Thought for Today: Monday February 06:

Bow to YHVH and listen to Him. Attune yourself to His Voice and receive His richest blessings. Marvel at the wonder of communing with the Creator of the Universe while sitting in the comfort of your quiet space or prayer room. Kings who reign on the earth tend to make themselves inaccessible, ordinary people almost never gain an audience with them. Even dignitaries must plough through red-tape and protocol in order to speak to royalty. Though, YHVH is the King of all kings and the King of the Universe, He is always totally accessible to you. He is with you wherever you are. Nothing can separate you from His Presence. When Yeshua cried out from the cross [It is finished] The curtain in the temple was torn in two. This opened the way for you to meet YHVH face-to-face with no need of any protocol, priest, minister, pastor, evangelist or prophet. YHVH is you constant Companion, Yeshua is your High-Priest and Ruach HaKodesh is your Teacher, your Guide, Your Wisdom and Your Knowledge.

SERIES G --- THE PROMISED LAND --- LESSON 10

YHVH’S HELP

THE DAY THE SUN STOOD STILL

From Joshua 10:1-21

Adonizedek, king of Jerusalem, was frightened. The news reached him that Joshua had defeated and destroyed Ai, along with its king, just as he had done to Jericho, the people of Gibeon had made a peace treaty with Israel; thus, they would fight with Joshua, not against him. This also frightened Adonizedek, for Gibeon was a great city, as great as a royal city, greater than Ai and had mighty men. Adonizedek sent word to some neighbouring kings, asking them to join him in forming a united front against Joshua. These included Hoham king of Hebron, Piram king of Jarmuth, Japhia king of Lachish and Debir king of Eglon. ‘Let us go now and destroy Gibeon,’ he said, ‘for they have made a peace treaty with Joshua and the Israelites.’ All five of these Amorite kings joined their forces and marched to Gibeon. The Gibeonites quickly sent word to Joshua at Gilgal. ‘Come quickly and help us,’ they said. ‘Don’t leave your servants to fight these Amorites from the hill country who have come against us.’ So Joshua took his army from Gilgal and went to Gibeon. ‘Don’t be afraid of them,’ Adonai told Joshua. ‘I have given them into your hands. Not one will be able to defend himself against you.’ Joshua and his men marched all night from Gilgal and caught the enemy by surprise. Adonai caused the Amorites to panic so that the Israelites killed many at Gibeon and chased those who remained as far as Beth-horon, Azekah and Makkedah, killing them as they went. To make matters worse for the Amorites, Adonai sent a great hailstorm on them as they tried to escape on the slopes that led to Beth-horon. Actually, more of the Amorites died in the hailstorm than in the battle with the Israelites. In the midst of all this, Joshua cried out to Adonai, praying so that the people of Israel could hear, ‘Adonai, let the sun stand still at Gibeon and the moon in the Valley of Aijalon.’ The sun and moon stopped in their courses until the armies of Israel had completed their victory. Isn’t this recorded in The Book of Jashar, where it tells of the sun stopping in the middle of the sky, waiting almost a day to go down? Never had there been a day like this before and never has there been one since, when Adonai performed such a miracle because of a man’s prayer. It was because on that day, Adonai was fighting for Israel. When the battle ended, Joshua returned home to Gilgal with his men. In the meanwhile, the five Amorite kings had run away and hid in a cave at Makkedah. But someone discovered their hiding place and told Joshua where they were. ‘Roll some large stones against the mouth of the cave, Joshua ordered. Put guards there so the kings cannot escape. Do not stay there yourselves, for you must attack the enemies again before they reach their cities. Adonai has given you complete victory over them.’ The army of Israel attacked the Amorites again and destroyed them, except for a few who reached the safety of their cities. Then the army of Israel returned to the camp they had set up at Makkedah. In all the fighting, they found they had not lost one man. When the news of this battle became known, no one dared to say a word against the Israelites.

COMMENTARY

THE BATTLE OF GIBEON

When a coalition of kings gathered a great army to fight against Israel, Joshua led a surprise attack against them. As the defeated enemy fled after the battle, great hailstones struck them. As Joshua cried out to Adonai even the sun and moon delayed their course. With YHVH’s help, the battling Israelites won total victory that day. The Gibeonites may understandably have believed that most of their problems were over when they joined forces with the Israelites. While Joshua’s army fought against all the other cities in Canaan, the Gibeonites had managed to make a peace treaty with the Jews. But they had not counted on neighbouring kings taking revenge. The Canaanite kings in the area were very disturbed by the peace treaty. Adonizedek, the king of Jerusalem, was especially alarmed. Gibeon was less than six miles north of Jerusalem and the king had planned on the walled city to provide a strong defence against the Israelites. Instead, the people there had welcomed Joshua and his army. Adonizedek and four other kings prepared to attack Gibeon, determined to punish the people and if possible, regain control of the city. When Joshua received the Gibeonites’ urgent plea for help, his army made a daring all-night march and reached Gibeon the next morning. The surprised kings panicked and fled to hide in a nearby cave. The Israelites pursued their retreating armies and quickly defeated them. Eventually Joshua’s soldiers found the kings and easily captured their cities. The entire Shephelah hill country had fallen to the Israelites, as well as the northern part of the Negeb desert. Gibeon alone remained without threat of destruction.

May the grace and peace of YHWH be multiplied to you…

Attending a church, synagogue or fellowship is a vital part of growing spiritually. We attend to learn, to meet with believers and to be part of an extended family. But, we need to remember the pastors, Rabbis or leaders are only human. Don’t be afraid to ask questions when you hear something that contradicts the Bible. Iron sharpening iron is a Biblical concept.

This week's parsha (#yitro - Exodus 18:1-20:23) begins a potential chiasm that spans two books and focuses on God's glory in the Tabernacle. It begins with blessings and curses at #exodus 19:5-6 and ends with blessings and curses at #leviticus 26-27.

- A - Exo 19:5-6 - Blessings and curses
-- B - Exo 20:1-11 - First 3 commandments
--- C - Exo 23:10-11 - Release and jubilee
---- D - Exo 21:12, Ex 23-25 - Blasphemer and justice
----- E - Exo 25:30, 27:20-21 - Menorah and showbread
------ F - Exo 31:12-17, 35:2-3 - Mo'edim
------- G - Lev 1-5 - Animals fit to offer
-------- H - Lev 6-8 - Holiness among priests
--------- I - Shekinah and Holiness
-------- H - Lev 21 - Holiness among priests
------- G - Lev 22 - Animals fit to offer
------ F - Lev 23 - Mo'edim
----- E - Lev 24:1-9 - Menorah and showbread
---- D - Lev 24:10-23 - Blasphemer and justice
--- C - Lev 25:1-55 - Release and jubilee
-- B - Lev 26:1-2 - First 3 commandments
- A - Lev 26-27 - Blessings and curses

#biblepatterns

THIS WEEK
YITRO יִתְרוֹ
Jethro
TORAH : EXODUS 18:1-20:23
PROPHETS : ISAIAH 6:1-7:6, 9:5-6
GOSPEL : MATTHEW 19:16-26

Portion Outline
TORAH
Exodus 18:1 Jethro's Advice
Exodus 19:1 The Israelites Reach Mount Sinai
Exodus 19:9 The People Consecrated
Exodus 20:1 The Ten Commandments
Exodus 20:22 The Law concerning the Altar

PROPHETS
Isaiah 6:1 A Vision of God in the Temple
Isaiah 9:1 The Righteous Reign of the Coming King

SERIES G --- THE PROMISED LAND --- LESSON 09

HASTY TREATY

WOODCUTTERS AND WATER CARRIERS

From Joshua 9

There was much concern among the kings west of the Jordan River when they learned what had happened to Jericho and Ai. The territory of these kings stretched from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea and northward to the mountains of Lebanon. Fearing for their own safety, they joined their forces to fight against Joshua. This force included the troops of the Hittites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites. When the people of Gibeon heard how Joshua had defeated Jericho and Ai, they decided to survive by tricking him. They sent to Joshua some men with worn-out sacks on their donkeys, old wineskins with patches, patched shoes and clothing and dry, crumbled bread. When these men reached Gilgal, they told Joshua and his people, [we have come from a land far away. Make a covenant with us.] [But you may live near here,] Joshua answered the men. [If that were true, we couldn’t make a covenant with you.] [We are your servants,] the men answered. [Who are you?] Joshua kept asking. [Where are you from?] [From a land far away,] the men repeated. [News has come to our land of all that your Adonai did for you in Egypt and all that He did to Sihon, king of Heshbon and Og, king of Bashan who lived at Ashtaroth, the two Amorite kings east of the Jordan River.] [Our elders and people have sent us here. Take provisions for a long trip, they told us. Meet with the people of Israel. Tell them we are their servants and make a peace treaty with them.] When we left, this bread was hot, fresh from our homes, but now it is dry and crumbled. These wineskins were new when we filled them, but now they are torn. Our clothing and shoes are worn out because we have been on our trip so long.] The men of Israel handled their provisions and believed them. They did not ask for YHVH’s counsel concerning these men. Joshua made a peace treaty with the strangers, a covenant to let them live, with the leaders of Israel confirming the covenant with an oath. The truth, that these men were Hivites who lived nearby at Gibeon, was learned three days later. The army of Israel set out immediately to confirm this fact and in three days reached the cluster of cities that the strangers represented; Gibeon, Chephirah, Beeroth and Kirjath-jearim. But the army did not harm these cities because of the peace treaty which the leaders of Israel had made. The people of Israel grumbled about this peace treaty, for now they were angry that their leaders had made it. But the leaders of Israel told the people, [we have made this treaty in the Name of our Adonai and we cannot harm the people now. We must let them live, for if we do not, YHVH’s anger will be upon us because we broke our oath.] Joshua spoke sternly to their leaders about their trick. [Why did you lie to us, telling us that you lived far away when you live nearby?] he demanded. [For this you will have a curse upon you. You must always provide servants to cut our wood and carry our water for the house of Adonai.] [We learned how Adonai had told Moses to conquer all the land and destroy the people,] they answered. [Because we were so afraid that you would destroy us, we did this to save ourselves. Now we place ourselves at your mercy, to do what you believe is right.] Joshua refused to let his people kill them and made them woodcutters and water carriers for the altar of Adonai, wherever Adonai would choose to build it.

COMMENTARY

OTHER CONQUESTS FROM EGYPT: MERNEPTAH

YHVH had Commanded Israel to destroy completely the peoples who lived in the Promised Land. Archaeology has shown the depraved practices of these people, whom YHVH’s army would judge. With the Canaanites destroyed, Israel would be protected from contamination. But a people called the Gibeonites tricked Joshua into making a peace treaty. This one-time Joshua and the other leaders neglected to first seek YHVH’s Guidance. No one knows exactly when the Israelites crossed the Jordan River to enter the Promised Land. But an Egyptian pharaoh, boasting about his victories in Canaan, left one of the greatest clues in history; and did not know it. It was Pharaoh Merneptah, son of Ramses II who came to power in Egypt after he was sixty years old. Merneptah was involved in wars to defend his empire throughout his reign. Even before he came to power, the Sea People had been attacking Egypt and Canaan all along the Mediterranean Sea coast. They were particularly hard to get rid of, because they moved in with their families and all their possessions after they conquered an area. In addition to this threat, a revolt against Egypt broke out in Canaan only three years after Merneptah came to the throne. He moved quickly to stop it and invaded several cities in Canaan. The country was brought back into line. No sooner had he returned from this campaign than Merneptah was faced with problems from the west. Several countries had joined together and invaded Egypt. A huge battle with this powerful alliance resulted in the slaughter of over nine thousand enemy soldiers. To commemorate all these victories, Merneptah had a ten-foot stone column; called a stele {pronounced STEE-lee}; inscribed with his victories. In it, he mentions the {tribe of Israel.} From this it is believed that by Merneptah’s time, the Israelites were already in the Promised Land. Little did this Egyptian pharaoh know that his {Israel stele} would become one of the most important historical records of the Israelites in Canaan.