Categoria: News

We are in the month of May when the rains normally are petering out, but sadly this year’s rainy season has never got going and here we are with just 469 mm this year after 4 months. We need a minimum of 700 mm and ideally 1,000 mm so as to get us through the second half of the year when it doesn’t rain. Please pray!

I led the mid-week prayer meeting and Bible study and co-pastor Rafael gave the study from the 5th chapter of Micah. Dedé led the praise and worship.

116-year-old football loving Brazilian nun Inah Canabarra Lucas died this week in Porto Alegre in the south of Brazil. She has now been replaced as the world’s oldest person by a 115-year-old lady in Surrey, England.

Yesterday was our granddaughter Amanda Ivy’s 10th birthday and we met together to sing happy birthday to her at 6 pm. Amanda is a lovely beautiful Christian young lady.

Last night we took part in a Patos leadership meeting and had a good discussion about the work of the Lord. The Patos church has 216 members and 88 not yet baptized Christians, including children.

The men’s retreat is in progress at Green Pastures with 80 men from the Campina Grande Catolé church. It is happening from Friday to Sunday. 

Our 23-year-old grandson Arthur has flown from Japan and is now in South Korea. ✈

 On Tuesday evening we held an excellent meeting of the leaders of the various ministries of the Patos church. We heard from the leaders of the following ministries: children, adolescents, youth, women, men, seniors, praise & worship, deaf, Christians in action, married couples,  and visitation. It was a good time of sharing together praising for the blessings and discussing where things can improve.

I have been having important discussions with Deacons Dedé and Esau regarding the church at the town of Ipueira in the State of Rio Grande do Norte regarding our plans for expansion of the little church there. Please pray for this work. 

Our 15-year-old granddaughter Beatriz (Bia) has won the under-17 feminine Table Tennis Championship for the second year running. Bia is champion of Patos and a further 25 municipalities of the interior sertão. Well done Bia!

Our grandson Arthur has visited Mount Fuji in Japan and was fortunate to get a very clear day so as to get an excellent view of the volcanic mountain.

Yesterday our Life Squad evangelized the Patos Men’s Prison and 3 prisoners made commitments to Christ. The Life Squad yesterday had 2 participants: Pastor Rafael and Roberto Tiburtino. Please pray for the life squad evangelizing the prison every Wednesday afternoon.

Last month this blog was read 2,218 times.

Yesterday a school from São Mamede took a group of students to Green Pastures for a nature lesson to inspire them to study harder. They really enjoyed their visit. May God bless them.

Then Joshua assembled all the tribes of Israel at Shechem and made an historical discourse to them on the eve of his death at 110 years of age. He reminded them of how he had called Abraham and then his descendants Isaac, Jacob and Esau. He recalled how Jacob had gone down to Egypt with his sons and how God eventually delivered them from Egypt and brought them victorious through the desert to Canaan. Then God gave the victory at Jericho and successive places. So Joshua says that Israel must fear the Lord and serve him with faithfulness, throwing away all pagan gods. For Joshua says that all Israelites must make up their minds who they will serve because “as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord”! The people answered assuring Joshua that they “too will serve the Lord, because he is our God”! Joshua stressed that they couldn’t play around with God, but the people repeatedly assured him of their commitment to the Lord. So it was that at Shechem the people renewed their covenant with God. Then Joshua died and was buried at Timnath Serah.

Time passed and Joshua was over 100 years old so he spoke to the elders, leaders, judges and officials with words of farewell. He reminded them of all that God had done for them and given them and assured them that the Lord would yet drive out the remaining Canaanites from the Land. He told them that they must be strong and careful to obey all that was written in the Book of the Law of Moses, and never get involved with the nations that remained among them taking care to steer clear of their gods. For God would severely judge Israel if they violated the covenant of the Lord their God. 

The two and a half tribes of Israel that had opted to settle on the east side of the Jordan, as agreed with Moses, had fulfilled their promise to fight on the side of the other tribes during the conquest of Canaan. Now that they had fulfilled their mission Joshua told them that they were free to return to their families and develop their livelihoods. So on the way east the Reubenites, the Gadites and half the tribe of Manasseh built a very large altar near the Jordan as a witness of their unity with the whole of Israel. However the 9 and a half tribes misunderstood this gesture and it almost led to civil war! For the western tribes understood the altar to have pagan connotations, or to be a rival altar to that of the tabernacle, and were horrified and aghast. It was only when the eastern tribes clarified the matter and assured them of their commitment to the Lord that Phineas the priest praised God, accepted the explanation and the altar was given the name as a witness between the eastern and western tribes. 

Now it was the turn of the Levites to receive their towns with the surrounding pasture lands as had been promised to them through Moses. The Levites solicited this from Eleazar the high priest. So it was that they received a total of 48 towns as follows: The family of Aaron received 13 out of the lands of Judah, Simeon and Benjamin; The family of Kohath received 10 out of the lands of Ephraim, Dan and Manasseh; The family of Gershon received 13 out of the lands of Issachar, Asher, Naphtali and Manasseh; The family of Merari received 12 out of the lands of Reuben, Gad and Zebulom; and the 6 cities of refuge were included in the Levites’ inheritance. 

Joshua 21 concludes by stating that whilst conquering Canaan God gave the victory over all Israel’s enemies, and “Not one of the Lord’s good promises to the house of Israel failed; every one was fulfilled.”

It impresses me how often the topic of cities of refuge or asylum for those guilty of manslaughter occur in the early books of the Bible. I can only presume that manslaughter was prevalent at the time! For as in Numbers 35:6, 9-34; Deuteronomy 4:41-43; Deuteronomy 19:1-13, so Joshua 20 is devoted to this matter. 

Joshua again summarizes the designation of 6 cities as cities of refuge or asylum where those who killed somebody accidentally would be safeguarded against the “avenger of blood” who would be a relative of the deceased who was authorized to seek retribution. The designated cities were Kedesh, Shechem, Hebron, Ramoth, Golan and Bezer. These cities offered a safe haven for those guilty of manslaughter. 

This chapter describes the land given to the remaining tribes of Israel: Simeon, Zebulon, Issachar, Asher, Naphtali and Dan.  Simeon’s land was taken from a share of Judah because Judah’s land was more than they needed. Zebulon had the privilege of having Bethlehem, where Jesus was born, within its territory, in the region of Galilee. Issachar included cities along the border with Zebulon. Asher’s land went from Tyre to Canaan’s northern border. Naphtali had land in northern Canaan and Dan’s land included the city of Beth-shan. 

Finally after all the land distribution the Israelites gave Joshua the town of Timnath Serah in the hills Ephraim. Joshua re-built the city and dwelt there in his personal inheritance. Thus ended the dividing of the land.    

Initially in this chapter Joshua addresses the 7 tribes that had not yet received land in Canaan and he seemed to be a bit impatient with these tribes. He ordered each tribe to appoint 3 men to conduct a survey of the land writing its description town by town in 7 parts. Then Joshua cast lots and distributed the land to each tribe.

Then comes a detailed description of the land, boundaries and cities for the tribe of Benjamin. Their land included Jericho and Jerusalem.  

Yesterday Liz and I went back to our school on the south side of Patos to inspect the building work being done there to construct a play and sports area 23 metres long by 18 metres wide. There will also be a sand pit 23 metres long by 5 metres wide. It will be lovely for the children and they are very excited about this new play area. 

At Green Pastures we have finished preparing the football pitch for the men’s retreat from May 2nd to 4th and for the youth conference from June 20th to 22nd. We have in fact created 2 pitches with one for 11 a side and the other for 6 a side.

I have just eaten watermelon for my morning snack.

Our social action projects team is very busy and needs your prayers as it works on more wells, market gardens, toilet/shower units, 4-Legs hair sheep and goats and 2-Wings chicken runs. Please pray. 

We have had made 10 more beds for the Green Pastures camps, retreats and conferences.

Our 23-year-old grandson Arthur has flown from João Pessoa to Rio de Janeiro and from there to Panama. He then took a 7-hour flight up the west coast of the United States to Los Angeles where he is spending 3 days seeing Hollywood and other sights. God bless you Arthur!

Last night I led the mid-week prayer meeting and Bible study and we sang happy birthday to my co-pastor Rafael on his 35th birthday. It is wonderful to see what God has done in Rafael’s life as he was a rough diamond who used to pick fights for the fun of it! Now he preaches the Gospel!

Tomorrow Cadnam Methodist Church will be holding their annual music concert in aid of EAB starting at 7 pm. Please support this event if you can. Our son Philip and family will be taking part.

Brazil is the 5th largest country in the world with over 8.5 million square km. This is 35 times the size of the United Kingdom. Russia is the largest with 17 million square km, Canada is second with 9.9 million square km, The USA comes third with 9.8 million square km and China is fourth with 9.5 million square km.

Our globe trotting lawyer grandson Arthur is at it again! He left Patos yesterday before flying from João Pessoa to Rio de Janeiro, then up to Panama, then up to Los Angeles (where he will spend 4 days) before flying over the Pacific Ocean to Tokyo in Japan (where he will spend 9 days) and also to Seoul in South Korea (where he will spend 2 days). He will be back in Patos on May 10th, returning via Lima, Peru and the Brazilian capital Brasília. Have a great trip Arthur! ✈

On Sunday night it rained 25 mm at Green Pastures.

QPR had a sad Easter Monday losing at home to Swansea 2 x 1. 

Last night I travelled with the Patos Men’s Fellowship to lead the street service, with about 40 people attending, in the town of São Mamede. Words of greetings were brought by Rebeca, Dodora and Dedé and co-pastor Rafael brought the main message. One woman made a commitment to Christ in the middle of the service without any appeal being made. It was a lovely service. 

Whilst I travelled Liz was back in Patos doing a marathon counselling session. Liz is an excellent patient listener with wise advice. Please remember Liz’s ministry in your prayers.

This chapter picks up the continuation of the story of the allotment of the land for the tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh describing their respective borders. Land was allotted to all the people of Manasseh including the daughters of Zelophahad, as had been guaranteed in Numbers 27, because there was no male heir in the family. As too in the previous chapter it is commented that the Israelites fail to drive out all the Canaanites who ended up co-habiting with God’s people as slaves. Ephraim and Manasseh requested extra land owing to their large population under the blessing of God, also taking into account the difficulty that they had in driving out the Canaanites from the hill country. So Joshua challenges the tribes to clear the forests and trust God to help them drive out the Canaanites.

On Easter Sunday morning we held our annual fellowship breakfast in the Patos church. First we had breakfast then we sung 4 resurrection hymns and had a Biblical reflection on Matthew 28 by assistant pastor Rafael. Finally we drew three names out of a hat to give them Easter eggs. It was a lovely morning. Our first João Pessoa church also held an Easter Sunday breakfast. 

Last night’s Resurrection service was excellent. The drama group did a 20 minute play called ‘He lives’ which was very good. This came before the sermon by young lawyer and Bible College graduate Murilo which was very good indeed.

QPR won away to Preston 2 x 1.

This chapter describes the land given to the tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh who were the descendants of Joseph. The land was located between the River Jordan and the Mediterranean Sea and included the area from Jericho up to Bethel and extended to the boundary of the Japhletites. The text tells us that the Israelites failed to drive out all the Canaanites living in Gezer, so they made them do forced labour. This was problematic because God had specifically banned the Canaanites from remaining in the land as seen in Deuteronomy 20:16-18. 

This chapter describes the boundaries of the land given to the tribe of Judah, which was distributed by lot to its people clan by clan. The chapter also gives an extensive list of the cities in this land. 

Within Judah’s territory was Hebron, as previously seen, which was given to Caleb in fulfillment of Moses’ promise 45 years earlier. The text describes how Caleb drove out the inhabitants from the land and how he offered his daughter Acsah in marriage to whoever captured Kiriath Sepher. The victor turned out to be Othniel who was the son of Caleb’s brother, so they married and Caleb gave her springs of water with land in the Negev. 

At the end of the chapter it is noted that Judah could not dislodge the Jebusites from Jerusalem so in this case the people of Judah had to co-habit with them.

Liz and I went to visit our Pastor Frank Dyer School on the south side of Patos in the borough of Jatobá. It was great to see all the classes going along well and in total order and peace. We inspected the building work there, with the school’s headteacher Gerlânia, where we are making a play and sports area for the children.

The rain situation is so desperate here that the authorities are already making appeals to the public to economize water in the rainy season! The reservoirs are very low and water rationing is clearly on the horizon. Please pray! 

I heard some Yellow-chinned Spinetails near our school.

Our Vet daughter Deborah gave a stunning speech at the opening ceremony of a Council animal welfare facility this week standing between the Mayor and an MP. Well done Deborah! 😃

On Thursday night it rained 5 mm, on Friday night it rained 30 mm and last night it rained 18 mm at Green Pastures.

Yesterday we travelled 2 and a half hours west of Patos for me to preach at our church at Tavares’ 18th anniversary service. It was a lovely service in the street in front of the church. I preached on Genesis 26. It was good to see folk there from the Tavares church’s daughter churches in the villages of Olho D’aguinha Seco, Belém and Jurema. 14 sisters sang a song. Local pastor Robério led the service. We got home at midnight.

Chapters 14 to 19 contain a description of the allotment of Canaan west of the Jordan, and chapter 14 is an introduction to this. The opening verses tell us that the division of the land amongst tribes, clans and families was made by lot under God’s hand. We are reminded that the tribe of Levi did not receive land owing to their sacred mission, so the Josephite tribe became 2 tribes of Manasseh and Ephraim to make up 12 tribes. As 2 and a half tribes had already received land east of Jordan, 9 and a half tribes received Canaan west of the Jordan by lot. 

There then comes a special interlude with Caleb asking for Hebron as his inheritance as had been promised 45 years earlier by Moses after he visited the land on a spying mission. Caleb knew that the land was controlled by the strong Anakites, but with the Lord’s help he had faith that he would drive them out. Joshua agreed to this “because he followed the Lord… wholeheartedly”, and Hebron became Caleb’s.  

Please pray for rain for the interior of Paraíba in northeast Brazil. The situation here is very serious as we are in the rainy season and it is hardly raining at all. April is the last principal month for rain. 2025 is the worst year for low rainfall in years!

Please pray too for our Green Pastures Nature Haven where we give protection to God’s creation and all the native creatures such as: foxes, wild cats, armadillos, tortoises, cavies, rock cavies, anteaters, lizards, snakes, monkeys, frogs, toads, deer, birds, butterflies, moths, bats, ants, termites etc. We don’t allow poachers and hunters near and protect God’s creation in every way possible, including the preservation of trees, bushes, wild flowers and plants which form the creatures’ habitat. Everything we do we do for the glory of God and as a witness to everyone that caring for creation is important. It is in this natural environment that we hold our camps; youth, men’s, women’s, and pastors’ conferences; church outings etc. 

I have been having discussions with a variety of our pastors such as Pastor Nezinho (Vazante), Pastor Maesio (Teixeira), Pastor Oseias (Itaporanga), Pastor Leandro (Juazeirinho), Pastor Valdemy (Caroá) and Pastors Wostenes and Hamilton (Campina Grande). Do pray for our pastors!

QPR have won a game! 😀 We beat Oxford away 3 x 1 and continue in 15th place in the Championship. Just 5 games to go to the end of the season. I reckon that the Premiership is just going to have to manage without us for another year! 😕

Last night I led the mid-week prayer meeting and Bible study and co-pastor Rafael gave the study on the book of Micah. After the service Liz and I went to visit deaconess Josinete who lost her brother with a heart attack a few hours earlier. Please pray for Josinete and her family. 

Now starts the second section of the book of Joshua with Joshua advanced in years. (Woudstra estimates him to have been about 85 years old at the time) God brought to Joshua’s attention the fact that there was still land to be conquered and divided between the Israelites, which was apparently to be completed in Joshua’s lifetime. The land yet to be conquered were all the regions of the Philistines, the Geshurites, the Canaanites, the Gebalites and all Lebanon. God assured Joshua that he would drive out the peoples from these areas so that he could divide up the land between the 9 tribes plus half Manasseh settling west of the Jordan. 

Going on from this it is recalled that the tribe of Levi received no inheritance as they received their support from their service to the Lord. It also recalls that the Reubenites, the Gadites and half of Manasseh received the inheritance that Moses gave them east of the Jordan and the boundaries of their land were laid out in detail.

Liz’s sister Esther’s nearly 7-year-old granddaughter Sophia lives on the coast at João Pessoa and at the weekend nearly choked whilst eating at a restaurant. An off-duty policeman rescued her as he knew the correct procedure to unchoke her. Thank you Jesus!

Please pray for our Bible College at Campina Grande Catolé called SETEBRAE, which has 37 students preparing for Christian ministry. Please also pray for our leadership training online in partnership with the ISBL Bible College and the FTSA Bible College in Londrina (PA) in the south of Brazil. May God raise up an army of young pastors and leaders to spread the Gospel in northeast Brazil!

On Monday night Liz and I went to visit a couple from the Patos church, Marcelo and Nuhara. Marcelo is a veterinary surgeon and lost his father last week. It was a very enjoyable evening talking about their lives and family.

Our daughter Deborah is an excellent English teacher at the Cultura Inglesa language school and she also is a very good veterinary doctor caring for and recovering stray dogs at the Amparar Animal project. Please pray for Deborah’s work which seeks to save, cure and care for stray dogs before finding them homes. 

Yesterday I saw a pair of Cattle Tyrants in our garden.

Last night I travelled to São Mamede with the Patos men’s fellowship. First of all I gave communion to our 5 members there. Then Chief of the Police Esau led the main service which had 46 people present and I preached on Luke 2:13-28. It was a good service.

On Saturday morning we held another church jumble sale at our Pastor Frank Dyer School to raise money for the making of a play area for the children. Many volunteers from the church ran the event which went very well. They also made a “rubacão” and sold it for £1.50 per portion. This is a north-eastern Brazilian dish made with rice, beans, sausage meat and cheese.

Edition #103 of EAB’s InTouch magazine will be with you by regular post soon, but it is already available on EAB’s website at http://www.eabrazil.org

On Saturday night I was all set to go and preach at Green Pastures when it started to rain there and people started sending me messages that they couldn’t go to church owing to the rain, so we ended up cancelling the service. We had 12 mm (half an inch) of rain for which we are grateful.

Last night I led the monthly communion service and it was Pastor Rafael’s turn to preach. The church was packed out to capacity.

This chapter is a summary of all the conquests by the Israelites, giving a complete list of the 31 kings defeated west of the Jordan under Joshua’s leadership, from the king of Jericho to the king of Tirzah. The defeat of these kings involved the conquest of all their lands which they were king over. The chapter also reminds us of the earlier conquests under Moses’ leadership east of the Jordan, defeating Sihon king of the Amorites and Og king of Bashan. The latter, it comments, was one of the last of the Rephaites from Genesis 6. This conquered land east of the Jordan was given to the Reubenites, the Gadites and the half-tribe of Manasseh, and all the land conquered west of the Jordan was distributed to the remaining tribes of Israel. 

We had a lovely mid-week prayer meeting and Bible study which I led and pastor Rafael gave the study in Micah 4:1-7. We had solos from Chico, Vasti and Espedita and various brothers and sisters read ‘my Scripture verses’. Marina and David led the praise and worship.

EAB’s bi-annual magazine ‘InTouch’ is now at the printers. Edition 103 should reach you later in the month by snail mail. Our thanks go to Marian Rashleigh (editor) and to Dave Flowers (producer). This edition covers such topics as book day, child evangelism, delivery by donkey, Itaporanga mission, well, indians, social worker, Bible day, bathroom, honorary citizen, baptisms, walk of witness, Ipueira outreach, Otoniel and EAB AGM.  

Yesterday I saw a Tropical Screech-Owl at Green Pastures as well as Red-cowled Cardinals, Picui Ground-Doves, Plain-breasted Ground Doves and a Limpkin.

We desperately need rain! The rainy season is a disaster thus far. Please pray!

Yesterday we had another disappearance incident with Brother José from São Mamede who went missing on a trip to Patos to receive his pension. Thankfully he was found late in the day having got delayed!

 When Jabin king of Hazor heard about how Israel had conquered all the southern Canaanite cities he formed a military alliance with all the northern kings producing a massive army against the Israelites. Assured of victory by God Israel’s army made a sudden attack and routed the enemy. They annihilated the enemy, hamstrung their horses and burned their chariots. They captured Hazor and burned it, and killed King Jabin. They then proceeded to take all the cities, killing their kings and carrying off the plunder and livestock so as to dominate the entire northern region as they had previously done in the south. They “exterminated” everyone without mercy “as the Lord had commanded”. Then Joshua destroyed the Anakites from the hill country totally destroying them and their towns, apart from some survivors who remained in Gaza, Gath and Ashdod. Thus Joshua took the whole land and divided it up with the Israelites according to their tribal division, and Israel enjoyed peace.

I gave the study in the men’s fellowship group meeting on Tuesday night which had 12 men present. The study was on the joy in serving Jesus from Philippians 4:4 and Nehemiah 8:10, focusing on joy in fellowship and joy in suffering for Jesus. The meeting was led by school teacher Claudivan and Dedé led 2 songs at the beginning. Ministry amongst men is an important work as evangelism of men is so challenging in Brazil. 

Yesterday afternoon we had a very good meeting with Pastor Maesio and his wife Fia from our church up in the mountains at Teixeira. We discussed matters linked to their church and problems being encountered and gave them advice. We praise God that the church is going well. It was going to their church to preach last October that we had our head-on collision.

Liz went to the women’s fellowship last night where there were about 20 women present. She said it was a good meeting.

I have been preparing sermons. One for this Saturday at Green Pastures, then another for next Tuesday in the town of São Mamede and then another for a week on Saturday in the town of Tavares, about a 2-hour drive west of Patos. Your prayers are valued.

 Next the kings of the Amorites – Jerusalem, Hebron, Jarmuth, Lachish and Eglon joined forces to attack Gibeon which were now an integrated people with Israel having made a mutual peace treaty. So the Gibeonites sent to ask help from Joshua who sent his entire army in response, and they won a resounding victory. As the defeated army fled God sent a storm of hailstones on them which killed more than with the sword! And Joshua asked God to make the sun and moon stand still so as to prolong the day for Israel to finish off their enemy, and this is what happened. (The text says that this was a citation from the Book of Jashar which makes things a little unclear)

In view of their defeat the 5 kings went and hid in a cave where Joshua trapped them with rocks before killing them and hanging them on trees. Then the Israelites went on to defeat all the southern cities of Canaan at Makkedah, Libnah, Lachish, Gezer, Eglon, Hebron and Debir subduing everything from Kadesh Barnea to Gaza and the whole region of Goshen to Gibeon. Everywhere they conquered the Israelites were ruthless leaving no survivors and destroying all who breathed as God had commanded.  

Last night the Sunday night main service of the week was really blessed of the Lord and we had a full church. I led the service and young lawyer and Bible College graduate Murilo preached very well on ‘Reconciliation’ from 2 Corinthians 5:16-21.

Our weekend was overshadowed by the disappearance of 38-year-old deaconess Claudenusia from our Teixeira church up in the mountains. She is married and the mother of 3 children aged 16, 13 and 9. She left her home on foot on Saturday morning and has not returned. She suffers with severe depression. She has been sighted in the neighbouring state of Pernambuco at Brejinho. Please pray! 🙏

QPR were beaten on Saturday at Stoke 3 x 1 and are now 15th in the Championship. They have only managed 1 point from their last 5 matches! 😖    

On Thursday afternoon Liz and I had a lovely meeting with our co-pastor Rafael to discuss a variety of pastoral issues that I can’t go into here. It was an excellent meeting discussing members of the flock, the on-going work of the church and its various ministries. 

On Thursday evening I led the prayer meeting and Bible study and the praise and worship was led by Erika, Rogério and Netinho. Vasti and Espedita brought solos, Deborah Maria, Madá, and others brought Bible verses and Pastor Rafael brought the study on Micah 3:8-12. It was a nice service.

I have just eaten a Guava for my morning snack. 😋

I went for a walk at Green Pastures and saw a Great Kiskadee which always reminds me of my late friend Ken Rashleigh as this was the first bird he saw when he came to Brazil, and was he happy! I also saw Red-cowled Cardinals and Guira Cuckoos. Our Cockatiels have a nest and one chick has hatched so far.  

Last night we had a good meeting with young lawyer Murilo who is part of the ministry team in Patos. We had a good chat about the work of the Lord which was very positive.

As word spread west of the Jordan about the conquests of Jericho and Ai by Israel most of the native ethnic groups west of the Jordan sought to create an alliance to defend themselves, but the Ebionites had an alternative deception plan which worked. For the Ebionites sent a delegation to the Israelites in order to make a peace treaty with them by pretending to be a people from afar off. The Ebionite delegation dressed as if they had been travelling from a distant country and everything they carried with them was old, torn and cracked. The ruse worked and Joshua made a peace treaty with them ratified by oath.

3 days later the Israelites discovered that the Gibeonites were in fact their neighbours and were angry, but there was nothing they could do about it as they had sworn an oath. Therefore the Israelites could not attack the Gibeonites, but Joshua cursed them making them serve always as woodcutters and watercarriers for the house of God and for the community perpetually.

On Tuesday night I travelled the half hour journey to hold a street service at São Mamede with the Patos men’s fellowship. On the way I had a nice chat to one of the men, Marcio, about his work for the private university UNIFIP where he cares for all the experimental Wistar white rats used there for teaching and research. It was very interesting and it was lovely to see his dedication and care for his work. His wife Jacyara and his daughter Mariana also work at the university. 

The service was lovely. As soon as I got there a little lady asked for prayer and I had a chat to her and prayed for her. Chief of the Police Esau led the service which had multiple participations from Dodora, Giulia, Matheus, Paulo Silas, Josué, Dedé and Chico. I brought a short word on Joshua 1:5 and co-pastor Rafael brought the main message about gratitude to God. There were about 40 people at the service and the street was completely blocked off while it took place. A special little service for children was also led by Rebeca inside the house.

I have started reading a book given to me by my granddaughter Louisa called ‘The Murder Game’ by Tom Hindle. 

With the problem of Achan dealt with God told Joshua to attack the city of Ai again, only this time victory was guaranteed. God told Joshua to attack with the whole army this time using ambush tactics. Joshua sent 30,000 men in the night to go round the back of Ai and hide. In the morning Joshua attacked with 5,000 men at the front and lured the men of Ai to run after them as they withdrew. When they had got far enough away then the 30,000 hidden men were given the signal to attack and they were able to take the city with ease and set it on fire. Then the 5,000 Israelites who had been retreating started to attack as the 30,000 men in the city attacked from the other side. The men of Ai were thus annihilated leaving neither survivor of fugitive. A total of 12,000 men and women were killed that day, but God allowed them to keep the livestock and plunder this time. They took the king of Ai and hung him on a tree before throwing down his body at sunset and covering it with a pile of rocks.

Then Joshua built an altar on Mount Ebal using uncut stones, and they offered burnt offerings and fellowship offerings unto God. Joshua copied on stone the law of Moses, and afterwards he read the law to all the people with half of them on Mount Gerizim and half on Mount Ebal.

God forbid the taking of spoil from the conquering of Jericho, but Achan, of the tribe of Judah, disobeyed. Achan kept a beautiful robe from Babylonia, 2.3 kilos of silver and 0.6 kilos of gold and this severely angered God, who withdrew his backing of Israel as a result. So it was that when the over confident Israelite army sent just 3,000 men to try and conquer the city of Ai they were routed and repelled losing 36 men in the battle. Joshua was shocked and dismayed so he went to ask God for the reason for the defeat. God told Joshua of the sin in the camp and that it would have to be discovered and dealt with for things to be able to return to normal. So Joshua selected different clans and families by lot and through this means identified the culprit Achan who confessed his sin. Achan was stoned to death together with his family, livestock, tent and the spoil from Jericho which he had kept. Then they were all burnt and covered with a memorial pile of rocks to abate the anger of God. 

 I led the main service of the week on Sunday night and our daughter Sacha, who is a teacher and in her final year of Bible College, preached an excellent, concise and crisp Gospel message on John 3:16. The service was a ‘Friends service’ when the church invites their friends to come to church. About 30 friends came and heard the Gospel on a night when the church was packed out to capacity with extra chairs put in the aisle. After the service the youth sold hot dogs and coke to raise money for their youth conference to be held in June at Green Pastures. It was a lovely and blessed evening.

Today is our eldest daughter Deborah’s birthday and we wish her many happy returns of the day! Deborah is a Veterinary Doctor who works tirelessly to care for the stray dogs of Patos, and she also is an excellent English language teacher at the Cultura Inglesa school. 

Our globe-trotting 23-year-old lawyer grandson Arthur is off on one of his trips today to spend the week in São Paulo going to a music festival, a classical music concert and other cultural visits. Have a good trip Arthur! In April he will be going to the USA, Japan and South Korea. 

Liz has been doing a lot of counselling. She is an extraordinary counsellor with great empathy. Please remember Liz in your prayers as she quietly does this labour of love, often at unearthly hours. 

Jericho was totally shut up within its walls to try and withstand Israel’s imminent attack, but God assured Joshua of victory. God told the Israelites to march round the city for 6 days once every day, with armed men at the fore, 7 priests with the ark of the covenant and trumpets, followed by the army. Then on the 7th day they were to march round Jericho 7 times, then the priests would blast on their trumpets and the people would shout. This was followed by the collapse of the city wall after which the Israelites attacked and killed everyone inside except Rahab and her family, and they killed all the livestock too. They then burnt the city but put all the gold, silver, bronze and iron articles into the treasury of the Lord’s house. Rahab and her family became part of the Israelite community.

 When the Amorite and Canaanite kings heard about how the Israelites had crossed the Jordan they were in fear and trembling. 

Then God instructed Joshua to have all the men who had not yet been circumcised to carry out this act as a preparation for battle and a renewing of the covenant with him. 

After the men had recovered from circumcision all the Israelites celebrated the Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread, and they ate some of the produce of the land. The divine provision of manna ended on the following day.

Nearing Jericho, as Israel prepared to begin their conquest of Canaan, Joshua was met by a man who defined himself as the “commander of the army of the Lord”. This clearly was a theophany as Joshua was told to remove his sandals as he was standing on holy ground, as happened with Moses in Exodus 3:5. Blair says that “this was none other than the pre-existent Son of God”. The message was clearly that with God commanding their battles victory would be guaranteed. 

When everyone had crossed the Jordan God told Joshua to chose 12 tribal representatives to each get a stone from where the priests had stood in the river with the ark of the covenant, and these stones were later set up as a memorial of the miraculous crossing at Gilgal. It would also seem that Joshua himself also set up a 12-stone memorial right in the middle of the Jordan where the priests had stood (Blair), but this to me is not clear. These memorials were to be commemorations of the Jordan crossing for future generations. Then as soon as the priests finally left the river the waterflow returned to normal. Israel was well prepared with 40,000 men armed for battle. 

Early in the morning the Israelites set off from Shittim and camped for 3 days right on the banks of the Jordan. Joshua told the people that their cue to cross the Jordan would be when they saw the priests carrying the ark of the covenant which they should follow at a distance of about 900 metres. Then Joshua told the people to consecrate themselves in preparation for the following day. 

So Joshua commanded the priests to go with the ark of the covenant into the river, and when they touched the water’s edge the river stopped flowing so that the Israelites could cross into Canaan on dry land whilst the priests stood in the middle of the river. The entire nation of Israel crossed over the Jordan opposite Jericho ready to drive out the Canaanites, Hittites, Hivites, Perizzites, Girgashites, Amorites and Jebusites.

Prior to entering Canaan Joshua sent in 2 spies to do reconnaissance on the land, especially focusing on Jericho. The men fulfilled their mission and stayed at the house of a prostitute named Rahab, but the spies were seen entering her house so the King of Jericho sought them there. Rahab however hid the spies on the roof and told the King’s search party that the spies had left Jericho at dusk, just before the gates closed, but that if they were quick they could still catch them!  

Then Rahab went up to the roof before the spies went to sleep for the night and told them of her faith in the Lord and that she knew that God would give the land to the Israelites. She told of how impressed everyone was by their deliverance via the Red Sea and how too they had defeated the kings of the Amorites east of the Jordan. She then interceded for herself and her family to receive protection when the invasion came and this the spies agreed to telling her to hang a red cord in her window as a means of identification when the Israelites took the city and the land. As her house was part of the city wall she was able to help the spies escape after their stay at her house using a rope from her window. The spies were able to safely return to Joshua with an encouraging report of how the Canaanites were in fear and trembling at the thought of the Israelite’s imminent attack. 

Rahab became a very important person in the history of God’s people. She was the mother of Boaz who married Ruth. She was the great-great grandmother of King David, and she was listed as one of the ancestors of Jesus in Matthew 1:5!

We have completed the 5 books of the Pentateuch and we now move into the historical books starting with the book of Joshua. The main figure to date in the Biblical narrative, Moses, has just died and now God commissions Joshua to take his place as the leader of Israel. God tells Joshua to get ready to cross the River Jordan and possess the land of Canaan saying that the Israelite territory will spread from the River Euphrates in the east to the Mediterranean Sea in the west, and from the Negev Desert in the south up to the Lebanon mountains in the north. God promises to always be with Joshua as he had been with Moses, saying that he will make him invincible. God tells Joshua to always be courageous and strong. 

So Joshua called the officers and told them to prepare for action because 3 days hence they will all cross the Jordan to possess the Promised Land. He also reminded the Reubenites, the Gadites and half the tribe Manasseh that although they had opted for land east of the Jordan in the agreement made with Moses in Numbers 32, they had promised to fight alongside the rest of Israel to conquer Canaan. This the two and a half tribes promised to do.

Our grandson Lucas continued his history studies in Greece visiting the Acrocorinth which is a hill with the ruins of a castle which overlooks the ancient city of Corinth, to which the Apostle Paul sent his 2 epistles to the Corinthians in the years 51 and 57. How wonderful that Lucas has had this opportunity to walk in Paul’s footsteps this week. He has now flown home to England. 

Our 23-year-old grandson John David will graduate in João Pessoa as a medical doctor in June. At the moment he is doing 3 months practical training at a clinic in Patos prior to returning for training next month in surgical work, taking him to his graduation. Please pray for John David. 

I led the mid-week prayer meeting and Bible study with my assistant pastor Rafael giving the study on the last 2 verses of Micah 2. Marina and Davi led the worship, Vasti sang a solo and Bible verses were read by Deborah Maria, Samana and Maria. 

Yesterday morning I gave a Biblical reflection to the ‘Young at Heart’ group from Romans 12:9-13 and it was a lovely time of fellowship together. They served up delicious savoury and sweet snacks cooked in the Care Centre’s ‘Mum’s Kitchen’ by the sisters Marcia and Josinete who run these mornings. ‘Mum’s Kitchen’ is the new kitchen we have at the Care Centre donated by Liz’s brother Sam, in Switzerland, in memory of their mother and missionary Ivy Dyer. Prior to my participation in the meeting a sister from the church called Thayse gave the ladies a lesson about skin care with the application of creams in everyone which they really enjoyed.

Last night I spent a lovely evening discussing theology with Murilo. He is a 22-year-old recently qualified lawyer and Bible College graduate who regularly preaches in Patos. The idea is for us to discuss matters that we don’t normally get to discuss.