Joshua 24 - Joshua's Farewell

Joshua 24

If it is disagreeable in your sight to serve the Lord, choose for yourselves today whom you will serve: whether the gods which your fathers served which were beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living; but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord. (verse 15)

Message: Joshua's Farewell

Time: Joshua "Yahweh saves" led Israel, under God's command, to victorious conquest of the Promised Land. The book spans about 25 years, beginning about 1406 BC. The conquest of Canaan, numerous military campaigns and regathering of the nation are major components. 

What the Lord is Saying: Well, it has taken me a while to get through this book. I was looking forward to reading an Old Testament book, but for whatever reason, took me a while after finishing reading John. And this last chapter has taken me quite some time. What has occurred is not necessarily a lot but in a way it is hard. Maybe hard is not the best word, but hard in parts. It is great to read and see all that God provided to Israel but hard to have others left out. And yet this is the story of life. While everyone has a story, everyone's story is not the same and many stories are not stories that glorify God or are intended to glorify God and so, maybe that is difficult. 

For the people that God calls, they are not only his called ones but they are a people that respond to that call. It is an idea that is somewhat consistent to what I read recently in Proverbs 10:3, "The Lord will not allow the righteous to hunger." The Lord loves righteous people because righteous people honor God and honor others. I have to remember this and keep this at the forefront of my thinking always. 

In Joshua 24 there begins in first 13 verses Joshua reviewing Israel's history. The people that would make up Israel started out by worshipping other gods. But then God chose Abraham and gave him Isaac and promised to multiply his descendants. God began to show these people that they were his. He provided for them. People pursued them but God provided them success and a way out. God gave them possession of the land and struck down those that opposed. God did not listen to people like Balaam but instead blessed and delivered His people. And this continued into the land of Canaan, a land they did not know and yet in war he provided for his people and left the people there to die. They live now in a land that they did not build or garden and yet they get the reward. 

Following this history, Joshua then encourages the people to serve the Lord. In verse 14 he says, "Fear the Lord and serve Him in sincerity and truth." Lord stands for JEHOVAH, the covenant God of Israel. And this is followed by putting away other gods in our lives. This is our biggest problem - our allegiance to other things that are not the one True God. We dance around the idols in our lives and basically try to serve things but then miss the true ness of the will of God. I struggle with this - music, movies, entertainment and the habit of it all and push out the things of God. Verse 15 is an interesting verse - we choose who we will serve. Serve someone, but "as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord." 

The people then have a back and forth with Joshua and pledge their allegiance to serving the Lord and putting aside their foreign gods and to commemorate this event and this proclamation there is a decision to erect a statue, a stone to signify this event. In verse 27, "This stone shall be a witness against us, for it has heard all the words of the Lord which He spoke to us, that it shall be for a witness against you, lest you deny your God." 

Then Joshua died at 110 years old as mentioned in verse 29. Then there is mention of also burying the bones of Joseph when the sons of Israel had carried with them. 

Summary: We are not live for God half-hearted but completely. All other forms of faith are basically the same but we are to serve the Lord our God. 

Promise: God is the only true God, so He is the only source of mercy and forgiveness. If we abandon Him, we have no hope, but if we run to Him for mercy when we sin, He will pardon us. 

Prayer: O Lord, I thank you for taking me on this journey with Israel and seeing  your hand of providence in their life, but also the simple reminder of my need to follow You all of my days and make you number one. Help me with this. I don't want to get too proud or lead my life by emotion or feeling but stand on the word of God. Help me in my conversations with people to always and only follow You God. Keep me focused on You. Help me to always lead my family to serve You Lord. Thank you for the peace you bring. Make me someone like a Joshua. 

 

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Proverbs 10:3 - The Lord takes care of the righteous

Proverbs 10:3

The Lord will not allow the righteous to hunger, but he will thrust aside the craving of the wicked. 

Message: The Lord takes care of the righteous

Time: Proverbs records multiple individuals as its author with Solomon as the principal author. Solomon died in 931 BC though most think the book was likely in its final form sometime before the end of Hezekiah’s reign in 686 BC. It is a book that instructs people on the path of wisdom. It speaks to all of life and living our lives under the authority and direction of God. 

What the Lord is Saying: On the heals of yesterday and words about the righteous response to money and having money, gaining it in a right manner and then also using it for God's glory in giving it to others -- now there is a mention not so much of a virtue and a vice but instead a warning and what God will do. This is different as it also begins with "The Lord will." The previous two verses speak of actions that man should do or not do and the natural results of these. But here what is mentioned is the work of God. 

"The Lord will not allow the righteous to hunger." Once again, as in Proverbs 10:2, there is the mention of a righteous person. In Matthew 6:33 Jesus says, "But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you." As people we are to seek Him and His righteous ways.  I know that within the gospel it reveals the righteousness of God (Romans 1:16-17) and so pursuing righteous helps me to be righteous. And Proverbs 10:2 begins to show me what a righteous person looks like in regards to the handling of money. 

In contrast to a righteous person is a wicked person. "he (the Lord) will thrust aside the craving of the wicked." A wicked person's actions for food will not be satisfied. James 4:3 states, "You ask and do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, so that you may spend it on your pleasures."  A wicked persons requests do not yield a favorable response because the wicked person has the wrong motives and is only interested in their own pleasures. And the Lord does not reward this but rather thwarts this in people.  The wicked are selfish and self-seeking. The righteous are self-less and love others and serve others and glorify God in their actions. Psalm 52:7, “Behold, the man who would not make God his refuge, but trusted in the abundance of his riches and was strong in his evil desire." 

The righteous have a contentment that the wicked do not. The wicked are frustrated often. My wife told me today of a sad story of a couple driving through New Mexico and the older man getting stabbed at a rest stop by a young man who wanted their car. This young man created a scene so that he could get a way in a vehicle. This young man was already a wicked man and committed a wicked act. He was frustrated. [A young man of 21 entered a plea agreement of guilty to receive a lesser sentence - in this case 15 years for murder but other offenses have his sentence up to 36 years. The plea agreement where the defendant admits guilt saves time avoiding court cases and juries in exchange for a lesser sentence. The crime is the same.] I think of this young man and many like this and their frustration which often then result in others being affected -- innocent people. 

The warning is somewhat easier to see but the promise to not let the righteous hunger seems to be a harder one to reconcile and see today. I say this because hunger is rampant today. This verse infers a providence that God has over those that are living with the right motives. He will provide food for them, sometimes through the work of charity by way of other people. 

I notice in the King James Version the addition of a word, "the soul." "The LORD will not suffer the soul of the righteous to famish." Although words for food are used - famine and later craving. Is there instead an idea of the soul rather than the palate?  The soul is not necessarily the physical body, but it can be. It encompasses the physical but can be more than that as well. 

Whether the word 'soul' is used or not, the idea seems to be that what the Lord focuses on is a person that desires righteousness and right-living and wanting to be a person that glorifies God in their life and gives to others; a person that does not worry, but instead trusts God for His hand of providence. This is the person that God is pleased with and will protect. He wants a person that finds their love and dependence on Him instead of the opposite. The wicked person is not the person we are meant to be and so that person will be dissatisfied. Remember this, righteousness is our goal. 

Prayer: God, you are good and I know you want me to be good and you reward those that trust in You and do things that honor You and so I need to be a good person and live my life in a righteous way. This honors You. But also, good things will come to me when I do this. I will not hunger. And I know that means more than just food for I see it in my life. You give me a peace that surpasses all understanding. You show me the great blessings you have for me. But I need Your help. I need to give you more of me and I need to let things go and give it into your hands. 

  

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Proverbs 10:2 - Shortcuts Don't Work Out

Proverbs 10:2 

Ill-gotten gains do not profit, but righteousness delivers from death. 

Message: Shortcuts Don't Work Out

Time: Proverbs records multiple individuals as its author with Solomon as the principal author. Solomon died in 931 BC though most think the book was likely in its final form sometime before the end of Hezekiah’s reign in 686 BC. It is a book that instructs people on the path of wisdom. It speaks to all of life and living our lives under the authority and direction of God. 

What the Lord is Saying: At first glance this is an interesting verse that starts with a vice and then a virtue. The vice is "ill-gotten gains" with the KJV translating this as, "Treasures of wickedness." NLT states, "Tainted wealth has no lasting value, but right living can save your life." Something I notice is after verse 1 speaks of a general statement about being wise, the next verse that begins starts the rest of the proverbs by immediately speaking of money. I have read that the subject of money is present very often in the Bible. A quick search yields this statement, "The Bible is packed with over 2,000 scriptures about money, tithing in the Bible, and possessions. That's twice as many Bible verses about money than faith and prayer combined." 

I think of my marriage and one of our chief issues of stress has been over the years the issue of money. Although we have tried to manage it, asking questions about how it was spent, creating budgets, even thinking about how we give and tithe has been a big issue (tension) of our marriage. It also seems like in this country, our appearance of advancement, is often about the money we have. Most of the world struggles with finances and earning and yet in America there seems to be an abundance of jobs because of the right infrastructures. 

I am involved in a ministry speaking to people throughout the world, although I only speak to English speaking people which appear often in Africa and India where the desire and priority to speak English is strong. As I speak to people I discover how hard it is for them accumulate wealth. They struggle with the ability to even meet basic needs. [I have been speaking to a young man of 29 who lives in Nigeria. After spending much time in Lagos and struggling to find work and then his mother dying, he found a way to get a job in Abuja, the capital. However, to do that, he had to bribe individuals to the tune of $600. And this was necessary to get a government job with consistent wages. He started the job in mid-January and currently he is still holding out hope to be paid with having to sustain himself with now the promise of pay starting at the end of April. And yet, not even sure I would call this ill-gotten gains on his part, but for sure on his employer's part.] People are working very hard only to get to what would be considered a very modest standard of living in the United States. 

This proverbs presents a temptation in accumulating wealth - a short cut to acquiring it - "ill-gotten gains." While gains doesn't always mean wealth, I think it infers wealth because of the word profit. For instance, the gain could be cheating in school in order to get a good grade in school or getting recognition at work by mistake resulting in a promotion without saying anything.  

I have an example of an ill-gotten gain in which I was on the losing end of it. It happened around 2004 when we were preparing to move into this house. Someone contacted the church we attended and as the treasurer I was contacted about this person who had a need. I met the person at one of our shopping centers and the person fooled me through his crafty words, appealing to my sense of wanting to be known as a person of faith and trust by getting my ATM card and then taking money out of account at the ATM. And then it ended with him having me give him a gift. But in the process it wasn't just a gift I gave him in withdrawing money for him, but he had used the ATM card to pull out money previously. All-in-all that day he took about $1400 from me. It was ill-gotten gain. It is something that bothered me for some time and haunted me for years that I would be duped in this way. He was a crafty man and knew how to run a scheme to get money from me. I remember calling my friend Bruce to tell him of the faith that I thought I had gained only to realize then the money that I had lost. And then the embarrassment I felt. 

Ill-gotten is contrasted with righteousness. Righteousness is another very interesting word as in the Bible it is a word that seems to have a much wider meaning than how we might use it in the English language. The Apostle Paul uses the word to express the character of God and the way of God that is His standard. As such it is all the good that we want and would hope to acquire. Romans 1:16-17 tells us that the gospel is the righteousness of God. It is our chief desire because it is all that God represents. In a way, to me, it is likened to the holiness of God. Romans 3:22 tells us that this righteousness only comes from faith in God. Romans 4:3 tells us that belief in God is what grants us or through that belief we are credited with righteousness. Romans 5:9 says we are declared righteous by His blood. Blood covers unrighteousness but it is accessed by faith or believing. 

Righteousness is an interesting word in regards to salvation, but in the context of this verse it is contrasted with that which is acquired incorrectly. We are extolled to live in a righteous manner or good manner. And this verse not only infers that righteous living will give us a profit or gain, but that profit or gain will deliver us from death. There is a freedom in living the right way. Righteous living results in a peace. 

Righteousness also includes charity. As such, having wealth or gaining wealth also includes helping those in need. This is so important. For me, this is hard. I know I have a giving heart. I trust people easily and maybe that is why I feel into that issue in 2004 partly. I want to give to those in need, but I also struggle giving too much. Charity is tough because when you give the recipient they expect that gift to be followed by another gift and so forth. But the point of this in general is righteousness or righteous living includes giving. 

In conclusion, I need to be careful how I practice this as well as encourage this and pray that our country and people around me would approach wealth in a way that honors God. 

Prayer: Lord, thank you for writing this words and including them and showing me what is important. God, you know people because you created them and you know our ways. We are selfish and yet we need not be. Even with the funds that we have received, we have a responsibility to acquire them correctly and be good stewards as well. Help people everywhere to honor You with their decisions in acquiring wealth. I pray that ill-gotten ways would cease and we would be a people everywhere taking care of our family and basic needs, but also be a people that gives. Help me in this to understand how I am to give - when to help and when to support in other ways. 

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Proverbs 10:1 - The wise and foolish son

Proverbs 10:1 

The proverbs of Solomon, a wise son makes a father glad. But a foolish son is a grief to his mother. 

Message: The wise and foolish son

Time: Proverbs records multiple individuals as its author with Solomon as the principal author. Solomon died in 931 BC though most think the book was likely in its final form sometime before the end of Hezekiah’s reign in 686 BC. It is a book that instructs people on the path of wisdom. It speaks to all of life and living our lives under the authority and direction of God. 

What the Lord is Saying: This is a a book that I have wanted to study for a long time, but specifically this section which begins here in verse 1 of Chapter 10 - "The proverbs of Solomon." This section spans from 10:1 to 22:16 and is 375 separate verses on various subjects. Each verse can in a way stand alone. People have said that with 31 chapters in Proverbs, one can read a chapter a day. Maybe that is a good practice and yet within those 31 chapters are so many different messages to ponder and every time I set out on the goal to read a chapter a day I get hung up with all of the different ideas in each chapter. So I wonder instead of studying each one, could I with 375 verses do one a day, taking over a year to complete? In looking at these 375 verses, what will follow is observations of moral virtues and their contrary vices.  

The first verse of these proverbs begin with the son. As I read the previous 9 chapters of Proverbs, the son seems to be the focal subject. Chapters 2-7 begin with the phrase, "My son..." and much of the subject matter is a warning of the son to not go astray and often the warning is to stay far away from one's neighbors wife (yet this son does not seem to be married). 

This first proverb expresses the most fundamental relationship and one that is present throughout history - a child's relationship to their father and mother. Note: while this book focuses on the name 'son' in its writings, I don't think the application is only to a son. The male gender is often used as the default term, especially in these ancient times. 

The virtue here is "a wise son makes a father glad" and the vice is attributed to the mother, "a foolish son is a grief to his mother." And yet just as a son also means a daughter, a father can also mean the mother. It is significant though that a father and mother are assumed to both to be a part of a child's life. While this verse is one subject - the actions of a child, contrasting two actions, it seems this verse is a culmination as well of all that this book is speaking about. In order to understand wisdom as well as foolishness a person needs to read the previous chapters. As such, this book, the Bible and its collections of writings are a group of writings that are written for us to make them all a part of our lives. Yes, we highlight and call attention to certain verses over others. But all are meant to be a part of our lives. And I think this verse therefore is a summary verse and understanding its meanings requires us to read on and think about what has already been stated. 

The other thing I see in this verse is our actions are meant to not simply be individualistic, but impacting others. We are relational beings. Yes, there is value in the individual but life is not simply about one person but rather a people. This verse shows the impact a child's actions has on their parents, producing gladness while foolishness produces grief. It is clear that gladness is our goal. It is what we are after. 

This idea of relational creatures and that we are not meant to do things alone and be alone and only please ourselves is a big one. A friend was telling me that so much of today's life is individualistic. People are so concerned of individual's feelings and rights. In the media, we have more and more contests that are focused on individual success rather than a team (e.g. Survivor, American Idol, The Voice, The Floor). Our phones are focused on our own self interest and self enjoyment. So much of life is now focused on individual attainment. But what is significant about this verse is the individual effects others (parents). I think our lives are meant to be relational, affecting others. 

In thinking of this word, wisdom, I read from commentaries that it encompasses a prudent person or one that shows care for the future. There is also an element of virtue. Virtue displays a life of high morals or choosing right over wrong consistently. And then wisdom is defined as a godly person. To be godly I think is to exemplify and be like the One that created us and made us and purposed us to live. As such, we pursue to follow God's commands and conform our thoughts and actions to the standard that God sets for us. As such these attributes are interchangeable. The desire for high morals is spoken of in the Bible. God wants a people that will be faithful to Him and glorify Him. 

Thus, this idea of a wise son makes a father glad shows that a child of God is also meant to make their heavenly father proud. I will never forget when Tyson, my oldest, was playing basketball in a church league (Upwards) in mid-school I believe and he struggled making baskets, but there was one day he went down the court, made a basket and immediately looked back at me in the stands. He wants to make me glad. There was another time with Tyson back at our house on Moon Street in which I got really mad at the kids and he went and quickly drew a picture of us at the Lobos football game we had attended. I was mad and angry over something the kids had done and he wanted to bring to mind a game we had gone to and the good time we had there. He wanted me to be glad. It took a while in my life before I felt that my dad was glad with me and still I struggle at times with it. 

The idea that a foolish son is a grief to his mother is because I think in this instance, the emotion of grief is actually more common to women. My wife is definitely quicker to tears. Grief is anguish or distress and there are occurrences of this in our lives because of the actions of our children. 

Prayer: Lord, I thank you for this verse and all that an be gleaned from it. Thank you for making us relational beings, in need of each other and that our behavior affects others. I thank you for my children who have made me glad many times and in so many ways.  

Note: If you are interested in other studies/devotions, check out my index of Bible Study's.