Call Upon The Lord

The Great Story – Week 07: Joshua (Joshua 01-24)

Posted on December 20, 2012 by Cory WiggingtonMarch 22, 2013

Joshua was a man of faith. When he was sent as a spy, only he and Caleb kept their faith in God and encouraged the people to move take the land that God had given them. Because of his faith, Joshua was spared death in the wilderness and allowed to lead the Israelites into the Promised Land.

Joshua was the appointed leader of the Israelites after the death of Moses. He was a great general and lead the armies of Israel to many military victories. In Joshua 24:15, he declared, “And if it is evil in your eyes to serve the Lord, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your fathers served in the region beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” The success and prosperity that Israel enjoyed under the guidance of Joshua was a tribute to his faith and obedience to God.

If only Israel had continued to honor God and worship Him as the one and true God, they would have continued to prosper. This prosperity was not to last though. When Joshua died, the faith of the people went with it.

Week 07 of the Great Story describes how powerfully God’s power can be demonstrated when He is revered and worshipped in the way that He commands. When the people keep the Commandments of God, God is faithful to them.

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The Great Story – Week 06: The Wandering People (Num 01-27)

Posted on October 25, 2012 by Cory WiggingtonMarch 22, 2013

“All that the Lord has spoken we will do” is what they said. God was on their side. He had sent a prophet to them and he had led them out of captivity. The Egyptians were destroyed when they attempted to pursue. Hungry in the desert, the Lord had fed them. God had given them His holy ordinances and the people knew that God was dwelling in the tabernacle and leading them wherever they went. How is it that when everything seems to be going so well that sin enters the picture and begins to corrupt?

The Israelites were tired of the free food that God supplied every day. They yearned for the meat and produce that was available while they still in captivity. Forgetting all the hardships they endured in Egypt, they desired to be out of the wilderness and return to their life as slaves just so they could eat some different food. They questioned whether Moses was the one that God actually chose to lead them or even whether he was fit to lead. They doubted God when they saw the might of the people living in the Promised Land. A lack of faith in Israel characterizes much of the book of Numbers.

God had a plan for Israel. If Israel would have followed the commands of God, they would have been blessed endlessly. Instead judgment befell them and they spent an additional forty years wandering the desert. Even Moses had a lapse that forced him to stay outside of the Promised Land. Submission, Trust, and Obedience are the things that God demanded, but the Israelites were a stiff-necked people. Sometimes judgment is necessary before repentance can begin.

Week 06 of The Great Story tells of the predicaments that Israel got themselves in to during their forty years in the desert. The cycle of sin, judgment, and repentance continues throughout the book of Numbers. Listen and Learn from the missteps of the Israelites.

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The Great Story – Week 05: The Ten Commandments and Wilderness (Exo 15-40)

Posted on October 18, 2012 by Cory WiggingtonMarch 22, 2013

At the time when the Ten Commandments were given, the Israelites were living a time of great miracles. They witnessed the plagues of Egypt, they saw the Red Sea part and Pharaoh destroyed by God, but yet their faith still wavered. When God spoke, they did not obey. They quickly forgot about all that they had seen and regressed to their ways that were practiced in Egypt. Through much of Israel’s history, they struggled with idols and foreign gods. Had they only listened to God from the beginning of their journey from Egypt, how much better and stronger would their nation had been?

A Relationship…that’s what God desired to have with the nation of Israel. He delivered His people from captivity in Egypt as a fulfillment of His promise to Abraham. Then, God told the people of Israel that if they would obey His commandments that He would establish them as a holy nation, a nation of priests. God gave His Commandments as a basis for a relationship with Him. Israel declared that they would do all that the Lord had commanded, but they failed. Knowing that man could not keep the Commandments perfectly, God allowed for sacrifices and offerings to temporarily make a covering for their sins. Only in Jesus do we have permanent forgiveness.

Romans 3:19 tells us that the Law was intended as a way to hold man accountable to God. As Christians, we are not saved by our adherence to the Law, but rather in our belief that Jesus died for the remission of our sins. We therefore are not saved by works, but by the grace of God. Yet, understanding that we are saved by grace, because we love the Lord, we strive to obey His commands. Even when we fail, the love of the Lord will always be sufficient.

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The Great Story – Week 04: Moses and the Exodus (Exodus 1-14)

Posted on October 11, 2012 by Cory WiggingtonMarch 22, 2013

When the Lord gives a promise, He follows through. The Lord said that He would make Abraham into a great nation, and He did just that. When he moved to Egypt, Israel brought 70 members of his family with him. Over the next 350 years, the number of Israelites grew to over 2 million. God had fulfilled part of His promise to Abraham, all that was left now was for the Children of Israel to return to the Promised Land. During their time in Egypt, they had gone from welcome guests to slave labor. As such, they would not be able to leave Egypt under ordinary means, but God had a plan.

Enter Moses to the scene. Moses was found by Pharaoh’s daughter and made her son. But Moses would not reject his Hebrew heritage for the comforts of an Egyptian palace. Instead, we find Moses defending a fellow Hebrew who was being beaten and as a result, driven into a self-imposed exile. When he was 80 years old, God spoke to him through a burning bush and made him the leader of all of Israel. You are never too old to serve the living God. 🙂

Through a series of miracles and plagues, the Hebrews are finally allowed to leave their captivity. Understanding the economic impact of the departure of the Israelites, the people became upset and complained to Pharaoh. With an increasingly hardened heart, Pharaoh sought to catch the Hebrews and restore them to their enslavement. God had a different plan though. The Red Sea was parted, the Israelites walked across on dry land, and the Egyptians were drowned for their defiance of God.

God keeps His promises and God can use anyone or anything as an instrument in His plan. The story of Moses is a story of faith, fulfillment, and restoration. It’s no wonder that the Exodus is a central and consistently mentioned event in the Old Testament.

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The Great Story – Week 03: The Twelve Tribes Through Joseph (Genesis 28-50)

Posted on October 4, 2012 by Cory WiggingtonMarch 22, 2013

Bad things happen. Bad things happen to Good People. It’s an old cliché and everyone knows it and has likely used it. Yet as Christians, we understanding that just because bad things happen it doesn’t mean that we are being punished for something that we have done. God works through His Providence to accomplish His will.

There were great men of Faith in the Old Testament. God promised Abraham that he would give him a son and make him into a great nation. Abraham believed God and Isaac was born. Through Isaac the line was continued onto Jacob and through Jacob to his twelve sons, who would become the twelve tribes of Israel. These men were sinners and did not lead perfect lives. But they had faith in God, and God used them for his purposes.

Joseph too had faith in God. Though he was not destined to be in the Messianic line, God used Joseph as an instrument to provide for his father and brothers. Here was a man who endured the ridicule of his brothers, being sold into slavery, and accused of rape causing him to be thrown into prison. Many of us would feel as though God had simply turned His back and let all these horrible things occur. But Joseph was faithful. While he may not have understood what God was doing, his faith endured. Whatever his circumstances, the Lord was with him and blessed him. Because of his faith, he was elevated to be the Prime Minister of Egypt and put in the perfect position to save his family from the famine in the land. Joseph put it very succinctly when he said, “As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today.” – Genesis 50:20

The story of Joseph is a story of faith and enduring hardship. It is the story of looking past all the bad things that happen and seeing God at work in your life. Trust in the Lord and He will direct your paths. The Great Story – Week 03 is online! Go learn about the nature of our God!

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The Great Story – Week 02: From the Tower of Babel to Jacob (Genesis 11-28)

Posted on September 27, 2012 by Cory WiggingtonMarch 22, 2013

One thing is for certain in this universe; God’s will is always accomplished. Something that is much less certain is the faithfulness and obedience of man.

The Tower of Babel is a story about man blatantly defying the commands of God. After the Flood, God ordered man to spread out and repopulate the earth. Yet in their pride, Nimrod led a group of people to build a tower that they hoped would bring them renown. This was not the plan of God however. God instead caused the language of man to become confused, thus dividing the people. Man can try to defy the will of God, but that defiance is always short lived.

Lack of faith is not only a contemporary issue. Even the patriarchs in the Bible struggled with their faith. Abraham lied twice about Sarah, claiming that she was only his sister and not his wife. Isaac followed the example of his father and also lied about being married to Rebekah. Jacob, who’s name actually means “Deceiver”, tricked his brother out of both his birthright and his blessing. Despite their missteps in their walk with God, these were some of the greatest patriarchs in the Bible. Abraham was called the first prophet and the Lord promised to make him into a great nation. This promise was fulfilled in Isaac, who was the son of promise. Finally, through Isaac, Jacob became the father of the twelve tribes of Israel.

God does not call perfect men for His purposes; none of those exist. God bestows strength on those that would not otherwise have it. He began a great nation in Abraham and His Covenant endures even when the faith of men fail, God accepts a repentant and restores that which is lost. God is always faithful; making no one is beyond forgiveness or usefulness in His plan.

Visit “The Great Story” page to download your weekly study guide or listen to the audio version of the study: The Great Story

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