Joshua 24 Reflections

 After reading through the book of Joshua, I see Joshua's steadfast trust in the Book of the Law and in His God. He had bold humility!

He held on to that command in Chapter 1:8

'Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. then you will be prosperous and successful.'

and again in vs 9: 

 'Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.'

He knew His God!

Here in Chapter 24, the covenant is renewed at Shechem.

 Joshua assembled all the tribes of Israel at Shechem. He summoned the elders, leaders, judges and officials of Israel, and they presented themselves before God. They are reminded of all the things that God has done for them then Joshua adds that they have a choice.

vs 13-25 says

 ^'So I gave you a land on which you did not toil and cities you did not build; and you live in them and eat from vineyards and olive groves that you did not plant.’ ¹⁴ “Now fear the Lord and serve him with all faithfulness. Throw away the gods your ancestors worshiped beyond the Euphrates River and in Egypt, and serve the Lord. ¹⁵ But if serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.'

 I have loved reading through the book of Joshua!!

 

Joshua 23 Reflections

 Reading through this chapter, you can see that Joshua really loves the Lord. You can see Joshua's heart being expressed in words before the leaders of the tribes of Israel.

He begins his farewell by giving glory to Almighty God for all that He has done for them. A very humble man but bold in battle! 

Here is his farewell.

⁶ “Be very strong; be careful to obey all that is written in the Book of the Law of Moses, without turning aside to the right or to the left. ⁷ Do not associate with these nations that remain among you; do not invoke the names of their gods or swear by them. You must not serve them or bow down to them. ⁸ But you are to hold fast to the Lord your God, as you have until now.

⁹ “The Lord has driven out before you great and powerful nations; to this day no one has been able to withstand you. ¹⁰ One of you routs a thousand, because the Lord your God fights for you, just as he promised. ¹¹ So be very careful to love the Lord your God.

¹² “But if you turn away and ally yourselves with the survivors of these nations that remain among you and if you intermarry with them and associate with them, ¹³ then you may be sure that the Lord your God will no longer drive out these nations before you. Instead, they will become snares and traps for you, whips on your backs and thorns in your eyes, until you perish from this good land, which the Lord your God has given you.

¹⁴ “Now I am about to go the way of all the earth. You know with all your heart and soul that not one of all the good promises the Lord your God gave you has failed. Every promise has been fulfilled; not one has failed. ¹⁵ But just as all the good things the Lord your God has promised you have come to you, so he will bring on you all the evil things he has threatened, until the Lord your God has destroyed you from this good land he has given you. ¹⁶ If you violate the covenant of the Lord your God, which he commanded you, and go and serve other gods and bow down to them, the Lord’s anger will burn against you, and you will quickly perish from the good land he has given you.”

I love that Joshua's commitment, devotion and love for the Lord never changed. Here he is reminding Israel about keeping their focus on the Lord their God.

Joshua's farewell is also a message for me and other brother' and sisters in Christ. Love the Lord your God with all of your heart, keep your heart and motives pure. When you love God with all of your heart, you will cherish His Words. His Words will mean the world to you! His Words will direct you, lead you, guide you and sustain you. When we love the Lord with all of our hearts, He fights our battles for us just as He promised. 

Oh Lord, how easily we forget your promises when we are faced with challenges. Today Father, I choose to walk with the consciousness of your Presence. May your Words lead me, protect me and sustain me! Love you so much. In Jesus Name I pray. Amen.

 

Joshua 22 Reflections

 There was a misunderstanding in this chapter and I'm glad it got sorted out, especially after all the challenges they had been through together.

In verse 5 it says,

'But be very careful to keep the commandment and the law that Moses the servant of the Lord gave you: to love the Lord your God, to walk in obedience to him, to keep his commands, to hold fast to him and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul.'

To break it down, they were to.....

• Keep the commandments
• Love the Lord their God
• Walk in His ways
• Obey His commands
• Hold fast to Him
• Serve Him with all their heart and all their soul 

Joshua's reminder to the eastern tribes, is like a reminder to us too. To live a victorious life, we need to keep His Words hidden deep within our hearts. Next, we give God our love as a result of His Word. We need to love God first before we can walk in obedience to His Word.When we realise that God is our everything, our perspective of Him changes!

The misunderstanding teaches us different lessons especially in the way they handled it.

• They didn't fight straight away but they talked it over. Both sides had a chance to speak their minds.Out of their love for their brothers and in fear of God's holiness and wrath, the brothers approached them.
• They confronted in love! I think that was very courageous of them. 
• They showed empathy. Looking at the situation from both perspectives because there's always a reason for every action. To understand the action, you need to determine the reason. The reason will tell you what they were thinking at that particular time.
  
  
  

Joshua 14 Reflections

 Caleb is a person who stands out in this chapter, his boldness in remembering the promse that was spoken to him by Moses.

Reading through the chapter, I realised that he was part of the group of 12 spies sent out by Moses to check out the land of Canaan. 10 came back with negative report but 2 came back with a positive report. The 10 caused the Israelites to wander in the dessert for 40 years. Their unbelief influenced the others.

The two spies were Caleb and Joshua. They lived to enter the Promise Land. Both trusted and obeyed God whole-heartedly!  

Joshua 11-Reflections

 Israel's enemies get bigger and bigger 

I noticed that more kings and their armies joined forces to attack Israel. Israel's enemies keeps getting bigger and bigger!! vs 4  'they came out with all their troops and a large number of horses and chariots—a huge army, as numerous as the sand on the seashore.'

 From chapter 1-chapter 11, we see that the battles that Israelites faced got bigger and more advanced as they progressed.

For us, our battles or challenges in our walk of faith increase with each step. Oh, the importance of hiding God's Word deep in our hearts! When we overcome these challenges, they become a springboard for what we face in the future. Failures when overcomed, make us stronger!

 Again in this chapter, we see God's faithfulness and confirmation of His promises. They learnt lessons such as: keeping their hearts pure and obeying and listening to God's Word. 

Joshua taught the Israelites the importance of listening and obeying God's Words/Voice. Only when they did the latter, were their battles won. 

 ^{vs 23} 'So Joshua took the entire land, just as the Lord had directed Moses, and he gave it as an inheritance to Israel according to their tribal divisions. Then the land had rest from war.'

 In the end of the chapter we see that the land was divided for each tribe. This would mean that each tribe will need to fight their own little battles. The whole land was captured. Yet, not every small town and village had been conquered and occupied. That was up to each individual tribe to do in the land that was apportioned to them. Joshua had taught them what they needed to do. They would need to apply what they had learned to acquire or keep it.

This just reminded me of what Jesus has done.  He already defeated the enemy and conquered the land, but He also calls us into battle to gain what is ours!

 

Joshua 10-Reflections

The Sun Stands  Still

Fear can affect us in so many ways. It affects our thinking and when our thinking is affected, our actions or behaviour are also affected. Before the start of this journey, God spoke to Joshua and reminded him in Joshua 1:9 of what he must do:

• Be strong
• Be courageous
• Do not be afraid;
• Do not be discouraged 

WHY?? for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go!!
God knew what the journey ahead would look like so he reminded Joshua of what he must do. He knew that the size of the enemy could cause fear in Joshua so he reassures him. In this chapter, five kings heard of the strength, the conquest of Isarel so they decided to join forces to attack Israel through Gibeon.

I like the way,Joshua helped the Gibeonites out even though they tricked them. This would have been a good chance to get out of the vow with Gibeon but no! Joshua stuck to his promise! He helped the Gibeonites and they won the battle.

With the assurance of God's promise in vs 8, 'The Lord said to Joshua, “Do not be afraid of them; I have given them into your hand. Not one of them will be able to withstand you.'
Joshua did not sit back passively and watch but went out and fought! 

Joshua 10: 12-15
'On the day the Lord gave the Amorites over to Israel, Joshua said to the Lord in the presence of Israel:

“Sun, stand still over Gibeon,
    and you, moon, over the Valley of Aijalon.” 

 So the sun stood still,
    and the moon stopped,
    till the nation avenged itself on its enemies,

as it is written in the Book of Jashar.

The sun stopped in the middle of the sky and delayed going down about a full day. There has never been a day like it before or since, a day when the Lord listened to a human being. Surely the Lord was fighting for Israel!
Then Joshua returned with all Israel to the camp at Gilgal.'

WOW! I had to re-read this part of the chapter. I just thought wow, Joshua was so connected to God that he knew without any shadow of a doubt that his God would be true to His Words! How great and mighty is the God we serve!! He can do the impossible! Joshua knew his God! 

Joshua 7: Reflections

Achan's Sin

God's command in Chapter 6 was for no one to take any valuables from Jericho because all that belonged to the Lord. However, Achan stole some and hid it in his tent! He must have thought that no one would find out.

When Joshua sent 3 thousand men to the next city of Ai, they were chased and defeated and some were even killed. I could just imagine what Joshua was thinking! How could this be possible?

In this time of crisis, Joshua a man who loved and feared the Lord, went before God with the church elders. Achan was found out and he had to be removed. vs 10 'The Lord said to Joshua, “Stand up! What are you doing down on your face? ¹¹ Israel has sinned; they have violated my covenant, which I commanded them to keep. They have taken some of the devoted things; they have stolen, they have lied, they have put them with their own possessions. ¹² That is why the Israelites cannot stand against their enemies; they turn their backs and run because they have been made liable to destruction. I will not be with you anymore unless you destroy whatever among you is devoted to destruction.'

Israel could not fight in God's power unless they walked in obedience to God and their hearts were clean!

To win my battles, I need to be obedient, confess my wrong ways, stay in His presence and have fellowship with Him. Oh Holy God!

Joshua 6: Reflections

The fall of the walls of Jericho

The Israelites  were instructed to walk silently around Jericho 7 times. Joshua gave instructions and they all shouted, the walls came crumbling down!

It may seem strange walking silently around the city wall but this was a walk of faith. Lessons learnt from this chapter and why their plan was successful:

• Faith- they did not question the orders but just followed the plan
• Obedience-they followed the plan exactly
• Courage- they had the courage to follow the plan despite the dangers. They could have easily been attacked but they continued.
• Endurance- it may have looked like that nothing was happening as the days went on but they continued with the plan.
• Trust- they trusted God and His way.

Father, sometimes the methods you give us may not make sense to us because we want to see results happen straight away. Teach us to be sensitive to your voice and to trust your Word and your ways because you say in  Isaiah 55:8-9 For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord. As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.
The presence of the Ark of Covenant was a reminder to the armed men that though Jericho was a strong city, their God was with them. All they needed to do was remain focussed on the Ark of the Covenant in front of them. Father, sometimes we face challenges and they may come in different forms, may this story serve as a reminder that the God we serve is faithful and His faithfulness is our  shield and rampart. Psalms 91:4

 

Joshua 5-Reflections

Military are circumcised 

As I read the chapter, I questioned why the men were circumcised right outside of Jericho.  Wouldn't the circumcision make these men weak and vulnerable? They could have easily been overpowered by the enemy! 

I love their faith!
Joshua chose to obey God's Word and the people chose to obey God's Word! They knew that God knew what He was doing. They remembered the miracles God performed for them.

Right outside the enemy's camp at Gilgal, outside of Jericho, they had their circumcision. This was a powerful act of consecration to God. This means that they were:

•  making a conscious, willing decision to dedicate their soul, mind, heart, and body to God.
• stepping out in faithful obedience
• dying to self and surrendering to His will and purpose
  

Joshua 4-Reflections

Reaching the other side of Jordan

WOW!! 40 thousand armed men crossed over to the other side! That is a huge number!! Not counting the ordinary people!

vs 4-7: 'So Joshua called together the twelve men he had appointed from the Israelites, one from each tribe, ⁵ and said to them, “Go over before the ark of the Lord your God into the middle of the Jordan. Each of you is to take up a stone on his shoulder, according to the number of the tribes of the Israelites, ⁶ to serve as a sign among you. In the future, when your children ask you, ‘What do these stones mean?’ ⁷ tell them that the flow of the Jordan was cut off before the ark of the covenant of the Lord. When it crossed the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan were cut off. These stones are to be a memorial to the people of Israel forever.'

A stone memorial was set up in the middle of the Jordan as a memorial to remind the people of the greatness of God and what he had done.

I admire Joshua, a leader who obeyed God's voice and I believe he remembered the words spoken to him by God at the start of this journey. Joshua 1: 8 'Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful.'

Look what happened as a result of his obedience: vs 14-'That day the Lord exalted Joshua in the sight of all Israel; and they stood in awe of him all the days of his life, just as they had stood in awe of Moses.'

A stone memorial was not only set in the middle of the river Jordan but also on the other side at Gilgal. Oh the importance of remembering the Lord both in our 'dry' times and victorious times!!

Joshua 3-Reflections

Crossing the River Jordan
The instructions to the Israelites were:
1. vs 3-  'When you see the ark of the covenant of the Lord your God, and the Levitical priests carrying it, you are to move out from your positions and follow it.'

The Israelites knew the importance of allowing God's presence to lead. vs 4-Then you will know which way to go, since you have never been this way before. Because He is an Omnicient, Omnipotent, Omnipresent God, He knows what lies ahead.


2. vs 4- '.... keep a distance of about two thousand cubits between you and the ark; do not go near it.'
Maybe the distance will allow everyone to see the Ark of the Covenant, God's presence. Being ab;e to see it reassures them that they are going the right way!

Father, when our eyes are focussed on You, Your Presence,You ALWAYS lead us in triumphal procession. We will only watch and see the miracles You do along the way!

3. vs 5- 'Consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow the Lord will do amazing things among you.' Joshua knew that this was a spiritual battle so he wanted the people to separate themselves from the usual things and focus on the Lord. 

I am a visual learner which means I like to draw or sketch or have images to help understand ideas or concepts that I'm reading! The visual above captures my thoughts about this chapter!

Oh, the importance of hiding God's Words deep inside our hearts! It needs to be put into action! When we allow the presence of God to lead us, take over our situation or be in the middle of our impossibilities, He will MAKE A WAY!!

Joshua 2 - Reflections

 Rahab Encounter

In this chapter Rahab's story unfolds. I like how she helped out the men sent by Joshua. She knew deep in her heart that these men were different. She even acknowledged that their God is the God in heaven above and on earth below.

Rahab helped the Israelites to advance to the promised land.

I love the fact that this story shows that women can be used by God, no matter what position they have in life!

Joshua 1- Reflections

For the next few mornings I will be meditating on the book of Joshua, the lessons he and the children of Israel learnt and what I learn from their experiences.


vs 3: 'I will give you every place where you set your foot, as I promised Moses. '

vs 5: 'No one will be able to stand against you all the days of your life. As I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you.'

Father, Joshua is about to embark on his journey of leading the Israelites to the promised land and I believe that you understand Joshua just like you understand each of us. Before we venture out into the new challenges or a new chapter, we have feelings of uncertainty because we do not know what lies ahead of us. To encourage and reassure him, I like the way you are reminding Joshua about the things you have done in the past, great and miraculous things. You encourage him to be strong and courageous! You still do that to us today! You remind us through your Words!

vs 9: 'Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.'

You remind him about the importance of reading your Words, meditating on it and doing everything that is in it. Only when they do that, then they will be prosperous and successful.

vs 8: 'Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful.'

 Why should they do this? because your Words have POWER!! 

How well do you know Him?

This morning I am reminded of the conversation that Moses had with God. Exodus 33:15 "Then he said to Him, "If Your presence does not go with us, do not lead us up from here." 

In chapter 32, God refused to accompany His disobedient people because they broke their covenant and built a golden calf. This resulted in 3000 of their sons and brothers being killed then in desperation Moses tried to make atonement for the nation’s idolatry.

In chapter 33, the people repented of their unbelief and Moses went on his face before the Lord to plead for forgiveness and prayed that the Lord would still accompany them and that His presence would continue with them.

I could imagine Moses thinking ‘no way am I going anywhere without my God. He has done so much for me and for us, how can I take a step without Him!’

Moses knew His God, he knew God’s power, His love, His faithfulness and His goodness that he couldn’t bear the thought of being separated from Him. In verse 15, he pleads with God, …..’if Your presence does not go with us, do not lead us up from here.” Moses knew that he was nothing or they were nothing without God. His experiences and His knowledge of God led to his desperate plea.

There are so many lessons that can be learned here but my take away this morning is despite all that is happening around me, I need to dig deeper into His Word to know Him, to know His grace, His faithfulness and His goodness.

Lord Your presence is what I desire. May it go before me and with me everywhere I go.