Posts from July 2020 (Page 2)

Read: Judges 8-9 Focus Verse: “No sooner had Gideon died than the Israelites again prostituted themselves to the Bails.” (Judges 8:33a). Devotion: Absolute power corrupts absolutely. My AP world teacher used to tell us this every day. Abimelek is the story of that. To become King he murdered 70 of his brothers. He’s essentially the first Israelite King that we get and we…

Read: Judges 6-7 Focus Verse: “Am I not sending you?’ ‘Pardon me my lord,’ Gideon replied, ‘but how can I save Israel? My clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my family.’ The LORD answered, ‘I will be with you,…’” (Judges 6:14b-16a). Devotion: The story of Gideon is a story of insecure self-doubt. He says as much repeatedly, that he is the least in…

Read: Judges 3-5 Focus Verse: “When the princes in Israel take the lead, when the people willingly offer themselves—praise the LORD! Hear this, you kings! Listen you rulers! I, even I will sing to the LORD; I will praise the LORD, the God of Israel, in song.” (Judges 5:2-3).  Devotion: Back and forth. The story of Judges is centered on a recurring, cyclical, theme.…

Read: Judges 1-2 Focus Verse: “The Asherites lived around the Canaanite inhabitants of the land because they did not drive them out.” (Judges 1:32).  Devotion: As soon as Joshua and the previous generation dies, Israel abandons God and follows after the nations they allowed to remain among them. As soon as the old leadership was gone, the new leadership took Israel…

Read: Joshua 22-24 Focus Verse: “Do not associate with these nations that remain among you; do not invoke the names of their gods or swear by them. …But you are to hold fast to the LORD your God, as you have until now.” (Jos 23:7-8)  Devotion: The focus MUST be God! It seems hard to say you should cut ties with those around you. But the focus is always on God!…

Read: Joshua 19-21 Focus Verse: “Not one of all the LORD’s good promises to Israel failed; everyone was fulfilled.” (Jos 21:45).  Devotion: Finally Israel has settled into the land. Finally they have rest. All of this is credited to God. Israel trusted in the LORD, and not ONE of God’s promises failed! What promises does God make to us? Primarily in Christ, we’re…

Read: Joshua 16-18 Focus Verse: “Joshua said to the Israelites: ‘How long will you wait before you begin to take possession of the land that the LORD, the God of your ancestors, has given you?” (Jos 18:3).  Devotion: The land is already theirs. The wars are done, the battles stopped, and the people can take the land whenever, yet they hesitate. Why? Maybe they were…

Read: Joshua 12-15 Focus Verse: “Then the land had rest from war.” (Jos 14:15b).  Devotion: It took a while to get there, but the wars were over and the land rested. They defeated 31 kings in all, wow! (Jos 12:24b). I can imagine that took years! It did take years, because “…Joshua had grown old…” (Jos 13:1). So in the course of Joshua’s lifetime it was…