Wed.’s Devo - Possessing the Land

Read: Joshua 13:1-14:15; Luke 18:1-17; Psalm 85:1-13; Proverbs 13:7-8 When Joshua had become an old man, God reminded him that there was still territory far south where the Philistines and the Geshurites lived that needed to be conquered. And, there was still land in the far north that belonged to the Sidionites and the Gebalites that needed to be conquered. God said he would drive these people out himself and give this to them as a special possession. They were to include this land in the land they divided among the tribes. *** The half tribe of Manasseh, Reuben and Gad had already received their grants of land on the east side of the Jordan. They were unable to drive out the people of Geshur and Maacah. *** The Levites were not to receive their own land but would be scattered throughout the land since they would be the teachers of the law and would man and run the cities of refuge. *** The rest of the tribes received their lands by lots. Caleb reminded Joshua of the promise that Moses had given him that he would receive the land they spied out the land forty years ago. He had seen the giants from the Anak and was not afraid of them then and was not afraid of them now. Caleb was presently 85 years old and as strong as he had been then. Joshua blessed Caleb with that land, which was called Hebron. It had previously been named Kiriath-arba after one of the great giant warriors, but Caleb had changed it to Hebron which means “one who has crossed”. He had crossed over the Jordan and the Red Sea supernaturally to get to this place. The town of Hebron became one of the first cities of refuge. Hebron was also the place where the patriarchs were buried. David lived here the first 7 years of his kingship. *** At last, the land had rest from war. *** In Luke, Jesus tells a story about a widow who needed justice from her enemy. She went to a judge for justice, even though he was unjust. Because she wore him down coming to him, he gave her what she wanted which was justice. This is how we pray for justice. We keep praying until we get it. The good news is that we are not going to an unjust judge, but a very just and righteous judge. *** Then, Jesus told a story about a man who was very sure he was righteous. When he went to the Temple he compared himself to everyone around him. He stood in the temple beside a man who was very humble and repentant. When they left the Temple, the humble man left forgiven, but the proud man did not leave justified before God. *** Parents brought their children for Jesus to bless them. The disciples tried to shield Jesus from being bothered by them. Jesus stopped the disciples and told them that the Kingdom of God belonged to them also. Everyone must come to God like a child to be received and allowed in. *** Lord, we acknowledge that you are our Father and we desire your blessing and your acceptance into your Kingdom. Thank you for making a way for us through Jesus.

Tues.’s Devo - We Inherit the Earth!

Read: Joshua 11:1-12:24; Luke 17:11-37; Psalm 84:1-12; Proverbs 13:5-6 After Joshua’ victory over the southern kings, the kings in the north heard about what had happened and King Jabin organized all the kings north to be one great army against Joshua and his men. *** God told Joshua not to be afraid of them, that He would hand them over to him tomorrow as dead men. God told Joshua to cripple their horses and burn their chariots. They all met at the water near Merom and suddenly attacked them. They chased them into the valley of Mizpah until they were all killed. Joshua obeyed and crippled the horses and burned all the chariots. *** Joshua captured the city of Hazor which had been the capital of all these kingdoms at one time. They spared no survivors and burned the city. He slaughtered all the kings and took all the plunder and livestock for themselves. Joshua carefully carried out everything the Lord had told him to do. *** The whole region was conquered. He killed all the giants who were the descendants of Anak except for a few that escaped to the land of the Philistines. We will see some of them reappear in the story of David. *** Joshua divided the land and gave it to the tribes. Joshua and the Israelites conquered 31 kings as well as the two east of the Jordan which totals to 33. *** In Luke, Jesus was still on his journey to Jerusalem. He met 10 lepers on his way. They cried out to him for mercy. He told them to go and show themselves to the priests. As they went, they were healed. One came back and praised God falling at Jesus’ feet. He thanked him for what he had done for him. Jesus asked where the other men were and he told this man that his faith had made him whole. This man was a Samaritan so he wouldn’t have been able to enter into the Temple. He came back to the Temple of God in Jesus. We don’t know if the others went to the Temple to show themselves or not. *** The people asked Jesus when the kingdom would come, but he kept telling them how it was going to happen. It wouldn’t come with signs - the kingdom was already here, among them. He was the kingdom of God. He would suffer and be rejected by this generation but when he comes back, it would be like the days of Noah. They partied right up to the very end when Noah stepped into the boat and the sky rained down water. The wicked died and the righteous lived. It was like that in the days of Lot also. They partied right up to the day the sky rained own fire and sulfur. The wicked died and the righteous lived. It will be that same way when the Son of Man is revealed. The wicked won’t have time to pack. They will be taken in their beds. Death will be everywhere. The wicked will die but, the righteous will inherit the earth! *** Lord, help us to see the truths in your Word. You have so many good things planned for your people. Thank you for saving, healing, and delivering us, and giving us a wonderful future.

Mon.’s Devo - Israel’s Treaty with Gibeon

Read: Joshua 9:3-10:43; Luke 16:19-17:10; Psalm 83:1-18; Proverbs 13:4 Gibeon means “little hill”. That would mean that Gibeon was a city that was important but not a royal city. A royal city would be considered a “mountain.” Gibeon was larger than Ai so it had over 22,000 people. It was next on the list of towns Israel would come to, so they knew their fate. Instead of fighting Israel and being defeated, they decided they would deceitfully make a peace treaty with them. They sent messengers to Joshua in ragged clothes and old shoes. They carried molded bread to deceive Joshua into thinking they were from a town outside of their boundaries. *** Joshua had gotten a little cocky in his war campaign and didn’t even ask God what he should do. He made a peace covenant with them and three days later, they learned that these men lived nearby. The names of the towns they had made a treaty with were Gibeon, Kiphirah, Beeroth, and Kiriath-jearim. They went and met with them but they couldn’t attack them because of the treaty they had made. Instead they made them their slaves to carry their water and cut their wood. The people of the towns were just glad to serve them and stay alive. The king of Jerusalem, Adoni-zedeck heard that Joshua had captured and destroyed Ai and Jericho and found out about the treaty they had made with the Gibeonites so they were afraid. Adoni-zedeck allied with four more kings listed in verse 3 from Hebron, Jarmuth, Lachish and Eglon to help them destroy the Gibeonites because they had made a treaty with Israel. The men of Gibeon sent for help from Joshua. The Gibeonites were known as great warriors. This time Joshua went with the Lord’s blessing. *** Joshua’s men traveled all night and took the Amorites by surprise. They fought with the sword and heaven’s army fought from heaven with hail. The hail killed more of them than the sword. Joshua prayed that the sun would stand still so they could continue fighting and it stayed noon for hours. They cornered five of the kings in a cave in Makkedah and put rocks over the entrance so they couldn’t escape. They finished killing all the soldiers. When they defeated them, time began to move again. *** They brought the kings out of the cave, made them lie down and ordered his commanders to put their feet on the necks of the king. Joshua told them to never be afraid because that was what God was going to do to all their enemies. Then he had them impaled on poles where they hung until evening. They took their bodies down before evening and had them put in the caves they hid in. Then they sealed the caves with a stone. *** This is exactly what Satan did to Jesus probably as his way of getting back at Israel for what they did to his kings. It was a set up, though, because Jesus’ death was God’s victory and ours too! *** Joshua and his men then went to the towns the kings ruled and destroy them, leaving no survivors. *** In Luke, Jesus tells a parable about a rich man who had everything and a poor man who sat at his gate. He was able to gaze at the luxury the rich man enjoyed but not allowed to eat even a scrap from his table. When the poor man died, he was taken by angels to heaven and sat beside Abraham at the heavenly banquet table. When he rich man died, he went to the place of the dead where he was in torment. He could see the poor man sitting beside Abraham a great distance away with a great chasm separating them. He called out to Abraham and asked him to send someone to his father’s house and warn them about the place he was in. Abraham said, they had prophets to warn him. The man begged God to send someone from the dead, probably him, to warn them to repent and turn to God. Abraham said, they wouldn’t listen to the prophets so they wouldn’t listen to someone who had risen from the dead. *** This was a parable about the people of that day. The prophets had come to warn Israel for years and years and they hadn’t listened. Yet, Jesus, sent from heaven was going to die and come back to life and they would still not believe. *** Jesus warned them of the danger of trying to persuade a young believer to sin and turn back from serving God. They were to discipline believers who sinned and if they repented, they were to forgive. This might mean forgiving them over and over. *** The disciples asked Jesus how they could increase their faith. Jesus told them it just takes a small about of faith to do great things. However, obedience is what God expects us to do as his servants. *** Lord, may we walk humbly with you. Thank you for saving us and revealing to us who you are and your kingdom. May we walk worthy of your name. Show us today, what we can do for you.

Sun.’s Devo - Seek the Kingdom First

Read: Joshua 5:1-7:15; Luke 15:1-32; Psalm 81:1-16; Proverbs 13:1 All the tribes were brought before the Lord and Achan from the tribe of Judah was singled out as the one who disobeyed the Lord. He confessed to taking a robe, 200 silver coins and a bar of gold. He had hidden them in the ground under his tent. *** Achan and what he had stolen, his family and all he owned was taken to the valley of Achor. Achan means “troubler” and Achor means “to trouble”. Joshua said “Why have you brought trouble on us? The Lord will now bring trouble on you.”All of Israel stoned them and burned their bodies. They piled a heap of stones on top of their ashes and God’s anger was appeased. *** Now, God sent them back to Ai and they destroyed them and were told they could keep the plunder. If only Achan had given to the Lord first, then he would have been able to receive his portion. *** If we learn how to have a spirit of generosity first, we can break out of a poverty spirit and enjoy God’s blessings. *** The strategy for taking this town was totally different than the plan for taking Jericho. They were to ambush this city, take the spoil and burn it to the ground. Then, they attacked the people they had drawn out of the town. They attacked from both sides and destroyed 12,000 in one day. The king was impaled on a pole and then buried in front of the town gate. *** Joshua built an altar to the Lord on Mount Ebal where they had read aloud the curses of not following the Lord. On the stones of the altar, Joshua wrote the instructions of the Lord. *** Half of the people stood on Mt. Ebal and half on Mt. Gerizim like the day when Moses had read to them the blessings and the curses. The Ark and the priests stood in the valley between them. Joshua read to them again the blessings of following the Lord and the curses of disobeying the Lord. *** When kings of the land they heard of how they took Jericho and Ai, they now joined together as one to fight Joshua. *** In, Luke, Jesus tells the story of a wealth manager who was wasting his master’s money. His employer found out and called him in to get his affairs in order because he was fired. The manager quickly went out and changed the amount of the receipts of what people owed his boss so that when he was fired he would have their favor. *** The rich man had to admire him for being so shrewd. He was only concerned about his life on earth. Where this man acquired friends shrewdly, we are to acquire friends the right way - by being generous with God’s money. Then, when we die, we will be welcomed into God’s house. We live our lives for eternity. *** If we learn how to give when we have a little, we will give when we have a lot. Jesus spoke this to the Pharisees and they scoffed at his teaching because they loved money. He told them they were hypocrites who loved to look righteous but had deceitful hearts. God sees this and it is detestable to him. *** Jesus explained that even though he had brought in a new kingdom, the law was still in effect. He gave the example of how they put their wives away without going through the requirements in the law. Because they were not giving their wife a writ of divorcement, they were causing her and them to commit adultery if either remarried. Every dot and tittle of the law must be fulfilled. *** The Psalm for today is a word to the fallen angels. Pretty interesting since we just read about a town called AI. *** Lord, may our hearts be upright in all we do and think. May we be generous and give all we have for your Kingdom. Thank you that when we seek you first and your Kingdom, all these things will be added.

Sat.’s Devo -Taking Jericho

Read: Joshua 5:1-7:15; Luke 15:1-32; Psalm 81:1-16; Proverbs 13:1 The Israelites have crossed over the Jordan on dry land and the people in the land are paralyzed with fear. That was a blessing because Joshua was told to circumcise all the male, leaving them no defense. *** The Lord called the place Gilgal which means “their shame of slavery is rolled away.” There, they celebrated the Passover. The next day, they ate unleavened bread to begin the Feast of Unleavened Bread and made the bread from the grain in the land. Manna never appeared from that day forward. *** As they neared Jericho, Joshua saw a man with a sword and went to ask him if he was with them or against them. He told them he was neither. He was the commander of the Lord’s army. That was a true statement. Sometimes the Lord was on their side and sometimes he wasn’t. He doesn’t necessarily fight for Israel as much as he fights for those who obey him and worship only him. The Lord had come to give Joshua strategy. *** He told Joshua to march around Jericho with the Ark, priests blowing horns and armed men in front and behind the Ark. The only sound would be the horns. They were to do this for six days. On the seventh day, they were to surround the town seven times and when Joshua gave the command, they were to shout. The walls came crashing down. These walls were 11 feet high and 14 feet wide. What would have taken weeks or months to take a city, took a week. *** They were to completely destroy everything in the city as an offering to the Lord. It was their first fruit and tithe. The rest of the towns they conquered were all theirs. They were allowed to keep the plunder from them, but not Jericho. They saved Rahab and her family like they promised. *** Joshua put a curse on whoever tried to rebuild Jericho. It would cost him his first born son to lay the foundation and his youngest son when he set up the gates. Joshua's curse was literally fulfilled years later during the reign of King Ahab. We read in 1 Kings 16:34, "In his days Hiel of Bethel built Jericho. He laid its foundation at the cost of Abiram his firstborn, and set up its gates at the cost of his youngest son Segub, according to the word of the LORD, which he spoke by Joshua the son of Nun.” *** Jericho was rebuilt, but at a huge cost to Hiel and his sons. *** Achan broke God’s command and kept some of the things he should have given to the Lord but hid them away. When they went to attack the small city of Ai, they were soundly defeated. The first thing they did was to blame God. He put the blame back on them. They had sinned and someone had taken what belonged to the Lord. He wasn’t going to let them go forward until they settled that matter. God told them to bring the tribes before Joshua and God would show them who the guilty person was. *** In Luke, the Pharisees were fine with Jesus eating with them, but criticized him when he ate with common people. They were trying to make Jesus one of them so they could control him, but he would have none of that. *** When the Pharisees complained that Jesus was associating with sinners, he told them three stories. The first one had to do with a lost sheep, which the common person would be able to relate to. The next was a lost coin, which the religious leaders would relate with since they were lovers of money. The last was heaven’s perspective. It showed how God loves his own. *** The sinners that Jesus was eating with represented the prodigal son. The elder son represented the Pharisees. They had been rich with access to the law and the Temple, but they took it for granted and became entitled. They hadn’t even taken the opportunity to get to know the Father or his commandments. The prodigal son, like the common people in Jesus’ day was humbled by his sin, repented and received the Father’s forgiveness and love. *** Lord, may we guard our hearts against arrogance and pride. May we see what you are doing and be amazed - not afraid. Give us strategy in taking down the Jericho’s that we face.

Fri.’s Devo -Stay Salty

Read: Joshua 3:1-4:24; Luke 14:7-35; Psalm 80:1-19; Proverbs 12:27-28 Joshua led the people to the Jordan and they camped there for three days. The officers spread the news that when they saw the Levites carrying the Ark they were to follow, at a distance, in their positions. *** Joshua told the people to purify themselves because God was going to do something great and wonderful. God told Joshua that on that day, God was going to make him a great leader in the eyes of the people and they would know that the Lord was with him. *** Joshua told the people that today they would know that the living God was with them. He was the one who would drive out their enemies before them. They were to choose one man to represent their tribe. As soon as the feet of the priest touched the water, the water that was flowing downstream stood up like a wall. It began backing up at a town called Adam. On the other side, the water flowed down to the Dead Sea making a dry river bed in the middle. The priests stood in the middle of the riverbed and waited until all the people had crossed. *** In Adam, all man died; in the Dead Sea all die. They had to cross over and defeat, the fear of death to reach their promised land. We are delivered from the fear of death through Christ (Hebrews 2:15). The Ark represented Jesus, who stands in the middle of our fears holding back death and the fear of death so we can safely cross through. The priests represent us, the church who stand with Jesus to help others cross over death to be saved. *** The twelve men who had been pre-chosen were then told to take 12 stones from the place where the priests were standing and pile them up at the place where they would camp that night. They would set them up to remember what God did for them. Joshua set up another pile of twelve stones in the middle of the Jordan. *** The first to cross over were the armed warriors from the tribes of Reuben, Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh. They were fearless. The people followed and last of all, the priests crossed over to join the people. *** They crossed over on the 10th of Nissan the day that Jesus entered Jerusalem to be crucified and the day they would select their lamb for Passover. Joshua put his stones in Gilgal where they camped. *** In Luke, Jesus was invited to a dinner at the home of a leader of the Pharisees. He noticed how everyone was trying to sit in the seats of honor. He told them that they should instead, begin sitting at the lowest place and wait to be exalted to a higher position. He told the host, that the next time he put on a banquet he shouldn’t invite the people he knew, loved and wanted to impress, but to invite the poor, the crippled, the lame and the blind. At the resurrection, God would reward him. *** One of the men sitting with Jesus heard this and loved it. (I wonder what the host thought about it.) *** Jesus then told the story of the man who did exactly what he had just described. He sent out invitations. The ones he first invited had excuses why they couldn’t come so he sent invitations out to the poor and desperate. He swore that the ones he first invited would not get even a taste of his banquet. *** Jesus told them that if they wanted to be his disciple, they must give up everything to follow him. He warned them to count the cost of following him because it would cost everything. *** We are to be the salt of the earth, so we have to be willing to do what it takes to stay salty. *** Lord, may we choose to give up our lives daily. May we do the things that uplift your Spirit inside us and keep us salty. May we daily put our “yes” on the table and walk through death to inherit life.

Thurs.’s Devo - Moses to Joshua

Read: Deuteronomy 34:1-Joshua 2:24; Luke 13:22-14:6; Psalm 79:1-13; Proverbs 12:26 Mount Nebo means “his prophecy” and Pisgah means “survey”. Moses was given a prophecy that God would take them to their own land. Moses was now being allowed to survey the fulfillment of that prophecy, though he would not actually get to enter in. Moses died there and the Lord buried him. Jude 9 tells us that the devil disputed with Michael about the body of Moses. Moses was 120 when he died and his eyesight had not failed nor his strength. He was mourned thirty days. No prophet had been like Moses because he knew the Lord face to face. *** The anointing of Moses was passed to Joshua to lead the people into the land. God encouraged Joshua to be strong and courageous. *** Joshua called together the tribes of Reuben, Gad and the half tribe of Manasseh and reminded them of their promise to help the other tribes cross the Jordan and possess their land. They agreed. *** Joshua only sent out two spies, probably because last time only two came back with a good report. They were to spy out the land and especially the land around Jericho. They stayed at the house of Rahab, the harlot. *** When the king of Jericho found out they had been there, they went to Rahab’s house to search for them. Rahab had hidden them but told the men searching for them that they had left the city. When they had gone she went to talk to Joshua’s men. *** She told them that she knew the Lord had given them this land. Her people had heard of how God opened the Red Sea for them to walk across and had given them victory over Sihon and Og, the Amorite kings. Everyone in Jericho was afraid of them and the supreme God of the heavens and the earth. *** She made them swear that when they came to attack the city that they would spare her and her family. The men swore to save them if she held up her end of the bargain and helped them escape. She agreed and sent let them down from her window by a rope since her house was built on the wall. They told her to leave the rope hanging from her window and they would save all who was in her house. *** They were able to escape to the hills and told Joshua how the whole land was afraid of them. *** In Luke, someone asked Jesus if only a few would be saved. He told them the fate of those who did not come through the narrow door. He was the narrow door. Those who refused to enter while there was still time would greatly be disappointed when they found the door shut. But others would come from all over the world to take their place in the Kingdom of God. There will be a complete flip of who is esteemed and who is not. *** The Pharisees warned Jesus that Herod Antipas wanted to kill him. Jesus told them to tell that fox that he would continue casting out demons and healing until the third day when he is perfected. Then Jesus predicted that he, like all the other prophets would die in Jerusalem. *** One Sabbath, Jesus went to eat at the home of a leader of the Pharisees. A man was there whose arms and legs were swollen with dropsy. The people watched to see if he would heal on the Sabbath. He asked them if their animal fell into a pit on that Sabbath if they would help it out. The answer was “yes”. So how was that different from Jesus healing one of his own on the Sabbath. *** Lord, help us to not stumble over silly laws we have set up in our mind and miss the bigger picture. May we help all who we are able to help and do the works you have ordained for us to do in this time.