Tag: joshua

Joshua 6:1-16, 20

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year ALeave a comment
            Today’s Old Testament lesson is the famous account of the Israelites taking the city of Jericho.  The LORD gave his people the unusual instructions of marching around the city once each day for six days.  On the seventh day, they were to march around the city seven times and then give a loud shout and the walls would come down.  The Israelites followed the command to the letter and, as a result, saw a great work of God.
 
            There are two words in this text that are repeated frequently and stand out:  “seven” and “shout.”  Seven priests with seven trumpets march around the city seven times on the seventh day.  And the people were not just to shout on that seventh day – they were to give a great big ol’ shout together.
 
            The number seven shows up a lot in the Scriptures.  Maybe it is God’s favorite number.  Whenever we see the number seven it is in reference to something God is up to.  The Psalmist makes a reference to seven in Psalm 119:164 and says, “Seven times a day I praise you for your righteous rules.”  The ancient Israelites took this verse literally and seriously by instituting a daily offering each and every day of prayer and worship and spaced it out over the course of a twenty-four hour time period.  The early church continued the practice, and even today many liturgical traditions still hold to the “Daily Office” which are seven distinct times in the day (and night) of intentionally connecting with God.
 
            In our contemporary evangelical climate of once-a-day quiet times (if that!) perhaps we need to re-connect with the number seven.  Maybe we would see God do the miraculous if we committed to prayer to the degree that the ancient Israelites were attentive to it, and to meticulously following God’s instructions.  And maybe if we followed our prayers with a great shout together that was a confident expression of faith in God we would see the LORD do mighty works in our lives and in our churches.
            O God, seven times a day I come to you.  Surround my enemies and bring them down so that Your great promises will be fulfilled in and through my life to the glory of Jesus Christ in the power of the Holy Spirit.  Amen.

Joshua 4:1-24

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year ALeave a comment
            I like coffee.  I like coffee mugs.  I like buying a coffee mug from places I visit.  Although it drives my wife nuts, the mugs serve as a continual reminder of a certain place or event I have experienced.  As we journey with the Israelites in the Old Testament book of Joshua, we experience with them the significant places and events of their taking the Promised Land.  God did a miraculous work by causing the Jordan River to congeal so that the Israelites could cross over on dry ground in entering the land.  Once they were across to the other side, God instructed them to take twelve stones, one for each tribe, and pile them up together.
 
            The purpose of the heap of twelve stones is made clear in the text and had a twofold purpose:  to educate future generations in the reality that God kept his promise to bring them into a land of abundance; and, to educate those outside Israel that God is mighty.
 
            Oftentimes children do not know about how God has worked in the past through their parents.  Mom and Dad may not have been intentional about communicating how God’s grace has influenced them.  But having tangible reminders of God’s past actions not only serves to help us remember, but enables children to know what God has done in their family.  Just as people ask me about why I have certain coffee mugs, so having reminders of God’s grace in prominent visible places serves to aid kids to ask why those reminders are there.
 
            If we do not have such reminders around our house or places of work, it would good for us to think through how to begin having remembrances of grace so that others may know that God is mighty and that he keeps his promises.
            Lord God, I want to experience your miraculous work in my life.  And I want my children, my friends, and my co-workers to know the grace of God in Christ through what you have done.  May my life serve as a great testimony of your mighty work.  Amen.

Joshua 2:1-14

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year ALeave a comment
      We may struggle with the notion that persons of ill repute can exhibit any kind of faith.  Yet, in this Old Testament lection for today Rahab the prostitute not only displays faith, but a kind of belief that lands her in the great hall of faith of the New Testament’s Hebrews chapter 11.  She displayed a confident and unwavering belief that God existed and that he would surely overtake her city of Jericho.
            “The LORD your God, he is God in the heavens above and on the earth beneath.”  Rahab’s profession of faith is both sincere and hooked to God’s promise to the Israelites that they would take the land.  Rahab is exhibit A of the kind of person that inherits the kingdom of God; her faith, not her works or reputation, is what spares her life and brings her out from judgment.
            Faith is not a simple checking off a list of doctrinal beliefs that we believe; it always results in confident action based upon the promises of God.  Knowing what those promises are, and living our lives appropriately in light of them, is the kind of faith that pleases God.  Genuine righteousness is never earned; it is given by the compassionate grace of God.
What biblical promise do you need to lay hold of today?  How will that promise affect the way you live your life?  Will you believe God that he always does what he says?

Lord God Almighty, I may have not always lived my life well, yet I trust you today that you can and will deliver me from all my troubles because you are with me.  May your Holy Spirit give me the gift of faith to believe in such a way that it impacts how I live my life.  Amen.

Joshua 1:1-11

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year ALeave a comment
            The ancient Israelites had been delivered from Egypt, wandered through the desert for forty years, and, after the death of their leader Moses, were standing poised and ready to enter the land promised to them.  But it was not going to be a cakewalk.  There were pagan peoples entrenched in the land and it would be no small accomplishment to conquer their territory.  Joshua, Moses’ young aide, now leader of the people, would be the one to go before them in battle.  He was likely nervous, even downright scared. 
 
            So, the LORD came to Joshua and told him to be strong and courageous, to not be afraid to claim the good promise of the land.  The path to success for him, and all of God’s people, would not be by the physical sword but by the sword of the Lord, the Word of God.  “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.”
 
            A faithful knowledge and careful adherence to Holy Scripture comes through meditation.  There needs to be among God’s people a continual rumination upon God’s Word.  We sometimes wonder how to address and deal with certain situations and problems that seem as large as taking the Promised Land.  The place to begin is by going to the Word of God – not just in an impatient question-and-answer manner, but in a slow, deliberate, contemplative way.  True spiritual success comes not only through acknowledging that the Bible is God’s Word, but by the means of meditating upon it continually.
 
            Scripture memorization is a discipline worth pursuing.  Having large chunks of the Bible within our minds and hearts helps us to draw upon particular verses and messages when we are facing certain situations.  Also, when we are doing tedious work, we can engage our minds in the practice of meditating on those verses we have committed to memory.  Meditation on God’s Word is not an optional practice if we want to have success in living the Christian life.
            O God, as I meditate on your Word, would you grant me success through confidently living your commands on a daily basis.  Sink the message of the Bible down deep in my heart, and press it firmly in my mind so that I will be strong and courageous to the glory of Jesus Christ.  Amen.