Heralds Digest

  “She answered, “Give me a blessing; since you have given me land in the South, give me also springs of water.” So he gave her the upper springs and the lower springs.” Joshua‬ ‭15:19‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ Land lots are symbolic of the accumulation of earthly inheritance. And given the necessary drive for prosperity and high standards of living in family and career pursuits, land lots can mean everything to most people. But those who have been blessed with the abundance of land lots in life can attest to the emptiness of land lots without the source of life. When Achsah the daughter of Caleb asked her father “ Give me a blessing; since you have given me land in the South, give me also springs of water ”, she basically revealed her preference for a life lot rather than just a land lot. And she ended up with a land with a renewable supply of water for continuous refreshments. Without a token of God’s blessings on all human engagements in life, we will be heading for a house without a home; a pro...

  “Now therefore, give me this mountain of which the Lord spoke in that day; for you heard in that day how the Anakim were there, and that the cities were great and fortified. It may be that the Lord will be with me, and I shall be able to drive them out as the Lord said.”” ‭‭Joshua‬ ‭14:12‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ When God told Joshua “ You are old, advanced in years, and there remains very much land yet to be possessed (Joshua‬ ‭13:1‬)”, I am asking whether this is a statement of commendation or concern until Caleb came forward with his own acknowledgment of invisible inheritance. Tangible or visible inheritance is accumulated by human physical strength and intelligence; and this appears the limit of most people’s life ambition and motivation. Whereas, there is always the invisible inheritance in the presence of God in the lives of those who understand and appreciate His omnipotence. When Caleb said “ It may be that the Lord will be with me, and I shall be able to drive them out as the Lord sai...

  “So Joshua ascended from Gilgal, he and all the people of war with him, and all the mighty men of valor. And the Lord said to Joshua, “Do not fear them, for I have delivered them into your hand; not a man of them shall stand before you.”” Joshua‬ ‭10:7-8‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ Inspired (or infuriated) by the Gibeonites’ surrender to the God of the Israelites, the five kings of the Amorites conspired together to fight the Gibeonites; and I am thinking ‘Why fighting the Gibeonites, and not the Israelites? ’. Then, I realized, the enemies are usually more infuriated by believers’ steady stand with their God. More importantly, Joshua took up the challenge by demonstrating the secret in believers’ steady stand: “ So Joshua ascended from Gilgal, he and all the people of war with him, and all the mighty men of valor …” apparently, to seek the face of the Lord. And the Lord responded to Joshua’s prayer, “ Do not fear them, for I have delivered them into your hand; not a man of them shall stand before ...

  “And Achan answered Joshua and said, “Indeed I have sinned against the Lord God of Israel, and this is what I have done: When I saw among the spoils a beautiful Babylonian garment, two hundred shekels of silver, and a wedge of gold weighing fifty shekels, I coveted them and took them. And there they are, hidden in the earth in the midst of my tent, with the silver under it.”” ‭‭Joshua‬ ‭7:20-21‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ Literally, spoils are assumed free and unattached valuables; but they can become potential IEDs (improvised explosive devices), if not specially handled. For example, the spoils that Achan coveted were secretly free but openly forbidden by God. Although these spoils were beautifully attractive and intimidatingly alluring in the secret, they were eventually responsible for the irreversible detonation of Achan and his entire family. Likewise, it is foolishness that makes sinners query the usefulness of sin in the secret; and then fall into its temptations. Unfortunately, Achan and h...

  “So the people shouted when the priests blew the trumpets. And it happened when the people heard the sound of the trumpet, and the people shouted with a great shout, that the wall fell down flat. Then the people went up into the city, every man straight before him, and they took the city.” Joshua‬ ‭6:20‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ The seven-day jogging started quietly with a one-round march through the heavily-fenced city of Jericho for six days. Notwithstanding, it was actually a just, empty, rough, inquisitive, calm, but hopeful, and obedient journey. And without absolute faith in God, none of the people will review the outcome of each of these six days in the resting camp and take up the courage for the next jogging day. Likewise, almost all of life’s breakthrough stories are written while jogging on the Jericho trail. Without being just in all our interactions with the unjust world, empty but enthusiastic, rough yet rugged, inquisitive with all instructions, calm but courageous, hopeful, and ob...

  “Then the priests who bore the ark of the covenant of the Lord stood firm on dry ground in the midst of the Jordan; and all Israel crossed over on dry ground, until all the people had crossed completely over the Jordan.” Joshua‬ ‭3:17‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ If physical laws could put a reasonable explanation to what happened at Jordan, phase change phenomenon, where the liquid water changes to solid may be acceptable. Then, one will begin to struggle to defend what must have caused the strange change in the thermophysical properties, like density, viscosity, pressure drop with gravity, etc. Simply put by the scriptures, it says about these properties that “ …the waters which came down from upstream stood still, and rose in a heap very far away…So the waters that went down into the Sea of the Arabah, the Salt Sea, failed, and were cut off (verse 16)”. The disturbing waters failed at the appearance of the presence of the Lord, so that God’s people can crossover completely. Otherwise, or until t...

  “This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.” Joshua‬ ‭1:8‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ The concept of fraternity is rooted in the combination of friendship, mentorship, and superior guidance; and the motivation is always the attainment of breakthrough and excellent practices. There is no fraternity with success stories without its creeds and codes of operation, either inspired by the Holy Spirit or initiated by the spirit of darkness. Whereas, many people are ignorantly motivated by success stories without the verification of their sources of inspiration, until it would appear they have crossed a line of no return. In pursuit of Joshua’s excellence in ministry through his fraternity with Moses, Joshua had learnt through Moses that God and His commandments are the unmistakable source of inspiration. ...