King James Bible Study – [And when he had called the people unto him with his disciples also, he said unto them, Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. – Mark 8:34]
Date: Friday, March 29, 2024
Chapters: Joshua Chapters 22-24
Message: Your Journey
Hello My Friend,
Before I started reading the chapters for today, this passage came to mind, [Genesis 49:8-12 Judah, thou art he whom thy brethren shall praise: thy hand shall be in the neck of thine enemies; thy father’s children shall bow down before thee. 9 Judah is a lion’s whelp: from the prey, my son, thou art gone up: he stooped down, he couched as a lion, and as an old lion; who shall rouse him up? 10 The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto him shall the gathering of the people be. 11 Binding his foal unto the vine, and his ass’s colt unto the choice vine; he washed his garments in wine, and his clothes in the blood of grapes: 12 His eyes shall be red with wine, and his teeth white with milk.]
This probably should have come to my mind a few days ago as Jesus fulfilled this prophecy when He came into Jerusalem just a few days before His passion, [Matthew 21:1-2 And when they drew nigh unto Jerusalem, and were come to Bethphage, unto the mount of Olives, then sent Jesus two disciples, 2 Saying unto them, Go into the village over against you, and straightway ye shall find an ass tied, and a colt with her: loose them, and bring them unto me.]
Jesus, definitely washed His garments in wine and His clothes in the blood of grapes in that He not only took the stripes as one who had broken the Law, He also died as one who had broken the Law. One of the men who hung on his own cross for crimes that he committed even admitted that Jesus was innocent, [Luke 23:39-43 And one of the malefactors which were hanged railed on him, saying, If thou be Christ, save thyself and us. 40 But the other answering rebuked him, saying, Dost not thou fear God, seeing thou art in the same condemnation? 41 And we indeed justly; for we receive the due reward of our deeds: but this man hath done nothing amiss. 42 And he said unto Jesus, Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom. 43 And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, To day shalt thou be with me in paradise.]
Of course, Jesus, did tell the man that he would be with Him paradise, indicating that he would be saved from hell and get to be with Him in His Kingdom. Many people are observing this day as the day that Jesus died on the cross, but few understand the purpose, [Romans 5:8-9 But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. 9 Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him.]
As we come to the end of the reading of Joshua, all the tribes had been given their portion of land and rest from war. Joshua, did not forget that the Reubenites, Gadites, and the other half of the tribe of Manasseh had their land on the other side of the Jordan, awaiting them. So, he blessed them and sent them home.
[Joshua 22:1-5 Then Joshua called the Reubenites, and the Gadites, and the half tribe of Manasseh, 2 And said unto them, Ye have kept all that Moses the servant of the LORD commanded you, and have obeyed my voice in all that I commanded you: 3 Ye have not left your brethren these many days unto this day, but have kept the charge of the commandment of the LORD your God. 4 And now the LORD your God hath given rest unto your brethren, as he promised them: therefore now return ye, and get you unto your tents, and unto the land of your possession, which Moses the servant of the LORD gave you on the other side Jordan. 5 But take diligent heed to do the commandment and the law, which Moses the servant of the LORD charged you, to love the LORD your God, and to walk in all his ways, and to keep his commandments, and to cleave unto him, and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul.]
[and to cleave unto him, and to serve him with all your heart] This is the key right here, one can say that they serve God, but they cannot serve Him if they are not stuck to Jesus like glue. Being stuck to Him like glue not only shows that we have a heart for serving Him, it also increases our faithfulness to Him, [Titus 3:8-9 This is a faithful saying, and these things I will that thou affirm constantly, that they which have believed in God might be careful to maintain good works. These things are good and profitable unto men. 9 But avoid foolish questions, and genealogies, and contentions, and strivings about the law; for they are unprofitable and vain.]
Anyone who is willing to compromise their faith by allowing worldly things or people in their lives in order to reach people with the Gospel are not getting any brownie points with God. Now, the world may not follow Christ, but they know who true Christians are by the trails they leave behind. As soon as the Reubenites, Gadites, and half tribe of Manasseh got over the Jordan they decided to build of all things an altar to make it known that they too were of the children of Israel.
[Joshua 22:9-12 And the children of Reuben and the children of Gad and the half tribe of Manasseh returned, and departed from the children of Israel out of Shiloh, which is in the land of Canaan, to go unto the country of Gilead, to the land of their possession, whereof they were possessed, according to the word of the LORD by the hand of Moses. 10 And when they came unto the borders of Jordan, that are in the land of Canaan, the children of Reuben and the children of Gad and the half tribe of Manasseh built there an altar by Jordan, a great altar to see to. 11 And the children of Israel heard say, Behold, the children of Reuben and the children of Gad and the half tribe of Manasseh have built an altar over against the land of Canaan, in the borders of Jordan, at the passage of the children of Israel. 12 And when the children of Israel heard of it, the whole congregation of the children of Israel gathered themselves together at Shiloh, to go up to war against them.]
[built there an altar by Jordan, a great altar to see to.] This altar was built up so high that anyone could see if from a distance. So, it did not take long before someone on the other side spotted this huge altar and caused an uproar among the people. What were they so angry about? They thought that this altar went against God.
[Joshua 22:16-19 Thus saith the whole congregation of the LORD, What trespass is this that ye have committed against the God of Israel, to turn away this day from following the LORD, in that ye have builded you an altar, that ye might rebel this day against the LORD? 17 Is the iniquity of Peor too little for us, from which we are not cleansed until this day, although there was a plague in the congregation of the LORD, 18 But that ye must turn away this day from following the LORD? and it will be, seeing ye rebel to day against the LORD, that to morrow he will be wroth with the whole congregation of Israel. 19 Notwithstanding, if the land of your possession be unclean, then pass ye over unto the land of the possession of the LORD, wherein the LORD’S tabernacle dwelleth, and take possession among us: but rebel not against the LORD, nor rebel against us, in building you an altar beside the altar of the LORD our God.]
[that to morrow he will be wroth with the whole congregation] They were more concerned about this bringing the wrath of God upon them than they were about their rebelling against God. They did have a point though, if being across the border kept them from serving God the correct way then they needed to get back over to the other side. All in all, the grass may be greener on the other side of fence, but if it leads you away from God, you better stay where you are, [Galatians 1:10 For do I now persuade men, or God? or do I seek to please men? for if I yet pleased men, I should not be the servant of Christ.]
I can understand their concern as none of us want to suffer more than we need to, especially when it is over something that something someone else did. Nevertheless, the Reubenites, Gadites, and half tribe of Manasseh insisted that they had it all wrong, the altar was not about their rebelling against God at all.
[Joshua 22:22-25 The LORD God of gods, the LORD God of gods, he knoweth, and Israel he shall know; if it be in rebellion, or if in transgression against the LORD, (save us not this day,) 23 That we have built us an altar to turn from following the LORD, or if to offer thereon burnt offering or meat offering, or if to offer peace offerings thereon, let the LORD himself require it; 24 And if we have not rather done it for fear of this thing, saying, In time to come your children might speak unto our children, saying, What have ye to do with the LORD God of Israel? 25 For the LORD hath made Jordan a border between us and you, ye children of Reuben and children of Gad; ye have no part in the LORD: so shall your children make our children cease from fearing the LORD.]
[The LORD God of gods, the LORD God of gods, he knoweth,] This is not a typo, it was meant to be repeated, God, knows the way that we take and we really do need to be careful that what we are doing to give honor to Him is actually something that He is okay with. I can understand that wanting to let people know that we are Christians, but we need to do it in a way that pleases God and not man. Jesus said it this way, [Matthew 23:3-5,13 All therefore whatsoever they bid you observe, that observe and do; but do not ye after their works: for they say, and do not. 4 For they bind heavy burdens and grievous to be borne, and lay them on men’s shoulders; but they themselves will not move them with one of their fingers. 5 But all their works they do for to be seen of men: they make broad their phylacteries, and enlarge the borders of their garments, 13 But woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye shut up the kingdom of heaven against men: for ye neither go in yourselves, neither suffer ye them that are entering to go in.]
Their intention was not to give atonement and offerings on this giant altar, but rather it be a witness that even though they were on the other side of the Jordan, they were still God’s people. They still wanted to give offerings to God on this thing, but only to give honor to Him as their fathers did before them.
[Joshua 22:28-30,34 Therefore said we, that it shall be, when they should so say to us or to our generations in time to come, that we may say again, Behold the pattern of the altar of the LORD, which our fathers made, not for burnt offerings, nor for sacrifices; but it is a witness between us and you. 29 God forbid that we should rebel against the LORD, and turn this day from following the LORD, to build an altar for burnt offerings, for meat offerings, or for sacrifices, beside the altar of the LORD our God that is before his tabernacle. 30 And when Phinehas the priest, and the princes of the congregation and heads of the thousands of Israel which were with him, heard the words that the children of Reuben and the children of Gad and the children of Manasseh spake, it pleased them. 34 And the children of Reuben and the children of Gad called the altar Ed: for it shall be a witness between us that the LORD is God.]
[it may be a witness between us…that your children may not say…Ye have no part in the LORD.] Their greatest fear was that world and other tribes would forget that they were on the other side and that God had forsaken them. We must never compare ourselves to others or feel the need to do something drastic in order to show others that we are Christians. The proof they say is in the pudding, in other words, our actions are what show Christ in us and not who we are, [Galatians 2:20 I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.]
Now, it may have seemed like all these things took place in matter of months, but it took about fourteen years for them to conquest the land and another seven to divide the nation among the nine and a half tribes. Joshua, was now a hundred and ten years old, so, he calls for the elders of Israel and all the officials.
[Joshua 23:4-8 Behold, I have divided unto you by lot these nations that remain, to be an inheritance for your tribes, from Jordan, with all the nations that I have cut off, even unto the great sea westward. 5 And the LORD your God, he shall expel them from before you, and drive them from out of your sight; and ye shall possess their land, as the LORD your God hath promised unto you. 6 Be ye therefore very courageous to keep and to do all that is written in the book of the law of Moses, that ye turn not aside therefrom to the right hand or to the left; 7 That ye come not among these nations, these that remain among you; neither make mention of the name of their gods, nor cause to swear by them, neither serve them, nor bow yourselves unto them: 8 But cleave unto the LORD your God, as ye have done unto this day.]
[for the LORD your God is he that hath fought for you.] We have no idea just how much God fights for us, all the good things that we are blessed to obtain, not to mention what evils He has kept from us. I will say this, we may struggle from time to time with famines, sickness, or death of our loved ones, but God really does intervene more than we realize, [Romans 8:35-37 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? 36 As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. 37 Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.]
It is actually very courageous to take the leap of faith and follow Christ to begin with, in fact, the bravest thing we will ever do is admit that we are a sinner and need Jesus Christ to save our soul. Once we take that leap of faith and are sincere in our walk with Christ, everything else will fall into place. However, be careful, while our good works through the Word of God do not save or keep us saved as we are saved by grace, they do serve a purpose. Once slip could bring us back into the world and even more suffering than we could ever imagine. Joshua goes on to warn them of this.
[Joshua 23:11-13,16 Take good heed therefore unto yourselves, that ye love the LORD your God. 12 Else if ye do in any wise go back, and cleave unto the remnant of these nations, even these that remain among you, and shall make marriages with them, and go in unto them, and they to you: 13 Know for a certainty that the LORD your God will no more drive out any of these nations from before you; but they shall be snares and traps unto you, and scourges in your sides, and thorns in your eyes, until ye perish from off this good land which the LORD your God hath given you. 16 When ye have transgressed the covenant of the LORD your God, which he commanded you, and have gone and served other gods, and bowed yourselves to them; then shall the anger of the LORD be kindled against you, and ye shall perish quickly from off the good land which he hath given unto you.]
[When ye have transgressed the covenant of the LORD your God,] This was not a matter of if, but when they would forsake God for these false gods among the nations that they did not drive off their portion of land. God, is well aware of who we are and what will befall us should we keep the world close by. This is why Jesus tells us that we cannot have it both ways, [Matthew 10:35-37 For I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter in law against her mother in law. 36 And a man’s foes shall be they of his own household. 37 He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.]
I think about this all the time in regards to my husband and mother, they tend to bicker a lot even though this is not really what Jesus is talking about. What He is saying is that people, in particular family members, have a big influence on our faithfulness to Him, this is why it is important that we not be yoked together with others of different faiths, even Christian based faiths. The journey we take from the second we receive Christ as our Saviour is what we will give an account to Him for. Now, an account is given of Israel’s journey to the promise land, all the way back to the promise that God had made to Abraham, and if you notice this is not Joshua saying these words, God, is the one speaking through him.
[Joshua 24:2-5,11,13 And Joshua said unto all the people, Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, Your fathers dwelt on the other side of the flood in old time, even Terah, the father of Abraham, and the father of Nachor: and they served other gods. 3 And I took your father Abraham from the other side of the flood, and led him throughout all the land of Canaan, and multiplied his seed, and gave him Isaac. 4 And I gave unto Isaac Jacob and Esau: and I gave unto Esau mount Seir, to possess it; but Jacob and his children went down into Egypt. 5 I sent Moses also and Aaron, and I plagued Egypt, according to that which I did among them: and afterward I brought you out. 11 And ye went over Jordan, and came unto Jericho: and the men of Jericho fought against you, the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Girgashites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites; and I delivered them into your hand. 13 And I have given you a land for which ye did not labour, and cities which ye built not, and ye dwell in them; of the vineyards and oliveyards which ye planted not do ye eat.]
[And I have given you a land for which ye did not labour,] Salvation is free, no one has to do anything to receive eternal life and get into heaven as Jesus did the work for us, [Romans 6:22-23 But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life. 23 For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.]
With that said, it is important that we have no other gods before us and we are serious about our faith. Joshua, points this out to the Israelites, [Joshua 24:14-16 Now therefore fear the LORD, and serve him in sincerity and in truth: and put away the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the flood, and in Egypt; and serve ye the LORD. 15 And if it seem evil unto you to serve the LORD, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD. 16 And the people answered and said, God forbid that we should forsake the LORD, to serve other gods;]
[And if it seem evil unto you to serve the LORD,] God, does not force anyone to choose Him or His Son, but if you do, then all He asks is that you do it His way. Just believing and living the way we please does no one any good, in fact, it makes things worse. Jesus said it this way, [Revelation 3:15-18 I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. 16 So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth. 17 Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked: 18 I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see.]
If we are going to choose Christ then we need to be committed to His Word one hundred percent, not when we feel like it, not when things are going well, but all the time or else the things of the world are going to be snares and traps for us. Joshua points this out to the Israelites.
[Joshua 24:19-24,26 And Joshua said unto the people, Ye cannot serve the LORD: for he is an holy God; he is a jealous God; he will not forgive your transgressions nor your sins. 20 If ye forsake the LORD, and serve strange gods, then he will turn and do you hurt, and consume you, after that he hath done you good. 21 And the people said unto Joshua, Nay; but we will serve the LORD. 22 And Joshua said unto the people, Ye are witnesses against yourselves that ye have chosen you the LORD, to serve him. And they said, We are witnesses. 23 Now therefore put away, said he, the strange gods which are among you, and incline your heart unto the LORD God of Israel. 24 And the people said unto Joshua, The LORD our God will we serve, and his voice will we obey. 26 And Joshua wrote these words in the book of the law of God, and took a great stone, and set it up there under an oak, that was by the sanctuary of the LORD.]
[and incline your heart unto the LORD God of Israel.] If we are going to choose Christ then we need to be committed to His Word one hundred percent, not when we feel like it, not when things are going well, but all the time or else the things of the world are going to be snares and traps for us, []
[Joshua wrote these words in the book of the law of God,] Everything that Moses as well as what Joshua had done and witnessed was added to the Law. Shortly after Joshua spoke to the people he passed away, and for a while things were right in Israel.
[Joshua 24:29-33 And it came to pass after these things, that Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of the LORD, died, being an hundred and ten years old. 30 And they buried him in the border of his inheritance in Timnathserah, which is in mount Ephraim, on the north side of the hill of Gaash. 31 And Israel served the LORD all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders that overlived Joshua, and which had known all the works of the LORD, that he had done for Israel. 32 And the bones of Joseph, which the children of Israel brought up out of Egypt, buried they in Shechem, in a parcel of ground which Jacob bought of the sons of Hamor the father of Shechem for an hundred pieces of silver: and it became the inheritance of the children of Joseph. 33 And Eleazar the son of Aaron died; and they buried him in a hill that pertained to Phinehas his son, which was given him in mount Ephraim.]
[And the bones of Joseph…buried they in Shechem,] I find it interesting that Joseph’s bones were buried in the place where his journey began. It is said that we but a tale that is told, it truly is important to number our days and use them wisely, [Psalms 90:9-12 For all our days are passed away in thy wrath: we spend our years as a tale that is told. 10 The days of our years are threescore years and ten; and if by reason of strength they be fourscore years, yet is their strength labour and sorrow; for it is soon cut off, and we fly away. 11 Who knoweth the power of thine anger? even according to thy fear, so is thy wrath. 12 So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom.]
Jesus Christ Revealed/Magnified: [Joshua 23:9-10 For the LORD hath driven out from before you great nations and strong: but as for you, no man hath been able to stand before you unto this day. 10 One man of you shall chase a thousand: for the LORD your God, he it is that fighteth for you, as he hath promised you.]
Today’s Prayer: God, It is comforting to know that even if I mess up you will not disown me, but I do not want to be a child that just gets to receive Your inheritance because I am one of Yours. While I know it is only by Your grace that I am saved and that nothing I do earns my salvation, I am willing to be the witness that so many can find rest through their trials by showing them Your Son in me. Lord, Lead me and guide me, teach me and walk with me, keep my heart tender, my eyes on You, and help me to be reminded that You are my rest, and peace through all tribulation. I ask these things in Your name, Jesus. Amen.
God Bless You, I am praying for you,
Christina
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