history lesson

Posted on October 29, 2021 by Jefferson Vann

Joshua - 1

history lesson

Joshua 24:1-4 (JDV)

Joshua 24:1 Joshua assembled all the tribes of Israel at Shechem and summoned Israel’s elders, leaders, judges, and officers, and they presented themselves before God.
Joshua 24:2 Joshua said to all the people, “This is what Yahveh, the God of Israel, says: ‘Long ago your ancestors, including Terah, the father of Abraham and Nahor, lived beyond the Euphrates River and worshiped other gods.
Joshua 24:3 But I took your father Abraham from the region beyond the Euphrates River, led him throughout the land of Canaan, and multiplied his descendants. I gave him Isaac,
Joshua 24:4 and to Isaac I gave Jacob and Esau. I gave the hill country of Seir to Esau as a possession. ” ‘Jacob and his sons, however, went down to Egypt.

history lesson

The Lord, through Joshua, is giving his people a history lesson. History is important — especially the history of what God is doing for his people. Every move, every experience, every lesson learned — it is all God revealing himself to his people. The past matters, because God was there.

Lord, thank you for being there in our history.
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faithfulness works both ways

Posted on October 28, 2021 by Jefferson Vann

Joshua - 1

faithfulness works both ways

Joshua 23:14-16 (JDV)

Joshua 23:14 “I am now going the way of the whole land, and you know with all your heart and all your soul that none of the good promises Yahveh your God made to you has failed. Everything was fulfilled for you; not one promise has failed.
Joshua 23:15 Since every good thing Yahveh your God promised you has come about, likewise, he will bring on you every bad thing until he has annihilated you from this good land Yahveh your God has given you.
Joshua 23:16 If you break the covenant of Yahveh your God, which he commanded you, and go and serve other gods, and bow in worship to them, Yahveh’s anger will burn against you, and you will quickly disappear from this good land he has given you.”

faithfulness works both ways

Joshua reminded his people that God had been faithful to them. He kept all his promises. But he also reminded them that God’s faithfulness works both ways. If they turned to other gods, the One true God will faithfully destroy them.

Lord, thank you for your faithfulness. May we be just as faithful to you and your word.

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from dominating to disappearing

Posted on October 27, 2021 by Jefferson Vann

Joshua - 1

from dominating to disappearing

Joshua 23:7-13 (JDV)

Joshua 23:7 and so that you do not associate with these nations remaining among you. Do not call on the names of their gods or make an oath to them; do not serve them or bow in worship to them.
Joshua 23:8 Instead, be loyal to Yahveh your God, as you have been to this day.
Joshua 23:9 “Yahveh has driven out great and powerful nations before you, and no one is able to stand against you to this day.
Joshua 23:10 One of you routed a thousand because Yahveh your God was fighting for you, as he promised.
Joshua 23:11 So diligently watch yourselves! Love Yahveh your God!
Joshua 23:12 If you ever turn away and become loyal to the remainder of these nations remaining among you, and if you intermarry or partner with them and they with you,
Joshua 23:13 know for certain that Yahveh your God will not continue to drive these nations out before you. They will become a snare and a trap for you, a sharp stick for your sides and thorns in your eyes until you disappear from this good land Yahveh your God has given you.

from dominating to disappearing

The condition for continuing as a dominant force in the land was simple: stay separate from the other nations — in terms of loyalty to God alone. If the Israelites begin to blend in with their foreign neighbors, they would begin to disappear.

Each of us is heading in the right direction or the wrong one. We are either staying loyal to God or fading away.

Lord, give us the wisdom to stay different from those who are not loyal to you.

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a source of strength

Posted on October 26, 2021 by Jefferson Vann

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a source of strength

Joshua 23:4-6 (JDV)

Joshua 23:4 See, I have allotted these remaining nations to you as an inheritance for your tribes, including all the nations I have destroyed, from the Jordan westward to the Mediterranean Sea.
Joshua 23:5 Yahveh your God will push them away on your account and drive them out before you so that you can take possession of their land, as Yahveh your God promised you.
Joshua 23:6 “Be very strong and continue obeying all that is written in the book of the instruction of Moses, so that you do not turn from it to the right or left

a source of strength

How would the people make themselves strong? They had to continue obeying the words of Moses. How can Christians make themselves strong? We have to keep obeying the commands of Christ. When we keep obeying, not turning from his commands to the right or left, he will continue to be with us, making us strong.

Lord, than you for a source of strength.

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he fought for you

Posted on October 25, 2021 by Jefferson Vann

Joshua - 1

he fought for you

Joshua 23:1-3 (JDV)

Joshua 23:1 A long time after Yahveh had given Israel rest from all the enemies around them, Joshua was old, advanced in days.
Joshua 23:2 So Joshua summoned all Israel, including its elders, leaders, judges, and officers, and said to them, “I am old, advanced in days,
Joshua 23:3 and you have seen for yourselves everything Yahveh your God did to all these nations in front of you, because it was Yahveh your God who was fighting for you.

he fought for you

Joshua just wanted to remind the victorious Israelites that they didn’t accomplish everything by themselves. They had help. The future generations would need to rely on God as well, because there were no guarantees of sucess or even survival without him.

Lord, thank you for fighting for us. May we always give you a reason to fight on our side.

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different path, same God

Posted on October 24, 2021 by Jefferson Vann

different path, same God

Joshua 22:30-34 (JDV)

Joshua 22:30 When the priest Phinehas and the community leaders, the heads of Israel’s clans who were with him, heard what the descendants of Reuben, Gad, and Manasseh had to say, they were pleased.
Joshua 22:31 Phinehas son of Eleazar the priest said to the descendants of Reuben, Gad, and Manasseh, “Today we know that Yahveh is among us, because you have not committed this betrayal against him. As a result, you have rescued the Israelites from Yahveh’s power.”
Joshua 22:32 Then the priest Phinehas son of Eleazar and the leaders returned from the Reubenites and Gadites in the land of Gilead to the Israelites in the land of Canaan and brought back a report to them.
Joshua 22:33 The Israelites were pleased with the report, and they blessed God. They spoke no more about going to war against them to ravage the land where the Reubenites and Gadites lived.
Joshua 22:34 So the Reubenites and Gadites named the altar: It is a witness between us that Yahveh is God.

different path, same God

What a relief it was to find that the Eastern tribes were not enemies; they were just different. They had taken a different path in their walk with God, but they worshipped the same God.

Perhaps you and I ought to come to anyone who is different from us with that attitude at the outset. Others who trust Christ as we do are not our enemies. They are just different. Their differences are not enough to warrant our going to war with them. They are brothers, since we have the same Father.

Lord, thank you for those who have taken different paths to Christ. Their differences from us are just a sign of God’s greatness.

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bridges, not barriers.

Posted on October 23, 2021 by Jefferson Vann

Joshua - 1

bridges, not barriers.

Joshua 22:20-29 (JDV)

Joshua 22:20 Wasn’t Achan son of Zerah unfaithful regarding what was set apart for destruction, bringing wrath on the entire community of Israel? He was not the only one who was destroyed because of his iniquity.'”
Joshua 22:21 The Reubenites, Gadites, and half the tribe of Manasseh answered the heads of the Israelite clans,
Joshua 22:22 “The Mighty One, God, Yahveh! The Mighty One, God, Yahveh! He knows, and may Israel also know. Do not spare us today, if it was in rebellion or treachery against Yahveh
Joshua 22:23 that we have built for ourselves an altar to turn away from him. May Yahveh himself hold us accountable if we intended to offer burnt offerings and grain offerings on it, or to sacrifice fellowship offerings on it.
Joshua 22:24 We actually did this from a specific concern that in the future your descendants might say to our descendants, ‘What relationship do you have with Yahveh, the God of Israel?
Joshua 22:25 You see, Yahveh has made the Jordan a border between us and you descendants of Reuben and Gad. You have no share in Yahveh! ‘ So your descendants may cause our descendants to stop fearing Yahveh.
Joshua 22:26 “Therefore we said: Let us take action and build an altar for ourselves, but not for burnt offering or sacrifice.
Joshua 22:27 Instead, it is to be a witness between us and you, and between the generations after us, so that we may carry out the worship of Yahveh in his presence with our burnt offerings, sacrifices, and fellowship offerings. Then in the future, your descendants will not be able to say to our descendants, ‘You have no share in Yahveh! ‘
Joshua 22:28 We thought that if they said this to us or to our generations in the future, we would reply: Notice at the replica of Yahveh’s altar that our fathers made, not for burnt offering or sacrifice, but as a witness between us and you.
Joshua 22:29 We would never ever rebel against Yahveh or turn away from him today by building an altar for burnt offering, grain offering, or sacrifice, other than the altar of Yahveh our God, which is in front of his tabernacle.”

bridges, not barriers.

The altar for the Eastern tribes was intended as a bridge to keep the connection between the tribes strong, not as a barrier to it.

How often we misunderstand other believers because we don’t take the time to see things from their point of view.

Lord, help us to build bridges, not barriers.

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different, but still true

Posted on October 22, 2021 by Jefferson Vann

Joshua - 1

different, but still true

Joshua 22:10-19 (JDV)

Joshua 22:10 When they came to the region of the Jordan in the land of Canaan, the Reubenites, Gadites, and half the tribe of Manasseh built a large, impressive altar there by the Jordan.
Joshua 22:11 Then the Israelites heard it said, “Notice, the Reubenites, Gadites, and half the tribe of Manasseh have built an altar on the frontier of the land of Canaan at the region of the Jordan, on the Israelite side.”
Joshua 22:12 When the Israelites heard this, the entire Israelite community gathered at Shiloh to go to war against them.
Joshua 22:13 The Israelites sent Phinehas son of Eleazar the priest to the Reubenites, Gadites, and half the tribe of Manasseh, in the land of Gilead.
Joshua 22:14 They sent ten leaders with him – one family leader for each tribe of Israel. All of them were heads of their ancestral families among the clans of Israel.
Joshua 22:15 They went to the Reubenites, Gadites, and half the tribe of Manasseh, in the land of Gilead, and told them,
Joshua 22:16 “This is what Yahveh’s entire community says: ‘What is this betrayal you have committed today against the God of Israel by turning away from Yahveh and building an altar for yourselves, so that you are in rebellion against Yahveh today?
Joshua 22:17 Wasn’t the iniquity of Peor, which brought a plague on Yahveh’s community, enough for us? We have not rid ourselves of it even to this day,
Joshua 22:18 and now would you turn away from Yahveh? If you rebel against Yahveh today, tomorrow he will be angry with the entire community of Israel.
Joshua 22:19 But if the land you possess is defiled, cross over to the land Yahveh possesses where Yahveh’s tabernacle stands, and take possession of it among us. But don’t rebel against Yahveh or against us by building for yourselves an altar other than the altar of Yahveh our God.

different, but still true

The Western tribes’ concern will turn out to be premature, because the altar was not intended as an apostasy. But their concern was appropriate. We ought always to be on the alert for signs of apostasy among the brothers. It is a serious thing to seek to replace the true faith with another option.

Lord, make us diligent to preserve the true faith, but wise enough to recognize when differences are not signs of apostasy.

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return with great wealth

Posted on October 21, 2021 by Jefferson Vann

Joshua - 1

return with great wealth

Joshua 22:7-9 (JDV)

Joshua 22:7 Moses had given territory to half the tribe of Manasseh in Bashan, but Joshua had given territory to the other half, with their brothers, on the west side of the Jordan. When Joshua sent them to their homes and blessed them,
Joshua 22:8 he said, “Return to your homes with great wealth: a huge number of cattle, and silver, gold, bronze, iron, and a large quantity of clothing. Share the spoil of your enemies with your brothers.”
Joshua 22:9 The Reubenites, Gadites, and half the tribe of Manasseh left the Israelites at Shiloh in the land of Canaan to return to their own land of Gilead, which they took possession of according to Yahveh’s command through Moses.

return with great wealth

Those who returned to the Eastern side of the Jordan went with great wealth. While in the process of helping their brothers, they acquired all they needed and then some. Such is the case in the Christian life. We are busy helping our brothers all around us, and we seldom stop to notice the great wealth we are accumulating for when the battles are over.

Some of us have to accept that reality by faith, because we are among those who have faith but have not yet received (Hebrews 11:35b-39). But our inheritance is just as sure as those who receive during this life.

Lord, thank you that when the battles are over, we will have accumulated far more that we can imagine.

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good advice for everyone

Posted on October 20, 2021 by Jefferson Vann

Joshua - 1

good advice for everyone

Joshua 22:5-6 (JDV)

Joshua 22:5 Only carefully obey the command and instruction that Moses Yahveh’s servant gave you: to love Yahveh your God, walk in all his ways, keep his commands, be loyal to him, and serve him with all your heart and all your throat.”
Joshua 22:6 Joshua blessed them and sent them on their way, and they went to their homes.

good advice for everyone

Joshua dismissed the Eastern tribes with some good advice, and that advice is good for everyone.

  • Love your God. Don’t ignore him. He is worth your devotion and care.
  • Walk in the ways that your God has prescribed for you. He knows the direction your life should take much better than you do.
  • Keep his commands. Even if you do not understand why he commands it, obey it anyway.
  • Be loyal to God. Those false gods didn’t send their sons to die for you.
  • Serve God with all your being. Serve him with every beat of your heart and every breath coming from your throat.

Lord, give us the wisdom to follow Joshua’s good advice.

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