Category Archives: Obeying God

Discipline / Guidance From God, Holy Spirit / Ruach HaKodesh, Obeying God, Truth

We Do Well To Fully Obey The LORD

Israel was instructed by YHWH to make no covenant with the people living in the promised land. They were to displace them all. We don’t have a full record of the reasons why Israel failed to do this, but they failed. One could say they obeyed him in taking promised land, but they did not fully obey him in not making covenant with the people who lived there and they were supposed to tear down the altars to false gods. YHWH was not pleased.

We see in the beginning of chapter 2 a strong rebuke from YHWH to the people of Israel. They did not fully obey the LORD and there will be consequences. In this case, it is actually what I refer to with my children as a natural consequence. If you don’t clear out the people as instructed and tear down their altars, then their gods and their presence will give you trouble.

At this point the people wept, but it was too late. They had disobeyed.

Judges 1:27-2:5

Places Not Conquered

      27But Manasseh did not take possession of Beth-shean and its villages, or Taanach and its villages, or the inhabitants of Dor and its villages, or the inhabitants of Ibleam and its villages, or the inhabitants of Megiddo and its villages; so the Canaanites persisted in living in that land. 28It came about when Israel became strong, that they put the Canaanites to forced labor, but they did not drive them out completely.

      29Ephraim did not drive out the Canaanites who were living in Gezer; so the Canaanites lived in Gezer among them.

      30Zebulun did not drive out the inhabitants of Kitron, or the inhabitants of Nahalol; so the Canaanites lived among them and became subject to forced labor.

      31Asher did not drive out the inhabitants of Acco, or the inhabitants of Sidon, or of Ahlab, or of Achzib, or of Helbah, or of Aphik, or of Rehob. 32So the Asherites lived among the Canaanites, the inhabitants of the land; for they did not drive them out.

      33Naphtali did not drive out the inhabitants of Beth-shemesh, or the inhabitants of Beth-anath, but lived among the Canaanites, the inhabitants of the land; and the inhabitants of Beth-shemesh and Beth-anath became forced labor for them.

      34Then the Amorites forced the sons of Dan into the hill country, for they did not allow them to come down to the valley; 35yet the Amorites persisted in living in Mount Heres, in Aijalon and in Shaalbim; but when the power of the house of Joseph grew strong, they became forced labor. 36The border of the Amorites ran from the ascent of Akrabbim, from Sela and upward.

Israel Rebuked

      1Now the angel of the LORD came up from Gilgal to Bochim. And he said, “I brought you up out of Egypt and led you into the land which I have sworn to your fathers; and I said, ‘I will never break My covenant with you, 2and as for you, you shall make no covenant with the inhabitants of this land; you shall tear down their altars.’ But you have not obeyed Me; what is this you have done? 3“Therefore I also said, ‘I will not drive them out before you; but they will become as thorns in your sides and their gods will be a snare to you.’” 4When the angel of the LORD spoke these words to all the sons of Israel, the people lifted up their voices and wept. 5So they named that place Bochim; and there they sacrificed to the LORD.

Let us take care to understand the importance of obeying YHWH fully and completely when he calls us to do something. Not everything we are called to do is written in his word. The Israelites had the Torah to instruct them, but YHWH had also spoken to them through Moses and through Joshua about specific guidance they were to take in regards to the promised land.  It was not enough to simply obey the Torah. They were also to obey the specific guidance that YHWH had given them for their current situation as well. The guidance was for their benefit.

It is important to develop our personal relationship with YHWH through prayer, study, and worship. Through this we continue to hear with more clarity from the Holy Spirit who dwells within followers of Yeshua. We should also check everything against the written word as well. We must obey YHWH in spirit and in truth.

John 4:23-24

23“But an hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for such people the Father seeks to be His worshipers. 24“God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.”

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Do you know for sure if you will go to heaven or hell when you die? Are you experiencing in your life the peace and joy of a personal relationship with our Creator and Father? Learn more about salvation through The Message of the Cross.

Forgive Others / Seek Forgiveness, Grace / Forgiveness, Jesus Christ / Yeshua, Obeying God, Repenting from Sin, Salvation

Hope In The LORD’s Forgiving Love

A simple but powerful message in focus in Psalm 130. Don’t miss it.

Psalm 130

Hope in the LORD’S Forgiving Love.

A Song of Ascents.

      1Out of the depths I have cried to You, O LORD.

      2Lord, hear my voice!
Let Your ears be attentive
To the voice of my supplications.

      3If You, LORD, should mark iniquities,
O Lord, who could stand?

      4But there is forgiveness with You,
That You may be feared.

      5I wait for the LORD, my soul does wait,
And in His word do I hope.

      6My soul waits for the Lord
More than the watchmen for the morning;
Indeed, more than the watchmen for the morning.

      7O Israel, hope in the LORD;
For with the LORD there is lovingkindness,
And with Him is abundant redemption.

      8And He will redeem Israel
From all his iniquities.

But we must turn from our sin and toward YHWH if we expect to receive forgiveness. We must accept Yeshua as our savior and lord. He is the way.

John 14:6

6Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.

Learn more about salvation through The Message of the Cross.

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Do you know for sure if you will go to heaven or hell when you die? Are you experiencing in your life the peace and joy of a personal relationship with our Creator and Father? Learn more about salvation through The Message of the Cross.

Faith / Trusting God, Obeying God

Our Earthly Leaders Will Change. Trust in YHWH.

Leaders, even great ones, will pass away from this life. We are not to rely solely on man to guide us, but rather in YHWH.

Joshua 24

Joshua’s Death and Burial

      29It came about after these things that Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of the LORD, died, being one hundred and ten years old. 30And they buried him in the territory of his inheritance in Timnath-serah, which is in the hill country of Ephraim, on the north of Mount Gaash.

      31Israel served the LORD all the days of Joshua and all the days of the elders who survived Joshua, and had known all the deeds of the LORD which He had done for Israel.

      32Now they buried the bones of Joseph, which the sons of Israel brought up from Egypt, at Shechem, in the piece of ground which Jacob had bought from the sons of Hamor the father of Shechem for one hundred pieces of money; and they became the inheritance of Joseph’s sons. 33And Eleazar the son of Aaron died; and they buried him at Gibeah of Phinehas his son, which was given him in the hill country of Ephraim.

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Do you know for sure if you will go to heaven or hell when you die? Are you experiencing in your life the peace and joy of a personal relationship with our Creator and Father? Learn more about salvation through The Message of the Cross.

All Powerful / King of All, Faith / Trusting God, Family, Fear / Reverence for God, Holy / Set Apart, Obeying God, Purposeful / Intentional, Repenting from Sin, Worthy of Fear / Reverence

Choose This Day Whom You Will Serve

We all face a choice. Really, we face it daily because of our human tendency to let our focus drift off the Lord and to our own desires or those of others. We must choose whom we will serve. We are not to mix and mingle false gods with YHWH. We are not to blend with culture elements that we think make us more acceptable to others. We are either choosing YHWH and his ways or we are choosing against him. There is no acceptable middle ground, no lukewarm that pleases our Lord.

Revelation 3:15-16

    15‘I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot; I wish that you were cold or hot. 16‘So because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of My mouth.

We are left with a choice. I will follow the example of Joshua… as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord. We will fear (e.g. hold in awe) the Lord and serve him with sincerity and truth. I encourage you to do the same. This means we need to turn from our own ways and seek the Lord’s ways.

It may be helpful to remind yourself all that the Lord has done for you in your life, or if you are new to faith in Christ, all that he has done for his people that is documented in the Bible. He died so that we may be saved and reconciled with YHWH. He was sinless but paid the price for our sin. We thus have the opportunity to be saved by faith through grace and not in any deeds we can do ourselves.

Learn more about salvation through The Message of the Cross.

Joshua 24

Joshua Reviews Israel’s History

     1Then Joshua gathered all the tribes of Israel to Shechem, and called for the elders of Israel and for their heads and their judges and their officers; and they presented themselves before God. 2Joshua said to all the people, “Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, ‘From ancient times your fathers lived beyond the River, namely, Terah, the father of Abraham and the father of Nahor, and they served other gods. 3‘Then I took your father Abraham from beyond the River, and led him through all the land of Canaan, and multiplied his descendants and gave him Isaac. 4‘To Isaac I gave Jacob and Esau, and to Esau I gave Mount Seir to possess it; but Jacob and his sons went down to Egypt. 5‘Then I sent Moses and Aaron, and I plagued Egypt by what I did in its midst; and afterward I brought you out. 6‘I brought your fathers out of Egypt, and you came to the sea; and Egypt pursued your fathers with chariots and horsemen to the Red Sea. 7‘But when they cried out to the LORD, He put darkness between you and the Egyptians, and brought the sea upon them and covered them; and your own eyes saw what I did in Egypt. And you lived in the wilderness for a long time. 8‘Then I brought you into the land of the Amorites who lived beyond the Jordan, and they fought with you; and I gave them into your hand, and you took possession of their land when I destroyed them before you. 9‘Then Balak the son of Zippor, king of Moab, arose and fought against Israel, and he sent and summoned Balaam the son of Beor to curse you. 10‘But I was not willing to listen to Balaam. So he had to bless you, and I delivered you from his hand. 11‘You crossed the Jordan and came to Jericho; and the citizens of Jericho fought against you, and the Amorite and the Perizzite and the Canaanite and the Hittite and the Girgashite, the Hivite and the Jebusite. Thus I gave them into your hand. 12‘Then I sent the hornet before you and it drove out the two kings of the Amorites from before you, but not by your sword or your bow. 13‘I gave you a land on which you had not labored, and cities which you had not built, and you have lived in them; you are eating of vineyards and olive groves which you did not plant.’

“We Will Serve the LORD”

     14“Now, therefore, fear the LORD and serve Him in sincerity and truth; and put away the gods which your fathers served beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the LORD. 15“If it is disagreeable in your sight to serve the LORD, choose for yourselves today whom you will serve: whether the gods which your fathers served which were beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living; but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.”

      16The people answered and said, “Far be it from us that we should forsake the LORD to serve other gods; 17for the LORD our God is He who brought us and our fathers up out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage, and who did these great signs in our sight and preserved us through all the way in which we went and among all the peoples through whose midst we passed. 18“The LORD drove out from before us all the peoples, even the Amorites who lived in the land. We also will serve the LORD, for He is our God.”

      19Then Joshua said to the people, “You will not be able to serve the LORD, for He is a holy God. He is a jealous God; He will not forgive your transgression or your sins. 20“If you forsake the LORD and serve foreign gods, then He will turn and do you harm and consume you after He has done good to you.” 21The people said to Joshua, “No, but we will serve the LORD.” 22Joshua said to the people, “You are witnesses against yourselves that you have chosen for yourselves the LORD, to serve Him.” And they said, “We are witnesses.” 23“Now therefore, put away the foreign gods which are in your midst, and incline your hearts to the LORD, the God of Israel.” 24The people said to Joshua, “We will serve the LORD our God and we will obey His voice.” 25So Joshua made a covenant with the people that day, and made for them a statute and an ordinance in Shechem. 26And Joshua wrote these words in the book of the law of God; and he took a large stone and set it up there under the oak that was by the sanctuary of the LORD. 27Joshua said to all the people, “Behold, this stone shall be for a witness against us, for it has heard all the words of the LORD which He spoke to us; thus it shall be for a witness against you, so that you do not deny your God.” 28Then Joshua dismissed the people, each to his inheritance.

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Do you know for sure if you will go to heaven or hell when you die? Are you experiencing in your life the peace and joy of a personal relationship with our Creator and Father? Learn more about salvation through The Message of the Cross.

Blessed, Hebrew Roots / Commands / Law, Holy / Set Apart, Obeying God, Praise / Worship / Glorify God, Thankfulness

Strong Advice From Joshua As He Prepared To Leave

Joshua was a strong leader and servant of the Lord. He looked beyond himself and to his people. When he was preparing to leave his leadership position, he wanted to address the people with some guidance to keep them on the right path. I find it very meaningful to read and reflect on what he said and seek to apply it in my life still today.

Joshua 23

Joshua’s Farewell Address

     1Now it came about after many days, when the LORD had given rest to Israel from all their enemies on every side, and Joshua was old, advanced in years, 2that Joshua called for all Israel, for their elders and their heads and their judges and their officers, and said to them, “I am old, advanced in years. 3“And you have seen all that the LORD your God has done to all these nations because of you, for the LORD your God is He who has been fighting for you. 4“See, I have apportioned to you these nations which remain as an inheritance for your tribes, with all the nations which I have cut off, from the Jordan even to the Great Sea toward the setting of the sun. 5“The LORD your God, He will thrust them out from before you and drive them from before you; and you will possess their land, just as the LORD your God promised you. 6“Be very firm, then, to keep and do all that is written in the book of the law of Moses, so that you may not turn aside from it to the right hand or to the left, 7so that you will not associate with these nations, these which remain among you, or mention the name of their gods, or make anyone swear by them, or serve them, or bow down to them. 8“But you are to cling to the LORD your God, as you have done to this day. 9“For the LORD has driven out great and strong nations from before you; and as for you, no man has stood before you to this day. 10“One of your men puts to flight a thousand, for the LORD your God is He who fights for you, just as He promised you. 11“So take diligent heed to yourselves to love the LORD your God. 12“For if you ever go back and cling to the rest of these nations, these which remain among you, and intermarry with them, so that you associate with them and they with you, 13know with certainty that the LORD your God will not continue to drive these nations out from before you; but they will be a snare and a trap to you, and a whip on your sides and thorns in your eyes, until you perish from off this good land which the LORD your God has given you.

      14“Now behold, today I am going the way of all the earth, and you know in all your hearts and in all your souls that not one word of all the good words which the LORD your God spoke concerning you has failed; all have been fulfilled for you, not one of them has failed. 15“It shall come about that just as all the good words which the LORD your God spoke to you have come upon you, so the LORD will bring upon you all the threats, until He has destroyed you from off this good land which the LORD your God has given you. 16“When you transgress the covenant of the LORD your God, which He commanded you, and go and serve other gods and bow down to them, then the anger of the LORD will burn against you, and you will perish quickly from off the good land which He has given you.”

The first thing Joshua does is give credit to YHWH for all that has been accomplished during his time in leadership. Wow. I wish more of our leaders today would start this way instead of always taking credit themselves for any little thing that went well. I want to try to always give glory to YHWH.

Keep the law of Moses. Do not stray from it.

Do not mingle with the pagan nations and their false gods. Do not intermarry with them as it will become a snare for you. Remain a set apart people.

Seems simple really, but still today we must check ourselves on whether we are doing these three things… trust in YHWH and give him glory, obey his commandments, avoid mixing and mingling with other false belief systems.

Pray the Lord gives you insight in these areas for your life.

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Do you know for sure if you will go to heaven or hell when you die? Are you experiencing in your life the peace and joy of a personal relationship with our Creator and Father? Learn more about salvation through The Message of the Cross.

 

Am I on the path?, Disobeying, Rebelling Against, Ignoring God, Kindness / Gentleness, Loving / Kind, Obeying God, Peace / Rest, Purposeful / Intentional, Scripture (e.g. Bible), Unteachable / Foolish

Saved By Mercy, How Now Should We Live?

We are saved by the mercy of YHWH. We are saved by grace, through faith and that in Yeshua as Messiah. It is a gift and not earned.

Ephesians 2:8

8For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God;

We too were (or still are) foolish and disobedient in our lives to Yeshua. Let us then be peaceable and gentle toward others who are struggling. Let us show consideration toward men as they journey from sinners to saved by grace and beyond in the maturing of their  relationship with the Father.

Let us also recognize, however, that our lives before YHWH should be more than an alter call asking Yeshua into our heart. If we are genuinely turning away from our sin and submitting to Yeshua as Lord, then our lives, demonstrated by behaviors and attitudes, should begin to change and continue to change as we continue to mature in our understanding of and relationship with YHWH.

What might that look like? Let’s take a look at one view presented in Titus.

Titus 3:1-11

Godly Living

     1Remind them to be subject to rulers, to authorities, to be obedient, to be ready for every good deed, 2to malign no one, to be peaceable, gentle, showing every consideration for all men. 3For we also once were foolish ourselves, disobedient, deceived, enslaved to various lusts and pleasures, spending our life in malice and envy, hateful, hating one another. 4But when the kindness of God our Savior and His love for mankind appeared, 5He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit, 6whom He poured out upon us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, 7so that being justified by His grace we would be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life. 8This is a trustworthy statement; and concerning these things I want you to speak confidently, so that those who have believed God will be careful to engage in good deeds. These things are good and profitable for men. 9But avoid foolish controversies and genealogies and strife and disputes about the Law, for they are unprofitable and worthless. 10Reject a factious man after a first and second warning, 11knowing that such a man is perverted and is sinning, being self-condemned.

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Do you know for sure if you will go to heaven or hell when you die? Are you experiencing in your life the peace and joy of a personal relationship with our Creator and Father? Learn more about salvation through The Message of the Cross.

 

Blessed, Hebrew Roots / Commands / Law, Love, Obeying God

Love YHWH and Keep His Commandments

Once the tribes of Israel found rest in having taken the promised land, Joshua released the tribes from beyond the Jordan to return home to their land, which had been the first to be taken. They had remained with the other tribes to help take the promised land at Moses’ commands.

The instruction that Joshua gives them is important. We should receive this message still today in our own lives.

Joshua 22:5

5“Only be very careful to observe the commandment and the law which Moses the servant of the LORD commanded you, to love the LORD your God and walk in all His ways and keep His commandments and hold fast to Him and serve Him with all your heart and with all your soul.”

To love the LORD is to walk in his ways and keep his commandments. It is how we hold fast to him rather than the world. It is how we serve him with all our heart and with all our soul. To keep his commandments, all of them, is to keep ourselves a holy and set apart people ready for YHWH’s purposes and separate from the rest of the world around us.

It is with this admonition that Joshua then blesses them. We can recognize that the blessing is contingent upon our obedience to the LORD, as indicated elsewhere in scripture. (e.g. Deuteronomy 11)

 

Joshua 22:1-9

Tribes beyond Jordan Return

     1Then Joshua summoned the Reubenites and the Gadites and the half-tribe of Manasseh, 2and said to them, “You have kept all that Moses the servant of the LORD commanded you, and have listened to my voice in all that I commanded you. 3“You have not forsaken your brothers these many days to this day, but have kept the charge of the commandment of the LORD your God. 4“And now the LORD your God has given rest to your brothers, as He spoke to them; therefore turn now and go to your tents, to the land of your possession, which Moses the servant of the LORD gave you beyond the Jordan. 5“Only be very careful to observe the commandment and the law which Moses the servant of the LORD commanded you, to love the LORD your God and walk in all His ways and keep His commandments and hold fast to Him and serve Him with all your heart and with all your soul.” 6So Joshua blessed them and sent them away, and they went to their tents.

      7Now to the one half-tribe of Manasseh Moses had given a possession in Bashan, but to the other half Joshua gave a possession among their brothers westward beyond the Jordan. So when Joshua sent them away to their tents, he blessed them, 8and said to them, “Return to your tents with great riches and with very much livestock, with silver, gold, bronze, iron, and with very many clothes; divide the spoil of your enemies with your brothers.” 9The sons of Reuben and the sons of Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh returned home and departed from the sons of Israel at Shiloh which is in the land of Canaan, to go to the land of Gilead, to the land of their possession which they had possessed, according to the command of the LORD through Moses.

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Do you know for sure if you will go to heaven or hell when you die? Are you experiencing in your life the peace and joy of a personal relationship with our Creator and Father? Learn more about salvation through The Message of the Cross.

Discerning / Judging, Guide, His Ways Are Not Our Ways, Immutable (unchanging), Is the Old Testament Relevant Today?, Obeying God, Purposeful / Intentional, Seeking God, Study the Word

God Does Not Change

Today’s message is a simple one, but if we truly meditate on it, we will recognize the powerful implications and it may open us better examine our lives and whether or not we are living according to YHWH’s instruction.

God does not change. He is timeless… eternal. His character and his instruction for us is consistent throughout time.

Malachi 3:6

6“For I, the LORD, do not change; therefore you, O sons of Jacob, are not consumed.

James 1:17

17Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow.

Hebrews 13:8

8Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.

Though few say it so plainly, many Christians act as if the Bible really only starts with Matthew and ends in Revelation. It is not uncommon for even seminaries and churches to act this way. We must take care, however, as that approach assumes that somehow YHWH has changed and it discards two thirds of his instructions to us.

If YHWH does not change, than it serves us well to study and understand how he relates to his people and what instructions he has for his people throughout ALL of his holy scripture.

If we find ourselves having difficulty reconciling what is taught in the Old and the New testaments with one another, then we must consider that our understanding is wrong. God’s word builds on itself. The Old Testament is foundation for the New. It is truly one record rather than two. Yeshua often taught referencing back to the Old Testament, as did Paul. Without the foundation of understanding from the Old Testament, then our understanding of the New will be subject to more mistakes.

I will close with two scriptures that reference specifically the Old Testament, as the New had not yet been written.

2 Timothy 3:14-17

14You, however, continue in the things you have learned and become convinced of, knowing from whom you have learned them, 15and that from childhood you have known the sacred writings which are able to give you the wisdom that leads to salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. 16All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; 17so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work.

Matthew 5:17-19

     17“Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish but to fulfill. 18“For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or stroke shall pass from the Law until all is accomplished. 19“Whoever then annuls one of the least of these commandments, and teaches others to do the same, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever keeps and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.

If God does not change, then we should truly spend time reflecting if the way we are living our lives today follows the example of what Christ taught and lived (as written in the Bible) or if instead it follows what man has said about how we are supposed to live so differently than Christ did, reasoning that much of his instruction changed after his death and resurrection. I pose that we should rededicate ourselves to understanding what is written in scripture and test everything we know against what is written. We should not simply continue in the way that is popular, broadly accepted, or taught by man.

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Do you know for sure if you will go to heaven or hell when you die? Are you experiencing in your life the peace and joy of a personal relationship with our Creator and Father? Learn more about salvation through The Message of the Cross.

All Powerful / King of All, Blessed, Courage / Fear, Fear / Reverence for God, His Ways Are Not Our Ways, Obeying God, Worthy of Fear / Reverence

“Fear” of the Lord Leads to Blessings

The Hebrew root word for “fear” in Psalm 128:1 is ירא which can be translated as fear, but also as reverence, to hold in honor, to be in awe. I think this is interesting to keep in mind as we read about the blessedness of the “fear” of the Lord.

Psalm 128

Blessedness of the Fear of the LORD.

A Song of Ascents.

1How blessed is everyone who fears the LORD,
Who walks in His ways.

      2When you shall eat of the fruit of your hands,
You will be happy and it will be well with you.

      3Your wife shall be like a fruitful vine
Within your house,
Your children like olive plants
Around your table.

      4Behold, for thus shall the man be blessed
Who fears the LORD.

      5The LORD bless you from Zion,
And may you see the prosperity of Jerusalem all the days of your life.

      6Indeed, may you see your children’s children.
Peace be upon Israel!

Excellent guidance indeed. Holding YHWH in awe and reverence, even fearing him as we may a Father whom we choose to disrespect or rebel against, will help set us on the right path to seeking to know him and obey him. We will be blessed if we pursue his ways rather than our own!

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Do you know for sure if you will go to heaven or hell when you die? Are you experiencing in your life the peace and joy of a personal relationship with our Creator and Father? Learn more about salvation through The Message of the Cross.

Evidence in Scripture, Is the Old Testament Relevant Today?, Obeying God

Dividing Up The Promised Land – Ephraim

We are continuing in the book of Joshua in a series of chapters in which Joshua documents how the promised land was divided up between the tribes. It is clearly written as an historical account, and not a moral book or book of wisdom. We may be tempted to quickly overlook this passage and the following chapters as not relevant or “boring”. However, reflect on the fact that this was written as an historical document. It is a true record of what has transpired between YHWH and his people. This should be very encouraging as it gives credibility to the rest of the Bible as more than just a book of moral stories. The Bible is in fact true and an accurate historical document.

Joshua 16

Territory of Ephraim

     1Then the lot for the sons of Joseph went from the Jordan at Jericho to the waters of Jericho on the east into the wilderness, going up from Jericho through the hill country to Bethel. 2It went from Bethel to Luz, and continued to the border of the Archites at Ataroth. 3It went down westward to the territory of the Japhletites, as far as the territory of lower Beth-horon even to Gezer, and it ended at the sea.

      4The sons of Joseph, Manasseh and Ephraim, received their inheritance. 5Now this was the territory of the sons of Ephraim according to their families: the border of their inheritance eastward was Ataroth-addar, as far as upper Beth-horon. 6Then the border went westward at Michmethath on the north, and the border turned about eastward to Taanath-shiloh and continued beyond it to the east of Janoah. 7It went down from Janoah to Ataroth and to Naarah, then reached Jericho and came out at the Jordan. 8From Tappuah the border continued westward to the brook of Kanah, and it ended at the sea. This is the inheritance of the tribe of the sons of Ephraim according to their families, 9together with the cities which were set apart for the sons of Ephraim in the midst of the inheritance of the sons of Manasseh, all the cities with their villages. 10But they did not drive out the Canaanites who lived in Gezer, so the Canaanites live in the midst of Ephraim to this day, and they became forced laborers.

It seems subtle, but we also see in this record that the Israelites failed to drive out the Canaanites. Here we see they became forced laborers. It would be interesting to study what other roles those Canaanites played in history since they were not driven out as they should have been. Most obvious would seem that they remained a corrupting influence on the Israelites due to their pagan religion and lifestyle. A careful study of the Bible and history documented elsewhere likely would bear an interesting story for what role they played.

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Do you know for sure if you will go to heaven or hell when you die? Are you experiencing in your life the peace and joy of a personal relationship with our Creator and Father? Learn more about salvation through The Message of the Cross.