Joshua gathers the people in Shechem and reminded them how
they got there. He gives an overview of
the history of the people and God in order to remind them that this was the
promise of God to Abraham and that the only reason they possess it today is
because the Lord has been faithful to them, even when they weren't faithful to
Him. Joshua tells that the fathers of
the people worshipped other gods when they were beyond the River, in Egypt,
something we haven't known before. His
charge is that they have a choice to make, worship some other gods, the gods
their fathers worshipped in Egypt, or the gods of the Amorites, or worship the
God who has delivered them and given them this Land. He and his household will serve Yahweh, no
matter what the rest may choose.
Is Jesus claiming to be the Son of Man? It seems pretty straightforward here even
early in His ministry. The disciples are
hungry and they need to rub together the kernels they are plucking in order to
extract the edible part. This has been
classified as working in order to keep the command to do no work on the
Sabbath. That was part of the work of
the scribes, to define terms so that they did not inadvertently sin. Jesus compares this to David and his men
eating the bread of the presence from the temple when they were hungry. This bread was to be consumed only by the
priests and yet David ate it when on the run from Saul. When Jesus says He is Lord of the Sabbath, He
is clearly making a substantial claim for Himself.
No matter where Paul was, he was preaching the Gospel. He knew, however, that all would not receive
it. He likened his ministry to the Jews
in particular to Isaiah, who was sent to a people who would not listen to
him. He was undaunted by their
disbelief, however, he persevered even in captivity in his proclamation,
willing to take on all comers in debate.
Paul didn't complain about what he didn't have, he made the most of
every opportunity to talk about Jesus.
Can we say the same? What keeps
us from being the "go-to" people to talk with about Him?
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