Judges 11:29-15:20 Unity is a critical virtue in the Bible. Hypothetically it seems easy enough, but it is extremely hard to maintain. Who would have thought the divisions of contemporary America would exist like they do? We learn from a young age to argue over the smallest of things. Despite the divisions around us, God calls the church to be a place marked by unity. But it is difficult to mainta...  Read More

Judges 9:22-11:28 Throughout the book of Judges, we have seen the pattern of Israel rebelling against God, then crying out to God, and God providing a judge/deliverer who saves the people from their oppressors. In today's reading we see two moments where this pattern is not followed. When a pattern is broken in the Bible it is meant to capture our attention. Two leaders who do not follow the patte...  Read More

Judges 7:1-9:21 Gideon is such an interesting figure. He is a courageous leader who obeys God even amid impossible circumstances and at the same time he is filled with doubt, fear, and sin. In many ways he is just like us. One of the things we see through his life is God is the one who ultimately brings about deliverance. God winnows down the size of Gideon's army from 32,000 to 100. We are told G...  Read More

Judges 3:31-6:40 In our “pull yourselves up by your bootstraps” culture we tend to be slow to admit when we need help. This attitude of “I can do it on my own” has been around far before the sprouting of American individualism. We see this same mentality play out in Judges with disastrous consequences. In Judges 4 we see the Israelites under the rule of Jabin king of Canaan for a period of twenty ...  Read More

Judges 1:1-3:30 The book of Judges is a series of cycles where Israel turns to God out of difficulty, is delivered, then turns from God and is oppressed again. This pattern is laid out in Judges 2:16-23. During Israel's faithlessness, God raises up judges who will function as leaders over the various tribes. They are a mix of righteous, evil, wise, and foolish men and women who, even in their shor...  Read More

Joshua 22:1-24:33 We have reached the end of the book of Joshua and the end of Joshua's life. In a powerful speech, Joshua leaves the eastern tribes with the most important message they could hear—love God. This is reiterated by Jesus as the most important command, to love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength. We need to put this truth in front of ourselves every day and...  Read More

Joshua 19:49-21:45; 1 Chronicles 6:54-81 Much of the Old Testament is a shadow of the greater reality we find in Jesus. We see that in two ways in our reading today. The first is the idea of inheritance. Joshua is given an inheritance in the Promised Land for his role as a faithful leader over the people. Those in Christ are given an inheritance that exceeds significantly that of Joshua. Our inher...  Read More

Joshua 18:1-19:48 Unless you are a geography buff, you may find today's reading a tad tedious. The seven tribes who had not yet received their territories finally have their homes. What is interesting is they had to be commanded to go take their land! It seems that though Manassah, Reuben, Gad, Judah and Ephraim had already received their land, the remaining seven tribes were just sitting around, ...  Read More

Joshua 15:20-17:18 A quick read through Joshua 15-17 might lead us to believe that the Israelites have taken the whole of the Promised Land and are living in a type of paradise. Yet a few verses stick out and show us that things are not as they initially appear. Joshua 15:63 tells us that, "Judah could not dislodge the Jebusites." Joshua 16:10 says, "They did not dislodge the Canaanites...to this ...  Read More

Joshua 12:7-15:19 One universal human longing is the desire for home—a place to rest, to feel loved, and be known. The Israelites had spent 400 years in Egypt, then 40 years of wandering, and only now are beginning to find their home. They have made it into the Promised Land and tribe by tribe are allotted their residences. The cities and areas mentioned may seem unfamiliar to us, but they represe...  Read More

Joshua 10:1-12:6 The Southern kings felt that Joshua was becoming too powerful, so they went to war against the Israelites. During the battle, Joshua pleaded for God to make the sun stand still in the sky, and God did just that, creating a supernatural, never-before-seen event. He then defeated the southern and northern kings and their cities. God was faithful and provided for the Israelites when ...  Read More

Joshua 7:1; 1 Chronicles 2:7; Joshua 7:2-9:27 The Israelites’ first battle with Ai was met with a surprising defeat. The Lord told them all the land was theirs for the taking, but their 3,000 men were soundly beaten. After being defeated, they seek the Lord earnestly. What has gone wrong? God seemingly replies with the same lack of pity I feel when my kids are whiny or dramatic—“Stand up! What are...  Read More