O. Addison Gethers e-mail address : [email protected] or [email protected] window live messenger: [email protected] aim: durangoadd64 skype: cowboys62 yahoo messenger: OADDISONGETHERS
----- Original Message ----- From: "Donnie Parrett" <[email protected]> To: <[email protected]> Sent: Wednesday, March 04, 2009 10:35 PM Subject: Daily Bible Reading For Thursday March 5 > Joshua 7-9 (The Message) > > Joshua 7 > > Achan > 1 Then the People of Israel violated the holy curse. Achan son of Carmi, > the son of Zabdi, the son > of Zerah of the tribe of Judah, took some of the cursed > things. God became angry with the People of Israel. 2 Joshua sent men from > Jericho to Ai (The Ruin), > which is near Beth Aven just east of Bethel. He instructed > them, "Go up and spy out the land." The men went up and spied out Ai. > > 3 They returned to Joshua and reported, "Don't bother sending a lot of > people-two or three thousand > men are enough to defeat Ai. Don't wear out the whole > army; there aren't that many people there." > > 4-5 So three thousand men went up-and then fled in defeat before the men > of Ai! The men of Ai > killed thirty-six-chased them from the city gate as far as > The Quarries, killing them at the descent. The heart of the people sank, > all spirit knocked out of > them. > > 6 Joshua ripped his clothes and fell on his face to the ground before the > Chest of God, he and the > leaders throwing dirt on their heads, prostrate until > evening. > > 7-9 Joshua said, "Oh, oh, oh...Master, God. Why did you insist on bringing > this people across the > Jordan? To make us victims of the Amorites? To wipe us > out? Why didn't we just settle down on the east side of the Jordan? Oh, > Master, what can I say after > this, after Israel has been run off by its enemies? > When the Canaanites and all the others living here get wind of this, > they'll gang up on us and make > short work of us-and then how will you keep up your > reputation?" > > 10-12 God said to Joshua, "Get up. Why are you groveling? Israel has > sinned: They've broken the > covenant I commanded them; they've taken forbidden plunder-stolen > and then covered up the theft, squirreling it away with their own stuff. > The People of Israel can no > longer look their enemies in the eye-they themselves > are plunder. I can't continue with you if you don't rid yourselves of the > cursed things. > > 13 "So get started. Purify the people. Tell them: Get ready for tomorrow > by purifying yourselves. > For this is what God, the God of Israel, says: There > are cursed things in the camp. You won't be able to face your enemies > until you have gotten rid of > these cursed things. > > 14-15 "First thing in the morning you will be called up by tribes. The > tribe God names will come up > clan by clan; the clan God names will come up family > by family; and the family God names will come up man by man. The person > found with the cursed things > will be burned, he and everything he has, because > he broke God's covenant and did this despicable thing in Israel." > > 16-18 Joshua was up at the crack of dawn and called Israel up tribe by > tribe. The tribe of Judah > was singled out. Then he called up the clans and singled > out the Zerahites. He called up the Zerahite families and singled out the > Zabdi family. He called up > the family members one by one and singled out Achan > son of Carmi, the son of Zabdi, the son of Zerah of the tribe of Judah. > > 19 Joshua spoke to Achan, "My son, give glory to God, the God of Israel. > Make your confession to > him. Tell me what you did. Don't keep back anything from > me." > > 20-21 Achan answered Joshua, "It's true. I sinned against God, the God of > Israel. This is how I did > it. In the plunder I spotted a beautiful Shinar robe, > two hundred shekels of silver, and a fifty-shekel bar of gold, and I > coveted and took them. They are > buried in my tent with the silver at the bottom." > > 22-23 Joshua sent off messengers. They ran to the tent. And there it was, > buried in the tent with > the silver at the bottom. They took the stuff from the > tent and brought it to Joshua and to all the People of Israel and spread > it out before God. > > 24 Joshua took Achan son of Zerah, took the silver, the robe, the gold > bar, his sons and daughters, > his ox, donkey, sheep, and tent-everything connected > with him. All Israel was there. They led them off to the Valley of Achor > (Trouble Valley). > > 25-26 Joshua said, "Why have you troubled us? God will now trouble you. > Today!" And all Israel > stoned him-burned him with fire and stoned him with stones. > They piled a huge pile of stones over him. It's still there. Only then did > God turn from his hot > anger. That's how the place came to be called Trouble > Valley right up to the present time. > > Joshua 8 > > Ai > 1 God said to Joshua, "Don't be timid and don't so much as hesitate. Take > all your soldiers with > you and go back to Ai. I have turned the king of Ai over > to you-his people, his city, and his land. > > 2 "Do to Ai and its king what you did to Jericho and its king. Only this > time you may plunder its > stuff and cattle to your heart's content. Set an ambush > behind the city." > > 3-8 Joshua and all his soldiers got ready to march on Ai. Joshua chose > thirty thousand men, tough, > seasoned fighters, and sent them off at night with these > orders: "Look sharp now. Lie in ambush behind the city. Get as close as > you can. Stay alert. I and > the troops with me will approach the city head-on. When > they come out to meet us just as before, we'll turn and run. They'll come > after us, leaving the > city. As we are off and running, they'll say, 'They're > running away just like the first time.' That's your signal to spring from > your ambush and take the > city. God, your God, will hand it to you on a platter. > Once you have the city, burn it down. God says it, you do it. Go to it. > I've given you your orders." > > 9 Joshua sent them off. They set their ambush and waited between Bethel > and Ai, just west of Ai. > Joshua spent the night with the people. > > 10-13 Joshua was up early in the morning and mustered his army. He and the > leaders of Israel led > the troops to Ai. The whole army, fighting men all, marched > right up within sight of the city and set camp on the north side of Ai. > There was a valley between > them and Ai. He had taken about five thousand men and > put them in ambush between Bethel and Ai, west of the city. They were all > deployed, the main army to > the north of the city and the ambush to the west. > Joshua spent the night in the valley. > > 14 So it happened that when the king of Ai saw all this, the men of the > city lost no time; they > were out of there at the crack of dawn to join Israel in > battle, the king and his troops, at a field en route to the Arabah. The > king didn't know of the > ambush set against him behind the city. > > 15-17 Joshua and all Israel let themselves be chased; they ran toward the > wilderness. Everybody in > the city was called to the chase. They pursued Joshua > and were led away from the city. There wasn't a soul left in Ai or Bethel > who wasn't out there > chasing after Israel. The city was left empty and undefended > as they were chasing Israel down. > > 18-19 Then God spoke to Joshua: "Stretch out the javelin in your hand > toward Ai-I'm giving it to > you." Joshua stretched out the javelin in his hand toward > Ai. At the signal the men in ambush sprang to their feet, ran to the city, > took it, and quickly had > it up in flames. > > 20-21 The men of Ai looked back and, oh! saw the city going up in smoke. > They found themselves > trapped with nowhere to run. The army on the run toward > the wilderness did an about-face-Joshua and all Israel, seeing that the > ambush had taken the city, > saw it going up in smoke, turned and attacked the men > of Ai. > > 22-23 Then the men in the ambush poured out of the city. The men of Ai > were caught in the middle > with Israelites on both sides-a real massacre. And not > a single survivor. Except for the king of Ai; they took him alive and > brought him to Joshua. > > 24-25 When it was all over, Israel had killed everyone in Ai, whether in > the fields or in the > wilderness where they had chased them. When the killing was > complete, the Israelites returned to Ai and completed the devastation. The > death toll that day came > to twelve thousand men and women-everyone in Ai. > > 26-27 Joshua didn't lower his outstretched javelin until the sacred > destruction of Ai and all its > people was completed. Israel did get to take the livestock > and loot left in the city; God's instructions to Joshua allowed for that. > > 28-29 Joshua burned Ai to the ground. A "heap" of nothing forever, a > "no-place" -go see for > yourself. He hanged the king of Ai from a tree. At evening, > with the sun going down, Joshua ordered the corpse cut down. They dumped > it at the entrance to the > city and piled it high with stones-you can go see that > also. > > 30-32 Then Joshua built an altar to the God of Israel on Mount Ebal. He > built it following the > instructions of Moses the servant of God to the People of > Israel and written in the Book of The Revelation of Moses, an altar of > whole stones that hadn't been > chiseled or shaped by an iron tool. On it they offered > to God Whole-Burnt-Offerings and sacrificed Peace-Offerings. He also wrote > out a copy of The > Revelation of Moses on the stones. He wrote it with the People > of Israel looking on. > > 33 All Israel was there, foreigners and citizens alike, with their elders, > officers, and judges, > standing on opposite sides of the Chest, facing the Levitical > priests who carry God's Covenant Chest. Half of the people stood with > their backs to Mount Gerizim > and half with their backs to Mount Ebal to bless the > People of Israel, just as Moses the servant of God had instructed earlier. > > 34-35 After that, he read out everything written in The Revelation, the > Blessing and the Curse, > everything in the Book of The Revelation. There wasn't > a word of all that Moses commanded that Joshua didn't read to the entire > congregation-men, women, > children, and foreigners who had been with them on the > journey. > > Joshua 9 > > Gibeon > 1-2 All the kings west of the Jordan in the hills and foothills and along > the Mediterranean > seacoast north toward Lebanon-the Hittites, Amorites, Canaanites, > Perizzites, Hivites, Girgashites, and Jebusites-got the news. They came > together in a coalition to > fight against Joshua and Israel under a single command. > > 3-6 The people of Gibeon heard what Joshua had done to Jericho and Ai and > cooked up a ruse. They > posed as travelers: their donkeys loaded with patched > sacks and mended wineskins, threadbare sandals on their feet, tattered > clothes on their bodies, > nothing but dry crusts and crumbs for food. They came to > Joshua at Gilgal and spoke to the men of Israel, "We've come from a > far-off country; make a covenant > with us." > > 7 The men of Israel said to these Hivites, "How do we know you aren't > local people? How could we > then make a covenant with you?" > > 8 They said to Joshua, "We'll be your servants." > > Joshua said, "Who are you now? Where did you come from?" > > 9-11 They said, "From a far-off country, very far away. Your servants came > because we'd heard such > great things about God, your God-all those things he > did in Egypt! And the two Amorite kings across the Jordan, King Sihon of > Heshbon and King Og of > Bashan, who ruled in Ashtaroth! Our leaders and everybody > else in our country told us, 'Pack up some food for the road and go meet > them. Tell them, We're your > servants; make a covenant with us.' > > 12-13 "This bread was warm from the oven when we packed it and left to > come and see you. Now look > at it-crusts and crumbs. And our cracked and mended wineskins, > good as new when we filled them. And our clothes and sandals, in tatters > from the long, hard > traveling." > > 14 The men of Israel looked them over and accepted the evidence. But they > didn't ask God about it. > > 15 So Joshua made peace with them and formalized it with a covenant to > guarantee their lives. The > leaders of the congregation swore to it. > > 16-18 And then, three days after making this covenant, they learned that > they were next-door > neighbors who had been living there all along! The People > of Israel broke camp and set out; three days later they reached their > towns-Gibeon, Kephirah, > Beeroth, and Kiriath Jearim. But the People of Israel didn't > attack them; the leaders of the congregation had given their word before > the God of Israel. But the > congregation was up in arms over their leaders. > > 19-21 The leaders were united in their response to the congregation: "We > promised them in the > presence of the God of Israel. We can't lay a hand on them > now. But we can do this: We will let them live so we don't get blamed for > breaking our promise." > Then the leaders continued, "We'll let them live, but > they will be woodcutters and water carriers for the entire congregation." > > And that's what happened; the leaders' promise was kept. > > 22-23 But Joshua called the Gibeonites together and said, "Why did you lie > to us, telling us, 'We > live far, far away from you,' when you're our next-door > neighbors? For that you are cursed. From now on it's menial labor for > you-woodcutters and water > carriers for the house of my God." > > 24-25 They answered Joshua, "We got the message loud and clear that God, > your God, commanded > through his servant Moses: to give you the whole country and > destroy everyone living in it. We were terrified because of you; that's > why we did this. That's it. > We're at your mercy. Whatever you decide is right for > us, do it." > > 26-27 And that's what they did. Joshua delivered them from the power of > the People of Israel so > they didn't kill them. But he made them woodcutters and > water carriers for the congregation and for the Altar of God at the place > God chooses. They still > are. > > Please join us on Skype Monday thru Friday at 8:00 EST for our Morning > Skype Prayer Time. > > > Contact Me At: > Donnie Parrett > 1956 Asa Flat Road > Annville, Kentucky 40402 > Home Phone: 606-364-3321 > Church Phone: 606-364-PRAY > Skype Name: Donnie1261 > Email: [email protected] > > --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Deaf-Blind Inspirational Life Group" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/DBILG?hl=en -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
