Jericho - What led to the defeat at Ai
I've been writing about Jericho. Check out my blogs at http://procyon6x.blogspot.com and http://procyon7x.blogspot.com
Achan was attracted by the beautiful Babylonian garment. He hid it and the shekels of silver and the wedge of gold in the earth under his tent. One man, smitten by covetousness, brought about a shocking defeat at Ai. What a great responsibility lies on us children of God! How careful we must be regarding the things of Babylon, the things of this world, regarding money and riches. [You cannot serve God and Mammon.]
It is clear that the lust of the eyes is involved. The world has its own magnetic and gravitational attraction. The enemies of the cross set their minds on earthly things [Phil 3.18]. We have to set our minds on heavenly things [Col 3.2].
In the New Testament, we are warned about the world by our Lord Jesus, and by Paul, James and John. John is emphatic that the world or kosmos [worldly system] is a great danger to believers, and James declares that those who love the world are enemies of God, Jas 4.4. Our Lord Jesus prayed in His high-priestly prayer in John 17 to protect the disciples from the world. Paul talks of the spirit of the world, 1 Cor 2.12; the wisdom of the world, 1 Cor 3.19; and the 'fashion' of the world, 1 Cor 7.31. He goes further to mention worldly lusts, Tit 2.12. Peter points to the corruption in the world through lust, 2 Pet 1.4 and 2.20; James warns about the defilement of the world, Jas 1.27; while John elaborates in 1 John 2.15-16 about the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eye and the pride of life - pointing out that if anyone loves the world, the love of the Father [agape love] is not in him. They all declare that Satan is the god of this world, and the sinister force behind all the deceitful attractions of 'Babylon'.
How careful we must be about being drawn into the world. Remember Lot's wife, Luke 17.32. Remember Demas, 2 Tim 4.10. Many spiritual lives end in tragedy because of being drawn into the world. The world is our great enemy. Hence all those stern warnings of James and John, which unfortunately remain unheeded by the majority of evangelical Christians today.
Achan was attracted by the beautiful Babylonian garment. He hid it and the shekels of silver and the wedge of gold in the earth under his tent. One man, smitten by covetousness, brought about a shocking defeat at Ai. What a great responsibility lies on us children of God! How careful we must be regarding the things of Babylon, the things of this world, regarding money and riches. [You cannot serve God and Mammon.]
It is clear that the lust of the eyes is involved. The world has its own magnetic and gravitational attraction. The enemies of the cross set their minds on earthly things [Phil 3.18]. We have to set our minds on heavenly things [Col 3.2].
In the New Testament, we are warned about the world by our Lord Jesus, and by Paul, James and John. John is emphatic that the world or kosmos [worldly system] is a great danger to believers, and James declares that those who love the world are enemies of God, Jas 4.4. Our Lord Jesus prayed in His high-priestly prayer in John 17 to protect the disciples from the world. Paul talks of the spirit of the world, 1 Cor 2.12; the wisdom of the world, 1 Cor 3.19; and the 'fashion' of the world, 1 Cor 7.31. He goes further to mention worldly lusts, Tit 2.12. Peter points to the corruption in the world through lust, 2 Pet 1.4 and 2.20; James warns about the defilement of the world, Jas 1.27; while John elaborates in 1 John 2.15-16 about the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eye and the pride of life - pointing out that if anyone loves the world, the love of the Father [agape love] is not in him. They all declare that Satan is the god of this world, and the sinister force behind all the deceitful attractions of 'Babylon'.
How careful we must be about being drawn into the world. Remember Lot's wife, Luke 17.32. Remember Demas, 2 Tim 4.10. Many spiritual lives end in tragedy because of being drawn into the world. The world is our great enemy. Hence all those stern warnings of James and John, which unfortunately remain unheeded by the majority of evangelical Christians today.
posted by prolix at 9:55 PM
<< Home