Refleksi Saya tentang Yoshua 6: "Yoshua dan Umat Israel merobohkan Kota Yerikho dengan Tiupan Trompet!"

“TUHAN berfiman kepada Yoshua, ‘Aku menyerahkan Yerikho dengan rajanya dan semua askarnya yang perkasa kepadamu’” (Yoshua 6:2).

Melakukan perkara yang sama berulang-ulang kali adalah sesuatu perkara yang sangat membosankan. Ada sesetengah orang suka, tetapi bagi saya tidak sama sekali. Ia membuatkan saya kelihatan sangat bodoh! Sekarang saya cuba membayangkan bahawa ada orang yang sangat berpengaruh dan berkuasa menyuruh saya untuk berjalan mengelilingi sebuah kota satu kali sehari selama enam atau tujuh hari – dan dia berjanji akan memberikan saya kota itu sebagai ganjaran. Apakah saya akan melakukannya? Pastinya, tidak! 1) Sebab saya tidak percaya bahawa janji ini akan ditepati, dan 2) Sebab saya akan kelihatan sangat bodoh dan seperti orang gila. Tidak!

Tetapi yang sangat menghairankan saya ialah ada sekumpulan orang yang sanggup melakukannya:- Yoshua dan umat Israel.

Untuk umat Israel menakluki tanah Kanaan, Tanah Perjanjian, Allah telah memerintah Yoshua untuk pergi menyerang kota Yerikho dan Dia berjanji untuk memberikannya kepada mereka. Pada masa itu, kota Yerikho adalah kota yang kukuh dengan tembok-tembok yang sangat tebal. Sejarah dunia mengatakan bahawa (kalau kamu menonton National Geography) kota ini ialah antara kota yang mempunyai tembok yang sangat kukuh dan susah untuk ditembusi. Namun begitu, sejarah Al-Kitab pula mengatakan bahawa Tuhan Allah Israel ialah Tuhan yang dahsyat berkuasa dan digeruni oleh bangsa-bangsa asing! Oleh kerana itu, samada tembok itu kukuh sekukuh besi sekalipun, penduduk-penduduk Yerikho tetap takut akan Allah Israel. “Pintu-pintu gerbang kota Yerikho dikawal dan ditutup supaya umat Israel tidak dapat masuk. Tiada seorang pun dapat masuk ataupun keluar dari kota itu” (Yoshua 6:1). Mereka tahu bahawa umat Israel sudah menghampiri kota Yerikho (sila baca Yoshua bab 2).

Yoshua, ketua umat Israel (selepas Musa mati), telah diberikan strategi untuk berperang oleh Panglima Tentera Tuhan. Allah berfirman, “Engkau dan askar-askarmu harus berarak mengelilingi kota itu sekali sehari selama enam hari. Tujuh orang imam yang masing-masing membawa sebuah trompet harus berjalan di hadapan Tabut Perjanjian. Pada hari ketujuh, engkau dan askar-askarmu harus berarak mengelilingi kota itu sebanyak tujuh kali, sementara imam-imam meniup trompet” (Yoshua 6:3-4). Inilah apa yang saya maksudkan di pendahuluan refleksi saya tadi... arahan... strategi yang langsung tidak masuk akal... saya tidak mungkin mahu melakukannya. Oh tidak.

[Iklan] Beritahu muda-mudi zaman sekarang, tahun 2013, tentang strategi ini, pasti banyak jiwa yang akan kecewa. Arahan dan strategi ini langsung tidak mungkin dapat meningkatkan inspirasi dan keyakinan diri. Sorakkan “Bersama-Yesus-dahsyat-luar biasa-yes!-yes!-yes!” tidak akan menjadi popular.

[Kembali semula] Namun begitu, disebalik Firman-Nya ini, Tuhan Allah mahukan umat Israel supaya tidak bersandar kepada kekuatan dan keyakinan diri mereka sendiri. Dia mahukan supaya mereka berpegang kepada kekuatan-Nya dan meletakkan iman mereka kepada-Nya. Yoshua dan seluruh umat Israel bertindak untuk terus taat kepada perintah dan strategi Allah sehingga akhir. Tiada pilihan lain bagi mereka.

Sekarang, cuba kamu bayangkan bagaimana reaksi orang Yerikho apabila mereka melihat Yoshua, imam-imam, dan askar-askar Israel pergi berarak mengeliling kota mereka selama 6 hari... Mungkin apa yang terucap di bibir mereka ialah; “Lihat apa orang-orang bodoh itu lakukan”; “Sekumpulan manusia pelik”; “Inikah umat Israel yang diura-urakan selama ini? Bukankah mereka kuat dan berani? Ini sungguh aneh” Senyum. Ketawa. Memperbodohkan umat Israel.

Hari pertama, berarak. Hari kedua, berarak. Hari ketiga, berarak... empat, lima... hari keenam, berarak. Hari ketujuh, hari terakhir mereka berarak mengelilingi kota itu, mereka melakukannya sebanyak tujuh kali. Selepas itu, “imam-imam meniup trompet. Sebaik sahaja askar-askar mendengarnya, mereka berteriak dengan kuat, dan tembok kota Yerikho pun roboh. Kemudian seluruh angkatan tentera terus naik ke kota itu, lalu menyerang dan merebutnya” (Yoshua 6:20). Kota Yerikho sekarang menjadi milik umat Israel! Kemenangan ini berlaku kerana Yoshua dan umat Israel memilih untuk melakukannya dengan cara Tuhan Allah – dan kerana janji Allah kepada mereka.

Secara ringkas, apa yang saya belajar daripada cerita ini? Satu perkara utama yang saya dapat ialah – belajar untuk mentaati Firman Allah. Oleh kerana Tuhan Allah mengetahui segalanya dalam hidup dan masa depan saya, saya tidak ada tempat lain selain daripada terus bergantung harap kepada-Nya. Firman-Nya sentiasa benar dan tidak ada cacat cela. Walaupun kadang-kadang apa yang difirmankan-Nya kedengaran sangat anek atau tidak masuk akal atau sukar untuk dilakukan, kita harus sentiasa taat untuk melakukannya. Terus percaya bahawa Allah tahu apa yang terbaik untuk kita. Lakukannya bukan dengan kekuatan kita sendiri, tetapi dengan kekuatan-Nya. Mereka yang taat kepada-Nya akan diberikan-Nya berkat, sukacita dan ketenangan jiwa. Kasih yang dikurniakan oleh-Nya kepada kita akan mendorong kita untuk terus mempercayai-Nya.

Tuhan Yesus berkata,
“Jika kamu mengasihi Aku,
kamu akan mentaati perintah-perintah-Ku” (Yohanes 14:15).THINK BIG. START SMALL. GO DEEP.

Yesus akan Menghiburkan Aku

“Semoga kasih-Mu yang kekal menghiburkan aku,

menurut janji-Mu kepadaku, hamba-Mu” (Mazmur 119:76)

"Aku akan menghiburkan kamu di Yerusalem,
seperti ibu menghiburkan anaknya" (Yesaya 66:13)

Pernahkah kamu ketika masih kecil dahulu apabila kamu terjatuh kakimu terluka, tanganmu berdarah, badanmu mendapat lebam berlari mencari ibumu dan menangis dipelukkannya menahan kesakitan? Apabila kamu sampai kepada ibu, dia membelai rambutmu, mencium pipimu, mencuci lukamu dan membalutnya dengan kain “penyembuhan’ (Handiplas lar) – dan kamu merasakan bahawa luka kamu sudah hampir sembuh dan kamu berada dalam keadaan selesa walaupun masih ada sedikit sakit luka itu. Kasih dan belas kasihan yang kita pernah alami ini mempunyai kuasa penyembuhan yang lebih hebat lagi daripada segala ubat-ubatan dan rawatan ciptaan manusia.

Memang benar apabila insan-insan yang kita sayangi pergi meninggalkan kita buat selama-lamanya akan menyebabkan kita untuk seketika yang agak lama, hilang harapan dan hilang hala tujuan hidup dan lebih lagi – menyebabkan perasaan kesunyian yang sangat mendalam. Perasaan ini tidak mungkin akan hilang begitu sahaja dalam sekelip mata. Tetapi, walaupun kita berada dalam keadaan yang sangat teruk sekalipun, kita tahu dengan iman bahawa kasih Kristus sentiasa lebih lagi dekat dari kita. Kita akan mengalami sendiri kasih-Nya dengan lebih nyata lagi. Yesus Kristus – yang telah menderita kesakitan sendirian di kayu salib, dan yang telah mengalami kematian dan siksa dosa bagi semua umat manusia untuk memberi keselamatan kepada kita – tahu apa itu kesengsaraan dan kesunyian yang kita sedang (dan akan) alami. Dan disebabkan Dia tahu, Yesus Kristus boleh memberikan kita penghiburan yang sentiasa ada bagi kita melalui kehadiran-Nya. Kita harus berdoa: “Semoga kasih-Mu yang kekal menghiburkan aku, menurut janji-Mu kepadaku, hamba-Mu”. Amen.

Jadi, bagi orang yang terus percaya kepada Yesus Kristus, ada “penyembuhan” yang akan kita alami di dalam kesedihan kita. Daripada kesengsaraan dan kekecewaan, Tuhan Allah mampu melakukan mukjizat yang terindah di dalam diri kita dengan memberikan kita kekuatan-Nya dan kasih setia-Nya. Ini janji-Nya.

THINK BIG. START SMALL. GO DEEP.

Know Your Bible (Free Books Inside!)

“Blessed are you, O Lord; teach me your statutes!” (Psalm 119:12ESV).

“Open my eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of your law”
(Psalm 119:18).

Though 66 separate books, 1,189 chapters, and hundreds thousands of words, the Bible shares one extraordinary message: God loves you (and I want to add: God is a Holy God).

From the first chapter of Genesis, where God creates human beings, through the last chapter of Revelation, where God welcomes anyone to “take the water of life freely” (Revelation 22:17), the Bible proves God is intimately involved in, familiar with, and concerned about the lives of people. His amazing love is shown in the death of His Son, Jesus Christ, on the cross. That sacrifice of sin allows anyone to be right with God through simple faith in Jesus’ work.

Thanks to Fredda, my colleague, for taking this picture.
I only offer the book, apples are not included :)

These truths are found in the pages of Scripture. But sometimes they can be obscured by the vast amount of information the Bible contains. That’s why the writer and the publisher created (and I, Richard Angelus give away) Know Your Bible Illustrated.

In this book - a fully illustrated version of a small volume that’s sold more than a million copies – you’ll find brief surveys of all 66 Bible books. Each summarizes what that book is about, always within the context of God’s love and concern for people.

Every entry follows this outline:

IN TEN WORD’S OR LESS: a ‘nutshell’ glances at the book’s key theme, immediately following the book’s title.

AUTHOR/DATE: who wrote the book, according to the Bible itself or ancient tradition, and when the book was written or the time the book covers.

DETAILS, PLEASE: a synopsis of the key people, events, and messages covered in the book.

QUOTABLE: one, two, or several key verses from the book.

UNIQUE AND UNUSUAL: facts – some serious, some less so – that make the book stand out.

SO WHAT? An inspirational or devotional thought for each book.

Your Bible is certainly worth knowing. Use this book to begin a journey of discovery that could truly change your life!

THINK BIG. START SMALL. GO DEEP.

February 2013 Free Books

I’m giving away ONLY 3 copies of “Know Your Bible Illustrated: All 66 Books Explained and Applied” by Paul Kent. You are welcome to get a copy of this book for yourself to study the Word more deeply (not merely for your books collection!). Simple, do these 2 things:

1. Comment below “Rich, give me one copy___(Your name). I want to know the Bible better and get more from my time in it. I want to worship God through the Word’s study. Amen.” 
2. And E-mail me at Motivates4life@hotmail.com or send message to my Facebook your real name, phone no. and your postal address. Thank you.

Part 3: The Bible - Its Central Theme (v)

 Actually, this series is from Understanding Bible Truth booklets by Robert Hicks and Richard Bewes (1981), but I have expanded some texts for modern readers (to make it easier to read) and added Scripture quotes (I’m using ESV Bible) into these writings to clarify its points more clearly. My purpose of making this series available in the internet is single: So that you can be clear the essential facts about the Bible’s teaching in a readily understandable form.

Why the “Central Theme” in the Bible is Important?

Many good Christian scholars try to discover what the center theme of the Bible is. Some suggests that the center theme are God, Israel, Covenant, creation, kingdom, salvation, new creation, and so forth. In many of the arguments regarding this matter, Kingdom of God is the most famous one as the theme – but as for me, I think that Jesus Christ is THE theme of the Bible. All of the above will lose their meaning without Christ. If there is no Christ, there is no kingdom of God to talk about. The diversity of the Bible is unified in Jesus Christ. He is the center that holds all of the biblical truths together. The fullest expression of God and His glory come in the person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ – He is the theme of the Bible.

How Christ comes into the historical-biblical scene and how God in His eternal purpose set Christ as the main theme in the Bible?

The Continual Conflict

The conflict in the Bible began when Adam and Eve questioned God’s authority (Genesis 3). From this simple beginning stemmed the entrance of sin into the world, and the revolt of mankind against God’s rule. The Bible traces the spread of this conflict between men and God. It show men soon become hostile to each other (Titus 3:3), as well as to God. The Bible then continuously shows the need of humanity to be reconciled to God. That’s why as the Bible story progress to the New Testament, “God [by His own loving initiative], who through Christ reconciled us to Himself” (2 Corinthians 5:18, bracket mine).

The Promised Savior

The Old Testament speaks clearly about the longing for a future deliverer from sin and guilt (see Isaiah 53). However, this is more than a mere hope. The prophets, particularly, speak of God’s promise of a Savior, who will establish a new agreement with God’s people – with forgiveness and liberated service at its heart. “I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people” (Jeremiah 31:33).

The New Testament points unmistakably to Jesus Christ as being this promised Savior. Jesus Himself said, “Everything written about me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled” (Luke 24:44).

The Works of Christ

The coming of Jesus Christ in history fulfills all the hopes of the Old Testament and provides the basis for the New. In Jesus, God Himself entered human history and opened the way for forgiveness and holy living. This was done through Christ’s death, His resurrection and His gift of the Spirit. Death is defeated, the power of Satan is broken, and the ascended Christ rules. Paul writes, “[God] saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that being justified by his grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life” (Titus 3:5-7).

The New Community

“For through [Jesus] we both have access in one Spirit to the Father. So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord” (Ephesians 2:18-21). The New Testament portrays the followers of Christ as the society of the saved – called to be members of His world-wide Church. Wherever the rule of Christ operates in people’s lives, there His church is found.

This new community worships its reigning Lord, and is called upon to fulfill its mission of evangelism and practical service to the whole world. Jesus Christ personally upholds it in every experience. When He comes again, its membership and task will be complete (and I say “Yes! Come, Master Jesus!”).

The Ultimate Victory

The whole of creation will be involved in the final triumph of God. His love and justice will be upheld for everyone to see, and the whole empire of evil will be overthrown.

The great landmark of the future is the return of Jesus Christ, personally, historically, visibly and triumphantly (see 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18). He will come as Judge of the whole world as well as Savior of His people, the elects. The date of His coming cannot be predicted (now, you can skip Nostradamus’s prophecies and throw away the Mayan’s calendar all together), although calamities, wars and the appearance of false christs confirms to a day when they will receive new bodies which will never age or die. Then sin and sorrow will be banished forever, and their salvation will be complete.

John the apostle says, “I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, ‘Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away’” (Revelations 21:3-4).

My Conclusion about the Bible “Its Central Theme”

Truly, Christ is the central theme of the Bible. In the conflict between humanity and God, He is the ultimate solution; in all of the Old Testament prophecies concerning the coming Messiah the Savior, He is the One; in the hope for one new community united by all saved people, He is the reigning Lord; in the final triumph of God, He is the Victorious King – Christ is the central theme of the Bible.

THINK BIG. START SMALL. GO DEEP.

A Young Man urging Parents to Discipline their Children

“Don’t fail to discipline your children; they won’t die if you spank them.
Physical discipline may well save them from death” (Proverbs 23:13NLT)

“Don’t be afraid to correct your young ones; a spanking won’t kill them.
A good spanking, in fact, might save them from something worse than death”
(The Message)

When I was young and dangerous and rebellious my mom always disciplines me. She would punish me for anything I did wrong and when I rebel against her commands. My dad would handle hard cases (which were very seldom) but my mom would normally discipline me and my brother for every obvious sin that we had committed. It was hard to be the bad guy – because we normally cry once we were screwed! Come to think about it, I thank God for her rod of discipline. For if that was absent during my childhood life, I would never be who I am today.

Today, I astonish whenever I see parents did not discipline their children for misbehaves. Shout without action. Patience without correction. Love without discipline.  No wonder children nowadays are spoiled, rebellious as they grow up and disrespect their own parents. I don’t need to be a parent to know the basic need to discipline a child – the Bible is full of God’s commands to do so.

Harold J. Sala writes in his book Raising Godly Kids, “Does the Bible differentiate between discipline and punishment? Yes, clearly it does. The word paideias, usually translated ‘to discipline’ in the New Testament, is much different from the word mastigoi, which means ‘to strike, hit or wound’. Mastigoi was used of Jesus Christ when He was scourged by the Roman soldiers. Paideias, which was also translated ‘to instruct or give guidance to’, was used of a father’s guidance of his son, or even an instructor’s correction of a student”.

I urge parents to discipline (paideias) their children not to punish (mastigoi) them. Child’s needs correction not closed-eyes treatment. It’s not because they had done wrong – though they are – but because there are certain things shouldn’t be allowed because the Word of God said so. Anger generates punishment but love, if you love your children, generates discipline. By doing this, parents remain in control.  And children, nowadays need parents who are in control of the family. Discipline is both necessary and effective – parents should know that! [P.s: They are many way to discipline a child aside from physical discipline.]

In the Bible, God disciplines those whom He loves. Hebrew 12:10-11 says, “God’s discipline is always good for us, so that we might share in his holiness. No discipline is enjoyable while it is happening—it’s painful! But afterward there will be a peaceful harvest of right living for those who are trained in this way”. In the same way, the godly parents are to discipline their children with love just like our Father in Heaven.

“Those who spare the rod of discipline hate their children.

Those who love their children care enough to discipline them”

(Proverbs 13:24NLT).

THINK BIG. START SMALL. GO DEEP.