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Proverbs 25

Greetings!

More Proverbs of Solomon

25     These are more proverbs of Solomon, copied by the men of Hezekiah king of Judah:

² It is the glory of God to conceal a matter;

to search out a matter is the glory of kings.

³ As the heavens are high and the earth is deep,

so the hearts of kings are unsearchable.

⁴ Remove the dross from the silver,

and out comes material for the silversmith;

⁵ remove the wicked from the king’s presence,

and his throne will be established through righteousness.

⁶ Do not exalt yourself in the king’s presence,

and do not claim a place among great men;

⁷ it is better for him to say to you, “Come up here,”

than for him to humiliate you before a nobleman.

What you have seen with your eyes

⁸ do not bring hastily to court,

for what will you do in the end

if your neighbor puts you to shame?

⁹ If you argue your case with a neighbor,

do not betray another man’s confidence,

¹⁰ or he who hears it may shame you

and you will never lose your bad reputation.

¹¹ A word aptly spoken

is like apples of gold in settings of silver.

¹² Like an earring of gold or an ornament of fine gold

is a wise man’s rebuke to a listening ear.

That is easy advice to give but tough to take.  Yet if I get wise criticism from others I am hurting myself to ignore it.  I find that it is easier to take “criticism” when reading it in books or the Bible, as it is less personal then.  I don’t get as defensive because I don’t have another human there to see my immediate reactions.

¹³ Like the coolness of snow at harvest time

is a trustworthy messenger to those who send him;

he refreshes the spirit of his masters.

¹⁴ Like clouds and wind without rain

is a man who boasts of gifts he does not give.

¹⁵ Through patience a ruler can be persuaded,

and a gentle tongue can break a bone.

¹⁶ If you find honey, eat just enough—

too much of it, and you will vomit.

¹⁷ Seldom set foot in your neighbor’s house—

too much of you, and he will hate you.

¹⁸ Like a club or a sword or a sharp arrow

is the man who gives false testimony against his neighbor.

¹⁹ Like a bad tooth or a lame foot

is reliance on the unfaithful in times of trouble.

God puts a high priority on honesty in regular life and in court.  Having a trusted friend is of great value.

²⁰ Like one who takes away a garment on a cold day,

or like vinegar poured on soda,

is one who sings songs to a heavy heart.

²¹ If your enemy is hungry, give him food to eat;

if he is thirsty, give him water to drink.

²² In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head,

and the Lord will reward you.

This advice runs counter to what the world will tell you.  Christianity (and at this time, Judaism) turns the world upside down, which is really to say it puts it back the way God intended it.

²³ As a north wind brings rain,

so a sly tongue brings angry looks.

²⁴ Better to live on a corner of the roof

than share a house with a quarrelsome wife.

People usually chuckle at that verse but consider its truth.  You could marry an extremely attractive person, but how wise is that if they treat you poorly or are unfaithful? 

²⁵ Like cold water to a weary soul

is good news from a distant land.

²⁶ Like a muddied spring or a polluted well

is a righteous man who gives way to the wicked.

²⁷ It is not good to eat too much honey,

nor is it honorable to seek one’s own honor.

²⁸ Like a city whose walls are broken down

is a man who lacks self-control.

Self control is a key success factor in life.  You’ll do and say far fewer stupid things which cause pain for yourself and others.  And seeking glory for ourselves usually turns out badly.

 The Holy Bible : New International Version. 1996, c1984. Grand Rapids: Zondervan.

Psalm 69

Greetings!

Psalm 69

¹ Save me, O God,

for the waters have come up to my neck.

² I sink in the miry depths,

where there is no foothold.

I have come into the deep waters;

the floods engulf me.

³ I am worn out calling for help;

my throat is parched.

My eyes fail, looking for my God.

⁴ Those who hate me without reason

outnumber the hairs of my head;

many are my enemies without cause,

those who seek to destroy me.

God knows the number of hairs on our head and He knows all about our enemies.

I am forced to restore

what I did not steal.

⁵ You know my folly, O God;

my guilt is not hidden from you.

⁶ May those who hope in you

not be disgraced because of me,

O Lord, the Lord Almighty;

may those who seek you

not be put to shame because of me,

O God of Israel.

David knows he is a sinner, just as all of us are.  Our righteousness is found in Jesus, not in ourselves.  I also pray that the bad things I do and say won’t disgrace God and his message.

⁷ For I endure scorn for your sake,

and shame covers my face.

⁸ I am a stranger to my brothers,

an alien to my own mother’s sons;

⁹ for zeal for your house consumes me,

and the insults of those who insult you fall on me.

As Christians we’ll be mocked for our faith, but we can trust that God knows all and that He (and we!) will win in the end. 

Zeal for God’s house should consume us as well.

¹⁰ When I weep and fast,

I must endure scorn;

¹¹ when I put on sackcloth,

people make sport of me.

¹² Those who sit at the gate mock me,

and I am the song of the drunkards.

¹³ But I pray to you, O Lord,

in the time of your favor;

in your great love, O God,

answer me with your sure salvation.

¹⁴ Rescue me from the mire,

do not let me sink;

deliver me from those who hate me,

from the deep waters.

¹⁵ Do not let the floodwaters engulf me

or the depths swallow me up

or the pit close its mouth over me.

¹⁶ Answer me, O Lord, out of the goodness of your love;

in your great mercy turn to me.

¹⁷ Do not hide your face from your servant;

answer me quickly, for I am in trouble.

¹⁸ Come near and rescue me;

redeem me because of my foes.

¹⁹ You know how I am scorned, disgraced and shamed;

all my enemies are before you.

²⁰ Scorn has broken my heart

and has left me helpless;

I looked for sympathy, but there was none,

for comforters, but I found none.

²¹ They put gall in my food

and gave me vinegar for my thirst.

²² May the table set before them become a snare;

may it become retribution and a trap.

²³ May their eyes be darkened so they cannot see,

and their backs be bent forever.

²⁴ Pour out your wrath on them;

let your fierce anger overtake them.

²⁵ May their place be deserted;

let there be no one to dwell in their tents.

²⁶ For they persecute those you wound

and talk about the pain of those you hurt.

²⁷ Charge them with crime upon crime;

do not let them share in your salvation.

²⁸ May they be blotted out of the book of life

and not be listed with the righteous.

²⁹ I am in pain and distress;

may your salvation, O God, protect me.

³⁰ I will praise God’s name in song

and glorify him with thanksgiving.

³¹ This will please the Lord more than an ox,

more than a bull with its horns and hoofs.

God desires authentic worship and praise more than empty sacrifices.

³² The poor will see and be glad—

you who seek God, may your hearts live!

³³ The Lord hears the needy

and does not despise his captive people.

³⁴ Let heaven and earth praise him,

the seas and all that move in them,

³⁵ for God will save Zion

and rebuild the cities of Judah.

Then people will settle there and possess it;

³⁶ the children of his servants will inherit it,

and those who love his name will dwell there.

 The Holy Bible : New International Version. 1996, c1984. Grand Rapids: Zondervan.

Psalm 68

Greetings!  This psalm is about victory and celebration. 

Psalm 68

¹ May God arise, may his enemies be scattered;

may his foes flee before him.

² As smoke is blown away by the wind,

may you blow them away;

as wax melts before the fire,

may the wicked perish before God.

³ But may the righteous be glad

and rejoice before God;

may they be happy and joyful.

⁴ Sing to God, sing praise to his name,

extol him who rides on the clouds—

his name is the Lord—

and rejoice before him.

⁵ A father to the fatherless, a defender of widows,

is God in his holy dwelling.

⁶ God sets the lonely in families,

he leads forth the prisoners with singing;

but the rebellious live in a sun-scorched land.

⁷ When you went out before your people, O God,

when you marched through the wasteland, Selah

⁸ the earth shook,

the heavens poured down rain,

before God, the One of Sinai,

before God, the God of Israel.

⁹ You gave abundant showers, O God;

you refreshed your weary inheritance.

¹⁰ Your people settled in it,

and from your bounty, O God, you provided for the poor.

¹¹ The Lord announced the word,

and great was the company of those who proclaimed it:

¹² “Kings and armies flee in haste;

in the camps men divide the plunder.

¹³ Even while you sleep among the campfires,

the wings of my dove are sheathed with silver,

its feathers with shining gold.”

¹⁴ When the Almighty scattered the kings in the land,

it was like snow fallen on Zalmon.

¹⁵ The mountains of Bashan are majestic mountains;

rugged are the mountains of Bashan.

¹⁶ Why gaze in envy, O rugged mountains,

at the mountain where God chooses to reign,

where the Lord himself will dwell forever?

¹⁷ The chariots of God are tens of thousands

and thousands of thousands;

the Lord has come from Sinai into his sanctuary.

¹⁸ When you ascended on high,

you led captives in your train;

you received gifts from men,

even from the rebellious—

that you, O Lord God, might dwell there.

My Life Application Study Bible pointed out how verse 18 is quoted in Ephesians 4:8 and is applied to the ministry of the acended Christ.  He won victory over evil and by having faith in him, so can we.

¹⁹ Praise be to the Lord, to God our Savior,

who daily bears our burdens. Selah

²⁰ Our God is a God who saves;

from the Sovereign Lord comes escape from death.

The Old Testament doesn’t have as many specific references to Heaven as the New Testament but there are many references to salvation and overcoming death.

²¹ Surely God will crush the heads of his enemies,

the hairy crowns of those who go on in their sins.

²² The Lord says, “I will bring them from Bashan;

I will bring them from the depths of the sea,

²³ that you may plunge your feet in the blood of your foes,

while the tongues of your dogs have their share.”

²⁴ Your procession has come into view, O God,

the procession of my God and King into the sanctuary.

²⁵ In front are the singers, after them the musicians;

with them are the maidens playing tambourines.

²⁶ Praise God in the great congregation;

praise the Lord in the assembly of Israel.

²⁷ There is the little tribe of Benjamin, leading them,

there the great throng of Judah’s princes,

and there the princes of Zebulun and of Naphtali.

²⁸ Summon your power, O God;

show us your strength, O God, as you have done before.

²⁹ Because of your temple at Jerusalem

kings will bring you gifts.

³⁰ Rebuke the beast among the reeds,

the herd of bulls among the calves of the nations.

Humbled, may it bring bars of silver.

Scatter the nations who delight in war.

³¹ Envoys will come from Egypt;

Cush will submit herself to God.

³² Sing to God, O kingdoms of the earth,

sing praise to the Lord, Selah

³³ to him who rides the ancient skies above,

who thunders with mighty voice.

³⁴ Proclaim the power of God,

whose majesty is over Israel,

whose power is in the skies.

³⁵ You are awesome, O God, in your sanctuary;

the God of Israel gives power and strength to his people.

Praise be to God!

The Holy Bible : New International Version. 1996, c1984. Grand Rapids: Zondervan.

Psalm 67

Greetings!  This short Psalm makes many references to how God is the God of all people, not just the Israelites.  They were the messengers of his salvation and the message is to go to all nations.  Sadly, many Jewish people didn’t pick up on that theme and many in the  church today ignore this.  They rationalize that all religions lead to God, but that isn’t a biblical theme at all.

Psalm 67

¹ May God be gracious to us and bless us

and make his face shine upon us, Selah

² that your ways may be known on earth,

your salvation among all nations.

³ May the peoples praise you, O God;

may all the peoples praise you.

⁴ May the nations be glad and sing for joy,

for you rule the peoples justly

and guide the nations of the earth. Selah

⁵ May the peoples praise you, O God;

may all the peoples praise you.

⁶ Then the land will yield its harvest,

and God, our God, will bless us.

⁷ God will bless us,

and all the ends of the earth will fear him.

The Holy Bible : New International Version. 1996, c1984. Grand Rapids: Zondervan.

Ephesians 6

Greetings!  This is one of my favorite books of the Bible. 

Children and Parents

6     Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. ² “Honor your father and mother”—which is the first commandment with a promise— ³ “that it may go well with you and that you may enjoy long life on the earth.”

⁴ Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord.

My youngest daughter likes to remind me of verse 4.  It is our jobs to teach them about Jesus and his message.  Sunday School classes and youth groups have a role but not the primary one. 

We must discipline and guide our children but not crush their spirits.  And we must live consistently with our professed beliefs.  We’ll all slip at times, but consistently acting one way at church and another at home will lead our kids into cynicism and away from faith. 

Do your children see you acting one way at church and another outside it?

Slaves and Masters

⁵ Slaves, obey your earthly masters with respect and fear, and with sincerity of heart, just as you would obey Christ. ⁶ Obey them not only to win their favor when their eye is on you, but like slaves of Christ, doing the will of God from your heart. ⁷ Serve wholeheartedly, as if you were serving the Lord, not men, ⁸ because you know that the Lord will reward everyone for whatever good he does, whether he is slave or free.

⁹ And masters, treat your slaves in the same way. Do not threaten them, since you know that he who is both their Master and yours is in heaven, and there is no favoritism with him.

That is very similar advice to what Paul gave in Colossians 3.

We often think that some people are the enemy, but ultimately the real enemy is Satan.  Some think he isn’t real but the Bible couldn’t be more clear.  He is not some cartoon character in red tights.  Neither is he behind every wrong thing we do.  But he exists and is doing everything he can to keep non-believers from Jesus and believers from being effective ambassadors for Christ.

The Armor of God

¹⁰ Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. ¹¹ Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. ¹² For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. ¹³ Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. ¹⁴ Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, ¹⁵ and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. ¹⁶ In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. ¹⁷ Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. ¹⁸ And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.

Notice how there is no covering for your back.  Never turn away from Satan and get complacent.  Neither do we attack him.  He is smarter and more powerful than we are and we are no match for him, unless we use the word of God as our sword.  Then we can stand up to him. We can resist him and he will flee from us (James 4:7).

¹⁹ Pray also for me, that whenever I open my mouth, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel, ²⁰ for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should.

Paul prayed for boldness to preach the Gospel, and we should do the same.

Final Greetings

²¹ Tychicus, the dear brother and faithful servant in the Lord, will tell you everything, so that you also may know how I am and what I am doing. ²² I am sending him to you for this very purpose, that you may know how we are, and that he may encourage you.

²³ Peace to the brothers, and love with faith from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. ²⁴ Grace to all who love our Lord Jesus Christ with an undying love.

 The Holy Bible : New International Version. 1996, c1984. Grand Rapids: Zondervan.

Ephesians 5

Greetings!

5     Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children ² and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.

“Imitators of God” is a tall order!  Only through the power of the Holy Spirit can we even consider such a thing.  May we keep an eternal perspective and seek to imitate him in all we do.

³ But among you there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity, or of greed, because these are improper for God’s holy people.

We rationalize all sorts of thoughts and behavior but verse 3 is timeless in setting a standard for us.  When in doubt we should ask, “is this even a hint?”  We live in such a sex-saturated culture that it is easy for Christians to be like the world.  May God keep us from temptation and failure in this area.

 ⁴ Nor should there be obscenity, foolish talk or coarse joking, which are out of place, but rather thanksgiving.

The 3rd Commandment says not to use the Lord’s name in vain, but v. 4 is more broad. 

 ⁵ For of this you can be sure: No immoral, impure or greedy person—such a man is an idolater—has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God. ⁶ Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of such things God’s wrath comes on those who are disobedient. ⁷ Therefore do not be partners with them.

V. 6 is one of many, many warnings of false teachers.  All paths do not lead to God.  There is one way: Through Jesus.  As v. 7 notes, we should not be partners with those who teach deception.

⁸ For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light ⁹ (for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth) ¹⁰ and find out what pleases the Lord. ¹¹ Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them. ¹² For it is shameful even to mention what the disobedient do in secret. ¹³ But everything exposed by the light becomes visible, ¹⁴ for it is light that makes everything visible. This is why it is said:

“Wake up, O sleeper, rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.”

¹⁵ Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, ¹⁶ making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. ¹⁷ Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is. ¹⁸ Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit.

 Do you make the most of every day to advance God’s kingdom?  It is so easy to get distracted with the “weeds” of the world.

I just listened to a thorough, extended sermon series by John MacArthur that covered verse 18.  He emphasized that the wine we drink is different than they generally used then (ours is served stronger) and that even if we have liberty to drink that it may not be the best choice. 

But under no circumstances should we become intoxicated.  Getting drunk leads to disorted views of the truth and bad decisions and behavior.  Pagan religions at the time thought that getting drunk brought you closer to God.  Paul teaches that the truth is the opposite.  We can’t be filled with alcohol and the Holy Spirit.

¹⁹ Speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord, ²⁰ always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

²¹ Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.

Wives and Husbands

²² Wives, submit to your husbands as to the Lord. ²³ For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is the Savior. ²⁴ Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything.

That passage is often misinterpreted to make Paul out to be a chauvinist.  But the next passage should put things in persepective.  Paul was probably just as controversial back then but for the opposite reasons.  Women were considered property and not treated well at all.  They couldn’t even testify in court.  But Paul teaches husbands to love their wives as Christ loved the church.  That was a radical notion!

²⁵ Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her ²⁶ to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, ²⁷ and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless. ²⁸ In this same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. ²⁹ After all, no one ever hated his own body, but he feeds and cares for it, just as Christ does the church— ³⁰ for we are members of his body. ³¹ “For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.” ³² This is a profound mystery—but I am talking about Christ and the church. ³³ However, each one of you also must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband.

If husbands loved their wives as much as their own bodies then that would make wives rejoice.  That wouldn’t be mistreatment of women at all.  Men are called to be leaders in the home.  There is nothing wrong with that.  But good leaders listen to people under their protection and authority.  A husband would be foolish to ignore his wife.  They are designed to complete each other.

That is another passage stating what should be obvious: God’s ideal for marriage is one man and one woman.  He created us that way.

The Holy Bible : New International Version. 1996, c1984. Grand Rapids: Zondervan.

Ephesians 4

Greetings!

Unity in the Body of Christ

4     As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. ² Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. ³ Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. ⁴ There is one body and one Spirit— just as you were called to one hope when you were called— ⁵ one Lord, one faith, one baptism; ⁶ one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.

Unity is such an important theme and such a big challenge.  The key is to ensure we’re unified on the essentials of the faith – the deity of Christ, the  Trinity, the physical resurrection, the exclusivity of Jesus (i.e., He is the only way to salvation), etc.  We don’t have to agree on every minor point.  And we should be humble and gentle with each other when disagreeing.  I’m convicted by that as I write this!

⁷ But to each one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it. ⁸ This is why it says:

“When he ascended on high, he led captives in his train and gave gifts to men.”

⁹ (What does “he ascended” mean except that he also descended to the lower, earthly regions? ¹⁰ He who descended is the very one who ascended higher than all the heavens, in order to fill the whole universe.) ¹¹ It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, ¹² to prepare God’s people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up ¹³ until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.

¹⁴ Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of men in their deceitful scheming. ¹⁵ Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ. ¹⁶ From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.

This is an area in the U.S. churches where so many have derailed.  They didn’t do the hard work of study and so they believe all sorts of the enemies lies — including the false idea that we can’t know what is true.  False teachers who say that the Bible supports abortion and oxymoronic “same sex marriage,” among other things.  People who teach the fake prosperity gospel.  And so many others.

Living as Children of Light

¹⁷ So I tell you this, and insist on it in the Lord, that you must no longer live as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their thinking. ¹⁸ They are darkened in their understanding and separated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardening of their hearts. ¹⁹ Having lost all sensitivity, they have given themselves over to sensuality so as to indulge in every kind of impurity, with a continual lust for more.

²⁰ You, however, did not come to know Christ that way. ²¹ Surely you heard of him and were taught in him in accordance with the truth that is in Jesus. ²² You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; ²³ to be made new in the attitude of your minds; ²⁴ and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.

²⁵ Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to his neighbor, for we are all members of one body. ²⁶ “In your anger do not sin”: Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, ²⁷ and do not give the devil a foothold. ²⁸ He who has been stealing must steal no longer, but must work, doing something useful with his own hands, that he may have something to share with those in need.

Anger can become sin and give Satan an entry into our lives.

²⁹ Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. ³⁰ And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. ³¹ Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. ³² Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.

The Holy Bible : New International Version. 1996, c1984. Grand Rapids: Zondervan.

Ephesians 3

Greetings!

Paul the Preacher to the Gentiles

3     For this reason I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus for the sake of you Gentiles—

² Surely you have heard about the administration of God’s grace that was given to me for you, ³ that is, the mystery made known to me by revelation, as I have already written briefly. ⁴ In reading this, then, you will be able to understand my insight into the mystery of Christ, ⁵ which was not made known to men in other generations as it has now been revealed by the Spirit to God’s holy apostles and prophets. ⁶ This mystery is that through the gospel the Gentiles are heirs together with Israel, members together of one body, and sharers together in the promise in Christ Jesus.

This was radical news for the many Jews but it should not have been.  There are many references in Isaiah and other portions of the Old Testament describing how salvation would come through the Jews for all people with faith in the true God.

Paul makes a clear claim that his words and teachings were divinely inpsired. 

⁷ I became a servant of this gospel by the gift of God’s grace given me through the working of his power. ⁸ Although I am less than the least of all God’s people, this grace was given me: to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ, ⁹ and to make plain to everyone the administration of this mystery, which for ages past was kept hidden in God, who created all things. ¹⁰ His intent was that now, through the church, the manifold wisdom of God should be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms, ¹¹ according to his eternal purpose which he accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord. ¹² In him and through faith in him we may approach God with freedom and confidence. ¹³ I ask you, therefore, not to be discouraged because of my sufferings for you, which are your glory.

It is a radical concept that we can approach our creator, the Lord of the universe, with freedom and confidence.  We should do so in a grateful way, of course.  His power is so overwhelming that it is hard to believe that He tells us to approach him this way.

A Prayer for the Ephesians

¹⁴ For this reason I kneel before the Father, ¹⁵ from whom his whole family in heaven and on earth derives its name. ¹⁶ I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, ¹⁷ so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, ¹⁸ may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, ¹⁹ and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.

²⁰ Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, ²¹ to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.

 The Holy Bible : New International Version. 1996, c1984. Grand Rapids: Zondervan.

What a unique prayer, that we would know the enormity of God’s love – a love that surpasses knowledge – and that we may be filled with the fulness of God.  These promises are so huge it is hard to comprehend them.

Ephesians 2

Greetings!

Made Alive in Christ

2     As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, ² in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. ³ All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature objects of wrath. ⁴ But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, ⁵ made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. ⁶ And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, ⁷ in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. ⁸ For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— ⁹ not by works, so that no one can boast. ¹⁰ For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

Ephesians is so rich in meaning.  Verses 8-9 are worth committing to memory at a minimum.  In the seemingly endless debates about faith vs. works, this passage stands tall in clarity and importance, especially when you consider v. 10 as well.

We aren’t saved by our good works, we are saved in spite of our bad deeds (v. 1-3).  Even the “good” we did before salvation wasn’t that good, because it was for our glory, not God’s. 

God gives us the faith and the grace for our salvation.  We shouldn’t be proud about it, we should just rejoice. 

One in Christ

¹¹ Therefore, remember that formerly you who are Gentiles by birth and called “uncircumcised” by those who call themselves “the circumcision” (that done in the body by the hands of men)— ¹² remember that at that time you were separate from Christ, excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world. ¹³ But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near through the blood of Christ.

¹⁴ For he himself is our peace, who has made the two one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, ¹⁵ by abolishing in his flesh the law with its commandments and regulations. His purpose was to create in himself one new man out of the two, thus making peace, ¹⁶ and in this one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility. ¹⁷ He came and preached peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near. ¹⁸ For through him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit.

¹⁹ Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow citizens with God’s people and members of God’s household, ²⁰ built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. ²¹ In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. ²² And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.

The Holy Bible : New International Version. 1996, c1984. Grand Rapids: Zondervan.

Jesus brought us nes and destroyed the barrier between us and God.  We come to the Father through him.  It wasn’t by anything we did. 

It is amazing to think of how He took us from being enemies worthy of an eternity in Hell to being adopted as children with full rights in his household.  His grace didn’t just take away the punishment for our sins, it gives us so much that we didn’t deserve. 

God’s Spirit lives in us as believers, but too often we quench and grieve the Holy Spirit.

Ephesians 1

Greetings!

Ephesians

1     Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God,

To the saints in Ephesus, the faithful in Christ Jesus:

² Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

It is easy to skip over the opening and closing statements, but I find it interesting to read them carefully sometimes.  Paul claims to be an Apostle, someone who encountered Christ directly and was chosen by him as a leader.  He refers to all believers as saints.

Spiritual Blessings in Christ

³ Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. ⁴ For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love ⁵ he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will— ⁶ to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves. ⁷ In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace ⁸ that he lavished on us with all wisdom and understanding. ⁹ And he made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ, ¹⁰ to be put into effect when the times will have reached their fulfillment—to bring all things in heaven and on earth together under one head, even Christ.

It is powerful to know that God chose Christians before the world was even created.  He has adopted us and is our Father.  He redeemed us — that is, he bought us back at a price — through the blood of Jesus.  He lavished his forgiveness on us.  He didn’t give it reluctantly. 

¹¹ In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will, ¹² in order that we, who were the first to hope in Christ, might be for the praise of his glory. ¹³ And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, ¹⁴ who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession—to the praise of his glory.

God is sovereign.  He has a plan and He is executing it.  We have been given the Holy Spirit and our inheritance as his children is guaranteed.  And all this brings him glory!

Thanksgiving and Prayer

¹⁵ For this reason, ever since I heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints, ¹⁶ I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers. ¹⁷ I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better. ¹⁸ I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, ¹⁹ and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is like the working of his mighty strength, ²⁰ which he exerted in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, ²¹ far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every title that can be given, not only in the present age but also in the one to come. ²² And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, ²³ which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way.

I pray, too, that we may know him better each day and that we will be filled with the hope he has called us to.  We often chase worldly riches but God has already given us eternal riches.  May we focus on the eternal and not the temporary.

 The Holy Bible : New International Version. 1996, c1984. Grand Rapids: Zondervan.

Introduction to Ephesians

Greetings!

The Apostle Paul’s letter to the church in Ephesus follows a similar format to many of his letters: First theology, then application.

This includes many passages referencing the concept of predestination.  There is no question that the Bible teaches the concept of predestination, but Christians are divided on whether it is God choosing us ahead of time or God knowing we’ll choose him.  I enjoy hearing from experts on both sides of the debate and see merits of both views.  There seems to be a natural tension here.  God is definitely sovereign and many passages, especially those in Ephesians, seem to me to support the unconditional election view (that God chooses us).  But I can’t ignore passages which speak of us making choices and my own experience of at least feeling like I was choosing (or was it an irresistable force?).

Either way, you can get so much out of Ephesians.  There are so many promises and reminders of all the good things we have in Christ and how He brought us back from the dead spiritually. 

Paul gives great advice on marriage and parenting.  Read it carefully! 

He closes with the classic passage about putting on the armor of God as we live our Christian lives.

Read it, be encouraged and put it into practice.

Proverbs 24

Greetings!  I always enjoy coming back to the Proverbs.

24     Do not envy wicked men,

do not desire their company;

² for their hearts plot violence,

and their lips talk about making trouble.

 How many times do we envy those who mock God?  We shouldn’t envy anyone, let alone people who are unsaved. 

³ By wisdom a house is built,

and through understanding it is established;

⁴ through knowledge its rooms are filled

with rare and beautiful treasures.

⁵ A wise man has great power,

and a man of knowledge increases strength;

⁶ for waging war you need guidance,

and for victory many advisers.

I have erred many times by not asking advice from others, probably because I didn’t want to hear what they had to say.  But I would have been better off in the long run by listening to them.

⁷ Wisdom is too high for a fool;

in the assembly at the gate he has nothing to say.

⁸ He who plots evil

will be known as a schemer.

⁹ The schemes of folly are sin,

and men detest a mocker.

¹⁰ If you falter in times of trouble,

how small is your strength!

¹¹ Rescue those being led away to death;

hold back those staggering toward slaughter.

¹² If you say, “But we knew nothing about this,”

does not he who weighs the heart perceive it?

Does not he who guards your life know it?

Will he not repay each person according to what he has done?

¹³ Eat honey, my son, for it is good;

honey from the comb is sweet to your taste.

¹⁴ Know also that wisdom is sweet to your soul;

if you find it, there is a future hope for you,

and your hope will not be cut off.

¹⁵ Do not lie in wait like an outlaw against a righteous man’s house,

do not raid his dwelling place;

¹⁶ for though a righteous man falls seven times, he rises again,

but the wicked are brought down by calamity.

¹⁷ Do not gloat when your enemy falls;

when he stumbles, do not let your heart rejoice,

¹⁸ or the Lord will see and disapprove

and turn his wrath away from him.

¹⁹ Do not fret because of evil men

or be envious of the wicked,

²⁰ for the evil man has no future hope,

and the lamp of the wicked will be snuffed out.

If we keep an eternal perspective we won’t be as troubled by evil people today.

²¹ Fear the Lord and the king, my son,

and do not join with the rebellious,

²² for those two will send sudden destruction upon them,

and who knows what calamities they can bring?

Further Sayings of the Wise ²³ These also are sayings of the wise:

To show partiality in judging is not good:

²⁴ Whoever says to the guilty, “You are innocent”—

peoples will curse him and nations denounce him.

²⁵ But it will go well with those who convict the guilty,

and rich blessing will come upon them.

Sometimes people just think of justice as the innocent being set free, but God also loves when justice is done to those who are guilty.

²⁶ An honest answer

is like a kiss on the lips.

Sometimes we are tempted to tell friends what they want to hear instead of the truth, but the honest answers always work out best. 

²⁷ Finish your outdoor work

and get your fields ready;

after that, build your house.

²⁸ Do not testify against your neighbor without cause,

or use your lips to deceive.

²⁹ Do not say, “I’ll do to him as he has done to me;

I’ll pay that man back for what he did.”

³⁰ I went past the field of the sluggard,

past the vineyard of the man who lacks judgment;

³¹ thorns had come up everywhere,

the ground was covered with weeds,

and the stone wall was in ruins.

³² I applied my heart to what I observed

and learned a lesson from what I saw:

³³ A little sleep, a little slumber,

a little folding of the hands to rest—

³⁴ and poverty will come on you like a bandit

and scarcity like an armed man.

Many people are poor through no fault of their own, but many more made bad decisions and are suffering the consequences. 

 The Holy Bible : New International Version. 1996, c1984. Grand Rapids: Zondervan.

Psalm 66

Greetings!  Praising God is a great start to putting our minds in proper perspective.  When we don’t acknowledge who He is and what He has done then it is hard to have everything else in line.

This does convict me though in that I’m a poor singer and am not the most demonstrative in church.  I do want to focus my attitude more on joyful worship of him.

Verse 18 points out that if we cherish sin in our hearts that God may not hear our prayers. 

Psalm 66

For the director of music. A song. A psalm.

¹ Shout with joy to God, all the earth!

² Sing the glory of his name;

make his praise glorious!

³ Say to God, “How awesome are your deeds!

So great is your power

that your enemies cringe before you.

⁴ All the earth bows down to you;

they sing praise to you,

they sing praise to your name.” Selah

⁵ Come and see what God has done,

how awesome his works in man’s behalf!

⁶ He turned the sea into dry land,

they passed through the waters on foot—

come, let us rejoice in him.

⁷ He rules forever by his power,

his eyes watch the nations—

let not the rebellious rise up against him. Selah

⁸ Praise our God, O peoples,

let the sound of his praise be heard;

⁹ he has preserved our lives

and kept our feet from slipping.

¹⁰ For you, O God, tested us;

you refined us like silver.

¹¹ You brought us into prison

and laid burdens on our backs.

¹² You let men ride over our heads;

we went through fire and water,

but you brought us to a place of abundance.

¹³ I will come to your temple with burnt offerings

and fulfill my vows to you—

¹⁴ vows my lips promised and my mouth spoke

when I was in trouble.

¹⁵ I will sacrifice fat animals to you

and an offering of rams;

I will offer bulls and goats. Selah

¹⁶ Come and listen, all you who fear God;

let me tell you what he has done for me.

¹⁷ I cried out to him with my mouth;

his praise was on my tongue.

¹⁸ If I had cherished sin in my heart,

the Lord would not have listened;

¹⁹ but God has surely listened

and heard my voice in prayer.

²⁰ Praise be to God,

who has not rejected my prayer

or withheld his love from me!

The Holy Bible : New International Version. 1996, c1984. Grand Rapids: Zondervan.

Psalm 65

Greetings!  This Psalm has many blessings and truths about our relationship with God and his mercy and grace.  He hears our prayers.  He chooses us and we are blessed by that.  He created everything.  He controls nature.  He is in all the details and inner workings of the world. 

This Psalm may have been written by David to celebrate the first harvest of the year.  We are so comfortable in being able to go to multiple grocery stores and have an unbelievable array of foods to choose from.  Contrast that with what most people in the world experience and you’ll feel very fortunate.

Psalm 65

For the director of music. A psalm of David. A song.

¹ Praise awaits you, O God, in Zion;

to you our vows will be fulfilled.

² O you who hear prayer,

to you all men will come.

³ When we were overwhelmed by sins,

you forgave our transgressions.

⁴ Blessed are those you choose

and bring near to live in your courts!

We are filled with the good things of your house,

of your holy temple.

⁵ You answer us with awesome deeds of righteousness,

O God our Savior,

the hope of all the ends of the earth

and of the farthest seas,

⁶ who formed the mountains by your power,

having armed yourself with strength,

⁷ who stilled the roaring of the seas,

the roaring of their waves,

and the turmoil of the nations.

⁸ Those living far away fear your wonders;

where morning dawns and evening fades

you call forth songs of joy.

⁹ You care for the land and water it;

you enrich it abundantly.

The streams of God are filled with water

to provide the people with grain,

for so you have ordained it.

¹⁰ You drench its furrows

and level its ridges;

you soften it with showers

and bless its crops.

¹¹ You crown the year with your bounty,

and your carts overflow with abundance.

¹² The grasslands of the desert overflow;

the hills are clothed with gladness.

¹³ The meadows are covered with flocks

and the valleys are mantled with grain;

they shout for joy and sing.

The Holy Bible : New International Version. 1996, c1984. Grand Rapids: Zondervan.

Psalm 64

Greetings!  We certainly don’t have the persecution in the Western world (where most readers of this blog are), but it still exists throughout the world.  And we are attacked daily with words and false accusations.  May we all stand up for the truth in authentic Christian fashion!

And regardless of what we face, let’s follow verse 10 and rejoice in the Lord, take refuge in him and praise him!

Psalm 64

For the director of music. A psalm of David.

¹ Hear me, O God, as I voice my complaint;

protect my life from the threat of the enemy.

² Hide me from the conspiracy of the wicked,

from that noisy crowd of evildoers.

³ They sharpen their tongues like swords

and aim their words like deadly arrows.

⁴ They shoot from ambush at the innocent man;

they shoot at him suddenly, without fear.

⁵ They encourage each other in evil plans,

they talk about hiding their snares;

they say, “Who will see them?”

⁶ They plot injustice and say,

“We have devised a perfect plan!”

Surely the mind and heart of man are cunning.

⁷ But God will shoot them with arrows;

suddenly they will be struck down.

⁸ He will turn their own tongues against them

and bring them to ruin;

all who see them will shake their heads in scorn.

⁹ All mankind will fear;

they will proclaim the works of God

and ponder what he has done.

¹⁰ Let the righteous rejoice in the Lord

and take refuge in him;

let all the upright in heart praise him!

The Holy Bible : New International Version. 1996, c1984. Grand Rapids: Zondervan.

Joshua 23-24

Greetings!  Joshua was a great leader who took over after Moses died and led Israel as they cleared out the Promised Land.  Following a great leader can set many up for failure, but Joshua followed God and was very successful.

Joshua’s Farewell to the Leaders

23     After a long time had passed and the Lord had given Israel rest from all their enemies around them, Joshua, by then old and well advanced in years, ² summoned all Israel—their elders, leaders, judges and officials—and said to them: “I am old and well advanced in years. ³ You yourselves have seen everything the Lord your God has done to all these nations for your sake; it was the Lord your God who fought for you.

Joshua could have easily taken the credit for himself, but he gave credit to God.

 ⁴ Remember how I have allotted as an inheritance for your tribes all the land of the nations that remain—the nations I conquered—between the Jordan and the Great Sea in the west. ⁵ The Lord your God himself will drive them out of your way. He will push them out before you, and you will take possession of their land, as the Lord your God promised you.

⁶ “Be very strong; be careful to obey all that is written in the Book of the Law of Moses, without turning aside to the right or to the left. ⁷ Do not associate with these nations that remain among you; do not invoke the names of their gods or swear by them. You must not serve them or bow down to them. ⁸ But you are to hold fast to the Lord your God, as you have until now.

We must still be careful not to be “unequally yoked” (2 Corinthians 6) and join with non-believers on religious matters.  As we’ll see throughout the rest of the Bible, bad things happen when people disobey the one true God and worship man-made gods.

⁹ “The Lord has driven out before you great and powerful nations; to this day no one has been able to withstand you. ¹⁰ One of you routs a thousand, because the Lord your God fights for you, just as he promised. ¹¹ So be very careful to love the Lord your God.

¹² “But if you turn away and ally yourselves with the survivors of these nations that remain among you and if you intermarry with them and associate with them, ¹³ then you may be sure that the Lord your God will no longer drive out these nations before you. Instead, they will become snares and traps for you, whips on your backs and thorns in your eyes, until you perish from this good land, which the Lord your God has given you.

God was very clear: Stop obeying and bad things will happen.  Sadly, they turned away from the truth again and again and the consequences were disastrous.

¹⁴ “Now I am about to go the way of all the earth. You know with all your heart and soul that not one of all the good promises the Lord your God gave you has failed. Every promise has been fulfilled; not one has failed. ¹⁵ But just as every good promise of the Lord your God has come true, so the Lord will bring on you all the evil he has threatened, until he has destroyed you from this good land he has given you. ¹⁶ If you violate the covenant of the Lord your God, which he commanded you, and go and serve other gods and bow down to them, the Lord’s anger will burn against you, and you will quickly perish from the good land he has given you.”

Many false teachers claim that there are other paths to God besides Jesus.  But the Old Testament couldn’t be more clear that following other gods was a bad idea and the New Testament records one hundred times — directly and indirectly — that Jesus is the only way to salvation.  You simply can’t take the Bible seriously and conclude that other religions besides Christianity can be true.

The Covenant Renewed at Shechem

24     Then Joshua assembled all the tribes of Israel at Shechem. He summoned the elders, leaders, judges and officials of Israel, and they presented themselves before God.

² Joshua said to all the people, “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘Long ago your forefathers, including Terah the father of Abraham and Nahor, lived beyond the River and worshiped other gods. ³ But I took your father Abraham from the land beyond the River and led him throughout Canaan and gave him many descendants. I gave him Isaac, ⁴ and to Isaac I gave Jacob and Esau. I assigned the hill country of Seir to Esau, but Jacob and his sons went down to Egypt.

⁵ “‘Then I sent Moses and Aaron, and I afflicted the Egyptians by what I did there, and I brought you out. ⁶ When I brought your fathers out of Egypt, you came to the sea, and the Egyptians pursued them with chariots and horsemen as far as the Red Sea. ⁷ But they cried to the Lord for help, and he put darkness between you and the Egyptians; he brought the sea over them and covered them. You saw with your own eyes what I did to the Egyptians. Then you lived in the desert for a long time.

⁸ “‘I brought you to the land of the Amorites who lived east of the Jordan. They fought against you, but I gave them into your hands. I destroyed them from before you, and you took possession of their land. ⁹ When Balak son of Zippor, the king of Moab, prepared to fight against Israel, he sent for Balaam son of Beor to put a curse on you. ¹⁰ But I would not listen to Balaam, so he blessed you again and again, and I delivered you out of his hand.

¹¹ “‘Then you crossed the Jordan and came to Jericho. The citizens of Jericho fought against you, as did also the Amorites, Perizzites, Canaanites, Hittites, Girgashites, Hivites and Jebusites, but I gave them into your hands. ¹² I sent the hornet ahead of you, which drove them out before you—also the two Amorite kings. You did not do it with your own sword and bow. ¹³ So I gave you a land on which you did not toil and cities you did not build; and you live in them and eat from vineyards and olive groves that you did not plant.’

¹⁴ “Now fear the Lord and serve him with all faithfulness. Throw away the gods your forefathers worshiped beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the Lord. ¹⁵ But if serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your forefathers served beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.”

V. 15 is famous and a good one to memorize.  Who are you serving? 

¹⁶ Then the people answered, “Far be it from us to forsake the Lord to serve other gods! ¹⁷ It was the Lord our God himself who brought us and our fathers up out of Egypt, from that land of slavery, and performed those great signs before our eyes. He protected us on our entire journey and among all the nations through which we traveled. ¹⁸ And the Lord drove out before us all the nations, including the Amorites, who lived in the land. We too will serve the Lord, because he is our God.”

¹⁹ Joshua said to the people, “You are not able to serve the Lord. He is a holy God; he is a jealous God. He will not forgive your rebellion and your sins. ²⁰ If you forsake the Lord and serve foreign gods, he will turn and bring disaster on you and make an end of you, after he has been good to you.”

²¹ But the people said to Joshua, “No! We will serve the Lord.”

²² Then Joshua said, “You are witnesses against yourselves that you have chosen to serve the Lord.”

“Yes, we are witnesses,” they replied.

²³ “Now then,” said Joshua, “throw away the foreign gods that are among you and yield your hearts to the Lord, the God of Israel.”

²⁴ And the people said to Joshua, “We will serve the Lord our God and obey him.”

²⁵ On that day Joshua made a covenant for the people, and there at Shechem he drew up for them decrees and laws. ²⁶ And Joshua recorded these things in the Book of the Law of God. Then he took a large stone and set it up there under the oak near the holy place of the Lord.

²⁷ “See!” he said to all the people. “This stone will be a witness against us. It has heard all the words the Lord has said to us. It will be a witness against you if you are untrue to your God.”

Buried in the Promised Land

²⁸ Then Joshua sent the people away, each to his own inheritance.

²⁹ After these things, Joshua son of Nun, the servant of the Lord, died at the age of a hundred and ten. ³⁰ And they buried him in the land of his inheritance, at Timnath Serah in the hill country of Ephraim, north of Mount Gaash.

³¹ Israel served the Lord throughout the lifetime of Joshua and of the elders who outlived him and who had experienced everything the Lord had done for Israel.

³² And Joseph’s bones, which the Israelites had brought up from Egypt, were buried at Shechem in the tract of land that Jacob bought for a hundred pieces of silver from the sons of Hamor, the father of Shechem. This became the inheritance of Joseph’s descendants.

³³ And Eleazar son of Aaron died and was buried at Gibeah, which had been allotted to his son Phinehas in the hill country of Ephraim.

The Holy Bible : New International Version. 1996, c1984. Grand Rapids: Zondervan.

Joshua 21-22

Greetings!

Towns for the Levites

21     Now the family heads of the Levites approached Eleazar the priest, Joshua son of Nun, and the heads of the other tribal families of Israel ² at Shiloh in Canaan and said to them, “The Lord commanded through Moses that you give us towns to live in, with pasturelands for our livestock.” ³ So, as the Lord had commanded, the Israelites gave the Levites the following towns and pasturelands out of their own inheritance:

⁴ The first lot came out for the Kohathites, clan by clan. The Levites who were descendants of Aaron the priest were allotted thirteen towns from the tribes of Judah, Simeon and Benjamin. ⁵ The rest of Kohath’s descendants were allotted ten towns from the clans of the tribes of Ephraim, Dan and half of Manasseh.

⁶ The descendants of Gershon were allotted thirteen towns from the clans of the tribes of Issachar, Asher, Naphtali and the half-tribe of Manasseh in Bashan.

⁷ The descendants of Merari, clan by clan, received twelve towns from the tribes of Reuben, Gad and Zebulun.

⁸ So the Israelites allotted to the Levites these towns and their pasturelands, as the Lord had commanded through Moses.

⁹ From the tribes of Judah and Simeon they allotted the following towns by name ¹⁰ (these towns were assigned to the descendants of Aaron who were from the Kohathite clans of the Levites, because the first lot fell to them):

¹¹ They gave them Kiriath Arba (that is, Hebron), with its surrounding pastureland, in the hill country of Judah. (Arba was the forefather of Anak.) ¹² But the fields and villages around the city they had given to Caleb son of Jephunneh as his possession.

¹³ So to the descendants of Aaron the priest they gave Hebron (a city of refuge for one accused of murder), Libnah, ¹⁴ Jattir, Eshtemoa, ¹⁵ Holon, Debir, ¹⁶ Ain, Juttah and Beth Shemesh, together with their pasturelands—nine towns from these two tribes.

¹⁷ And from the tribe of Benjamin they gave them Gibeon, Geba, ¹⁸ Anathoth and Almon, together with their pasturelands—four towns. ¹⁹ All the towns for the priests, the descendants of Aaron, were thirteen, together with their pasturelands.

²⁰ The rest of the Kohathite clans of the Levites were allotted towns from the tribe of Ephraim:

²¹ In the hill country of Ephraim they were given Shechem (a city of refuge for one accused of murder) and Gezer, ²² Kibzaim and Beth Horon, together with their pasturelands—four towns.

²³ Also from the tribe of Dan they received Eltekeh, Gibbethon, ²⁴ Aijalon and Gath Rimmon, together with their pasturelands—four towns.

²⁵ From half the tribe of Manasseh they received Taanach and Gath Rimmon, together with their pasturelands—two towns. ²⁶ All these ten towns and their pasturelands were given to the rest of the Kohathite clans.

²⁷ The Levite clans of the Gershonites were given:

from the half-tribe of Manasseh, Golan in Bashan (a city of refuge for one accused of murder) and Be Eshtarah, together with their pasturelands—two towns; ²⁸ from the tribe of Issachar, Kishion, Daberath, ²⁹ Jarmuth and En Gannim, together with their pasturelands—four towns; ³⁰ from the tribe of Asher, Mishal, Abdon, ³¹ Helkath and Rehob, together with their pasturelands—four towns; ³² from the tribe of Naphtali, Kedesh in Galilee (a city of refuge for one accused of murder), Hammoth Dor and Kartan, together with their pasturelands—three towns. ³³ All the towns of the Gershonite clans were thirteen, together with their pasturelands.

³⁴ The Merarite clans (the rest of the Levites) were given:

from the tribe of Zebulun, Jokneam, Kartah, ³⁵ Dimnah and Nahalal, together with their pasturelands—four towns; ³⁶ from the tribe of Reuben, Bezer, Jahaz, ³⁷ Kedemoth and Mephaath, together with their pasturelands—four towns; ³⁸ from the tribe of Gad, Ramoth in Gilead (a city of refuge for one accused of murder), Mahanaim, ³⁹ Heshbon and Jazer, together with their pasturelands—four towns in all. ⁴⁰ All the towns allotted to the Merarite clans, who were the rest of the Levites, were twelve.

⁴¹ The towns of the Levites in the territory held by the Israelites were forty-eight in all, together with their pasturelands. ⁴² Each of these towns had pasturelands surrounding it; this was true for all these towns.

⁴³ So the Lord gave Israel all the land he had sworn to give their forefathers, and they took possession of it and settled there. ⁴⁴ The Lord gave them rest on every side, just as he had sworn to their forefathers. Not one of their enemies withstood them; the Lord handed all their enemies over to them. ⁴⁵ Not one of all the Lord’s good promises to the house of Israel failed; every one was fulfilled.

The Levites were the priests.  God promised that they would be given land.  God indeed handed Israelites enemies over to them when they obeyed.  He promised and He fulfilled.

Eastern Tribes Return Home

22     Then Joshua summoned the Reubenites, the Gadites and the half-tribe of Manasseh ² and said to them, “You have done all that Moses the servant of the Lord commanded, and you have obeyed me in everything I commanded. ³ For a long time now—to this very day—you have not deserted your brothers but have carried out the mission the Lord your God gave you. ⁴ Now that the Lord your God has given your brothers rest as he promised, return to your homes in the land that Moses the servant of the Lord gave you on the other side of the Jordan. ⁵ But be very careful to keep the commandment and the law that Moses the servant of the Lord gave you: to love the Lord your God, to walk in all his ways, to obey his commands, to hold fast to him and to serve him with all your heart and all your soul.”

⁶ Then Joshua blessed them and sent them away, and they went to their homes. ⁷ (To the half-tribe of Manasseh Moses had given land in Bashan, and to the other half of the tribe Joshua gave land on the west side of the Jordan with their brothers.) When Joshua sent them home, he blessed them, ⁸ saying, “Return to your homes with your great wealth—with large herds of livestock, with silver, gold, bronze and iron, and a great quantity of clothing—and divide with your brothers the plunder from your enemies.”

⁹ So the Reubenites, the Gadites and the half-tribe of Manasseh left the Israelites at Shiloh in Canaan to return to Gilead, their own land, which they had acquired in accordance with the command of the Lord through Moses.

¹⁰ When they came to Geliloth near the Jordan in the land of Canaan, the Reubenites, the Gadites and the half-tribe of Manasseh built an imposing altar there by the Jordan. ¹¹ And when the Israelites heard that they had built the altar on the border of Canaan at Geliloth near the Jordan on the Israelite side, ¹² the whole assembly of Israel gathered at Shiloh to go to war against them.

¹³ So the Israelites sent Phinehas son of Eleazar, the priest, to the land of Gilead—to Reuben, Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh. ¹⁴ With him they sent ten of the chief men, one for each of the tribes of Israel, each the head of a family division among the Israelite clans.

¹⁵ When they went to Gilead—to Reuben, Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh—they said to them: ¹⁶ “The whole assembly of the Lord says: ‘How could you break faith with the God of Israel like this? How could you turn away from the Lord and build yourselves an altar in rebellion against him now? ¹⁷ Was not the sin of Peor enough for us? Up to this very day we have not cleansed ourselves from that sin, even though a plague fell on the community of the Lord! ¹⁸ And are you now turning away from the Lord?

“‘If you rebel against the Lord today, tomorrow he will be angry with the whole community of Israel. ¹⁹ If the land you possess is defiled, come over to the Lord’s land, where the Lord’s tabernacle stands, and share the land with us. But do not rebel against the Lord or against us by building an altar for yourselves, other than the altar of the Lord our God. ²⁰ When Achan son of Zerah acted unfaithfully regarding the devoted things, did not wrath come upon the whole community of Israel? He was not the only one who died for his sin.’”

²¹ Then Reuben, Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh replied to the heads of the clans of Israel: ²² “The Mighty One, God, the Lord! The Mighty One, God, the Lord! He knows! And let Israel know! If this has been in rebellion or disobedience to the Lord, do not spare us this day. ²³ If we have built our own altar to turn away from the Lord and to offer burnt offerings and grain offerings, or to sacrifice fellowship offerings on it, may the Lord himself call us to account.

²⁴ “No! We did it for fear that some day your descendants might say to ours, ‘What do you have to do with the Lord, the God of Israel? ²⁵ The Lord has made the Jordan a boundary between us and you—you Reubenites and Gadites! You have no share in the Lord.’ So your descendants might cause ours to stop fearing the Lord.

²⁶ “That is why we said, ‘Let us get ready and build an altar—but not for burnt offerings or sacrifices.’ ²⁷ On the contrary, it is to be a witness between us and you and the generations that follow, that we will worship the Lord at his sanctuary with our burnt offerings, sacrifices and fellowship offerings. Then in the future your descendants will not be able to say to ours, ‘You have no share in the Lord.’

²⁸ “And we said, ‘If they ever say this to us, or to our descendants, we will answer: Look at the replica of the Lord’s altar, which our fathers built, not for burnt offerings and sacrifices, but as a witness between us and you.’

²⁹ “Far be it from us to rebel against the Lord and turn away from him today by building an altar for burnt offerings, grain offerings and sacrifices, other than the altar of the Lord our God that stands before his tabernacle.”

³⁰ When Phinehas the priest and the leaders of the community—the heads of the clans of the Israelites—heard what Reuben, Gad and Manasseh had to say, they were pleased. ³¹ And Phinehas son of Eleazar, the priest, said to Reuben, Gad and Manasseh, “Today we know that the Lord is with us, because you have not acted unfaithfully toward the Lord in this matter. Now you have rescued the Israelites from the Lord’s hand.”

³² Then Phinehas son of Eleazar, the priest, and the leaders returned to Canaan from their meeting with the Reubenites and Gadites in Gilead and reported to the Israelites. ³³ They were glad to hear the report and praised God. And they talked no more about going to war against them to devastate the country where the Reubenites and the Gadites lived.

³⁴ And the Reubenites and the Gadites gave the altar this name: A Witness Between Us that the Lord is God.

The Holy Bible : New International Version. 1996, c1984. Grand Rapids: Zondervan.

That is an interesting passage to consider when resolving disputes.  The ten tribes were rightly concerned that the Reubenites and the Gadites were worshiping false gods.  The one true God does not share his glory with false gods, which are but creations made by what he created (i.e., God created men and men create false gods). 

The Reubenites and Gadites were given the opportunity to explain themselves and unnecessary conflict was avoided.  But the ten tribes were rightly concerned about slipping into idol worship.

Joshua 19-20

Greetings!

Allotment for Simeon

19     The second lot came out for the tribe of Simeon, clan by clan. Their inheritance lay within the territory of Judah. ² It included:

Beersheba (or Sheba), Moladah, ³ Hazar Shual, Balah, Ezem, ⁴ Eltolad, Bethul, Hormah, ⁵ Ziklag, Beth Marcaboth, Hazar Susah, ⁶ Beth Lebaoth and Sharuhen—thirteen towns and their villages;

⁷ Ain, Rimmon, Ether and Ashan—four towns and their villages— ⁸ and all the villages around these towns as far as Baalath Beer (Ramah in the Negev). This was the inheritance of the tribe of the Simeonites, clan by clan. ⁹ The inheritance of the Simeonites was taken from the share of Judah, because Judah’s portion was more than they needed. So the Simeonites received their inheritance within the territory of Judah.

Allotment for Zebulun

¹⁰ The third lot came up for Zebulun, clan by clan:

The boundary of their inheritance went as far as Sarid. ¹¹ Going west it ran to Maralah, touched Dabbesheth, and extended to the ravine near Jokneam. ¹² It turned east from Sarid toward the sunrise to the territory of Kisloth Tabor and went on to Daberath and up to Japhia. ¹³ Then it continued eastward to Gath Hepher and Eth Kazin; it came out at Rimmon and turned toward Neah. ¹⁴ There the boundary went around on the north to Hannathon and ended at the Valley of Iphtah El. ¹⁵ Included were Kattath, Nahalal, Shimron, Idalah and Bethlehem. There were twelve towns and their villages.

¹⁶ These towns and their villages were the inheritance of Zebulun, clan by clan.

Allotment for Issachar

¹⁷ The fourth lot came out for Issachar, clan by clan. ¹⁸ Their territory included:

Jezreel, Kesulloth, Shunem, ¹⁹ Hapharaim, Shion, Anaharath, ²⁰ Rabbith, Kishion, Ebez, ²¹ Remeth, En Gannim, En Haddah and Beth Pazzez. ²² The boundary touched Tabor, Shahazumah and Beth Shemesh, and ended at the Jordan. There were sixteen towns and their villages.

²³ These towns and their villages were the inheritance of the tribe of Issachar, clan by clan.

Allotment for Asher

²⁴ The fifth lot came out for the tribe of Asher, clan by clan. ²⁵ Their territory included:

Helkath, Hali, Beten, Acshaph, ²⁶ Allammelech, Amad and Mishal. On the west the boundary touched Carmel and Shihor Libnath. ²⁷ It then turned east toward Beth Dagon, touched Zebulun and the Valley of Iphtah El, and went north to Beth Emek and Neiel, passing Cabul on the left. ²⁸ It went to Abdon, Rehob, Hammon and Kanah, as far as Greater Sidon. ²⁹ The boundary then turned back toward Ramah and went to the fortified city of Tyre, turned toward Hosah and came out at the sea in the region of Aczib, ³⁰ Ummah, Aphek and Rehob. There were twenty-two towns and their villages.

³¹ These towns and their villages were the inheritance of the tribe of Asher, clan by clan.

Allotment for Naphtali

³² The sixth lot came out for Naphtali, clan by clan:

³³ Their boundary went from Heleph and the large tree in Zaanannim, passing Adami Nekeb and Jabneel to Lakkum and ending at the Jordan. ³⁴ The boundary ran west through Aznoth Tabor and came out at Hukkok. It touched Zebulun on the south, Asher on the west and the Jordan on the east. ³⁵ The fortified cities were Ziddim, Zer, Hammath, Rakkath, Kinnereth, ³⁶ Adamah, Ramah, Hazor, ³⁷ Kedesh, Edrei, En Hazor, ³⁸ Iron, Migdal El, Horem, Beth Anath and Beth Shemesh. There were nineteen towns and their villages. ³⁹ These towns and their villages were the inheritance of the tribe of Naphtali, clan by clan.

Allotment for Dan

⁴⁰ The seventh lot came out for the tribe of Dan, clan by clan. ⁴¹ The territory of their inheritance included:

Zorah, Eshtaol, Ir Shemesh, ⁴² Shaalabbin, Aijalon, Ithlah, ⁴³ Elon, Timnah, Ekron, ⁴⁴ Eltekeh, Gibbethon, Baalath, ⁴⁵ Jehud, Bene Berak, Gath Rimmon, ⁴⁶ Me Jarkon and Rakkon, with the area facing Joppa.

⁴⁷ (But the Danites had difficulty taking possession of their territory, so they went up and attacked Leshem, took it, put it to the sword and occupied it. They settled in Leshem and named it Dan after their forefather.) ⁴⁸ These towns and their villages were the inheritance of the tribe of Dan, clan by clan.

Allotment for Joshua

⁴⁹ When they had finished dividing the land into its allotted portions, the Israelites gave Joshua son of Nun an inheritance among them, ⁵⁰ as the Lord had commanded. They gave him the town he asked for—Timnath Serah in the hill country of Ephraim. And he built up the town and settled there.

⁵¹ These are the territories that Eleazar the priest, Joshua son of Nun and the heads of the tribal clans of Israel assigned by lot at Shiloh in the presence of the Lord at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting. And so they finished dividing the land.

The descriptions of the boundaries may seem dry, but they are a reminder that Christianity and Judaism are historical religions — that is, they are based on real people, places and events at specific points in time. 

Cities of Refuge

20     Then the Lord said to Joshua: ² “Tell the Israelites to designate the cities of refuge, as I instructed you through Moses, ³ so that anyone who kills a person accidentally and unintentionally may flee there and find protection from the avenger of blood.

⁴ “When he flees to one of these cities, he is to stand in the entrance of the city gate and state his case before the elders of that city. Then they are to admit him into their city and give him a place to live with them. ⁵ If the avenger of blood pursues him, they must not surrender the one accused, because he killed his neighbor unintentionally and without malice aforethought. ⁶ He is to stay in that city until he has stood trial before the assembly and until the death of the high priest who is serving at that time. Then he may go back to his own home in the town from which he fled.”

⁷ So they set apart Kedesh in Galilee in the hill country of Naphtali, Shechem in the hill country of Ephraim, and Kiriath Arba (that is, Hebron) in the hill country of Judah. ⁸ On the east side of the Jordan of Jericho they designated Bezer in the desert on the plateau in the tribe of Reuben, Ramoth in Gilead in the tribe of Gad, and Golan in Bashan in the tribe of Manasseh. ⁹ Any of the Israelites or any alien living among them who killed someone accidentally could flee to these designated cities and not be killed by the avenger of blood prior to standing trial before the assembly.

The Holy Bible : New International Version. 1996, c1984. Grand Rapids: Zondervan.

God designed a system of justice for the Israelites so people would be treated fairly.  If someone killed another person accidentally then the family of the dead person might try to seek “justice” themselves.

Joshua 17-18

Greetings!  These chapters are also pretty detailed about the division of the Promised Land.  I don’t have much to comment on. 

17     This was the allotment for the tribe of Manasseh as Joseph’s firstborn, that is, for Makir, Manasseh’s firstborn. Makir was the ancestor of the Gileadites, who had received Gilead and Bashan because the Makirites were great soldiers. ² So this allotment was for the rest of the people of Manasseh—the clans of Abiezer, Helek, Asriel, Shechem, Hepher and Shemida. These are the other male descendants of Manasseh son of Joseph by their clans.

³ Now Zelophehad son of Hepher, the son of Gilead, the son of Makir, the son of Manasseh, had no sons but only daughters, whose names were Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah and Tirzah. ⁴ They went to Eleazar the priest, Joshua son of Nun, and the leaders and said, “The Lord commanded Moses to give us an inheritance among our brothers.” So Joshua gave them an inheritance along with the brothers of their father, according to the Lord’s command. ⁵ Manasseh’s share consisted of ten tracts of land besides Gilead and Bashan east of the Jordan, ⁶ because the daughters of the tribe of Manasseh received an inheritance among the sons. The land of Gilead belonged to the rest of the descendants of Manasseh.

⁷ The territory of Manasseh extended from Asher to Micmethath east of Shechem. The boundary ran southward from there to include the people living at En Tappuah. ⁸ (Manasseh had the land of Tappuah, but Tappuah itself, on the boundary of Manasseh, belonged to the Ephraimites.) ⁹ Then the boundary continued south to the Kanah Ravine. There were towns belonging to Ephraim lying among the towns of Manasseh, but the boundary of Manasseh was the northern side of the ravine and ended at the sea. ¹⁰ On the south the land belonged to Ephraim, on the north to Manasseh. The territory of Manasseh reached the sea and bordered Asher on the north and Issachar on the east.

¹¹ Within Issachar and Asher, Manasseh also had Beth Shan, Ibleam and the people of Dor, Endor, Taanach and Megiddo, together with their surrounding settlements (the third in the list is Naphoth). ¹² Yet the Manassites were not able to occupy these towns, for the Canaanites were determined to live in that region. ¹³ However, when the Israelites grew stronger, they subjected the Canaanites to forced labor but did not drive them out completely.

¹⁴ The people of Joseph said to Joshua, “Why have you given us only one allotment and one portion for an inheritance? We are a numerous people and the Lord has blessed us abundantly.”

¹⁵ “If you are so numerous,” Joshua answered, “and if the hill country of Ephraim is too small for you, go up into the forest and clear land for yourselves there in the land of the Perizzites and Rephaites.”

¹⁶ The people of Joseph replied, “The hill country is not enough for us, and all the Canaanites who live in the plain have iron chariots, both those in Beth Shan and its settlements and those in the Valley of Jezreel.”

¹⁷ But Joshua said to the house of Joseph—to Ephraim and Manasseh—“You are numerous and very powerful. You will have not only one allotment ¹⁸ but the forested hill country as well. Clear it, and its farthest limits will be yours; though the Canaanites have iron chariots and though they are strong, you can drive them out.”

I’m not sure if that passage has greater meaning or not, but it was an interesting exercise in negotiation and compromise.

Division of the Rest of the Land

18     The whole assembly of the Israelites gathered at Shiloh and set up the Tent of Meeting there. The country was brought under their control, ² but there were still seven Israelite tribes who had not yet received their inheritance.

³ So Joshua said to the Israelites: “How long will you wait before you begin to take possession of the land that the Lord, the God of your fathers, has given you? ⁴ Appoint three men from each tribe. I will send them out to make a survey of the land and to write a description of it, according to the inheritance of each. Then they will return to me. ⁵ You are to divide the land into seven parts. Judah is to remain in its territory on the south and the house of Joseph in its territory on the north. ⁶ After you have written descriptions of the seven parts of the land, bring them here to me and I will cast lots for you in the presence of the Lord our God. ⁷ The Levites, however, do not get a portion among you, because the priestly service of the Lord is their inheritance. And Gad, Reuben and the half-tribe of Manasseh have already received their inheritance on the east side of the Jordan. Moses the servant of the Lord gave it to them.”

⁸ As the men started on their way to map out the land, Joshua instructed them, “Go and make a survey of the land and write a description of it. Then return to me, and I will cast lots for you here at Shiloh in the presence of the Lord.” ⁹ So the men left and went through the land. They wrote its description on a scroll, town by town, in seven parts, and returned to Joshua in the camp at Shiloh. ¹⁰ Joshua then cast lots for them in Shiloh in the presence of the Lord, and there he distributed the land to the Israelites according to their tribal divisions.

Allotment for Benjamin

¹¹ The lot came up for the tribe of Benjamin, clan by clan. Their allotted territory lay between the tribes of Judah and Joseph:

¹² On the north side their boundary began at the Jordan, passed the northern slope of Jericho and headed west into the hill country, coming out at the desert of Beth Aven. ¹³ From there it crossed to the south slope of Luz (that is, Bethel) and went down to Ataroth Addar on the hill south of Lower Beth Horon.

¹⁴ From the hill facing Beth Horon on the south the boundary turned south along the western side and came out at Kiriath Baal (that is, Kiriath Jearim), a town of the people of Judah. This was the western side.

¹⁵ The southern side began at the outskirts of Kiriath Jearim on the west, and the boundary came out at the spring of the waters of Nephtoah. ¹⁶ The boundary went down to the foot of the hill facing the Valley of Ben Hinnom, north of the Valley of Rephaim. It continued down the Hinnom Valley along the southern slope of the Jebusite city and so to En Rogel. ¹⁷ It then curved north, went to En Shemesh, continued to Geliloth, which faces the Pass of Adummim, and ran down to the Stone of Bohan son of Reuben. ¹⁸ It continued to the northern slope of Beth Arabah and on down into the Arabah. ¹⁹ It then went to the northern slope of Beth Hoglah and came out at the northern bay of the Salt Sea, at the mouth of the Jordan in the south. This was the southern boundary.

²⁰ The Jordan formed the boundary on the eastern side. These were the boundaries that marked out the inheritance of the clans of Benjamin on all sides.

²¹ The tribe of Benjamin, clan by clan, had the following cities:

Jericho, Beth Hoglah, Emek Keziz, ²² Beth Arabah, Zemaraim, Bethel, ²³ Avvim, Parah, Ophrah, ²⁴ Kephar Ammoni, Ophni and Geba—twelve towns and their villages.

²⁵ Gibeon, Ramah, Beeroth, ²⁶ Mizpah, Kephirah, Mozah, ²⁷ Rekem, Irpeel, Taralah, ²⁸ Zelah, Haeleph, the Jebusite city (that is, Jerusalem), Gibeah and Kiriath—fourteen towns and their villages. This was the inheritance of Benjamin for its clans.

The Holy Bible : New International Version. 1996, c1984. Grand Rapids: Zondervan.