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A HIGHWAY OF HOLINESS

Sometime around 1491 B.C., God sent a savior to deliver His people Israel from the terrible bondage that they were suffering at the hands of a cruel Egyptian Pharaoh.  Israel had been in Egypt for four hundred years, and their experience there had gone from “fruitful” to “bitter” during that time.  Things were good for them after their ancestor Joseph brought them to Egypt to save them from the great famine that he had foreseen.  While Joseph was alive, the Egyptian Pharaoh that he served treated the Israelites kindly and with respect for Joseph’s sake.  After Joseph and that Pharaoh died, however, another Pharaoh began to reign who didn’t know Joseph and didn’t honor the memory of what Joseph had done.  This new Egyptian king enslaved the children of Israel and forced them to work on his vast building projects.  Eventually, he grew suspicious of the Jews as they began to multiply and arranged for the Egyptian midwives to murder the male Hebrew babies as t...
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EYES WIDE OPEN

In the second Book of the Kings of Israel chapter six is a story that touches my heart because it has great relevance to the struggles that we face as Christians in an ever changing and increasingly complex world.   The King of Syria at the time, Ben-hadad, decided to invade Israel, but when he would send his army to a certain place hoping to surprise the Israelites, God would speak to Elisha the Prophet and he would reveal the position of the enemy troops to the King of Israel.  In this way, they were forewarned, and saved from disaster, many times.  The Syrian King, however, was very agitated, and demanded to know who the spy was in his ranks who was revealing their troop movements to the enemy.  One of his servants spoke up, and told him that it was the prophet in Israel who was aware of every secret plan that Ben-hadad made.  Ben-hadad, therefore, commanded his army to go and besiege the city of Dothan, where Elisha was staying at the time, and bring the...
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THE PULLING DOWN OF STRONGHOLDS

“Now Jericho was straitly shut up because of the children of Israel: none went out, and none came in.  And the LORD said unto Joshua, See, I have given into thine hand Jericho, and the king thereof, and the mighty men of valour." (Joshua 6:1, 2).   Jericho was Israel's first real test of faith after God delivered them across the swollen waters of the Jordan River.   Considered to be the oldest inhabited city in the world, Jericho sat just west of the Jordan River on an ancient trade route that led to Damascus.   It was strategically situated at the pass that led up to the central highlands which ran north and south along the heart of Canaan, and was well fortified against its enemies.   It had a double wall that was 30 feet tall.   The outer wall was 6 feet thick, and after a space of 15 feet, the inner wall was 12 feet thick.   These walls were massive and virtually impervious to frontal assault.   Once Jericho was conquered, Israel would be...
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