His Mercy, His Holiness, His Covenant

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 Entering Canaan feels like an extension

of the Eden story. The same God that in mercy walked man and woman out of Eden and into exile; is now redemptively bringing Israel into a new land.

 It was the mercy of God escorting

Adam and Eve out of Eden; it will be the Holiness of God leading Israel into this new land. God will not do for, but with Israel. To do so, there will be a covenant.

 “But the sons of Israel acted

treacherously..”  Why, “for Achan took some of the things under the ban..”  V.2-5 Israel gets beaten  V. 6-10 Joshua’s lament  V. 10-15 The Lord directs Joshua

 V. 16-26 Joshua holds court and

executes justice.  Achan’s sin threatened the covenant and cost 36 men their lives.  Our lives always effect those we share life with; we need to figure out what effect we want to have on them.

 “so the hearts of the people melted”  Anxiety, fear, insecurity are common

when we are not trusting in the Lord.  Though the Holiness of God demanded Achan’s death; the larger picture is the mercy of God to Israel as well as to Achan.

 The Mercy of God-

 “The mercy of the Lord is from everlasting to

everlasting.” Ps. 103:37  God’s mercy is not based on my goodness, but His. There is no merit in mercy.  God’s Holiness causes awe and fear in me, God’s mercy generates love and gratefulness.

 His Holiness  “For thus says the high and exalted

one who lives forever, my name is Holy. Holy is His name.” Is. 57:15  R.L. Darby Holiness is to be regarded not as a distinct attribute but as a result of all God’s moral perfection together.”

 To think of God’s moral purity and make

that His holiness short changes what His holiness is.  Is. 6, Rev. 4 Holy, Holy, Holy  God’s holiness is traumatic!  Fear is the response of a godly man to the Holiness of God. The more righteous a man is, the greater the trembling!  Rev. 1:17 “When I saw Him, I fell at His feet like a deadman…”

 God does not accept us unconditionally;

He accepts us because Christ has satisfied the conditions so that we can be acceptable to a Holy God.  Whatever view we may have of God now is simply not big enough.  While contemporary sentiment often avoids God’s Holiness, ironically, the deepest of all pleasures, the greatest of all experiences will be found in God’s Holiness.

 The Covenant:  “A covenant is a relationship, more

more loving and intimate than merely a legal relationship; yet more binding, enduring, and accountable than merely a personal relationship.” Keller

 A covenant is a blend of law and love.  Most marriages are consumer

relationships.  Most believers have a consumer relationship with God.  God never has a relationship with anyone unless it is a covenantal relationship.

 Gen. 15 Abraham and the covenant.  V.8 “how may I know?”  Crazy ratification ceremony, keeping

the agreement meant blessings to me; breaking the agreement meant curses to me.

 Nuggets  When you and I struggle in our faith it is

not because we struggle with God. It is because we struggle with our thoughts about God.  If you are needing God to explain Himself to you, you will never really understand and you will never experience intimacy with God.  Until you can stand before the presence of God and say “command me,” you have not been saved by the love of God

 Because we are obsessed with eating from

the toxic tree our view of the Trinity is toxic. God’s Holiness is scene thru toxic lens  Jesus was innocent and yet was condemned so that we which are guilty could be proclaimed innocent