Tag Archives: Joshua 15:1-63

April 17, 2015 Bible Study — Who Then Can Be Saved?

For today, One Year Bible Online links here.

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Proverbs 13:9-10

    I find it interesting how the proverb writer does such a good job of showing how certain things work together. He tells us that pride leads to conflict and that the wise take advice. Looked at on the surface this does not tell us much. However, if we look at it a little closer we will see there is an important message there.
    Why does pride lead to conflict? The answer is: those who are too proud to listen to those who have a different opinion will end up fighting with those who would give them advice. On the other hand, the wise avoid conflict by taking advice. By taking advice, they demonstrate to those around them that they value their thoughts and opinions. In addition, that advice will help them avoid getting into conflict with still others.

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Psalm 86:1-17

    The psalmist starts by calling out to God for help. He explains that the only reason he can expect God to save him is because he serves God. Then having asked God for generic help the psalmist spells out specifically what he wants God to do for him. The psalmist asks God to teach him His ways. He asks God to grant him purity of heart. It is for these that I need to persistently petition God!

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Luke 18:18-43

    In this account, the rich man approaches Jesus and seeks how he can earn eternal life. The first hint we have about what is going on here is when he calls Jesus “Good Teacher” and Jesus’ response to that. I have heard some people say that when Jesus pointed out that only God was good, He was using the man’s statement to draw attention to the fact that He Himself was God. That never seemed correct to me, but until today I did not have an understanding of what point Jesus was making. It also helps us understand how what Jesus says here applies to us.
    In response to the actual question, Jesus starts by telling the man that he must follow all of the commands. When the man replies that he has done so since he was a child, Jesus then tells him to sell all the he owns and come and follow Him. This is too much for the man and he leaves. At this point, it might seem that this is an instruction for us to follow (and there is nothing wrong with doing that if you feel God so calling you), but this is where the story circles back to no one but God being good. Jesus tells us that it is harder for a camel to enter the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter heaven. His disciples react to this by asking, then who can be saved? Jesus answers that question by telling them that no one can be good enough to be saved. It is only through the grace of God that anyone can be saved. It is impossible for us to be good enough to be saved. God’s power is the only thing which makes it possible for any person to be saved.

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Joshua 15:1-63

    I read this passage with its description of the land which was given to the tribe of Judah and I do not see a message or a thought to meditate on in it. The only place where there seems to be something is in the part where it describes Caleb claiming his land and his daughter marrying his nephew. I think there is something there to learn from, but I do not see it today. Hopefully the Holy Spirit will reveal something to you that I have missed. If so, please share it in the comments.

April 17, 2014 Bible Study — Am I Willing to Go All-In for Jesus?

For today, One Year Bible Online links here.

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Proverbs 13:9-10

    Goodness shines brightly out of the godly while the wicked snuff out whatever goodness is within themselves. At least one condition necessary for conflict to occur is pride, without pride, conflict will not come about. True wisdom lies in being humble enough to take advice.

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Psalm 86:1-17

    I love this psalm and will do as the psalmist recommends. I will call upon God when I am in trouble, for I know that He will answer my cry. There is no other god like Him. One of the things I ask of God is that He teach me His ways, so that I can live according to His truth. I, also, ask that He purify my heart, so that my life will honour Him. I know that I am not able, by my own strength of will, to live a life according to His ways, nor am I able to purify my heart. But I know that God has the power to cause these things to happen and I pray that He send His Spirit upon me to accomplish these ends.

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Luke 18:18-43

    In the story of the rich man there is one element I do not remember ever being expounded upon, and another that I have rarely heard discussed. I will address the latter first. The rich man came to Jesus and asked Him what he needed to do to inherit eternal life. When Jesus told him to follow the commandments, he replied that he was already doing that. The rich man clearly felt that he needed to do more, that following the commandments was not enough. He recognized that not committing any sins of commission was not enough. He sought to find out what positive action he should take (or, possibly, he was seeking Jesus’ affirmation that he had indeed done enough). The point is that this rich man recognized that not doing wrong is not enough. In addition to not doing what is wrong, we need to do what is right.
    This brings us to the element of this story I do not remember hearing anyone expound upon. Jesus told the rich man to “Sell all your possessions and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” The key part of what Jesus was telling the man was that he should come and follow Jesus. Selling his possessions and giving the money to the poor was merely there so that the man would not have it as a fallback. It was a sign of commitment. Are we willing to follow where God leads, even when it means not leaving open an option to turn back? The key thing which Jesus was telling this man to do was make a complete commitment, all-in. Are we “All-in”?

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Joshua 15:1-63

    When Caleb went to take the land that had been given to him as his inheritance, he conquered much of the land that was given to him. However, when he went up against one of the cities, he declared that he would give his daughter’s hand in marriage to whomever conquered it. After its defeat, he kept his word. As part of the marriage settlement, Caleb gave some land to her and her new husband. However, the land apparently did not have any springs on it, so she asked her father for springs to go with it. He granted them to her. I recounted all that to note that when we give to others, we should be sure that we do not make them dependent upon us to gain any benefit from the gift. In this case, the land Caleb gave his son-in-law was only usable as long as he had access to the springs which Caleb initially kept for himself. When we “help” those in need, let us make sure that we are not making them dependent upon ourselves, or upon someone else, not even upon the government. We should strive to help those in need to be able to stand on their own (with God’s help and none other).

April 17, 2013 Bible Study — What Must I Do to Inherit Eternal Life?

     It was one year ago today that I began this daily Bible study blog. I am getting excited about discovering what God has in store for me as I begin blogging about the passages that I blogged about last year. I hope that my writing has improved as I have gone along. I pray that God’s Spirit continues to move in me as I write this. I have found that by writing this daily blog of what I see when I read these scriptures, I get more out of them. As I said, I am excited to see what difference going through these passages for the second time makes.
     I have been using One Year Bible Online for my daily Bible study for almost a year. For today, One Year Bible Online links here. I hope that by posting these ruminations others may get some benefit as well. If you have any thoughts or comments regarding these verses or what I have written about them, please post them. I hope that the Spirit is moving in others through these posts as the Spirit has definitely been convicting me.

Another Magrat close-up
Another Magrat close-up

Joshua 15:1-63

     Today’s passage describes the territory that was assigned to the tribe of Judah, with specific mention of the land given to Caleb. The passage concludes by telling us that the tribe of Judah was unable to drive out the Jebusites who lived in Jerusalem.

Pretty lilies
Pretty lillies

Luke 18:18-43

     A man of consequence approached Jesus and asked Him what he needed to do in order to inherit eternal life. The man addressed Jesus as “Good Teacher”. Jesus asked why the man called Him good, since no one is good aside from God. I have heard different explanations as to why Jesus started His response in this manner. Considering the question which Jesus was answering, I believe that Jesus was saying that we cannot earn eternal life. After saying that, Jesus told the man that he should keep the commandments, listing do not commit adultery, do not murder, do not steal, do not give false witness, honor your father and mother. The man proclaims that he has kept all of those. Jesus responds to that by telling the man that he still lacks one thing. The man should sell all that he owns, give it to the poor and come follow Jesus. The man was saddened by this response because he was wealthy and unwilling to part with his wealth.
     I have seen many commentaries on this passage and most of them have missed what I think is a key element to this exchange. The man was looking for something he could do as an aside to living the rest of his life the way he had been. Jesus answer was that if we want to have eternal life, we need to make following Him the central focus of our lives. It is not enough to just fit “following Jesus” or “being a Christian” in to our spare time. Following Jesus needs to be what our life is about.
     When the man turned away Jesus said, “In fact, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the Kingdom of God!” In other words, it is impossible. I have heard many preachers try and explain how He was just trying to say that it was very, very hard. Yet, the rest of the exchange seems to indicate that those who heard Him understood Him to be saying that it was impossible because they asked Him, “If this guy, who has ‘everything’ and has lived a righteous life can’t get in, how can anybody be saved?” Jesus answered them that it was indeed impossible for people to earn eternal life, but what was impossible for man was possible for God. In other words, our only hope for salvation is the grace of God.
     Peter then asks, “What about us? We gave up everything to follow You.” I have read this many times before and today I noticed something about Jesus’ answer to Peter that I never saw before. Peter said that they had given up everything to follow Jesus. Jesus told him that everyone who gave up things for the sake of the Kingdom of God would receive back even more than they gave up and eternal life. The thing I never noticed here is the motivation for having given things up. The reward was not for those who gave things up to be part of the uprising against Rome, or for those who did it to be the followers of a “Great Teacher”. The reward was for those who gave things up for the sake of the Kingdom of God. This teaching raises two questions for me. Am I willing to give up what I have to serve God? And am I giving things up to serve God, or am I doing it to be seen as righteous?

If you hadn't guessed, I like my cat
If you hadn’t guessed, I like my cat

Psalm 86:1-17

     This is a wonderful psalm. I was hoping for something that would connect to the Boston tragedy, but I think this is a good reminder that addressing all social problems begins with us as individuals turning to God in times of trouble. The place to start in dealing with tragedy is where this psalm begins:

Bend down, O Lord, and hear my prayer;
answer me, for I need your help.

I call out to God because I need His help. I cannot deal with the problems of this world on my own. The psalmist tells us more about how we deal with troubles.
Teach me your ways, O Lord,
that I may live according to your truth!

It is only by following God’s ways that we can experience God’s salvation from our troubles, but it is only by God’s Spirit that we can learn those ways and only by the prompting of that Spirit that we can follow them once we know them. Even after a tragedy such as Monday’s, no, especially after such a tragedy, I will praise God and give glory to His name. No other god is like Him, nor can they do the deeds He performs. He can bring healing both to the victims and the perpetrators of this tragedy.

Daffodil in bloom
Daffodil in bloom

Proverbs 13:9-10

     If we live a godly life, we will experience light and joy. If on the other hand we choose wickedness, our lives will be filled with shadows and depression.
     If we are too proud to listen to advice, we will find ourselves surrounded by dissension and strife. On the other hand, if we listen to advice, we will gain the wisdom (in particular, the wisdom to avoid conflict when possible)