Devotionary

The title of this episode is March. Madness. Sorry, I couldn’t help myself. This story, found in Joshua 6:1-14, has always fascinated me. There are those who would write it off as fiction, as some of kind of Hebrew fable told from one generation to another. But I believe it is a real story involving actual events that took place because of the sovereign will and unlimited power of God Almighty. You’re most likely familiar with Israel’s march around the walls of Jericho and the unbelievable outcome. They marched and the walls fell. Not a single spear was thrown. Not arrows were shot. There was no catapult hurling huge stones at the walls of Jericho. And there was no long, drawn-out siege. In fact, the whole thing lasted a week. Everything about this story is crazy – from the battle plan God gave to Joshua to the day-by-day carrying out of that plan by the Israelites. It was madness. But it was also God’s will. Their first conquest was going to involve questionable tactics and would require unwavering faith on

The Israelites had entered the land of Canaan and were camped at a place called Gilgal. Their first target for attack would be the well-fortified city of Jericho. This was going to be a new period in the history of the people of Israel. No longer were they slaves living in subservience to their masters in Egypt. They were no longer vagabonds, wandering through the wilderness, with no place to call their own. With their crossing of the Jordan River, they had entered the land promised to them by God. And now, they were going to be charged with the task of taking over the land God had given them. But, as we will see, God wanted them to know they would not be alone. In Joshua 5:10-15, we have recorded a unique encounter between Joshua and the commander of the Lord’s army. This unknown and armed stranger would prove to be the Son of God Himself, Jesus Christ in His pre-incarnate form. And He would bring with Him an assurance that the people of Israel were far from alone. He simply told Joshua, “Now I have come.” A

It doesn’t pay to disobey God. That was a lesson the Israelites should have learned by now. And in Joshua 5:2-9, God is going to command His people to take care of a problem that was a glaring representation of their corporate disobedience to His will. They have just crossed over the Jordan River, in a miraculous show of God’s power. They are now standing in the very land God had promised to give Abraham, but there was one glaring issue that God could not overlook. He had kept His part of the covenant, but they were in violation. Not a single male who had crossed over the Jordan bore the sign of the covenant: Circumcision. During the 40 years the Israelites had been forced to wander in the wilderness due to their refusal to enter the land of promise the first time, they had stopped circumcising their male sons. And God was not going to let them take one more step until they rectified the problem. So, Joshua was commanded by God to have every male Israelite circumcised – immediately. This rather bizarre story

There are those who fear God and then there are those who fear God. Sounds confusing, doesn’t it. But it’s actually a true statement, because God calls on His people to fear Him. But the enemies of God also fear Him. The demons cower before Him. And those who live in open rebellion to His rule and reign tend to experience a paralyzing dread of Him when they come into contact with Him. God is holy and righteous and required by His nature to deal with the sins of mankind. He cannot tolerate or excuse sin. He can’t turn a blind eye to the actions of those who refuse to acknowledge Him as God. But the fear God requires of His people is of a different kind. It is a reverence and awe for who He is and all that He has done. It is an awareness of His holiness that manifests itself in willful obedience to His commands. So, in Joshua 4:15-5:1, after God miraculously provides a way for the Israelites to cross the Jordan River on dry ground, Joshua calls on the Israelites to fear God. He is the all-powerful God who deser

Forgetfulness can be frustrating. But being forgotten can be even worse. Nobody enjoys being forgotten or forsaken, including God. And it’s somewhat shocking to think that anyone who worships God would ever fail to remember Him for all He has done. But we all do. Which is why God consistently challenges His people to remember. He knows that we are prone to forgetfulness, which can lead to ungratefulness. Failure to remember what God has done in the past can result in an inability to trust Him for the present. So, in Joshua 4:1-14, we see God commanding Joshua to construct a memorial to commemorate their crossing over the Jordan River. They are to take 12 stones from the river bed and stack them on the western shore, creating “a memorial forever.” God wanted them to remember what He had done. And He wanted them to use these stones as an object lesson, passing on to the next generation the news of God’s provision of the miracle at the Jordan.  

The Israelites once again found themselves facing of a body of water with no apparent means of getting to the other side. They had reached a barrier or boundary that stood in their way and kept them from experiencing the fulfillment of the promise God had made to their ancestor, Abraham. The land of Canaan was on the other side. It was there that their promised inheritance was to be found. But first, they would have to find a way across the River Jordan. Decades earlier, their ancestors had left Egypt and found themselves standing on the shores of the Red Sea, with the army of Pharaoh bearing down on them. They had nowhere to go and no way to get to the other side of the sea, where the path to God’s promise would be found. But the living God showed up and the waters of the sea opened up, providing a way of escape and a means by which God would make His promise attainable. In Joshua 3:9-17, we see God bringing His people to what appears to be another obstacle, but that will become an object lesson in faith.  

The Israelites were about to go from wandering to conquering. This was the beginning of a brand-new era in the history of Gods people. They had started out as a single man and his wife, both old in years and her unable to bear children. But God had blessed Abraham, and his descendants had multiplied greatly during their 400 years of captivity in Egypt. But God had miraculously delivered them, with the intent of leading them to the land He had promised to Abraham hundreds of years earlier. And after having spent 40 years wandering in the wilderness, they now stood on the brink of an exciting new phase in their relationship with God. Gone were the days of manna and quail provided out of thin air. This was going to be show time. And in chapter 3:1-8, Joshua tells the people to prepare themselves, because God was about to do wonders in their midst. This time, it would not be about food appearing on the ground each morning with the dew. These wonders were going to involve miracles of might and power that involved

Rahab hid the two spies, but she asked for something in return: Her life and those of her household. This woman had heard about the God of the Israelites and while she was unfamiliar with who He was, she was convinced that He was great. She had heard the stories that had been circulating around Canaan about the miraculous escape of the people of Israel from Egypt. News of their defeat of the nations of Og and Sihon had reached Jericho and Rahab was convinced that the God of the Israelites was “the God in the heavens above and on the earth beneath.” In others words, He was the one true God. He was greater than any god she had ever worshiped or even heard about. And in Joshua 2:8-24, Rahab offers to deal kindly with the spies if they will deal kindly with her. She begs for her life. And to do so, she has to put her faith in the two spies, but also their God, who she knows is going to turn over the city of Jericho to the Israelites. The sign she is given is a simple scarlet cord that she is told to tie in her wi

God works in mysterious ways. He operates on His own divine agenda, sometimes doing things in ways that we find difficult to understand. And in Joshua 2:1-7, we’re going to see God use a prostitute to accomplish His will. This woman’s choice of occupation was in direct opposition to God’s holiness and revealed law. But she was not an Israelite. She was a foreigner, an inhabitant of Jericho and, therefore, an enemy of Israel. And yet, God chose to use her to spare the two spies send in to check out the conditions within Jericho. Not only that, God used her to bring about the birth of the Messiah, Jesus Christ. Rahab was an imperfect person through whom a holy God chose to accomplish His perfect will. Rahab will be revealed to be a woman of faith. She knew little about the God of Israel, but she knew enough to trust in His power and might. She had heard about His exploits among the people of Israel and she had determined to place her faith in Him instead of the gods of her own people. Rahab, a pagan, will stand

What does it mean to enter God’s rest? It sounds appealing but can sometimes feel like an unachievable dream. For many of us, God’s rest is synonymous with heaven. And while there is little doubt that heaven will be a place of rest, joy and contentment, there is still an aspect of God’s rest that is available in this life. As Joshua and the people of Israel stood on the eastern banks of the Jordan River, looking over the waters into the land of Canaan, they realized that they were on the verge of entering God’s rest. The land on the other side of that river had been promised to them by God and He had declared that it would be a place of abundance, but also of rest. And yet, as we will see, God’s promise of rest was not a guarantee of a lack turmoil or conflict. There were still enemies in the land who would need to be defeated. Which meant there were battles to fight and wars to win. In Joshua 1:10-18, we will see Joshua preparing the people to enter God’s rest, but by warning them that it was going to take e

Today, we begin a new series on the Book of Joshua. It is one of the historical books of the Old Testament, and is named after one its primary characters, the man who assumed leadership over the people of Israel after the death of Moses. The book that bears his name chronicles Joshua’s efforts to lead the people of Israel in their conquest of the land that God had promised to their patriarch, Abraham. While Moses was charged with the deliverance of the people from their captivity in Egypt and leading them through the wilderness to the borders of the land of Canaan, it would be Joshua who would help their dream of a land flowing with milk and honey become a reality. But it is essential that we not read this book as simply an historical record, outlining the exploits of the people of Israel as they slowly conquered and came into the possession of the land. It is a continuation of the story of God’s redemption of Israel, revealing an important next phase in fulfillment of His covenant commitment to them.But this

This is it. The final session on our study in the book of Revelation. Today, we wrap up this series with Revelation 22:12-21. This section begins and ends with the reassuring words of Jesus, “I am coming soon!” This is the key to the whole book of Revelation: the return of Christ. His second coming is the linchpin that holds the entire book together and points to the final phase of God’s redemptive plan for mankind and for the world. With all that John has seen and recorded in his book, these verses contain one of the most beautiful and hopeful passages found in the entire Bible. Jesus offers a simple invitation: “Come. And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who desires take the water of life without price.” John has been shown what is going to happen during the days of the tribulation. He has been given a glimpse into the future that God has planned for sinful mankind and the creation that suffers as a result of the fall. There will be judgments in the form of plagues and cosmic disturbances of unp

The words contained in John’s book have been given to him directly from Jesus Christ and God the Father. They are divinely inspired and, as the angel tells John, “trustworthy and true.” John has received revelation concerning the end times – directly from heaven and the throne room of God Almighty. The information contained in this book is fantastic in nature and difficult to understand. It is full of bizarre imagery and mind-blowing descriptions that taxed the limits of John’s vocabulary and imagination. He has been shown things that no one has ever seen before, because they have yet to take place. And yet, their certainty is beyond question because they have been divulged by God Himself. And just as John was instructed at the beginning of his book, he faithfully wrote down all that he saw and heard. In Revelation 22:6-11, an angel tells John to keep what he has written unsealed, available for all to read. Because the time is near. The end is coming. It is not a matter of if, but when. These things are not p

We all know about the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. That was the one tree in the garden of Eden that God declared off limits to Adam and Eve. They could eat of every tree in the garden, including the tree of life, but they were to avoid the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. The penalty for their disobedience was death. But not just physical death. In fact, after having eaten from the tree, they both lived long lives. But they suffered immediately from spiritual death as God cast them out of the garden and away from His presence. No longer could they enjoy daily fellowship with Him. And one of the reasons for their ban from the garden was to keep them away from the tree of life. God declared, “‘Behold, the man has become like one of us in knowing good and evil. Now, lest he reach out his hand and take also of the tree of life and eat, and live forever’ ­­­– therefore the Lord God sent him out from the garden of Eden.” In Revelation 22:1-5, we will discover that the tree of life still exists and

As strange and difficult to believe as things have been to this point, the imagery and events that populate the close of John’s book seem to get even more out-of-the-ordinary and other-worldly. In Revelation 21:9-27, John is given a mountain-top view of the New Jerusalem. It descended from heaven and, from his vantage point, John is able to see all the unique attributes of this one-of-a-kind city. It is like nothing John has ever seen and his attempts to describe it at limited by his imagination and vocabulary. John is even given the unique task of measuring the city, personally walking its streets and taking precise measurements of its walls and gates. It is massive in size and yet contains jewels and precious metals in such quantities that they are used as construction materials, not for decoration. But the real glory of the city is God Himself. He and His Son are the primary focus of the city, which explains why there is no temple or tabernacle. The city is unmarred by sin and illuminated by the very prese

Sin has been in existence for some time now. And it has left its mark on the world. Paul tells us that creation groans because of the presence of sin and that believers long for the day when they will exchange these corrupted, death-prone earthly bodies for heavenly ones. Everything around us is in a constant state of decay, including our bodies, all as a result of sin. But there is a day coming when God will make all things new. In Revelation 21:1-8, John is given yet another glimpse into the future and provided with the reassuring news that God is going to create a new heavens and a new earth. He isn’t going to renovate and rejuvenate. He is going to start from scratch, just as He did at the beginning. The world will get a fresh, new start. And every individual who has placed their faith in His Son, will have received new, glorified bodies, in which they will live for eternity, free from sin, disease and death. All that was associated with the old world and mankind’s old way of life ­– including tears, sorr

There is judgment and then there is final judgment. All of the plagues, cosmic disturbances, and various forms of punishment meted out by God during the days of the tribulation are a form of His judgment. But they are not the final and permanent aspect of God’s judgment on sinful mankind. That will come at the end of the Millennial Kingdom of Christ, when all of the unsaved will stand before Jesus Christ at the Great White Throne Judgment. In Revelation 20:11-15, John is provided with a glimpse of this future event at which all those who have ever lived will stand before God in their resurrected bodies and be forced to have all their works judged by Him. The criteria of their judgment will be whether or not the deeds they did while on earth earned them a right standing with God. In other words, were their acts of righteousness worthy to merit God’s favor? But we know that God deems all our works of righteousness, apart from faith in His Son, Jesus Christ, as filthy rags. They don’t measure up. And so, all tho

So, what happens to Satan? He has been an essential actor in the great drama that marks the span of mankind’s existence. He was there at the fall and was the instigator behind it. He has been present throughout each generation, tempting, deceiving, and alluring gullible human beings to rebel against their Maker. He attempted to convince Jesus to walk away from His divine calling by the Father and forego His role as the Savior of the world. And in the period of the tribulation, Satan will be the force behind the Antichrist’s rise to power and his ill-fated attempt to exterminate the people of God. But Antichrist will fail. Satan will be defeated. In Revelation 20:7-10, we will see Satan’s release, after having been locked away for the entirety of Christ’s 1,000-year reign. Even after a millennium filled with peace and prosperity because of the righteous rule of Christ, Satan will have no trouble finding those who will join his last-gasp attempt at an insurrection. Satan never changes. He knows no repentance. A

The 1,000-year reign of Christ. This is a much-debated topic among theologians. There are those who take it literally and others who see it as figurative. But in Revelation 20:1-6, John is going to describe what appears to be a very real and literal 1,000-year-long period of time, during which Jesus Christ will reign from a literal throne in a very literal Jerusalem. This is what is referred to as the millennial kingdom of Christ. And one of the most amazing aspects of this period of time is the absence of Satan and his influence. Antichrist and the false prophet will already be imprisoned in the lake of fire or hell. But Satan will be captured and thrown into the abyss, where he will be kept imprisoned for the duration of the 1,000-year reign of Christ. At the end of that period of time, Satan will be released and allowed to mount one more insurrection against God. Yet, for 1,000 years, the earth and its inhabitants will know what it is like to live under a King who rules in perfect righteousness. He will be

Nobody likes to be on the losing side of anything, especially battle. But there is always a loser. In every war, there are those who win and those who walk away in defeat, if they make it out of the war alive. And the same will be true at the end of the epic war between God and Satan. It has been going on since Satan made his ill-fated attempt to wrest power away from God. He became a permanent adversary of God Almighty and has deceived billions of gullible human beings into taking his side and opposing the rule and reign of the one true God. And the struggle between the forces of righteousness and wickedness will reach its apex at the end of the seven years of tribulation, when Satan leads his forces against the Son of God in the Battle of Armageddon. The name of this event is a bit of a misnomer because it will not be much of a battle. It will actually be a devastatingly lopsided affair with Jesus Christ wiping out the entire army of Satan all by Himself. The heavenly host who accompany Him to the battle fi