#Abraham and Serah

[thenewdeadseascrolls]

Judges 5: 28-31. "The Varicolored Ascot: Conclusion to the Song of Deborah."

The Song of Deborah, "The Song of the Beehive" concludes with a question and a final prayer, "Why isn't anyone paying attention?" and "May the Glory of God be as the sun in the lives of all of His People."

There are specific aspects to both starting with what is called the Window of Sisera's Mother, which exists behind a lattice. Recall that Deborah means to peer through a hole in a lattice at the real world. This lattice is the Eye of Ha Shem, it is both of our eyes which verily do see the world such as it is no matter what we say or do. Unlike an animal or a flower, we can comprehend what we see and mold reality according to our vision. If the vision follows the line of sight named Deborah by the Torah, life on earth will finally begin to evolve.

Clatter, mentioned below is all the work entailed to achieve the Vision of the Song of Deborah. Clatter refers to something called Tikkum Olam Ha Ba, "Your time is coming". Since I started this scientific analysis of the Torah and the Mishnah I have come to believe the Age of Agony, all these thousands of years of primitive upheaval on this world is drawing to a close. None us alive today will live to see very much of the new age, called Mashiach, but we will live long enough to see as the final passages of Judges 5 say, "an end to all of God's ememies and the onset of a freely governed sovereign Jewish State". Especially the one for which the Shoftim was written, the development of an individual and distinctly Jewish Self.

Through the scripture God says "run do not walk to this destiny I have determined is right for you":

28 “Through the window peered Sisera’s mother;     behind the lattice she cried out, ‘Why is his chariot so long in coming?     Why is the clatter of his chariots delayed?’ 29 The wisest of her ladies answer her;     indeed, she keeps saying to herself, 30 ‘Are they not finding and dividing the spoils:     a woman or two for each man, colorful garments as plunder for Sisera,     colorful garments embroidered, highly embroidered garments for my neck—     all this as plunder?’

31 “So may all your enemies perish, Lord!     But may all who love you be like the sun     when it rises in its strength.”

Then the land had peace forty years.

The Values in Gematria are:

v. 28: Through the window peered Sisera’s mother; behind the lattice she cried out. Normally Jews delay going back to work and work hard in advance to be able to do so. To watch the world burn and delay the release of the horses, all the characteristics we work so hard within to tame is anathema to how a Jew thinks. The anguish of living an unfulfilled life in a self-destructive world is what causes one to cry out. The most famous cries are found in the Psalms, but they only go so far to quel the unresolved emotions all of us experience.

The Value in Gematria is 9221, טבב‎א, "of course."

v. 29:  The wisest of her ladies answer her; indeed, she keeps saying to herself... Who is the wisest of Ladies? Serah "to go to excess, to have a surplus."

The wise woman from Abel-Beth-Maacah "you have to hit" is identified in midrashim as Serah, daughter of Asher. The rabbis attribute great wisdom to her. She successfully instituted a negotiation with Joab, who had besieged the town of Abel-Beth-Maacah. She then spoke to the people of the town, who beheaded Sheba son of Bichri in order to induce Joab to leave.

Rabbis draw parallels between her story and the story of Abraham negotiating with God for the people of Sodom. The wise woman from Abel-Beth-Maacah is greatly admired by many, including Solomon, who lauded her when he said: “Wisdom is more valuable than weapons of war”; this woman’s wisdom was superior to all of Joab’s weapons (Eccl. Rabbah loc. cit.).

No one plans to live in a way that is unfulfilling but this does happen. The reason we read the Torah and why the Rabbis all say to work up to and past one's potential is because life is short. There is just enough life in all of us but it is not an endless amount. This is why it is puzzling more Jews are not hedonists because that is what God wants us to try to be.

As the Rab says above, this includes our appetite for social justice and the happiness of others, seen in the very first archtype for Jewish identity called Abraham, the Father of Compassion.

v. 30: Are they not finding and dividing the spoils? The spoils apparently include a very gay ascot.

To bind the neck in a colorful flaming scarf means to control the speech and avoid all infractions associated with the Plagues of Egypt, but moreso it means to one must be an intelligent and flamboyant speaker.

The Value in Gematria is 9041, טאֶפֶסדא‎ ‎, tapesda, "To understand and spread the roots of the richly ornament precepts of the Torah."

v. 31: There was peace in the land for forty years. Forty years is the length of one's adult lifetime. Anyone who surpasses forty years is very lucky in terms of Torah time. To spend forty years in peace is a great blessing. So far the human race has not granted the right to this to anyone who has ever lived here.

The Value in Gematria is 9227, טבבז‎, tabvez, "the cell is built by strength within a safe place of refuge."

No one wants to see what they are going to become if they face adversity and triumph. We want the opposite. This is the mission of the human race, and of the Jewish Establishment, to provide everyone a chance to find themselves, to undertake the challenges to which they volunteer themselves in order to do so without fear of harm from others.

The scariest thing about living on earth is the presence of other people. If we could do something about this, we would have it made.

Here ends the Song of Deborah. The prophecy concerning the Establisment of a Nation fit for the purposes of the attainment of the Jewish Self.

[clickvibes]

New Music: Ajebo Hustlers x Odumodublvck - 'Celine Dion'

Highlife duo, Ajebo Hustlers, have released new single “Celine Dion,” featuring Odumodublvck, it also comes with a visualizer dropped on youtube. https://youtu.be/AEwtrVtmgDU Lyrics Celine Dion ft. Odumodublvck - Ajebo Hustlers ... AVANTI. (PIEGO) Girlie she dey feeling me on Girlie she dey sing like celion dion Girlie she dey lead me on Girlie she go wound me, she go killy me on. Girlie she dey feeling me on Girlie she dey sing like celion dion Girlie she dey lead me on Girlie she go wound me, she go killy me on. Say Say Say gobe mama serah X4 she gimme groundnut ohh and kolanut ohh i sit down for her domot, nobody interrupt ohh, i spend a lot ohh she gimme groundnut ohh and kolanut ohh i sit down for her domot, nobody interrupt ohh, i spend a lot ohh (ODUMODUBLVCK) Yeah, she no even need to suck before she soft.(yes), Depends on how i feel modu go add ontop.(lord) Jungle jungle flood out with akpoche my love. The ego na Nonledger apply when i climb untop. Fuck her till she cum, Finger in her butt, modu you are lot, everything dey go down, kiss her in her uber. Forget driver, konji no dey show remorse, na my pumpi dey mind for long, the bobi soft, the booty more. Omo na bonafide darling, her pressure dey defile brothers, dem dey beg am with all their beautified flowers, see my kele don hammer. She tell me say dey dont matter. so its alright, its okayyyy. Say Say Say gobe mama serah X4 she gimme groundnut ohh and kolanut ohh i sit down for her domot, nobody interrupt ohh, i spend a lot ohh she gimme groundnut ohh and kolanut ohh i sit down for her domot, nobody interrupt ohh, i spend a lot ohh (KNOWLEDGE) JESU ACCRA KPOS!!!! Her attitude na zero, but she sabi kill mosquito. praaaaa. Her body dey popori, e dey boost my libido. My chikito I gbadu you till infinito. I put am for her body as i jam the Casaprito. Son of Ajah Abraham, a descendant of Apachino. No be today she don dey hear me since for abalito. Kpos daddy, Omo na me be her papito I carry go, i ball her like chicharito. she gimme groundnut ohh and kolanut ohh i sit down for her domot, nobody interrupt ohh, i spend a lot ohh she gimme groundnut ohh and kolanut ohh i sit down for her domot, nobody interrupt ohh, i spend a lot ohh Read the full article

[scrawnytreedemon]

Shit I’ve Been Winding Up For A Long Time Now But Am Very Aware Will Probably Hold No Relevance Should I Actually Go Into This More--

This is about Bhunivelze.

I.

You know, when I was chilling out, on my bed, that evening on that half term in early June, deciding to check up on ClementJ64′s FF retrospective because-- Hey! It’s been awhile, I wonder if he’s got around to doing the final bit of the FFXIII saga --You know, I was there, chilling, just for a laff. Just a laff.

The rest of that week was spent spiralling into a hyperfixation I absolutely did not anticipate in any way, shape, or form, because the way they introduced that character was “wwhdhfjjhHJDFJKHKJHW H A T??”

That retrospective and a good amount of wiki-scrounging is all I have as a basis for this. This is not a coherent character analysis-- Though I might tag it as that for ease of access. This is not, by any means, the thoughts of someone deeply familiar with FFXIII on the whole beyond plot synopses and overarching themes.

I don’t think I’m brave enough for that.

Reading the vast yet surface-deep lore on those wiki pages on my birthday while in a delirious state of mind was enough to make me somewhat nauseous.

Do you think I’m going to go through all of that in real time?

(Someday, someday.)

Ugh, I don’t know how to begin, but let us, I guess. I’d recommend you read this church-mime-demiurge’s FF Wiki page if you want the same level of base-knowledge I had, and maybe the aformentioned retrospective if you want the experience, because I don’t think I have the wherewithal to get into all of that from the bottom-up.

I am also, so, so fucking sorry for any remaining FFXIII fans in advance. There is like, a good chance I may be butchering the characterisation completely, so bear with me here.

With that... we begin?

Where do we even start with this guy?

How on earth to you begin to explain the absolute monolith you’ve constructed from crumbs of a Guy, some material no doubt spliced in from the Pale King, Sephiroth, y o u r  o w n  G o d  O C and other characters, and the mountains of religious trauma you carry around at all times that is probably the only reason you’ve been able to latch on as hard as you did?

I’m going to try.

What gets me, in summary, about Bhunivelze is how he’s a prime example of how love and concern can become deadly forces if in the wrong hands. His first acquainting with human emotion was by deceiving and possessing Hope, reverting his body to a teenage state, and planning to live among humanity through him. He sees human sorrow and suffering, and decides that, to End This(because it must be ended, you see) he’s going to destroy all the souls of the deceased that make up the Chaos that’s been eating this world for the past five-hundred years so they all forget and Are Happy. :).

Capital G God here hasn’t been present for the vast part of human history because he’s hidden himself away from Everything due to paranoia from killing his own mother and throwing her body into the Cosmic Basement, THEN creating the beings that would come to create humanity and OTHER beings because he didn’t have the keys to the cosmic basement. And also he believes death is a thing because she’d’ve somehow cursed all things to pass(including him) out of Spite.

Which explains why he’s so fucking averse to it and anything to do with it.

Bhunivelze, to put it lightly, is Shit at stepping into others’ shoes and Getting their experiences-- All the FalCie in FFXIII are, but him especially. It’s clear(again, in the f u c k i n g JP--) that he makes attempts to sympathise with them and does what he can to help, but it’s with such a loftiness and a complete inability to Understand why anyone would want grief, The Worst Fucking Experience In Existence, and even less why they’d be willing to Go Up Against Him And HisThe New Perfect World just for it-- And what would it matter, anyway, forgetting their loved ones. It’s not like you can grieve lost memories, right?

Right.

It reminds me of when at the end of the story of Job in the Bible, where, after putting this man through hell on earth, God rewards Job by giving him ten new children to make up for the ones that he lost. I. And that’s fucked! Nothing can replace the sheer uniqueness of each individual person you loved so dearly! But if you were a nigh-omnipotent deity high and mighty, with a cursory, almost mechanical knowledge on the functionings of the human psyche, that would seem adequete; enough.

Bhunivelze is doing that on a cosmic level.

I now want to get onto the romance: that being, his affections for Lightning. I don’t know how much I’m going to say, but it’ll probably be alot. It’s something that hits very close to home.

There is this... thing, within certain branches of Christianity, perhaps even in those of various Abrahamic faiths, where God’s love is posited to be the love-- The ultimate, most-fulfilling, all-encompassing love you could ever imagine --Because, well, he is love, so the story goes, and so often the best way to convey that is through the imagery of...

Marriage.

Giving up yourself so completely, to serve, to be the Bride; to be bound by him for all eternity; and for there to be no higher bliss than this.

This angle is pushed on young girls and women the most; from the mere parallels to the woman’s role in marriage, all the way down to downright-horrifying ultra-Evangelical purity pacts. With men, God is your dad, your best bud and confidant, your boss, your king, your this, your that, and the ‘marriage‘ as it were is relegated to a sort of half-thought; a metaphor.

For me, God was an attempt at all that, and my arranged groom.

(It was almost incestuous; was incestuous, that my own Divine Father would reach for my hand in marriage.)

Bhunivelze experiences Emotions™ for the first time through Hope, experiences Hope’s sheer overwhelming admiration for Lighting(whether there were any baby-crush feelings mixed in, I can’t say), and promptly falls into a nigh-romantic obsession with Lightning, deciding that she will be Etro(his all-but daughter)’s replacement, will be his Goddess of Death to-be-- He even calls her as such, before the final boss-battle--

...In the JP.

What happened in localisation, probably due to a number of factors, all the way back in early 2014, was that everything emotionally challenging about Bhunivelze was scraped off, like it was extra fat, and tossed aside, leaving us with the bland, clichéd shell of a foe-god we’ve seen time and time again. And I mean everything. I mean his very love for humanity; the fact his ploy was, in his eyes, to save them. Because if they’d left that all on, then it would raise the question of even if there was such a seemingly pure, all-knowing, loving being hell-bent on setting things “straight,“ would they truly be unquestionable? Would we have the right to fight for our humanity in the face of the Creator of the Universe?

To reject a love so personal?

That’s what gets me about FFXIII’s tackling of God, no matter how hackneyed and poorly-executed. It’s personal.

It’s from a feminine experience.

I know that terming is... vague, and problematic, but the way Christianity and much of the video game industry handle femininity itself is weird and problematic, so as it stands, I’ll have to simplify it. Apologies.

What sets FFXIII’s Let’s Kill God™ plot aside from most JRPG Let’s Kill God™ plots is that with our protagonist being a woman, and one who is very in touch with her femininity alongside her sheer strength; often, in these stories, God is reduced to Yet Another Foe, expected or unexpected, and you are tasked with taking him down unquestioningly for the Good of Mankind-- You will fight God, because you are right to, and you will go man-to-man-to-however-many-men you decide to bring along for the bloodbath.

And that just, doesn’t speak to me.

Even as an Extian.

Especially as an Extian. And an AFAB one with a deeply complicated experience with my gender, at that.

Leaving Christianity was painful. Questioning God was painful. Coming to terms with the fact that I had been mentally, emotionally, and spiritually traumatised under the guise of All-Encompassing Love was so, so fucking painful. I had been taught since I was five years old to devote myself to him, spent my life desperate to feel something, anything, to stay connected because I just, I never could Feel It on a deeper level, never could Give Up Myself, all I was, couldn’t Die A Spiritual Death And Be Reborn As His Eager Vessel, thus deeming myself to be worthless and a broken vessel for years and years on end... And for all that to have been... Nothing.

Lightning is hollowed out, the shards of her dead sister ripped from her in-stasis, leaving her emotionally numb for the majority of the game, Bhunivelze sweeps it under the rug, pretends he’ll perform a miracle and return Serah to life in exchange for her compliance, then sends her on her way to do his work, all the while knowing he’s going to pull said-rug from under her and elevate her such dizzying heights in the aftermath--

That he’ll deny her humanity.

Sand down all the rough edges that make her her, and polish her up afterwards, gild her as he is gilded, make her a Goddess.

And he’ll do it all because he loves her.

You can’t fight God like you can everything else. To fight It is the fight Existence Itself; FFXIII even conveys that by making Bhunivelze’s model part of the arena; it’s baked into the fabric of the game, no matter how minute.

While Lightning Returns is far from perfect in its execution of this concept, and that in itself makes me wince, not even taking into account the horribly botched excuse for a localisation Bhunivelze endured, it speaks to me more than anything else I’ve seen so far.

And it’s helped uncover some things within me. Helped me untangle them, just a little more.

So, yeah. I have alot of Thoughts on Bhunivelze, I want to share them, and I’m kinda really sad I have no one but my currently-absent friend Vee to share them with. I could get into alot more, like his very Fucked relationship with familial bonds, and how Lightning’s role as saviour so deeply parallels the overwhelming panic and never-ending guilt of Evangelical proselytisation, but I think I’ll leave those for another time.

In short, Bhunivelze is the epitome of Divine Love gone deeply wrong; on all fronts.

And if all of that isn’t enough to intrigue you, then, in Vee’s words, Lightning and Velze are literally canon endgame Sefikura lmaOOOOOOOOOOOOOO--

[the-gedonelune-times]

Thank you @eye-cri for the tag!

Rules: Name your favorite characters from 10 different fandoms, then tag 10 people!

1. Hugo Peers (Wizardess Heart)

2. Leviathan (Obey Me)

3. Karna (Fate Franchise)

4. Serah Farron (Final Fantasy XIII Trilogy)

5. Philippe (The Niflheim)

6. Abraham Van Helsing (Code Realize)

7. Aoi (Ninja Assasin+)

8. Balder Hringhorni (Kamigami no Asobi)

9. Rennoshin (Ninja Love+)

10. Kent (Amnesia)

I'm tagging people off the top of my head, so I apologize if you've already been tagged!

@youkaiangel @leonthecardboardunicorn @blueberrin @mrsalfonsegoldstein @swordsmanofsweets @einhornaufzuchtstation

[tanach-929]

#211: Yehoshua/Joshua Chapter 24

929 chapter link: http://www.929.org.il/lang/en/page/211

Mechon Mamre link: https://www.mechon-mamre.org/e/et/et0624.htm

1 And Joshua gathered all the tribes of Israel to Shechem, and called for the elders of Israel, and for their heads, and for their judges, and for their officers; and they presented themselves before God. 2 And Joshua said unto all the people: 'Thus saith the LORD, the God of Israel: Your fathers dwelt of old time beyond the River, even Terah, the father of Abraham, and the father of Nahor; and they served other gods. 3 And I took your father Abraham from beyond the River, and led him throughout all the land of Canaan, and multiplied his seed, and gave him Isaac. 4 And I gave unto Isaac Jacob and Esau; and I gave unto Esau mount Seir, to possess it; and Jacob and his children went down into Egypt. 5 And I sent Moses and Aaron, and I plagued Egypt, according to that which I did in the midst thereof; and afterward I brought you out. 6 And I brought your fathers out of Egypt; and ye came unto the sea; and the Egyptians pursued after your fathers with chariots and with horsemen unto the Red Sea. 7 And when they cried out unto the LORD, He put darkness between you and the Egyptians, and brought the sea upon them, and covered them; and your eyes saw what I did in Egypt; and ye dwelt in the wilderness many days. 8 And I brought you into the land of the Amorites, that dwelt beyond the Jordan; and they fought with you; and I gave them into your hand, and ye possessed their land; and I destroyed them from before you. 9 Then Balak the son of Zippor, king of Moab, arose and fought against Israel; and he sent and called Balaam the son of Beor to curse you. 10 But I would not hearken unto Balaam; therefore he even blessed you; so I delivered you out of his hand. 11 And ye went over the Jordan, and came unto Jericho; and the men of Jericho fought against you, the Amorite, and the Perizzite, and the Canaanite, and the Hittite, and the Girgashite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite; and I delivered them into your hand. 12 And I sent the hornet before you, which drove them out from before you, even the two kings of the Amorites; not with thy sword, nor with thy bow. 13 And I gave you a land whereon thou hadst not laboured, and cities which ye built not, and ye dwell therein; of vineyards and olive-yards which ye planted not do ye eat. 14 Now therefore fear the LORD, and serve Him in sincerity and in truth; and put away the gods which your fathers served beyond the River, and in Egypt; and serve ye the LORD. 15 And if it seem evil unto you to serve the LORD, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell; but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.' {P}

16 And the people answered and said: 'Far be it from us that we should forsake the LORD, to serve other gods; 17 for the LORD our God, He it is that brought us and our fathers up out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage, and that did those great signs in our sight, and preserved us in all the way wherein we went, and among all the peoples through the midst of whom we passed; 18 and the LORD drove out from before us all the peoples, even the Amorites that dwelt in the land; therefore we also will serve the LORD; for He is our God.' 19 And Joshua said unto the people: 'Ye cannot serve the LORD; for He is a holy God; He is a jealous God; He will not forgive your transgression nor your sins. 20 If ye forsake the LORD, and serve strange gods, then He will turn and do you evil, and consume you, after that He hath done you good.' 21 And the people said unto Joshua: 'Nay; but we will serve the LORD.' 22 And Joshua said unto the people: 'Ye are witnesses against yourselves that ye have chosen you the LORD, to serve Him.--And they said: 'We are witnesses.'-- 23 Now therefore put away the strange gods which are among you, and incline your heart unto the LORD, the God of Israel.' 24 And the people said unto Joshua: 'The LORD our God will we serve, and unto His voice will we hearken.' 25 So Joshua made a covenant with the people that day, and set them a statute and an ordinance in Shechem. 26 And Joshua wrote these words in the book of the law of God; and he took a great stone, and set it up there under the oak that was by the sanctuary of the LORD. {P}

27 And Joshua said unto all the people: 'Behold, this stone shall be a witness against us; for it hath heard all the words of the LORD which He spoke unto us; it shall be therefore a witness against you, lest ye deny your God.' 28 So Joshua sent the people away, every man unto his inheritance. {P}

29 And it came to pass after these things, that Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of the LORD, died, being a hundred and ten years old. 30 And they buried him in the border of his inheritance in Timnath-serah, which is in the hill-country of Ephraim, on the north of the mountain of Gaash. 31 And Israel served the LORD all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders that outlived Joshua, and had known all the work of the LORD, that He had wrought for Israel. 32 And the bones of Joseph, which the children of Israel brought up out of Egypt, buried they in Shechem, in the parcel of ground which Jacob bought of the sons of Hamor the father of Shechem for a hundred pieces of money; and they became the inheritance of the children of Joseph. 33 And Eleazar the son of Aaron died; and they buried him in the Hill of Phinehas his son, which was given him in mount Ephraim. {P}

Have any thoughts, opinions, feelings or insights on this chapter?  Please share!

[antarpapuanews]

Sertijab, Kadiskominfo: Diskominfo adalah Corong Informasi Pembangunan Daerah

Sertijab, Kadiskominfo: Diskominfo adalah Corong Informasi Pembangunan Daerah

Timika, APN – Mantan Sekretaris Badan Perencanaan dan Pembangunan Daerah (Bappeda) Mimika, Hillar Limbong Allo akan memimpin Diskomifo Mimika untuk dua tahun kedepan setelah mengantikan pejabat sebelumnya Abraham Kateyau yang ditunjuk sebagai Kepala DPMPTSP, berdasarkan hasil roling jabatan yang dilaksanakan beberapa waktu lalu. Serah terima jabatan tersebut dilaksanakan pada Senin (13/6/2022) di…

[ayojalanterus]

Kelakuan Prajurit TNI AU Injak Kepala Bikin 2 Komandan Hilang Jabatan

 KONTENISLAM.COM - Panglima TNI, Marsekal Hadi Tjahjanto marah besar mengetahui prajurit TNI Angkatan Udara (AU) bersikap arogan dengan memiting dan menginjak kepala penyandang disabilitas di Merauke, Papua. Kemarahan orang nomor satu di institusi militer ini tak berhenti hanya pada dua oknum prajurit, dua komandan di Pangkalan Udara (Lanud) Johanes Abraham (JA) Dimara kena imbasnya. "Saya sudah memerintahkan KSAU (Kepala Staf Angkatan Udara Marsekal Fadjar Prasetyo) untuk mencopot Komandan Lanud (Danlanud) dan Komandan Satuan Polisi Militernya (Dansatpom)-nya," kata Hadi kepada detikcom, Rabu (28/7/2021). Hadi meminta pencopotan dan serah jabatan Danlanud dan Dansatpom Lanud JA Dimara dilakukan sesegera mungkin, bahkan Hadi meminta penyerahan jabatan Danlanud dan Dansatpom Lanud dilakukan sebelum hari berganti. Untuk diketahui, saat insiden terjadi, Lanud JA Dimara dikomandoi oleh Kolonel Pnb Herdy Arief Budiyanto. "Karena mereka tidak bisa membina anggotanya. Kenapa tidak peka, memperlakukan disabilitas seperti itu. Itu yang membuat saya marah," ungkap Hadi menjelaskan alasan pencopotan Danlanud serta Dansatpom Lanud JA Dimara. Tak lama setelah perintah diberikan, Fadjar mengumumkan keputusan pencopotan Danlanud dan Dansatpom Lanud JA Dimara. Pencopotan dua komandan ini, jelas Fadjar, sudah melalui proses evaluasi. "Setelah melakukan evaluasi dan pendalaman, saya akan mengganti Komandan Lanud JA Dimara beserta Komandan Satuan Polisi Militer Lanud JA Dimara," ujar Marsekal Fadjar dalam video yang rilis Dinas Penerangan AU. Dia menegaskan pergantian ini sebagai pertanggungjawaban komandan atas kejadian tindak kekerasan yang dilakukan oleh 2 anak buahnya. "Pergantian ini, adalah sebagai bentuk pertanggungjawaban atas kejadian tersebut. Komandan satuan bertanggung jawab membina anggotanya," ungkap Fadjar. Fadjar kemudian menyampaikan proses hukum terhadap dua oknum yang bersikap arogan hingga menginjak kepala warga itu akan dilakukan secara transparan. Sanksi Tegas TNI AU pada Serda A dan Prada V Dua prajurit TNI yang dinilai tak peka memperlakukan penyandang disabilitas adalah Serda A dan Praka V. Saat ini mereka berstatus terangka kasus kekerasan dan ditahan. "Serda A dan Prada V telah ditetapkan sebagai tersangka Tindak kekerasan oleh penyidik, saat ini kedua tersangka menjalani penahan sementara selama 20 hari, untuk kepentingan proses penyidikan selanjutnya," ujar Kepala Dinas Penerangan TNI AU, Marsma TNI Indan Gilang Buldansyah dalam keterangannya. Kasus tersebut ditangani Satpom Lanud JA Dimara di Merauke. Usai diperiksa, terang Indan, Satpom Lanud JA Dimara akan menyerahkan berkas ke Oditur Militer. "Saat ini masih proses penyidikan terhadap kedua tersangka, tim penyidik akan menyelesaikan BAP dan nantinya akan dilimpahkan ke Oditur Militer untuk proses hukum selanjutnya," ucap Indan.(detik)

from Konten Islam https://ift.tt/3l7hxaL via IFTTT source https://www.ayojalanterus.com/2021/07/kelakuan-prajurit-tni-au-injak-kepala.html

[dfroza]

to know the real God

and be known by Him, our Father and Creator.

A treasured point Paul makes in his Letter of Galatians with Today’s reading in chapter 4:

Let me show you the implications of this. As long as the heir is a minor, he has no advantage over the slave. Though legally he owns the entire inheritance, he is subject to tutors and administrators until whatever date the father has set for emancipation. That is the way it is with us: When we were minors, we were just like slaves ordered around by simple instructions (the tutors and administrators of this world), with no say in the conduct of our own lives.

But when the time arrived that was set by God the Father, God sent his Son, born among us of a woman, born under the conditions of the law so that he might redeem those of us who have been kidnapped by the law. Thus we have been set free to experience our rightful heritage. You can tell for sure that you are now fully adopted as his own children because God sent the Spirit of his Son into our lives crying out, “Papa! Father!” Doesn’t that privilege of intimate conversation with God make it plain that you are not a slave, but a child? And if you are a child, you’re also an heir, with complete access to the inheritance.

Earlier, before you knew God personally, you were enslaved to so-called gods that had nothing of the divine about them. But now that you know the real God—or rather since God knows you—how can you possibly subject yourselves again to those paper tigers? For that is exactly what you do when you are intimidated into scrupulously observing all the traditions, taboos, and superstitions associated with special days and seasons and years. I am afraid that all my hard work among you has gone up in a puff of smoke!

My dear friends, what I would really like you to do is try to put yourselves in my shoes to the same extent that I, when I was with you, put myself in yours. You were very sensitive and kind then. You did not come down on me personally. You were well aware that the reason I ended up preaching to you was that I was physically broken, and so, prevented from continuing my journey, I was forced to stop with you. That is how I came to preach to you.

And don’t you remember that even though taking in a sick guest was most troublesome for you, you chose to treat me as well as you would have treated an angel of God—as well as you would have treated Jesus himself if he had visited you? What has happened to the satisfaction you felt at that time? There were some of you then who, if possible, would have given your very eyes to me—that is how deeply you cared! And now have I suddenly become your enemy simply by telling you the truth? I can’t believe it.

Those heretical teachers go to great lengths to flatter you, but their motives are rotten. They want to shut you out of the free world of God’s grace so that you will always depend on them for approval and direction, making them feel important.

It is a good thing to be ardent in doing good, but not just when I am in your presence. Can’t you continue the same concern for both my person and my message when I am away from you that you had when I was with you? Do you know how I feel right now, and will feel until Christ’s life becomes visible in your lives? Like a mother in the pain of childbirth. Oh, I keep wishing that I was with you. Then I wouldn’t be reduced to this blunt, letter-writing language out of sheer frustration.

Tell me now, you who have become so enamored with the law: Have you paid close attention to that law? Abraham, remember, had two sons: one by the slave woman and one by the free woman. The son of the slave woman was born by human connivance; the son of the free woman was born by God’s promise. This illustrates the very thing we are dealing with now. The two births represent two ways of being in relationship with God. One is from Mount Sinai in Arabia. It corresponds with what is now going on in Jerusalem—a slave life, producing slaves as offspring. This is the way of Hagar. In contrast to that, there is an invisible Jerusalem, a free Jerusalem, and she is our mother—this is the way of Sarah. Remember what Isaiah wrote:

Rejoice, barren woman who bears no children,

shout and cry out, woman who has no birth pangs,

Because the children of the barren woman

now surpass the children of the chosen woman.

Isn’t it clear, friends, that you, like Isaac, are children of promise? In the days of Hagar and Sarah, the child who came from faithless connivance (Ishmael) harassed the child who came—empowered by the Spirit—from the faithful promise (Isaac). Isn’t it clear that the harassment you are now experiencing from the Jerusalem heretics follows that old pattern? There is a Scripture that tells us what to do: “Expel the slave mother with her son, for the slave son will not inherit with the free son.” Isn’t that conclusive? We are not children of the slave woman, but of the free woman.

The Letter of Galatians, Chapter 4 (The Message)

and paired with this is chapter 46 in the book of Genesis where we read of Joseph reuniting with his father Jacob (who was renamed Israel):

So Israel set out on the journey with everything he owned. He arrived at Beersheba and worshiped, offering sacrifices to the God of his father Isaac.

God spoke to Israel in a vision that night: “Jacob! Jacob!”

“Yes?” he said. “I’m listening.”

God said, “I am the God of your father. Don’t be afraid of going down to Egypt. I’m going to make you a great nation there. I’ll go with you down to Egypt; I’ll also bring you back here. And when you die, Joseph will be with you; with his own hand he’ll close your eyes.”

Then Jacob left Beersheba. Israel’s sons loaded their father and their little ones and their wives on the wagons Pharaoh had sent to carry him. They arrived in Egypt with the livestock and the wealth they had accumulated in Canaan. Jacob brought everyone in his family with him—sons and grandsons, daughters and granddaughters. Everyone.

These are the names of the Israelites, Jacob and his descendants, who went to Egypt:

Reuben, Jacob’s firstborn.

Reuben’s sons: Hanoch, Pallu, Hezron, and Carmi.

Simeon’s sons: Jemuel, Jamin, Ohad, Jakin, Zohar, and Shaul the son of a Canaanite woman.

Levi’s sons: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari.

Judah’s sons: Er, Onan, Shelah, Perez, and Zerah (Er and Onan had already died in the land of Canaan). The sons of Perez were Hezron and Hamul.

Issachar’s sons: Tola, Puah, Jashub, and Shimron.

Zebulun’s sons: Sered, Elon, and Jahleel.

These are the sons that Leah bore to Jacob in Paddan Aram. There was also his daughter Dinah. Altogether, sons and daughters, they numbered thirty-three.

Gad’s sons: Zephon, Haggi, Shuni, Ezbon, Eri, Arodi, and Areli.

Asher’s sons: Imnah, Ishvah, Ishvi, and Beria. Also their sister Serah, and Beriah’s sons, Heber and Malkiel.

These are the children that Zilpah, the maid that Laban gave to his daughter Leah, bore to Jacob—sixteen of them.

The sons of Jacob’s wife Rachel were Joseph and Benjamin. Joseph was the father of two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim, from his marriage to Asenath daughter of Potiphera, priest of On. They were born to him in Egypt. Benjamin’s sons were Bela, Beker, Ashbel, Gera, Naaman, Ehi, Rosh, Muppim, Huppim, and Ard.

These are the children born to Jacob through Rachel—fourteen.

Dan’s son: Hushim.

Naphtali’s sons: Jahziel, Guni, Jezer, and Shillem.

These are the children born to Jacob through Bilhah, the maid Laban had given to his daughter Rachel—seven.

Summing up, all those who went down to Egypt with Jacob—his own children, not counting his sons’ wives—numbered sixty-six. Counting in the two sons born to Joseph in Egypt, the members of Jacob’s family who ended up in Egypt numbered seventy.

Jacob sent Judah on ahead to get directions to Goshen from Joseph. When they got to Goshen, Joseph gave orders for his chariot and went to Goshen to meet his father Israel. The moment Joseph saw him, he threw himself on his neck and wept. He wept a long time.

Israel said to Joseph, “I’m ready to die. I’ve looked into your face—you are indeed alive.”

Joseph then spoke to his brothers and his father’s family. “I’ll go and tell Pharaoh, ‘My brothers and my father’s family, all of whom lived in Canaan, have come to me. The men are shepherds; they’ve always made their living by raising livestock. And they’ve brought their flocks and herds with them, along with everything else they own.’ When Pharaoh calls you in and asks what kind of work you do, tell him, ‘Your servants have always kept livestock for as long as we can remember—we and our parents also.’ That way he’ll let you stay apart in the area of Goshen—for Egyptians look down on anyone who is a shepherd.”

The Book of Genesis, Chapter 46 (The Message)

my personal reading of the Scriptures for friday, march 13 of 2020 with a paired chapter from each Testament along with Today’s Psalms and Proverbs

[wisdomfish]

Then Joshua gathered all the tribes of Israel to Shechem, and summoned the elders, the heads, the judges, and the officers of Israel; and they presented themselves before God. And Joshua said to all the people, ‘Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: Long ago your ancestors—Terah and his sons Abraham and Nahor—lived beyond the Euphrates and served other gods. Then I took your father Abraham from beyond the River and led him through all the land of Canaan and made his offspring many. I gave him Isaac; and to Isaac I gave Jacob and Esau. I gave Esau the hill country of Seir to possess, but Jacob and his children went down to Egypt. Then I sent Moses and Aaron, and I plagued Egypt with what I did in its midst; and afterwards I brought you out. When I brought your ancestors out of Egypt, you came to the sea; and the Egyptians pursued your ancestors with chariots and horsemen to the Red Sea. When they cried out to the Lord, he put darkness between you and the Egyptians, and made the sea come upon them and cover them; and your eyes saw what I did to Egypt. Afterwards you lived in the wilderness for a long time. Then I brought you to the land of the Amorites, who lived on the other side of the Jordan; they fought with you, and I handed them over to you, and you took possession of their land, and I destroyed them before you. Then King Balak, son of Zippor of Moab, set out to fight against Israel. He sent and invited Balaam son of Beor to curse you, but I would not listen to Balaam; therefore he blessed you; so I rescued you out of his hand. When you went over the Jordan and came to Jericho, the citizens of Jericho fought against you, and also the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Girgashites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites; and I handed them over to you. I sent the hornet ahead of you, which drove out before you the two kings of the Amorites; it was not by your sword or by your bow. I gave you a land on which you had not laboured, and towns that you had not built, and you live in them; you eat the fruit of vineyards and olive groves that you did not plant.

‘Now therefore revere the Lord, and serve him in sincerity and in faithfulness; put away the gods that your ancestors served beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the Lord. Now if you are unwilling to serve the Lord, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served in the region beyond the River or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living; but as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.’

Then the people answered, ‘Far be it from us that we should forsake the Lord to serve other gods; for it is the Lord our God who brought us and our ancestors up from the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery, and who did those great signs in our sight. He protected us along all the way that we went, and among all the peoples through whom we passed; and the Lord drove out before us all the peoples, the Amorites who lived in the land. Therefore we also will serve the Lord, for he is our God.’

But Joshua said to the people, ‘You cannot serve the Lord, for he is a holy God. He is a jealous God; he will not forgive your transgressions or your sins. If you forsake the Lord and serve foreign gods, then he will turn and do you harm, and consume you, after having done you good.’ And the people said to Joshua, ‘No, we will serve the Lord!’ Then Joshua said to the people, ‘You are witnesses against yourselves that you have chosen the Lord, to serve him.’ And they said, ‘We are witnesses.’ He said, ‘Then put away the foreign gods that are among you, and incline your hearts to the Lord, the God of Israel.’ The people said to Joshua, ‘The Lord our God we will serve, and him we will obey.’ So Joshua made a covenant with the people that day, and made statutes and ordinances for them at Shechem. Joshua wrote these words in the book of the law of God; and he took a large stone, and set it up there under the oak in the sanctuary of the Lord. Joshua said to all the people, ‘See, this stone shall be a witness against us; for it has heard all the words of the Lord that he spoke to us; therefore it shall be a witness against you, if you deal falsely with your God.’ So Joshua sent the people away to their inheritances.

After these things Joshua son of Nun, the servant of the Lord, died, being one hundred and ten years old. They buried him in his own inheritance at Timnath-serah, which is in the hill country of Ephraim, north of Mount Gaash.

Israel served the Lord all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders who outlived Joshua and had known all the work that the Lord did for Israel.

The bones of Joseph, which the Israelites had brought up from Egypt, were buried at Shechem, in the portion of ground that Jacob had bought from the children of Hamor, the father of Shechem, for one hundred pieces of money; it became an inheritance of the descendants of Joseph.

Eleazar son of Aaron died; and they buried him at Gibeah, the town of his son Phinehas, which had been given him in the hill country of Ephraim.

[araitsume]

Patriarchs and Prophets, pp. 521-524: Chapter (49) The Last Words of Joshua

This chapter is based on Joshua 23 and 24.

The wars and conquest ended, Joshua had withdrawn to the peaceful retirement of his home at Timnath-serah. “And it came to pass, a long time after that the Lord had given rest unto Israel from all their enemies round about, that Joshua ... called for all Israel, and for their elders, and for their heads, and for their judges, and for their officers.”

Some years had passed since the people had settled in their possessions, and already could be seen cropping out the same evils that had heretofore brought judgments upon Israel. As Joshua felt the infirmities of age stealing upon him, and realized that his work must soon close, he was filled with anxiety for the future of his people. It was with more than a father's interest that he addressed them, as they gathered once more about their aged chief. “Ye have seen,” he said, “all that the Lord your God hath done unto all these nations because of you; for the Lord your God is He that hath fought for you.” Although the Canaanites had been subdued, they still possessed a considerable portion of the land promised to Israel, and Joshua exhorted his people not to settle down at ease and forget the Lord's command to utterly dispossess these idolatrous nations.

The people in general were slow to complete the work of driving out the heathen. The tribes had dispersed to their possessions, the army had disbanded, and it was looked upon as a difficult and doubtful undertaking to renew the war. But Joshua declared: “The Lord your God, He shall expel them from before you, and drive them from out of your sight; and ye shall possess their land, as the Lord your God hath promised unto you. Be ye therefore very courageous to keep and to do all that is written in the book of the law of Moses, that ye turn not aside therefrom to the right hand or to the left.”

Joshua appealed to the people themselves as witnesses that, so far as they had complied with the conditions, God had faithfully fulfilled His promises to them. “Ye know in all your hearts and in all your souls,” he said, “that not one thing hath failed of all the good things which the Lord your God spake concerning you; all are come to pass unto you, and not one thing hath failed thereof.” He declared to them that as the Lord had fulfilled His promises, so He would fulfill His threatenings. “It shall come to pass, that as all good things are come upon you, which the Lord your God promised you; so shall the Lord bring upon you all evil things.... When ye have transgressed the covenant of the Lord, ... then shall the anger of the Lord be kindled against you, and ye shall perish quickly from off the good land which He hath given unto you.”

Satan deceives many with the plausible theory that God's love for His people is so great that He will excuse sin in them; he represents that while the threatenings of God's word are to serve a certain purpose in His moral government, they are never to be literally fulfilled. But in all His dealings with His creatures God has maintained the principles of righteousness by revealing sin in its true character—by demonstrating that its sure result is misery and death. The unconditional pardon of sin never has been, and never will be. Such pardon would show the abandonment of the principles of righteousness, which are the very foundation of the government of God. It would fill the unfallen universe with consternation. God has faithfully pointed out the results of sin, and if these warnings were not true, how could we be sure that His promises would be fulfilled? That so-called benevolence which would set aside justice is not benevolence but weakness.

God is the life-giver. From the beginning all His laws were ordained to life. But sin broke in upon the order that God had established, and discord followed. So long as sin exists, suffering and death are inevitable. It is only because the Redeemer has borne the curse of sin in our behalf that man can hope to escape, in his own person, its dire results.

Before the death of Joshua the heads and representatives of the tribes, obedient to his summons, again assembled at Shechem. No spot in all the land possessed so many sacred associations, carrying their minds back to God's covenant with Abraham and Jacob, and recalling also their own solemn vows upon their entrance into Canaan. Here were the mountains Ebal and Gerizim, the silent witnesses of those vows which now, in the presence of their dying leader, they had assembled to renew. On every side were evidences of what God had wrought for them; how He had given them a land for which they did not labor, and cities which they built not, vineyards and oliveyards which they planted not. Joshua reviewed once more the history of Israel, recounting the wonderful works of God, that all might have a sense of His love and mercy and might serve Him “in sincerity and in truth.”

By Joshua's direction the ark had been brought from Shiloh. The occasion was one of great solemnity, and this symbol of God's presence would deepen the impression he wished to make upon the people. After presenting the goodness of God toward Israel, he called upon them, in the name of Jehovah, to choose whom they would serve. The worship of idols was still to some extent secretly practiced, and Joshua endeavored now to bring them to a decision that should banish this sin from Israel. “If it seem evil unto you to serve Jehovah,” he said, “choose you this day whom ye will serve.” Joshua desired to lead them to serve God, not by compulsion, but willingly. Love to God is the very foundation of religion. To engage in His service merely from hope of reward or fear of punishment would avail nothing. Open apostasy would not be more offensive to God than hypocrisy and mere formal worship.

The aged leader urged the people to consider, in all its bearings, what he had set before them, and to decide if they really desired to live as did the degraded idolatrous nations around them. If it seemed evil to them to serve Jehovah, the source of power, the fountain of blessing, let them that day choose whom they would serve—“the gods which your fathers served,” from whom Abraham was called out, “or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell.” These last words were a keen rebuke to Israel. The gods of the Amorites had not been able to protect their worshipers. Because of their abominable and debasing sins, that wicked nation had been destroyed, and the good land which they once possessed had been given to God's people. What folly for Israel to choose the deities for whose worship the Amorites had been destroyed! “As for me and my house,” said Joshua, “we will serve Jehovah.” The same holy zeal that inspired the leader's heart was communicated to the people. His appeals called forth the unhesitating response, “God forbid that we should forsake Jehovah, to serve other gods.”

“Ye cannot serve the Lord,” said Joshua: “for He is a holy God; ... He will not forgive your transgressions nor your sins.” Before there could be any permanent reformation the people must be led to feel their utter inability in themselves to render obedience to God. They had broken His law, it condemned them as transgressors, and it provided no way of escape. While they trusted in their own strength and righteousness, it was impossible for them to secure the pardon of their sins; they could not meet the claims of God's perfect law, and it was in vain that they pledged themselves to serve God. It was only by faith in Christ that they could secure pardon of sin and receive strength to obey God's law. They must cease to rely upon their own efforts for salvation, they must trust wholly in the merits of the promised Saviour, if they would be accepted of God.

Joshua endeavored to lead his hearers to weigh well their words, and refrain from vows which they would be unprepared to fulfill. With deep earnestness they repeated the declaration: “Nay; but we will serve the Lord.” Solemnly consenting to the witness against themselves that they had chosen Jehovah, they once more reiterated their pledge of loyalty: “The Lord our God will we serve, and His voice will we obey.

“So Joshua made a covenant with the people that day, and set them a statute and an ordinance in Shechem.” Having written an account of this solemn transaction, he placed it, with the book of the law, in the side of the ark. And he set up a pillar as a memorial, saying, “Behold, this stone shall be a witness unto us; for it hath heard all the words of the Lord which He spake unto us; it shall be therefore a witness unto you, lest ye deny your God. So Joshua let the people depart, every man unto his inheritance.”

Joshua's work for Israel was done. He had “wholly followed the Lord;” and in the book of God he is written, “The servant of Jehovah.” The noblest testimony to his character as a public leader is the history of the generation that had enjoyed his labors: “Israel served the Lord all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders that overlived Joshua.”

[ngarannaproduction]

Kawasaran Kamasilan Sambut Kapolda Sulut, Irjen Royke Lumowa

Kawasaran Kamasilan Sambut Kapolda Sulut, Irjen Royke Lumowa

“Pagi ini kami menyambut kedatangan Kapolda Sulut yang baru. Beberapa rangkaian kegiatan akan dilaksanakan dari pagi hingga malam hari, diantaranya welcome parade, lapsat, serah terima Ibu Asuh Polwan (Polisi Wanita), farewell parade dan malam kenal pamit” Kombes Jules Abraham Abast, Kabid Humas Polda Sulut.

MANADO, publikreport.com –Kawasaran Kamasilan dari Kelurahan Kamasi, Kecamatan Tomohon…

[newsrib]

Chika Ike Set To Release New Movie Titled “Small Chops.”

Chika Ike has revealed the talented actors starring in her new production, “Small Chops.” Directed by Robert Peters and produced by Serah Donald Onyeachor, the movie stars Chika Ike alongside veteran actors Nkem Owoh, Onyetoro Hafiz (Saka) and Eucharia Anunobi. The upcoming movie also stars Nse Ikpe-Etim, Max Cavenham, Toyin Abraham, Rechael Okonkwo, Lolo Omotunde, […] https://www.theinfostride.com/2018/05/chika-ike-set-to-release-new-movie-titled-small-chops/

[afroinsider]

Echoes of restructuring at Abraham Adesanya’s memorial lecture

Echoes of restructuring at Abraham Adesanya’s memorial lecture

</p> 1 of 10<button>Next ></button></div> Wife of former Lagos State, Alhaja Sarat Jakande (left); erstwhile Deputy Governor of Lagos State, Mrs, Serah Sosan; former Minister of Industry, Chief Nike Akande and Mrs. Josephine Anenih, wife of erstwhile Chairman, Board of Trustees (BoT) of the PDP Chief Tony Anenih PHOTOS: NAJEEM RAHEEM

[updcbc]

October 1, 2017 - “The Legacy Lives On: The Death of Joshua” Joshua 24:1-33

Click KEEP READING to read the full sermon.

Introduction

The cemetery has a personal connection to our lives. It portrays our bond with our departed loved ones whom we treasure in our hearts. It reminds us of the sanctity of life and ushers us into solitude to commune with our souls. It invites us to focus on our mortality and helps us to examine our hearts. Life is short indeed. Death is common to all. In Christ, we are safe and secure now and for eternity. We wrestle with one serious thought. In the sacredness and brevity of life, it is vanity if all that could be remembered about each one of us—as inscribed in our own tombstone—is our personal name with the dates of our birth and death.

A tombstone is a silent mystery of life. Inscribed on it is the name of a person who has been taken away from us. It speaks on the shortness or longevity of one solitary life. An epitaph unveils a lasting memory in remembrance of a person among the circle of family or community where he or she belonged. There is one particular inscription on a tombstone that may be insignificant to us. It is the dash—that small thing—between the dates of birth and death. What is embodied within the dash? It reveals who the person really is and the life a person lived. Enshrined within the dash is the unspoken legacy of life a person can offer to the world. And it can be either for good or evil. Listen to the wisdom of the wise, “The memory of the righteous will be a blessing, but the name of the wicked will rot” (Proverbs 10:7). Each one of us will have our own tombstone, whether inscribed on a stone or written in the heart. What does our tombstone speak about us and the legacy we can offer to those left behind us?

Moses and Joshua were the first two leaders of Israel as a nation. They led their own generation in great contrast. After the exodus of the Hebrew nation from Egypt, Moses led the rebellious generation who wandered for forty years and perished in the wilderness. Joshua led the obedient generation who conquered Canaan and inherited the Promised Land. The tombstone of the former generation could be marked under a curse while that of the former bear a tombstone of a blessing. On the part of Moses and Joshua, their tombstones could be inscribed with the same word: faithfulness. How were these two great leaders remembered? The word of the LORD to Joshua spoke well of these two faithful servant-leaders, “As I was with Moses so I will be with you” (Joshua 1:5b). What could be written on their tombstones? In their respective tombstones could be inscribed this epitaph, “God was with Moses” and “God was with Joshua.” It was upon this promise, “I am with you,” that Moses and Joshua enshrined the LORD as the God of Israel and both declared God as the Lord of all nations. In every generation of the Hebrew nation, and to the Gentiles as well, this legacy lives on.

Moses died.  God buried him on the plains of Moab in an undisclosed burial site. Joshua, in his old age, bid farewell to his own people. He declared upon his countrymen the same blessings and curses which Moses did to Israel. Moses appealed to his people to choose life and blessing in their devotion to God. In Joshua’s zeal for God and Israel, he led his people and they renewed their covenant with the LORD at Shechem (Josh. 24:1-28). Afterwards, Joshua died and was buried in his hometown in Timnath Serah in Ephraim (24:29-30, 32-33). Yet, beyond the grave, Joshua left a living legacy to Israel and to the world (24:15b, 31). In this closing historical account, we will end our journey with Joshua and Israel in their journey into the Promised Land. And we must be conscientious to keep the legacy alive in our own generation.

A. The Renewal of the Covenant (24:1-28)=

After Joshua gave his farewell message to Israel, he gathered his people in Shechem. The city of Shechem was the valley in between Mount Gerizim and Mount Ebal. It was at Mount Ebal that Joshua built on altar in obedience to the command of the LORD during the early stage when Israel entered Canaan. When Joshua had built this altar, the new generation of the Hebrew nation who survived the wanderings in the wilderness made their covenant with God in the Promised Land. In the final year of Joshua, he led his countrymen in renewing their covenant with the LORD their God.

1.  The Assembly at Shechem

The great assembly of Israel gathered in Shechem.

“Then Joshua assembled all the tribes of Israel at Shechem. He summoned the elders, leaders, judges and officials of Israel, and they presented themselves before God.” (v. 1) 

At Joshua’s command, all the Israelites from the east and west of the Jordan, together with their leaders from every tribe, stood before the presence of the LORD. This was the first national gathering after Israel had settled in the Promised Land. And this would be the final assembly for Joshua to stand before his beloved countrymen.

 2.  Remembering the Journey of Israel

Joshua recalled to his people their rich ancestral heritage and amazing journey as a covenant nation.

a.     The Patriarchs

Joshua began his historical narrative with the great patriarchs of the Hebrew people.

Joshua said to all the people, “This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: ‘Long ago your ancestors, including Terah the father of Abraham and Nahor, lived beyond the Euphrates River and worshiped other gods. But I took your father Abraham from the land beyond the Euphrates and led him throughout Canaan and gave him many descendants. I gave him Isaac, and to Isaac I gave Jacob and Esau. I assigned the hill country of Seir to Esau, but Jacob and his family went down to Egypt.” (vv. 2-4) 

This set the background for Israel as a covenant people of God. It all began with God. The LORD called Abraham and promised him to build a great nation and a land of promise to his descendants. The promise to Abraham stood firm even to his son Isaac and to his grandson Jacob who became the father of the twelve tribes of Israel. And it was to Abraham that God foretold that Israel would be enslaved in Egypt for four hundred years before they would enter the Promised Land.

b.    The Exodus

Joshua continued his story about their great deliverance from Egypt.

“Then I sent Moses and Aaron, and I afflicted the Egyptians by what I did there, and I brought you out. When I brought your people out of Egypt, you came to the sea, and the Egyptians pursued them with chariots and horsemen as far as the Red Sea. But they cried to the LORD for help, and he put darkness between you and the Egyptians; he brought the sea over them and covered them. You saw with your own eyes what I did to the Egyptians.” (vv. 5-7a)

The exodus was the defining movement of God that set Israel apart from Egypt. God poured out his judgments over the Egyptians because of the stubbornness of Pharaoh. God showed his wonders over Israel until they crossed the Red Sea on dry ground. It was through this redemptive work of God in delivering his people that Israel became conscious as a people of God in fulfillment of the divine promise to Abraham. And the LORD raised Moses, assisted by his brother Aaron, to lead Israel out of Egypt.

c.     The Wanderings

Then Joshua retold the restless wandering of Israel in the wilderness. “Then you lived in the wilderness for a long time.” (v. 7b) 

It was a short but a poignant statement. The restless wandering of Israel in the wilderness for forty years served as a stark reminder for Israel not to break their covenant with the LORD their God. Judgment always begins among the people of God. Anyone who would rebel against the LORD would be under a curse. It was indeed, and it still remains, a dreadful thing to fall in the hands of the living God.

d.    The Conquest of Transjordan

Joshua moved on with his narrative account about the conquest over the formidable kingdoms east of the Jordan.

“I brought you to the land of the Amorites who lived east of the Jordan. They fought against you, but I gave them into your hands. I destroyed them from before you, and you took possession of their land. When Balak son of Zippor, the king of Moab, prepared to fight against Israel, he sent for Balaam son of Beor to put a curse on you. But I would not listen to Balaam, so he blessed you again and again, and I delivered you out of his hand.” (vv. 8-10) 

It was the LORD who delivered to Israel, Sihon, the powerful king of Heshbon and Og, the giant king of Bashan. Their kingdoms were given to Reuben, Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh as their inheritance. God kept his promise to Abraham that he will bless his descendants.

e.     The Conquest of Canaan

And finally, Joshua recalled to Israel of their conquest over Canaan.

“Then you crossed the Jordan and came to Jericho. The citizens of Jericho fought against you, as did also the Amorites, Perizzites, Canaanites, Hittites, Girgashites, Hivites and Jebusites, but I gave them into your hands. I sent the hornet ahead of you, which drove them out before you—also the two Amorite kings. You did not do it with your own sword and bow. So I gave you a land on which you did not toil and cities you did not build; and you live in them and eat from vineyards and olive groves that you did not plant.” (vv. 11-13) 

Joshua made it clear to them, “You did not do it with your own sword and bow.” It was the LORD’s battle and he gave the good land to Israel.

History is the story of the sovereign God of heaven over all the peoples on earth. This was true to Israel. God made a promise to Abraham and he fulfilled it to Israel as his chosen people. Abraham lived as a stranger in Canaan and Israel settled in the Promised Land. Every Hebrew man and woman could not help but stand in awe that in the midst of their dark and restless journey, it was the LORD who silently moved behind the scenes and orchestrated all things in preserving and blessing them as a covenant nation. God is not a man who should lie or change his mind. He is true to his word and fulfills his promise. Israel must always remember their rich historical heritage. In the sovereign hands of the LORD, anyone, Hebrew or Gentile, who would enthrone him as the God of heaven and earth will be safe and secure both now and forever.

3.  The Call to Serve God

Under the sovereignty of God, it was on this historical background that Joshua appealed to his own people to be faithful to the LORD their God.

a.     Joshua Summoned Israel

In reverence and gratitude, Israel was summoned to serve the LORD.

“Now fear the LORD and serve him with all faithfulness. Throw away the gods your ancestors worshiped beyond the Euphrates River and in Egypt, and serve the LORD. But if serving the LORD seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD.” (vv. 14-15)

Israel must fear the LORD and serve him with all their hearts. In this noble call of reverential fear and wholehearted service, Joshua commanded his countrymen to turn from every form of idolatry in the land and destroy every idol from their hearts. Israel must make a decisive choice. It was on this occasion that Joshua declared on their propensity to turn away from God. But as for him and his household, they were resolved to worship and serve the LORD their God.

Joshua was a great leader and a godly man. And his personal godliness and spiritual leadership took their roots inside his home. His wife was a woman of God and their children walked in the footsteps of their parents. Greatness in the kingdom of God must always begin inside the home. This noble call is for every Hebrew and Christian.

b.    The Pledge of Israel

What was the response of the Israelites to Joshua?

Then the people answered, “Far be it from us to forsake the LORD to serve other gods! It was the LORD our God himself who brought us and our parents up out of Egypt, from that land of slavery, and performed those great signs before our eyes. He protected us on our entire journey and among all the nations through which we traveled. And the LORD drove out before us all the nations, including the Amorites, who lived in the land. We too will serve the LORD, because he is our God.” (vv. 16-18)

Israel vowed to serve the LORD their God. Joshua took them at their word. But, he unveiled their propensity in turning away from God and warned them of its dire consequences.

Joshua said to the people, “You are not able to serve the LORD. He is a holy God; he is a jealous God. He will not forgive your rebellion and your sins. If you forsake the LORD and serve foreign gods, he will turn and bring disaster on you and make an end of you, after he has been good to you.” (vv. 19-20)

The Israelites stood on their ground and held themselves accountable before God. “But the people said to Joshua, ‘No! We will serve the LORD’” (v. 21). “Then Joshua said, ‘You are witnesses against yourselves that you have chosen to serve the LORD.’ ‘Yes, we are witnesses,’ they replied” (v. 22). In the affirmation to their solemn pledge, Joshua called them to be faithful to God. “Now then,” said Joshua, ‘Throw away the foreign gods that are among you and yield your hearts to the LORD, the God of Israel” (v. 23). “And the people said to Joshua, ‘We will serve the LORD our God and obey him’” (v. 24). It was before Joshua that Israel swore in the name of the LORD for them to serve the LORD their God with all their hearts.

4.  The Covenant Renewed at Shechem

It was on this oath that Joshua led his people in the renewal of their covenant with the LORD their God. The destiny of Israel would be determined on their loyalty or disloyalty to the covenant.

a.     The Reading of the Law

Joshua renewed the covenant based on the Law of the Lord.

“On that day Joshua made a covenant for the people, and there at Shechem he reaffirmed for them decrees and laws. And Joshua recorded these things in the Book of the Law of God.” (vv. 25-26a)

The blessings and the curses written in the Law of Moses were read and declared to Israel. If Israel would obey the LORD they would be blessed in the Promised Land. But if they would disobey God they would be destroyed until they would be expelled from the good land.

b.    The Witness Stone

Joshua set a large stone as a witness to their renewed covenant.

Then he took a large stone and set it up there under the oak near the holy place of the LORD. “See!” he said to all the people. “This stone will be a witness against us. It has heard all the words the LORD has said to us. It will be a witness against you if you are untrue to your God.” (vv. 26b-27)

In solidarity as a people, Israel held themselves accountable to God.

c.     Israel Settled Home

“Then Joshua dismissed the people, each to their own inheritance” (v. 28). The renewal of the covenant established Israel in the Promised Land. The great assembly of Israel was blessed by Joshua. He gave his final blessing to his people. And each family went home with great joy!

B.  The Burial in the Promised Land (24:29-30, 32-33)

The great celebration of Israel in renewing their covenant with God was soon followed by national mourning when Joshua was gathered to his own people.

1. The Burial of Joshua

Joshua died and was buried in his homeland.

After these things, Joshua son of Nun, the servant of the LORD, died at the age of a hundred and ten. And they buried him in the land of his inheritance, at Timnath Serah in the hill country of Ephraim, north of Mount Gaash.” (vv. 29-30) 

At the age of 110, he was gathered to his ancestors. And he was buried in his inheritance at Timnath Serah in the ancestral territory of Ephraim. In the sight of the world, Joshua was known as the great leader of Israel and the famous great warrior who conquered mighty kings and formidable kingdoms. In the sight of heaven, he was esteemed as “the servant of the LORD.” Joshua knew it well that God was the commander of the army of Israel and he alone was the Lord of his life. All Israel mourned and paid their final tribute to their great leader.

 2.  The Burial of Joseph

The remains of Joseph were also buried in the Promised Land.

“And Joseph’s bones, which the Israelites had brought up from Egypt, were buried at Shechem in the tract of land that Jacob bought for a hundred pieces of silver from the sons of Hamor, the father of Shechem. This became the inheritance of Joseph’s descendants.” (v. 32) 

The request of Joseph in Egypt was fulfilled as recorded in Genesis 50:25, “And Joseph made the sons of Israel swear an oath and said, ‘God will surely come to your aid, and then you must carry my bones up from this place.’” Joseph spoke of the future deliverance of Israel from Egypt in their journey back to Canaan. He made an arrangement for his countrymen to carry his bones and be buried with his forefathers in the Promised Land. And he was given an honorable burial in Shechem.

3.  The Burial of Eleazar

And Eleazar, the high priest, also died and was buried in his ancestral home in the Promised Land.

“And Eleazar son of Aaron died and was buried at Gibeah, which had been allotted to his son Phinehas in the hill country of Ephraim.” (v. 33)

Eleazar was the son of Aaron. As the high priest in the time of Joshua, Eleazar was a trustworthy servant over the religious life of Israel. In obedience to the command of Moses, he worked with Joshua in administering the division of the land to Israel. He was buried at Gibeah in the territory of Ephraim. His son Phinehas succeeded him as the high priest in accordance of the words of the LORD (Num. 25:13).

C. The Legacy to Israel (24:15b, 31)

What was the living legacy of Joshua to Israel? His influence overflowed from his being as “the servant of the LORD” (24:29). Israel embraced the virtue of servanthood. Through Joshua’s wholehearted service, he inspired his people to serve the LORD with all their hearts.

1.  Joshua Serve the LORD

Joshua made his personal covenant, “But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD” (v. 15b).

In serving the LORD, he took God at his word and obeyed all his commandments. He had his own failure but rectified it. He failed to consult God with regard to the Gibeonites, but he honored his agreement with them which was done in the name of the LORD. He learned his lesson well and he became more circumspect in discerning and obeying the will of God. As the servant of the LORD, his great legacy was more than the conquest of Canaan and the division of the inheritance to Israel in the Promised Land. His servant heart molded him as a great leader. This servant attitude was a living legacy to his home and nation.

2.  Israel Served the LORD

Israel followed the footsteps of Joshua in serving the LORD their God. Amazingly, Joshua influenced one whole nation. He touched the heart of his people and the soul of his generation. The leaders in the land became servants to their countrymen. And the people of Israel became faithful to their covenant. This awesome national transformation could be traced to the legacy of this one humble man.

“Israel served the LORD throughout the lifetime of Joshua and of the elders who outlived him and who had experienced everything the LORD had done for Israel.” (v. 31)

Thus far, our journey with Israel into the Promised Land is a humbling experience. The LORD had raised a new leader who was a true servant at its core. God had also built a new generation who was loyal to him and his anointed servant. Moses had a special place in this great transition of Israel. He was the servant of the LORD who personally equipped Joshua as his successor and who painstakingly trained the new generation to be obedient to the LORD their God. For us to see the servant-leadership of Joshua and the wholehearted obedience of his countrymen, in embracing their legacies, we humbly search our hearts.

Conclusion

The book of Joshua began with this word, “Moses is dead.” And Joshua was terrified when God anointed him to lead his people. At the LORD’s command he obeyed and conquered Canaan and Israel inherited the Promised Land. In his old age, Joshua bid farewell to his people. In the end, he led them in renewing their covenant with the LORD their God. Then Joshua died and was buried in the Land of Promise. Yet beyond his grave, his legacy remains much alive in Israel and to the world. In closure, what convictions can we treasure from our journey with Israel?

Renew our covenant. Israel renewed their covenant and enthroned the LORD as their God. The LORD alone is the God of heaven and earth. The God of the Hebrews is the God of the Christians. Every Hebrew and Christian ought to love the LORD and obey his commandments. The Law of Moses inscribed on stone tablets must be written in our hearts. The covenant given at Mount Sinai to Moses found its fulfillment at the Cross of Christ at Calvary. The fullness of the covenant for Israel and the Church was anchored upon the death and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus as the Christ is the fulfillment and end of the law for in his life he had fulfilled all the demands of the Law of Moses. Through his sacrificial death at the Cross, he paid for all our sins and now offers forgiveness and salvation to anyone who would believe in him and yield his life to him. Jesus is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world for all Hebrews and Gentiles. Every believing Hebrew and Christian enters into a new and ultimate covenant in Jesus Christ as the only Savior and the Lord of all. We affirm this sacred and binding covenant every time we observe the Lord’s Supper in remembrance of the sacrificial death of our Jesus Christ. Jesus died for our sins for us to live in righteousness. This is the essence in observing the Lord’s Supper.

Serve our God. Joshua served the LORD. Israel served their God. In serving the LORD their God out of their devotion to him, the Hebrew people as a covenant nation turned away from every form of idolatrous worship in the Promised Land. The faith of Abraham was inherited by his son Isaac, grandson Jacob and the nation of Israel. Moses believed in the LORD and served him by delivering his people from Egypt. Joshua yielded his life to God and served him by leading his countrymen in Canaan. In the Promised Land, Israel wholeheartedly served the LORD. What does it mean for us to serve the LORD our God in our generation? We must not depart from the faith of our father Abraham and all the Hebrew patriarchs. The LORD God who revealed himself and appeared to Moses through a burning bush in the wilderness remains the same as the very God and LORD of all nations. In the core of the faith of Israel is the revelation that the LORD is God. This central truth defines us as the covenant people of God. In serving the LORD we enthrone him as God of our lives. The LORD must be the center of our lives and everything must revolve around him.

Leave a legacy. Moses died and God buried him in an undisclosed graveyard in Moab. Joshua died and Israel buried him in the Promised Land. Beyond their graves, their legacies live on. Both were esteemed as “the servant of the LORD.” Moses faithfully served a disobedient generation and Joshua served an obedient generation. Like these great men of God, we can choose to make a godly and lasting legacy in our own generation regardless if our own people are loyal or disloyal to the LORD our God. We build our own tombstones. A tombstone is more than a stone. A tombstone is a heritage of life whether it is written on a stone or inscribed in the heart. We only have one solitary life to live, offer and serve. In the end, what does our own tombstone speak about us and what legacy can we pass on to our children and to our generation?

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Atas Kemunduran Presiden Israel Yang Bersedia Menghukum & Mengakui Kesalahan Seluruh Kewarganegaraan/Penduduk Seluas ISRAEL Bernama Lain Presiden Israel Mr. Oget Bosch & Maka Pemerintah Israel Segera Menutup & Bersedia Dihilangkan Dari Peta & Menyerahkan Seutuhnya Kewarganegaraan/Penduduk Israel UNTUK KEMUDIAN TERBUNUH SEKCARA MASSAL TERKECUALI BAGI PERAGAMAAN UTUH ISLAM & MUALAF/ASAL BERPINDAH PERAGAMAAN YANG MEMASUKI ISLAM & BERIKUT PERSAMAAN YANG LAINNYA SAMPAI MENANTI KEPUTUSAN ASAL PRESIDEN PALESTINE MR. ORION 4-SPEED YANG AKAN MENGUMUMKAN KEWILAYAHAN TROPIS LAINNYA BERSAMAAN INI MR. DONALD TRUMP ATASLAH PENUH SEMANGAT TELAH MEMBERIKAN SERANGAN NUKLIR BEBERAPA KALI KE SELURUH KENEGARAAN AKIBAT SALAH MEMIHAK PERANGGOTAAN SERTIFIKAT/SURAT RESMI KOM'U"ŅIS HENI-AIN DIDI-AAN & SERAH TERIMA ASAL KEWARGANEGARAAN YANG SAMA ANTARA LAIN ISRAEL & CHINA AKAN TERSELENGGARA SEKCARA MATANG AKSI AKHIR ATAS MENUNGGU KEPUTUSAN HASIL VOTE/KUMPULAN SUARA TERBANYAK SEJAK PUKUL/WAKTU SETEMPAT INI OLEH MAKA TERSELENGGARA SURAT/IJIN LAMPIRAN SAH HAK PEMINDAHAN SELURUH KEKUASAAN KEWARGANEGARAAN/PENDUDUK SELUAS ISRAEL & CHINA YANG AKAN DIAMBIL ALIH UNIVERSAL/APEC/PBB NAMUN UTUH DISAMARATAKAN PENGUMPULAN & PENAHANAN HINGGA PEMENJARAAN & BERAKHIR PEMBUNUHAN MASSAL PERAGAMAAN SELAIN ISLAM UTUH & MUALAF & BERIKUT PERSAMAAN YANG LAINNYA SETEMPAT KENEGARAAN CHINA & YANG LAIN & NAMUN TIDAK SELEBIHNYA YANG MERUPAKAN HAK PENYELENGGARA YAKNI PENGGUGAT/SEKALIGUS SAKSI AHLI MEMBENARKAN UTUH KEPUTUSAN REAL/RES'MI YAKNI BAGI GOLONGAN MENY'ISAKAN PERAGAMAAN U'TUH TIDAK SANGAT TERLIBAT & TERKAIT SALAH MEMIHAK/UTUH KOMUNIS PER'GERAKANNYA YAKNI UTUH PERAGAMAAN TERSEBUT BUDHA & HINDU & KRISTEN & YAHUDI & KHONGHUCU & FHENGSUI BAGI KENEGARAAN SELAIN ASAL UTUH TERBANYAK PENGIKUT SETIANYA YAKNI ASAL ISRA'EL & CHINA YANG DIPERBOLEHKAN MASIH MENGIKUTI PERGERAKAN TAHAP PENCAHARIAN PESA'Ņ INI BERSAMA-SAMA TERSELENGGARA & DISEBUTKAN UTUH KESIMPULAN PRESIDEN ASAL KENEGARAAN CHINA MR. KOCIN ABRAHAM & ASAL KEKUASAAN SEPENUH NAMA LAIN KEPEMIMPINAN UNIVERSAL,APEC-PBB. MR. BOBBY FATAHILLAH ALIAS MISTER BOB ASPEK PLUTO MARS SEKTOR PLANET MARS TERIMA KASIH VONIS@'