I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading. I had been using One Year Bible Online, but it was time for a change.

Today, I am reading and commenting on Joshua 23-24.

    This passage is Joshua’s farewell speech to the people of Israel. He tells the Israelites that they are not to associate with the people living in the land, to not intermarry with them, adopt their customs, or worship their gods. They are not to even mention the names of their gods. Instead they were to cling tightly to God Himself. The point here is that our focus should not be on what those around us do wrong, or that is not right. Our focus should be on doing what God tells us is right.

    This passage also contains a great quote from Joshua, one which I love: “As for me and my family, we will serve the Lord.” However, that quote comes after Joshua gives them a command. He told them to choose whom they would serve. Joshua laid before them their choices, the gods whom their ancestors worshiped in Sumeria, the gods of Egypt, the gods of the people in whose land they now lived, or God. The people resoundingly chose to worship and serve God. Yet, when they had done so, Joshua found it necessary to tell them to destroy their idols. If we have chosen to worship and serve God, what idols do we have that we need to destroy?

I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading. I had been using One Year Bible Online, but it was time for a change.

Today, I am reading and commenting on Joshua 21-22.

    When the tribes which had land east of the Jordan River returned to their land, they built an altar before crossing over the Jordan. The rest of the tribes prepared to go to war against them for doing so. They believed that the tribes east of the Jordan were setting up a second place of worship to compete with the one at Shiloh, where the Tabernacle was residing at the time. Fortunately, before they went to war, they sent a delegation to the tribes east of the Jordan.
    Despite the harsh rhetoric of the delegation, the tribes east of the Jordan acknowledged that the other tribes would be right to be angry and hostile if they had done as they supposed. However, they informed the delegation that they had not set up the altar in order to make offerings upon it. They had merely set it up as a memorial and a reminder that they had an equal claim to worshiping God as those living west of the Jordan. I had been going elsewhere with this, but I just realized that this passage is an important reminder that we belong to God, not the other way around. We do not have exclusive right to worship God. Let us welcome all who want to join us in worshiping God.

I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading. I had been using One Year Bible Online, but it was time for a change.

Today, I am reading and commenting on Joshua 18-20.

    It becomes clear in this passage that the tribal allotments were in part based on the land which the tribes carved out for themselves, although there was clearly more to it than that. The remaining seven tribes had failed to claim land for themselves and Joshua challenges them to do so. The land designated for each of the first five tribes was more than they were able to conquer, but this passage makes it clear that the tribes took initiative in obtaining their land allotment. It works the same way for us, we must put faith in God and trust in Him to provide for us, but we must take action ourselves as well.

I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading. I had been using One Year Bible Online, but it was time for a change.

Today, I am reading and commenting on Joshua 15-17.

    The passage describes the territory which Joshua gave to each of the tribes, laying out the boundaries for each tribe. All of these descriptions have one common element. We are told that the tribe could not, or, at least, did not, drive out all of the people living in the land. A rather telling part of the passage is what the people of the tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh said to Joshua when they asked him to allot them more land because there were so many of them. Joshua told them that if they needed more land they should clear out some of the people living in the lowlands in the area allotted to them. Their response was that those people were too strong for them. They failed to trust God’s promise to clear the land for them.

I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading. I had been using One Year Bible Online, but it was time for a change.

Today, I am reading and commenting on Joshua 10-11.

    This passage is a bloodthirsty account of the Israelites conquest of the land. The passage tells us that, under Joshua, the people of Israel defeated and killed all of the people in the land, as God had commanded them. Except for the Gibeonites. As I read this, it initially struck me as somewhat cruel and sad. However, there is a sentence in the middle of the passage which puts it in a different light: “For the Lord hardened their hearts and caused them to fight the Israelites.” Aside from the Gibeonites, all of the people in the land chose to make war against the Israelites. None of them chose to attempt to make peace with them. It is still sad, but living peaceably requires that the other person be willing to live in peace with you as well.

I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading. I had been using One Year Bible Online, but it was time for a change.

Today, I am reading and commenting on Joshua 8-9.

    There are two stories here that reflect the successes and failures of the Israelites. When the Israelites first attacked Ai they were overconfident and cocky. They sent only a portion of their army against Ai and were soundly defeated. This was described in yesterday’s passage, which also told us that the overconfidence was a result of Achan’s sin. When they went up against Ai with God’s blessing, the full force of their army, and sound tactics, they were victorious. A short time later, another group of people in the land, the Gibeonites, deceived them into a treaty. This was in violation of God’s command to not make a treaty with any of the people in the land. The Gibeonites were clever and supplied their delegation to make it seem that they had traveled a long distance to meet with the Israelites. The Israelites failed to consult God, or to put conditions into the treaty to guard against such deception. The Israelites were deceived because they relied on their own ability to detect the deception. No matter how cunning we are at sniffing out deception, it is only by trusting in God, and seeking His advice that we can avoid being deceived.

I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading. I had been using One Year Bible Online, but it was time for a change.

Today, I am reading and commenting on Joshua 5-7.

    I am struck by the fact that Joshua had to have all of the Israelite males circumcised after they crossed the Jordan River. I do not know what it means, but I find it worth noting that none of the males born between when they left Egypt and when they crossed the Jordan had been circumcised. The account of the attack on Jericho is striking. For six days, the Israelites marched around the city once a day. While marching around the city, they spoke not a word. There was just seven priests blowing rams horns while they marched. On the seventh day, they marched around the city seven times, with only the horns making a sound. This must have been very unsettling for the people living in Jericho. This passage reminds me that there are times when we should keep silent when facing those who oppose us.

I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading. I had been using One Year Bible Online, but it was time for a change.

Today, I am reading and commenting on Joshua 1-4.

    Upon Moses’ death God spoke with Joshua. He gave him a message which can serve as encouragement to us. In that message God told Joshua to be strong and courageous several times. Further, God gave Joshua, and us, a reason to be strong and courageous; He, the Lord our God, will be with us wherever we go. He will not fail us, nor will He abandon us. In turn we must obey God’s instructions. He has given us a Book of Instructions, let us meditate on it day and night. If we meditate on the Book which God has given us, and strive to follow the instructions contained within to the best of our ability, God will be with us in all that we do.

    I am struck by the ingeniousness of the memorial which the Israelites set up to mark their crossing of the Jordan. They took twelve stones from the middle of the Jordan River and constructed a memorial out of them. Now, that might not strike us as much. However, stones which have been in the middle of a river for any length of time have distinctive characteristics which can be recognized for years after. Geologists use such characteristics to identify areas where bodies of water once existed but have been long gone. By taking stones out of the middle of the Jordan River and using them to build a memorial to their crossing, the children of Israel left clear evidence to their descendants that the story about the crossing was true.