[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 336 – 2 Corinthians 4-7 Matthew 23 summary!]
Joshua 10-13 records Israel’s defeat of most of the inhabitants of the Promised Land. Many of the people joined in battle against Israel, but to no avail. God stood with Israel. In one battle He cast hail down on the enemy. He also made the sun and moon stand still to give them more daylight to fight. Everywhere, we read of Israel destroying the people of the land and “devoting them to destruction.” The phrase sounds so “unfair,” and even “wrong,” but we must remember God used the Israelites to bring judgment on the people of the land, because their sin had become full. One day each of us will be judged for our sin, and only if we have trusted Jesus as Savior and Lord, will we be spared from that judgment. God is not unjust, because all of us have sinned and fall far short of His glory. In Israel’s judgment against the people of the land, God’s justice was shown.
Toward the end of today’s reading, we’re told Joshua was old and his life was coming to an end. God warned that much land was yet to be taken, and pockets of resistance remained. These would prove to be harmful to Israel in the period of the judges, and even when the monarchy was established in Israel. For the moment, God started the distribution of the land to the various tribes, and the conquest of the land was coming to a lull. In our lives, we must not stop our battle against sin after we have trusted Jesus for salvation. His Holy Spirit leads us and strengthens us so we will have victory. It remains for us to live into that victory daily, because the pockets of resistance remain in us as well. The Apostle Paul called it “the flesh,” or “the sinful nature.” Vigilance brings victory, but a lack of focus can set us back.
As we return to John 8, let’s remember how important it was for Jesus to stand in the gap for the woman caught in the act of adultery. While the religious leaders used her as a pawn in their attempt to trap Jesus with being too lenient, or too judgmental, Jesus saw a woman not an adulteress. Many years ago, I heard a pastor say, “Jesus spent time with prostitutes. A person in the audience interrupted and said, “Jesus never saw a prostitute.”
The pastor persisted, “Jesus spent time with prostitutes regularly. He…”
Again, the young man in the audience interrupted, “You’re not listening. Jesus never saw a prostitute.”
Again, the pastor continued, “Young man, I’ve studied the Bible for longer than you’ve been alive, and Jesus most certainly spent time with prostitutes.”
The young man said, “I have no doubt you’ve studied the Bible longer and more thoroughly than I have sir, but you’re wrong. Jesus never saw a prostitute.”
Finally, the pastor understood, “Oh, I see what you’re saying. You’re absolutely right. Jesus never saw a prostitute. He saw a woman created in God’s image.”
“Yes!” the young man affirmed.
We must see what Jesus sees when we look at others. They may have committed many sins, as each of us have done. They may be labeled by society as a particular type of sinner, and perhaps we have labeled them as well. Perhaps you have labeled yourself, but let’s remember when Jesus sees each of us, He sees who God created us to be, and wants to call that out in each of us. Let’s let Him do that more and more with each passing moment!
Day 336 – 2 Corinthians 4-7 Matthew 23
In 2 Corinthians 4, Paul reminds the Corinthians how important it is for us to live out our faith, and to shine His light on others. Sometimes it is hard to see the “treasure” of Jesus in our lives, because we are “jars of clay.” What an appropriate image. Even when we are at our best, we still have leftover sin in our lives, and people might now see Jesus clearly. Nevertheless, we continue to live in the power of the Holy Spirit, submitting ourselves to Him, and showing the world the new life available to all through Jesus.
In 2 Corinthians 5, Paul reminds us that when we die to this life, when our “earthly tent” is destroyed, we will have a new building, eternal in the heavens. We live in this tension every day, because as long as we live here on earth, we miss out on our eternal home in heaven. To be present in the body is to be away from the Lord. We have the Holy Spirit as a “deposit” of the eternal life we will enjoy. Paul reminds us we will all appear before the judgments seat of Christ to answer for the deeds of our lives whether good or bad. This idea of being judged for our actions bothers many, but it reminds us that while our salvation is a gift, the reward in heaven comes from the good works we live in our lives in the power of the Holy Spirit.
In the second half of the chapter, Paul reminds us that God has entrusted the ministry of reconciliation to us. We are new creatures in Jesus, and once we have been made new, we become “ambassadors for Christ,” and God makes His appeal through us.
In 2 Corinthians 6, Paul reminds the Corinthians of all the hardships he went through, because of his life in Jesus. He then challenges the Corinthians not to be “unequally yoked” with unbelievers. This command is generally considered a command not to be married to an unbeliever, but it can also be thought of more broadly as a command not to enter into significant relationships in an ongoing way with those outside of the believing community.
As we return to Matthew 23, Jesus pronounces seven “woes” over the Pharisees. The Greek word used to describe what Jesus was doing can literally be translated “damn you,” or “curse you,” so Jesus used the strongest language to denounce the activities and ways of the Pharisees. At the end of the chapter, Jesus laments over Jerusalem, because of what He knows will happen in just a short time–His arrest, trial, conviction, beating and crucifixion.