Israel served the LORD throughout the lifetime of Joshua and of the elders who outlived him and who had experienced everything the LORD had done for Israel. – Joshua 24:31

Today’s Scripture Reading (January 20, 2019): Joshua 24

Max Lucado argues that “A man who wants to lead the orchestra must turn his back on the crowd.” A true leader does not discern where the river is running and then sets a course that follows the river’s path. A true leader decides where the river needs to go and then takes the necessary measures to encourage the river to take that path. And a true leader never points toward a goal that they are unwilling to pursue in their own lives.

Joshua had never tried to discern the will of the crowd. He had been a follower of Moses who had blazed a new trail for Israel, often against the complaints of the people. Joshua wanted to continue to follow Moses’s trail. He was an able administrator who took the model that was given to him by Moses and made that dream a reality. Joshua was not the visionary that Moses had been. He didn’t have to be. He just had to find a way to complete the path that had been started by the great lawgiver of Israel.

And every step of the way, Joshua looked to the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob to help him with the task that had been set before him. This was another lesson that he had learned from his experiences following Moses. Joshua had come to believe that no task was too big for Israel to undertake if God was on their side.

Joshua led Israel and the elders who led the nation with him, by turning his back on the whims of the crowd and demonstrating the behavior that he wished Israel to follow. And as long as Joshua and the elders who led the nation lived, the nation followed God, keeping his instructions and decrees. The strength of Joshua is found in this willingness to follow God and the ability to set a path for the nation also to follow.

But after Joshua and the elders who outlived him died, all of that changed. Israel became a very different nation; one that followed whatever it believed was right. The theme of the next book containing the history of Israel, the Book of Judges, was very different from the one that was demonstrated during the days Joshua. The Book of Judges is summed up with these words. “In those days Israel had no king [and no Joshua – or Moses]; everyone did as they saw fit” (Judges 17:6). In those days Israel lacked the one who would turn his, or her, back to the crowd and simply do what was right. They lacked the one who dared to decide where the river should run. Everyone decided what was right in their eyes and, as a result, the nation descended into dark and evil days.

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Judges 17

After a long time had passed and the LORD had given Israel rest from all their enemies around them, Joshua, by then a very old man, summoned all Israel—their elders, leaders, judges and officials—and said to them: “I am very old. – Joshua 23:1-2

Today’s Scripture Reading (January 19, 2019): Joshua 23

My favorite song off of Bon Jovi’s 2000 CD release “Crush” was not one of the ones that the band decided to release as singles. My favorite track, and one that I admit I find myself singing quietly to myself throughout the day, is a song called “Just Older.” In the chorus, Jon sings these words, which seem to speak directly to my life experience:

            I like the bed I’m sleeping in

            It’s just like me, it’s broken in

            It’s not old – just older

            Like a favorite pair of torn blue jeans

            This skin I’m in it’s alright with me

            It’s not old – just older

In a world that sees to want to chase after youth, there is something decidedly healthy about Jon Bon Jovi’s words. (Admittedly, I wonder, almost twenty years after the release of the song and after all of the struggles that Jon has gone through over that time, if he still feels that way.) But whether or not Jon feels that way, it is the way that I feel. I am not old, just older.

Joshua has reached a point in his life when maybe he gets to admit that he is not older, or even old, but rather very old. Even just the numbers sound exhausting to our contemporary ears. The Exodus, under the leadership of Moses, had begun seventy-six years earlier. Joshua had been chosen as a leader of his tribe and sent into Canaan as one of Israel’s twelve spies seventy-five years earlier. It had been thirty-five years since Moses had died, leaving Joshua in control of the leadership, not just of his tribe, but of the nation. The truth is that Joshua was not just old, but he was tired and had given all that he had to give. It was time for Joshua to rest from the fight, and maybe just enjoy his family and his inheritance for a few years before he died.

So Joshua begins his farewell address to the nation. We do not know how much longer Joshua would live after this grand goodbye to Israel, but tradition says that he died at the age of 110 (Joshua 24:29) after a life of service to both his God and his nation.

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Joshua 24

And the Reubenites and the Gadites gave the altar this name: A Witness Between Us—that the LORD is God. – Joshua 22:34

Today’s Scripture Reading (January 18, 2019): Joshua 22

What happens when a river, which forms a border between two nations, moves? The question was tested on the southern border of the United States when the Rio Grande at a point between El Paso, Texas, and Ciudad Juarez, Chihuahua, moved during the 19^th century. For a hundred years, the question over the placement of the border between the U.S. and Mexico was an open question and the cause of a serious conflict between the two nations. The Rio Grande moved between 1852 and 1868, with the biggest shift in the river taking place in 1864. But the issue was not settled with a redrawing of the border between the United States and Mexico until 1963. In the agreement, the boundary of between the United States and Mexico was changed to reflect the change in the Rio Grande, ceding 366 acres of land from the United States to Mexico, and 71 acres changed from Mexico to the United States. And, as part of the solution, changes were made to the Rio Grande itself to make sure that the river did not move again in the future, renewing the conflict. Today, in El Paso, Texas, the Chamizal National Memorial stands to mark both the conflict and the solution to the problem. The memorial is a reminder of what has caused conflict in the past, and a reminder that, even if it took a hundred years, a solution was found and applied to the conflict.

Israel seems to have originally been intended to exist on just the west side of the Jordan River. But as Israel began to move into Canaan, the tribes of Reuben and Gad, as well as half of the tribe Manasseh, decided to take their inheritance on the east side of the Jordan River. But in spite of building their homes on the east side of the Jordan, they also made the promise that their men would still cross over the river to fight in Canaan.

Eventually, the men were sent home. And, after they had returned, they built an altar on the east side, their side, of the Jordan River. It was not intended to be an altar where sacrifices would be made to God. Those sacrifices would take place at Shiloh, where the Tabernacle currently resided, on the west side of the Jordan River. But the altar was set up as a memorial and a reminder. Unlike the Chamizal National Memorial, which marks a dispute between two nations over a boundary based on the course of a river, this altar on the east side of the Jordan River was intended to be a reminder that this river did not form a boundary between two nations. At least on this spot, Israel existed on both sides of the Jordan River.

The truth is that rivers make easy boundaries. But in this case, the nation existed on both sides of the river, and a “Witness Between Us” was erected to remind the people that Israel existed on both sides of the river; that they were united, and together formed the nation of Israel.

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Joshua 23

The first lot came out for the Kohathites, according to their clans. The Levites who were descendants of Aaron the priest were allotted thirteen towns from the tribes of Judah, Simeon and Benjamin. – Joshua 21:4

Today’s Scripture Reading (January 17, 2019): Joshua 21

Vera Nazarian in “The Perpetual Calendar of Inspiration” writes that “neither sugar nor salt tastes particularly good by itself. Each is at its best when used to season other things. Love is the same way. Use it to ‘season’ people.” Personally, my cravings tend toward the salty rather than the sweet. But Nazarian is right, sugar and salt are seasonings; they work best when they are spread out over something else that we are enjoying (and yes, I appreciate a generous application of salt on my French Fries).

There was never any intention that there would be a tribe of Levites, at least not one that was gathered on one territorial space. When Jacob claimed Manasseh and Ephraim, the two sons of Joseph, as his own, he essentially became of the father of thirteen sons and changed the way that the descendants of Levi would be treated. The adoption of Manasseh and Ephraim allowed the Levites to become the possession of God, and the Levites were intended to be the seasoning for the nation of Israel. In this way, God’s presence would be spread among the people, and his love would be shared with all of the people.

The presence of the Levites throughout Israel also argued against the idea that God was only present in his tabernacle, and later only in the Temple of Jerusalem. God was spread throughout all of Israel, symbolized by the presence of his Levites. 

I recently visited a Jewish Synagogue for worship and was impressed, once again, by the ministry of the Levites in the service. The descendants of Levi, more than 3000 years after the taking of the Promised Land, are still symbols of the presence of God among the people. And as Christians, we believe not just that we are the adopted children of God, but that we are the Levites adopted by God. Our purpose is not to be heaped up in one place, but rather to be spread out amidst God’s creation, symbolically reminding all of creation that the presence of God is in their midst, and practically loving all of creation with the love that we reflect from the Creator of the World. 

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Joshua 22

If the avenger of blood comes in pursuit, the elders must not surrender the fugitive, because the fugitive killed their neighbor unintentionally and without malice aforethought.- Joshua 20:5

Today’s Scripture Reading (January 16, 2019): Joshua 20

Justice in the culture in which I live depends upon the idea of the presumption of innocence. Sometimes we seem to think that this idea is a recent development in our societies, but it is an ancient idea. Most succinctly, the idea is stated with the Latin maxim ei incumbit probatio qui dicit, non qui negat (the burden of proof is on the one who accuses, not on the one who denies).

The Presumption of Innocence is not universal, but it appears in some possibly surprising doctrines. It was introduced into Roman Law in the Second Century C.E. by Emperor Antonius Pius, one of the Five Good Emperors who reigned from 96 to 180 C.E. It is also part of Islamic Law with teaching that instructs the followers of Allah to condemn suspicion and teach them to overturn prescribed punishment if it is built around doubtful evidence. But during the feudal governments in the Middle Ages, most of Europe fell back into the custom of the presumption of guilt.

And it is that presumption which seems to reign over our emotions today, even in the culture in which I live. As I write these words, Democratic hopefuls and supporters in the United States are crying out for the impeachment of their President. One of the new class of 2018 members of Congress put that desire in rather vulgar terms earlier this month, as in “We are going to impeach the mother******.” All this before the contents of the Mueller Probe have even been released. It is not an example of the presumption of innocence that is on display by the American Democrats elected to government positions of oversight in the United States, nor is it the presumption of innocence that is portrayed on our evening news; it is the presumption of guilt.

The essential problem with the idea of the presumption of innocence is that it requires us, at least for a time, to occasionally protect the guilty. It requires that we cease to condemn those that we believe to be guilty until after that guilt can be proved in a court of law. And if that guilt cannot be proved, we must be willing to say that we would rather a guilty man go free than to proclaim guilty someone who is innocent (enter the trial of O. J. Simpson).

While the idea of the Presumption of Innocence seems to have entered into Western Law in the middle of the Second Century C.E., the concept is even older. It is found in the Law of Moses and the idea of Sanctuary Cities. It was in these cities that both the innocent and the guilty could be protected until after a trial and a time when the guilt was proved by the accuser. There is no doubt that some guilty found solace with the Sanctuary City network in Israel, but so did many innocents. And unlike our images of the Old American West, Israel was not supposed to be ruled by a frontier justice that meted out its punishment without the benefits of a trial. Every life was valuable, and everyone accused of a crime deserved their day in court.

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Joshua 21

They gave him the town he asked for—Timnath Serah in the hill country of Ephraim. And he built up the town and settled there. – Joshua 19:50

Today’s Scripture Reading (January 15, 2019): Joshua 19

The fourteenth-century Persian poet Hafez wrote that “even after all this time the Sun never says to the Earth, ‘You owe me.’ Look what happens with a love like that, it lights the whole sky.” The relationship between the Earth and the Sun is a special one, especially if we bestow upon the two celestial bodies some human characteristics. After all, the earth adds very little, really nothing, to the existence of the sun. But life on earth could not exist without the presence of the sun. The sun is forever giving, and we are forever receiving, offering nothing back to the one who gives us life. And yes, in this I am still speaking of the Earth and the Sun.

Joshua receives his inheritance last. He has requested land around the town of Timnath Serah, in a mountainous region within the allotment of land given to the tribe of Ephraim; the tribe of which Joshua is a part. Timnath Serah means “Portion of Abundance.” The name of the town probably impacted Joshua as to what God had done for all of Israel. He had given them Canaan. Israel had received their “Portion of Abundance” directly from their God who had been with them every step of the way.

But the people of Israel seem to have quickly begun to refer to the town by another name. They seem to essentially invert “Serah” calling the town “Timnath Heres.” This inversion is revealed in Judges 2:9 where Timnath Serah is called Timnath Heres. “Heres” is often translated as “sun” making the name of the town “Portion of the Sun.” According to Jewish tradition, this is recognition of the day that Joshua, with the help of God, made the sun stand still. In fact, this moment in Israel’s history became the symbol that summed up the role of Joshua in his relationship with Israel. Joshua was Israel’s sun. For all of Joshua’s shortcomings, he was the general that had led the successful attack on Canaan and the administrator who had fulfilled the task of dividing the land among the twelve tribes of Israel. Joshua took care of all of this, often giving everything that he had to offer before he finally rested and took his own inheritance among the tribes of Israel.

Joshua, strengthened by his relationship with the God of Israel, had been the sun shining over Israel, revealing the path that they needed to follow and keeping the nation on that path when they seemed to want to change directions. And now he was ready to settle into his own inheritance in Canaan. Joshua was ready to end his nomadic life on land that had been given to him by his Sun, the God of Israel.

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Joshua 20

Note: The Hafez poem is better and more traditionally phrased this way:

“Even
After
All this time
The Sun never says to the Earth,

"You owe me."

Look
What happens
With a love like that,
It lights the whole sky.”

… but there were still seven Israelite tribes who had not yet received their inheritance. – Joshua 18:2

Today’s Scripture Reading (January 14, 2019): Joshua 18

In his epic novel “Crime and Punishment,” Fyodor Dostoevsky argues that “taking a new step, uttering a new word, is what people fear most.” Dostoevsky reveals what is a reality for most of us. And if we do not feel that way, we know someone close to us who does. We fear change, even when change is good. And maybe that is part of the reason that many people’s New Year’s resolutions are no longer in force a short two weeks into the New Year. As people, we find great comfort in the way that things have always been done and change, which includes a fear of the unknown, is simply scary. When times get tough, we always return to the way we have always responded to things in our lives. There is great comfort in tradition.

When considering the taking of Canaan, one of the questions that we need to ask is why had seven tribes not “received their inheritance.” Were they unable to displace the inhabitants of their inheritance? Or was there some other reason. Less than half of the tribes of Israel had received their land. And the most obvious reason for the delay is simply this; the tribes were afraid of taking that next new step. They were afraid of change.

No one in Israel had any idea what it meant to live in permanent dwellings. They had existed as a large group of people living in tents, moving about the land for their entire lives. Every morning when they rose, they looked toward the Tabernacle to see if today they would be packing up and moving on, leaving the area for someplace new. They were nomads, and it was not that they had grown to like the nomadic life; they didn’t know any other way to live. They had lived all of their lives as nomads.

And now they were being asked to change. Israel was being given a specific plot of land where they would be able to build a house and farm, growing grains in season and feeding and caring for their animals throughout the year. They would no longer move from place to place. They would possess the land that they would be able to pass down to their children. And this was something that they had never experienced.

It was not that this change bad. In many ways it was good. But it was a life that they had never experienced, and the descendants of Israel were finding it hard to adapt to the change.

Change is hard, but it is also necessary. I am convinced that God continually leads us into change as we grow more and more like Christ. And often we reject the change god places into our lives and fall back on tradition because it is comfortable, and not because the traditional is what God desires from us. We all have to face change as we grow in our faith. It is an inevitable part of life. And how we react to that change is often the best descriptor of how much faith we really have placed in our God.

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Joshua 19