Joshua 21 - 24

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Let's read 4 chapters again today to finish the book of Joshua.

As we conclude the book of Joshua, we see things starting to settle down. Israel is now occupying the long-awaited Promised Land, and their enemies are deeply afraid of them! Notice what Joshua writes in 21:44-45, "The Lord gave them rest on every side, just as he had solemnly promised their ancestors. None of their enemies could stand against them, for the Lord helped them conquer all their enemies."

Here are some wonderful things to reflect on as we read today's text:

1) God's promises are ALWAYS fulfilled! As we come to the end of chapter 21 we read the wonderful statement, "Not a single one of all the good promises the Lord had given to the family of Israel was left unfulfilled; everything he had spoken came true." God is faithful.

It's unfortunate that the original crowd of Israelites (20 years old and older) who crossed the Red Sea did not get a chance to see the fulfillment of ALL the many promises God gave to them. Which, again, reminds me of what we miss when we're disobedient to the Lord. The Lord has so much to offer us. If only we would trust Him, perhaps our lives would be radically different! There's no better time to start living the way God wants you to live than today. He has many promises to those who do. When you do live a life that is pleasing to Him, your life will be changed. It doesn't mean that the challenges of life go away, but it does mean that you'll have the opportunity to see the miracle working hand of God at work in your life! You'll see His power, and you'll see that He can conquer anything that comes against you.

2) Things are always as they seem! Talk about sitting on pins and needles! All of Israel had dangerously assumed some things that nearly lead to the extinction of the tribe of Reuben and Gad (chapter 22)! As the tribe of Reuben, Gad, and 1/2 of Manasseh began their journey back home located on the eastern side of the Jordan River, they felt compelled to build and altar of witness. They were afraid that the rest of the tribes in future years would forget that they were part of Israel - primarily due to the fact that the Jordan River separated the two groups from each other. This forward-thinking idea got them nearly killed!

Assumptions can be deadly! The tribe of Reuben, Gad, and Manasseh dangerously assumed that building a replica of the Altar at the Tabernacle would be a good idea - as a testimony to the fact that they are part of Israel. The rest of the tribes of Israel dangerously assumed that the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and Manasseh were being rebellious and starting their own place of Tabernacle worship. These assumptions nearly lead to war!

Fortunately, someone was level headed enough to think of having some table discussions first. However, when the 10-man delegate committee got there, they started accusing the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and Manasseh of rebellion! Instead of first asking the simple question, "Why did you guys build this altar?", they started accusing their brothers. Once the other tribes were able to talk, the accusing delegates were satisfied with their answers.

This says something about negotiations! If you are assuming something about someone, before you start accusing them, you might want to give them the opportunity to clear the air first. You may have assumed wrong and saved yourselves from a bitter discussion!

3) God was NOT the god of Abraham in the beginning! It's interesting to note in chapter 24 that as Joshua rehearses the entire story of how Israel got its beginning, in verse 2 Joshua reminds them that Abraham and his fathers worshipped other gods before they worshipped the one, True God! In essence, Joshua was saying, "Look guys, God chose us! Our own ancestrial father, who we all admire, well....the truth is, he worshipped other gods before realizing our God is the one, True God! So, think about that for a moment! God chose us, we didn't choose Him!"

That verse reminds me of what Jesus said to his disciples in John 15:16, "You have not chosen me, but I have chosen you..." In other words, the disciples didn't go looking for Christ, He went looking for them! It's the same way with us today! We don't inherently just run after God, He comes after us first! It's within our sinful nature as human beings to inherently do "our own thing." We don't naturally seek after God, God goes after us. Remember what Jesus said in John 14:6, "no man can come to me, except the Father which has sent me draw him..." Salvation begins with God, and ends with Him too!

Nothing explains this truth better than Ephesian 2:1-10:

"Once you were dead (spiritually) because of your disobedience and your many sins. You used to live in sin, just like the rest of the world, obeying the devil - the commander of the powers in the unseen world...all of us used to live that way, following the passionate desires and inclinations of our sinful nature. By our very nature we were subject to God's anger, just like everyone else. But God is so rich in mercy, and he loved us so much, that even though we were dead because of our sins, he gave us life when he raised Christ from the dead. It is only by God's grace that you have been saved!...So God can point to us in all future ages as example of the incredible wealth of his grace and kindness toward us, as shown in all he has done for us who are united with Christ Jesus. God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can't take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward of the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it."

Wow! We have a lot to thank Him for...don't we?

I hope this will be a blessing to you today. God bless!