Pages

Monday, October 31, 2016

Courage that Moves

We left Joshua and the Israelites last week after one loss and one win.  They lost because of rebellion in the Israelite camp.  They won when the rebellion was removed and Israel became Holy again – walking together with God.

As soon as all the kings who were beyond the Jordan in the hill country and in the lowland all along the coast of the Great Sea toward Lebanon, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, heard of this, they gathered together as one to fight against Joshua and Israel. (Joshua 9:1-2 ESV)

Joshua and the Israelites have a difficult job to do.  God has pronounced judgement on the people living in the promised land.  Their words and actions are so bad that God has decided to wipe them out and start over.  (Remember, God has done this before in Noah’s day.)

And the LORD spoke to Moses in the plains of Moab by the Jordan at Jericho, saying, "Speak to the people of Israel and say to them, When you pass over the Jordan into the land of Canaan, then you shall drive out all the inhabitants of the land from before you and destroy all their figured stones and destroy all their metal images and demolish all their high places. And you shall take possession of the land and settle in it, for I have given the land to you to possess it. (Numbers 33:50-53 ESV)

While God has promised never to wipe out all creatures with a flood, He still reserved the right to wipe out individuals and groups who are so rebellious that they are hurting others and are not going to return to God.  This is the case with the inhabitants of the promised land.  They needed to be stopped and removed.  Joshua and the Israelites would need to go into battle…a lot. They needed courage that would sustain them over a long period of time, moving from place to place.  They needed courage that moves.

How about you?  Do you need reminders that God is with you as you go from place to place throughout your days, weeks, months, and years?  Do you need courage that moves?

No comments:

Post a Comment