Nathan Whitley's Blog, page 20

Daily Readings in the Bible Joshua 12-15

Only two men believed Israel could take possession of Canaan the first time Moses sent twelve men to spy out the land. Joshua and Caleb were those two men. And they were the only two men from that generation that were able to enter the Promised Land (Num. 14:24,30,38).

Understand that Caleb was born as a bondage baby in Egypt. He grew up eating the leeks and onions. He was well acquainted with the oppressions of living in Egypt. Furthermore, he witnessed first-hand the miracles wrought by the...

Daily Readings in the Bible Joshua 7-11

Israel had finally crossed over from their wilderness wanderings and were laying claim to Gods promises. Joshua led the armies of Israel on their first mission and conquered Jericho. The Lord gave the command that the entire city was to be devoted to the Lord (Josh. 6:17-18). The gold, silver, vessels of bronze and iron were to be put into the treasury of the house of the Lord (Josh. 6:19,24). Everything else was to be burned and destroyed. Israel was to keep nothing for themselves.

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Daily Readings in the Bible Joshua 2-6

Moses was laid to rest on Nebos lonely mountain. Israels new leader, Joshua, stood on top of the mountain and looked toward Canaan. Israels time to take possession of the Promised Land had come. Moses had previously sent twelve men to spy out Canaan (Num. 13:1-3). Out of the twelve men, only Joshua and Caleb believed they could take possession (Num. 14:6-9). That may be why Joshua only sent two men to spy out the land this time (Josh. 2:1).

The city of Jericho would be Israels first conquest....

Daily Readings in the Bible Joshua 1

Joshua is one of the great characters of the Old Testament. His original name was Hoshea, which means salvation, but Moses changed it to Joshua, which means Jehovah is salvation (Num. 13:8,16). We might add that the Greek form of Joshua is Jesus (Matt. 1:21). This is significant in the drama of redemption. Moses, representative of the Law, couldnt bring Israel into Canaan, the Promised Land. Joshua, representative of Jesus Christ, fulfilled Gods promises of bringing Gods people into the...

Daily Readings in the Bible Deuteronomy 33-34

We have come to the conclusion of the Pentateuch and Moses’ life. From being drawn from the reeds of the Nile River to the plagues in Egypt to leading Israel through the wilderness, Moses’ life has been a thrilling adventure. The renowned preacher, DL Moody, said, “Moses spent forty years thinking he was somebody; forty years learning he was nobody; and forty years discovering what God can do with a nobody.”

The last chapter of Deuteronomy gives us a short summary of Moses’ life. He died at...

Daily Readings in the Bible Deuteronomy 30-32

For forty years the people of Israel wandered the wilderness. The Lord, during that span of time, graciously provided for their every need. He provided water when they were thirsty, and manna when they were hungry. Furthermore, their shoes and clothes didn’t wear out despite the conditions of the environment, and length of time (Deut. 29:5).

There was just one problem with all of this: “Thou art waxen fat, thou art grown thick, thou art covered with fatness; Then he forsook God which made...

Daily Readings in the Bible Deuteronomy 27-29

The day when Israel took possession of the Promised Land quickly approached. Moses commanded that Israel be gathered at Shechem’s valley between Mount Ebal and Gerizim when that day finally came. At Mount Ebal the people were to set up large stones, coat them with plaster, and inscribe the entire Law upon them (Deut. 27:2-4). In addition to the stones with the Law inscribed, they were to erect an altar made of stones in order to offer burnt offerings, and sacrifices peace offerings to the...

Daily Readings in the Bible Deuteronomy 23-26

The children of Israel were a privileged people. They were the only nation that could claim to be the people of God. God made provision for Gentiles to become Hebrews, if they were willing to submit to circumcision (Ex. 12:48). There was, however, a distinction between living as a Hebrew and worshiping as a Hebrew. God had the right to determine who would enter the congregation of His holy people.

Bible commentator Eugene Merrill writes concerning Deuteronomy 23:1, “The ‘congregation’ refers...

Daily Readings in the Bible Deuteronomy 20-22

The Lord included punishments for those who broke His laws. The Old Testament Law provided three types of punishment: the death penalty for serious public sins against life, religion and the family; ‘cutting-off’ for grave private sins; and restoration for property offenses.

Stoning seems to be the most common form of the death penalty in the Old Testament. We read in Deuteronomy 21:22-23, however, about hanging a criminal from a tree. The hanging of criminals in a public place was practiced...

Daily Readings in the Bible Deuteronomy 17-19

The Lord knew there would be a day when Israel would desire to have a king rule over them (1 Sam. 8:4-22). With that in mind, the Lord gave Israel certain requirements for their future king (Deut. 17:14-20). The requirements of the king have great spiritual significance. Let’s take a closer look at a few them.

First, the king must be chosen of the Lord. Israel wasn’t to choose some random man to be their king. Only the Lord would be able to chose and ordain their would-be leader. Friends, don...