"Come"

 DEVOTION

JOSHUA

“COME”

Josh 19:17-39

17 The fourth lot came out for Issachar, clan by clan. 18 Their territory included: Jezreel, Kesulloth, Shunem, 19 Hapharaim, Shion, Anaharath, 20 Rabbith, Kishion, Ebez, 21 Remeth, En Gannim, En Haddah and Beth Pazzez. 22 The boundary touched Tabor, Shahazumah and Beth Shemesh, and ended at the Jordan. There were sixteen towns and their villages. 23 These towns and their villages were the inheritance of the tribe of Issachar, clan by clan.

24 The fifth lot came out for the tribe of Asher, clan by clan. 25 Their territory included: Helkath, Hali, Beten, Acshaph, 26 Allammelech, Amad and Mishal. On the west the boundary touched Carmel and Shihor Libnath. 27 It then turned east toward Beth Dagon, touched Zebulun and the Valley of Iphtah El, and went north to Beth Emek and Neiel, passing Cabul on the left. 28 It went to Abdon, Rehob, Hammon and Kanah, as far as Greater Sidon. 29 The boundary then turned back toward Ramah and went to the fortified city of Tyre, turned toward Hosah and came out at the sea in the region of Aczib, 30 Ummah, Aphek and Rehob. There were twenty-two towns and their villages. 31 These towns and their villages were the inheritance of the tribe of Asher, clan by clan.

32 The sixth lot came out for Naphtali, clan by clan: 33 Their boundary went from Heleph and the large tree in Zaanannim, passing Adami Nekeb and Jabneel to Lakkum and ending at the Jordan. 34 The boundary ran west through Aznoth Tabor and came out at Hukkok. It touched Zebulun on the south, Asher on the west and the Jordan on the east. 35 The fortified cities were Ziddim, Zer, Hammath, Rakkath, Kinnereth, 36 Adamah, Ramah, Hazor, 37 Kedesh, Edrei, En Hazor, 38 Iron, Migdal El, Horem, Beth Anath and Beth Shemesh. There were nineteen towns and their villages. 39 These towns and their villages were the inheritance of the tribe of Naphtali, clan by clan.

NIV

We are taking three tribes at once because nothing of note is said about Issachar or Asher, but when it comes to Naphtali, although nothing of note is said about its boundaries either, except its boundaries include all of the western and northern sides of the Sea of Galilee. Here is where Jesus spent so much of his time on earth. Here is where he called Peter, Andrew, James, and John to follow him and that he would make them fishers of men. Capernaum lies on the eastern border of Naphtali, right on the shore of the Sea of Galilee. Within Naphtali, just to the north of the Sea are the slopes of the Golan hills, where Jesus delivered the beatitudes and so much more that we call the sermon of the mount. From this area of Naphtali, Jesus told his disciples to cross over to the other side, once it was while he was with them and calmed the storm, once it was when he walked out to them, and Peter walked on the water, until he realized where he was and went from faith to fact. This is where we pick up our story for today. It doesn't have much to do with Issachar and Asher, but our example happened in the Sea, just off the coast of Naphtali. It is in Peter’s reasoning of faith losing out to fact, and when he lost sight of faith, Jesus was right there to lift him up. How many times do we lose sight of faith because we hold on to some fact that is disrupting our lives? Peter asked Jesus to tell him to come to him on the water, and Jesus said one word, “Come,” and that was all it took for Peter to step out of the boat and walk on the water. Then fear took over, fact took over Peter’s faith, and he began to sink and cried out, “Lord, save me”. Of course, Jesus did, but he asked Peter, “Why did you doubt?”.  We may look too much at the facts in front of us, the real pain we feel in our body, or the real circumstance we may be experiencing at the moment. We might be too focused on ourselves, as Peter took his focus off of Jesus and focused on the wind and waves, on his own situation. Maybe we are simply too focused on ourselves and not enough on Jesus. Could we be living with more faith? Could we live better if our faith was greater than our sight? Peter’s sight took over his faith, and he sank. Could it be that we are sinking without realizing it because our sight has overtaken our faith? Maybe we could never walk on water, but we could walk in faith, believing in the power of Jesus. Have we spent too much time focusing on our own reality rather than on the reality of Jesus? However, we need to respond when we hear Jesus calling out to us, “Come”.