Warning Words

TODAY’S SPECIAL: Joshua 23:1-16

TO CHEW ON: “But if you turn away and ally yourselves with the survivors of these nations that remain among you and if you intermarry with them and associate with them, then you may be sure that the Lord your God will no longer drive out these nations before you. Instead, they will become snares and traps for you, whips on your backs and thorns in your eyes, until you perish from this good land, which the Lord your God has given you.” Joshua 23:12,13

Joshua speaks to the people - Artist unknown

Years passed. Joshua led the people in many battles. They won most of them and were now living in their new homes in Canaan. When Joshua was an old man he gathered the leaders to hear his final words. Here are some of the things he told them. Cross out the one thing he did not say:

1. Be very strong; be careful to obey all that is written in the book of the Law of Moses.

2. Associate with the survivors of these nations; pray to their gods and swear by them.

3. One person can beat a thousand because God fights for you.

4. If you are good friends with and marry the survivors of the nations you beat, they will snare, trap, whip and defeat you.

Joshua’s message was clear. The Israelites had been successful because God had helped them. God would help them win more wars only if they stayed loyal Him. This meant they needed to keep obeying His laws and worshiping only Him - not idols. One way they could stay loyal to God was to never be close friends with or marry people around them who worshiped idols.

What happens to a box of good oranges with one moldy orange in it?
a] Nothing.
b] The good oranges take the mold out of the spoiled orange.
c] The mold eventually spreads to all the oranges.
(Of course it’s c] )

Just like being with only one moldy orange is dangerous to the health of all the oranges in the box, so being close friends with someone who doesn’t love God is dangerous to the spiritual health of you – and your friends.

PRAYER: Dear God, please help me choose my friends wisely. Amen.



MORE: Friendship Puzzlers
Here are some questions about friendship to think about and discuss with family and friends.

1. If you are friends with only other Christians, how will unsaved neighbors and school buddies learn about Jesus?



2. Is it possible for you to be a friend with someone who doesn’t believe in God and not be influenced to change your beliefs and become like her/him? How?



3. Is it ever right to be best friends with someone who doesn’t love and follow Jesus? Is it ever right to be the business partner of such a person? Is it ever right to marry such a person?

Answers

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Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture quotations are taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.


Adult readers - DAILY DEVOTIONS FOR ADULTS  are available too at Other Food: daily devo's. 

Hidden But Not Secret

TODAY’S SPECIAL: Joshua 7:10-25

TO CHEW ON: “Israel has sinned; they have violated my covenant, which I commanded them to keep. They have taken some of the devoted things; they have stolen, they have lied, they have put them with their own possessions.” Joshua 7:11

Have you ever done something sneaky – stolen something, told a lie, or cheated on an exam? Achan did such a thing when he went into Jericho. He had heard Joshua’s command about what to do with the loot. But when he saw a beautiful robe, some silver coins, and a wedge of gold, he sneaked these things home, dug a hole inside his tent and hid them in the ground.

A few days later Joshua sent scouts to Ai, the next city. “It’s a small town,” the scouts reported when they got back. “We’ll only need part of the army to capture it.”

But the people of Ai chased the Israelites from their city, beat them and killed many soldiers.

Joshua and the people were stunned. Joshua fell on his face before God and asked, “Why didn’t you help us?”

“Get up!” God told him. “There’s sin in the camp. Someone has stolen and lied. You need to deal with this sin before I can help you again.”

The next day Joshua called the people to a meeting to see who was guilty. He had the tribes pass before him tribe by tribe. The tribe of Judah was picked. From the tribe of Judah the clan of Zerah was picked. From the clan of Zerah the family of Zimri was picked. From the family of Zimri, the man Achan was picked.


“What have you done?” Joshua asked him.

Then Achan confessed. And when the men looked in his tent, sure enough, there was the evidence. So Achan and his whole family had to die that day because of his sin. Then God helped the people win over Ai.

What about you? Did you get caught for the sneaky thing you did? Even if you didn’t, God knows about your sin. It may be hidden from others but it isn’t a secret to Him. Don’t be like Achan and wait to get caught. Instead, confess your sin to God and make things right with anyone you’ve wronged now. Only then will God’s blessing rest fully on your life.

PRAYER: Dear God, You see the wrong things I’ve done. I’m sorry for them. Help me to make things right. Amen.

MORE: A God-sees verse
These verses remind us that God sees us always, everywhere and knows everything about us.

"O Lord, you have searched me and you know me. You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar. You discern my going out and my lying down; you are familiar with all my ways." Psalm 139:1-3


You could memorize it. Then next time you’re tempted to do something sneaky, you’ll remember – God sees!

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Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture quotations are taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.


Adult readers - DAILY DEVOTIONS FOR ADULTS  are available too at Other Food: daily devo's. 

Strange Strategy

TODAY’S SPECIAL: Joshua 6:1-5 & 20

TO CHEW ON: "Then the Lord said to Joshua, 'See, I have delivered Jericho into your hands, along with its king and its fighting men.' " Joshua 6:2

The first city the Israelites faced after they crossed the Jordan River was Jericho. It had walls, an army and a king. The Israelites were not trained soldiers. They had no armor to protect them. Their weapons were simple. How could they ever defeat Jericho and make this city their own?

God gave Joshua a plan or strategy. His instructions are below, but they are all mixed up. Put them in the right order: (see Joshua 6:3-5)


1. The priests should blow a loud blast on the ram's horn and trumpet.

2. The people should march around the city once per day for six days.

3. The people should shout with a loud shout.

4. On the seventh day the people should march around the city seven times.

Jericho's walls fall - Artist unknown

Have you ever heard of a war being fought this way? Joshua and the people hadn’t either. But they had seen God help them at other times in other ways they couldn’t understand. So they obeyed God’s directions exactly. What happened? (Joshua 6:20) ___________

Have you ever felt that God was asking you to do something that didn’t make sense? If this hasn’t happened till now, perhaps it will in the future. When God gives you a way to accomplish something, even if it doesn’t make sense, obey. For God often works in ways we don’t understand. Then even though common sense says you won’t and shouldn’t succeed, you will, just like Joshua and the Israelites did.

PRAYER: Dear God, Help me to obey Your instructions, even when they don’t make sense. Amen.


MORE: The loot
When people go to war, the winners usually help themselves to the loot left behind. But God gave different instructions about the stuff left in Jericho.

1. What were the people to do with anything they found made of silver, gold, bronze and iron? (Joshua 6:19)

2. What were the people to do with everything else? (Joshua 6:24)

3. Do you think you would have found it hard to obey this command? Why or why not?

Answers

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Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture quotations are taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.


Adult readers - DAILY DEVOTIONS FOR ADULTS  are available too at Other Food: daily devo's. 

Take That Step

TODAY’S SPECIAL: Joshua 3:1-17

TO CHEW ON: “Now the Jordan is at flood stage all during harvest. Yet as soon as the priests who carried the ark reached the Jordan and their feet touched the water’s edge, the water from upstream stopped flowing. It piled up in a heap .... So the people crossed over opposite Jericho.” Joshua 3:15,16

Excitement filled the air. Today was the day! After living in the desert and in tents for forty years, walking miles in the heat, sleeping in the cold, eating only manna for as long as they could remember, the Israelites would enter Canaan, their new home.

People made manna sandwiches and filled up water skins. They packed their clothes and tools, rolled up their tents and got in line. The priests who carried the ark led the way.

But there was one HUGE – problem. In order to enter Canaan, they had to cross the Jordan River which was wide and fast-flowing. How would they do it?

“Tell the priests to keep walking toward the river,” God told Joshua.

When the priests were nearly at the water’s edge, God gave the next instruction. “Tell the priests to step in the river and stand there.”


So even though the river was wide and swift, and there was no bridge, boat or raft in sight, the priests carrying the ark did as Joshua said. And an incredible thing happened. As soon as the priests stepped into the water, it stopped flowing! By the time the first people got to where the priests were, there was a path. Everyone walked through the river on dry ground.

Walking through on dry land - Artist unknown

Joshua didn’t know how God’s instructions would turn out. But he said what God told him to say anyway. The priests didn’t know that when they stepped into the river that it would stop flowing. But they stepped in anyway. By doing what God told them to do even though they didn’t know what would happen next, they showed their faith in God.

Are you praying for something that seems as impossible as crossing a river without a bridge or boat? Remember, God can make that impossible thing happen. And if God has told you to do something to answer that prayer, show your faith in Him by doing what He says.

PRAYER: Dear God, please give me the faith obey You, even when it means stepping into the unknown. Amen.

MORE: Remember the manna
All the time they were in the desert, God had fed the Israelites with manna. Then one day shortly after the Israelites entered Cannan, there wasn’t any! (Joshua 5:11,12) Why? Because now there was lots of other food to eat – like grain, fruit and honey. The need for manna was past.

I’m sure, though, that sometimes during those years in the desert, the people thought they’d be stuck eating manna forever. They were wrong of course. God brought them to a time and place where they didn't need manna any more.

Are there things in your life that seem to be going on forever? List them. Now when you are tempted to worry that they’ll never end, remember how God ended the manna for the Israelites. He can make things end in your life too.

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Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture quotations are taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.



Adult readers - DAILY DEVOTIONS FOR ADULTS  are available too at Other Food: daily devo's. 

Busy Behind the Scenes

TODAY’S SPECIAL: Joshua 2:1-14

TO CHEW ON: “'I know that the Lord has given you this land and that a great fear of you has fallen on us, so that all who live in this country are melting in fear because of you." Joshua 2:9

After Moses died, Joshua became Israel’s leader. “Get the people ready to cross the Jordan River into the land I’m giving you,” God said to him. “Tell them if they do everything I say, I will help them.”

Forty years before the Israelites had been at the same place. Then they refused to trust God. What would they do this time?

“Pack up!” Joshua told the people. “We’ll be leaving soon.”

Secretly he sent two spies to look over Canaan. “Pay special attention to the city of Jericho,” he told them.

When the men got to Jericho, someone saw them and went to the king. “Get those spies!” the king commanded his servants.

The spies hid in the home of a woman named Rahab. “The people are scared to death of you,” she said.

Why? (Joshua 2:10).
How do you think this made the spies feel?

Picture from CC-Art.com
The spies hiding under flax on the roof of Rahab's house

Later Rahab helped the spies escape from the city.

Rahab helps the spies escape - James Tissot

When the spies made it back to camp, they told Joshua and the people how scared the Canaanites were. Then the people were filled with courage. “God is preparing the way for us to beat the Canaanites,” they said to each other. “He will help us win.”

Has God asked you to do something hard? Don’t look at the hard thing and feel discouraged. Instead have faith that God is preparing the way, working quietly and secretly behind the scenes for you too.

PRAYER: Dear God, thank You for preparing the way for me to succeed at what you’ve asked me to do. Amen


MORE: How spy-savvy are you?
1. Another name for a spy is: a] diplomat; b] civil servant; c] secret agent.

2. The job of a spy is to: a] get information about the enemy; b] find out who did the crime;
c] bring criminals to justice.

3. Spyware is: a] the web site where you make payments for things you buy;
b] software that collects information on where you surf on the internet; c] a website that collects passwords.

Spy stories: Stories about spies are full of suspense, adventure and excitement. Look for a spy story in your school or church library or your Christian book store.

Answers

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Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture quotations are taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.


Adult readers - DAILY DEVOTIONS FOR ADULTS  are available too at Other Food: daily devo's.