Joshua – The Fire
James Tissot: The Seven Trumpets of Jericho
The true protagonist of the Book of Joshua is the land, the land promised to Abraham’s descendents in his original covenant with Yahweh, the land scorched by the fire of battles fought in the name of God. When we spend time with Joshua we realize that this territory which the Hebrews stepped into was inhabited by others; and these others had not heard of Yahweh, or if they had, they did not regard him as their God. When the twelve tribes crossed the Jordan to begin their holy conquest, they must have known that there was much struggle ahead and that all of it would be painful, hard fought, and full of fire. Yet still they obeyed God’s invitation and did not shrink from the struggle.
I am presently attending a retreat that asks us to probe our own spirituality to find what speaks to us, to explore what inspires us that we might come together for the life of the world. As I read through stories of Joshua, I am reminded that Jesus tells his disciples (Luke 12:49) he has come set the world afire with his message of freedom from darkness. He also tells us that we will bring discord rather than peace (Matthew 10:34) when we follow him to work at changing corrupt systems. When we follow Jesus we cannot shrink from the flames for it is this very fire which tells us that Christ is present. It is the fire of Christ that cauterizes wounds; it is the fire of Christ that heals.
All of this recalls to me a message my sister sent several years ago about how the battle and fire of life can ultimately heal us when we place our suffering and pain in the hands of God. Her message was one we have seen circling the Internet and it rises from Malachi 3:3 which says: He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver. Joshua brings this message home to us as he moves forward in fire, trusting that the silversmith will burn off impurities yet save the precious silver. I share that message today.
The Fall of Jericho
This verse puzzled some women in a Bible study and they wondered what this statement meant about the character and nature of God. One of the women offered to find out the process of refining silver and get back to the group at their next Bible Study. That week, the woman called a silversmith and made an appointment to watch him at work. She didn’t mention anything about the reason for her interest beyond her curiosity about the process of refining Silver.
As she watched the silversmith, he held a piece of silver over the fire and let it heat up. He explained that in refining silver, one needed to hold the silver in the middle of the fire where the flames were hottest as to burn away all the impurities. The woman thought about God holding us in such a hot spot; then she thought again about the verse that says: “He sits as a refiner and purifier of silver.” She asked the silversmith if it was true that he had to sit there in front of the fire the whole time the silver was being refined. The man answered yes, he not only had to sit there holding the silver, but he had to keep his eyes on the silver the entire time it was in the fire. If the silver was left a moment too long in the flames, it would be destroyed.
The woman was silent for a moment. Then she asked the silversmith, “How do you know when the silver is fully refined?” He smiled at her and answered, “Oh, that’s easy — when I see my image in it.”.
If today you are feeling the heat of the fire, remember that God has an eye on you and will keep watching you until God sees God’s image in you.
Pass this on to someone who wants to know that God is watching over them. We are made anew by the obstacles we overcome.
Monday, June 15, 2009.
