THE LORD SPOKE (April 02)

Daily Reflections from Scripture:

Old Testament: Joshua 16-18

It would be one fantastic archaeological discovery if anyone could find the document mentioned in Joshua 18. Three men from each of the seven tribes that had not yet received their tribal allotment were picked to form a survey team. Joshua sent them out with instructions to “make a survey of the land and to write a description of it” (Josh. 18:4,8).

First of all, the survey itself would be of great interest. After the detailed descriptions of the allotments for Judah, Ephraim, and Manasseh in chapters 15-17, we have some idea of what they were looking for. With an eye to accessibility, agricultural space, water resources, and other such necessities, the survey team would have looked for parcels of land that would fit the needs of a full tribe, the average size of which was around 50,000 people.

Were the descriptions written on a scroll? Or maybe seven smaller scrolls, each of which would be handed out as the lots were drawn? We know from the following chapters where each tribe ended up but it would be some very valuable historical geographical information to have detailed descriptions such as that recorded for Judah in chapter 15. Each tribe certainly had an interest in knowing exactly where their boundaries were to run.

And, no doubt, they wanted to know how many Canaanite cities and villages they were getting. The country, in general terms, “was brought under control” (Josh. 18:1) but there was still a major mop-up campaign to be completed. One concern for each tribe was to know how many Canaanite populations they still had to put to the sword or drive out before they could take possession of their land. (Take a look at the example of Ephraim and Manasseh in Joshua 17:17-18.)

The care and attention to detail that is evident in this passage is significant to us. It’s an encouragement to define the task, delineate boundaries, describe resources, designate areas of responsibility, and determine margins when we undertake great projects. It’s a lesson in cooperative effort, social balance, mutual accountability, peaceful negotiations, and practical decision-making.

Sounds like a good way to run a church!


New Testament: Acts 3

Peter said something no pope could ever say, “Silver and gold I do not have, but what I have I give to you.” Neither half of that sentence applies to any Catholic pope in history! But, of course, Peter was never a pope either.

It’s unfortunate that Peter’s sermon in Acts 3 often gets forgotten in the brighter light of the Day of Pentecost in Acts 2, but it contains so many striking thoughts. Just consider the following:

• 3:14 - “you disowned the Holy and Righteous One” - Even though Pilate “had decided to let him go”, the people rejected their Messiah and distanced themselves from the only One who could save them.
• 3:15 - “you killed the author of life” - What a shocking incongruity. The very One who is the source of life had His life removed by those who’d received life from Him.
• 3:18 - “God fulfilled what He'd foretold through all the prophets” - There really were no surprises. It had been pre-determined and foretold from the beginning.
• 3:19 - “your sins may be wiped out” and “times of refreshing may come from the Lord” - A genuinely clean slate and a new beginning can only come from God. That’s a gift beyond comprehension.
• 3:21 - “He must remain in heaven until the time comes” - There’s the answer to the disciples’ question back in Acts 1:6. They finally got it!
• 3:23 - “anyone who does not listen to him will be completely cut off from among his people” - The worst imaginable calamity that could happen to a Jewish person would be to be cut off from his nation and heritage.
• 3:25 - “you are the heirs...of the covenant” - That which was promised to Abraham was passed down to his descendants. They inherited the same unconditional promise that was given to Father Abraham.
• 3:26 - “He sent Him first to you” - Jesus came first to the Jewish people (“those who were near”) and then offered salvation to all mankind (“those who were far off”). The Gospel is “to the Jew first” (Rom. 1:16).

Peter was quite the preacher - hardly the “dumb fisherman” some might have thought. His tongue had gotten him in enough trouble already but, once it was dedicated to the Lord, it ignited a flame that still burns to this day.