In one of the academic sessions at ChurchGrowth360 University, while explaining the implication of the death of Jesus Christ as written in the book of Hebrews, I began showing the students from the scripture of truth who the prominent “God” of the Old Testament was. As I taught from one verse to the other, the whole class erupted with remarks in the semblance of those whose eyes of understanding have been enlightened to see darkness for what he really is.
So, to cap my explanation, I asked the class to open their Bibles to Joshua 24:19-20 and read aloud what they found written there.
Joshua 24 (KJV)
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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 transgressions nor your sins.
²⁰ If ye forsake the LORD, and serve strange gods, then he will turn and do you hurt, and consume you, after that he hath done you good.
After the reading, I remember hearing one of the students exclaim, “What kind of God is this?” And I responded back, “It is the God you are serving!” She retorted, “No, sir!”
She couldn’t imagine herself serving a God who would turn around to do her hurt and consume her after he had done her good simply because of her wrongdoing.
Here is an important fact of human existence: as long as light is not known, darkness will always appear to be good.
If you read carefully Joshua’s remark on the God he has grown to know from close interaction with Moses, you cannot argue that he did not know what he was talking about.His remark on “God” was not a revelation; it was a communal experience. No one in Israel thought differently about.
His remark on “God”: as a matter of fact, they were moved with fear to serve him when Joshua reminded them of the character of their God.
In Christ Jesus, who is God in the flesh, we see a different character.
Jesus never demonstrated jealousy during his earthly ministry. Need I remind you that jealousy is a negative character trait?
Here is Strong’s definition of the word “Jealous,” as used in Joshua 24:19.
Hebrew: קַנּוֹא
Transliteration: qannôwʼ
Pronunciation: kan-no’
Description: jealous or angry.
So, Joshua was reminding the children of Israel that their God was angry. Some people may say, “But Jesus also demonstrated anger on different occasions,” Yes, he did show anger, but not like the God Joshua spoke about.
Joshua, in an attempt to make the children of Israel understand the gravity of his call for them to serve “God,” gave context to the anger of their God by stating the actions that followed his display of anger.
Joshua 24 (KJV)
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¹⁹ . . . he is a jealous God; he will not forgive your transgressions nor your sins.
²⁰ If ye forsake the LORD, and serve strange gods, then he will turn and do you hurt, and consume you, after that he hath done you good.
In Christ Jesus, we see that he did more than forgive us our sins, he saved us from sin by ending sin, bringing in everlasting righteousness so that mankind will no longer come under the condemnation and consequence of sin, and destroying the god of this world who reigned over mankind through sin and death.
“Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city, to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness” — Daniel 9:24 (KJV)
Hebrews 2 (KJV)
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¹⁴ Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil;
¹⁵ And deliver them who, through fear of death, were all their lifetime subject to bondage.
“For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.” — Romans 8:2 (KJV)
Let’s continue this conversation in another article. Light is here!
Dr. Destiny Kingston
ChurchGrowth360 International
#thegodconflict