Posts from November 2021

Joshua 6:10 (NIV)  But Joshua had commanded the people, “Do not give a war cry, do not raise your voices, do not say a word until the day I tell you to shout.  Then shout!”  “There is a silence which plays an important part in the ways of the Spirit.”**  Sometimes we need to be quiet.  God is doing something supernatural.  Our small talk is an intrusion, and we need to be focused on the Spirit’s leadership.  Jesus told the…

Joshua 6:1-21 (focus verse 3 – NIV)  March around the city once with all the armed men. Do this for six days.  Why did God order such an unorthodox military strategy? “He wanted to demonstrate His power. He wanted to discourage self-reliance and pride. All the glory would go to God.”** Joshua is a “type of Christ who always leads His people in victory and triumph. Our victories result from surrendering to Jesus’ Lordship and allowing Him to work through…

Joshua 6:1-2 (focus verse 2 – NIV)  Then the Lord said to Joshua, “See, I have delivered Jericho into your hands, along with its king and its fighting men.”  There is a natural realm and a spiritual realm.  In the natural, Jericho’s walls were shut up and prepared for a siege.  “Rugged highlands overlook the Dead Sea and Jordan valley.  Several passes lead up through the mountainous ridge into the heart of Palestine.  These passes were controlled in Joshua’s day…

Joshua 6:1 (NIV)  Now the gates of Jericho were securely barred because of the Israelites.  No one went out and no one came in.  Do you know someone who has built high walls around their heart to keep out the Lord and His people?  Maybe you have a situation that seems impenetrable, impossible.  God has ways of getting behind those walls.  He knows how to reach those who have been so disappointed by life that they can’t see a reason…

Joshua 5:13-15 (focus verse 14 – NIV)  …as commander of the army of the Lord I have now come…  Joshua saw the preincarnate Jesus (a Christophany: Jesus sighting in the Old Testament). He wanted Joshua to know that this was the LORD’S battle—not Joshua’s battle. We do well to remember that God does not serve us. We are enlisted in HIS battle strategies. Remember: the battle is the Lord’s.

Joshua 5:11-12 (NIV)  The day after the Passover, that very day, they ate some of the produce of the land: unleavened bread and roasted grain.  The manna stopped the day after they ate this food from the land; there was no longer any manna for the Israelites, but that year they ate of the produce of Canaan.  The diet changed.  A new era had begun. God gave them a supernatural supply on their trek through the wilderness.  But now they…

Joshua 5:2-12 (focus verse 5 – NIV)  All the people that came out (of Egypt) had been circumcised; but all the people born in the desert during the journey from Egypt had not.  Before possessing the Promised Land, three important events took place.  The first was the rite of circumcision.  It had apparently been neglected in the desert (see Genesis 17).  It was an important physical sign of the covenant relationship (the contract) with God that had been established with…

Joshua 5:1 (The Message)  When all the Amorite kings west of the Jordan and the Canaanite kings along the seacoast heard how God had stopped the Jordan river before the People of Israel until they had crossed over, their hearts sank; the courage drained out of them just thinking about the People of Israel.   Somehow the word spread quickly about the Jordan River miracle.  Earlier, Rahab had informed the spies that everyone in Jericho had heard about Israel traveling…

Joshua 4:1-9 (NIV) (focus verse 7b)  “…These stones are to be a memorial to the people of Israel forever.”  The stones from the middle of Jordan’s river piled up as a memorial would be  “a sign to future generations of Israelites who had not seen the power of God.  It would reveal the might of God to all people.  It would instill in the hearts of the people an abiding fear of God.”*  Have you collected any tokens along the…

Joshua 3:7-17 (focus verse 17) (NIV)  The priests who carried the ark of the covenant of the Lord stood firm on dry ground in the middle of the Jordan, while all Israel passed by until the whole nation had completed the crossing on dry ground.  How many people crossed over?  Well, there were 600,000 fighting men.  Scholars calculate that this would mean at least 2.5 million people, including women and children.  It was a mighty miracle—not exactly like the Red…

Joshua 3:15-16a (NIV) Now the Jordan is at flood stage all during harvest.  Yet as soon as the priests who carried the ark reached the Jordan and their feet touched the water’s edge, the water from upstream stopped flowing…(vs 17)  The priests…stood firm on dry ground in the middle of the Jordan. Think of the adventure of all this.  Consider the need for faith and unquestioning obedience.  All those people and all that water and another movement across a waterway…

Joshua 3:6 (NIV) Joshua said to the priests, “Take up the ark of the covenant and pass on ahead of the people.”  So they took it up and went ahead of them.  There is a simple truth embedded in this verse.  Leaders go first.  Leaders must be the first to follow God’s Presence, to walk in obedience and surrender, to model a passion for Christ, to demonstrate a Godly life, to inspire followers to perseverance (see II Timothy 3:10-12).  Who…

Joshua 3:5 (NIV)   Joshua told the people, “Consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow the Lord will do amazing things among you.”  All along the Christian journey we build fresh altars of surrender and reconsecration.  You see it throughout Abraham’s life story as he built altars every time God revealed Himself in a new way.  You see it here on the cusp of the Promised Land.  The people were to consecrate themselves, to make a conscious, willing decision to rededicate themselves to…

Joshua 3:2-3 (NIV)  After three days the officers went throughout the camp, giving orders to the people:  “When you see the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord your God, and the priests, who are Levites, carrying it, you are to move out from your positions and follow it.”  Here on the cusp of the Promised Land, the Children of Israel camped and prepared for their long- awaited entrance.  The orders came.  They were to follow the Ark—the symbol of…

Joshua 2:24 (NIV) (The spies) said to Joshua, “The Lord has surely given the whole land into our hands; all the people are melting in fear because of us.”  Do we really understand how terrifying a fully devoted follower of Jesus Christ is to the powers of evil?  When we are living in unity with one another and the Lord, we have access to divine power.  And evil trembles!  The day is coming when He (Christ) will judge between many…

Joshua 2 (focus verse 21b) (NLT)  …And she tied the scarlet cord in the window.  Rahab’s remarkable story is a story of redemption.  The rope of scarlet thread signified God’s mercy and forgiveness for Rahab; and it has become a symbol of Christ’s redeeming blood.  In every book of the Bible there is a  “scarlet thread of blood redemption”  somewhere.  It is a fascinating study.  (The book, The Scarlet Thread of Redemption, traces the theme of salvation from Genesis to…

Joshua 1:14-15 (focus verse 14b) (NIV)  …you are to help your brothers.  Before the tribes of Reuben and half of the tribe of Manasseh could enjoy their inheritance, Joshua required that they help the other tribes, their  “brothers,” obtain their inheritance.  The response came: Whatever you have commanded us we will do, and wherever you send us we will go.  Just as we fully obeyed Moses, so we will obey you.” (vs. 16-17).  (This was an ominous response considering the…

Joshua 1:12-15 (focus verse 13) (NIV)  Remember the command that Moses the servant of the Lord gave you: “The Lord your God is giving you rest and has granted you this land.”  The tribe of Reuben and half of the tribe of Manasseh had asked Moses if they could settle into the land east of Jordan (Numbers 32:1-19)—a land suitable for their livestock, with grass and fields.  Had they not stopped short of full entry into Canaan, they would have…

Joshua 1:8 (NIV)  Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night…  Great leaders are careful about where they invest their attention.  They are selective in what they read and careful in how they think.  God told Joshua that it would be critical for the welfare of all Israel for Joshua to meditate day and night on God’s Word.  It would give him understanding and wisdom.  Are you living without noticing…

Joshua 1:3 (NIV)  (The Lord to Joshua) “I will give you every place where you set your foot, as I promised Moses.” The Children of Israel had to do something—to participate in the process of  “going in”  to their Promised Land.  They had to partner with God and  “WALK IT OUT”  in very practical ways, not sit and wait for God to do everything for them.  Together with the Lord’s guidance, they would take possession of everything the Lord had…

Joshua 1:10 (NIV)  So Joshua ordered the officers of the people: “Go through the camp and tell the people, ‘Get your supplies ready.  Three days from now you will cross the Jordan here to go in and take possession of the land…”   In typical form, Joshua took up the leadership mantle and moved into action.  Task #1 – get the supplies ready.  When God is moving us forward into something new, the first task is usually to  “get the…

Joshua 1:9 (NLT) “This is my command—be strong and courageous!  Do not be afraid or discouraged.  For the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”   We have a choice when we face crossroads.  God always challenges us to be strong and courageous; and that ability comes from knowing that God is with us.  Fear and discouragement come when we look at our inabilities and inexperience and don’t take into consideration the God who makes all things possible,…

Joshua 1:8 (NIV)  Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it.  Then you will be prosperous and successful.  God wants us to live our highest, best life.  He wants us to grow strong in spirit, be filled with wisdom, and experience the grace of God upon us and through us to others (Luke 2:40).  Prosperity and success in…

Joshua 1:5 (NIV)  “No one will be able to stand up against you all the days of your life.  As I was with Moses, so I will be with you.  I will never leave you nor forsake you.”   God assured Joshua of His unfailing faithfulness.  Imagine the weight of responsibility that had dropped on Joshua’s shoulders and the importance of these words to him.  Leading people into a better place can be a difficult job.  People are imperfect and…

Joshua 1:1 (NIV)  After the death of Moses, the Lord’s servant, the Lord spoke to Joshua son of Nun, Moses’ assistant.  Moses, the great leader, was dead.  But Joshua had always been standing somewhere nearby Moses watching and learning and responding in faith to what he saw.  He had been Moses’  servant who, along with Caleb, believed God for victory when they had searched out the Promised Land (Numbers 14:6-10).  He had been on the scene in some of the…