Daily Bible Devotionals

“Now Joshua was old, advanced in years. And the Lord said to him: ‘You are old, advanced in years, and there remains very much land yet to be possessed. This is the land that yet remains…’” Joshua 13:1-2a (NKJV)

In chapters 13 and 14, the Lord quickly turned Israel’s focus from past victories to unconquered land. The first thing the Lord does is strengthen Israel’s leader, Joshua. Aging warriors are more pitied than remembered. At a point where Joshua may have “felt” unable to fight, God declares him “able.”

Personally, I love how God begins by acknowledging Joshua’s obvious physical limitations. “You’re old, advanced in years.” I’ve heard it said that you’re only as young as you feel. God was letting Joshua know He was aware of his advanced years. But more important than Joshua’s age was God’s promise of victory!

“Don’t stop!” Those were the words of my college Cross Country coach, Jay Flannigan. I had been resting an injury for a week when it came time for our meet at Murray State University. Because I didn’t feel able to run, my coach convinced me to run the first 2 miles of a six-mile race. At the end of 2 miles, I was in 1st place, so coach yelled out, “Don’t stop! I’ll see you at the next mile marker!” I yelled out, “I’m hurting! He responded, “You’re winning!”

For the next 4 miles, Coach Flannigan and I had the same discussion at each mile marker. I wanted to quit at the end of every mile, and Coach kept saying, “You can’t quit while you’re in 1st place!” That day, not only did I win the race, but I set a course record.

Perhaps, you’re tired of running the race of “Faith.” Maybe you feel like you’re too old or too young to rise to whatever occasion the Lord is calling you. Keep running! Keep on believing! It’s the only way to win.

God will go before us when we invest our faith in action. We have faith because we have a promise. We gain understanding of His promise when we commit to study His word. Then, when we pray, “How should I employ Your Word in my life?” He gives us a plan, HIS PLAN, which guarantees success in what He has called us.

True success is not a matter of age or lack thereof. Success, in God’s eyes, is when His people move out in faith. He provides the calling and equipping, but we must respond in obedience before He will provide the increase.

“Moses the Lord’s servant and the Israelites struck them down. And Moses the Lord’s servant gave their land as an inheritance to the Reubenites, Gadites, and half tribe of Manasseh. Joshua and the Israelites struck down the following kings of the land beyond the Jordan to the west, from Baal-gad in the valley of Lebanon to Mount Halak, which ascends toward Seir (Joshua gave their land as an inheritance to the tribes of Israel according to their allotments)” Joshua 12:6-7 (HCSB)

Under the leadership of Moses, the Lord delivered Israel from the bondage of Egypt and led them to the edge of the Jordan. Under Joshua’s leadership, the Lord allowed Israel to cross the Jordan and conquer the major kingdoms in Canaan. Between Moses and Joshua, 31 kings were killed.

The Exodus was long past, and the major obstacles in Canaan were completely destroyed. Now, it only remained for the individual Israelite tribes to dispossess the remaining inhabitants and claim their tribal allotments.

In what may seem like a simple transitional chapter, I believe there is a profound message here that is relevant to us: Finish the work! By now, you are familiar with the idea that Israel’s deliverance is also a metaphor for our deliverance through Messiah, Jesus. Moses represents the Law, and Joshua is a messiah figure, so now the story focuses on our part.

When we share the gospel, the first thing we convey is that all men are sinners. God’s standard (as articulated in the Bible) exposes man’s sin by laying out God’s character and His standard. The law cannot save us, but it can draw us out from the world, seeking the God Who sets the standard. Likewise, Moses led Israel out of Egypt, following the Lord, but Moses could not deliver them into the “promised land.”

Joshua led Israel across the Jordan and defeated all the major enemies in the land. The land was Israel’s. But then, each tribe had the challenge of driving out the remaining inhabitants. Israel’s success in the land was dependent upon their willingness to trust God to go before them, not as a nation, but as individual tribes. God’s relationship with Israel became increasingly personal: A “mixed multitude” leaves Egypt; Israel takes its national inheritance; independent tribes pursue their personal allotments.

Similarly, Jesus defeated the major enemies of mankind: death and sin. Salvation is completely by Grace through Faith in Jesus. Yet enemies remain in the form of our “former inhabitants,” aka our lingering sin nature. It is our challenge to drive out the remaining “inhabitants” so that we may fully thrive in our deliverance by God’s grace when we faithfully place our trust in Jesus. Of course, God gives us the same encouragement He gave Israel. He will gracefully go before us, and we will defeat those “former inhabitants” if we will trust His Word and fight by faith!

“At that time, Joshua proceeded to exterminate the Anakim from the hill country – Hebron, Debir, Anab – all the hill country of Judah and Israel. Joshua completely destroyed them with their cities. No Anakim were left in the land of the Israelites, except for some remaining in Gaza, Gath and Ashdod. So Joshua took the entire land, in keeping with all that the Lord had told Moses. Joshua then gave it as an inheritance to Israel according to their tribal allotments. After this, the land had rest from war.” Joshua 11:21-23 (HCSB)

Who were the Anakim? They were the “giants in the land.” Remember the negative report concerning Canaan, which 10-of-the-12 spies gave to Moses?

“They reported to Moses: “We went into the land where you sent us. Indeed it is flowing with milk and honey, and here is some of its fruit. However, the people living in the land are strong, and the cities are large and fortified. We also saw descendants of Anak there.” Numbers 13:27-28 (HCSB)

Were there actual “giants” in Canaan? Yes. But should that have stopped Israel from trusting the Lord’s promise, “You will defeat them”? Obviously not! We all face spiritual opposition, and some of our battles are against spiritual “giants.” It would be utterly impossible for us to defeat them unless God were with us. And He is.

People generally don’t trust God because they don’t know Him well. They may know things about Him, but they don’t spend quality time with Him on a regular basis. I say it often, but Trust = Character/Time.

The best way to build your trust with the Lord is by experiencing His character through spending time in His Word, the Bible. In the Bible, we experience the triumphs and trials of people just like us. You experience God’s love and great promises but also His rebuke and judgment.

Israel is truly a nation of priests. It is through their story, the recount of their faithful choices (and faithless-ness), that we experience God’s character and interaction with people. Their story spans throughout history yet is condensed into a collection of relatively short books. Simply turn on the network news, and you can join their ongoing “narrative” in our generation, but you will never get the full story in its proper context until you personally and consistently seek God’s Word, the Bible. God’s Word should be the filter through which you view the World.

That being said, we will never defeat the “Giants” in our lives until we do as Joshua did:

“So Joshua took the entire land, in keeping with ALL that the Lord had told Moses.” Where do we learn all that the Lord commands, concerning defeating giants? And from what source do we muster the confidence to obey His commands? His revealed Word, the Bible. (Romans 10:17)

Grab your Bible & experience the Groundworks Ministries Podcast as Steve Wiggins leads us through the full chapter of Joshua 10. Click the links below to watch or listen now!

“Then the men of Israel took some of their provisions, but did not seek the Lord’s counsel. So Joshua established peace with them and made a treaty to let them live, and the leaders of the community swore an oath to them. Three days after making the treaty with them, they heard that the Gibeonites were neighbors living among them. Joshua 9:14-16 (HCSB)

Let’s once again consider Israel’s deliverance into Canaan as a metaphor for our salvation. The “land” would represent your own body. The “former inhabitants” would be representative of those former fleshly desires that used to drive you down destructive paths.

Once Israel received deliverance, by God’s grace, they were commanded to drive out those former inhabitants. In a similar manner, once we have been delivered through Messiah, we are commanded to drive out the “former self” and its controlling desires.

Israel was doing a pretty good job of it. They had the issue with Achan taking the spoils of war, but they dealt with him. Soon, they were back on the path to victorious dispossession.

Then came the Gibeonites. Israel was so naïve that they fell for a scam that seemed too simple to be a lie! Followers of Jesus, immature in their faith, can do the same thing. Sometimes, older believers display the same immaturities as younger believers!

Satan comes to lie, steal and destroy. He lies to entice you away from the Lord. Once you fall for the lie, he steals your blessing. Set apart from the Lord’s blessing, Satan has effectually destroyed your impact as a believer. Often, he will present a “former inhabitant” in a new light or even try to disguise it as a whole other thing that the Lord would approve of.

Israel’s problem is that they forgot the most important part of their investigation: They didn’t seek the Lord’s counsel.

You may have experienced victories in various areas of morality, but don’t ever believe the lie that says you don’t need to seek the Lord continually. He cares about the smallest details of your life. The only stupid question is the one you didn’t take to the Lord and weigh it against the trustworthiness of His Word.

Consider the verse we teach children and never forget we are children in God’s eyes:

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths. Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord and depart from evil. It will be health to your flesh, and strength to your bones." Proverbs 3:5-8 (NKJV)

“Now the Lord said to Joshua: ‘Do not be afraid, nor be dismayed: take all the people of war with you and arise, go up to Ai. See, I have given into your hand the king of Ai, his people, his city, and his land. And you shall do to Ai and its king as you did to Jericho and its king. Only its spoil and its cattle you shall take as booty for yourselves. Lay an ambush for the city behind it.’ So Joshua arose, and all the people of war, to go up against Ai; and Joshua chose thirty thousand mighty men of valor and sent them away by night.” Joshua 8:1-3 (NKJV)

I love my Google Maps app. Sure, I love it because it gives me exact turn-by-turn directions to the places I want to go, and I love it because it takes into consideration real-time events like road construction and traffic accidents and re-routes me accordingly. But I love Google Maps MOSTLY because there is no shame in it.

If I fail to make a wrong turn, Google Maps simply finds the next best route based on my position. That is because the goal of Google Maps is to get me where I want to be without emotions getting in the way. Google Maps never says, “You’re such an idiot!” or “Why don’t you listen to me?” It never tells me, “You are a bonehead like your dad!” You know, things I might hear from certain other passengers in the car, who are stressed out and late for an appointment…

In today’s passage, we are reminded that the Lord lays aside the shame and guilt from the previous chapter and redirects Israel toward His goal of victory in Ai. We are reminded of His grace and mercy toward His people. Once the sin has been purged, the Lord encourages Joshua that He will again go before the army of Israel and guarantee victory. We are reminded of His forgiving character, that God does not hold a grudge. Once sin is dealt with, He sets us back on the path of righteousness.

“If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” 1 John 1:9 (NKJV)

“For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is His faithful love toward those who fear Him. As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us. Just as a father has compassion on his children, so the Lord has compassion on those who fear Him. For He knows what we are made of, remembering that we are dust.” Psalm 103:11-14 (HCSB)

Once God has given His assurance of victory, the details of the battle sort of fly by. Sure, there is a narrative and some drama with an ambush, but the whole battle only takes up a few paragraphs, like reading a news story. The real drama happens at the chapter’s end: Re-Writing and Reading the Torah of Moses. And that remembrance and re-commitment are what we do when we seek His Word each day. Keep your focus on the Lord and His Word, and the idolatry of this world will be exposed as the harlotry it is! And you will walk in victory, as the Lord promises.

“Achan replied to Joshua, ‘It is true. I have sinned against the Lord, the God of Israel. This is what I did: When I saw among the spoils a beautiful cloak from Babylon, 200 silver shekels, and a bar of gold weighing 50 shekels, I coveted them and took them. You can see for yourself. They are concealed in the ground inside my tent, with the money under the cloak.’” Joshua 7:20-21 (HCSB)

Achin’s confession provides precise insight into the pattern of sin. There are predictable steps that people always take leading up to the “sin act.”

Achin responds to Joshua: 1) I saw, 2) I coveted, 3) I took, and 4) I hid.

We have all willfully disobeyed the Lord. Be honest; we have all done it. It always begins with a look. Seeing is not a sin. It’s just an awareness that something exists. For instance, there is nothing wrong with recognizing someone is attractive. There’s obviously nothing wrong with being attractive. (That is, as long as you’re not knowingly exploiting your attractiveness in such a way as to tempt someone.) But we get into moral hot water when we linger on what we see.

Lingering too long on an object of desire can lead to coveting. Coveting is a form of idolatry where you ascribe power & control to something that should otherwise have a benign effect on you. Eventually, you simply can’t live without the object of your desire, regardless of what God says about the matter. You become obsessed.

Obsession is a heart condition; it is sin. Unchecked covetous obsession leads to some form of “acting out.” That action of sinning has observable consequences.

The primary consequence of sin is to the offender. That consequence is called “guilt.” When people feel guilty, they cover their sin instead of confessing. If they would confess, the Lord would forgive them, and the community could bring them into accountability and restoration. Sadly, since it was pride that turned the sinner away from righteousness, it is typically pride that keeps them from confession and restoration.

Once sin is hidden, there is only one step left: Revelation. That is God’s part. God exposes the sinner. His revelation of sin is not the same as man’s confession. Confession is good for the soul, but the un-willful revelation of sin leads to some manner of stricter judgment and remorse.

In closing, there is a concept taught in today’s passage that seems to be lost in our society. It is the concept that one person’s sin affects the entire community. There is no personal secret sin that only affects you. Just as your personal devotion to God plays an important role in the overall health of a Godly community, your personal sin is damaging to that community.

“…resist the Devil, and he will flee from you.” James 4:7 (HCSB) (Matthew 4:1-11)

“The Lord said to Joshua, ‘Look, I have handed Jericho, its king, and its fighting men over to you. March around the city with all the men of war, circling the city one time. Do this six days. Have seven priests carry seven ram’s horn trumpets (shofars) in front of the ark. But on the seventh day, march around the city seven times, while the priests blow the trumpets. When there is a prolonged blast of the horn and you hear its sound, have all the people give a mighty shout. Then the city wall will collapse, and the people will advance, each man straight ahead.’” Joshua 6:2-5 (HCSB)

Let’s face it. Some things the Lord asks us to do simply don’t make sense to us at the time. Sometimes, life seems to fall apart. Whenever that happens, we feel the urge to put God on the back burner and take control of ourselves. All the while, the Lord is telling us, “Be still, and watch me deliver you….”

If we were honest with each other, we’d have to admit we want God to supply everything we need, with no effort on our part. But that’s not God’s plan. If you listen closely, you can hear God saying, “Work hard, and I will deliver you.”

So, do we wait on him, or do we work hard? In a word, YES! The key to following the Lord is in our closeness to Him and our listening for His direction. Sometimes He shouts, but mostly He speaks at a normal volume or even whispers. He is not silent; we’re just not listening.

Just outside of Jericho, the Israelites must have been thinking Joshua was out of his mind. “You want us to WHAT?” Not only were they commanded to march around Jericho once a day for six days and blow trumpets, but they couldn’t even utter a word. In the words of my friend, Rabbi Larry Feldman, “Do you know how hard it is to keep Jewish people from talking? There’s your miracle!”

Israel had to learn a lesson in obedience, and we could all learn from it. If the victory is the Lord’s, the battle method is arbitrary. Not unimportant, just arbitrary to conventional thought. How does tithing expand your business? How does prayer heal a person’s cancer? How does reading Scripture restore a marriage? None of those things, in and of themselves, accomplishes those goals. God performs the miracle, but He commands us to faithfully obey His Word.

God may give us limited participation in the processes, but He doesn’t need us to accomplish His purposes. He simply calls us to obey. Sometimes, I wonder if the (seemingly) arbitrary nature of our participation is exactly what He intended, so the source of the victory will be undeniably Him!

“At that time, the Lord said to Joshua, ‘Make flint knives and circumcise the Israelite men again.’  So Joshua made flint knives and circumcised the Israelite men at Gibeath-haaraloth.  This is the reason Joshua circumcised them: All the people who came out of Egypt who were males – all the men of war – had died in the wilderness along the way after they had come out of Egypt.  Though all the people who came out were circumcised, none of the people born in the wilderness along the way were circumcised after they came out of Egypt.”  Joshua 5:2-5 (HCSB)

Sometimes our sin cannot be fully realized in our lifetime.  This is especially true with so-called “secret sin,” or sins of the heart.  Of course, God knows everything, so there is no “secret sin.”  But sinful thoughts and attitudes, which are not displayed in overtly demonstrative ways, are still transmitted and “caught” by those close to you: this is whether you know it or not.  People close to you know you better than you may think.

Not all people who do good deeds have a good heart.  But all people whose hearts are right will do good deeds.  If you follow a righteous person home and spy on their intimate surroundings, you’ll find that righteousness begins with simple habits of personal worship: They read their Bibles and pray; they begin the day grounded.  Then, they teach God’s Word to their children, share it with their spouse, friends, and co-workers, etc.

Israel had developed a “heart problem.”  After they had personally set themselves apart through circumcision, they had neglected to circumcise the next generation.  So much so that EVERY boy born in the desert could be distinguished by his un-circumcision!

God commanded Joshua to perform a simple (albeit extremely painful) procedure that every parent had denied their baby boys on the eighth day after their child’s birth.  Interestingly, doctors say circumcision hurts infants much less than adults.  Infants heal faster and are less mobile, thus irritating their circumcised “area” less.

There are certain things the Lord requires of us; no questions or negotiations allowed.  Delaying obedience only delays the inevitable.  The “Exodus generation” Israelites’ lack of personal zeal affected at least two generations: Theirs and their childrens. 1) They were personally not allowed to enter the Promised Land, and 2) They caused undue trauma to their children.