Joshua 3:1-17
‘Sanctify yourselves; for tomorrow the Lord will do wonders among you’(5). ‘Sanctify them in the truth; Thy Word is truth’(John 17:17). Together with the command, there is the prayer. We are called to set ourselves apart for God. We can only do this when we look to the Lord for His strength. We receive His strength through His Word. We give ourselves to the Lord. He gives His promise to us: ‘the Lord will do wonders among you’. His promise of blessing is no guarantee of an easy time. In the promised land, there would be problems - and God: ‘as I was with Moses, so I will be with you’(7). There would be conflict - and victory: ‘the living God is among you... He will without fail drive out from before you...’(10). We look beyond Joshua to Jesus - ‘God with us’(Matthew 1:23). In Him, we have the victory (1 Corinthians 15:57).
Joshua 4:1-24
‘These stones are to be a memorial to the people of Israel for ever’(7). When, in the future, the question was asked, ‘What do these stones mean?’(6), Israel would remember what the Lord had done for them (23). Knowing that ‘the hand of the Lord is mighty’, they would be strengthened to face their difficulties with confidence in God. Rejoicing in what the Lord has done - ‘This is the Lord’s doing; it is marvellous in our eyes’- , they would learn to ‘fear the Lord their God for ever’(24; Psalm 118:23). Israel remembered. We must remember. When you’re going through a hard time, don’t forget - to remember! God has been good to you. He has blessed you. When God seems so far away, remember - and pray that, once again, ‘times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord’(Acts 3:19).
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Blessings in Christ
Christ in all the Scriptures
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