Fri.’s Devo - Victory

Read: Joshua 11:1-12:24; Luke 17:11-27; Psalm 84:1-12; Proverbs 13:5-6 The four kings of the north banned together to fight the Israelites. They lived in the land allotted to Asher, Naphtali, Zebulun, Issachar and Manasseh. These kings were principalities over intelligence, witchcraft, and strife which was evident by what their names mean. Their combined armies covered the landscape like the sand on the seashore. They gathered near Merom to fight Israel. God told Joshua not to be afraid of them because by this time tomorrow He would hand them all over to Israel as dead men. Then they were to cripple their horses and burn their chariots. This happened just as the Lord said it would. Joshua and his army continued taking land and killing the inhabitants as the Lord had instructed him to do. No one made peace with them because God hardened their hearts and caused them to fight the Israelites so they could destroy them. Only the men of Gibeon made peace with Israel. Joshua conquered the land God had promised them and could finally rest from war. They defeated 31 kings that occupied the land. In Luke, Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem when he encountered 10 lepers. They cried out to him for mercy and Jesus told them to go and show themselves to the priests. As they went they were healed. One was a Samaritan who had no priest in Israel and would not have been given entrance to see the priests. He returned to Jesus to thank him. Jesus asked him where the others were. None of them returned to give thanks to the real priest. He told the Samaritan to start his walk because his faith had made him healed. This man had been healed on the inside and the outside. The Pharisees asked Jesus when the Kingdom of God would come but Jesus told them that His Kingdom was not a visible kingdom and it had already come and was there among them. He was referring to himself but couldn’t say it outright. He wanted them to see it in their hearts. Jesus then talked to his disciples about his return. He said that people would long to see his return and not see it. It would be like the days of Noah when everyone was partying and no one was paying attention to what Noah was doing or saying. No one was heeding the warnings. They were caught by surprise by the flood. The people of Lot experienced the same thing. They were busy doing their wickedness and had no idea they were about to be destroyed by God’s angels. When they asked him where this would happen, Jesus gave them a cryptic answer. It would be where the vultures gathered. It would happen at the place of greatest evil and death. Lord, may we heed the signs of our time and walk in faith trusting in You as the Author and finisher of our faith.