Wed.’s Devo - From Curse to Blessing

Read: Joshua 7:16-9:2; Luke 16:1-18; Psalm 82:1-8; Proverbs 13:2-3 All of the tribes had come before the Lord and He singled out the tribe of Judah. From the tribe of Judah, Achan was chosen. Joshua told him to confess what he had done and Achan did. He had taken 200 silver coins, a bar of gold and a beautiful robe from Babylon and hidden them beneath his tent. They took him with all his stolen goods, his sons, daughters, cattle, donkeys, sheep, goats, tent and everything he owned to the valley of Achor. Joshua declared that Achan (which means troubler) had brought trouble on Israel so now God was bringing trouble on him. The people then stoned him and all that was his. Then the Lord turned their curse into a blessing and showed Joshua just how to take Ai. Before they had presumptuously taken 3,000 men. God told them to take ten times that many. He showed them the strategy for Ai would be to have an ambush behind the army who would burn the city after the soldiers chased the first army. It worked and they burned the city to the ground and took the plunder for themselves. God had wanted the first fruit of Jericho and the rest of the cities were the people’s. They killed 12,000 of the people from Ai. Joshua impaled the king of Ai until evening then had his body thrown in front of the town gate where they piled a great heap of stones over him. Then Joshua built an altar to the Lord on Mt. Ebal which was the mountain they had spoken the curses from. Joshua offered sacrifices on the altar then wrote the words of the law on the stones of the altar. The Israelites stood half on Mt. Ebal and half on Mt. Gerizim and the priests brought the Ark to the valley between the two mountains. Joshua read to them all the blessings and curses. When the remaining kings of the land heard about what had happened in Ai, they combined their armies to fight against Joshua and the Israelites. In Luke, Jesus told a story about a wise business man who found out he was going to be fired. He invited all of his bosses creditors into his office and lessened their debt so that when he was fired he would have people who would help him. The owner found out what he had done and commended him for being so shrewd. Jesus said that the people of the earth are shrewder that we are and there are some things we can learn from them. It is wise to help others so that when you are in need others will help you but the real lessons is that if you are faithful with a few things, then you will be faithful with much. We are tested with the small things. If we honor God in small things that don’t seem so important, then we will have the same reaction with larger things. You cannot serve God and money. Jesus explained that until then they had used the law and the words of the prophets to be their guide. Now that the Kingdom had come full of forgiveness and grace, it did not lesson the law. The law stands forever. Jesus gave them the example of what they were doing with their wives. They were putting them away without going through the law to divorce them. This was causing them to commit adultery. This was what they were doing with their laws. They had replaced Moses’ law with the Talmud and the Mishna. They were living by man-made laws causing them to commit adultery towards the Lord. Lord, may we fear you and your words and follow you from a heart of love and obedience.