Weeks 19-20: David's Words of Wisdom

Well, here I am behind on this blog again. While I’ve not been as faithful to posting as I had hoped, I’m amazed at how excited I am for the reading each and every day. It has been such a blessing to read through God’s story; I pray that you hang in there and continue this journey. I had to set aside this blog to get my new blog ready and also to prepare for my kids’ summer break. Just to let you know, I’m not trying to be an overachiever by starting another blog. It’ s a ministry that has been on my heart for a while, but I’ve just not had the courage to move forward. When our year of reading through the Bible together is completed, I will absolve this blog into my “real” blog. Now on to our reading. Over the course of the past few weeks, the reign of King David has come to an end. This week, we see his son, Solomon, take the throne. Before we say goodbye to him, I want us to look at the end of his reign. After his disgraceful act of sin with Bathsheba, David experiences multiple acts of betrayal throughout the remainder of his reign. Those closest to him seem to be the ones quickest to turn on him. There are so many beautiful truths throughout these few weeks of reading that I cannot possibly touch on them all.  If you have not, I encourage you to read 2 Samuel 22; “He rescued me because He delighted in me;” “With You I can attack a barrier, and with my God I can leap over a wall;” “As for God, His way is perfect, the word of the Lord is pure. He is a shield to all who take refuge in Him;” “God is my strong refuge. He makes my way perfect.” Ladies, until we know God this confidently, we do not know Him at all. He goes on to speak about destroying his enemies. Although he sounds rather violent, keep in mind the big picture and you will see the truth we must learn. He is the king of God’s chosen people. His role is to establish them as a holy nation; therefore he takes serious the job of getting rid of those who seek to destroy God’s people, who seek to entice them away from Yahweh. It’s really pitiful how lazy we are as “Americanized Christians,” when we should be no less vigilant than David against our enemy. This man of God does blow it again by taking a census that God had not commanded, but again he proves to be a man of sincere repentance and a teachable heart. As we approached the end of his life, we saw a king focused entirely upon making preparations for the temple of God that he would never see built. Every single detail was covered. We see the beauty and model for giving to God; the people gave to the temple with “a whole heart,” “giving joyfully and willingly to You.” Then David leaves one instruction to his son, Solomon, the child born from his most disgraceful act, the one who God would make the next king, “As for you, Solomon my son, know the God of your Father, and serve Him with a whole heart and a willing mind, for the Lord searches every heart and understands the intention of every thought.” David dies and Solomon begins his reign, but before we dive into Solomon’s kingship, let’s look at the last words he spoke to his son to learn what a relationship with God (think about that-a relationship with God; the undeserved privilege should overwhelm us) should look like. David doesn’t leave him with advice on making laws or how to rule or leading the army. He tells his son how to have a relationship with God. This parallels the first commandment, which Jesus restates in the New Testament; love God wholly. If we want to have a real, intimate relationship with our Father, we must listen to the wisdom of the man after God’s own heart. David was not perfect, but he got it:
           
David’s Words of Wisdom
David left Solomon with these words, a two-part instruction on how to be king. At that time, the king was God’s anointed, the spokesperson for God’s people. As His new testament children, we are now His anointed. This truth applies just as relevantly to us today.

1.      Know the God of your father:
-know=diligently seek; discover, pursue, familiar friend

2.      Serve Him with a whole heart and a willing mind:
-serve=worship, labor for, bondservant
-whole=complete, undivided, peaceful
-heart=resolve, passion, determination
-willing=to delight in, having pleasure in, want
-mind=whole person, desires, thoughts

What we learn from this one verse is that our life should center around diligently seeking God, pursuing Him until He is a familiar friend to us. This is a verb indicating an on-going process; we are constantly discovering God. The result of knowing Him is serving Him, but David describes how we serve God. This is where we’ve become lazy. A person who truly knows Him will serve God with their whole heart and with a willing mind. We worship God and labor for Him with an undivided heart; a heart that is not at war with other desires; a heart that is wholly and entirely resolved, determined. Serving God with a willing mind means there is no hesitation; it is not a burden or chore; it is not begrudgingly but is the delight of our live. It is what we want and is our absolute pleasure. With our whole person, our thoughts and desires, we take pure delight in serving Him. This is far more than some passive attempt to serve God by attending a once a week church serve. This is having an everyday existence centered around God; yes, in our work and chores and errands. David wanted his son to be a king that sought God, not power or prestige. We should be people who seek God rather than success or self-promotion or accolades or prominence or acceptance from others. The very purpose for every breath we take and step we make is to know and serve the One who made us, loves us and saved us.  

Week 18; Lessons from the Life of David

I apologize for my delay in posts. Preparing for the Womens Ministry Spring Tea put me behind. I’ll quickly catch us up. Last week gave a historical overview of David’s reign and focused specifically on his early years as King. The major theme was that, “David did exactly as the Lord commanded.” Although he was King, although he was wise, although he had to consult no one, David ruled with complete dependence on God. The Psalms scattered throughout our reading show us that David held an unwavering faith. Last week was a week for us, as children of God, to look at this man’s example and realize that his relationship with God is the kind of relationship we are to seek. This week picks up in 2 Samuel 7 when David finally resides in his palace. What I love about David is that he experienced every human emotion and life experience possible. His story this week begins with a good desire; he wants to build a temple for the ark. We saw last week where David was overcome with pure joy at the return of the ark. His heart is right. He simply wants to build a home worthy of the presence of God. Thank goodness for the Nathan’s in our lives. God sends Nathan to tell David “no.” It wasn’t that David’s desire or motive was wrong. It just simply wasn’t God’s timing or plan for David. Goodness, what wisdom we as Christians could learn from just this one day of reading. So often we have such good intentions, desires and motives. Yet what we tend to do is fail to hear the Holy Spirit, or wise people in our lives like Nathan, who say “not yet.” We end up jumping headlong into this good thing for God, but God is saying “Um, no I don’t want you to do that.” Good intentions, even for God’s glory, can be out of His will. We have to stop and seek Him before we pursue anything. We cannot just assume that if something is for God, that it’s ok for us to just go ahead with it. Let’s continue on with our reading. I wish I could spend days talking about the Psalms. I am so deeply thankful that God gave us David’s pure, raw emotion. His heart is entirely abandoned to God. David is a successful, respected, powerful king; the result is victory. What an easy position to become prideful, arrogant, self-seeking and self-sufficient. David, however, returns all the glory, credit and praise to God. What a man. What an example. Sadly, though, even the most Godly can fall. You know, it’s hard for me to read this part of David’s life because I just want him to have a spotless legacy. Up until this point, David leads his army. This time, David stays and sends them out. There are many assumptions we could make. Maybe he was tired. Maybe things were really bad with his other wives (after all we saw what a nag Micah was last week). Perhaps he just simply trusted Joab or he could have just been having a flesh, lazy moment. Whatever the case, it was a bad decision. Something else is different here, as well. He acts impulsively, which is not normally in his character. He consulted God on even small things. Here he just jumps right in to the affair. No thought. No hesitation. Not only does he take another man’s wife, but he tries to cover the sin and when that doesn’t work, he has her husband killed. David stays and Uriah pays. Oh, ladies, this is such an important truth that we cannot miss. Usually, what we focus on is the fact that David should have gone to battle and none of this would have ever happened. That’s true and very important for us to see. I would take that a step further and point out that it’s clearly evident that David and God have a deep, intimate relationship. David knew to turn his head but he didn’t. There really are no excuses for him. What I want us to see, though, is that it wasn’t just David that suffered consequences for his actions. Bathsheba had no say in the matter. She was subject to the king. As a result of his sin, she was publically humiliated, lost her husband and a son. Shame and disgrace became her reality. Uriah lost his wife and his life. The household of David went into a chaotic frenzy. One man makes one decision and so many pay the prices. Ladies, our sins cause pain for others. It will never just affect us. When we take on that Christ-like characteristic of thinking of others before ourselves, many of the bad decisions we are tempted to make will be thwarted. That mindset will bring things to a screeching halt because we will stop to consider how this one decision might hurt those around me. This can apply to every type of situation. Back to David. Isn’t it just like God to bring good from such a horrible tragedy? God gives David and Bathsheba a second son, Solomon who would be the king to build the temple of God. Have you ever stopped to consider that it was Bathsheba who said Proverbs 31 to her son Solomon? What a woman, who rose above the disgrace and lived as a Godly wife and mother rather than a resentful woman. Let me end with pointing a few things about David that we usually miss, but that I deeply respect. First, when David was confronted with his sin, he immediately repented. He did not excuse himself. He didn’t play the “I’m the king card.” He called it like it was and said, “I have sinned against God.” His response was not about the embarrassment of getting caught. We read Psalms 51, his song of repentance and see the true heart of repentance. This isn’t David’s final lesson for us this week though. He goes back out to battle. Do you see the significance of that? He screwed up, I mean in the worst way. But, he entered back into a right relationship with God and he didn’t stay down. So many times, when we or someone we know blows it, we believe the lie that we are done; that God is done with us. David, however, got back to what he should have been doing to begin with; leading his army. Did you notice verse 13 in his Psalm of repentance (Psalm 51)? He said that he would “teach the rebellious Your ways.” David was not going to waste his mistake but use it to allow God to teach others. There is much to learn from this one man.

Week 16

2 Samuel 1-4; 2 Chronicles 1-6

When reading 1 & 2 Samuel, 1 &2 Chronicles we have to remember that they overlap the same time period, but for different purposes. The Chronicles are the records of the kings. As stated last week, 1 Samuel tells Saul’s story and 2 Samuel tells David’s. Woven into our reading this week are several Psalms that David wrote during this time when he was rising as king. Therefore, because much of what we are reading is strictly a historical recording, I want to focus on some of these Psalms so that we can get a glimpse into the relationship that David had with God. Hopefully, we will begin to see the kind of relationship that God desires to have with us. First, notice that David holds nothing back from God. He pours his heart out to Him. Even if how he feels isn’t actually true, he gives it to God. He is simply honest about what’s going on inside his heart and mind. Take a look at Psalm 6 and you will see David dumping his heart out to God. How was he able to have that kind of freedom and intimacy with God?  There are three recurring themes throughout David’s psalms that answer this question for us. While we cannot reduce our relationship with God to three easy steps, we would be wise to learn from the “man after God’s own heart.”

The Center of his life
In Psalm 16, David says, “I keep the Lord in my mind always. Because He is at my right hand, I will not be shaken.” This is not some unrealistic call to only think about God 24 hours a day. We have laundry and dishes and jobs and so forth that we must give thought to. What David was saying was that he allowed God to frame his thoughts; his frame of mind was on God. His perspective, the way he thought about things, the way he approached situations and relationships were from a God-centered standpoint. As women, we have the opportunity to have many differing “frames.” We tend to live in this comparison trap, but think about how different our lives would be if we simply centered our very existence on God, as a woman, as a wife or girlfriend, an employee, a friend, a wife, a mom, a daughter.

The Confidence of his life
Move on over to Psalm 21, “For the king relies on the Lord; through the faithful love of the Most High he is not shaken.” David, King David, is referring to himself here, declaring that his confidence is not in himself or his position of absolute authority. His is confident in God and God alone. You know, often as women, we struggle with confidence and we grasp as finding the feeling of safety. We search in relationships, things, careers. Oh how I long to exist in that place of the heart where I am not shaken. When life goes wrong and all the things I’ve tried to make perfect so that I can feel safe and secure go crashing down, I realize that there can be no confidence in anything but God. David had many battles to fight but his heart was at rest, not because he was a great warrior (and he was), but because of his God. Women, we are surrounded by battles; battles in our minds, hearts and homes. Put yourself here and begin to truly know God in this way; “I rely on the Lord; through the faithful love of the Most High I am not shaken.”

The Credit of his life
David takes his devotion to the next level. He claims no glory for himself. In Psalm 44:6-8, he says, “For I do not trust in my bow, and my sword does not bring me victory. But You give us victory over our foes…we boast in God all day long; we will praise your name forever.” As humans, we naturally seek credit for the things we accomplish. David, as a victorious king, had even earned the right to seek praise. Not even in his armor did he find strength. You see, we can have all the right tools, but if our heart is not right, victory will never be ours. We must never think of ourselves or things in this life too highly. David may have had the best armor of his day, but without his God, he would have suffered complete defeat. David recognized that reality. He rested in God’s faithful presence. Every victory we have is from God and God alone.


The Result of this Relationship
How I wish I could count the times I’ve heard the phrase, “I just want to be happy.” Well, I hate to break it to the women who are searching, but you probably won’t find it; not unless you are looking where David looked. Most seek happiness through relationships or status or approval or outward beauty. Sadly, when one thing fails we go to the next only to be let down time and time again. How about we stop searching? It really is simple. This is why it is so important for us to fall in love with God’s Word; it tells us what we need to know and keeps us from wasting precious time and energy. Look at Psalm 84. In this short, twelve verse Psalm, happy is said 3 times; “How happy is the one.” If we were to summarize this psalm, what you would find that the secret to happiness is to make God the center of your life, “How happya re those who reside in Your house;” the confidence of your life and the credit of your life, Happy are those whose strength is in You, whose hearts are set…;” and the credit of your life, “Happy is the person who trusts in You.”We must stop falling for so many lies about happiness and realize this one simple truth: Life is absolutely nothing without Him. Our hearts cry should be as David’s; “Better is one day in Your courts than a thousand anywhere else. I would rather be at the door of the house of my God, than to live in the tents of wicked people.” The wicked people being referred to here are those who have wealth but have rejected God; those who have put their confidence and centered their lives around their fortune and sought the glory for themselves. Sound familiar? The question is, have you let go of that false happiness of having everything that everyone else has and come to a place where you can honestly say that it truly better to be a servant of God rather than “somebody” among people? You won’t be  happy until you do.  

Week 13-15; The Character of the Characters Part 2

Saul and David: The War between Two Warriors
Israel would not relent in asking for a king, so Samuel takes their case to God and God says, “Ok, I’ll give them what they want.” God leads Samuel to their first king, Saul. Saul began good and finished bad. His jealousy took control of his thoughts and he became a fool. He was his own worst enemy. When I read this story, what comes to mind is how often I tell God what He needs to do in my life rather than simply trusting that His way is better. The Israelites didn’t not want God as their King, they wanted what all the other nations had. They told God what they wanted rather than ask God what they needed. May we be wise enough to seek God rather than demand God. God’s grace reigned even though Israel ignored Him. Even though this King that they asked for went horrible wrong, He was gracious enough to give them a new King. The throne is taken from Saul and given to David. King David would be the greatest King they ever knew. While he made his share of mistakes that caused many tragedies, he loved God. He leaves us a legacy of what it means to pour our hearts out to God, to humbly repent, to have an honest and intimate relationship with God. Both of these men were warriors. Saul’s quest for power causes him to abandon God. David’s quest for God allows him to become king. Isn’t almost always pride that causes us to abandon God? We become more concerned with what other people think or what other people have. We, in our pride, take our eyes off of God. We put our eyes on self and become consumed. That thing or approval or person will never be what we think. Saul did not provide what they thought a king would and power did not provide anything but cost him everything; his kingdom and his life. What I love about our Read the Bible for Life Plan is that is allows us to read the Psalms that David wrote intertwined with his story. What we see is that in every victory and in every trial, in every step, David stops to praise his God. He keeps God at the forefront. Just imagine him cutting the hem of Saul’s robe in the cave then walking away singing a Psalm. He does not allow for the opportunity to become prideful or self-sufficient or self-promoting.

Jonathon: A Faithful Friend
 A bond instantly forms between these two young men; David and Jonathon. And even though Jonathon’s own father, King Saul, sees David as his worst enemy, Jonathon recognizes that God is with David and not his father. I cannot imagine how hard it would have been in Jonathon’s situation to choose his friend over his father, but ultimately, Jonathon had to do what was right. He chose to be faithful to the man who was faithful to God. Two truths we learn from Jonathon. First, our earthly relationships cannot interfere with our relationship with God. Our love for God should always be our first and greatest devotion. Second, Jonathon is the perfect example of being a devoted friend. Their friendship continues and we will see that Jonathon continues to play a crucial role in David’s life. We all need that kind of friend; a friend who is faithful at all cost, a friend who is wise, a friend who is discerning, a friend who is fully devoted to God. I do not believe that David would have been the king that he was if it had not been the role that Jonathon played in his life. I challenge you to evaluate your friendships and ask God to bless you with a Jonathon. Then evaluate the kind of friend that you are. You see, Jonathon was not David’s friend because he was going to be king but because David loved God.

Abigail: A Wise Woman
We have seen the lives of some amazing women over these few weeks of reading. Ruth and Hannah both displayed great sacrifice, submission and humbleness. They were truly devoted women. We come across, yet another woman who can teach us a few things if we are willing to learn. Abigail acted wisely even though her husband was a fool. She bravely approached King David and interceded for her husband. She didn’t overlook or justify the stupidity of her man. Now, do not hear me say that we can just go to God and gripe about our man and He will give us a new one. This story is about our wisdom as women. This is a tough one to write about because I see so many young women disrespect their husbands. There is a difference that I want to make clear. Abigail’s husband was an ungodly, foolish man and she chose to stand up for herself and those in her house. She was not willing to ignore his pride and arrogance. This was the king we are talking about! Let me just say that I tend to see two camps of women; those who don’t have a good man but are blind to it and those who do have a good man but are blind to it. The lesson from Abigail is that she acted with discernment in the middle of a very difficult situation. Please don’t misconstrue the lesson here to justify some false thinking.  Whether our husbands are right or wrong, how do we react to him? Do we also act like a fool? Or do we simply take the matter to God, our King. Did you notice that? She did not go blow up at her husband. She went directly to King David. What I’ve learned after a short, thirteen years of marriage, is that God is much better about making the changes that need to be made in my husband than I am. Often times, He calls me to my own heart examination. Often times, He shows me where I am just simply wrong. However, if we have a man that seeks God, God will do the work in his life that needs to be done. Abigail did not have that blessing but she still responded in a worthy manner despite her husband. I pray that I’m a woman who carries a calm grace when situations arise. I pray that I am filled with such wisdom that I allow the King to work on my behalf. I pray that I am thankful for my Godly husband. I pray that if you are married, you are honest about your husband; good or bad. And that you give him to God. I pray that if you are not married, you seek a man who loves God and has more wisdom than Abigail’s husband. Most importantly, I pray that as a woman you seek God and allow Him to fill your heart with wisdom and truth that will pour from your lips when you speak.

Week 13-15; The Character of the Characters Part 1

Week 13 ends with the book of Ruth, then weeks 14-15 cover the book of 1 Samuel. Several major Old Testament stories are covered in these few weeks of reading. The way I want to approach these two books is by examining and comparing the characters, which will allow us to do our own inward evaluation. It is wise for us to take an honest look at ourselves, see where we are with God and what it is that we need to allow Him to purge, to mold, to grow. So, let’s get started.

Ruth and Naomi: Two Women Worlds Apart
If you’ve not read the book of Ruth, I encourage you to take about 15 minutes to read these 4 short chapters that tell a beautiful story of faithful love; this is a story that gives us a glimpse into the redeeming love of Christ through the man of Boaz. You will also see the tragic story of a woman named Naomi and the faithfulness of a foreigner named Ruth. During a time of famine, Naomi and her husband leave Bethlehem to go to Moab. From our reading until now, you should know that the Moabite people were detested by the Israelites. This family’s decision to go to the Moabites would have been a disgrace. To make matters worse, their two sons marry Moabite women; Ruth and Orpah. Sadly, Naomi’s husband and both of her sons die while living in this foreign land. Naomi makes the decision to return to her home and her two daughter-in-laws begin the journey with her. However, she pleads with them to return to their home and people. Now, I’m sure there was good in her heart but I would also imagine that she didn’t really want to bring two Moabite women back to Bethlehem with her, either. After all, things would be hard enough as a widow. Orpah returns to her home, but Ruth displays one of the most gracious acts of love and devotions we find recorded in God’s Word. She refuses to leave Naomi. Now Ruth becomes the foreigner. Yet, through a series of submissive, vulnerable acts, she becomes adopted into this people; the Israelites. From her would come the line of David and ultimately the Messiah. Naomi is the weeping widow; her sorrow I cannot imagine but her faith is more than shaky. She assumes that she is destined for doom. Ruth, the submissive servant, brings hope and joy to Naomi’s sorrow. What’s interesting is Naomi is the one who knows God, but doubts Him. Ruth is the one who does not know God but trusts Him. I don’t want to be too hard on Naomi. She does wisely instruct Ruth, leading her to their Kinsmen Redeemer. But, it’s in the heartaches where our true faith is displayed. Naomi was able to move forward and muster up faith in God because of Ruth’s faithfulness to her. It is in the characters of God’s love story that we are able to honestly see ourselves.

Hannah: A Humble Heart
The book of 1 Samuel begins with the story of a precious woman named Hannah. What a picture of what it means to be a Godly woman. She brought her sorrow to God and poured it out at His feet. She pleaded with God and made a promise; but not just any promise, the most difficult promise. And when it came time for her to bail on that promise, she actually followed through. She gave up her son, a toddler, to a priest who had proven himself not to be the greatest father. Now he would raise her son. She was not afraid to give God her heart, her dream and her greatest treasure. The day she took her son to the temple was a day of joy, not sorrow. She rejoiced rather than recoiled. She praised rather than pouted. Her blessing would be that her son would grow to be the greatest judge Israel ever knew. How I long to have a heart like Hannah; a heart that holds nothing back from God.

Eli and Samuel: A Pitiful Priest and A Just Judge
Eli wasn’t all bad, but he failed in one primary roll; he didn’t pass down his faith to his sons and allowed them to disgrace the Temple. In fact, God tells Eli that he has honored his sons more than God. Remember, this is the priest with whom Hannah entrusted to raise her son, Samuel. She would have known the kind of priest he was. Sadly, he wasn’t necessarily a corrupt priest himself. He just overlooked the sins of his sons. He allowed disgrace in the temple. He didn’t pass down God’s instructions or teach his sons to fear God and revere their position as temple servants. Both of his sons and Eli experience tragic deaths. It doesn’t matter who we are, we must fully give everything to God. We don’t get to escape the consequences. Eli withheld his sons from God. Ironically, he raised the son that Hannah did not withhold from God. I pray that I’m a mother like Hannah rather than a parent like Eli. We see throughout the book of 1 Samuel that Samuel consistently and persistently follows God. He is a wise, honest and faithful judge. This Just Judge is simply not good enough for the Israelites, though. They want a king so God gives them what they want which proves to be more than they bargained for. Samuel is such an incredible example of simply following God. He doesn’t waver or doubt. He doesn’t pout or whine. He trusts and obeys. I pray that I raise my sons to be men like Samuel.

Week 13: Judges, The Most Tragic of Love Stories

Judges is one of those books that was difficult to write on every day. It really has one simple theme with several cases to prove the point: Israel’s lack of love for God. They are simply not going to choose Him. At the beginning of book, God declares His faithfulness to His people, despite their unfaithfulness to Him, “I will never break my covenant with you.” We must keep in mind that God knew the Israelites would never keep their covenant with Him when He spoke these words. Woven throughout this book of disobedience and rebellion is God’s unending grace. There are words that we cannot miss that give huge implication. His Word does not say that they rebelled, it says they prostituted themselves. We must always keep in mind God’s desire from the beginning of creation. Our very purpose for existence is to live in a love relationship with our Creator. God uses the term prostitution to make clear the desire of His heart. Why they would never love Him, I will never understand. Why so many choose not to love Him today, I will never understand. But, Judges says that “They quickly turned” from God. The book of Judges records a vicious cycle where Israel turns from God, He extends His mercy, draws them back through a leader, they follow Him but as soon as the leader is gone, so are their hearts. So much could be said about the bravery of Deborah and Gideon, but it just seems to all be overshadowed by Israel’s failure. We read over and over that they “forgot their God.” The sad ending to Judges: “everyone did whatever he wanted.” It truly is the most tragic of love stories.  And it would be wise for us to examine our own relationship with God. Do we live in the same vicious cycle, never really loving Him? Is our relationship with Him based on our circumstances? We cannot read the story of Israel without looking at our own story. God is just as faithful, relentless and gracious to you and me as He was to them. He is long-suffering, hoping, longing for the day we truly love Him. You see, this book is not about the lost, it is about His children. God did not save us only for someday, He saved us to love us today. Our love for Him now should stir within our hearts an overwhelming longing to be with Him someday, to delight in the thought of the day we behold our Creator, our Savior, our Father, our Warrior. The one who loves us with unrelenting love, a love we cannot fathom, simply longs for us to love Him in return. Yet, how often do we prostitute our hearts, giving our affections to another, only to find our hearts broken, disappointed and defeated? The love you long for, only He can give. He is fighting for your heart, your love, your devotion. How many times will we go chasing what is false, abandoning what is true and real?

Week 12: Joshua Summarized

I decided to take a few days off from writing to enjoy spring break with my kids (it being impossible to write with three energetic kids running around the house had nothing to do with it!). Before I moved on to the book of Judges, I wanted to summarize some lessons I learned from the book of Joshua. This book has too much rich truth not to bring it to a conclusion. Joshua is a historical book recording the Holy Wars that God led the people to fight in order to claim the Promised Land. We see woven throughout this book the heart of God, which is to have the heart of man. “Then get rid of the foreign gods that are among you and offer your hearts to the Lord, the God of Israel.” And He is relentless in His pursuit of us. God declared these holy wars to rid the promised land of what would turn the hearts of His people away from Him. The Promised Land had always belonged to the Israelites in God’s eyes. It was the pagan peoples that had invaded the land, not vice versa. The Israelites were claiming what was theirs. They were ridding the land of what was unholy so that a Holy God could dwell among them. Do you see the parallel to our own lives? Sin was never intended to be camped out in our hearts and be a part of our lives. The Fall brought into my life something that God never intended. Just as the pagan people dwelling in the land would draw the heart of the Israelites away from God if they were not rid of, so will the sin, the idols and selfish desires that are allowed to camp out in my own life.  Be sure that God declares holy war on anything in our lives that invade our relationship with Him and prevents us from turning our hearts to Him. What is in my life that is camped out, dwelling where it was never meant to dwell? He will go to battle with it. Just as the Promised Land was their home, the place where God declared He would live in their midst, so too is my heart His home. He will not share His territory, His home or my affection with another. What is camped out in my life that will cause my heart to turn away from my God? Be sure that He will go to war with that thing. “For though we live in the body, we do not wage war in an unspiritual way, since the weapons of our warfare are not worldly, but are powerful through God for the demolition of strongholds. We demolish arguments and every high-minded thing that is raised up against the knowledge of God, taking every thought captive to obey Christ. And we are ready to punish any disobedience.” 2 Corinthians 10: 3-6

Week 12; Day 1

Joshua 3-6

WEEK 12; DAY 1
Our reading of the books of The Law has come to a close and now we begin with Joshua; the Israelites enter the Promised Land. Last week, we ended the week by reading the beginning the book of Joshua. Joshua is established as the new leader upon the death of Moses, spies are sent into the land and the prostitute Rahab spares their life, thus saving her own. Today’s reading begins on the bank of the Jordan river. God tells Joshua that what He is about to do has a twofold purpose; to establish Joshua as the new leader, “they will know that I will be with you just as I was with Moses,” and to prove His faithfulness, power and protection to His people, “You will know that the living God is among you …” What an exciting moment; we are about to witness the fulfillment of the promised covenant. God’s faithfulness is allowing this generation to witness what their fathers witnessed, the parting of waters, and what their fathers did not see, the Promised Land. A few things worth mentioning are that the Jordan river was not some wimpy body of water; think more along the lines of the Mississippi River. This is a massive body of water, at that time pumping an estimated 3 billion cubic feet of water annually. There is one major difference in the parting of the Jordan River from the parting of the Red Sea; the priests with the ark lead the parting, not the leader. I believe the purpose for this was to make no mistake that this was because of God’s power, not Joshua's. It seems that the former generation held Moses in high regard, but never seemed to get that it was God working through Moses. This generation would see the same power displayed to give them confidence in the battles ahead, however there would be no mistaking that this was about God, not Joshua. Not until the priests actually stepped into the water with the ark did the water part. Did you catch that? They had to actually step in the water before it parted. Then the waters separated and it became dry ground. Just stop, for a moment, and let this entire scene play in your mind. This is a massive body of rapidly flowing water that they step into, and then it becomes dry. Dry ground. This act confirms Joshua as God’s chosen leader and “so that all the people of the earth may know that the Lord’s hand is mighty, and so that you may always fear the Lord your God.” Beginning in Chapter 5, we read that God’s very purpose is fulfilled; the Amorites “lost heart and their courage failed because of the Israelites.” I know that the end of today’s reading is one of the most exciting and popular events in God’s Word; the battle of Jericho. However, I want to focus on a more obscure detail in chapter 5 that provides a great source of truth and hope for us today. God commands Joshua to circumcise the entire camp because this generation has not been circumcised. Remember, this is their sign of being set apart as God’s people. It is a visible reminder of what should be the condition of their hearts. When Joshua completes the task of circumcising every male in the camp, God says in verse 9, “Today, I have rolled away the disgrace of Egypt from you.” The literal meaning of this verse is that this generation could now leave behind forever the rebellion, the disgrace, of the previous generation, their parents. Egypt was their land of slavery. The symbolism and application is that we do not have to carry on generational sins. We are not our parents. For those who have come from painful family situations this is a great relief. The deeper application is that just as their physical bodies endured circumcision, the New Testament refers to our spiritual circumcision; our hearts are circumcised. All that is unclean is removed. We have discussed from previous weeks’ of reading that our land of slavery is our life before Christ; our life in bondage to sin. Please do not miss this. God circumcises our hearts, declaring that our past disgrace is forever removed from us. Just as they could now enter the Promised Land, we can now walk in victory and freedom because that past has been cut away. Leave behind forever, the disgrace and rebellion of the past. The victory of Jericho would have never occurred had they not left behind their past. Do you see the truth implied? We cannot carry with us the guilt and burden of our past if we want to step forward in victory today.  

Week 11; Day 3

Deuteronomy 24-27
The recurring theme for today; foreigners, the fatherless, the widow. God was very specific about caring for the helpless, the outcast, those in need. In the New Testament, the concept of extending God’s grace to those without hope is very specifically restated. James says that pure and acceptable religion before God is to care for the widow and orphan. The foreigner is not included because in the New Covenant there is no foreigner. The foreigner in the Old Testament was speaking in regards to those who were not part of the children of Israel. The new covenant is for all people; it is not limited to a particular people. With that explained, what do we learn about God from these verses? That He is full of grace and compassion, just as He says. When we learn something about Him, we must always evaluate whether or not we truly believe that. Do my thoughts and attitudes towards God reflect the truth about Him? Furthermore, what do we learn about our relationship towards others? There is and will always be among us those who are without hope. Do we even begin to understand that we are the mouthpiece of God, extending His compassion and love to them? We have got to stop living such self centered lives and begin to live aware of those around us. He is hope to those who have none. He is compassion to those who have received none. We are the vessel, the visible evidence, of God’s reality. They will never know Him or ever receive His love without us allowing His love to pour from our lives. God went to great effort to protect and provide for those who were helpless. As His children, we are called to extend the same love and action.  

And a P.S. from yesterday’s reading that I failed to include: Word to the Wise; it’s never a good idea to marry for looks! If the guy had never just picked the woman based only on her beauty, he would have been saved a lot of trouble. Looks can be deceiving.

Week 11; Day 2

Deuteronomy 20-23
“Today, you are about to engage in battle with your enemies. Do not be cowardly. Do not be afraid, alarmed or terrified because of them. For the Lord your God is the One who goes with you to fight for you against your enemies to give you victory.” Israelites enemies were the pagan people in their land. Our enemy today is sin and Satan. After the two weeks of situation after situation begin brought to my husband and me regarding heartbreaking tragedies in people’s lives, no one can argue with me that Satan is not a “roaring lion seeking who he may devour.” He is not only the enemy of our soul but He is the enemy of our love for God. His one desire is to devastate the heart of God and accomplishes that by ruining our lives. If He can get to us, He gets to God. There is no greater hope found than in these verses as we consider the cruel schemes of our enemy. If you think living to honor God isn’t a battle, open your eyes and then read Ephesians 6. Today and every day, we engage in a battle against our enemy. In these verses filled with hope and promise, God covers everything that Satan uses to defeat us: cowardice, alarm, fear, terror. Do not coward down to him, do not be afraid of him, do not feel overwhelmed by him. Be aware of his schemes but have confidence that your God will fight for you.

Now, in today and tomorrow’s reading, we as women tend to get defensive. We take offense to verses like “Then if you are not satisfied with her, you are to let her go….” I will try my best not to soapbox here, but I am going to shed some light on these verses. It is impossible to accurately read verses like this without considering the cultural context. In fact, we often make the mistake of reading these verses from the perspective of our own context. We live in a sexually oriented culture and therefore read ideas into these verses that have nothing to do with what they are discussing. Furthermore, when we make assumptions about their meaning, we are dismissing what we know to be true about God. What do we know to be true about God? He is entirely good. He is love. He is just. No individual is more valuable than another in His sight. Why, then, do we so quickly jump to the conclusion that we as women are getting the shaft? It is made clear from reading the instructions regarding slaves, widows and orphans that God places dignity on every human life. In fact, the ethical laws He gave to govern the Israelites placed far more value on human life than every other government during that time. When we assume that women are being treated unfairly, we reduce God to a chauvinist. Probably not the best idea. While many of us have been hurt by men, we cannot transpose our perception of  men onto our perception of God. I’m going to throw out a rant here then I’ll be done! The whole feminist movement has invaded our thinking and caused us to fear the idea of submission. If we understand Biblical submission, rather than believing some warped concept painted by those who know nothing about God, we would have an entirely different attitude. This is an example of being tarnished by the world and why we need to have our thoughts transformed. Now, let’s look at the verse I’ve quoted above.  Women were viewed as property in their culture.  A man could just see a pretty woman and claim her as his. Before you get all stirred up about this, realize that God brings dignity to the woman, just as he did for the slave and the widow and the orphan. Deuteronomy 21:14, for example, is speaking directly about a foreigner who has been taken captive and been chosen by an Israelite male to be his wife. “Then if you are not satisfied with her”; satisfied means delight and it is regarding the whole person; emotions, character, soul, mind. This is not simply sexual in nature. Next, it states “you are to let her go where she wants.” This literally means “set her free.” Remember, this passage is speaking specifically about a woman who has been taken as a captive from an enemy nation. She is released from a marriage where she will not be loved and she is released from being a captive. She go can go home. Before you jump to any conclusions about what I’m implying, do not take this as me stating that women have free pass to walk away from a marriage. Remember, if it’s not explicitly restated in the New Testament, then it’s not ours to claim. The entire purpose for this discussion is for you to correctly understand these difficult passages and understand more fully the character and nature of God. “But you must not sell her for money or treat her as merchandise, because have already humiliated her.” Remember from the previous few verses that because she was a foreigner, she’s already had to shave her head. How humiliating must that have been? Other translations state, “you must not take advantage of her.” This means, in the literal translation, “mistreat her” or “treat her as a slave.” Ladies, let’s please get rid of these absurd thoughts that women are regarded as less than men in God’s Word. We see clearly from one single verse, that God comes to our rescue. He regards us in highest esteem and fights for us when no one else will. When I hear women “go off” about submission and so forth in the Bible, I really want to just scream, STOP IT! Our thoughts about God’s Word cannot contradict what we know to be true about God. Sometimes, I think we just like being victims. Pathetic, really. Here’s the thing; are there men who are jerks? Well of course, just as there are women who are scandalous. Guess what, we are all selfish and cruel when we exist in our own nature. However, part of the sanctification process that we discussed yesterday, is living our lives in the power of the Holy Spirit. Galatians tells us that if we live in the Spirit, then we must walk in the Spirit. Every one of us who have been redeemed by Christ, live in the Spirit. It is our choice, however, to walk in His Spirit; to allow His power to work and rule and transform. Think about the fruits of the Spirit. Everything you want your husband to be, God already is. When your husband surrenders to the Spirit of God, begins walking in His Spirit, His character begins to transform your husband. Stop assuming the worst about God and about your man. Stop comparing them to lost men; lost people do lost things. Stop looking for or wishing for a better man and start praying that your husband becomes a Godly man. Perhaps if we focused more on our own character and submission to the Spirit of God and stopped looking for ways to get offended, we would find ourselves in marriages where our husband delights in us and we delight in him.