Wed.’s Devo - Our Authority

Read: Joshua 21:1-22:20; Luke 20:1-26; Psalm 89:1-13; Proverbs 13:15-16 The Levites had to ask for their towns which reminds me of the scripture, ‘You have not because you ask not.’ They asked for what had been promised to them and got it. They were suppose to get towns in each of the tribes to live among them and teach them the law of the Lord. The Kohathites were given 13 towns in Judah, Simeon and Benjamin and 10 towns in Epharim, Dan and half of Manasseh. The Gershonites were given 13 towns in Issachar, Asher, Naphtali and the other half of Manasseh. The clan of Merari were given 12 towns in Reben, Gad, and Zebulun. The names of the towns were given. The Lord fulfilled his promise to give them all the land he had allotted for them and they had peace on every side. Not a single one of all the good promises the Lord had given them was left unfulfilled; everything he had spoken came true. Joshua then called all the tribes living on the east side of the Jordan (Reuben, Gad and half of Manasseh) and commended them for helping the other tribes get their land. He told them they were released to go back home and enjoy their inheritance. They went home with much spoil from the enemy. That is our promise! On the way home they decided to build an altar in Geliloth near the Jordan. When the other tribes heard of their altar they were very upset. They remembered all the times Israel sinned and what it cost them. They were prepared to go to war against them but Eleazar the high priest went to talk to them first and hear them out. In Luke, the religious leaders and leading priests came to ask Jesus who gave him the authority to do what he was doing. Jesus answered them with a question. He asked them if John’s authority to baptize came from heaven or if it was merely human. They talked it over and realized that if they said it was from heaven, he would ask them then why didn’t they accept it. If they said it was not from heaven the people would be upset with them and stone them. So, they said they couldn’t give him an answer. Jesus told them that he wouldn’t answer their question either. That made them boiling mad. They were not used to dealing with people they couldn’t intimidate but John the Baptist and Jesus knew who they were and who had sent them. If they weren’t mad enough, Jesus gave them a parable about himself. He was the son of the wealthy landowner. The Pharisees were the tenants who were put in charge of God’s Temple. They had no respect for God or his son and they would prove it by their actions. Jesus was the stone that they stumbled over and it would end up breaking them to pieces. They realized Jesus was telling the story about them and they were the wicked farmers which made them want to kill Jesus right then, but their fear of the people kept them from it. They next tried to trick him about Roman government hoping to get them on their side. But Jesus answered so wisely it blew their plans. They were silenced by his answer. Today’s reading was an encouragement to us to not be afraid to ask for what you know is yours and not to be intimated by Satan. We have authority over him because of Christ. Lord, help us to walk in your authority and take our inheritance and believe all of your promises. Your promises are good!