From Joshua 9
The Gibeonites have seen and heard everything that has happened to bring Israel to their doorstep. They have heard rumors about everything God did to free Israel from Egypt – plagues unlike anything they had ever seen. They have witnessed the fall of Jericho and every other city that stood against the Israelites. All of this leads them to the conclusion that the God of Israel is real and fights for them, so the Gibeonites trick the Israelites. They do everything in their power to make it look like they have just finished a long journey – ragged clothes, stale bread, and worn-out wineskins. With that appearance, they go to Israel and essentially say “we’ve heard how incredible your God is and how He has set you apart, so we came a long way to make an alliance with you.” Israel notably doesn’t consult God about the whole thing, bought the ruse, and made a covenant with them. Later, the Israelites come across Gibeon – not a far distance away but right next door. They grumble about the situation, but they “did not attack them, because the leader of the congregation had sworn to them by the Lord, the God of Israel.”
This historical event in Israel’s history gives us a window into how God expects His people to act. First, we can observe that Joshua and the other leaders failed to consult God about the whole thing. This can remind us that, regardless of how sure we might feel about a situation, we should always take our decisions and struggles to God in prayer. Who knows? He might keep you from making a fool of yourself. The other thing we can observe is that Israel upholds their covenant with Gibeon, despite their deceit, because they made that covenant in the name of God. Now today we might not make covenants in the name of God (a concept that’s a whole separate discussion), but we are still representatives of God. When we make promises or agreement, we should keep in mind that we are witnesses to our Lord and we should follow through on our word. This daunting task gives us a new appreciation for the incredible terms of our new covenant with Jesus – one that relies on Him and Him alone.
Focus on God
We are reminded in these verses that God graciously upholds His covenant with us.
Function in Our Lives
We are encouraged to live by our word.
Topics to Pray About
- Thank God for His faithfulness.
- Confess to God the times where you don’t follow through on your word.
- Ask God to lead you to live with radical honesty.
In His Service,
J. LeBorious
Posted on
June 28, 2023 2:01 PM
by
Josh LeBorious
From Joshua 8:30-35
Israel as a people have experienced a lot since Joshua took up the mantle of leadership. They crossed the Jordan into the Promised Land, they watched the walls of Jericho fall before them, they witnessed the Lord’s judgement on Achan, and they were in the midst of a successful military campaign. In Deuteronomy 27:1-8, God had instructed His people to build an altar when they reached Mount Ebal in the Promised Land. In these verses, Israel has reached that point, so Joshua leads them in constructing an altar to God and offering the necessary sacrifices. He goes on to read from the Book of the Law to remind the people of Israel what God expected of them as a community.
My attention is drawn to this passage because of how God is instructing His people to operate. He told them to take time to worship Him, to gather as a community, and to spend time reflecting on the instructions He had handed down to them. Even this early on in Scripture, we see God calling His people together in worship and discipleship. Today, we don’t necessarily build altars at predetermined locations to make ceremonial sacrifices. But we’re still called to come together, to worship God, and to spend time hearing His Word.
Focus on God
We are reminded in these verses that God graciously guides His people back to Him.
Function in Our Lives
We are encouraged to spend time in community, worship, and God’s Word.
Topics to Pray About
- Thank God for the opportunities you have to be in Christian community.
- Confess to God the times where you don’t take advantage of those opportunities or take them for granted.
- Ask God to lead you into worship and faithful community.
In His Service,
J. LeBorious
Posted on
June 27, 2023 11:38 AM
by
Josh LeBorious
From Joshua 8:1-29
I must admit, I am not an expert strategist. As a matter of fact, I’m not even an amateur strategist. The extent of my strategic knowledge comes from video games – for whatever that’s worth. Still, Israel’s strategy here seems like it would be effective. Joshua drew out the people in the city of Ai by pretending to retreat, then an ambush of Israelites came in from behind to raze the city. In the chaos and panic that resulted, Israel destroyed the army of Ai. Sounds like a pretty good plan, which makes it stand out a little. Not that I doubt Israel’s strategic capabilities, but in many military conflicts God instructs the Israelites to go about the fight in a way that doesn’t necessarily make sense – just take the city of Jericho for example. Even though one could come to the conclusion that in this instance Israel could’ve done it one their own, God tells Joshua that He has given Ai into their hands.
We have a tendency to see our own skills and abilities involved in a situation and take credit for ourselves. But the conquest of Ai reminds us that even in those circumstances, without God there is never any success. Fundamentally because all of our skills and abilities and gifts are from God in the first place, so even if those bring us success it is just an indirect gift from God. These verses remind me of another line of thinking though – if God had told Joshua “keep retreating, because I will not give you this city today” then the city of Ai wouldn’t have fallen, regardless of how well off Israel was strategically. Every success we have would be impossible if God acted against us, so we give thanks for His mercy and grace for all of our successes and victories in life.
Focus on God
We are reminded in these verses that God is the source of all our blessings in life.
Function in Our Lives
We are encouraged to give thanks to God for everything good in our lives.
Topics to Pray About
- Thank God for the blessings He has given to you.
- Confess to God the times where you don’t think about His role in your life.
- Ask God to help you glorify Him in everything you do.
In His Service,
J. LeBorious
Posted on
June 26, 2023 4:13 PM
by
Josh LeBorious
From Joshua 7:10-26
Yesterday we learned about how God allowed Israel to be defeated in battle because a man named Achan took some of the devoted things from Israel’s conquest for himself. Joshua, not knowing what Achan had done, fell before the Lord in mourning and sadness. In today’s verses, God tells Joshua to get up and deal with those who have transgressed in the community. So Joshua goes through the people of Israel, tribe by tribe and clan by clan and man by man. He confronts Achan, inviting him to confess, and Achan does, saying “when I saw among the spoil a beautiful cloak from Shinar, and 200 shekels of silver, and a bar of gold weighing 50 shekels, then I coveted them and took them. And see, they are hidden in the earth inside my tent, with the silver underneath.” Joshua sends messengers to retrieve the stolen items. At this point you might think all’s well that end’s well, but Achan’s part of history isn’t quite done. After retrieving the items, the people of Israel stone Achan and his family.
There are a few understandings we can draw from these events. We know that God takes sin seriously, we know that the wages of sin is death, and we know that (since no one is righteous) it’s not reasonable to ever say that a punishment is not fair. None of those is what we’re going to dive into right now; however, because here we see that God has designed His creation and His community to include consequences. Achan stole from things dedicated to God, he stole form the community of Israel, and despite his confession and returning of the stolen items – he is punished. It reminds us that even though we are forgiven in Christ, our sin sometimes carries unavoidable consequences. If you lie to someone, they might forgive you, but they might not be able to trust you anymore. If you steal from someone, they might forgive you, but they probably won’t ask you to look over their valuables while they’re away. We know and believe in God’s forgiveness for us, and we strive to reflect that forgiveness in our relationships with one another, but sometimes consequences are still necessary and appropriate.
Focus on God
We are reminded in these verses that God disciplines those He loves.
Function in Our Lives
We are encouraged to recognize that actions, even forgiven sins, have consequences.
Topics to Pray About
- Thank God for caring enough to discipline us.
- Confess to God the times where you avoid consequences that you should probably endure.
- Ask God to help you live a life where you avoid actions that deserve negative consequences.
In His Service,
J. LeBorious
Posted on
June 22, 2023 11:07 AM
by
Josh LeBorious
From Joshua 7:1-9
Never let it be said that God takes disobedience or faithlessness lightly. One of the Israelites, a man named Achan, during Israel’s conquest of the Promised Land, takes some of the devoted thing for himself. These were things that were set aside either to be destroyed or committed to the temple, things that had religious significance for the various idols that the people before Israel worshiped. By taking the devoted things for himself, Achan was disobeying God’s command and creating space for idolatry to grow in Israel. God finds this course of action unacceptable and withdraws His support from Israel’s military campaign, as evidenced when Joshua commands an attack on Ai that is soundly repelled by the people there. At this point, Joshua recognizes that something has gone wrong and immediately goes to God in humility and in prayer.
Achan desires these devoted things more than he desired obedience to God, and Israel is punished for it. Now, does this mean that idolatry today can result in a country being punished with some kind of disaster? Sure (don’t stop reading here though!) Does this mean that when a country is suffering it is because of some specific sin or idol? No, we don’t have anything to say that for certain. In the Small Catechism, when explaining the different commands of God, we are frequently directed back to the first commandment – to have no other gods besides God. A helpful way of thinking about this first commandment is that we fear, love, and trust God above all else. When we violate other commandments, that sin is frequently rooted in a fear, trust, or love of something else above God. When we read about what happened to Israel because of Achan, we are reminded that God cares deeply for people to be obedient and faithful to Him. So when we read about what Achan did and how God responded, we are reminded to be faithful to God and to His commands for us – regardless of how tempted the “devoted things” might be.
Focus on God
We are reminded in these verses that God takes His commandments seriously.
Function in Our Lives
We are encouraged to fear, love, and trust in God above all things.
Topics to Pray About
- Thank God for caring enough to discipline us.
- Confess to God the times where you set aside obedience and faithfulness for something else.
- Ask God to keep you focused on Him and on His Word.
In His Service,
J. LeBorious
Posted on
June 21, 2023 10:30 AM
by
Josh LeBorious