Joshua 18:1-19:51
‘How long will you be slack to go in and take possession of the land, which the Lord, the God of your fathers, has given you?’(18:3). God has given us so much: ‘His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness’. How much are we giving ourselves to Him? - ‘Make every effort to add to your faith... If you do this you will never fail; so there will be richly provided for you an entrance into the eternal Kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ’(2 Peter 1:3-11). In Joshua, we see a fine example of the Christlike spirit - ‘not to be served but to serve’(Mark 10:45). After‘they had finished distributing the... land’, Joshua received his ‘inheritance’. He led with the attitude of a servant. He wasn’t ‘in it only for what he could get out of it’- the city he chose had to be ‘rebuilt’(49-50)!
Joshua 20:1-21:45
We read of manslaughter, ‘the cities of refuge’ and the death of the high priest (20:1-6). What does all this have to do with us? We are sinners. Jesus Christ has died for us. He is our Refuge. He is our Great High Priest. In Him, there is ‘no condemnation’. In Him, we become ‘a new creation’ (Matthew 5:21-22; Romans 5:8; 8:1; Hebrews 2:17; 2 Corinthians 5:17). Israel’s story is a human story. It is also the Lord’s Story(43-45). We fail God. He never fails us (2 Timothy 2:13). Sin threatens to overwhelm us. The Lord comes to us with His promise of deliverance and victory (Romans 7:21-25; 1 Corinthians 15:56-57). Our spiritual progress is so slow - ‘little by little’(Exodus 23:29-30; Deuteronomy 7:22-24). God does not lose patience with us (Psalm 103:8-13). He never stops loving us!
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Blessings in Christ
Christ in all the Scriptures
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