Joshua 18-21; Psalm 15; Luke 18
The first capital of Israel was Shiloh (Joshua 18:1). It remained so for about 500 years until David took Jerusalem and established the capital there.
Joshua concludes the section on the land allotted to them by God with the awareness that it is not their merit but God's grace shown to them. Therefore, he follows all the commands given by God to Moses and himself. He does this before the presence of God (Joshua 18:9; 21:8). According to these commands, they establish cities of refuge and designate towns for the Levites in each tribe (Joshua 21).
Summing up all the resettlement, Joshua emphasizes God's faithfulness in His promises:
"Not one of all the good promises that the Lord had made to the house of Israel had failed; all came to pass." (Joshua 21:45). God's timetable differs from our expectations. Sometimes, it takes more time than we think for His blessings to become evident. But what He has said will surely come to pass. This is one of the fundamental truths of Scripture.
Psalm 15 describes the relationship between people in the community of God. This becomes possible through the working of God's Spirit. In fullness, these qualities were present only in Christ, so being filled with Christ and submissive to Him is the only way to obtain them. More about this psalm can be heard in a recent sermon by Andrey Rezunenko.
https://slovo.org/resursy/propovedi/kto-mozhet-prebivat-v-svyatom-zhilishche-bozhiem/
Luke 18 chapter presents several truths presented by Christ.
- The parable of the unjust judge speaks of the importance of persistence in prayer: "And will not God give justice to his elect, who cry to him day and night?" (Luke 18:1-8). The Lord will protect us in His time, but we must continue praying.
- The parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector speaks of the impossibility of coming to God relying on one's own merits. The tax collector went away justified because he recognized his bankruptcy and relied completely on God's mercy (Luke 18:9-14).
- The story of the rich young ruler speaks of the same. It is impossible to rely on anything, including one's moral achievements. Jesus exposed his self-confidence by asking him to give away all he had to the poor and then follow Him. Self-denial required for following Christ is impossible without God's convicting work in the heart (Luke 18:18-27).
- Although Jesus had repeatedly spoken directly to the disciples about His sufferings, death, and resurrection, they did not understand Him because they had their idea of how the Messiah should act (Luke 18:31-34).
Joshua concludes the section on the land allotted to them by God with the awareness that it is not their merit but God's grace shown to them. Therefore, he follows all the commands given by God to Moses and himself. He does this before the presence of God (Joshua 18:9; 21:8). According to these commands, they establish cities of refuge and designate towns for the Levites in each tribe (Joshua 21).
Summing up all the resettlement, Joshua emphasizes God's faithfulness in His promises:
"Not one of all the good promises that the Lord had made to the house of Israel had failed; all came to pass." (Joshua 21:45). God's timetable differs from our expectations. Sometimes, it takes more time than we think for His blessings to become evident. But what He has said will surely come to pass. This is one of the fundamental truths of Scripture.
Psalm 15 describes the relationship between people in the community of God. This becomes possible through the working of God's Spirit. In fullness, these qualities were present only in Christ, so being filled with Christ and submissive to Him is the only way to obtain them. More about this psalm can be heard in a recent sermon by Andrey Rezunenko.
https://slovo.org/resursy/propovedi/kto-mozhet-prebivat-v-svyatom-zhilishche-bozhiem/
Luke 18 chapter presents several truths presented by Christ.
- The parable of the unjust judge speaks of the importance of persistence in prayer: "And will not God give justice to his elect, who cry to him day and night?" (Luke 18:1-8). The Lord will protect us in His time, but we must continue praying.
- The parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector speaks of the impossibility of coming to God relying on one's own merits. The tax collector went away justified because he recognized his bankruptcy and relied completely on God's mercy (Luke 18:9-14).
- The story of the rich young ruler speaks of the same. It is impossible to rely on anything, including one's moral achievements. Jesus exposed his self-confidence by asking him to give away all he had to the poor and then follow Him. Self-denial required for following Christ is impossible without God's convicting work in the heart (Luke 18:18-27).
- Although Jesus had repeatedly spoken directly to the disciples about His sufferings, death, and resurrection, they did not understand Him because they had their idea of how the Messiah should act (Luke 18:31-34).
Posted in Reading Bible Together