The Family Bible Journey Podcast

Judah would become, in many ways, the preeminent tribe of Israel. Her land was a hard land, and they would be mighty warriors and leaders. We also see, in the story of a wise young woman named Achsah, a measure of their wisdom and boldness.

We consider how each of the tribal allotments affected the character of each of the tribes of Israel. They were entering a diverse land with diverse climate, geography and agriculture. This would make them a diverse people, whose character was shaped by the land they received.

Even when Mary doesn't understand how everything is working out, she knows her Son is the very Son of God. Instead of trying to comprehend these things, she contemplates them. As a parade of angels, shepherds, a prophet and a prophetess affirm her Son, and Jesus grows in grace, we join Mary in pondering these things in our hearts.

Living in a world full of sin and evil, sometimes the only way to peace and the only way to preserve peace is through conflict. This is a hard lesson to learn, but one that is essential as we wrestle with the conflict that was necessary to bring peace to God's people then. Still today conflict is necessary to protect peace today.

In today's episode, Israel is defeated by deceit and victorious in battle. We learn the folly of making decisions without the Lord's guidance. Yet God still loved and blessed His people by using their mistake to lure their enemies into one great battle that accelerated their conquest of the land.

All those who had waited to see the Day of Salvation, begin to see it's dawn in John and Jesus. John's father Zechariah lead a chorus of praises, inspired by the Holy Spirit. Many rejoiced in knowing God's promises were coming to fruition in two infant boys.

"When one fails, the whole team suffers." We will learn how the greed of one caused the defeat of Israel. Following this setback, Joshua and Israel redouble their efforts and win a mighty victory.

Jericho stood as an imposing fortress. Well-supplied, with unlimited fresh water, it was designed to withstand any seige. But God intervened and provided Israel with a miraculous victory, delivering the city into Israel's hands.

The angel Gabriel gives the virgin Mary impossibly good news that she will conceive and give birth to the Savior. Her son Jesus, she is told, will save her people from their sins. The miracle of the incarnation shows nothing is impossible for God.

Israel crosses the Jordan at the absolute wrong time of year, when the river is at flood stage. God doesn't care. He parts the waters before Joshua, just as He had parted the Red Sea before Moses. Joshua wants to make sure Israel remembers this great day and erects a monument to remind future generations of where they'd come from and how they got into the Promised Land.

Joshua assumes the leadership of God's people as a mighty type of Christ who leads Israel into the promised land. As they enter the land, we are introduced to Rahab, a Canaanite prostitute who was brought to faith in Israel's God. Not only is she a hero in this story, she will also be honored to become one of the ancestors of Jesus, who shares Joshua's name.

Luke's gospel begins not with the miraculous conception of Jesus, but the conception of John the Baptist. John's righteous parents were blessed with a miraculous conception, as they were well past the age of child birth. Luke makes poignant connections between the Old and New Testaments, seeing God's promises being fulfilled by John's miraculous conception.

We celebrate the life and work of Moses, who in many ways was the greatest prophet. He wrote God's law. He smote the Egyptians and redeemed Israel. Imperfect as he was, he was a faithful leader and remains a blessing to all God's people today.

Even as Joshua is commissioned to lead God's people, Moses sings a song of Israel's future disobedience. God is going to have to discipline His people when they go astray. He will redeem them, but not until they've learned their lesson in a foreign land.

The dawn of salvation was dark for the women. Even when an angel told them the good news of the resurrection, they didn't understand. We too are slow to believe God's promises. Yet we are redeemed, so that God's love may dawn even in our deepest darkness.

Grandpa Moses frames the law of God as the life of His people. His ways are good and just. To walk in any other way is foolishness and evil. Even today, we do well to listen to the Lord and will be blessed by the faithfulness we can muster by God's grace.

Grandpa Moses puts the responsibility fully on Israel's shoulders for their success or failure. God has given them a good foundation for their society in His laws. Whether or not they receive His blessing now depends on their faithfulness.

We hear God's pain when Jesus cries from the cross. He suffered as One of us and for us because we grieve God's heart when we sin. Yet, even as we hear His cry of pain, He suffers and dies so that we may be forgiven and accepted by the Father.

The end of Grandpa Moses's "random" rules safeguard and protect community by fair and equal treatment. Even practices that are foreign to us made sense when we understand how they protect the vulnerable. Caring for the needy is so important to God that the first fruits offerings of His people, when they crossed into the Promised Land, were reserved for those in need.

A seemingly random list of rules gives the impression of a rambling grandpa Moses struggling to finish his speech. But there are important themes in these "random" rules, as Moses tells God's people how they will witness to His character in this section.

Jesus was surrounded by strangers in His dying hours because all His friends had abandoned Him. We thank God that Jesus was undeterred by His friends' absence, because we often turn our back on Him. None the less, He continued and finished His work so that we can be forgiven when we flee from Him.

In the middle of Moses' last discourse we stumble across mighty types fulfilled by Jesus. Disobedient sons were liable for death. Those hung on a tree were cursed by God. Put the two together, and you see a prophetic picture of God the Father's view of His Son on calvary. He was killed and cursed, so that in Him, we may be blessed and live.

Like an eclipse, that darkens and alters our perception of the sun without changing the sun, lies have the power to completely alter perceptions of the truth. Grandpa Moses warned about the dangers of lies and proposed harsh penalties for those who falsely accused others. Learn how God expects His people to live as beacons of truth.

Have you ever been left by someone you love? If so, you know a measure of Jesus's pain when He was left by all who loved Him. He was forsaken, so that in Him, we would never be forsaken by God.

It does a soul good to know that God knows the future and sees around corners. In providing rules for a monarchy, God was addressing a need His people would have four hundred years in the future. How does it help you to know that God is already providing for future needs you couldn't even imagine?