February 24, 2024 - Joshua 2-4

Now, the hard work begins.  The spies are sent into Jericho, where they meet up with Rahab and face all sorts of intrigue.  In this Canaanite prostitute they found an important ally, and she, amazingly, is even found in the genealogy of the Messiah (Matt. 1:5).  God works in wonderful ways and he often leads us in surprising ways.

Joshua to the people:  “Consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow the Lord will do wonders among you” (3:5).  Oh, the people must work, but ultimately, the wonders they are about to see are God’s wonders.  How did Paul put it?  “He is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think” (Eph. 3:20).  Have I mentioned that God works in wonderful ways?

The Lord brought the people through the Jordan River on dry land, and they set up a pile of memorial stones so that, when their children and their children's children asked, they could point to those stones and say, “There is where the Lord did a wonder by cutting off the waters of the Jordan so that the people could cross into the land he has given us.”  (4:6,7)  It’s good, always and regularly, to go back to our roots and to all that we know about God and what we have experienced with him.  I think I have mentioned, already, that God works in wonderful ways!

Stand, oh, stand firm;

stand, oh, stand firm;

stand, oh, stand firm

and see what the Lord can do.   –Cameroon traditional