The Promised Land is distinctly on the Canaan side of the
river Jordan, that land that corresponds symbolically to the idea of heaven and
heavenly bliss. In Joshua, chapter 24—in
Joshua’s last address before he died—he mentioned the land of Canaan, which had
seven nations that had to be displaced in order to enjoy the milk and honey
that that Canaan-land promised to yield.
But one nation—THE AMORITES—are highlighted in this chapter, being
mentioned five times in the course of a mere 10 verses (Joshua 24:8-18).
I believe the significance of its emphasis lies in the
meaning of that nation in regards to the church of this hour (a church poised
and ready to completely possess their inheritance in the Promised Land). But before I convey my thoughts about this
hour in church history, let me first define who THE AMORITES are, and what they
represent.
Firstly, according to Thomas Bromley (his words lightly
edited by me),
“This nation [THE AMORITES] signifies the SPIRITS OF BITTER FIERCE-TALKING AND JUDGING.
These spirits judge
this or that, and all from the root of bitterness. Additionally, these bitter spirits do much
hinder the sweet Lily of the Valley, from springing up in the soul, even the
soft, meek, gentle nature of the Lamb, from acting out its virtue to ourselves,
or to others, either friends or enemies. These perverse spirits,
rather incite us to require eye for eye; they only practice revenge. They despise forgiving mercifulness, and in
their fierceness, rage against meekness, and the law of love and
tender-heartedness, and gentle soft behavior.
In a word, the spirits of envy, enmity, jealousy, and rash judging, are AMORITISH spirits, which Joshua, that
is Jesus, comes to cast out.”
Secondly, James Strong defines THE AMORITES as “to
say...with great latitude, in the sense of publicity,
i.e. prominence; thus a mountaineer.”
Alfred Jones agrees with Strong, but with this minor addition: “to
speak, to bring to light.”
THE AMORITES were known to be a strong people that dwelt in
rugged mountainous regions. The bitter
judgmental attitude of THE AMORITES—as specified by Bromley—is indeed very
specific, because in general, THE AMORITE personified pride. Of course, to bitterly judge others—to speak
expansively and fiercely dogmatic about “this and that”—is grounded in
high-mindedness or high-browed pride.
Their rugged lifestyle and consequential strength are
something the world admires and approves of, but speaking loud and wide in high
thin air from a mountaintop only magnifies foolishness in the eyes of God. Assuredly, “Man, with all his [self] honor and pomp, will not endure...This is the
fate of those who are FOOLISHLY CONFIDENT, and of those after them who approve
[and are influenced by] their words” (Psalm 49:12-13).
“The heart of [over-confident] fools proclaim foolishness” (Proverbs 12:23) everywhere they go,
and always in presumptuous and misinterpreted ways that ultimately leads to
false judgments about all things they assess and articulate. Ultimately, “A fool does not delight in
understanding, but only in revealing his own mind” (Proverbs 18:2). Bitter judgmental people are those myopic
souls that are either unwilling or unable to see themselves as they really
are. Perhaps more than most, those who
judge others and things incorrectly, and in bitter tones at that, are those
identified in Scripture as “lovers of self.”
In scripture, self-love is attached to a litany of grievous
sins, and the last days are particularly marked by this wanton and misguided
love. “But realize this, that in
the last days difficult times will come.
For men will be LOVERS OF SELF, lovers of money, boastful,
arrogant, revilers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, unloving,
irreconcilable, malicious gossips, without self-control,
brutal, haters of
good, treacherous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure
rather than lovers of God, holding to a form of godliness, although
they have denied its power; Avoid such men as these” (2 Timothy
3:1-5).
All of us have endured bitter and judgmental people, sad
people whose expansive opinion about everyone and everything has to be
explicitly and thoroughly articulated as though they were the final arbiter of
every matter under the sun. Of course,
they are insufferable, and insofar as the spirit of THE AMORITE influences us,
we too are insufferable, and we too are in danger of hindering “the sweet Lily
of the Valley” from wafting its soul saving aroma up and out of us to a dying
world.
Now, looking again at Joshua, chapter 24, we see Joshua
admonishing the elders to serve the Lord exclusively; and during their days,
Israel did. But, when they died, Israel
lost their way and began to serve other gods.
In Joshua, chapter 23, Joshua reminded all of Israel about how the Lord
had given them complete victory in the Promised Land, but that, in the time of
Joshua’s [Jesus’] departure, the full realization of their victory had not been
accomplished. This is because of what
was said earlier in Exodus 23:29, that “I will not drive them
out from before you in one year, lest the land become desolate and the beasts
of the field become too numerous for you,” and later reiterated in Deuteronomy
7:22: “And the Lord your God will drive out those nations before
you little by little; you will be unable to destroy them at once,
lest the beasts of the field become too numerous for you.”
Obviously, THE AMORITES, being especially accentuated by
Joshua towards the end of his life, meant that that “little by little” removal
process was still in effect. We as the
church are already seated in heavenly places; the Promised Land is our
inheritance, but we realize and appropriate it “little by little.” And such is the case even in this late hour
in history. Joshua and the elders are gone;
Jesus and the disciples are gone. The
church, like Israel, went a-whoring after Jesus was taken up and all the
apostles died. The dark/medieval ages
especially accentuated their absence (just as the book of Judges especially
accentuated Joshua and the elders’ absence).
Little by little, just as prophesied, the church has been
restored throughout the years to its pristine condition. Yes, much of it is still apostate, but there
is a remnant finding its way to their full inheritance. The church of this hour—the eleventh or
possibly even the twelfth hour—is the end-time church, and yes, many are still
asleep and Laodicean-like. But a remnant
is awake, hot with Holy Ghost fire and poised to do great spiritual exploits. The caution here, like as Joshua warned the
children of Israel in his day, is that we must finally remove all the ites, but
specifically and more deeply, THE AMORITES.
Be careful in this hour not to engage in BITTER
FIERCE-TALKING AND JUDGING, both within the church AND outside it. Our testimony is ruined quickly when we
speak rashly, harshly and judgmentally.
I sense—by the Holy Spirit—that this is the emphasis of the hour. STOP speaking against your fellow man and
against church members you disagree with.
Try prayer and love instead of fault-finding. Let us be diligent to REMOVE THE AMORITE
spirit and thereby allow that sweet Lily of the Valley to charge our atmosphere
with its fragrant aroma of life. A dying
world is waiting for this, the manifestation of the sons of God!
