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Bible reading for July 17.  Joshua 24 "And if it is evil in your eyes to serve the LORD, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your fathers served in the region beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD." (Joshua 24:15) COVENANT RENEWAL (vv 1-28). The Mosaic covenant, given in grace to the descendants of Jacob, nevertheless had a bilateral character. Blessing from God upon each generation depended upon the peoples' wholehearted obedience. The Israelites are confident and sincere at this point in their desire to be faithful to the Lord. But the book of Judges which follows will tell a different story. One of the great lessons of the OT is that people will need a unilateral covenant with God, that is, one that is made (and kept) secure by the power of God. It is not enough that God should provide land, cities, vineyards, and orchards (v 13), what is needed is a changed...

Bible reading for July 16.  Joshua 23 "And now I am about to go the way of all the earth, and you know in your hearts and souls, all of you, that not one word has failed of all the good things that the LORD your God promised concerning you. All have come to pass for you; not one of them has failed." (Joshua 23:14) FINAL WORDS. This chapter and the next record the last two messages Joshua gives before he dies. He concludes with words that echo the first chapter: "Therefore, be very strong to keep and to do all that is written in the Book of the Law of Moses, turning aside from it neither to the right hand nor to the left, that you may not mix with these nations remaining among you or make mention of the names of their gods or swear by them or serve them or bow down to them, but you shall cling to the LORD your God just as you have done to this day" (23:6-8; cf 1:5-9). TAKEAWAY. The call for courage, obedience, and separation from worldliness applies to ...

Bible reading for July 14.  Joshua 22 "The people of Reuben and the people of Gad called the altar Witness, 'For,' they said, 'it is a witness between us that the LORD is God.'" (Joshua 22:34) A MISUNDERSTANDING. As two-and-a-half tribes recross the Jordan to their inheritance on the east side, they build a large altar to the Lord at their border. Since the Lord had declared that there would be only one legitimate sacrificial site (first Shiloh, later Jerusalem), the tribes on the western side take this as a kind of declaration of independence. The centrality and unity of worship was important to the nation. It almost caused a civil war. Things are explained -- communication is good! -- and the altar becomes a monument that the Jordan River would not divide the nation and that they were all committed to the same God of Israel, the only true and living God.  One lesson: when we feel offended, we should always talk first and ask about intentions befor...

Bible reading for July 14.  Joshua 20-21 "Not one word of all the good promises that the LORD had made to the house of Israel had failed; all came to pass." (Joshua 21:45)  LEVITICAL CITIES. The importance of the cities of refuge (ch 20) was emphasized previously in Numbers 35. These locations provided sanctuary for those guilty of manslaughter (without malice) who might become victims themselves of clan vengeance. In chapter 21 the Levitical cities and their pasture lands are designated. This may seem a bit dry to read, but remember, these were the national archives of Israel, to insure that provision for, and preservation of, the Levites would be maintained. God cares about justice, about boundaries, and about food upon the table. He is good, and he is good to his people. And he fulfills his promises to them (Heb 6:11-18; Titus 1:2) .       ==============   Acts 1 "He said to them, 'It is not for you to know times or season...

Bible reading for July 13.  Joshua 18-19. "These are the inheritances that Eleazar the priest and Joshua the son of Nun and the heads of the fathers' houses of the tribes of the people of Israel distributed by lot at Shiloh before the LORD, at the entrance of the tent of meeting. So they finished dividing the land." (Joshua 19:51)  FINAL ALLOTMENTS. The last seven divisions of the land are determined by casting lots. Each tribe would be expected to complete the subjugation of their designated territory. The tribe of Simeon would come to share Judah's inheritance, since it was a large region. Dan was unable to maintain their original allotment and so moved northward toward Mount Hermon. The tent of meeting (tabernacle) will remain at Shiloh until the days of Samuel, and then later it would be moved to Jerusalem.    ==============   Psalms 149-150 "Let everything that has breath praise the LORD! Praise the LORD!" (Psalm 150:6)  STRAIGH...

Bible reading for weekend July 11.  Joshua 14-17. "I am still as strong today as I was in the day that Moses sent me; my strength now is as my strength was then, for war and for going and coming. So now give me this hill country of which the LORD spoke on that day, for you heard on that day how the Anakim were there, with great fortified cities." (Joshua 14:11-12) DIVIDING THE LAND. These chapters record the land allotments by tribe. Inheritance is a major theme in the Bible, and ultimately applies to that which the Lord Jesus has won for us in redemption, which he then gives to us in the new creation. Some get less, others get more, and yet, it is all fair (Ps 16:6). It should be noted that boundaries are not bad. The Bible does not paint eternity as a kind of absorption into a celestial commune. We will maintain our identities and serve within our allotted spheres (Luke 19:16-19; Rev 2:17; 21:24-26).  We see the land allotment again come up in Ezekiel 47 and 48, ...

Bible reading for July 10.  Joshua 12-13. "...in all, thirty-one kings." (Joshua 12:24) MUCH DONE (12). The powerful alliance of kings in Canaan has been broken and their cities burned. The kings are listed, both those defeated by Moses before crossing the Jordan and those defeated by Joshua afterwards. Each city and king named represents a remarkable victory for Israel from the Lord. The Lord raises up and casts down as he wills: "Behold, the nations are like a drop from a bucket, and are accounted as the dust on the scales; behold, he takes up the coastlands like fine dust" (Isa 40:15) and he "...brings princes to nothing, and makes the rulers of the earth as emptiness" (Isa 40:23; cf Dan 4:35). By his death Jesus defeated all earthly and heavenly powers (John 12:31; Eph 4:8; Col 2:15). Sometimes this aspect of Christ's atonement is called Christus Victor , which emphasizes the "triumph of Christ over the evil powers of the world, t...

Bible reading for July 9.  Joshua 11. "So Joshua took the whole land, according to all that the LORD had spoken to Moses. And Joshua gave it for an inheritance to Israel according to their tribal allotments. And the land had rest from war." (Joshua 11:23) THE NORTHERN CAMPAIGN. The battle for the cities of northern Canaan was more challenging than in the south. According to the Jewish historian Josephus, the combined armies of the Canaanite tribes totaled 300,000 armed footmen, 10,000 horsemen, and 20,000 chariots.  Hamstringing the horses seems cruel, but it was necessary to render them unfit to pull chariots. The chariot was a powerful advance in military technology at that time and was a grave danger to the Israelite soldiers, all on foot. For more details on this chapter see Constable's notes in the NET Bible . The hardening of the enemy's hearts (v 20) parallels the hardening of Pharaoh's heart at the exodus (Exod 7:3, 13).  TAKEAWAY. God fulfil...

Bible reading for July 8.  Joshua 10. "And the LORD said to Joshua, 'Do not fear them, for I have given them into your hands. Not a man of them shall stand before you.'" (Joshua 10:8)  THE SOUTHERN CAMPAIGN. Israel does not need to take the offensive in Canaan at this time because the Canaanite kings unite to attack the cities of Gibeon which had made a covenant with Israel. And so Joshua comes to their aid (vv 1-10). What follows is all-out war which rapidly involves all of the southern city-states. It must be remembered that the Israelites were desert nomads, with no chariots, no armor, and greatly outnumbered (cf Josh 11:4). The Lord intervened miraculously on their behalf with widespread panic among the enemies, a supernaturally lengthened day, and hailstones that killed thousands (v 10-14, cf Exodus 9). In a way this battle mirrored the plagues that God sent upon Egypt. The "Book of Jashar" (v 13) was apparently another record of these events...

Bible reading for July 7.  Joshua 9.  "So the men took some of their provisions, but did not ask counsel from the LORD." (Joshua 9:14)  THE GIBEONITES. The Israelites are deceived into making a covenant of peace with an Amorite group associated with the city of Gibeon, which was not far away. The Israelite leaders did not seek guidance from the Lord. If they had waited and prayed for a few days they would have seen the ruse. The Lord does not judge Israel for this, and the leaders realized that, deceived or not, they needed to honor their pledge. The Gibeonites in a sense acted in faith, believing that the God of Israel (and Moses) was indeed God. As seen in the next chapter Israel's commitment to defend Gibeon proved the occasion for a very large and decisive battle for southern Canaan. We find in the biblical story much later that King David continues to honor the covenant with the Gibeonites (2 Sam 21). After the exile, Gibeonite families help repair the wal...

Bible reading for July 6.  Joshua 8. "And there, in the presence of the people of Israel, he wrote on the stones a copy of the law of Moses, which he had written." (Joshua 8:32)  ESTABLISHING GOD'S RULE. The second city to fall, one larger than Jericho, was Ai. Joshua used tactics that built upon their previous failure. Afterwards the inhabitants are put to death but the livestock spared.*  Joshua builds an altar, sacrifices are made, and God's law is copied on stone and read to the people. This signified that the pagan land, full of idols, was now to be guided by the law of God. It was the formal establishment of God's visible reign over that land. Some have felt that a good summary of the Bible story-line is that God in stages is re-establishing his visible and glorious rule over creation which was lost in the fall of man. This re-establishment of his kingdom will be consummated at the return of Christ. This is, of course, why we pray, "Our Father...

Bible reading for July 4-5 weekend.  Joshua 6-7. "So the people shouted, and the trumpets were blown. As soon as the people heard the sound of the trumpet, the people shouted a great shout, and the wall fell down flat, so that the people went up into the city, every man straight before him, and they captured the city." (Joshua 6:20)  SUCCESS, THEN FAILURE. By God's miraculous intervention the walls of Jericho fell. Seven is the number of the days of creation and rest. The nature religions (e.g., polytheism, paganism) recognized the annual (solar) and monthly (lunar) cycles, which were the observable rhythms of nature. The seven-day cycle (the week) is a biblical revelation and an Israelite observance, signifying that the nation was serving the God who created all things.  Point: success in this battle was the Lord's doing! Rahab and her family are spared. So far, so good! But they suffer defeat in the next battle. Compare Achan's sin (7:20-21) with Eve...

Bible reading for July 3.  Joshua 5. "And the commander of the LORD's army said to Joshua, 'Take off your sandals from your feet, for the place where you are standing is holy.' And Joshua did so." (Joshua 5:15)  FIRST, WORSHIP. Again, the Israelites are in the promised land but they are not yet gearing up for battle, but rather, they are worshiping God. Circumcision was the sign of the Abrahamic covenant and also commanded under the Mosaic covenant, performed to indicate that they belonged to the Lord. (This was quite an act of faith for all the fighting men would be incapacitated for a week or more.)  They also observed their first Passover in the new land. Do you see that they were unhurried about engaging in battle, since their first priority was to seek the Lord and be obedient to him? Would we learn today how important it is to take time to pray and seek God before we undertake any new project!   THE COMMANDER. Who was this man, or being (vv 1...

Bible reading for July 2.  Joshua 4. "...that this may be a sign among you. When your children ask in time to come, 'What do those stones mean to you?'" (Joshua 4:6) MEMORIAL. Chapter 3 records the miraculous crossing of the Jordan River, and this chapter tells us that the nation -- now standing in the land of Canaan (enemy territory) -- nevertheless pauses to build a memorial with stones taken from the river. Miracle, then memorial. What's important here: history matters and we need to remember it. Our culture idolizes the present and discards or revises the past. Events in the past, and their consequences, do not go away just because we forget them. Often we are too quick to move forward without taking time to remember what God has done. All through biblical history we see that people are prone to forget, and then fail in the present because they forgot the past. God's people need to take measures to remember and transfer memories to succeeding ge...