Reading: Joshua 8
“All Israel, alien as well as citizen, …. There was not a
word of all that Moses commanded that Joshua did not read before all the
assembly of Israel, and the women, and the little ones, and the aliens who
resided among them.” Joshua 8: 33 & 35
Once again Israel went into a terrible battle under God’s
orders, but this time no one lied, or stole, or disobeyed, despite the
challenge and destruction. They did exactly as the Lord had ordered and as a
result the whole of Israel received a blessing.
First worship—an unhewn stone—untouched by iron—a pure
altar. Then a community side-by-side, that encompassed women and children and
foreigners—no one present excluded—all given as equals. Then the full reading
of the Law—all the words God had
given Moses now given to Israel. God’s gift of identity, of relationship, of
covenant.
I can’t help but wonder how willing am I to completely
destroy all the false in me that still resists obedience to God’s redeeming
power. Am I truly willing to open up to His redemptive grace or too willing to
settle for easy and familiar?
Lord, please help us to be shaped by Your hand and not by
our own man-made imitations. Give us Your strength to stand before You in
complete obedience to all Your words—at Your altar—with courage to receive Your
blessings and then to share them.
Psalm of Worship: Psalm 128: 2
“You shall eat the fruit of the labor of your hands;
you shall be happy and it shall go well with you.”
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