Mar. 31 Bible Blog

Here is my latest sermon, reflecting on Psalm 51 and repentance: http://lemonholm.com/2009-3-29_Psalm_51.htm

Joshua 12:7-15:12

I am actually caught up in reading – helped along by listening to the Bible while driving or exercising. If you have a tape player, we have the Bible on tape in the church library. You can also listen online at http://www.audio-bible.com/bible/bible.html or download mp3s for mobile listening at http://www.audiotreasure.com/#download

Both of these use the King James Version. At church we have both the NIV and NRSV on tape.

The book of Joshua tells the story of God’s mercy on the people of Israel in providing them a homeland, the promised land of Canaan. God promises and commands in 1:9, “I hereby command you: Be strong and courageous; do not be frightened or dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.” It is God who gives the people of Israel victory. God even works through people like Rahab the prostitute of Jericho to help Israel (Josh. 2 – Rahab even became an ancestor of King David and of Jesus – Matthew 1:5).

Joshua is a challenging book for many contemporary Christians to read. Frankly, it seems to be filled with divinely sanctioned genocide. There are indeed some terrifying stories in Joshua – they were certainly terrifying for the children of Ai and other towns put to the sword and burned. But when you read the whole story, you realize that that kind of activity was certainly not carried out universally throughout the land. Here is in a simplified nutshell what happened: before the Israelites came, the land of Canaan was a collection of small city states, with kings and the elite lording it over their people. After Israel conquered the land, Israel was a federation of 12 tribes that (hopefully) followed the law of Moses. The people had more freedom than they had before. For a long time, Israel did not even have a king. In fact, it seems that most of the people and cities of Canaan were not wiped out, but absorbed into the people of Israel. We have to remember that Israel, with God’s help, was struggling for survival and a place in the world.

Luke 6:1-26

Part of this passage includes Jesus’ sermon on the plain. Compare Jesus’ beatitudes here with the ones in Matthew 5. Here, Jesus is more directly talking about the literal poor, the hungry, and the weeping.