"Fear the LORD ... and serve Him!"

Day #57


Scripture Reading:  Joshua 21 - 24 ...

GOD says that He is a jealous God (Exodus 20:5).  We think of jealousy being a bad thing, but God's jealousy is different.  God alone is worthy of love, praise and worship, and when people reject the one, true God and give their worship to other "gods," God's wrath comes – always ... sooner or later.  More and more I am feeling like a prophet, being compelled to speak what I wish were not true:  that God's wrath and coming judgment will soon descend upon our nation and perhaps soon on the nations of the earth.  We worry about terrorism, and rightly so, but those who worship the false gods of religion, power and all kinds of materialism will discover that GOD cannot be mocked ... God WILL NOT be mocked.  When political leaders and preachers take the name of "God" in vain, He does not hold them guiltless.

Joshua 21-24 reveals two things very clearly:  God keeps His promises to those who are His and He is to be feared.  As Joshua nears the end of his life he testifies to the faithfulness of God, saying, "Not one of all the LORD's good promises to the house of Israel failed; every one was fulfilled" (21:25).  Joshua had been a slave in Egypt.  He had seen God deliver His people from Egypt through the plagues.  He had walked through the Red Sea on dry ground with all the tribes of Israel.  He had walked beside Moses as they followed the pillar of cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night for forty years!  He had seen God provide food and water for the entire nation through the manna and by other means.  So now his final testimony to the leaders of Israel includes these words:

"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" (23:14).  

Think of the truth of that statement and ask yourself if YOU can say that.  If you have placed your faith in Jesus Christ you can and should be able and willing to testify to the same truth.  We fail God at times, but He never fails us!!  His love is perfect and His faithfulness is steadfast.  Having said that, Joshua warns Israel that God will bring all the evil He has threatened upon them if they violate the covenant God has made with them.  If they turn away from Him the LORD's anger will burn against them and they will quickly perish from the land He had given them.

When the tribes on the western side of the Jordan thought the tribes on the east were setting up an altar to worship God the way they wanted to, rather than how God had told them to, they were afraid that God would once again judge ALL of Israel for the sins of some, as He had done before.  They feared the LORD, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.  They were willing to go to war against their brothers if it meant avoiding God's wrath.  They said, “If you rebel against the LORD today, tomorrow He will be angry with the whole community of Israel” (22:18).  They understood God’s “jealousy” and desired to be obedient to His instructions and commands.

As we have seen so many times before, obedience brings God’s blessings, while disobedience brings God’s discipline or judgment.  We cannot save ourselves through our obedience, but where there is no desire to obey God, to worship and honor Him, to submit to Him, there is no relationship and judgment is sure to follow.  The writer of Hebrews quotes the Psalmist when he writes, “the Lord disciplines those He loves” (Hebrews 12:6).  If you are a child of God through faith in Jesus Christ the Holy Spirit will convict you of your sin and you will be moved to confess and repent.  The freedom Jesus came to give us leads to joyful obedience as we willingly and cheerfully submit to our Lord Jesus Christ.

Today, few seem to care about devotion to the God who has revealed Himself throughout history as our Creator, and who has revealed the one way to approach Him through faith in His Son, Jesus Christ.  If you were God ... what would YOU do?  Oh, God is love!  Yes, and that's why He sent Jesus to bear His WRATH against the sins of those who believe.  All those who believe in Jesus will be SAVED ... from what?  From God’s wrath, His judgment.  How quickly people pick and choose what they want to believe about God, and how quickly people turn to other gods or mix the worship of the one true God with the worship of gods made in the image of men.

Listen carefully to Joshua's challenge to the people:  "Now fear the LORD and serve Him with all faithfulness.  Throw away the gods your forefathers worshiped beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the LORD.  But if serving the LORD seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your forefathers served beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living.  But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD" (24:14-15).  

The people said they would serve the LORD ("I AM") ... but they didn't ... and judgment soon followed.  God has not changed.  He is still the “jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments” (Exodus 20:5-6).  Jesus didn’t abolish the commandments; He fulfilled them.  As His followers, we are called and empowered by His Spirit to be like Him.

People all over the world have turned away from God and think nothing of it ... but God does.  For nearly 2,000 years God has been holding out His hand, offering forgiveness and salvation to those who believe in His Son Jesus Christ, who enter into covenant with their Creator by faith in Him alone.  Have you found your refuge in Him?  Have you been convicted of your sin?  Have you heard His voice?  Have you come to Him?  He calls us to surrender our lives to the One who gave His life for us and to find hope, joy and peace in Him.  May His Spirit open your heart and mind to the truth of God's Word and make you an ambassador of His kingdom today and every day, for He alone is worthy to be worshiped!

"Lord God Almighty, You alone are worthy of our worship and our praise.  You are to be feared ... and yet, through faith in Your Son, Jesus, fear is replaced by love.  Oh, amazing grace!  Thank You for Your faithfulness in keeping every promise you have ever made.  The future is glorious for those whose hope is in You!  In Jesus' name, Amen"

"Our Promised Land ..."

Day #56


Scripture Reading:  Joshua 16 - 20 ...

We have seen that being part of the people of God involves receiving an inheritance and it is important to understand that the inheritance was not only a piece of land.  Being part of the nation of Israel meant that God was with them!  Whatever happened in the future, God promised that He would be with them, that He would fight for them.  If they would humble themselves before the LORD their God, He would give them all they needed.  In acknowledging their dependence on Him, they would find His faithfulness and His providential care over them sufficient for their peace, their joy and their contentment.  The same is true for us today!

How often (or how rarely) do you think of receiving an inheritance from the Lord?  Do you think about God’s promises in Christ?  Do you realize that receiving the Holy Spirit, being born again, means that you are a adopted into God’s family and that now YOU are a part of His chosen people?  Too many today who claim to be “Christians” think far too little of what God has promised and far too much about what they WANT from God in this world.  Some preachers tell those who listen that God promises health and wealth and an easy life now, with a rare mention about heaven.  Even heaven is presented as a place where you get what YOU want.  Where is GOD in all of this? 

Truthfully, GOD Himself is the inheritance of His people.  You and I receive no good thing unless it comes to us through our relationship with God by faith in Jesus Christ.  We deserve nothing, we earn nothing; it is all a gift from God to those who are His children.  James writes, “Don’t be deceived, my dear brothers.  Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.  He chose to give us birth through the word of truth, that we might be a kind of first-fruits of all He created” (James 1:16-18).

We read in Psalm 73:25-26:  “Whom have I in heaven but you?  And earth has nothing I desire besides you.  My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.”  What a beautiful testimony.  The MORE God is to you, the more your relationship with Him through faith in Jesus Christ and the life of His Spirit inspires you, the LESS the world will hold you captive to search for your happiness from the things of this world.  As someone has said, “God is most glorified in us (believers), when we are most satisfied in HIM!”  How true that is!  HE is our inheritance!!

Looking back at these chapters in Joshua, the division of the land continued as each of Jacob's sons (and the two sons of Joseph: Manasseh and Ephraim) received an inheritance in the promised land of Canaan, the land God had promised to Abraham and his descendants more than 400 years before.  Tribe by tribe, name by name, the land was assigned.  It was like the reading of a will and all who were part of Abraham's family received their share of the inheritance.  There are a number of very important things to consider from these chapters.

First, their inheritance, like ours, comes from God.  This was not Abraham's land.  Remember that God had told Abraham to leave his father's house and land and go to the place HE would show him (Genesis 12:1).  Because the inheritance came from God, the very basis for the inheritance was GRACE.  The people of Israel did not choose this land for themselves or do anything to deserve this land - it was a gift from God.  This picture is repeated over and over again throughout the Old Testament.  God’s choosing of Israel, and God’s choosing of believers today, is one hundred per cent grace, undeserved favor.

Second, the detail of the division of the land reveals that God knows each name and the place of each.  It is as Paul says to the men of Athens in Acts 17:  "The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by human hands.  And He is not served by human hands, as if He needed anything, because He Himself gives all men life and breath and everything else.  From one man He made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and He determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live" (Acts 17:24-26).

All of this points to another promised land and another inheritance that God has promised to those who are part of Abraham's family by faith in the "Seed" of Abraham, Jesus, the Christ.  As you read through the Bible you will discover that God's Word points us to an eternal state of joy and blessedness ... to a new heaven and a new earth.  The new "heaven" is the atmosphere and space around a planet created by the voice of God, and the new earth is ... well, a new planet.  Some believe that God is going to simply improve THIS planet, but II Peter 3 says, "the day of the Lord will come like a thief.  The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything in it will be laid bare. ...  That day will bring about the destruction of the heavens by fire, and the elements will melt in the heat. BUT in keeping with His promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, the home of righteousness" (II Peter 3:10, 12-13).

God will do what He says He will do.  Even the "cities of refuge" remind us that God knows the heart and offers forgiveness to those who draw near to Him.  “GOD is our refuge and our strength, an ever-present help in trouble.  Therefore we will not fear. ... There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy place where the Most High dwells.  God is within her, she will not fall!” (Psalm 46:1,4-5).  We look forward to our inheritance, knowing that the promises of God come to us through our relationship with Jesus Christ.  It is to those who believe in Jesus that the promises are given - not to all.  GRACE is given to those whom God chooses and to us the inheritance comes.  A thankful, heartfelt response of a life lived for God is the only response worthy of God's love and promises.

"Father in heaven, the joy of knowing You and being part of Your family cannot be compared to anything this world offers.  I thank You for setting Your love on Me, for saving Me through the sacrifice of Jesus, and for Your wonderful promises of a new heaven and a new earth, the home of righteousness, where You will live WITH us - forever!!!"  In Jesus' name, Amen"

"An inheritance from the LORD!"

Day #55


Scripture Reading:  Joshua 11 - 15 ...

These chapters in Joshua may at first seem somewhat tedious to read.  Why should you and I care about how the land was divided?  Yet, it is interesting today that the “ownership” of the very land these chapters are talking about is in dispute to this very day, right up to the present time!  God had said to Abraham and to Isaac and to Jacob that this land belonged to them and to their descendants ... FOREVER!!  And now Joshua leads them into this land hundreds of years later, just as God had promised.  History reveals the turmoil this land has seen over the past three thousand years, yet in the years leading up to 1948 God prepared the way once again for the physical descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob to possess the land promised to their forefathers. 

What you are reading in Joshua’s account of these things is not only about the land, but even more importantly about the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the only true God, keeping His promises!  This is about OUR God, who speaks in His Word about another “promised land,” and who promises to be faithful to those who are united to His Son Jesus Christ, the “Seed” of Abraham, by faith.  You should be interested in what God did for Israel, because if God is not trustworthy and does not keep His promises to them, how can we be sure He will keep the promises He has made to us?!

At the end of yesterday’s reading, we read in Chapter 10, verses 40-42, “Joshua subdued the whole region. ... He left no survivors.  He totally destroyed all who breathed, just as the LORD, the God of Israel, had commanded. ...  All these kings and their lands Joshua conquered in one campaign, because the LORD, the God of Israel, fought for Israel.”  What a testimony to the power of God, but also to the love of God for His people.  There would be more battles to fight, but they knew now that God was with them!

As we read further into Joshua's historical recounting of the taking of the promised land he makes it clear that everything was done "as the LORD had commanded."  The LORD said to Joshua, "Do not be afraid of them, because by this time tomorrow I will hand all of them over to Israel, slain" (Joshua 11:6).  Once again, it is vital to understand the spiritual state of those living in the land God had promised to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.  ALL mankind exists in utter rebellion against God.  Some rebellion is more obvious, but God says, "the heart is deceitful above all things, and beyond cure.  Who can know it?" (Jeremiah 17:9).  Judgment comes because judgment is deserved.

Having already destroyed all of mankind in the flood, except for Noah and his family, the entire human race owes its every breath to God, their Creator.  If God were to withdraw His presence today for even a moment all people would simply cease to exist.  God owes no one life.  It is only His grace that enables anyone to continue living, and if it is His will that life ends, who can judge our Creator (Romans 9:19-21)?  This sounds harsh, yet it is the clear teaching of God's Word.  In His compassion and mercy God today offers forgiveness and life through Jesus Christ, yet those who reject the Gospel or who do not hear the Gospel will face God's just judgment.  The testimony of creation and mankind’s rejection of the Creator is sufficient to “earn” God’s judgment for eternity (Romans 1:18-20).

The "other side of the coin" is the inheritance that those who are chosen by God receive.  Joshua describes the division of the land in these and the following chapters.  The land is given to the descendants of the sons of Jacob, whose name was changed to Israel.  These were (and are) God's chosen people.  We know that it is up to the person who owns the inheritance to give it to whomever they choose, and that is what God does.  Everything is His and He can give it to whomever He pleases. Therefore, when God promised to give this land to the descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, He made a covenant, a testament, a WILL ... and God keeps His promise.

Many people today have a difficult time accepting that God chooses some and not others because they begin with the assumption that most people are basically good and since “God is love,” it only makes sense that God would love everybody, send Jesus to save everybody, and welcome everybody into His kingdom.  That wasn’t true in the days of Joshua and Israel, and it isn’t true today.  Unless God chose some to inherit the promised land, none would enter.  Unless God Himself works in the hearts of sinful people to make them new creations, drawing us to Himself, not one would come.  Grace is grace precisely because it is undeserved and unattainable by our own efforts.

Understanding this should help believers to look at this world through God's eyes.  The nations of the world and all those who are separated from God by sin have no hope of an inheritance.  Only those who are "in Christ Jesus" will live with God forever in the new heavens and the new earth.  As the writer of Hebrews speaks of those who lived by faith and inherited God’s promises in Hebrews 11, he mentions Abel, the son of Adam and Eve, and Enoch, Noah and Abraham, and then he explains, “All these people were still living by faith when they died.  They did not receive the things promised, they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance. ... They were longing for a better country – a heavenly one.  Therefore, God is not ashamed to be called their God, for He has prepared a city for them!” (Hebrews 11:13-16).

God speaks of this city in Revelation 21 and says that He will make His dwelling with His people in this beautiful city, this perfect world, this new “promised land,” forever!!  Will YOU be one of them?  God calls out through His Word today and sends His Spirit with His Word to open blind eyes, to unstop deaf ears, to renew dead minds and to change hard hearts.  Have you heard His call?

Do not be one of those who judge God.  Thank God for His grace and obey His command to go into all the world proclaiming the Gospel so that you may be an instrument in His hands, an ambassador of His kingdom, to save some from the judgment they (and we) deserve!

"Father, Your justice is right and Your way is true.  Thank You for sending Your Son to pay the penalty for MY sin, and for all who believe in You through the work of Your Spirit within us.  How amazing is Your grace, O God!!  As I anticipate the inheritance that awaits, help me to be faithful to You as I live in this world.  In Jesus' name, Amen"

"As the LORD fought for Israel ..."

Day #54


Scripture Reading:  Joshua 6-10 ...

Joshua 6-10 may be difficult for some to read and even more difficult for some to understand.  How could God order Joshua and Israel to march into a land that was not theirs and kill men, women and children?  Some today point to things like this to explain why they don't believe in the God of the Bible, Israel's God.  Such savage behavior cannot be the work of the same God who sent Jesus into the world to save all who believe in Him!  What most people fail to understand, however, is that all people deserve God’s just judgment against sin.  The idea that “God hates the sin, but loves the sinner” does not have the support of historical reality!  Sin is a deadly plague that has infected all of humanity and there is no cure apart from that which God Himself provides.

As I have pointed out previously, the only way to approach the Bible is to ask yourself what each passage tells you about the God whom we worship, the Creator of all things.  Because the entire Bible is the Word of God, only by looking at what each part reveals about God's character do you get a complete picture of God Himself.  And only when you understand God's character will you understand why He had to send His own Son to save people like you and me.  We are born in sin, spiritually dead, and unless God gives us life we will perish in the same state.  Without the plan of salvation revealed in the Bible, God’s Word, mankind is utterly and completely without hope.  That’s why the Gospel of Jesus Christ is GOOD NEWS!!

Many people today want to believe that people are basically "good" and therefore unworthy of judgment.  Most people refuse to believe in a God who would judge mankind so harshly.  Yet, we have already witnessed the total destruction of the entire human race, except for Noah and his family, in the flood.  So now we see Israel's army entering the promised land, the land God had promised to Abraham and his descendants centuries before, and destroying entire cities ... because God told them to do so.  Speaking through Moses, God had told Israel that their enemies were destroyed not because Israel was righteous, but because of GOD’s righteousness and holiness.  Israel was spared only because of God’s grace and His decision to set His love on these people and to bring from them the promised Savior.  Even most of them would ultimately face His just judgment.

The fall of Jericho illustrates both God’s judgment against sin and His grace to His chosen people.  Israel needed to learn a lesson that all who believe in God today must learn:  dependence on God.  Who could have planned the strategy that Joshua and the people of Israel used against Jericho?  March around the city, blow trumpets and shout, and the walls will come down.  Then utterly defeat the city and take all you want ... well, almost all you want.  God gave them an amazing victory that would surely encourage them as this wandering nation entered a land promised to their forefathers hundreds of years earlier, when it was only Jacob and his family.  Certainly, this was a great beginning to their campaign to take the land as their own.  But their jubilation was short-lived.

The little city of Ai was next on their agenda, and a plan was made to take only three thousand men to defeat the city.  Surprise!  They were defeated and thirty-six men were killed.  Their response?  “The hearts of the people melted and became like water” (7:5).  What had happened?  Even Joshua cried out to the Lord, asking why God had brought them into this land if this is what was going to happen!  God’s response, however, was clear and concise:  “Stand up!  What are you doing down on your face?  Israel has sinned; they have violated my covenant ... THAT is why the Israelites cannot stand against their enemies ...  I will not be with you any more unless you destroy whatever among you is devoted to destruction” (7:10-12).

After investigating God’s charge, Achan was found to have taken some of the spoils.  Once again the punishment was swift:  Israel stoned Achan and his family.  Then Joshua and the army went up against Ai a second time and defeated them, for the LORD was with them.  Even here you see the king of Ai being hung on a tree and left there until evening.  How do we reconcile these things with the picture of God in the New Testament; the God of love and grace and mercy??  The killing continued as Israel moved into the land of Canaan, God even “stopping the sun” so that Israel could defeat their enemies.  Joshua said to them, “Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.  Be strong and courageous.  This is what the LORD will do to all the enemies you are going to fight” (10:25).  Then Joshua killed the five kings of the armies they were fighting and hung them on trees until evening, celebrating the victory God had given them.

If you are thinking how horrible all of this is and finding it difficult to understand how God could condone these things, it is because you do not yet understand or accept the perfect holiness of God, His just anger against sin and sinners, or His righteous judgment.  God’s love for those whom He has chosen is amazing only when you believe that “the wages of sin is death, BUT the GIFT of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 6:23).  Apart from the grace of God, His undeserved favor, you and I and all people would face God’s just judgment.  The message being proclaimed today that “God’s loves everybody” and that He accepts the religious acts of those who reject His offer of salvation through faith in His Son is a lie from Satan himself! 

We live in what the Bible calls the “day of salvation” (II Corinthians 6:2).  God is the same God today that He was in the days of Joshua.  The only difference is that God is being patient today, waiting for His plan to reach its fulfillment, calling His chosen people to Himself through the Gospel of Jesus Christ. There is only one way to avoid God’s judgment.  Jesus says, “I am the Way, and the Truth and the Life.  No one comes to the Father except through Me” (John 14:6).

God offers forgiveness and life through faith in Jesus today!  Confess your sin, believe in Jesus and rejoice in God’s amazing love and grace!!

"Father, I acknowledge that You are right when You judge and that it is only by Your grace that anyone can stand before You and not perish.  Continue Your work in me, that I may testify to Your greatness and be an instrument in Your hands to offer life to those who remain in the darkness of sin and death.  Thank you for saving me, through Your Son Jesus Christ, to whom be praise now and forever.  Amen"