April Thirteenth
Today’s One Year Bible Reading…
Joshua 7:16-9:2 * Luke 16:1-18
Psalm 82:1-8 * Proverbs 13:2-3
"If you are faithful in little things, you will be faithful in large ones. But if you are dishonest in little things, you won't be honest with greater responsibilities."
Luke 16:10
God is constantly teaching us how to have His perspective on the inner workings of life, rather than our own. We tend to unintentionally think of the “large and seen” as the most important, but God knows it’s a thousand small moments that lead to the overall direction of a life, so He continues to draw our eyes to the smallest of details. God has beautiful things that He wants to do in and through each one of us, but those callings can only come to full fruition when we have integrity and honesty in the tiniest places of our hearts.
"Then Joshua said to Achan, 'My son, give glory to the LORD, the God of Israel, by telling the truth. Make your confession and tell me what you have done. Don't hide it from me." (Joshua 7:19)
I’m not quite sure how Achan thought he would get away with all of this, but sin and covetousness blind us to the truths of who God is. He presides over heaven’s courts and rises to judge the earth. (Psalm 82)
Nothing is hidden from God! Achan had stolen a Babylonian garment, two hundred silver coins, and a bar of gold. His excuse was…
"I wanted them so much that I took them." (Joshua 7:21)
Unchecked covetousness blinds our minds to reality and has been the ruin of many. Don’t you wonder what Achan was thinking here? Everything was buried beneath his tent. Obviously, this wasn’t his permanent home, and they still had much land to conquer. Was he thinking he would dig everything up and carry it around the promise land each time they moved? And wouldn’t you love to know where he was planning on wearing his fancy, new Babylonian garment? It seems like an outfit that would stick out a bit! Sin removes all rational from our minds and causes us to only think of the here and now. We see; we want; we take. But God has so much more for us.
"If you are untrustworthy about worldly wealth, who will trust you with the true riches of heaven?" (Luke 16:11)
This world and its treasures are passing away, and heavenly rewards are all that are worth chasing after since they’re all we can really keep. Achan’s life was wasted in pursuing the fleeting. And doesn’t it seem like God was giving him chance after chance to repent? He could have come forward when the thirty-six men died, and the Israelites were chased out of Ai. He could have stopped the slow procession of tribe, clan, family, and individual men coming before God. He knew he was guilty, and I just wonder if everything would have ended differently had he just come clean and repented before he was called out. Unconfessed sin will always ultimately lead to humiliation and destruction!
"Wise words will win you a good meal." (Proverbs 13:2)
There is nothing so cleansing and healing as being washed with the wise words of God, so we see Joshua gather the people together on the mountaintops and read out every word of the law, just like God had commanded him to. Every word of Scripture is pure, God-breathed, and profitable! May we, like Israel here, be washed consistently with the wisdom of God so we can be made whole, clean, and ready for battle. May His word give us integrity in the little things, honesty in the secret parts, and a passion for nothing but His kingdom! "It is easier for heaven and earth to disappear than for the smallest point of God's law to be overturned." Luke 16:17
What stood out to you from today’s Bible reading?