Joshua 24

WEEK  25                                          Joshua  24

MONDAY  Reflections

When considering Joshua 24 most people look where Joshua gives the command in verse 15 to choose whom they will serve, or Joshua’s warning that they won’t be able to serve the Lord in verse 19, or the covenant and monument that Joshua made with the people verses 21-27, or the faithfulness of that first-generation verse 31. However, not many look at the burial of Joseph which is what I want to look at today.

Before Joseph died, he told the children of Israel that his body was not to remain in Egypt but was to be returned to the land God had promised them. Even in death, Joseph knew that Egypt though necessary for the time was not the final destination for God’s people. He wanted, even in death, to be where God’s people were. I could talk about the need for those claiming to be Christians to be where the people of God are, but I believe the lesson in Hebrews 10:25. It is good to note.


The most fascinating thing I see is where Joseph is buried. Everything has now come full circle when you consider the history of the place. Barnes notes on the Bible explains this place like this, “Jacob consecrates his ground by the erection of an altar. He calls it the altar of the Mighty One, the God of Israel, in which he signalizes the omnipotence of him who had brought him in safety to the land of promise through many perils, the new name by which he himself had been lately designated, and the blessed communion which now existed between the Almighty and himself. This was the very spot where Abraham, about one hundred and eighty-five years ago, built the first altar he erected in the promised land Genesis 12:6-7.”[1] It is now consecrated anew to the God of promise.” Now on this place filled with history and the promise that God is the Mighty One of Israel, Joseph is laid to rest as we see the fulfillment of God’s promise to Abraham that his dependents would inherit the land. How did they inherit the land? By the hand of God Almighty, by the hand of our God.


Jos 24:1-33
(1)  And Joshua gathered all the tribes of Israel to Shechem, and called for the elders of Israel, and for their heads, and for their judges, and for their officers; and they presented themselves before God.
(2)  And Joshua said unto all the people, Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, Your fathers dwelt on the other side of the flood in old time, even Terah, the father of Abraham, and the father of Nachor: and they served other gods.
(3)  And I took your father Abraham from the other side of the flood, and led him throughout all the land of Canaan, and multiplied his seed, and gave him Isaac.
(4)  And I gave unto Isaac Jacob and Esau: and I gave unto Esau mount Seir, to possess it; but Jacob and his children went down into Egypt.
(5)  I sent Moses also and Aaron, and I plagued Egypt, according to that which I did among them: and afterward I brought you out.
(6)  And I brought your fathers out of Egypt: and ye came unto the sea; and the Egyptians pursued after your fathers with chariots and horsemen unto the Red sea.
(7)  And when they cried unto the LORD, he put darkness between you and the Egyptians, and brought the sea upon them, and covered them; and your eyes have seen what I have done in Egypt: and ye dwelt in the wilderness a long season.
(8)  And I brought you into the land of the Amorites, which dwelt on the other side Jordan; and they fought with you: and I gave them into your hand, that ye might possess their land; and I destroyed them from before you.
(9)  Then Balak the son of Zippor, king of Moab, arose and warred against Israel, and sent and called Balaam the son of Beor to curse you:
(10)  But I would not hearken unto Balaam; therefore he blessed you still: so I delivered you out of his hand.
(11)  And ye went over Jordan, and came unto Jericho: and the men of Jericho fought against you, the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Girgashites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites; and I delivered them into your hand.
(12)  And I sent the hornet before you, which drave them out from before you, even the two kings of the Amorites; but not with thy sword, nor with thy bow.
(13)  And I have given you a land for which ye did not labour, and cities which ye built not, and ye dwell in them; of the vineyards and oliveyards which ye planted not do ye eat.
(14)  Now therefore fear the LORD, and serve him in sincerity and in truth: and put away the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the flood, and in Egypt; and serve ye the LORD.
(15)  And if it seem evil unto you to serve the LORD, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.
(16)  And the people answered and said, God forbid that we should forsake the LORD, to serve other gods;
(17)  For the LORD our God, he it is that brought us up and our fathers out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage, and which did those great signs in our sight, and preserved us in all the way wherein we went, and among all the people through whom we passed:
(18)  And the LORD drave out from before us all the people, even the Amorites which dwelt in the land: therefore will we also serve the LORD; for he is our God.
(19)  And Joshua said unto the people, Ye cannot serve the LORD: for he is an holy God; he is a jealous God; he will not forgive your transgressions nor your sins.
(20)  If ye forsake the LORD, and serve strange gods, then he will turn and do you hurt, and consume you, after that he hath done you good.
(21)  And the people said unto Joshua, Nay; but we will serve the LORD.
(22)  And Joshua said unto the people, Ye are witnesses against yourselves that ye have chosen you the LORD, to serve him. And they said, We are witnesses.
(23)  Now therefore put away, said he, the strange gods which are among you, and incline your heart unto the LORD God of Israel.
(24)  And the people said unto Joshua, The LORD our God will we serve, and his voice will we obey.
(25)  So Joshua made a covenant with the people that day, and set them a statute and an ordinance in Shechem.
(26)  And Joshua wrote these words in the book of the law of God, and took a great stone, and set it up there under an oak, that was by the sanctuary of the LORD.
(27)  And Joshua said unto all the people, Behold, this stone shall be a witness unto us; for it hath heard all the words of the LORD which he spake unto us: it shall be therefore a witness unto you, lest ye deny your God.
(28)  So Joshua let the people depart, every man unto his inheritance.
(29)  And it came to pass after these things, that Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of the LORD, died, being an hundred and ten years old.
(30)  And they buried him in the border of his inheritance in Timnathserah, which is in mount Ephraim, on the north side of the hill of Gaash.
(31)  And Israel served the LORD all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders that overlived Joshua, and which had known all the works of the LORD, that he had done for Israel.
(32)  And the bones of Joseph, which the children of Israel brought up out of Egypt, buried they in Shechem, in a parcel of ground which Jacob bought of the sons of Hamor the father of Shechem for an hundred pieces of silver: and it became the inheritance of the children of Joseph.
(33)  And Eleazar the son of Aaron died; and they buried him in a hill that pertained to Phinehas his son, which was given him in mount Ephraim.

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[1] Barnes' Notes on the Bible. Accessed 2/26/18. http://biblehub.com/commentaries/genesis/33-20.htm
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Jeremiah 9

WEEK   24                                          Jeremiah  9

SATURDAY  Reflections

I have been reading a book in which the author makes light if not a mockery of Christians who are concerned about the lost of the world. Of course, the author pointed out all of the flaws in these people. This isn’t anything new for the followers of God. God in scriptures wasn’t afraid to open to the world the multitude of flaws concerning His followers. Yet, in this book, it seemed as if the author was laying out the flaws as an excuse for dismissing their faith. I see their flaws and though they may have been great, I don’t out of hand dismiss their concern for the lost of the world. Perhaps, this is because I want others to look past my mistakes and sins, but whatever it is, tears over the lost isn’t anything new.

 

The most quoted example of someone crying out to God on the behalf of others (that I have heard) is here in chapter 9 of Jeremiah. These people are not dead yet, but Jeremiah sees that they are slain in God’s eyes. They are having a good time, they are sleeping around, using and abusing people to get ahead, unaware that destruction is coming. I would guess the people around Jeremiah would mock his tears, but they are real. He cries not out of an imagined disaster but a real one.

 

Yes, Jeremiah might be more predisposed to tears because of his personality and temperament, but that doesn’t dismiss their sincerity. I am not saying that all Christians should be weeping often like Jeremiah or have the imagined toughness of John the Baptist. However, we should all be moved when a saint of God sheds tears over the lostness of others. I don’t think we should ever dismiss them.   

Jer 9:1-26
(1)  Oh that my head were waters, and mine eyes a fountain of tears, that I might weep day and night for the slain of the daughter of my people!
(2)  Oh that I had in the wilderness a lodging place of wayfaring men; that I might leave my people, and go from them! for they be all adulterers, an assembly of treacherous men.
(3)  And they bend their tongues like their bow for lies: but they are not valiant for the truth upon the earth; for they proceed from evil to evil, and they know not me, saith the LORD.
(4)  Take ye heed every one of his neighbour, and trust ye not in any brother: for every brother will utterly supplant, and every neighbour will walk with slanders.
(5)  And they will deceive every one his neighbour, and will not speak the truth: they have taught their tongue to speak lies, and weary themselves to commit iniquity.
(6)  Thine habitation is in the midst of deceit; through deceit they refuse to know me, saith the LORD.
(7)  Therefore thus saith the LORD of hosts, Behold, I will melt them, and try them; for how shall I do for the daughter of my people?
(8)  Their tongue is as an arrow shot out; it speaketh deceit: one speaketh peaceably to his neighbour with his mouth, but in heart he layeth his wait.
(9)  Shall I not visit them for these things? saith the LORD: shall not my soul be avenged on such a nation as this?
(10)  For the mountains will I take up a weeping and wailing, and for the habitations of the wilderness a lamentation, because they are burned up, so that none can pass through them; neither can men hear the voice of the cattle; both the fowl of the heavens and the beast are fled; they are gone.
(11)  And I will make Jerusalem heaps, and a den of dragons; and I will make the cities of Judah desolate, without an inhabitant.
(12)  Who is the wise man, that may understand this? and who is he to whom the mouth of the LORD hath spoken, that he may declare it, for what the land perisheth and is burned up like a wilderness, that none passeth through?
(13)  And the LORD saith, Because they have forsaken my law which I set before them, and have not obeyed my voice, neither walked therein;
(14)  But have walked after the imagination of their own heart, and after Baalim, which their fathers taught them:
(15)  Therefore thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Behold, I will feed them, even this people, with wormwood, and give them water of gall to drink.
(16)  I will scatter them also among the heathen, whom neither they nor their fathers have known: and I will send a sword after them, till I have consumed them.
(17)  Thus saith the LORD of hosts, Consider ye, and call for the mourning women, that they may come; and send for cunning women, that they may come:
(18)  And let them make haste, and take up a wailing for us, that our eyes may run down with tears, and our eyelids gush out with waters.
(19)  For a voice of wailing is heard out of Zion, How are we spoiled! we are greatly confounded, because we have forsaken the land, because our dwellings have cast us out.
(20)  Yet hear the word of the LORD, O ye women, and let your ear receive the word of his mouth, and teach your daughters wailing, and every one her neighbour lamentation.
(21)  For death is come up into our windows, and is entered into our palaces, to cut off the children from without, and the young men from the streets.
(22)  Speak, Thus saith the LORD, Even the carcases of men shall fall as dung upon the open field, and as the handful after the harvestman, and none shall gather them.
(23)  Thus saith the LORD, Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, neither let the mighty man glory in his might, let not the rich man glory in his riches:
(24)  But let him that glorieth glory in this, that he understandeth and knoweth me, that I am the LORD which exercise lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness, in the earth: for in these things I delight, saith the LORD.
(25)  Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will punish all them which are circumcised with the uncircumcised;
(26)  Egypt, and Judah, and Edom, and the children of Ammon, and Moab, and all that are in the utmost corners, that dwell in the wilderness: for all these nations are uncircumcised, and all the house of Israel are uncircumcised in the heart.

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1 Corinthians 5

WEEK  24                                    1 Corinthians 5

FRIDAY  Reflections

There is much argument over this chapter. I have strong opinions on church discipline and believe it is used incorrectly more often than not. It is either too strict or too lenient. What I want to remember at all times is the purpose of discipline. Discipline is according to Paul a tool to bring someone back to God (verse 5). Discipline isn't to punish a person or make them pay for what they have done. It is done in this chapter, not like the scarlet letter but as a way to make someone who is living in rebellion to God, become aware of the fact. Discipline ends with repentance. Discipline is done out of love to save. I repeat church discipline may hurt but it isn't done to inflict pain. Discipline is meant to save, period. It is also only for those who are in the church and done to save the person sinning not to save the church from the sin.

1Co 5:1-13
(1)  It is reported commonly that there is fornication among you, and such fornication as is not so much as named among the Gentiles, that one should have his father's wife.
(2)  And ye are puffed up, and have not rather mourned, that he that hath done this deed might be taken away from among you.
(3)  For I verily, as absent in body, but present in spirit, have judged already, as though I were present, concerning him that hath so done this deed,
(4)  In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, when ye are gathered together, and my spirit, with the power of our Lord Jesus Christ,
(5)  To deliver such an one unto Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus.
(6)  Your glorying is not good. Know ye not that a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump?
(7)  Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened. For even Christ our passover is sacrificed for us:
(8)  Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, neither with the leaven of malice and wickedness; but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.
(9)  I wrote unto you in an epistle not to company with fornicators:
(10)  Yet not altogether with the fornicators of this world, or with the covetous, or extortioners, or with idolaters; for then must ye needs go out of the world.
(11)  But now I have written unto you not to keep company, if any man that is called a brother be a fornicator, or covetous, or an idolater, or a railer, or a drunkard, or an extortioner; with such an one no not to eat.
(12)  For what have I to do to judge them also that are without? do not ye judge them that are within?
(13)  But them that are without God judgeth. Therefore put away from among yourselves that wicked person.

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1 Corinthians 4

WEEK   24                                      1 Corinthians 4

THURSDAY  Reflections

I cannot read 1 Corinthians chapter 4 and not think that Paul may be being more than a little sarcastic. Listen to him, when he says “Wow you have been exalted, already?,” “I wish that as the apostles of the church we were as good as you,” “You have 10,000 leaders but too bad only a few are really mature.” Okay maybe those aren’t his exact words but that is the core of what he is saying.

 

Personally, I think he is heartbroken by the arrogance in the church. As a Pastor, I can relate a little about people who I have cared for walk away from God. I didn’t quite know what to say, but at times I did think, “So did you hear me preach that this kind of sin was okay, or have you found something in scripture no one else has seen?” I never have said it but if I thought it might save the person rather than push them away, I would have in a second. Paul here, under the inspiration of the Spirit, knows now is the time for a little sarcasm. From what we read later, it worked.

 

Side note: You had better make sure the Holy Spirit is guiding you because sarcasm is a dangerous tool. Used wrong it’s like using dynamite to clean out a clogged drain. Yes, the clog is gone but so are the pipes and the house.

1Co 4:1-21
(1)  Let a man so account of us, as of the ministers of Christ, and stewards of the mysteries of God.
(2)  Moreover it is required in stewards, that a man be found faithful.
(3)  But with me it is a very small thing that I should be judged of you, or of man's judgment: yea, I judge not mine own self.
(4)  For I know nothing by myself; yet am I not hereby justified: but he that judgeth me is the Lord.
(5)  Therefore judge nothing before the time, until the Lord come, who both will bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and will make manifest the counsels of the hearts: and then shall every man have praise of God.
(6)  And these things, brethren, I have in a figure transferred to myself and to Apollos for your sakes; that ye might learn in us not to think of men above that which is written, that no one of you be puffed up for one against another.
(7)  For who maketh thee to differ from another? and what hast thou that thou didst not receive? now if thou didst receive it, why dost thou glory, as if thou hadst not received it?
(8)  Now ye are full, now ye are rich, ye have reigned as kings without us: and I would to God ye did reign, that we also might reign with you.
(9)  For I think that God hath set forth us the apostles last, as it were appointed to death: for we are made a spectacle unto the world, and to angels, and to men.
(10)  We are fools for Christ's sake, but ye are wise in Christ; we are weak, but ye are strong; ye are honourable, but we are despised.
(11)  Even unto this present hour we both hunger, and thirst, and are naked, and are buffeted, and have no certain dwellingplace;
(12)  And labour, working with our own hands: being reviled, we bless; being persecuted, we suffer it:
(13)  Being defamed, we intreat: we are made as the filth of the world, and are the offscouring of all things unto this day.
(14)  I write not these things to shame you, but as my beloved sons I warn you.
(15)  For though ye have ten thousand instructors in Christ, yet have ye not many fathers: for in Christ Jesus I have begotten you through the gospel.
(16)  Wherefore I beseech you, be ye followers of me.
(17)  For this cause have I sent unto you Timotheus, who is my beloved son, and faithful in the Lord, who shall bring you into remembrance of my ways which be in Christ, as I teach every where in every church.
(18)  Now some are puffed up, as though I would not come to you.
(19)  But I will come to you shortly, if the Lord will, and will know, not the speech of them which are puffed up, but the power.
(20)  For the kingdom of God is not in word, but in power.
(21)  What will ye? shall I come unto you with a rod, or in love, and in the spirit of meekness?

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Psalm 66

 WEDNESDAY  Reflections

  Psalm 66

This psalm says that God tries us. This isn't that God makes our lives difficult or that he is seeing if we are worthy. God is working to purify us. God is trying to help us grow up. This only comes when we face challenges. This is why there is homework and tests in schools. They are there to get the student to strive to learn and grow.

Many of the problems we face in life are allowed by God to help us and others to grow. The psalmist said that God allowed men to ride over them. God forced them through the fire and water but finally brought them to a wealthy place, a good place. Let's remember our current situations do not reflect our final destination.