"The Step Outside"

"Behold, when we come into the land, thou shalt bind this line of scarlet thread in the window which thou didst let us down by: and thou shalt bring thy father, and thy mother, and thy brethren, and all thy father's household, home unto thee. And it shall be, that whosoever shall go out of the doors of thy house into the street, his blood shall be upon his head, and we will be guiltless: and whosoever shall be with thee in the house, his blood shall be on our heads, if any hand be upon him." (Joshua 2:18 & 19) Now, imagine for a moment, what would happen for those who might have stepped outside of that covering; as odd as that might sound. Yet, for some, this has become more than just imagined. There was no report of anyone in Rahab's household that chose to leave her house; so then, why even consider that possibility? Can we as a Believer in Christ, step outside of His covering? I would hope not; but on the other hand; what about those that might have? Say: What are you trying to say Rich? Okay; say for example, that you were one of Rahab's household, and you heard the armies of Israel storming the city. You knew that in that house you were safe; at least that is what you have been told; but for whatever reason, you have made a choice to step outside; would you consider that move to be suicide? And what would create that thought to begin with? Maybe, a fear of what might come next? Or, the thought of having all you have ever known being destroyed? Your friends, your lifestyle; the things you might still want to hold onto. Would those things be enough to cause such a move? Maybe it might just be pride? It could be that. Because pride is the cause for many great men of God to fall; but to fall that far? Maybe? Proverbs 16:18 says, "Pride goeth before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall." What was it that caused Moses to sin against God, by striking the rock, instead of speaking to it, as God had commanded? Could it have been unbelief? Could it have been rebellion? Maybe both? Because, what pride does, is that it blinds the heart; which causes one to think that they know better than God what needs to be done; which is rebellion; and is also, not believing that God can do something by just speaking forth a word. A good indication of what was in the heart of Moses, is to see what he said right before he smote the rock: "And Moses and Aaron gathered the congregation together before the rock, and he said unto them, Hear now, ye rebels; must we fetch you water out of this rock?" (Numbers 20:10) Do you detect a hint of pride in his voice? Whatever happen to God providing the water? Because, all of the sudden, it was 'we' giving you water, and not God providing it to the people. Basically, what this act was, was spiritual suicide; and it cost Moses entering into the Promised Land, by not honouring God. "A man's pride shall bring him low: but honour shall uphold the humble in spirit." (Proverbs 29:23)