Joshua 5 tells us some important things: In these things we see Israel transitioning from a wilderness people to a nation living in the land Yahweh was giving them. As God continued to provide for them, they responded by with a heart-felt observance of His covenant commands. Things were on track for them. As GodContinue reading “That’s the Story (1)”
Category Archives: Through the Bible in 1 Year
That’s the Story (2)
There are lots of lessons to learn from Joshua 6. Here are some of them: 1. The walls fell to servants, not lords. From beginning to end, God specified how He wanted everything to happen. Israel’s role was to carry out God’s commands. They weren’t in charge, He was. That is always the formula for victory.Continue reading “That’s the Story (2)”
New Territory
The book of Joshua reminds us of our Father’s faithfulness. Centuries before He had promised Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob He would give their descendants the land of Canaan and that’s exactly what we see transpire in the book of Joshua. Israel crossed over the Jordan and took possession of the land—just as God had promised!Continue reading “New Territory”
Sabotaging the Sabbath?
The Sabbath had a restorative function and purpose—all the texts point to this. No one was to engage in work—no one in the family, their servants, their animals, or the foreigner residing among them. Just think about life in a subsistence culture where a day’s work was of critical importance and you’ll have some ideaContinue reading “Sabotaging the Sabbath?”
Egypt in the Rear View Mirror
Exodus 13:17-22 is an interesting text. It does what we anticipate—it updates us on the progress of Israel leaving Egypt (they’ve gone from Sukkoth to Etham), but it is also functions as an addendum to supplement the ongoing narrative. As such, it tells us three important things. First, we learn why God led Israel onContinue reading “Egypt in the Rear View Mirror”
Ready to be Used
As we come to Exodus 3, an indeterminate amount of time has elapsed since Joseph’s family moved to Egypt. More important than this gap of time though is the change in leadership that had occurred. Egypt was no longer ruled by a faith friendly pharaoh. Instead, they were ruled by a pharaoh “to whom JosephContinue reading “Ready to be Used”
Celebrating Community
Do you recognize where these slogans come from? “Caring is part of our package.” “Find you family at . . . “ Did you guess Jack’s? If so, you only get partial credit because the business’s name is actually Jack’s Family Restaurants. In their branding as well as in their hiring, they want you to associateContinue reading “Celebrating Community”
Creating Community
As we move to Genesis 42, 13 years have passed since we were introduced to Joseph in chapter 37. Things are going well with him because the Lord has blessed him. He has risen from the ashes of his trials and tribulations to become second only to Pharaoh in Egypt (42:40). He has not beenContinue reading “Creating Community”
Doing Right
Joseph’s story begins in Genesis 37 and continues through the remainder of Genesis. It is a remarkable story to say the least. We’re introduced to Joseph when he was seventeen and thrown into a cistern by his brothers. Then he was trafficked by them to Midianite traders who sold him to Pharaoh’s captain of theContinue reading “Doing Right”
Broken but Blessed
Genesis 12-50 is full of the rich, personal stories of Abraham and his extended family (Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph). It is with them that redemption began to be fleshed out. The remainder of the book tracks the peaks and valleys of their lives in contrast to the singular and constant faithfulness of Yahweh in HisContinue reading “Broken but Blessed”
A Taste of Grace with Bruce Green 