Joshua is Cool

I've kept meaning to mention this and I haven't so here we go. In April 09 I started this blog and had 20 post in 2009. Now in March of 2010 I am up to 23, which is way down from my quota but hey, I'm getting something done.

I didn't feel bad about missing a Daily Bible Blog on the 9th cause I had two other post but I missed yesterday so now I'm making up a little here. On the 9th day of reading (in March) Moses blesses all of the tribes of Israel and dies after God shows him the promise land that he cannot enter. And while this little section of text probably deserves a little more dissection than I'm going to give it I do want to focus on one thing Deuteronomy 33:1 "This is the blessing that Moses the man of God pronounced on the Israelites before his death. He said:" Did anyone else see what I saw there. "Moses THE man of God" now I went to bible gateway and looked up the exact phrase man of God and it is said 77 times in the bible. Twice in reference to Moses as THE man of God and then (not gonna say I looked at all 77 references) but every other time someone is A man of God. Moses is the only guy to ever be THE man. When Jesus comes He doesn't claim anything, that phrase is not used once in the gospels because Jesus is a humble servant. But wow, to be THE man, he talked to him face to face he did all the miracles, other than Jesus he is the closest man ever to God. That's just plain cool, and despite all that no promise land for Moses.

Now we are on day 10 and this reading is absolutely epic. This is why I am reading the bible this year because I knew none of this! Well right off the bat in Joshua 1, two spies were sent in (just like how only 2 were good before) and they go and stay with Rahab (I'm kind of wondering why they went straight to the prostitutes house) and she saves them and they promise if she has a scarlet cord they save her too, OK. Now for the parts we (I) didn't know about. First of all 2 tribes and a half of a tribe are staying on one side of the Jordan, after they help fight for Jericho and the rest of Israel they go back and live in some land good for their livestock or something like that. Next they order the Ark forward and this is so Holy that the Israelites have to have 1,000 yards between it and them, but then something cool happens. As the priest get to the water it parts (I had no clue this happened again) and all of Israel passes through, just like before with the Red Sea. I think it's pretty important what God does here. These people have been with Moses for 40 years and seen all this and now he is gone. Some of them have to be thinking "Who is this Joshua kid" right? Well God affirms that He is still with Joshua by showing them one of Moses's first signs before all of the Israelites. But I do think there is one important distinction...Joshua doesn't do it. Moses has the staff, Joshua is in charge but it is the Ark that holds the power, in other words God, the Mercy Seat. No one has that power but THE man of God. OK is everyone with me that all this is cool or am I just that much of a nerd, but wait, two more significant things in this one day of reading. Next they get to the land of Jericho and eat of its food and the Manna stops, did anyone else forget about it, I did. After 40 years they don't have to eat it anymore. Last and no where near least, as Joshua approaches Jericho a man appears before him and the text reads this. Joshua 5:13-15 "When Joshua was by Jericho, he lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, a man was standing before him with his drawn sword in his hand. And Joshua went to him and said to him, "Are you for us, or for our adversaries?" ¹⁴And he said, "No; but I am the commander of the army of the LORD. Now I have come." And Joshua fell on his face to the earth and worshiped and said to him, "What does my lord say to his servant?" ¹⁵And the commander of the LORD’s army said to Joshua,"Take off your sandals from your feet, for the place where you are standing is holy." And Joshua did so."

EPIC