All these kings came out to fight. Their combined armies formed a vast horde. And with all their horses and chariots, they covered the landscape like the sand on the seashore. The kings joined forces and established their camp around the water near Merom to fight against Israel. Then the LORD said to Joshua, “Do not be afraid of them. By this time tomorrow I will hand all of them over to Israel…. As the LORD had commanded His servant Moses, so Moses commanded Joshua. And Joshua did as he was told, carefully obeying all the commands that the LORD had given to Moses. (Joshua 11:4-6, 15 NLT) The kings of the northern cities had seen all that had gone on before. They had seen the destruction of Jericho and Ai after those kings had foolishly tried to withstand the Israelites on their own. They had seen the five kings from the south who had joined forces to no avail. But again, instead of seeking peace, surrendering to the Israelites, and submitting to their God, they hardened their hearts and, filled with selfish ambition and pride, chose to fight the Israelites. As Joshua led the Israelites to turn their attention to the north, the northern kings determined that their one chance of survival was for all of the armies of the north to come together.
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The day God provided a ram to be sacrificed in the place of his son Isaac, Abraham called that place Jehovah Jireh, meaning “The Lord will provide.”(1) That day was to be a reminder to all generations that the Lord will provide. He will be faithful to provide just what is needed at the exact time it is needed. He is seldom early; but He is never late! He seldom provides in the manner we anticipate; but He always provides in a way that is sufficient. That was true for Abraham and Isaac, it was true for Moses and the Israelites, and it is true for us today.
God promised Moses and the Israelites that each morning He would provide bread that would be sufficient for every person for the day – everyone would have their fill.(2) After the people had gotten over the shock that this “white, flaky stuff” was God’s bread for them, they set about the process of gathering what was needed for their household. God’s provision, though “packaged” in a very unexpected way, came with very specific instructions.
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There is no such thing as a perfect church. That statement does not come as a shock to any of us, whether we are a part of a church … or not. However, i do believe that those of us inside the church often tend to want everyone to believe we have it all together. We have a tendency to hide the “real me” behind a mask and cover up the things, the hurts, the doubts, and the imperfections that we don’t want anyone else to see. (It’s similar to the way most of us – believers and non-believers alike – tend to portray ourselves on social media.)
i also believe that those outside the church often project that false impression – that we think we’re perfect – upon the church, and enjoy highlighting the downfall of those within the church when they fall.
No, the church isn’t perfect, but then again, it never has been! But we endeavor to worship, follow, and follow the example of the only One who is and ever was perfect.
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We live in a day filled with upheaval, confusion, and uncertainty. It therefore comes as no surprise that the rates of depression, anxiety, and fearfulness about the future continue to reach new highs among adults in the U. S. according to a Gallup poll published in May 2023.(1) But as followers of Christ, we can take heart that the perilous times in which we find ourselves are also indicative of the days to come that Jesus described two thousand years ago. We can embrace the hope we have through the promises and assurance He gave to His disciples—and through them, to us.
Jesus was sitting on the slopes of the Mount of Olives with His disciples telling them about the perilous times that would signal the end of the age and His return.(2) The disciples, in turn, asked Him three questions:
1. When will all this happen?
2. What sign will signal Your return?
3. What sign will signal the end of the world?
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The New King James translation of Luke 9:51 says “Now it came to pass, when the time had come for Jesus to be received up, that He steadfastly set His face to go to Jerusalem.” The timeframe of this particular journey recorded in Luke 9 was well over a year before Jesus arrived in Jerusalem on what we call Palm Sunday. He still had much yet to do, messages yet to preach, and miracles yet to perform. But in this verse, Luke is reminding us that Jesus never lost sight of why the Father had sent Him. No matter what was on His “to do list,” His face was always set, His eye was always focused, and His stride never wavered from His ultimate purpose.
Sometimes, as we remember the events of Holy Week, we can fall into a trap of thinking that Jesus’s crucifixion was the result of Judas’s betrayal, the Sanhedrin’s envy and hatred, Pilate’s spinelessness, and the soldiers’ cruelty. We can be lulled into thinking His death was involuntary. And salvation was the result of God taking something that the enemy meant for evil and using it for His glory and our good.
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NOTE: This week, just like last week, as we prepare for Good Friday and Resurrection Sunday, i want us to look at the events leading up to those days through the eyes of the second of two of Jesus’s disciples. But in so doing, i want us to see how the sin they both harbored in their hearts kept them from seeing the truth of God in those events.
Too often, the sin we harbor in our hearts keeps us from seeing God’s truth. Instead of confessing our sin, we justify it, and thus we fall headlong down the slippery slope. This week let’s see if we can learn from the second of the two men who despite his personal walk with Jesus became blinded to truth. And let’s see if we can learn from him.
Though elements of the story you are about to read are fictionalized, the ultimate truth it reveals is very real!
