Devotional Thoughts

Joshua 18:1-3    "And the whole congregation of the children of Israel assembled together at Shiloh, and set up the tabernacle of the congregation there. And the land was subdued before them.  (2)  And there remained among the children of Israel seven tribes, which had not yet received their inheritance.  (3)  And Joshua said unto the children of Israel, How long are ye slack to go to possess the land, which the LORD God of your fathers hath given you?" We jumped several chapters to chapter 18. The chapters previous to this list families and the borders of the land given to them. As I read through them, I was not stirred by any of the verses that I read. We come to chapter 18 and there are still some families that have not occupied the land which was promised to them. In fact, seven tribes had not received their inheritance. Joshua asks them a very important question and actually one that pertains to us today. "How long are ye slack to go to possess the ...

But that the world may know that I love the Father; and as the Father gave me commandment, even so I do. Arise, let us go hence. – John 14:31 The Life of Jesus Christ was marked by obedience and dedication. Always about the Father’s business, the Savior worked to do the will and commandment of the Father for love and glory. It was the purpose of His life, and we should learn from it. When we dedicate our lives to arise and follow after Christ in obedience and love, we rid ourselves of the weight of sin that so easily besets us and ties us to old temptations and problems. This is the essence of looking forward and not backward. We cannot change the past. We can only live for today and hope for tomorrow. The path may not always be clear, but we can know by Christ’s example that the Father’s will is always for our good. So, let us too arise, and go hence with Jesus.

Joshua 14:13-15    "And Joshua blessed him, and gave unto Caleb the son of Jephunneh Hebron for an inheritance.  (14)  Hebron therefore became the inheritance of Caleb the son of Jephunneh the Kenezite unto this day, because that he wholly followed the LORD God of Israel.  (15)  And the name of Hebron before was Kirjatharba; which Arba was a great man among the Anakims. And the land had rest from war." I realize that many times in the Old Testament, we can get bogged down with names. But I believe the names hold special meaning and have actually been a source of blessing as the Lord has moved me to spend more time thinking upon the names in relation to the situation and circumstance in which they are involved.  In these passages, we see the names of Caleb, Jephunneh, Hebron, Kirjatharba, Arba, and Anakims. I won't go into the root meanings of each word, but will try to tell in paragraph form the impact of these names. Caleb was a man who would no...

Joshua 14:10-12     "And now, behold, the LORD hath kept me alive, as he said, these forty and five years, even since the LORD spake this word unto Moses, while the children of Israel wandered in the wilderness: and now, lo, I am this day fourscore and five years old.  (11)  As yet I am as strong this day as I was in the day that Moses sent me: as my strength was then, even so is my strength now, for war, both to go out, and to come in.  (12)  Now therefore give me this mountain, whereof the LORD spake in that day; for thou heardest in that day how the Anakims were there, and that the cities were great and fenced: if so be the LORD will be with me, then I shall be able to drive them out, as the LORD said." As Joshua is dividing the land unto the various tribes (families), he comes to Caleb. Remember Caleb? He and Joshua were the only two out of the twelve spies to stand bold in the Lord. He had stood with Joshua to proclaim that if the Lord was wil...

Joshua 13:33    "But unto the tribe of Levi Moses gave not any inheritance: the LORD God of Israel was their inheritance, as he said unto them." Chapters 12 and 13 show the dividing of the land among the people of Israel. Two and a half tribes wanted to live on the east side of the Jordan River. Joshua divided the land of Canaan unto the other nine and a half tribes. Every tribe received land except for the tribe of Levi. Levi received no inheritance in the land of Canaan; rather, was given the responsibility of tending to the service of the Lord. The tribe of Levi was sustained by the other eleven tribes giving their tithes. They were constantly to be about the Lord's business and making sure all the vessels of the tabernacle (and later the temple) were fit for use. As I read each passage of Scripture that spoke of the inheritance given to each of the other tribes, I came to this verse and it grabbed my attention.  It first grabbed my attention because the Levites ...

“God is Love,” is one of our very first Bible Study lessons as a child.  Why would that be?  It was one of our first Bible Study lessons because “God is love” is the foundation of all our love for Him and for any others we are privileged to love.  Leo Tolstoy said, “Where love is, God is.”  We begin to understand God’s love when we realize that His love precedes all of our love.  1 John 4:7-8, “ Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. He who does not love does not know God, for God is love.” Therefore, if we truly love, God has provided that love.  We enrich our understanding of “God is love” by surveying the landscape of God’s Word. This endeavor gives us an overview of the nature of His divine love.  Today we will focus on the transforming truth that God’s love is unmerited. God’s Love is Unmerited There is nothing inherent in those who are the objects of God’s love...

Joshua 11:21-23    "And at that time came Joshua, and cut off the Anakims from the mountains, from Hebron, from Debir, from Anab, and from all the mountains of Judah, and from all the mountains of Israel: Joshua destroyed them utterly with their cities.  (22)  There was none of the Anakims left in the land of the children of Israel: only in Gaza, in Gath, and in Ashdod, there remained.  (23)  So Joshua took the whole land, according to all that the LORD said unto Moses; and Joshua gave it for an inheritance unto Israel according to their divisions by their tribes. And the land rested from war." Joshua came and cut off the Anakims from the mountains. Joshua destroyed them utterly. We understand that it was not Joshua alone; rather, the army of Israel came up against the Anakims and destroyed them. Where have we heard about the Anakims? There is something about this name that stands out in memory.  Oh yes, now we remember. It was some forty plus year...

Joshua 11:18    "Joshua made war a long time with all those kings." Prior to this verse is a detailed description of some of the cities and kings that were destroyed by Joshua and the children of Israel. Though the details are given in a relatively few verses, it is understood by our text verse that it took quite a while for the victory to be experienced. Joshua made war a long time.  Let that sink in for us today. They battled a long time. Yes, I keep repeating those words, "a long time." What does this have to do with us today? What about your garden? What happens if you do not battle the weeds? You weed the garden one day and then the very next day, or couple days, you look and there those pesky things have popped out of the ground again. I've heard people talk about having to wage war against the weeds in their garden. It's an ongoing process that takes "a long time." Have you ever had a habit that seems to keep coming back over and ove...

Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. – Psalm 32:1 Sin is real. Sin is a present threat to our daily peace and faith. One of the main calls to action in the New Testament is repentance. Turning away from sin is a lifelong effort and one that requires dedication and sacrifice. However, repentance is fleeting without the reality of forgiveness. Forgiveness unto new life is the heart of the Gospel message. The Bible tells us that Jesus Christ came to save us from our sins, but He also worked out our salvation, forgiving us of sins past, present or future. He was able to forgive primarily because He is God the Son. Furthermore, because God is just, Jesus paid the price for sin on behalf of His people. His blood covers us in His righteousness. Thus we are blessed for just being one of His by grace. Still the call for repentance rings out throughout the New Testament. Why? This new life given by Jesus Christ is incompatible with sin. We are calle...

Joshua 11:4-6    "And they went out, they and all their hosts with them, much people, even as the sand that is upon the sea shore in multitude, with horses and chariots very many.  (5)  And when all these kings were met together, they came and pitched together at the waters of Merom, to fight against Israel.  (6)  And the LORD said unto Joshua, Be not afraid because of them: for to morrow about this time will I deliver them up all slain before Israel: thou shalt hough their horses, and burn their chariots with fire." One of the kings in the north called to all the other nations in the north to combine together when he had heard of what had happened in the south. He felt that if they banded together, there would be sufficient force to squelch this invading nation called Israel. They came together and camped on top of a hill where Israel had to look up. As Israel looked up, they saw this host of enemy that was innumerable. It would be enough to intimidate...

Joshua 10:42-43   "And all these kings and their land did Joshua take at one time, because the LORD God of Israel fought for Israel.  (43)  And Joshua returned, and all Israel with him, unto the camp to Gilgal." The Lord blessed Israel to destroy the five kings that had come against them. Let us remember this is the land that God had been promised to them. But there were natural enemies to Israel that lived within the land. In order for the Israelites to live in peace, the inhabitants of the land had to be destroyed. This was by the order given to them from God. In reading the tenth chapter of Joshua, we see Israel methodically overtaking city by city. If you traced the pattern on a map, you would see they started at one point and did a criss-cross pattern going in one direction to destroy each place. The Lord led them in that manner so there would be none to circle back around and catch Israel offguard.  But be certain, God's instructions were to completely...

In our Christian lives it is important to answer the question, “Does our love for God please Him?”  “Is God honored by how we love Him?”  “Is He thrilled with how passionately we love Him?”  If a person is married, they want the way they love their spouse to thrill and completely satisfy their spouse.  How do we so love our God? Over the last several months, The Word Revealed devotionals have covered many God honoring ways to answer that question.  We love God and grow daily in our love for God when we listen to Him in His love letter to us on a regular basis.  We love God and grow daily in our love for God when we speak to Him in prayer with honesty and passion.  We love God and grow daily in our love for God when we worship Him in a manner which communicates absolute love and adoration.  We love God and grow daily in our love for God when we consciously die to self daily and take up our cross and victoriously follow Him.  But how do we lo...

Joshua 10:12-14    "Then spake Joshua to the LORD in the day when the LORD delivered up the Amorites before the children of Israel, and he said in the sight of Israel, Sun, stand thou still upon Gibeon; and thou, Moon, in the valley of Ajalon.  (13)  And the sun stood still, and the moon stayed, until the people had avenged themselves upon their enemies. Is not this written in the book of Jasher? So the sun stood still in the midst of heaven, and hasted not to go down about a whole day.  (14)  And there was no day like that before it or after it, that the LORD hearkened unto the voice of a man: for the LORD fought for Israel." Israel was fighting against the five kings that had come against them. The day was wearing on and they were in unfamiliar territory. The Amorites knew the terrain like the back of their hands. In darkness, they could easily have hidden and then come back to harrass Israel. What were they to do? How could they ever win this battle?...

Joshua 10:8-11    "And the LORD said unto Joshua, Fear them not: for I have delivered them into thine hand; there shall not a man of them stand before thee.  (9)  Joshua therefore came unto them suddenly, and went up from Gilgal all night.  (10)  And the LORD discomfited them before Israel, and slew them with a great slaughter at Gibeon, and chased them along the way that goeth up to Bethhoron, and smote them to Azekah, and unto Makkedah.  (11)  And it came to pass, as they fled from before Israel, and were in the going down to Bethhoron, that the LORD cast down great stones from heaven upon them unto Azekah, and they died: they were more which died with hailstones than they whom the children of Israel slew with the sword." The five kings had risen in opposition. They were wanting to take a stand, but Israel had been promised the land by God, Himself.  They were posing as opposition to Israel and Gibeon, but in reality, they were opposing...

Grace be unto you, and peace, from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ. – Philippians 1:2 If you read the opening remarks of the Apostle Paul in many of his Epistles, he often uses the terms  grace  and  peace  in his salutation to the churches.  Few things are more dear to those that love the Lord than grace and peace.  These precious gifts of God are hallmarks of our faith and things we cannot find in the world.  Sure some pretend to give us a form of grace or peace, but the grace of God is a gift from heaven and the divine peace that flows from the Holy Spirit defies description. What better wishes can we extend to our brothers and sisters around the globe than grace and peace.  The loving favor (grace) of God is a prize beyond measure and true peace in this life brings calm and hope to our troubled hearts. Join me in greeting the saints with grace and peace. Let these virtues fill your hearts and minds daily in service to...

Joshua 10:6-8    "And the men of Gibeon sent unto Joshua to the camp to Gilgal, saying, Slack not thy hand from thy servants; come up to us quickly, and save us, and help us: for all the kings of the Amorites that dwell in the mountains are gathered together against us.  (7)  So Joshua ascended from Gilgal, he, and all the people of war with him, and all the mighty men of valour.  (8)  And the LORD said unto Joshua, Fear them not: for I have delivered them into thine hand; there shall not a man of them stand before thee." Recently, we saw the men of Gibeon coming to the Israelites to deceive them. Their plan was successful and they were now under the umbrella of Israel's protection. The five kings of the Amorites became fearful when they heard about the league made between Israel and Gibeon. Their fear drove them to rise up and form their own league and they decided to roll in against Gibeon and destroy the city. What they did not understand is the prot...

Joshua 9:1-2    "And it came to pass, when all the kings which were on this side Jordan, in the hills, and in the valleys, and in all the coasts of the great sea over against Lebanon, the Hittite, and the Amorite, the Canaanite, the Perizzite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite, heard thereof;  (2)  That they gathered themselves together, to fight with Joshua and with Israel, with one accord." Recently we spoke of the Gibeonite and their cunning manner of deceiving the people of Israel. When I stop to think about the character traits of these other nations, I can better understand why the people of Gibeon wanted to live among the people of Israel rather than join forces with the other nations.  Without going into individual meanings of names (which I love to study), I will just say that the intentions of these nations who gathered themselves with one accord did not have friendly intentions toward Israel. Taking the meanings of the names of the nations, their full ...

Joshua 9:14    "And the men took of their victuals, and asked not counsel at the mouth of the LORD." This passage of Scripture speaks to us of something Israel did without asking wisdom from the Lord. They had just had two great victories - Jericho and Ai. News traveled across the land and the people of Gibeon made a plan to trick the Israelites into a covenant of peace. The men of Gibeon covered themselves with dust, put on old shoes, took mouldy crusty bread, and wine in very old bottles. They went to the people of Israel and said they had come from a far country because they had heard what the Lord had done for Israel in Egypt and as they had come through the wilderness. They asked Israel to make a league (promise) with them that they could live among them. Joshua and the other elders agreed to allow these people to live with them. Then they found out that these people were actually from the city of Gibeon which would have been the next city overthrown by Israel. Joshu...

Jesus Christ was fully God, and fully man; no less divine, no less human.  Every human emotion and temptation He experienced, yet without sin.  Jesus communicates to us His desire to avoid death.  “O My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me. ”  Yet Jesus Christ denied Himself and His human desire at that moment and uttered some of the most memorable words of His earthly ministry, “ nevertheless, not as I will, but as You  will .”  Jesus died to self and His will and said yes to His Father’s will.  The mindset, commitment, and words of Jesus serve as our example.  We are to daily die to self and cry out, “ nevertheless, not as I will, but as You  will. ”  When we focus our minds and dedicate our hearts to do the will of God in all that we do, say, and think every day, in every area of our lives, we are on the pathway of dying to self and living to Christ.  This is an important step in seeing the gl...

Joshua 8:30-31   "Then Joshua built an altar unto the LORD God of Israel in mount Ebal,  (31)  As Moses the servant of the LORD commanded the children of Israel, as it is written in the book of the law of Moses, an altar of whole stones, over which no man hath lift up any iron: and they offered thereon burnt offerings unto the LORD, and sacrificed peace offerings." With the smoke of burning Ai and the heap of stones that covered the lifeless body of the king of Ai in the background, Joshua built an altar unto the LORD God of Israel. They had been obedient this time unto the Lord and experienced a great victory. Now they are going to make sure tribute and honor is given to the Victor of Israel, their Lord God. If only the burnt ruins and heap of stones remained, there may have been the possibility of someone saying, "Look what we did." This altar was to be a reminder that it was the absolute grace and mercy of God that allowed them to make the return trip to Ai a...

Joshua 8:29    "And the king of Ai he hanged on a tree until eventide: and as soon as the sun was down, Joshua commanded that they should take his carcase down from the tree, and cast it at the entering of the gate of the city, and raise thereon a great heap of stones, that remaineth unto this day." Israel went against Ai again. This time, they went under the Lord's instructions and in His blessings. The result was much different from the first time.  They destroyed all the inhabitants of Ai as instructed by God.  I realize the first part of this verse is very explicit in its description of what they did to the king of Ai, but I wanted to use this verse for a particular reason as it came to me this morning.  I especially want to think about the last part of this verse: they were to "raise thereon a great heap of stones, that remaineth unto this day." This was the burial place for the king of Ai. In more than one place, we read of memorials being raised of ...

Joshua 8:1   "And the LORD said unto Joshua, Fear not, neither be thou dismayed: take all the people of war with thee, and arise, go up to Ai: see, I have given into thy hand the king of Ai, and his people, and his city, and his land" After the people of Israel had dealt with the sin in the camp, the Lord then said to Joshua, "I have given you the king of Ai, his people, his city, and his land." God had always intended to give the town of Ai to Israel, but they failed to trust and obey Him concerning the stuff of Jericho. Then they failed to trust and obey Him concerning taking the land. The nation was not to be splintered and divided; yet they took it upon themselves that they could handle this small problem with just a little bit of effort. I keep going back to the defeat in order to fully appreciate the victory. Though we are not to dwell upon the past, there are lessons to be learned as we live today and look to the future. We must learn full dependence up...

Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry against it; for their wickedness is come up before me. – Jonah 1:2 Do you ever see some being punished or receiving bad news and think to yourself, “Good.  They deserve it.”  If so, you could have been a prophet in ancient Israel.  That way of thinking is exactly how Jonah was thinking when God said that he needed to go to Ninevah to preach repentance in the Assyrian capitol.  The Assyrians were the enemies of Israel, and Jonah hated them.  They were wicked and violent.  They worshiped false gods and enslaved the Israelites.  It is no wonder that Jonah despised them. However, God desires that all His people everywhere hear the call to repentance.  As a prophet of Israel, Jonah was supposed to be a man of God, a faithful servant.  If he had simply obeyed, the book of Jonah could have been just one chapter.  It was Jonah’s disobedience that made the story longer.   In the end,...

Joshua 7:10-12    "And the LORD said unto Joshua, Get thee up; wherefore liest thou thus upon thy face?  (11)  Israel hath sinned, and they have also transgressed my covenant which I commanded them: for they have even taken of the accursed thing, and have also stolen, and dissembled also, and they have put it even among their own stuff.  (12)  Therefore the children of Israel could not stand before their enemies, but turned their backs before their enemies, because they were accursed: neither will I be with you any more, except ye destroy the accursed from among you." In verse 10, we find Joshua on his face before the Lord. They had gone up against a little town called Ai and had been utterly and shamefully defeated. Ai was just a very small town in comparison to Jericho. Spies had been sent down to look at the place. They came back with a report that the town was small, there was no need to send the entire army of Israel against them. They sent  a...

Joshua 6:24-25    "And they burnt the city with fire, and all that was therein: only the silver, and the gold, and the vessels of brass and of iron, they put into the treasury of the house of the LORD.  (25)  And Joshua saved Rahab the harlot alive, and her father's household, and all that she had; and she dwelleth in Israel even unto this day; because she hid the messengers, which Joshua sent to spy out Jericho." Joshua 6:27    "So the LORD was with Joshua; and his fame was noised throughout all the country." The Lord gave an incredible victory unto Israel. I find myself using descriptive words that are the ultimate in trying to show the greatness of God in the manner He dealt with Israel. As they were obedient unto the Lord, He gave them victory after victory. Miracle after miracle was shown as they continued to do the things the Lord commanded them to do. This is after forty years of wandering around because they had declined to follow the Lord int...

The Christian life is often thought of as a series of paradoxes.  A paradox is when a statement appears to be contradictory, but in reality, proves to be true.  Chief among the Christian life paradoxes is dying to self that we might live to the glory of Christ.  Many ask with great doubt in their voice, “So, let me get this straight, we die to live?”  To the one who is not born again of the Spirit of God this simply makes no sense.   When we were spiritually dead in sin it appeared to us that we did many wonderful and good things.  Often, we might find ourselves saying, “I’m a basically good person.”  When God’s Spirit comes to us applying the work of regeneration bringing us from spiritual death to vibrant spiritual life, we come to see that for the first time, in the words of Isaiah, “all our righteousnesses are like filthy rags.”  God so humbles us that even our very, very best is now insufficient and is considered worthless.  We of...