Reminiscing about the past isn’t always a sign of old age; sometimes it’s a sign of wisdom. Having spoken to the leaders in chapter 23, Joshua sent them back to direct the whole nation to their national amphitheater, the Vale of Shechem, with its two grandstands, Mounts Ebal and Gerizim. In very recent memory they […]
Read More… from May 30, 2023 — A History Lesson To The Nation
Joshua was no armchair general. He had experienced the real parry and thrust of active warfare. Joshua knew this world was no place for rubber swords and playroom rocking horses. And his speech was as decisive as his blade. Calling for the leaders of Israel, “for their elders, for their heads, for their judges, and […]
When we hear that fellow Christians have done wrong, let’s pause long enough to hear their side. Here’s the King James version of Joshua 22:34, “And the children of Reuben and the children of Gad called the altar Ed: for it shall be a witness between us that the Lord is God.” Did you ever […]
The spiritual and practical unite in our lives when God’s will is done on earth as it is in heaven. To be spiritual does not mean to be impractical. The Lord’s promise to the Levites, the families of the priests, that He would be their inheritance was not the end of it. With all due […]
“Trust in Him at all times, you people; pour out your heart before Him; God is a refuge for us” (Ps 62:8). At last were distributed “the inheritances which Eleazar the priest, Joshua the son of Nun, and the heads of the fathers of the tribes of the children of Israel divided as an inheritance […]
There are two pictures of the tribe of Dan, fraught with danger, like warning signs along the road. Jacob said, “Dan shall be a serpent by the way” (Gen 49:17). Moses wrote, “Dan is a lion’s whelp; he shall leap from Bashan” (Deut 33:22). Sometimes a slithering serpent; at other times, a leaping lion. Watch […]
I never leave Naphtali’s land, skirting sweet Galilee, without a deeper longing for the Great Galilean. Inland and parallel to Asher’s mountainous region was the territory given to Naphtali (Jos 19:32-39). Coming south from Mount Hermon, a second range of mountains looks down from their heights upon the azure Sea of Galilee. High in these […]
When baby Asher was born, Leah was happy. When baby Jesus was born, Anna from Asher was happy. Asher means “blessed” or “happy,” and the territory given to this tribe was a blessing indeed (Jos 19:24-31). Both Jacob and Moses spoke of a potentially bright future for this tribe. “Bread from Asher shall be rich, […]