BCon 2 (Wednesday, 3/23)

Here I am posting about the second half of BCon.  Here I go:

Wednesday morning featured the same speaker as Tuesday night.  This time he spoke on a contemporary of Phinehas but who was the opposite of him spiritually.  When the time came to make a decision between right and wrong, unlike Phinehas who chose the right, Achan (Josh. 7:10-26) chose to do evil.  He didn't take God's instruction seriously. He didn't determine beforehand to do right. He underestimated the power of temptation even upon good-intentioned people. 

Interesting, the differences between the KJV and the ESV; I was noticing this as the preacher spent a 3 minute detour explaining the archaic language of the KJV, something easily avoided if he were allowed to preach from a modern translation like the ESV, which I had in my lap.  When God commands the people of Israel not to take stuff from Ai as it was to be a sacrifice to the Lord for Him to commit to destruction; the KJV calls these things "accursed", in the ESV it is the "devoted things".  But in an earlier passage (Josh. 6:18) the ESV calls these things "devoted for destruction, while the KJV maintains "accursed.  The ESV once again shows its superiority as a translation over the KJV in that it brings out both senses of the term "devoted/accursed".  The things were "devoted to destruction" in relation to God, and "devoted" and therefore set apart/untouchable in relation to the people.  Achan violated that devoted principle, he didn't think about the implications of his dirty hands spoiling the devoted things.  So God had to punish him severely to teach the people that the things which were devoted to God were absolutely untouchable, wholly God's.  It wasn't theirs for the taking any more.  This has many present day applications; these I leave to the reader.

The Wednesday afternoon session had the same preacher as Tuesday morning.  He spoke this time on The Cost of Discipleship from Luke 14:25ff. Good points on how building a tower is counting the cost of obedience, and, get this, how going to war parallels the cost of disobedience.  I couldn't  follow his argument for this second point too well, at the time of hearing it the first time.  I'll have to listen to it again on the recording that they sell after every BCon to get his argument. Good application at the end though about Jesus' admonishment in Luke 9:24 " For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it."

Wednesday evening was about a spiritual condition affecting only Christians: Egyptian Heart.  This is the desire for the forbidden things: wanting the "good things" that the world has and enjoys. (Ex. 12:38)  It is characterized by complaining, dissatisfaction, lusting, looking back, etc.  And it may be that God may give you what you want in your "flesh", so that you'd be admonished, ashamed, and come back to the light.  Remember that God will judge; look at what God did to the people of Israel when they complained and exhibited their Egyptian Heart.

Stay tuned for the rest of the week.

Comments

[Adrian Warnock]

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[Jamie]

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Thank You,
Jamie