Devotionary

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Ep 543 – Joshua 6:1-14 Jun 12, 2018

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The title of this episode is March. Madness. Sorry, I couldn't help myself. This story, found in Joshua 6:1-14, has always fascinated me. There are those who would write it off as fiction, as some of kind of Hebrew fable told from one generation to another. But I believe it is a real story involving actual events that took place because of the sovereign will and unlimited power of God Almighty. You're most likely familiar with Israel's march around the walls of Jericho and the unbelievable outcome. They marched and the walls fell. Not a single spear was thrown. Not arrows were shot. There was no catapult hurling huge stones at the walls of Jericho. And there was no long, drawn-out siege. In fact, the whole thing lasted a week. Everything about this story is crazy – from the battle plan God gave to Joshua to the day-by-day carrying out of that plan by the Israelites. It was madness. But it was also God's will. Their first conquest was going to involve questionable tactics and would require unwavering faith on the part of the people of Israel. But if they would do their part, God would miraculously do His.

Ep 542 – Joshua 5:10-15 Jun 11, 2018

Show notes

The Israelites had entered the land of Canaan and were camped at a place called Gilgal. Their first target for attack would be the well-fortified city of Jericho. This was going to be a new period in the history of the people of Israel. No longer were they slaves living in subservience to their masters in Egypt. They were no longer vagabonds, wandering through the wilderness, with no place to call their own. With their crossing of the Jordan River, they had entered the land promised to them by God. And now, they were going to be charged with the task of taking over the land God had given them. But, as we will see, God wanted them to know they would not be alone. In Joshua 5:10-15, we have recorded a unique encounter between Joshua and the commander of the Lord's army. This unknown and armed stranger would prove to be the Son of God Himself, Jesus Christ in His pre-incarnate form. And He would bring with Him an assurance that the people of Israel were far from alone. He simply told Joshua, "Now I have come." And those words of promise were all that Joshua needed to hear.

Ep 541 – Joshua 5:2-9 Jun 10, 2018

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It doesn't pay to disobey God. That was a lesson the Israelites should have learned by now. And in Joshua 5:2-9, God is going to command His people to take care of a problem that was a glaring representation of their corporate disobedience to His will. They have just crossed over the Jordan River, in a miraculous show of God's power. They are now standing in the very land God had promised to give Abraham, but there was one glaring issue that God could not overlook. He had kept His part of the covenant, but they were in violation. Not a single male who had crossed over the Jordan bore the sign of the covenant: Circumcision. During the 40 years the Israelites had been forced to wander in the wilderness due to their refusal to enter the land of promise the first time, they had stopped circumcising their male sons. And God was not going to let them take one more step until they rectified the problem. So, Joshua was commanded by God to have every male Israelite circumcised – immediately. This rather bizarre story shows us that God takes obedience to His commands seriously. The people of Israel were in the land, but they would not be allowed to possess it until they had set themselves apart through the God-ordained rite of circumcision.

Ep 540 – Joshua 4:15-5:1 Jun 09, 2018

Show notes

There are those who fear God and then there are those who fear God. Sounds confusing, doesn't it. But it's actually a true statement, because God calls on His people to fear Him. But the enemies of God also fear Him. The demons cower before Him. And those who live in open rebellion to His rule and reign tend to experience a paralyzing dread of Him when they come into contact with Him. God is holy and righteous and required by His nature to deal with the sins of mankind. He cannot tolerate or excuse sin. He can't turn a blind eye to the actions of those who refuse to acknowledge Him as God. But the fear God requires of His people is of a different kind. It is a reverence and awe for who He is and all that He has done. It is an awareness of His holiness that manifests itself in willful obedience to His commands. So, in Joshua 4:15-5:1, after God miraculously provides a way for the Israelites to cross the Jordan River on dry ground, Joshua calls on the Israelites to fear God. He is the all-powerful God who deserves their upmost respect and their undivided allegiance.

Ep 539 – Joshua 4:1-14 Jun 08, 2018

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Forgetfulness can be frustrating. But being forgotten can be even worse. Nobody enjoys being forgotten or forsaken, including God. And it's somewhat shocking to think that anyone who worships God would ever fail to remember Him for all He has done. But we all do. Which is why God consistently challenges His people to remember. He knows that we are prone to forgetfulness, which can lead to ungratefulness. Failure to remember what God has done in the past can result in an inability to trust Him for the present. So, in Joshua 4:1-14, we see God commanding Joshua to construct a memorial to commemorate their crossing over the Jordan River. They are to take 12 stones from the river bed and stack them on the western shore, creating "a memorial forever." God wanted them to remember what He had done. And He wanted them to use these stones as an object lesson, passing on to the next generation the news of God's provision of the miracle at the Jordan.

Ep 538 – Joshua 3:9-17 Jun 07, 2018

Show notes

The Israelites once again found themselves facing of a body of water with no apparent means of getting to the other side. They had reached a barrier or boundary that stood in their way and kept them from experiencing the fulfillment of the promise God had made to their ancestor, Abraham. The land of Canaan was on the other side. It was there that their promised inheritance was to be found. But first, they would have to find a way across the River Jordan. Decades earlier, their ancestors had left Egypt and found themselves standing on the shores of the Red Sea, with the army of Pharaoh bearing down on them. They had nowhere to go and no way to get to the other side of the sea, where the path to God's promise would be found. But the living God showed up and the waters of the sea opened up, providing a way of escape and a means by which God would make His promise attainable. In Joshua 3:9-17, we see God bringing His people to what appears to be another obstacle, but that will become an object lesson in faith.

Ep 537 – Joshua 3:1-8 Jun 06, 2018

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The Israelites were about to go from wandering to conquering. This was the beginning of a brand-new era in the history of Gods people. They had started out as a single man and his wife, both old in years and her unable to bear children. But God had blessed Abraham, and his descendants had multiplied greatly during their 400 years of captivity in Egypt. But God had miraculously delivered them, with the intent of leading them to the land He had promised to Abraham hundreds of years earlier. And after having spent 40 years wandering in the wilderness, they now stood on the brink of an exciting new phase in their relationship with God. Gone were the days of manna and quail provided out of thin air. This was going to be show time. And in chapter 3:1-8, Joshua tells the people to prepare themselves, because God was about to do wonders in their midst. This time, it would not be about food appearing on the ground each morning with the dew. These wonders were going to involve miracles of might and power that involved battles and victories over enemies. But God would be in it all.

Ep 536 – Joshua 2:8-24 Jun 05, 2018

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Rahab hid the two spies, but she asked for something in return: Her life and those of her household. This woman had heard about the God of the Israelites and while she was unfamiliar with who He was, she was convinced that He was great. She had heard the stories that had been circulating around Canaan about the miraculous escape of the people of Israel from Egypt. News of their defeat of the nations of Og and Sihon had reached Jericho and Rahab was convinced that the God of the Israelites was "the God in the heavens above and on the earth beneath." In others words, He was the one true God. He was greater than any god she had ever worshiped or even heard about. And in Joshua 2:8-24, Rahab offers to deal kindly with the spies if they will deal kindly with her. She begs for her life. And to do so, she has to put her faith in the two spies, but also their God, who she knows is going to turn over the city of Jericho to the Israelites. The sign she is given is a simple scarlet cord that she is told to tie in her window. It will be a signal to the Israelite troops to spare all those inside her home. Rahab hung the cord out her window and then waited – in faith.

Ep 535 – Joshua 2:1-7 Jun 04, 2018

Show notes

God works in mysterious ways. He operates on His own divine agenda, sometimes doing things in ways that we find difficult to understand. And in Joshua 2:1-7, we're going to see God use a prostitute to accomplish His will. This woman's choice of occupation was in direct opposition to God's holiness and revealed law. But she was not an Israelite. She was a foreigner, an inhabitant of Jericho and, therefore, an enemy of Israel. And yet, God chose to use her to spare the two spies send in to check out the conditions within Jericho. Not only that, God used her to bring about the birth of the Messiah, Jesus Christ. Rahab was an imperfect person through whom a holy God chose to accomplish His perfect will. Rahab will be revealed to be a woman of faith. She knew little about the God of Israel, but she knew enough to trust in His power and might. She had heard about His exploits among the people of Israel and she had determined to place her faith in Him instead of the gods of her own people. Rahab, a pagan, will stand in stark contrast to the people of God, who struggled relentlessly when it came to trusting God.

Ep 534 – Joshua 1:10-18 Jun 03, 2018

Show notes

What does it mean to enter God's rest? It sounds appealing but can sometimes feel like an unachievable dream. For many of us, God's rest is synonymous with heaven. And while there is little doubt that heaven will be a place of rest, joy and contentment, there is still an aspect of God's rest that is available in this life. As Joshua and the people of Israel stood on the eastern banks of the Jordan River, looking over the waters into the land of Canaan, they realized that they were on the verge of entering God's rest. The land on the other side of that river had been promised to them by God and He had declared that it would be a place of abundance, but also of rest. And yet, as we will see, God's promise of rest was not a guarantee of a lack turmoil or conflict. There were still enemies in the land who would need to be defeated. Which meant there were battles to fight and wars to win. In Joshua 1:10-18, we will see Joshua preparing the people to enter God's rest, but by warning them that it was going to take effort. The land was theirs, but they were going to have to fight for it. It was going to require obedient submission to God's will and faithful trust in His power to provide.

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