SCRIPTURE: Joshua 4:1-14
OBSERVATION:
1. This was certainly a memorable experience. The memory stones taken from the riverbed were to be an enduring reminder of God’s amazing provision in time of need.
2. An important part of spreading the message is communicating it to those around us, whether our own children (“when your children ask you”) or the people that you meet in your neighbourhood. We do not need to exaggerate or expand stories, we simply share what God has done. Tell them what God has done for you (Luke 8:38-39).
3. 40,000 soldiers, leads me to wonder how many there were altogether? According to Numbers 1:45-46, there were 603,550 fighting men, plus the Levites, women, children, slaves and others who joined them. This would lead to a total of over 2 million, a large number of people for that time. There is debate whether the Hebrew word for 1000s (elef) is a literal, symbolic, or otherwise misunderstood word. Suffice it to say, there were a lot of people who journeyed from Egypt to Canaan.
4. This experience led the people to revere Joshua, since it confirmed that God was with him (or that he was with God).
APPLICATION:
1. If I were asked to explain what the Lord has done for me, what would I say? Should I be more intentional about REMEMBERING the specific things that God has done in my life, so that I can be more effective in COMMUNICATING God’s grace to others?
2. How do I deal with difficult passages in the Bible (like numbers that don’t make sense)? I choose to read them generously, graciously, positively. I do have questions about difficult passages, and I am open to the possibility that I am reading those passages incorrectly. But in the end, I give the text the benefit of the doubt, and assume that somehow it makes sense and is accurate (though not necessarily in the way I think it might be).
3. If I am sincere and serious about walking close with the Lord, and following His will and purpose for my life, will that guarantee that people will respect and follow me? In some ways, this is a leadership principle, but it is not a guarantee, as is obvious from Jesus. My focus should not be on getting people to follow me, but on walking close to the Lord. Whether people respect and follow me or not, my calling is to stay close to the Lord. He will work out the results (ie His purpose) through me.
PRAYER:
Lord, forgive me for not paying closer attention to what You have done, and are doing, in my life. Help me to keep my focus on You, and not on results or numbers or successes in a worldly sense. Amen.