my burg

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 June 29.  Joshua 1. "No man shall be able to stand before you all the days of your life. Just as I was with Moses, so I will be with you. I will not leave you or forsake you." (Joshua 1:5)  THEN YOU WILL HAVE SUCCESS. If we look for one word to summarize the book of Joshua it might be "conquest," or better, as Prof Hendricks suggested, "success". The tribes of Israel finally enter the land promised to them by God. This has been a long-awaited event. It was nearly 500 years earlier that God said to Abram, "To your offspring I will give this land" (Gen 12:7) . The Lord was patient toward the previous inhabitants (Gen 15:16). Joshua rather than Moses now becomes the central figure in Israel's history. We hear the call to be strong and courageous, since all the odds, naturally speaking, are against them (vv 6, 7, 9, 18). And again, courage and strength would be related to their thinking, talking about, and doing God...