Tag Archives: Jesus

Day 84: Our Call to Battle

Joshua 11-12; Luke 4:1-13

Key Verses

Joshua 11:18
Joshua made war a long time with all those kings.

Luke 4:7-8
“If you, then, will worship me, it will all be yours.” And Jesus answered [Satan], “It is written,
“‘You shall worship the Lord your God,
and him only shall you serve.'”

It takes maybe 5-10 minutes to read today’s reading. We read about Joshua destroying this city and killing that king. If you’re anything like me, it’s tempting to skim through quickly – and those with more sensitive hearts might skip this gruesome section altogether!

But think about this… the events in these two chapters of Joshua took a long time. Most commentators estimate around 7 years. Joshua was a real man who sacrificed much to obey the Lord. His life was not one of comfort or ease – he lived a life of faith – doing battle for his God.

Because God was establishing a nation – the battle he commanded was physical in nature.

But we live in the time when the gospel is available to all the nations. Our battle is now spiritual in nature.

Consider Jesus in Matthew 4… He battles with Satan not by clanging swords but by matching wits. Jesus, the 2nd Adam, is able to overcome Satan’s lies because unlike the 1st Adam… He knew AND believed the truth of God’s word.

We’re called to the same spiritual battle. I pray we are equipped through the Spirit to understand God’s truth revealed in His Word.

For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places (Ephesians 6:12).

Day 82: Intricacy and Goodness

Joshua 6-8; Luke 2:22-52

Key Verses

Joshua 8:1-2
And the Lord said to Joshua, “Do not fear and do not be dismayed. Take all the fighting men with you, and arise, go up to Ai. See, I have given into your hand the king of Ai, and his people, his city, and his land. And you shall do to Ai and its king as you did to Jericho and its king.”

Luke 2:28-32
Simeon took him up in his arms and blessed God and said,
“Lord, now you are letting your servant depart in peace,
according to your word;
for my eyes have seen your salvation
that you have prepared in the presence of all peoples,
a light for revelation to the Gentiles,
and for glory to your people Israel.”

 

We have read of Abraham’s descendants moving to Egypt to escape the famine, of the people being enslaved by the Egyptians, of God’s amazing rescue mission. He indeed brought great judgment on Egypt and the people came out with great possessions. We’ve read of the giving of the law, of the building of the tabernacle, of the marching to Canaan, and of the people’s failure to enter the land. We’ve read in Numbers of the 40 years of wandering and we’ve listened to Moses reiterate the law in Deuteronomy.

And now, finally…the people begin to possess the land. In Genesis 15, God prophesied to Abraham that his ancestors would be enslaved in Egypt and would not possess the land until the 4th generation. Why did God make them wait so long? Because the iniquity of the Amorites was not complete. You see, God used every circumstance and weaved each failure as he orchestrated the perfect plan to both bless His people and bring judgment on a very sinful people. If Israel had taken the land earlier, it would have not been fair to the Amorites (one of the main peoples who lived in Canaan) for “the iniquity of the Amorites [was] not yet complete” (Gen 15:16).

God’s plans for the nations are intricate, complicated and good. But somehow God manages the same intricacy and goodness in His plans for individuals.

Consider Simeon in Luke’s passage. He is but one man. But like all people of faith, he was important to God. God had plans for him. Plans that included seeing the promised Messiah before he died. And God weaved and orchestrated so that Simeon, as an old man, would see Jesus as a 40-day-old infant.

And then God used Simeon, the individual, to prophesy God’s plan for the nations.

God’s ways are intricate and complicated. But most of all, they are good.

Day 81: Signs Among Us

Joshua 3-5; Luke 2:1-21

Key Verses

Joshua 5:13-14
When Joshua was by Jericho, he lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, a man was standing before him with his drawn sword in his hand. And Joshua went to him and said to him, “Are you for us, or for our adversaries?” And he said, “No; but I am the commander of the army of the Lord. Now I have come.”

Luke 2:9-11
And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with great fear. And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.”

Words are inadequate to describe the events in these chapters. The shepherds fall before angels, and Joshua bows before the Commander of the Lord’s army. The Israelites cross the Jordan on dry land and God squeezes his form into an infant’s shell.

God is the same… yesterday, today and forever. But have you ever wondered why God doesn’t show himself to us in such a dramatic fashion? I don’t know about you, but I’ve never seen the glory of an angel or crossed a river on dry ground. If God is the same, why does He seem so different?

First, miraculous signs don’t make it easier to believe. What did the people do after they saw God part the Red Sea, provide water and manna in the desert and descend on the temple in glory?? They failed to believe that God would help them defeat the Canaanites. They did not enter the land.

Second, I believe that He has chosen to display His power and work in the world through His church. It is a great responsibility – a work that requires humility and compassion – and can only be done as we are unified by the Spirit. Remember Jesus’ words in John 17…

 “My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me” (John 17:20-21 NIV).

The world notices when believers are unified and serve one another with humility and compassion. On the other hand, the world is quick to mock when we show division and hypocrisy.

And finally, we shouldn’t need signs because we have the privilege of having his Word. And even more importantly, we have Jesus.

And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth (John 1:14).

Day 79: An End and a Beginning

Deuteronomy 33-34; Luke 1:26-56

Key Verses

Deuteronomy 34:4-5
And the Lord said to him, “This is the land of which I swore to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, ‘I will give it to your offspring.’ I have let you see it with your eyes, but you shall not go over there.” So Moses the servant of the Lord died there in the land of Moab, according to the word of the Lord.

Luke 1:30-33
And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.”

Today we read of the death of Moses and the conception of Jesus. It is the end of the law-giver and the beginning of the law-Fulfiller. It is the end of the shadow and the beginning of the full-color glory.

The end of Deuteronomy marks the end of the Pentateuch (the first five books of the Old Testament). All the themes of the Pentateuch find their fulfillment in Christ.

  • The promises of the Abrahamic covenant, specifically “All the nations are blessed through Abraham and his descendants”Genesis 12:1-3), point forward to all nations being blessed through Jesus.
  • The climax of the Pentateuch, God coming down to fill the Tabernacle with His glory (Exodus 40:34-38), points forward to Christ coming to earth to reveal His glory to the world.
  • And finally, “Jesus is seen as the new and greater Moses. As Moses declared God’s law for Israel, so Jesus declared and embodied God’s word to the nations. As Moses suffered and died outside the land so that his people could enter it, so the Son of God died on earth so that his people might enter heaven” (from the article “Introduction to the Pentateuch” ESV Study Bible, Crossway).

Imagine if the people of Moses’ day could look forward and see the fulfillment of the promises in Jesus… It would have been beyond their imagination! Just as the ultimate fulfillment that Revelation describes is beyond our imagination :) It is no wonder that C.S. Lewis referred to our life on this earth as the “Shadowlands.”

Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more,neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away” (Revelation 21:1-4).

Day 77: Resurrection Power

Deuteronomy 29-30; Mark 16

Key Verses

Deuteronomy 30:6
And the Lord your God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your offspring, so that you will love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, that you may live.

Mark 16:6-7
And he said to them, “Do not be alarmed. You seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has risen; he is not here. See the place where they laid him. But go, tell his disciples and Peter that he is going before you to Galilee. There you will see him, just as he told you.”

The resurrection. Thinking in literary terms… this is the climax of the story. Everything – everything – in the Old Testament and the gospels points and leads to this one moment.

Jesus’ resurrection proves that God has power over death and sin, which is the cause of death. This is the same power that God uses to change our hearts and give us new life.

Apart from the power of God, we are dead in our sin. But when our weak faith is mingled with God’s grace and compassion toward us, we are changed…

I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people, and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is the same as the mighty strength he exerted when he raised Christ from the dead (Ephesians 1:18-19 NIV).

Because of the resurrection, we are set free from the burden of the law and fear of the curse. Instead, we are given a new heart, the power to obey and the gift of eternal blessing!

Day 76: Blessings and Curses

Deuteronomy 27-28; Mark 15:21-47

Key Verses

Deuteronomy 28:3-6
Blessed shall you be in the city, and blessed shall you be in the field. Blessed shall be the fruit of your womb and the fruit of your ground and the fruit of your cattle, the increase of your herds and the young of your flock. Blessed shall be your basket and your kneading bowl. Blessed shall you be when you come in, and blessed shall you be when you go out.

Mark 15:37-39
And Jesus uttered a loud cry and breathed his last. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. And when the centurion, who stood facing him, saw that in this way he breathed his last, he said, “Truly this man was the Son of God!”

Blessings for obedience; Curses for disobedience. And the span between the two is wide.

Reading through Deuteronomy 28, I notice that the curses far outweigh the blessings. It’s like God knew that the people would one day walk away from Him. The curses seem to hit too close to home… the fruitlessness of labor, the fear of enemies, the battle with sickness and disease, the sense of purposelessness and anxiety.

We live in a fallen world. We desperately need a Savior. Someone to lift us up out of the mire and give us a purpose and hope. Someone to make sense of our suffering and pain. We need our minds opened to see life through an eternal lens – to know deeply – that our lives count for something – that we are worth something… that we are valuable.

Have you considered how Jesus’ death proves your worth to God? Read through today’s passage in Mark – and meditate on the death of our Lord – and know that He endured the cross to ransom a people. He endured the cross to save you from eternal curses.

His death guarantees that those who believe in His name –  to those that have been given the right to be called children of God – that they will receive eternal blessings! Read the first paragraph of Deuteronomy 28 and consider that these blessings are just a foretaste of the eternal blessings awaiting the believer in heaven!!

Day 75: King and Servant

Deuteronomy 23:15-26:19; Mark 15:1-20

Key Verses

Deuteronomy 26:18-19
And the Lord has declared today that you are a people for his treasured possession, as he has promised you, and that you are to keep all his commandments, and that he will set you in praise and in fame and in honor high above all nations that he has made, and that you shall be a people holy to the Lord your God, as he promised.”

Mark 15:17-19
And they clothed him in a purple cloak, and twisting together a crown of thorns, they put it on him. And they began to salute him, “Hail, King of the Jews!” And they were striking his head with a reed and spitting on him and kneeling down in homage to him.

Today’s passage in Deuteronomy concludes Moses’ detailing of the specific laws… Most of the laws are miscellaneous but can still be loosely categorized by the 10 commandments…

  • Deuteronomy 23:19-24:22: 8th commandment (Do not steal)
  • Deuteronomy 25:1-16: 9th commandment (Do not bear false witness)
  • Deuteronomy 26: 10th commandment (Do not covet) + conclusion

Now that this section of Deuteronomy is complete, let’s take a wide-angle view of chapters 12-26. Specifically… how is God’s character revealed through this section of Scripture?

First, consider this: The following phrase is found eight times in chapters 12-26: “So you shall purge the evil from your midst.” It usually follows a command of capital punishment.

Conversely, Moses mentions the “sojourner” twelve times. And each time, the context is how to show compassion and is usually grouped with laws describing how to care for the fatherless and widow as well.

What does this teach us?

First, God is severely holy and perfectly just. But. He is also compassionate.

There is no greater illustration of the coupling of these two character traits than in the death of Jesus. In today’s passage in Mark, we see the conclusion of Jesus’ trial before Pilate. We read that Jesus was cruelly scourged and mocked. WHY? Why did Jesus allow himself to be so cruelly treated? Why did He submit himself to the treacherous authorities? Why? Why?

Because of his perfect justice and compassion. There had to be shedding of blood for the payment of our sin. But because of his compassion, he offers a substitute for the offering of our own blood as payment. He offers his blood. He is both the righteous judge and the bearer of iniquity – both the King and the Servant – both the Lion and the Lamb. He is both just and compassionate. He is our God!!

Day 74: The Orchestrator

Deuteronomy 21:15-23:14; Mark 14:51-72

Key Verses

Deuteronomy 23:14
Because the Lord your God walks in the midst of your camp, to deliver you and to give up your enemies before you, therefore your camp must be holy.

Mark 14:61-62
Again the high priest asked him, “Are you the Christ, the Son of the Blessed?” And Jesus said, “I am, and you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of Power, and coming with the clouds of heaven.”

Many of the laws in this section of scripture pertain to sexual morality which correlates with the 7th commandment: “Do not commit adultery.”

One law from yesterday’s reading directly applies to today’s reading from Mark…

A single witness shall not suffice against a person for any crime or for any wrong in connection with any offense that he has committed. Only on the evidence of two witnesses or of three witnesses shall a charge be established (Deuteronomy 19:15).

The trial described in Mark 14 takes place before the High Priest, Caiaphas. This trial is highly irregular. Firstly, it takes place at Caiaphas’ house. Secondly, it is in the middle of the night. Whoever heard of a trial taking place in the middle of the night? Everything about this trial seems clandestine. They can’t find corroborating testimony, and in the end… Jesus, himself, provides the condemning testimony.

The injustice of this trial is preposterous. I almost wonder if Mark precedes his description of the trial with verse 52 – as a literary commentary on the absurdity of it all..

And a young man followed him, with nothing but a linen cloth about his body. And they seized him, but he left the linen cloth and ran away naked (Mark 14:52).

This entire scene… the naked man, the middle-of-the-night-trial, Peter’s denials – it all seems nightmarish – yet it was part of God’s plan.

Jesus’ death is the ultimate example of God bringing good out of suffering. Even though the circumstances of this night seemed out of control, God knew what He was doing. He was the one orchestrating the farce of a trial – not the unjust Sanhedrin. This should be a great comfort as we experience confounding and difficult circumstances – that God is the orchestrator; He has a plan, and His plan is good.

Day 73: The End-Result of Failure

Deuteronomy 19:1-21:14; Mark 14:26-50

Key Verses

Deuteronomy 20:4
…for the Lord your God is he who goes with you to fight for you against your enemies, to give you the victory.

Mark 14:34-36
“My soul is very sorrowful, even to death.” …And going a little farther, he fell on the ground and prayed that, if it were possible, the hour might pass from him. And he said, “Abba, Father, all things are possible for you. Remove this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will.”

This section of Moses’ speech loosely correlates with the 6th Commandment (do not murder). Moses begins Chapter 19 by discussing cities of refuge – a place for a person to flee if they accidentally kill someone. There were to be three cities of refuge (which are later named in Joshua 20:1-9), but Moses mentions the possibility of three additional cities…

…provided you are careful to keep all this commandment, which I command you today, by loving the Lord your God and by walking ever in his ways—then you shall add three other cities to these three (Deuteronomy 19:9).

There is no record of additional cities of refuge being named in the Old Testament…which leads me to believe that the people did not meet the qualifications. They were not faithful to keep the commandments.

Looking forward to Mark… Jesus predicts that his disciples would all fall away. Despite Peter’s protest, Jesus knew – and we know – that Peter, along with the rest of the disciples – abandoned Jesus following his arrest.

The people of Israel failed to keep the commandments. The disciples failed to stand by their Lord. We fail… in so many ways.

Jesus came to earth to rescue us from our failures. Today’s passage in Mark describes Jesus’ final prayer before he was arrested. He was anticipating the physical and spiritual suffering which he would endure…

He endured the cross for our sake. Consider this; meditate upon it, and wrestle with it… Jesus died for me. Jesus died for you. Do not belittle the sacrifice.

Day 71: Another paradox of the Kingdom

Deuteronomy 14-15; Mark 13:14-37

Key Verses

Deuteronomy 15:11
Therefore I command you, “You shall open wide your hand to your brother, to the needy and to the poor, in your land.”

Mark 13:31
Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.

Today’s passage continues yesterday’s theme of rooting out idolatry by giving specific ways to show faithfulness to God. The people honored him in what they ate, how they tithed and how they cared for the poor. One of my favorite examples from today’s reading is the section on tithes…

The tithe that is described in Deuteronomy 14:22-29 is a second tithe given in addition to the regular tithe set aside for the Levites. This second tithe was unique in several ways. First, it was a celebratory tithe to be enjoyed with the Lord and with members of your household and others. Second, after two years of enjoying this tithe with the Lord and your neighbors, in the third year, the people were to layup the tithe in their own towns to care for the poor.

What a picture of freedom and trust. Imagine if everyone so whole-heartedly trusted God that they joyfully offered the best of the best over and above their regular tithe to the church – and the whole community would come together to enjoy the luxurious gifts of God. And every third year, the whole town willingly gave their best to be stored up for the poor. This would require that no one was greedy or selfish, and it would be a visible sign that idolatry had been rooted out of the community of faith.

In Mark, Jesus reminds us that He could come back at any time. We do not want to be chasing after other gods when He returns! His words remind us to hold on to the things of this world with a loose hand – for they will all be wiped away.

Paradoxically, as we loosen our grip on one of the most powerful idols of this world – money – and give sacrificially to those in need, we can experience joyful communion with God. And we discover that as we tighten our grip on His word and promises, this leads to fullness and satisfaction. And interestingly, His word (which brings ultimate satisfaction) will never pass away. God’s supply is endless. No idol can come close to fulfilling our deepest desires – only God can satisfy. He is good, and His ways are best!