One Year Bible Readings and Commentary for Monday, April 18th "The Seven Remaining Tribes Divide Up the Land" "The Parable of Zaccheus the Tax Collector and the Parable of the Ten Servants"

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Click Here to Read Joshua 16-18

As was mentioned yesterday, though the Lord had commanded the Israelites to drive out all the Canaanites, they did not drive all of them out of Gezer. This compromise seemed innocent enough, especially since they used them as forced laborers, but eventually they tempted Israel with their idol worship. 

We often rationalize doing things we know are sinful. I call this "rational-lies". We usually justify our behaviors because we feel entitled to something. We figure just a little bit can't hurt. But often this opens the floodgates for something more damaging to come in down the road. 

Then Joshua learns of an issue between the two sons of Joseph, Manasseh and Ephraim, who had to split up their inheritance of land, though they were two of the largest tribes. Joshua wisely tells them that they are a great people, and they can go get the land for themselves. 

How different is their attitude than Caleb’s attitude (Joshua 14:11-12)! They want “easy land” given to them, instead of taking God’s promises and going out and taking what God has given them. The principle applies just as strongly for us today; if we desire more of something, the first thing to do is to be a faithful as we can where we are. - Guzik

Chapter 18 starts out with the fact that 7 of the tribes had not yet taken their inheritance. For some reason they were passive about the whole thing, perhaps because they had not had a permanent dwelling for years. Instead of acting on God's promises, there were waiting in limbo. 

So Joshua sent the tribes out in groups of three men to survey the land. Then when they came back Joshua decided by lot the division of the land. 

Here is a nice summary of the process of dividing up the land and how God was involved through the priests.

From the crafting of Eden, to the building of cities, from Abraham setting out toward a promised land he’d never see, to a scattered kinship across every tribe and nation, and the future promise of a new creation—the Bible is, in a sense, the story of God’s people seeking and finding a home. Once you see this, it becomes harder to miss, even in the long and detailed records of land allotment tucked into the middle of Joshua.

When I say detailed, I mean all the way down to the borderlands, geographic features, and names of every town within them. You may need one of those handy maps in the back of your Bible or in your Study Book to make sense of it. But God, it turns out, is in the details. So perhaps, we could read this not as a tedious historical list, but as an intricate record of God’s faithfulness to the people He loves.

It’s interesting to note where and how the land division took place. At that time, seven of the tribes had yet to divide up their inheritance, so they gathered at Shiloh, the tabernacle meeting tent. Joshua asked for a detailed document of all the land, then told them he would decide by “cast[ing] lots…in the presence of the LORD our God” (Joshua 18:6). It’s a method that seems to us as arbitrary as a coin flip, but the involvement of a priest and the location of God’s dwelling place suggest that this is a sacred moment of discernment. (shereadstruth.com)

Bottom line: Sometimes God has given us something, but we still need to act in faith to claim it. Grace is unmerited favor, an undeserved gift. Faith is using God's gifts and putting them into action. The Israelites had been given the gift of the land, now they needed the faith to possess it. 

Click Here to Read Luke 19:1-27

The story of Zaccheus most of learned from songs in Sunday School or at Vacation Bible School. It went something like, "Zaccheus was a wee little man, a wee little man was he.  He climbed up in a sycamore tree, the Lord he wanted to see! And as the Lord passed by that day, he looked up in a tree. And he said, 'Zaccheus you come down because I am going to your house today. Because I am going to your house today!" 

Singing songs is a great way for children to know the great bible story like this one. There are a few things to note about this story. 

1. Zaccheus had heard about Jesus and when he heard he was coming to town, he positioned himself to see Jesus, but not to the point where he might be seen. This is probably because he was a hated tax collector.  

2. Jesus saw Zaccheus though and not only did he point him out, but he invited himself to Zaccheus' house for dinner. 

3. The people were not happy that Jesus was fraternizing with a notorious sinner.

4. Not only did Zaccheus accept Jesus' invitation, but repented of overcharging the people and gave back half of what he owed to the poor and four times as much to those he cheated. Zaccheus showed the fruits of repentance, which are change of mind that lead to a change of behavior. 

This whole scene is fitting of Luke's particular emphasis in his gospel that Jesus came to seek and save the lost. While the religious leaders didn't see themselves as lost, the sinners did and truly found life in Jesus' name. As Jesus said it is only the sick who come to the physician for healing. In this case the Great Physician. 

Jesus then told them a parable to help them understand that though the kingdom was not going to come right away, they still would be responsible for responding to the kingdom they had seen come through him.  

He used the example of a nobleman who went off to a distant land to be crowned king. He split up ten silver coins and gave them to ten servants telling them to invest it while he was gone. When he came back, one person had multiplied the money ten times over. The newly crowned king said, "Well done your faithfulness has earned you to the right to oversee 10 cities." The second servant multiplied the silver five times over. In a similar way the king rewarded his faithfulness with 5 cities to govern. 

But then there was the final servant, who in fear hid his money. so he could at least give the king the same amount back he had been given. Basically he did nothing with the money. The king was not very happy with this servant at all. In fact. he took what he had been hoarding and gave it to the servant who had multiplied his silver many times over. 

Moral of the story. God has given each of us gifts to invest until he returns. We will each be responsible for what we have done with what we have been given. Most importantly, we have been given the gift of the Good News of the gospel by which we are saved. The is the greatest and most valuable gift God has given us. 

The only question is what are we going to do with this gift? Are we going to share it with others? Will the gospel we have received multiply in the lives of the people God has put in our lives? One thing that is clear, if we do nothing with the gospel of salvation we have given, God will not be happy. 

If the king were to come back today, where would your account stand? Do you share the gospel with others or do you keep it to yourself?