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 22:10, it
says the region of the Jordan, in the
English versions; but in the German it says, The Stone Circles.
The Septuagint (the Greek version of the OT) says
"Gilgal (which means circle)." This is the place where Israel had
crossed over the Jordan seven years earlier. The nation had lived there for
some time as it began to fight against Jericho and other cities. More
importantly, if this place was Gilgal, it is where they set up a circular
monument made of "stones" that they brought up out of the waterless
bed of the Jordan as the people had passed across the dry river bed.
When the two and a half tribes 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. It might have been that the events in the wilderness, as well as
the crossing of the Jordan, all seemed so long ago. Now they realized it was
possible that the other tribes would forget that they were all related.
Vs. 21-23 This is a very heartfelt and
motivated rebuttal of the accusations. What they did here might have not made
sense to me, but they had very sincere motives.
Vs. 24-28 Notice how often their children or
descendants are mentioned here. In a perfect world this wouldn't have been a
problem, because they would have begun gathering at the tabernacle for the
feasts three times a year; and so, there would have been a means of gathering
and communication. After Joshua's death, few obeyed the Lord.
V. 29 It is notable that they affirm that the
tabernacle was the only place to worship God through offerings.
Vs. 30-31 Phinehas is the spokesman and says
that through this potential crisis, they have seen that the Lord was in their
midst.
Vs. 32-34 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 will come to an end. Get ready to
celebrate with a McCanaan and a Milk&Honey shake.
Vs. 1-4 This is the second time now that we
have seen a leader of Israel hang up his sandals. If you were leading a group
of disciples, what would your final address be?
Joshua seems to be telling them that he is
about to change his residence to God's zip code, and he briefly recounts how
God had used him to give the people their land and to destroy their enemies
before them.
Vs. 5-13 It seems here that Joshua is
exhorting them to follow deeply the promises of the Lord. Based on what God had
promised, they could be strong and courageous, following the Lord and taking
the initiative as God led. Obeying the Lord and loving Him would be the key.
Vs. 14-16 All of what God promised had come
true and they could have had total victory. It is sad to think that all of what
Joshua warned them of would come true in Judges. 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 v. 11, Joshua focuses them on
God's love. Following as disciples, too, has to originate out of His amazing
love for us.
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 very simple for each
individual and for every church. But life on earth blurs our vision, and the
body of sin wears us down. Daily refocusing is necessary. That is why disciples
need to be in the Word daily. And that is why Jesus showed us the model of
being with a group of disciples, reaching out and making disciples. We need to keep
one another encouraged and sharp in Christ.
Luke 20:27-47
We've had these same events before. God is
giving us this repetition for a reason.
Vs. 27-38 While the question about taxes was
designed to get Jesus in trouble either with the Romans or with the Jews,
depending on His answer, this issue was meant to make Jesus look foolish. The
Sadducees had probably used this on many Pharisees and had great success with
it. Instead, Jesus turned this into a very simple, but powerful, moment of
teaching. Actually, I still find what Jesus says in vs. 37 and 38 profound.
Vs. 39-40 Even the enemy, the scribes, were pushed to sincerity
and silence by the truth, honesty and insight of what Jesus had just said.
Vs. 41-44 But rather than Jesus schmoozing up
to the scribes, He pressed the point. Jesus gives them another one of those
simple, obvious, and extremely profound insights. Again, Jesus isn't doing this
to prove any point or further the conflict. He is fishing in the harvest. I
guess that's what you call a "mexed mitiphor."
Vs. 45-47 Jesus had said this earlier to the
Pharisees, but the scribes (lawyers)
were a branch of the Pharisees. This is not the worst thing Jesus has said
about the scribes, but in this
situation, it was like throwing gas on a fire. The judgment of God would come
on Israel because of their leaders, so Jesus' condemnation was more than just.
At the same time, we noticed that when Jesus honestly stood against these
leaders, others like Matthew the tax collector understood that the way to God stood
open through Jesus. I think that is why Jesus is being so bold and so open in
what He is saying. There are people standing by whom He is hoping to reach.
I was reading this morning Jesus telling His
disciples, “even
as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a
ransom for many.” (Matt. 20:28) Even
under pressure, near His death and in the face of His enemies, Jesus was still
honest and caring and reaching out to anyone who would hear. As His disciples,
we are to abide in Him and do the same in our particular part of the harvest.
Psalm 89:14-37
This part of the psalm is like reminding God
how He has blessed David and promised him a perpetual reign.
Vs. 14-18 Because they rest and hide in God's
righteousness, faithfulness, and love, and because they exalt in Him, He is
their strength and shield. This is a way of saying they have made themselves
dependent on God. God is their only help.
Vs. 19-26 When we first meet David, he will
be a young teen who is surprisingly anointed by Samuel to be king of Israel. He
was God's choice and God had promised. And then we will watch God exalt David's
faith. And then we will watch David run for his life for a decade. It is during
this waiting and running and crying out that David became "a man after
God's own heart." (1 Sam. 13:14) And in all of that, God proved over and
over, that David was His man and confirmed His steadfast love and faithfulness
to him. Why do we think we should expect any other treatment if God loves us as
much as He loved David? We are servants and slaves of our Savior.
Vs. 27-37 In light of what Scripture says
about a future bodily reign of David on earth under the Messiah, this promise
to David was very profound. David, for all of his faults, became a model of the
Messiah. We have already seen that Jesus was both the Son of David and the Lord
of David.
Even though this is a great and exalted
promise, notice what is said in vs. 30-33. Even though a son of David may
stumble in his walk with God, God would still regard the promise to David.
Solomon would be the first and real threat to this covenant, but I think the
occasion for the writing of this psalm was Absalom's rebellion. If so, the
psalmist, with David sitting in, is asking God not to allow the rebellion of
David's son to make Him forget the kindness He has promised to David.
Punishment was promised, but so was covenantal love and loyalty.
In reading these last verses I am amazed at
the promise of God. And to think, that as disciples, we have something that
makes the promise to David look like a two-year-old's Sunday school drawing.
Our Savior has promised amazing things to us eternally and also as we follow
Him into the harvest making disciples, who make disciples.
Proverbs 13:17-19
As a disciple, v. 19 hits me. To do what we
need to do at this time in this harvest, 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 me away from abiding in Christ, His love, His passion and
His mission.
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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