Devotionary

Latest Episodes:

Ep 553 – Joshua 10:16-28 Jun 22, 2018

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One of the most difficult things for believers in Jesus Christ to do is to see life through God's eyes. We believe in Jesus. We say we trust in God. But when life gets tough or things don't go quite the way we expect them to, we can easily begin to doubt God's goodness and even question whether He is really there at all. In reading through the book of Joshua, we are getting a steady dose of violent interactions between the people of Israel and the inhabitants of the land. Destruction and devastation seem to go hand-in-hand with their conquering of the land. In fact, God had given them specific instructions to destroy any and all inhabitants living within the land. And in Joshua 10:16-28, as part of Joshua's clean-up operation after his defeat of the five-nation confederation, he orders the brutal execution of the five kings who joined forces against the Gibeonites. And it would be easy to see all this brutality as unnecessary and even ungodly. Unless we see it through God's eyes.

Ep 552 – Joshua 10:1-15 Jun 21, 2018

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We've seen Joshua make an unwise decision. Now we get to see the consequences that came as a result. In Joshua 10:1-15, the Gibeonites, who deceived Joshua into making an alliance with them, find that they are surrounded by a five-nation confederation, bent on their destruction. And, taking full advantage of his newly signed treaty with Israel, the king of the Gibeonites calls on Joshua, demanding that he honor their agreement and come to his aid. Now Joshua finds himself having to defend the very people he should have defeated. He ends up as an ally to a nation that God had deemed their enemy. But having sworn to keep his treaty with the Gibeonites by the name of God, Joshua had no other choice but to come to their aid. And God, bent on honoring His name, came to Joshua's aid. He gave the people of Israel a great victory and even proved His power through an unmistakable miracle.

Ep 551 – Joshua 9:16-27 Jun 20, 2018

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They say one bad decision leads to another. And most of us have learned the painful reality of that statement. Our mistakes have consequences. And when our mistakes are the result of sin, the consequences can be painful. In Joshua 9:16-27, Joshua's decision to make an alliance with the people of Gibeon was going to lead to yet another, even more dangerous decision, that would have long-term ramifications on the nation of Israel. Joshua had failed to seek the counsel of God and it seems that he continued to make that same mistake in the days that followed. In an attempt to clean up his mess, he only made matters worse. Since he couldn't destroy the Gibeonites, he chose to make them slaves, but assigned them to the tabernacle. He took a pagan and idolatrous people, who had knowingly deceived him, and gave them jobs that would place them in close proximity to the house of God. Everything about his decision was wrong, but when you fail to seek the counsel of God, things rarely turn out well.

Ep 550 – Joshua 9:1-15 Jun 19, 2018

Show notes

Whether we want to admit it or not, those of us who claim to be children of God can often live as if we don't really believe in God. We can acknowledge His existence and express faith in His love for us, but then, turn around and make decisions without His input. We can go through out day without giving Him a second thought. And in Joshua 9:1-5, we are going to see the Israelites do just that. Even after having built an altar to Him at Mount Ebal and having recommitted themselves to keeping His law, Joshua and the people of Israel will end up making an alliance with the Gibeonites. Sure, they were tricked into doing it. But the text makes it very clear that Joshua neglected to seek God's advice. He made a decision without divine assistance – never a wise move for the child of God. And not only would Joshua's ill-advised decision obligate the people of Israel, we will see that it obligated God, because it was made in His name. For the child of God, leaving Him out of the daily affairs of life is never a good plan. Failing to seek His counsel is a recipe for disaster.

Ep 549 – Joshua 8:30-35 Jun 18, 2018

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After two major victories over the cities of Jericho and Ai, Joshua led the people of Israel to Mount Ebal and a place called Shechem, where they built an altar to God and offered sacrifices. This pause in the military action had been decreed by Moses years earlier and Joshua was simply doing what he and the people had been told to do when they finally entered the land. In Joshua 8:30-35 we are given a much-needed reminder that the people of Israel were to worship and revere God for all that He had done. He had set them free from slavery in Egypt. He had led them through the wilderness and into the promised land. And now, He had given them victory over their enemies. His provision for them deserved their worship of Him. So, an altar was built and the law of Moses was written on its stones – a permanent reminder of God's requirement of holy behavior on the part of His people. The law was a non-negotiable part of their relationship with God. And, now that they were in the land, it was going to be important that they constantly recall His expectations of them, so that they might live holy lives.

Ep 548 – Joshua 8:3-29 Jun 17, 2018

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Sometimes we read passages of Scripture and, in our hurry, we blow right past important details that seem of little importance to us. We ignore the cities with difficult-to-pronounce names and the people who seem little more than obscure characters in the storyline. And when we do, we miss the rich detail that God has provided in His Word. In Joshua 8:3-29, the people of Israel are going to get a second chance to do battle with the people of Ai. And while that fact is important, what's even more important is that this city holds important significance for the nation of Israel. It's not just another city among many that the Israelites have to conquer and possess. And there is another city mentioned in this passage that carries special significance as well: The city of Bethel. As we are going to see, these two cities and their history are critical to understanding all that is going on in this passage. So, rather than hurry through the story and rush to the details of the battle itself, let's take time to see what we can learn about the unfailing promise of God.

Ep 547 – Joshua 8:1-2 Jun 16, 2018

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Waiting can be difficult. Even having to wait on God can prove to be a challenge for most of us. And Achan, had he lived, would have learned the invaluable lesson that waiting on God can be rewarding. When he and his fellow Israelites had surprisingly and easily defeated the city of Jericho, he had helped himself to some of the spoil, in direct violation of God's command. But his sin was exposed by God when the Israelites were routed by the much-smaller army of Ai. Achan and his entire family were put to death for his sin and with payment made for his transgression, God told the Israelites that He was going to give them victory over the city of Ai. Not only that, He was going to give them the spoil of the city. Had Achan only waited, he would have had all the spoil he could carry, and he wouldn't have had to hide it in a hole dug in his tent. In Joshua 8:1-2, we get a glimpse of what happens when we are willing to wait and do things God's way. He rewards us. Perhaps Achan thought the ban on spoil was a permanent condition. Maybe he just couldn't wait. But had he trusted God, not only would he have been alive, he would have been rewarded for waiting.

Ep 546 – Joshua 7:10-26 Jun 15, 2018

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Something had gone terribly wrong. The people of Israel had been routed by the much small army of Ai, and 36 of their men had died in the process. And to make matters worse, Joshua and the leadership of Israel placed the blame for their loss on God, assuming that He had somehow abandoned them. But in Joshua 7:10-26, we are going to see that the problem was theirs, not God's. The fault was theirs. Someone had violated the command of God and taken plunder from the city of Jericho that was supposed to have been dedicated to God and placed in His treasury. One man sinned and the entire nation suffered. A single individual got greedy and the whole community was punished for his transgression. And while we may choose to label the response on God's part as unfair and a bit over-reactive, Joshua and the people were going to learn an invaluable lesson about the danger of sin and the holiness of God. One man's decision to disobey God had devastating consequences on the family of God. Sin is contagious and infects the corporate community like a cancer. So, God demanded that Achan be purged and the sin be atoned for.

Ep 545 – Joshua 7:1-9 Jun 14, 2018

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How do you follow up a decisive victory over the enemy, made possible by the sovereign, all-powerful help of God? You go right back to war, choosing yet another enemy of God to conquer. And that's exactly what the people of Israel did after their defeat of the city of Jericho. Fresh off their unexpected and inexplicable victory, the Israelites were ready to capitalize on their success and take on the next closest city they could find. That proved to be Ai. While this was a much smaller city with far-less-advanced fortifications, the Israelites found their confidence shattered when their forces were easily routed by Ai's much-smaller army. That led to the blame game. Something had gone terribly wrong. And rather than look inwardly, searching for a possible reason for their unexpected defeat, Joshua blamed God. They lost the battle and Joshua lost faith. He questioned God's integrity and began to fear for their future. In his mind, God had abandoned them. But he was going to learn that it was not God who had broken faith, but one of their own.

Ep 544 – Joshua 6:15-27 Jun 13, 2018

Show notes

There are many who struggle with the God who is portrayed in the Old Testament. Some even suggest that it is a different God altogether, because He appears to be vengeful and violent, prone to fits of anger and quick to mete out harsh judgment in the form of what appears to be indiscriminate acts of genocide. And in Joshua 6, 15-27, we have recorded the story of the Israel's defeat of the city of Jericho where God ordered His people to dedicate to destruction everyone and everything in the city. The text tells us that Israel obeyed the command of God, devoting all in the city to destruction, both men and women, young and old. No one was left alive except Rahab and those in her family who sought refuge in her home. This story is tough to read and even more difficult to understand. One can't help but wonder why God was so harsh in His treatment of the people of Jericho. Why did the women and children have to be slaughtered along with the soldiers? What was their crime? How were they a threat to the people of Israel? But God's seemingly harsh order of extermination had a purpose behind it: The protection of Israel's moral and spiritual well-being.

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