Joshua
11:18 says that the war went on a long time. It seems, for us, that it's been
quick, since we just started reading about it this week and now it's almost
over. Obviously the Lord has given us an abbreviated version. Today we'll find
out how long the fighting lasted from crossing the Jordan to the point of
dividing the land. Even there, the Lord will tell us that there were still a
lot of peoples and cities to fight against.
God
hardened the kings so they would fight against Israel, but there were some
examples of mercy and grace to balance the hardening. I don't believe these
kings wanted to make peace, but I think the hardening is that God made them
confident in their madness. Even the giants couldn't stand against God. With
God at your side, big guys make big targets. Big problems often lead to huge
opportunities.
Joshua 13-14
Joshua 13
Vs. 1-7
This summary mentions that even though the military might of Canaan was broken,
there were still people and cities to be removed. Even after great victories in
our lives, God still keeps things in our lives that make us live by faith,
still needing to depend on God. The introduction to the book of Judges explains
this too.
Joshua was
an older man and the fact that God told him that he was an older man indicates
that his days of fighting were over. He had done what God wanted; the military
might of Canaan was smashed, and now the next great task would be assigning the
people the land. It could be that Joshua was in his 90’s as he entered the land
and was at or beyond 100 at this point.
Remember,
too, that this is an incredible moment in the plan of God and the life of the
nation. They are about to be given a piece of the Promised Land that had been
promised to Abraham. Also, as boring as these sections might seem, the fact
that they are recorded in the Bible made them official real estate documents.
Vs. 8-33
The description of dividing the land begins with what Moses had already done.
Vs. 8-14
This is a summary of all that Moses did.
V. 13 At
this point, this is just a report of peoples who were left in that part of the
land. Actually, in a way, that was no problem since that side of the Jordan was
not Canaan. These people were not under God’s judgment. If they threatened the
tribes, Israel could deal with them by trusting God.
Notice in
this chapter how often it's mentioned that the Levites had no inheritance.
Their privilege was from God and the people needed to remember that. Also,
their privilege was given in contrast to their lack of territorial inheritance.
Vs. 15-23
These are the legal boundaries of the land given to Reuben. Notice the mention
of Balaam. He becomes a symbol of someone close to the truth, leading those in
the truth into ruin. Reuben’s land was in the south, going up the east side of
the Dead Sea and a little north along the Jordan River.
Vs. 24-28
Gad’s land went further north to the bottom of the Sea of Galilee.
Vs. 29-31
Finally, this is the land on the east side of the Sea of Galilee. Jesus did a
lot of ministry there and in His day the population of that area was
predominantly Gentile.
Vs. 32-33
Notice that the Levites are mentioned again. What is also interesting is that
Moses is the main person in all of this. So much of what we read here is about
Israel’s obedience to God through His servant Moses. At this point, the people
obeyed God and obeyed Moses. It is interesting that years later, the Pharisees
who revered Moses tried to use Moses against Jesus.
Joshua 14
Vs. 1-5
This is the summary of how the land in Canaan would be divided. Notice that
Joshua, Eleazar, and the elders were involved in this process. No one had the
authority of Moses so the authority was spread around. According to the Bible
Knowledge Commentary-OT, p. 356, this selection by lots was apparently done
by taking a name out of an urn and then taking a land parcel out of another
urn. God was the one who really decided. Also, we were told earlier, under
Moses, that a large tribe should get more than a smaller tribe.
Vs. 6-12
Apparently, as the word was communicated to the tribes that the land would now
be divided, Caleb came forward to address an issue. He not only represented
Judah, but God had made some promises to him that needed to be attended to.
Before the lots were cast, Caleb reminded Joshua of the promise.
It is
inspiring listening to this man of faith. And think too, that although Caleb
didn’t die and was rewarded for his faith, he still had to wait the 38 years in
the wilderness as God prepared the next generation. I wonder if Caleb played a
role in passing on his faith among the people of Judah. What a model for
following Christ through all the turmoil of life and church and everything
else. Caleb was focused on the promise of God.
Notice
that this section gives us a time marker. By what Caleb says here, we know now
how long Israel has been at war (chapters 1-12). Caleb was 40 when he went out
as a spy. At that point, Israel had already been in the wilderness for a year
and a half, being ordered as a nation. Then they wandered for 38 ½
years. So, Caleb would have been 78 when they crossed the Jordan. Since Caleb
is now 85, this means that they have been at war for 7 years.
V. 12
Apparently Caleb wasn't afraid of giants. You know, big guys make big targets.
Vs. 13-15
Joshua blessed his old comrade-in-arms. There was no lot cast, because Judah’s
land would have to encompass the land promised to Caleb. Hebron would become
the city that King David would live in for seven years as the king of Judah, as
Israel fought a civil war with the tribes still following the family of King
Saul.
It seems
that Caleb went right to work. Notice that before Caleb named the city Hebron,
it was named for its ruler who was a giant among the giants, and apparently an
even easier target to hit. When this guy was put down, again, the land had rest
from war.
Luke 18:1-17
V. 1 So,
Jesus has just told His disciples that things will get bad for them, and that
things will really get bad for His followers during the Tribulation. I guess
that discussion was not so motivational for the disciples. Now He tells them to
pray, instead of losing heart. Again, it is interesting that the Spirit moved
Luke to include this. Luke was a missionary companion of Paul and knew
adversity and persecution from the Gentiles, the Jews and the Jewish factions
in the church.
Vs. 2-8
Notice that although the overall meaning of the story is for perseverance and
pestering God in prayer, the object of the parable is begging for justice,
vindication and deliverance. Verse 7 points to the focus of this crying out,
and v. 8 refers, again, to the Tribulation and the second coming of Christ.
Notice
that the idea of praying, not giving up and not being disheartened, kind of
sounds like God's words / command to Joshua, be strong and courageous (Josh. 1:6). Just as God promised victory
to Joshua, Jesus is promising victory to His followers in the harvest.
Vs. 7-8
Jesus promised a quick response from God. This has to be understood during the
time of the Tribulation. During that judgment on the earth, there will be an
almost one-to-one correspondence between the persecutions of the believing and
God's terrifying acts of judgment toward the nations. As God brings judgment, instead
of the masses of people repenting and coming to God, they will rail against Him
and go after His people. But the more they go after the elect, the more God
judges them. You'll see all of this when we get to Revelation at the end of the
year. If you're interested now, reading Revelation 9-17 should give you a sense
of this.
But even
for us now in the harvest, we are to be crying out to God day and night. If it
takes great disaster to make us cry out to God, and we're not crying out now,
we really don't see life as it is. The believers in the Tribulation will be
living and testifying for Christ as the world gets darker and darker. Is our
world really any different? We may not be visually losing massive numbers of
people to "natural" disasters, but each day we are losing incredible
numbers of people to death, blinded by the enemy, dying in their sins and going
to hell. I'd say that should be a cause for some emotional distress on our
part.
Notice
Jesus' question in v. 8. Faith continues to cry out. Faith knows that the only
deliverance is from God. Faith understands that the only one who can help is
God. In a land, and during a time, when we have so many resources, is it any
wonder why we don't cry out? It is easy for our lives to become focused on us
and not on those who don't yet know Christ. We have everything we need, so we
don’t need to cry out. But if we are laboring in the harvest, we see the loss
and we see that we will always need Him and His help. Will the Son of Man find
faith when He returns to the earth or will He just find religious belief? Not
all religious belief is faith, even in our camp. If our love for Christ and our
passion to follow Him isn’t directed to the harvest and the making of disciples,
who make disciples, we might only have a comfortable collection of beliefs.
Vs. 9-14
Verse 9 gives you the guide to understanding what He's about to say. These
people who were to be cautioned by this parable were most likely disciples. The
fact that a Pharisee was used in the parable is like Jesus saying, "Don't
be a Pharisee." Also, think back to the beginning of chapter 15 when the
tax collectors and sinners were coming to Jesus and the Pharisees began
complaining. Jesus ended that entire lesson telling the disciples that they had
to put aside their feelings and extend forgiveness to all who sought it. Jesus
didn’t want His followers to become the next group of Pharisees.
Just like
the unworthy servants who had only
done what was required of them, even though we know and serve Christ, our
prayer is to be like this tax collector, God,
be merciful to me, a sinner. We carry the body of death until we leave this
place, or if we are still around when Jesus comes and are changed. As disciples
in the harvest, the minute we lose our perspective on our own lives, our own
sin, the miracle of our own salvation, we lose compassion for the perishing.
The grace we've received is what should move us to tell others, or as Paul
says, For if we are beside ourselves, it
is for God; if we are in our right mind, it is for you. For the love of Christ
controls us, because we have concluded this: that one has died for all,
therefore all have died; and he died for all, that those who live might no
longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised. (2
Corinthians 5:13-15)
Vs. 15-17
And here is a case in point regarding the perspective of the disciples. The
disciples' problem with letting children be brought to Jesus for blessing was
not theological, but a matter of their own standard of "importance"
and "worth." Jesus told them that they needed to look to those who
have faith. A child, or a sinner, who has just understood grace and
forgiveness, responds with humility and gratefulness and excitement. This is a
good lesson for us as disciples in the harvest. Who has faith to believe? Like
the victim in the story of the Good Samaritan, it is often the person in need
who looks humble, dirty, outcast and beaten up. Sometimes, the people we should
be working with in the harvest are not the good-looking people on our
"A" list.
Psalm 85
It is
interesting to speculate a little, thinking about when some of these psalms
were written. As I read this I can imagine David trying to form Israel around
the worship of God. David inherited a country that had crumbled in neglect, and
he not only needed to create unity, but Israel was being preyed upon by all of
its neighbors. The things that had happened to Israel showed that God was
judging the people for their disobedience and neglect.
Vs. 1-3
This sounds to me like an appeal to God to remember how He took Jacob from
Egypt, through all the rebellion in the wilderness.
Vs. 4-9
Having read so many of David’s psalms, this sounds so much like his heart.
Notice the mention of God’s steadfast love and the desire that God’s glory
would dwell in the land.
Vs. 10-13
What an interesting way to express God’s blessing of unity and revival in the
land.
It is
interesting how often a prayer for the future is based on what God has done in
the past. Knowing what God has done in the past gives us hope for the future.
Reading through the Bible like this will be a great benefit to your praying and
your faith. You’ll become more familiar with how God’s love and faithfulness in
the past gave, and still gives, His present followers hope in following His
plan of redemption into the future.
Proverbs 13:7-8
V. 7
appears to say that if riches are what you want, they will twist you and warp
you whether you have them or not. Real richness is a matter of the heart being
rich in God. 1 Timothy 6:9-10 talks about the "wonderful" effects of
the desire to have money. The poor (and righteous and content) may not have the
resources, but they also don't have the trouble and the twisting.
If you’re reading along and don’t have a One Year
Bible, click on this link http://www.esvbible.org/devotions/every-day-in-the-word/. If that doesn't
work, go to http://www.esvbible.org/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 complete description of this model
of being and making disciples you can find it in my book: Simply
Disciples*Making Disciples. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B011WJIDQA?*Version*=1&*entries*=0
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.
Send comments or feedback to dgkachikis@gmail.com.
If you would like documents containing an entire month
of the Reading Notes, go to https://sites.google.com/site/dlkachikis/reading-notes. You can download
these to use on your computer or to print.
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