Joshua 9:3-10:43 ~ Luke 16:19-17:10 ~ Psalm 83:1-18 ~ Proverbs 13:4
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Old Testament - As we read about the Gibeonites deception today, Joshua chapter 9 verses 14 & 15 teach a valuable lesson for each of us: "So the Israelite leaders examined their bread, but they did not consult the LORD. Then Joshua went ahead and signed a peace treaty with them, and the leaders of Israel ratified their agreement with a binding oath." They did not consult the Lord - and thus signed a binding oath based on a deception. How about you in your life today? How often do you consult God on major decisions in your life? Even minor decisions? I know that I don't do this enough. I do know that more and more I have found myself praying "thy will - not mine - be done" when major decisions are before me. I am seeking God's will and guidance in my life. But, I'm not sure that I'm really consulting God all that often. And I'm afraid when I don't I can rush into quick & bad decisions... I pray each of us will consult God with all of our plans & decisions in our lives - be they major or minor. Bible.org's commentary on our Joshua chapter 9 readings today titled "The Peril of Walking by Sight" is at this link.
Today in Joshua chapter 10 we read about the day the sun stood still! Have you ever received the email about this chapter titled "NASA and the Bible?" - basically the email goes into how a man from NASA proved that the sun stood still. I have received this email a bunch of times over the past 5 years or so. This email does appear to be an Urban Legend, but it's a fun email. I have read many commentaries on this chapter and do believe that a miracle took place, as we read in verse 13 - "So the sun and moon stood still until the Israelites had defeated their enemies. Is this event not recorded in The Book of Jashar? The sun stopped in the middle of the sky, and it did not set as on a normal day." Do you believe this miracle took place? Do you believe in miracles? Here's a great stained glass image below from Duke University Chapel with Joshua and the son and the moon:
Bible.org's commentary on our Joshua chapter 10 readings today is at this link.
New Testament - Today in Luke chapter 16 we read about the rich man and Lazarus. I have always found verse 31 to be such a great reflection on what it means to have having a soft heart and a strong faith - ""But Abraham said, `If they won't listen to Moses and the prophets, they won't listen even if someone rises from the dead.' "" Basically, Abraham is saying that people whose hearts are hardened to faith will not even believe it if a dead man returns to them and tells them to repent. They still won't repent even with this miracle. And I believe this is true. Let us pray that our hearts are soft and open to faith and that we can share the Good News of Jesus with others in our life whose hearts may be becoming more and more hardened with each passing day...
Bible.org's commentary on our Luke Chapter 16 readings today titled "The Rich Man and Lazarus" is at this link and commentary titled "Death: The Door to Eternity" is at this link.
Wow. I love Luke 17 verse 10 - "In the same way, when you obey me you should say, `We are not worthy of praise. We are servants who have simply done our duty.'" I wonder if sometimes we do good works for Jesus expecting some praise or return on our works? This is obviously not a good motive. We should simply be obedient to Jesus and not expect praise for our obedience - from Jesus or from others. It is simply a blessing for us to be called to Jesus' service. That is more than enough.
Bible.org's commentary on our Luke chapter 7 readings today titled "Taking Sin Seriously" is at this link.
Psalms - Ever feel like the Psalmist in Psalm 83 verse 1 - "O God, don't sit idly by, silent and inactive!" I think the beauty of the Psalms is seeing some of our human emotions expressed so well. Considering this verse - I don't think that God is ever sitting idly by, silent or inactive. I believe God is a Living God who is always with us. But, perhaps sometimes God's perceived silence in our lives is for a purpose that we may not fully understand now, but will later. If God seems very "silent" to you now, I would encourage you to pray to God - and really listen in your prayers - don't just speak. I believe you'll soon hear Him...
Proverbs chapter 13 verse 4 is brilliant - "Lazy people want much but get little, but those who work hard will prosper and be satisfied." Hard work pays off. It really does. I do thank God for the blessing of work in my life. I pray you do to. And I do thank him for occasional vacation days too! :) But - overall - I honestly cannot imagine a life of just "vacation." It would be a bit of a hell for me personally.... I do love and appreciate the opportunity to work!
Worship God: Today's readings remind me of Francesca Battistelli's song, "Write your Story:"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FBmDCDbmtpc
Has God written His story on your heart? Click here for your story!
Please join us in memorizing and meditating on a verse of Scripture today: "Lazy people want much but get little, but those who work hard will prosper." Proverbs 13:4 NLT
Prayer Point: Pray that you are a hard worker for the Lord, who prospers in your work. Pray that you are not lazy, wanting much but getting little.
Comments from You & Questions of the Day: Do you agree with today's Proverb that hard work brings prosperity and satisfaction? Also, what verses or insights stand out to you in today's readings? Please post up by clicking on the "Comments" link below!
God bless,
Mike
p.s. Download our monthly Small Group study notes for our One Year Bible readings at this link.
p.p.s. Download a schedule of our One Year Bible readings for the year in PDF format at this link.
p.p.p.s. I would greatly appreciate it if you would pray for this One Year Bible Blog ministry today. Thanks!
Joshua 9:3-10:43
Israel begins to embark on that slippery slope of compromise as they continue their “walk” with God. They seem to be aiming for God’s Permissive Will instead of His Perfect Will. It doesn’t take much to go off on a tangent. Start out being just one-half of a degree off the “mark” and by the time the week is out you will find yourself way off the target, let alone the bulls-eye. They began to walk by sight, sense and circumstance instead of by faith, Spirit and the Word. Not learning the lesson from the Ai disaster, they failed to seek God’s insight before they made covenant with people of Gibeon.
Israel was warned by God to completely remove all the people of the land, " 'But if you do not drive out the inhabitants of the land, those you allow to remain will become barbs in your eyes and thorns in your sides. They will give you trouble in the land where you will live. (Num 33:55)
We are warned to put away evil but we convince ourselves that certain evil we can keep because, “Well it ain’t that bad. Ya know it kind of looks like something we shouldn’t be doing but it isn’t really because it look. See it’s all dried up and moldy, this sin ain’t dangerous.” I wonder if this is somewhat like the Parable Jesus told that states while men slept (emphesis on the word slept), the enemy sowed tares amongst the wheat? Cleary Joshua and the leaders were sleeping when they failed to 1) consult God, 2) made their decision about the Gibeonites based only on the information given to them by the Gibeonites, and 3) failed to acknowledge again that it was God who gave them their victory and not their own strength and military brilliance. So too it is with us, it is all about God and nothing about us.
Luke 16:19-17
29 "But Abraham said, `Moses and the prophets have warned them. Your brothers can read their writings anytime they want to.'
30 "The rich man replied, `No, Father Abraham! But if someone is sent to them from the dead, then they will turn from their sins.'
31 "But Abraham said, `If they won't listen to Moses and the prophets, they won't listen even if someone rises from the dead.' "
All of us probably can be divided into two groups, a Lazarus group and a rich man group. We either is or we ain’t going to be at one of two locations when we die, and the choice is ours to decide where we will go.
I’m not so sure that it is hardness of heart that stops us from hearing the Words of Truth. I think it can be that we have heard the Words of Truth and ignored them for a long time causing our hearts to become hard, like the sun constant rays backing soft soil into hard dry clay.
Several years ago a passage from the Book of Job, spoken by Job, caught my attention because I believe it speaks of our ability to know truth when we hear it spoken,
“Is it not the task of the ear to discriminate between [wise and unwise] words, just as the mouth distinguishes [between desirable and undesirable] food?” (Job 12:11 AMP). In the first chapter of Romans, Paul writes in several places about “exchanging the truth for a lie.” (Rom 1:25) In order to exchange something one must have possession of it in order to participate in a swap. The Rich Man thought that Lazarus’ coming back from the dead would convince his brothers. Jesus said no it wouldn’t because faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God not seeing the things of God, or miracles. The Rich Man and and his brothers heard the truth, they simply chose to ignore it.
Grace and peace,
Ramona
Posted by: Ramona | April 13, 2019 at 08:23 PM