Part of retelling this story is just to observe what happens in it. It is to see God at work, doing what God had promised. What strikes me in this story is the phrase: "And that is what happened." It is a simple sentence to sum up everything God had promised the Israelites.
| "And that is what happened." |
Joshua 3:1-17 click here for the reading
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Joshua 2:1-21 click here for the reading This story plays out like a movie. Two men of God come into the land they are given by God to spy on what is going on. A harlot women shelters them from the King's men. She asks for an agreement on their terms, they all agree.....
Dun dun dada Dun dun dada Dun dun dada Dun dun dada Dun dun dada Dun dun dada doo de doo doo de doo As part of THE Story, we might miss out on one of its greater characters, Rahab. As a women, pagan, prostitute some might think that she might not be interested in this God of Israel but it appears that is not the case at all. She is the one who proclaims God's victory before it happens. She is the one who has faith beyond the reality of being caught for treason. She is the one who initiated hiding these spies. Could God be at work in this Canaanite prostitute? The book of Hebrews recognizes her faith as part of the champions of faith chapter (Hebrews 11:31). "By an act of faith, Rahab, the Jericho harlot, welcomed the spies and escaped the destruction that came on those who refused to trust God." Certainly her witness plays an important role for Jesus ministry to those other less suspecting characters that most of society has forgotten; the poor, the widow, the orphan, the prostitutes, the sinners. As we read the Bible, women often get the shaft. Yet here we see an unlikely hero participating in what God is doing and risking her own life to do it (an aspect of discipleship). Lord thank you for the unsung heros of faith. Joshua 1:1-9 Click here for the reading After Moses death, Joshua is now 'the man.' So God charges Joshua to do 3 things:
1) Get going. 2) Be strong and courageous because I am with you. 3) Don't forget all the stuff I talked to Moses about. But there is a depth here that is worth mentioning. This is the people's GPS, God Positioning System. So when people question 'where are we going? are we there yet? where is God?" Joshua will be strengthened and shaped by accessing God's presence, like Moses. Or when the people say "Moses wouldn't have done it this way. That's not what we did when we were in Marah." Joshua is not leading the way and he will need to be clear about his direction. That direction comes from accessing God Deuteronomy 34:1-12 Click here for the reading There are a a few things going on here other than the death of Moses.
1) yes Moses dies. But think about the context in which Moses dies. a) All the hard work and putting up with a complaining people while he tries to achieve his life's purpose of leading God's people out of slavery into a Land God promised....is now going to come to an end just before they get there?!. 2) Moses gets to see the Land before he dies. I think there is something beautiful about this. A long time ago when I was struggling in ministry some wonderful words were spoken to me. "You don't always get to sit under the trees of the seeds you plant." It is a constant reminder that we are being used by God for God's purpose. It seems cruel for Moses to die before the people recieve the long awaited prized possession but imagine how awesome Moses must have felt to at least glimpse at the place his own heart desired for God's people. 3) God kills Moses. Yep, it is right there, God is the one who takes away Moses life and even buries him. Why? 4) The people mourn for 30 days Moses' death. These are the same people who have grumbled and complained to and about him all this time. 5) Joshua picks up the staff of leadership after Moses death. The people lay hands on Joshua and he is the one who will now lead the people. Joshua had been prepared for this role by Moses himself. More than a mentor-ship, it was a relationship that was learned by imitation. Exodus 19:3-7; 20:1-17 Click here for the readings One of my favorite retelling of the 10 commandments is from Mel Brooks in "history of the world part 1." Moses brings down the 15 commandments and then trips and breaks one tablet with 5 commandments. It's funny but most importantly it pokes fun at the numbering of commandments. This is not about memorization (although that too is a good thing). This is about relationship. There are over 600 commandments in the Hebrew Scriptures.
Our society has either ignored living into these or bandied about so as to use them as political talking points. Stephen Colbert once interviewed a politician who was up in arms because the 10 commandments had been moved out of the courthouse in his district. Colbert asked the congressmen to name the 10 commandments, the congressmen got 3 of them. God gave us these commands to God's people because they were out of relationship. Remember, it had been 400 years since they were able to worship God freely in Egypt. So God gives them boundaries within the relationship. Every Good and healthy relationship starts off with boundaries....good boundaries, healthy boundaries. Lord, thank you for giving us boundaries to live into for the good of our relationship with you and with others. - Amen. |
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