365 Reflections

Joshua is a book about the judgment of God on the nations that were given hundreds of years to repent and turn to Him. They did not. Yet the book starts with the mention of three "days three" times in the first two chapters followed by the salvation of a prostitute even before the judgment upon those nations takes place. It is really an interesting beginning to what is essentially a record of warfare. It is clear the text is pointing to the larger picture of the Bible: God has given the nations to His Son who rose again on the third day and was first greeted with by a woman from a terrible past upon His resurrection. Joshua 3 begins telling the story of Israel's triumph through the Jordan river and into the national territories which Israel will possess. The whole episode represents for us a beautiful picture of the work of the church which is empowered by the work of Jesus on our behalf. First, the ark of the covenant - which represented the presence of the Lord

Joshua 2:1–4 (ESV) And Joshua the son of Nun sent two men secretly from Shittim as spies, saying, “Go, view the land, especially Jericho.” And they went and came into the house of a prostitute whose name was Rahab and lodged there. 2 And it was told to the king of Jericho, “Behold, men of Israel have come here tonight to search out the land.” 3 Then the king of Jericho sent to Rahab, saying, “Bring out the men who have come to you, who entered your house, for they have come to search out all the land.” 4 But the woman had taken the two men and hidden them. And she said, “True, the men came to me, but I did not know where they were from. I just had this thought. A prostitute is used to bringing strangers into their home. In this case, that ancient practice on Rahab's part became the very tool that God used to save her. Was it the most sanitized means of bringing her into the people of God? No. But the end result proved one thing was for sure: God can use your past to prepar

Joshua must have been worried about taking command of the Lord's armies. God repeatedly tells him in the first 9 verses of Joshua 1 to not be afraid and to be bold and strong. Leading anything after a man named Moses led it would be intimidating to anyone of us. But as soon as the Lord empowers Joshua with encouragement, he takes charge quickly and dynamically. What's really interesting is Joshua's first consideration for how they will fight going forward: Joshua 1:12–15 (ESV)   And to the Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh Joshua said, 13 “Remember the word that Moses the servant of the Lord commanded you, saying, ‘The Lord your God is providing you a place of rest and will give you this land.’ 14 Your wives, your little ones, and your livestock shall remain in the land that Moses gave you beyond the Jordan, but all the men of valor among you shall pass over armed before your brothers and shall help them, 15 until the Lord gives rest to your

Joshua 1:8–11 (ESV) This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success. 9 Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.” 10 And Joshua commanded the officers of the people, 11 “Pass through the midst of the camp and command the people, ‘Prepare your provisions, for within three days you are to pass over this Jordan to go in to take possession of the land that the Lord your God is giving you to possess.’ ” The first Hebrew word in the book of Joshua is "waw", usually translated "and" in English. This is surprising since the usual identification with the book of Joshua is with the Historical books (Joshua - 2 Chronicles) and NOT the Pentateuch (first five of

A recent news item reported the most highlighted passage in the YouVersion Bible App in 2017 was the following verse: Joshua 1:6–7 (NLT)   “Be strong and courageous, for you are the one who will lead these people to possess all the land I swore to their ancestors I would give them. 7 Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the instructions Moses gave you. Do not deviate from them, turning either to the right or to the left. Then you will be successful in everything you do. It is clear people need strength and encouragement today. We want to be strong in a world that attacks us in a hundred different ways several times each day. Can we stand strong in our calling and purpose amidst the noise all around us? Welcome to the book of Joshua. The book opens fresh off the death of Moses and launches Joshua into the future with fervency. There will be no more looking back or longing for the good ole' days. God tells Joshua several times to be strong, to be coura

Deuteronomy 34:1–6 (ESV)   Then Moses went up from the plains of Moab to Mount Nebo, to the top of Pisgah, which is opposite Jericho. And the Lord showed him all the land, Gilead as far as Dan, 2 all Naphtali, the land of Ephraim and Manasseh, all the land of Judah as far as the western sea, 3 the Negeb, and the Plain, that is, the Valley of Jericho the city of palm trees, as far as Zoar. 4 And the Lord said to him, “This is the land of which I swore to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, ‘I will give it to your offspring.’ I have let you see it with your eyes, but you shall not go over there.” 5 So Moses the servant of the Lord died there in the land of Moab, according to the word of the Lord , 6 and he buried him in the valley in the land of Moab opposite Beth-peor; but no one knows the place of his burial to this day. Moses met God in the burning bush on the mountain. Moses heard from God and received the law on the mountain. Moses prayed and won spiritual victory for Isra

There is a rare word used of Israel in Moses' blessing found in Deuteronomy 33. It's actually used 2 times. The word is " Jeshurun ." It means "beloved." And this word is translated into the greek and applied to Jesus (Ephesians 1:6) and the Church  (Col. 3:12; 1 Thes. 1:4; 2 Thes. 2:3; Jude 1). The point God wants to instill in Israel before they enter the promised land? That He loves them. This will be their NAME. This will be their identity moving forward. How will they fight strong and mighty after Joshua? By understanding their primary identity is the love of God for them and therefore anyone's disapproval of them means very little. Let's look at the passages in Moses' blessing first: Deuteronomy 33:5 (ESV) Thus the LORD became king in Jeshurun , when the heads of the people were gathered, all the tribes of Israel together. Deuteronomy 33:26 (ESV)  “There is none like God, O Jeshurun , who rides through the heavens to your help, thr