[NOTE: For those who are continuing the 1-year Bible reading plan we started on April 1, 2018, just go to the end of this entry and you will find the Day 333 – 1 Corinthians 12-14; Matthew 20 summary!]
As we turn to the Book of Joshua, the theme of the first chapter is courage. Joshua finds himself in the unenviable position of taking over the leadership of the Israelites from Moses. Moses had held the position for forty years. Time and again, Moses found himself taking the brunt of the people’s rebellion against God, and occasionally pleading for God to show mercy to his rebellious followers. Moses had suffered with his people through a forty-year wilderness journey, when the trip ought to have taken six weeks at most. Their disobedience had caused God to sentence every adult who was 20 and older at the time of their rejecting His offer to go into the Promised Land, to die in the wilderness. Now, Moses has died, and Joshua takes over the reins. On the positive side of the ledger, Joshua had served as Moses’ right-hand man for decades. He had also inherited Moses’ mantel from God. God now spoke directly with Joshua as He had with Moses.
In Joshua 1, God promises Joshua He will be with him, as He was with Moses. He charges Joshua to be courageous, to read and keep the Law, and to know God will give him and the Israelites every bit of land where they walk. Joshua charges the Israelites to be faithful and to obey the LORD. The response they give would not have encouraged to me: 16And they answered Joshua, “All that you have commanded us we will do, and wherever you send us we will go. 17Just as we obeyed Moses in all things, so we will obey you. Only may the LORD your God be with you, as he was with Moses! 18Whoever rebels against your commandment and disobeys your words, whatever you command him, shall be put to death. Only be strong and courageous.” Joshua 1:16-18 (ESV) The oath is in the strongest form: Whoever rebels against you…shall be put to death. That sounds like a great pledge of obedience to Joshua. The part that would have scared me is what they promised: “…Just as we obeyed Moses in all things, so we will obey you.” We have read of all the ways the Israelites disobeyed Moses. As we will see in the pages of Joshua, the Israelites also disobeyed Joshua at key points in their taking of the Promised Land.
The Israelites did start with a short burst of obedience as we see in Joshua 2 and 3. In chapter 2, Joshua sent two spies into the land to scout out Jericho, which would be one of the first walled cities the Israelites would need to battle and overcome. The spies found the people were frightened of the Israelites and had heard of God’s deliverance through mighty works of power. The spies would have been caught except Rahab, a prostitute, gave them shelter in exchange for the promise of being spared, along with her family, when the Israelites eventually overtook the city. The spies agreed. In chapter 3, the Israelites march across the Jordan River. Just as God had provided safe passage through the Red Sea when the Israelites escaped from Egypt, so He gave them safe passage through the Jordan River. I have always found it significant that the waters of the Jordan didn’t part until the priests stepped into the water with the Ark of the Covenant. The river was at flood stage, so to obey God the priests had to step into a raging river. As soon as they did so, the waters stopped flowing, and the Israelites were able to pass on dry ground.
As we return to John 5, let’s remember the question Jesus asked the man who was lying beside the pool of Bethesda, “Do you want to get well?” While the answer seemed obvious, after all the man had been paralyzed for decades, the question begs an answer. The man made an excuse, but Jesus provided the healing anyway. In our lives, we often come to points where God wants to work in our lives, but we get in our own way. One specific example in my life is the many times I have lacked the discipline to eat healthy foods and to exercise effectively. You might think, “That is nothing like being paralyzed.” In degree, that’s true, but in principle it is the same: The man had the means to be healed standing in front of him, and he offered Jesus an excuse. I have had the means to be healthier, and more effective as Jesus’ follower in front of me over and over again, and have said, “Yes,” for periods of time, and then I make excuses. Or I have simply started with an excuse. Let’s not follow the paralytic’s example and make excuses when Jesus asks us if we want to be well. Let’s say, “Yes!” and then let Him work His healing power in our lives, whether the healing we need is physical, emotional or spiritual!
Day 333 – 1 Corinthians 12-14; Matthew 20
As we turn to 1 Corinthians 12-14 we read a unit the covers many matters regarding the Holy Spirit. First in 1 Corinthians 12, Paul tells us about spiritual gifts. He tells us each person who is part of the body of Jesus Christ (One of Paul’s favorite images for the Church!) has been given a spiritual gift or gifts for the common good. He reminds us as a part of the body we can’t say we don’t belong because we aren’t the part we want to be. Nor can we exclude someone else, because they aren’t the parts we want them to be. Paul reminds us that as a body, when one member suffers, we all suffer. He also reminds us when one part is honored, the whole body rejoices. This illustration is so powerful. While as Americans, we tend to focus on the individual, as the body of Jesus Christ, we are to focus on how we work together. At the end of the chapter Paul tells us to seek the “greater” gifts, but then tells us he will show us a more excellent way.
That way is revealed in 1 Corinthians 13. That way is the way of love. Paul reminds us no matter what spiritual gifts we might display in our lives, without love we are nothing. Paul offers a beautiful description of what the love of God in Jesus Christ is and isn’t. He closes the chapter by reminding us we don’t have the full picture now, but we must not act as children. We must live in love as fully as we can, and when Jesus returns, we will understand the fullness of His love.
1 Corinthians 14 starts with Paul’s explanation of the importance of tongues. Many have misunderstood the importance of tongues, some overemphasizing their use as a sign that a person is a “true” believer, while others say tongues was only for the apostolic age. Paul makes a powerful statement by saying he wished that everyone spoke in tongues as he did, and then adding, but that in worship he would rather offer five intelligible words than a thousand words in tongues. This is crucial: tongues are for the building up of the individual in his or her relationship with God, unless the message offered is interpreted and can be used to benefit the body. As Paul concludes the chapter he talks about propriety in worship. He offers an example of how worship ought to look. One aspect of His explanation has been misinterpreted down through the centuries. In quoting what had been sent to him by the Corinthians, Paul wrote, “As in all the congregations of the saints, 34women should remain silent in the churches. They are not allowed to speak, but must be in submission, as the Law says. 35If they want to inquire about something, they should ask their own husbands at home; for it is disgraceful for a woman to speak in the church.1 Corinthians 14:33a-35 (NIV) Only the King James Version offers an accurate translation of the next verse. It starts, “What?” As in “Are you kidding.” As we read the remainder of the passage, Paul makes it clear that what he has taught about women in worship is what needs to happen. Back in chapter 11, Paul said women must have their heads covered in worship when they pray or prophesy. That certainly means they were permitted to speak, so it makes no sense that most English translations leave out the “What?” that starts verse 36. When we add it, it becomes clear that Paul was no prohibiting women from speaking in worship, but clearing up the Corinthians misunderstanding.
As we return to Matthew 20, Jesus tells the Parable of the Workers in the Vineyard. In the parable, a vineyard owner hirers workers at various time throughout a day, telling the first ones he would pay them a denarius, and those whom he hired later he would pay them what was fair. At the end of the day, he paid the workers, starting with the ones who only worked an hour. He gave them a denarius. When he got to the workers who had worked all day, he also paid them a denarius. They were upset, because he was “unfair.” The vineyard owner pointed out he was giving them what they agreed as their wage at the beginning of the day. He added if he wanted to be generous to those who worked less, what was that to them? The story points out that some will only serve in the Kingdom of heaven a short time, and yet will receive eternal rewards. That is because of the generosity of our Master.
Jesus then told the disciples a third time he was going to be crucified. This time the mother of James and John came and asked Jesus if her sons could sit at his right and left in His kingdom? What a question! When the rest of the disciples heard about it, they were furious. Most likely their fury came because they hadn’t thought of asking, and because they wanted a better position. Jesus ended the conversation by reminding them all that the greatest in God’s Kingdom are those who serve the most.
The chapter ends with Jesus healing two blind men. Jesus told the men it was their faith that healed them. As we have noted before, sometimes Jesus heals based on the faith of those being healed, sometimes based on the faith of others, and sometimes as a gift and demonstration of His Kingdom power and authority. Whatever the reason, His miraculous works demonstrate the reality of God’s Kingdom coming to the earth.