The Christian life is a fight. Courage is crucial because everything worth having must be fought for. “Be strong and of good courage.” This we read not once but four times in Joshua 1 (vv 6, 7, 9, 18). Although the words strong and courageous are related, there is a difference. I’ve seen strong men […]
Let’s hope we’re actually standing on the promises, and not just sitting in the premises. There are certain walls in a house that are designated as load-bearing because they are essential to the support of the whole structure. Similarly, we may call God’s promises load-bearing. On the foundation of these promises rests the entire plan […]
Read More… from March 20, 2023 — Promises That Hold Up God’s Universe
You’ve noticed: “Moses My servant is dead.” But it should be just as obvious: you’re not—yet! Like a great bell tolling, the name of Moses will ring more than 50 times throughout the book of Joshua. “Moses the servant of the Lord” (Jos 1:1) may be gone, but his service to God and His people […]
“Rest is not quitting our busy career; Rest is the fitting of self to one’s sphere.” —J.S. Dwight The land of Israel was to be a place of rest for the people of God, the point made by the author of the Epistle to the Hebrews. Of course now it is not a place but […]
Read More… from March 16, 2023 — An Overview Of The Book (Part 2)
“Faith is an affirmation and an act That bids eternal truth be fact.” —Samuel Taylor Coleridge The book of Joshua is a vital link in the history of faith. The Pentateuch tells of the long process by which God called a man out of Chaldea, and then called a nation out of Egypt. The rest […]
Read More… from March 15, 2023 — An Overview Of The Book (Part 1)
“Israel served the Lord all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders who outlived Joshua” (Jos 24:31). The fact that Joshua is the Hebrew form of the Greek name Jesus would be merely a curiosity if that were the only connection. But the more we delve into the life of Joshua, […]
There is no greater mission than the one Joshua faced—until we meet his namesake, Jesus! Welcome to the book of Joshua! Parts of it are action-packed. Everywhere are historical landmarks. These 24 chapters provide the vital link between Israel’s going out, or exodus, from Egypt, recounted in Moses’ 5-volume Pentateuch, and their coming in, or […]
As we come to the close of this book, how good to focus our eyes on the One who gives life freely! Remember that this long name, Deuteronomy, means “repetition of the law.” The people poised to enter the Promised Land were not the same generation that left Egypt as adults. Sadly, they had all […]
Read More… from March 10, 2023 — Deuteronomy: Restating The Obvious
Jesus said to the Jews of His day, “If you believed Moses, you would believe Me; for he wrote about Me” (Jn 5:46). The biography of Moses could have filled a large book. Unlike the lengthy obituaries in our local newspapers, Moses had experiences unlike any other human in history. Note the first thing mentioned […]