Tag: bible

Posted in Through the Bible Devotions

Fake ID

Posted on by William Douthwaite
Photo by Lydia Matzal on Unsplash

A “through the bible” devotion from Joshua 9.

How does the world know you are who your are? Much of the time, a driver’s license is adequate ID. Sometimes you need a second form, like a passport. My phone and computer need my fingerprint. Some phones take a look at your face. Some websites make me answer security questions.

Apparently, fake IDs are still a thing. I read that one third of college students have used a fake ID to get into a bar. But that’s not new. Joshua encounters people with fake IDs as Israel fights to take possession of Canaan.

It was so obvious. These poor people have been on the road forever. All of their supplies are used up and worn out. They aren’t a threat. They aren’t on God’s most wanted list. They aren’t Hittites, Perizzites, or any of the other enemy “-ites” God told you to be wary of.

“The men of Israel…did not ask for the counsel of the Lord” (Joshua 9:14). Instead, they made a covenant with the people of Gibeon, who deceived them by dressing up like worn and weary travelers from far away. It was their form of a fake ID.

This account implies that Joshua should have asked God for advice. As hard as it is to accept, there’s really only one person (I know, God’s not a person, but you know what I mean) you can trust. He is faithful and true, and in fact, he embodies the truth. You better do a deeper dive with everyone else.

Posted in Through the Bible Devotions

One bad apple

Posted on by William Douthwaite
I wonder how the neighbors feel living next to this?

A “through the bible” devotion from Joshua 7.

My wife and I drove down many streets in various neighborhoods looking for a lot on which to build a house twenty-eight year ago. We liked a few lots on one street but decided not to build there because of one house on the corner.

Irrigation left brown stains on the side of the house. The circular driveway was moldy. The lawn was more weeds than grass. We crossed that street off our list of possibilities because of that one poorly maintained house. In hindsight, we made a wise choice. Lots of people built houses on that street since then. But cars parked in the circular driveway haven’t moved in years. And the first thing you notice: irrigation stains on the walls and driveway.

One person can ruin it for everybody.

After routing and destroying the city of Jericho, Joshua is confident of victory against Ai. So everyone is puzzled when they lose. But one person, Aachan, took some plunder from Jericho and hid it in his tent (Joshua 7:20). But God had told them to destroy everything. Aachan’s personal sin ruins it for everyone. Israel has disobeyed God and violated the covenant.

One stupid driver gets in a wreck and now everyone is stuck in traffic. You went to work with a cold instead of staying home to rest. Now everyone in the office is coughing and sneezing. One person steals something from a store, and now a whole display is under lock and key.

Perhaps sin isn’t as private and personal as we like to think. If it affects a whole family, community, or even a nation, take it seriously and pursue God’s grace and forgiveness.

Posted in Through the Bible Devotions

The day the manna stopped

Posted on by William Douthwaite
Photo by Conscious Design on Unsplash

A “through the bible” devotion from Joshua 5.

A whole generation has grown up in a world with smart phones. Apple sold the first iPhone in 2007, so anyone born after that has never seen a world without the pocket technology we use every single day.

Manna kept a nation alive for forty years. God faithfully gave his people this daily bread, just as he promised. A whole generation grew up on manna. They never knew life without it.

Then one day, the manna stopped.

“The manna ceased on the day after they had eaten some of the produce of the land” (Joshua 5:12)

They would never eat manna again.

I wonder if anyone would miss it. Before long, I am sure folks would be telling stories of the manna they ate when they were kids. Just like we talk about foods we ate growing up you can’t get anymore. Like Swanson’s TV dinners, Carnation breakfast bars, Hunt’s Snack Pack pudding cups, Jello pudding pops, and Bazooka bubble gum.

No more manna? The good news is that the produce of a land filled with milk and honey was amazing.

Posted in Through the Bible Devotions

Turning obstacles into opportunities

Posted on by William Douthwaite

A “through the bible” devotion from Joshua 3.

We thought it was cool in the 1960s. On the starship Enterprise, you just walked up to a door and it opened automatically.

Now we take it for granted. I walk up to the door of the supermarket and it opens automatically for me. I get a little miffed if I have to open the door for myself at a store that hasn’t stepped into the 21st century.

Turns out it’s not really a new idea at all. Poised on the banks of the Jordan, God told the priests to dip a toe in and the river would stop flowing. And it did.

“When the feet of the priests carrying the ark stepped down into the edge of the water… then the waters which were flowing down from above stood and rose up in one heap… and all Israel crossed on dry ground (Joshua 3:15-17).

God loves to do that. He loves to turn obstacles into opportunities. He feeds crowds, stills storms, rolls stones aside, and demonstrates his faithfulness and power over and over again.

Posted in Through the Bible Devotions

Strong and courageous

Posted on by William Douthwaite
Photo by Pixabay

A “through the bible” devotion from Joshua 1.

Are super powers easy to come by? Sometimes it’s accidental. A radioactive spider bit Peter Parker, and he became spiderman. Gamma radiation turns Bruce Banner into the Hulk. A medical experiment turns Steve Rogers into Captain America.

For others, it’s intentional. With some cash and some smarts, Bruce Wayne is Batman and Tony Stark becomes Ironman.

It helps if your parents are gods (Thor, Aquaman) or from another planet (Superman).

For the record (and for those who care), I enjoy both Marvel and DC superheroes.

Underdog ate a Super Energy Vitamin Pill for his superpowers. (I watched Underdog a lot when I was a kid. I just learned that this was edited out of the cartoon in the 80s and 90s so as not to encourage drug use.)

Three times in the first chapter of Joshua, God tells him to “Be strong and courageous” (Joshua 1:6, 7, 9). A few moments later, the leaders of Israel address Joshua, “Be strong and courageous” (1:18).

Sounds like they want (need) a superhero.

Don’t you think Joshua was under a lot of pressure? After all, there was no one like Moses, who saw God face-to-face. He is a tough act to follow.

When someone says, “Be brave,” it’s usually when they are going to stick a needle in your arm or you have to get on the bus by yourself or some guy in a robe asks, “Do you take this man (woman)…”

But when God says, “Be strong and courageous,” it’s because “the Lord your God is with you wherever you go” (1:9). It’s not just a command. It’s a promise.

Who’s riding shotgun? Jesus? You’ve got nothing to worry about. You can be strong and courageous!

Posted in Through the Bible Devotions

Something that lasts

Posted on by William Douthwaite
Photo by Maximus Beaumont on Unsplash

A “through the bible” devotion from Deuteronomy 29.

How many things have you owned for forty years? I’ve a sauce pan and some mixing bowls that were part of a set of Revere Ware my parents gave me for my first apartment after college. I bought my trumpet forty-five years ago. I’ve got a hammer, some screwdrivers, and a couple of wrenches I know I’ve had in my tool bag for decades.

I like to point out that sometimes God provides by letting your stuff last a long time. Getting seventeen years out of a hot water heater or 80,000 miles out of a set of tires is the kind of blessing God mentions in Deuteronomy:

“I have led you in the wilderness for forty years; your clothes have not worn out on you, and your sandal has not worn out on your foot” (Deuteronomy 29:5).

I know, they don’t make things like they used to. I’ve gotten used to replacing things every few years, not expecting them to last very long. So when something does last, I take note and give thanks!

Another batch of indestructible dog toys is due in the mail today or tomorrow. My dogs annihilated the last batch and the replacements they sent in a matter of minutes. At least they’ve grown out of chewing up my sandals, so maybe I’ll be able to wear them for a while. (But probably not forty years.)

Posted in Through the Bible Devotions

Listen to him

Posted on by William Douthwaite
Photo by freestocks on Unsplash

A “through the bible” devotion from Deuteronomy 18.

Not sure how to fix, open, replace, decorate, or operate something? You and I find someone on YouTube who shows you how. I’ve learned how to disassemble my oven door to clean the glass, patch up holes in the wall, build a raised garden, compost, make sourdough bread, and replace a computer battery.

Apparently, the pagan culture of Canaan turned to divination, soothsayers, interpreters of omens, sorcerers, mediums, spiritists, and those who consulted the dead to figure out life (Deuteronomy 18:10,11). In his pre-conquest pep talk, Moses says, “Don’t do those things. God hates that stuff.” Instead, consult the Lord. How?

“The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your countrymen; to him you shall listen” (Deuteronomy 18:15).

God spoke to his people through Moses who spent time in the presence of the Lord on Sinai and then passed along God’s instructions. Subsequently, God sent people – prophets – to speak for him. Each pointed to the ultimate prophet, Jesus, who physically embodied God’s word.

Many Christians have questions they intend to ask Jesus when they get to see him face-to-face. That’s a good thing. Lately, though, I’ve shared that Jesus may not answer all your questions. In the bible, Jesus answers questions with other questions or a story. I just want you to be ready for that.

Plus, when you finally do get to heaven, it’s going to be so amazing that you’ll forget all your questions. When Jesus asks, “Do you have any questions,” I’ll probably respond, “Never mind. It wasn’t important.”

Posted in Through the Bible Devotions

From temple service to retirement: Lessons from the Levites

Posted on by William Douthwaite

A “through the bible” devotion from Numbers 8.

“You’re too young to retire!”

Yeah, I’ve heard that a few times since my retirement from full time pastoral ministry two years ago.

  • I heard that from people who took early retirement in their fifties.
  • I heard that from folks who didn’t even know how old I was.
  • I heard that from a few who were still working well into their seventies.
  • I heard that from some who simply didn’t want me to retire.

Sometimes I would reply with the Lord’s instructions to Moses, “This is what applies to the Levites: from twenty-five years old and upward they shall enter to perform service in the work of the tent of meeting. But at the age of fifty years they shall retire from service in the work and not work anymore” (Numbers 8:24,25). I often got a puzzled look from those who didn’t know what a Levite was. Whatever.

I detect a double standard there. It’s fine to retire from other occupations but not from church work. If you’re called to be a pastor, you’re in it for life. But if you’re called to be an engineer, a roofer, a police officer, or a graphic designer, retirement is expected.

A Levite engaged in tabernacle or temple work when he was twenty-five and retired at age fifty. Theirs was not an easy job. The Levites attended to the daily, weekly, monthly, and festival sacrifices of Israel. They cared for the facilities and equipment, the oil, incense, and bread, played music and sang songs, and collected the animals, grain and wine used for worship.

I’ve found retirement to be surprisingly busy. My time is filled with grandparenting, writing, teaching, travel, learning, reading, home improvement, and baking. I’ve added new dogs, new friends, new neighbors, and new grandchildren to the adventure, blessings, and joy of life.

Too young to retire? Too old to keep working? I’m not sure you can put a number to it. It’s better to take it one day at a time.

Posted in Through the Bible Devotions

Ew. That looks like mold.

Posted on by William Douthwaite
Photo by Nancy Hughes on Unsplash

A “through the bible” devotion from Leviticus 14.

As soon as the water receded, they moved in. Volunteers from all over the country showed up and started mucking out homes that had been under three feet of hurricane storm surge water. Once the sheetrock gets wet, the mold will begin to grow in a humid Florida climate.

If you’re not familiar, “mucking” means ripping out any and all the walls that have been underwater. If you don’t do that, the mold will grow. It will grow behind the walls. It will grow quickly. It will contaminate the air in your home. Before you know it, you’re sneezing, coughing, and sniffing from the black mold growing in your home.

In the bible, it’s the priest’s job to deal with the mold in your home.

“When you enter the land of Canaan, which I am giving you as a possession, and I put a spot of leprosy on a house in the land of your possession, then the one who owns the house shall come and tell the priest, saying, ‘Something like a spot of leprosy has become visible to me in the house.’ The priest shall then command that they empty the house before the priest goes in to look at the spot, so that everything in the house need not become unclean; and afterward the priest shall go in to look at the house” (Leviticus 14:34-36).

I’ve sat in homes that made me sneeze, sniffle, and cough. Maybe it was the cat. Maybe it was the garbage. It could have been the dirty carpet. Mold? Maybe. Maybe it was something else. All I know is that it wasn’t healthy.

God cares about your physical and spiritual health. And sometimes that means you need to clean up whatever is making you sneeze, sniffle, or cough.

Our church had to deal with some roof leaks. A member stopped attending worship, claiming that some of the carpet had gotten wet and moldy. We analyzed the air, replaced the carpet, and fixed the roof. That member never came back to church. Even though the pastor (the priest) said it was all good. Go figure.