Showing posts with label Joshua. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Joshua. Show all posts
Friday, March 25, 2011
The fall of Jericho
Today's post doesn't have anything to do with today's readings, but it does relate to something else I read today. I'm reading Paul Copan's book "When God Goes to Starbucks". He was giving reasons for believing that God does indeed participate in this world, as opposed to the belief of Deists, who think that God set the world in motion and then basically forgot about it. Anyway, God interacts with us through natural events and through miracles. Natural events follow the laws of nature, but the timing of such events was directly affected by God, while miracles are events that cannot be explained through natural causes. For example, an earthquake is a naturally occurring event, while someone coming back to life when they were physically dead is a miracle as that conflicts with natural laws. All this is to say that perhaps the fall of Jericho wasn't a miracle, so to speak. I always read this story and thought that the Israelites blew the trumpets and the city fell. Copan mentioned in passing that God could have timed the two events - the blowing of the trumpets and the falling of the city - at the perfect moment so that when an earthquake hit Jericho and it collapsed, the Israelites just happened to be blowing the trumpets on their final round around the city. Sort of like when the Israelites crossed the Jordan on dry land due to an earthquake upstream. It's amazing to see how God may have used such natural occurrences to achieve his goals. What are your thoughts on this version of Josh and the Big Wall?
Sunday, March 6, 2011
A witness between us
Joshua
The Reubenites and Gadites had land on the other side of the Jordan, opposite that of the rest of Israel. When they finally went to live on this land, they built a large altar to God, but when the other tribes saw it, they thought it was to foreign gods. But the Reubenites and Gadites set them straight, saying that they had built this altar, not to make sacrifices to foreign gods, but to remind the people on both sides of the river that they all followed the same God. Joshua 22:34 says: "And the Reubenites and the Gadites gave the altar this name: A Witness Between Us that the Lord is God."
This altar is a great idea! I think we should consider have some sort of icon, or altar, or something that can be put in your work place or home that will remind you and those who visit that the Lord is God and you serve him.
The Reubenites and Gadites had land on the other side of the Jordan, opposite that of the rest of Israel. When they finally went to live on this land, they built a large altar to God, but when the other tribes saw it, they thought it was to foreign gods. But the Reubenites and Gadites set them straight, saying that they had built this altar, not to make sacrifices to foreign gods, but to remind the people on both sides of the river that they all followed the same God. Joshua 22:34 says: "And the Reubenites and the Gadites gave the altar this name: A Witness Between Us that the Lord is God."
This altar is a great idea! I think we should consider have some sort of icon, or altar, or something that can be put in your work place or home that will remind you and those who visit that the Lord is God and you serve him.
Wednesday, March 2, 2011
Caleb
Joshua
Caleb's faith is a wonderful thing to read about. Here he is, 85 years old, and still ready to fight the foreigners in the name of God. He went and asked Joshua to let him take over some land in Canaan that still had some other nations living there. Caleb said in Joshua 14:12 - "Now give me this hill country that the Lord promised me that day. You yourself heard then that the Anakites were there and their cities were large and fortified, but, the Lord helping me, I will drive them out just as he said." Caleb had great faith in God's promise that Israel would be able to conquer the promised land.
We may not have to physically fight for land to fulfill God's promises, but we do have to move forward in faith that God will come through. We can't idly sit around waiting for God to bless us. We have to take part in advancing his kingdom, and in doing so, we will reap many blessings.
Caleb's faith is a wonderful thing to read about. Here he is, 85 years old, and still ready to fight the foreigners in the name of God. He went and asked Joshua to let him take over some land in Canaan that still had some other nations living there. Caleb said in Joshua 14:12 - "Now give me this hill country that the Lord promised me that day. You yourself heard then that the Anakites were there and their cities were large and fortified, but, the Lord helping me, I will drive them out just as he said." Caleb had great faith in God's promise that Israel would be able to conquer the promised land.
We may not have to physically fight for land to fulfill God's promises, but we do have to move forward in faith that God will come through. We can't idly sit around waiting for God to bless us. We have to take part in advancing his kingdom, and in doing so, we will reap many blessings.
Sunday, February 27, 2011
Josh and the Big Wall
Joshua
Today's reading in Joshua (chapters 6-7), about the destruction of Jericho, reminded me of an online game I played a few times on Big Idea's website (the Veggie Tales company). It consisted of having a few Israelites walk around the walls of Jericho and avoiding the grape slurpees that the evil Peas of Jericho were trying to throw on them. I just checked, and the game is still up: http://www.bigideafun.com/veggietales/arcade/josh/info.htm. It's a simplistic reproduction of this story from the Old Testament, but it's a fun way to get kids involved!
As for chapter 7 and the account of Achan's sin, I was concerned about verse 25, which seemed to suggest, in the NIV, that Achan's sons and daughters were stoned with him for his having taken the devoted things (silver and gold) when destroying Jericho. This punishment of his children didn't seem so just, so I'm inclined to agree with Clarke's Commentary, which states that other versions of the text (Hebrew, Greek, Latin) seem to suggest that only Achan and his possessions, such as his cattle, sheep, tents, etc. were destroyed. For more info on that topic, click here (to go to bible.cc).
Today's reading in Joshua (chapters 6-7), about the destruction of Jericho, reminded me of an online game I played a few times on Big Idea's website (the Veggie Tales company). It consisted of having a few Israelites walk around the walls of Jericho and avoiding the grape slurpees that the evil Peas of Jericho were trying to throw on them. I just checked, and the game is still up: http://www.bigideafun.com/veggietales/arcade/josh/info.htm. It's a simplistic reproduction of this story from the Old Testament, but it's a fun way to get kids involved!
As for chapter 7 and the account of Achan's sin, I was concerned about verse 25, which seemed to suggest, in the NIV, that Achan's sons and daughters were stoned with him for his having taken the devoted things (silver and gold) when destroying Jericho. This punishment of his children didn't seem so just, so I'm inclined to agree with Clarke's Commentary, which states that other versions of the text (Hebrew, Greek, Latin) seem to suggest that only Achan and his possessions, such as his cattle, sheep, tents, etc. were destroyed. For more info on that topic, click here (to go to bible.cc).
Saturday, February 26, 2011
The earthquake at Adam
Joshua
In the past when I've read the story of the Israelites crossing the Jordan, similar to that of them crossing the Red Sea, I've always thought that God would sort of have come down with his hand and stuck it in the water and made a dry path. But I read a footnote in my bible today that said that the town of Adam, mentioned in Joshua 3:16, often experienced earthquakes. The latest one, in 1927, ended with a large part of the embankment shearing off and falling in the river, effectively creating a dam and stopping the flow of water down the Jordan for approximately 21 hours. So there's actually a scientific reason for the dry path that the Israelites crossed. Still, what expert timing on behalf of God so that the Israelite priests were at the river the second the river stopped flowing. Amazing!
In the past when I've read the story of the Israelites crossing the Jordan, similar to that of them crossing the Red Sea, I've always thought that God would sort of have come down with his hand and stuck it in the water and made a dry path. But I read a footnote in my bible today that said that the town of Adam, mentioned in Joshua 3:16, often experienced earthquakes. The latest one, in 1927, ended with a large part of the embankment shearing off and falling in the river, effectively creating a dam and stopping the flow of water down the Jordan for approximately 21 hours. So there's actually a scientific reason for the dry path that the Israelites crossed. Still, what expert timing on behalf of God so that the Israelite priests were at the river the second the river stopped flowing. Amazing!
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