Joshua 11 Pastor David Groendyk Here we have the last true battle in the book of Joshua, and we’re not even halfway done with the book! Notice a few things about this final war scene. First, it’s interesting how we’ve moved from Israel fighting against individual kings and nations (like Jericho) to entire coalitions of armies. I tried to count the number of kings Israel would’ve been fighting in this war, and I ran out…

Joshua 10 Devotional By Pastor Lawrence Soon after making this very hasty covenant with the Gibeonites, Israel had to defend her new bedfellow when the King of Jerusalem gathered her own alliance of Amorite nations to attack their unsuspecting neighbor. It is an interesting insight to know that the enemies of God attacked Gibeah out of fear of the Israelites. Nevertheless, the Israelites were also afraid of this new coalition, so the Lord had to…

Joshua 9 Pastor Mark Hudson In Joshua 9, the Gibeonites, part of the Hivite tribe, deceive Joshua to stay alive.  They execute a deceptive story quite well.  Well enough to fool Joshua which keeps the Gibeonites alive.  For Joshua’s part, he should have called for the priests to hear from God.  So, let’s look at what the Gibeonites did and why. In Deut 20:10ff, Moses records the terms of peace Israel offered to some people. …

Joshua 8 Devotional by Pastor Lawrence After the humiliating defeat at Ai, it was not the heart of the Canaanites but that of the Israelites that was filled with fear. However, now that Achan’s sin had been dealt with and the camp of the Israelites purged of his evil, there would be no roadblock to Israel’s success going forward. Nevertheless, Joshua was concerned that this mishap would only strengthen the resolve of the local inhabitants…

Joshua 7 Pastor Mark Hudson Joshua 7 is an easy chapter to understand but also easy to disregard or overlook.  This is one of the times in the Bible that the reader is given information the characters do not possess. This chapter reminds us of the seriousness of sin and how God utterly hates sin.  We are told in verse 1 how Achan violated the command in 6:18, “But you, keep yourselves from the things…

Joshua 6 Pastor David Groendyk The people of Israel have passed over the Jordan River and been prepared for battle by the Lord, and now begins a large section of Israel taking the land through war. The city of Jericho is the first whiff of fulfillment when it comes to inheriting the land. If you’re anything like me, you have to try hard to get the Veggie Tales image of this battle out of your…

Joshua 5 Devotional By Pastor Lawrence The events in this chapter signify the end of Israel’s forty years of wandering in the wilderness and the beginning of her call to Holy War. We also find that the miraculous parting of the Jordan River was carried out not merely for Israel’s own encouragement but also for the discouragement of the local inhabitants of Canaan who would dare to stand in opposition to the God who rebukes…

Joshua 4 Pastor Mark Hudson You can tell we are mid-stream (I couldn’t help it) in this section that covers chapters 3-7. In chapter 8, we read of the fall of Ai. So in our chapter, we read of a number of words that are repeated. After reading this chapter you noticed those words: 12, ark, stones, Jordan, memorial, priests, commanded, passed over, dry ground, Joshua, and Moses. This narration picks up as the nation…

Joshua 3 Devotional By Pastor Lawrence Reminiscent of the parting of the Red Sea, God’s miraculous display of power in dividing the waters of the Jordan River was designed to instill faith and fear in the heart of the younger generations who had not witnessed that first miracle. Standing just outside of the Promised Land, Joshua and Caleb were called to lead these young’uns into their promised place of rest. But it was not yet…

Joshua 2 Pastor Mark Hudson When you read a narrative, you should be pursuing what is called “authorial intent.” This simply means to follow the author or discover what the author is saying. To help in this pursuit, look for repetition, look at the context, and sometimes look at the structure of a passage. One literary technique is called a chiastic structure. It looks something like a V with the bottom pointing to the right,…

Joshua 1 Pastor David Groendyk Don’t you wish you could get a pep talk like the one God gave Joshua? After hearing what God had to say, I have to imagine Joshua was ready to run through a wall for the Lord, as the saying goes. Before we get into the specifics of Joshua 1, though, let’s orient ourselves to the whole book of Joshua. Joshua is the first of the historical books in the…

Ecclesiastes 12 Devotional By Pastor Lawrence Concluding his bleak evaluation of all things done under the sun, Solomon exhorts his son to remember his creator in the days of his youth, for there is a tendency of younger people to anticipate and assume all the joys of the future while disregarding the inevitable challenges of aging and death. So, Solomon gives him a glimpse of what it will be like describing the aging process in…

Ecclesiastes 11 Pastor Mark Hudson Verse 1 of chapter 11 is not easily understood.  First the verb translated as ‘cast,’ according to most scholars, does not mean throw or cast but send.  The verse either has to do with being charitable or investing.  The latter seems to fit the language and context better.  Qoheleth encourages us to invest in a variety of measures, not just one, because we do not know the future.  Then according…

Ecclesiastes 10 Devotional By Pastor Lawrence Bowlin Throughout this chapter, Solomon again contrasts the nature and power of wisdom and folly. Even though wisdom is both sweet-smelling and exceedingly valuable, only a little foolishness can cause quite a stink. And the difference is not merely external, for wisdom in the heart continually leans toward righteousness, whereas foolishness in the heart leans toward wickedness. Nevertheless, the difference can be demonstrable at times even in the way…

Ecclessiastes 9 Pastor Mark Hudson You can read Ecclesiastes and take the author literally or you can read it noticing the way he is writing.  We can slow down, consider his style, think about his probing, questioning style and look for ways that he might be saying the truth but in an unusual fashion. In verse 1 he says what we all know and agree that our “deeds are in the hand of God.”  Life…

Ecclesiastes 8 Pastor David Groendyk “Who is like the wise? And who knows the interpretation of a thing?” You might be quick to answer that by saying, “No one!” But that’s not the point Solomon is making. Rather, he’s saying that wisdom is quite attainable, albeit, difficult to attain. Not many have this kind of wisdom, but some do, and all should strive for it. This chapter in particular could be considered wisdom for tricky…

Ecclesiastes 7 Devotional By Pastor Lawrence Clearly, this chapter reads more like the Proverbs of Solomon than the seemingly bleak perspective of the Preacher in Ecclesiastes, yet many of the same notes are still struck here: death is valued more than life, sadness more than laughter, and mourning more than mirth. Even prior to the full revelation of Christ Jesus in the New Testament, these sentiments are not improper given the nature of wisdom to…

Ecclesiastes 6 Pastor Mark Hudson One of the vexing problems Qoheleth covers multiple times is the fact that so many people do not enjoy life. In chapter 6, the inability to enjoy the things of this life is attributed to God. See verse 2, "yet God does not give him power to enjoy them” (wealth, possessions, and honor). This repeated refrain is ratcheted up in v. 3. Qoheleth says that a still born child is…

Ecclesiastes 5 Devotional By Pastor Lawrence Because evil stems from the heart, even worship in the house of God is not immune to emptiness and vanity. Thus, in one’s pursuit of God, he or she may be still be chasing after the wind. Solomon was not the only person to recognize this truth, for many of the prophets pointed it out throughout Israel’s history. Isaiah spoke God’s word to his people saying, “Bring no more…

Ecclesiastes 4 Pastor Mark Hudson One could easily look at this chapter and divide it up with numbers. Jeffrey Meyers suggests this outline 0 is better than 1 4:1-3; 1 is better than 2 4:4-6 2 is better than 1 4:7-12 Another way to examine the structure of the book is provided by Craig G. Bartholomew. 1-3 oppression 4-6 motivation for work 7-12 isolation in work and life 13-16 the problem of government As you…

Ecclesiastes 3 By Pastor David Groendyk “He has made everything beautiful in its time” (v. 11). That might be Solomon’s way of saying what the hymn-writer wrote a couple thousand years later: “Whate’er my God ordains is right.” What, when, where, how, and why things happen to us are all under his care. Not everything that happens in the world is in itself good, but God’s plan, which includes all things, is always good. “The…