Year 7, Day 212: Luke 3

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Today we get the majority of the rest of the story of John the Baptizer.  He is the cousin of Jesus, born to Zechariah and Elizabeth.  I’ve always loved John because of his willingness to do the right thing his own way instead of following the crowds.

I was appreciative once more of his message after coming off of the last few chapters of Joshua this past week.  Remember Joshua 24:19?  Remember how Joshua responds to the people when they answer his great challenge “…choose this day…?”  When the people respond to Joshua and tell him that they will follow the Lord, Joshua replies to them, “You are not able to serve the Lord.”  He is forthright, honest, and pulls no punches.

John the Baptizer is the same.  The people are coming out to be baptized by him.  In other Gospels, John is said to speak directly to the religious elite.  In Luke’s Gospel, his message of “you brood of vipers” is given to all the people.  I find this fascinating.

John, like Joshua, starts the people off in truth.  He starts them in the reality that they are unable to serve God and unworthy to think that they can.  John calls them a brood of vipers.  For the record, they are.  We all are.  We all have a core of self-centered thought.  We all see best through the lens of “how am I affected?”  We all naturally live with a “What have you done for me lately” motif.  We are naturally a brood of vipers.

As with Joshua, this reality doesn’t stop John.  John keeps baptizing them.  He keeps telling them the truth.  He helps bring them into relationship with God.  The harsh message of truth isn’t meant as a roadblock to God, it is meant as a threshing floor upon which the chaff is burned so that what remains can remain in truth.

This is why cheap grace is so dangerous.  This is why I don’t trust people who cannot honestly see my faults and speak to me about my faults in live.  If we cannot begin in the truth of my imperfection and sin, then everything that gets built upon the foundation is weak and waiting to crumble.  This is the true brilliance of what John does here in Luke 3.

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Year 7, Day 211: Luke 2

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Before I truly shift the focus onto Jesus for the remainder of Luke’s story, I’d like to spend one more day stringing along this common thread I’ve been weaving.  Once more, we have normal and regular people involved.

For example, we return to Mary and Joseph.  They go up to Jerusalem to be counted.  While there, Mary gives birth.  Since this was her first son, she then needed to pay the sacrifice required by the Law.  She chooses the option for the doves, which was the option given in the Law for the poorest people who could make no other sacrifice.  This tells us that Mary did not come to Joseph with any kind of large dowry.  It also tells us that Joseph may have been a fine craftsman, but he certainly was not living in the lap of luxury, either.  Here we have two common people – and by common, of course, in those days I mean poor.  God has come to these common and ordinary people and used them to be the vessel through whom He imparts his grace.

Additionally, look at the shepherds.  Here are flock tenders.  These people likely spend more evenings out sleeping with the animals than they spend sleeping with families.  They likely carry the scent of sheep and goat wherever they go.  Again, they are fine people.  They are good, hard-working, down-to-earth people.  They are the ones who hear from the angels.  They are the ones who go to see the baby.  They are the ones who go out and tell people what it is that they have seen.  God is using more good, ordinary people to reach other good and ordinary people.

Of course, we have the story of Simeon and Anna.  Simeon was righteous and devout.  However, note that we aren’t told anything else about him.  He wasn’t extraordinary in any other means besides his righteousness.  He wasn’t a priest.  Yet, he was the one who had been told that he wouldn’t die until he saw the Christ.  More ordinary people at God’s work.

Take Anna.  Here is another devout woman.  She’s even a widow, unattached to a man as her husband had died!  We are told that she was a prophetess.  Therefore, she’s not exactly ordinary.  However, she isn’t exactly a person of grand standing, either.  She’d only lived with her husband for seven years before becoming a widow.  We know from the Old Testament how easy it was for the orphans and the widows to be forgotten, unprotected, and cast aside.  Yet here is this widow, who seldom leaves the temple, who is a part of god’s plan.

God uses ordinary normal people.  Even when he picks a priest, like Zechariah, or a prophetess, like Anna, they aren’t well known or powerful or wealthy.  God’s Word goes through the world on the backs of common people doing common things in the name of a most uncommon God.  He is the one who is great.

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Year 7, Day 210: Luke 1

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After the chapters of the Pentateuch, this first chapter of Luke is unbelievably long.  I remember from years past how different it is to blog on the New Testament than the Old.  In the Old Testament, each chapter typically has one theme and a central story.  In the New Testament, each chapter typically contains multiple stories with potentially multiple themes.

However, Luke is a great place to begin as we come off of the Old Testament.  We’ve spent months being reminded of the power of God.  Especially recently, we’ve heard Joshua speak about how the Hebrew people are in the position that they are in because God is great and powerful.

This same theme runs through Luke 1.  Look upon the story of Zechariah.  He’s an average priest.  He doesn’t even live in Jerusalem.  His lot for serving in the temple comes up and he heads to Jerusalem to do his service.  He wasn’t there for any great reason.  Yet, while doing his routine service, he finds himself being visited by one of the Lord’s angels and a great witness is given to him.  John is born into a regular normal family through the extraordinary means of a mighty and powerful God.

Or, take Mary.  Here is a young virgin, betrothed to a man but not yet wed to him.  She doesn’t come from any great line.  Her husband isn’t any special man, either.  These are two regular people just going about their life.  It is God who breaks into their life.  It is God who comes to Mary and embodies Himself within Mary.  Mary and Joseph are in this position because of God and His desire to be there.

Don’t get me wrong.  I’m not trying to take anything away from Zechariah, Elizabeth, Mary, or Joseph.  They are all fine people.  They are certainly all God-fearers.  Their life has gotten God’s attention – or at the very least hasn’t pushed God away and turned His eyes to another.  But they aren’t chosen because of their own glory.  They are chosen because God is great and God has come to impart Himself into the lives of each of these people.

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Year 7, Day 209: Joshua 24

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When I study Joshua 24, it is so tempting to focus on the iconic verse in this chapter.  “Choose this day…”  However, I’ve focused on that verse several times already.  Instead, I’m going to look at the buildup to that verse.

From yesterday, we know that Joshua is about to die.  He’s gathered the tribes to make sure that they hear his goodbye, hear his words of encouragement, and hear his challenge.  This is a chapter where a leader is saying goodbye.  It’s bittersweet.

Part of the bittersweet nature is the sweetness from God’s faithfulness.  All this year we’ve read the verses that Joshua summarizes.  We’ve seen God’s faithfulness.  We’ve watched Him, as Joshua describes here, defeat the enemies of those He favors.  God fights for them.  They are great, God is.  They aren’t deserving, God is gracious.  The sweet part about this chapter is realizing that the God we worship and serve is great and He desires to bestow His blessing upon us.

Then we get to the bitter part of this chapter is Joshua 24:19.  As often as we hear Joshua 24:15 quoted, we don’t hear much about Joshua 24:19.  Joshua is honest with the people.  He tells them, “You are not able to serve the Lord.”  That’s honesty right there.

As we look at this verse, though, we need to look at it honestly.  Joshua doesn’t say, “You can’t do it,” and then walk away.  He says “You can’t do it,” and then promptly holds the people accountable.  Joshua knows that discipleship comes from truth.  Joshua doesn’t sugar-coat the message.  He says, “You can’t do it,” realizes the truth of what he says, and then helps the people go forward anyways.  He welcomes the people into relationship with God in spite of the truth that they cannot do it.

This brings us full circle.  Whether or not I can be totally obedient to God is irrelevant to my relationship with Him.  God saves based on His glory.  He doesn’t save only those who are worthy.  He saves the sinner.  He saves the guilty.  We started this chapter with the discussion that God saves because He is righteous, not because we are.  We must start with the truth that we are not worthy and we are not capable.  That shouldn’t stop us from going forward.  Instead, it should propel us forward in truth.

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Year 7, Day 208: Joshua 23

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I love how Joshua 23 opens.  As Joshua became advanced in years.  Traditionally speaking, Joshua was 85 when the conquest of Canaan began!

I bring this point out for a religious point.  So often we think that we can only accomplish things when we are in our prime or younger.  The witness of the first 6 books of the Bible is that there is no “too old” age for God’s work.  Abraham didn’t even see God’s promise for offspring until he was nearly 100.  Moses was 80 when the Exodus began.  Joshua and Caleb were likely 85 at the time of the conquest of the Promised Land.  At an age when many of us are giving up on what we can do, these Patriarchs were just getting started!

Next, look at how Joshua encourages them.  He reminds them of how God has fought their battles for them.  Do you hear how Joshua puts it?  Hundreds flee from one man because of God.  Joshua is encouraging them to remain humble.  They aren’t great because of their own greatness.  They are great because God is great and He has made them great as well.  This is incredibly important to remember!

Finally, look where this chapter ends.  Joshua tells them that his death is close at hand.  He warns them about turning away from God.  He warns them about not being tempted by the enclaves of Canaanites that have been allowed to remain in the land.  He tells them that if they allow their hearts to turn away from God, then God will turn away from them as well.  This makes sense, but it is easy to forget.  God wants our devotion.  He wants our obedience.  He doesn’t need it, He wants it.

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Year 7, Day 207: Joshua 22

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When I read Joshua 22, I am reminded of the continual question about perception and reality.  Naturally, this leads us to the question of motivations and intent.  Human beings like to see actions and assume they understand motivation and intent.  Human beings have a remarkable tendency to get it wrong.

Before I get to the text, I’ll use my wife and myself as an example.  How many times does she say something or do something and I react to it based on my assumptions?  So often, especially when it leads to a disagreement, I find that my assumptions are wrong and I have attributed false motives to her words or actions.  That exactly what I get when I read this chapter.

First of all, start with the account of Joshua dismissing the Transjordan tribes.  This is such a great moment because we hear Joshua praising these Hebrew people because they have kept their word.  However, remember back to where this story began.  Before the people crossed over, they came and asked for the land east of the Jordan.  They were accused of making the request so that they would get out the fighting to come. To prove they were wronged in the accusation, they left their women and children and fought all the battles in Canaan with the Hebrew people.  Today, we hear Joshua confessing that the accusation had been false.  They lived up to their word.  They are dismissed in honor; their work being completed.

Next, we look at the second story.  When these tribes go over the Jordan, they build an altar of witness.  They are afraid that because they live on the other side of the Jordan that the Hebrew people in Canaan will claim that they have no inheritance with them.  They build the altar to show for generations to come that they are a united people.

However, the tribes on the west of the Jordan see the altar and again make the wrong assumption about their motives.  They think that they’ve built an altar for sacrificing.  They assume that they have built an altar to start going astray from the Lord.  They come ready to fight their brothers because of their incorrect assumptions.

Fortunately, cooler heads prevail.  The east tribes explain their actions to the west tribes and everything settles down.  The west tribes accept the altar of witness.  If only that had been willing to inquire before assuming motivation to the actions of another!

In the end, this is another great lesson to learn.  Attributing motivations to others without knowing the motivations can really be dangerous and lead us down a wrong path.  Yet, this is something that humans being do with excellence.  We love believing that we know why other people do and say the things they do and say.  So often we’re just wrong when we make that mistake.

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Year 7, Day 206: Joshua 21

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In Joshua 21, we hear about the land being given to the Levites.  Remember that the Levites were not supposed to get an allotment of territory because they were the line to serve as priests.  Instead, they receive a few cities that are scattered among all the tribes. In this manner, they can dwell among all the people and do their priestly duties from within.  They will be able to remind the people of their devotion to God by dwelling among the rest of the tribes rather than dwelling beside them.

On one hand, I think this is great.  We all can benefit from a mentor.  We all can benefit from someone in our life that we can look upon and be inspired by their faith.  We likely have historical figures like Abraham, Samuel, Peter, Paul, and of course, Jesus.  But it doesn’t hurt to have someone in the flesh and blood that we can actually see and talk to as well.  From this perspective, having the Levites dwell among the people is a great idea.

However, look at what this inherently says about all of humanity.  What is the reason that we need mentors and examples?  We need them because it is not our nature to be faithful and obedient to God.  It is hard work to remain faithful to the Lord.  Therefore, we need bastions of faith in our life to help us when we stumble.  We need bastions of faith in our life to remind us that the things of God are more important than the things of the world.  The struggle against worldly temptation is so strong that we often fail, causing us to need these examples to look up to and to help us fix things when we make mistakes.

God sends the Levites among the Hebrew people because He knows they will need them.  The Hebrew people will sin and fall away.  They will pursue other gods.  God knows this about His people – about all people – and He puts people of faith in our life to help.

This brings us the whole way around to a good point. What this shows us, then, is the provision of the Lord.  This helps us understand the faithfulness of God.  God doesn’t let us face our humanity alone; He knows that we will lose.  God has scattered faithful people all over this globe so that in the midst of our struggle there is someone there.  We have someone to whom we can look and call upon when needed, much like the Levites who dwelt among the Hebrew people.

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Year 7, Day 205: Joshua 20

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I’ve spoken about the cities of refuge at great length.  Understand that the cities of refuge are not a place for guilty people to go and find salvation.  The cities of refuge are for people who accidentally kill someone to find salvation.  There is no way to avoid punishment of execution for the person who premeditates the death of another person.

Naturally, it makes sense in a chapter to put things into perspective.  In this chapter, we are talking about physical punishment as physical consequence.  Regardless of anything said in these kinds of chapters, there is no implication on spiritual salvation.  God forgives the truly repentant. It is entirely possible for a person to find spiritual salvation and rest eternally with God even as they suffer the physical consequences of their actions.

The reason that this is important is because the distinction between spiritual consequence and physical consequence helps us look at justice in life.  If we confuse spiritual and physical consequence, then we are always worrying and fretting over capital punishment.  We worry and fret over death sentences for criminals who intentionally commit murder. 

God’s Word, however, does not spend time worrying and fretting.  If a person dies accidentally at the hands of another – farming accident, construction accident, some other kind of accident – the city of refuge was there to protect them until the case could be heard by the community and the unintentionality declared.  On the other hand, if a person died from the intent of another person, they were executed and the city of refuge is of no help.  The person who committed the crime goes before God, who determines the spiritual consequences of the person’s life.  It’s a very cut and dry process.

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Year 7, Day 204: Joshua 19

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In today’s reading, we have the rest of the allotments.  I use the word allotment intentionally.  In each case, the Bible is quite clear to say that the lot fell to such-and such tribe.

I think this is a great point to draw out of the text after yesterday.  Remember that these tribes are the ones who didn’t go out and claim the land they wanted.  Instead, they had to be told by Joshua to get out, measure the land, and then come back.  As a result, they do get land.  However, it isn’t necessarily the land of their choosing.  This is the land of allotment.  They get an inheritance, but the get what randomness brings their way.

It is important to remember that they do get an allotment.  They did fight hard.  They did earn their land.  But they did not go out and claim it.  In fact, notice that we have a special note to say that the people of Dan had more fighting to do even after the allotment was given out!  They even lost their land for a time being.

Put this in contrast to Joshua, who gets that for which he asked.  Or Caleb or Othniel or the people east of Jordan or Judah or the people of Joseph.  They get their choice because they are proactive about going out and getting it.

What we can conclude is that there are many ways to go about our obedience to God.  Much of what I conclude today ties in with how I ended yesterday.  We can be proactive in our faithful obedience and be in a position to meet our desires.  On the other hand, we can be followers and obey when challenged or shamed into action.  We do get a reward for obedience, but it may not be a reward of our choosing.

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Year 7, Day 203: Joshua 18

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In Joshua 18, we have a very interesting beginning.  Judah, Josephs’ two sons, and the tribes east of the Jordan have all received their land.  The other tribes, however, haven’t gone out and taken up residence.  Joshua needs to come and tell them what to do.  He must come and light a fire underneath them.

I find this highly interesting.  These people just fought for the land.  They had brothers die for possession of it.  They have been wandering through the desert for forty years just to get to this point.  Everything should be pointing to them going out and taking ownership of the land.  Yet, this isn’t the case.  Joshua has to come to them, tell them what to do, and encourage them to get out to work.

I think there is a lesson to be learned here.  There are leaders who, like Joshua, can lead large groups of people.  There are also independent people who, like the tribes of Josephs sons, may not want to lead large groups, but they are certainly capable of going out and doing what is necessary all on their own.  Then there is a great swath of people in the rest of the world.  They are content doing as they are told.  They will buy into the grand schemes of leaders, but they will wait and do as they are told rather than going out and getting it for themselves.

When I read this chapter, I think that in the end there is grace for all three types of people.  Certainly, the leaders in Joshua, Caleb, and Judah are praised.  The independent tribes of Joseph are likewise praised.  The tribes who sit back are initially chastised, but the end well.  They do what they are told.  They follow through with someone else’s plan.  In the end, although they don’t start well, they finish well and receive their inheritance.

Life is about determining what kind of person you want to be.  Are you a leader?  Then go lead!  Are you an independent type?  Determine what God asks of you and go do it?  Are you a follower?  Make sure you buy into God’s plan and then get to it!  The kkey is not sitting back and doing nothing.

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Year 7, Day 202: Joshua 17

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In Joshua 17 we continue with the allotment of the land for the people of Joseph.  Notice how many times throughout this chapter that we hear about the need to drive the Canaanites out.  This should take us back to the message that we had yesterday.

Today, though, let’s talk about why it is Joseph we hear at this point.  Remember that Joseph was the second youngest son.  Yet we hear about the allotment of Joseph’s land second to Judah, whom we heard about two days ago.  Joshua is being elevated here.

There is a reason we hear about Judah first.  The kings of Israel will come through Judah.  Christ will come through Judah.  Judah is often elevated among the sons, especially in lists like this.

Joseph is being elevated here as a memory of the faithfulness of Joseph in Egypt.  Remember that it is through Joseph’s hand that his sons were saved.  In fact, it is through Joseph’s hand that all of Egypt and the neighboring regions were brought through the famine.  The faithfulness of Joseph is absolutely being honored as the people get into the Promised Land.

This really cements home one of the overarching themes of Joshua.  Othniel was faithful because of Caleb’s example.  Caleb and Joshua are faithful because of Moses’ example.  The Hebrew people in Egypt can be faithful because of the faithful example of Joseph.  The book of Joshua is all about lifting up stories of faithfulness to God and watching them sprout and evoke a faithful response in others.

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Year 7, Day 201: Joshua 16

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The division of the land for Joseph’s son’s will occupy the next two days.  We’ll focus on Joseph tomorrow.  Today, I’d like to talk about the way that this chapter ends.  The people of Joseph are granted land.  The possess it, occupy it, and subdue it.  Notice, however, that they don’t occupy it completely.  There are still pockets of Canaanites that they cannot root out.

Whether they can’t root them out because it is hard work or because the people of Joseph aren’t committed to doing the job to its fullest extent we cannot know.  What we can know going forward is that this is a very important reality.  Those Canaanites who are left cause trouble to the Hebrew people from now until the Babylonian occupation.  They band together and plague them in a military sense.  They marry the sons and daughters of the Hebrew people and bring their foreign gods among them.  They teach the Hebrew people to behave in ways that are not pleasing to God.  The fact that these Canaanite people are left behind is bad news.

I’ve toyed with the thoughts of this passage and things like it for several years now.  It seems far too easy to take passages like these and make them about building walls.  It’s far too easy to take a passage like this and talk about why we should be building walls and keeping other people out.  It’s easy to take passages like this and pave the way for genocide, racial turbulence, class systems, etc.

I don’t think that is God’s point here.  I believe that these passages are more about the need to fulfill God’s will and to be obedient than to destroy the people around us who are sinful.  After all, does not Jesus Himself assert that the one who is without sin can cast the first stone?

Remember that these Canaanites were being obliterated at God’s will as God’s judgment.  They weren’t being obliterated because they were Canaanites and not Hebrew, they were being obliterated because they brought themselves under God’s wrath.  God ordered their destruction.  The reason that these Canaanites will cause so much trouble in the future isn’t because they are any worse sinners than the rest of the world.  They will cause trouble because God’s will was not carried out.

What I can learn here is that it is vital to obey God.  When He desires a task to get done, we need to focus on accomplishing it and listening to Him.  It isn’t about doing it well enough to where we are satisfied.  It is about obeying Him and listening to Him.

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Year 7, Day 200: Joshua 15

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Today we meet Othniel, whom we’ll meet again in the first chapter of judges.  While we’ll study this story more deeply then, we can note one thing right here about this story.  Once more we see the repetition of a reoccurring theme.  Caleb’s faith inspires Othniel.

While we don’t know for certain that Othniel was a mentee of Caleb, we can certainly see that Othniel was in good hands.  Caleb is given an allotment of land in Judah.  He immediately sets out to conquest the land.  He does so in relatively short order.  He defeats a popular group of sons and then sets his will against the other inhabitants of his inheritance.

However, notice that Caleb does not do this alone.  He offers part of his inheritance – as well as a daughter – for the person who continues the work.  In other words, he wants to have a son in law who has seen his prowess and desires to imitate it.  He wants to have people living within his inheritance who are like him and who have the same kind of values. 

This is the same principle at work that we saw with Moses and Joshua.  Moses brought Joshua close to him because he was teachable and shared a common desire as Moses.  Caleb and Othniel are no different.

What I think is neat is that as the Hebrew nation sets up we see example after example of mentoring.  We see example after example of people looking for commonalities and then investing in them for the next generation.  Caleb’s work with Othniel directly affects the first judge of Israel and his ability to be used by God to protect his people.

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Year 7, Day 199: Joshua 14

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Do you hear the support for the thoughts that I gave yesterday regarding the age of Joshua?  Today we learn that Caleb was 45 when he was a spy.  We know that they wandered the wilderness for forty years.  In this chapter he asserts that he is 45.  This helps us to understand that the opening of the last chapter wasn’t to tell us that a great time period had passed or that Joshua had been sitting around after conquering the easy parts of the land.  Caleb – and likely Joshua as well – were already advanced in years when they got to the Promised Land!

Having said that, there are two more points that I would like to discuss with you today.  First of all, there is the issue of Caleb’s reward.  What I really like about this is that it shows the proper order of things.  Caleb was indeed faithful when he was one of the spies.  He is promised a reward.  But, he doesn’t fret about the reward until after the work is largely done.  Caleb fights in the army with the rest of the people until the tribes of the Transjordan are dismissed.  At that point, Caleb turns his mind to his reward.

So often we get our mind to the payoff that we forget about the work at hand.  I do this all the time with projects around the house.  I get far more interested in what the end result will be that I become frustrated with the level and intensity of the work to get to the end result.  I’m willing to bet that most of our jobs are that way, too.  We get focused on life will be after we’ve completed a certain task that we forget to enjoy the task and do our best at it.  This is human nature.  It’s not anything to be ashamed of – we all do it.  But it is something about which we should be aware and then resist against.

Second, do you hear the last words of this passage?  The land had rest from war.  God did bring his people into a time of peace.  God honored his covenant.  He is faithful.  Here we have a beautiful counterpoint to the major theme of obedience in Joshua.  Again and again we’ve seen Joshua’s obedience.  What we see here is that God is faithful to Joshua and the people.  Obedience and seeing God’s faithfulness go hand-in-hand.

That doesn’t mean that we always get our way.  You’ll notice that being the richest and most powerful people in the world are not synonymous goals with faithfulness to God.  However, God is faithful to our needs.  He is faithful to His promises.  In the things that really matter, God is absolutely faithful.

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Year 7, Day 198: Joshua 13

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When we hit Joshua 13, we hear that there is work et to be done. We also occasionally hear people being harsh on Joshua, indicating that he hadn’t done his job.  After all, this chapter begins with saying that Joshua was advancing in years.  However, remember that Joshua was already a mature man when he took command.  He was old enough in the community to be sent out as one of the spies to investigate Canaan.  Then, he was there to wander for forty years.  Therefore, Joshua is already at least 55, and probably older than that before he even steps foot into Canaan.  We don’t need to read these words that open this chapter as a critique.  Rather, it is simply just a statement of fact.  Joshua was getting up in age for that time period.  (Jewish tradition actually says that Joshua was 85 when he took over for Moses)

That being said, God doesn’t want the people to be getting complacent when there is still work to be done.  All of the big cities had been taken with help from the Lord.  The easy land had been taken with help from the Lord.  There was plenty of place to settle down.  Only the hard places – places like mountains that are hard to navigate and root out small enclaves of people – remained.  It would be easy for the people to see the task at hand and become satisfied with what they had already been able to accomplish.  God does not want that to happen.

Remember that there are two reasons for the conquest of Canaan.  The people of Canaan had turned to other gods.  They are worshipping beings other than the true Creator.  They have brought judgment upon themselves by their choices.  Second, they were a people who were genuinely living in self-centered pursuit of their own sins.  This had brought judgment upon them as well.

These are important to remember.  If the Canaanites are allowed to remain – and unfortunately, we know they are – then the behavior of these Canaanites will seep into the Hebrew culture.  We know that it does.  This is why God encourages the people to be diligent and complete the work at hand.  It’s a lesson we can all learn.  We must be diligent and see God’s work through to the end.

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Year 7, Day 197: Joshua 12

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Looking at Joshua 12, I am struck by the mirror symbolism here.  We are told about the kings that Moses defeated east of the Jordan.  We are told about the kings that Joshua defeated west of the Jordan.  There is a mirror to this chapter.

This mirrored symbolism leads me back to where I spoke yesterday.  Joshua finishes the work that Moses began.  What Moses obediently begins, Joshua obediently finishes.  Today’s chapter lends itself to continue to lesson from yesterday.

However, today we can extend what we said yesterday.  While Joshua and Moses were obedient, the key is that they were obedient to God.  They are doing God’s plan.  They are fulfilling God’s will.  As I spoke yesterday, they are bearing God’s judgment to the people in Canaan while simultaneous living out the fulfillment of God’s promise to establish the Hebrew people in the Promised Land.

I find that this allows me to fathom the mind and the will of God unlike many other passages.  Remember that God called Abraham out of Ur to dwell in Canaan among the Canaanites.  Then, there was a famine and the Hebrew people went to live in Egypt.  While in Egypt, the Canaanite people grew more and more evil, bringing God’s judgment upon them.  God had a people in Egypt ready to step into that role.  Here is God, setting up the conquest of Canaan well over four hundred years prior in a famine that brings Joseph’s family to him in Egypt.

This is the impressive nature of God.  The God in whom Joshua and Moses had placed their faith and obedience is a God whose plan spans the generations.  This is the God who can even use Joshua, over a millennium in the future, to be a forerunner to Christ.

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Year 7, Day 196: Joshua 11

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Joshua 11 serves as a temporary end to the fighting in Canaan.  Yesterday we had report of the remaining conquest of the south.  Today we hear how Joshua conquered the northern lands.  The Lord was with Joshua, and he was able to subdue the land.

One of the things that I love about this chapter is the return to the concept of obedience.  Obedience is one of the strong themes in the book of Joshua.  We hear again and again – all the way up to the conquest of the north – of how Joshua did what the Lord commanded.  He obeyed in every way, listening to the Lord’s command and being the arm of the Lord.  It is an impressive epitaph to be written over Joshua.

Naturally, I think there is something to be said in this about mentoring as well.  Remember that it was Moses that Joshua stood under.  Moses showed Joshua the ropes.  Moses taught Joshua how to lead.  Moses taught Joshua about relationship with God.  If we look at Moses, we see that Moses was also faithful and obedient.  When we look at the mentoring relationship that Joshua had and the man that Moses was, it is truly no surprise to hear that Joshua was obedient.

There is something else in this passage that is worthy of discussion.  Joshua put all of the people to the sword.  He slaughtered the inhabitants of Canaan.  On the modern ear, this sounds so harsh.  We simply don’t hear of genocide all that often in the modern global community, much less a genocide that is done at the approval of God.

There is the catch.  In our humanity, we wonder how genocide can be righteous.  It is important to remember that God brought the Hebrew people to Canaan for the purposes of conquering the Canaanites and removing them on account of their incredible unethical, immoral, and ungodly behavior.  This is God’s judgment, not Joshua’s genocide.

There are many who would accuse me of hiding behind the veil of God’s righteousness and attributing righteousness to and unrighteous act simply because it is God.  To be fair, I own that.  I don’t see genocide as a righteous act when done by humans.  I struggle to understand how it can be righteous when God does this as well.  But I also own that this is my problem, not a problem with God.

Don’t forget the witness of the Old Testament.  The Old Testament owns the story of God flooding the earth – leading to the death of all but eight human beings – in righteous judgment against sin.  God brings down the Assyrians upon the northern kingdom of Israel is judgment against their sin.  God brings the Babylonians against the Assyrians as judgment upon their sin. God brings the Babylonians upon Judah in judgment against their sin.  God brings the Persians upon the Babylonians as judgment of their sin.  Is it really so hard to conceive that God would bring the Hebrew people against the Canaanites in judgment of their sin?  When placed this way, this is actually demonstrating consistency in God’s action.  Consistency leads me to trust in God’s righteousness.

That’s how I know that the struggle I have in this chapter is really my issue, not God’s issue.

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Year 7, Day 195: Joshua 10

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In Joshua 10 we hear about the subduing of the southern kingdom.  The first thing that we can say about this chapter is regarding the obedience of Joshua.  The chapter ends by stating that Joshua did as the Lord commanded him.  Because of his obedience, the southern land is subdued rather easily.

Of course, there is the manner in which the and is subdued.  Joshua comes to the aid of Gibeon.  He does many things right in this particular part of the story.  Notice that he honors his word and comes to the aid of the Gibeonites.  He has signed a treaty with them and is treating them as servants.  He should come to their aid.

Furthermore, do you notice that he goes before God and makes sure that he is doing the right thing?  God tells him that he should go forth and act because God has blessed the activity.  Joshua doesn’t just do the honorable thing, he humbles himself and pauses to make sure that what he considers the honorable thing actually is the honorable thing.

As we move on in the story, notice what Joshua does when the kings are routed and they hide in the cave.  It would make much sense to stop and deal with the kings.  After all, if you cut off the head of the snake t dies, right?  Joshua could have stopped and killed the kings, figuring that it would signify his victory.  However, Joshua doesn’t do that.  He knows that the opposing military is on the move.  He seals the cave, preserving his moment over the kings.  He pursues the army, ensuring his victory.  He does everything right here.

Last, and certainly not least, is God’s part in this story.  Naturally, we’ve already seen God offer His verbal affirmation of Joshua’s action.  However, it doesn’t stop with God simply being an advocate.  God participates in the battle.  Listen to how God destroys the enemy by throwing down heavy stones in the midst of their retreat.  In fact, more died from God’s hail than from the battle itself!  God is not merely guiding Joshua.  God is actively fighting for the Hebrew people as He promised.

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Year 7, Day 194: Joshua 9

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Joshua 9 is a very interesting study in human behavior, sinfulness, deliverance, and God’s passive will.  There is much to discuss here.  I’ll start with humanity.

The Gibeonites (or Hivites) comes to Joshua dressed as though they had been away from their town on a long march in order to make peace with the Hebrew people.  They are intentionally attempting to deceive Joshua and His men.  Joshua and the Hebrew people smell a trap, but they don’t consult with God.  As a result, they end up making peace with these people.  After the deception is revealed, Joshua is honor bound to have his men honor the terms of the peace.

What can we learn about human behavior and sinfulness here?  From the Hivites we learn that human beings will turn to lies and deception to save our livelihood.  From the Hebrew people we learn that human beings will trust their senses (sight, primarily) even over our greater logic and understanding.  I think that this is a great lesson to learn.  People will believe what they think they see over and above what they reason to be true.  This is such an incredibly dangerous aspect of human beings.  We can also learn from the Hebrew people that we tend to overlook consultation with God.

Look at what we can learn about deliverance here.  The people of Gibeon are delivered.  Granted, they are delivered from destruction into slavery.  The fact remains, though, that they are allowed to live!  Their people are one of the few people in the area of Jericho and Ai that remain alive because they are delivered through deception.  Of course, this leads us to a sticky conversation.  Is it okay to lie in order to get our way?  The short answer is no.  But the real answer is that this lie is no normal lie.  There is truth here.  In order for these Hivites to set up the decpetion, they have to genuinely believe that the God of the Hebrew people is stronger than their own gods or else they wouldn’t be afraid of the Hebrew people.  Therefore, in this lie we can sense at the very least an openness to God.  It is subtly hidden openness to God that bring about their deliverance, not their deception.

Finally, let’s look at the passive will of God.  God allows the Hivites to live.  In spite of their deception and even more in spite of the fact that they are Canaanite and God wanted all of the Canaanites to die, here they are alive as slaves and serving the Hebrew people.  This was not a part of God’s plan any more than Achan’s rebellion and the defeat at Ai.  What we see happening here, though, is that God’s perspective on the course of events is fluid.  He has His plan and what He desires to see happen.  He also knows that human beings are going to muck it up and often cause the plan to come out differently than one might suspect.  God seems to be okay with that.  In most things, perhaps even all things except salvation, God’s passive will is more dominant than God’s active will.

As an adult who spends much time with teenagers, this is a highly important lesson for me to learn.  Most days, I get up with an agenda about how I want the day to go.  Most days, the day does not go as planned because I am interacting with other human beings.  I’m willing to be that most days don’t go as God planned, either, because He is dealing with human beings and allows His passive will to dominate over His active will.  That’s what I need to learn to imitate to become more like God.

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Year 7, Day 193: Joshua 8

Theological Commentary: Click Here

While there are a multitude of directions that I could go with today’s blog post, what I want to talk about today is the concept of forgiveness.  Internally it feels a bit weird to talk about forgiveness on a day when the reading is regarding the sheer and utter destruction of a community.  That is what the Lord has placed upon my heart to discuss.

The Hebrew people utterly destroy Ai.  So where is the forgiveness in this?  The forgiveness is found when we remember the content of the last chapter.  In the last chapter, the people were utterly embarrassed before Ai’s warriors.  What’s the sole difference between chapters 7 and 8?  The difference is God’s favor.  In chapter 8, the people march out to Ai with God’s protection and a plan from God.  In chapter 7, the people march out under their own power and their own plan.

Of course, the good news is that chapter 8 comes after chapter 7.  This feels a bit obvious the way that I stated it.  What I mean to say is that the good news is that a story of success follows a story of failure.  That’s where forgiveness comes into play.  God clearly had an issue with the Hebrew people in chapter 7.  That issue was dealt with, handled, and forgiven.  Because of the forgiveness, God comes beside the Hebrew people and fights beside them and causes them to have a great victory!

This is the great thing about God.  God isn’t worried about holding a grudge.  God isn’t worried about how many times He’s going to get burned by the unfaithfulness of humanity.  God isn’t worried about whether or not He should trust a person or group of people.  God forgives and then gets back to work as if nothing happened.   God truly forgives.  Once the sin has been cleared up, God takes the Hebrew people out and gives them every bit the victory that they experienced at Jericho.

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Year 7, Day 192: Joshua 7

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When the Hebrew people plunder Jericho, there is one among their company who chooses not to listen to God’s decree.  Achan takes some of the plunder because the temptation is too great.  Joshua was clear in the prior chapters that this first battle would have everything of value dedicated to the Lord as the first fruit offering.  Achan chooses not to give.

As I see it, Achan has multiple sins going on in this passage.  He follows his greed.  He is no longer obedient to God.  He steals from the Lord.  He makes his own lust for money an idol and lifts it above the Lord.  He knows it is wrong and he hides the goods under his tent to make sure that he isn’t discovered.

While Achan doesn’t come out and confess the sin without being found out, he does at least admit to the sin when God fids him.  He does seem to show a little sincerity about the admission.

Of course, why wouldn’t he show some sincerity?  The attack on Ai failed because God has lifted his blessing that he placed upon the Hebrew people.  The Hebrew troops are routed badly and the whole company of Hebrew warriors are on the verge of collapse.  Over thirty Hebrew people died in the battle!  Why wouldn’t Achan feel a bit of sincerity about what he has done?

Naturally, this leads to a discussion on consequences.  Achan’s greed leads to his death.  As I mentioned above, it led to multiple deaths of Hebrew people as well.  Achan’s sin has thrown the Hebrew fighting force into doubting God.  Do you hear the prayer of Joshua and the people and how they doubt God’s ability to hand Canaan to them?  Achan’s sin has dire consequences for his own life.  However, Achan’s sin has consequences within the community as well.  That’s important to remember.  Sin always has consequences.  Those consequences often reach into the community beyond us.  Our sin often reaches out to touch the lives of many that we don’t expect to taint in the throes of our sin.

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Year 7, Day 191: Joshua 6

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Three things hold me in absolute awe in Joshua 6.  I love this chapter for so many reasons.  I think I’ll start with the most hidden and move to the most obvious.

The most hidden reason comes from Jewish tradition and not the Bible.  It is very important to understand that it is tradition, and not Biblical truth, out of which this point comes.  Jewish tradition asserts that Joshua and Rahab are married and have children together.  If this is true, look at what this says about faithfulness.  Here is a woman who is considered a prostitute among her own people, yet in her faithfulness to God and the Hebrew people she is married to their leader.

Now, onto truth we can absolutely glean because it is most certainly from the Bible.  Joshua is faithful.  Joshua is faithful to God and he is faithful to Rahab.  First, and most importantly, he brings God’s will to the people and gives them their marching orders from God.  Second, Joshua remembers the promises of the spies into Jericho and sends them in personally to make sure that Rahab is spared.  Here is a man who is trying to live a life in tune with God and in touch with others.  The fruit of that effort is faithfulness.

Finally, look at the people.  Imagine being told to march around a city once a day for six days.  then imagine seeing nothing happen. Oh yeah, imagine being told to say nothing while you are doing it, too.  Then, imagine being told that on the seventh day you would walk around the city seven times and then shout at the end.  It sounds like such a hair-brained scheme.  Don’t forget that this is Joshua’s first military orders, too.  I give much credit to this generation and their faithful obedience.  They are committed to Joshua and to God.  They would have to be in order to be obedient in this first act of war in the Promised Land.

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Year 7, Day 190: Joshua 5

Theological Commentary: Click Here

I wondered as I read this passage today.  I wondered why it is that we are five whole chapters into the book of Joshua and we still haven’t gotten to the battle of Jericho, which signifies the start of the military campaign to take the Promised Land.  Considering that we had the story of the report of the spies several chapters back, it seems strange to be waiting for so long!  Yes, I realize the story is literally right around the corner.

The reason that I start this blog post with my thought is because as I pondered that thought I realized the error of my focus.  While Jericho may be the start of the military campaign, it is not the start of the work of God.  Remember what I wrote a few days ago?  The heart of the native people knew that the God of the Hebrew people had brought them to Canaan to rule it.  God’s already at work.  It is easy to focus on the visible work of men and the start of their military campaign.  But the truth is that the fight for the land began a while ago with God’s hand.  That’s a really important lesson to remember.  God’s work is far more important than our visible human deeds any day.

Look at this chapter for even more proof of this.  What is it that we hear first?  The hearts of the people melt some more.  When the Hebrew people officially cross the Jordan, their fears are confirmed.  Yes, God has brought this plague of Hebrew people upon them to take over the land.

Second, we learn about the consecration of the Hebrew people.  Naturally, this is an important step in these people doing the work of God.  When we are only looking at it from the perspective of humanity, we are left marveling at the idiocy of taking your grown army and causing them to undergo circumcision.  If ever there was a good time for the Canaanites to attack a vulnerable Hebrew nation, that was it!  But this is proof that this is God’s story, not the story of mankind.  The Hebrew people do circumcise themselves.  They are not attacked.  They are made holy before the Lord and are under His protection as they have always been.

Finally, we hear the story of Joshua meeting up with the commander of the Lord’s army.  This is another necessary step in God’s campaign, well before the campaign of mankind begins at Jericho.  God’s commander comes and assures Joshua that God is with him.  I love how this chapter ends.  As we prepare for the battle of Jericho in earnest, we are told the mighty words: you are standing upon holy ground.  Indeed.  This is God’s story of His campaign, not a story of mighty men and their mighty deeds.

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