Darash Chai Experiment

It is all too easy as a Christian to try to disassociate from people who are engaged in egregious sin. There is a desire to try to remain pure in a world of wickedness and that means not engaging the wicked without addressing their sin. But Yeshua ate with sinners! Not as a way of legitimizing their sin, but as a means of calling them to repentance. So too, Paul recommends continuing relationships...

Judgment is a hot topic in the modern world. Verses from Scripture are pulled out of context in order to make the claim that people are not to judge each other. And 1 Corinthians 4:5 is one of those verses. But when we take the entire context of this chapter, this verse cannot be a complete moratorium on judgment. Rather it is about engaging in a specific type of judgment.

The division in the Corinthian church was a major issue for Paul. It is such a foundational issue that Paul found it necessary to address this issue first. And with all of the other issues that Paul addresses in this letter to have this be the first, should tell us a lot about its importance. In chapter 3 Paul begins to address the source of unity for the church and to provide metaphors to describ...

The church of Corinth was divided and in disarray. Factions were forming and standing in opposition to each other. It is into this fray that Paul sends this letter to the Corinthian church. In the first few chapters, Paul makes an appeal for unity among the members of this church, but we also know that throughout the book, Paul demonstrates that division is also to occur from time to time. The que...

The church at Corinth was a mess. There were many issues that it faced that Paul decided to confront through written letter. But what were those issues? What was the underlying cause that allowed those issues to propagate within the church? To discover this we need to examine the culture and context of the city of Corinth. Only then can we begin to understand the daunting task of discipling this c...

As the book of Joshua closes, Joshua gathers the leaders of the people of Israel to Shechem for the last time before his death. While there, Joshua closes the book in the same way that it opened. He encourages Israel to remain true to God and to keep His ways. It is in these last two chapters and the way that Joshua presents his appeal to Israel, that we find what set Joshua apart from the rest of...

As the war for Canaan draws to a close, the two and a half tribes that had chosen to settle beyond the Jordan River are released from their vow and are sent home. And all is at peace in the land. But on the way home these tribes decide to create a thing meant to bring continued peace and camaraderie with their brothers in the land, but this token of brotherhood is misunderstood and nearly leads to...

In these two chapters of Joshua we read of the cities that were given to the Levites as their inheritance in the land of Canaan. As we read through this list there is one city that stands out among the others. The city of Hebron. A city that had already been granted to Caleb as his inheritance. How can this be? How can two families both inherit the same city?

Prophecy is a very misunderstood spiritual gift. But using this chapter and its descriptions of the tribal allotments for the remaining tribes, and then looking at the prophecies spoken over the tribes by both Jacob in Genesis 49 and Moses in Deuteronomy 33, we read of prophetic blessings that were spoken over each of the tribes, and when we compare these blessings to the tribal locations we disco...

The next two chapters of the book of Joshua are among the most dry chapters in the Bible. There is not a lot that occurs in these chapters as they are simply an accounting of the tribal allotments for the remaining seven tribes of Israel. But at the beginning of chapter 18, Joshua sends out men to scout the inheritance that lay before them and report on it. Well, we too have an inheritance and thi...

After the tribe of Judah has been given their inheritance the next in line are the tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh. The sons of Joseph who were adopted by Jacob. When these tribes are given their allotments thought there is a huge discrepancy. Ephraim only gets one allotment while Manasseh receives 10! Why is it that Manasseh receives 10x the land while having less that 2x the people, and what must...

As we begin to read the chapters of Joshua that deal with the dividing of the land to the various tribes, it is easy to simply check out and seek to move on to more exciting texts. But if we were to do this we would miss out on the simple story that is featured in the midst of these lists. The story of Caleb’s tribal brother. A man who is also a son of Kenaz. A Gentile for all intents and pu...

In Numbers 13 and 14 we read of the faith of Joshua and Caleb when they reported on their scouting trip to Canaan. Despite their faith, Israel reacted in fear to the report of the spies and that generation was prevented from entering the land. Forty-five years later, Israel is in the land and the time has come for Caleb to get his reward. But as we consider the reward that was granted to Caleb we...

With the fighting over and Israel now firmly ensconced in the land of Canaan, we are introduced to a problem. Not all of the enemy was driven out of the land. And not all of the land was settled. This issue becomes a problem for Israel in the centuries that follow, and this chapter hints at, not just the problem, but also at the reason for the problem.

This short pivotal chapter that takes up the prime real estate of the middle of the book is perhaps one of the most boring of the book. This chapter features simply a list of names of the kings that Israel had conquered up to this point. But while this chapter is short and repetitive, there is a principle that is hinted at that explodes this book wide open. Especially when we compare it to the oth...

The book of Joshua is often derided as presenting a God who is unloving and vengeful. These remarks often come from people who want a God who is all love. One who would never judge them or anyone else for wickedness or sin. But the Bible presents a different view of God from the one that the world wants. A God who is love, yes, but also a God who is Just. A God who will pay back evil deeds on thos...

Joshua is often considered a book of conquest, and yet when you read Joshua you discover that only two chapters of the book contain any sort of prolonged warfare, and the first of these is chapter 10. Now, it is all too easy to be tempted to pull out maps and attempt to discern the various places and to read this chapter simply for its historical value, but when we get down to it, that doesn&#8217...

The idea of covenant is central recurring themes of Scripture. From the covenants with Noah, Abraham, and David, to the Old and New Covenants with Israel, covenants are found throughout. Every time that we find a covenant it is binding on all parties, and breaking the covenant comes with serious consequences. So what do you do when you are tricked into making a covenant with your enemy?

After the crushing defeat at Ai, and the removal of the offense from the camp of Israel, the army is now ready to attack this small fortress once a second time. But this time, rather than making the decision on how to attack Ai on their own, they consult God on the strategy to use, and from this we can learn a lot about how to wage our own battles.

Just after the victory at Jericho, Israel presses on to their next target. A small fortress town called simply Ai. After what had happened in the first victory, this small town should pose no real threat. And yet, in their first encounter with this city, Israel is defeated and driven back. The reason that Israel loses is quite simple. Commands had been given regarding what was to be done with the...

The battle for Jericho is one of the more memorable stories in the Bible. The armies of God march around a city and in the end the wall fall down and Israel is able to defeat the first city of Canaan without any sort of opposition. Most people are at least passingly familiar with this story. But when we dig into the story in the context of the narrative, and in the context of scripture, there are...

The first thing that Israel does after crossing the Jordan is to engage in a practice that would leave them in physical pain and vulnerable to attack. This cutting of the flesh is then followed up by a memorial festival of Passover. The reason that these steps are necessary might seem shocking, but let’s just say that Israel in the wilderness was not as faithful to God’s commands as we...

While Israel is still crossing the Jordan, God asks Joshua to build something. A memorial to the event that is currently happening in the narrative. Just one of many memorials that we find being commanded in the Bible. Why is it that God commands people to create and enact memorials? Because we are human, and we trust our senses of the current world more than we trust our memories of what God has...

The time has come for Israel to cross the Jordan river into the land of Canaan. Normally this would not be a great undertaking, until you consider the size of the Israeli army, and that it was flood season for the Jordan. There was no reasonable way to get the army across the river. That is, until God intervened. He had parted the water before, and He does so again in spectacular fashion. But that...

Before the conquest begins, Joshua sends two spies into Jericho. While in the city, these spies encounter a woman who engaged in an inherently sinful profession. And in this woman we find a microcosm of the larger story at play in the book of Joshua. Two forces. Two leaders. Two nations. Two Spies. And one woman with two lives. It is in this contrast of twos that we find the second step on the jou...