Mar 30 2012

Joshua 3 – Israel Crosses the Jordan

The historical crossing of the Jordan is the place where God intends to show the people not only that He is with them in this long-awaited event, but that He is with Joshua, as He was with Moses (verse 7). This is important because giving them a firm confidence in Joshua as a capable leader matters a great deal now that they no longer have Moses to turn to. The waters of the Jordan at this time of the year are over-flowing the banks, we are told in verse 16, making it both deeper and wider than at other times during the year. So rather than having the people build boats or try to find some safe place and manner to cross, God’s plan is to have them cross as they did the Red Sea in Exodus 14, having the water held back by the Lord while they cross on dry ground.

The Children of Israel Crossing the Jordan (illustration by Gustave Doré) (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

This symbolic gesture of God will further be aided in boosting their spirits by the sight of the Levitical priests carrying the Ark of the Covenant (verse 3). The Lord is leading His people into the Promised Land. With the significance of this event highlighted by both of these spectacles, it is easy to see how the people would be given confidence, and how they would be filled with both hope and awe.

Easy also for us to miss the significance of the wording of the last verse of the chapter:

“Now the priests bearing the ark of the covenant of the Lord stood firmly on dry ground in the midst of the Jordan, sand all Israel was passing over on dry ground until all the nation finished passing over the Jordan.”

Although God had promised to make a great nation of Abraham, and had said in Exodus 19:6 that they will be “a kingdom of priests and a holy nation”, this is the first time the Bible has actually referred to them as a nation – and it occurs as they cross into the Promised Land.

Read or listen to audio of ESV version of this selection from this link.

/Robert

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some images © V. Gilbert & Arlisle F. Beers

Please note: I did not design the reading plan that I am following in my blog. All of my comments in this blog, however, are solely my responsibility. When reading ANY commentary, you should ALWAYS refer first to the scripture, which is God’s unchanging and unfailing word. Reading schedules, as well as a link to the site where you can get the reading plan that I’m currently following for yourself can be found on the “Bible Reading Schedules” page of my website at http://graceofourlord.com. For questions and help, please see the “FAQ” and “Summaries” pages there.

Mar 29 2012

Joshua 2 – Rahab Hides the Spies

Joshua send out spies before they get started, but unlike the catastrophe at Kadesh-barnea forty years ago, he only sends two The lodge at Rahab’s house, and she relates in verses 8-11 that the genuine fear at their approach that has spread through the land. the lord’s work in their behalf at the Red Sea and with their victories over the Amorites has been more than simply noticed. Indeed the spies themselves have been noticed, and have been reported to the king of Jericho.

The Flight of the Spies, as in Joshua 2:15, by James Tissot (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Rahab negotiates an agreement with the spies to spare her and her whole father’s house in exchange for her silence about their business. So when the king’s men come for them, she has hidden them away and sends their pursuers off in the wrong direction. After letting them down from the window of her home with a rope, she has them hide in the hills until it is safe to go on their way.

Instructions for her and her family in verses 18-19 for when the Israelites come into the land are distinctly reminiscent of the night before the 10th plague and the passover of Exodus as Moses gives instructions in Exodus 12:22 – she is warned to keep the whole family in the “marked” house after the people of Israel arrive.

Rahab is mentioned in Matthew 1:5 in the ancestry of Jesus Christ.

Read or listen to audio of ESV version of this selection from this link.

/Robert

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some images © V. Gilbert & Arlisle F. Beers

Mar 28 2012

Joshua 1 – God Commissions Joshua

Joshua prepares to lead

We move past the end of Deuteronomy and the death of Moses and into Joshua. God speaks to Joshua and gives him the same charge that Moses did in Deuteronomy 31:6-8. Many of God’s words here are identical to the text in Deuteronomy (Moses was speaking for the Lord, after all), and God repeats that He will be with him, will not leave or forsake him. Three times Joshua is told to be strong and courageous – but he is also told to meditate on, and not to turn aside from, all of the law that the Lord commanded Moses. One can surmise from this that there are going to be times during the taking of the land that it would be easy for Joshua as a leader to become frightened, dismayed, or both.

Indeed, the people he is charged with performing this task will face large numbers of opposing forces and there will be blood shed. But the Lord said in verse 5 “No man shall be able to stand before you all the days of your life.” With that, Joshua takes charge, and has his officers prepare to pass over the Jordan river in three days (verse 11). he then reminds the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and Manasseh of their responsibility. They acknowledge and pledge their allegiance (verses 16-18).

God repeats Himself as He does in the opening verses of Joshua in other places in the Bible, which is a good clue that what He is saying to us has great importance. He reinforces His covenant now with Joshua, and promises that as long as he keeps God’s commandments, he will be successful in achieving the goal. Our charge to keep the Lord’s commandments come from the lips of our Savior, Jesus Christ, and from His apostles repeatedly (John 14:23-24, 1 John 5:3-5,). His promise to us is that if we do so, we will make our home with Him in the end.

As we will see again soon in this very book, God always keeps His promises.

Read or listen to audio of ESV version of this selection from this link.

/Robert

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some images © V. Gilbert & Arlisle F. Beers

Mar 25 2012

Preview – Closing Numbers \ March Week 2 Summary Posted

Moses Sees the Promised Land from Afar, as in Numbers 27:12, by James Tissot (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Our Bible reading in the book of Numbers will end with chapter 32 on Tuesday, as the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh take possession of important land east of the Jordan. This schedule will skip the book of Deuteronomy altogether in our daily reading. This is not to minimize the importance of that book (and this blog will certainly cover much of it in the future) as the New Testament – and Jesus himself – quoted from it often. But this ambitious reading schedule is intended to help give a better understand of the Bible (in a years reading) as a complete story – one that has a beginning, a middle, and an ending.

So, with that in mind, we will sadly say farewell to Moses as we read of God’s charge to Joshua on Wednesday and close out this month with the first three chapters of that book in God’s word. Joshua is a very easy book of the Bible to read and love – and, more importantly, much to learn from.

Summing Up

Each weekend, I am now posting a small PDF of one week of chapter summaries (on the website’s “Summaries” page), current to the beginning of the previous week. I have posted the summary for Week 11 (March Week 2) of the schedule I am following. This short PDF document contains condensed comments about Exodus chapters 16, 17, 19, 20 and 24, with hyperlinks to the ESV version of each chapter for listening or reading, and joins the summaries for other weeks already posted there.

/Robert

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image © V. Gilbert & Arlisle F. Beers

Mar 23 2012

Numbers 14 – The People Rebel

Image via Wikipedia

Once again, the people who have seen the power and the Glory of the Lord with their own eyes forget His promise and this time, believing the report of the spies and (as Joshua and Caleb aptly put it in verse 9) rebelling against the Lord will cost them dearly. God is once again fed up with their disobedience; and in verse 12, He tells Moses (as He did in Exodus 32:10) that He will destroy them and start over with Moses.

But Moses again intercedes and passionately pleads with the Lord in verses 13-19. It is this blogger’s opinion that the Lord relented on their destruction not because of Moses’ argument in those verses about what the nations around them will think. The Lord’s time is His own, and He would do as He wills and the nations would see His power anyway. Consider instead, His simple statement afterward in verse 20. “I have pardoned, according to your word.” That was it. Moses favor and his request were enough to grant their pardon.

So just as Pharaoh decided the fate of his own in Exodus 11:5, siding with the spies and disobeying God would mean that these people decided their own fate. Instead of their little ones becoming a prey as they said in verse 3, those little ones will be the ones to enter Canaan – only after these people all die in the wilderness. But except for Caleb and Joshua, the spies would all meet their doom more quickly (verse 38).

Having received this news, the people have a change of heart and despite Moses’ warning that God would no longer be with them, they make an attempt to enter Canaan anyway – and are soundly defeated (verses 40-45). The time for obeying God is always now.

Read or listen to audio of ESV version of this selection from this link.

/Robert

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image © V. Gilbert & Arlisle F. Beers

Mar 16 2012

Exodus 24 – The Covenant Confirmed

Image via Wikipedia

Today, we move on to the 24th chapter of Exodus at the end of what is known as the Book of the Covenant, which began in chapter 20. The covenant with the Lord is confirmed with blood (verses 6 and 8). In verses 9-11, man eats in God’s presence – the closest yet to the relationship man had with Him in the garden of Eden. Verse 4 is our first reference to Moses writing down the words of the Lord.

Verse 13 is our first reference to Joshua as Moses’ assistant, as he accompanies Moses until he finishes the journey into the mountain of God, where he remains for 40 days and nights. Aaron, his sons Nadab and Abihu, and the rest of the elders also remain below, as the Lord commanded.

Read or listen to audio of ESV version of this selection from this link.