Two Ways to Live
Introduction
Albert Einstein said, ‘There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle.’
Jesus himself said that – ultimately – there are only two ways to live: there are two paths; there are two gates; there are two destinations and there are two groups of people (see Matthew 7:13–14). In the passages for today we see starkly contrasting ways of life.
Psalm 50:16–23
16 But to the wicked person, God says:
“What right have you to recite my laws
or take my covenant on your lips?
17 You hate my instruction
and cast my words behind you.
18 When you see a thief, you join with him;
you throw in your lot with adulterers.
19 You use your mouth for evil
and harness your tongue to deceit.
20 You sit and testify against your brother
and slander your own mother’s son.
21 When you did these things and I kept silent,
you thought I was exactly like you.
But I now arraign you
and set my accusations before you.
22 “Consider this, you who forget God,
or I will tear you to pieces, with no one to rescue you:
23 Those who sacrifice thank offerings honour me,
and to the blameless I will show my salvation. ”
Commentary
Two attitudes to God: hate or honour
When it comes down to it, there are only two possible attitudes to God. We can honour him or we can hate him. For God says, ‘Those who sacrifice thank-offerings honour me’ (v.23). He contrasts those who ‘hate my instruction’ (v.17a).
Those who ‘hate’ God ignore him and ‘forget God’ (v.22). The twentieth century saw the terrible consequences of the actions of those who forgot God and hated his instruction.
As the great Russian novelist, Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, considered the terrible disasters ‘that swallowed up some 60 million’ Russians, he saw the principal trait of the twentieth century was that ‘people have forgotten God’.
This does not just apply to other people; it applies to us all. Do you find that sometimes, possibly because everything seems to be going well in your life, you forget to pray, read the Bible or give thanks to God for all his blessings? It is almost as if you have forgotten about God? There are times in all our lives when we forget God and mess things up.
The contrast to forgetting God is a life honouring him – one full of thankfulness and praise: ‘It’s the praising life that honours me. As soon as you set your foot on the Way, I'll show you my salvation’ (v.23, MSG).
Prayer
Lord, today I want to honour you by offering a sacrifice of thanks. Thank you for all the blessings that you have given to me…
Luke 22:39–62
Jesus Prays on the Mount of Olives
39 Jesus went out as usual to the Mount of Olives, and his disciples followed him. 40 On reaching the place, he said to them, “Pray that you will not fall into temptation.” 41 He withdrew about a stone’s throw beyond them, knelt down and prayed, 42 “Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done.” 43 An angel from heaven appeared to him and strengthened him. 44 And being in anguish, he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground.
45 When he rose from prayer and went back to the disciples, he found them asleep, exhausted from sorrow. 46 “Why are you sleeping?” he asked them. “Get up and pray so that you will not fall into temptation.”
Jesus Arrested
47 While he was still speaking a crowd came up, and the man who was called Judas, one of the Twelve, was leading them. He approached Jesus to kiss him, 48 but Jesus asked him, “Judas, are you betraying the Son of Man with a kiss?”
49 When Jesus’ followers saw what was going to happen, they said, “Lord, should we strike with our swords?” 50 And one of them struck the servant of the high priest, cutting off his right ear.
51 But Jesus answered, “No more of this!” And he touched the man’s ear and healed him.
52 Then Jesus said to the chief priests, the officers of the temple guard, and the elders, who had come for him, “Am I leading a rebellion, that you have come with swords and clubs? 53 Every day I was with you in the temple courts, and you did not lay a hand on me. But this is your hour —when darkness reigns.”
Peter Disowns Jesus
54 Then seizing him, they led him away and took him into the house of the high priest. Peter followed at a distance. 55 And when some there had kindled a fire in the middle of the courtyard and had sat down together, Peter sat down with them. 56 A servant girl saw him seated there in the firelight. She looked closely at him and said, “This man was with him.”
57 But he denied it. “Woman, I don’t know him,” he said.
58 A little later someone else saw him and said, “You also are one of them.”
“Man, I am not!” Peter replied.
59 About an hour later another asserted, “Certainly this fellow was with him, for he is a Galilean.”
60 Peter replied, “Man, I don’t know what you’re talking about!” Just as he was speaking, the cock crowed. 61 The Lord turned and looked straight at Peter. Then Peter remembered the word the Lord had spoken to him: “Before the cock crows today, you will disown me three times.” 62 And he went outside and wept bitterly.
Commentary
Two paths to choose from: God’s will or your own
Do you ever find yourself in a situation where you know the right thing to do, but you also know that the right thing is very difficult and costly? Are you sometimes tempted to take the easy way out?
In this passage, we see that Jesus, as well as being fully God, was fully human. First, he faced the terrible suffering of the cross. He ‘knelt down and prayed’ (v.41), ‘Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done’ (v.42).
Jesus’ humanity is seen in his anguish and his sweat ‘like drops of blood falling to the ground’ (v.44). Despite all the difficulties, he chose God’s will over his own, and ‘an angel from heaven appeared to him and strengthened him’ (v.43).
You will never face as great a challenge as Jesus faced. But there will be times in your life when God asks you to choose his will over what you want to do. In every sacrifice, great or small, ask for God’s strength to choose his will over your own, as Jesus did.
Judas, on the other hand, chose his own way. With a kiss he betrayed the one who had loved him. We see a stark contrast between Jesus and Judas. On the one hand, as Jesus prayed, ‘an angel from heaven appeared to him and strengthened him’ (v.43). On the other hand, we see that the result of Judas’ act of betrayal – ‘when darkness reigns’ (v.53) – is hellish.
If you feel, as I do, that you could never be quite like Jesus, but desperately don’t want to be like Judas, then Peter gives us all hope. Peter messed up, as we all do, and yet God used him.
Peter’s first mistake was to follow ‘at a distance’ (v.54). When others are hostile towards Jesus it is tempting to put a bit of distance between us and him – not to align ourselves too closely with Jesus. This path, in the end, led to straight out denials (vv.57–58,60).
When Jesus turned and looked straight at Peter (v.61), Peter knew he had blown it and ‘wept bitterly’ (v.62). Like Judas, Peter had failed. Yet his future was very different from Judas’. God went on to use Peter, perhaps more than anyone else in the entire history of the Christian church.
The difference between Peter and Judas was their reaction to failure. Peter was deeply repentant and received forgiveness and restoration from Jesus (see John 21). This gives us all hope. However far you have gone in the wrong direction, it is never too late to turn around. Turn back to Jesus, receive forgiveness and restore the relationship.
For all of us, like Peter, yesterday’s mess can become today’s message. Your test can become your testimony.
Prayer
Father, fill me today with your Spirit and help me to say, like Jesus, ‘not my will, but yours be done’ (Luke 22:42).
Joshua 5:13–7:26
The Fall of Jericho
13 Now when Joshua was near Jericho, he looked up and saw a man standing in front of him with a drawn sword in his hand. Joshua went up to him and asked, “Are you for us or for our enemies?”
14 “Neither,” he replied, “but as commander of the army of the LORD I have now come.” Then Joshua fell facedown to the ground in reverence, and asked him, “What message does my Lord have for his servant?”
15 The commander of the LORD’s army replied, “Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy.” And Joshua did so.
6 Now the gates of Jericho were securely barred because of the Israelites. No one went out and no one came in.
2 Then the LORD said to Joshua, “See, I have delivered Jericho into your hands, along with its king and its fighting men. 3 March around the city once with all the armed men. Do this for six days. 4 Make seven priests carry trumpets of rams’ horns in front of the ark. On the seventh day, march around the city seven times, with the priests blowing the trumpets. 5 When you hear them sound a long blast on the trumpets, have the whole army give a loud shout; then the wall of the city will collapse and the army will go up, everyone straight in.”
6 So Joshua son of Nun called the priests and said to them, “Take up the ark of the covenant of the LORD and make seven priests carry trumpets in front of it.” 7 And he ordered the army, “Advance ! March around the city, with an armed guard going ahead of the ark of the LORD.”
8 When Joshua had spoken to the people, the seven priests carrying the seven trumpets before the LORD went forward, blowing their trumpets, and the ark of the LORD’s covenant followed them. 9 The armed guard marched ahead of the priests who blew the trumpets, and the rear guard followed the ark. All this time the trumpets were sounding. 10 But Joshua had commanded the army, “Do not give a war cry, do not raise your voices, do not say a word until the day I tell you to shout. Then shout! ” 11 So he had the ark of the LORD carried around the city, circling it once. Then the army returned to camp and spent the night there.
12 Joshua got up early the next morning and the priests took up the ark of the LORD. 13 The seven priests carrying the seven trumpets went forward, marching before the ark of the LORD and blowing the trumpets. The armed men went ahead of them and the rear guard followed the ark of the LORD, while the trumpets kept sounding. 14 So on the second day they marched around the city once and returned to the camp. They did this for six days.
15 On the seventh day, they got up at daybreak and marched around the city seven times in the same manner, except that on that day they circled the city seven times. 16 The seventh time around, when the priests sounded the trumpet blast, Joshua commanded the army, “Shout! For the LORD has given you the city! 17 The city and all that is in it are to be devoted to the LORD. Only Rahab the prostitute and all who are with her in her house shall be spared, because she hid the spies we sent. 18 But keep away from the devoted things, so that you will not bring about your own destruction by taking any of them. Otherwise you will make the camp of Israel liable to destruction and bring trouble on it. 19 All the silver and gold and the articles of bronze and iron are sacred to the LORD and must go into his treasury.”
20 When the trumpets sounded, the army shouted, and at the sound of the trumpet, when the men gave a loud shout, the wall collapsed; so everyone charged straight in, and they took the city. 21 They devoted the city to the LORD and destroyed with the sword every living thing in it—men and women, young and old, cattle, sheep and donkeys.
22 Joshua said to the two men who had spied out the land, “Go into the prostitute’s house and bring her out and all who belong to her, in accordance with your oath to her. ” 23 So the young men who had done the spying went in and brought out Rahab, her father and mother, her brothers and sisters and all who belonged to her. They brought out her entire family and put them in a place outside the camp of Israel.
24 Then they burned the whole city and everything in it, but they put the silver and gold and the articles of bronze and iron into the treasury of the LORD’s house. 25 But Joshua spared Rahab the prostitute, with her family and all who belonged to her, because she hid the men Joshua had sent as spies to Jericho —and she lives among the Israelites to this day.
26 At that time Joshua pronounced this solemn oath: “Cursed before the LORD is the one who undertakes to rebuild this city, Jericho:
“At the cost of his firstborn son
he will lay its foundations;
at the cost of his youngest
he will set up its gates.”
27 So the LORD was with Joshua, and his fame spread throughout the land.
Achan’s Sin
7 But the Israelites were unfaithful in regard to the devoted things; Achan son of Karmi, the son of Zimri, the son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, took some of them. So the Lord’s anger burned against Israel.
2 Now Joshua sent men from Jericho to Ai, which is near Beth Aven to the east of Bethel, and told them, “Go up and spy out the region.” So the men went up and spied out Ai.
3 When they returned to Joshua, they said, “Not all the army will have to go up against Ai. Send two or three thousand men to take it and do not weary the whole army, for only a few people live there.” 4 So about three thousand went up; but they were routed by the men of Ai, 5 who killed about thirty-six of them. They chased the Israelites from the city gate as far as the stone quarries and struck them down on the slopes. At this the hearts of the people melted in fear and became like water.
6 Then Joshua tore his clothes and fell facedown to the ground before the ark of the LORD, remaining there till evening. The elders of Israel did the same, and sprinkled dust on their heads. 7 And Joshua said, “Alas, Sovereign LORD, why did you ever bring this people across the Jordan to deliver us into the hands of the Amorites to destroy us? If only we had been content to stay on the other side of the Jordan! 8 Pardon your servant, Lord. What can I say, now that Israel has been routed by its enemies? 9 The Canaanites and the other people of the country will hear about this and they will surround us and wipe out our name from the earth. What then will you do for your own great name? ”
10 The LORD said to Joshua, “Stand up! What are you doing down on your face? 11 Israel has sinned; they have violated my covenant, which I commanded them to keep. They have taken some of the devoted things; they have stolen, they have lied, they have put them with their own possessions. 12 That is why the Israelites cannot stand against their enemies; they turn their backs and run because they have been made liable to destruction. I will not be with you anymore unless you destroy whatever among you is devoted to destruction.
13 “Go, consecrate the people. Tell them, ‘Consecrate yourselves in preparation for tomorrow; for this is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: There are devoted things among you, Israel. You cannot stand against your enemies until you remove them.
14 “‘In the morning, present yourselves tribe by tribe. The tribe the LORD chooses shall come forward clan by clan; the clan the LORD chooses shall come forward family by family; and the family the Lord chooses shall come forward man by man. 15 Whoever is caught with the devoted things shall be destroyed by fire, along with all that belongs to him. He has violated the covenant of the LORD and has done an outrageous thing in Israel!’”
16 Early the next morning Joshua had Israel come forward by tribes, and Judah was chosen. 17 The clans of Judah came forward, and the Zerahites were chosen. He had the clan of the Zerahites come forward by families, and Zimri was chosen. 18 Joshua had his family come forward man by man, and Achan son of Karmi, the son of Zimri, the son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, was chosen.
19 Then Joshua said to Achan, “My son, give glory to the LORD, the God of Israel, and honour him. Tell me what you have done; do not hide it from me.”
20 Achan replied, “It is true! I have sinned against the LORD, the God of Israel. This is what I have done: 21 When I saw in the plunder a beautiful robe from Babylonia, two hundred shekels of silver and a bar of gold weighing fifty shekels, I coveted them and took them. They are hidden in the ground inside my tent, with the silver underneath.”
22 So Joshua sent messengers, and they ran to the tent, and there it was, hidden in his tent, with the silver underneath. 23 They took the things from the tent, brought them to Joshua and all the Israelites and spread them out before the LORD.
24 Then Joshua, together with all Israel, took Achan son of Zerah, the silver, the robe, the gold bar, his sons and daughters, his cattle, donkeys and sheep, his tent and all that he had, to the Valley of Achor. 25 Joshua said, “Why have you brought this trouble on us? The LORD will bring trouble on you today.”
Then all Israel stoned him, and after they had stoned the rest, they burned them. 26 Over Achan they heaped up a large pile of rocks, which remains to this day. Then the LORD turned from his fierce anger. Therefore that place has been called the Valley of Achor ever since.
Commentary
Two types of ground to stand on: holy or hidden
Is there any area of your life that you keep hidden because it is a place of secret sin?
In this passage we see two contrasting kinds of ground. We see Joshua standing on holy ground (5:15). On the other hand, we see Achan standing on the ground of hidden sin (7:21–22).
God’s messenger appears to Joshua. Whether it was an angel of the Lord or the second person of the Trinity (Jesus), we do not know. What we do know is that Joshua ‘fell face down to the ground in reverence’ (5:14) and was told, ‘Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy’ (v.15).
There are times in life when the presence of God seems to be so strong that we sense we are standing on holy ground. All we can do is fall down to the ground and worship.
God gave Joshua success (6:1–26): ‘The LORD was with Joshua, and his fame spread throughout the land’ (v.27). His success did not come from the size of his army, the power of his weapons or his skill as a leader; it came from his faith in God, which led him to follow God’s instructions.
Likewise, Rahab, her family and all who belonged to her were spared because of her faith, which led to an act of kindness towards God’s servants (v.25).
In the New Testament, both Joshua and Rahab are recognised as heroes of faith: ‘By faith the walls of Jericho fell… By faith the prostitute Rahab, because she welcomed the spies, was not killed with those who were disobedient’ (Hebrews 11:30–31).
The book of Joshua raises many difficult questions to which we may struggle to find answers. As Christians, again we have to remember to read it through the lens of Jesus and the New Testament.
The book of Hebrews suggests that the promised land is a picture of the blessings you receive by obedience, that is, by faith in Jesus: ‘For if Joshua had given them rest, God would not have spoken later about another day... Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one will fall by following their example of disobedience’ (4:8–11).
One incident of such ‘disobedience’ is seen in Achan, whose coveting led to him disobeying God and taking silver and gold, which he eventually admits ‘are hidden in the ground inside my tent’ (Joshua 7:21). Sure enough, Joshua’s messengers ‘ran to the tent, and there it was, hidden in his tent, with the silver underneath’ (v.22).
We need to be aware of the danger of compartmentalising our lives. Like Achan’s tent, everything can look respectable on the surface, but underneath, hidden away, there lurks sin. Other people cannot see the compartments of our lives where sin resides, but God can.
Achan’s sin did not just affect him. It affected the whole camp. God wanted a holy people who were consecrated to him (v.13). Sin and disobedience in the camp affected their purity. The Lord said, ‘You cannot stand against your enemies until you remove it’ (v.13).
It is a good question to ask: Is there some area that is not consecrated to God, which is stopping me from receiving the blessings and victory God wants to give to his people?
My experience has been that the Holy Spirit continues to shine his light on the ‘hidden’ areas of my life that I need to deal with. The process will probably never be complete this side of heaven.
The good news for us is that we need no longer fear the punishment of sin that Achan faced. Through Jesus, no matter what your failings have been, you are forgiven and restored.
Prayer
Lord, I consecrate my life to you again today. Thank you that you go with me as you went with Joshua. I choose today the path of your will for my life – holiness and honour.
Pippa adds
In Luke 22:46 is says:
‘Why are you sleeping?… Get up and pray so that you will not fall into temptation.’
I don’t find getting up very early or staying up late to pray very easy. I do have some sympathy for the disciples. They had had a long day and Jesus had been telling them all sorts of things about his suffering and death.
It would have been very worrying and confusing for them: ‘they were exhausted from sorrow’ (v.45). They must have been very disappointed with themselves for letting their friend, teacher and Lord down.
I do understand Peter’s denial; fear can sometimes take a grip. That is why Peter’s transformation is so amazing – from a coward to a brave leader. If God can change Peter, he can change me.
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References
Alexandr Solzhenitsyn, The Templeton Address, ‘Men have forgotten God’, world copyright ©1983 by Aleksander Solzhenitsyn
The Bible with Nicky and Pippa Gumbel (commentary formerly known as Bible in One Year) ©Alpha International 2009. All Rights Reserved.
Compilation of daily Bible readings © Hodder & Stoughton Limited 1988. Published by Hodder & Stoughton Limited as the Bible in One Year.
Unless otherwise stated, Scripture quotations taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version Anglicised, Copyright © 1979, 1984, 2011 Biblica, formerly International Bible Society. Used by permission of Hodder & Stoughton Publishers, an Hachette UK company. All rights reserved. ‘NIV’ is a registered trademark of Biblica. UK trademark number 1448790.
Scripture quotations marked (AMP) taken from the Amplified® Bible, Copyright © 1954, 1958, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. (www.Lockman.org)
Scripture quotations marked MSG are taken from The Message, copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson. Used by permission of NavPress. All rights reserved. Represented by Tyndale House Publishers.