Tag: Joshua

All Hands on Deck!

nofearlindaLeave a comment

Jehovah Nissi means The Lord is My Banner. I came across this recently in my Bible reading in Exodus 17:15. Here is the scene: the Israelites were journeying from captivity in Egypt to the promised land, Canaan, and the Amalekites decided to attack them. Moses give directions to Joshua, Aaron and Hur. “ So Moses said to Joshua, “Choose for us men, and go out and fight with Amalek. Tomorrow I will stand on the top of the hill with the staff of God in my hand.” 10 So Joshua did as Moses told him, and fought with Amalek, while Moses, Aaron, and Hur went up to the top of the hill. 11 Whenever Moses held up his hand, Israel prevailed, and whenever he lowered his hand, Amalek prevailed. 12 But Moses’ hands grew weary, so they took a stone and put it under him, and he sat on it, while Aaron and Hur held up his hands, one on one side, and the other on the other side. So his hands were steady until the going down of the sun.“13 And Joshua overwhelmed Amalek and his people with the sword. They prevailed and won the battle with God’s help.

Then in verse 15 “And Moses built an altar and called the name of it, The Lord Is My Banner,”. God was their banner or standard for victory. When they upheld Moses’ hands as God had required- they prevailed. When Moses let his hands fall to rest- they succumbed to the enemy. So Moses enlisted some help. He knew that God would win the battle if they remained faithful to their part in the battle- hands up dependent upon God! He did not attempt to go it alone but had support so that the victory could be accomplished. There is a lesson for us in this. Doing God’s work is important but it needs not to be done alone. Keeping your eye on God, you can ask others to come alongside and help. We are meant to do things in community. Hebrews 10:24-25 speaks to this point. “And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.” As we live and work for Jesus, we need to think of how to involve others in God’s work. How to encourage them in the work they are doing for God and ask if you can help. Because Christ died on the cross and rose from the dead, I can do God’s work with others and work in community. I do not have to be alone.

Consider that time is short and all hands need to be on deck. The work of the Lord needs to be done by everyone. There is no retirement for Christians, everyone is needed every day to spread the good news about Jesus! Whom can you tell, encourage, or support with your help today?

Linda

God, “I know what is coming…Be prepared”

nofearlindaLeave a comment

In this week’s Stream of Water from God’s Word in Deuteronomy 31:14-29, the Lord tells Moses to bring Joshua to the tabernacle for his commissioning as the future leader. Moses was going to die soon and the Lord wanted to forewarn Joshua about what was in his future and set him apart as the chosen leader. The Lord said the people would forsake Him and go looking for other gods when they got to the land God had promised them. He wanted Joshua to be a strong leader who was aware of the problems in front of him. To help with the tendency to sin and wander, God had Moses write a song of remembrance. The song would remind the people of who God is, what He expects of them and the consequences for disobedience.

My question to you is, what do you have that reminds you of who God is and and what He expects of you? What or where is your song? I have a dear friend who has a prayer journal. In it she records the amazing answers to prayer God has provided for the big things that happen in her life. By recording the milestones, she can glance back and remember the hard times and how God provided for her and her family in each really difficult circumstance. She can see how God brought goodness and joy, out of seeming disasters. How God provided for her in ways she had not even imagined and often did not even know existed. Her journal is a way of keeping God real and reminding her of who God is and of His love for her.

Meditate on the passage as you read and ask God, what should be your song of remembrance? How can you keep God real in your life so you can stand firmly with Him when times get hard.

Linda

Deuteronomy 31:14-29 14 Then the Lord said to Moses, “The time has come for you to die. Call Joshua and present yourselves at the Tabernacle, so that I may commission him there.” So Moses and Joshua went and presented themselves at the Tabernacle. 15 And the Lord appeared to them in a pillar of cloud that stood at the entrance to the sacred tent.

16 The Lord said to Moses, “You are about to die and join your ancestors. After you are gone, these people will begin to worship foreign gods, the gods of the land where they are going. They will abandon me and break my covenant that I have made with them. 17 Then my anger will blaze forth against them. I will abandon them, hiding my face from them, and they will be devoured. Terrible trouble will come down on them, and on that day they will say, ‘These disasters have come down on us because God is no longer among us!’ 18 At that time I will hide my face from them on account of all the evil they commit by worshiping other gods.

19 “So write down the words of this song, and teach it to the people of Israel. Help them learn it, so it may serve as a witness for me against them. 20 For I will bring them into the land I swore to give their ancestors—a land flowing with milk and honey. There they will become prosperous, eat all the food they want, and become fat. But they will begin to worship other gods; they will despise me and break my covenant. 21 And when great disasters come down on them, this song will stand as evidence against them, for it will never be forgotten by their descendants. I know the intentions of these people, even now before they have entered the land I swore to give them.”

22 So that very day Moses wrote down the words of the song and taught it to the Israelites.

23 Then the Lord commissioned Joshua son of Nun with these words: “Be strong and courageous, for you must bring the people of Israel into the land I swore to give them. I will be with you.”

24 When Moses had finished writing this entire body of instruction in a book, 25 he gave this command to the Levites who carried the Ark of the Lord’s Covenant: 26 “Take this Book of Instruction and place it beside the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord your God, so it may remain there as a witness against the people of Israel. 27 For I know how rebellious and stubborn you are. Even now, while I am still alive and am here with you, you have rebelled against the Lord. How much more rebellious will you be after my death!

28 “Now summon all the elders and officials of your tribes, so that I can speak to them directly and call heaven and earth to witness against them. 29 I know that after my death you will become utterly corrupt and will turn from the way I have commanded you to follow. In the days to come, disaster will come down on you, for you will do what is evil in the Lord’s sight, making him very angry with your actions.”