Joshua's Caution

 

Wednesday, July 6, 2022

The years passed, and the Lord had given the people of Israel rest from all their enemies.  Joshua, who was now very old, called together all the elders, leaders, judges, and officers of Israel.  He said to them, “I am now a very old man.  You have seen everything the Lord your God has done for you during my lifetime.  The Lord your God has fought for you against your enemies.            

“Soon I will die, going the way of everything on earth.  Deep in your hearts you know that every promise of the Lord your God has come true.  Not a single one has failed!  But as surely as the Lord your God has given you the good things he promised, he will also bring disaster on you if you disobey him.  He will completely destroy you from this good land he has given you.  If you break the covenant of the Lord your God by worshiping and serving other gods, his anger will burn against you, and you will quickly vanish from the good land he has given you.”  Joshua 23:1-3, 14-16

When Moses was about to die he passed the leadership of the young Israeli nation into Joshua’s hands.  Joshua had faithfully followed and served God, assisting Moses during the wilderness wanderings.  But it was time to cross Jordan without Moses, and obey God’s command to conquer and occupy the Promised Land.  Now, years later, Joshua is getting ready to pass along the leadership to another.  As he leaves the people he loved and led, he gives one last vital caution:  Keep serving God, who loves you – resist anything else.

The meaning of that message needs little explanation…except when a nation, obviously blessed by the hand of God, fails to remember what a blessing they’ve received, and begins to act like they can get along without guidance from, and obedience to, the hand from which that blessing came.

Walking with God’s approval means obeying God’s will. 

It doesn’t get simpler than that.

I mused on that late at night on July 4^th as I tried to go to sleep.  The fireworks flashing and sounding off made sleeping somewhat difficult, and the musing led to an inner sense of longing for America to return to serving God.  We have a long way to go on that journey. 

For You Today

Every journey begins with a first step, and God’s people know the right direction to step out.  Standing still will not suffice.

You chew on that as you hit the Rocky Road; have a blessed day!

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There are about 2,000 devotional posts on Rocky Road Devotions. 

To dig deeper into this topic or Scripture text:  What Kind of Nation Are We? and Why?

[1] Images:  WikimediaCommons  Unless noted, Scripture quoted from The New Living Translation^©   

When the Fire Comes

[i]

Wednesday, July 13, 2016

Now this is what the Lord says to the family of Israel:

“Come back to me and live!
Don’t worship at the pagan altars at Bethel;
    don’t go to the shrines at Gilgal or Beersheba.
For the people of Gilgal will be dragged off into exile,
    and the people of Bethel will be reduced to nothing.”
Come back to the Lord and live!
Otherwise, he will roar through Israel like a fire,
    devouring you completely.
Your gods in Bethel
    won’t be able to quench the flames.
You twist justice, making it a bitter pill for the oppressed.
    You treat the righteous like dirt.

It is the Lord who created the stars,
    the Pleiades and Orion.
He turns darkness into morning
    and day into night.
He draws up water from the oceans
    and pours it down as rain on the land.
    The Lord is his name!
With blinding speed and power he destroys the strong,
    crushing all their defenses.

Amos 5:4-9^(NLT)

Amos was a simple man, a shepherd from a small village.  God called him to go to the leaders of Israel and proclaim the impending disaster that would happen to God’s people if they didn’t change their ways. 

The short story is that they didn’t listen, but lived to wish they had.  Israel’s disobedient ways courted and married disaster. 

In America our contemporary love affair with self is on a frightening parallel with ancient Israel.  Some of the signs:

          ·       Blatant disregard for life (abortions, 

                       murder, euthanasia)

          ·       Widespread disdain for God, evidenced by 

                       precipitous decline in worship 

                       attendance

          ·       Eroding of respect for marriage and family 

                       as central to culture

          ·       Anger unchecked

In the midst of Amos’ prophetic lament over the impending demise of Israel comes the hopeful entreaty of a God who always loves:  “Come back to me and live!”

For America, and for each of us individually, the call to come home still stands.

Undoubtedly, what also still stands is the threat of judgment for those who will not heed the call; a raging fire of recompense at a time, and in the way God chooses.

God help us to be obedient.

For You Today

According to the latest U.S. census, as of the beginning of this year, you are one of 322,762,018[ii] souls in our country.  How can one person do anything being a small fish in such a tremendous pond?

Well, you may not be able change everything…but you can come home to Godly living!  And it just might catch your neighbor’s eye.  And it might affect your neighbor.

And…by the way…your neighbor has neighbors too.

You chew on that as you hit the Rocky Road today…have a blessed day!

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NOTES

[i] Title Image: By US Air Force, via Wikimedia Commons

[ii] The Size of the U.S. and the World in 2016