 6:27

    So I think there's lessons for us as we look at this people. If we look at the opening verses of Joshua 9. The first thing to notice, brothers and sisters, in the opening couple of verses, there are a lot of ites. But there are no Gibeonites here. It came to pass when all the kings that were on this side of Jordan in the hills and the low land and in the coast of the great city toward Lebanon, the Hittite, the Amorite, the Canaanite, the Perizzite, the Hivite, the Jebusite, heard about it.

16. 7:10

    That they gathered together to fight with Joshua and Israel with one accord. But there's no Gibeonite. So we get a picture straight away, brothers and sisters. The world at the time that exists in Canaan is one where they feel that they are willing and able to come together in a confederacy and to flex their muscles and to stand up against the God of Israel and his people.

17. 7:35

    But not the Gibeonites. Humanly speaking, we live in a world where everybody is standing up against the God of Israel. And there may be some who are on the sidelines, perhaps like the Gibeonites, who are scared and who don't know what to do. Who feel that for whatever reason that they are not going to affiliate themselves and join in with the other ites who are there.

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    Who will come together and fight with Joshua and with Israel with one accord. And, you know, we just got to let our minds start to wonder with the connections and the echoes in Scripture. When the great Joshua comes. And those who will form a confederacy against him. Will there be those who are standing by unsure where to turn and with whom to place their allegiance.

19. 8:36

    And there's the Gibeonites. They have not joined in with the crowd. And they are wondering what they must do. Now, it's clear that they were afraid. We read in verse 3. When the inhabitants of Gibeon heard what Joshua had done to Jericho and Ai. They worked craftily or wilily. Shrewdly, cleverly, scheming. That they might find a means of salvation.

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    And they went and pretended to be ambassadors. But it's quite clear. Verse 9. When they came to him from a... They came to him and they said, They had come from a very far country, your servants have come. Because we have heard of his fame and all that he did in Egypt. Oh yes, the plagues, the destruction and the salvation.

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    The ripples had gone through Canaan and Gibeon had heard it. So there's truth in what they're saying in part. And there's also deceit. They've understood the power of God. But they were unclear how they might align themselves with God. And so that's why they seem to work in this crafty and scheming, this wily way.

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    In order to find a means of salvation. We've come from a far country. But it wasn't true. It wasn't true. But in a sense, brothers and sisters, they had come from a far country in the sense of their spiritual mindedness. In terms of their moral code and conduct. In terms of their worship, they had.

23. 10:25

    But I'm sure they hadn't seen it in that light. But in a way, they had come from a long way away. They were miles off beam with what the God of Israel wants.

24. 10:37

    And yet they came seeking peace. It's interesting. If you look at Joshua 10. And the opening verses. It came to pass when Adonai Zedek, king of Jerusalem, heard how Joshua had taken Ai. And had utterly destroyed it. As he had done to Jericho and its king. And had done to Ai and its king.

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    And how the inhabitants of Gibeon had made peace with Israel. And were among them. So that confederacy. Now seeing that Gibeon is allying itself with Israel. That they feared greatly. Because Gibeon was a great city. Like one of the royal cities. And because it was greater than Ai. And all its men were mighty.

26. 11:32

    So the picture we get, brothers and sisters. Is not that the Gibeonites were some sort of small, out in the sticks place. That was going to get swept away by Israel as they came into the land. They were a formidable people. Its men were mighty. Its cities were big and prosperous. And when the other nations there that we read about in the opening verses of chapter 9.

27. 11:56

    Had seen what Gibeon had done. They knew that there was a need for them to intervene. Because Gibeon were a big and mighty people. And if they're now in cahoots with Israel. What on earth is going to happen? So we need to read between the lines, brothers and sisters. The picture that we get of the Gibeonites.

28. 12:13

    The picture that we get of Gibeon. Were a big, strong, mighty people. Who were scared. And how could they possibly resist the God of Israel? They had heard and they knew that they had to act. But they didn't know how. All their mightiness. All their riches. All their wealth. Was of no consequence.

29. 12:43

    It was not enough to resist the power of the God of Israel. When Israel was to come in God's strength. Now I think it's interesting, brothers and sisters. If we just look at an echo in a parable.

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    If we can go to the record of Luke. And I've lost my reference here. So you're going to help me. We're going to look for the parable which has just escaped. It's jumped out of my Bible here. About the man who sends an ambassador.

31. 13:41

    Building a tower. That's the one. And that's when my Bible is open. It kind of just jumps off. Doesn't it? Thank you. Thank you. No, it's not Luke 14.

32. 14:09

    Luke 14. 32. We're there. Thank you. So here we've got a parable. About the relationship. With the Lord Jesus. And about making. Difficult decisions.

33. 14:35

    We know that the verse is about intending to build a tower. It's not that particular part. If we just move on in the parable. That's the one. Which of you intending to build a tower. Does not sit down first. And count the cost. Whether he has enough to finish it. Lest after he has laid the foundation.

34. 14:54

    And is not able to finish. All who see it begin to mock him. Saying. This man began to build. And was not able to finish. Another gist of the parable. It's about. Thinking through carefully. What it is that you're going to start. So for you Gibeonites. Here's the key I think. In this little echo in the parable.

35. 15:10

    Verse 31. What king. Going to make war. Against another king. Doesn't sit down first. And consider. Whether he is able. With 10,000. To meet him. Who comes against him. With 20,000. Now it's interesting here. The language apparently. Conveys the idea. Of being met. By a multitudinous. Infantissimal. Host. A numberless. Enemy. That you cannot possibly.

36. 15:47

    Fully. Comprehend. And count. So the idea being. That a king. Sitting down. Weighs up the odds. And looks at his own army. And his own strength. And looks at that of those. Of the enemies. Whom he faces. 10,000. And 20,000. We're completely outnumbered. So don't read that as just 20,000. Read it as.

37. 16:15

    We've just got beyond the numbers. That we can count against us. Verse 32. Or else. While the other. Is still a great way off. Far off. We might say. He sends a delegation. And asks conditions. Of. Peace. Peace.

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    That's what a. Wise. Leader. Might do. If you're faced with a situation. Where you know. You cannot. Humanly speaking. Overcome the size of the enemy. Against you. Rather than the futility. Of sending your men out. To battle. And surely die. Isn't it better. To try and find a way. Of making peace. Sending.

39. 17:05

    An ambassador. Sending one. That might find. An engineer. A means. Of saving my people. Lest. They all. Die. It's interesting. Isn't it. When you. Hold those few words. In the light. Of what we're reading. In connection. With these. People. In the book. Of Joshua. Where they indeed. Send. Ambassadors. That's really. What they do.

40. 17:36

    It tells us. There. When they send. Those men. To speak. With Joshua. Joshua. Nine. Verse four. Verse three. The inhabitants. Of Gibeon. Heard what Joshua. Had done. To Jericho. They'd weighed up. The odds. They'd seen. The numbers. They were aware. That they could not. Withstand. That power. They worked. Craftily. Or widely. And.

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    Went. And pretended. To be. Ambassadors. Who had come. From afar. And we know. What they did. In terms of. The bread. And the sacks. And they. Set about. Trying to create. A situation. Where Joshua. Would believe. Their story. Now of course. We can't. Condone. What they did. In terms of. The deceitfulness. But let's put.

42. 18:31

    Ourself. For a moment. But the sisters. In their shoes. If we put. Ourself. In the shoes. Of the power. In the parable. There. The king. In the parable. If you know. That you have. No chance. You have to try. And find a way. Of making peace. And for the Gibeonites. Who were scared.

43. 18:48

    Who had already. Kind of. Come part way. And rejected. A confederacy. With the other. People. The other kings. In the land. Of Canaan. They sought. Conditions of peace. Or be it. In the wrong way. They had realized. They couldn't. Beat. God. They had to act. As it were. In time. Just in time.

44. 19:12

    Before it was. Too late. They had to be ready. To give up. When you go. And seek. Conditions of peace. You've got to go. And offer something. Haven't you? You can't just turn up. To negotiate peace. And send an ambassador. Out to have a conversation. And have nothing. To offer.

45. 19:33

    What's in it for us. If we don't destroy you. Well nothing. Well we're going to destroy you. What could they offer? All they could offer. Was themselves. That's all they could offer. Would be your servants. That's all they could offer. There was nothing else. There was no. Power or might. That they had.

46. 19:56

    In their mighty cities. And their mighty men. That was going to be good enough. They could only become. Servants. Of Joshua. And Israel. And in a way. Brothers and sisters. That's what that parable. Was kind of. Giving us a sense of. Isn't it? That for you and I. And for all those. Who would come to almighty God.

47. 20:22

    We weigh up the odds. We may be sat on the side. And scared. Not knowing what to do. But somewhere in there. There's a recognition. That we need to find a way. Of making peace. With the God of Israel. Lest we be destroyed. And all we can offer. Is ourself. All we have.

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    Is our own service. There is nothing. That we have. In our mighty cities. In our wealth. Or our personal strength. That is really. What God wants. He wants our hearts. He wants our service. He wants. That level. Of. Commitment.

49. 21:03

    And so. That's how they acted. Now why was it. That they acted. In. This. Way. You see. When we go back. To Joshua 9.

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    They clearly had thought. Through. The whole approach. With the bread. And they had taken. Some steps. Absolutely. This was not. The way to behave. We wouldn't. Teach us. A Sunday school lesson. And say. Children. This is how you have to. Go about things. We wouldn't. Teach it in that way. But there are some.

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    Some redeeming qualities. About these individuals. In terms of their. Their. Shrewdness. The steps. That they went to. In order to save. Themselves. And their people. From destruction. How they hadn't. Relied upon. Their own. Strength.

52. 21:55

    If you look at. Joshua 10. Indeed. When they were to be. Under attack. But we know. How the story unfolds. In verse 6. The men of Gibeon. Sent to Joshua. At the camp of Gilgal. Saying. Do not forsake. Your servants. But come up. To us quickly. Save us. And help us. For all the kings.

53. 22:20

    Of the Amorites. Who dwell. In the mountains. Have gathered. Against us. They were to come. To trust. In Joshua. And. His people. They were to be. Reliant upon them. But what was it. That gave them. That level of confidence. What was it. That drove them. To act. The way they did. Well. Here's a suggestion.

54. 22:46

    Brothers and sisters. You want to make. Perhaps. Keep a marker. In Joshua. And if you just. Turn back. With me. To. Deuteronomy. And. To chapter 20. 20. 20. 20.

55. 23:20

    One. Of those. Occasions. When. The. Law. Is. Being. Read. And. If. We. Read. Down. To. Verse. Verse. 10. When you go near a city to fight against it and proclaim an offer of peace to it, it shall be that if they accept your offer of peace and open to you, then all the people who are found in it shall be placed under tribute to you and serve you.

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    Now, if the city will not make peace with you, but war against you, then you shall besiege it. And when the Lord your God delivers it into your hands, you shall strike every male with the edge of the sword. Now, this is the law, brothers and sisters. This is what Israel were instructed.

57. 24:28

    This idea of making peace with those people. And if they didn't, then they would be destroyed. And these, brothers and sisters, were the laws which were read by the people. And it is quite interesting. We know that these words were read aloud. And if you go back with me to Joshua 8.

58. 25:01

    Just imagine, brothers and sisters, how this may have impacted. When Joshua, in verse 30 of Joshua 8, builds an altar, an altar to the Lord God of Israel in Mount Ebal, as Moses, the servant of the Lord, had commanded the children of Israel, as it's written in the book of the law of Moses, an altar of whole stones.

59. 25:27

    And they offered burnt offerings to the Lord and sacrificed peace offerings. And there, in the presence of the children of Israel, he wrote on the stones a copy of the law of Moses, which he had written. And all Israel, with their elders and officers and judges, stood on either side of the ark before the priests, the Levites, who bore the ark of the covenant of the Lord.

60. 25:50

    The stranger, as well as he who was born among them, half of them in front of Mount Gerizim and half of them in front of Mount Ebal, as Moses, the servant of the Lord, had commanded before that they should bless the people of Israel. And afterward, he read all the words of the law, the blessings and the cursings, according to all which is written in the book of the law.

61. 26:15

    There was not a word of it that Moses had commanded, which Joshua did not read before all the assembly of Israel, with the women, the little ones, and the strangers who were living among them. And I just wonder, brethren and sisters, and I offer it as no more than a wonder, whether this public declaration of the law, which contains such elements as we've read, that if you encounter a city to fight and they proclaim an offer of peace, then that you might make peace.

62. 26:49

    And I just wonder, brethren and sisters, whether those leaders in Gibeon were aware of these things. It's somewhat ironic, isn't it, that we've got in this whole chapter, this whole incident, God's people not listening to the law, not taking counsel of the law, and approaching Almighty God, when faced with a decision. And yet we've got the Gibeonites, who possibly are motivated by what they've come to know about the God of Israel, and the laws by which his people live.

63. 27:26

    That if there was an opportunity of making peace, that they might be saved. And maybe, brethren and sisters, that informs the actions that they take, albeit in a clumsy way, albeit in a wrong way, we might say, in their craftiness. But if you or I were Gibeonites, if we were facing it, brethren and sisters, what would you do for your kids and for your family?

64. 27:53

    If you knew that just beyond the valley, there was a nation who were sweeping through and destroying all in their path, what would you do? Would you send an ambassador? Would you seek conditions of peace? Would you be aware of the laws that they had, that they might indeed form some sort of peaceful pact?

65. 28:13

    with those who would agree? They're scared, and they act. And as a result, men and sisters, we know that those Gibeonites were to be saved. We've just read, didn't we, that little passage in chapter 10, when they are attacked by those other confederacies of people who have not aligned themselves, and they come in their might.

66. 28:47

    They turn to Joshua, and God makes the sun sand still in order that they might be saved. It's incredible, brethren and sisters, isn't it? These people who act in the way that they do and finding salvation.

67. 29:14

    As a result, though, they are indeed to be servants. That's what we read in Joshua 9, when the whole story becomes apparent that they had not been truthful with Joshua. They were indeed to become servants, literally servants, cutters and water carriers. But they were alive. They weren't destroyed, like those other nations who had formed a pact to go against Israel.

68. 29:47

    They had declared themselves to be servants, willing to take on the most menial of duties in order that they might have life. And these servants, self-declared willing servants, were indeed to be saved. So in Joshua 9, and at verse 22, Joshua called for them, and he spoke to them, saying, why have you deceived us, saying, we're from very far, when you dwell near us.

69. 30:28

    Now, therefore, you're cursed, and none of you shall be freed from being slaves, woodcutters, and water carriers for the house of my God. verse 26, so he did to them and delivered them out of the hand of the children of Israel so that they did not kill them. And that day Joshua made them woodcutters and water carriers for the congregation and for the altar of the Lord in the place which he would choose even to this day.

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    servants in the house in the congregation for the altar of the Lord. That's quite a job, isn't it? These men who just before had been little more than just more Canaanite enemies along with all of the others have now got a part to play with God's people. We've seen them call upon Joshua, benefit from being saved from their enemies.

71. 31:48

    That work of those ambassadors had indeed ultimately resulted in saving their life. And what we don't get, brothers and sisters, is a detailed history of how these servants then continue throughout the rest of the Old Testament.

72. 32:10

    Their public service continues, one assumes. And they appear to accept that role and responsibility that they have been given. Playing a part in the development and the worship of God's people. We do find when we look later in Scripture that there are references, particularly in Nehemiah, that may pertain to how these people had continued and played a part.

73. 32:46

    There's a number of them after the time of the exile that return under Zerubbabel and later at the time of Nehemiah to repair the walls of Jerusalem. And it appears, brothers and sisters, that they are indeed spared. They continue working in the household of God and playing a part in the congregation and the worship which was to happen.

74. 33:18

    Under a curse, serving in the tabernacle of the Lord. So, brothers and sisters, the message that I wanted to just take from this, and I've tried to labour the point about people who are scared and don't know how to come to the Lord, who ultimately recognise that they need to become servants but aren't sure how.

75. 33:42

    If you or I had had the opportunity of speaking to the Gibeonites, then perhaps we would have played a part, would we not, of trying to show them how they could come in a right way, in a right manner. But there are people who are scared. They know that what the world is doing is wrong but they don't understand the God of Israel.

76. 34:03

    They don't understand what he wants. They don't understand how to act, how to trust, how to love the God of Israel. They may seek peace, they may send ambassadors, they may do it clumsily, they may get it wrong but brothers and sisters, how is it that we might help and play a part for such individuals?

77. 34:24

    Because there are such individuals, I believe, who are still in such a situation and just like that parable, they have concluded that the might that they have is of nothing against the almighty power of God. Their strength is outnumbered, their abilities are as nothing. They want to seek peace but maybe don't know how or where they might start.

78. 34:58

    People giving up everything, being ready and willing to be the lowest of all, accepting that being a servant is a most wonderful thing when you compare it with losing your life. And that's what they did, brothers and sisters. And it appears willingly and to play a part. It's great to see how they may have progressed as a community, as a people from being fearful, acting wily and deceitfully to becoming willing servants who accept that it's better to serve in the house of God and to live as servants, becoming ultimately volunteers and good and faithful servants who play a part in the development of Israel's history.

79. 35:55

    Their heritage, their early mistakes was clearly not their finest moment. And no doubt when they look back and consider as a people where they started and how they had come to be where they were, they didn't have a lot to be proud about.

80. 36:15

    But brothers and sisters, are we that different when we look at where we started from as sons of Adam and our mistakes of our forefathers, the errors and mistakes that were made despite the opportunity that they had? Peace with God made possible. Peace with his Joshua made possible with the ambassadors that were provided.

81. 36:46

    So brothers and sisters, are there lessons here for you and for me in our service, in our recognition of who we are, of being willing and ready to give up in order to serve? And for those who are yet to seek peace with the God of Israel, how are you and I going to help them, brothers and sisters, that their approach isn't clumsy and wrong.

82. 37:12

    If their intent is one of salvation, how might we help them, bring them in a right way? For the law does indeed contain an offer of peace for those who will come in the right way. By God's grace, brothers and sisters, may we find others in these last days whilst there is still time before destruction comes.