Today’s reading includes Joshua 21:1-22:20, Luke 20:1-26, Psalm 89:1-13, Proverbs 13:15-16.

Today’s reading speaks of the Cities of Refuge, which had been commanded by Moses, but were now able to be put into action.  The Old Testament is focused on blood.  Blood shed by man cursed the land and cursed the one who shed the blood.  And these consequences could affect generations.  If a man shed blood, even if it was accidental, he subjected himself, his family, and the land itself to a curse.  The remedy was the shedding of that man’s blood.  Blood covered blood.

In Deuteronomy, the concept of the Cities of Refuge was described, but in this chapter, the actual cities were assigned.  Each of the tribal land allotments had a City of Refuge within its territory.  Geographically, the Cities of Refuge were set upon the hills of the Promise land.  According to Matthew Henry,

These cities were upon hills to be seen afar off, for a city on a hill cannot be hid; and this would both direct and encourage the poor distressed man that was making that way; and, though therefore his way at last was up-hill, yet this would comfort him, that he would be in his place of safety quickly, and if he could but get into the suburbs of the city he was well enough off. 

The Cities of Refuge were also spread out in equal distances from each other, so throughout the Promise land the Cities of Refuge were accessible to all.   The Cities of Refuge were inhabited not only by the ones seeking refuge and covering from their accidental sin, but they were also inhabited by the Levites, which Matthew Henry calls “God’s tribe”.

Most significantly, the Cities of Refuge were symbolic and prophetic of the coming Savior.  Matthew Henry had these beautiful words to say:

Some observe a significancy in the names of these cities with application to Christ our refuge. I delight not in quibbling upon names, yet am willing to take notice of these. Kedesh signifies holy, and our refuge is the holy Jesus. Shechem, a shoulder, and the government is upon his shoulder. Hebron, fellowship, and believers are called into the fellowship of Christ Jesus our Lord. Bezer, a fortification, for he is a strong-hold to all those that trust in him. Ramoth, high or exalted, for him hath God exalted with his own right hand. Golan, joy or exultation, for in him all the saints are justified, and shall glory. Lastly, Besides all these, the horns of the altar, wherever it was, were a refuge to those who took hold of them, if the crime were such as that sanctuary allowed. This is implied in that law (Ex. 21:14 ), that a wilful murderer shall be taken from God’s altar to be put to death. And we find the altar used for this purpose. 1 Ki. 1:50 1 Ki. 2:28 . Christ is our altar, who not only sanctifies the gift, but protects the giver.

The biggest truth we can glean is wrapped up in the realization that in the Old Testament is Christ concealed, in the New Testament is Christ revealed.  The Cities of Refuge were a concealed representation of Jesus, the Savior to come.  We no longer need a city to run to.  We have a Savior to run to.  He is our eternal refuge.  Meditate on the following verses and rejoice in the truth they bring.

God is our refuge and strength, A very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth should change And though the mountains slip into the heart of the sea; Though its waters roar and foam, Though the mountains quake at its swelling pride. Selah.

 Psalm 46:1-3 

I will say to the LORD, “My refuge and my fortress, My God, in whom I trust!”

                                                                             Psalm 91:2

“The eternal God is a dwelling place, And underneath are the everlasting arms; 

                                                                      Deuteronomy 33:27

The name of the LORD is a strong tower; The righteous runs into it and is safe.

                                                                            Proverbs 18:10

Today’s reading includes Joshua 19:1-20:9, Luke 19:28-48, Psalm 88:1-18, Proverbs 13:12-14.

For the past two chapters, we have been reading about the boundary lines of the Promise land.  As you remember, after the Exodus from Egypt, the tribes of Israel were made to wander in the wilderness for forty years because of their sins (Deuteronomy 8:2). According to the folks at www.biblestudy.org, after this time period, Joshua lead the people into the Promised land in 1405 B.C. Seven years later, in 1398, the land of Canaan is divided by lot among the children of Israel (Joshua 14).  Look at those holy numbers!  They spent 40 years wandering.  This represents cleansing and preparation.  Then they spent 7 years conquering the land.  This represents completion and perfection.  The land was divided among the tribes, although the tribe of Levi, the priests, did not have an allotment, for they had spots throughout each area.  Remember that Joseph’s allotment was divided between his sons, Ephraim and Manasseh, who each became a tribe.  So, the Levites were removed and Joseph’s allotment was divided into two, so there were still twelve tribes and twelve allotments.  These allotments were assigned to them—given as a gift.  I see that they didn’t vie for the position or request certain territory. The only exception was that the tribes of Reuben and Gad, along with half of the tribe of Manasseh wanted to stay east of the Jordan, while all the others were west of the Jordan.  Even though those 3 groups did not want to officially live inside the Promise land, but stay on the outer edges, they were still required to fight and conquer the Promise land along with their brothers.

Two thoughts came to mind when I read these passages.  First of all, each were given an allotment.  They accepted their allotment and settled there.  They didn’t fight their brothers for what had been given to them, nor even seem to request specific areas.  They saw their allotment as a gift from God.

We, too, have certain “allotments”.  We have certain “territories” of influence.  We have certain giftedness and talents to offer the world.  We can look around us and long for the allotment of others.  We can wish for a different territory of influence.  Or we can accept it all as a gift and bloom where we are planted.  Comparison kills calling.  We all have a calling from God.  We were all called for a specific purpose in His great plan.  We should not look around us and compare our calling to the calling of another.  Ours is ours and theirs is theirs.  Instead, we should be grateful that we have been called, that we have been given a territory or allotment in the first place.

I love this quote from Martin Luther King, Jr.

“If a man is called to be a street sweeper, he should sweep streets even as a Michelangelo painted, or Beethoven composed music or Shakespeare wrote poetry. He should sweep streets so well that all the hosts of heaven and earth will pause to say, ‘Here lived a great street sweeper who did his job well.”

Secondly, God is in control of the allotments and His plan is greater than we could ever imagine.  He has His reasons, which may take generations to see, of why He called us to a task, a job, or a territory of influence.  When you look at a map of the territory allotments, you see a glimpse of the coming plan.  For example, Bethlehem was in the territory of Judah.  Jesus was prophesied to be born in Bethlehem, and Jesus was in lineage of the tribe of Judah.  Mary and Joseph went to Bethlehem to register for a census, which was based on their tribe, which is why they were in Bethlehem when she gave birth to the Son of God.  There are reasons we can’t always see.  But we trust that we have a good God, who is our good Heavenly Father.  We can trust His gifts to us and His plan for us.

Lord, you alone are my portion and my cup;
    you make my lot secure.
⁶ The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places;
    surely I have a delightful inheritance.

                                                Psalm 16:5-6

Keep reading!  Even if you miss a day or two, just pick up where you left off.  There is so much the Lord wants to teach us, and it is through His Word that our lives are transformed.

April 19:  Joshua 19:1-20:9, Luke 19:28-48, Psalm 88:1-18, Proverbs 13:12-14.

April 20:  Joshua 21:1-22:20, Luke 20:1-26, Psalm 89:1-13, Proverbs 13:15-16.

April 21:  Joshua 22:21-23:16, Luke 20:27-47, Psalm 89:14-37, Proverbs 13:17-19.

April 22:  Joshua 24:1-33, Luke 21:1-28, Psalm 89:38-52, Proverbs 13:20-23.

April 23:  Judges 1:1-2:9, Luke 21:29-22:13, Psalm 90:1-91:16, Proverbs 13:24-25.

April 24:  Judges 2:10-3:31, Luke 22:14-34, Psalm 92:1-93:5, Proverbs 14:1-2.

April 25:  Judges 4:1-5:31, Luke 22:35-53, Psalm 94:1-23, Proverbs 14:3-4.

April 26:  Judges 6:1-40, Luke 22:54-23:12, Psalm 95:1-96:13, Proverbs 14:5-6.

April 27:  Judges 7:1-8:17, Luke 23:13-43, Psalm 97:1-98:9, Proverbs 14:7-8.

April 28:  Judges 8:18-9:21, Luke 23:44-24:12, Psalm 99:1-9, Proverbs 14:9-10.

April 29:  Judges 9:22-10:18, Luke 24:13-53, Psalm 100:1-5, Proverbs 14:11-12.

April 30:  Judges 11:1-12:15, John 1:1-28, Psalm 101:1-8, Proverbs 14:13-14.

Today’s reading includes Joshua 16:1-18:28, Luke 19:1-27, Psalm 87:1-7, Proverbs 13:11.

I haven’t posted for three days.  It’s not that I didn’t want to, nor was it that I couldn’t find the time.  It was a strange feeling I had in my heart.  After Good Friday, I realized that there was silence.  God’s followers did not hear a thing.  All was silent—as silent as the grave.  And I felt that I needed to be silent, too.

So many analogies come to mind.

It is darkest just before the dawn.

Or even more applicable, in the middle of the tornado tunnel there is peace. It is the outer edges that are so dramatic.  But in the middle, there is silence.  My thoughts liken that to the Day of Silence in between the cross and the resurrection.  There was the great destruction to the body of Christ, who bore our sin and shame.  Then, there was the great destruction of the entity of sin and death, for those who trust in Christ.  But in the middle, there was silence.  And I felt that for a few days, I was to be silent, too.

Often, we feel the silence of God.  Especially after storms of life have wreaked havoc on our hearts and emotions.  We think He has forgotten us.  Or worse, we think He is purposefully ignoring us.  But that is not the case.  He is continually working on our behalf, even in the silence.  The silence of the grave gave way to the greatest event in history—the resurrection of our Savior.  He is altogether trustworthy, even on the silent days, even if we don’t see Him or feel Him.  For that is what faith is, anyway.

Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see. 

                                                                                                Hebrews 11:1

In today’s passage, we read of the process of dividing the Promise land between the tribes of Israel.  We will discuss that more tomorrow, but today a simple verse caught my eye.

Then Joshua asked them, “How long are you going to wait before taking possession of the remaining land the Lord, the God of your ancestors, has given to you?

                                                                                    Joshua 18:3

God has given us all we need for an abundant life—all we need for a life of strength and holiness and goodness.  How long are we going to wait to take possession of what is already ours?  The great Day of Silence is over.  The resurrection occurred.  Jesus rolled away the stone and walked away from the cave of death, so that we could, too.  But we must take possession of what He has done for us.  We must claim it as ours.  How long are we going to wait?

Today’s reading includes Joshua 9:3-10:43, Luke 16:19-17:10, Psalm 83:1-18, Proverbs 13:4.

Today’s reading had lots of interesting parts.  We could talk of the people of Gibeon and how they tricked the Israelites.  We could talk of how the Israelites failed to consult God and only relied on their own observations.  We could talk about how the Israelites kept their word to the men of Gibeon, even when it was painful to do so—and God honored them for it.  God gave them victory over the Amorites and miraculously stopped the sun’s progression.  I love how that story was summed up:

There has never been a day like this one before or since, when the Lord answered such a prayer.  Surely the Lord fought for Israel that day!

                                                                                    Joshua 10:14

Up until that point in the journey of God’s people there had never been a day like that one.  But there was a day to come that would even be better–more amazing, more miraculous.  And what happened next was a reflection of that most glorious day to come.

Joshua found out that the five kings of their enemies had escaped and were hiding in a cave at Makkedah.  When Joshua found out, he issued this command:

“Cover the opening of the cave with large rocks and place guards at the entrance to keep the kings inside.”  Later, Joshua commanded that the stones be removed from the mouth of the cave.

²² Then Joshua said, “Remove the rocks covering the opening of the cave, and bring the five kings to me.” ²³ So they brought the five kings out of the cave—the kings of Jerusalem, Hebron, Jarmuth, Lachish, and Eglon. ²⁴ When they brought them out, Joshua told the commanders of his army, “Come and put your feet on the kings’ necks.” And they did as they were told.

²⁵ “Don’t ever be afraid or discouraged,” Joshua told his men. “Be strong and courageous, for the Lord is going to do this to all of your enemies.” ²⁶ Then Joshua killed each of the five kings and impaled them on five sharpened poles, where they hung until evening.

                                                                                    Joshua 10:22-26

This passage is a profound mirror image of what was to come.  I say mirror image because even though the reflection is the same, some of the elements are backward.  First, we have a cave with kings inside.  Next, we have stones covering the cave, forming a human graveyard.  The soldiers guarded the entrance for extra assurance of their victory over these kings.  Then, comes the command to roll away the stones and out comes the kings, alive and well.  Only their life would soon be taken from them by a holy one.  He crushes their neck and head with their feet and then hang them on a pole where they hung until evening.  As gruesome as this sounds, it was a righteous judgement for those cultural times.

Fast forward to the darkest and greatest day in history.  God allowed Jesus, the Righteous One, to carry the sins for an unrighteous people.  He hung on a tree and had to be removed before nightfall.  In doing this, He fulfilled the first prophesy of the coming Savior.

¹⁴ Then the Lord God said to the serpent,

“Because you have done this, you are cursed
    more than all animals, domestic and wild.
You will crawl on your belly,
    groveling in the dust as long as you live.
¹⁵ And I will cause hostility between you and the woman,
    and between your offspring and her offspring.
He will strike^[b] your head,
    and you will strike his heel.”

Genesis 3:14-15

At the cross, Jesus stomped the head of Satan, defeating his kingship forever.  For three days, he was in the grave.  This was a cave with a large rock put at the entrance, with soldiers guarding the entrance.  When He entered that cave, that grave, He was literally unrighteous.  It hurts my heart to write that.  But He was not unrighteous with His own sin, He was unrighteous with mine.  When He rose again, He was once again reinstate to perfect righteousness.  He had shaken off my sin and defeated it forever.  He did not have to wait for a righteous one to roll away the stone, the great King inside who had defeated every other unrighteous king, rolled away the stone Himself when He rose again from the dead.  The Righteous One who carried our sins so that we could stand in His righteousness, is no longer in the cave.  The King of King has rolled away the stone, stomped Satan’s headship, and offered us life eternal.

Today is Good Friday.  When I was younger, I couldn’t understand why they called it good.  But now I get it.  This passage in Joshua was a reflection of what would come.  It was a hopeful preview.  But we have already seen and experienced the feature story.  It has already happened.  In our glancing back, we know the end of the story.  We know that it is Good Friday, because that was not the end of the story.  It may be Friday, but Sunday is coming!  Indeed, that glorious Resurrection has already come and we can rejoice that our King is the King of all kings and the Lord of all Lords.  Remember the grave today.  Let’s grieve for what He had to go through, what He had to endure for us.  But let’s not grieve as those who have no hope.  We know the end of the story.  We are recipients of that glorious ending.  Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty, the One who was and is and is to come!