*Joshua 9-10
*Psalm 34
*Acts 3
-Devotion by Jeremy Martin (TN)
Without belaboring the point too much beyond yesterday’s devotion on Acts 2, we see again in Acts 3 the clear doctrinal understanding of the earliest church in Peter’s 2nd sermon after Pentecost. “11 And as he held Peter and John, all the people, being greatly amazed, ran together to them in Solomon’s portico. 12 And when Peter saw this, he answered the people, “Men of Israel, why are you amazed by this? Why do you stare at us, as if we had made him walk by our own power or godliness? 13 The God of Abraham and of Isaac and of Jacob, the God of our fathers, has glorified his Servant Jesus …15…whom God raised from among the dead, of which we are witnesses. 16 And by trusting in his name, his name has made this man strong, whom you see and know. Yes, the trust that is through his name has given him this perfect health, as you all can see.” (REV).
Miracles are being performed through Peter and John, the servants of Jesus the Christ, who is himself the servant of God, whom God has glorified. There is one God (Mark 12:29-31, Deut 6: 4-5) and one mediator between God and man, the man Christ Jesus (1 Tim 2:5) and “3… the head of every man is Christ, … and the head of Christ is God. ” (1 Cor 11:3, REV). So according to scriptures, our “corporate flowchart” looks exactly like this:
God >Jesus >The Church.
There is never once an implied equality in this flowchart throughout scripture: we are the servants of Jesus the Christ, who is himself the servant of God. To state anything else is to change the scriptures, which cannot be broken (John 10:35).
The Jews understood very well that all blessings come from God. Keep in mind that once they leave the fiercely monotheistic folks in Israel and the message begins to get spread to the gentiles the immediate reaction from the gentiles when they see miracles is to say “the gods have become like men and come down to us!” (Acts 14:11), because that is a theme that is repeated constantly in their mythology (see the greek mythological stories of: Philemon and Baucis, Zeus and Semele, Hermes and Phanes, to name just a very few). As more and more of these gentile converts are brought into the church, they brought their mythologies with them and began to change the narrative from “The God who gives blessings to men” to “the God who becomes man and performs blessings” starting especially in the 4th century when the gentiles became dominant numerically in the church. Please note the reaction and horror of the servants of the Christ when this occurs in Acts 14.
Moving on to our reading in Joshua 9-10, there are a couple key things to take away today. Firstly, whether or not you agree with how the Gibeonites acted (craftily), because they did so enabled them to survive. Granted, they became indentured servants, but they lived. Had they not acted craftily their only other survivable option was relocation (see Josh 9:24 for their rationale on their actions). Secondly, because the Jews had sworn by Yahweh to them, they acted in good faith and protected them when their neighboring kingdoms decided to attack them. It should be noted that during this defense of the Gibeonites, God himself took part in the battle; causing the sun to stand still for a time (Josh 9:13), and destroying the majority of the opposing armies with large hailstones (Josh 9:11). It should also be noted that the book of Jashar is mentioned in Josh 9:13 (and also in 2 Sam 1:18), a lost non-canonical book of the old testament.
Psalms 34 has an interesting header beneath the chapter number in my bible. It says “Of David. When he feigned madness before Abimelech, so that he drove him away and he departed“. This is in itself one of those just really weird stories you come across occasionally in old testament, and takes place in 1 Sam 21:10-15. When you look, it is actually talking about Ahimelech (with an h) in 1-9, tells the story of how David grabs Goliath’s sword, and then feigned madness before Achish. It’s just one of those really weird one-off stories that seems as if it may be incomplete.
Psalms 34:1-3 (REV) states: “1 I will bless Yahweh at all times. His song of praise will always be in my mouth. 2 My soul will boast in Yahweh. May the afflicted hear it and may they rejoice! 3 Oh magnify Yahweh with me! Let’s exalt his name together!” The words of David, the man of God. We are often afflicted by the trials of life, and tend to forget that we are to give thanks at all times, and that the trials that we are going through are probably God’s way of developing us and purifying us so that we can be better servants (James 1:2-4).
Psalms 34: 4-9 (REV) states: “4 I sought Yahweh, and he answered me, yes, he delivered me from all my fears. 5 Look to him and be radiant. Then their faces will never be ashamed. 6 This afflicted person cried out and Yahweh heard him, and delivered him out of all his distress. 7 The angel of Yahweh encamps around those who fear him, and delivers them. 8 Oh taste and see that Yahweh is good. Blessed is the person who seeks refuge in him. 9 Fear Yahweh, O you his holy ones, for those who fear him have no lack.”. Like David, God delivered me as well. I would venture to say that at some point He delivered you, too. I love the poetry of v5, it reminds me of the times when Moses was in the presence of God and when he returned his face was glowing. The hedge of protection we pray over people at times is clearly illustrated in v7. I can say truly that I have tasted and seen that Yahweh is good, I am alive because of it.
Psalms 34: 10-15 (REV): “11 Come, you children, listen to me. I will teach you the fear of Yahweh. 12 Who is the person who desires life, loving many days to see good?13 Guard your tongue from evil and your lips from speaking deceit. 14 Turn away from evil and do good. Seek peace, and pursue it. 15 Yahweh’s eyes are toward the righteous. Yes, his ears listen to their cry for help. “. This is a blueprint set of verses on how to live a long life. Do you want to live? Well: Fear Yahweh, turn away from evil, do good. Seek peace and pursue it. When you do these things, God’s eyes are towards you and He will hear you when you cry out.
Psalms 34:16-22 “16 Yahweh’s face is against those who do evil, to destroy the memory of them from the earth. 17 The righteous cry out and Yahweh hears, and delivers them out of all their distresses. 18 Yahweh is near to those who have a broken heart and he delivers those who have a crushed spirit. 19 Many evils happen to a righteous person, but Yahweh delivers him out of them all. 20 He keeps watch over all of his bones. Not one of them is broken. 21 Evil will kill a wicked person. Yes, those who hate a righteous person will suffer punishment. 22 Yahweh redeems the soul of his servants. Indeed, none of those who seek refuge in him will suffer punishment.” This set of passages warns clearly that God is against those who do evil, and will destroy them so thoroughly that even their memory will be gone from the earth. The one who does evil and hates the righteous will suffer punishment, but Yahweh redeems the soul of his servants. As proof, consider Jesus the Christ, the servant of Yahweh, whom God has glorified and redeemed from the dead.
REFLECTION QUESTIONS
- The book of Acts is filled with miracles that God performed through His servants. Can you recall any miracles that have happened in your lifetime?
- When miracles occurred in your lifetime, did you notice if you were trying to seek God with your whole heart at the time? Consider this.
- Can you think of a time when God saved you from an impossible situation, and did you consider why at the time?
PRAYER
Father God, my creator and my sustainer, thank you for my life. Please guide me and protect me, keep me from looking upon evil and keep my lips from speaking deceit. Help me to be a servant that pleases you. Please work miracles through me, may all of your creation offer you praise and glory. Thank you, in Jesus name, Amen.
Seek Grow Love 