Joshua 22-24

God’s message to me: Never forget God whom you serve. Never forget His other servants. Never forget to stand with those who stand with God. Never place yourself above others who serve God. Never stand against those who serve God. Never, Ever, ever forget God’s chosen people Israel. There is no replacement of the covenant with Israel. We are grafted into the family of God and joint heirs with the family of Abraham but, we have not replaced them. They are our brother. They were born to the family, we are adopted. Pray for the peace of Jerusalem, pray for the strength of Israel.

Promises: God will give you the desires of your heart, He will give you ease, rest, wealth, health, supply and comfort and all the rest. He will clear your enemies from before you and give you the power to strike such fear in them that one of you can chase 1,000 of them, so long as you serve and love Him. Turn from the path of faith, serve false gods and betray your faith in Jehovah, and He can swiftly bring on you the destruction He brought on those who refused Him and stood against you in the past.

Commands: Choose today, whom you will serve. As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.

Timeless principles: In times of ease, it is easy to forget the Powerful Hand of God which brought you through the times of turmoil. It’s convenient to adapt to what is around you and easy to fall into false worship. It’s easy to forget worship altogether. It’s easy to forget God’s commands and look to enrich yourself at the expense of your tithes, offerings, and following the moral behaviors God set down for you. That is when God will punish your actions and bring you to misery in order to refocus your attention on the One who can bring you out of trouble.

How can I apply what I’ve learned: The world is filled with tempting ideas. Tendrils of false religion pretending to be acceptable within the true faith. Astrology, yoga, transcendental meditation, “biblical evolution” and so many more. Make no mistake, these are false religions serving false gods. An image you set up in your mind of a god that does not match the God of the bible is a false god and graven image. The loving god incapable of dooming anyone to hell is a false god. The god who uses evolution to accomplish his goals instead of simply speaking things into existence is a false god. Recognize and reject false gods and false religions. Choose to follow I AM unequivocally, and do not turn from that path. Do not turn your worship to any false methods that are not in keeping with what is commanded in the bible.

more to learn for in-depth study: These passages start by describing the events following the wars to conquer the promised land. The Tribes which had land on the other side of the Jordan River were given leave to return to their homes after the land had been conquered for the other tribes. They built an alter to be a reminder that they were indeed part of the tribes of Israel and followers of Jehovah just as their brethren in the promised land were.

The next portion is a description of the events around 25 years later just before Joshua dies. He reminds the Israelites that they serve a jealous God. Those who choose to serve God and then turn away to follow false gods can expect swift revenge from the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Israelite history starts with the father of Abraham in the land on the other side of the Euphrates. There the serving of false God’s was common. Abraham was brought into the promised land and traveled through out it as did his son Isaac and Isaac’s son Jacob. Jacob’s brother was given the mountain lands which is now Edom while Jacob, then called Israel, moved his family to Egypt. where other false gods were served. God brought them out of Egypt, through the wilderness and into the promised land where He fought for them and overcame the enemies in the land so they could inherit it. He drove out the others because they followed false gods, and some still dwelt in the land that followed false gods. Jacob warned the Israelites to choose to follow the One, True God, Jehovah or be brought down by Him for disobedience.

Finally, the passage reminds us that the bones of Joseph were brought out of Egypt with the Israelites. They are finally buried in the tomb of the patriarchs which Abraham purchased in the land to bury His wife and later became the burial place for Himself, Isaac, Isaac’s wife, Jacob’s wife and Jacob himself in a funeral attended by the royal guard of Egypt. Joseph made the Israelites promise to bury him there as well when the time came that God brought them out to inherit the land He had promised them.

tomorrow: Judges 1-3