Ripple Effects – The Negative Side
Ripple Effects – The Negative Side
The other Sunday when I preached on Joshua 2, “Ripple Effects”, I focused on the positive effects that Rahab’s life brought about for both her family and the world. The ripple effect of her life has lasted to this very day in the person of Jesus Christ.
After the message, a member of our congregation spoke with me briefly and told me that I preached on the positive ripple effects, but what about negative ripple effects? He was right, there are negative ripple effects that can happen as a result of an event or actions.
Let’s look at that same story and the negative ripple effects of another individual in Joshua chapter 2. In this case, I am referring to the King of Jericho.
In Rahab’s testimony about God, she spoke of how they heard about the God of Israel and the result was that the hearts of the people had melted. If a lowly prostitute heard about Him, surely a high and mighty king would have heard of God as well. For forty years, the people in Jericho had heard about the God of Israel and surely the king was fully aware of who God was. After all, he sent soldiers to Rahab’s house to capture them.
Even after the spies escaped, the king did nothing else but wait behind the walls of his city. When the nation of Israel marched around those walls, the king did not respond. For 6 days, Israel marched around the city and the king did nothing. By the seventh day, it was too late and he was doomed.
The king must have felt safe behind those walls. After all, they were well fortified. They would have had plenty of food and water to outlast any kind of siege on the city. Just like a lot of people today, the king was counting on his own works to save him. Those walls did not save him and works alone will not save you. Apart from complete surrender to God, we are sitting hopelessly and helplessly behind our works not realizing that there is a merciful God who is waiting for us to simply humble ourselves and submit to Him.
The result of his decision was that the king died along all of the other citizens of Jericho. The ground on which the city of Jericho was built was cursed with a curse of death on anyone who tried to rebuild the city. A city was eventually rebuilt but out of fear of the curse, it was built away from the original structure. The ripple effect of Rahab’s submission was a blessing. The ripple effect of the king’s stubbornness was a curse.
Like a stone thrown into water, your life will have ripple effects. As you consider your own life, what ripple effect are your actions having upon your own life and the lives of your loved ones? Are you having a positive effect for God’s Kingdom that will last throughout eternity or are you, in your stubbornness, having a negative effect whose ripples will go on for generations?
These are your Words for Wednesday. Have a great rest of your week!
In Christ,
Kevin
The other Sunday when I preached on Joshua 2, “Ripple Effects”, I focused on the positive effects that Rahab’s life brought about for both her family and the world. The ripple effect of her life has lasted to this very day in the person of Jesus Christ.
After the message, a member of our congregation spoke with me briefly and told me that I preached on the positive ripple effects, but what about negative ripple effects? He was right, there are negative ripple effects that can happen as a result of an event or actions.
Let’s look at that same story and the negative ripple effects of another individual in Joshua chapter 2. In this case, I am referring to the King of Jericho.
In Rahab’s testimony about God, she spoke of how they heard about the God of Israel and the result was that the hearts of the people had melted. If a lowly prostitute heard about Him, surely a high and mighty king would have heard of God as well. For forty years, the people in Jericho had heard about the God of Israel and surely the king was fully aware of who God was. After all, he sent soldiers to Rahab’s house to capture them.
Even after the spies escaped, the king did nothing else but wait behind the walls of his city. When the nation of Israel marched around those walls, the king did not respond. For 6 days, Israel marched around the city and the king did nothing. By the seventh day, it was too late and he was doomed.
The king must have felt safe behind those walls. After all, they were well fortified. They would have had plenty of food and water to outlast any kind of siege on the city. Just like a lot of people today, the king was counting on his own works to save him. Those walls did not save him and works alone will not save you. Apart from complete surrender to God, we are sitting hopelessly and helplessly behind our works not realizing that there is a merciful God who is waiting for us to simply humble ourselves and submit to Him.
The result of his decision was that the king died along all of the other citizens of Jericho. The ground on which the city of Jericho was built was cursed with a curse of death on anyone who tried to rebuild the city. A city was eventually rebuilt but out of fear of the curse, it was built away from the original structure. The ripple effect of Rahab’s submission was a blessing. The ripple effect of the king’s stubbornness was a curse.
Like a stone thrown into water, your life will have ripple effects. As you consider your own life, what ripple effect are your actions having upon your own life and the lives of your loved ones? Are you having a positive effect for God’s Kingdom that will last throughout eternity or are you, in your stubbornness, having a negative effect whose ripples will go on for generations?
These are your Words for Wednesday. Have a great rest of your week!
In Christ,
Kevin
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