Week 11

Guess what? Week 12 begins tomorrow, and I'm just posting for week 11! Surprised, aren't ya?

Yeah, me either. Here's hoping for an earlier post soon!


Topic of Interest

* Many people know about God's parting of the Red Sea before Moses and the Israelites, but few remember about the parting of the river, Jordan, before Joshua and the Israelites. Take time to really read it. Was it less of a miracle because it was only a river as compared to a sea? Certainly not. Why is it then that we often don't remember it? God instructed the Israelites to erect standing stones as a witness, or a marker, of what was done there. Obviously, He didn't intend for it to be forgotten.


Point to consider:

I'm going to deviate from pattern a little bit this week. I'm also going to be very brief, but hopefully give you something to consider, meditate on, and comment.

The one thing that struck me significantly this week was the repetition of God's command "You must purge the evil from among you." When an author wants you to really remember something, they repeat it. We read 20 chapters this week. In those 20 chapters, God repeated that edict 8 times. It was used 3 times in the chapters we read last week.

We will see in coming weeks that the Israelites did not do this overall. One phrase to look for will be "And there was no king in the land of Israel in those days, and every man did what was right in his own eyes." (or some variant depending on which translation you are reading). In those days, Israelites decided what was right and wrong for themselves instead judging by God's word. They turned completely from God and openly worshiped idols and other gods. They did not purge the sin from among themselves. As a result, they would be conquered and scattered throughout the world just as God prophesied. It was prophesied several times, the latest we just read:

And the LORD said to Moses: "You are going to rest with your fathers, and these people will soon prostitute themselves to the foreign gods of the land they are entering. They will forsake me and break the covenant I made with them. (Deuteronomy 31:16)

Paul writes in 1 Thessalonians 4:7 that "God did not call us to be impure, but to live a holy life." To live a holy life, we must purge the evil from among us.

He writes in Galatians 5:13 "For you were called to freedom, brethren; only do not turn your freedom into an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another."

"You must purge the evil from among you." Are we paying attention? Are we purging the evil from our own lives? From our family? From our community? From our church? From our nation?

If we aren't, are we ready to face our consequences as did the Israelites? Have our consequences already began?