Hold Fast! - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him today and what came to my heart and mind in Joshua 23:8,

",,, you are to hold fast to the Lord your God, as you have until now."

In this chapter of Joshua, we find Joshua at his life's end. It provides the account of when he summoned all the elders, leaders, judges and officials of Israel. In his address to them he reminds them how the Lord had fought for them and fulfilled every one of his promises to Israel, "You know with all your heart and soul that not one of all the good promises the Lord your God gave you has failed. Every promise has been fulfilled; not one has failed." Verse 14.

Joshua also exhorted them to obey everything in the "Book of the Law of Moses", verse 6. He encouraged them that the Lord would continue to drive out of the land their enemies that still remained, "The Lord your God himself will push them out for your sake. He will drive them out before you, and you will take possession of their land, as the Lord your God promised you." Verse 5.

Additionally, he warned them that if they were to intermarry and associate with the survivors of their enemies that still remained, the Lord would no longer support them, "... then you may be sure that the Lord your God will no longer drive out these nations before you. Instead, they will become snares and traps for you, whips on your backs and thorns in your eyes, until you perish from this good land, which the Lord your God has given you." Verse 13.

In light of these things Joshua urged the Israelites strongly to, "... be very careful to love the Lord your God", verse 11, and to "hold fast to the Lord your God", verse 8.

His exhortation to the leaders of Israel reminds me of what the writer of Hebrews said, "See to it, brothers and sisters, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God. But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called 'Today,' so that none of you may be hardened by sin's deceitfulness. We have come to share in Christ, if indeed we hold our original conviction firmly to the very end." Hebrews 3:12-14.

While I firmly believe the Lord keeps us in him once we have embraced him in faith ("He [God] will also keep you firm to the end, so that you will be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is faithful, who has called you into fellowship with his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord." 1 Corinthians 1:8-9.), nevertheless, as we read in Hebrews, we need to encourage one another daily so that we do not become hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. We need to hold fast to the Lord our God, just as Joshua told the leaders of Israel!

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!

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Love the Lord by Keeping His Commands - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him today and what came to my heart and mind in Joshua 22:5,

"Be very careful to keep the commandment and the law that Moses the servant of the Lord gave you: to love the Lord your God, to walk in obedience to him, to keep his commands, to hold fast to him and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul."

As Joshua dismissed the Reubenites, Gadites and the half tribe of Manasseh to return to their homes on the east side of the Jordan following the taking of the Promised Land, he gave them this admonition.

I see five imperatives in this admonition:

"Love the Lord your God"
"Walk in obedience to him"
"Keep his commands"
"Hold fast to him"
"Serve him with all your heart and with all your soul"

This five-fold admonition should have profound importance in the way we comport our lives today. Here are a few passages that speak to this:

"'Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?' Jesus replied: '"Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind." This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: "Love your neighbor as yourself." All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.'" Matthew 22:36-40.

"A new command I [Jesus] give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another." John 13:34-35.

"Whoever has my commands and keeps them is the one who loves me. The one who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love them and show myself to them." John 14:21.

"If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father's commands and remain in his love. I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one's life for one's friends. You are my friends if you do what I command." John 15:10-14.

"You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh; rather, serve one another humbly in love. For the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'" Galatians 5:13-14.

"And this is his command: to believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and to love one another as he commanded us. The one who keeps God's commands lives in him, and he in them. And this is how we know that he lives in us: We know it by the Spirit he gave us." 1 John 3:23.

"Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and everyone who loves the father loves his child as well. This is how we know that we love the children of God: by loving God and carrying out his commands. In fact, this is love for God: to keep his commands. And his commands are not burdensome, for everyone born of God overcomes the world." 1 John 5:1-4.

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!

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Names of God - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him today and what came to my heart and mind in Joshua 22:22,

"The Mighty One, God, the Lord! The Mighty One, God, the Lord! He knows! And let Israel know! If this has been in rebellion or disobedience to the Lord, do not spare us this day."

Following the taking of the Promised Land by all twelve tribes, Joshua dismissed the tribes of Reuben, Gad and half of Manasseh to return to the eastern side of the Jordan River where they had been given land by Moses. The remaining tribes had their inheritance of land on the west side.

As the two and a half tribes left to go home, they built an "imposing" altar (verse 10) just before crossing the Jordan, at Geliloth. Upon hearing about it, the remaining tribes took it to be an act of rebellion against the altar Moses had built that was at Shiloh at the time. Fearing the Lord's retribution against the whole nation for it, they confronted Reuben, Gad and the half tribe of Manasseh at Geliloth and expressed their outrage at it.

The two and a half tribes responded by saying their intentions in building this altar had nothing to do with a desire to abandon the altar of the Lord Moses had built. Their purpose was just the opposite, to create a monument for succeeding generations, a reminder that although the Jordan separated the tribes, the remaining tribes would not cut off Reuben, Gad and half Manasseh and claim they had no share in the Lord.

In insisting upon their innocence in the matter they called on God as a witness. As they did they repeated a three-fold name for God and repeated it twice to express their deeply felt feelings. "The Mighty One, God, the Lord! The Mighty One, God, the Lord!" is translated from El Elohim YHWH. The NIV First-Century Study Bible points out, "This three-word phrase could also be translated "God of gods, Yahweh" or "God, God, the Lord." This was probably some kind of sacred phrase, for it was used here in the context of a solemn oath. In any case, Elohim and YHWH, the two most important names for God, are used in a single phrase."

There is only one other time in Scripture we find this three-fold name in calling upon God. In Psalm 50:1 we read, "The Mighty One, God, the Lord, speaks and summons the earth from the rising of the sun to where it sets." In that psalm seven names and titles for God are found. Can you find the other ones?

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!

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Innocent Until Proven Guilty - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him today and what came to my heart and mind in Joshua 20:6a,

"They [someone who caused the death of another unintentionally] are to stay in that city [a city of refuge] until they have stood trial before the assembly and until the death of the high priest who is serving at that time."

The Lord had the Israelites set aside six cities as "cities of refuge". Three were established on the west of the Jordan and three on the east. They were situated geographically to cover Israel evenly so as to be as reachable as possible by someone who had unintentionally caused the death of another, without malice aforethought. It was the responsibility of the leaders of these cities to provide protection for an accused until a trial could take place. That protection was needed as it was the responsibility, typically, of the nearest male relative to avenge the killing of a family member, "the avenger of blood".

According to the NIV Quest Study Bible, "The avenger was not to be a vigilante seeking vengeance; his aim was retribution, restoring the life balance in society. His motivation was justice, not anger."

This provision, established by the Lord, set the precedence of a principle we have always embraced as a nation ourselves, "innocent until proven guilty." Unfortunately, it appears to be a principle not as highly esteemed today as we have seen in the news lately. Sometimes it feels like we are drifting toward a lynch mob mentality in our culture.

I think God's way is best!

Remember, a person's politics is simply the public expression of that person's spiritual condition.

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!

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Our Lasting Inheritance! - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him today and what came to my heart and mind in Joshua 19:1-2,

"The second lot came out for the tribe of Simeon according to its clans. Their inheritance lay within the territory of Judah. It included..."

Beginning with the tribe of Benjamin in the previous chapter and throughout this chapter, an account is given of the allotment of land set aside for seven of the tribes of Israel. This was done by "lot". So, the first lot went to Benjamin and then on through the six remaining tribes who had not yet received their inheritance.

Yet again, all of this reminds me of the inheritance that will be ours in the resurrection. Exactly what that might be or what it looks like is a bit of a mystery, but it is fun to speculate and think about. This inheritance is guaranteed to us, "When you believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God's possession—to the praise of his glory." Ephesians 1:13b-14.

Our guaranteed inheritance should bring a joyful thanksgiving to the Father from within our hearts, since he is the one who has qualified us for it "... giving joyful thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of his holy people in the kingdom of light." Colossians 1:12.

Our inheritance is something that Paul prayed his readers might grasp through enlightenment, "I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people, and his incomparably great power for us who believe." Ephesians 1:18-19.

This lasting, permanent, durable and stable inheritance is something to rejoice in! "Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade. This inheritance is kept in heaven for you, who through faith are shielded by God's power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. In all this you greatly rejoice..." 1 Peter 1: 3-6.

As I say, when I read of the inheritance God promised Abraham's offspring, I can't help but think of the inheritance that is ours through Jesus Christ!

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!

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The Faith of Two Great Men: Joshua and Caleb - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him today and what came to my heart and mind in Joshua 19:49-50,

"When they had finished dividing the land into its allotted portions, the Israelites gave Joshua son of Nun an inheritance among them, as the Lord had commanded."

In Genesis 12:7 we read that the Lord promised Abraham, the progenitor of the nation of Israel, that he would give the land of Canaan to his offspring. Four centuries later, Moses, the Lord's appointed man, brought Israel, now a large nation in subjugation, out from Egypt. Following their exodus from Egypt, Moses sent out twelve spies to provide reconnaissance on the land of Canaan, Numbers 13.

When the twelve spies returned to Moses, ten of the spies gave a report that reflected a total lack of faith in God's willingness or ability to provide Israel a victory over the peoples living in Canaan, the land the Lord promised them. However, two brought back a message just the opposite, "Then Caleb silenced the people before Moses and said, 'We should go up and take possession of the land, for we can certainly do it.'" Both Joshua and Caleb attempted to encourage the people in what the Lord had promised.

As most are aware, the Israelites displayed a miserable failure to trust the Lord and followed the advice of the ten spies. As a result the Lord sent them on a forty year sojourn in the wilderness - until that generation had passed.

Following that forty year sojourn, two of that generation survived, Joshua and Caleb. Now that Israel had entered Canaan to take it, a distribution of land was made. Earlier, in Joshua 13, the account is given on the distribution of land on the east side of the Jordan river. But the distribution on the west side of the Jordan river in Canaan begins with an allotment for Caleb, Joshua 14:6-15. Following his allotment, the account of the distribution of the land is given in chapters 15:1-19:48. The account of the distribution ends with that which was given to Joshua at the end of chapter 19.

Like bookends, the distribution of the land the Lord promised to Abraham begins and ends with what was given to the two faithful men who served the Lord well. In between is found the distribution given by tribes and clans, not individuals.

I am reminded of the definition of faith the writer of Hebrews provides in Hebrews 11:1-2, "Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see. This is what the ancients were commended for." Certainly Joshua and Caleb, although not mentioned by name in Hebrews 11, were commended for their faith as seen in the pattern of the distribution of land on the west side of the Jordan.

May we all emulate the faith of Joshua and Caleb!

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!

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Casting Lots - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him today and what came to my heart and mind in Joshua 18:10,

"Joshua then cast lots for them in Shiloh in the presence of the Lord, and there he distributed the land to the Israelites according to their tribal divisions."

Seven of the tribes of Israel had not yet received their portions of the Promised Land so Joshua had them send out survey crews to map out the land that would be available. When they returned with their descriptions Joshua "cast lots" in the presence of the Lord to determine which tribe got which allotment of land.

Exactly how the lots were cast is not known with certainty, but the Quest Study Bible comments, "They most likely mixed small marked stones in a jar and drew them out one at a time." However it was done, it prevented anyone from feeling the distribution of land was not impartial - there would be no favoritism as God would direct the distribution as the lots were cast.

We read in Proverbs 16:33, "The lot is cast into the lap, but its every decision is from the Lord." We find lots being cast in differing places in Scripture: Leviticus 16:8, 1 Samuel 14:42, Nehemiah 10:34.

Casting lots accomplished two things. It removed the opportunity to treat anyone unfairly by favoring another. It also removed the potential for unfounded suspicion that that opportunity had been exploited. Both outcomes of our lost and fallen natures.

I find it interesting how the Lord at times provides solutions for his purposes given our shortcomings. It appears to me that it might be wise to take a clue here in heading off potential problems in following his example.

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!

If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just reply and let me know.