OT: The Book of Judges, Chapter 5

Judges 5:1-31

5:1 The Song of Deborah  is a hymn which recounts the events of the last chapter and encourages the hearer (reader) to praise God.

5:2 Deborah is exuberant with joy for the moments when the people are in alignment with God. For her, this hymn is a celebration of God's goodness. It is also a celebration of how smoothly life flows when  we live in obedience to Him.

When the leaders lead in Israel, when they are under the submission of God alone and no enemy nation. For when under God, the Israelites are able to lead with confidence, wisdom and peace.

5:3 In a time period when royal leaders and families were revered like gods, Deborah calls for the even the powerful upper-class to submit to God and praise His authority. Human authority has for thousands of years yielded mostly chaos and division. Deborah's observation has been that when God is in control, everything comes into place.

5:4-5 Deborah references the historical events of God's leadership over the children of Israel, Numbers 10, 20.

5:6-8  The children of Israel are in a desperate situation. Under God's authority they were kept safe, made prosperous, and cherished as precious children. However, as they gave their attention and then respect to different sources, they discarded all of their blessings. Their abandonment of God dried up their home into a place of desolation and then war.

When we establish God as the authority and defense of our lives, we live in a protected boundary. God's love is an impenetrable boundary: evil cannot enter; righteousness cannot leak out or become lost. However, we are allowed to leave it. And unfortunately, the children of Israel and we, sometimes, do.

Deborah's reference to herself as a mother in Israel speaks of her respected position as judge, or leader, over the children of Israel. It's important to remember that Deborah's position as judge required faith and hard work.  She isn't a god, she's a human and therefore vulnerable to all of the same weaknesses and temptations we are. Yet she has decided to follow God, arduously and faithfully, and that decision has been a fruitful one.

5:9 Deborah places her full support and appreciation behind the leaders of the children of Israel and their tribes of people who will recommit to God. Those who will willingly offer themselves to the philosophy God has established. 

Within God's philosophy, there is no need to scheme or worry or suffer because He has outlined a fulfilling, natural path. Deborah mentions willingness because it is only our resistance which renders the path bumpy. 

5:10-11 Deborah's hymn is written to people of all societal levels: for we are all simultaneously reduced and exalted by God. Humbled and made grand. Whatever tier of society the world and circumstance have placed a person on, it is irrelevant to God's plans and placement for them: Paul was an opponent made supporter. Moses an orphan made heir. Countless kings in these scriptures reduced to less than the rubble of their collapsed kingdoms. 

Therefore Deborah speaks to all of us. The white donkeys of our time are celebrities of entertainment, sport, science and technology. Those in judges attire are our government and political systems; the pedestrians represent the majority. We are each called by her to speak for truth rather than self.

5:12 Deborah and Barak call even themselves to awaken to purpose and intention.

5:13-18 Restoration infiltrated the broken, debased and corrupt tribe through tribe.  God is thorough. The family had strayed but one by one He regathers and reestablishes, uproots and discards what does not belong.

5:19-23 The reduction of the kings of Canaan is completely orchestrated by God and carried out by His willing soldiers (children who commit themselves to establishing the principles of His kingdom, here on earth).

The stars from their courses fought... the language used in this verse declares God's universal arsenal. A universal arsenal accessible to the children of God. The righteous are adeptly outfitted in spiritual, invulnerable equipment and weaponry. Head to toe. 

In 1 Kings 3 Solomon requests wisdom from God. God is so proud of Solomon's selfless request that He arms Solomon with a capability no one before him or after him has ever had: extra-ordinary, super-natural discernment. 

For you, also, will God pull down strength and discernment from the sky. He will pull up stability and foundation from the earth. Whatever you need, He will supply. Once we become advocates for more than ourselves, God prepares us for the grander battle we undertake.

Nature itself, this planet as well as the galaxy and universe it spins in, is operating under God's orchestration. Is in operation for and toward His intention and purpose. To be allied with God is to be allied with the power of the stars. 

The whole armor of God is described in the new testament. Paul prepares God's children to for their greater purpose, the purpose of life.

Ephesians 6:10-20

10 Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. 11 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. 12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. 13 Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. 

14 Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, 15 and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; 16 above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. 17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God; 18 praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints— 19 and for me, that utterance may be given to me, that I may open my mouth boldly to make known the mystery of the gospel, 20 for which I am an ambassador in chains; that in it I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak.

5:24-27 Returning to Deborah's hymn, she commends Jael for her actions against Siscera. The aforementioned journey to Ephesians 6 should serve as reminder to us that our battle is over more than just corrupt human leaders. God's children are raised by Him to outsmart evil itself, not just the perpetrators of it.

The events in the old testament serve as examples, 1 Corinthians 10:11, what happened to our biblical ancestors serves as a blueprint for what we will have to opportunity to face - magnified. We will diminish evil with more complex and comprehensive ability. Yet still, like the children of Israel, our ability and triumph is linked with our faith. We must be steadfast, and such is the spirit of this hymn.

5:28-30 Sisera's mother and kingdom were confident in his ability... in a mere man's ability rather than God's. Until the very end, they could not accept the prospect of defeat. It is our blessed opportunity to never become so wholly distracted. For we know that all opposition is already defeated, it has been declared. The charade of evil's reign is temporary - in all homes, neighborhoods, communities, states, regions, and nations. 

We are not like Sisera's mother, waiting and wailing at a window wondering what has happened because our God has told us what will happen. Our God has given us a role in the future He has planned, cemented. 

5:31 Deborah ends her hymn with gusto:

“Thus let all Your enemies perish, O Lord!
But let those who love Him be like the sun
When it comes out in full strength.”

Forty years of rest followed this restoration done by God. For forty years, the children of Israel remain steadfast in faith. God is faithful for eternity. For His equally faithful children, this beautiful hymn has no end. For eternity there is rest. For each child there is rest.

OT: The Book of Judges, Chapter 4

Judges 4:1-24

This particular book is unique in that is it spearheaded by a female. The prevalence of male judges, leaders and prophets is more likely owed to the fact that society has been patriarchal throughout most, if not all, generations. We know that our God is impartial, Romans 2:11. Deborah, of this book, will further serve as evidence that all of God's children are capable of being viable hosts for His spirit to dwell it and perform through.

4:1 Eighty years of peace ends after Ehud dies. The cycle continues: the children of Israel only trust and follow God as long as someone is faithful on their behalf.

4:2-3 The children of Israel reject God and instead choose an abusive master. Consequently, they are harshly oppressed for many years... but again, they reach a point when they cry out to God for rescue.

4:4 Our introduction to Deborah, the next judge: she is a prophetess, which tells us that she both hears and listens to God's voice and will.

4:5 With the God-given ability to lead, Deborah is well-respected in the community. We learn that she sits under a tree, named after herself, and receives the children of Israel's concerns.

4:6-7 We learn from Deborah that the children of Israel are, again, in a season of rescue. Their repentant hearts have cried out to God and He has a plan. Deborah instructs a man named Barak from the tribe of Naphtali to follow God's command: he is to gather an army of 10,000 from Naphtali and Zebulun and confront their oppressors head on in battle. God promises to deliver the enemy into their hand.

4:8 Barak is too afraid to go alone; he will only go if Deborah goes with him.

4:9-10 Deborah readily agrees to accompany Barak. However, Deborah explains that he will not have any glory out of this endeavor. Truly faithful children of God do not act out of desire for glory. They act out of righteousness. Barak is not a bad person, but his faith does not mean as much to him as glory does.

Deborah is a prophetess, God has supplied her with wisdom. She knows that because Barak's faith was too weak, God's mission will be given to another - a woman. God is constantly looking for faith within individuals which will host Him. Barak declines and subsequently, someone else is chosen for the glory of carrying out God's will.

This applies to each of us as individuals because we have the same opportunity as Barak. Electing to be a co-worker with God is to be elected by God as a coworker. Out of righteous, faithful acts comes glory and not the other way around (as Barak confusedly believed).

4:11-13 A distant relative of Moses is introduced: Heber. It will be Heber's wife who is able to kill Sisera, the commander of the enemy army. The intricate details provided here show us how meticulously the victory over our enemies is planned.

4:14-16 Deborah alerts and encourages Barak that the day has come for him to act on the will of God. The battle begins and soon after, Barak takes the victory. Sisera flees on foot.

4:17-18 Sisera runs away to the camp of Jael, the wife of Heber. Jael deceives Sisera into believing that she is an ally. She welcomes Sisera in and, provider shelter and comfort.

4:19-20 Sisera requests a drink of water, Jael brings him milk, continuing her guise as generous hostess. Sisera then tells Jael to deny his presence should anyone come to ask.

4:21 Jael kills Siscera. Siscera is killed deceptively, a blow to the head. If we dissect this metaphorically, we can deduce that Siscera was this type of ruler: a deceptive man. And it led to his downfall. He lost at his own game.

4:22 When Barak arrives as Jael's camp, she shows him that Sicera has been killed.

4:23-24 On that day, the children of Israel received their freedom from the oppressive king and his army. The children of Israel grew stronger and stronger as their faith grew. The more room we give God to act on our behalf, the more massive His transformations have the space to be.

OT: The Book of Judges, Chapter 3

Judges 3:1-31

3:1-3 As the Israelites are continuing to grow generation after generation, there becomes a population of people who were not alive during the making of the first covenant. Each individual is invited into a relationship with God... and each individual is presented with a relationship with the world. Every soul has a choice. God offers the covenant to every generation but each individual must sign, accept it, for themselves.

The corrupt nations outside of Israel exist and serve a purpose: their actions and way of life is in direct contrast to God's actions and way of life. The children of Israel therefore, are introduced to several ways of life. The same is true for us: our experiences in the world are often a stark contrast of what spirit teaches us. 

Abraham's faith laid the foundation for our covenant with God. Abraham's faith displayed to God that humans were capable of pure, compassionate faith. Because of Abraham we have God's covenant as an option. But Abraham cannot accept the covenant on our behalf, or on the behalf of his posterity, we have to personally join with it.

3:4 The word "test" is used here. This should not be a fearsome concept. If we choose God as our educator, He ensures that we pass every test. God ensures that, as His students, we are not vulnerable or manipulable by opposition forces in our path.

In fact, Psalm 139:23-24 is David's plea and invitation for God to test him. David wanted opportunities to show God that he would continue to choose righteousness.  David invited God into his heart because David understood the enormity of the work God could do in there, once brought in.

3:5-6 The children of Israel not only lived among the corrupt nations, they began to intermarry with them. This was detrimental to their faith because instead of having God's principles reinforced, they were diminished by their spouses. Abraham and Sarah, Isaac and Rebekah, Jacob and Rachel... the relationships founded in love for God were the relationships which most graciously propelled humanity. When one would become weak, the other's faith would serve as a pillar. Together, they would remain aligned in God's word and will.

But the children of Israel married with people who did not believe in God. Therefore, when they had a moment of weakness or confusion, instead of looking to God for explanation, they succumbed to weakness. They answered their confusion with untruth. 

3:7 This generation of the children of Israel choose evil. They choose not to live within the protection and power of the covenant of God. They become so embroiled with evil that they forget Him and begin to serve fake gods with corrupt intentions.

3:8 Directly subsequent of their actions, the children of Israel find themselves in prickly situations. They find themselves destitute, abused and lost. Finally, they cry out to their true God.

3:9 Out of a depth of grace that only He possess, God comes to the rescue. God places a judge, or deliverer, in the midst of them named Othniel. Othniel is the first example in Judges that proves God will use us a vessel through which His word and will can come into the world and realign it with righteousness. 

3:10 The Spirit of the Lord rests on Othniel. God is able to work through Othniel because his faith causes him to be a viable host for the spirit. A corrupt soul cannot host a righteous one. In every day, we have opportunities to be a viable host for the spirit: a vessel through which He has bring alignment to a crooked situation. Othniel is a viable host because he loves and listens to God. He follows and therefore God has reason again to lead.

As He always has, does and will, God prevails over evil. Easily. As soon as He is brought genuinely into a situation, He is able to completely restore that situation.

3:11 For forty years, the remainder of Othniel's life, the land had rest. The children of Israel had peace. But as soon as the viable host has passed on, the children of Israel revert back to evil.

John 20:29 explains that those who follow God without having physically seen him, or had spiritual leadership in the form we reading now, are deeply blessed. The children of Israel only believe when they have solid, physical proof. They are unable to love God's spiritual presence for they do not acknowledge Him until they are desperate. They only follow God when someone is faithful and righteous on their behalf (Abraham, Moses, Joshua, Othniel).

3:12-14 The children of Israel again revert back to evil. As generations pass, the same lessons are required to be learned. Through experience, each population of humans come to realize that the ways of the world are corrupt... and that the way of God is righteous, generous, patient and forgiving. 1 John 2:15 references this concept: Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in them. The world has nothing to offer you but God has everything. The world is focused on material wealth, power, and vanity. God is focused on you, selflessly, eternally.

Our own generation has not escaped this cycle of learning to reject the way of the world through experience in the world. In many ways, we are more consumerist than ever. More vain than ever. More in love with money and power than ever before. Individually, God can realign you with Himself. He offers rescue to you just as surely as He offered rescue to the children of Israel, our ancestors. For the world will fail us but in Him we have victory.

3:15 We are introduced to another judge named Ehud.

3:16-19 Ehud deceives Eglon king of Moab, who has been oppressing the children of Israel. With intentions to kill him, Ehud presents a fake tribute to the king.

3:20-22 When Ehud is alone with the king, he tells Eglon that he has a message from God. And then promptly stabs the king in the belly. Metaphorically, this could mean that opulence led to the corrupt kings downfall. The described girth of his belly might have represented his ostentatious nature of ruling. In the end, then, his love of money confronted him at death.

3:23-26 Ehud leaves the king to die and locks the door. The servants leave the king be, assuming the door is locked for privacy. By the time the servants find the king, Ehud has escaped. 

3:27-30 Ehud returns to the children of Israel. He calls them to once again follow God, for God has delivered them from out of the grasp of an evil power. Because they chose righteousness, God empowered them and they subdued evil. They had peace for eighty years.

3:31 Very little is written about the judge, Shamgar. However, his mission as host was the same. He served God as an instrument through which spiritual rescue was provided to the unfaithful, but again repentant, Israelites.

OT: The Book of Judges, Chapter 2

Judges 2:1-23

2:1 The Angel of the Lord has a heart-to-heart conversation with the children of Israel. The Bible is a love story, the love of a Parent for His children. God has knit each of us in the womb, He has been with humanity even before its infancy.

The Angel of the Lord pours out His heart: He explains that He was present, compassionate and powerful on behalf of this group when they were enslaved. He loved them when they had nothing, not even hope. Even before that, He planned their rescue with their ancestors. He promised to be faithfully committed to their well-being. Why then, are they unfaithful to Him? Why are we?

2:2 He has promised to never break His covenant with us, but we have the freedom to break our covenant with Him.  Several tribes of the children of Israel, as we read in the previous chapter, have disobeyed God: they have allowed corrupt society into their own.

Instead of pouring their reverence out for the God who created them, the earth and all the universe, they adopt idolatry.  The begin to worship the inanimate gods of cults. God allows each individual to choose what their beacon will be. What beckons you? The beacon that is God is light. Love. Compassion. But false idols are tempestuous things, tempting us out of alignment with God. 

Instead of believing that God is able and willing to establish joy in our lives, idolatry tells us that happiness can only be obtained through material wealth, vanity, and power. Suddenly people find themselves slaves to greed and lust and anger. Obedient only to the laborious work of trying to fill a bottomless pit.

It anguishes God for the covenant to be broken. God takes His covenant with us seriously, He has invested His whole entity in loving us and breathing life into our lungs. When we turn away from Him it hurts. It is personal to Him: 

Matthew 18:11 explains the reason why the presence of God is on the earth: to gather the lost! He does not easily write us off or shut the door when we get lost. When we are weak, He becomes His strongest, because He passionately wants us returned to Him, 2 Corinthians 12:10. He is willing to go the distance: 

Matthew 18:12-13

12 “What do you think? If a man has a hundred sheep, and one of them goes astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine and go to the mountains to seek the one that is straying? 13 And if he should find it, assuredly, I say to you, he rejoices more over that sheep than over the ninety-nine that did not go astray.

So the Angel of the Lord comes to the children of Israel not simply to reprimand them (as any vigilant parent would), but also to remind them each of their personal journey with God, their true creator.

2:3 The consequence of abandoning God is that we leave ourselves vulnerable to the world. God's focus is on driving out evil, and He welcomes us to work with Him in that endeavor. However, the children of Israel have decided not to drive out evil. They disavow themselves. Well, if they are not going to drive out evil... they will subsequently have to live among evil. And that won't turn out well for them. It never does for any of us, either. But God is always willing to restore what is broken.

2:4 The children of Israel weep because of the truth of these words. We learn here that there was disobedience beginning to fester even at the time of Joshua's passing. The group was fragmented, already some tribes were associating themselves with corrupt nations.

We always want to keep the line of communication with God open and clear. Not only to receive blessing but also to receive leadership and caution. As long as we are in a constant, life-long conversation with Him, we avoid damaging our covenant with Him.  And if our covenant with Him is strong, so are we. Our joyous relationship with God pours joy into our lives. As we read the book of Judges, we will see the Israelites drain their lives of joy as the venture further and further from God.

2:5-10 This particular insert is out of sequence, perhaps as a reminder to readers that these events follow immediately after Joshua's passing, Joshua 24:28-30.

2:11-13 The children of Israel begin participating in evil practices and serving the corrupt, fake god Baal. In a substantial way, this is the beginning of a metaphor that is used through the Bible after this point. Even in the New Testament, and throughout the major prophets, our relationship with God is symbolized as a marriage.  John 3 speaks of Jesus as the bridegroom. This "marriage" is not the kind of marriage we partake in on the earth. It is the covenant symbolized. Those who are faithful to God are symbolized as the virginal bridge. The faithful soul has reserved itself for God, and has never "cheated" on Him or allowed another to claim it.*

2:14 The children of Israel's regression is deeply frustrating for God.  All of the good and faithful effort He has exerted is ruined by their abandonment. They allow evil to flood back in. They begin to participate in it!

2:15 The children of Israel begin to feel the consequences of their choices and they grow to be greatly distressed. The weight of their actions begins to crush them.

2:15 Out of faithfulness and compassion, God continually advocates for their well-being. As soon as one of God's children realizes their mistakes and earnestly wishes to learn from, and grow away from them, God intercedes.

The Book of Judges receives its name because God will send a series of people to come and restore the faith of the children of Israel. This entire book is a cyclical rise and fall of faith and unfaithfulness. Each time the children of Israel repent and are ready to be better, God provides an way, Psalm 100:5.

2:16-17 *Played the harlot is a phrase used throughout the Bible, which refers to this symbolic marriage between God and a soul. In Hosea 2:20 God speaks of betrothal, continuing the metaphor of marriage. To His faithful children, He offers an eternal and faithful relationship. But each time God re-emphasized His faith, the children of Israel would abandon Him again.

2:18 Each time God was moved to pity on their behalf, He sent a judge to lead them out of the corruption and chaos. Psalm 103:13-14 is further reminder that God remembers, conveniently for us, that we are feeble. He lovingly comes to our rescue because we really can be quite pitiful.

2:19 The boundless nature of God's forgiveness is prominent in the book of judges because as we read here, each time God would send a judge, Israel would come back to Him. But as soon as that judge passed away, they would revert back to evil practices.

2:20-23 God allows the children of Israel, and us, to choose who are associates are. Much of the world exists as a choice for us. Our creator does not force reverence.  However, as we live in the world and learn the ways of the world, God's hope is that we will see He is the only choice worth making.

OT: The Book of Judges, Chapter 1

Judges 1:1-36

The book of Judges highlights God's magnanimous nature and human's spiritually-adulterous nature. This book begins where the Book of Joshua left off: Joshua has recently died and the children of Israel are meant to continue pushing forward and thereby pushing out evil. However, instead of making spiritual progress, the children of Israel grow lazy. The children of Israel disobey God, allow evil to reside among them, and begin to adopt the evil practices of those who live in opposition to God.

God can only lead if we will follow. The children of Israel discontinue following God and therefore allow themselves to live stagnant in the festering evil around them. Despite having broken their end of the covenant with God, by Him they are continually forgiven and rescued. God sends rescue through men and women appointed as judges. These judges are meant to realign the repentant children of Israel with the will of God.

Throughout the book, there is a cry: God is our Parent, Provision, Protection and Power. Every time we abandon Him, we found ourselves orphans in desolate places. Every time we abandon Him, we found ourselves slaves to corrupt people and institutions. "Judges" is expressly indicative of the chaos which ensues when God is subtracted from the equation.  As He is the entity which prepares, strengthens and leads us through adversity, life without Him is adversity. He is our thruway; without Him we are landlocked. Generation after generation of Israelites forget and then relearn that lesson. Individually, we can break the cycle.

1:1-3 The children of Israel are without a human intermediary. Previously, they had Moses and then Joshua as the hinge between God and themselves. Now, in the request for a leader, Judah is appointed by God to lead, foreshadowed in Genesis 49:8-12. Judah recruits its ancestral brother Simeon (remember that these are tribes but the original brothers were children of Leah and Jacob in Genesis 29:33, 35).

1:4-11 Because Judah is faithfully following God's will, God's will is faithfully delivering blessings on their behalf. Judah is pushing their enemies out and dethroning their kings forever.

1:12-15 Caleb promises his daughter's hand in marriage to the man who overtakes a place called Kirjath. A man named Othniel is able to overtake Kirjath. Caleb's daughter asks for land further souoth containing a spring of water. Land without water is useless.

The metaphor in this is that the inheritance is good but without our Living Water, God, the land is useless. Without our eternal source of life, our land is desolate. Our land becomes a desert rather than a fruitful home and resting place. To have the inheritance and the blessing of the eternal spring, we must overtake evil. Our effort in life, in every moment, should be in opposition to evil, hate, selfishness, greed, impatience and other spawn of evil.

1:16-20 So the Lord was with Judah. The Lord was with Judah because Judah was with the Lord. Judah did not walk away from God; the tribe of Judah remained in range to hear God's direction and rest in His protection.

2:21 But the tribe of Benjamin is not faithful to God, they do not drive out the evil among them.

1:22-26 The Lord was with the tribe of Joseph because Joseph, like Judah, remain with God.

1:27-28 The trouble begins when the tribes discontinue eliminating the evil among them. First the tribe of Manasseh does not drive out the corrupt nations, people and practices. This is important because God understands humans: we are fickle and manipulable. We, symbolized through the children of Israel, are largely unable to separate ourselves and our conduct from outside influences.

Because God knows that they will be tempted, persuaded and manipulated by practices of others (and those all around were corrupt) He order the complete removal of them. God did not order the removal of anyone in the children of Israel's path, only the evil.  But because the children of Israel stop following His will, they begin adopting and participating in practices which oppose God's philosophy and will.

1:29 Ephraim does not drive out the corrupt nations, people and practices. 

1:30 Zebulun does not drive out the corrupt nations, people, and practices.

1:31-32 Asher does not drive out the corrupt nations, people, and practices.

1:33 Naphtali does not drive out the corrupt nations, people, and practices.

1:34-36 The children of Israel do not remove their enemies and therefore leave themselves vulnerable to their enemies. Because they have abandoned God, they have also abandoned His protect, power and guidance. They are left alone to defend themselves... and are incapable of doing so. They are quickly pushed back, pushed down, and pushed out by the Amorites. The tribes which abandoned God... found themselves abandoned. But God is not the one Who left, they are.

It's easy to tut-tut and disapprove of these tribes behavior but this happens on the individual scale as well. Each of us at times neglects God. We sometimes put out trust in money, luck and coincidence. We make idols of fame, wealth and vanity. We choose hate and violence over love and peace... because sometimes those choices are difficult. But God, through this book, wants us to understand the He is the way through. He will send the figurative judge we need to expertly, fully, finally escape from evil (of our own doing and others').

OT: The Book of Joshua, Chapter 24

Joshua 24:1-33

24:1-2 God initiated a historic journey. Joshua relates a message from God to the elders of Israel: this covenant began even before Abraham. God was with previous generations, establishing and preparing a covenant to bring to future generations.  

24:3  God has been moving this group, and all of humanity, lovingly toward Him. Toward home. To willing participants, God is offering His Hand. He is offering to separate us from enemy and strife. He is offering to be a foundation for peace, a vehicle to abundance.

24:4-6 We have followed this family, our spiritual ancestors, since the start of their story on earth. God has brought increase to every family which will love and follow His philosophy. He has ensured space for these families to grow and thrive and praise. 

God blesses with abundance and also the capability to maintain abundance. Large families need large homes and land areas. Peaceful people need protection and direction against opposition. God provides it all. 

This verse speaks of an incredible journey. A lifetime of miracle and fulfillment. Even if we journey back to the pages on which it all was written, what occurred cannot be contained in a book. This philosophy of God is a lifestyle. His love expands life, love, laughter, hope and wisdom. From enslavement we arrive at a free people. God is the connection. The direction. The way and will from one to the other. 

Abraham was willing to trust and love this beautiful Creator. Isaac was willing to follow and meditate on the philosophy of our brilliant spiritual Father. Family after family continued this covenant with God and now, with Joshua, we see a generation born knowing nothing other than the love and comfort and blessing of God. A desolate people is giving birth to a generation of babies blessed with freedom and abundance, hope and security.

6:7 God speaks here: I brought you out. God pulls us each out of the mud and cleans us off. He removes us from the quagmire and places us on solid ground.  From the quagmire to a desert classroom. From a desert classroom, a graduation into a spiritual utopia. 

24:8 The children of Israel witnessed God's triumphant, effortless, actions on their behalf. Fierce enemies made to cower and flee. Land cleared out for them to enter and establish as home. 

24:9-10 And while they journey, and listened, and learned and followed and dealt with the everyday, day-to-day, circumstances of life... God protected their exterior. God blocked the enemy from penetrating the sphere of protection. Without even realizing they were being plotted against, the children of Israel fretted over lesser things. God protects us even from what we do not see being planned behind our backs, against our home.

He takes ownership ownership of all sides and aspects of our lives when we are willing to be obedient to His organization. 

24:11-12 Huge, fierce nations and their armies united against the children of Israel and God diminished them all. In case you have not realized, this speech proclaims, you all have been living a blessed life. Not a coincidence. Not a lucky life. A blessed life. 

The planet Jupiter is unreachable, almost inconceivable to the human eye and even perception. Yet the giant planet is our protector in the sky, absorbing with its gravity much of the space debris that would knock out our much tinier planet. It's possible that we might have been destroyed many times over if not for the fantastic, blessed circumstance of Jupiter's exact placement in our solar system. 

Just as surely as God precisely placed each atom in our universe, Jupiter in our sky, He also protects us from the debris we do not see hurdling toward us. God is present even in the places we do not realize He is there. He is present when we remember Him. He is present when we forget Him. His is actively working on protecting and propelling our lives in ways we never realized we needed.

24:13 The children of Israel moved into cities build by their enemies. After the arduous work of the spiritual journey through the desert, God ensured rest as the destination. God does not want us to exert ourselves on things He can easily accomplish. He wants us to put all of our effort into hearing Him. Seeing Him. Understanding Him. 

You see, God can do so much on our behalf: He can call into existence the conditions and materials and opportunities and space we need to live, grow and thrive. But He cannot call into existence our love for Him or our understanding of His philosophy. Love and understanding must be born and grown and maintained.

We were made in His image. Our purpose on earth is to properly reflect that image. Our purpose is to spiritually be of and like our Father, not just look like Him. As long as we are working on that, on our souls, He's going to construct everything else.

Because God is like one of those magical mirrors in fairy-tales. When we stand in front of a mirror, we see our external body. When God looks, He sees right into our soul. He can see if we are hard at work in there. Building compassion. Fostering peace and patience. Meditating on His philosophy. And if we are busy in there, He's going to do for us what needs to be done out there. He does not expect us to carry the burden of doing both.

If we, spiritually, become a person who can maintain great blessings then He supplies the great blessings. Great blessings come with great responsibility. Great responsibility comes with the need for a great capacity of patience, wisdom, strength, and faith. We build those things within us. 

He's helping on both sides. He's in the classroom; He's in the learning. He is present and providing in the desert. But He is also present on the other side, on the destination. As we prepare, He prepares. And then the preparation converges. Here on earth Jeremiah 29:11, and in heaven as well, John 14:13.

Jeremiah 29:11 

For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.

John 14:13 

And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also.

24:14 Joshua speaks: “Now therefore, fear the Lord, serve Him in sincerity and in truth, and put away the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the River and in Egypt. Serve the Lord!"

Fear a life away from God. Fear a life outside of God. Fear a life in opposition to God. Because life away from, outside of and in opposition to God is a desolate life. 

Serve Him sincerely and truthfully. Jeremiah 17:10 God knows your heart; He has examined it. If faith is inauthentic it is false. Commitment is reinforced by every detail. every detail. Every action. Every thought and word and interaction.

2 Corinthians 2:9 encourages us to be willing givers. To give out of a need and desire to help and gift others. Acting solely on duty or obligation or desire for reward does not count. Love is the same. Love Him cheerfully. Serve Him cheerfully because through servitude He establishes you as royalty, Matthew 23:12.

Serve Him exclusively. We cannot serve two masters:  Matthew 6:24. We can only be truly, faithfully loyal to one Entity. Ensure that it is Him. Not some coveted thing, not some mortal celebrity not some selfish vanity. Fiercely, decidedly swipe all of the idols off the shelf of your heart and soul. Make room for one King, our King. Those inanimate things will not and cannot do for you what He can and will do.

And again: Serve the Lord. Our obedience allows God to perfectly direct our steps. When God gives an order, it is for our betterment. It is the emphatically direct us toward our blessing. Toward fulfillment. 

24:15 Joshua leaves it with this: each individual can make a choice about Who/what they will faithfully follow. Will you serve an idol? Will you serve money? Will you serve vanity? Will you serve vengeance? Will you serve habit? Lust, desire?

Yes each individual can choose what they want to follow, Joshua says... "But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”

24:16-18 Joshua's audience verbally profess their servitude to God. But will they actually live it? Joshua is sincere: he has lived a full life of loving God emphatically and listening to Him obediently.

The children of Israel have a history of completely abandoning God. Abraham did not. Isaac did not. Jacob did not. Moses did not. Joshua did not. When they proclaim to serve the Lord they mean for life. For eternity. Faithfully, in every moment and heartbeat. And if there truly are wings in heaven, every wing-beat.

24:19-20 But you can't serve Him if you're not serving Him... common sense right? But apply that to life, to every moment and decision and action and word and thought. Is is done, spoken, decided, thought in service of His will? Because if we are not serving Him in those little moments, we aren't serving Him in life.

God cannot lead a disobedient child. He cannot lead a child into blessing if the blessing is to the right and the child takes a left.

24:21  Joshua is skeptical of their authenticity: do they really love and trust God? They proclaim that they do. Will they go wayward after Joshua's death? (Spoiler alert: Yes! Very!)

Taking the lessons and love out of scripture only matter if they are taken back out into life. This chapter only changes a life if it is absorbed by a life. 

24:22 Joshua tells the children of Israel that they have witnessed themselves commit to God. Should they break this covenant, it is their own fault. They are fully aware of the conditions on their life is places. They have accepted the responsibility.

24:23-25 The covenant is solidified as the children of Israel promise to be obedient students, children of God and to nothing else.

24:26-28 Joshua obediently, lovingly, perfectly carries out his last service to God. The children of Israel are sent back to their respective lands. Joshua places stone evidence of the covenant created with the words in the God's book of moral law.

24:29 Joshua fulfilled his purpose and, in his own words, goes the way of all the earth. He passes on into Spirit. He is buried within the border of his land inheritance, in the mountains of Ephraim.

24:31 The covenant God created through Joshua thrived during his life and after his life during the lives of the elders who lived during his command. 

24:32 The children of Israel brought Joseph's bones out of Egypt (for he is a child of God, not an Egyptian) and bury him at Shechem, the land his father bought from Hamor, Genesis 33:19.

24:33 Eleazar, grandson of Aaron, also passes away. He was a leader and organizer of the faith on earth. He is buried in the land of his son, Phinehas.

OT: The Book of Joshua, Chapter 23

Joshua 23:1-16

23:1 Joshua is about to begin his farewell (for now) address. The verse notes that Joshua, among the children of Israel, was able to live a long life in the promised-land. The chapter began with Joshua in preparation to command an army into many cities. 

It's worth noting that God ensures that His spiritual soldiers and children are able to live a fulfilling life. Before Moses moved on from the earth, he had a wife and children, he overcame insecurity, and he saw the fruits of his labors. Among so much more. Likewise, Joshua worked arduously for God and was then able to live a long, peaceful and protected life. 

23:2 Joshua arranges for the leaders of the children of Israel to meet with him before he departs.

23:3-5 God has done so much for the children of Israel through their faith; He has moved nations and seas to carve a home for them. Joshua prophesies to the elders by explaining to them that God will continue to expand their borders and push their enemies further away. He reminds them that God is committed to the covenant.

23:6 Because God has remained committed, Joshua implores the elders to keep the tribes committed as well. Joshua's advice is for them, and us, to be courageous in faith. It is interesting, but not surprising, that Joshua would choose the word courageous. Following God and aligning one's life with His philosophy is a journey of courage: Courage to believe; Courage to trust; Courage to listen; Courage to act. 

Trusting God sometimes requires us to believe that the removal or addition of something in our lives has been ordered by Him. It means letting go of things we think we need in order to make room for things God has decided are better for us. It means active, passion and purpose toward establishing His principles in ourselves, our homes, our communities, nations and world.

God is the only living entity worth boldly trusting. Joshua reminds us all to make that bold decision every day.

23:7 Joshua explains that the reason our courageous faith is necessary is because there is so much that can draw us away from God if our faith is weak. In the times of the children of Israel, people had carved images and worshiped inanimate idols. Those practices, however, are not defunct. Modern society across the globe has made idols out of objects of material wealth, celebrities, personal achievement and so much more. In many ways, humanity places its values outside of the sphere of God.

If our faith is courageous, we are able to reject the things our eyes and bodies covet. If our faith is courageous, we are able to discern the difference between love and lust, fact and fiction, frail and formidable. Courageous faith can understand that less is often more. Courageous faith causes us to align with the meek and weak and ignored. Courageous faith causes us to put others before ourselves, even though it is contradictory to how the majority lives.

23:8 Grip onto God like a lifeline because He is a lifeline.

The children of Israel are able to grip onto Him and look around at the blessings in their lives. And maybe some of us are in that stage right now. But remember the beginning of their journey... when they had less than nothing, they chose to have Him. The gripped on and He transformed their lives. 

Before they took faithful hold of Him, His philosophy, their lives were desolate. Yet when they gripped onto the lifeline, they were tugged gently, directly toward abundance. They arrived at abundance.

Moses, and now Joshua, plead with the children of Israel to acknowledge the transformation of their lives... and for good reason.  The group has been fickle and unfaithful before, distracted and led away and they will be again. And again. And again. And suddenly in our generation, we realize the same cycle is perpetuating. 

23:9 Trust in God is a shield. The more trust we give Him, the thicker and broader the shield. The Israelites have lived faithfully for many year now and that had enabled their shield of protection to thrive. Even though their enemies outnumber them, a child standing with God is never outnumbered. 

Joshua's advice is for the group to not take this protection for granted. It is not luck or coincidence that their lives have been so peaceful for so long.  Their peace has been orchestrated and maintained by God. 

23:10 "One man of you shall chase a thousand, for the Lord your God is He who fights for you, as He promised you." Joshua speaks powerfully from experience. Perhaps, like us, Joshua's audience does not understand the ferocity of God's love over our lives.

One man of you shall chase a thousand. One faithful soul will cause an army of people to flee from them. An army of opposition. A massive oppression. One faithful soul will be enabled by God to cause a formidable force to back down and run away afraid.

God's love for you is so deep that any enemy who does not see it, will see it by the time He is done with them.

23:11 Therefore love Him back; love unlocks love. Joshua's advice is to be careful not to lose this relationship which strengthens and empowers and protects. 

23:12-13 God's ultimate motive is to force evil out, mute it, smother it, eliminate it. Knowing that, we should want to remain on God's side of protection. 

23:14-16 He's never going to protect evil. Therefore, Joshua warns, be careful not to join in evil practices, in perpetuating injustice. If they do, they will find themselves experiencing what their enemies are facing: total debilitation and destruction.

OT: The Book of Joshua, Chapter 22

Joshua 22:1-34

22:1-3 Joshua speaks to the Reubenites, Gadites and half of the tribe of Manasseh: they have each followed the command of God to help their kin. Their land inheritance has already been claimed but they continue to help the other tribes claim their own land.

22:4-6 Joshua allows the three tribes to finally return to their newly acquired home. Their moral duty is over; it was fulfilled faithfully. Joshua reminds the tribes to continue to align their lifestyles with God's philosophy.

As children, co-workers and laborers of God, we are at times called out for moral duties. We are called to step out of comfort zones. It would have been easy and likely tempting for the Reubenites, Gadites and tribe of Manasseh to return to their home. After all, who wants to continue fighting a battle when "home" is already secured?

The answer to that question must be understood because it is fundamental to our lives, mortal and immortal. God has already promised us a Home. Jesus is preparing it in this very moment, John 14:2-3. He has been at work on our resting place for thousands of years even though in an instant He can perform miracles. Needless to say, the Home He is building is divine. Well, knowing that, why should we be so hard at work here?

Moral duty. We were entrusted by God with the care of humanity. Atheists, agnostics and even believers struggle with the complex concepts of a Divine Creator: How did He/It make a universe? How did He make the stars? But the most complex concept is the one which asks: How could He trust US with... well, anything at all really?

He trusts us because He is generous and patient. He trusts us because He sees potential in our ability to be compassionate. He trusts us because it is here on earth that we declare ourselves of His DNA. It here, through how we live, that we declare ourselves His child.

Our spiritual home is secured. But earth is not secure. God knows that His true child, would never be able to live apathetically or lethargically in an insecure world. An imbalanced world. God knows that His children would see the need and mold themselves to fill it.

Children of God are unable to rest at Home when outside the doors their kin are suffering. The 3 tribes in the opening of this chapter exemplify that. Until "home" is secure for all people, every home is insecure. Out of balance.

Joshua commends the tribes for living graciously. It is important that the people of these tribes part with this reminder on their ears and hearts because it is what will continually secure their home. If we commit to leaving our place of rest, our home, to dutifully, tirelessly build and secure homes for the figuratively homeless... God always ensures that we will have a home to return to.

22:7-9 The soldiers in the tribes of Reuben, Gad and Manasseh return home with abundance. Do not lose the irony here, remember Achan. Joshua 7: Achan could not live and wait on the promise of abundance from God. Instead, he prematurely decided his own inheritance. He ended up with nothing, not even his life.

Yet those who were willing to sacrifice for the cause of others, leave with everything and more of what Achan stole and hoarded. Matthew 7:11  Jesus explains that God gives gifts that are exponentially better than the gifts humans are able to give.

The tribes each return to and settle in fertile, protected, abundant land. There is room enough for the family, friends and spiritual neighbors. Not only do they lack nothing but they also have extra. All. For. Themselves. 

We are vessels of God. When we pour ourselves out on the behalf of others, God pours back in.  Psalm 23:5-6 God overfills our cup. After all, God is our papa and He loves us. He loves to serve us with cookies and milk. Warm, homemade, freshly baked cookies... and a vat of  cool milk. The cookie digression is meant to explain that God loves to bless us not only with comfort but with enjoyment. In heaps He provides. He overwhelms us with His generosity. Second helpings. Third. More than we think we can handle. Our God will expand our lives to fit the grand blessings He has planned before He will ever stunt a gift.

Since I was a little girl, when my grandpa pours a drink into a cup for me, he will say: "Tell me when..." As in, "Tell me when I've poured the amount you think you can handle." And I always giggle as I say "Enough!" because he will keep pouring with an amused smile on his face no matter how many times I cry "Enough!"

That is how God blesses a child of His. He just keeps pouring until the cup is overwhelmed, the life is overwhelmed by the magnitude of His blessings. He just keeps pouring until the whole space is filled and we are swimming in His love. He just keeps pouring until we wonder how we will ever deserve or handle all that He has blessed us with. He keeps pouring and He hopes that we will finally understand that we do not have to earn His love or handle anything. He is the Handler. He handles what He pours.

All we have to do is proclaim ourselves a child of His. To do that, we exemplify the life our Spiritual Father outlined for us. With a bellyful of joy and laughter, we say: "Enough!" And then we start to worry a little bit... "I cannot possibly manage all of this". God replies: "You can manage because I have placed the weight of it on My wings. The burden will never weigh on your life. And God keeps pouring...

The lesson of Achan comes full-circle in this chapter: as children of God, we do not need to gather the spoils of the figurative, mental, emotional, physical battles here on earth. We do not have to live selfishly and hoard things in secret in order to survive. We have a provider whose provisions are complete, abundant, consistent and pure. Gracefully given and gracefully received. 

God never thinks "That's enough" where blessings for His children are concerned. There's no happy enough.  All our faithful lives He endeavors to prove that to us. Each tribe and member of the children of Israel move into this new phase of blessed abundance in their lives. They reached it through the desert. Through the desert they learned obedience, humility and trust. They allowed the Handler to handle every situation which arose in the desert. The students in the desert, in the classroom, may change but the teacher and the lesson never does.

22:10 Being loved in such a way by God makes it tremendously easy and fulfilling to praise Him. Being loved by God is an introduction to love and simultaneously, an advanced course. Love from its purest source cannot be matched by earthly iterations of it. When we realize the depth of His love, we build altars. 

We built altars, figurative platforms from which to exalt Him.  David so beautiful articulates and exemplifies this praise in:

Psalm 145

1 I will extol You, my God, O King;
And I will bless Your name forever and ever.
2 Every day I will bless You,
And I will praise Your name forever and ever.
3 Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised;
And His greatness is unsearchable.

4 One generation shall praise Your works to another,
And shall declare Your mighty acts.
5 I will meditate on the glorious splendor of Your majesty,
And on Your wondrous works.
6 Men shall speak of the might of Your awesome acts,
And I will declare Your greatness.
7 They shall utter the memory of Your great goodness,
And shall sing of Your righteousness.

8 The Lord is gracious and full of compassion,
Slow to anger and great in mercy.
9 The Lord is good to all,
And His tender mercies are over all His works.

10 All Your works shall praise You, O Lord,
And Your saints shall bless You.
11 They shall speak of the glory of Your kingdom,
And talk of Your power,
12 To make known to the sons of men His mighty acts,
And the glorious majesty of His kingdom.
13 Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom,
And Your dominion endures throughout all generations.

14 The Lord upholds all who fall,
And raises up all who are bowed down.
15 The eyes of all look expectantly to You,
And You give them their food in due season.
16 You open Your hand
And satisfy the desire of every living thing.

17 The Lord is righteous in all His ways,
Gracious in all His works.
18 The Lord is near to all who call upon Him,
To all who call upon Him in truth.
19 He will fulfill the desire of those who fear Him;
He also will hear their cry and save them.
20 The Lord preserves all who love Him,
But all the wicked He will destroy.
21 My mouth shall speak the praise of the Lord,
And all flesh shall bless His holy name
Forever and ever.

Praise is not an expectation of God. It's not a commandment. We do not do it out of duty but out of love. We do it out of the need to express an all-consuming  feeling of having His love, His attention, His protection, His provision, His promise. 

David's words in Psalm 145 are powerful because his love and gratitude toward God is familiar.  We are in that place of awe and reverence because we have felt God's magnificent love.

The problem comes when reverence for God turns into reverence for opulence.  The other tribes suspect that the Gadites, Reubenites and half of the tribe of Manasseh built an altar outside of the Lord's tabernacle because their faith is outside of God. 

22:11-16 The rest of the tribes are absolutely furious. The entire group suffered from Achan's covetousness. The tribes fear that these actions might cause another fracture.

22:17-18  The tribes have not yet full recovered previous transgressions.  Just when they feel they are finally making progress in their faith, one of their own sets them back. We are community here on earth because we are community there in Heaven. To God, community is more beautiful than dutiful. To many humans, community is more dutiful than beautiful. The 3 tribes do not respect the others enough to maintain pure faith. They create an imbalance.

22:19-20 Basically, the other tribes say: Look, if there's a temptation or an issue that's tainting your faith, leave that place. Walk back into the safe and instructive place of the Lord. If there's a problem with the land you have inherited, you're better off the cross the Jordan again and begin the journey anew.

We must not let our faith be destroyed. We must be vigilant against covetousness and greed, vengeance and vanity. The imploration here extends to us, individually: if something is tainting your faith, eliminate it. Return to 101. Square one. There's no shame in a second attempt as long as it is genuine. Mark 9:47 and Matthew 5:29 teach us the same lesson. The symbolic lesson is that we should go to extremes to protect what is pure and faithful inside of us.

22:21-29 The rebuttal: The Gadites, Reubenites and half tribe of Manasseh explain themselves. Contrary to what they are being accused of, they explain that they just wanted God represented on their half of the inheritance. They wanted a place not to break the rules, but to proclaim themselves as children and followers of God.

22:30-33 Once the tribes have properly communicated through Eleazar, they are mollified. They are relieved.

22:34 "The children of Reuben and the children of Gad called the altar, Witness, “For it is a witness between us that the Lord is God.”

OT: The Book of Joshua, Chapter 21

Joshua 21:1-45

21:1-42 The Levites receive land to live in from each tribe. They are respected guests on each tribe's land because they organize and maintain the faith. The Levites' true inheritance, as prophesied in Deuteronomy, is to dwell with God after their faithful service on earth.

21:43-45 The Promise Fulfilled:

43 So the Lord gave to Israel all the land of which He had sworn to give to their fathers, and they took possession of it and dwelt in it. 44 The Lord gave them rest all around, according to all that He had sworn to their fathers. And not a man of all their enemies stood against them; the Lord delivered all their enemies into their hand. 45 Not a word failed of any good thing which the Lord had spoken to the house of Israel. All came to pass.

OT: The Book of Joshua, Chapter 20

Joshua 20:1-9

20:1-9 The neutral cities are built (Deuteronomy 19). This land serves as place for people who do not or cannot (for various reasons) continue to live within their tribe.

OT: The Book of Joshua, Chapter 19

Joshua 19:1-51

19:1-51 Land inheritance for tribes as well as Joshua.

OT: The Book of Joshua, Chapter 18

Joshua 18:1-28

18:1-28 Land inheritance divided further.

OT: The Book of Joshua, Chapter 17

Joshua 1:1-18

1:1-18 (West) Manasseh and Ephraim land inheritance continued.

OT: The Book of Joshua, Chapter 16

Joshua 16:1-10

16:1-10 Ephraim and (west) Manasseh receive their land inheritance.

OT: The Book of Joshua, Chapter 15

Joshua 15:1-63

15:1-12 The tribe of Judah's land allotment. 

15:13-15 Caleb occupies Hebron and Debir.

15:16-19 Caleb declares that the man who conquers Kirjath Sepher will be allowed to marry his daughter. This was a time and context when marriage was sometimes about alliance and strength rather than love. We do not live that way anymore (usually) but because we know that Caleb loves God and God's compassionate ways, he likely ensures that his daughter marries an honorable man. Remember that these lands are blessed by God as long as the children of Israel are living righteously in them.

We see here that Caleb is generous with his daughter, Achsah, and blesses her with what she asks for. Caleb has learned how to be a kind father from our Kind Father.

15:20-63 The many cities of Judah are listed.

OT: The Book of Joshua, Chapter 14

Joshua 14:1-15

14:1-5 The land divided west of the Jordan river. God promised to give an inheritance of land to each of the 12 tribes of Israel (named after the 12 sons of Jacob). The Levites' "land" inheritance would always be God Himself. Their ardent and steadfast faith then, now and always places them directly in God's sphere. The rest of the children of Israel divide the land according to God's instructions: by size, to be fair. These 12 tribes continued to expand throughout what is now our world today.

14:6-10 Caleb has been a man of great faith since his first appearance in scripture (which he references now: Numbers 14). God promised that Caleb's pure and brilliant faith would award him a great inheritance one day. Caleb, even though aging, proclaims that God has kept him strong throughout the years. Caleb's faith has remained strong and God's promise is therefore to be fulfilled.

14:13-15 Joshua follows through on giving Caleb what was promised to him by God, his own place on earth to call home: Hebron. These were places cleared of evil by God and opened wide for righteous families to built and grow within.

God's promises remain as young and vibrant as the faith of His children, even as they age. Our journey here is made a journey of blessing by our compassionate Father. He never forgets us or a promise. He always fulfills and fills our purpose and prayer.

OT: The Book of Joshua, Chapter 13

Chapter 13:1-33

13:1-7 At this point, Joshua is becoming very old. Having previously just read about Joshua's glorious days of triumphant faith, it is easy to understand just how grand God's promises truly are. God made a promise to Abraham which is extending beyond generation after generation: a single person, or even a handful of people, cannot accomplish it fully. 

Even though on earth we are finite and mortal, God keeps the covenant as alive as He keeps our souls and His love for us. Instead of letting this covenant become defunct, rendered antiquated by generations' passing, He propels it.

In these verses, God lists the territory He still has plans to conquer for His righteous children. Joshua's days on earth are nearing an end but this covenant is still in its infancy.

13:8-14 The land divided east of the Jordan river.

13:15-23 The land of Reuben's inheritance.

13:24-28 The land of Gad's inheritance. 

13:29-33 The land of half the tribe of Manasseh (east).

OT: The Book of Joshua, Chapter 12

Joshua 12:1-23

12:1-6 Listed are the kings conquered by Moses.

Moses is described as a servant of God. Through Moses, we have evidence that God's servants are treated by Him like royalty. This particular irony comprises much of the New Testament. Jesus comes as a son and servant of God but truly He is the King. Jesus' service to God is fervent, arduous love and compassion.

Our faith is make alive by our works, James 2:14-26. Although blessed by God with the gift of authority over the entire Earth and all of humanity, Jesus lives humbly. He spends His every moment in service to teaching, healing, leading, and strengthening souls.

We learn through the people of the Bible that when we become obedient to God, all which is against us becomes obedient to us. Jesus explains that the only reason they were even able to crucify Him is because God allowed it for a purpose, John 19:11. When we become co-laborers with God, 1 Corinthians 3:9, He plans the entire course of our lives. He strengthens us to fulfill our purpose. Jesus agreed to the purpose of His life and by entering into a covenant with God, so do we.

God works all things together for good on our behalf, Genesis 50:20.  Knowing that, spirits like Moses' were/are willing to enter into any journey with God. Like us, Moses was feeble. He severely doubted himself. But Moses began to change the world the moment that He realized he might doubt himself, but he did not doubt God. There is no more honorable or rewarding life purpose than to purpose oneself under the command of God.

12:7-23 Listed are the kings conquered by Joshua.

Joshua is a student and child of God and he trained under Moses. Joshua's faith is like Moses' in that he wholeheartedly trusts God. Chapters such as these, are evidence of the rewards of their faith in God. Lists of enemies conquered. 

Our own enemies have different names now. Nations perhaps but also fears. Insecurities. Doubts. Whatever they are, allow God to ink lists for you of enemies conquered by Him on your behalf. God gives you the opportunity and honor of renouncing your enemies but He does all of the heavy lifting. Let Him send a hailstorm on that which/ who opposes you, Joshua 10:11.

OT: The Book of Joshua, Chapter 11

Joshua 11:1-23

The Book of Joshua outlines a series of violent battles which make difficult some student's abilities to reconcile "Old-Testament God" with "New-Testament" God. Here is an excerpt from the Thomas Nelson NKJV Study Bible about God's Judgment:

Of Israel's attacks on the northern part of Canaanite cities, the Bible states, "But they struck every man with the edge of the sword until they had destroyed them, and they left none breathing. As the Lord had commanded Moses His servant, so Moses commanded Joshua, and so Joshua did" (11:14,15). God clearly commanded Israel to annihilate the Canaanites, and that is exactly what Joshua did.

 Headlines such as this have caused many people to question God's basic justice. How can a holy, just, and loving God command such extreme violence? Indeed, many have thought of this issue as the OT's biggest challenge to modern readers. Some have gone so far as to allege that there is no connection between the "God of the Old Testament" and the "God of the New Testament revealed in Jesus."

However, this stereotype breaks down under examination. The Bible gibes reasons for the Canaanites' destruction- and these reasons are in convert with the whole tenor of the Bible in both testaments. 

The primary reason for the Canaanites' destruction was that they were guilty of gross sin. Abraham got a preview of this when God promised him the land. God said fulfillment of the promise would be delayed in part because "the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete" (Gen. 15:16; the Amorites were the Cannanites). For man years, the Canaanites' sins would not justify annihilation. But that time would arrive and it did arrive by the time of Joshua. 

What were the sins of the Canaanites? ... It was a thoroughly debased society, hostile to all of God's ways (Deut. 9:4,5).

This stereotype also breaks down because it overlooks the highly localized nature of the judgment on Canaan. The Israelites did not have a license to kill. They had no right to do the same to whatever peoples they encountered, at any time or in any place. This destruction targeted the sinful Canaanites of that time only. As harsh as it may seem to us, the Canaanites brought God's judgement on themselves by their own sin.

The New Testament states that one day Jesus Christ will judge the wicked nations of the earth (Matt. 25:31-46).  

11:1-6 A massive army assembles against the children of Israel.

11:7-15 God promises Joshua that the army will be powerful against them. We would do well to keep God as close to us as Joshua does. Not only is He our divine consultant, He is also our Protector, and Provider of strength, courage and life.

As promised, Joshua and the children of Israel prevail against their enemies. We read of these battles in mere minutes but imagine the faith required to actually live them! To actually trust in God to deliver us from impossible situations. The events of the Old Testament encourage us to build deep faith. Deep faith will carry us, victorious, through our own impossible situations against fierce enemies. No entity is more fierce than our God. 

11:16-23 These verses are a summary of Joshua's conquests. 

OT: The Book of Joshua, Chapter 10

Joshua 10:1-42

10:1-5 Adoni-zedek, king of Jersusalem, begins to fear Israel's strength. It has become clear to outside nations that the Israelites' God is more powerful than anything they have witnessed before. Gibeon was a strong city, yet it feared Israel. That worried other, lesser, nations. Ai and Jericho were well fortified cities, they they fell to Israel. 

Adoni-zedek asks other nations (the five kings of the Amorites) to join with him in attacking Gibeon for joining with their enemy. They agree to make war against Gibeon.

10:6 The leaders of Gibeon tell Joshua about the impending attack. Their enemies are fierce, more powerful, and even the Gibeonites realize they will need help from the Almighty in order to survive. 

10:7-8 Joshua assembles the Israelite army. This time we can understand that He consulted God because God promises to support and defend the Israelites in this war. The Israelites made a covenant with the Gibeonites and are therefore legally obligated to defend them. Yet because the Gibeonites were willing to live according to God's word, God accepted the covenant between the children of Israel and the Gibeonites.

10:9 As is Joshua's faithful nature, he wastes no time. He and the army march overnight to surprise-confront the kings of the Amorites. 

10:10 "The Lord routed them before Israel..." God literally created the conditions under which Israel would take the victory. God will champion you in the same way. Your enemies will be delivered into your hand. We receive God's support when we make a covenant with Him to live righteously. For when we are righteous, our enemy is God's enemy: evil.

10:11 God always compensates for Israel's deficiencies. They faced a powerful nation. They were outnumbered. Out-trained. Under-prepared.  Therefore God offers assistance through nation. A powerful storm engulfs the battle scene and wipes out most of the enemy army.

Remember that these occurrences happened as starkly displayed evidence to us that God will always intervene on our behalf in powerful and unexpected ways (1 Corinthians 10:11).

10:12  Joshua is exhilarated by God's intervention. The adrenaline rush of faith is an incomparable energy.  Through scripture, we watch how deeper in love Joshua falls with God. His story reminds us to do the same. Everyday love Him deeper. Appreciate Him harder.

Bursting with faith and affirmation of God's love Joshua speaks:

Sun, stand still over Gibeon;
And Moon, in the Valley of Aijalon.

The rush of love for God makes us realize that we are powerful and infinite through Him. This moment of firm, passionate faith causes Joshua to make commands to nature... and nature is made obedient by God.

Perhaps this is a moment of realization for Joshua... or maybe it is a reiterated celebration of what he already has realized: through God, all things are possible, Matthew 19:26.

10:13 Continued: 

So the sun stood still,
And the moon stopped,
Till the people had revenge
Upon their enemies.

The sky, the universe echos the truth that God's children come to wholeheartedly know: all is orchestrated by Him. The skies, the winds, the waters all answer to Him. A righteous, obedient child of God inspires Him to command the skies, the winds, and the waters on their behalf. It is Father's pleasure to give us the Kingdom, Luke 12:32. Father is so in love with His children; He delights to see our smile. If we ask for a star, He will happily place a thousand of them into our hands.

Through Joshua we learn that fervent faith and love for God renders us to be more powerful than we every imagined. Much more powerful than kings of the earth. God makes us powerful in wisdom and nature. He enables us to be powerful enough to receive any dream our soul prays for.

Let's examine the next verse directly:

10:14 "And there has been no day like that, before it or after it, that the Lord heeded the voice of a man; for the Lord fought for Israel." 

Joshua's personal prayer to God exemplified to the world that God was willing to intervene on the behalf of even just one faithful child. Once we have learned that lesson, we realize that instead of asking God to stop the sun or moon, we can ask for things which truly change the earth for the better.

Joshua's request for power over the sun and the moon serves as evidence that we can ask for things requiring equivalent power from God as reconstructing nature. The absolute divine-force which would be required to halt the motion of the entire universe is offered to us here. We do not need the sun to be stopped, nor the moon, but we do have needs as grand as that. God is able and willing to fill them.

Through a personal relationship with God, we reign in that fierce power and it completely organizes and transforms our lives. Delighting in blessing and surprising us all of our days.

10:15 Joshua returns to home base... although, really, he never left home base. For Joshua's home base, through faith, has been made the House of God. As long as we travel with Him, through land and thought, we are Home.

Physically, Joshua returns to camp unscathed. Bursting with gratitude, awe and reverence for God. Joshua's life is an example to us that God journeys with us against impossible odds and then delivers us not only the victory but also to our Home.

10:16-17 The five kings armies were destroyed so they flee and hide. Notice that Joshua commands his army. He runs into battle alongside the soldiers. Joshua is able to do that out of humility and honor. His love for God enables him to live and work just as those under his authority live and work.

Contrarily, the five kings sent others in the place to do the dirty work. Instead of honorable defending their case (because it is an in-honorable one) the run and hide in a cave.

10:18-21 Joshua commands that stones be rolled over the cave, trapping the kings. While the kings are trapped, the army destroys the remaining enemies. Once under control, the army returns to Joshua at camp... in peace. The men are at peace because their cause is honorable and their God is constant.

10:22-27 Joshua and his men return to the cave where the five kings have been imprisoned. Joshua uses the moment as a lesson for the children of Israel-soldiers. It is a marvel to them that their once-perceived "powerful" enemies are delivered right into their hands as God promised. The supposedly fierce kings of supposedly powerful nations are cowering in a cave! 

10:28 Joshua and the army (of and led by God) take control of Makkedah.

10:29-30 Joshua and the army (of and led by God) take control of Libnah.

10:31-33 Joshua and the army (of and led by God) take control of Lachish and Gezer.

10:34-35 Joshua and the army (of and led by God) take control of Eglon.

10:36-37 Joshua and the army (of and led by God) take control of Hebron.

10:38-39 Joshua and the army (of and led by God) take control of Debir.

10:40-43 God completely organizes the promise He made to Abraham. He promised to make Abraham's posterity great. We see through the Israelites that faith conquers evil, powerfully and comprehensively one battle at at time until God wins the final war, in the final generation.