Joshua 9:1-15 KJV And it
came to pass, when all the kings which were on this side Jordan, in the
hills, and in the valleys, and in all the coasts of the great sea over
against Lebanon, the Hittite, and the Amorite, the Canaanite, the
Perizzite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite, heard thereof; (2)
That they gathered themselves together, to fight with Joshua and with
Israel, with one accord. (3) And when the inhabitants of
Gibeon heard what Joshua had done unto Jericho and to Ai,
(4) They did work wilily, and went and made as if they had been
ambassadors, and took old sacks upon their asses, and wine bottles,
old, and rent, and bound up; (5) And old shoes and clouted
upon their feet, and old garments upon them; and all the bread of their
provision was dry and moldy. (6) And they went to Joshua
unto the camp at Gilgal, and said unto him, and to the men of Israel,
We be come from a far country: now therefore make ye a league with
us. (7) And the men of Israel said unto the Hivites,
Peradventure ye dwell among us; and how shall we make a league with
you? (8) And they said unto Joshua, We are thy servants.
And Joshua said unto them, Who are ye? and from whence come ye?
(9) And they said unto him, From a very far country thy servants
are come because of the name of the LORD thy God: for we have heard the
fame of him, and all that he did in Egypt, (10) And all
that he did to the two kings of the Amorites, that were beyond Jordan,
to Sihon king of Heshbon, and to Og king of Bashan, which was at
Ashtaroth. (11) Wherefore our elders and all the
inhabitants of our country spake to us, saying, Take victuals with you
for the journey, and go to meet them, and say unto them, We are your
servants: therefore now make ye a league with us. (12) This
our bread we took hot for our provision out of our houses on the day we
came forth to go unto you; but now, behold, it is dry, and it is
moldy: (13) And these bottles of wine, which we filled,
were new; and, behold, they be rent: and these our garments and our
shoes are become old by reason of the very long journey.
(14) And the men took of their victuals, and asked not counsel at
the mouth of the LORD. (15) And Joshua made peace with
them, and made a league with them, to let them live: and the princes of
the congregation sware unto them.
AND THE DEVIL USED
FALSE FOOD TO DO IT JUST AS THE HIVITES.
Just as much as TRUE bread and wine would give eternal life, THE FRUIT
OF LIFE ON THE TREE OF LIFE would give eternal life to Adam and Eve.
- And this was THE
LIFE OF GOD, HIMSELF.
- Adam and Eve were
already going to live forever, for death only came by sin, but THIS WAS
GOD'S LIFE INSIDE THEM by way of the fruit of life.
- So the devil offered
FALSE FRUIT of the knowledge of good and evil.
Genesis 2:16-17 KJV And
the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden
thou mayest freely eat: (17) But of the tree of the
knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day
that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.
The tree of life was associated with living forever.
Genesis 3:22 KJV And the
LORD God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and
evil: and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of
life, and eat, and live for ever:
So we see LIFE AND DEATH in two opposite BUT VERY SIMILAR SORTS OF FOOD.
- Both were FRUIT.
- Both were on a tree.
- Both had seeds in
them.
Just like old wine bottles and moldy bread is so similar to Bread and
wine.
Bread and wine stand as the body and blood of Jesus, which refer to His
Cross.
- So you could say
TRUE BREAD AND WINE stands for CORRECT TRUTHS OF THE CROSS that give
eternal life of God.
- This means not ANY
OLD IDEA of the cross is correct truth.
- If there is any
message that the devil wants to CORRUPT is the truth of the cross.
- The truth of the
cross is the most powerful truth we can know.
- When we truly eat
the bread and wine of the truths of the cross, we die to sin with
Christ and are freed from it and are buried into His death and risen to
walk in newness of life and ascend and are seated with Him in heavenly
places.
- And this seating is
far above all principles and powers in this world and the world to come.
- THE DEVIL DOES NOT
LIKE US IN THAT SORT OF POWER OVER HIM!
He knows that if he can corrupt the message and get us receiving and
believing a false concept of the cross, then we are not going to be
seated with Christ over him.
- AND HE IS NOT GOING
TO BE DESTROYED, BUT WILL SURVIVE.
The devil caused Adam and Eve to EAT FALSE FRUIT.
- And this caused them
to fall from the Garden Kingdom and lose their power in the world and
the devil was able to survive.
Since the promised land represents the KINGDOM realm of God, we can say
that Israel's return to ABRAHAM'S promised land is like mankind
returning to the GARDEN KINGDOM.
- Get the picture.
- SATAN GOT MAN OUT OF
THE KINGDOM and infested the place with his demon spirits, and when he
saw that God was bringing man BACK into the KINGDOM again with
salvation of the cross, for man to once again LIVE ON FRUIT OF ETERNAL
LIFE, SATAN'S IMPS ARE POSING AS AMBASSADORS AND SEEKING TO SURVIVE
STILL BY LYING AND OFFERING FALSE FOOD AGAIN!
- FALSE BREAD AND
FALSE WINE.
- The bread and wine
give LIFE like the fruit of life.
- And just as the
devil offered false fruit, he now offers false bread and wine.
- FALSE MESSAGES OF
THE CROSS.
AND THE FALSE MESSAGES do not give life, which is GOD'S POWER IN US,
but rather DEATH!
- Just as the false
fruit of the knowledge of good and evil caused death.
It is the LIFE OF GOD IN US THAT CONQUERS THE DEVIL!
It is actually JESUS IN US.
And the whole trick of the devil is to get something that LOOKS SO
RELIGIOUS and get man to think it is the truth, and actually cause man
to remain impotent and powerless to destroy the devil to see the devil
survive.
- Satan is out to
survive.
- To hang around and
torment us.
KNOWLEDGE OF GOOD AND EVIL SOUND SO RELIGIOUS.
- But IT KILLS.
- Bread and wine sound
so spiritual, but it kills if it's moldy and old.
The key to the success of satan's lies is that his deceiving lies
concern MAKING OURSELVES HOLY WITHOUT GOD'S LIFE.
- It is legalism.
- SELF IMPROVING SELF.
- A false and EMPTY
CROSS.
The moldy bread and wine can only be recognized as false by considering
the TRUTH OF THE CROSS.
Here is the failure of Joshua.
JOSHUA 9 (14) And
the men took of their victuals, and asked not counsel at the mouth of
the LORD.
They did NOT GO TO THE WORD OF GOD ABOUT THIS.
- The MOUTH of God is
the WORD OF GOD.
- Just as GOD WOULD
SPEAK to them about the truth if they had only asked, THE WORD OF GOD
TODAY IS INFORMATION ABOUT TRUTH.
- Compare everything
with the WORD, and it it's not in the WORD then reject it NO MATTER HOW
RIGHT IT SOUNDS.
It is interesting to analyze the NAME HIVITE.
It actually is associated with the Hebrew NAME EVE.
- Literally, it is
like saying EVE-ITE.
- Eve means mother of
all living.
- KIVVY versus KIVVAH.
- life-giving, i.e.
living-place
- HIVITE means VILLAGER
- And a village is a
LIVING PLACE.
- So there is the
sense of LIFE GIVING.
- Eve GAVE LIFE and
MOTHERED all living.
So this woman who was intended to mother all living, was used by the
devil to GIVE ADAM DEATH in the false fruit.
Genesis 3:6 KJV And when
the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant
to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the
fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her;
and he did eat.
These HIVITES were mocking possession of LIFE, but it was DEATH.
They were false ambassadors.
- Look what Paul said
about ambassadors.
2 Corinthians 5:20 KJV
Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you
by us: we pray you in Christ's stead, be ye reconciled to God.
And in this same chapter, Paul details some truths of the cross.
2 Corinthians 5:14-17 KJV
(14) For the love of Christ constraineth us; because we thus
judge, that if one died for all, then were all dead: (15)
And that he died for all, that they which live should not henceforth
live unto themselves, but unto him which died for them, and rose
again. (16) Wherefore henceforth know we no man after the
flesh: yea, though we have known Christ after the flesh, yet now
henceforth know we him no more. (17) Therefore if any man
be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold,
all things are become new.
The true message of the cross says that WE ACTUALLY ARE DEAD TO SIN
through Christ DYING AS US.
- HIS DEATH we
experience BY ACCEPTING THE TRUTH AND BELIEVING IT makes us part of a
new creation.
- Old things literally
PASS AWAY since WE DIED.
But FALSE MESSAGES OF THE CROSS say WE can IMPROVE OURSELVES UNTIL WE
BECOME what God wants us to be.
- Just gain a bunch of
KNOWLEDGE and MAKE YOURSELF DO GOOD AND AVOID DOING EVIL, and you will
become HOLY.
1 Corinthians 1:30 KJV
But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom,
and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption:
SANCTIFICATION in the Greek is the same word for HOLINESS.
One man told me that righteousness is given as a gift from God but
holiness is something WE MAKE OURSELVES COME INTO BY DOING AND NOT
DOING.
- That is as false as
the knowledge of good and evil.
- CHRIST IS ALSO OUR
HOLINESS for us.
- And it is NOT OF
OURSELVES, but OF GOD.
2 Corinthians 5:18 KJV
And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus
Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation;
2 Corinthians 5:21
KJV For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that
we might be made the righteousness of God in him.
So the devil not only used a FALSE MESSAGE that looked SO SPIRITUAL to
survive and get man out of the Kingdom, but now that man is coming back
into the KINGDOM, the devil is still using FALSE FOOD that stands for
FALSE MESSAGE to continue to survive.
You see, when IT IS TOTALLY OF GOD that we are saved and given LIFE,
then that LIFE is lacking when bring SELF EFFORT into the picture.
- Any life of God WE
DO HAVE is HINDERED from working in us due to the FALSE SELF EFFORT
teaching.
- Every bit of SELF
GLORY from SELF EFFORT will BLOCK any life of God in us.
AND AFTER THREE DAYS JOSHUA LEARNS THE TRUTH.
- Three days were
taken for Christ to die, be buried and rise in resurrection power.
- So seeing three days
pass before Joshua realizes the truth represents GOING OVER THE ACTUAL
TRUTH OF THE WORD OF THE CROSS UNTIL YOU FULLY GET IT.
- Once you GET IT, you
can easily recognize error.
Let us not allow satan to survive by being fooled by him with a FALSE
MESSAGE OF THE CROSS that Puts US and OUR EFFORT as the key to
spirituality.
- If you think
something YOU DO makes God move, then get that idea out.
- WHAT HE DID PUT
POWER IN US, not what we can do.
Several years ago in Ontario I recall visiting the Science
Centre where I recall riding a bicycle that was connected to a
generator.
- You actually run and
watch a TV as you pedal the bicycle.
- The moment you stop,
the TV goes dead.
- This is the concept
people have of power from God.
- The more effort they
do in doing good and avoiding evil they think makes the POWER WORK.
- But it is a lie.
If your idea of serving God is like pedaling a bike in order to see
power in your life, then you have been fooled.
- We need
KNOWLEDGE< but not of what is good or evil.
- We NEED KNOWLEDGE OF
LIFE.
- It's a matter of
life and death, not good or evil.
The devil is afraid of
God's people coming into the Kingdom land with power.
- So there is all
sorts of false messages of the cross.
- Sickness is a cross
to carry to make you worthy.
- Nonsense!
The cities they were to conquer were THREE DAYS AWAY FROM THEM.
- If the three days
stands for simply learning and coming to grips with the TRUTH OF THE
CROSS, then you are as far away from conquering your enemy as it takes
to get a revelation of the TRUTH OF THE CROSS.
- So do not let the
devil sell you a false version or else you will conquer NOTHING.