Daily Readings in the Bible Judges 6-7
Everyone loves an underdog. We have a hard time cheering for the giants and the super elite. There’s something special about seeing the little guy have his day. The story of Gideon is that of an underdog. Israel, again, did evil in the sight of the Lord. For punishment, He gave Israel over to the […]
Daily Readings in the Bible Judges 3-5
Mesopotamia was the place that God had called Abraham to leave (Gen. 12:1-4). Now after several centuries, the people of Israel were under the oppression of the Mesopotamians, on account that Israel had gone back into idolatry. They began worshiping false gods, and started to intermarry with the Canaanites (Jud. 3:6-7). Mesopotamia, like Egypt, represents […]
Daily Readings in the Bible Judges 1-2
The books of Judges is exhausting and exhilarating. It’s exhausting because the same thing happens repeatedly. It’s exciting because the Lord does extraordinary things through very ordinary people. The book’s theme can be found in its final verse: “In those days there was no king in Israel; every man did that which was right in […]
Daily Readings in the Bible Joshua 23-24
Joshua gathered all the tribes of Israel at Shechem for one final address. He began by recounting God’s redemptive acts in Israel’s short history. Joshua wanted to make sure the people understood their history, their present, and their future. Had God not revealed Himself to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; worked mightily through Moses to bring […]
Daily Readings in the Bible Joshua 19-22
You might remember from our reading in Numbers how the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and a portion of Manasseh requested to settle in the land east of the Jordan River (Num. 32:1-42). Moses granted their request as long as they fought with the others tribes during the Canaan conquest. After the death of Moses, they […]
Daily Readings in the Bible Joshua 16-18
In today’s reading we have an account of the inheritance of Joseph divided between his sons Ephraim and Manasseh. Ephraim’s allotment was a beautiful and fertile area. Howbeit, the difficulty of possessing the land included clearing out additional hill country and removing the Canaanites from the land. There was just one issue: “And they drave […]
Daily Readings in the Bible Joshua 12-15
Only two men believed Israel could take possession of Canaan the first time Moses sent twelve men to spy out the land. Joshua and Caleb were those two men. And they were the only two men from that generation that were able to enter the Promised Land (Num. 14:24,30,38). Understand that Caleb was born as […]
Daily Readings in the Bible Joshua 7-11
Israel had finally crossed over from their wilderness wanderings and were laying claim to God’s promises. Joshua led the armies of Israel on their first mission and conquered Jericho. The Lord gave the command that the entire city was to be devoted to the Lord (Josh. 6:17-18). The gold, silver, vessels of bronze and iron […]
Daily Readings in the Bible Joshua 2-6
Moses was laid to rest on Nebo’s lonely mountain. Israel’s new leader, Joshua, stood on top of the mountain and looked toward Canaan. Israel’s time to take possession of the Promised Land had come. Moses had previously sent twelve men to spy out Canaan (Num. 13:1-3). Out of the twelve men, only Joshua and Caleb […]
Daily Readings in the Bible Joshua 1
Joshua is one of the great characters of the Old Testament. His original name was Hoshea, which means “salvation,” but Moses changed it to Joshua, which means “Jehovah is salvation” (Num. 13:8,16). We might add that the Greek form of Joshua is Jesus (Matt. 1:21). This is significant in the drama of redemption. Moses, representative […]