Joshua 11-12
Believe it or not, today we finish up the conquest of the land. The kings of northern Canaan come against Joshua and the Lord takes them out. As God said earlier, He doesn't remove every point of resistance. If He did, the land would waste away and wild animals would take over. It will take time for Israel to move into their inheritance. But what happened yesterday, and is happening today, is the breaking of military power in the land. From this point on, all that is left are small towns and cities that could be easily taken by each tribe. The "could" will be a sad commentary on Israel. Israel will remain true to the Lord during the life of Joshua and the elders, but after their influence is gone, Israel will sin and some of these towns and cities that could easily have been removed, will remain. Without God's blessing, even the smallest influence will overwhelm them, because like us, our strength is in the Lord. If the Lord is not present and we are not close to Him, we cannot fulfill the purpose for our lives or our mission on earth. Regarding our work in the harvest, Jesus said, "without me, you can do nothing." If we "do nothing" it is because we have lost touch with Him and are living without Him.
I really don't have much to highlight. In terms of discipleship, there is a phrase that does point to something interesting. It is Joshua's claim to fame. It is one of those things that doesn't require a lot of skill or genius or talent. God kind of leveled the playing field when He called us to His side to work with Him in the harvest. The essential quality of a disciple is to hear the Word of God and to do it. That's what Jesus said. As you read, look for and underline where it says that Joshua obeyed. We may not all be (fill in the name), but we can all love and obey the Lord as we follow Him in the Harvest.
Luke 17:11-37
Luke 17: 11-19
This is kind of funny to read because Jesus is on His way to Jerusalem, but heading east and He'll eventually cross the Jordan. Jerusalem was straight south.
There are some great lessons in all of this. Only Luke has this story.
The two interesting things are that the man who returned was a non-Jew and that Jesus commanded them to go to the priest, but expected them to come and thank Him. I guess, giving thanks for our salvation doesn't have to be commanded.
Luke 17:20-37
This section gives us an interesting look at Jesus' everyday teaching to His disciples. He will repeat a lot of this during the Olivet Discourse just before He is crucified, but here we see that Jesus taught about the Tribulation and end times on more than one occasion and in more than one context.
V. 22 I take this to mean that the disciples will be persecuted to the point of wishing to see Christ coming in judgment.
The "days of the Son of Man" are the entire seven-year period of the Tribulation.
V. 24 "In His day," is the actual day of His bodily return. This sign is for His disciples at that point in history, letting them know that they won't have to go anywhere to find Jesus. They don't have to go running to find the false Messiahs that will crop up. Every person on the planet will see Him. The event won't be hidden and it won't look like normal lightning and they won't have to tune into CNN to figure it out. Also, they are not to be lured out into the open. The advent of false Messiahs might also mean that many people living through the Tribulation, even unbelieving people, will have a religious, although warped, understanding of the Tribulation. But in the end, only having a relationship with Jesus will count.
Vs. 26-29 Using both the flood of Noah, and Lot and the destruction of Sodom, Jesus shows there was a time factor from the sudden beginning of the event to the destruction. Once the rain began to fall, life as they knew it ended. Once the angels arrived in Sodom, nothing was ever the same. Once the destruction begins during the Tribulation, although seven years will pass before Christ's return, normal life will have ended.
Vs. 30-33 seem to parallel what Jesus says later regarding the middle of the Tribulation and the desecration of the temple. That will begin a time of unparalleled persecution of the Jews and Christians over the entire earth.
Interestingly, in v. 33, Jesus uses a phrase that he's used before regarding the cost of discipleship. I find this pretty interesting, to think He used the same images with slightly different meanings in different contexts.
Vs. 34-37 talk of this time of persecution of the Jews and Christians. This doesn't refer to the rapture (the time frame is wrong), but seems to refer to those who are led away to be put to death. The implication is that they should have obeyed what He's saying here and should have run for the hills.
Notice that there is no v. 36. Apparently some copyist added it later to parallel the Olivet Discourse in Matthew. We have so many manuscripts of the NT that these are easy to find.
Psalm 84
We've seen these recurring themes: Dwelling with the Lord, finding strength in God, pleading that God would hear our prayer.
You'll notice that verse 10 gave birth to a song, that for some reason, has never been one of my favorites, regardless who sings it.
On the other hand, and you’ll have to excuse me on this since I’ve done youth ministry so long that it’s pickled my brain, I do like this song about our Father’s House.
Proverbs 13:5-6
What strikes me is the connection in verse 5 of falsehood, shame and disgrace. The latter two are a good reason to be truthful.
To verse six all I can say is, "amen."
If you’re reading along and don’t have a One Year Bible, click on this link Every Day in the Word. If that doesn't work, go to http://www.gnpcb.org/esv/devotions/ and click on “Every Day in the Word.”
I'm writing these comments to and for those who are following a One Year Bible and interested in growing deeper as a disciple, following Jesus in the harvest. My hope is to see the growth of a discipleship culture in the church. Groups of 3-4 disciples, meeting weekly, encouraging each other to follow Christ and work to reach out and make disciples who make disciples. The Bible itself is the most universal manual we have and key to our growth and service in Christ. Nothing keeps us more focused on why we are here or what we are to be doing. My comments are only meant to provide some explanation of the events or to show the flow of God's plan of redemption. My comments are in no way exhaustive, but are designed to keep us focused on Christ and our role in His harvest. My hope is that the people in these groups will grow in Christ and be willing, after a year, to find 3 others to meet with and encourage in their growth as disciples, disciples making disciples in the harvest.
If you would like a more descriptive commentary that is still readable and concise, I'd recommend the Bible Knowledge Commentary. It's keyed to the NIV, so the result is, the commentators are constantly telling you what the Greek or Hebrew is. That never hurts.
I am not endorsing any particular One Year Bible; in fact, I read something you don't, die revidierte Lutherbibel 1984.
Anyone reading along with us is welcome to do so and is encouraged to take their own notes and make their own observations. If the comments made do not agree with your particular tradition or understanding, that's OK. Nothing I've written is meant to criticize any point of view, but only to express the truth of what God has written to us, as I understand it.
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