[Originally posted in a WhatsApp group (SSEU), a reading update (reflection) from one chapter of the Bible a day]
πππβππΈ ππ‘:ππ‘-ππ
"When
they finished apportioning the land for inheritance by its borders, the sons of
Israel gave an inheritance in their midst to Joshua the son of Nun. In
accordance with the command of the LORD they gave him the city for which he
asked, Timnath-serah in the hill country of Ephraim. So he built the city and
settled in it."
This
chapter is about the distribution of inheritance. At last, Joshua got a special
inheritance! However, not because he was a supreme leader, but because of what
he did in the past as an ordinary guy. Caleb and Joshua got a special
inheritance! A nice reminder. Faithfulness always pays here on earth and the
kingdom to come.
What
a stark contrast recorded here. Normally people expect (legitimately or
illegitimately) that CEOs, Presidents, etc., have better salaries, facilities,
etc. for the positions they serve.
Well,
Joshua's special inheritance was not given because of his extraordinary
leadership at the top level, but because of his extraordinary service when he
was an ordinary soldier!
Something
to chew on!
ππ π€ππ¦π ππ:π
"He
shall dwell in that city until he stands before the congregation for judgment,
until the death of the one who is high priest in those days. Then the manslayer
shall return to his own city and to his own house, to the city from which he
fled."
No
mob justice. No vigilante. No clan justice. No revenge. God has ordained
rulers, civil government, and authorities, to administer justice in a society.
They will never be perfect, but God ordains them to administer, not us, common
people, the public. They will never be perfect, but God will bring perfect
justice in His own way and time, trust Him.
Rather,
the Scriptures command us to pray for them. The Scriptures assure us that their
hearts are controlled by God. Moreover, the Scriptures reveal that prayer is
the means of how God accomplishes many things in life.
If
the high priest dies within a month, the killer is lucky; he can go back to
normal life. If the high priest continues to live, the killer has to live in
exile. Sounds unfair? But that's ordained by God. And again, reminding us that
Vengeance is not ours, it's God.
πππβππΈ ππ:ππ
"Not
one of the good promises which the LORD had made to the house of Israel failed;
all came to pass."
Good
promises, all of them didn't fail; all were fulfilled.
God
is a promise-maker. Eh! A good promise-maker. Eh, never a promise-breaker.
Certainly not promises-breaker (plural).
He
is a promise keeper, a good promise-keeper. The good promises-keeper!
What
about this: The good promises maker keeper is Yahweh! π
πππβππΈ ππ:ππ
"When
the sons of Israel heard of it, the whole congregation of the sons of Israel
gathered themselves at Shiloh to go up against them in war."
They
stood with each other [together] to drive out the heathens. These 3 tribes left
their families behind to fight for the cause of [the other 10 tribes of]
Israel. They had just come back from that military campaign.
And
now another war, not against the enemies but within [themselves, Israelites] is
looming. Well, in this case, it's more positive because they were concerned
about the purity of doctrine that Yahweh alone is God and He alone is to be
worshipped. They contended is that there shouldn't be any other altar of
worship!
In
response, that altar wasn't even to worship Yahweh but to witness Yahweh is
God. Not every conflict in a Christian community is a bad one.
πππβππΈ ππ:π-π, ππ-ππ
6-7
"Be very firm, then, to ππππ‘ πππ ππ πππ π₯πππ₯ ππ€ π¨π£ππ₯π₯ππ ππ π₯ππ ππ π π π π π₯ππ πππ¨ π π ππ π€ππ€, so that you may not turn aside from it to the right
hand or to the left, so that you will not ππ€π€π ππππ₯π π¨ππ₯π π₯πππ€π πππ₯ππ ππ€, these which remain among you, or mention the name of
their gods, or make anyone swear by them, or serve them, or bow down to
them."
☝️πYou either Live with the Book or Live with the World.
11-12
"So take diligent heed to yourselves to ππ π§π πππ ππβπ» ππ π¦π£ πΎπ π. For if you
ever go back and βππππ ππ πππ βππ€π₯ ππ ππππ€π βππ₯ππ ππ€, these which remain among you, and intermarry with
them, so that you associate with them and they with you."
☝️π You either Love God or Love the World!
No
neutral ground. Every ground we stand, though looks still, is as the rotation
of the earth (rotating but never seeming so), we are weighing on one of its
sides.
πππβππΈ ππ:ππ
"The
LORD drove out from before us all the peoples, even the Amorites who lived in
the land. We πππ€π will serve the LORD, for He is our God."
"Also" that's an interesting word. They also wanted to follow because Joshua
had announced his intention to follow Yahweh. And they did follow Yahweh
imitating Joshua, but after he died, they stopped following.
A
leader who has charisma, charm, and soothing words, attracts a lot of
superficial crowds. Once the leader is gone, so is the crowd. Well, this is not
a criticism of Joshua's leadership, but about the reality of the superficial
crowd. Jesus had lots. Sometimes Jesus ran away from such crowd! Sad is he who
has such crowd surrounding him!
That's one of the reasons why I don't trust compliments or criticisms of most people. We need only a few good people! One writer said that it's impossible to have 3 best friends, 2 friends are too many, and one is enough! Hmmm!