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APRIL 16
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 Cor. 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.
Please Read
the Following Disclaimer
I'm writing the Reading Notes to and
for those who are following a One Year Bible and are 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, that is, 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 and important discipleship manual we have and it is the 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, or whom we are to be following. 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, as disciples, 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,
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 (BKC).
I read the BKC in doing background for the Reading Notes and refer to it quite
often. I also make reference to maps or charts in the BKC, though I will only
note where those resources can be found. Often you can do a search for these
and find them in Google books. Buying both volumes of the Bible Knowledge
Commentary would be a good idea.
I am not endorsing any particular
One Year Bible translation; in fact, I read something you probably don't, Die
Revidierte Lutherbibel, 1984. Unless noted, all Scripture quotes are from the
ESV Bible.
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. Often there is a breadth of opinion on certain events, both
historical and prophetic. Many of my views come from my church background,
theological training and my personal study.
I'm
doing this with discipleship in mind, meaning, I'm writing out thoughts that
will keep discipleship and our growth as disciples applied to what we are
reading. Remember, the real focus of the Reading Notes is to be a
supplement, a disciple’s commentary, giving motivation and insight so that we
will keep following our Lord in the harvest, reaching the lost and making
disciples, who make disciples. Being in
the Word every day, sitting at Jesus’ feet, learning directly from Him, is the
essential essence of being and making disciples.
May the Lord bless you as you follow Him in the
harvest, reaching the lost and making disciples, who make disciples. Dan
If you would like documents
containing an entire month of the Reading Notes, go to https://sites.google.com/site/dlkachikis/reading-notes.
If you would like a full
presentation of discipleship read Simply
Disciples*Making Disciples.
Or if you are struggling with
insomnia and would like a long boring dissertation on disciple making, these
can both be found on https://sites.google.com/site/dlkachikis/reading-notes.
Reading Notes ©, Dan Kachikis
2011, 2012, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2018
The One Year Bible © by
Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton Illinois 60189
The Holy Bible, English
Standard Version® (ESV®) Copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of
Good News Publishers.
All charts/graphics/outlines
from the Bible Knowledge Commentary are used with the permission of David C.
Cook.
© 1983, 2001 John F Walvoord and Roy B Zuck.
The Bible Knowledge Commentary is published by David C Cook.
All rights reserved. Publisher permission
required to reproduce.
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