Reading With the People of God #7 CommitmentSample

Memorization Challenge:

6 Be strong and courageous, for you are the one who will lead these people to possess all the land I swore to their ancestors I would give them. 7 Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the instructions Moses gave you. Do not deviate from them, turning either to the right or to the left. Then you will be successful in everything you do. 8 Study this Book of Instruction continually. Meditate on it day and night so you will be sure to obey everything written in it. Only then will you prosper and succeed in all you do. 9 This is my command—be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid or discouraged. For the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.” (Joshua 1:6-9 NLT)

Reading Primer:

Psalms 60 - His Banner

David wrote Psalm 60 after he had defeated his enemies in a great battle. It is believed that events in II Samuel 8 and I Chronicles 18 inspired this Psalm. Now, he must win the victory after he has won the battle. David and his army triumphed over their enemies in a great battle, but he may not let his guard down. The enemy is always lurking, seeking his demise and his kingdom. Victory only really comes when his last enemy is conquered. Only God can win that battle.

In verse four, David writes of a raised banner, alluding to Exodus 17:15-16, where God is given the name Yahweh Nissi, “The Lord is my Banner.” God won the battle for the Israelites when Moses raised his hands, holding God's staff over the battle below. David acknowledges that only God can bring lasting peace and safety to those united under His standard. What is that standard? Christ is our banner, our rallying point. Many are familiar with the song, “Faith is the Victory,” our faith must be anchored in Christ, who is the great victor over sin, hell, and the grave.

Psalm 61 - The Rock

In Psalm 61:2, we find the verse that inspired the well-known song “Lead Me to the Rock.”

“Why don't you lead me to that Rock that is higher than I
Oh lead me, yes Lord lead me
Why don't you lead me to that Rock that is higher than I
Thou hast been a shelter for me”

What is that Rock? Jesus is the Rock in the wilderness that brought the saving water of life to the wanderers in the wilderness. He is the stone the builders rejected, the chief Cornerstone, and the Rock of our Salvation.

Joshua 17 - Taking Territory

In this chapter, we feel sorry for Joshua. The Israelites fought the Canaanites for seven years but did not fully rid the land of them. Now Joshua is allotting Promised Land territory to each tribe and getting a lot of pushback in this chapter from the tribes descended from Joseph: Ephraim and Manasseh. They want more land, better land, a land without struggle.

They are afraid to move into the land Joshua is assigning to them because the Canaanites have iron chariots. Iron was a new development at this time, but Israel did not have iron until much later because the nation that had it kept it as a monopoly. It wasn't until King David’s reign, when he broke the power of the Philistines, that Israel gained the knowledge of iron-making. It’s interesting that Israel did not have chariots until King Solomon’s time.

The complaints heard from Ephraim and Manasseh remind me of the 10 Israelite spies who came back from their spy mission and complained that they were “grasshoppers” compared to the Canaanites. They only saw the world through their own eyes; they were walking by sight, not by faith. They forgot what God did to Egypt’s army, to its horses and its chariots(Deuteronomy 11:4), when Israel had no army at all.

Earlier, Joshua met the commander of the army of the Lord (Joshua 5:13- 15). Many believe Joshua met the pre-incarnate Christ because the commander allowed Joshua to bow to him. Joshua was given the same command that Moses received at the burning bush. When we see Jesus as the Commander of the Hosts of Heaven, the One to whom every knee will bow, the One to whom God gave all authority in Heaven and on earth, who shall we fear if we are with Him, in the Lord’s army. We walk by faith, not by sight. II Corinthians 5:7

I Peter 1 - From Everlasting Thou Art God

When Jesus was still with His disciples, before His ascension, He gave Peter two directives:

1. Feed My Sheep (John 21:15-17)
2. Strengthen the brethren (Luke 22:32).

In his ministry and his letters, Peter devoted his life to doing just that. This first chapter of Peter’s first letter is weighty and wonderful. He emphasizes the hope and marvelous inheritance we have in Christ, which is imperishable and undefiled.

He also sets out to encourage those who are suffering because they have embraced the Christian faith in a world hostile to those who do not hold to polytheism and idol worship. Peter understands he is suffering too and will soon be martyred.

The verse that always calls to me in this chapter is verse 20,

“He was foreknown before the foundation of the world but was made manifest in these last days for the sake of you.”

He was foreknown means that the redemption of mankind through faith was already settled in the Godhead and it was determined that the second person in the Trinity would be the Redeemer. Before the foundation of the world means before the creation account in Genesis, which implies that the world was created for the purpose of the redemption story.

From Genesis through Revelation, that story of redemption plays out in the lives of God’s people. “...He was made manifest...for the sake of you.” Saints over the ages longed to see the day so often spoken of in Old Testament prophesies, and now the Messiah had come, and Peter had walked alongside Him. Now, sinners could be saved through faith in the Redeemer, who had already committed to save us before the foundation of the world was spoken into existence. Those last words always amaze me...“for the sake of you.”

- Jinet Troost, In Christ Alone, my Cornerstone.