Finding Rest

 DEVOTION

JOSHUA

FINDING REST

Josh 11

11:1 When Jabin king of Hazor heard of this, he sent word to Jobab king of Madon, to the kings of Shimron and Acshaph, 2 and to the northern kings who were in the mountains, in the Arabah south of Kinnereth, in the western foothills and in Naphoth Dor on the west; 3 to the Canaanites in the east and west; to the Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites and Jebusites in the hill country; and to the Hivites below Hermon in the region of Mizpah. 4 They came out with all their troops and a large number of horses and chariots — a huge army, as numerous as the sand on the seashore. 5 All these kings joined forces and made camp together at the Waters of Merom, to fight against Israel. 6 The LORD said to Joshua, "Do not be afraid of them, because by this time tomorrow I will hand all of them over to Israel, slain. You are to hamstring their horses and burn their chariots." 7 So Joshua and his whole army came against them suddenly at the Waters of Merom and attacked them, 8 and the LORD gave them into the hand of Israel. They defeated them and pursued them all the way to Greater Sidon, to Misrephoth Maim, and to the Valley of Mizpah on the east, until no survivors were left. 9 Joshua did to them as the LORD had directed: He hamstrung their horses and burned their chariots. 10 At that time Joshua turned back and captured Hazor and put its king to the sword. (Hazor had been the head of all these kingdoms.) 11 Everyone in it they put to the sword. They totally destroyed them, not sparing anything that breathed, and he burned up Hazor itself. 12 Joshua took all these royal cities and their kings and put them to the sword. He totally destroyed them, as Moses the servant of the LORD had commanded. 13 Yet Israel did not burn any of the cities built on their mounds — except Hazor, which Joshua burned. 14 The Israelites carried off for themselves all the plunder and livestock of these cities, but all the people they put to the sword until they completely destroyed them, not sparing anyone that breathed. 15 As the LORD commanded his servant Moses, so Moses commanded Joshua, and Joshua did it; he left nothing undone of all that the LORD commanded Moses. 16 So Joshua took this entire land: the hill country, all the Negev, the whole region of Goshen, the western foothills, the Arabah and the mountains of Israel with their foothills, 17 from Mount Halak, which rises toward Seir, to Baal Gad in the Valley of Lebanon below Mount Hermon. He captured all their kings and struck them down, putting them to death. 18 Joshua waged war against all these kings for a long time. 19 Except for the Hivites living in Gibeon, not one city made a treaty of peace with the Israelites, who took them all in battle. 20 For it was the LORD himself who hardened their hearts to wage war against Israel, so that he might destroy them totally, exterminating them without mercy, as the LORD had commanded Moses. 21 At that time Joshua went and destroyed the Anakites from the hill country: from Hebron, Debir and Anab, from all the hill country of Judah, and from all the hill country of Israel. Joshua totally destroyed them and their towns. 22 No Anakites were left in Israelite territory; only in Gaza, Gath and Ashdod did any survive.  So Joshua took the entire land, just as the LORD had directed Moses, and he gave it as an inheritance to Israel according to their tribal divisions. Then the land had rest from war.

NIV

This is a whole chapter, but we could not break up the time the war waged on against Israel and how the LORD gave all the kings and their cities into the hand of Joshua. He destroyed them all, just as the LORD had commanded Moses and how Moses had commanded Joshua. He did not spare anyone who breathed. However, the truth for us today comes from the last verse in the chapter, “Then the land had rest from war”. We remember a time when we were at war with God. Of course, we did not realize it was a futile war because we could never win against God. Yet, spent time as a rebel, refusing to submit to God, even to the point of questioning whether God existed. Our life was a war, battling to survive from childhood to arrive at an age  when we could learn to take on our enemies, and still it was a war that ultimately was against God. There was hatred in our hearts that would not allow us rest. Our soul was disturbed, and we could not find any rest. However, God was not about to give up on us and brought us to a place where he could intervene through someone where we would hear his words that caused us to see the truth. It was nothing less than a miracle that God performed so that we could come in from the battle we had been waging and find rest for our souls. Everything we had been fighting against in life, he gave into our hands, for through faith we found true life instead of death. Just as God gave the land of Canaan as an inheritance to Israel, He has given us the promised land, the place Jesus went to prepare for us, as an eternal inheritance. Jesus promised that he would give us rest, just as the LORD God told Moses, “My presence would go with you, and I will give you rest”, There is no longer any war to wage for the Lord fights our battles for us, although he has dressed us, or given us his armor so that we can put on the full armor of God. We do need to be dressed with his armor because someone is waging war against us, yet as long as we are properly dressed we still have rest in our soul for we know the battle is the Lord’s and he will defeat all the forces of evil sending them all into the lake of burning sulfur. We just need to be still and know that He is God, and He told us that if we are weary and burden from waging war, if we take his yoke upon us, that is we travel the same way he does, we go with him wherever he goes, he will give us rest for our souls. 

Do It and Watch

 DEVOTION

JOSHUA

DO IT AND WATCH

 

Josh 10:29-43

29 Then Joshua and all Israel with him moved on from Makkedah to Libnah and attacked it. 30 The LORD also gave that city and its king into Israel's hand. The city and everyone in it Joshua put to the sword. He left no survivors there. And he did to its king as he had done to the king of Jericho. 31 Then Joshua and all Israel with him moved on from Libnah to Lachish; he took up positions against it and attacked it. 32 The LORD handed Lachish over to Israel, and Joshua took it on the second day. The city and everyone in it he put to the sword, just as he had done to Libnah. 33 Meanwhile, Horam king of Gezer had come up to help Lachish, but Joshua defeated him and his army — until no survivors were left. 34 Then Joshua and all Israel with him moved on from Lachish to Eglon; they took up positions against it and attacked it. 35 They captured it that same day and put it to the sword and totally destroyed everyone in it, just as they had done to Lachish. 36 Then Joshua and all Israel with him went up from Eglon to Hebron and attacked it. 37 They took the city and put it to the sword, together with its king, its villages and everyone in it. They left no survivors. Just as at Eglon, they totally destroyed it and everyone in it. 38 Then Joshua and all Israel with him turned around and attacked Debir. 39 They took the city, its king and its villages, and put them to the sword. Everyone in it they totally destroyed. They left no survivors. They did to Debir and its king as they had done to Libnah and its king and to Hebron. 40 So Joshua subdued the whole region, including the hill country, the Negev, the western foothills and the mountain slopes, together with all their kings. He left no survivors. He totally destroyed all who breathed, just as the LORD, the God of Israel, had commanded. 41 Joshua subdued them from Kadesh Barnea to Gaza and from the whole region of Goshen to Gibeon. 42 All these kings and their lands Joshua conquered in one campaign, because the LORD, the God of Israel, fought for Israel. 43 Then Joshua returned with all Israel to the camp at Gilgal.

NIV

This was done within one campaign and we have found a map of all these cities that we are including today to better understand what and where all this happened. Although as interestingly as that is the point of all this narrative has two main points. The first is that Joshua did just as the LORD, the God of Israel had commanded. The second is he conquered all he did because the LORD the God of Israel fought for Israel. This is where we take our lesson or see how our lives should reflect those two truths. First, it would behoove us to do just as our Lord has commanded. This is more than going to church on Sunday, or that list of don’ts and do’s that seem to creep into the church. This is about obeying the command of our Lord for every aspect of our lives, where we live, where we work and worship, along with reflecting his glory, and shining his light wherever we go. Joshua followed God’s command and fought and conquered all those cities. He went into the heat of battle because God commanded Joshua to have all the land he had given into his hand. Everything starts with God, not with us. We are not supposed to make a choice as to where we live, work, or worship and then ask the Lord to bless our choice. Nothing starts with us, but everything must start with God and then we follow his command. We wonder whether we can even love each other in the power of our own flesh, although, we know Jesus told us that if we love those who love us, what credit is that to us, even ‘sinners’ love those who love them. If we do good to those who do good to us, what credit is that to us, for even ‘sinners’ do that. Jesus said more about lending expecting repayment, ‘sinners’ do that, but he finished all that with "Be merciful as our Father is merciful". The whole of the truth is that we must do just as the Lord commands. Secondly, we also know that our Lord fights for us. We do not leave us alone in the dark world. For one thing, we no longer walk in the darkness of the world for we have the light of Jesus, in fact, we are the light of the world now and we should be shining our light into every dark place we walk so that we will never walk in the dark again, for everywhere we are there is light. However, the point is that Jesus fights for us. He wins the battles for us so that we do not have to be oppressed by the world with all its fortified cities, so to speak. The things of this world cannot overcome us, or invade our lives, because Jesus is within us and we are in him, as he fights those life battles we face. Let us always be attentive to his command and watch as he gives us victory in life. It comes down to, “Do it, and “watch”.

Living with Strength and courage

 DEVOTION

JOSHUA

LIVING WITH STRENGTH AND COURAGE

Josh 10:15-28

15 Then Joshua returned with all Israel to the camp at Gilgal. 16 Now the five kings had fled and hidden in the cave at Makkedah. 17 When Joshua was told that the five kings had been found hiding in the cave at Makkedah, 18 he said, "Roll large rocks up to the mouth of the cave, and post some men there to guard it. 19 But don't stop! Pursue your enemies, attack them from the rear and don't let them reach their cities, for the LORD your God has given them into your hand." 20 So Joshua and the Israelites destroyed them completely — almost to a man — but the few who were left reached their fortified cities. 21 The whole army then returned safely to Joshua in the camp at Makkedah, and no one uttered a word against the Israelites. 22 Joshua said, "Open the mouth of the cave and bring those five kings out to me." 23 So they brought the five kings out of the cave — the kings of Jerusalem, Hebron, Jarmuth, Lachish and Eglon. 24 When they had brought these kings to Joshua, he summoned all the men of Israel and said to the army commanders who had come with him, "Come here and put your feet on the necks of these kings." So they came forward and placed their feet on their necks. 25 Joshua said to them, "Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged. Be strong and courageous. This is what the LORD will do to all the enemies you are going to fight." 26 Then Joshua struck and killed the kings and hung them on five trees, and they were left hanging on the trees until evening. 27 At sunset Joshua gave the order and they took them down from the trees and threw them into the cave where they had been hiding. At the mouth of the cave they placed large rocks, which are there to this day. 28 That day Joshua took Makkedah. He put the city and its king to the sword and totally destroyed everyone in it. He left no survivors. And he did to the king of Makkedah as he had done to the king of Jericho.

NIV

Although this narrative is about war and killing everyone and then the brutal action against the five kings, having the army commanders put their feet on the necks of the five kings, a sign of total disrespect, there is something we can identify with, or use as a lesson. Joshua repeated the words he had been spoken to by the LORD. “Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged. Be strong and courageous. This is what the LORD will do to all the enemies you are to fight”. four things we can do as children of the Living God. We can never be afraid or discouraged, instead, we can be strong and courageous. That is two entirely different ways to live. We can become gripped with fear when we face our enemies, that is if we have any, but there are situations in life that cause us to become anxious or nervous to deal with. Those things that we should do, but fear holds us back. Then there are times when things are not going how we think they should, or we cannot seem to overcome the aches and pains our bodies want to inflict on us and discouragement starts to settle in because it seems the Lord is not answering our prayers to heal our bodies. But we have been healed regardless of the condition of our bodies, for we are spirits who live within bodies. However, it matters not, for Jesus healed the bodies of all who came to him, as he healed their spirits, turning them from the law to grace. Nevertheless, whatever we face in life, we can do it with strength and courage, not leaving any survivors of those things that come against us. We can be strong because He is strong. In other words, because we are weak, we are strong. Our strength comes from the Lord, as well does our courage. We are not meant to just live out our days doing whatever suits our fancy, especially as believers. We are running a race, pressing toward the goal, running, always running, never giving up, never getting pushed back, but running until we win the prize. God has a plan for our lives and we should be actively engaged in following that plan he has both laid out for us and shone his light for us to see our way. For us to just sit still, not pursuing the goal, is when we can see fear and discouragement becoming active. No, we must run the race, follow the Lord, keep on keeping on and be strong and have courage for our Lord will do great things for us, in us and through us, just as he had done for all those men of the past, like we see in Joshua. We will live with the strength of the Lord and with great courage because the Lord fights for us. 

God's Power Displayed

 DEVOTION

JOSHUA

GOD’S POWER DISPLAYED

Josh 10:1-14

10:1 Now Adoni-Zedek king of Jerusalem heard that Joshua had taken Ai and totally destroyed it, doing to Ai and its king as he had done to Jericho and its king, and that the people of Gibeon had made a treaty of peace with Israel and were living near them. 2 He and his people were very much alarmed at this, because Gibeon was an important city, like one of the royal cities; it was larger than Ai, and all its men were good fighters. 3 So Adoni-Zedek king of Jerusalem appealed to Hoham king of Hebron, Piram king of Jarmuth, Japhia king of Lachish and Debir king of Eglon. 4 "Come up and help me attack Gibeon," he said, "because it has made peace with Joshua and the Israelites." 5 Then the five kings of the Amorites — the kings of Jerusalem, Hebron, Jarmuth, Lachish and Eglon — joined forces. They moved up with all their troops and took up positions against Gibeon and attacked it. 6 The Gibeonites then sent word to Joshua in the camp at Gilgal: "Do not abandon your servants. Come up to us quickly and save us! Help us, because all the Amorite kings from the hill country have joined forces against us." 7 So Joshua marched up from Gilgal with his entire army, including all the best fighting men. 8 The LORD said to Joshua, "Do not be afraid of them; I have given them into your hand. Not one of them will be able to withstand you." 9 After an all-night march from Gilgal, Joshua took them by surprise. 10 The LORD threw them into confusion before Israel, who defeated them in a great victory at Gibeon. Israel pursued them along the road going up to Beth Horon and cut them down all the way to Azekah and Makkedah. 11 As they fled before Israel on the road down from Beth Horon to Azekah, the LORD hurled large hailstones down on them from the sky, and more of them died from the hailstones than were killed by the swords of the Israelites. 12 On the day the LORD gave the Amorites over to Israel, Joshua said to the LORD in the presence of Israel: "O sun, stand still over Gibeon, O moon, over the Valley of Aijalon." 13 So the sun stood still, and the moon stopped, till the nation avenged itself on its enemies, as it is written in the Book of Jashar. The sun stopped in the middle of the sky and delayed going down about a full day. 14 There has never been a day like it before or since, a day when the LORD listened to a man. Surely the LORD was fighting for Israel!

NIV

Within the whole narrative of this war all the attacking and killing, and the pursuing of those five kings and their armies, we have something that is a once-in-a-lifetime event for Joshua, as well as for all mankind. First, although the LORD had told Joshua not to be concerned for he had given those kings and their armies into the hands of Joshua and his fighting men. Second, it is also interesting God threw those five kings and their armies into confusion so Joshua had a great victory in battle over them. However, they fled from the army of Joshua and so they pursued after them. Thirdly, God got involved personally in the fight and threw down large hailstones upon the fleeing armies of the five kings and killed more than had been slain in the battle against the army of Israel. But the greatest event was that God listened to Joshua and did as Joshua spoke in the presence of Israel. “O sun, stand still over Gibeon, O moon, of the Valley of Aijalon”. So it happened just as Joshua spoke it. There have been studies by those who think they are in the know, which say this was the first eclipse recorded of what happens every so many years, so they can date this battle time exactly. However, the point here is not the time it happened, but God listened to a man and had the sun stand still, or as we know, kept the earth from spinning, keeping the sun shining until Israel avenged itself on its enemies. It is written there was never a day like that one or since that, the LORD listened to a man. Yet, we know because of the rest of the words of God, we are assured that He hears our prayers. He listens to us every time we speak to him. Jesus promised us that we could ask the Father anything in his name and he would do it. Of course, our salvation is an act of God listening to our prayer of repentance. However, what happened that day was special for the Hebrew word translated when the LORD listened to a man, has a direct use as, to hear, to listen, to harken, to obey. Therefore, God did what Joshua spoke, God obeyed the words of a man. There are false prophets today who teach the “Name it, and claim it” theology, in essence, saying they have the same authority Joshua had that one day and God is obliged to do whatever they say. Rubish, as the exact opposite is true, we are obligated to do whatever God says. He is God and we are His people, His creation, His to command. Nevertheless, God displayed his majestic power on that day, before all of Israel, just as we see him display his awesome power in our lives today.

 

They Heard about God

 DEVOTION

JOSHUA

THEY HEARD ABOUT GOD

Josh 9:16-27

16 Three days after they made the treaty with the Gibeonites, the Israelites heard that they were neighbors, living near them. 17 So the Israelites set out and on the third day came to their cities: Gibeon, Kephirah, Beeroth and Kiriath Jearim. 18 But the Israelites did not attack them, because the leaders of the assembly had sworn an oath to them by the LORD, the God of Israel. The whole assembly grumbled against the leaders, 19 but all the leaders answered, "We have given them our oath by the LORD, the God of Israel, and we cannot touch them now. 20 This is what we will do to them: We will let them live, so that wrath will not fall on us for breaking the oath we swore to them." 21 They continued, "Let them live, but let them be woodcutters and water carriers for the entire community." So the leaders' promise to them was kept. 22 Then Joshua summoned the Gibeonites and said, "Why did you deceive us by saying, 'We live a long way from you,' while actually you live near us? 23 You are now under a curse: You will never cease to serve as woodcutters and water carriers for the house of my God." 24 They answered Joshua, "Your servants were clearly told how the LORD your God had commanded his servant Moses to give you the whole land and to wipe out all its inhabitants from before you. So we feared for our lives because of you, and that is why we did this. 25 We are now in your hands. Do to us whatever seems good and right to you." 26 So Joshua saved them from the Israelites, and they did not kill them. 27 That day he made the Gibeonites woodcutters and water carriers for the community and for the altar of the LORD at the place the LORD would choose. And that is what they are to this day.

NIV

Although there was deception from the Gibeonites, the leaders of Israel held firm to the oath they made in the presence of their God. Because of the oath they allowed the Gibeonites to live while making them woodcutters and water carriers for the whole community of the Israelites. However, the story here points to another great truth we must consider. When the Gibeonites were questioned why they deceived Joshua and the elders of Israel, their answer is our truth for today. They answered, “Your servants were clearly told how the LORD you God had commanded his servant Moses to give you  the whole land and to wipe out all its inhabitants from before you, So we feared for our lives because of you”. Everyone in the land must have known about the LORD God of Israel and feared the Israelites and what they would do. The only time so far the Israelites were routed was because Joshua only sent a few men, and he did not consult with the LORD before sending those men. The question that is before us is regarding how many people in this land know we are Christians? Of course, they would not fear for their lives, but maybe they might fear having their sins exposed by the light of Jesus, or for that matter, the light we now have within us. Yet, it seems we simply walk among them hiding both our light and the light of Jesus, so as not to offend anyone. How did the Gibeonites know all about the LORD God of Moses and the miracles that happened? Word spread about the LORD God and all He did for the Israelites. However, in our land, many people are aware of God, with some refusing to accept his existence, while others, know something about him but still live in the darkness of their own passions, and even some who know of God and attend some church, but have not committed to his ways and still live according to their own designs for their lives. How are they going to know unless someone tells them? Who will God send to tell them? How are they going to see the miracles of  the LORD God for his people unless he does miracles among us? We wonder why there are no miracles among us. Do we not believe in miracles? Maybe if we believed there would be many miracles then the people would hear, but then we might still have to show or tell them about Jesus and all the wonderful miracles he has done in our lives. Of course, our salvation is a miracle. Of course, the presence of the Holy Spirit within us is a miracle. Then we have all the provisions that have been given to us by the hand of God. But have we just blended in so well with the world or separated ourselves, isolated us from them so they are not aware of all the wonderful things the Lord has done for us, and in us? Perhaps we need to be more vocal as we live among them. Maybe, God needs to do some explosive miracles that would draw their attention. Do they love the darkness so much that they would even refuse the truth if they were to be told? Yet, we have been told to go into the world and spread the good news about Jesus. Let us live large, out loud, raising our voices for Jesus wherever we go, and let God do what God does. 

Yes or No

DEVOTION

JOSHUA

YES OR NO

Josh 9:1-15

9:1 Now when all the kings west of the Jordan heard about these things — those in the hill country, in the western foothills, and along the entire coast of the Great Sea as far as Lebanon (the kings of the Hittites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites)— 2 they came together to make war against Joshua and Israel. 3 However, when the people of Gibeon heard what Joshua had done to Jericho and Ai, 4 they resorted to a ruse: They went as a delegation whose donkeys were loaded with worn-out sacks and old wineskins, cracked and mended. 5 The men put worn and patched sandals on their feet and wore old clothes. All the bread of their food supply was dry and moldy. 6 Then they went to Joshua in the camp at Gilgal and said to him and the men of Israel, "We have come from a distant country; make a treaty with us." 7 The men of Israel said to the Hivites, "But perhaps you live near us. How then can we make a treaty with you?" 8 "We are your servants," they said to Joshua. But Joshua asked, "Who are you and where do you come from?" 9 They answered: "Your servants have come from a very distant country because of the fame of the LORD your God. For we have heard reports of him: all that he did in Egypt, 10 and all that he did to the two kings of the Amorites east of the Jordan-Sihon king of Heshbon, and Og king of Bashan, who reigned in Ashtaroth. 11 And our elders and all those living in our country said to us, 'Take provisions for your journey; go and meet them and say to them, "We are your servants; make a treaty with us." '  12 This bread of ours was warm when we packed it at home on the day we left to come to you. But now see how dry and moldy it is. 13 And these wineskins that we filled were new, but see how cracked they are. And our clothes and sandals are worn out by the very long journey." 14 The men of Israel sampled their provisions but did not inquire of the LORD. 15 Then Joshua made a treaty of peace with them to let them live, and the leaders of the assembly ratified it by oath.

NIV

Oaths are not the best method of making any treaty or agreement. Another word for an oath we use more often than we should is “ promise”. We promise we will get that done as soon as possible, and then we sort of forget that we made an oath. Israel made this oath with the people of Gibeon who came to them with nothing but lies. We are going to see that oath bite the Israelites in the backside, so to speak. Although a law was given to the Israelites about oaths as recorded in Leviticus when the LORD God told them not to swear falsely by his name, as it would profane his name. Yet Jesus commanded that we should not swear at all, neither by heaven, for it is God’s throne. Jesus went on to tell us to simply let our ‘yes’ be ‘yes’ and our ‘no’ be ‘no’. We know there are times that a person may ask us to promise to do this or that and it would be best not to make that promise, but to simply either say yes or no. Of course, the promise we make to our spouse on our wedding day is the one oath we need to keep, although we have seen a decline in that oath-keeping in our culture over the past few decades. Let us not make the same mistake that Israel did, but we can say, yes or no and let that be sufficient. It might not make for the best answer as sometimes a person may want us to promise that we would either do or not do something. We must remind them that we cannot promise, or swear that we will or will not do something, for it is against the word of our Lord. If we can use this example of the ruse those people came to Joshua with as how some people may come to us falsely wanting to trap us in a promise, although, for the most part, we would think most people would not do that. Yet, we also need to seek the gift of discernment so we will know who comes truthfully asking our help, or seeking assistance so that we can say, “yes” and mean “yes”.  

Book of God

 DEVOTION

JOSHUA

BOOK OF GOD

Josh 8:30-35

30 Then Joshua built on Mount Ebal an altar to the LORD, the God of Israel, 31 as Moses the servant of the LORD had commanded the Israelites. He built it according to what is written in the Book of the Law of Moses — an altar of uncut stones, on which no iron tool had been used. On it they offered to the LORD burnt offerings and sacrificed fellowship offerings.   32 There, in the presence of the Israelites, Joshua copied on stones the law of Moses, which he had written. 33 All Israel, aliens and citizens alike, with their elders, officials and judges, were standing on both sides of the ark of the covenant of the LORD, facing those who carried it — the priests, who were Levites. Half of the people stood in front of Mount Gerizim and half of them in front of Mount Ebal, as Moses the servant of the LORD had formerly commanded when he gave instructions to bless the people of Israel. 34 Afterward, Joshua read all the words of the law — the blessings and the curses — just as it is written in the Book of the Law. 35 There was not a word of all that Moses had commanded that Joshua did not read to the whole assembly of Israel, including the women and children, and the aliens who lived among them.

NIV

To hear all the words of the Book of the Law would have taken some time, and yet Joshua took his time and read every word out loud for all of Israel and the aliens that lived among them. As we know he did not have a sound system and microphone to carry his voice so that many people could hear him, however, we are told they heard his voice. We wonder if something supernatural was going on as Joshua read all the words of the law. Some of our churches today have altars while others have a platform with a small pulpit made of wood or we have seen glass or plexiglass ones. However, whatever type of pulpit area, it resides within a sanctuary which should be a holy place where we bring a sacrifice of praise, and we present ourselves as a living sacrifice to our Lord. This is the place where the book of God should always be read out loud before the people. Even on a personal level, we think it is good to read the book of God not with only our eyes, but with our voice. We would think that Joshua and all the people revered the Book of the Law, for it was God’s word to Moses who wrote it down and first spoke it to the people. This is why we believe the pastors of our churches today should always read the book of God to the people as they gather to worship the Lord in his sanctuary, the holy place where the book of God is read. Now, some of the holy places where the book of God is read can be heard by others via some media platforms, which is good, for some might not be believers, but aliens. However, unlike in the time of Joshua, aliens today can become a believer just by hearing the words of the book of God. Let us always be about speaking the words written in the book of God wherever we might find ourselves, but especially within the holy place, where we offer ourselves as living sacrifices and offer those sacrifices of praise, as we listen to the words of the book of God, with all its blessings and curses. 

Keep the Sword Raised

 DEVOTION

JOSHUA

KEEP THE SWORD RAISED

Josh 8:9-29

9 Then Joshua sent them off, and they went to the place of ambush and lay in wait between Bethel and Ai, to the west of Ai — but Joshua spent that night with the people. 10 Early the next morning Joshua mustered his men, and he and the leaders of Israel marched before them to Ai. 11 The entire force that was with him marched up and approached the city and arrived in front of it. They set up camp north of Ai, with the valley between them and the city. 12 Joshua had taken about five thousand men and set them in ambush between Bethel and Ai, to the west of the city. 13 They had the soldiers take up their positions — all those in the camp to the north of the city and the ambush to the west of it. That night Joshua went into the valley. 14 When the king of Ai saw this, he and all the men of the city hurried out early in the morning to meet Israel in battle at a certain place overlooking the Arabah. But he did not know that an ambush had been set against him behind the city. 15 Joshua and all Israel let themselves be driven back before them, and they fled toward the desert. 16 All the men of Ai were called to pursue them, and they pursued Joshua and were lured away from the city. 17 Not a man remained in Ai or Bethel who did not go after Israel. They left the city open and went in pursuit of Israel. 18 Then the LORD said to Joshua, "Hold out toward Ai the javelin that is in your hand, for into your hand I will deliver the city." So Joshua held out his javelin toward Ai. 19 As soon as he did this, the men in the ambush rose quickly from their position and rushed forward. They entered the city and captured it and quickly set it on fire. 20 The men of Ai looked back and saw the smoke of the city rising against the sky, but they had no chance to escape in any direction, for the Israelites who had been fleeing toward the desert had turned back against their pursuers. 21 For when Joshua and all Israel saw that the ambush had taken the city and that smoke was going up from the city, they turned around and attacked the men of Ai. 22 The men of the ambush also came out of the city against them, so that they were caught in the middle, with Israelites on both sides. Israel cut them down, leaving them neither survivors nor fugitives. 23 But they took the king of Ai alive and brought him to Joshua. 24 When Israel had finished killing all the men of Ai in the fields and in the desert where they had chased them, and when every one of them had been put to the sword, all the Israelites returned to Ai and killed those who were in it. 25 Twelve thousand men and women fell that day — all the people of Ai. 26 For Joshua did not draw back the hand that held out his javelin until he had destroyed all who lived in Ai. 27 But Israel did carry off for themselves the livestock and plunder of this city, as the LORD had instructed Joshua. 28 So Joshua burned Ai and made it a permanent heap of ruins, a desolate place to this day. 29 He hung the king of Ai on a tree and left him there until evening. At sunset, Joshua ordered them to take his body from the tree and throw it down at the entrance of the city gate. And they raised a large pile of rocks over it, which remains to this day.

NIV

 

Yes, it is a big chunk of the narrative, but there was no good place to break in without leaving the truth that is pointed out to us. A good ambush was accomplished, and Joshua and all his fighting men killed all the men of Ai just as the Lord had told Joshua, except the king was brought out to Joshua. However, we noticed the battle ensued as Joshua raised his javelin, or short sword until the battle was won with all who lived in Ai were destroyed. It reminds us of when Moses held up his staff and the waters of the Red Sea were divided until all of Israel was saved. There was also the time when Israel, led by Joshua, was fighting against the Amalekites, and as long as Moses who was on the hilltop, held his hands up Israel was winning, but when he lowered his hands the Amalekites were winning, so Aaron and Hur sat Moses on a stone and stood on either side of him holding his hands up. Here is where our story meets this narrative. We possess the means to contend with the challenges of evil. With the weapon we have, the sword in our hands and hearts, the word of God,  and as long as we keep that sword raised we can win the battle against evil. But if we lower our sword, the word of God, then evil will be winning the battle. The question is how do we keep it raised? Just as Aaron and Hur stood on either side of Moses, we have our brothers and sisters standing by our sides, much like the Roman army standing side by side holding their shields making a solid wall of defense against the flaming arrows of the enemy. We also have our shields of faith as we stand side by side and we can defend the flaming arrows of the evil one. All in all, we have all the weapons of God that we need to continue to win the battle against evil that keeps attacking our lives. He does not care about those who are not on the side of God, he already has them, but we who love the Lord are who he has his sights on destroying. Let us keep our sword raised in our hands, but more importantly, in our hearts, and with the Lord’s strength and power, we will win not just the battle, but the whole war. Keep our sword raised. 

Live with Courage

 DEVOTION

JOSHUA

LIVE WITH COURAGE

Josh 8:1-8

8:1 Then the LORD said to Joshua, "Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged. Take the whole army with you, and go up and attack Ai. For I have delivered into your hands the king of Ai, his people, his city and his land. 2 You shall do to Ai and its king as you did to Jericho and its king, except that you may carry off their plunder and livestock for yourselves. Set an ambush behind the city." 3 So Joshua and the whole army moved out to attack Ai. He chose thirty thousand of his best fighting men and sent them out at night 4 with these orders: "Listen carefully. You are to set an ambush behind the city. Don't go very far from it. All of you be on the alert. 5 I and all those with me will advance on the city, and when the men come out against us, as they did before, we will flee from them. 6 They will pursue us until we have lured them away from the city, for they will say, 'They are running away from us as they did before.' So when we flee from them, 7 you are to rise up from ambush and take the city. The LORD your God will give it into your hand. 8 When you have taken the city, set it on fire. Do what the LORD has commanded. See to it; you have my orders."

NIV

The LORD spoke to Joshua, and his first words were, “Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged”. From Genesis to Revelation, the phrase, “Do not be afraid” appears sixty-nine times. God told Abraham, Moses, Joshua, and Elijah. Daniel, David, Joseph, Mary, the disciple, Paul, not to be afraid, just to name a few. Six times the phrase, “do not be discouraged” appears, with the word courage showing up twenty-one times. We learn here that we should live without ever being afraid or becoming discouraged about anything, but instead live with courage, for the Lord is with us. There are two ways we could understand, “The Lord is with us”. First, if the Lord is with us that would mean he is not against us. It would be like if we were a group of men and we had to choose sides for a game of sports, we would ask who is with us, step forward, those who are not with us will be against us. Therefore we can have confidence the Lord is on our side, or we could say we are on his side, either way, the Lord is with us. Second, we could see the Lord being with us, as being within us. We have been given the Holy Spirit who dwells within us. He is the third person of the Triune Godhead; therefore we would be right to think God dwells within us. That should shake us to the core, yet at the same time give us great comfort, knowing we have nothing to fear,  no reason to be afraid or discouraged, but rather free to live a life of courage. The other phrase, “Listen carefully” appears six times, with “Listen” showing up over two hundred times. This would give us a clue as to why we could not be afraid or discouraged, but instead, be free to live with courage. Listening carefully to the word of the Lord.  It is one thing for the Lord to be with us, and dwell within us, but if we close our ears, and more importantly our hearts to his voice, we will not fully grasp the truth about living without being afraid or discouraged, and we will not live freely with courage. Let us listen carefully and not be afraid, but live with courage. 

No hiding from God

 DEVOTION

JOSHUA

NO HIDING FROM GOD

Josh 7:13-26

13 "Go, consecrate the people. Tell them, 'Consecrate yourselves in preparation for tomorrow; for this is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: That which is devoted is among you, O Israel. You cannot stand against your enemies until you remove it. 14 "'In the morning, present yourselves tribe by tribe. The tribe that the LORD takes shall come forward clan by clan; the clan that the LORD takes shall come forward family by family; and the family that the LORD takes shall come forward man by man. 15 He who is caught with the devoted things shall be destroyed by fire, along with all that belongs to him. He has violated the covenant of the LORD and has done a disgraceful thing in Israel!'" 16 Early the next morning Joshua had Israel come forward by tribes, and Judah was taken. 17 The clans of Judah came forward, and he took the Zerahites. He had the clan of the Zerahites come forward by families, and Zimri was taken. 18 Joshua had his family come forward man by man, and Achan son of Carmi, the son of Zimri, the son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, was taken. 19 Then Joshua said to Achan, "My son, give glory to the LORD, the God of Israel, and give him the praise. Tell me what you have done; do not hide it from me." 20 Achan replied, "It is true! I have sinned against the LORD, the God of Israel. This is what I have done: 21 When I saw in the plunder a beautiful robe from Babylonia, two hundred shekels of silver and a wedge of gold weighing fifty shekels, I coveted them and took them. They are hidden in the ground inside my tent, with the silver underneath." 22 So Joshua sent messengers, and they ran to the tent, and there it was, hidden in his tent, with the silver underneath. 23 They took the things from the tent, brought them to Joshua and all the Israelites and spread them out before the LORD. 24 Then Joshua, together with all Israel, took Achan son of Zerah, the silver, the robe, the gold wedge, his sons and daughters, his cattle, donkeys and sheep, his tent and all that he had, to the Valley of Achor. 25 Joshua said, "Why have you brought this trouble on us? The LORD will bring trouble on you today." Then all Israel stoned him, and after they had stoned the rest, they burned them. 26 Over Achan they heaped up a large pile of rocks, which remains to this day. Then the LORD turned from his fierce anger. Therefore that place has been called the Valley of Achor ever since.

NIV

This is the rest of the story. Although they came tribe by tribe, family by family, and man by man, the LORD knew exactly who he would call out and his name. Achan was the man the LORD was waiting for a confession of guilt. What happened is not part of our lives as we live under grace. We do not need to be concerned that the church will take us outside and stone us and then burn all our possessions, in fact, that is so far from how we live by faith today. Yet, there is this one idea that causes us to ponder. First, Achan coveted this robe from Babylonia and about five pounds of silver and about one and a half pounds of gold and he took them and buried them in the ground within his tent. We wonder what good that silver and gold would be if it was buried in the ground. Was it that Achan just knew he had it and that was enough? But the truth here is about coveting. We live in a culture where we are exposed to so many things. We can shop in any store in the world in our pajamas when we scroll the internet. We can see so much we would like to have that we do not even recognize we are coveting. Yet, are we disobeying God, as Achan did? The Israelites were specially commanded not to take anything, but to destroy everything which included all that is devoted to destruction. We are simply told not to covet what belongs to someone else, whether that is his salary, education, or fame. We cannot allow ourselves to be jealous of someone’s good looks, the car they have, or the position in the body of Christ. However, are we wrong to want what we see in the store when we have the funds to buy it? Is that coveting? It is just a thought. Yet, the other truth that is staring at us is the idea that Achon tried to hide his sin. The Lord knew who it was before the confession took place. There is nothing hidden from the Lord God Almighty, for if there could be anything hidden from him he would not be the Lord God Almighty. We can hide things, even our sins from other people, but we cannot hide anything from our Lord. We might try to bury something deep within our hearts, as men can only see our exterior, while God sees deep within our hearts. David knew this truth when he penned Psalm 139. He asked the Lord to search him for He knows him, and that the Lord knows when we sit and when we rise and He perceives our thoughts from afar. The Lord discerns our going out and our lying down and the Lord is familiar with all our ways. He knows before a word is on our tongue. David knew the lord knows us completely. We cannot hide anything, even our thoughts from the Lord. Let us be aware of the grace we live within, however, we also need to be aware of living with the Living God Almighty who dwells within us as the Holy Spirit, who knows everything about us, although we do not need to live in fear of God, yet in reverence of him because of grace. Let us never even attempt to hide anything from God.

 

Get Rid of Them

 DEVOTION

JOSHUA

GET RID OF THEM

Josh 7:6-12

6 Then Joshua tore his clothes and fell facedown to the ground before the ark of the LORD, remaining there till evening. The elders of Israel did the same, and sprinkled dust on their heads. 7 And Joshua said, "Ah, Sovereign LORD, why did you ever bring this people across the Jordan to deliver us into the hands of the Amorites to destroy us? If only we had been content to stay on the other side of the Jordan! 8 O Lord, what can I say, now that Israel has been routed by its enemies? 9 The Canaanites and the other people of the country will hear about this and they will surround us and wipe out our name from the earth. What then will you do for your own great name?" 10 The LORD said to Joshua, "Stand up! What are you doing down on your face? 11 Israel has sinned; they have violated my covenant, which I commanded them to keep. They have taken some of the devoted things; they have stolen, they have lied, they have put them with their own possessions. 12 That is why the Israelites cannot stand against their enemies; they turn their backs and run because they have been made liable to destruction. I will not be with you anymore unless you destroy whatever among you is devoted to destruction.

NIV

We are still in the portion where some devoted things, false gods, and hidden things from the plunder of Jericho are the main topics of this chapter. Because the fighting men were routed by their enemy, Joshua and the elders prostrated themselves before the ark of the LORD. But the Lord told Joshua to stand up and informed him there were things in the camp devoted to destruction and unless they were destroyed, Israel would not be able to stand; in fact, the Lord will no longer be with Joshua or the people. That is harsh, and it seems easy to glean a truth for our lives. We know that Jesus said that he would never leave us nor forsake us and that we have the Spirit dwelling within us, however, there is something we need to ponder. Is it possible that we have anything that we have hidden from the Lord? Are we putting value in or on something that takes our face from the Lord? We know we are warned in Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians about eating the communion unworthily, which caused many of them to be sick and even some fell asleep, or died. We are to examine ourselves before we take communion and see if we have any unconfessed sin in our lives before we partake in the Lord’s supper. However, what about our daily lives? Why are there not massive amounts of healing in the church? Oh, we see scenes from some churches where hundreds are under the influence of the Spirit, and many healings are happening, but is it real, or are the people under the influence of some false teacher? Still, we do wonder why we do not see many healings in our local churches. Are we hiding anything from the Lord? Are we trusting in anything more than the Lord? Have we put more value on anything than on Jesus? Is the Lord our utmost important focus in our lives? This is not to say we cannot enjoy things, but what or who is the reason we have those things? We are told to seek first the kingdom of God, that is our first and foremost focus is supposed to be on the Lord and His kingdom, our spiritual journey being influenced by the Spirit. We are told to forget what is behind us and strain toward our goal, the prize, the kingdom of God. Yes, we have to live in this world and engage in daily activities, some of which may not appear religious or spiritual, but that does not mean we have forgotten or should not mean we should forget the presence of our Lord. Maybe, just a thought, not a judgment, if we faced the Lord instead of some hidden thing, we would see more healing. God told them to rid themselves of anything of destruction, and we might consider if we have anything in our lives we need to get rid of. 

A Treacherous Act

 DEVOTION

JOSHUA

A TREACHEROUS ACT

Josh 7:1-5

7:1 But the Israelites acted unfaithfully in regard to the devoted things; Achan son of Carmi, the son of Zimri, the son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, took some of them. So the LORD's anger burned against Israel. 2 Now Joshua sent men from Jericho to Ai, which is near Beth Aven to the east of Bethel, and told them, "Go up and spy out the region." So the men went up and spied out Ai. 3 When they returned to Joshua, they said, "Not all the people will have to go up against Ai. Send two or three thousand men to take it and do not weary all the people, for only a few men are there." 4 So about three thousand men went up; but they were routed by the men of Ai, 5 who killed about thirty-six of them. They chased the Israelites from the city gate as far as the stone quarries and struck them down on the slopes. At this the hearts of the people melted and became like water.

NIV

Chapter seven deals with the unfaithful act of one man who took some of the plunder from Jericho and hid it under the ground of his tent. We will find out all about that as we go further into this chapter, but we can now see that unfaithfulness has a cost. Instead of three thousand fighting men taking the city of Ai, they were routed and about thirty-six of them were stuck down, and then the men of Ai chased the Israelites and struck them down on the slopes. We would think that means all the rest of the two or three thousand Israelites leaving none of them alive. We do live in the age of grace because God sent Jesus to reconcile himself to his creation and to redeem us. However, even though our sins are forgiven, there is a difference between sin and unfaithfulness. When we examine the Hebrew word translated as unfaithful, ma’al, its direct meaning, is to betray trust, which we think would be a purposeful choice to be unloyal or disobedient to God. However, isn’t all sin we commit a choice we make? Do we not know what sin is? Of course, we do because we know the word of God and what is right and wrong in the eyes of the Lord. Still, is it possible for us to live free of all sin? That is doubtful, and we can be sure that we sin, that we do that which we do not want to do, and that we do not do that which we should do. Even the Apostle Paul struggled with that same issue. Yet it is a treacherous act when it is a decision of our will, knowing something is wrong to simply say to ourselves, we don’t care, we want to do this thing or act this way, think these thoughts, or say these words anyway. Sure, we all make mistakes and we seek the Lord’s forgiveness. But to willfully act against God, and keep that a secret, hiding in the ground under our tent, so to speak, as we will find out what happened, is where we run into danger, into the dark side, not allowing the light of God to expose our sin. Let us try, with the strength of the Lord, and the power of the Spirit to always walk in the light so that our sins are covered by the blood of Jesus. Let us never commit a treacherous act against God. 

Promised Homeland

 DEVOTION

JOSHUA

PROMISED HOMELAND

Josh 6:22-25

22 Joshua said to the two men who had spied out the land, "Go into the prostitute's house and bring her out and all who belong to her, in accordance with your oath to her." 23 So the young men who had done the spying went in and brought out Rahab, her father and mother and brothers and all who belonged to her. They brought out her entire family and put them in a place outside the camp of Israel. 24 Then they burned the whole city and everything in it, but they put the silver and gold and the articles of bronze and iron into the treasury of the LORD's house. 25 But Joshua spared Rahab the prostitute, with her family and all who belonged to her, because she hid the men Joshua had sent as spies to Jericho — and she lives among the Israelites to this day.

NIV

Of course, Rahab lived among the Israelites to this day, as they lived in their Promised Land, their true homeland. She was to become the mother of Boaz, the kinsman redeemer. Still, more importantly, he was the father of Obad who was the father of Jesse, who was the father of David, whose throne would be the throne forever, as Jesus came through the line of David, and thus through the line of Rahab who was spared when Jericho was completely destroyed. Let us use this to see that we are now in the line of Jesus, because He is in us. We are in Him, as He has stated as John records in his gospel. Jesus also said that if we remain in Him, He will remain in us. He are co-heir with Jesus and we could then say that we are in the same family, as we are in the family of God, with the right to be called children of God. In some sense, we are in the line of Rahab, but it goes back much farther, as we are in the line of Abraham, Noah, and Adam, unlike those before us who died, we will live forever with our Lord Jesus. We all have a human heritage, an ancestral line that some can trace back perhaps five, six, or even maybe ten generations. Most of us are proud of our ancestry with the ability to know our ancestral homeland, and when they migrated to this country. However, we are both proud and humbled that we are true ancestral line is in Jesus. Our humility comes from the fact our salvation is a free gift from God because of what Jesus did on the cross. But we should also be more proud of being in the line of Jesus, than all our other ancestors. He came from the true homeland that we will someday live in, as He is coming back to take us where He is so that we will live with Him. That is the Promised Land, our Promised Homeland, for we already live in the kingdom of God. Rahab was saved and lives with Israel to this day, and we are saved and will live forever in our promised homeland.

Loud Voices

 DEVOTION

JOSHUA

LOUD VOICES

Josh 6:12-21

12 Joshua got up early the next morning and the priests took up the ark of the LORD. 13 The seven priests carrying the seven trumpets went forward, marching before the ark of the LORD and blowing the trumpets. The armed men went ahead of them and the rear guard followed the ark of the LORD, while the trumpets kept sounding. 14 So on the second day they marched around the city once and returned to the camp. They did this for six days. 15 On the seventh day, they got up at daybreak and marched around the city seven times in the same manner, except that on that day they circled the city seven times. 16 The seventh time around, when the priests sounded the trumpet blast, Joshua commanded the people, "Shout! For the LORD has given you the city! 17 The city and all that is in it are to be devoted to the LORD. Only Rahab the prostitute and all who are with her in her house shall be spared, because she hid the spies we sent. 18 But keep away from the devoted things, so that you will not bring about your own destruction by taking any of them. Otherwise you will make the camp of Israel liable to destruction and bring trouble on it. 19 All the silver and gold and the articles of bronze and iron are sacred to the LORD and must go into his treasury." 20 When the trumpets sounded, the people shouted, and at the sound of the trumpet, when the people gave a loud shout, the wall collapsed; so every man charged straight in, and they took the city. 21 They devoted the city to the LORD and destroyed with the sword every living thing in it — men and women, young and old, cattle, sheep and donkeys.

NIV

Six days they were to march around the city once and then on the seventh day everything would happen just as the Lord had commanded. Interestingly, the Lord had them work for six days, and then on the seventh, they received the blessing of God. Even though they marched seven times on the seventh day, at the sound of the trumpets, the city walls came down just by their voices, their spoken words, as a loud shout, although we are not sure what that sound was like, it could have been like a war cry. They were also commanded not to take any of the devoted or the Hebrew word, which could mean accursed things, foreign gods within the walls of Jericho. This was a brutal assault on the city killing every living thing, all people, men, women, children, and all livestock. We cannot even imagine the horrific scene this would have been. What lesson can we learn from the narrative of the walls tumbling down? There could be two ways this might be relevant in our lives. First, there was a time when we built a great wall around our hearts and minds. We kept everything inside, and what was there was not devoted to God but to our passions. Yet, by the word of God, and He did not have to shout, although his voice was loud and clear, the walls around our hearts came tumbling down. Jesus entered straight into our hearts and killed everything that was devoted to self, forgiving all our sins, and putting them to death, but unlike the citizens of Jericho, Jesus gave us life. Secondly, we could see this as the walled city of Satan, and the evil of this world. We have the authority to speak to that evil in the name of Jesus and see it crash down. We have the authority to tell Satan, "Get behind me!” and he has no other choice than to obey our words. We also think there might be a third way this shout could be used and that is all the things devoted to this world. There are many loud shouts, or voices in this world that could cause our walls to come tumbling down, but that will never be the case as long as we are safe in the fortress of our God. Their voices may seem loud, but they are mute to us, we cannot hear them anymore, or at least we should not, for if we were to pay attention to the loud shouts of this world, it may not cause the walls to come down, but it might cause us to stumble, to get tripped up, lose our footing, and get off the path of God. Let us only hear the words of our Lord, and we will be safe and sound within the city of God. No matter how loud the world shouts, or how many times it tries to march around us, or blow any trumpets,  we will pay them no attention for we are only going to hear the trumpet of God when Jesus calls us home.

Living By Instructions

 DEVOTION

JOSHUA

LIVING BY INSTRUCTIONS

Josh 6:1-11

6:1 Now Jericho was tightly shut up because of the Israelites. No one went out and no one came in. 2 Then the LORD said to Joshua, "See, I have delivered Jericho into your hands, along with its king and its fighting men. 3 March around the city once with all the armed men. Do this for six days. 4 Have seven priests carry trumpets of rams' horns in front of the ark. On the seventh day, march around the city seven times, with the priests blowing the trumpets. 5 When you hear them sound a long blast on the trumpets, have all the people give a loud shout; then the wall of the city will collapse and the people will go up, every man straight in." 6 So Joshua son of Nun called the priests and said to them, "Take up the ark of the covenant of the LORD and have seven priests carry trumpets in front of it." 7 And he ordered the people, "Advance! March around the city, with the armed guard going ahead of the ark of the LORD." 8 When Joshua had spoken to the people, the seven priests carrying the seven trumpets before the LORD went forward, blowing their trumpets, and the ark of the LORD's covenant followed them. 9 The armed guard marched ahead of the priests who blew the trumpets, and the rear guard followed the ark. All this time the trumpets were sounding. 10 But Joshua had commanded the people, "Do not give a war cry, do not raise your voices, do not say a word until the day I tell you to shout. Then shout!" 11 So he had the ark of the LORD carried around the city, circling it once. Then the people returned to camp and spent the night there.

NIV

We know this story about the walls of Jericho, in fact, there is a children’s song with the Chorus, “Joshua fought the battle of Jericho, Jericho, Jericho, Joshua fought the battle of Jericho and the walls came tumbling down”. Yet there is something in the beginning of this narrative about the walls of Jericho that causes us to reflect on our walk with Jesus. God spoke to Joshua and confirmed what He would do for Joshua and all the people of Israel. God was the one who would deliver the city to Joshua. God is the one who would fight the battle against the walls of the city that were all shut up. Of course, God gave specific instructions for the part that Joshua and all of Israel. Here is where our lives intervene into this narrative, or where we find our life lesson. First, it would be wise on our part to stand still or be still and know He is God. We should know that God has always had a plan and a purpose for our lives. He has spoken to us through several means over the years. First, we have His divine word giving us instructions on how we are to live by accepting Jesus as our Lord and Savior. That is our general style or format of life, but God also has an individual plan for each one of us. This is where we need to stand still or stay in camped or camped out in place until we hear Him tell us to move out, metaphorically speaking. If we agree with God and believe He is the Lamp onto our feet, then we are to follow the path in life that He shines the Light. Just as He led the children of Israel out of Egypt and through the wilderness with a pillar of fire by night and a pillar of smoke in the day. When the pillar stood still, they camped until the pillar moved then they broke camp and moved out following His light. How can we dare make the choice to stay or move without having the Light direct our way? This should apply to the three major aspects of our lives, where we live, work, and worship. On more occasions than we dare count, we have seen believers leave a job, or a church over hurt feelings, putting themselves before the plan of God, who had called them to worship in that particular church. We must always be in accordance with His purpose for us, where and why we live where we do, and why and where we worship, and what gifts He has empowered us with to serve in the body of Christ exactly as He has determined. We must obey His leading, just as Joshua did exactly as God instructed him. Let us always live according to how He instructs us. 

Holy Ground

 DEVOTION

JOSHUA

HOLY GROUND

Josh 5:10-15

10 On the evening of the fourteenth day of the month, while camped at Gilgal on the plains of Jericho, the Israelites celebrated the Passover. 11 The day after the Passover, that very day, they ate some of the produce of the land: unleavened bread and roasted grain. 12 The manna stopped the day after they ate this food from the land; there was no longer any manna for the Israelites, but that year they ate of the produce of Canaan. 13 Now when Joshua was near Jericho, he looked up and saw a man standing in front of him with a drawn sword in his hand. Joshua went up to him and asked, "Are you for us or for our enemies?" 14 "Neither," he replied, "but as commander of the army of the LORD I have now come." Then Joshua fell facedown to the ground in reverence, and asked him, "What message does my Lord have for his servant?" 15 The commander of the LORD's army replied, "Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy." And Joshua did so.

NIV

On the surface, it appears that when they were able to eat from the land of Canaan, the Lord would no longer feed them. However, on a deeper level, it is the Lord who promised Abraham and his descendants this land and once the Israelites entered it, all the food of the land was from the hand of God. We might sometimes think that we do not see God providing for us because we can provide our daily needs and even our needs for years to come. We wonder why Jesus wanted us to include, “Give us this day our daily bread” in the prayer he taught his disciples if we can get our own daily bread. Just as he stopped sending manna as soon as they were able to eat their daily bread from the land. However, he led them there so they could possess the land, and enjoy the fruits of the land, which may be seen as holy ground. We know the land of Israel is rich in agriculture even to this day. But what we learn here is that all we do have is still from the hand of God. He brought us to where we are and has given us gifts and talents so that we might enjoy the fruits of the place where we live. Of course, that is not taking a world view, but simply a view of our own lives, as we believe Joshua and the Israelites were only seeing their lives based on where they were at the moment, as they followed God. They did need to live on faith, believing He would take them to the promised land. We too must live by faith believing Jesus will come and take us to the promised land, the true place of holy ground, for the Lord will be present. We also still look to the Lord for all our daily needs, for our very life. We are forever thankful and praise His Holy Name for all that He has provided for us. The second truth is regarding this commander of the LORD’s army and his presence before Joshua. From what we gather from the statement of this person who stood before Joshua, he was not a created angel, but none other than the person of Jesus Christ, the Captain, the Prince of all the army of Yahweh. Just as when Yahweh first appeared to Moses in that burning bush, the place where Jesus stood was holy ground, and like Moses, Joshua was told to take off his sandals. We wonder as we spend our personal time with the Lord, or even when we gather together in the sanctuary and especially when we sing, “This is holy ground, we’re standing on holy ground, for the Lord is present and where he is, is holy. This is holy ground, we’re standing on holy ground for the Lord is present and where he is, is holy”, if we should not take off our sandals, for the place we are standing is holy ground.

Exposed to God

 DEVOTION

JOSHUA

EXPOSED TO GOD

Josh 5:1-9

5:1 Now when all the Amorite kings west of the Jordan and all the Canaanite kings along the coast heard how the LORD had dried up the Jordan before the Israelites until we had crossed over, their hearts melted and they no longer had the courage to face the Israelites. 2 At that time the LORD said to Joshua, "Make flint knives and circumcise the Israelites again." 3 So Joshua made flint knives and circumcised the Israelites at Gibeath Haaraloth. 4 Now this is why he did so: All those who came out of Egypt — all the men of military age — died in the desert on the way after leaving Egypt. 5 All the people that came out had been circumcised, but all the people born in the desert during the journey from Egypt had not. 6 The Israelites had moved about in the desert forty years until all the men who were of military age when they left Egypt had died, since they had not obeyed the LORD. For the LORD had sworn to them that they would not see the land that he had solemnly promised their fathers to give us, a land flowing with milk and honey. 7 So he raised up their sons in their place, and these were the ones Joshua circumcised. They were still uncircumcised because they had not been circumcised on the way. 8 And after the whole nation had been circumcised, they remained where they were in camp until they were healed. 9 Then the LORD said to Joshua, "Today I have rolled away the reproach of Egypt from you." So the place has been called Gilgal to this day.

NIV

Several truths ring out for our attention. The first is when the kings west of the Jordan heard how the LORD had dried up the Jordan before the Israelites until they crossed over, their hearts melted and they no longer dared to face the Israelites. We wonder if we, the people of faith, were to see that kind of miracle God did for the Israelites the people of the world would not have the courage to face us. As it is now the voices of the world scream out against all the Lord, and thus us, stand for. However, if God were to do mighty things in our lives, in our churches, and the people of the world heard about what God did, just maybe their hearts would melt and they would no longer have any courage to face us, or they would cross over and join us. Secondly, we see this was the time Joshua needed to circumcise all the fighting men or adults because they had not been circumcised during those forty years of wandering in the wilderness. Here again, the story breaks into our lives. We all started out in the right place, where God formed us in the womb, but from birth, our lives became all about us, our wants, or desires. How old we were when we responded to the wooing of the Spirit would depend on how many years we walked in the wilderness of this world. However, when we heard of the Lord and responded to His call on our lives, He melted our hearts first. In essence, He broke us, melted us, molded us, and is using us. The primary point is that after wandering, or navigating the challenges of this world, we require a form of circumcision; not one of the flesh, but of the heart. The Apostle Paul wrote about this in his letter to the Roman Christians, or the church in Rome that was made up of Jews and Gentiles who accepted Jesus as Savior. He made the point that a Jew is not one who has just been circumcised in the flesh, but a Jew is someone who is one inwardly and their circumcision is of the heart, by the Spirit, not the written code. It was not uncommon for Jews to receive the praise of other Jews regarding the physical circumcision. Look how special we are, having this covenant of circumcision with God. However, we who have been circumcised in our hearts, by the Spirit, live as the true Jews, true Israel, true children of God. We wonder when the scripture speaks about all of Israel will be saved, which means all who have undergone circumcision of the heart. Yet, the fact remains, just as physical circumcision removes something, circumcision of our heart removes that which covered it or shielded it from the truth of God. He is also merciful and allows us time to heal from all the wounds of the circumcision of our hearts. But now we live fully exposed to the Lord, so that He can do all that He intends to do in, for, and through us. Therefore, we can say, we live exposed to God.

 

 

 

 

By God's Hand

 DEVOTION

JOSHUA

 BY GOD’S HAND

Josh 4:14-18

14 That day the LORD exalted Joshua in the sight of all Israel; and they revered him all the days of his life, just as they had revered Moses. 15 Then the LORD said to Joshua, 16 "Command the priests carrying the ark of the Testimony to come up out of the Jordan." 17 So Joshua commanded the priests, "Come up out of the Jordan." 18 And the priests came up out of the river carrying the ark of the covenant of the LORD. No sooner had they set their feet on the dry ground than the waters of the Jordan returned to their place and ran at flood stage as before.

NIV

There are two lessons for us in this little portion of the narrative regarding the crossing of the Jordan. First, it is the work of God, another miracle showing the absolute authority over nature. First, He held back the raging water of the Jordan, piling it up way upstream near the town of Adam. We wonder what those people in Adam must have thought seeing the waters of the Jordon in a great pile, stopped completely from flowing. The waters remained piled up as long as the priests carrying the ark of the covenant were in the middle of the riverbed. As soon as they stepped out of the middle and set foot on the dry ground on the other side, God caused the river to start flowing at flood stage once more. This tells us that God Almighty is in total control of everything in nature, or that nature is subject to the will of God would be a better way of expressing his authority. Are there natural events that are simply part of how he set everything in motion, and He may or may not override an event just to prove himself again, and again. Yet, the truth is that God has the authority over the earth and everything in it, which means that we humans have no authority unless He has so given to us. We can plant seeds and expect a harvest. We can tame beasts of the field, or tend the garden, as he gave that instruction to Adam. But we cannot change the climate, or make the weather any different. We cannot change anything God has established. The second lesson is more personal, in that we note Joshua was exacted by God, and he was revered by the people. First, to revere can mean to fear, to be afraid of Joshua. Second, it was because God had exacted or magnified him in front of all the people. We do not believe God meant for the people to fear Joshua, but people might fear someone who God uses in a mighty way, or people might exalt that person, lift them up, honor them, making them special in their eyes. Here is where we come into this story. Jesus told us that the proud will be brought low and the humble will be exacted. He told that parable about being invited to a feast and to take the lowest seat instead of the highest. If we took the highest, and someone more honorable came we would be asked to take the least important seat humiliated instead of first being humble and asked to move up to a better position. Jesus told us to learn from him for he is gentle and humble in heart. We are told over and over again to humble ourselves before the Lord and He will lift us up. God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble. Let us live humbly before God and men, for what do we have to be prideful about. If we attempt to exalt ourselves, boasting about our accomplishments, we look foolish rather than wise. We all are sinners saved by grace, and if God wants to lift us up and give us something, or put us in some position in life, it will all be for His glory, not ours. We should never boast in ourselves, other than our weakness, but only boast in Christ Jesus, who is our strength. We must always live in and by God’s hand. 

Dressed for Battle

 DEVOTION

JOSHUA

DRESSED FOR BATTLE

Josh 4:8-13

8 So the Israelites did as Joshua commanded them. They took twelve stones from the middle of the Jordan, according to the number of the tribes of the Israelites, as the LORD had told Joshua; and they carried them over with them to their camp, where they put them down. 9 Joshua set up the twelve stones that had been in the middle of the Jordan at the spot where the priests who carried the ark of the covenant had stood. And they are there to this day. 10 Now the priests who carried the ark remained standing in the middle of the Jordan until everything the LORD had commanded Joshua was done by the people, just as Moses had directed Joshua. The people hurried over, 11 and as soon as all of them had crossed, the ark of the LORD and the priests came to the other side while the people watched. 12 The men of Reuben, Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh crossed over, armed, in front of the Israelites, as Moses had directed them. 13 About forty thousand armed for battle crossed over before the LORD to the plains of Jericho for war.

NIV

Joshua put the twelve stones down as a remembrance to all who saw them of the wonder and mighty power of God holding back the waters of the Jordan. A battle is about to take place and just as they were ordered the fighting men from the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh crossed over armed, in front of the Israelites. We cannot image what forty thousand armed men would look like, it must have been a sight to behold. Some of us in the Army or Marine Corps can remember what a battalion or so of men looked like, but that would have only been about eleven hundred or so fighting men.  Before our time in WWII, there were about one hundred and fifty thousand American troops who stormed the beaches of Normandy. Although forty thousand did not compare to the invasion at Normandy, it was a great number plus the rest of all the fighting men from the other tribes, would have increased the number drastically. What has all that to do with us? We have a gigantic fighting force going before us throughout our walk with our Lord, for the battle is not ours but God’s. Just as he told the Israelites when they faced a vast army from Moad coming to drive them out of their land. The battle is the Lord’s when it comes to that evil one who comes to attempt to drive us out of our promised land. The Lord may even send a legion or two of angels to go before us, although even they could not match the power of the Lord. Ultimately He will destroy the Anti-Christ by the words of his mouth at that upcoming battle at Armageddon. Yet, in our daily walk against the forces of evil, God has outfitted us with his full armor so that we can take our stand against the forces of evil. The battle has already been won, still, the battle continues to rage on, with the evil one never wanting to concede the battle. However, God is before us, with us, and behind us, surrounding us with his great hedge of protection, keeping us secure under his wings. Lord remains in us, as long as we remain in him, for without him we can do nothing, so we get dressed for battle each day and stand our ground, in the army of God, watching the Lord fight the battle giving us the victory. 

A living Memorial

 DEVOTION

JOSHUA

A LIVING MEMORIAL

Josh 4:1-7

4:1 When the whole nation had finished crossing the Jordan, the LORD said to Joshua, 2 "Choose twelve men from among the people, one from each tribe, 3 and tell them to take up twelve stones from the middle of the Jordan from right where the priests stood and to carry them over with you and put them down at the place where you stay tonight." 4 So Joshua called together the twelve men he had appointed from the Israelites, one from each tribe, 5 and said to them, "Go over before the ark of the LORD your God into the middle of the Jordan. Each of you is to take up a stone on his shoulder, according to the number of the tribes of the Israelites, 6 to serve as a sign among you. In the future, when your children ask you, 'What do these stones mean?' 7 tell them that the flow of the Jordan was cut off before the ark of the covenant of the LORD. When it crossed the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan were cut off. These stones are to be a memorial to the people of Israel forever."

NIV

Twelve stones to be a reminder of what the LORD God had done. A sign of the Jordan River's waters being stopped so the whole nation of Israel could cross the Jordan on dry ground. They were to tell their children when they asked what those stones were. Do we have any signs and wonders that our children, or anyone, asks us about? Do we have any memorial that will last forever? We do know the Spirit will last forever, and He is also a sign of the covenant God made with us. He promised that if we believe in Jesus Christ we will be saved. Of course, now that we have believed, we understand the depth of this covenant. Jesus paid the price for our sins, died, was buried, rose from the dead, and ascended back to heaven and he is coming back again for us. He sent the Spirit as a sign or a guarantee of the covenant. However, the Israelites could see those stones and remember the work God did at the Jordan. We know that someday we will receive a white stone with our new name written on it, but the question still causes us to ask what the sign is others can see and ask us about. It has to be the Spirit, but that would mean the sign should be evident to others. We should be bearing the fruit of the Spirit that others could see, but the Spirit also gives gifts as he determines. That would mean one or more of the gifts of the Spirit would be present in us thus showing his divine influence in and through our lives. Are we a living memorial of the work of God making the way for us to cross over from darkness into light, from wandering in the wilderness to crossing over into a promised land? It is easy to just say we are Christians, but never express the evidence of the indwelling of the Spirit. Some of them never even set foot within a church, or if they do would it preach the truth of the gospel. To be a child of God should mean something and be evident to others, showing the work of Jesus and the influence of the Spirit as a memorial to all people forever. Simply put, let us shine the light of Jesus, being a living memorial. 

Faith and Obedience

 DEVOTION

JOSHUA

FAITH AND OBEDIENCE

Josh 3:14-17

14 So when the people broke camp to cross the Jordan, the priests carrying the ark of the covenant went ahead of them. 15 Now the Jordan is at flood stage all during harvest. Yet as soon as the priests who carried the ark reached the Jordan and their feet touched the water's edge, 16 the water from upstream stopped flowing. It piled up in a heap a great distance away, at a town called Adam in the vicinity of Zarethan, while the water flowing down to the Sea of the Arabah (the Salt Sea) was completely cut off. So the people crossed over opposite Jericho. 17 The priests who carried the ark of the covenant of the LORD stood firm on dry ground in the middle of the Jordan, while all Israel passed by until the whole nation had completed the crossing on dry ground.

NIV

The people had consecrated themselves, setting themselves apart for God, and were expecting the Lord to do amazing things among them. We learned that lesson already that if we set ourselves apart for God, we could see God do amazing things among us. This narrative continues telling us of the amazing thing God did in their midst. We have already researched and found pictures of the Jordan River at flood stage and it is a raging torrid of water spilling over rocks and maybe even its banks at places. We cannot be sure of the exact location of the crossing but it was close to where the city of Jericho lies on the other side. Nevertheless, here are the priests carrying the ark of the covenant which through research of theologians it was determined it must have weighed about six hundred or so pounds. Just thinking how the front priests must have felt holding onto that heavy sacred ark and stepping into that raging water, gives us an example of both faith and obedience. Maybe they could tell the exact place where their feet touched the water, which was very shallow, but then if the river was at the flood stage and raging along, carrying with it mud and debris, it would have been difficult to see anything through the water. Faith and obedience had to be the key to their stepping into the water's edge, and their faith and obedience were rewarded for God did that amazing thing that only God could do, holding back all the water, much the same as he did for their parents at the Red Sea, except there he divided the waters. Our lesson for us is to be a person of faith and obedience and we just might see God doing another amazing thing in our lives. Of course, how amazing is the fact he sent Jesus to pay the price for our sins? How amazing is the fact Jesus sent the Holy Spirit to dwell within us and give us power from on high? How amazing is the fact that God has given us so many blessings we do not have room enough to contain them? Speaking personally, if I were to give an account of all the amazing things God has done for me, it would take a book to fully explain them all. Can we say that we have always been a person of faith? Yes. Can we say we have always been obedient? Not so much, no matter how much I want to. However, that should be the goal of all us believers, to be people of faith and obedience. Trust and obey for there’s no other way to be happy in Jesus than to trust and obey. 

Amazing Things

 DEVOTION

JOSHUA

AMAZING THINGS

Josh 3:5-17

5 Joshua told the people, "Consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow the LORD will do amazing things among you." 6 Joshua said to the priests, "Take up the ark of the covenant and pass on ahead of the people." So they took it up and went ahead of them. 7 And the LORD said to Joshua, "Today I will begin to exalt you in the eyes of all Israel, so they may know that I am with you as I was with Moses. 8 Tell the priests who carry the ark of the covenant: 'When you reach the edge of the Jordan's waters, go and stand in the river.'" 9 Joshua said to the Israelites, "Come here and listen to the words of the LORD your God. 10 This is how you will know that the living God is among you and that he will certainly drive out before you the Canaanites, Hittites, Hivites, Perizzites, Girgashites, Amorites and Jebusites. 11 See, the ark of the covenant of the Lord of all the earth will go into the Jordan ahead of you. 12 Now then, choose twelve men from the tribes of Israel, one from each tribe. 13 And as soon as the priests who carry the ark of the LORD-the Lord of all the earth — set foot in the Jordan, its waters flowing downstream will be cut off and stand up in a heap." 14 So when the people broke camp to cross the Jordan, the priests carrying the ark of the covenant went ahead of them. 15 Now the Jordan is at flood stage all during harvest. Yet as soon as the priests who carried the ark reached the Jordan and their feet touched the water's edge, 16 the water from upstream stopped flowing. It piled up in a heap a great distance away, at a town called Adam in the vicinity of Zarethan, while the water flowing down to the Sea of the Arabah (the Salt Sea) was completely cut off. So the people crossed over opposite Jericho. 17 The priests who carried the ark of the covenant of the LORD stood firm on dry ground in the middle of the Jordan, while all Israel passed by until the whole nation had completed the crossing on dry ground.

NIV

We should break this up, but the contexts will not let us, for this whole narrative needs to be together, although there are several truths we want to explore in detail. First, Consecrating oneself requires setting oneself aside as holy or devoted to God. We are not sure how an entire million people were able to all become so self-devoted to God, with all the requirements of daily life they were experiencing. To regard oneself as holy, set apart for God, in the middle of packing everything up all their belongings, tents, meal utensils, and any extra things they may have had and still consecrate themselves, would have been difficult. But at the same time, they were also expecting the next day to see the Lord do amazing things among them. We wonder if we were to devote ourselves to the Lord as they were told to do, that we would see the Lord do amazing things among us. We would think that if we saw the Lord doing amazing things among us we would certainly find ourselves being more devoted, or consecrated than we may currently be. We ponder on how devoted to our Lord are we at the present time, and that maybe we are not as much as we such be and that is the reason we are not seeing the Lord doing amazing things among us. Although, we have seen the Lord do some amazing things in us and for us throughout our lives. Could we say the Lord stopped up waters for us to cross over on dry ground? We know he makes our path smooth, as the prophet Isaiah said, “The path of the righteous is level, O righteous one, you make the path of the righteous smooth”. We know we have crossed over from death to life, from darkness into the Light of Jesus, and that was as smooth of a transition as it could have ever been. However, we are still living and being transformed into His likeness, and that is an amazing thing. Yet, we must consecrate ourselves daily because we live in a culture that creates so many distractions. The Israelites surely must have had some distractions just trying to live in such a large community. But we have so many more things in this life that we can get caught up doing that we might lose sight of what devoted to the Lord looks like and so we are not seeing Him do amazing things among us. Let us consider rededicating our focus on Jesus, setting ourselves aside for His purpose in our lives, and it just might be possible we will see the Lord do amazing things among us.