Skip to main content

Confidence booster

It is been a long while since I updated my reader on the activity and progress of the Israelites. I regret to admit this is because I have not actually read of it until today. As humbling as it is, this blog is a great way for me to keep myself accountable to reading and pondering God's incredible Word. And truly, it is so important to do so. The last week or so I have felt very dry once again and when I realized that I had not read God's very words I understood. Indeed, God's words are a refresher to the soul. So without further ado, let us discover how the Israelites are faring.

After a complete victory over several thousand men, the Israelites were surely feeling confident in their God. Possibly to increase this confidence and to rid the earth of some very wicked cities, God decided to allow the Israelites to become victors once more.

Once again the surrounding nations heard of the victory of the Israelites over their enemies and decided to wage war on them. This time not two or even four kings united with the purpose to conquer Israel but at least sixteen. Not surprisingly, the army is said to be "as the sand on the seashore." They also had many horses and chariots. What a prospect, true God had performed amazing feats for the Israelites, but such a large army must have caused at least a little fear. But God tells Joshua again, do not fear because I am going to use you to completely wipe them out tomorrow. (God's hint that he is one their side and they should start fighting) So with no recorded hesitation Joshua with the army attacked them suddenly. Of course it was just as God said and everyone of the men perished. Consider that for a minute.

Got to go,

~Elisabeth

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Keep Walking...

So this is the moment we have all been waiting for, the day Israel finally conquers their enemies and takes the Promised land by...walking around a wall? I am sure many of you have heard the classic story of the fall of the Jericho wall but I want to take another look at it because there are always juicy details that we seem to miss as we read through the story. The first thing I wanted to point out is the state of the inhabitants of Jericho. In the cartoons we always see the people (or veggies) mocking Israel from the top of the wall, this is not what happened! Remember yesterday how I stated that many of the kings were paralyzed with fear because of the Israelites and their God, well, they were not the only ones. Joshua 6 starts, "now Jericho was tightly shut because of the sons of Israel; no one went out and no one came in." Think about it, isn't a little odd that no one is going in or out of the city for food, water, or supplies? Usually cities are open all day and on

Reality

Yesterday marked the last day of work. I went throughout the work day as usual, feeling no different. Then as I was checking over everything, for the last time, it hit me. I realized suddenly that I was just one more step closer to leaving. I felt not so sad as odd. Realizing that I may never work there again was difficult to take in. Then today I met my good friend to say goodbye. All went well but when I laid down to take a nap after coming home I suddenly felt a great sadness over the fast approaching departure and I started to cry. I am still processing it all but I think I am understanding it more slowly and am scared. God give me strength.

Themes

It often seems that the Old Testament is boring, unneeded, and well, old. However, I have committed to reading through the entire Bible because I am convinced that every part of, God's Word is important. Though I started this task with little to no enthusiasm I find that I have been greatly blessed in the midst of this challenge. The more I read, the more I am convinced that I must record what I learn and observe because it is all so amazingly wonderful. I am not going to give you all the juicy details right away, but I do want to explain the title of my blog. As I read through the wondrous book we call the Bible, I keep coming across three main themes, rebellion, sacrifice, and grace. From the eating of the forbidden fruit in Eden to the erecting of idols in Israel to the aversion to the church today, mankind has rebelled against their creator. If God tells us to do something, we do the opposite. It seems that whether on purpose or by mistake, we are continuously putting our Lord