60IN60 Day 43 - Mon Aug 17

It's Day 43 and we're in Joshua 11.

Is the Bible an old dusty book? Nope - ". . . the Word of God is living and active . . ." (Hebrews 4:12). Dig into today expecting it to speak to you. 

Where God Spoke To Me:
- Verses 18-19 - We all remember the miraculous intervention by God at Jericho, but the majority of the conquest of the land happened by long, hard battles.

Help:
- Verse 20 - I presume that the sinfulness of the people in the land is what led God to do this. I don't think He's just be arbitrary in His actions.

If you want to read the chapter online, here's a link.

If you have a question or comment, email me at butcher@ymail.com.

Your Questions and Comments:

- "In the New Testament we have the black and red print to allow us to read Jesus's words but we do not see that in the Old Testament when the Lord speaks. Is there a reason behind the differences?" - Interesting question. The original text does not have the black and red print in it. The "words in red" are something that some publishers/translations have added to help readers. So if a publisher/translator decided it would be helpful to add red to the Old Testament words of the Lord, they could do that as well. This is all similar to the chapter and verse divisions in our Bibles. Those are also not in the original manuscripts. They were added to translations later just so it would be easier to reference a certain passage and everyone would know exactly where you were at. In these cases, these are just attempts to make the Bible easier to understand, which is acceptable. If someone tried to change what the Bible says, that would be an unacceptable change.

- A comment from a 60IN60 participant: "Yes, it is a brutal passage, this wholesale slaughter. But if memory serves, God had given this particular nation plenty of time to repent. Instead, they went deeper in sins such as child sacrifice and other unspeakable things. God is holy and He  wanted his chosen people to be holy as well.  Had they not engaged in wholesale slaughter, had they left the women with their children,  what would have occurred would have been what always occurred when Israel didn't obey: intermarriage, introduction of foreign gods, foul practices, etc. God intended to keep Israel set apart no matter what the cost. Remember what happened to Solomon when he took foreign wives. Israel was torn apart. it was a high cost, but so was the crucifixion."

- A comment from a 60IN60 participant: Joshua 8. "I had to research to discover that Shinar is a synonym for Babylon. Archeology has discovered ancient fragments of such richly woven fabrics that enticed Achan. We humans have always desired the "better" things of life, often to our detriment."

- A comment from a 60IN60 participant. Joshua 7. "Fascinating to learn that Ai was dangerous, even back then. Here the scapegoats are not sheep, and we see both the cost and the value. The Lord knows that if His people go to war primarily for plunder, they will never succeed in taking the Promised Land. From a military standpoint, their disobedience can be and was catastrophic. Military commanders even in modern times, have used scapegoating (often euphemized as 'teaching a lesson') as a way of disciplining their own troops and/or conquered populations. It’s ugly, it’s unfair, but often it works. This is God portrayed as brutally pragmatic and morally difficult to understand."