Devotionary

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Ep 563 – Joshua 16:1-17:2 Jul 02, 2018

Show notes

God is good. And while we might not always recognize or appreciate the extent of His goodness, it does not diminish the fact that God is good – all the time. And in Joshua 16:1-17:2, we are going to see God's goodness displayed in the fulfillment of His covenant promise to bless the sons of Joseph. Throughout the story of the nation of Israel, the hand of God can be clearly seen moving behind the scenes, orchestrating events in such a way that His best is always accomplished, even in spite of the less-than-stellar behavior of those He has called as His own. The goodness of God is never diminished, even by the godlessness of His own people. Yes, He disciplines and punishes them for their sin and rebellion, but He never fails to do them good. Even His discipline is meant to bring about good outcomes. Sometimes God allows famine in order to bring feasting – at just the right time. Sometimes He allows suffering so that He might bring comfort. Because God is good.

Ep 562 – Joshua 15:20-63 Jul 01, 2018

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It was Jesus who promised, "I came that they may have life and have it abundantly." But His offer of abundant life can easily be missed if we fail to live in submission to His will and in dependence upon the Holy Spirit's power. The blessings of God can become illusive and seemingly absent when we fail to rely upon Him for all our needs. And in Joshua 15:20-63, we are going to see that the tribe of Judah, like all the other tribes of Israel, seemed to have a difficult time resting in and relying upon the power of God to accomplish His will. They were to possess the land allotted to them, but to do so, they were required to dispossess the pagan nations that were currently occupying the cities and villages in the land. And yet, the text will tell us that Judah was powerless to possess the land. Which begs the question: Why? Was the enemy too strong or God too weak? What was the cause behind their failure to possess the land completely? Had God asked to much of them? Or were they expecting too little of God?

Ep 561 – Joshua 14:1-19 Jun 30, 2018

Show notes

One of the greatest lessons found in the book of Joshua is the gift of the land to the people of Israel. The land was the result of a promise made by God hundreds of years earlier to their distant ancestor, Abraham. God gave them the land as a gift, undeserved and with the only caveat that they fight to possess the land and obey His commands concerning its use. It was theirs. And they weren't just inheriting undeveloped property that was going to require extensive renovations. They were being given entire cities and villages, farms and orchards, along with rich pasture land and beautiful forests full of timber. It was a land flowing with milk and honey, cultivated and fully capable of meeting all their needs. And in Joshua 15:1-19, as Joshua begins the dividing up of the land between the various tribes, we will see that the land was intended to hold great value to the people of Israel, but it was never meant to have replace God in their hearts. God was not giving them the land as something to worship, but as a place in which to worship and live in obedience to Him.

Ep 560 – Joshua 14:1-15 Jun 29, 2018

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Every now and then in the book of Joshua, we get introduced to a character whose life illustrates the kind of faith God is looking for in His people. They may seem few and far between, but they're there. And in Joshua 14:1-15, we meet Caleb. As Joshua and the Israelites prepare to divide up the land of Canaan, Caleb approaches Joshua about a promise made to him by Moses more than 40 years earlier. Caleb, along with Joshua, had been one of the original 12 men who had been sent by Moses to spy out the land of Canaan. He and Joshua had been the only two who had returned from their mission and believed the land was not only abundantly fruitful, but conquerable. The other spies painted a bleak picture, describing the land as being filled with giants who were too strong for the Israelites to defeat. Rather than listen to Caleb and Joshua and trust God, the crowd had listened to the naysayers and refused to enter. But because of his faith in God, Caleb was promised his share in the inheritance.

Ep 559 – Joshua 13:14-33 Jun 28, 2018

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One of the realities of God's unique relationship with mankind is that He sometimes give us exactly what we want. While He is the sovereign God of the universe and totally in control of any and all things, He occasionally allows sinful men to have what their hearts desire. And we see this truth played out in Joshua 13:14-33, when God provides the tribes of Reuben, Gad and Manasseh the land they requested on the east side of the Jordan River. They had fallen in love with this land the first time they had set eyes on it. It was rich pasture land, perfect for their many flocks and herds. So, rather than wait to receive their allotment of land on the western side of the Jordan, these three tribes set their sights on what was already readily available. And the tribe of Levi, which had been chosen by God to serve Him in the tabernacle, received no land, but were blessed by God with cities spread throughout the land of promise and the assurance that God would meet all their needs as a form of payment for service rendered to Him.

Ep 558 – Joshua 13:1-13 Jun 27, 2018

Show notes

There is really no such thing as partial obedience. Failure to obey completely is really nothing more than disobedience in disguise. It is a willful decision to do something other than what you were told to do or had agreed to do. It's a form of compromise that tends to benefit the one making the compromise, not the one who made the initial command. And in Joshua 13:1-13, we are given an up-close and personal glimpse of what partial obedience looks like in the lives of the people of God. They weren't completely ignoring or disobeying God's command. But they certainly weren't doing what He had told them to do. They had made some concessions, what they thought to be were logical alterations to God's original command, that would make their job a lot easier. But they were about to discover that playing fast-and-loose with God's word rarely turns out well. Partial obedience tends to bring God's full judgment. Compromises and concessions sound good for the moment, but always have long-term consequences.

Ep 557 – Joshua 12:1-14 Jun 26, 2018

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If you had asked Joshua what he thought about God, it is likely that his answer would have been full of superlatives and adjectives defining God as great, good, powerful, reliable, holy, righteous, faithful and gracious. But if you were to ask God how to describe Himself, He would use the four simple words, "I am the Lord," He is God. He is the Creator-God, the maker of all things and the one who holds all the things he has made, together. In Joshua 12:1-24, we have what appears to be a list of Israelite conquests. It's one of those passages we find temptingly easy to pass over when we come to it. There seems to be little value in all the names and places mentioned. What benefit do we have to glean from this ancient historical record? But it's essential that we see this as far more than a history lesson. It's a recitation of the accomplishments of God on behalf of the people who bear His name.

Ep 556 – Joshua 11:10-24 Jun 26, 2018

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You would think that the title of this episode: Rest from War, would mean that the Israelites have finally conquered the land of Canaan and dispossessed all their enemies. But in Joshua 11:10-23, it doesn't take long to see that the battle was far from over. There was rest, but only in the sense that God had given them a physical and moral victory over their enemies. They had conquered and captured a great many of the Canaanite cities, but they were far from finished with their job. The reputation of the Israelites had spread and their enemies lived in fear of them. They saw the Israelite God as a force with which to be reckoned. And there was a sense in which the Canaanites who still occupied the land were as good as defeated, because they knew they were no match for the Israelites and their God. The major battles were over, but there was still work that needed to be done in order to ensure that the land, in its entirety, became of the sole possession of God's chosen people.

Ep 555 – Joshua 11:1-19 Jun 24, 2018

Show notes

Every army that has ever existed has dreamed of having a secret weapon – some kind of unknown and previously unavailable source of power over their enemies. In World War I, the airplane proved to be a new weapon in the arsenal of both sides in the conflict. In World War II, Hitler believed he had the war won because of the development of another aviation innovation: The jet fighter. But in Joshua 11:1-19, we are going to see Joshua and his forces outnumbered and outmanned by superior enemy armies. They are going to lack the kind of sophisticated weaponry fielded by the opposite side. But Joshua was learning to recognize that their greatest source of strength and power was not going to come in the form of chariots or the latest, state-of-the-art weapons systems. It was going to come from God Himself. He was their secret weapon – a power so great that no army in existence could stand before Him. He was learning the truth behind the statement penned centuries later by the apostle Paul: If God is for us, who can ever be against us?

Ep 554 – Joshua 10:29-43 Jun 23, 2018

Show notes

God hadn't just pointed out the land of Canaan and told Joshua and the people of Israel to do their best. He had not led them to the land only to leave the conquering of the land up to them. He gave it to them. And that included His fighting on behalf of them. From the defeat of the kings of Og and Sihon on the eastern side of the Jordan River to the fall of Jericho, God had been leading the way and providing the means by which the people of Israel were able to take over a land from countless people groups that were more abundant and more powerful. Heavily fortified cities fell before them. Well-armed armies fled in terror from them. But it was all God's doing. He was the one who, behind the scenes, was orchestrating every single victory that the Israelites enjoyed. God was giving His chosen people a decisive advantage over their enemies because He had plans for them. He was making them a light in the darkness, a an example of His abiding presence and almighty power among the nations who worshiped false gods and placed their faith in that which could not save.

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