Two year Bible reading program.

BEGIN WITH PRAYER "Lord open my eyes and my heart." Read slowly so that you take in. And as you do, turn your heart to God, thanking him for the good you discover and praying his will home for you, your family, your church and the world. Wisdom to chew on Proverbs 16:18-19 Understanding to grow in The word "holy" means to be set apart for God. That's the calling of his people. And so Joshua ends his life urging Israel to be set apart from the Canaanite peoples that remain amongst them. They are not to follow their religion or practices, nor marry them because this will make being drawn to their ways more likely. The principle applies for the Christian too. We are not to "conform to the pattern of this world" (Rom 12v1-2), nor marry non-Christians for the same reason (1 Cor 7v39) - although if we have done so whilst believers, we should confess our wrongdoing and commit to our spouse (1 Cor 7v12-14). The consequences of compromise were ...

BEGIN WITH PRAYER "Lord open my eyes and my heart." Read slowly so that you take in. And as you do, turn your heart to God, thanking him for the good you discover and praying his will home for you, your family, your church and the world. Wisdom to chew on Proverbs 16:17 Understanding to grow in At this point things seem so good for Israel. The final details of the allocation of the land are dealt with. Just as Moses had commanded, cities are designated as refuge for those who commit manslaughter, the Levites are given their towns to live in, the three tribes whose request for land east of the Jordan is granted, and in correcting the misunderstanding about the altar, a united concern to honour God is expressed. The main message is found in 21v43-45: Every one of God's promises was fulfilled. What a joy to think on that. It means that every promise about our own inheritance will be fulfilled too. It will be just as God has said it will be - everlasting life...

BEGIN WITH PRAYER "Lord open my eyes and my heart." Read slowly so that you take in. And as you do, turn your heart to God, thanking him for the good you discover and praying his will home for you, your family, your church and the world. Wisdom to chew on Proverbs 16:16 Understanding to grow in It will take effort on our behalf to receive the eternal inheritance we have in Christ. God allotted portions of land to Israel's tribes (except for Levi who were to serve him as priests throughout), and his control of all things is seen in doing that to some extent by directing the casting of lots. But the tribes still needed to be exhorted to "take possession" of what they had been given - in God's strength. So it is that Christ urges us "to make every effort to enter through the narrow door" and Paul encourages us to "press on" and "strain" to "take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of" us (Lk 13v...

BEGIN WITH PRAYER "Lord open my eyes and my heart." Read slowly so that you take in. And as you do, turn your heart to God, thanking him for the good you discover and praying his will home for you, your family, your church and the world. Wisdom to chew on Proverbs 16:14-15 Understanding to grow in There's encouragement here: God gives what he promises. Just as the tribes all received their inheritance, so we are reassured that we shall receive ours - one that doesn't perish, spoil or fade and is stored up in heaven for us (1 Pet 1v3-5). Yet there is challenge too. Not all the Canaanites were driven out, meaning that those who might lead the people astray were allowed to remain (13v13). We will see the problems that brings. But contrast the devotion of Caleb, who even in old age will not rest until the inhabitants are driven out and Israel properly established (14v11-12). It's a model of the zeal we should have for reaching and discipling the natio...

BEGIN WITH PRAYER "Lord open my eyes and my heart." Read slowly so that you take in. And as you do, turn your heart to God, thanking him for the good you discover and praying his will home for you, your family, your church and the world. Wisdom to chew on Proverbs 16:12-13 Understanding to grow in The themes here are clear: In destroying the Canaanite peoples Joshua did everything as the LORD had commanded through Moses. Because of that, the LORD fought for Israel giving the land as their inheritance. And because of that, Israel were wholly victorious. God's instructions can be found in Deuteronomy 7-9 where it is stressed the reason for such complete destruction is because of the "wickedness of these nations" (Deut 9v5). Their depravity and evil, including child sacrifice, is well documented by archaeology. And we should note that Israel are not instructed to destroy nations that are further afield. So there is no justification here for waging ...

BEGIN WITH PRAYER "Lord open my eyes and my heart." Read slowly so that you take in. And as you do, turn your heart to God, thanking him for the good you discover and praying his will home for you, your family, your church and the world. Wisdom to chew on Proverbs 16:11 Understanding to grow in It's one thing to obey the Lord, but quite another to actually walk with him. Israel commit to obedience but fail to enquire of God when the Gibeonites seek a treaty. And so they agree a peace with those they should have driven out of the land. It's a reminder that God's people are not just to live rightly, but relate to him in prayer, and seek his wisdom in the scriptures wherever it is needed. Consider Christ choosing his disciples. Yet there is a lesson about faithfulness here too. Though a bad decision, having made the treaty Israel keep to it. Whether marriage, formal agreements or general promises, the believer keeps them so far as they are not requir...

BEGIN WITH PRAYER "Lord open my eyes and my heart." Read slowly so that you take in. And as you do, turn your heart to God, thanking him for the good you discover and praying his will home for you, your family, your church and the world. Wisdom to chew on Proverbs 16:10 Understanding to grow in When we read the law we saw the absolute perfection of God's holiness displayed in the many requirements necessary for people to draw close, and the constant threat that his wrath might break out when his commands are disobeyed. Here it is again made known. Because one man disobeys, God withdraws causing Israel to be defeated (7v12). Only when that man and all with him are destroyed and so removed does God restore his presence and protection. It builds appreciation of the cleansing we have in Christ so that God's presence can remain with his church despite its imperfection, but also of the need to exercise church discipline to remove any "bitter root"...

BEGIN WITH PRAYER "Lord open my eyes and my heart." Read slowly so that you take in. And as you do, turn your heart to God, thanking him for the good you discover and praying his will home for you, your family, your church and the world. Wisdom to chew on Proverbs 16:9 Understanding to grow in Just as Jesus brings us through baptism into our new life and the coming new creation. the LORD leads the way into the land with the ark that symbolises his presence, bringing the people through water as through the red sea. Like Noah and family entering a new world after the flood, Israel are to be a sort of new humanity in a new world too. And like the miracles in the Exodus, this parting of the sea is intended to cause the watching nations to see God's power and Israel to fear him. They should do the same for us, eliciting commitment from each generation as they did this one. And God's power is particularly seen in Jericho falling without a sword being weilde...

BEGIN WITH PRAYER "Lord open my eyes and my heart." Read slowly so that you take in. And as you do, turn your heart to God, thanking him for the good you discover and praying his will home for you, your family, your church and the world. Wisdom to chew on Proverbs 16:8 Understanding to grow in It's a comfort to be reminded that God always keeps his promises. Today we return to the history of Israel, just after the death of Moses around 1400BC. God had fulfilled his promise to bless and make Abraham a great nation. Now he completes it in giving the promised land. He fulfils his promises in his good time. But we should note that God uses means in salvation: a faithful leader in Joshua, and the people too, who must spy out the land and prepare to do battle within it. As throughout the Old Testament, this patterns the gospel where Jesus leads us into the new creation, whilst we also help one-another to it as we battle together against Satan and sin. In short,...