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!