You are my Beloved Child!: November 2010

Care Group 12/11/2010

In lieu to what Pastor Joe Shared on Arrow, 6/11/10

-Joshua 5:13

Neither:

for the neither

i think it mean no

no is the correct translation

the word there is la'

pronounce as 'law'

in strong

it is H3809

לָא לָה

it can mean no or neither

however if u check the root word of it

Strong H3808

לוֹא לוֹא לוֹה lo' (lo)

here it just mean no

so just translation

but if u look at the hebrew word used

it mean no=D

anw, let's wait for alvin ba

see what he can find out=D

->Reseach on Jericho Wall

->Jericho (Arabic: أريحا‎ Ārīḥā [ʔæˈriːħɑː] Hebrew: יְרִיחוֹ‎ Yəriḥo [jeʁiˈħo] is a city located near the Jordan River in the West Bank of the Palestinian Territories.(Check the maps behind the bible.)
It is the capital of the Jericho Governorate, and has a population of over 20,000. Situated well below sea level on an east-west route 16 kilometres (10 mi) north of the Dead Sea, Jericho is the lowest permanently inhabited site on earth. It is also believed to be one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities of the world.

Described in the Hebrew Bible as the "City of Palm Trees", copious springs in and around Jericho have made it an attractive site for human habitation for thousands of years. It is known in Judeo-Christian tradition as the place of the Israelites' return from bondage in Egypt, led by Joshua, the successor to Moses. Archaeologists have unearthed the remains of over 20 successive settlements in Jericho, the first of which dates back to 11,000 years ago (9000 BC).

There is 2 walls and the second wall is higher than the first wall.

The mound, or ‘tell’ of Jericho was surrounded by a great earthen rampart, or embankment, with a stone retaining wall at its base. The retaining wall was some four to five meters (12–15 feet) high. On top of that was a mudbrick wall two meters (six feet) thick and about six to eight meters (20–26 feet) high.

Within the upper wall was an area of approximately six acres, while the total area of the upper city and fortification system was 50% larger, or about nine acres. Based on the archaeologist’s rule of thumb of 200 persons per acre, the population of the upper city would have been about 1,200. However, from excavations carried out by a German team in the first decade of this century, we know that people were also living on the embankment between the upper and lower city walls. In addition, those Canaanites living in surrounding villages would have fled to Jericho for safety. Thus, we can assume that there were several thousand people inside the walls when the Israelites came against the city.

The citizens of Jericho were well prepared for a siege. A copious spring which provided water for ancient, as well as modern, Jericho lay inside the city walls. At the time of the attack, the harvest had just been taken in (Joshua 3:15), so the citizens had an abundant supply of food. This has been borne out by many large jars full of grain found in the Canaanite homes by John Garstang in his excavation in the 1930s and also by Kenyon. With a plentiful food supply and ample water, the inhabitants of Jericho could have held out for perhaps several years.

Pasted from <http://www.answersingenesis.org/creation/v21/i2/jericho.asp>

Timeline: (can refer to Numbers, Deuteronomy and Joshua)

-The Children of Israel were slave in eygpt.

-Moses brought them out.

-For 2 years they complained about God.

-At mount Sinai, the laws were given.

-Then they wondered for 38 years in the wilderness.

-Moses died, and Joshua lead them to cross river Jordan. (Pastor Benjamin shared on 2 Oct 2010)

-Enter the promise land, Jericho.

- Promise Land, Jericho.

-> The Lord calls it the Land of Rest. This is because back in eygpt, the food that they eat were leeks and onions which are found on or under the ground. Therefore to consume it, they have to bend down to get it. This speaks of labour. However in the Promise Land, the food that they eat were grapes and pomegranates which are found above the group. The Children of Israel just have to raise or stretch forth their hands to get the food. This exactly depicts how we should receive from God. We just have to raise our hands and God will bless us and His rest and peace will manifest!

->There are 2 walls around the city of Jericho and the second wall is higher than the first wall. Inside the city, there is a spring and there are plenty of food. In the bible, it says that the people living in Jericho do not have to come out and now we know the reason why. Because there are abundant food supply. God will never give us a land(something) which is not good to us! I believe that before God gives us anything, He will bless it first. Joshua 5:15, God told Joshua to take off his sandal because the place he is standing on is holy! Praise God, no wonder the land is blessed with so much food and water!

-> The 2 walls also speaks of the Law and the accusation. The walls are made of stones and stone speaks of the Law. The 2 stone walls speak of the 2 tablet of commandments given by God and we know that even though the law is just and holy, it is inflexible and it only brings us to our end. Therefore don’t focus on the wall(law), but on the Ark who is leading the way, the trumpet(praise and worship) and the Finished Work of Christ( the Ram Horns). Imagine the Children of Israel were walking around the wall, they can be either be focus on the wall, thinking that it is so tall and in order to enter Jericho, they have to climb over the wall(This speaks of fulfilling the Law. In order to get the blessing, we have to fulfill the law), or they can focus on the sound of the Ram's Horns(Grace of God)! The Ram's Horn speaks of Christ because in order to have the Horn, the Ram has to be killed first. This speaks of the finished work of Christ. Also, for the ram, the horn is used to fight and that is why the horn represent the fighting spirit of Jesus. Jesus gave that up for us for our victory!

-Read through Joshua 5-22 to roughly know the story.

-Joshua 22:4

->they finally enter into the rest.

->Joshua 22:4 is linked to Hebrews 4:8

-Hebrews 4:8

->In Joshua 22:4, it says that the LORD has given rest to them but in Hebrews, it says "For IF Joshua had given them rest...". The word if shows us that the rest is not yet given.

->Check out the Message bible for a clearer understanding.

8-11And so this is still a live promise. It wasn't canceled at the time of Joshua; otherwise, God wouldn't keep renewing the appointment for "today." The promise of "arrival" and "rest" is still there for God's people. God himself is at rest. And at the end of the journey we'll surely rest with God. So let's keep at it and eventually arrive at the place of rest, not drop out through some sort of disobedience.

Pasted from <http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Hebrews%204&version=MSG>

-> God wants us to continue to enter into His Rest for He is Rest!

->Also if you continue to read Joshua 22:5, it says,'... take heed to do the commandment and the Law…' . You see, even after they enter the rest, they still have to obey the Law. So imagine now, when we truly have the rest, through His Grace and Mercy! Hallelujah!

->Continue to read down from Hebrews 4. In Hebrews 4:12, it mentioned about the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword. This part is very interesting. The two-edged has a lot of meaning. Firstly, two can mean two or double, then for edged, it can mean edged, face or mouth. This means that the word of God is make up of 2 mouths. One is the Word of God, spoken by God, second is the Word of God, spoken by us! That is why don’t just rest the bible (the Word Spoken by God), but confess it!

Lastly, view our problems in God perspective. When the Children of God were walking around the wall, they can either think that "Oh my god, the city is so big, the wall is so tall and strong and the people have abundant of food but we are in the wilderness" or they can see it the way God sees it, " Thank God for such a big city is ours, with the strong wall build for us, we shall have great defence over our enemy and with the abundant food and unlimited supply of fresh water, we will not go hungry again!"

You are my Beloved Child!

Friday, November 26, 2010

Casting Crowns - I Heard The Bells on Christmas Day Live

We Are The Reason