Herbert W Armstrong

   Now here they were slaves in the land that was the greatest empire, the greatest military nation of the ancient world. And this group of slaves who were in bondage, who were in servitude were told, "Look, we want you to come out. To come out of Egypt and to go to the land that I will show you." And of course, Moses was told, "You know, look, you go and tell Pharaoh that God says, let my people go."

   Well, they were faced with what seemed to be an impossible mission, and yet it was a mission that was accomplished. We're told that we are, as we go through these Days of Unleavened Bread, there's certain spiritual lessons we're learned. Israel of old was told to come out of Egypt. They were told to eat unleavened bread. They were told to put leavening out of their homes, out of their dwellings. We are told that we need to come out of this world. We are told that we need to imbibe the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth. We're told that we need to put sin out of our lives.

   In fact, Jesus Christ put it in Matthew chapter 5 and verse 48 (Matthew 5:48), "Be ye or become ye, therefore perfect, even as your Father, which is in heaven is perfect." Now you talk about Mission Impossible. Become perfect. Become perfect like God is perfect. That's mission impossible, seemingly so called, to really truly totally come out of this world, to really truly totally put sin out of our lives. And to completely imbibe of sincerity and truth.

   Well, brethren, we're here on the last holy day of the Days of Unleavened Bread. There's 7 Days of Unleavened Bread, 7 is God's number that pictures completion, that pictures perfection. The 7 Days of Unleavened Bread picture a time when we are to completely come out of the world, when we are to completely put sin out of our lives.

   Now there is a holy day at the beginning of the Days of Unleavened Bread. The first day is a holy day. The last day, the day that we're here on right now is a holy day. Have you ever considered why God placed two holy days in the Days of Unleavened Bread? Now if you look at the feast of Tabernacles in the fall, the feast of Tabernacles lasts for 7 days. The Last Great Day is the 8th day that is actually not a part of the Feast of Tabernacles. It is a separate festival. It is the final and the 7th festival of God because the Feast of Tabernacles is the 6th festival of God, and it lasts for 7 days. Now the first day of the Feast of Tabernacles is a holy day, but the 7th day is not. Yet in the spring we have 7 Days of Unleavened Bread, and there is a holy day at the beginning, and there is a holy day at the conclusion.

   Why, brethren, is there a final holy day of the Days of Unleavened Bread? Why, in effect, are we here today? What are we picturing on this final holy day, the 7th day of the Days of Unleavened Bread? Well, brethren, I want to focus in on one aspect of that, and I want us to more deeply understand this morning the real impact of the final holy day of the Days of Unleavened Bread.

   Now if we go back to the book of Exodus, let's pick up the story. I'm not going to go through most of it in detail because I'm sure you've already been through that at an earlier time period of the Days of Unleavened Bread. We find, noticing in Exodus chapter 12, you have the account of the exodus, of how, of course, on the Passover, the death angel passed through the land. Those who came under the blood of the Lamb were exempted from death. They were passed over. Then that morning after the Passover evening, the Israelites went out to spoil the Egyptians, to gather together and then Exodus chapter 12 and verse 37 (Exodus 12:37), "The children of Israel journeyed from Rameses to Succoth, about 600,000 on foot that were men besides the children."

   So Rameses was the area that they gathered in, and this, of course, if you tie it in with Deuteronomy and with the Numbers 33, it's very obvious that they departed on the evening. That's why it is called the night to be much observed down here in Exodus 12:42. They departed out in the evening, which was the beginning of the first holy day. They began a journey. They gathered there at Rameses and they began a journey to Succoth, and it was a festive time, it was an occasion where they came out with a high hand. They were excited, they were enthused, here they were having been slaves, having been an abject bondage and poverty and just a very downtrodden state and now they were coming out on a journey to freedom. And of course, they were excited and it says that Israel came out of Egypt with a high hand.

   So here they were on the first holy day of the Days of Unleavened Bread, and they made this journey, leaving Rameses just as the evening began and traveling to Succoth. Now if we notice toward the end of chapter 13, we find in verse 20 (Exodus 13:20), "They took their journey from Succoth and encamped in Etham in the edge of the wilderness."

   Now if you'll trace it through and if you, you, you go back and you check it out, the Days of Unleavened Bread fell in the year of the exodus exactly the same way in which they fell in the year that Christ was crucified, which means of course that the Passover day was a Wednesday that that Wednesday evening began the first holy day that from sunset on Wednesday to sunset on Thursday was the first holy day.

   Now it was on that Wednesday evening that they began their journey from Rameses to Succoth. They arrived in Succoth on Thursday. And then leaving on Friday they made a short journey on up to Etham which is on the edge of the wilderness. And the Eternal went before them as a pillar of a cloud by day and as a pillar of fire by night to lead the way.

   Now they had, they traveled from on the journey from Rameses to Etham, which was the edge of the wilderness. They were traveling a well traveled road. They were certainly in what was the midst of civilization that day. They were traveling along one of the main highways, one of the main thoroughfares of ancient Egypt, one of the ways in which many people went, and there were various little towns and villages. They were in the civilization of Egypt. They had not gotten out of Egypt when they arrived there on Friday afternoon at Etham. They encamped there over the Sabbath.

   We read in Exodus chapter 14 that God spoke to Moses and told him to speak unto the children of Israel, and of course this would have been then on that weekly Sabbath day as they were there, and God gave Moses some instructions and He told the Israelites who had been going along the main thoroughfare that they were to turn, that they were to turn aside from the way that was commonly traveled. And they were to strike out on an untraveled path. They were to strike out through the wilderness. They were to go and head to an area before Pi-hahiroth, which is between Migdol and the sea down near Baal-zephon and they were to encamp by the sea.

   Well, evidently it was on a Sunday then after that Sabbath when they began that journey traveling on Sunday and Monday and then arriving sometime probably the early part of Tuesday that they encamped. We find as we go on through chapter 14 that in verse 5 (Exodus 14:5), it was told the king of Egypt that the people fled. This would have probably been sometime in the latter part of Sunday because prior to this time they were going, they were still in the civilization of Egypt, they were traveling along the main thoroughfare. Then all of a sudden word came back to Pharaoh that the people had turned aside.

   Now they had, they had left the civilization of Egypt and they were going down through the wilderness and word came back to Pharaoh. And so he began to gather up his troops, probably then on Monday morning early. They struck out and traveling then on Monday coming up in the early part of Tuesday or Tuesday afternoon shortly after the people had encamped, they arrived and we find that they pursued after the Israelites and having probably caught up with them somewhere around noon on Tuesday.

   Now, we notice in verse 9 of chapter 14 (Exodus 9:14), "The Egyptians pursued after them, all the horses and chariots of Pharaoh and the horsemen and his army and overtook them encamping by the sea, beside Pi-hahiroth, before Baal-zephon."

   And when Pharaoh drew near, the children of Israel lifted up their eyes, and behold, the Egyptians marched after them, and they were so afraid, and the children of Israel cried out unto the Eternal, and they said unto Moses, "Because there were no graves in Egypt, have you taken us out here to die in the wilderness? Wherefore have you dealt with us thus to carry us forth out of Egypt? Is not this the word that we did tell you when we were in Egypt? Let us alone and let us serve the Egyptians. It had been better that we served the Egyptians that we should die in the wilderness." Oh, woe is us. Whoa is us. We really got problems now. Boy Moses, you really, you really did it to us. Didn't we tell you? Just look, look, lay off just kinda leave it alone, don't get this thing stirred up, you're gonna get us in trouble, and sure enough. Here we are.

   Now here the Israelites had struck out, they had left Egypt with a high hand. They had been excited, they had been enthused, they had been all worked up. Now all of a sudden their excitement, their happiness, their rejoicing had turned to disappointment, to despair. Now you've heard of being between the devil and the deep blue sea. Well they were between Pharaoh and the deep red sea. And it was kind of a bad spot to be in. If you look on a map, they had mountains on two sides of them, they had the Red Sea on the 3rd side and the 4th side was where Pharaoh's army was.

   Now immediately they became, they became scared, they became upset, they became disillusioned. They became frightened. Now, brethren, as we began our journey out of this spiritual Egypt, as we began coming out of this world, as we began to obey God. You know it's an exciting time when you're baptized, and when you first began to learn the truth and you're excited and you're stirred up and you're enthused, and boy I'm on my way. And you get a little ways down the road and you look around. Guess what, you know, there's Pharaoh in the chariots right behind.

   You know, Satan does not say. When you began to obey God and you began to come out of this world, Satan doesn't say, "Well, boy, you're gonna obey God, if you're gonna just leave the world behind, I guess I'll just have to leave you alone. I won't bother you anymore." Doesn't work that way, does it? You know some of you have been in God's church for a while, you realize you've been pursued all along the way. And sometimes brethren, we get to the point where we feel like we're in trapped. I mean you got the mountains on one side and the sea on the other and you know, here comes Pharaoh headed straight straight towards you and what are you gonna do?

   Now Israel began their journey out of Egypt as a group. And notice, you know what Moses told them. In verse 13, "Moses said unto the people, fear not, stand still and see the salvation of the Eternal." That's all they had to do. Number one, don't get scared. Don't get frightened. Just stand still and see the salvation of the Eternal. Now a lot of times we come up to where we think, boy, you know, there's no way out. And what we need to do is to fear not, stand still and see the salvation of the Eternal.

   The people weren't told, "You go try to just do it your own way," you know, and one guy tried to build a pontoon bridge and the other one tried to build a boat and somebody else tried to swim, somebody else said, "Well, you know, I think maybe we ought to kind of try to climb the mountains and and and crawl up that way and go way up around." And everybody tried to go his own way. No, that's not the way God did it, and God didn't bring them up to the Red Sea and say, "Well, now I got you guys this far, now let's see if you can manage to get across. You know, here you are, and you know you've got several alternatives and you just try whatever seems right." Whether it's building a bridge or building a boat, or trying to climb the mountain or surrendering and going back into Egypt or any number of things in various alternatives that people can come up with. They were told to stand still and see the salvation of the Eternal, let God do it God's way.

   Moses told them in verse 14, "The Eternal shall fight for you, and you shall hold your peace." Sometimes, brethren, we complicate our problems by trying to solve them our own way. We have our way that seems like the solution to us, and we think we're boxed in. And we think, well, there's no way out. What about walking across the Red Sea? You know, we don't think of that. Well, God can take care of that. God, you know, there's no such thing as being boxed in when you've got God with you.

   And if you left God behind, you went your own way, you know, some of them. And some of the Israelites had said, "Look, I don't think this is the way we ought to go. I think we ought to go up by the way of the Philistines and go in that way, you know, just kind of go straight across the land of Goshen and go into the Sinai Peninsula that way. I don't think we ought to go down by way of the Red Sea, you know, I don't recall any bridges down there and I don't see how we're gonna get across." If somebody had had that approach, they'd probably gotten killed on the way. That's one of the reasons God didn't take them up, by the way, the Philistines, because there would be warfare along that way. You know, Pharaoh's army would have probably gotten them first.

   And the reason they would have been in trouble would have been because they were, they would have been where God was not. You see, God was in the pillar of the cloud and the pillar of fire, and He led them the way He wanted them to go. And those who were willing to follow where God led can never be boxed in, as long as you follow where God leads you. Not where your own carnal human nature leads you, not where the way that seems right unto you. But as long as you follow where God leads you, you can never be boxed in because God can open up the Red Sea. God can take care of whatever it is you think has you boxed in. But the only way that you can be assured of that is if you are where God is. If you struck out on your own and you've arrived at some point that you got there by some way of your own devising, then you might be in a mess because you might be faced with the situation, you know, you've got yourself into it. Now let's get out of it.

   All right. So we go through the story, God told Moses to lift up his rod that the Red Sea would part and that Israel was to go across dry-shod, and this was on the last holy day of the Days of Unleavened Bread. This was during the evening portion as we find out in verse 21 that they sent a strong east wind all night made the sea dry land. The waters were divided. This was the evening. This was on Tuesday evening that began the last holy day of the Days of Unleavened Bread.

   The children of Israel went across, we read in verse 22, they went across the Red Sea dry-shod. In the early morning light, the Egyptians realized what had happened. The pillar of fire that had separated the Egyptians from the Israelites was removed, and the Egyptians struck off through the middle of the Red Sea, chasing after the Israelites. And of course they got into the middle and God quit holding the water back, and you know what happened. You know, the Egyptians were swallowed up in the sea. God took care of the enemy.

   Now this was a miracle, an absolute miracle of God to get Egypt, to get Israel out of Egypt. Israel could not start coming out of Egypt by themselves on their own, on their own strength, and they could not get out of Egypt on their own, on their own strength. It took God at the beginning and it took God at the end. It took Jesus Christ who was of course and is the captain of our salvation.

   Let's go on over to the book of Joshua. I want to spend a little time in the book of Joshua this morning because the book of Joshua in many ways really ties in with the Days of Unleavened Bread and in fact the entire theme of the book of Joshua just very directly ties in with the Days of Unleavened Bread. Because what we have is the story of in the book of Joshua is God's people entering in, you know, to the promised land. God's people making their entrance into the land that God is promising them, overcoming the problems and inheriting the land. You have the story of what is truly the irresistible power of God's people in overcoming the world, provided that they maintain complete trust in God's strength and power and that no sin of disobedience break their covenant relationship.

   So we have in Joshua the story of the irresistible power of the people of God. There was no one able to stand before them. It was a power that was irresistible as long as they trusted in God and they obeyed God.

   Now, let's notice here in Joshua, let's begin in chapter one, verse one (Joshua 1:1). "After the death of Moses, the servant of the Eternal, it came to pass that the Eternal spoken to Joshua, the son of Nun, Moses's minister said. Moses, my servant, is dead. Now therefore arise, go over the Jordan, you and all these people under the land which I do give to them, even to the children of Israel. Every place that the soul of your foot shall tread upon, that have I given unto you, as I said unto Moses. From the wilderness and this Lebanon, even under the great river, the river Euphrates, all the land of the Hittites, and under the great sea" that is the Mediterranean "toward the going down of the sun shall be your coast. There shall not any man be able to stand before you all the days of your life. As I was with Moses, so will I be with you. I will not leave you nor forsake you."

   God did not say, "I'm gonna get you in there and I'm gonna let you get in the middle of a mess and then boy you won't see me anymore. I'll be long gone and I'll just leave you to get out of it the best way you can." That is not what God told Joshua. He said, "Look, there is no one that will be able to resist you. I will never leave you nor forsake you. Be strong and of a good courage. For unto this people shall you divide for an inheritance, the land which I swore unto their fathers to give them. Only be you strong and very courageous that you may observe to do according to all the law which Moses, my servant, commanded you. Turn not from it to the right hand nor to the left, that you may prosper whithersoever you go."

   You know, brethren, you'll never get ahead by putting God last. It doesn't work that way. You'll never solve your problems by turning aside to the right hand or to the left from obeying God. You'll never turn aside. You'll never improve your situation or solve things.

   So He goes on, "This book of the law shall not depart out of your mouth, but you shall meditate therein day and night that you may observe to do according to all that is written therein. For then you shall make your way prosperous, and then you shall have good success." That's the only way to have good success. That's the only way to make your way prosperous, to observe, to do what God is commanding.

   And what if what God has commanded seems to be like, well, boy, you know, that's gonna lead me into a dead end canyon. I'm gonna wind up somewhere that I don't wanna be. Why if I do what God says, well I'll I'll be over here and I don't see how that'll work out. You know, Israel of old was following where the cloud led. That's what led them to be boxed in by the mountains, by the sea, and by Pharaoh's army. They got into that problem by following where God led.

   Now, any of the Israelites who understood and knew the geography of the area should have been able to surmise when they departed from the main way and struck out through the wilderness that they were going in a direction, in a southerly direction, that there was no way out. Because if you look at a map, the Red Sea gets broader and broader the further south you get. You know, how are you going to get across in the Sinai, where are you gonna get out of Egypt? I mean, you're headed toward Ethiopia. You're not headed towards the Sinai. And there are no bridges down there.

   So if Israel followed where God led, seemingly they were headed into a way that there was no way out of, and sometimes brethren, we in our own lives, we, we have some problem and we see, well God says this, but I don't see how I can do that. I don't see how I can do that because surely God doesn't want me to get over here and kind of get boxed in. No, God doesn't want you to get boxed in. God wants you to go where He says though. And God will guarantee that you don't get boxed in if you go where He says, because He'll open up the sea. That's no problem for God. But there's no way to get ahead by departing from the law of God, by departing to the right hand or to the left, by turning aside, by doing your own thing or going your own way. Those Israelites, if there were any that tried to go their own way, never got to the promised land. The only way to get to the promised land was to go where God said go when God said go there. And anything else resulted in disaster.

   So God made a promise to Joshua. He said, "Look, you go on in." Now here they were entering into the promised land and the promised land was filled with various hostile Canaanite tribes. And right there guarding the entrance into the promised land was the great fortress city of the Canaanites, the city of Jericho. Now Israel had to cross the Jordan River. And then they had to pass the great fortress city of the Canaanites, the city of Jericho. Then as they came on into the promised land, there were various other hostile tribes and cities there. It was a monumental task that lay before them. The land was filled with hostility.

   Now you remember if you go back to the book of Numbers, that 40 years previous, Israel had had an opportunity to enter the promised land. Spies had gone in and spied out the land, and they did not go in. And the reason they did not go in was because the spies came back and they said, "Yes it's a great land, yes it is a wonderful place, it's everything God said but there are giants in the land. And they are big. I mean, you know, we're like grasshoppers compared to. I mean they're way up there and we're way down here. And if you saw those giants, you'd realize there's no way. I mean, those guys will look at us and stomp on us. They won't even need their swords."

   And of course Israel, you know, wept and lamented and mourned and carried on and went through all of their rigmarole. And they did not enter into the promised land. They died in the wilderness instead. It was always what they were afraid of doing and that which they feared came upon them. And there were only two that entered into the promised land that was Joshua and Caleb. Of all of the adults of that 600,000 men that came out of Egypt, only 2 entered into the promised land that was Joshua and Caleb, and the reason those two entered is a very, very simple reason. They simply believed God. You know, they were just simple minded enough to believe that God meant what He said. And it didn't matter if there's a 10 ft giant standing in front of you, big deal. If God says go through him, go through it. If God says cross the sea, dry-shod, then strike out. And just walk ahead. And figure it's God's problem to see that you get across. Well, that's what they did, and they were of course there to enter in.

   So, Joshua was told, "Look, you strike out and you go forward, I will see you through to the end." Well, let's, as you come on through the rest of Joshua, you notice in chapter 2 that they sent again spies on into the into the land, they began to make preparations in chapters 3 and 4 to cross the Jordan River. In chapter 5, they did cross the Jordan River.

   We find in chapter 5 and verse 10 (Joshua 5:10), "The children of Israel encamped in Gilgal and kept the Passover on the 14th day of the month at evening in the plains of Jericho." They crossed the Jordan prior to Passover and now they were going to keep the Passover here in the plains of Jericho because they were you know, had crossed over and were now ready to go on forward to enter into the promised land, and they did eat the produce of the land on the morrow after the Passover, unleavened cakes and parched corn in the self same day, and the manna ceased on the morrow after they had eaten of the produce of the land. Neither had the children of Israel manna anymore, but they did eat of the fruit of the land of Canaan that year.

   Now the morrow after the Passover, I described here as being identical with the morrow after the Sabbath or in other words, the day of the wave sheaf, this is brought out in the Jewish commentary that they were now ready. This was the, this was here at the time of the Days of Unleavened Bread.

   Now, let's notice in verse 13 (Joshua 5:13), "It came to pass when Joshua was by Jericho that he lifted up his eyes and looked. And behold, there stood a man over against him with his sword drawn in his hand, and Joshua went unto him and said, 'Are you for us or for our adversaries?' And he said, 'No, but as the captain of the host of the Eternal, am I now come.' And Joshua fell on his face to the earth and did worship and said unto him, 'What says, my Lord, unto his servant?' And the captain of the Eternal's host said unto Joshua, 'Loose your shoe from off your foot, for the place whereon you stand is holy.' And Joshua did so."

   Now this was the one, of course, that became Jesus Christ. That's very easily proven. You can find an example back in the book of Daniel when an angel appeared to Daniel and Daniel fell down on his face before the angel. The angel said, "Look, you stand up. I'm just a servant of God like you are, you know, don't fall down and worship me."

   Now this particular being said, look, you didn't tell him, you know, when Joshua fell down to worship, he didn't say get up. He said, "You better take your shoes off. You're on holy ground." And the other account you read of that is where God appeared to Moses in the burning bush and told him to take his shoes off. The ground he was on was holy ground. Here is the one that became Jesus Christ, and He appeared here. He appeared unto Joshua. And He told him, "I am the captain of the Eternal's host. I'm the one that is here to give you the victory." Joshua worshiped Him.

   Immediately thereafter, Jericho was shut up because of course Israel, when Israel came and camped on the plains of Jericho, Jericho shut itself up preparing for a siege. Instructions had been given by Christ to Joshua as to what they were to do. They were to walk around the city of Jericho, and they were to go around once each day and on the 7th day they were to go around 7 times and they were to blow the trumpets and the people were to shout. Now they were to go around once each of these 7 days and the priests blew on the trumpet once.

   Now these of course were the 7 Days of Unleavened Bread, and that's made plain from the context here in Joshua 5, 6. Josephus, the Jewish historian, brings it out very clearly. The Jews have always recognized that these were, of course, the Days of Unleavened Bread, the time when when Jericho fell, and these were the seven days that they encompassed Jericho. Jericho symbolized the world. That was the capital city of the Canaanites, their great city. And that symbolized the world. This is God's people overcoming the world.

   Just as God's people came out of Egypt, Egypt typified sin, Egypt typified this world, God's people have to come out of this world. And we come out collectively. We come out as a group. God's, God's church has certain standards that set it apart from this world. So we do certain things as a group, other things we do as individuals. Individually we put the leaven out of our homes. We put the sin out of our lives as individuals. We individually imbibe or partake of unleavened bread. We individually partake of sincerity and truth. We individually grow and overcome.

   Now, here they were, they, you know the story. I'm not going to go through and for the sake of time and, and read it verse by verse, but Israel went around the city of Jericho. So you can imagine, you know, the first day here on the first holy day, you know, people of Jericho got up in the morning, they were looking out because they've seen Israel come over, they've seen them in camp out there on the plains of Jericho to observe the Passover. Now you're on the holy day. All of a sudden, Israel, the Israelite army started moving out. Oh boy, everybody, you know, they were at their battle stations, they were waiting. And Israel didn't get close enough to let them shoot arrows down or anything, but they just marched around, you know, kind of walked around, and, and here they were, they were following around, you know, the priests were going and they followed all around the city, walked around once and went back to the camp. The priest, the priest blew on the ram's horn and you know, away they went.

   People in Jericho standing up there scratching their heads saying what, what's going on down there? What are those people up to? And now about the 2nd day they came out, you know, walked around, priests blew the trumpet, and went on back. The 3rd day they came out, walked around once, you know, looking around. 4th day, the 5th day, and the 6th day, here they were. Boy, those people in Jericho, they probably figured, you know, we got candidates for the loony farm down here. What do those guys think they're doing? I mean, what good does this do? They're walking around the city.

   And you know what, there were probably some of the Israelites by that time wondering, now what on earth are we doing? What, what good does it do to walk around the city? I don't want to walk around the city. I'd rather sit back in the camp. You know, people have their own ideas. And a lot of times people do not see the logic of what God tells them to do. So, "Well, I don't see it that way. I don't see how that's gonna help."

   Well, how many times have I counseled with people and and pointed out to them what God's law tells them to do? And their response is, "Yeah, but, but I don't see how that's going to help my situation. I don't see how that's going to work for me. I don't think it will work that way. I don't think I ought to do that. I, I've got something over here. This is what I think I ought to do." We've got the way that seems right unto them. God says there's a way that seems right unto a man, and He says the end thereof are the ways of death.

   Now there were Israelites that undoubtedly had their own idea as to what they ought to do with Jericho. But God had His idea. So the people followed around and on the 7th day they came out and of all things they walked around it 7 times. And people in Jericho were really scratching their heads by that time. Then it came to pass, verse 5 that "They made a long blast with the ram's horn, and when you hear the sound, the sound of the trumpet, all the people shall shout with a great shout, and the walls of the city shall fall down flat." God performed a miracle. God reached down and performed an absolute miracle to make the city of Jericho collapse. You know, and everybody looked around and wondered what's happening here. God solved the problem. All the people had to do was do what God said and God would take care of the results.

   It's a lesson we have to learn, brethren. If we do what God says, God will guarantee what the results will be. God guarantees us the victory. You realize that God guarantees us the victory. Just as God gave the victory to Egypt, to Israel coming out of Egypt on the last holy Day of Unleavened Bread. Just as God gave the victory to Israel, entering into the promised land over Jericho on the last Day of Unleavened Bread. That's why God has two holy days in the Days of Unleavened Bread. Not only does God promise to start us out with a high hand, God promises to see us through to the end. God not only guarantees the beginning, God guarantees the victory. God holds out the victory to us.

   Well, you read here in chapter 6 of the fall of Jericho and the events that transpired. Now God gave some specific instructions regarding Jericho in verse 17 of Joshua 6 (Joshua 6:17). "The city shall be a cursed, even it and all that are therein to the Eternal. Only Rahab the harlot shall live. She and all that are in her house that are with her in her house because she hid the messengers and kept them secret. And you in any wise keep yourselves from the accursed thing, lest you make yourselves accursed when you take of the accursed thing and make the camp of Israel accursed and trouble it, but all the silver and gold and vessels of brass and iron are consecrated unto the Eternal. They shall come into the treasury of the Lord."

   So they were told what they were to do, that they were not to take spoil, they were not to take any of the things for personal possessions that came from Jericho that these implements of gold and silver and brass and iron were to go into the temple treasury and everything else was to be destroyed. It was to be burned with fire. Well, of course, this is what happened.

   Now, in chapter 7, we find that after the conquest of Jericho, there was a little city, a little village by the name of Ai. Now Ai was to Jericho about like Humble is to Houston. I mean, it was like, you know, that that here God had sent His people in. And, and, and you had the great city, the great metropolis, the great capital of the Canaanites, you know, the mammoth city by by comparison by that the standards of that day. And that city had fallen, it had collapsed. The walls had come down. God had given them the victory, an impossible victory seemingly.

   Now all they had, they had a little village, kind of a mop up operation, just a little village, the other side, very, very small by comparison. And they said, "They returned to Joshua" verse 3 and they said, "Look, there's no sense in all of us going up there to Ai. Why don't we just have maybe 2 or 3 thousand men go up and smite Ai, and that will be more than enough to take care of Ai. It's just a little tiny place and you know, there's no sense making all the people go to all that trouble to go up there because there's just a handful of those people. We'll send up a couple of 1000 that'll take care of it."

   Well, they went up there to Ai. In verse 5, "The men of Ai smote them." They were defeated. They were wiped out. And they really, you know, came back with their tail tucked between their legs and, and they were verse verse 5, the latter part of the verse, "Wherefore, the hearts of the people melted and became as water." Oh boy, you know, I mean the starch went out of them. They really got scared then. "Oh woe is us. What in the world is happening?" I mean, here we were, you know, they were all cocky and they really felt great after Jericho. Because you see, probably knowing human nature, they, they had kind of convinced themselves that really they had had a lot to do with that victory. I mean they, you know they, they'd really done all these things and they were really pretty great, nothing could stand before them.

   So they went charging out cocksure to take care of Ai. And came back kind of like a whipped dog, you know, they, they, they were really feeling low and their hearts just melted and became water and they, they were scared to death and they said, "Oh, you know, woe is us, what was that what happened?"

   Well, you know, Joshua was upset and he couldn't understand what was going on. And verse 10, "The Eternal said unto Joshua, get up. Wherefore lie you here upon your face, Israel has sinned. And they've also transgressed my covenant which I commanded them, for they have even taken of the cursed thing and have also stolen and assembled also and have put it even among their own stuff. Therefore, the children of Israel could not stand before their enemies but turned their back before their enemies because they were under a curse. Neither will I be with you anymore except you destroy the accursed from among you."

   When Israel went forward in obedience to God, nothing could stand before them. When they allowed sin in their midst, God quit going before them. And their best efforts came to nought. So He told them, "Sanctify the people and gather everyone together and find the one that has done that has brought the curse on Israel and purge him out. He's to be stoned and burned with fire." And of course as you go through the story, Achan, they cast lots. Achan was found to have been the one that had stolen the things. He and his family had collaborated together and had hid these things under his tent. Babylonish garment, 200 shekels of silver, a wedge of gold at 50 shekels weight, and he says in verse 21, "I coveted them and took them."

   And so they were there and Achan and his family and everything that pertained to him that had collaborated together in this, in this grievous sin were taken and they were stoned to death. Their bodies were burned with fire and a heap of stones was piled up there in the valley of Achor, which means literally the valley of trouble.

   Now brethren, there's an important lesson there, and I don't think that it's lost on us. I don't think it's lost on on on God's church today. I think that that's why we look back over much of the decade of the 70s and see a time when we were spinning our wheels and when much of our best efforts came to naught because God is not going to grant His blessing when there are many things that are displeasing to Him that are in our midst. That's why if you read in the accounts of the apostle Paul in I Corinthians chapter 5, where Paul had the fornicator purged out of the church, he said a little leaven leavens the whole lump. Brethren, there are frankly things we're not going to put up with anymore in God's church. A little leaven leavens the whole lump. That's part of the lesson of the Days of Unleavened Bread. We either go forward as a group together, or you stay behind and take your chances with Pharaoh and his army.

   Well, the interesting thing is, as they went through as the problem was solved here with the sin of Achan, then in chapter 8, they went in and they took Ai without any problem. And in chapter 9 we have kind of an inset, a an account of the Gibeonites who kind of worked the deception on Israel so that they would get protection.

   Now in chapter 10, the next battle, once they purged out sin from their midst, once they purged it out. There with the account of Ai, they were able to take Ai and now in chapter 10 they stand ready to go into the rest of the land.

   In chapter 10, verse 1, "It came to pass that Adoni-zedek, the king of Jerusalem, had heard how Joshua had taken Ai and had utterly destroyed it as he had done to Jericho and her king, so he had done to Ai and their king, and now the inhabitants of Gibeon had made peace with Israel and were among them. That they greatly feared because Gibeon was a great city, one of the royal cities, and because it was greater than Ai and all the men there were mighty."

   So Gibeon had sued for peace. Jericho had been destroyed. Ai had been destroyed. Gibeon had sued for peace. Now an alliance of the five kings of the Canaanites was gotten together to be able to stand before Joshua. We find in in verse 5, "The five kings of the Amorite, king of Jerusalem, King of Hebron, the king of Jarmuth, the king of Lachish, and the king of Eglon gathered themselves together and went up. They had all their hosts and encamped before Gibeon and made war against it."

   Now Joshua came down there and verse 10, "The Eternal discomfited them before, before the the Eternal discomfited them before Israel and slew them a great number, a great slaughter at Gibeon, and chased them along the way that goes from Beth Horon and smote them to Azekah and onto Makkedah."

   "And it came to pass as they fled from before Israel and were in the going down to Beth Horon that the Eternal cast down great stones from heaven upon them unto Azekah, and they died. They were more which died with hailstones than they whom the children of Israel slew with a sword." God wanted to get the point across to them that they, that Israel was not the one that won the victory. Israel did not gain the promised land on their own strength. God took care of the enemy.

   Verse 12, "Then Joshua spoke to the Eternal in the day when the Eternal delivered the Amorites before the children of Israel, and he said in the sight of Israel, 'Sun, stand still upon Gibeon, and you moon in the valley of Ajalon,' and the sun stood still and the moon stayed until the people had avenged themselves upon their enemies. Is it, is it not this written in the book of Jasher? So the sun stood still in the midst of heaven and hasted not to go down about a whole day. There was no day like that before it or after it did the Eternal hearken unto the voice of a man, for the Eternal fought for Israel."

   Brethren, one of the most outstanding, one of the most stupendous, mind-boggling miracles in the history of the human race occurred right here. Now I want you to draw the contrast. A matter of a few weeks before Israel had been smitten before this little village of Ai, had been put to flight, had been unable to go forward because they tolerated sin in their midst. When the sin was purged out, there was absolutely nothing that could stand in their way. The great God, the great Creator made the sun and moon stand still. Rain hailed down from heaven to destroy their enemy. The great God, the great Creator who had promised them the victory, when they purged sin out of their midst, nothing could stand in their way. No miracle was too great for God to bring about, to give His people the victory when they obeyed Him and when they went forward, as He told them.

   So as you go through the rest of Joshua chapter 10 verse 25, "Joshua said unto the people, fear not nor be dismayed, be strong and of good courage, for thus shall the Eternal do to all your enemies against whom you fight." So verse 28 "That day, Joshua took Makkedah, smote it with the edge of the sword, the king thereof he utterly destroyed. And he let none remain. He did unto the king of Makkedah as he did unto the king of Jericho."

   Then he passed on and he went from one place to another, went to Libnah. The Eternal delivered it also. Verse 31, "He passed from Libnah, came to Lachish." Verse 32, "The Eternal delivered Lachish into the hands of Israel." Verse 33, "Horam the king of Gezer came up to help Lachish. Joshua smote him and his people till he had left none remaining." Verse 34 "From Lachish Joshua passed onto Eglon and all Israel with him. They encamped against it. They fought against it. They took it on that day." And verse 36, "Joshua went up from Eglon and all Israel with him onto Hebron. They fought against it. They took it and smote it with the edge of the sword." And verse 38, "Joshua returned all Israel with him to Debir and they fought against it and they took it and the kings thereof."

   Verse 40, "So Joshua smote all the country of the hills of the south and of the vale and of the springs and all their kings and left none remaining, but utterly destroyed all that breathed. As the Eternal God of Israel command. Joshua smote them from Kadesh-barnea," which is the area of Petra, "Even unto Gaza," down on the Gaza Strip, there near the border of Egypt. "All the country of Goshen," the land of Goshen in Egypt, "Even unto Gibeon. And all these kings and their land did Joshua take at one time because the Eternal God of Israel fought for Israel, and Joshua returned and all Israel with him unto the camp to Gilgal."

   When the people obeyed God and put sin out of their midst, nothing could stand in their way, and they went forward with all of the speed they could muster because they were going forward in obedience to God and they had purged sin out. When sin was in their midst, there was no way they could go forward. There was no way that they, in fact, they came under God's curse and not under God's blessing.

   So as you go through, we have much of the rest of Joshua, a detailed account of the way that the land was divided and the various allotments that went to the various tribes. And in chapter 23, that once Israel had been given rest from their enemies, Joshua was old, that he called the people together. And I'm not going to go through all of the account of what Joshua said, but I want to focus in on chapter 24 and verse 14. Joshua recounted in chapter 24 all of the victories that God had given. And he mentions, let's begin in verse 11 (Joshua 24:11-14).

   He says, "You went over Jordan and came to Jericho. The men of Jericho fought against you, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Girgashites, Hivites, Jebusites, and I delivered them into your hands. I sent the hornet before you that drove them out from before you, even the two kings of the Amorites, but not with your sword nor with your bow, and I have given you a land for which you did not labor in cities which you built not, and you dwell in them of the vineyards and the olive yards which you planted not do you eat. Now, therefore, fear the Eternal and serve Him in sincerity and in truth."

   Now does that sound like a familiar statement? And we've probably heard that read several times during the Days of Unleavened Bread. On you heard it, heard it read back from I Corinthians 5, where the apostle Paul quotes Joshua 24:14. "Now therefore fear the Eternal and serve Him in sincerity and in truth, and put away the gods which your father served on the other side of the flood and in Egypt and serve ye the Eternal."

   You've got to put away the things that come between you and God. And you've got to serve God in sincerity and in truth. And if you do, brethren, there's absolutely nothing that stands between you and achieving the victory of entering in God's promises.

   Let's turn back to the book of Hebrews. You, I've mentioned before the reference there in I Corinthians 5:8 where Paul tells us that we're to take the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth. That ties in very directly that statement that Joshua made with these Days of Unleavened Bread. We're to serve God in sincerity and in truth.

   Now in Hebrews chapter 3, let's pick it up in verse 7 (Hebrews 3:7). "Wherefore, as the Holy Spirit says, today, if you'll hear His voice, harden not your hearts is in the provocation and the day of temptation in the wilderness." Now Paul is going through and he's expounding the example of Israel coming out of Egypt. The example of our forefathers who began their exodus on that first holy day of the Days of Unleavened Bread and struck out for the promised land. Now we're admonished here. Listen today. Don't harden your hearts as Israel did when they provoked God.

   Verse 9, "When your fathers tempted me, proved me, and saw my works 40 years. Wherefore I was grieved. Wherefore I was grieved with that generation and said they do always err in their hearts and they have not known my way. So I swore in my wrath that they shall not enter into my rest."

   Now let's understand a little bit of what that rest was back in Deuteronomy chapter 12. Verse 9 (Deuteronomy 12:9), Israel, of course, had come out of Egypt. They had been wandering through the wilderness for 40 years. It had been a long journey. It was a long journey from Egypt to the Promised Land. And brethren, they had to take it a step at a time. And that's the way we are.

   Now, Moses told them, a matter of a short time, a matter of weeks before they entered into the promised land. Deuteronomy 12:9, "For you are not as yet come to the rest and to the inheritance which the Eternal your God gives you. But when you go over Jordan and dwell on the land which the Eternal your God gives you to inherit, and when He gives you rest from all your enemies round about so that you dwell in safety," and it goes on, so the land, the promised land was called the rest that God was going to give them the rest from their journey that they were going to enter into the promised land and they would enter into God's rest.

   Joshua refers to that in Joshua 1:13, he says, "Remember the word which Moses, the servant of the Eternal commanded you saying, the Eternal your God has given you rest and has given you this land" and that's spoken to the people of Gad, Reuben, and the half tribe of Manasseh who are going to have an inheritance on the east side of the Jordan, and they were to come over to the west side and help the people there gain the land and they were to come over there in verse 15 "Until the Lord has given your brethren rest as He has given you, and they also have possessed the land which the Eternal your God has given them."

   Now, Joshua refers to it on back in Joshua 21. Joshua 21:44. "And the Eternal gave them rest round about according to all that He swore unto their fathers," and he refers to it on down in in chapter 23:1 when he called them all together, "It came to pass a long time after that the Eternal had given rest onto Israel from all their enemies round about that Joshua waxed old and stricken in age."

   So Israel came into the promised land which was a rest that God had promised them. Yet we're told here back in Hebrews 3 that God swore in His wrath to the generation that came out of Egypt, "They shall not enter into my rest." And there were only 2 of the men who crossed the Red Sea that also crossed the Jordan River. That was Joshua and Caleb. There were only two that entered into God's rest. The rest of them did not.

   Now verse 12, "Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God, but exhort one another daily while it is called today, lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin."

   Sin is deceitful. Satan the devil doesn't come with a red suit and a pitchfork and horns on his head and a little sign hanging around his neck saying, "Here I'm the devil. I've come to deceive you. Now, listen closely because I'm going to tell you a lie and I expect you to believe it." Satan comes as an angel of light. And he holds out his way and makes it look good. It looks enticing. It looks logical. In fact, it's presented as the way that God would want you to go. You know, we read back in Corinthians, Paul says he comes as an angel of light. He appears to be a truth bringer.

   Don't be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin. Don't allow yourself to gradually begin to tune out what God says and become hardened. "For we are made partakers of Christ if we hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast unto the end." Now when Israel came out of Egypt, they had a great confidence. They came out with a high hand. If they had held that confidence steadfast into the end, they would have crossed the Jordan River when the spies came back the first time and saved themselves 39 years of wandering in the wilderness. But they didn't hold that confidence steadfast, and so they died, they perished.

   And they're those unfortunately that are not with us now because they did not hold the beginning of their confidence steadfast in the end. There was a time when they had great confidence. There was a time when they knew and they knew that they knew that God would go before them and God would give them the victory. And somewhere along the line they started focusing on how big the giants were and they forgot about how big God was. And they got scared.

   "While it is said today, if you'll hear His voice, harden not your hearts is in the provocation. For some, when they had heard, did provoke, albeit not all that came out of Egypt by Moses, but with whom was He grieved 40 years? Was it not with them that had sinned whose carcasses fell in the wilderness, to whom swore He that they should not enter into His rest. But to those that believed not, so we see that they could not enter in because of unbelief."

   Now it's interesting if you go back to the book of Revelation chapter 21, and you notice ultimately the group that will not be in God's rest, that will not be in God's kingdom. Revelation 21:7 it says, "He that overcomes shall inherit all things, and I will be his God, and he shall be my sons. But the fearful and the unbelieving," and then it goes on and it enumerates several other categories, but the first two categories it mentions are the fearful and the unbelieving.

   Why primarily did not Israel of old enter into the promised land, and there were various ones that fell in the wilderness for various reasons. But the primary group, the largest number of them that did not enter into the promised land, did not enter in because they were scared to go forward. God said, go forward, they said I'm scared. I'm scared to take God at His word. I'm scared to believe that God will do what He says He will do. I'm scared. And as a result, they did not believe God and as a result they perished.

   Let's continue right on in chapter 4, verse 1. "Let us therefore fear lest they promise being left us of entering into His rest any of you should come short of it. For unto us was the gospel preached as well as unto them, but the word preached did not profit them, not being mixed with faith and then that heard it."

   Continuing on down in verse 8, "For if Joshua had given them rest, then would He not afterward have spoken of another day." See, the rest that Joshua led the children of Israel into was not the final rest that God had reference to. You find various prophecies. You find back in, for instance in Isaiah chapter 11. Of what? 11 verse 10 (Isaiah 10:11), where God talks about the time after the return of Christ, He says in verse 9, "They shall not hurt or destroy in all my holy mountain, for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Eternal as the waters cover the sea, and in that day there shall be a root of Jesse which shall stand for an ensign of the people to it shall the Gentiles seek and His rest shall be glorious."

   Isaiah 14:7 describes the earth during the millennium. It says, "The whole earth is at rest and is quiet. They break forth into singing." The time when God's kingdom is going to be on this earth, that is the ultimate rest, the rest that Joshua led the children of Israel into the promised land that Israel entered into was merely a type of the ultimate rest that God proposes to lead us into. But there's an example. But we need to learn what happened to God's people of old.

   Continuing on down here in Hebrews chapter 4, let's go on down to verse 14 (Hebrews 4:14). "Seeing then that we have a great high priest that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession. For we have not a high priest which cannot be touched with the feelings of our infirmities, but was in all points tempted like as we are yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need."

   How do you approach God's throne? You have to come before God in great trepidation wondering if God will hear you? Wondering if you can have the victory or wondering if you'll be slaughtered before Pharaoh's army? Brethren, come boldly unto the throne of grace to lay claim on the promises of God. We've got a high priest there who is the captain of our salvation, who appeared in Joshua as the captain of the host of the Eternal, who led Israel forward and who gave them the victory.

   He's described in Hebrews chapter 12, verse 1 (Hebrews 12:1). "Wherefore, seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses. Seeing as we have all of these examples, seeing as we can look at the Bible and see what God's people of old have gone through. Let us lay aside every weight and the sin which does so easily beset us and let us run with patience, the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and the finisher of our faith. Who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame and is sat down at the right hand of the throne of God."

   Brethren, we are able to look to Jesus Christ, the author and the finisher of our faith. God not only has a holy day at the beginning of the Days of Unleavened Bread, that pictures His starting us out of Egypt with a high hand. God has a holy day at the end of the Days of Unleavened Bread because God proposes to open up the Red Sea. God proposes to collapse the walls of Jericho. Jesus Christ, the captain of the host of the Eternal, is the author and the finisher of our faith.

   In Hebrews 13 and 5 (Hebrews 13:5), the latter part of the verse, "For He has said, I will never leave you nor forsake you." That's what He told Joshua, wasn't it? Here in Hebrews 13:5, we've got a quote from right back in Joshua 1, we read it earlier in the sermon. Where God told Joshua, "Be strong and of a good courage. Don't be dismayed. Don't be bogged down. Don't get scared. Go forward. Obey me and go forward. Be strong and of a good courage, for I will never leave you nor forsake you."

   Brethren, just as surely as the Eternal God brought Israel through the Red Sea, just as surely as He parted those waters and allowed Israel to cross dry-shod, worked a tremendous miracle to bring His people out, just as surely as that great God intervened for Joshua to grant the victory, whether by collapsing the walls of Jericho, whether by making the sun and the moon stand still, that great God, our Lord Jesus Christ, the author and finisher of our faith, who is the same yesterday, today and forever, that great God will intervene for His people today. And He will grant us the victory also as long as we purge sin out of our lives and serve Him in sincerity and truth. Jesus Christ, the author and the finisher of our faith will never leave us or forsake us.