Josh1Eight

Scripture: Numbers 33:1-2 "This is the route the Israelites followed as they marched out of Egypt under the leadership of Moses and Aaron. 2 At the Lord’s direction, Moses kept a written record of their progress. These are the stages of their march, identified by the different places where they stopped along the way." Observations: The Bible records that God purposefully directed Moses to keep a written record of Israel's journey towards the Promised Land that described in detail the various places they camped to not only remind them who they were but where they had come from. Many times throughout their wanderings, God's people complained and lost perspective simply because they had forgotten how bad it really was to be slaves in Egypt (Numbers 14:3). But the fact that Moses kept a written account of where they were, where they came from, and kept his eyes on where they were going gave him the strength to persevere. At any point along the way it would have been tempt...

Scripture: Luke 7:26-30 "John is the man to whom the Scriptures refer when they say,‘Look, I am sending my messenger ahead of you, and he will prepare your way before you'... 29 When they heard this, all the people—even the tax collectors—agreed that God’s way was right, for they had been baptized by John. 30 But the Pharisees and experts in religious law rejected God’s plan for them, for they had refused John’s baptism." Observations: John the Baptist played an important role in history as the one who came to prepare the way for the ministry of Jesus. His message was simple 'repent, because God's Kingdom is near'. When Jesus spoke about John, the people listened, not just because Jesus endorsed his ministry, but because John had already established a reputation as a true man of God who spoke the truth. Even sinful people had a high regard for John because of his integrity as one who pointed people to God. John lived his life in such a way that those who wante...

Scripture: Luke 6:11, 27-28, 35, 37 "11 At this, the enemies of Jesus were wild with rage and began to discuss what to do with him...27 But to you who are willing to listen, I say, love your enemies! Do good to those who hate you. 28 Bless those who curse you. Pray for those who hurt you...35 “Love your enemies! Do good to them...37 “Do not judge others, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn others, or it will all come back against you. Forgive others, and you will be forgiven." Observations: Jesus often taught and instructed multitudes in the ways of God and told them point blank what they should do on a regular basis. But often times we forget that Jesus was one of us in the sense that He had to practice what He preached just the same as you and I. When He gave His followers revolutionary commands like "love your enemies", He wasn't saying it in a vacuum, in that very same chapter Jesus was confronted by His enemies who were literally plotting His death r...

Scripture: Luke 5:12-13 "In one of the villages, Jesus met a man with an advanced case of leprosy. When the man saw Jesus, he bowed with his face to the ground, begging to be healed. “Lord,” he said, “if you are willing, you can heal me and make me clean.” 13 Jesus reached out and touched him. “I am willing,” he said. “Be healed!” And instantly the leprosy disappeared..." Observations: One of the revolutionary things about Jesus was the fact that He made a practice of reaching out to the 'scum' and 'low-lifes' of society like prostitues, homeless beggars, and people with incurable infectious diseases that nobody wanted anything to do with. Unlike virtually every religious leader of His day, He touched the untouchable and loved the unloveable when no one else would. Jesus went against every social norm in the book when it came to loving people. He broke all the rules and put His reputation aside so that He could identify with "those" people. Applicati...

Scripture: Numbers 26:51, 64-65 "51 In summary, the registered troops of all Israel numbered 601,730...64 Not one person on this list had been among those listed in the previous registration taken by Moses and Aaron in the wilderness of Sinai. 65 For the Lord had said of them, “They will all die in the wilderness.” Not one of them survived except Caleb son of Jephunneh and Joshua son of Nun." Observations: The first census of the Israelites totaled 603,550 men who were counted as warriors in the popualation (Numbers 2:32). After they disobeyed God and refused to go into the Promised Land, God rejected the entire generation (of those 20 years old and up), and promised them that they would all die in the wilderness (Numbers 14:34-35) and that their children would be the ones to enter it instead. Forty years later, after the entire previous generation had died off, Israel's population numbered 601,730 adult men. After 40 years they were almost exactly the same size as a peop...