April 21, Reading Notes

Joshua 22:21-23:16

Joshua 22:21-34

One point of interest I saw today as I was reading my German Bible was the place where the altar was built. In verse 22:10 it says "the region of the Jordan" in the English versions, but in the German it says, "The Stone Circles." The Greek says "Gilgal." This is the place where Israel had crossed over the Jordan seven years earlier. The nation lived there for some time as it began to fight against Jericho and other cities. More importantly, this is where they set up a monument made of "stones" that they brought up out of the waterless bed of the Jordan as the people were passing though.

When they came to this place after seven years of absence from their families and after all the battles and campaigns, the sight of this "literally" monumental place must have stirred them. Not only had they forgotten the events of the wilderness and that amazing day, all of it seeming so long ago, but it was possible that the other tribes would forget that they were all related.

What I find interesting is all the unity. The unity of the nation to find out why the altar had been built, the unity of the 2.5 tribes, and then the unity of the entire nation regarding the resolution. The people had learned lessons in the wilderness, and up to this point, everyone was following God. This unity was a sign of God's blessing

Joshua 23:1-16

This is the first half of Joshua's final address to Israel. Today the message is to the leaders (v. 2). Tomorrow the message will be to the people and the book come to an end.

This is the second time now that we have seen a leader of Israel hang up his sandals. If you were a leading a group of disciples, what would your final address be?

V. 15 Notice how Joshua says that just as God fulfilled the promise of giving them the land, if they disobey, He will just as certainly, fulfill the promise to remove them.

There are three things that stand out to me in what Joshua says.

First, he directs the people to understand that God had blessed them and fought for them. They were to be grateful and focused on God.

Second, in verse 11, Joshua focuses them on God's love. Following as disciples too, has to originate out of love.

Third, Joshua warns them of the danger of leaving the Lord by not obeying. As disciples, there is a lot of distraction in life and in the church. Our mission has always remained pretty simple, personally and as a church. But life on earth and the body of sin we bear tends to blur our vision. Daily refocusing is necessary as well as being with a group of disciples who keep one another encouraged and sharp in Christ.

Luke 20:27-47

We've had these same events before.

Reading verse 42-43, I'll bet the Pharisees and other leaders were really mad when they heard this. They were Jesus' self appointed enemies. They probably assumed that the enemies referred to in that Scripture, were the nations around Israel, not the rulers of Israel.

Notice that the first conflict is with the Sadducees. Then in verse 39 the Scribes (Pharisees) agreed with Jesus against the Sadducees. Then Jesus asked the question about the son of David was to show that the Scribes had a superficial understanding of the Scriptures. Then you have Jesus go after the Scribes in verse 45.

Psalm 89:14-37

This part of the psalm is like reminding of God how He has blessed David and promised him a perpetual reign.

V. 33 is almost like presenting evidence to the Lord. Punishment was promised, but so was covenantal love and loyalty.

Proverbs 13:17-19

As a disciple, the verse 19 hits me. To do what we need to do, we need to be able to say, "No" to our desires not just when they are evil, but also, when they are a silly use of time. For us as followers, the biggest temptation is to fritter away time with little endeavors that are not evil. These things come under our radar and they occupy our time and blur our focus. No longer being a fool, to me, means to stop following the rabbit trails that, while not evil, lead us away from growing hearts focused on Christ, His passion and His mission.

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.