 The proverbs of Solomon.
A wise son makes a glad father, but a foolish son is a sorrow to his mother. 2 Treasures gained by wickedness do not profit, but righteousness delivers from death. 3 The Lord does not let the righteous go hungry, but he thwarts the craving of the wicked. 4 A slack hand causes poverty, but the hand of the diligent makes rich. 5 He who gathers in summer is a prudent son, but he who sleeps in harvest is a son who brings shame. 6 Blessings are on the head of the righteous, but the mouth of the wicked conceals violence. 7 The memory of the righteous is a blessing, but the name of the wicked will rot. 8 The wise of heart will receive commandments, but a babbling fool will come to ruin. 9 Whoever walks in integrity walks securely, but he who makes his ways crooked will be found out. 10 Whoever winks the eye causes trouble, and a babbling fool will come to ruin. 11 The mouth of the righteous is a fountain of life, but the mouth of the wicked conceals violence. 12 Hatred stirs up strife, but love covers all offenses. 13 On the lips of him who has understanding, wisdom is found, but a rod is for the back of him who lacks sense. 14 The wise lay up knowledge, but the mouth of a fool brings ruin near. 15 A rich man's wealth is his strong city; the poverty of the poor is their ruin. 16 The wage of the righteous leads to life, the gain of the wicked to sin. 17 Whoever heeds instruction is on the path to life, but he who rejects reproof leads others astray. 18 The one who conceals hatred has lying lips, and whoever utters slander is a fool. 19 When words are many, transgression is not lacking, but whoever restrains his lips is prudent. 20 The tongue of the righteous is choice silver; the heart of the wicked is of little worth. 21 The lips of the righteous feed many, but fools die for lack of sense. 22 The blessing of the Lord makes rich, and he adds no sorrow with it. 23 Doing wrong is like a joke to a fool, but wisdom is pleasure to a man of understanding. 24 What the wicked dreads will come upon him, but the desire of the righteous will be granted. 25 When the tempest passes, the wicked is no more, but the righteous is established forever. 26 Like vinegar to the teeth and smoke to the eyes, so is the sluggard to those who send him. 27 The fear of the Lord prolongs life, but the years of the wicked will be short. 28 The hope of the righteous brings joy, but the expectation of the wicked will perish. 29 The way of the Lord is a stronghold to the blameless, but destruction to evildoers. 30 The righteous will never be removed, but the wicked will not dwell in the land. 31 The mouth of the righteous brings forth wisdom, but the perverse tongue will be cut off. 32 The lips of the righteous know what is acceptable, but the mouth of the wicked, what is perverse. Meditation The grace of God invites us to embrace the wisdom of God for all of life. God’s design and desire for the life of His people bursts boundaries of human compartmentalization to comprehensively empower the art of skillfully living for God’s glory in everything we do. Today we begin a section of Proverbs written by Solomon to his son (chapters 10-22). These proverbs are not organized according to a logical progression, but rather circles around various repeating themes, often moving back and forth among those themes, including: Words, work, neighbors and friends, state of the heart, family, marriage, sexuality, parents and children, discipline, wealth and prosperity, future and destiny. Solomon gives handles to hold for the far-reaching implications of wisdom. Embracing God’s wisdom will (at least):
Wisdom provides God’s path for labor, life, love, and longings. Richly Dwelling -Do you see how God’s wisdom is for all of life? -Which proverbs land most solidly in your heart? -Take two or three and meditate on them. Key Verse 8 The wise of heart will receive commandments, but a babbling fool will come to ruin. 9 Whoever walks in integrity walks securely, but he who makes his ways crooked will be found out.  How lonely sits the city
that was full of people! How like a widow has she become, she who was great among the nations! She who was a princess among the provinces has become a slave. 2 She weeps bitterly in the night, with tears on her cheeks; among all her lovers she has none to comfort her; all her friends have dealt treacherously with her; they have become her enemies. 3 Judah has gone into exile because of affliction and hard servitude; she dwells now among the nations, but finds no resting place; her pursuers have all overtaken her in the midst of her distress. 4 The roads to Zion mourn, for none come to the festival; all her gates are desolate; her priests groan; her virgins have been afflicted, and she herself suffers bitterly. 5 Her foes have become the head; her enemies prosper, because the Lord has afflicted her for the multitude of her transgressions; her children have gone away, captives before the foe. 6 From the daughter of Zion all her majesty has departed. Her princes have become like deer that find no pasture; they fled without strength before the pursuer. 7 Jerusalem remembers in the days of her affliction and wandering all the precious things that were hers from days of old. When her people fell into the hand of the foe, and there was none to help her, her foes gloated over her; they mocked at her downfall. 8 Jerusalem sinned grievously; therefore she became filthy; all who honored her despise her, for they have seen her nakedness; she herself groans and turns her face away. 9 Her uncleanness was in her skirts; she took no thought of her future; therefore her fall is terrible; she has no comforter. “O Lord, behold my affliction, for the enemy has triumphed!” 10 The enemy has stretched out his hands over all her precious things; for she has seen the nations enter her sanctuary, those whom you forbade to enter your congregation. 11 All her people groan as they search for bread; they trade their treasures for food to revive their strength. “Look, O Lord, and see, for I am despised.” 12 “Is it nothing to you, all you who pass by? Look and see if there is any sorrow like my sorrow, which was brought upon me, which the Lord inflicted on the day of his fierce anger. 13 “From on high he sent fire; into my bones he made it descend; he spread a net for my feet; he turned me back; he has left me stunned, faint all the day long. 14 “My transgressions were bound into a yoke; by his hand they were fastened together; they were set upon my neck; he caused my strength to fail; the Lord gave me into the hands of those whom I cannot withstand. 15 “The Lord rejected all my mighty men in my midst; he summoned an assembly against me to crush my young men; the Lord has trodden as in a winepress the virgin daughter of Judah. 16 “For these things I weep; my eyes flow with tears; for a comforter is far from me, one to revive my spirit; my children are desolate, for the enemy has prevailed.” 17 Zion stretches out her hands, but there is none to comfort her; the Lord has commanded against Jacob that his neighbors should be his foes; Jerusalem has become a filthy thing among them. 18 “The Lord is in the right, for I have rebelled against his word; but hear, all you peoples, and see my suffering; my young women and my young men have gone into captivity. 19 “I called to my lovers, but they deceived me; my priests and elders perished in the city, while they sought food to revive their strength. 20 “Look, O Lord, for I am in distress; my stomach churns; my heart is wrung within me, because I have been very rebellious. In the street the sword bereaves; in the house it is like death. 21 “They heard my groaning, yet there is no one to comfort me. All my enemies have heard of my trouble; they are glad that you have done it. You have brought the day you announced; now let them be as I am. 22 “Let all their evildoing come before you, and deal with them as you have dealt with me because of all my transgressions; for my groans are many, and my heart is faint.” Meditation God’s sovereign grace gives believers space to ask questions about God’s character and promises in the places of suffering, transforming “how?!” into hope through the work of Jesus. Lament is a voice of faith crying out to the Divine from a place of destitution, and the Bible gives us language for lament. “How?!” is the first word and the historic Hebrew title of the book, emphasizing the depth of Jerusalem’s devastation after the deportation of her citizens to Babylon. God had promised to use Jerusalem as a light (Isaiah 2:1-5) but their unfaithfulness left them in the dark. Jerusalem’s majesty had departed (6) in her devastation, destruction at the hands of her enemy (1-11). The mention of enemy (2, 10, 16, 21), pursuers (3, 6), and foes (5, 7, 17) emphasizes the hand of Babylon dealing fatal blows to Jerusalem while pointing beyond to the work of Christ. Lament will be our language while living in a fallen world until we look at the work of Jesus who, through His resurrection, conquered the last enemy which is death itself (1 Corinthians 15:54-57). Jerusalem’s sin was the catalyst for their suffering (8-9) as was our sin for the suffering of Jesus. Judah’s cry for help (12-22) was to move their eyes from their loss to their only hope, the Lord (3:24). When we cry from the sin and struggle of our life, our hope is in Jesus who alone understands our devastation (Hebrews 4:15) while also triumphing over the darkness. Jesus alone transforms the question of “how?” to HOPE! Richly Dwelling -Which descriptions of devastation stand out to you? How do you feel about the Bible giving language for lament in the difficulties of life? -Where do you turn during devastating times and dark days to look for hope? -Jesus defeated death and the enemies of God so through Him our hearts can hope. How can you deepen your faith in Him by crying out in lament, moving your heart from “How?!” to HOPE through His finished work? Key Verse 18 “The Lord is in the right, for I have rebelled against his word; but hear, all you peoples, and see my suffering;  As soon as all the kings of the Amorites who were beyond the Jordan to the west, and all the kings of the Canaanites who were by the sea, heard that the Lord had dried up the waters of the Jordan for the people of Israel until they had crossed over, their hearts melted and there was no longer any spirit in them because of the people of Israel.
2 At that time the Lord said to Joshua, “Make flint knives and circumcise the sons of Israel a second time.” 3 So Joshua made flint knives and circumcised the sons of Israel at Gibeath-haaraloth. 4 And this is the reason why Joshua circumcised them: all the males of the people who came out of Egypt, all the men of war, had died in the wilderness on the way after they had come out of Egypt. 5 Though all the people who came out had been circumcised, yet all the people who were born on the way in the wilderness after they had come out of Egypt had not been circumcised. 6 For the people of Israel walked forty years in the wilderness, until all the nation, the men of war who came out of Egypt, perished, because they did not obey the voice of the Lord; the Lord swore to them that he would not let them see the land that the Lord had sworn to their fathers to give to us, a land flowing with milk and honey. 7 So it was their children, whom he raised up in their place, that Joshua circumcised. For they were uncircumcised, because they had not been circumcised on the way. 8 When the circumcising of the whole nation was finished, they remained in their places in the camp until they were healed. 9 And the Lord said to Joshua, “Today I have rolled away the reproach of Egypt from you.” And so the name of that place is called Gilgal to this day. First Passover in Canaan10 While the people of Israel were encamped at Gilgal, they kept the Passover on the fourteenth day of the month in the evening on the plains of Jericho. 11 And the day after the Passover, on that very day, they ate of the produce of the land, unleavened cakes and parched grain. 12 And the manna ceased the day after they ate of the produce of the land. And there was no longer manna for the people of Israel, but they ate of the fruit of the land of Canaan that year. The Commander of the Lord's Army13 When Joshua was by Jericho, he lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, a man was standing before him with his drawn sword in his hand. And Joshua went to him and said to him, “Are you for us, or for our adversaries?” 14 And he said, “No; but I am the commander of the army of the Lord. Now I have come.” And Joshua fell on his face to the earth and worshiped and said to him, “What does my lord say to his servant?” 15 And the commander of the Lord's army said to Joshua, “Take off your sandals from your feet, for the place where you are standing is holy.” And Joshua did so. Meditation Frances Havergal wrote her hymn “Who is on the Lord’s side?” inviting Christians to rise above the temptation to lessen the Lord to accommodate human loyalties or agendas. God’s identity transcends creature allegiance. God’s grace invites us to align with Him. The question of loyalty comes in the form of the “commander of the army of the Lord” meeting Joshua face to face (13-15; as Moses met the Lord in the burning bush, Exodus 3). The question of loyalty will conclude the book of Joshua, too (Choose this day whom you will serve… 24:15). Two questions confront us today: What does loyalty to the Lord look like and will I align by faith on God’s side? Being on the Lord’s side looks like total trust. The first thing Israel does after entering the promise land is…. circumcise the men. This is to say, upon entering enemy territory Israel embraced the sign of God’s covenant relationship by circumcising their army and thereby rendering themselves totally vulnerable to attack (2-9). Second, the whole community celebrated the covenant meal in the feast of Passover. The point: Total trust in God is feasting on the grace of God through His means of grace no matter what our circumstances! God is faithful. God has redeemed. God will protect. God will lead. God will accomplish His will. God’s word confronts the reader: Are you on the Lord’s side? Richly Dwelling -Verses 13 and 14 highlight what we are forced to ask ourselves when we feel like relying on self-resolve or the plans we think are best. The real question is: Are you on the Lord’s side? Are you taking time to be with Him and seek His guidance? -Take time now to fall on your face before the Lord and listen. -Jesus said, “Those who are for me are not against me” (Luke 9:50). Where do you need to celebrate this reality in relationship with believers who are not like you but are clearly aligned with the Lord’s side? Key Verse 13 … “Are you for us, or for our adversaries?” 14 And he said, “No; but I am the commander of the army of the Lord. Now I have come.” And Joshua fell on his face to the earth and worshiped and said to him, “What does my lord say to his servant?”  Wisdom has built her house;
she has hewn her seven pillars. 2 She has slaughtered her beasts; she has mixed her wine; she has also set her table. 3 She has sent out her young women to call from the highest places in the town, 4 “Whoever is simple, let him turn in here!” To him who lacks sense she says, 5 “Come, eat of my bread and drink of the wine I have mixed. 6 Leave your simple ways, and live, and walk in the way of insight.” 7 Whoever corrects a scoffer gets himself abuse, and he who reproves a wicked man incurs injury. 8 Do not reprove a scoffer, or he will hate you; reprove a wise man, and he will love you. 9 Give instruction to a wise man, and he will be still wiser; teach a righteous man, and he will increase in learning. 10 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight. 11 For by me your days will be multiplied, and years will be added to your life. 12 If you are wise, you are wise for yourself; if you scoff, you alone will bear it. The Way of Folly13 The woman Folly is loud; she is seductive and knows nothing. 14 She sits at the door of her house; she takes a seat on the highest places of the town, 15 calling to those who pass by, who are going straight on their way, 16 “Whoever is simple, let him turn in here!” And to him who lacks sense she says, 17 “Stolen water is sweet, and bread eaten in secret is pleasant.” 18 But he does not know that the dead are there, that her guests are in the depths of Sheol. Meditation The love of God invites people to feast at the banquet of wisdom. Jesus invites people to feast on Himself as the bread of life, true food and true drink (John 6:51, 55), and wisdom invites you to find abundant life feasting in her house. “Come and eat of my bread, and drink of my wine,” wisdom summons (5). The house of wisdom (1) has prepared a feast (2) and sent invitations for all people (3). In contrast, folly invites people into her home, too (13-18). Folly is loud (13), screaming from her doorway (14-15), offering only stolen water and secrets that will make you sick (17-18). The two invitations have mirror summonses (4, 16): All who know their need are welcome to feast in one house or the other. To which invitation will you respond? To ignore wisdom’s invitation is to welcome folly. The middle verses (7-12) offer character sketches of who responds to each invitation. Those who feast on foolishness end up alone by rejecting rebuke, teaching, and the way of the Lord. Those who feast on wisdom love you for rebuke and welcome the knowledge of God. Those who feast on wisdom will multiply and endure. Those who feast at folly’s house will flounder. As wisdom welcomes all who seek abundant life, so the Lord welcomes all who long to be satisfied. ““Come, everyone who thirsts… come, buy and eat…without money and without price.” (Isaiah 55:1) Jesus reinforces the welcome saying, “Come to me, all who are weary… and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:18). Richly Dwelling -The remarkable symmetry of the chapter emphasizes the invitation of both wisdom and folly. Whose feast will you choose? -Looking at the middle section descriptions of the wise and foolish, who do you identify with more? Do you welcome rebuke, teaching, and knowledge of God? -Jesus offers the ultimate invitation for abundant life, to feast on His love, grace, work, and word. How can you more intentionally feast on Jesus? Be specific. Key Verse 5 “Come, eat of my bread and drink of the wine I have mixed.  Zedekiah was twenty-one years old when he became king, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Hamutal the daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah. 2 And he did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, according to all that Jehoiakim had done. 3 For because of the anger of the Lord it came to the point in Jerusalem and Judah that he cast them out from his presence.
And Zedekiah rebelled against the king of Babylon. 4 And in the ninth year of his reign, in the tenth month, on the tenth day of the month, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came with all his army against Jerusalem, and laid siege to it. And they built siegeworks all around it. 5 So the city was besieged till the eleventh year of King Zedekiah. 6 On the ninth day of the fourth month the famine was so severe in the city that there was no food for the people of the land. 7 Then a breach was made in the city, and all the men of war fled and went out from the city by night by the way of a gate between the two walls, by the king's garden, and the Chaldeans were around the city. And they went in the direction of the Arabah. 8 But the army of the Chaldeans pursued the king and overtook Zedekiah in the plains of Jericho, and all his army was scattered from him.9 Then they captured the king and brought him up to the king of Babylon at Riblah in the land of Hamath, and he passed sentence on him. 10 The king of Babylon slaughtered the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes, and also slaughtered all the officials of Judah at Riblah. 11 He put out the eyes of Zedekiah, and bound him in chains, and the king of Babylon took him to Babylon, and put him in prison till the day of his death. The Temple Burned12 In the fifth month, on the tenth day of the month—that was the nineteenth year of King Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon—Nebuzaradan the captain of the bodyguard, who served the king of Babylon, entered Jerusalem. 13 And he burned the house of the Lord, and the king's house and all the houses of Jerusalem; every great house he burned down. 14 And all the army of the Chaldeans, who were with the captain of the guard, broke down all the walls around Jerusalem. 15 And Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard carried away captive some of the poorest of the people and the rest of the people who were left in the city and the deserters who had deserted to the king of Babylon, together with the rest of the artisans. 16 But Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard left some of the poorest of the land to be vinedressers and plowmen. 17 And the pillars of bronze that were in the house of the Lord, and the stands and the bronze sea that were in the house of the Lord, the Chaldeans broke in pieces, and carried all the bronze to Babylon. 18 And they took away the pots and the shovels and the snuffers and the basins and the dishes for incense and all the vessels of bronze used in the temple service;19 also the small bowls and the fire pans and the basins and the pots and the lampstands and the dishes for incense and the bowls for drink offerings. What was of gold the captain of the guard took away as gold, and what was of silver, as silver. 20 As for the two pillars, the one sea, the twelve bronze bulls that were under the sea, and the stands, which Solomon the king had made for the house of the Lord, the bronze of all these things was beyond weight. 21 As for the pillars, the height of the one pillar was eighteen cubits, its circumference was twelve cubits, and its thickness was four fingers, and it was hollow. 22 On it was a capital of bronze. The height of the one capital was five cubits. A network and pomegranates, all of bronze, were around the capital. And the second pillar had the same, with pomegranates. 23 There were ninety-six pomegranates on the sides; all the pomegranates were a hundred upon the network all around. The People Exiled to Babylon24 And the captain of the guard took Seraiah the chief priest, and Zephaniah the second priest and the three keepers of the threshold; 25 and from the city he took an officer who had been in command of the men of war, and seven men of the king's council, who were found in the city; and the secretary of the commander of the army, who mustered the people of the land; and sixty men of the people of the land, who were found in the midst of the city. 26 And Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard took them and brought them to the king of Babylon at Riblah. 27 And the king of Babylon struck them down and put them to death at Riblah in the land of Hamath. So Judah was taken into exile out of its land. 28 This is the number of the people whom Nebuchadnezzar carried away captive: in the seventh year, 3,023 Judeans; 29 in the eighteenth year of Nebuchadnezzar he carried away captive from Jerusalem 832 persons; 30 in the twenty-third year of Nebuchadnezzar, Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard carried away captive of the Judeans 745 persons; all the persons were 4,600. Jehoiachin Released from Prison31 And in the thirty-seventh year of the exile of Jehoiachin king of Judah, in the twelfth month, on the twenty-fifth day of the month, Evil-merodach king of Babylon, in the year that he began to reign, graciously freed Jehoiachin king of Judah and brought him out of prison.32 And he spoke kindly to him and gave him a seat above the seats of the kings who were with him in Babylon. 33 So Jehoiachin put off his prison garments. And every day of his life he dined regularly at the king's table, 34 and for his allowance, a regular allowance was given him by the king, according to his daily needs, until the day of his death, as long as he lived. Meditation The seat of honor is our seed of hope. Jesus Christ resurrected from the grave, ascended into Heaven, and is seated at the right hand of the Father (Mark 16:19). Believers hope in the authority of Jesus, trusting He will redeem all He allows. The king’s seat of honor was a seed of hope for Judean exiles, too. After the concise but comprehensive account of the destruction and deportation of the city of Jerusalem, king, leadership, people, and temple (1-30), we read of king Jehoiachin’s release from prison and placement in the “seat of honor” in Babylon (31-34). The reviving of the king would have also revived the hope of Judah- God will release them from prison, too! Suffering was not the end of the story (2 Chronicles 36) and the devastation was not a dead end (2 Kings 25). Believers know the seat of honor for our King is a seed of hope- God is faithful to His promises. The historical sweep of Jeremiah’s ministry is astounding: Called in 627 BC, serving through exile of the Southern Kingdom and the destruction of the temple (597 BC), to the king’s release (560 BC). The long-suffering service of the prophet concludes with a historical hope for us today. Jesus Christ is a greater prophet who suffered unto death, He went into exile to atone for our sins. King Jesus was released from the grave (33AD) and ascended into Heaven, seated at the Father’s right hand. Christ’s seat of honor today is our seed of hope for tomorrow! Richly Dwelling -What stands out to you from today’s reading, especially in regards to the conclusion? -Where is your hope during hard times? Do you rest your hope on Christ’s seat of honor? -How can you refocus and reorient your hope to rest on Christ alone? Do you trust He will return, redeem all He allows, and execute vengeance on His enemies? He will! Key Verse 31 And in the thirty-seventh year of the exile of Jehoiachin king of Judah, in the twelfth month, on the twenty-fifth day of the month, Evil-merodach king of Babylon, in the year that he began to reign, graciously freed Jehoiachin king of Judah and brought him out of prison.32 And he spoke kindly to him and gave him a seat above the seats of the kings who were with him in Babylon.  When all the nation had finished passing over the Jordan, the Lord said to Joshua, 2 “Take twelve men from the people, from each tribe a man, 3 and command them, saying, ‘Take twelve stones from here out of the midst of the Jordan, from the very place where the priests' feet stood firmly, and bring them over with you and lay them down in the place where you lodge tonight.’”4 Then Joshua called the twelve men from the people of Israel, whom he had appointed, a man from each tribe. 5 And Joshua said to them, “Pass on before the ark of the Lord your God into the midst of the Jordan,and take up each of you a stone upon his shoulder, according to the number of the tribes of the people of Israel,6 that this may be a sign among you. When your children ask in time to come, ‘What do those stones mean to you?’ 7 then you shall tell them that the waters of the Jordan were cut off before the ark of the covenant of the Lord. When it passed over the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan were cut off. So these stones shall be to the people of Israel a memorial forever.”
8 And the people of Israel did just as Joshua commanded and took up twelve stones out of the midst of the Jordan, according to the number of the tribes of the people of Israel, just as the Lord told Joshua. And they carried them over with them to the place where they lodged and laid them down there. 9 And Joshua set up twelve stones in the midst of the Jordan, in the place where the feet of the priests bearing the ark of the covenant had stood; and they are there to this day. 10 For the priests bearing the ark stood in the midst of the Jordan until everything was finished that the Lord commanded Joshua to tell the people, according to all that Moses had commanded Joshua. The people passed over in haste. 11 And when all the people had finished passing over, the ark of the Lord and the priests passed over before the people. 12 The sons of Reuben and the sons of Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh passed over armed before the people of Israel, as Moses had told them. 13 About 40,000 ready for war passed over before the Lord for battle, to the plains of Jericho. 14 On that day the Lord exalted Joshua in the sight of all Israel, and they stood in awe of him just as they had stood in awe of Moses, all the days of his life. 15 And the Lord said to Joshua, 16 “Command the priests bearing the ark of the testimony to come up out of the Jordan.” 17 So Joshua commanded the priests, “Come up out of the Jordan.” 18 And when the priests bearing the ark of the covenant of the Lord came up from the midst of the Jordan, and the soles of the priests' feet were lifted up on dry ground, the waters of the Jordan returned to their place and overflowed all its banks, as before. 19 The people came up out of the Jordan on the tenth day of the first month, and they encamped at Gilgal on the east border of Jericho. 20 And those twelve stones, which they took out of the Jordan, Joshua set up at Gilgal. 21 And he said to the people of Israel, “When your children ask their fathers in times to come, ‘What do these stones mean?’ 22 then you shall let your children know, ‘Israel passed over this Jordan on dry ground.’ 23 For the Lord your God dried up the waters of the Jordan for you until you passed over, as the Lord your God did to the Red Sea, which he dried up for us until we passed over,24 so that all the peoples of the earth may know that the hand of the Lord is mighty, that you may fear the Lord your God forever.” Meditation Whether it is William’s famous hymn Guide Me, O Thou Great Jehovah or Bunyan’s classic book Pilgrim’s Progress, God’s people celebrate life as pilgrims remembering His faithfulness on the journey into His promises. “Come up” is the central command of Joshua (16, 17, 18, 19) and a central theme of God’s people in the Old Testament. This is distinctive language for Jacob’s family journeying from Egypt (Genesis 45:25) and Israel’s exodus from Egypt (seen in Exodus 3, 17, 32, and 33). As Israel is entering the promised land, “come up” is a reinforced thread in the strong rope of God’s covenant faithfulness leading Israel to the fulfillment of God’s promises. Bookending this chapter is the placement of memorial stones, explained as reminders of God’s faithfulness for the next generation (1-7, 21-24). When “all the peoples of the earth” saw God’s miracle of stacking the waters to heaven they would recognize God’s power (24). When Israel saw the twelve memorial stones, they had opportunity to explain God’s faithfulness to His promises (especially the children). Coming into God’s promises necessitates we remember God’s faithfulness in the journey. God’s grace filled shepherding care guides believers to the promised land of the fullness of His blessings in Jesus. Jesus says, “come,” and believers “come up” into the blessings of Jesus by faith and “remember” through the sacraments. In Christ Jesus there is abundance of His covenant faithfulness: love, life, mercy, and the fruit of the Spirit. Let us remember God’s faithfulness that has led us to come into Christ! Richly Dwelling -Do you see the sandwich, God’s memorial to remember His faithfulness on either end of this chapter, and command to come, as the meat in the middle? What does this tell you about the invitation of the Lord to come into the fullness of His blessings? -Do you remember and celebrate God’s faithfulness in your pilgrim journey? If not, do you think this reflects a lack of dependency on Him? -How can you “come” into more of the fullness of blessing in Jesus for you? Key Verse 17 So Joshua commanded the priests, “Come up out of the Jordan.” |
AuthorMitchell celebrates twenty-six years of marriage with Lisa & together they have four fantastic children. Archives
February 2026
|
RSS Feed