In the book of Joshua, we learned how Joshua said to the people of Israel, “put away, said he, the strange gods which are among you, and incline your heart unto the LORD God of Israel. And the people said unto Joshua, The LORD our God will we serve, and his voice will we obey. So Joshua made a covenant with the people that day, and set them a statute and an ordinance in Shechem”, and in chapter twenty-four and verse twenty-six of the book of Joshua, Joshua or the writer shares how, “Joshua wrote these words in the book of the law of God” where we read,
And Joshua wrote these words in the book of the law of God, and took a great stone,
and set it up there under an oak, that was by the sanctuary of the LORD.
The verse reads, “And Joshua wrote these words in the book of the law of God, and took a great stone, …” Joshua or the writer began with the words, “and Joshua” whose name means “Jehovah is salvation” and was “son of Nun of the tribe of Ephraim and successor to Moses as the leader of the children of Israel; led the conquest of Canaan” “wrote these words” or “recorded, enrolled, inscribed and registered the speech, utterance, business and occupation” “in the book of the law of God” which means “within the missive, document and writing pertaining to the direction, instruction and codes belonging to the Supreme Deity”, “and took a great stone” or “and fetched, lay hold of, seized and acquired a large and massive hewn and precious rock”. Joshua or the writer shared how “Joshua” inscribed the speeches and utterances within a document pertaining to the direction and instruction belonging to Jehovah God, and he acquired a large rock and did the following with it.
The verse goes on to say, “… and set it up there under an oak, that was by the sanctuary of the LORD.” Joshua or the writer continued with the words, “and set it up there” which means “and stood, erected and established it, the massive stone, in that place” “under an oak” or “beneath a terebinth or oak tree”, “that was by the sanctuary” which means “that was located beside and near to the sacred, pure and holy place” “of the LORD” or “belonging to Jehovah who is the existing One and the proper name for the One True God”. Joshua or the writer shared how “Joshua” established the massive “stone” beneath “an oak” tree that was beside the sacred and holy dwelling place of Jehovah God.
When we meditate upon the words in this verse, we learn how “Joshua” not only inscribed the “words” into Jehovah God’s “law”, but also set up a massive “stone” of remembrance beneath “an oak” tree that was near to the sacred worship place of Jehovah God. These would serve as reminders to the people of Israel of their commitment to serve God, and His promise to be with them. God loves people, and He sent His Son Jesus into the world to die on the cross for the sins of all mankind and raised Him from the dead after three days so when we yield our lives to Him as our “Savior and Lord”, He will forgive our sins, grant us everlasting life and give us His Holy Spirit to guide us into all truth and remind us of our commitment to Him and His promise to us. (See John 3:16; 16:13; Acts 1:8)
Next time Joshua or the writer shares how, “Joshua said unto all the people, Behold, this stone shall be a witness unto us”, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.
Until tomorrow…there is more…
See more devotionals on the website "thewordfortodaywithray.com" or look for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, “One Year in the Sermon on the Mount” and the new poetry book "Random Mushrooms Volumes I and II" and the new novel "Elizabeth County" in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com ; http://www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore. All references are from "Strongs Concordance".
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