(Joshua 23:1-16) Now it came about after many days, when the Lord had given rest to Israel from all their enemies on every side, and Joshua was old, advanced in years, 2 that Joshua called for all Israel, for their elders, their heads, their judges, and their officers, and said to them, “I am old, advanced in years. 3 And you have seen all that the Lord your God has done to all these nations because of you, for the Lord your God is He who has been fighting for you. 4 See, I have apportioned to you these nations which remain as an inheritance for your tribes, with all the nations which I have eliminated, from the Jordan even to the Great Sea toward the west. 5 And the Lord your God, He will thrust them away from you and drive them from you; and you will take possession of their land, just as the Lord your God promised you. 6 Be very determined, then, to keep and do everything that is written in the Book of the Law of Moses, so that you will not turn aside from it to the right or to the left, 7 so that you will not associate with these nations, these which remain with you, or mention the name of their gods, or make anyone swear by them, or serve them, or bow down to them. 8 But you are to cling to the Lord your God, as you have done to this day. 9 For the Lord has driven out great and mighty nations from before you; and as for you, no one has stood against you to this day. 10 One of your men puts to flight a thousand, for the Lord your God is He who fights for you, just as He promised you. 11 So take great care for yourselves that you love the Lord your God. 12 For if you ever go back and cling to the rest of these nations, these which remain with you, and intermarry with them, so that you associate with them and they with you, 13 know with certainty that the Lord your God will not continue to drive these nations out from before you; but they will be a snare and a trap to you, and a whip on your sides and thorns in your eyes, until you perish from this good land which the Lord your God has given you.
14 “Now behold, today I am going the way of all the earth, and you know in all your hearts and in all your souls that not one word of all the good words which the Lord your God spoke concerning you has failed; they all have been fulfilled for you, not one of them has failed. 15 But it will come about that just as all the good words which the Lord your God spoke to you have come upon you, so the Lord will bring upon you all the warnings, until He has eliminated you from this good land which the Lord your God has given you. 16 When you violate the covenant of the Lord your God, which He commanded you, and you go and serve other gods and bow down to them, then the anger of the Lord will burn against you, and you will perish quickly from the good land which He has given you.”
TODAY'S THOUGHTS AND MEDITATION:
The situation is different today, but the principles are exactly the same. We don't have God telling us to go fight physical wars against nations. Today, we have Him telling us to spread the gospel message, which brings with it spiritual battles. And back then, the people still only had God's words spoken through Moses. Since then, God has given us the rest of His word through other prophets as well as the apostles. Therefore now, we have the complete word of God. The Lord has made sure that everything we need to know is available to us!
God is not done with the Israelites yet! As prophesied, they still have their Jewish years to complete before they have all their covenants fulfilled. Meanwhile, God continues to adopt children into His family!
God desires that all come to know Him, and wants a personal relationship with everyone. This is why the Lord God came down to us, in flesh, to pay the price for sin and death. We could never get to heaven in our own efforts, therefore The Lord reaches down to us. We just have to reach out and accept the free gift of salvation in Jesus Christ, which is to make the Lord OUR God.
"The Lord YOUR God" is an important point that many of the prophets make when speaking to the people. When we have made the Lord - OUR - God, THEN He fights for us. And as verse 10 says, WHEN we do what God asks of us, THEN God fights for us. Just because we have chosen God's side, doesn't mean that if we chose to do something our own way that God will fight for us. In fact, because He loves us, when we disobey, He will discipline us in order to get us back on track.
As it is a personal relationship, it isn't just us chasing after God for favors, it is a two-way relationship, with two-way communication and two-way caring. And just how do we know what He wants for us? The Holy Spirit is here to convict and guide us. As well, we have His word, the Bible.
I love verse 11. Take great care FOR yourselves that you LOVE the Lord YOUR God!!! God doesn't need our help. But it benefits our lives when we love and follow the Lord, because He will then take care of us. God wants us to ask and allow Him to do everything for us. And we can and should make this relationship as personal as possible! He already knows everything about us - and He cares! How could we not love Him, and why wouldn't we lean on Him for everything???!!!
No comments:
Post a Comment