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The true meaning of David and Goliath
This is, I would suggest, unfortunately, one of the most misinterpreted passages in all the Bible. The story is typically told like this: little David slayed Goliath. You can slay the giants in your life…
Created about 1 month ago
1 Samuel 17:10 (ESV), 1 Samuel 17:11 (ESV), 1 Samuel 17:12 (ESV), 1 Samuel 17:32 (ESV)
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"But I will be with you"
Gideon is shocked at this unexpected conversation and terrified at the prospect of leading Israelite out from under the Midianites. And how does God respond? "But I will be with you." God promises his…
Created 2 months ago
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Clever deception
The Israelites had been commanded explicitly notto make a covenant with local peoples. If a group was from far off and wanted to surrender, their lives would be spared. But peoples in the land were not…
Created 2 months ago
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Irony of sin
Core to our sin is the foundational belief that God is not good and is somehow holding out on us. That was true for Achan who thought God was holding out by prohibiting the Israelites from taking the…
Created 2 months ago
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Reader's advantage
Verse 1 of chapter 7 is what we call "the reader's advantage." That is, we know we are told up front what the characters in the story - Joshua and his men - do not know. Here's an example: when watching…
Created 2 months ago
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Foreshadowing
This is what I like to call "foreshadowing." What unfolds with Achan is explicitly prohibited before they enter Jericho.
Created 2 months ago
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An unusual battle plan
When an army has a city surrounded and no one can enter or leave the city, it's only a matter of time before that city falls. Eventually, given enough time, supplies will run thin in the city. But that…
Created 2 months ago
Joshua 6:1 (ESV), Joshua 6:2 (ESV), Joshua 6:3 (ESV), Joshua 6:4 (ESV), Joshua 6:5 (ESV)
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Pre-incarnate Christ
Who is this guy, the commander of the Lord's army, who shows to Joshua? It is, I believe, a pre-incarnate Christ. It is the 2nd person of the Trinity, the Son. Two important notes from this passage:Joshua…
Created 2 months ago
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God's provision
For forty years the people ate the manna that God provided. And now, having crossed over the Jordan, they eat the produce of the land: an incredible treat after 40 years of manna. And so the manna ends…
Created 2 months ago
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Lying is not ok
Rahab's lie is often appealed to as proof that there is such a thing as a "good lie" when intentions are right. This is not proof that lying is ever acceptable. Rather, it is proof that God, in his sovereignty,…
Created 2 months ago
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God's presence with Joshua
The strength and ability to lead Israel was rooted in a single promise: God's promise to be with Joshua. Like Joshua, we are never called to just go out on our own to do something, we are empowered by…
Created 2 months ago
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Prepared for the job
Throughout Exodus, Numbers and Deuteronomy we see how God was preparing Joshua for this job - to take the lead of Israel. He spent time with Moses inside the tent of meeting. He went up on the mountain…
Created 2 months ago
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Earned a Badge — Shared a Reading Plan
2012-03-13
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the reason for Sabbath
In the Exodus account of the 10 Commandments, Moses roots the Sabbath command in creation. Here in Deuteronomy, Moses instead roots it in God's deliverance from Egypt.
Created 3 months ago
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the Covenant is for us
Moses makes a profound statement here: the covenant is not for our fathers, but for us. The whole generation that had been at Sinai was dead. And yet, Moses highlights the perpetual nature of the covenant…
Created 3 months ago
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Contend against Moses, contend against the Lord
Fascinating language here implying that to contend against Moses and Aaron was to contend against the Lord himself. As Moses and Aaron were his chosen men to lead Israel, questioning their leadership…
Created 3 months ago
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Book of the Wars of the Lord
The Book of the Wars of the Lord is just one of several explicit references in the Bible to non-biblical texts. In this case, the Book of the Wars of the Lord has been lost to history. Though some theories…
Created 3 months ago
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Earned a Badge — 21-Day Challenge
2012-02-24
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Land - the blessing of the covenant
Each of the biblical covenants are accompanied by two promises of future blessing: land and people. Here in Leviticus 25, the promise of land comes into focus. If the people are faithful to obey God's…
Created 3 months ago
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NOT a seed of the woman
We have here in Leviticus 24 an interesting story about a guy who curses the name of the Lord. Intriguing about this story is that Moses describes the guy as being the son of an Israelite woman and an…
Created 3 months ago
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"I am the Lord"
It's fascinating to me how many times this expression - "I am the Lord" - appears in these verses. God roots his law and commandments for his people in his own identity. The Israelites' call to obedience…
Created 3 months ago
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Generous heart
In the collection to build the tabernacle, we encounter these phrases: "whoever is of a generous heart" (vs 5) "everyone whose spirit moved him" (vs 21) "all who were of a willing heart (vs 22) "whose…
Created 4 months ago
Exodus 35:5 (ESV), Exodus 35:21 (ESV), Exodus 35:22 (ESV), Exodus 35:29 (ESV)
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Shining in the presence of God
"Moses did not know that the skin of his face shone because he had been talking with God." Does your face shine because you have been talking with God? Does mine?
Created 4 months ago
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Rest, even when times are busy
I, so often, have this way of justifying my busyness. There is a lot to do. It's just for a season and then things will calm down again. They never calm down. And God knows that, which is, precisely,…
Created 4 months ago
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Set apart
God's people was to be set apart. They were not to enter into covenants with these other peoples. They were not to intermarry with them. And why? Because if they did, they were sure to whore themselves…
Created 4 months ago
Exodus 34:12 (ESV), Exodus 34:13 (ESV), Exodus 34:14 (ESV), Exodus 34:15 (ESV), Exodus 34:16 (ESV)
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Milk and honey
Imagine how luxurious milk and honey must have sounded to the Israelites who were 1) just out of slavery in Egypt which is, by the way, a desert and 2) they spent 40 years wandering around the wilderness…
Created 4 months ago
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Consequence #4, the most severe
There are four major direct consequences for the sin of worshiping the golden calf. The first three are physical consequences. The fourth is more severe than the first three put together: "I will not…
Created 4 months ago
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Earned a Badge — Shared a Bible Reference
2012-01-19
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Earned a Badge — Created 100 [Public] Notes
2012-01-08
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Earned a Badge — Created 10 [Public] Notes
2012-01-01
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Earned a Badge — Created First [Public] Note
2012-01-01
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Earned a Badge — Subscribed to First Reading Plan
2011-12-24
