365 Reflections

Judges 1 begins with the death of Joshua, contains some exciting moments of victory for Israel but eventually ends up describing a nation lulled into a far less promising existence than what was first imagined. Consider the slow fade from conquest to quieted apathy as the Israelites no longer push forward in faith but rather allow their godless enemies to start dictating the terms of their inhabitance. It begins well enough: Judges 1:17 (ESV) And Judah went with Simeon his brother, and they defeated the Canaanites who inhabited Zephath and devoted it to destruction . So the name of the city was called Hormah. Once again Judah is leading the way in conquest. This moment will sadly be the final description of complete victory for any of the tribes. Judges 1:21 (ESV) But the people of Benjamin did not drive out the Jebusites... so the Jebusites have lived with the people of Benjamin in Jerusalem to this day. Judges 1:27 (ESV) Manasseh did not drive out the inh...

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...

Deuteronomy 2 has a familiar statement from Deuteronomy 1: Deuteronomy 2:3 (ESV) ‘You have been traveling around this mountain country long enough. Turn northward God speaks to the people and says basically that they have been standing in the same place long enough. He had said this to the previous generation who had received the Law from Moses 40 years earlier: Deuteronomy 1:6 (ESV) “The LORD our God said to us in Horeb, ‘You have stayed long enough at this mountain. Both generations came to a mountain where God met with them in special ways. Both Mountains became holy sites of significance and development. However, both mountains were stops along the journey to the ultimate destination - the Promised Land.  We often want to dwell around the significant moments in our lives. God wants us to have them. They are great for us. We are touched, changed and moved in incredible ways when we come to the mountain of God. But we have to remember that we cannot stay there. W...