Our faith, the hope of the world
In the time of Joshua the Israelites were the representatives of Yahweh. Their successes showed and taught the world who God was; His character, His power, His very nature. As they followed the Lord, more nations were able to learn of the Lord's goodness and righteousness. As they disobeyed the Lord, the surrounding nations learned about God's judgment and wrath with his own people.
In similar ways the believers of the New testament and New covenant exist to represent God to the nations. As God may still do miracles of tremendous awe and wonder in the lives of the people in the earth, it seems more common based on Jesus' great commission that we are the representatives; through word and deed. No longer would any particular nation go out to represent God to all the nations but rather his holy nation (his adherents and believers). As Paul mentions in Romans that it's the sons of Abraham through the blood, but also through the faith (Romans 4:16-17).
Going a step further the Apostle Paul goes on to write to the church in Galatia, "There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free man, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s descendants, heirs according to promise." Galatians 3:28-29
So then, sharing what God has done in our own lives parallels the stories that were told in the Old testament days to the surrounding nations, even remote locations and distant nations, of God's wondrous power.
We see this in the book of Joshua with Rehab and the spies. She was not an Israelite by blood or family. Yet when the spies came and stayed in her house she understood that the God of Israel, Yahweh, had decreed that they would be displaced and that the Israelites would take possession of it. She even went so far as to say, "I know that the Lord has given you the land, and that the terror of you has fallen on us, and that all the inhabitants of the land have melted away before you. For we have heard how the Lord dried up the water of the Red Sea before you when you came out of Egypt, and what you did to the two kings of the amorites who were beyond the Jordan, to Sihon and Og, whom you utterly destroyed. When we heard it, our hearts melted and no courage remained in any man any longer because of you; for the Lord your God, He is God in heaven above and on earth beneath." Joshua 2:9-11
The beauty of this is evident in her exclamation. She believed fully that the Lord had declared Israel would have the land and there was nothing that they could do. This woman who is not an Israelite put her faith in the God that was not her family's nor her people's. She put her life on the line helping these spies with the faith that God would be merciful and protect her.
This seems like a message that we could take into our own lives. That faith truly does come from hearing. Whether it is straight from the word of God, or from the stories taught by the saints, of God's goodness, mercy, power and glory. And that we, his ambassadors, should not stop talking about the good things that the Lord does in our lives, but instead as part of our act of worship and love for this wonderful God. That we would share the blessings from our life that He's given us, the joy He's brought us, and the wisdom that He imparts to us.
How can you make this a regular expression of your faith and those around you?
Written by Chris Bryant
