ESV Chronological Plan, Day 84 | Judges 9-10 and Ruth 1-4

LOOK - What Does it Say?

Read Judges 9:1-10:5 and Ruth 1:1-4:22

THINK - What Does it Mean?

(A) The book of Ruth is an illustration of the Gospel. This is no side story. The book of Ruth is the connective tissue between the book of Judges (Ruth 1:1) and the kingly line of David (Ruth 4:17). Ruth was a Moabite woman who lived in Israel during the time of the Judges, when some of the most disturbing situations in all of Scripture were happening regularly in Israel. This was a dark time. And it was dangerous. And Ruth and her mother-in-law Naomi were hungry. And so she was in need of kindness, or favor. But the book of Ruth also shows how even during that time, God was slowly enacting his rescue plan for his people through the story of Ruth and Boaz. And that's why the book of Ruth wraps up with a genealogy, which says: "Nahshon fathered Salmon, Salmon fathered Boaz, Boaz fathered Obed, Obed fathered Jesse, and Jesse fathered David." Despite the reigns of Jerubbaal (Gideon) and Saul, David was the first "true" king of Israel, descended from the line of Judah, the one through whom the Messiah would come. But why, out of all of those names in the genealogy at the end of Ruth, did God want Ruth and Boaz's story to end up in our Bibles? Why not the Tales of Obed? Why not the book of Salmon, Boaz's father? (Well, maybe something about the story of Boaz's dad would have seemed a little fishy.) I believe that the story of Boaz and Ruth is in our Bibles, because in God's wisdom, he knew that this particular story would point us to Jesus. Take a look at how this book illustrates the Gospel for us. Boaz, the one from whom Jesus descended, comes from Bethlehem. He is God's chosen kinsman-redeemer. In Boaz's union with Ruth, just like in the saving work of Jesus, both Jew and Gentile are grafted in together and become one people, even part of the royal family of God. Boaz, like Jesus, comes out into his harvest field and, finding someone living under the curse (which the Moabites were under), who is willing to leave all else behind, shows favor/grace to them, and takes them into his household and makes them part of his family.

(B) God gives us a new identity. Take a look at Ruth 2 specifically here. The people that Ruth comes from, the Moabites, are part of a people who were under the curse and judgment of God. But Ruth shows us that, to all who seek God’s favor, even those who were once far from God or under judgment, there is room in God’s family for them. So many times in this passage, Ruth is not called “foreigner.” She’s not called “cursed woman.” She’s not called “sinner.” What is she called, by both Naomi and Boaz? She’s called daughter. And that’s a picture of the Gospel for sure. That though we were far from God, though we sought answers in all the wrong things, though we were by nature under a curse, though we were experiencing spiritual famine in the midst of dark times, Jesus—God in human flesh, descended in his humanity from the line of Boaz, found us out in his harvest field and he brought us in. He showed us favor. He wrapped his arm of protection around us. He gave us the best of what He had. He pronounced blessing over us. He called us his children. He redeemed us. He sought us. Jesus, the true and greater Boaz, has done for each of us, us Ruths, what we could not have done for ourselves. He is the one in whom we find favor, and we may find our rest in Him.

DO - What Is Our Part?

How can we respond in our worship, attitude, and actions? In our attitude, I think this would give us a greater sense that our identity is not in the things that we have done, or that have been done to us. But God gives us a new identity that is centered around what our relationship is to him. In the end that is the thing that matters most.

PRAY - How Does This Bring Us to God?

Whether in response to anything pointed out here, or something else in your reading, take some time before you close up your Bible to pray in response to God.

ESV Chronological Plan, Day 83 | Judges 6-8

LOOK | WHAT DOES IT SAY?

Judges 6:1-8:35

THINK | WHAT DOES IT MEAN?

(A) The second appearance of the Angel of the Lord in Judges 6. This strange figure shows up again in this passage, for the second out of three appearances in the book of Judges. This messenger (the word "angel" means "messenger") seems to appear in the form of a man. He sits (v. 11), speaks (v. 12), and has a hand in which he carries a walking staff (v. 21). However, both his words and the text identify him as God. More subtle than his usual references, he says to Gideon "I send you... I will be with you..." (v. 14-16), taking on himself personally the sending and equipping authority of God. But if that is not as convincing, the text itself goes on to identify him directly as "the LORD" (v. 14, 16). Gideon also seems to understand that this is God in the form of a man because he worries about whether he can really have seen his face and still live (v. 22), which was a common fear of those who believed they had beheld God in some form of theophany, or "God appearance" (see Jacob's amazement at still being alive after a similar encounter in Genesis 32:30). The translators of the Hebrew Bible into Greek before Jesus also understood the implications of this reference--the ESV footnote for verse 14 says that the translators of the Greek Septuagint changed "the LORD" to instead read "the angel of the LORD," very likely because they recognized that the text appears to be calling this seemingly human figure "God," and they wanted to correct this. By attempting to alter the passage in translation, the Jewish translators of the Septuagint in the days before Jesus (approximately 3rd-2nd century BC) have actually witnessed that this passage seems to be talking about God appearing to Gideon in human form. The next mention of the angel of the Lord Judges 13 will be even more clear than this. But for us, I believe that this recurring pattern of appearances by the angel of the Lord--who comes as God in a physical appearance, and both refers to God in third person and yet clearly identifies as God, is one of the ways in which the Old Testament witnesses to Jesus.

(B) Gideon's character weakness. Gideon seems to start off well, with the caveat that he takes a lot of convincing to fulfill his God-chosen role as judge, and initially is only willing to do even the smallest acts for God by secret at night. His acceptance of God's summons comes after a lot of questioning, a lot of half obedience, and a lot of testing (Judges 6). Then, immediately after that is concluded, we see that he publicly is known by the name "Jerubbaal" which means "Baal shall contend"--Baal being the name of a false deity (Judges 7:1). After winning a victorious battle, he then seems to have Israelite men killed at Penuel for having earlier denied to give his army bread (8:4-17). He does things out of cruelty and anger (8:18-21). He first makes a show of saying that he will not be king over his people, but this is false humility, as he later has many wives and concubines and names his son Abimelech, which means "my dad is the king" (Judges 8:29-31). In the same chapter, he also leads his people into idolatry. He is a terrible Judge all around, as we see increasingly through the narrative. God can use someone who is deficient in character. In fact, to show his own glory through weak vessels, he may often do so. But we should not confuse success or skill or fruitfulness with godliness. We can glorify God in providing those things. But the person to whom it is provided can only show that they are genuine over time, through many different little decisions.

RESPOND | WHAT IS OUR PART?

How can we respond in our worship, attitude, and actions? In our worship we can see God already descending to make himself knowable to man through the appearances of the angel of the Lord (only clearly in the books of Genesis-Judges, so far as I can tell). He desires relationship with us. In our attitudes we should look for anything in us that, given the opportunity, could show itself in ways that would bring sadness to the heart of God.

PRAY | HOW DOES THIS LEAD US TO CONNECT WITH GOD?

Whether in response to anything pointed out here, or something else in your reading, take some time before you close up your Bible to pray in response to God.

ESV Chronological Plan, Day 82 | Judges 4-5, 17-18

LOOK | WHAT DOES IT SAY?

Read Judges 4:1-5:31 and 17:1-18:31

THINK | WHAT DOES IT MEAN?

(A) A ministry of encouragement. Deborah's form of leadership in the book of Judges is unique, in that God primarily uses her, in Judges 4-5, to encourage a man who was unconfident in his role (Barak) to listen to the voice of God by embracing the leadership role that he had been given. He seems incredibly hesitant to go to war, however, and asks her to come along with him, so she again practices her ministry of encouragement by going with him. (Side note: I always thought that Deborah went with Barak into the battle itself. Apparently she only went with him to Mount Tabor, where she again encouraged Barak in Judges 4:14, and then Barak went down from Mount Tabor by himself to go into the battle in the same verse--Deborah is not mentioned again until she and Barak sing a song of victory together after the battle in Judges 5:1.) The result was that "the LORD routed Sisera and all his chariots and all his army before Barak by the edge of the sword... And Barak pursued the chariots and the army... and all the army of Sisera fell by the edge of the sword; not a man was left" (Judges 4:15-16). Although Deborah's name would not be mentioned again outside of this account in Judges 4-5, Barak's name would be remembered in both Testaments (1 Samuel 12:11; Hebrews 11:32)--and whenever the story was told about how God delivered Israel through the leadership of Barak, the story of Deborah and her ministry of encouragement must not have been far out of the minds of those who recounted the story. We too can be part of many incredible things that God wants to do by being encouragers to those who God is raising up. I have benefited from others' ministries of encouragement myself!

(B) God initiates, we respond, God works through our response. Although Barak was incredibly hesitant to go into battle against Sisera and his "900 chariots of iron" (Judges 4:3, 13), God gave him victory once he actually went out into the field of battle. God initiated by calling Barak to lead Israel. Then he initiated again by sending Deborah to him. Then, once Barak responded, God caused Sisera to make a series of terrible strategic decisions by first abandoning his army (leaving them vulnerable without leadership, Judges 4:15-16) and then fleeing on foot before entering alone into the tent of the woman who killed him, not noticing concerning signs that should have tipped him off such as her giving him heavy milk instead of water to quench his thirst (Judges 4:19, 5:25). We have seen this before: God causing the rulers of the cities of Canaan to make bad strategic decisions without which Israel could have never taken all these cities. The battle was not won by the superior military might of Israel. Instead, the battle was only won when God's people stepped out in faith, and when God worked through their response.

(C) Or, we could work through human wisdom alone, like Judges 17-18. The counterpart to the story of Deborah and Barak is this story in Judges 17-18. Instead of responding to God's call, the people of Dan decide that what God is calling them to do is too difficult. They abandon their allotted portion of land (leaving a people who would continually be a thorn in the side of Israel throughout the rest of its history), and instead brutally conquer the easier-to-take land of a peaceful people who had done no wrong. Then they also set up idols in their midst, after stealing them from a spiritually wayward Bethlehemite. They probably thought they had accomplished their mission, but we will see as we journey throughout the rest of Israel's history that their clever maneuver created devastating ripples of spiritual and physical destruction on Israel for centuries afterwards. The whole story of Judges 17-18 is a lesson in how far human wisdom gets us: remember, in those days "everyone did what was right in their own eyes" (Judges 17:6).

RESPOND | WHAT IS OUR PART?

How can we respond in our worship, attitude, and actions? In our attitudes we should remember to encourage others in the roles that God has given them; we should confidently step out in faith and expect that God will work in us as we respond to him; and we should be wary of replacing God's plan with our own human plans as the wayward people of Dan did in Judges 17-18.

PRAY | HOW DOES THIS LEAD US TO CONNECT WITH GOD?

Here is a suggested prayer prompt: "God, I know that you are at work in the world, and that you will not leave your people alone. Help me to see through your Word and through prayer what you want to accomplish today. Help me to be an encouragement to those who you are raising up. Help me to respond to you in faith as well. And God, help me not to abandon the plan you have for me just because the path seems difficult to walk on. Instead, help me to draw upon the strength that you give, knowing that you are currently working on a thousand thousand variables that I would never know on my own, to bring about the result that you have intended."

ESV Chronological Plan, Day 81 | Judges 1-3

LOOK | WHAT DOES IT SAY?

Read Judges 1:1-3:31

THINK | WHAT DOES IT MEAN?

We've got some pretty interesting stories as we head into our first chapters of the book of Judges: Othniel the brother of Caleb (which means he was a Canaanite who delivered the people of Israel!), as well as Ehud the Left-Handed Assassin. The deliverers in the book of Judges are an array of unusual characters who would not typically be seen as deliverers, and that is the point--that God saved not because Israel had great leaders, but because he uses whatever people and means that he wants to in order to bring about his purposes. 

(A) How the book of Judges is about Jesus. In the book of Judges we see an increasingly bleak, repeated cycle of corruption, which will eventually be summarized with this longing for God's Promised Deliverer: "In those days there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes" (Judges 21:25). The following book, Ruth, will answer that yearning, as the narrative's attention will be paid to a specific offspring of Judah for the first time since the book of Genesis.

(B) God chose Judah in Judges 1:1-2. While Judges is a very dark book, it is here that God continues to highlight the promise that will come through the line of Judah. When Joshua died, God chose Judah to lead the other tribes into battle to conquer the promised land.

(C) Bible difficulty about Jerusalem in Judges 1:8. This verse says that Judah fought against Jerusalem and captured it, but 2 Samuel 5:6-9 says that David conquered the city a long time afterwards. There is no difficulty here: it's clear from Judges 1:21 that the Jebusites resettled the city after the initial conquest.

(D) The Angel of the LORD in Judges 2:1-5. This is a figure that we encountered repeatedly in Genesis, and we also met here and there throughout Israel's time in the wilderness. This figure, called the Angel of the LORD, is distinct from God and yet speaks in first person as God. He is with God, and in some strange way, he is God. As we've already seen in Genesis and Exodus, and will see again in Judges 13, either the text or people within the narrative who see him, identify him as God. Many Bible commentators have identified this figure as an Old Testament appearance of Jesus Christ. For more about this figure, I would recommend this very thorough book.

RESPOND | WHAT IS OUR PART?

How can we respond in our worship, attitude, and actions? In our worship, we can either see our lives in isolation from God's purpose for the world, or we can see how our lives lead up to and are fulfilled by Jesus. Just as Jesus is the fulfillment of every longing that came out of the brokenness of the time of the Judges in Israel, so also Jesus is the fulfillment of every longing that we have. We long for freedom from shame and brokenness, and Jesus died so that we might have that. We long for a world that is at peace, and one day Jesus will bring that to pass. We lament the power of death, which someday Jesus will break and put away. We look at the world around us and see cycles of decay not unlike the ones that were present in the book of Judges, and Jesus promises to come to put an end to that cycle as king. All things lead up to Jesus. He is the hope of every longing heart. He is the King in whom we find peace. He is worthy of worship, and glory, and honor, and power. And he extends his hand out to us to invite us, so that we might come to him.

PRAY | HOW DOES THIS LEAD US TO CONNECT WITH GOD?

Here is a suggested prayer prompt: "Jesus, lead me into your presence. Reveal to me your goodness. Cause me to see the glory of God in your face. Give me rest as I place my hopes in you."

ESV Chronological Plan, Day 80 | Joshua 22-24, Judges 2

LOOK | WHAT DOES IT SAY?

Read Joshua 22:1-24:33 and Judges 2:6-10

THINK | WHAT DOES IT MEAN?

(A) Collective responsibility in Joshua 22:17-20. In these verses, the people of Israel are concerned that the whole community will be held responsible for the potentially idolatrous actions of a small group within it. So they gather together, knowing that they might have to battle with some of their own countrymen who appear to be violating the terms of the covenant. This same ethic is probably what kept the people of Israel (mostly) faithful all the days of Joshua and of the elders who served with him: we need accountability in the community for every member; things go downhill quickly when a community does not hold its members accountable. Too often we are willing to turn a blind eye and a deaf ear to things that, ignored in one generation, result in the breakdown of the community itself in the next. We need what Israel has here: more of an ethic that says we are all responsible to everyone else to make sure that our whole community reaches the goal laid out before us. We are each accountable, and must be willing to be held accountable, to the principles that our community (in the Lord) is founded upon.

(B) Unity around worship of the Lord in Joshua 22:21-34. This section also lays out the kind of unity that we are to build upon. This is a unity around the worship of the Lord. Not around anything else. Not on family ties or how long the various members of the different tribes have known each other. But the unity that counts is unity around the Lord.

(C) Passing on the torch in Joshua 23. (And a lesson about future generations wandering in Judges 2.) Joshua said his last words here, in chapter 23 of the book, knowing that he would die, and that another generation would take his place. He knew that he was fighting for and building up something that someone else was going to enjoy. And he did a good job: Israel served the Lord not only during all of his days, but also during the days of all of the elders who outlived Joshua as well (somewhere around 40 years afterwards--the equivalent of a good leader dying in 1984 and the benefits of his contribution holding the community up all the way up to today). But, Judges 2 tells us, the generation that came after that did not know the Lord. This is a common story. The book Dynamics of Spiritual Life by Richard Lovelace, written in the late 1970s, predicted in the wake of the Jesus Revolution in the 1970s that while the current generation would "catch" the Gospel, the next would "assume" the gospel and fall into cheap grace on one end, and legalism and moralism on the other. That would be followed by another generation which would look at the shallow "assumed" Gospel they were raised in, find it uncompelling, and then would "abandon" the Gospel. And that's pretty much what happened. Not unlike the Israelites, we also need a fresh awakening in every generation, because we too are prone to wander away into distortions of the Gospel. We need to be caught by the message of who Jesus is and what he has done all over again.

RESPOND | WHAT IS OUR PART?

How can we respond in our worship, attitude, and actions? In our actions we can apply this reading in our willingness to be held accountable, as well as to speak ourselves with some gentle but possibly uncomfortable words of correction to other brothers and sisters in Christ when it is needed. We can also promote unity in the Lord (provided that unity is based on following the Lord), overcoming petty differences because what keeps us together is bigger than anything that would pull us apart. And we can work hard to lay a good foundation for those who will come after us, while at the same time not assuming that they need any less winning to Christ than we did. We can also pray for them to encounter Christ anew as we once did (and hope to again).

PRAY | HOW DOES THIS LEAD US TO CONNECT WITH GOD?

Here is a suggested prayer prompt: "God, show yourself through your people. Help us to be a witness to the transforming power of the Gospel. Knock us off our feet, cause us to get out of our man-made sense of comfort, and pull us into a fresh, wild, fulfilling encounter with what you want to do in our own day. Help us to see and confront anything that is holding us back from seeing you do the amazing things today that we used to see you do. And raise up today a generation who has a fresh knowledge and hunger for the things of God. Help us to come alongside them, equip them, encourage them, pray for them, and release them."

ESV Chronological Plan, Day 79 | Joshua 20-21, 1 Chronicles 6

LOOK | WHAT DOES IT SAY?

Read Joshua 20:1-21:45 and 1 Chronicles 6:16-81

THINK | WHAT DOES IT MEAN?

(A) God's law ended the right of the avenger of blood in Joshua 20. From  the words of Richard Pratt, "Assyrian documents confirm what was a widespread practice in Joshua’s day, as it is in a number of cultures even today. In cultures outside of Israel, a close relative had the right to seek payment from or even the death of anyone who killed a member of his clan or tribe, even if the act was accidental. In Israel this was not to be the case. The manslayer was to flee to a city of refuge and to explain his situation to the elders. The elders were to give him protection until he was exonerated and after a period of waiting until the current high priest died. Thus, revenge killings were to be eliminated from Israel 'throughout your generations' (Num 35:29)."

(B) Teaching posts for the Levites in Joshua 21. Also  from the words of Richard Pratt, "In this chapter, our author points to another kind of service the Levites provided. They had responsibilities for teaching and applying the Law of Moses to daily life among all the tribes of Israel (see Lev 10:11; Deut 33:10; 2Chr 15:3; 17:7–9; 35:3; Ezra 7:10; Neh 8:7–9; Ezek 44:23–24; Mal 2:6–9). These services required Levites to be scattered throughout the nation so they could have easy access to all the tribes. On the plains of Moab, Moses had given specific instructions for the tribe of Levi to be granted these cities throughout Cisjordan and Transjordan (see 20:1; Num 35:1–8). For this reason, 'the heads of the fathers’ houses of the Levites' (21:1) approached the divinely authorized leaders of Israel, 'Eleazar the priest . . . Joshua . . . and . . . the heads of the fathers’ houses of the tribes' (21:1). They asked for 'cities to dwell in, along with their pasturelands for [their] livestock' (21:3). The Levites not only needed places to live among the tribes, but they also needed 'pasturelands.' Pasturelands were so important that our author mentions them fifty-eight times in this chapter. In fact, Moses gave specific instructions about their size (see Num 35:1–8). Once the other tribes had been allotted their lands, if they were to be faithful to the Lord, the Levites had to be granted these cities."

RESPOND | WHAT IS OUR PART?

How can we respond in our worship, attitude, and actions? In our actions we can apply these things to our own lives. Both of the items above seem to have something to do with the goodness of God's instructions, and the importance of hearing and learning them. So there is a lot that we can do to learn God's Word for ourselves. There are important Study Bible tools that we can make use of. My favourite (now out of print, but you can still find copies) is the NIV Archaeological Study Bible. I also like the ESV Gospel Transformation Study Bible, the Life Application Study Bible, and the NIV Biblical Theology Study Bible. If you are unsure about having all kinds of notes cluttering the bottom of your Bible's pages and distracting you, and you just want to focus on God's Word interpreting itself, I also like The ESV Thompson Chain-Reference Bible which includes a set of chain references next to the words of Scripture so that you can follow the references on throughout the whole of the Bible. You can also join a small group Bible study where you can ask questions and offer your own thoughts as you learn the Bible together with others. You can find good teaching that will show you the riches of God's Word, and take notes during the teaching of things that might stick out to you.

PRAY | HOW DOES THIS LEAD US TO CONNECT WITH GOD?

Here is a suggested prayer prompt: "God, help me to know you through your Word. Show me the way that you made me to best connect with it, whether through study or through some other creative way. But however you have made me to connect with it, draw me close to you through the power of your testimonies."

ESV Chronological Plan, Day 78 | Joshua 19, 1 Chronicles 4 + 7

LOOK | WHAT DOES IT SAY?

Read Joshua 19:1-51 and 1 Chronicles 4:24-25 and 7:1-40

THINK | WHAT DOES IT MEAN?

(A) The true and greater Joshua, based on Joshua 19:49-50. Joshua and Jesus have the same name in Hebrew ("Yehoshua"). Joshua was originally named Hoshea, but Moses renamed him "Joshua" [meaning "the Lord saves"] shortly before he went as one of the original spies of Israel to inspect the land (Numbers 13:16). Why did Moses rename him? Many Christian commentators dating back to the early church have said that this was because Joshua was meant to foreshadow the work of Jesus. Although Joshua brought God's people into the land of rest, only through Jesus can we truly enter into the rest that God has for his people. Although Joshua led his people into an earthly inheritance, Jesus leads us into a heavenly one.

(B) Simeon's inheritance within the inheritance of Judah in Joshua 19:1-9. As we have seen so far in our readings up to this point, even when the tribe of Judah is not in the limelight, God is putting the tribe front and center in various ways of his own. Through the life and leadership of Caleb the Kenizzite, we see Judah as the tribe through which the nations can find an inheritance among God's people. And here in the portioning out of the land, we see Simeon, a tribe of Israel, whose inheritance can be found entirely within the inheritance of the tribe of Judah--showing that within Judah's inheritance (the tribe through which the Promised Deliverer will come) the fullness of Israel will also receive their inheritance. Just like all they had was within the inheritance of the coming King, all that we truly have is within Jesus. 

(C) The tragic story of Dan's inheritance in Joshua 19:40-48. In the words of Richard Pratt, this section of the narrative "focuses on a terrible set of circumstances that took place with the tribe of Dan. Dan’s original allotment was in the south near Judah, but the tribe of Dan was not able to take its originally allotted territories (see Judg 1:34; 18:27–31). So, the people of Dan left that allotment and 'went up and fought against Leshem . . . and settled in it, calling Leshem, Dan' (19:47). It was also called 'Laish' (Judg 18:27, 29)... In all likelihood, our author reports the migration of Dan to call for all the tribes to insist that Dan turn back to the Lord and return to their original inheritance." I think that there is a spiritual lesson here: Dan's inheritance was originally supposed to be in the south, which would have located them near the territory of the tribe of the Messiah. But they failed to take hold of the promise, and so moved on far away from the land of their inheritance, which was near to the throne of God's chosen Messiah, and in their moving on eventually became a people whose story was filled with idolatry and regret.

(D) Valuing the less prominent brother in the section on portioning out the land. This is also from  the words of Richard Pratt, "Future generations of Israel faced many difficulties in maintaining and re-establishing the allotments given to the smaller tribes in Cisjordan, but our author insists that it was their sacred duty to do so. Although these tribes did not have the prominence of Judah, Ephraim, and Manasseh, they were to be counted among the people of Israel. In the Christian church, we must also be careful to honor those who do not receive much prominence. Every manifestation of the firstfruits of the Spirit is essential to the well-being of the body of Christ (see 1Cor 12:1–26), so that 'if one member suffers, all suffer together' (1Cor 12:26). We are also to strengthen the weak and strive for peace in the church to ensure that 'no root of bitterness springs up and causes trouble' (see Heb 12:12–15)."

RESPOND | WHAT IS OUR PART?

How can we respond in our worship, attitude, and actions? In our worship we can apply these things to our own lives by running towards Jesus. In his inheritance, we find our inheritance. By following in his wake, we enter into our true and heavenly rest. Let us not, like the tribe of Dan, turn aside from the difficulty that comes with walking into God's promises, to settle for an easier and less fulfilling inheritance that is far away from the promise of Jesus. And as we run towards Jesus, let us encourage one another to not grow weary and to keep up the pace.

PRAY | HOW DOES THIS LEAD US TO CONNECT WITH GOD?

Here is a suggested prayer prompt: "Dear Jesus, all that I have is in you. You are my rock and my shield. You are my captain. Give me the courage to follow you into every difficulty and battle that I might face in this life, knowing that as long as I am with you, you will lead me into rest."

ESV Chronological Plan, Day 77 | Joshua 16-18, 1 Chronicles 7-8

LOOK | WHAT DOES IT SAY?

Read Joshua 16:1-18:28 and 1 Chronicles 7:6-29 and 8:1-40

THINK | WHAT DOES IT MEAN?

(A) Archaeological connection. In this reading, the people of Joseph are given the forest land of the Perizzites, but they decline to go up out of fear of "chariots of iron," specifically in "Beth-Shean and its villages" as well as in the Valley of Jezreel. We see a mirror of this in the letters of the Canaanites to the Pharoah in Egypt. Letter EA 289 from the Amarna Tablets, written by Abdi-Heba the servant of Pharaoh at Jerusalem, also mentions "the garrison at Bitsanu" (Bit-Sanu = Beth-Shean) acting as a protection of that area against the Habiru. In both these tablets, and in the pages of Scripture, there is no indication at this time that the city was ever taken.

(B) Not a process driven by man. Joshua, as part of the people of Joseph and the tribe of Ephraim, would have naturally been inclined to give his own tribe the best land. But this process was not driven by the will of man. Joshua, as a leader, had to submit his desires and wishes to what God wanted him to do--even if the result was strained relationships with those whom he was close with (the tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh) and that he cared about.

(C) What God commands, God will enable. The people of Joseph in Joshua 17 neglected to go into the land of the Perizzites, because they feared the garrison and the chariots of iron that were stationed at Beth-Shean. But if they had gone up, God would have enabled them to carry out their mission. Either he would have given them the exact right tactic to use, or he would have caused some kind of miraculously timed natural disaster, or he would have turned the enemy against themselves, or he would have caused them to abandon their city and chase after a portion of the people of Israel foolishly to leave their city undefended--all of these are things that he had done at other times. An old pastor of mine used to talk about getting "under the waterfall of grace," which meant to get moving in a certain direction and see what doors God opened up along the way. If we stay put until we have everything all worked out, then we're not getting under the waterfall. But if we go, and we're attentive, we can often see God begin to do amazing things that we had never anticipated.

RESPOND | WHAT IS OUR PART?

How can we respond in our worship, attitude, and actions? In our worship we can apply these things to our own lives. For (A) We can see the truth of God's Word through all the other little things that line up with it, and this can increase our trust in God and ability to walk with him by faith. For (B) We can trust God even when he calls us to accept circumstances that we don't like, or rules that we don't want to follow. The tribe of Ephraim that complained in Joshua's time went on to become the most prominent tribe of Northern Israel. They did well for themselves. And even more than this, God's specific division of the land ended up helping in many situations throughout Israel's history. (C) In "getting under the waterfall of grace," we are specifically leading our lives in such a way that we expect God to be active and working in our own lives. We can worship God knowing that he is watching over us.

PRAY | HOW DOES THIS LEAD US TO CONNECT WITH GOD?

Here is a suggested prayer prompt: "God, help me to worship you with an expectant faith. Give me certainty that you are watching over all my ways. Give me the peace to accept things from you that I don't understand. Move in my heart, and help me to know you to such a degree that my life wouldn't make sense if I did not know you."

ESV Chronological Plan, Day 76 | Joshua 14-15, 1 Chronicles 2 + 4

LOOK | WHAT DOES IT SAY?

Read Joshua 14:1-15:63 and 1 Chronicles 2:5-55 and 4:1-23

THINK | WHAT DOES IT MEAN?

(A) Teaching about fairness. Just by reading these lists, you can see the land that God divided up for Israel by lot wasn't divided equally. More and better land was given to some tribes (more on that in a minute), and a smaller and less desirable portion of land was assigned to others. The temptation here for some tribes would have been to look over at the lands received by other tribes and to complain. But the truth is that God had adequately provided for everyone. In the words of one famous comedian, speaking in a more serious moment, "The only time you look in your neighbor's bowl is to make sure that they have enough. You don't look in your neighbor's bowl to see if you have as much as them."

(B) Love for the foreigner. Caleb the son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite, the only man besides Joshua to live throughout the entire journey in the wilderness and enter the Promised Land (Numbers 32:12), and the man who led the tribe of Judah during that time (Numbers 34:18-19), was not an Israelite. He was actually a Canaanite (see Genesis 15:19; Numbers 32:12; Joshua 14:14). For unknown reasons, Salmon the son of Nahshon "the prince of the sons of Judah" (1 Chronicles 2:10) was not a leader of the tribe in those days, and so the tribe of Judah selected this foreign Canaanite man and elevated him up to the place of leader in their midst as one of their own, sometime between Numbers 10:14 and Numbers 13:6. This man left his home and heritage to worship God and be united to his purpose, and God moved the hearts of the people to prophetically elevate his testimony within the literal family of Jesus. The account of Joshua 14:6-15 proves that for all those who are far off, if they unite themselves to God, they too will be given a portion in the Kingdom of God. It also shows us, as God's people, that we are not to consider anyone to be an "outsider" because they don't share our background: After all, the most faithful Israelite, besides Joshua, was Caleb the Canaanite.

(C) Jesus is hidden in the boring parts of the story. At this time in history, Judah was just another tribe of Israel, led by a man who was not even an Israelite. The prophecy of the Promised Deliverer throughout Genesis, who was foretold in Genesis 49 to descend from the line of Judah, did not seem to be likely to come any time in the future. But then we have this list of the portioning out of the land in today's reading. And do you know who God overwhelmingly blesses, over and above the other tribes? The tribe of Judah. In the words of Richard Pratt, "Judah received more land than any other tribe. This list draws attention to the far-reaching boundaries within which every family of Judah received its portion... Our author continues to exalt Judah by noting that a total of 112 cities were given to Judah’s clans. He also repeats ten times that Judah received 'cities with their villages,' cities that were large enough to have villages around them (15:32, 36, 41, 44, 51, 54, 57, 59, 60, 62; see also 18:24, 28; 19:6, 7, 15, 16, 22, 23, 30, 31, 38, 39, 48). He does this to raise Judah’s profile as the tribe that the Lord blessed beyond measure (see 24:2–13)." Included in this inheritance was the city of Hebron, where the patriarchs and matriarchs of Israel were buried. It was big enough to be its own country, and eventually that's what it became. This was obviously the land of the leading tribe of Israel--though Joshua of the tribe of Ephraim was leading at this time. This was God's way of showing that he was still working to bring the Promised Deliverer to the world out of the tribe of Judah.

RESPOND | WHAT IS OUR PART?

How can we respond in our worship, attitude, and actions? In our attitudes we can apply this reading to ourselves. (A) We can be thankful for the things that God has blessed us with, and choose not to be jealous of how God has blessed someone else. (B) We can accept those who are outsiders, not only as people in our midst to be thrown some care to every once in a while, but as those who might even teach, bless, and challenge us as leaders in our midst. (C) We can be encouraged that God works in the details. Even when it seems like the world is going one way, God is at work to bring things around to his purposes.

PRAY | HOW DOES THIS LEAD US TO CONNECT WITH GOD?

For the last few days, we've explored a few different formats for prayer. I liked this one so much that I wanted to use it again, one more time, before we move on to the next.

C = Confess. Confess your trust in God, and your need for him.

A = Ask. Ask God to move--there is nothing that he can't do.

L = Love. Thank God for the many ways that he shown his providential grace.

L = Listen. Ask God to bring to mind a necessary word (thought, Scripture, idea) for you today.

ESV Chronological Plan, Day 75 | Joshua 10-13, 1 Chronicles 5

LOOK | WHAT DOES IT SAY?

Read Joshua 10:28-13:33 and 1 Chronicles 5:1-24

THINK | WHAT DOES IT MEAN?

The Battle Belongs to God. Throughout these chapters, we see in incredible detail how the Hebrews (Habiru?) overcame the odds to take the Promised Land. We even see the same account from the point of view of the Canaanites. (In historical context, all the lands of Canaan were subject kingdoms to the Pharaoh of Egypt at this time. So the "kings" of the cities of the Canaanites in Joshua will be described as "mayors" in the Amarna letters, and the Pharaoh will be addressed there as the king.) Look at how Abdi-Heba, overseeing Jerusalem in the wake of the curious absence of its rightful leader (Joshua 10:1-28), describes the situation in Canaan to Pharaoh:

"Message of Abdi-Heba [to the Pharaoh], your servant. I fall at the feet of the king, my lord, seven times and seven times... I am not a mayor [of Jerusalem]; I am a soldier of the king, my lord... May the king give thought to his land: the land of the king is lost... the Habiru have taken the very cities of the king.  Not a single mayor remains to the king, my lord; all are lost. Behold, Turbazu was slain in the city gate of Silu. The king did nothing. Behold, servants who were joined to the Habiru smote Zimredda of Lakisu, and Yaptih-Hadda was slain in the city gate of Silu. The king did nothing... May the king provide for his land and may he see to it that archers come out to his land. If there are no archers this year, all the lands of the king, my lord, are lost... all the mayors are lost." 

-Abdi-Heba, acting mayor(?) of Jerusalem, to the Pharaoh, Amarna Tablets EA 288

The situation as described in Joshua seems incredibly difficult for Israel, but when we look at it in historical context, the situation was even more miraculous. Not only were the cities of the Canaanites overcome, but Pharaoh and the Egyptians were simultaneously held at bay and somehow kept from intervening. (Abdi-Heba's unanswered letters, found neatly stored in the remains of the Egyptian administrative center at Amarna, become increasingly desperate as they remain ignored.)

There are no odds that are too difficult for God. When we see what must be done, we should move forward by asking God for wisdom. And we should trust that God, who knows the 1,000 variables in the situation that we could never know, is handling more than we know.

RESPOND | WHAT IS OUR PART?

How can we respond in our worship, attitude, and actions? In our attitude I believe we can be enabled to have greater boldness as we pursue the purpose of God in our lives. The same God that helped Israel to take the land also watches over you and me.

PRAY | HOW DOES THIS LEAD US TO CONNECT WITH GOD?

For the last few days, we've explored a few different formats for prayer. I liked this one so much that I wanted to use it again.

C = Confess. Confess your trust in God, and your need for him.

A = Ask. Ask God to move--there is nothing that he can't do.

L = Love. Thank God for the many ways that he shown his providential grace.

L = Listen. Ask God to bring to mind a necessary word (thought, Scripture, idea) for you today.

ESV Chronological Plan, Day 74 | Joshua 8-10

LOOK | WHAT DOES IT SAY?

Read Joshua 8:1-10:27

THINK | WHAT DOES IT MEAN?

Nothing is impossible with God. It seems highly improbable that a group of wanderers and nomads could overrun whole walled cities and alliances of kings all throughout the land of Canaan. But that's what happened! When Joshua captured five of the kings of the Canaanites alive all at once, and then summoned the men of Israel to put their feet on the necks of the kings (Joshua 10:24-25), essentially he was doing for them what God was doing for all Israel. What is impossible from a human standpoint is possible with God. As the people listened to and followed God, he gave them military strategies, altered the weather and the length of day to provide favorable conditions, and caused the wisdom of the Canaanites to fail them so that they did unwise things (like chasing after Israel so greedily that they left their cities open) which would benefit Israel. As we walk forward and obey God, there is nothing that he is unable to do.

Archaeological background to the conquest of Canaan. Unfortunately, as I write this, I am not around my books where I have a copy of a translation of the Amarna Tablets. However these correspond in a number of remarkably specific ways to the conquest of the land recorded in Joshua. These are written from the point of view of the kings of the Canaanites, each of whom is writing to Egypt for support as they are increasingly put on the defensive, and they become increasingly panicked as the land is quickly conquered by a group of nomadic armies known as the Habiru (or Apiru). One letter, written by Abdi-Heba -the acting ruler of Jerusalem, though he denies that he was in that position officially- writes to the Pharaoh who had some ownership over the land of Canaan:“May the king give thought to his land; the land of the king is lost. All of it has attacked me. … I am situated like a ship in the midst of the sea... [N]ow the Habiru have taken the very cities of the king. Not a single mayor remains to the king, my lord; all are lost" (EA 288).

Spoil from Ai. In the previous reading, the people were defeated at Ai, and Achan was harshly judged for taking some of the spoil of a previous conquest which God had forbidden. But here, in a sad irony, God allowed the people to take the spoil of war from their battle with Ai at the beginning of Joshua 8. There was nothing wrong with taking the spoils of war itself. The thing that was wrong was disobeying the Lord. Sometimes we look at what God has forbidden and we rationalize how it could be good, and that it should be fine to take. Not only is it a bad idea for us to trust the highly motivated judgment of a clearly biased person in that situation (ourselves!), but even if we were right, the fact that God has given us clear instructions should be enough. Even if there were nothing wrong with a certain choice or course of action, other than God's command against it, that would be reason enough to steer clear.

Things unmentioned. Each day's reading is incredibly rich. Even in this entry, I haven't touched on the Gibeonite deception, the book of Jasher, the sun standing still, or the covenant renewal ceremony from Mount Ebal--which also involves another interesting archaeological site. Be encouraged in your own reading to find things not mentioned in these posts.

RESPOND | WHAT IS OUR PART?

How can we respond in our worship, attitude, and actions? In our actions, I think there are a few things that we could do with this reading. (1) The links are provided to take anyone who is interested "down the rabbit hole" to begin to see some of the interesting evidence for Scripture. (The Armstrong Institute, so far, appears to be a very good resource in that it acknowledges the range of scholarly discussion currently going on around each archaeological find--they're not jumping to any wild conclusions, or if they do, they seem so far to be able to acknowledge where they are stepping out on a limb and why there is disagreement on that point.) This could be a good resource to prepare for conversations with a non-Christian friend or neighbor who might be a little more intellectual and would be interested in something like this. (2) We can faithfully follow God, even when we don't know how that will turn out. God led Joshua and the Israelites into some pretty shaky situations, and he made it all work out. He still does this. Sometimes by trying to over-engineer our own plan, we can end up quenching the work of the Spirit. (3) We should trust God even when he tells us not to do something -or when our friends and family are doing something- that on our own we see no problem with. Look: I'm an ethnic Jew, and my favorite food is bacon. There is nothing wrong with the delicious, salty, surprisingly versatile harvest of the meat of the swine. But if God told me, as he taught all Old Testament Jews, not to eat of it, I would trust that there is a good reason. (It turns out there was, but I'll save that for now.) God is worthy of our trust, the fruit of which is obedience.

PRAY | HOW DOES THIS LEAD US TO CONNECT WITH GOD?

For the last few days, we've explored a few different formats for prayer. Here is one that a friend who is a camp speaker came up with.

C = Confess. Confess who you believe God to be, and who he has made you to be. Admit to the things in your life that are holding you back from him.

A = Ask. These are the usual prayers where we ask God for his help in various areas of our lives. We can pray for ourselves, those we know, our church, our city, and the country--as God has placed the burden for doing so on you today.

L = Love. Thank God for the many ways that he shows his grace.

L = Listen. Ask God to speak to you and to bring things to mind, and then just be silent for a little while. Everything that happens here will require more discernment later. But, you might find yourself (as I did, on my own prayer time yesterday afternoon) with sudden clarity on an issue. Or you might have some Bible verses come to mind which are timely reminders of something you've been thinking about. Or you may just gain a fresh appreciation for who God is. Whichever of these happens, just end off your prayer time by taking some time to listen.

ESV Chronological Plan, Day 73 | Joshua 5-7

LOOK | WHAT DOES IT SAY?

Read Joshua 5:1-7:26

THINK | WHAT DOES IT MEAN?

(A) The archaeology of the fall of Jericho. The archaeological site of Jericho (Joshua 5) is incredible to look at and study. There are many different things about the site that line up specifically with the Bible's description of the conquest. We see a totally collapsed outer wall, above a slope, where the rubble of the wall would have acted as a ramp heading into the city. We  see large stores of carbonized (burned) grain--showing that the city was burned with fire, that it was taken at harvest time around when passover takes place, that the city was taken suddenly before the grain could be used, and that the group who took the city inexplicably (unless you are reading the Bible) decided to burn the city with all its belongings rather than taking the grain for themselves to eat. You can see more here. As we go through the books of Joshua and Judges, we're going to see with a little more regularity how the archaeological record and the Biblical history line up and lock together in incredible ways.

(B) The commander of the Lord's armies. I really find this interaction from Joshua 5 interesting, where Joshua encounters the commander of the Lord's armies. That angelic(?) commander makes it clear that he is not for Israel's armies, or for the armies of Canaan, but rather that he is on God's side. Then he tells Joshua to remove his sandals and to worship God, for he is standing on holy ground. Some will say that this is an Old Testament appearance of Jesus--the "Angel of the LORD" who often speaks in first person as God, many times in Genesis and then also in other parts of Biblical history. That could be true here, but I don't see anything in this passage that would specifically make me think that's the case here. Instead the commander of God's armies is here to show Joshua that this battle is God's, and that's why Joshua will succeed: because he's doing what God is already choosing to bless. How often do we seek to have God bless us and what we are doing, rather than trying to do what God appears to be blessing? How often have we asked whether God is on our side, rather than trying to discern what he is up to and attempting to get on his side?

RESPOND | WHAT IS OUR PART?

How can we respond in our worship, attitude, and actions? In our worship, we can thank God for arranging all of this archaeological evidence to support us in our faith. That so much of the history that pertains to the Bible has actually been preserved is, I would say, miraculous. In our actions, we can look for what God is blessing -if it lines up with his word- and join what he is doing in each new season. In our attitudes, we can be firm in our faith and resolute to go out to whatever God would call us to.

PRAY | HOW DOES THIS LEAD US TO CONNECT WITH GOD?

P = Praise. Thank God for his provision, his goodness, and his willingness to enter into human history and to act on our behalf.

R = Repent. Is there anything in your thoughts, attitudes, or actions that today's reading is highlighting for you as something to take to God so that he can transform you in that area? Spend some time in repentance and give that over to God in humility.

A = Ask. There are probably many things that you need today. Don't be afraid to ask him.

Y = Yield. Now that you have asked, remember that God is a good father. He knows what you need most. So tell him, "not my will, but yours be done."