Tues.’s Devo- Rise Up

Read: Judges 1:1-2:9; Luke 21:29-22:13; Psalm 90:1-91:16; Proverbs 13:24-25 When Joshua died there was still territory left to conquer. The people asked the Lord who should be first to go up against the Canaanites and the answer they got was Judah. So Judah convinced Simeon to come with them since they would be fighting for their land also. God delivered the Canaanites and the Perizzites into their hand and they killed 10,000 of them at Bezek. Bezek means “lightning” and their king was Adonibezek which means “lord of lightning”. They defeated the people but instead of killing Adonibezek, they cut off his thumbs and big toes. This kept him from standing or using a weapon but he was still breathing. He had done the same thing to others he had captured. *** When they brought him to Jerusalem, he died there. *** Next Judah took Jerusalem and set the city on fire. They took Kirjath Arba, “city of four” where they killed three kings. Othniel took Kirjath Sepher, “city of the book” and won the daughter of Caleb as his wife. She asked her father for land and land with water and was given them both. *** Judah and Simeonattacked the Canaanites in Zephath, “watchful” and changed the name to Hormah “destruction”. They also took Gaza and Ekron. *** Then we have a list of all the tribes that failed to drive out the enemies from their land: Benjamin, Manasseh, Ephraim, Zebulun, Asher, Naphtali and Dan. Instead, they had made covenants with them to make them slaves and let them live. *** The Angel of the Lord confronted them for breaking their covenant with God to make covenants with the inhabitants of the land. He told them since they didn’t drive out the people he had told them to, their enemies would remain to be thorns in their sides and their gods would be snares to them. The people wept when they heard this. They called the name of that place, Bochum which means “weeping.” *** Joshua died at the age of 110 and was buried in the hills of Ephraim. *** In Luke, Jesus told his disciples to look at the fig tree and all the trees. (The fig tree represents Israel and all the other trees represent the Gentiles.) When they are all budding it will be a sign that summer was near and that the kingdom of God was near. That generation would not pass until he saw all of that happen. Seventy years later, Jerusalem fell. Jesus told them to pray that they would be awake to God and doing his will when it happened. It would be a judgement like the one in the end. *** During the day, Jesus was with the people teaching and doing miracles among them but at night he would go up on the mountain to pray. *** It was the time of Passover and the chief priests and scribes were planning how they could kill the lamb of God. Judas went to them and offered to betray Jesus for money and they agreed. *** On the day before the Passover meal, Jesus sent Peter and John to prepare the meal for them. Jesus told them to go to the city and follow the man carrying a pitcher of water. (Usually, men didn’t carry the water, the women did. That would be their clue.) This man would take them to the upper room where they would have their passover meal. *** Lord, you have prepared a table before us to feast with you. Nothing surprises you or can upset your plans. May we walk in assurance of your leading.

Mon.’s Devo - Choose God

Read: Joshua 24:1-33; Luke 21:1-28; Psalm 89:52; Proverbs 13:20-23 Joshua summoned all the tribes: their leaders, elders, judges and officers to come and hear his last speech. He laid out their history from Abraham’s family up till then. *** God had taken Abraham from a family that worshipped other gods and led him to Canaan. He gave him many descendants through his son Isaac. Isaac had two sons: Jacob and Esau. He gave the mountains of Seir to Esau but sent Jacob’s family to Egypt. *** God sent Moses to bring them out of Egypt with terrible plagues on Egypt. When they cried out to the Lord, God put darkness between the Israelites and the Egyptians and brought the waves of the Red Sea down on the Egyptians. Israel lived in the wilderness for years. *** Finally, God brought them to the land he had promised and gave them victory from Barak, the Canaanites, Jebusites, Hittites, Girgashites, and the Hivites. It was not their sword that brought them victory, but the Lord. He gave them towns they did not build and vineyards and olive groves they did not plant. *** God would not tolerate their rebellion so they needed to chose who they were going to serve, the gods of their enemies or their own God who delivered them from their enemies. *** The leaders chose to sere the Lord and get rid of any foreign gods they had. They did serve the Lord till Joshua and all the elders who had personally experienced God’s power. *** They buried Joseph’s bones at Shechem in the land given to Joseph. When Eleazar died, he was buried in the land of Ephraim in the town of Gibeah. *** In Luke, Jesus noted the gifts people were putting in the treasury box at the Temple. The rich showed great pomp giving their gifts but a widow gave two mites and Jesus said that she had put in more than all of the others. She had given out of her poverty but they had given out of their abundance. *** When the disciples commented on the greatness of the stones of the temple, Jesus said that the day would come when not one stone would be left upon another. They would all be torn down. The disciples asked when this would happen and what sign would indicate it was about to happen. Jesus said that many would say they were the Messiah, there would be rumors and wars, earthquakes, famines, pestilences and fearful signs from heaven. Before all these things, they would deliver them up to the synagogues to be questioned. This will be their time to give testimony of God. All their family would turn on them and some of them would die. They would be hated for his name’s sake. When they see the temple surrounded by armies they would know that its desolation was near. *** When they see the signs in the sun, moon and stars they will know that the Son of Man was coming in the cloud with great power and glory. Then they were to look up and know that their redemption draws near. *** This all happened in 70 A.D. when the Temple was totally destroyed but it is also talking about the second coming of Christ. *** Lord, may we be patient in waiting for you to bring redemption and salvation. May we endure with faith. We choose to follow you.

Sun.’s Devo - Our Witness

Read: Joshua 22:21-23:16: Luke 20:27-47; Psalm 89:14-37; Proverbs 13:17-19 The warriors from the tribes of Gad, Reuben and the half tribe of Manasseh had helped all the tribes get their land and had been released to go home. When they got to the Jordan they had built an altar that greatly offended the rest of Israel. They sent their delegates to investigate this altar and find out their motives for building it. *** The men from Reuben, Gad and Manasseh told them that it was not an altar to burn sacrifices because that would be profane but it was built as a memorial to God that they are his people so they wouldn’t forget. Once the men heard this, they were satisfied and went back home. It would be their “witness” to the world that they followed God. *** Joshua was able to live a long time in peace. When he was about to die, he called for the elders, judges, officers and heads of families. He reminded them of all God had done for them and exhorted them to keep being courageous and obeying God’s laws. They were not to mention the name of the foreign gods or swear by them or bow down them. With God, one of them would chase a thousand. But if they intermarried with the foreigners and go their way, God would no longer fight for them and they would be snares and traps for them. They would eventually lose the land God had given them. God would bring on them all the harmful things until he had destroyed them. *** In Luke, the Sadducees came to pick a fight with Jesus. They were staunch believers that man doesn’t resurrect when he dies. The Pharisees argued they do. So when the Sadducees came to trap Jesus the real question was the resurrection. Jesus knew this and told them that there was a resurrection and that people don’t marry in that age. God proved that he was the God of the living and not the dead. The Pharisees approved of his answer. *** Then Jesus asked them a question. He asked them why they say that Christ is the Son of David when David calls the Christ his Lord. They wouldn’t call their son their lord. They didn’t answer so he went on to tell his disciples in the ears of all the scribes: beware of the scribes who honor themselves and pretend to be holy; behind the curtain, they devour widow’s houses. They will be condemned in the end. *** Jesus told it like it is and wasn’t afraid of a person’s position or status. He feared only God. *** Lord, may we be like Jesus and fear only God. You are the only one who can give us eternal life or take our lives. You are the one who loves us with pure love and protects us from our enemies. You are the one we have chosen to give our lives to and live our lives for. We will never be ashamed or disappointed in you. May we be a witness to the world of your power and magesty.

Sat.’s Devo - God is the Authority

Read: Joshua 21:1-22:20; Luke 20:1-26; Psalm 89:1-13; Proverbs 13:15-16 The leaders of the tribe of Levi came before Eleazar the priest and Joshua their leader and the leaders of the other tribes and reminded them that Moses had promised them towns to live in out of all of their grants of land. They had already been given 13 towns from the tribes of Judah, Simeon and Benjamin. So the families of the Kohathites where given 10 towns from the tribes of Ephraim, Dan and the half-tribe of Manasseh. *** The clan of Gershon was allotted 13 towns from the tribes of Issachar, Asher, Naphtali, and the half-tribe of Manasseh. And the clan of Merari was given 12 towns from the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and Zebulun. Many of these towns were designated as cities of refuge. *** Each of the towns were mentioned by name. Now that the land had been distributed and all the Levites were dispersed throughout the land, all that God promised them had come to pass. Joshua then released the warriors from the tribes that settled east of the Jordan to go home. So the men from Reuben, Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh went back to live in their own land. When they got to the Jordan River they stopped at Geliloth and built a large altar. When the rest of Israel heard what they had done they were so upset they sent a delegation of ten leaders of Israel from the ten tribes on the west of the Jordan to talk to them. They were afraid they had already defiled the Lord by setting up an idol. In Luke, the teachers of the law challenged Jesus’ authority. So Jesus asked them by whose authority did John baptize people. They couldn’t give him an answer that wouldn’t incriminate them in front of the people, so he told them he wouldn’t give them an answer either. *** Then he gave them a story to illustrate his answer. The owner of the vineyard was God who owns all the land of the earth. He gave it to us to steward and especially the religious leaders. They were suppose to teach the people God’s laws but instead, they had replaced God’s laws with their own. They had killed all the prophets that came in God’s authority. Then they killed John who came in God’s authority. They would soon kill God’s son who came in God’s authority. Then God would come and kill them and give his authority to others that will obey and honor him. *** When the leaders heard the story and knew he was talking about them, they wanted to arrest him immediately. They had to find a way to get him to offend the Romans so they would arrest him and put him to death. So they asked him if it was legal to pay taxes to Caesar. Jesus asked them for a coin and asked whose inscription was on it. They said it was Caesar’s. So Jesus told them to give to Caesar what was his and to God what was his. *** His answer certainly didn’t incriminate him: instead it amazed those who heard it and silenced his accusers. Who can go against God and win? *** Lord, when you are on our side, who can be against us. Thank you that you are our shield and our refuge. We stand on your authority and none is higher.

Fri.’s Devo - Cities of Refuge

Read: Joshua 19:1-20:9; Luke 19:28-48; Psalm 88:1-18; Proverbs 13:12-14 Simeon’s territory was designated right in the midst of Judah’s land since Judah had too much land. *** Zebulun’s land included Bethlehem. *** Issachar’s land included 16 towns with their surrounding villages. Beth-shemesh was one of the towns. *** Asher’s land was in the north and included Tyre and Raman where Samuel was born. *** Naphtali’s land bordered Zebulun and Asher west of the Jordan River. *** Dan had trouble taking their possession so the attacked the town of Laish and captured it, renaming it Dan. *** When all the land was divided among the tribes, they gave to Joshua whatever piece of land he wanted. He chose Timnath-serah in the hill country of Ephraim. He rebuilt the town and lived there. *** God told Joshua to designate cities of refuge for the person who accidentally killed someone. They could run and find refuge from the avenger of blood in that city. They would be safe as long as they stayed there. The priests would try their case and if they found the person to be innocent, he was to stay there protected until the death of the high priest, then he could go free. *** This is a picture of the plan of salvation. Before Jesus came to die for us, people were saved because of their faith in God. God counted their faith as righteousness. When they died, they lived in a city of refuge beneath the earth until Jesus, the High Priest died. Then he came and preached to those in the captivity of death and raised them up with him to be free indeed. *** Jesus had just told the story of the stewards that were given mina’s to invest. He told this along the way to Jerusalem. Jesus sent two of his disciples ahead to Bethany to find a young donkey that no one had ridden before. He was to bring it to Jesus. If anyone asked why they were taking it, they were to tell them that the Lord needed it. They did what Jesus said and brought the colt to Jesus. They threw their garments over it for him to ride on. To ride a donkey that had never been ridden before was a miracle in itself, but all nature bows to God. As Jesus rode this donkey down the Mount of Olives, all his followers began to shout and sing the hallel in Psalms. They were at the part that says “Blessed be he that cometh in the name of the Lord: we have blessed you out of the house of the Lord.” (Psalm 118:26) *** The Pharisees told Jesus to rebuke them for singing this to him and Jesus told them that if he didn’t let them sing, the rocks would cry out praises. *** Jesus wept as they got closer to Jerusalem. He could see its future demise. *** When Jesus entered the Temple he began to drive out the people who were selling animals for sacrifices. He told them that his Temple was to be a house of prayer but they had turned it into a den of thieves. *** Jesus taught daily in the Temple. While the leaders plotted how to kill him, the people held on to his every word. Lord, may we be like those who held on to your every word. Thank you that you have saved us from the avenger of blood.

Thurs.’s Devo - Invest in God’s Kingdom

Read: Joshua 16:1-18:28; Luke 19:1-27; Psalm 87:1-7; Proverbs 13:11 The tribes of Joseph, Ephraim and Manasseh were given their land. They did not drive out all the Canaanites out of Gezer so they became their slaves. *** Half of Manasseh had land east of the Jordan and half of them had land on the west of the Jordan. One of Manasseh’s descendants had no sons, so the daughters went to Joshua to petition for land for themselves. Moses had promised them that they would have an inheritance along with the men. Joshua honored that promise and granted them land. *** The descendants of Manasseh were also unable to drive out all the Canaanites in their region so they forced them to work as slaves. (Interesting that they could force them to become slaves but they could’t force them to leave.) *** The descendants of Joseph complained that they only got one portion in the land when they had so strong and had so many people. Joshua told them that if their land was not big enough they could clear out land in the forest. Then they complained that the Canaanites that lived in the forests had iron chariots and were too strong for them. *** Joshua told them that since they claimed to be so strong and had so many people they could surely use that strength to drive out the Canaanites. *** Now that all the land was under their control the entire community of Israel gathered at Shiloh to set up the Tabernacle. Seven tribes had not yet received their land because they had not gone and surveyed their allotted territory and taken it. He told them to go and explore the land and write a description of it. They were to bring the description to Joshua and he would cast lots to see which tribe it should go to. *** The first allotment went to Benjamin which lay between the land of Judah and Joseph. It had 14 towns in it. Jerusalem was one of the towns. *** In Luke, Jesus was coming to the town of Jericho. The chief tax-collector of the town was Zacchaeus. He heard that Jesus was coming to his town and wanted to get a look at him. Because he was short, he couldn’t see above the heads of the people so he climbed up in a tree to see better. When Jesus walked by he looked up and called him by name. He told them he was coming to his house to eat. Zacchaeus was elated, but the people of the town were appalled that a Jesus would choose to eat with a notorious sinner. Jesus didn’t see him as a sinner but called him by his name which means “my pure one.” *** When Zacchaeus stood before the Lord he vowed to give half of his wealth to the poor and return to those he stole from four times the amount. That is true repentance. *** Jesus told the story to show that the kingdom of God was not going to appear immediately. The story was of a nobleman who went to a far country to receive a kingdom, then he would return. Before he went he called in ten of his servants and gave them one mina or 50 shekels each which was about three months wages. He told them to invest it well. *** Some of the people of the town hated him and and didn’t want him to reign over them. When he returned after receiving his kingdom, he commanded his servants to make an account of how they had invested his money. *** The first had taken their one mina and turned it into ten. The owner commended him and put him in charge of ten cities. The second had turned his one mina into five, so he was put in charge of five cities. But the third had put his mina in a handkerchief because he didn’t want to make a prophet to have to give it back. He was rebuked for being so selfish. He could have at least put it in the bank and made a profit doing nothing. The owner took his mina and gave it to the one who had ten. When the people complained about this he told them that whoever has will be given more, but to him who doesn’t have it will be taken from him. Then he put to death his enemies who didn’t want him to rule over them. Lord, may we use the gifts and talents you have given us to further your kingdom so you can give us more. All that we have is yours.

Wed.’s Devo - As and You Shall Receive

Read: Joshua 15:1-63; Luke 18:18-43; Psalm 86:1-17; Proverbs 1:9-10 Judah’s land was given out with all its boundaries. It lay in the southern most area if the land. Caleb, who was from the tribe of Judah gave some of his land to Joshua in the land where he drove out the giants of Anak. Caleb had give a challenge to his men that whoever led the attack of Kirjath Sepher and took it would get his daughter, Achsah as their wife. Othniel, his brother took the challenge and won the wife. When they married, Achsah persuaded Othniel to ask Caleb for a field as a gift. She also asked for land with water. So Caleb gave her the land in the south that had upper and lower springs. *** Achsah asked for the best from her father and he gladly gave it. God is our father and he wants to give us his very best. All we have to do is ask. *** In Luke, Jesus tells of two men who asked something of him. The first man did not receive what he asked but the second one did. ***A ruler came to Jesus and asked him what he needed to “do” to be rewarded eternal life as if eternal life was given because we can earn it. He called Jesus “Good Teacher” as if he could teach others to be good enough to inherit eternal life too. *** Jesus reminded him of the commandments and he said he did all of them. So, Jesus gave him something he knew he could not do. He told him to sell all he had and give it to the poor, then he would have treasures in heaven. Then he could follow him. *** The man went away very sorrowful because he wasn’t willing to lose everything to get what he wanted. He wanted to add to what he was already doing. Jesus said it was hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom but, nothing was impossible with him. *** When Peter reminded Jesus of all they had given up to follow him, and Jesus said that all who give up in this life would be given many times more in the life to come. *** Jesus took his 12 aside and told them what he was going to have to give up soon. They were headed to Jerusalem to fulfill all the prophets words about the Son of Man. He would be delivered to the Gentiles and mocked and spit on. They would beat and scourge him but on the third day, he would rise. *** On the way, he healed a blind man who wanted both mercy and to receive his sight. Jesus told him to receive his sight and that his faith would make him well. He did receive his sight and followed Jesus to Jerusalem. *** Lord, may we understand how important our words are and the things we put our trust in. May we put our trust solely in you. May we ask the right things of you so that your kingdom can be advanced.