365 Reflections

The book of Joshua ends by harkening back to Joseph. Joshua 24:32 (ESV)   As for the bones of Joseph, which the people of Israel brought up from Egypt, they buried them at Shechem, in the piece of land that Jacob bought from the sons of Hamor the father of Shechem for a hundred pieces of money. It became an inheritance of the descendants of Joseph. How strange is this? The bones of Joseph were carried up from Egypt after 400 years of slavery, they were carried through two bodies of water (Red Sea and Jordan), they wandered in the wilderness for 40 years, they also waited for 7 years as Israel took possession of the land. That's a lot of bone carrying if you ask me. For Israel, it points to the sacredness of their history. It was Joseph himself who made certain this would happen: Genesis 50:25–26 (ESV)  Then Joseph made the sons of Israel swear, saying, “God will surely visit you, and you shall carry up my bones from here.” 26 So Joseph died, being 110 years old. They...

Joshua 24:19–24 (ESV) But Joshua said to the people, “You are not able to serve the LORD, for he is a holy God. He is a jealous God; he will not forgive your transgressions or your sins. 20 If you forsake the LORD and serve foreign gods, then he will turn and do you harm and consume you, after having done you good.” 21 And the people said to Joshua, “No, but we will serve the LORD.” 22 Then Joshua said to the people, “You are witnesses against yourselves that you have chosen the LORD, to serve him.” And they said, “We are witnesses.” 23 He said, “Then put away the foreign gods that are among you, and incline your heart to the LORD, the God of Israel.” 24 And the people said to Joshua, “The LORD our God we will serve, and his voice we will obey.” I have struggled with this text for a few days. Joshua seems very negative, almost convinced the people will not obey God. But what are the results? We find that in the next book. Judges 2:7 (ESV) And the people served the LORD all the da...

It is one of the most iconic lines in all of Scripture. "Choose you this day whom you shall serve." We think one of the options of that proposal would be God. And we would be wrong. The options on the table were the idols/false gods of the pagan nations Israel had been experienced with both before and after their triumph in the Land of Promise. In Joshua 24, Joshua is reminding the people what God had done for them, how He had blessed them and prospered them. How everything good in their lives was the result of God's goodness to them. Joshua 24:2–3 (ESV)   And Joshua said to all the people, “Thus says the Lord , the God of Israel, ‘Long ago, your fathers lived beyond the Euphrates, Terah, the father of Abraham and of Nahor; and they served other gods. 3 Then I took your father Abraham from beyond the River and led him through all the land of Canaan, and made his offspring many. Joshua 24:6–7 (ESV) “‘Then I brought your fathers out of Egypt, and you came to the se...

The book of Romans maps out the process of change for the Christian's life: Romans 8:13 (ESV) For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but i f by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. What does that look like? The book of Joshua draws an illustration of Spiritually empowered sanctification in the unclaimed areas of the Promised land following Joshua's efforts to lead the nation toward total occupancy. In his farewell speech, he admonishes the people to continue fighting the last vestiges of the nations surrounding them. These nations pose a threat to Israel's fidelity and longevity. So Joshua extols further eradication of their existence. This is a picture of our sanctification. Jesus saves us, and then we partner with the Holy Spirit in working out that salvation in fear and trembling (see Philippians 2:12-13). Joshua 23:4–8 (ESV) Behold, I have allotted to you as an inheritance for your tribes those nations that remain, a...

Sometimes we have the best intentions and end up with terrible results. That is the lesson I find in Joshua 22. The three Transjordan tribes (Reuben, Gad and the half tribe of Manasseh) are sent home to their families after the wars having followed through to fight with Israel for the land on the Western side of the Jordan. This is what happens next: Joshua 22:10–11 (ESV) And when they came to the region of the Jordan that is in the land of Canaan, the people of Reuben and the people of Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh built there an altar by the Jordan, an altar of imposing size. 11 And the people of Israel heard it said, “Behold, the people of Reuben and the people of Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh have built the altar at the frontier of the land of Canaan, in the region about the Jordan, on the side that belongs to the people of Israel.” The built an enormous altar! This action was forbidden repeatedly by God. Thre was to be one altar, one temple, one place for God...

Joshua 21:43–45 (ESV) Thus the LORD gave to Israel all the land that he swore to give to their fathers. And they took possession of it, and they settled there. 44 And the LORD gave them rest on every side just as he had sworn to their fathers. Not one of all their enemies had withstood them, for the LORD had given all their enemies into their hands. 45 Not one word of all the good promises that the LORD had made to the house of Israel had failed; all came to pass. What a profound summation of the first 6 books of the Bible. God's good promises come to pass. This passage goes back to their "fathers" and not just to Moses' death. We have to remember God's long-term commitment to His people. So here is my thought about this passage. God's promises come to pass but not without a lot of time, effort, fighting, asking, planning and organizing through many people. First: the time: Yes God keeps His promises. No, they don't happen overnight. Think of the 450...

Joshua 21:1 (ESV) Then the heads of the fathers’ houses of the Levites came to Eleazar the priest and to Joshua the son of Nun and to the heads of the fathers’ houses of the tribes of the people of Israel. In Joshua 21, the Levites come to Shiloh and ask for their cities which Moses promised them before entrance into the land. Joshua 21:2–3 (ESV) And they said to them at Shiloh in the land of Canaan, “The LORD commanded through Moses that we be given cities to dwell in, along with their pasturelands for our livestock.” 3 So by command of the LORD the people of Israel gave to the Levites the following cities and pasturelands out of their inheritance. Notice again the emphasis in Joshua that what was said through Moses is fulfilled through Joshua. This is a common theme in the book that teaches us how to read God's Word. There is promise and there is fulfillment. We need to know and remember the promise so we can recognize and request the fulfillment. Sometimes our lives a...

Joshua 20 is the fulfillment of Moses' command from the Lord for the Israelites to establish cities of refuge for anyone who may have killed someone by accident. The Law required there to be an avenger of blood from the family of a murdered person when the murder was pre-meditated. However, in cases where the murder happened accidentally, there was to be a merciful option for the guilty party. Joshua 20:2-3 (ESV) “Say to the people of Israel, ‘Appoint the cities of refuge, of which I spoke to you through Moses, 3 that the manslayer who strikes any person without intent or unknowingly may flee there. They shall be for you a refuge from the avenger of blood. Joshua 20:6 (ESV)  And he shall remain in that city until he has stood before the congregation for judgment, until the death of him who is high priest at the time. Then the manslayer may return to his own town and his own home, to the town from which he fled.’ ” In an ancient world, this concept was groundbreaking. Ret...

I never realized this before in Joshua but evidently, he asked for and received the inheritance of his choice upon completion of his work leading the people of Israel into the Promised Land and dividing up the territories tribe by tribe. Joshua 19:49–50 (ESV) When they had finished distributing the several territories of the land as inheritances, the people of Israel gave an inheritance among them to Joshua the son of Nun. 50 By command of the LORD they gave him the city that he asked , Timnath-serah in the hill country of Ephraim. And he rebuilt the city and settled in it. There is a firm reward for those who would serve God. It may not seem like it at times, but it will come. And I love the little detail about Joshua ASKING for the territory and getting what he wanted by the "command of the Lord." I also love the name of the city in his possession. The name "Timnath-serah" means, "Portion redundant; abundant portion"  Joshua did not get scra...

Joshua 19:9 (ESV) The inheritance of the people of Simeon formed part of the territory of the people of Judah. Because the portion of the people of Judah was too large for them, the people of Simeon obtained an inheritance in the midst of their inheritance. Simeon’s inheritance in the promised land was in the midst of the tribe of Judah. This is very relevant for two reasons and it beautifully ties the Old Testament stories to the New Testament reality we have in Christ. Of course, we know Jesus is from the tribe of Judah. Jacob prophesies over Judah at his death that the “scepter will never depart from” this tribe. That is fulfilled in Christ who is crowned king forever in heaven. But what about Simeon? We don’t hear very much about this man or his tribe. But what we do hear relates to all those Jesus came to save. First, we hear about Simeon in the book of Genesis when he plots evil against the Shechemites for raping their sister Dinah in Genesis 34. He and Levi team up to de...

How do we know where we belong in life?  It is the great question many ask, is it not? Accompanied with that question is the resident fear that we may not be living up to the fullest of our potential. I'm sure you can relate. For that reason we may need to take a close look at what happens in Joshua 18. Once again the people have stagnated from occupying the land. Listen to Joshua's speech: Joshua 18:3–4 (ESV)  So Joshua said to the people of Israel, “How long will you put off going in to take possession of the land, which the LORD, the God of your fathers, has given you? 4 Provide three men from each tribe, and I will send them out that they may set out and go up and down the land. They shall write a description of it with a view to their inheritances, and then come to me. Joshua instructs them it's TIME TO MOVE. This need of instigation to capture what was theirs by promise has become a recurring theme for Israel. It is getting a bit redundant. The...

Joshua 17:14 (ESV)   Then the people of Joseph spoke to Joshua, saying, “Why have you given me but one lot and one portion as an inheritance, although I am a numerous people, since all along the Lord has blessed me?” This passage in Joshua 17 reminds me of many of God's people (and myself at times). The people of Joseph are large and numerous. Yet they feel the portion of land given them is limiting.  So they come to complain to Joshua about what he's given them. They are actually phrasing it to suggest Joshua is ignorant of how much the Lord has blessed them. As in: " Don't you see how big God has made us? Why did you rip us off?" This is how we can act sometimes. We feel like there's more in us than what our conditions are allowing to come from us. And then we feel like someone needs to "give it to us." Note Joshua's response in this unfolding back and forth: Joshua 17:15 (ESV) And Joshua said to them, “If you are a numerous people...

Joshua 16:10 (ESV) However, they did not drive out the Canaanites who lived in Gezer, so the Canaanites have lived in the midst of Ephraim to this day but have been made to do forced labor. Joshua 17:13 (ESV) Now when the people of Israel grew strong, they put the Canaanites to forced labor, but did not utterly drive them out. The people of Israel were not supposed to let the inhabitants of Canaan live. They were allowed to subject any external nation that attacked them into forced labor but all those inside the borders of the land were not supposed to live. Sadly, the tribes started following the example set by Joshua in Joshua 10 concerning the Gibeonites and make slaves of the foreign nations among them. Of course, this applies to our spiritual life. We cannot compromise with sin. We must not allow sin to live in our mortal bodies. Romans 6:11-14 (ESV) Even so consider yourselves to be dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus. 12 Therefore do not let sin reign in your ...

Joshua 15:63 (ESV)   But the Jebusites , the inhabitants of Jerusalem , the people of Judah could not drive out, so the Jebusites dwell with the people of Judah at Jerusalem to this day. This little side note at the end of a very long list of cities belonging to Judah's allotted territory in the land makes for a stark contrast to the previous section identifying the over 120 cities the Israelites occupied in this territory. One city stands apart from the list in glaring fashion. One city will not be occupied by Israel. One city still has to be taken. What city is that? The city of God.  It's a small reminder to those who read the text with the benefit of hindsight that eventually a chosen King and faithful shepherd in his father's house will one day eventually come in and conquer this city to make it his own where he will sit on his throne. Jerusalem today is a city with three major religions vying for its control and hoping for dominance one day soon. The Jews, C...

Joshua 15:16–19 (ESV) And Caleb said, “Whoever strikes Kiriath-sepher and captures it, to him will I give Achsah my daughter as wife.” 17 And Othniel the son of Kenaz, the brother of Caleb, captured it. And he gave him Achsah his daughter as wife. 18 When she came to him, she urged him to ask her father for a field. And she got off her donkey, and Caleb said to her, “What do you want?” 19 She said to him, “Give me a blessing. Since you have given me the land of the Negeb, give me also springs of water.” And he gave her the upper springs and the lower springs. This passage presents an important and often neglected practice of God's people. James says, " We do not have because we do not ask." (James 4:2) . The Lord's people called to pray constantly and in many ways:  Ephesians 6:18 (ESV) praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end, keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints... The Lord ...

I sometimes think we treat the Bible as a "do not do" book. All the while I read a ton of "go do" in it. The Bible is God's Word to mankind who has "fallen short" of His glory. The implication of that expression is that we were not meant to fall short. We were intended to hit the mark, to attain the Glory of God! Because the scriptures make clear that we are not living as we should and must come to terms with it if we are to change and become what God intended we could be tempted to cast dispersions on this book as if it were against us. Nothing could be further from the truth. The scriptures are FOR US. Want proof? Romans 15:4 (ESV) For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope . So we see a theme running through the Bible of a certain few people who dared to believe that though their station was not as it should be (because of si...

Joshua 13:14 (ESV) To the tribe of Levi alone Moses gave no inheritance. The offerings by fire to the LORD God of Israel are their inheritance, as he said to him. Could you imagine being Levi during the land allotment? What gives? Everyone gets something to call their own except us??? Yet instead of focusing on what they don't get, look at what they do get! It is an interesting way to phrase Levi's inheritance among God's people. They will have the "offerings by fire to the Lord God." What exactly is this gift?  Whenever any worshipper wanted to come before the Lord for worship, the Levites were to be there to make sure the entire process was handled properly. These offerings were the best of the entire nation's increase including their first born flocks. The offerings made by fire are considered a "pleasing aroma" to the Lord.  Leviticus 1:17 (ESV) He shall tear it open by its wings, but shall not sever it completely. And the prie...

Joshua 13:1 (ESV) Now Joshua was old and advanced in years, and the LORD said to him, “You are old and advanced in years, and there remains yet very much land to possess. Joshua 13:7 (ESV) Now therefore divide this land for an inheritance to the nine tribes and half the tribe of Manasseh.” It's one of the hardest facts of life to embrace. This world will continue when you're dead. It will continue and you will not be there to make sure it continues. The Bible keeps making clear people die and a new generation always comes up and takes their place in history. There was a time when Joshua was the new kid on the block, the successful military leader who believed God and made it to the promised land when his entire generation could not believe. There was a time when Joshua was full of life and ready to take on the giants of life. There was a time when Joshua was winning battle after battle. Now here in Joshua 13, he's old and God has to tell him, there's t...

Are you living on the East or West of the Jordan river? Joshua 12:6–7 (ESV) 6 Moses, the servant of the Lord , and the people of Israel defeated them. And Moses the servant of the Lord gave their land for a possession to the Reubenites and the Gadites and the half-tribe of Manasseh. 7 And these are the kings of the land whom Joshua and the people of Israel defeated on the west side of the Jordan, from Baal-gad in the Valley of Lebanon to Mount Halak, that rises toward Seir (and Joshua gave their land to the tribes of Israel as a possession according to their allotments, The Jordan symbolizes crossing over into total victory. When we cross through it, we identify with the victory our true Joshua comes to give us.  Moses took the people out of Egypt and to the edge of the land. He also took SOME of the first fruits of the inheritance for Israel by war and conquest. Joshua, however, led the people through the Jordan as an entrance into a victorious c...

In the middle of recounting the conquest of Joshua and Israel's armies over the inhabitants of Canaan, we read a solemn verse that could confuse many but should serve as a solemn warning to all: Joshua 11:19–20 (ESV) There was not a city that made peace with the people of Israel except the Hivites, the inhabitants of Gibeon. They took them all in battle. 20 For it was the Lord ’s doing to harden their hearts that they should come against Israel in battle, in order that they should be devoted to destruction and should receive no mercy but be destroyed, just as the Lord commanded Moses. Consider the statement of the 19th verse. Not a single city in Canaan offered terms of peace with Israel outside of Gibeon. Then it states the Lord hardened their hearts that they should come against Israel. Left to that we may be tempted to think that God caused these nations to come out and war to destroy them. This is quite accurate except for the fact that God had given these nations 40...