Joshua 1:1-2 After the death of Moses the servant of the Lord, it came to pass that the Lord spoke to Joshua the son of Nun, Moses' assistant, saying: "Moses My servant is dead. Now therefore, arise, go over this Jordan, you and all this people, to the land which I am giving to them — the children of Israel NKJV.
Turning Disaster into Discovery and Deliverence
The year of jubilee was a semi-Centennial celebration of the Hebrews. Every fifty years, lost ground would be recovered, those in slavery would be released and all debts would be cancelled. Easton’s Bible Dictionary wonderfully describes the benefit of such a system in that: ‘It would prevent the accumulation of land on the part of a few to the detriment of the community at large. It would render it impossible for anyone to be born to absolute poverty, since everyone had his hereditary land. It would preclude those inequalities which are produced by extremes of riches and poverty, and which make one man domineer over another. It would utterly do away with slavery. It would afford a fresh opportunity to those who were reduced by adverse circumstances to begin again their career of industry in the patrimony, which they had temporarily forfeited. It would periodically rectify the disorders which crept into the state in the course of time, preclude the division of the people into nobles and plebeians, and preserve the theocracy inviolate. Wonderful. Bring on the Jubilee that’s what I say!
Today in 1942 the Allies put into action Operation Jubilee, which was in fact a large ‘raid’ on the well-fortified and Nazi occupied French port of Dieppe. The purpose of the raid was to seize and hold a major port for a short period of time, both to prove it was possible and also to gather intelligence from prisoners and captured materials, while assessing the enemy responses. The raid was also intended to use air power to draw the Luftwaffe into a large, planned encounter and glorious air victory for the allies!
The raid on Dieppe however, was nothing short of a disaster. No major object was achieved, the Royal Navy received a basting, the Royal Air Force a roasting and out of the 6,000 mostly brave Canadian soldiers involved in the raid, over 50% of them were either killed, wounded or captured. No land was recovered, no debts were paid and no slaves were released. In truth, Dieppe's 'Operation Jubilee', meant disaster for the Allies.
It would be two years later when the massive Allied landings would take place in Normandy. This success of those later D Day Landings was most definitely linked to the rectifying of the forms of failures that were discovered at the disaster of Dieppe.
Tell me tonight, how many Jubilee joys of yours have been turned in Dieppe disasters in your life? How many times has attempted deliverance just led to further captivity? How many times has this kept on happening?
If disappointment and disaster dog your heels dear friend, then you need a full debrief with yourself and with your Lord, so as to thoroughly examine the forms of your failures and then implement courageous corrections, to make sure your next operation Jubilee is not just another costly disaster. I tell you now that unless you take time to discover, examine and correct all the glaring failures of past attempts, no amount of courage, no amount of perseverance and no amount of faith is going to gain you success . You must take time to turn all your disasters into fields of discovery for future footholds, bridgeheads and battlefield victories ever to occur.
In the first week of September 1944, the 2nd Canadian Infantry Division liberated the same port of Dieppe where their previous disaster had occurred. The Nazi garrison fled before them as the division approached. The Allies had discovered all the problems of the Dieppe raid and rectified each and every one of one of them. There was no way that the enemy wanted to face Canadians intent on and certain of, a most definite and all-conquering victory in the field.
Friends, the fresh and better prepared and trained Canadian Soldiers and the all the Canadian Dieppe survivors, this time recovered the land, recovered the debt, released those in Nazi slavery and had a victory parade to boot!
It’s time to start dreaming about and planning your victory parade tonight, but you can’t do that until you have turned all of your disasters into fields of discovery. So, I reckon them that it’s time to get debriefed dear friends. It’s time to pick over the wreckage and examine the bodies.
Listen:- Let us search out and examine our ways,And turn back to the Lord; Let us lift our hearts and hands To God in heaven. We have transgressed and rebelled;You have not pardoned. You have covered Yourself with angerAnd pursued us;You have slain and not pitied. You have covered Yourself with a cloud,That prayer should not pass through. You have made us an offscouring and refuseIn the midst of the peoples. All our enemiesHave opened their mouths against us. Fear and a snare have come upon us,Desolation and destruction. My eyes overflow with rivers of waterFor the destruction of the daughter of my people. My eyes flow and do not cease,Without interruption, Till the Lord from heavenLooks down and sees. My eyes bring suffering to my soulBecause of all the daughters of my city. My enemies without causeHunted me down like a bird. They silenced my life in the pitAnd threw stones at me. The waters flowed over my head;I said, "I am cut off!" I called on Your name, O Lord,From the lowest pit. You have heard my voice:"Do not hide Your earFrom my sighing, from my cry for help." You drew near on the day I called on You,And said,"Do not fear!" Lamentations 3:40-57
Pray:- O Lord, to us belongs shame of face, to our kings, our princes, and our fathers, because we have sinned against You. To You O Lord our God belong mercy and forgiveness, though we have rebelled against You. So Lord, come and rifle through our wreckage, heal us of our damage and so lighten us of our baggage, that we may be more than conquerors through Christ who loved us and gave Himself for us. Amen.
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