The Small Branch

  Read Joshua 9 Who? The Israelites, the Gibeonites, Joshua, the elders of Israel, the representatives from Gibeon What? Gibeon deceives Joshua and the elders, they make a covenant Where? Gilgal When? After the battles of Jericho and Ai, after the time of worship at Mount Gerizim and Mount Ebal  Why? The Israelite leaders did not seek God’s counsel How? The Gibeonites deceive the Israelites into thinking that they are from a far country In Joshua 9, we begin by reading about the Canaanite kings who form an alliance because they had heard about Israel’s success in Jericho and Ai.  They decide to fight Joshua and Israel together.  Gibeon has also heard about Israel’s victories but decides to use a different tactic.  Gibeon is a strong city (Joshua 10:2) and allied with Chephirah, Beeroth, and Kiriath-jearim (Joshua 9:17).  Rather than fight, they decide to trick Israel into making a covenant.  The inhabitants of Gibeon and its allied cities are ...

  When my youngest child was about two years old, she had a cute habit to get our attention.   She is the youngest of four kids, all within seven years of each other.   There was a lot of chaos in our home, as they were all with me all day, every day, so she didn’t get a lot of one on one attention at this point of her life.   When she wanted my attention, she would get me to pick her up and, while my head was on the swivel dealing with everyone else, she would take her little hands and put them on my cheeks to turn my face to her.   She would then look at me, eye to eye, and say something to the effect of, “Listen to me, Mommy.”   It was really cute and definitely got my attention.   Now my kids are older, teens and adults, and I am still feeling like a cat running to the latest shiny object.  Now though, it feels more like God is the One taking my face in His hands and saying, “Listen to me, little one.”  There are so many distractions...

  We have been talking a lot about encouraging the men in our church to lead their families Biblically, including discipling them.  As we have discussed this, one thing I keep thinking about is how much we have disrespected men in the last several decades.  It is no wonder they don’t want to lead.  They are continually told they are chauvinist or domineering if they try.  There are even women who will get angry with a man for opening the door for her.  Our culture does not want strong, godly men.   But how does that play out in my own home?  I definitely do not consider myself a feminist.  I am very traditional in my views of gender roles.  But does that show itself in my attitude and actions towards my husband, or have I been more influenced by the culture than I thought?  Lately, I am convicted that the later is true.  1 Peter 3:1-4 says, “In the same way, you wives, be subject to your own husbands so that even if any o...

  Read Joshua 8 Who? Joshua and the Israelites, the king of Ai and the people of Ai What? Battle for Ai, the Israelites fulfill Moses’ instructions for reminders (Deuteronomy 11 and 27) Where? Ai, near Bethel When? After the sin of Achan has been dealt with Why? Obedience to God How? Using strategy, including ambushes  We learned two major lessons in chapter 7: first, confess your sin as soon as it is revealed to you, second, when you fail, refocus on God, deal with the problem, and move forward.  Joshua and the Israelites are putting this second lesson into practice in chapter 8.   Notice that God “resets” the Israelites, especially Joshua, with His encouragement in verse 1.  Just as in Joshua 1:9, God encourages Joshua not to be afraid.  God points out that the victory is HIS and the battle is already won, the Israelites just have to obediently go fight.  The instructions given by God are different from the recommendations of the spies (...

  Read Joshua 7. Who? God, Achan and his family, Joshua, the people of Israel, the people  of Ai What? Sin and defeat Where? Ai, westward and up into the central hill country When? After the victory in Jericho  Why? Israel is defeated because of their disobedience concerning the designated things of Jericho. How? They are routed by the people of Ai because God is not fighting for them due to their sin. Read 2 Corinthians 6:16-18.  God wants His people to be separate from the rest of the world.  He is holy and wants His people to be holy.  In Joshua, we have had the story of Rahab, which is a story about faith and God’s grace.  Now we have the story of Achan, which is a story about unbelief and God’s holiness and wrath.  God pours out His wrath on sin (see John 3:36, Romans 1:18, Colossians 3:6, and Hebrews 10:26-31).  There are no exceptions to this fact.  Achan is one of the Israelites, one of the chosen people.  He...

  There are numerous verses in the Bible, especially in Proverbs, about the sinfulness of laziness.   It is easy to see that God does not want us to be lazy, that laziness is sin.   Laziness is a hard thing for me.   Where does it stem from?   Yes, my flesh and my sin nature, but it is often more complex than that.   My biggest trouble is that I see things that need to be done but get overwhelmed because of how many things there are to do, or the magnitude or difficulty of the job, or the many unknowns in how to do the job, or the fact that, even if I do the job well, it will need to be done again the next day.   These feelings of being overwhelmed seem to “shut down” my system.   Sometimes, I struggle because I’m just waiting for someone to tell me what to do.   I am almost positive that this stems from growing up in the shadows of American education.   Teachers are there to tell you what to think and when to think it and what to do a...

 Here is a guide to breaking down a study passage for the week.  You can use this with the Joshua study guide I have been posting about lately if you want or any other book of the Bible that you are studying. NOTE: If the passage is particularly long, you can break it up into smaller pieces and spread this guide out across all seven days of the week. Day 1: Read the passage for the week, answering the questions Who? What? Where? When? Why? And How? Make sure you have read the previous passages and understand the context for this passage. Day 2: Read the passage again, making notes on the events and making sure you understand what the text says is happening in context with the whole.  Write out questions you have about the passage.   Day 3: Go through the passage, using footnotes, cross references, and/or a dictionary as needed.  Answer the questions in the study guide and any questions you may have written out for yourself.  Day 4: Go through the passa...

  Who? Joshua, the priests, the Israelites, the “captain of the army of the Lord”, Rahab and her family, the spies, those living in Jericho, the king of Jericho and the kings of the Canaanites What? The conquest of Jericho by the Israelites - preparation for it, instructions, and the battle Where? Jericho When? First month for Israel, middle and second half of the month Why? Jericho was a heavily fortified city.  It needed to be taken before Israel could enter the rest of the Promised Land. How? God’s way, by God’s might Some notes from these chapters: (5:1) The Amorites live in the hill country (Numbers 13:29).  The Canaanites are those in the lower regions of the land (Numbers 13:29, 14:25, Deuteronomy 1:7).  The people of Jericho and the rest of Canaan have heard what God has done for Israel.  These people know that God is mighty and their fear is because of Him, not just Israel itself (Joshua 2:10-11). (5:2-7) Circumcision shows that they are ke...