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I trust you have had a good week. Me? My week has been nothing short of miraculous! It started with church, where my father was guest preaching about how to overcome despair in times of failure, using Peter as his example. Until I sat down and read the entire Bible last year, I didn't have much appreciation for that disciple. I knew that he was headstrong and very impulsive. I also saw him as quick to action and slow to recognizing the will of God. By the time I was done reading the Bible, I viewed him as a giant in the arena of men whose lives had been transformed by God. I also looked at myself and compared myself to him as a believer and fell short. After all, he was the only one with the courage to step out of the boat!
My week at work was shortened due to the Spring Break my son had from school and I took full advantage of the time I was able to spend at home. Thursday night I went to the men's group at church without wondering how long it would be. The group starts at 9:00 p.m. and the next day is usually a workday for me, so it was a luxury not to have to worry about when I would be getting to bed. The evening was glorious for more then that, though. That night I saw a friend become a brother in Christ. The others in the group along with myself used the scriptures to answer the questions he had for God and we all sat with him as one of the guys prayed with him. I am humbled and honored to have been there for that moment. A few years ago, I may have been a bit jealous of the guy who prayed with him, but I have learned and matured and know that our brother was only there for personal support. God did the saving. It wasn't the man praying with him and it wasn't the nervous man who surrendered his destiny to Christ!
Surrender is a word that has come to the forefront of my mind since then. In our discussion, I remarked that I envied him in a way. He was able to speak about what his life was before he was saved and he can now speak about how his life has changed after that time. That is something I don't have, as I was saved at the age of four, and I have wrestled with this "lack of experience" for years. I meditated on that matter the following day and wrote out my testimony. I don't have a "before I was saved / after I was saved" story. I have a "before I surrendered / after I surrendered" story.
And as a reader of this newsletter, I would like to thank you, for you are a part of my story!
Joshua was getting old in the years immediately after the entrance into the Promised Land. Of course, God still was fighting the battles for the Israelites and removing the people there, but there was work to be done as the people parceled out the land in strict accordance with the Lord's instructions to Moses. I find it odd that they parceled out the land strictly as they had been told it would be, and yet they didn't hold true to the other commandments God gave them about this land. They made treaties and allowed people to stay. They invited doom on their own land that they had wandered for 40 years for and they knew the consequences beforehand! But this does give us a little window of just what mattered to them, doesn't it?
Perhaps that's what really gets me about this story. Despite the fact that they were killing and displacing people there, they maintained a sense of compassion for the idolaters that God wanted killed or removed. And just like so many other stories of people who failed to follow the instructions of the Lord, I know that I would fare no better.
The earlier mention in the laws that the boundary markers were not to be moved seems a bit more powerful now that the land is in the possession of the Israelites. Land that is promised to wanderers doesn't seem as great, but in a tangible land flowing with milk and honey, it takes on new meaning. You know, if they had driven out or killed all of the inhabitants as they were instructed, they wouldn't have had the difficulties of not enough room for everyone. And what's the deal with the descendants of Joseph? God had been clearing the way for the Israelites against terrible odds for five years! And now they're afraid of some iron chariots?
I keep reminding myself that I would be no better.
Finally the land was divided and the people were happy. There were a few mentions of difficulty in the process, but it doesn't sound too bad. Of course, when you choose to obey or disobey God, the repercussions will continue for a long time. That is true whether you are His chosen people or not! If anything, it is perhaps more true for his chosen people because of their status.
As mentioned earlier, the cities of refuge were named and the Levites were given their cities and pastureland from the other tribes. Our God is an awesome God and true to his word in every promise He makes. He always has been. He always will be.
Apparently, the problems that the people had brought upon themselves could only go so far. They were ready to attack the tribes who built their own unauthorized alter. They also were wise enough to inquire about said alter before attacking. Way to go, guys!
Years later, Joshua felt the age beginning to overtake him and he blessed the Israelites and renewed the covenant with God. I'm sure I've heard a version of this quote before:
...choose today whom you will serve. Would you prefer the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates? Or will it be the gods of the Amorites in whose land you now live? But as for me and my family, we will serve the LORD.
This next book of the Bible is named Judges. Judges are only necessary when the people go astray. I'm not very optimistic about this group of Israelites we've followed for the last 50+ years, but we'll see how they did.
The driving of the Canaanites continued on, but it sounds like the Israelites had gotten a bit soft in some areas. They allowed many of their enemies to stay and work forced labor. I'm no warmonger, but God had been so explicit with them! The message from the angel that appeared to them made this clear. The sinfulness of the Israelites began again in earnest in the following generation and each generation was worse than the one before it. True to his word, God began to allow the neighboring nations to harass them and their troubles multiplied with their sins.
These judges were the voice of God to the people and they acted on the behalf of the Israelites, whether they were judging them or their enemies. So far, the judges only came when the people had been overpowered by another nation for some time and finally plead with God for deliverance.
Not all of the judges were male. Deborah was deciding the disputes for a time and led a very one-sided war against overwhelming odds. It's sad that the men wouldn't go unless led by her, especially when you consider the lack of respect women got in that era. Nonetheless, the battle was won and Israel had peace again after returning to the Lord.
Gideon is a hero of the Bible that isn't heard of as much as others. What did he do to earn this acclaim? How did he get the lucrative Bible-in-the-hotel-room spin-off? (just kidding) It all started with a command from God to tear down the family alter to a false god and using a symbol of one of the family's other gods as firewood for an alter to the Lord. That took some guts! God had plans for this man and didn't mind showing him no less than 3 times that this was a message from Himself.
Weekly LinkYou've heard of the ACLU before, haven't you? You know, the organization that seeks to end any use of the name of God in public places because His name offends so many. They are not content to remove God from public places, they want to curtail our rights in the most private of settings. If you wish to argue that fact with me, I'll just point you to the nearest abortion clinic. For years, they have had no serious opponent and the ACLJ is out to change that matter. Formed by Pat Robertson over a decade ago, the ACLJ has become this nation's pre-eminent public interest law firm and educational organization dedicated to defending and advancing religious liberty, the sanctity of human life, and the two-parent, marriage-bound family. From the U.S. Supreme Court to local school boards, lawyers of the ACLJ have been defending the rights of believers, standing up for the unborn, the elderly and the infirm, and reasserting the primary rights of parents and the centrality of the family. The next time you hear about another legal atrocity and wonder if anyone can stand up to the hyper-liberal media-driven powers within the legal system, take a look at this site and know that even if morality isn't winning, morality has not given up the fight! |
I hope you enjoyed this e-zine. If you know anyone else who would enjoy this newsletter, please forward this e-mail to them or direct them to http://www.coffeeswirls.com/weeklybible/
Thanks for sharing my goal of reading the Bible in its entirety this year!