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)

15 But if you refuse to serve the Lord, then choose today whom you will serve... But as for me and my family, we will serve the Lord.” (Joshua 24:15 NLT)

Reading Primer:

Psalm 67 - Praise Him

The Psalmist, in the first verse, is repeating Israel's beautiful priestly benediction found in Numbers 6:24-26. When God’s face shines upon you, He looks at you with favor and blessing. The core of the Psalm is calling the nations to praise God, which is surprising to those who see ancient Israel as insular and closed off.

Israel was always meant to be a beacon to the world. A light shone so brightly that the nations would acknowledge their God as the true God. The light was lit when God called Abraham to become the father of God’s chosen people. The promise in the covenant God made with Abraham in Genesis 12:2-3 said that Abraham would be blessed to be a blessing to all the peoples of the earth.

The blessing in the Abrahamic Covenant reaches far beyond Abraham and the nation of Israel because it is a promise of the Messiah who would come through Abraham and his offspring to bless the world. All who come to God through Jesus are brought in through the Abrahamic Covenant.

When Peter preached his dynamic sermon on the Day of Pentecost, he told his Jewish kinsmen, “You are heirs of the prophets and the covenant God made with your fathers. He said to Abraham, ‘Through your offspring, all the peoples of the earth will be blessed.’” Acts 3:25

In Paul’s letter to the Galatians in 3:8, he wrote to Gentiles, “Scripture foresaw that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, and announced the gospel in advance to Abraham: “All nations will be blessed through you.”

The Psalmist foresaw the beautiful praise of the nations due Almighty God as He oversaw and fulfilled that ancient covenant through His Son, the Savior of the world, and the blessing of all nations.

Joshua 21 - The Lord is our Inheritance

Joshua had allotted all of the tribes their land except the Levites, Israel's spiritual leaders. God’s purpose was that the Levites descended from Moses’ brother Aaron, the first High Priest in Israel, should live among all the people. One might think these spiritual leaders should be set apart, given a special territory, perhaps isolated like monks in a monastery. But God’s plan had the Levites evenly dispersed among the tribes, living and working with them.

The Levites were told that God was their inheritance and serving Him was their reward. They were to be in the world but not of it. Yet, their very presence amid the people was a daily reminder of God’s presence among His chosen people. The Levites were to act as salt and light in their world.

Jesus is our High Priest (Hebrews 7:17), and He came to live among the people, becoming one with them. I Peter 2:9 says of Christians, “But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His wonderful light.”

May we, like the Levites of old, be salt and light in our world, ever reminding those around us of God's presence.

II Peter 1 - The Word More Certain

This chapter is rich. It might be said that Peter packs a peck of powerful truth in one chapter, so take your time reading and meditating on each verse.

I will focus on verses 16-21 because they have long inspired me. Peter refers to Christ’s transfiguration in verses 16 and 17; he is an eyewitness who hears the voice from heaven. He experienced the beauty of the transformation as Jesus temporarily received the honor and glory that He had set aside when He took on the body of flesh. He heard God’s voice say that He loved, approved of, and honored Jesus. He saw Moses and Elijah and heard them talking to Jesus about His departure. He was there, an eyewitness. You may read about the transfiguration in Matthew 17 and Luke 9:28-36.

Here’s the part that drew me in. In verse 19, Peter says the Word of God is more certain than experience. The Words written by the prophets were not from the prophets but from God, in effect, an extension of God, delivered by the Holy Spirit. Peter is saying the entire Word of God is absolute and accurate, to be taken as God speaking to you, and more sure than man's experiences, emotions, or thoughts.

Peter was refuting false teachers who spoke of receiving special knowledge from God, having spiritual experiences, seeing visions, or talking to angels. Peter is saying nothing is more certain than the Word of God. Only the Scripture can be trusted to represent the mind and heart of God. We cannot interpret the Bible according to what we say we have experienced; it stands alone and may not be added to. And we have the Word made flesh who now lives in us by His Holy Spirit to help us apply the Living Word to our lives so that we may strive to be Christlike.

- In Him, Jinet Troost