READINGS FOR MARCH 13-MARCH 19
MARCH 13
The commentary in the Chronological Bible for today's reading contains this sentence, "For some unknown reason, the tribes of Judah and Ephraim, and the remaining half-tribe of Manasseh, are given a preferential portion of the land..." The reason IS known. Look at pages 92-94 (Genesis 48-49). Jacob blessed these tribes more than the others. These blessings were in accordance with the will of God. We can track these blessings all the way back to Abraham and the promises God made to him (Genesis 15:17-21 - page 30). The blessings continue with Isaac (Genesis 25:29-34 -page 53 and Genesis 27:26-29 - page 56). And the blessings continue until today and on into our future. All the blessings will be fulfilled in the Millennium.
Shortly after a general conquest of the land of Canaan, we are told of the land allotment by tribes, all the tribes except the tribe of Levi.
Joshua 13:33 But unto the tribe of Levi Moses gave no inheritance; the LORD, the God of Israel, is their inheritance, as He spoke unto them.
The tribe of Levi was given no land allotment. The Lord was their inheritance. Compare that to our lives as believers today.
1 Peter 2:9 But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for possession, so that you might speak of the praises of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light;
What a delightful inheritance (pun intended) we have with Him! We are His royal priesthood, a holy nation, His possession. And what are we to do for Him? Praise Him. He has called us out of darkness of sin and into a life of light.
Pg. 330
Caleb was 40 years old when he went in to explore the land of Canaan. He, along with Joshua were the only two of the original multitude (fighting age and above) who were able to go into the land of promise. Why? Because Joshua and Caleb trusted in God’s promises. When Caleb settled in the land (Hebron) he was 85 years old, strong and vigorous. He personally inherited the land he actually walked when he went into the land as one of the spies. It is in Hebron where Abraham, Sarah, Isaac, Rebekah, Leah, and Jacob are buried and a hotly contested site today between Muslims and Jews. A Muslim mosque now covers the site. We must wonder why this is so special to the Muslims since Hagar and Ishmael are not buried there but Sarah and Isaac are - important for Jews but not for Muslims.
In the division of the land Zelophehad of the tribe of Manasseh had no sons and so the daughters petitioned Joshua and the leaders for the right to have an inheritance. This will be extremely significant later. In the culture and customs of that day, the women basically counted for nothing, except for having children. Yet if we read the gospels, Jesus certainly elevated women. He had many women followers.
The people in the tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh are numerous and they petition Joshua for more land. Joshua makes this prophetic statement.
Joshua 18:17b-18a "You are numerous and very powerful. You will have not only one allotment but the forested hill country as well. Clear it and its farthest limits will be yours..."
The tribes were given the farthest limits. This included more than just the land of Israel! More details when we reach the reading of the book of Jeremiah.
Canaanites are an ancient people group that lived in the Land of Canaan, which is the land God promised to Abraham's descendants (Genesis 12:7). The biblical description of the land is in Genesis 10 and Numbers 34. Canaanites descended from Noah's grandson Canaan (Genesis 9:18) and are described as idolatrous and wicked. The people are also described as large, fierce, and so difficult to defeat that the Israelites would need God's help to do so, which He promised (Joshua 1:3).
Sometimes the Bible uses "Canaanites" in a more general sense to describe all the people who lived in the land, including the Hivites, Girgashites, Jebusites, Amorites, Hittites, and Perizzites (Judges 1:9–10). This can be confusing at times. But to better understand, people can be from different states but all be Americans. The Canaanites were people who lived in the land of Canaan even if they were not descendents of Canaan.
In Canaan at that time, there were farm lands, settlements, and fortified cities. We could make the comparison that our little sub-division of Greenbrooke, our neighborhood would be considered a settlement, but if we had a town hall, a school, church, etc we would be considered a small city. Greenwood would be the equivalent of a fortified city as it was in Canaan.
So, the land was productive, people were strong, and the cities fortified. We know that there were altogether 600,000 fighting age Israelite men who went into the land. But how many people were in the land of Canaan at that time? So, I did some research. Some say there were only about 200,000 people living in the land of Canaan in Joshua’s day. So, I did some more research. What I found was astounding.
Through archaeological data, they have determined that during the 1500s to 1200s BC the land was populated with more than 200,000 people but slowly began to decline because the Egyptians tried to dominate the land during that time, they depopulated the land. This took many forms; taking people into slavery, killing them, leaving them maimed and unable to work the land or defend themselves. Because of this domination, the population greatly decreased from the 1500s to the 1200s BC. Here’s a quote from that archaeological website. The decline in population wasn’t limited to one segment of society, or to one or two areas of Canaan. The fringe areas were deserted, and some of the sites which had been important urban centers were either fully or partially abandoned… There was also a decline in the rural settlement, particularly in the hill country. The archaeological surveys in Samaria and Ephraim have shown that the many small agricultural settlements in these regions disappeared by the late 1200s Some areas became entirely empty.
However, during the 1200s BC, many new villages sprung up. Hmmm…wonder who these people were??? The Israelite conquest of Canaan began around 1400 BC so within about 200 years, by the 1200s BC, the different tribes of Israel in their allotted land area began to build new villages. Isn’t it interesting that the population was decreased all over Canaan right before the Israelites came into the land? And God divided up the land according to tribes so that they wouldn’t all settle in the same general area. These areas were already partially depopulated. This explains the scouts who were sent by Moses into the land of Canaan came back with a report that, “The land, through which we have gone to spy it out, is a land that devours its inhabitants Num 13:32. Were the Egyptians the “hornets” that were sent in to drive the people out?
MARCH 14
Chapters 18-21 of the book of Joshua are filled with specifications for the land allotments of the tribes. Remember, this land allotment was significantly smaller than the land promised to Abraham. The land would have been much larger had Abraham only walked the land promised to him. That land would have extended from Turkey to the Persian Gulf following the Euphrates River, from the Persian Gulf to the Nile River, up the Mediterranean coast and back to Turkey. Because of their disobedience, the land promised to them was never claimed and what they did have eventually was taken away from them and the people were taken into captivity. There are consequences to disobedience then and now.
Compare the two maps showing the boundaries God established for the tribes and the maps showing the actual boundaries they settled. Especially see the tribe of Judah. Their boundaries were to go all the way to the Mediterranean Sea but they didn’t take that land. It stayed in the hands of the Philistines who caused Israel trouble from day 1.. This is the area today of Gaza whose inhabitants are still causing Israel trouble today.
Only the tribe of Dan is listed as having difficulty taking possession of their territory. The tribe of Dan took property that was not given to them by God and did not take the land designated for them. They will pay for this sin later. None of the other tribes seemed to have had any problems taking possession of their allotted land.
Six cities are named as Cities of Refuge. This appears to be a foreshadowing of the places of safety that will be provided during the last days and also a foreshadowing of the protection from the wrath of God that only Jesus can provide. Notice that for each of Aaron's descendants is a City of Refuge.
Going back to the tribe of Dan and their difficulty in taking their God-given land, could it be that they did not trust the Lord's provisions for them? We have this promise listed , “Not one of the Lord’s good promises to the house of Israel failed; every one was fulfilled.”
God kept His promises then. He keeps His promises now. Here are a few of our favorite promises. John 14:15-18, John 14:1-3, I Corinthians 12, Isaiah 35:10, I John 5:14-15, John 14:27.
Claiming His promises is all about trust! We trust Him, we obey Him, He keeps His promises. Pretty simple!
There is a very important detail in today’s reading that we have overlooked in the many times we have read this passage. Pg. 333. The whole assembly of the Israelites gathered at Shiloh and set up the Tent of Meeting, (the tabernacle) there. It remained there for 369 years.
Archaeological evidence suggests that Shiloh was founded sometime in the Middle (circa 1750–1650 b.c.e.). By the time the Israelites arrived in Canaan in the 15th century (according to early Exodus chronology), Shiloh was most likely sparsely populated.
According to the book of Joshua, the Israelites within their first years of entering the Promised Land assembled in Shiloh on at least six separate occasions. No other city is listed as a national assembly point. Furthermore, Joshua 18:1 says the “tent of meeting” (the tabernacle) was set up in Shiloh. This points to its use as Israel’s first capital city.
Archaeological evidence from Tel Shiloh indicates that the city was a religious center during the time of Joshua (early part of the Late Bronze Age, 1550–1200 b.c.e.). Archaeologists have found sacrificial animal bone deposits and cultic vessels dating to this time. It was located near a fertile valley capable of growing enough food for the city’s inhabitants. The city and surrounding farmlands had access to dependable water sources. In addition, the mound (or tel) on which the city was built had steep slopes on three sides, making it easier to defend.
Perhaps most importantly, Shiloh had the right acoustic conditions. Mass communication was not easy. Israel’s leaders had to rely on vocal projection and the natural acoustic properties of their surroundings. In the 1970s, sound engineer Mark Myles conducted acoustic tests at Shiloh. According to his results, the ambient noise level of Shiloh was far below the ideal noise requirement of the best concert hall. Myles said it was the quietest spot he had ever measured—quiet enough to hear a human voice clearly at a distance of over 500 meters. Something about the landscape and surroundings at Shiloh makes it possible for sound to travel extraordinarily far.
The Bible records instances of a single speaker (such as Joshua) addressing thousands of people in Shiloh (Joshua 18:8; 22:6). This kind of mass communication would only have been possible in a few acoustically appropriate locations. Shiloh was one of those locations. That mass communication was possible in Shiloh adds credibility to the biblical narrative.
Summary of the Tabernacle’s Journey
Genesis 49:10, which states: "The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh comes; and to him shall be the obedience of the people."
In Joshua 18:1, it states that "the whole congregation of the people of Israel assembled at Shiloh, and set up the tent of meeting there; the land lay subdued before them".
MARCH 15
In Joshua's farewell address, he reminds the people then, and believers today, of the following:
1. Love the Lord your God
2. Walk in all His ways
3. Obey His commands
4. Hold fast to Him
5. Serve Him with all your heart and soul
Loving the Lord is easy, holding fast to Him is easy, serving Him is another matter, and walking in His ways and obeying His commands... well that's another matter entirely. Oops, guess we forgot about Deuteronomy 30:1.
"The command that I am giving you today is not too difficult or beyond your reach.
However, in order to walk in His ways and obey His commands, we must know what they are. We know that by studying His word and listening to the Holy Spirit speak.
Joshua also reminds the people...
Joshua 23:6
And be very courageous to keep and to do all that is written in the book of the Law of Moses, so that you do not turn aside from it to the right or to the left;
To keep those five things listed above, we must be courageous. We must be different from the world around us. There will always be something there on the left or the right for us to turn to. That takes many forms today.
God offers again to push the current inhabitants out of the land if only His people would obey His laws and commandments. He had already prepared the land for them. All they had to do was to go in and claim it as their own. God is, in effect saying that even though they have been disobedient in the past, He is offering them a "do-over", a chance to obey Him and start over. But do they take Him up on His offer? They said they would and even set up a monument of stone as a witness.
The Eastern tribes (those who wanted to settle on the eastern side of the Jordan River - the half-tribe of Manasseh, Reuben, and Gad) built an altar by the Jordan. This angered all the other tribes because they thought the altar was for sacrificing. They knew that sacrificing was to be done at the tabernacle by the Levites. In truth, the Eastern tribes wanted the altar there as a reminder, a memorial and not for sacrificing.
What great words from Joshua, “But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.”
Joshua was the decision maker for his family. He was the spiritual leader of his house. We must choose every day, even several times a day, whether or not we will serve the Lord. When we are tempted to turn to the right or to the left, we must choose to serve Him. He's given us this promise.
Isaiah 30:21
Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, "This is the way; walk in it."
“He is a holy God; he is a jealous God.” God tells us early on that He views our relationship with Him as a marriage. He doesn’t want any other “god” taking our attention. We (Phil and Patti) find great comfort in that!
MARCH 16
Finally Joseph's bones rest in Shechem, modern day Nablus. Interesting link to a 2008 article concerning Joseph's tomb.http://www.worldnetdaily.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=56238
According to other historical writings the bones of all Jacob's sons were brought back and buried in Israel, in the area of their inheritances.
Concerning the bones brought back to Israel, here is something to ponder...at Jesus' crucifixion.
Matthew 27:50-53
And crying again with a loud voice, Jesus released His spirit. And, behold! The veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. And the earth quaked, and the rocks were sheared, and the tombs were opened, and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep arose, and coming out of the tomb after His resurrection they went into the holy city and appeared to many.
Are the holy ones, those who were in the tombs raised at Jesus' crucifixion the patriarchs of the past - Abraham, Sarah, Isaac, Rebekah, Jacob's wives and sons? Just a thought.
Judges 1:1
After the death of Joshua, the Israelites asked the Lord, "Who will be the first to go up and fight for us against the Canaanites?"
God had already told them earlier that He (God) would do their fighting for them (Joshua 23). A better question for them to ask would have been, "Who will be the first to go into the land?"
The Lord answered with, "Judah is to go; I have given the land into their hands." And yet, the men of Judah asked their brothers the Simeonites to go and fight with them. If God said for Judah to go then why did they ask their brothers the Simeonites to fight with them? Then Judah and Simeon join forces and fight for Jerusalem, a city in Benjamin's territory. They were unsuccessful in part because they were influenced by pagan culture in the land. Not so sure that Jerusalem was supposed to be burned. And where was the tribe of Benjamin? Why wasn't his tribe helping take Jerusalem?
The people were again disobedient in part and suffered the consequence of being unable to drive out some of the inhabitants of the land.
The commentary in the Chronological Bible, "The danger of incomplete conquest is the lingering presence of pagan influence." Not much difference today. The Israelites were fascinated with the pagan culture around them. Again, not much difference for us today. Many people are fascinated with paganism, witchcraft, and the occult (at times even in the Christian church portrayed as innocent events).
Judah and Simeon join forces and attack the Canaanites and Perizzites. A rather unique thing happens with a ruler named Adoni-bezek.
Judges 1:6
And Adoni-bezek fled. And they ran after him and caught him, and cut off his thumbs and his big toes.
This makes a person rather handicapped. He can no longer run or wield a sword or bow.
Interesting connection with the angel of the Lord in Judges 2:1-5 and the angel of the Lord in Exodus 23:20-22. Seems as if we are seeing a pattern here.
Another pattern emerges as well. The people were told to break down the altars of the pagan gods. They did not and the false gods became a snare. The people wept when the Angel of the Lord revealed this to them and they offered sacrifices to the Lord. And did they offer them at the tabernacle? The question remains. Were they only giving "lip-service"? Their actions later give an answer to that question.
MARCH 17
The last few chapters of the book of Joshua are filled with instances of God giving showers of blessings if they obey and downpours of curses if they disobey. This litany is repeated in the first few chapters of the book of Judges. The people then were consistently warned of coming judgment if they did not repent and turn back to Him. They didn't see the consequences of instant gratification. We are warned today. And today we don't see the consequences of instant gratification. History has shown us that while God consistently warns of coming judgment, He also consistently gives chance after chance after chance to change. His grace and mercy are abundant! It was their choice. It is our choice.
Judges 2:10
After that whole generation had been gathered to their fathers, another generation grew up, who knew neither the LORD nor what he had done for Israel.
And whose fault was that? They had been given this admonition earlier.
Deuteronomy 4:9
Only be careful, and watch yourselves closely so that you do not forget the things your eyes have seen or let them slip from your heart as long as you live. Teach them to your children and to their children after them.
The people forgot what God had done for them. They neglected to teach it to their children. They prostituted themselves to false gods. To go after false gods for self-serving motives is to be a spiritual prostitute, which is what they did and what they were. Do you notice the correlation to what we do as Believers now? Don't we prostitute ourselves when we value other pleasurable things above our worship of God?
God had warned the Israelites earlier that the pagan gods would be a snare to them. He warns us today as well. We cannot mix the holy with the unholy which is exactly what we do when Christians join with Islam (or other ungodly religions) in an effort to "get along". It begins with compromise, then rationalization, then justification, and finally acceptance.
Judges 3:7
The people of Israel forgot the LORD their God; they sinned against him and worshiped the idols of Baal and Asherah.
This was SO not a good thing! Baal was the god of the harvest. Asherah was the goddess of sex and fertility. They worshiped these false "gods" for what they supposedly could do for them. They believed that Baal gave them good and abundant crops (translation today, wealth, money, possessions). And of course, they believed Asherah gave them the pleasures of sex (translation today, sex is still elevated to worship status) In other words, nothing has changed.
Remember the story of Othniel, Caleb's brother's son? Caleb gave his daughter to Othniel. He proved to be a good choice. God sent him to be a deliverer for Israel.
Whenever the people of Israel did evil, God gave them into the hands of their enemies. Then when they cried out to Him, God sent them a deliverer. They continued to repeat this pattern again and again.
Praise God, He sent us our final Deliverer, Jesus!
MARCH 18
Deborah was the fourth judge of Israel, a prophetess and the only female judge, that is the only one recorded in Scripture. Deborah's home was in the hill country of Ephraim between Bethel and Ramah, so she was most likely from the tribe of Ephraim. She also answered the call to become a female military leader, an unlikely commander of military forces. This was a radical departure from standard biblical themes which rarely place women in roles as warriors and generals. Deborah was merely exercising her responsibility in her rights of inheritance as written in Numbers 27:1-7 which gives power to the women when there is no man. This referred to claiming the land however in Deborah's case, if there is no man to do the fighting or the leading, then the responsibility falls to the woman.
Deborah summoned Barak and told him it was God's will that he lead her forces against the mighty warrior, Sisera. Sisera was the commander of the army of Jabin, king of Canaan, who had terrorized Israel for 20 years. Barak accepted on one condition: Deborah must accompany him. Deborah and Barak's army consisted of only 10,000, while Sisera had a multitude of fighters and 900 chariots of iron.
When the battle ended, not a single man of Sisera's army survived, except Sisera himself, who fled on foot. When Sisera took refuge in the tent of Heber the Kenite, Jael (the wife of Heber) drove a tent peg through his temple killing him. Ouch!
Then the land had peace for forty years. Is that because of the obedience of Deborah leading the people into obedience? A great responsibility our leaders have, isn't it?
We took a real journey on this verse.
Judges 5:20
They fought from heaven; the stars in their courses fought against Sisera.
We wondered if these "stars" were referring to angels involved in spiritual warfare. So we started looking at the Hebrew words referring to stars and courses. We believe this verse refers to angels involved in a spiritual battle in the heavenly realms. In Judges 4:12-16 it is clear that "...the Lord routed Sisera..." It seems as if these "stars" being referred to have certain "stations" or rank. We know there is a hierarchy in heaven.. Fascinating thought, huh?
Makes us think about the Frank Peretti book, This Present Darkness. Here is a link to the book. We highly recommend it.
http://www.amazon.com/This-Present-Darkness-Frank-Peretti/dp/1581345283/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1299975013&sr=1-1
MARCH 19
Oh, so much to write about today’s reading! We so often read in Scripture, "Again the Israelites did evil in the eyes of the Lord,..." And then we will read that the Lord would give them into the hands of their enemies - because of this evil that they had done. Then God will send them prophets to remind the people of all the things that He has done for them. Among the other reminders, the prophets would tell them not to worship false gods. And the prophets remind them that they have not been obedient.
When Gideon first appears in Scripture he is threshing wheat in a winepress. Threshing wheat usually was done outside, often on a hillside so the wind could blow the lighter chaff away, leaving the grains of wheat. In this case Gideon had to thresh the wheat in somewhat of a pit that was hidden from view.
There is a fascinating progression noted here with Gideon. When the Angel of the Lord (God, the Son) first appears to him, Gideon acknowledges that this entity is worthy of respect and refers to Him as Sir. When the Lord tells Gideon that he will be the one to save Israel from their enemy, Gideon now refers to Him as Lord (Adonai - God, the Son). Then after the Lord tells Gideon that he, Gideon will strike down all the Midianites, Gideon begins to doubt and asks for a sign that this really is God talking to him. So God gives him the sign by burning up the sacrifice. It is at this point that Gideon acknowledges, without a shadow of a doubt, that he has indeed been speaking with God and fears that he will die. Apparently Gideon knew about this Scripture.
Exodus 33:20
But," he said, "you cannot see my face, for no one may see me and live."
(See also the story of Samson's mother and father - Judges 13 - page 370)
If we can’t see God and live and yet Gideon saw God and lived, there is only one explanation. Gideon was face to face with God the Son. How often have we thought similar thoughts as Gideon's? “My clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my family.” Yet we should know that if God asks us to do something, He will empower us to do it! God told Gideon that He would be with him and yet Gideon asks for a sign! Why can’t we just take God at His word and believe His promises to us? Or was Gideon just being cautious and making sure he got things right? Later on we will see some evidence of Gideon's character that may help us decide the answer to this question. God reduced the number of fighting men so that there could be no mistake that the victory was from God.
Why on earth would the men who lapped with their hands be the ones chosen to do the fighting? Could it be because by lapping with their hands they were able to still be watching for the enemy? Instead of having their faces down in the water? We are warned about watching for the enemy from the apostle Peter.
1 Peter 5:8
Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.
While Satan cannot devour our salvation, he surely can devour our witness and our testimony. We must be alert to his schemes!
Jesus said it so well!
Matthew 26:41
Watch and pray that you enter not into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.
The Lord tells Gideon to tear down his father's altar to Baal and to cut down the Asherah pole, which Gideon did but under the cover of darkness. Isn't it interesting that the destruction of the Asherah pole was used to fuel the sacrifice to God?
When Gideon tells the fighting men to claim the victory over the Midianites, ..."for the Lord and for Gideon." should he have shared credit with God?
Lesson for us today? Always, always, give God the glory!!!
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