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Spencer Law Firm, 409 E. 6th, Mountain Home, AR (2026)

06/18/2026

Good Morning!!

06/17/2026

Here is another example of “cancel culture” mentality still present in our precious country today. Dr. Pamela Dee Gaudry on this video is a board-certified Obstetrician-Gynecologist and North American Menopause Society Certified Practitioner based in Savannah, Georgia. Dr. Gaudry speaks about the Delta Airline’s chief flight attendant on a Delta Airlines flight who stopped her and the other passengers on the flight from singing our National Anthem “because it was against Delta Airline’s policy.” The Delta passengers, with the exception of a few foreign passengers, just wanted to encourage the deceased soldier’s best friend still in uniform on the airplane who was accompanying his dead friend, after his best friend was killed fighting for our country. Delta later apologized and clarified that they had no such policy against such tributes. But it is just one of many examples of the “cancel culture” mentality still present in America today.

Cancel culture is the modern social attitude that controversial speech or behavior must be punished through public shaming, silencing, boycotting, firing, bankrupting, deplatforming, etc. The result is that the offender’s influence, presence, and/or reputation is “cancelled out.”

It’s proper for whistle-blowers to reveal corruption and illegality or for abused women to come forward, confront their abuser, and make sure he is held accountable. But cancel culture goes far beyond that, setting out new rules to retaliate against speech, behavior, or even thought that has been pre-judged as “offensive” or even simply controversial. In cancel culture, people can be ostracized, their reputations smeared, and their careers ruined although they have broken no laws or engaged in any malicious behavior.

Cancel culture is the outgrowth of two other, equally dangerous things: political correctness and postmodernism. Political correctness is the attempt to minimize social and institutional offense through policing speech (and therefore thought), forcing the use of certain words and banning other words. Postmodernism asserts that all truth claims are subjective. Truth becomes a matter of preference, and “tolerance” is promoted as a supreme value. However, the more “tolerant” a culture becomes, the more intolerant it is of anyone it perceives as intolerant. People deemed “intolerant” or potentially giving offense must be silenced—and cancel culture is the result.

Cancel culture is associated with several problems that can be addressed biblically:

✝️ 1) Cancel culture is rash. There is little concern for due process, and in its place are immediate outrage and snap judgments. Fueling the controversy is partial, often biased information. The Bible commands, “Give careful thought to the paths for your feet” (Proverbs 4:26), and we are to “live sensibly” (Titus 2:12, NASB). Irrational thinking and the mob mentality have no place in the Christian’s life.

✝️ 2) Cancel culture is spiteful. The vitriolic contempt coming from the cancel crowd is often shockingly ugly. Selecting a person for “cancellation” seems to be tantamount to declaring that person worthy of hate, and with that comes permission to slander him or her. In contrast to promoting the malice of the cancel culture, Jesus commands us to “love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you” (Luke 6:27–28). Our speech should “be gracious and attractive” (Colossians 4:6, NLT). Vicious, obscene, or hate-filled speech has no place in the Christian’s life.

✝️ 3) Cancel culture is judgmental. The self-appointed enforcers of “acceptable” speech have gone to great lengths to dig up material over which to cancel others. People have lost their jobs over articles written three decades ago, jokes told in one’s youth, classic literature read aloud, and opposite editorials published. There is no room for nonconformity—or free speech. If the language police were judged by their own severe standard, how many of them would remain un-cancelled? Scripture warns against hypocritical, self-righteous judging (Matthew 7:1). Hypocrisy or a faultfinding, hypercritical spirit has no place in the Christian’s life.

✝️ 4) Cancel culture is unforgiving. Past instances of inappropriate or hurtful speech or actions, no matter how long ago, are not to be forgiven in cancel culture. Once a person is cancelled, there is no way to restore that person to the good graces of society—there is no grace. There is no chance for redemption. Rehabilitation and restoration are not the goal, and neither is learning from one’s mistakes. The goal is to smear, defame, and malign. The Bible points to repentance and commands us to forgive one another: “Make allowance for each other’s faults, and forgive anyone who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others” (Colossians 3:13, NLT). An unforgiving, loveless attitude has no place in the Christian’s life.

In the midst of cancel culture, we must use our words wisely. Believers are to “pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness” (1 Timothy 6:11). We are to “speak the truth in love, growing in every way more and more like Christ” (Ephesians 4:15, NLT). And we must continue to reject hatred and love others, even our enemies (1 John 4:7; Matthew 5:43–48).

Cancel culture views people with whom a plurality of people disagree as unredeemable and worthy of spite. Christian culture sees no one as unredeemable. Repentance and change are always possible, and forgiveness is available. Christian culture sees no one as an object of spite. God’s love is always available. There are no lost causes.

God’s love is a one of His foundational attributes (see Psalm 103:8–12; John 3:16; Ephesians 2:4–5; 1 John 4:9–10). God’s love has the power to melt hard hearts and make rebels surrender. It is unlimited, far beyond human comprehension, and serves as a wellspring of all forms of human love. However, human affections and especially humans that espouse “cancel culture” pale in comparison to the unlimited love of the Father, who is love Himself (1 John 4:8).

06/17/2026

What is seen in the Heavens today by the newest Euclid and James Webb Space telescopes has clearly proven to the best brains in astronomy that which Christians have known all along. What they call a fearsome and misunderstood “dark matter” is merely what His Word says is God’s handiwork.

Psalm 19:1 states, “The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims His handiwork” (ESV). This is one of the clearest biblical statements that nature itself is meant to show the greatness of God. These words are in the present tense. That is, the heavens “are declaring,” and the sky “is proclaiming” the creative work of God. It’s a continual display. What we see in nature is meant to constantly show us that God exists and tell us how amazing a Creator He truly is.

One of the strongest arguments in favor of the existence of God is the teleological argument, or the “argument from design.” This approach claims that observations of design in nature are best explained by a deliberate, intelligent act of creation rather than by randomness or luck. The conveyance of information is a key aspect of this. Information is always seen as the product of intelligence. Some patterns are complex but random. Others may be well-defined but carry no information. But whenever we see a specific, complex arrangement that displays information, we recognize that it was the work of a mind, not mere chance.

Psalm 19:1 connects this idea to Scripture. The more we learn about the universe, the more clearly we can see the work of God. A perfect example of this is modern “Big Bang” cosmology. Prior to this theory, scientists and atheists assumed that the universe was eternal. The combination of Einstein’s theories and advances in physics made it clear that, in fact, the universe did have a “beginning.” At first, this idea was rejected by scientists as being theology, not science. Over time, however, it became impossible to deny. The fact that the universe “began” is something we can see purely by observing the heavens and the sky—just as Psalm 19:1 says.

Romans 1 also ties into this idea. God has revealed enough of Himself in nature that nobody has an excuse for rejecting Him or for doing what is wrong. “Since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities . . . have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made” (Romans 1:20). The heavens declare the glory of God.

Because “the heavens declare the glory of God,” we can be confident in using science to explore. The more we know about the world around us, the more glory we give to God. The more we discover, the more evidence we have that He is the One responsible for nature and its laws. A person needs the Bible and personal faith in Christ in order to have a proper relationship with God. However, a person needs only to look honestly at the world around him in order to realize that God exists.

06/17/2026

Psalm 117:1–2 says, “Praise the LORD, all you nations; extol him, all you peoples. For great is his love toward us, and the faithfulness of the LORD endures forever. Praise the LORD.” Paul quotes this verse in Romans 15:8–13. Praising the Lord is certainly something all people should do. So what exactly does it mean to praise Him?

There are multiple words in Hebrew and Greek translated as “praise” in our English Bibles. In essence, to praise is to express adoration or approval. We praise the Lord for His traits, His works, and His character. Praise includes the acts of blessing, commending, honoring, thanking, celebrating, and rejoicing. We praise the Lord because He is worthy of all our praise. He is worthy of all adoration and approval.

When David brought the ark of the covenant from Obed-Edom’s house back to Jerusalem, “he appointed some of the Levites to minister before the ark of the Lord, to extol, thank, and praise the Lord, the God of Israel” (1 Chronicles 16:4). In part they were to “give praise to the LORD, proclaim his name; make known among the nations what he has done. Sing to him, sing praise to him; tell of all his wonderful acts. . . . Remember the wonders he has done, his miracles, and the judgments he pronounced. . . . He remembers his covenant forever, the promise he made, for a thousand generations. . . . Sing to the LORD, all the earth; proclaim his salvation day after day. Declare his glory among the nations, his marvelous deeds among all peoples. For great is the LORD and most worthy of praise; he is to be feared above all gods. . . . Ascribe to the LORD, all you families of nations, ascribe to the LORD glory and strength. Ascribe to the LORD the glory due his name; bring an offering and come before him. Worship the LORD in the splendor of his holiness. . . . Let the heavens rejoice, let the earth be glad; let them say among the nations, ‘The LORD reigns!’ . . . Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever. Cry out, ‘Save us, God our Savior; gather us and deliver us from the nations, that we may give thanks to your holy name, and glory in your praise.’ Praise be to the LORD, the God of Israel, from everlasting to everlasting” (1 Chronicles 16:8–36).

We see several important aspects of praising God in David’s instructions. Our praise for God helps make Him known among the nations. In praising God we extol His goodness to others. Praising the Lord involves remembering the things He has done. We praise God for His miracles as well as for His judgments. His mercy and His justice are both deserving of praise. Praising the Lord also involves remembering His faithfulness and His promises. We praise Him that He will keep all the promises He has made. We praise the Lord that His love is everlasting. All people, everywhere, should see that God is worthy of praise, based on who He is. Even nature is called upon to praise the Lord and proclaim that He reigns. We call upon God for salvation because only He can rescue us, and our response to His deliverance is to praise Him. God is to be praised “from everlasting to everlasting”; praising the Lord is not a one-time event but something we continually do.

Praise is a central part of worshiping God. David set aside a division of the Levites to praise the Lord with musical instruments in the future temple (1 Chronicles 23:1–5, 30). Later, during the rebuilding of the temple, “when the builders laid the foundation of the temple of the LORD, the priests in their vestments and with trumpets, and the Levites (the sons of Asaph) with cymbals, took their places to praise the LORD, as prescribed by David king of Israel. With praise and thanksgiving they sang to the LORD: ‘He is good; his love toward Israel endures forever.’ And all the people gave a great shout of praise to the LORD, because the foundation of the house of the LORD was laid” (Ezra 3:10–11).

We praise the Lord for His grand plan of salvation, and Christian unity helps encourage praise: “Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God. For I tell you that Christ has become a servant of the Jews on behalf of God’s truth, so that the promises made to the patriarchs might be confirmed and, moreover, that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy. As it is written: ‘Therefore I will praise you among the Gentiles; I will sing the praises of your name.’ Again, it says, ‘Rejoice, you Gentiles, with his people.’ And again, ‘Praise the Lord, all you Gentiles; let all the peoples extol him’” (Romans 15:7–11). We praise the Lord and in so doing follow Jesus’ example in praising the Father (Matthew 11:25).

In Ephesians 1 Paul writes, “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ” (verse 3). He then proceeds to give us many reasons to praise the Lord “who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ.” Reasons for praising God include God’s election and sanctification (verse 4), His adoption (verse 5), His glorious grace (verse 6), His redemption through the blood of Christ (verse 7), His forgiveness (verse 7), His gifts of wisdom and understanding (verse 😎, and His plan for the future (verse 10).

When our lives are filled with the righteousness of Christ, it redounds to the praise of the Lord. In Philippians 1:9–11 Paul prayed, “And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ—to the glory and praise of God.” James 3:9–10 warns that we cannot both praise God and curse others. If we are to genuinely praise God, then our actions (and our words) should be in line with His righteous character.

Our praise of the Lord is to be ongoing: “Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise—the fruit of lips that openly profess his name” (Hebrews 13:15). We “declare the praises of him who called [us] out of darkness into his wonderful light” (1 Peter 2:9).

Whom do we praise? God alone (Psalm 148:13). How do we praise Him? With singing (Psalm 149:1), with dancing (verse 2), with musical instruments (Psalm 150:3), with our words (Psalm 35:28), with our actions (Colossians 3:17), with our uprightness (Psalm 119:7), and with all our hearts (Psalm 86:12). When should we praise the Lord? All the time (Psalm 34:1). We should express our adoration, approval, thanksgiving, and celebration to the One who created and redeemed us. “How good it is to sing praises to our God, how pleasant and fitting to praise him!” (Psalm 147:1).

Hebrews 13:15
Through him then let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that acknowledge his name.

Psalm 100:1-5
A Psalm for giving thanks. Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth! Serve the Lord with gladness! Come into his presence with singing! Know that the Lord, he is God! It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture. Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise! Give thanks to him; bless his name! For the Lord is good; his steadfast love endures forever, and his faithfulness to all generations.

Psalm 99:3
Let them praise your great and awesome name! Holy is he!

Psalm 109:30
With my mouth I will give great thanks to the Lord; I will praise him in the midst of the throng.

Psalm 106:1
Praise the Lord! Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever!

Psalm 71:8
My mouth is filled with your praise, and with your glory all the day.

Psalm 69:30
I will praise the name of God with a song; I will magnify him with thanksgiving.

1 Peter 1:3
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,

Isaiah 25:1
O Lord, you are my God; I will exalt you; I will praise your name, for you have done wonderful things, plans formed of old, faithful and sure.

Isaiah 43:21
The people whom I formed for myself that they might declare my praise.

Jude 1:25
To the only God, our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen.

Ephesians 5:19
Addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart,

1 Peter 2:9
But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.

James 5:13
Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing praise.

Revelation 1:6
And made us a kingdom, priests to his God and Father, to him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.

Psalm 99:5
Exalt the Lord our God; worship at his footstool! Holy is he!

1 Corinthians 15:57
But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Psalm 118:29
Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; for his steadfast love endures forever!

Psalm 34:1
Of David, when he changed his behavior before Abimelech, so that he drove him out, and he went away. I will bless the Lord at all times; his praise shall continually be in my mouth.

Psalm 150:6
Let everything that has breath praise the Lord! Praise the Lord!

06/16/2026

President Biden is now 83 years old. President Trump just turned 80 years old. And so many on both sides of the political aisle try to say that these men are incompetent simply because they are older. My attorney father, who practiced law until a heart attack killed him, use to say “It’s better to wear out than just rust out.” And many of my friends who graduated from law school with me and thereafter retired at age 65 have passed. Why? Because they obviously became “couch potatoes” and had no real challenges in life when they got out of bed every morning. That desired and dreamed-of retirement is not always what it is cracked up to be. So have you ever wondered how the Bible portrays older folks?

The Bible presents growing old as a normal, natural part of life in this world. There is honor involved in the aging process, because growing old is normally accompanied by increased wisdom and experience. “Gray hair is a crown of splendor; it is attained by a righteous life” (Proverbs 16:31; see also Proverbs 20:29). God wants us to remember that life is short (James 4:14) and that the beauty of youth is soon gone (Proverbs 31:30; 1 Peter 1:24).

Ultimately, the question of growing old cannot be separated from the question of the meaning of life and the concept of the legacy we leave. In the book of Ecclesiastes, Solomon provides a sagacious look at aging and the issues related to it.

We are born with a natural tendency to “live for the moment,” but the ultimate futility of that approach is the subject of Ecclesiastes 1–7. As people grow older and begin to feel the increasing impact of their mortality, they typically try to invest their waning resources in projects that to them seem to hold more promise of lasting meaning in life, especially the hope of perpetuating their “name” in a lasting legacy (Ecclesiastes 2). Unfortunately, no one can predict what projects will have lasting value and significance (Ecclesiastes 3:1-15), and this normally leads to varying levels of disillusionment and even despair over life’s brevity and apparent injustice “under the sun” (Ecclesiastes 3:16–7:29).

With the growing realization that satisfaction in such activities is invariably fleeting, Solomon’s hope is that people will grow wiser in the use of their God-given “portion” or allotment before they die (Ecclesiastes 8–12; see also Psalm 90:12). This wisdom grows in relation to our awareness of “time and judgment”—we need a divine perspective in the face of life’s brevity and apparent injustice (Ecclesiastes 3:15c–17; 8:5b–8, 12b–15; 9:11–12; 11:9; 12:14). The Hebrew notion of time in these passages combines the concepts of opportunity (the right time to act expediently when the occasion arises) and limited lifespan (only so much time before all opportunity is gone). The Hebrew notion of judgment in these same texts presupposes complete freedom in the use of our God-given “portion” in life as our desires lead us, yet with a concomitant accountability to the One who distributed our allotted portions. The New Testament counterpart to these concepts can be found portrayed vividly in Jesus’ parables of the ten virgins and the talents (Matthew 25), the two sons (Matthew 21:28–32), and the unjust steward (Luke 16:1–13).

Among the most disturbing aspects of growing old—especially in cultures that set a high value on rugged individualism—is the increasing frequency of senile dementia as human lifespan increases. It seems eminently unfair that people so afflicted should be robbed of their intellectual, emotional, and social vitality while their physical bodies continue to survive. Alzheimer’s disease is a particularly difficult pill to swallow because the cause is unknown and it does not seem to be related to any particularly bad health habits. While progression of Alzheimer’s can be stalled, in part, by continued active involvement in mind-stimulating and physical activity, progression of the disease is nevertheless inexorable.

The author of Ecclesiastes acknowledges this vexing unfairness from a human perspective (Ecclesiastes 7:15-18; 8:14–9:3), yet he offers wisdom to help us deal with it from God’s perspective, entailing the notions of “time and judgment.” With our inevitable disillusionment over the human condition—our universal depravity, uncertainty, and mortality—it is wise to remember that “for all the living there is hope, for a living dog is better than a dead lion. For the living know that they will die; but the dead know nothing, and they have no more reward, for the memory of them is forgotten. Also their love, their hatred, and their envy have now perished; nevermore will they have a share in anything done under the sun” (Ecclesiastes 9:4-6, NKJV). Knowing that they are accountable for their God-given “portion,” people should take joyful advantage of all their gifts, talents, wisdom, and opportunities in life sooner rather than later—before all opportunity to do so has ceased, before inevitable debilitation forecloses all opportunity (9:7-10; 11:9-12:7).

The thrust of this reflection from Ecclesiastes on growing old is that meaning in life is fulfilled in our God-given purpose, and our purpose is only fulfilled when we take advantage of our God-given portion in Christ, God’s promised Savior. While this portion may seem less fair for some than for others, life’s meaning will be consummated only at the final judgment when we receive our inheritance (Ecclesiastes 7:11) for the way we invest our portion, be it good or bad (Ecclesiastes 12:14; cp. 2 Corinthians 5:10). On that day, we will see God as eminently fair in His rewards, regardless of how unfair or unevenly distributed our portion may seem in this present life.

Have a Blessed Life!!

06/16/2026

Zeal can be defined as “focused desire, characterized by passion and commitment.” The Bible often describes God and His followers as zealous. In the Old Testament (NIV), zeal is found 16 times and zealous 6 times; in the New Testament (NIV), zeal is found 5 times and zealous 7 times (Logos Bible Word Study). Typically, the Hebrew and Greek words for “zeal” or “zealous” also carry an idea of jealousy, specifically God’s jealousy for His people and His honor (e.g., Numbers 25:11; Logos Bible Word Study).

God is described many times as having zeal. The Lord’s zeal is the cause of providing a remnant for Israel (2 Kings 19:31; Isaiah 37:32) and establishing the reign of the Messiah (Isaiah 9:7). Also, God’s fiery wrath is often tied to His zeal and directed toward the enemies of God or those who fail to listen to Him (Deuteronomy 29:29; Isaiah 26:11; 42:11; 59:17; Ezekiel 5:13; 36:5; 38:19). Jesus displayed zeal when, in His devotion to God’s glory, He overturned the moneychangers’ tables and cleansed the temple of their greed (John 2:13–17; cf. Psalm 69:9).

Followers of the Lord have also been called “zealous” in the Bible. Phineas displayed zeal for the Lord by taking action to stop a plague and judge the idolatry of Israel (Numbers 25:1–9). The Lord declared that Phineas’s zeal reflected His own zeal for His honor (verses 10–13). Elijah also demonstrated zeal for the Lord in his showdown with the priests of Baal on Mount Carmel (1 Kings 18:20–40; 19:10). The command for New Testament believers is to “never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord” (Romans 12:11).

Zeal for the Lord is a positive attribute, but zeal can be misplaced. We can have “single-minded desire, characterized by enthusiasm and devotion” for the wrong things. Saul’s zeal was misdirected when he destroyed the Gibeonites (2 Samuel 21:2; cf. Joshua 9:15, 18–21). Paul describes the unbelieving Jews of his day as “zealous for God, but their zeal is not based on knowledge” (Romans 10:2), since, in their rejection of Christ, they “did not submit to God’s righteousness” (verse 3).

Paul himself was zealous in persecuting the church before he was saved (Philippians 3:6; Galatians 1:13–14; Acts 1:3). In his misplaced zeal, he gave approval to Stephen’s murder (Acts 8:1). After Paul was radically transformed by the gospel, his zeal was applied toward expanding the knowledge of Christ to as many people as he could (Romans 15:20). He warned the Galatians against false teachers who were zealous in trying to win the Galatians over to their teaching (Galatians 4:17).

Zeal can be good or bad, depending on its objective: “It is fine to be zealous, provided the purpose is good.” Our zeal is also to be consistent and sincere, not just to put on a show: “Be so always and not just when I am with you” (Galatians 4:18). For Christians, we should be zealous in serving Jesus and telling others of the life-saving power of the gospel (Matthew 28:18–19; Romans 3:24).

Hebrews 12:11
For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.

Proverbs 12:1
Whoever loves discipline loves knowledge, but he who hates reproof is stupid.

Proverbs 13:24
Whoever spares the rod hates his son, but he who loves him is diligent to discipline him.

1 Corinthians 9:27
But I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified.

Revelation 3:19
Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline, so be zealous and repent.

Proverbs 3:11-12
My son, do not despise the Lord's discipline or be weary of his reproof, for the Lord reproves him whom he loves, as a father the son in whom he delights.

Proverbs 29:15
The rod and reproof give wisdom, but a child left to himself brings shame to his mother.

Proverbs 29:17
Discipline your son, and he will give you rest; he will give delight to your heart.

Proverbs 23:13
Do not withhold discipline from a child; if you strike him with a rod, he will not die.

Proverbs 22:15
Folly is bound up in the heart of a child, but the rod of discipline drives it far from him.

Titus 1:8
But hospitable, a lover of good, self-controlled, upright, holy, and disciplined.

Proverbs 25:28
A man without self-control is like a city broken into and left without walls.

Ephesians 6:4
Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.

Hebrews 12:5-6
And have you forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons? “My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, nor be weary when reproved by him. For the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives.”

Proverbs 6:23
For the commandment is a lamp and the teaching a light, and the reproofs of discipline are the way of life,

2 Timothy 1:7
For God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.

Proverbs 20:13
Love not sleep, lest you come to poverty; open your eyes, and you will have plenty of bread.

Proverbs 19:18
Discipline your son, for there is hope; do not set your heart on putting him to death.

Proverbs 13:1
A wise son hears his father's instruction, but a scoffer does not listen to rebuke.

Proverbs 10:17
Whoever heeds instruction is on the path to life, but he who rejects reproof leads others astray.

06/15/2026

Joshua is best known as Moses' second in command who takes over and leads the Israelites into the Promised Land after Moses’ death. Joshua is considered one of the Bible's greatest military leaders for leading the seven-year conquest of the Promised Land, and is often held up as a model for leadership and a source of practical application on how to be an effective leader. Let's look at his life from a biblical perspective.

As a military leader, Joshua would be considered one of the greatest generals in human history, but it would be a mistake to credit Israel’s victory solely to Joshua’s skill as a military general. The first time we see Joshua is in Exodus 17 in the battle against the Amalekites. Exodus 17:13 tells us that Joshua "overwhelmed Amalek and his people," and so we're tempted to conclude that Joshua's military expertise saved the day. But in this passage we see something odd occurring. In verse 11 we read, "Whenever Moses held up his hand, Israel prevailed, and whenever he lowered his hand, Amalek prevailed." Eventually, Moses' arms grew so weary that a stone had to be brought for him to sit on and Aaron and Hur held his hands up. Hence, we see in this vignette that Joshua prevailed because God gave him the battle.

The same can be said of the military victories in the Promised Land. The Lord had promised sure victory and delivered it in convincing fashion. The only exception is in the battle of Ai (Joshua 7). There are several things to note about this incident. Israel broke faith with God regarding the “devoted things” (Joshua 7:1). God had commanded the Israelites to devote everything to destruction (Joshua 6:17), and Achan had kept some of the loot from the battle of Jericho for himself. Because of this, God judged them by not giving them the victory at Ai. Another thing to note is that there is no explicit command by God to go against Ai. The purpose of putting these two battle stories side by side is to show that when God sets the program and agenda, victory follows, but when man sets the program and agenda, failure ensues. Jericho was the Lord’s battle; Ai was not. God redeemed the situation and eventually gave them the victory, but not until after the object lesson was given.

Further evidence of Joshua’s leadership qualities can be seen in his rock-solid faith in God. When the Israelites were on the edge of the Promised Land in Numbers 13, God commanded Moses to send out twelve people to spy out the land, one from each of the tribes of Israel. Upon their return, ten reported that the land, while bounteous as the Lord had promised, was occupied by strong and fierce warriors dwelling in large, fortified cities. Furthermore, the Nephilim (giants from the Israelites’ perspective) were in the land. Joshua and Caleb were the only two who urged the people to take the land (Numbers 14:6-10). Here we see one thing that sets Joshua (and Caleb) apart from the rest of the Israelites—they believed in the promises of God. They were not intimidated by the size of the warriors or the strength of the cities. Rather, they knew their God and remembered how He had dealt with Egypt, the most powerful nation on the earth at that time. If God could take care of the mighty Egyptian army, He could certainly take care of the various Canaanite tribes. God rewarded Joshua’s and Caleb’s faith by exempting them from the entire generation of Israelites that would perish in the wilderness.

We see Joshua’s faithfulness in the act of obediently consecrating the people before the invasion of the Promised Land and again after the defeat at Ai. But no more clearly is Joshua’s faithfulness on display than at the end of the book that bears his name when he gathers the people together one last time and recounts the deeds of God on their behalf. After that speech, Joshua urges the people to forsake their idols and remain faithful to the covenant that God made with them at Sinai, saying, “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” (Joshua 24:15).

So what can we learn from Joshua’s life? Can we draw principles for leadership from his life? Sure. That God gave him the victory in taking the Promised Land does not take away from his military leadership. Furthermore, he was a more-than-capable leader for the Israelites, but his skill in leadership is not the primary lesson we should draw from Joshua’s life. A better lesson would be Joshua’s faithfulness, his stand against the ten spies who brought the disparaging report about the obstacles in taking over the Promised Land, and his zeal in ensuring the covenant faithfulness of the people. But even his faith wasn’t perfect. There is the fact that Joshua sent spies into Jericho even though God had ensured victory, and then there is the overconfidence he exhibited in the battle of Ai.

The primary lesson to draw from Joshua’s life is that God is faithful to His promises. God promised Abraham that his descendants would dwell in the land, and, under Joshua, God brought the people into the land that He had promised to give to them. This act completed the mission of redemption that God started with Moses in bringing Israel out of Egypt. It is also a type that points to the ultimate redemption that Jesus brings to the community of faith. Like Moses, Jesus delivered us from bo***ge and slavery to sin, and, like Joshua, Jesus will bring us into the eternal Promised Land and everlasting Sabbath rest (Hebrews 4:8-10).

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