“When the princes in Israel take the lead, when the people willingly offer themselves—praise the LORD!
“Hear this, you kings! Listen, you rulers! I will sing to the LORD, I will sing; I will make music to the LORD, the God of Israel.
“O LORD, when you went out from Seir, when you marched from the land of Edom, the earth shook, the heavens poured, the clouds poured down water.
The mountains quaked before the LORD, the One of Sinai, before the LORD, the God of Israel - Judges 5:2-5 NIV
When the princes take the lead, when those in charge seek the Lord and the people follow, it is a glorious thing. It is something to praise the Lord about. Praise God when our leaders seek him. Praise God when the young men follow after him. Praise God when the elderly look to him. Praise God when children sing of his faithfulness.
Praise God! Praise God! Praise God! There is nothing that can make the mountains shake like the power of the people praising God. Circumstances change when the leaders and then the people offer themselves totally up to the Lord, the God of Israel!
Saturday, February 28, 2015
Friday, February 27, 2015
Joshua 19-23: Every Promise Was Fulfilled
So the LORD gave Israel all the land he had sworn to give their forefathers, and they took possession of it and settled there. The LORD gave them rest on every side, just as he had sworn to their forefathers. Not one of their enemies withstood them; the LORD handed all their enemies over to them. Not one of all the LORD’s good promises to the house of Israel failed; every one was fulfilled. - Joshua 21:43-45 NIV
God, our God is a promise keeping God. He has shown that throughout history. He keeps his promise. Men, we are not so faithful. Imagine what it is like to be the God of the universe, to have all things at your command, to be willing and able to give your people anything they would ask and yet they cannot hold up their end of the bargain. Their eyes and hearts are always being captured by lesser things. They offer themselves up to idols which cannot give them anything in return.
How can God hold back his wrath? Even more so, how can he forgive his people when they repent. Not just once, but over and over and over again., and not only forgive, but keep the promise of heaven before them. How great it is to serve a God whose promise of paradise is not based on our actions or consistency, but on his faithfulness. There is no other God that that would be that faithful. There is none like him. History shows that every promise of God has been and will always be fulfilled.
God, our God is a promise keeping God. He has shown that throughout history. He keeps his promise. Men, we are not so faithful. Imagine what it is like to be the God of the universe, to have all things at your command, to be willing and able to give your people anything they would ask and yet they cannot hold up their end of the bargain. Their eyes and hearts are always being captured by lesser things. They offer themselves up to idols which cannot give them anything in return.
How can God hold back his wrath? Even more so, how can he forgive his people when they repent. Not just once, but over and over and over again., and not only forgive, but keep the promise of heaven before them. How great it is to serve a God whose promise of paradise is not based on our actions or consistency, but on his faithfulness. There is no other God that that would be that faithful. There is none like him. History shows that every promise of God has been and will always be fulfilled.
Thursday, February 26, 2015
Joshua 24: Throw Away Your Foreign Gods
Joshua said to the people, “You are not able to serve the LORD. He is a holy God; he is a jealous God. He will not forgive your rebellion and your sins. 20 If you forsake the LORD and serve foreign gods, he will turn and bring disaster on you and make an end of you, after he has been good to you.”
But the people said to Joshua, “No! We will serve the LORD.”
Then Joshua said, “You are witnesses against yourselves that you have chosen to serve the LORD.” “Yes, we are witnesses, ” they replied.
“Now then,” said Joshua, “throw away the foreign gods that are among you and yield your hearts to the LORD, the God of Israel.” - Joshua 24:19-21 NIV
I once had a friend who gave away all of his earthly possessions. He lived in a studio apartment with only his clothes which he kept in a cardboard Box and a few books. He was trying to live a godly life and didn't want to be distracted by worldly possessions, much like the early monks who escaped to their caves.
I look around at all of our possessions and think perhaps that is the way to go; that giving up all but the most essential earthly goods is the only way to not slowly succumb to other gods. The Israelites must have learned that during their years of wandering. It's hard, and unwise, to accumulate very much when you may have to pack up and move at any minute. Any of us who have moved a lot know how beneficial and easy it is to get rid of things in anticipation of having to move them. It is only when we get settled that things start piling up around us and eventually, just like the children of Israel, we start putting more faith in what we own than in the one who owns us.
Perhaps it is time for us to pare down our possessions, to throw away our foreign gods.
But the people said to Joshua, “No! We will serve the LORD.”
Then Joshua said, “You are witnesses against yourselves that you have chosen to serve the LORD.” “Yes, we are witnesses, ” they replied.
“Now then,” said Joshua, “throw away the foreign gods that are among you and yield your hearts to the LORD, the God of Israel.” - Joshua 24:19-21 NIV
I once had a friend who gave away all of his earthly possessions. He lived in a studio apartment with only his clothes which he kept in a cardboard Box and a few books. He was trying to live a godly life and didn't want to be distracted by worldly possessions, much like the early monks who escaped to their caves.
I look around at all of our possessions and think perhaps that is the way to go; that giving up all but the most essential earthly goods is the only way to not slowly succumb to other gods. The Israelites must have learned that during their years of wandering. It's hard, and unwise, to accumulate very much when you may have to pack up and move at any minute. Any of us who have moved a lot know how beneficial and easy it is to get rid of things in anticipation of having to move them. It is only when we get settled that things start piling up around us and eventually, just like the children of Israel, we start putting more faith in what we own than in the one who owns us.
Perhaps it is time for us to pare down our possessions, to throw away our foreign gods.
Wednesday, February 25, 2015
Joshua 11-18: How Long Will You Wait?
So Joshua said to the Israelites: “How long will you wait before you begin to take possession of the land that the LORD, the God of your fathers, has given you? -Joshua 18:3 NIV
The Israelites had fled, wandered, crossed over and conquered. They were where they were supposed to be. They were in the promised land. Yet, perhaps as a result of all their years of wandering, they still could not settle down. They couldn't make a descision as to where they wanted to settle. The land was theirs; all they had to do was claim it, take possession of it, and it would be theirs.
Sound familiar? We follow God. We ask for him to intervene on our behalf and he does. He shows us his promises. All we have to do is claim them, but we fail to do so. What are we afraid of? As Moses asked, "How long will you wait before you begin to take possession?"
The Israelites had fled, wandered, crossed over and conquered. They were where they were supposed to be. They were in the promised land. Yet, perhaps as a result of all their years of wandering, they still could not settle down. They couldn't make a descision as to where they wanted to settle. The land was theirs; all they had to do was claim it, take possession of it, and it would be theirs.
Sound familiar? We follow God. We ask for him to intervene on our behalf and he does. He shows us his promises. All we have to do is claim them, but we fail to do so. What are we afraid of? As Moses asked, "How long will you wait before you begin to take possession?"
Tuesday, February 24, 2015
Joshua 6-10: Devoted to Destruction
The LORD said to Joshua, “Stand up! What are you doing down on your face? Israel has sinned; they have violated my covenant, which I commanded them to keep. They have taken some of the devoted things; they have stolen, they have lied, they have put them with their own possessions. That is why the Israelites cannot stand against their enemies; they turn their backs and run because they have been made liable to destruction. I will not be with you anymore unless you destroy whatever among you is devoted to destruction.
“Go, consecrate the people. Tell them, ‘Consecrate yourselves in preparation for tomorrow; for this is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: That which is devoted is among you, O Israel. You cannot stand against your enemies until you remove it. - Joshua 7:10-13 NIV
God warned the Children of Israel that they were not to allow anything related to the heathen gods to remain in their presence. They were not to marry from the people around them. They were not to worship at their neighbor's sacred sites or worship their gods. God was serious when he said that they were not to serve other gods and that included allowing any other gods to be in their midst. God knew that the slightest encounter with other gods could entice his children to abandoning their devotion to him and in doing so, they would forfeit his attention. As he told them, when he gave them the Ten Commandments: You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sins of the parents to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me. - Ex. 20:4 NIV
Not only would the children of those who sinned be punished, but the entire population faced God's wrath for violating the sanctity of the relationship. Achan's sin when he acted on his devotion to the plunder from the city of Jericho caused the Children of Israel to be soundly defeated when they tried to capture the city of Ai. As Paul told the church at Corinth, "Don't you know that a little yeast leavens the whole batch of dough." 1 Cor. 5:6.
Allowing sin into a nation, permeates it until finally God removes his presence. Devotion to anything of the world becomes devotion to destruction.
“Go, consecrate the people. Tell them, ‘Consecrate yourselves in preparation for tomorrow; for this is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: That which is devoted is among you, O Israel. You cannot stand against your enemies until you remove it. - Joshua 7:10-13 NIV
God warned the Children of Israel that they were not to allow anything related to the heathen gods to remain in their presence. They were not to marry from the people around them. They were not to worship at their neighbor's sacred sites or worship their gods. God was serious when he said that they were not to serve other gods and that included allowing any other gods to be in their midst. God knew that the slightest encounter with other gods could entice his children to abandoning their devotion to him and in doing so, they would forfeit his attention. As he told them, when he gave them the Ten Commandments: You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sins of the parents to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me. - Ex. 20:4 NIV
Not only would the children of those who sinned be punished, but the entire population faced God's wrath for violating the sanctity of the relationship. Achan's sin when he acted on his devotion to the plunder from the city of Jericho caused the Children of Israel to be soundly defeated when they tried to capture the city of Ai. As Paul told the church at Corinth, "Don't you know that a little yeast leavens the whole batch of dough." 1 Cor. 5:6.
Allowing sin into a nation, permeates it until finally God removes his presence. Devotion to anything of the world becomes devotion to destruction.
Monday, February 23, 2015
Joshua 1-5: Going Out and Comng In
So when the people broke camp to cross the Jordan, the priests carrying the ark of the covenant went ahead of them. Now the Jordan is at flood stage all during harvest. Yet as soon as the priests who carried the ark reached the Jordan and their feet touched the water’s edge, the water from upstream stopped flowing. It piled up in a heap a great distance away, at a town called Adam in the vicinity of Zarethan, while the water flowing down to the Sea of the Arabah (the Salt Sea) was completely cut off. So the people crossed over opposite Jericho. The priests who carried the ark of the covenant of the LORD stood firm on dry ground in the middle of the Jordan, while all Israel passed by until the whole nation had completed the crossing on dry ground. - Josh. 3:14-17 NIV
The entire journey of the Children of Israel, from captivity in Egypt to entering the land promised to their forefathers, was bookmarked by two identical events: the crossing over of vast bodies of water on dry land. First God parted the Red Sea as they were fleeing Egypt, then God parted the Jordan river when it was running at high tide so they could cross over into Canaan. The mighty hand of God preserved their leaving and entering, just as the Psalmist noted in Psalms 121: The LORD shall preserve your going out and your coming in from this time forth. Ps. 121:8 KJV
God has not changed. He still preserves our going out and coming in. He dictates and even reveals when it is time for us to leave any given situation, whether it be a bad relationship, a bad job, a toxic family situation, or the wrong neighborhood. He tells us when it is time to go and leads us to our next destination. That doesn't mean that every time we get frustrated with a situation, we should pack up and leave. In fact, it is usually the opposite. We are not to run willy nilly from one bad situation to the next. We are to wait on him. When he tells us to move, we are to move, not before. If we fail to wait for him, we cannot trust that he will be there in our going out and coming in.
The entire journey of the Children of Israel, from captivity in Egypt to entering the land promised to their forefathers, was bookmarked by two identical events: the crossing over of vast bodies of water on dry land. First God parted the Red Sea as they were fleeing Egypt, then God parted the Jordan river when it was running at high tide so they could cross over into Canaan. The mighty hand of God preserved their leaving and entering, just as the Psalmist noted in Psalms 121: The LORD shall preserve your going out and your coming in from this time forth. Ps. 121:8 KJV
God has not changed. He still preserves our going out and coming in. He dictates and even reveals when it is time for us to leave any given situation, whether it be a bad relationship, a bad job, a toxic family situation, or the wrong neighborhood. He tells us when it is time to go and leads us to our next destination. That doesn't mean that every time we get frustrated with a situation, we should pack up and leave. In fact, it is usually the opposite. We are not to run willy nilly from one bad situation to the next. We are to wait on him. When he tells us to move, we are to move, not before. If we fail to wait for him, we cannot trust that he will be there in our going out and coming in.
Sunday, February 22, 2015
Deuteronomy 27-34: A Glorious Sword
Blessed are you, O Israel! Who is like you, a people saved by the LORD? He is your shield and helper and your glorious sword. Your enemies will cower before you, and you will trample down their high places.” - Deut. 33:29
The Children of Israel had it. They had it all. They had Moses and Joshua, great men, committed to leading an unruly, stubborn nation. They had the promised land laid out before them. They had God's blessing and his promise. They had an unbreakable covenant with the God of creation. Not only would the God of heaven and earth protect them, he would fight for them. He would be their shield and helper. They did not have to rely on their own power, the power of God was enough. He would slice their enemies to pieces. He would be their glorious sword.
The Children of Israel had it. They had it all. They had Moses and Joshua, great men, committed to leading an unruly, stubborn nation. They had the promised land laid out before them. They had God's blessing and his promise. They had an unbreakable covenant with the God of creation. Not only would the God of heaven and earth protect them, he would fight for them. He would be their shield and helper. They did not have to rely on their own power, the power of God was enough. He would slice their enemies to pieces. He would be their glorious sword.
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