Thus Says the LORD - Part 1

I want to share with you my thoughts and notes on my "Part 1" study for "Thus says the LORD"
We looked at 3 different portions of Scripture where it is declared, "Thus says the LORD"
So let's get into it...
1. Allowance of Sin - Zulassen von Sünde

Joshua 7:13 “Get up, sanctify the people, and say, ‘Sanctify yourselves for tomorrow, because thus says the LORD God of Israel: “There is an accursed thing in your midst, O Israel; you cannot stand before your enemies until you take away the accursed thing from among you.”

Here is the situation...The Children of Israel are now under the leadership of Joshua. They have now crossed the Jordan River. They are moving forward and on their way to inherit the Promise Land. They had just defeated Jericho. The Lord was with them! They then faced the men of Ai and the men of Ai defeated the Children of Israel. When this took place, Joshua went before the Lord and complained. The LORD spoke to Joshua and told him to “Get Up… Israel has sinned…neither will I be with you anymore, unless you destroy the accursed from among you.”(Vs.12)
• This now brings us to our verse
• Let’s read it again…

Joshua 7:13 “Get up, sanctify the people, and say, ‘Sanctify yourselves for tomorrow, because thus says the LORD God of Israel: “There is an accursed thing in your midst, O Israel; you cannot stand before your enemies until you take away the accursed thing from among you.”

• How does this speak into our lives?
• What is the LORD speaking to us in this?
LET'S PUT IT SIMPLY… We too are like the Children of Israel. We are on a Journey to the “Promise Land." On this journey we are facing many enemies, many oppositions, etc. But the Lord is with us! In fact, maybe we have even had some recent victories in our lives, in our church, etc. But then all of a sudden, we have had some defeat in our lives. WHY? We feel like we have lost that “Blessing of the Lord." We sense that the Presence of the Lord has departed
WHY?
I will simply put it like this…

WHAT IS THE ACCURSED THING THAT IS IN YOUR/OUR MIDST?

Is there something that you are HIDING like Achan? Oh, no one knows about it – So you think! But the LORD knows about it…

Hebrews 4:13 “And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account.”

Let us listen to the words that the Lord speaks to the Children of Israel…

Vs.13 “O Israel; YOU CANNOT STAND before your enemies until you take away the accursed thing from among you.”

This is so IMPORTANT! We cannot expect to be receiving the “blessing of the Lord” if we are hiding sin in our midst! We cannot expect to be led of the Lord if we are allowing this sin in our midst!

Isaiah 59:1-2 “Behold, the LORD’s hand is not shortened, That it cannot save; Nor His ear heavy, That it cannot hear. 2But your iniquities have separated you from your God; And your sins have hidden His face from you, So that He will not hear.”

2. Hardening of Your Heart - Verhärtung des Herzens

Jeremiah 4:3-4 “For thus says the LORD to the men of Judah and Jerusalem: “Break up your fallow ground, And do not sow among thorns. 4Circumcise yourselves to the LORD, And take away the foreskins of your hearts, You men of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem, Lest My fury come forth like fire, And burn so that no one can quench it, Because of the evil of your doings.”

Here the LORD is speaking to the men of Judah and Jerusalem. Not have they only allowed sin into their lives. It has taken over their lives and so their hearts had become hardened. So the LORD sends Jeremiah the prophet to speak on His behalf
I want to quickly look at 3 things that Jeremiah says: THUS SAYS THE LORD

A.Break Up Your Fallow Ground - Pflügt einen Neubruch
Their hearts had become so hardened. They need to be broken up. They need to be softened. What about you?Has your heart become “Hardened” to the things of the Lord? Has sin put up “walls” of division between you and the Lord?

B. Do Not Sow Among Thorns - Sät nicht unter die Dornen
Why does the LORD speak this to them? What does this mean?

Matthew 13:18, 22 (turn with me to) “Therefore hear the parable of the sower…22 Now he who received seed among the thorns is he who hears the word, and the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches CHOKE THE WORD, and HE BECOMES UNFRUITFUL.”

The nation of Israel had completely SOWN among thorns (the world). Yet the LORD speaks clearly to them. DO NOT SOW AMONG THORNS! I believe that this is what the LORD is speaking to us. DO NOT SOW AMONG THORNS! Stop mixing in with the world! What does it do? It Chokes the Word & You Become Unfruitful

1 John 2:15 “Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.

“The Church did the most for the world, when the church was least like the world.”
G. Campbell Morgan

C. Circumcise Yourselves to the LORD - Beschneidet Euch für den HERRN
What is the LORD saying here? You see, the Covenant of Circumcision was something that the Nation of Israel did take serious. Jewish boys were circumcised when eight days old, given a name, and made a son of the covenant. But the problem was they the Nation of Israel had now “Trusted” in their Circumcision, but their hearts were far from the LORD.
WHAT IS IT THAT YOU ARE TRUSTING IN? Are you trusting in the fact that you go to church? Are you trusting in the fact that you were baptized when you were a baby? What are you trusting in?
What He desired was a circumcision of the HEART. A cutting away of “the flesh” of the heart.

3.Trusting in Flesh - Vertrauen in das Fleisch

Jeremiah 17:5-8 “Thus says the LORD: “Cursed is the man who trusts in man And makes flesh his strength, Whose heart departs from the LORD. 6For he shall be like a shrub in the desert, And shall not see when good comes, But shall inhabit the parched places in the wilderness, In a salt land which is not inhabited. 7“Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, And whose hope is the LORD. 8For he shall be like a tree planted by the waters, Which spreads out its roots by the river, And will not fear when heat comes; But its leaf will be green, And will not be anxious in the year of drought, Nor will cease from yielding fruit.”

Do you see how each of these points have been building on top of each other. Let's recap. It starts with the allowance of sin in our lives. After some time, if our hearts are not checked, it leads to the hardening of our hearts, which will many times lead us into "trusting" in our flesh, our strength, our abilities, etc. We begin to make "the flesh" our strength. But if you note with me in vs.5 it states... whose heart departs from the LORD. What do you think about that? How does that affect you? Well, keep reading vs. 6 to see the outcome. That does not sound good at all! Note the opposite in vs.7-8…(read above)
Here are some powerful verses to consider...

Proverbs 3:5 “Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding;”

Jeremiah 17:9 “The heart is deceitful above all things, And desperately wicked; Who can know it?”

Proverbs 3:7 “Do not be wise in your own eyes; Fear the LORD and depart from evil.”

4. Confession and Repentance - Bekenntnis & Buße
I believe that this is what our response needs to be. Let's be honest. Is there sin that you have allowed into your life? Get right with Jesus today! He is the only One that died in your place. He died so that you can live. He bled so that you can have your sins forgive. He resurrected so that you can have the assurance of salvation and the hope of eternity with Him.
Get right with Jesus today!
Consider the following verses...

Romans 5:8 “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
2 Corinthians 5:21 “For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.”
So… Confess…Repent…
Proverbs 28:13 “He who covers his sins will not prosper, but whoever confesses and forsakes them will have mercy.”