Day 70 (Saturday) - Joshua 15-17

Can we all agree that these are no fun to read? There are so many tribes, land allotments, names, cities and most of it I can’t pronounce. I looked ahead and there is light at the end of the tunnel. Did anyone else get much from this?

Day 69 (Friday) - Joshua 11:10-14:15

There has been a significant amount of killing in the last few chapters. It’s not clear how long it’s been but Joshua is now an old man. The work of driving the people out of the land is still not done, but God is confirming his covenant with his people and allotting the necessary land plots to the tribes. I’m trying to put myself in the place of these people. They have never been that obedient so I can’t really give them a “holier than thou” label, so what must they be like as a result of all this killing. I mean to constantly kill people, women and children. I couldn’t do it…even in their situation…I’d be a blubbering pile of waste. It’s a time, culture and setting I just can’t relate to and as a result of my limitations, I’m sure I miss a lot of what God is trying to teach through all of this. I have an aversion to these chapters and I just try to get through them as I read. Maybe you have some deeper thoughts!

Day 68 (Thursday) - Joshua 8:24-11:9

How can the sun stay in the middle of the sky? As I see it, the earth has to stop rotating and orbiting! If the earth did stop rotating I guess everyone was roped to the dirt because without gravity they would all float around. Maybe this is why they so easily defeated the army. Also, how could you see the sun stop when there was a huge hail storm…these things can’t coexist? There is no real evidence of a missing day and the Egyptian, Chinese and Hindu account of the sun standing still are had, to say the least, to validate. Now I know that this goes against centuries if not millennia of tradition and biblical interpretation and translation, but I think I agree with current biblical scholarship that we have a translation issue, not a rotation issue.

In verse 13, the word translated “stood still” or “stopped” is the Hebrew word dōm and it is better translated “silenced”. The men had been chasing the army in the heat and could not continue on for the 18 hours of that day, but God silenced the sun through the deep cloud cover that also resulted in a hail storm. The cooler air and silencing of the sun allowed them to fight all day long.

Now if you need the sun to have stopped, I’m okay with that, but I think we just might have messed up on our translation back in the original King James that has continued on in tradition. It’s just my opinion!

Day 67 (Wednesday) - Joshua 5:1-8:23

When I was a Jr High student, I went to a beach camp one summer with my church youth group. While unpacking the food for the week, I came across dozens of Hersey bars that had been purchased with marshmallows and graham crackers for s'mores. My friend Matt and I decided to steal the candy and bury about 6 of them under our tent. That night, during the campfire message, the youth pastor read Joshua 7 and asked if anyone needed to confess. It took me all of about 2 seconds to give up the truth and I spent the night in that tent while everyone else got to play night games and eat s'mores. I still don’t like this chapter but I can relate!

Day 66 (Tuesday) - Joshua 1:10-4:24

The story of Rehab is a great story but in our text today, I like the crossing of the Jordan. There are specific instruction that God gives and when those instructions are followed obediently, their partnership with God results in blessing, safety and success! This will play out with Jericho in the near future. I find it interesting how much God requires our obedience and following of his law and prescriptions. I know I need to do a better job of not questioning God’s ways and obey more easily to cross the Jordan rivers in my life

Day 65 (Monday) - Deuteronomy 32:15-34:12; Joshua1:1-9

What a great worship song! Can you imagine us singing songs like that? In the modern worship wars, I hear people say that the new songs just repeat the same thing over and over like a broken record and that the songs never sing about the blood. For those that only like the new songs, they say that the hymns are boring and most people don’t even understand the words anymore. Some churches do a blend and tick everyone off and others do different services (traditional early and contemporary late) and they end up with two separate churches inside one building and the two will never meet! Well if we want to be pure, we need to put some of these Old Testament songs to some music. Original church hymns were sobering songs. “la la la la….I will heap disasters upon them and shoot them down with my arrows. I will weaken them with famine, burning fever, and deadly disease. I will send the fangs of wild beasts and poisonous snakes that glide in the dust. Outside, the sword will bring death, and inside, terror will strike both young men and young women, both infants and the aged. la la la la”

Day 64 (Sunday) - Deuteronomy 29:1-32:14

I really like Moses. He really does lead the people well. He is communicating clearly and making sure the people know what is expected of them. He tells them the truth and isn’t afraid of upsetting them. Even when he tells what will happen when the do disobey (prediction) he does it with strength and authority. Joshua has some big sandals to fill. Even in the appointment of Joshua, Moses is a class act. I continue to try to lead like Moses, but it’s no easy task. Thank you God for giving us Moses…we needed him!