Hearing Things

Josh 2:11 "And as soon as we heard these things our hearts melted; neither did there remain any more courage in anyone because of you, for the Lord your God, He is God in heaven above, and on earth beneath."

Isn't it weird, but sometimes when you hear certain things, it impacts you emotionally? Just look at the stock market. That whole thing is driven by what people hear and emotion. If people hear that things are crashing in Europe, the stock market in the U.S. takes a plunge. Why? Because what people hear makes them cautious. It instills fear in them so that they pull their money out before everyone pulls their money out and they lose a ton.

The people in Jericho heard things and it impacted them emotionally. What did they hear? They heard about the Red Sea incident and how God had parted it and killed the Egyptian army. They heard about what the children of Israel did to Sihon the king of the Amorites and Og the king of Bashan. Those two guys were dumb and they thought that they could confront and do battle with the Israelites. They found out that this was not a wise decision when they and their people died and the children of Israel took possession of their land. (Num 21). When the people in Jericho heard about these things their hearts melted. They dissolved. They wasted away. They grew fearful and lost any courage that they may have had. This came about as a result of what they heard. This came about because of what God did for Israel. This came about because the people of Jericho understood that it was the "Lord your God, (that) He is God in heaven above and on earth beneath."

I wonder why people's hearts don't melt today? Probably because they are not hearing things. They are not hearing about the amazing things that God is doing. Rumors are not flying around about the power of God. And because of this, they are not realizing that "He is God in heaven above and on earth beneath." Why aren't they hearing about it? Probably because we who are experiencing it are not opening our mouths and telling it. Oh, we don't have Red Seas and we don't have defeated kings, but we do have changed lives. We do have restored relationships. We do see some people that God heals in amazing ways. And we do have the miracle of miracles…a resurrected Savior. Why don't we talk about this? Why don't I talk about this? God give us courage to open our mouths so others lose theirs.

When we do, people will hear and know that "He is God in heaven above and on earth beneath."