Day 69: Joshua 22, 23 and 24

But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord (Joshua 24:15).

Although not nearly as complete as we usually assume, this is effectively the end of the campaign for Canaan. The tribes receive from Joshua a challenge to make a commitment. Serve the Lord, or don’t serve the Lord, but don’t try to have it both ways. The Israelites reject their foreign gods and pledge fealty to Yahweh.

Have you ever stepped from a dock into a rowboat or from the boat back to the dock? That’s no time to be indecisive. If you pause too long between those two worlds – one foot in the boat and the other on the dock – disaster is almost guaranteed (or at least some airtime on America’s Funniest Home Videos). You’ve got to make a choice and commit.

The first commandment insisted that God’s people put God first. Maybe Joshua knew that they couldn’t have it both ways, and that vacillating between Yahweh and foreign gods was every bit as deadly as rejecting Yahweh completely. Remember, Joshua begins the Deuteronomic history, in which Israel’s failures to keep the first commandment are tallied up, very possibly to explain to an exiled people (600 or more years after Joshua’s time) why the unthinkable has happened – why Jerusalem has been destroyed and Israel taken into captivity.

You can’t have it both ways.

TODAY’S MEDITATION

Are you on the dock or in the boat. If you need to make a commitment, what’s stopping you?

Day 68: Joshua 19, 20 and 21

Not one of all the Lord’s good promises to the house of Israel failed; every one was fulfilled (NIV 1984, Joshua 21:45).

What a testimony! And yet, could we claim any different?

Usually if I think God isn’t coming through, it’s because I’ve gotten impatient. If God doesn’t do what I think he should do when I think he should do it, that doesn’t mean he isn’t working. It means something else is going on.

Another reason I might think I’ve come up short with God is that sometimes I put words in his mouth. Let’s face it; God didn’t promise me a vintage Jaguar XKE (although I think we all agree how great I’d look driving one down the street). It’s amazing how the frills of life can get labeled as necessities.

And other times it’s because I don’t recognize God’s hand of mercy. Sometimes God shows his mercy by saying, No. I’d probably get all sorts of speeding tickets in that Jaguar, although they do look really cool cruising along nice and slow – not that I’ve thought about it all that much.

The bottom line is that God answers prayer in accordance with his will, and his will for me is always better than my selfish yearnings or best laid – though naïve – plans. We struggle against his will, not realizing doing so means we are settling for less than God’s best.

TODAY’S MEDITATION

When’s the last time you looked back and were gently surprised at God’s faithfulness? Take inventory. Then thank him for the blessings of answered and unanswered prayer.

Day 67: Joshua 16, 17 and 18

The whole assembly of the Israelites gathered at Shiloh and set up the tent of meeting there (Joshua 18:1).

After forty years of travel, the Tent of Meeting (tabernacle) stood at Gilgal during the military campaigns for Canaan. Yesterday we read that even after the three campaigns, there was still work to do. In 18:2 we read that seven of twelve tribes still had not secured their inheritance, and frankly they would not until the days of King David. Once the initial campaigns were accomplished, the Tabernacle was moved from Gilgal and set up in Shiloh. There it would remain until the early days of Samuel (probably around 300 years or more), but we’ll get to that story in a couple weeks. In the mean time, Shiloh would serve as the spiritual capital of Israel during the years of the judges.

Darker days were ahead. If you want to see what’s coming, read Psalm 78:56-64. But for the time being, Shiloh was Israel’s spiritual center.

Everyone needs some sort of spiritual center, some place that takes them back to their spiritual roots. It might be the church (or river or lake) where you were baptized. It might be a passage of Scripture that has become especially meaningful to you over the years. It may be one of the names of God in which you have found your deepest need supplied. Or it could be the memory of someone special who prayed with you to receive Christ.

TODAY’S MEDITATION

Where is your spiritual center? Ask God to take you back there for a few moments. It’s a wonderful way to get your bearings and remember your first love.

Day 66: Joshua 13, 14 and 15

There are still very large areas of land to be taken over (Joshua 13:1).

British poet Robert Browning (1812-1889) wrote: “Ah, but a man’s reach should exceed his grasp – or what’s a heaven for?” [1].

Sometimes we get the idea that Israel marched into the Promised Land under Joshua’s leadership, and that all their enemies surrendered when the walls of Jericho came a-tumblin’ down. The truth is it was a little more complicated than that. The previous chapters outlined the three military campaigns led by Joshua in Canaan. This passage makes it clear there was still work to be done.

Notice the division of land. God didn’t say, “Well, I was going to give you this land, but you didn’t conquer it, so now your inheritance will have to be much smaller.” No, the division of land went on as planned, even for land that hadn’t yet been conquered. God gave them the land. Next step? Take it.

Most responsible preachers try to stay away from allegorical interpretations of Scripture, so I’m not saying God orchestrated this gradual assimilation of Canaan to Israeli control to show how our spiritual life works. On the other hand, I can’t overlook the obvious similarities. Show me someone who has set their goals in life and achieved every single one according to a pre-planned time table, and I’ll show you an anomaly – an outlier. Most of us have starts and stops in our forward progress. Israel’s ongoing battle to take the land God had already given them illustrates the point.

TODAY’S MEDITATION

Does your reach exceed your grasp? What victories are still ahead of you? Ask God for a clear vision of your preferred future.

Day 65: Joshua 10, 11 and 12

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 (Joshua 11:20).

In John 14:9 we read the words of Jesus: Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. In times past, some people believed the God of the New Testament (Jesus) must be different from and superior to the god of the Old Testament. Jesus was trying to teach us that what we saw in him was what we got in God – they were one and the same (or three-in-one and the same).

I think most biblical scholars and theologians today would prefer to believe that the Old Testament understanding of God was probably immature, needing development. The biblical concept of herem is that God commanded Joshua to totally destroy the inhabitants of Canaan. Some thinkers are questioning if God would do that.

If you want to read more about this, try Greg Boyd’s blog Christus Victor. Search for two specific articles that address the concept of violence in the Old Testament: Shedding Light on the Dark Side of God and The Command to Utterly Destroy. Or go to his blog and type herem in the search window. He dedicated a lot of print space to the subject in 2008.

That sixth commandment sure throws a wrench in the works, doesn’t it?

TODAY’S MEDITATION

Ask God to reveal himself clearly when you have difficulty reconciling the violence of the Old Testament with the Jesus of the New Testament.

Day 64: Joshua 7, 8 and 9

Three days after they made the treaty with the Gibeonites, the Israelites heard that they were neighbors, living near them (Joshua 9:16).

Here is the story of the Gibeonite deception. The Israelites, under Joshua’s leadership, were taking Canaan city by city. Whether it was primarily a military conquest, a simple process of assimilating into Canaanite culture, or a mixture of the two is debated by Old Testament scholars. Nevertheless, knowing it was just a matter of time before their number came up, and in order to spare their own lives, the Gibeonites dressed in old clothes and disguised their belongings to make them appear as if they had traveled a long distance. They came before Joshua, misrepresented themselves, and negotiated a peace treaty with Israel.

Had Joshua known they were Canaanites, he would have been compelled to destroy them. Only after he covenanted with them to spare their lives did he find out they had deceived him and were really neighbors. When Joshua learned the truth, it was too late. He had given his word and refused to go back on it, but he did press the people of Gibeon into forced servitude, in which they would perform menial and difficult labor.

From Joshua and the Gibeonites we learn two valuable lessons: First, another’s deception does not legitimize dishonorable behavior on our part. Second, it’s never a good idea to sign a contract without reading the fine print.

TODAY’S MEDITATION

Do you have an important decision coming up? Ask God’s help in performing your due diligence. Consider the facts as God reveals them to you.

Day 63: Joshua 4, 5 and 6

Today I have rolled away the reproach of Egypt from you (Joshua 5:9).

Upon crossing the Jordan and before engaging the city of Jericho in battle, the Israelites renewed their covenant with Yahweh. In taking inventory, they realized the men who marched out of Egypt forty years previous had been circumcised at Sinai, but those born in the desert since remained uncircumcised. At Gilgal, the people circumcised the sons of those who had perished in the wilderness.

In Genesis, to avenge their sister Dinah, Jacob’s sons tricked the men of Shechem into circumcising themselves. While they were unable to defend themselves, the brothers swooped into town and killed everyone. Joshua’s obedience in having his men circumcised is even more striking when we consider his army’s back was against the river, and they were helpless in enemy territory.

The writer records these words as spoken to them by God: Today I have rolled away the reproach of Egypt from you. Gilgal means “rolled away.”

Isn’t it good to know that God wants to roll away our reproach? Whatever baggage we have been carrying from our past, whatever dirt we’ve picked up walking through life, God doesn’t want those things to stick to us. He wants to free us of those things that might trip us up, tie us to the past, or hold us back from moving forward into our future and his purpose for our lives.

TODAY’S MEDITATION

Ask God to show you if you’re holding on to baggage he has determined to roll away.

Day 62: Joshua 1, 2 and 3

You have never been this way before (Joshua 3:4).

In chapter three, Joshua encourages the Israelites to follow the Ark of the Covenant as they cross the Jordan, for they are about to go where no man has gone before... well, at least where no Israelite had gone in the last 400 years. The problem was they didn’t know where they were going. This was terra incognita. With no GPS (not even a map), they were going to need some help getting to their destination.

Joshua gave them good advice: When you see the ark of the covenant of the Lord your God, and the Levitical priests carrying it, you are to move out from your positions and follow it. Then you will know which way to go… (3:3-4). This was more than just good common sense. True, the ark was easy to see and thus easy to follow. But more to the point, God would lead the way.

In the case of Israel, the people had followed Moses and now they were following Joshua. Joshua was following God, and they were to follow Joshua. Or as the Apostle Paul would say more than a thousand years later: Follow my example as I follow the example of Christ (1 Corinthians 11:1).

Trust God to raise up a leader, and then follow that leader. Every day is new territory, and you have never been this way before.

TODAY’S MEDITATION

Every morning when you wake up, you’re headed into uncharted territory. Reflect on what it means to have the Holy Spirit walking with you.

Day 69: Joshua 22, 23 and 24

But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord. (Joshua 25:15)

Although not nearly as complete as we usually assume, this is effectively the end of the campaign for Canaan. The tribes assemble and receive from Joshua a challenge to make a commitment. Serve the Lord, or don't serve the Lord, but don't try to have it both ways. The Israelites reject their foreign gods and pledge their fealty to Yahweh.

Have you ever stepped from a dock into a rowboat, or from the boat back to the dock? That's no time to be indecisive. If you pause too long between those two worlds – one foot in the boat and the other on the dock – disaster is almost guaranteed (or at least some airtime on America’s Funniest Home Videos). You've got to make a choice and commit.

The first commandment insisted that God's people put God first. Maybe Joshua knew that they couldn't have it both ways, and that vacillating between Yahweh and foreign gods was every bit as deadly as rejecting Yahweh completely. Remember, Joshua begins the Deuteronomic history, in which Israel's failures to keep the first commandment are tallied up, very possibly to explain to an exiled people (500 or more years after Joshua’s time) why the unthinkable has happened – why Jerusalem has been destroyed and Israel taken into captivity.

Are you on the dock or in the boat? You can’t have it both ways.

Do you need to make a commitment? What’s stopping you?

Day 68: Joshua 19, 20 and 21

Not one of all the Lord's good promises to the house of Israel failed; every one was fulfilled. (Joshua 21:45)

What a testimony! And yet, could we claim any different?

Usually if I think God isn't coming through, it's because I've gotten impatient. If God doesn't do what I think he should do when I think he should do it, that doesn't mean he isn't working. It means something else is going on.

Another reason I might think I've come up short with God is that sometimes I put words in his mouth. Let's face it; God didn't promise me a vintage Jaguar XKE (although I think we all know how great I'd look driving one down the street). It's amazing how the frills of life can get labeled as necessities.

And other times it's because I don't recognize God's hand of mercy. Sometimes God shows his mercy by saying, "No." I'd probably get all sorts of speeding tickets in that Jaguar, although they do look really cool cruising along nice and slow – not that I've thought about it all that much.

The bottom line is that God answers prayer in accordance with his will, and his will for me is always better than my selfish yearnings or best laid – though naïve – plans. We struggle against his will, not realizing doing so means we are settling for less than God’s best.

When's the last time you looked back and were gently surprised at God's faithfulness?

Day 67: Joshua 16, 17 and 18

The whole assembly of the Israelites gathered at Shiloh and set up the tent of meeting there. (Joshua 18:1)

After forty years of travel, the Tent of Meeting (tabernacle) stood at Gilgal during the military campaigns for Canaan. Yesterday we read that even after the three campaigns, there was still work to do. In 18:2 we read that seven of twelve tribes still had not secured their inheritance. Frankly they would not until the days of King David. Once the initial campaigns were accomplished, the Tabernacle moved from Gilgal and was set up in Shiloh. There it would remain until the early days of Samuel (I'm thinking that makes it about 150 years), but we'll get to that story in a couple weeks. In the mean time, Shiloh would serve as the spiritual capital of Israel during the years of the judges.

Darker days were ahead. If you want to see what's coming, read Psalm 78:56-64. But for now, Shiloh was Israel’s spiritual center.

Everyone needs some sort of spiritual center, some place that takes them back to their spiritual roots. It might be the church (or river or lake) where you were baptized. It might be a passage of Scripture that has become especially meaningful to you over the years. It may be one of the names of God in which you have found your deepest need supplied. Or it could be the memory of someone special who prayed with you to receive Christ.

Where is your spiritual center?

Day 66: Joshua 13, 14 and 15

There are still very large areas of land to be taken over. (Joshua 13:1)

Sometimes we get the idea that Israel marched into the Promised Land under Joshua’s leadership, and that all their enemies surrendered when the walls of Jericho came a-tumblin’ down. The truth is it was a little more complicated than that. The previous chapters outlined the three military campaigns led by Joshua in Canaan. This passage makes it clear there was still work to be done.

Notice the division of land. God didn't say, Well, I was going to give you this land, but you didn't conquer it, so now your inheritance will have to be much smaller. No, the division of land went on as planned, even for land that hadn't yet been conquered. God gave them the land. Next step? Take it.

Most responsible preachers try to stay away from allegorical interpretations of Scripture, so I'm not saying God orchestrated this gradual assimilation of Canaan to Israeli control to show how our spiritual life works. On the other hand, I can't overlook the obvious similarities. Show me someone who has set their goals in life and achieved every single one according to a pre-planned time table, and I'll show you an anomaly - an outlier. Most of us have starts and stops in our forward progress. Israel's ongoing battle to take the land God had already given them illustrates the point.

Does your reach exceed your grasp? What victories are still ahead of you?

Day 65: Joshua 10, 11 and 12

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. (Joshua 11:20)

In John 14:9 we read the words of Jesus: Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. In times past, some people believed the God of the New Testament (Jesus) must be different from and superior to the god of the Old Testament. Jesus was trying to teach us that what we saw in him was what we got in God - they were one and the same (or three-in-one and the same).

I think most biblical scholars and theologians today would prefer to believe that the Old Testament understanding of God was probably immature, needing development. The biblical concept of herem is that God commanded Joshua to totally destroy the inhabitants of Canaan. Some thinkers are questioning if God would do that.

If you want to read more about this, try Greg Boyd's blog Christus Victor. Search for two specific articles that address the concept of violence in the Old Testament: Shedding Light On the Dark Side of God and The Command to Utterly Destroy. Or go to his blog and type herem in the search window. He dedicated a lot of print space to the subject in 2008.

That 6^th Commandment sure throws a wrench in the works, doesn’t it?

Do you ever have difficulty reconciling the violence of the Old Testament with the Jesus of the New Testament?

Day 64: Joshua 7, 8 and 9

Three days after they made the treaty with the Gibeonites, the Israelites heard that they were neighbors, living near them. (Joshua 9:16)

Here is the story of the Gibeonite deception. The Israelites, under Joshua’s leadership, were taking Canaan city by city. Whether it was primarily a military conquest, a simple process of assimilating into Canaanite culture, or a mixture of the two is debated by Old Testament scholars. Nevertheless, knowing it was just a matter of time before their number came up, and in order to spare their own lives, the Gibeonites dressed in old clothes and disguised their belongings to make them appear as if they had traveled a long distance. They came before Joshua, misrepresented themselves, and negotiated a peace treaty with Israel.

Had Joshua known they were Canaanites, he would have been compelled to destroy them. Only after he covenanted with them to spare their lives did he find out they had deceived him and were really neighbors. When Joshua learned the truth, it was too late. He had given his word and refused to go back on it, but he did press the people of Gibeon into forced servitude, in which they would perform menial and difficult labor.

From Joshua and the Gibeonites we learn two valuable lessons: First, another’s deception does not legitimize dishonorable behavior on our part. Second, it’s never a good idea to sign a contract without reading the fine print.

Have you ever committed to something without getting all the facts first?

Day 63: Joshua 4, 5 and 6

Today I have rolled away the reproach of Egypt from you. (Joshua 5:9)

Upon crossing the Jordan and before engaging the city of Jericho in battle, the Israelites renewed their covenant with Yahweh. In taking inventory, they realized the men who marched out of Egypt forty years previous had been circumcised at Sinai, but those born in the desert remained uncircumcised. At Gilgal, the people circumcised the sons of those who had perished in the wilderness.

In Genesis, to avenge their sister Dinah, Jacob’s sons tricked the men of Shechem into circumcising themselves. While they were unable to defend themselves, the brothers swooped into town and killed everyone. Joshua’s obedience in having his men circumcised is even more striking when we consider his army’s back was against the river, and they were helpless in enemy territory.

The writer records these words as spoken to them by God: Today I have rolled away the reproach of Egypt from you. Gilgal means “rolled away.”

Isn’t it good to know that God wants to roll away our reproach? Whatever baggage we have been carrying from our past, whatever dirt we’ve picked up walking through life, God doesn’t want those things to stick to us. He wants to free us of those things that might trip us up, tie us to the past, or hold us back from moving forward into our future and his purpose for our lives.

Are you holding on to baggage God has determined to roll away?

Day 62: Joshua 1, 2 and 3

You have never been this way before. (Joshua 3:4)

In Chapter 3, Joshua encourages the Israelites to follow the Ark of the Covenant as they cross the Jordan, for they are about to go where no man has gone before... well, at least where no Israelite had gone in the last 400 years.

The problem was they didn’t know where they were going. This was terra incognita. With no GPS (not even a map), they were going to need some help getting where they wanted to go.

Joshua gave them good advice: When you see the ark of the covenant of the Lord your God, and the Levitical priests carrying it, you are to move out from your positions and follow it. Then you will know which way to go… (3:3-4). This was more than just good common sense. True, being carried on poles, the ark’s elevation would make it easy to see. But more to the point, God would lead the way.

In the case of Israel, the nation had followed Moses and now they were following Joshua. Joshua was following God, and they were to follow Joshua. Or as the Apostle Paul would say more than a thousand years later: Follow my example as I follow the example of Christ (1 Corinthians 11:1).

Trust God to raise up a leader, and then follow that leader.

Every day is new territory. You have never been this way before.

How are you trusting God to guide you into uncharted territory?

Day 69: Joshua 22, 23 and 24

But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord. (Joshua 24:15)

Although not nearly as complete as we usually assume, this is effectively the end of the campaign for Canaan. The tribes assemble and receive from Joshua a challenge to make a commitment. Serve the Lord, or don't serve the Lord, but don't try to have it both ways.

Have you ever stepped from a dock into a rowboat? Or from the boat back to the dock? That's no time to be indecisive. If you pause too long between those two worlds - one foot on the dock and the other in the boat - disaster is almost guaranteed (or at least an embarrassing moment on America's Funniest Home Videos). You've got to make a choice and commit.

The first commandment insisted that God's people put God first. Maybe Joshua knew they couldn't have it both ways, and that vacillating betweenYahweh and foreign gods was every bit as deadly as rejecting Yahweh completely. Remember, Joshua begins the Deuteronomic History, in which Israel's failures to keep the first commandment are tallied up, very possibly to explain to an exiled people (well more than 500 years after Joshua's time) why the unthinkable has happened - why Jerusalem has been destroyed and Israel taken into captivity.

Are you on the dock or in the boat? You can't have it both ways. Have you made a commitment?

Day 68: Joshua 19, 20 and 21

Not one of all the Lord's good promises to the house of Israel failed, every one was fulfilled. (Joshua 21:45)

What a testimony! And yet, could we claim any different?

Usually if I think God isn't coming through, it's because I've gotten impatient. If God doesn't do what I think he should do when I think he should do it, that doesn't mean he isn't working. It usually means I'm willing to settle for less than God's best.

Another reason I might think I've come up short with God is that sometimes I put words in his mouth. Let's face it; God didn't promise me a vintage Jaguar XKE (although I think we all know how great I'd look driving one down the street). It's amazing as time goes by how the frills of life become necessities.

And other times it's because I don't recognize God's hand of mercy. Sometimes God shows his mercy by saying, "No." I'd probably get all sorts of speeding tickets in that Jaguar, although they also look really cool cruising along nice and slow - not that I've thought about it all that much.

When's the last time you looked back and were gently surprised at God's faithfulness?

Day 67: Joshua 16, 17 and 18

The whole assembly of the Israelites gathered at Shiloh and set up the Tent of Meeting there. (Joshua 18:1)

After forty years of travel, the Tent of Meeting (Tabernacle) stood at Gilgal during the military campaigns for Canaan. Once the three campaigns were accomplished, the Tabernacle was moved to Shiloh, where it would remain until the early days of Samuel (probably around 150 years). We'll get to that story in a couple weeks. In the mean time, Shiloh would serve as the spiritual capital of Israel during the years of the judges.

Darker days were ahead. If you want to see what's coming, read Psalm 78:56-64. But for now, Shiloh was Israel's spiritual center.

Do you have a spiritual center? Some place (or maybe someone) that takes you back to your spiritual roots and your first spiritual love?

Day 66: Joshua 13, 14 and 15

There are still very large areas of land to be taken over. (Joshua 13:1)

The previous chapters outlined the three military campaigns led by Joshua in Canaan. This passage makes it clear there was still work to be done.

Notice the division of land. God didn't say, Well, I was going to give you this land, but you didn't conquer it, so now your inheritance will have to be much smaller. No, the division of land went on as planned, even for land that hadn't yet been conquered. God gave them the land. Next step? Take it.

Most responsible preachers try to stay away from allegorical interpretations of Scripture. So I'm not saying God orchestrated this gradual assimilation of Canaan to Israeli control to show how our spiritual life works, but I also can't overlook the obvious similarities. Show me someone who has set their goals in life and achieved every single one according to a pre-planned time table, and I'll show you an anomaly - an outlier. Most of us have starts and stops in our forward progress. Israel's ongoing battle to take the land God had already given them illustrates the point.

Does your reach exceed your grasp? What victories are still ahead of you?