144th Week, Joshua Chapters 5-9 (Click on the Title for a Video Intro)

 

Click on Title for Video Intro

Monday, Joshua Chapter 5

Joshua 5

Verses 11-12

Heather Williams

April 13, 2006

Verses 11-12: The day after the Passover, that very day, they ate some of the produce of the land; unleavened bread and roasted grain.  The manna stopped the day after they ate this food from the land; there was no longer any manna for the Israelites, but that year they ate of the produce of Canaan.   

THOUGHT

I picked these verses because this passage always reminds me of how faithful and miraculous our God is. Here He provided for these people each day faithfully for their food for forty years.  Amazing!  And now, when the land was ready to provide for them, the Lord didn’t need to send manna.  He was still providing for them through the land. God can provide for each of us miraculously, but He also expects us to use our God given talents and resources to provide for ourselves and others.  We need to make sure our eyes are open to the gifts each of us can bestow.

PRAYER

Gracious and miraculous Father, we come humbly before You this evening. Thank You for this reminder of Your awesome power and miraculous nature. May we come to You in prayer. We recognize that prayer is not an alternative to preparation, and faith is not a substitute for hard work. We pray for the wisdom to see our talents and God-given talents and the energy and motivation to use them. AMEN

Tuesday, Joshua Chapter 6

Joshua 6

Verses 3-5

Heather Williams

Verses 3-5:  The Lord said, “March around the city once with all the armed men.  Do this for six days.  Have seven priests carry trumpets of rams’ horns in front of the ark.  On the seventh day, march around the city seven times, with the priests blowing the trumpets.  When you hear them sound a long blast on the trumpets, have all the people give a loud shout; then the wall of the city will collapse and the people will go up, every man straight.“

THOUGHT

This story always reminds me of the song, Joshua Fought the Battle of Jericho, which I sang in choir many times.  I have not forgotten the melody or the words.  It is an amazing story when you think about the details of it. Our God is powerful. 

I chose these verses to focus on what God told Joshua to cause him to march around the city. God told Joshua that Jericho was already delivered into his hands. The enemy was already defeated. Joshua had tremendous faith to believe, which led to his courage and confidence to go into battle. Just like Joshua, we also should have the courage and confidence to face our daily battles with sin. We know how the story ends — with God victorious! We know how the war is won, so we should take that confidence to give us the courage to face our daily battles.

The devil is tough, and sin is hard to deal with, but with God all things are possible right?!? We have the power to beat our sin daily. Don’t be afraid. We can overcome through Christ’s power.

PRAYER

Almighty and Powerful God, we praise You for Your defeat over the enemy! Thank You for winning the war. Lord, give us the courage to fight our daily battles with sin. We know that with You we can overcome our trials. Give us the confidence and courage to tackle them. AMEN

Tuesday, Joshua Chapter 7

Joshua 7

Verses 10-12

Heather Williams

Verses 10-12:  The Lord said to Joshua, “Stand up! What are you doing down on your face?  Israel has sinned; they have violated my covenant, which I commanded them to keep.  They have taken some of the devoted things; they have stolen, they have lied, they have put them with their own possessions.  That is why the Israelites cannot stand against their enemies; they turn their backs and run because they have been made liable to destruction.  I will not be with you anymore unless you destroy whatever among you is devoted to destruction.” 

THOUGHT

I really struggled with this passage at first. It seems a bit harsh, God’s punishment on this one man and his entire family. However, I chose these verses because I understood that God was upset about the disobedience. It wasn’t so much about him keeping the stuff; it was about this man’s disobedience. God made an explicit command. There was no arguing about what God was asking. He was crystal clear. 

This was a good reminder to me of how we need to be obedient to God all the time. God is not content with us listening and obeying some of the time or only to the significant commandments. He wants us to obey every word of His all the time.

PRAYER

All-Knowing Father God, we humbly bow before You this evening. We know that what You ask of us is so minimal — obedience. Yet, we struggle with this daily. Lord, forgive us as we stumble and fall and disobey You. Lord, we pray that our eyes would be fixed on You, and our hearts would be solely Yours, so much that we yearn to follow Your ways each day. AMEN

Thursday, Joshua Chapter 8

Joshua 8

Verse 1

Heather Williams

Verse 1:  Then the Lord said to Joshua, “Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.  Take the whole army with you, and go up and attack Ai. For I have delivered into your hands the king of Ai, his people, his city and his land.”

THOUGHT

This verse actually ties into the end of chapter seven. Joshua learned some lessons we can follow.  Confess your sins when you see them, and when you fail, refocus on God, deal with the issue and move on. We see here that God is telling Joshua to move on. We all sin and fall short of the glory of God. But through repentance and forgiveness we can move on and become stronger. The repentance and forgiveness makes us stronger. God has cleansed us. Jesus died for each of us. Accept His gift.

This is a bit of a tangent, but my Pastor shared a thought that hit me today. He told a story of a woman discussing with her Pastor how she had confessed her sins, but didn’t feel forgiven. He told the woman to confess the one sin she had never confessed - arrogance. He said, “How can you be so arrogant to

think that your sin meant more than the sacrifice that Christ did on the cross?”  When we don’t repent and accept Christ’s forgiveness, we’re saying that Christ’s actions were just okay and didn’t count for me. How untrue that is! He made the ultimate sacrifice for each of us.

PRAYER

Lord, we thank You for sending Your Son for us. Thank You for sending Him to this earth to walk in our steps and finally make the ultimate sacrifice for each of us by dying on the cross.  However, the story doesn’t end at the cross. Thank You for defeating death and rising on the third day! You are

victorious over death. Help us remember this each day and not just on Easter Sunday. Thank You also for leaving Your Spirit on this earth until Your work is done. We love You!! AMEN

Friday, Joshua Chapter 9

Joshua 9

Verse 14-15

Heather Williams

Verses 14-15:  The men of Israel sampled their provisions but did not inquire of the Lord.  Then Joshua made a treaty of peace with them to let them live, and the leaders of the assembly ratified it by oath.  

THOUGHT

This story surprises me a bit, but then I realized how Joshua is human just like me; and I realized how much I related to this. We see previous to this how Joshua had obeyed God’s commands, and God delivered His promises. But here, Joshua doesn’t go to God. Joshua saw this peace treaty as simple

enough that he could make a decision without God’s guidance. However, by failing to seek God’s guidance, they had to face some consequences, that of angry people and an awkward alliance. 

I know in my life I’m pretty good about seeking God in the major decisions. What about the simpler decisions?  I know God has given us minds and intelligence to make decisions on our own. However, I do think it is very important to seek God in all our actions. It reminds me of the classic WWJD saying - “What Would Jesus Do”?  That is a great question to ask.

PRAYER

Father God, I acknowledge that at times I, like Joshua, take things into my own hands and don’t seek Your guidance. Lord, help me use not only my intelligence and mind to make decisions, but also to seek You and Your wisdom in every area of my life. I know how much You care about me and bless me. Help me to listen and be obedient to You. AMEN