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 18:3,
"So Joshua said to the Israelites: 'How long will you wait before you begin to take possession of the land that the Lord, the God of your ancestors, has given you?'"
Following the general defeat of the Canaanites by the combined forces of all the tribes of Israel under the leadership of Joshua, each of the tribes were expected to "clean up" pockets of resistance within their allotted territories and take full possession of it. Joshua here called them out on not having fulfilled what was expected of them from the Lord.
This passage reminds me of Hebrews 5:11-14, "We have much to say about this, but it is hard to make it clear to you because you no longer try to understand. In fact, though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you the elementary truths of God's word all over again. You need milk, not solid food! Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness. But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil."
"So Joshua said to the Israelites: 'How long will you wait before you begin to take possession of the land that the Lord, the God of your ancestors, has given you?'"
Following the general defeat of the Canaanites by the combined forces of all the tribes of Israel under the leadership of Joshua, each of the tribes were expected to "clean up" pockets of resistance within their allotted territories and take full possession of it. Joshua here called them out on not having fulfilled what was expected of them from the Lord.
This passage reminds me of Hebrews 5:11-14, "We have much to say about this, but it is hard to make it clear to you because you no longer try to understand. In fact, though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you the elementary truths of God's word all over again. You need milk, not solid food! Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness. But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil."
I note in that passage that the writer of Hebrews says, "by this time you ought...". There is an element of expectation by the Lord that after a certain length of time there are achievements we should reach in our spiritual growth in him. There is a level of maturity, marked by our understanding of those things beyond elementary truths that should be evident in our lives, things we should be trained in. This is the spiritual territory the Lord has provided for us that we are to pursue and overtake.
I ask myself this morning, have I achieved those things the Lord expects of me? As I think of all he has done for me, he certainly is due no less from me.
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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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.
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