MARCH 1 & 2 JOSHUA 1-5

Joshua 1-5

How would you feel if you were a young quarterback stepping into the shoes of a Hall of Famer, or a young preacher stepping into the pulpit of a pastor who had held it for 35 years?

This had to be something like what Joshua was feeling when Moses left to climb Mt. Nebo, and did not return.

“Now it’s on me! Lord, help!”

And help He did.

• God’s pep talk. Look at one of the most encouraging and powerful set of words ever spoken to a human being by God in Joshua 1:2-9. If you are starting something new in your life, read them as though the Lord were speaking to you!
• The people’s promise. How encouraging their support of Joshua must have been (Joshua 1:16-18). 
• The successful spy mission. It’s always good to have your first venture turn out well. And had it not been for Rahab, it wouldn’t. Therefore, Rahab, by her faith, received a prominent place among the people of God. 
• The miracle crossing.  If there was anyone in doubt on the morning of the day the Israelites crossed the Jordan River, it was removed by the end of the day. When the priests carrying the Ark of the Covenant stepped into the river, it stopped!  It piled up!  As they stood in the middle with the Ark, the people crossed over on dry ground. “Here is Moses rightful successor,” they must have said.   And just so they wouldn't forget, God instructed Joshua to set up a memorial made of 12 huge stones, one for each tribe! 
• The important obedience. The generation that had been raised in the desert had not been circumcised, so Joshua stopped and circumcised them! Along with this, they kept the Passover! 
• The miracle meeting.  My favorite section of today’s reading is when Joshua, nearing Jericho, sees a “man” with a drawn sword.  Recognizing him, I think, as angelic, he asks, “Are you for us or our enemies?” The chief angel’s answer is perfect. “No!” he says. “Neither,” he means. God had sent the commander of his angelic forces to certify Joshua’s humility and submission! 

As far as Joshua is concerned, I call this, “a good start.”

Until Monday,
Pastor Gary

FEBRUARY 28 DEUTERONOMY 31-34

Deuteronomy 31-34

It’s the last day of February, and we've reached a milestone:  the final chapters of Deuteronomy, as well as the Pentateuch.  

And the chapters themselves are full of “lasts:”

• Moses’ last act as leader of the people: In Chapter 31, Moses summons Joshua and publicly commissions him to step up into his place of leadership. God’s special words for Joshua are, “Be strong and courageous…” We see these words six times here at the end of Moses’ days and the beginning of Joshua’s days. Only God’s strength and courage would make it possible for Joshua to fulfill his calling, or ours either, for that matter. 
• Moses’ last song: God instructs Moses to write it in Deuteronomy 31:19, and we see it in Deuteronomy 32.  Count how many times Moses uses the word “Rock.” Is there any doubt that he knew and knows that that “rock” he struck was the Rock of his salvation? 
• Moses’ last blessing: Each of the tribes (except Simeon—since it was being absorbed into Judah) receive a blessing, the longest and best is reserved for his own tribe of Levi (33:8-11). 
• Moses’ last act: Chapter 34 is the only chapter in Deuteronomy that could not have been written by Moses. In it, we learn that Moses climbed Mt. Nebo to gaze upon the Land of Promise. Then, he died, and was buried by God himself! (Deuteronomy 34:6) 

The very last words of the book praise both Moses and Joshua as the torch is passed.

These were Moses’ “lasts;” what will your look like?

Until March, that is, tomorrow,
Pastor Gary

FEBRUARY 27 DEUTERONOMY 27-30

Deuteronomy 27-30

At the end of this section is the challenge:  This day I call heaven and earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses.  Now choose life, so that you and your children might live! (Deuteronomy 30:19)

These four chapters describe the two very different paths God’s people may follow:  the path of obedience, which leads to abundant blessings, and life (28:1-14), and the path of disobedience, which leads to many frightful curses, and death (28:15-68). The curses ultimately lead to defeat, destruction and exile!

This was so important that God, who knew the geography of the Promised Land that Moses had never seen, gave detailed instructions on a way to make all this very memorable. Call it a gigantic object lesson. Once they had secured the Promised Land, they were to find the twin mountains of the North: Ebal and Gerazim, close enough for there to be a huge echo chamber between them. The 12 tribes were divided in half. The 6 on Mt. Gerazim were to shout the blessings. The 6 on Mt. Ebal were to shouts the curses. Who would ever forget it?

Until tomorrow,
Pastor Gary

FEBRUARY 26 DEUTERONOMY 21-26

Deuteronomy 21-26

Six chapters of laws, some of them a bit rough:

• At least 5 instances of capital punishment; 3 for adultery (Deut. 22:20-24), 1 for kidnapping (24:7) and 1 for a rebellious son (21:18-21).  How thankful I am that last one was not in effect during my adolescence!

• One instance, where the penalty is the cutting off of a hand (25:11-12). 

• A number of laws concerning husbands divorcing their wives, but not the other way around (24:1-4).

As hard as these might sound, they were steps in the right direction.  Capital punishment was actually being limited; note that fathers may not be put to death for their children, or vice versa (24:16).  The hand cutting was restricting capital punishment.  The willy-nilly divorcing of wives by disgruntled husbands was being regulated!

Here are my favorite laws from this batch:

• Mercy toward mother birds insures “a long life for us!” (22:6-7)

• Folks should “go to the bathroom” outside the camp and carefully dig latrines! (instructions for this are in Deuteronomy 23:12-14)

• You can eat all the grapes you want from your neighbor’s vineyard; just don’t put any in your pocket! (23:24)

• · Don’t harvest too carefully; leave some for the poor! (24:19-22)

But my favorite passage from these chapters is the beautiful recitation that was required upon the presentation of their firstfruits from the Promised Land to the Lord.  My favorite part begins, “My father was a wandering Aramean…” (Deuteronomy 26:5-10)

One last thing:  the law described in Deuteronomy 21:22-23 was actually applied on Good Friday.   It was the reason Jesus’ body was taken down from the cross.

Until tomorrow,
Pastor Gary

FEBRUARY 25 DEUTERONOMY 17-20

Deuteronomy 17-20

As I mentioned yesterday, there is an anti-prophecy bias in some who teach the Bible.   If something is mentioned that hasn't happened yet, that automatically means it was written later.

Another example of this is in Deuteronomy 17:14-20.  Here, Moses speaks to future kings of Israel.   He warns them NOT to take many wives, NOT to acquire overmuch wealth.  My goodness, it’s almost like he saw Solomon’s excesses ahead of time!  And yes, either he spoke prophetically, or the Levites of Solomon’s day were writing a cryptic criticism of their king.  Really?  How hard it is to believe in a God who can see the future and use a prophet to speak words of warning ahead of time?

In Deuteronomy 18, Moses says that God called him a prophet, and that some day, God would raise up Another like him!   I capitalized “Another,” because most Jewish, and all Christian, interpreters see these words as one of the Old Testament promises of Messiah!  And what’s more, Peter says as much in his second sermon (Acts 3:22-23).

Deuteronomy 19-20 reminds the people of the Levitical “cities of refuge,” the necessity for two or more witnesses, and the “rules of engagement” as they apply to the conquering of the Promised Land.  Our modern sensitivities bristle at the phrase from Deuteronomy 20:17, concerning the nations that occupied the Promised Land:  “You shall devote them to complete destruction.”   Very harsh, it seems; and very harsh it is.  But we must remember what Moses said earlier in Deuteronomy 9:4-5, that the Israelites were not being given the Promised Land because of their righteousness, but because of the current residents’ wickedness.

Until tomorrow,
Pastor Gary

FEBRUARY 24 DEUTERONOMY 12-16

Deuteronomy 12-16

Here is one aspect of Deuteronomy that convinces some scholars that Deuteronomy is not Moses’ work, but rather the product of a much later set of authors.   In Deuteronomy 12, Moses gives clear direction for a permanent residence for God’s house.  He calls it “the place that the LORD will choose.”  (Deuteronomy 12:11, 14, 18, 26).  Levites of David’s day wrote this, they say, to legitimatize David’s choice of Jerusalem for building the temple.

To think this way is to deny the possibility of predictive prophecy.   Question:  what would keep God from giving Moses the wisdom to write about this location ahead of time?  Answer:  Nothing, nothing at all.

What follows in Deuteronomy 13-16 are clear instructions and reminders for what to do with false prophets, separating clean and unclean foods, observing a Sabbath Year (giving the land a rest!), and celebrating the feasts.

Until tomorrow,
Pastor Gary

FEBRUARY 23 DEUTERONOMY 8-11

Deuteronomy 8-11

Moses continues his second message, which began in Deuteronomy 5.

He’s like a coach delivering his last pre-game pep talk, or better, General Washington giving his Farewell to the Troops.   In the words from today’s reading, Moses…

• Reminds them of the Lord’s miraculous wilderness care for them. Their clothing didn't wear out; their feet did not swell; their food was provided. (Deuteronomy 8:4)   In another wilderness a millennium and a half later, Jesus would remember Moses’ words when the devil was tempting Him:  “God fed you with manna to make you know that man does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of the Father.” (Deuteronomy 8:3)
• Warns them against pride.   “When you have gotten wealth and settled down in the Promised Land, Beware lest you say in your heart, ‘My power…has gotten me this wealth.’” (Deuteronomy 8:17) When you have driven the nations out of the Land, Do not say in your heart…’It was because of my righteousness that the Lord has brought me in.’” (Deuteronomy 9:4).  To keep them humble, he reminds them of just how close they came to annihilation in the golden calf affair (Deuteronomy 9:13—10:11).  It took two 40-day fasts for Moses to “change” God’s mind!
• Challenges them to circumcise their hearts.  Deuteronomy 10:12-22 is one of the most beautiful and powerful exhortations in the Bible. It would be worth memorizing!

Today’s reading ends with an echo of the Shemah, from Deuteronomy 6, and a challenge to choose the blessing of obedience over the curse of rebellion.

Nearly everything Moses says in these chapters is transferable to us.  Remember, dear Church, the Lord’s care for you in your wilderness times.  Watch out, dear brothers and sisters, for pride.  Choose, dear people, a soft heart and an unshakable will to obey.  In the strength of God’s Spirit, we can!

Until tomorrow,
Pastor Gary