Today's Readings and Stuff -- Monday, 23 March 2015

Spring officially got here last week.  So today, around ( a.m., we are all the way UP to 21 degrees.  Whee!  At our former home in Alabama, it's 57, our former home in Tennessee 49, our former home in Arkansas 44.  We did gain some things by moving here, but better winter weather was not one of them.

Dear Wife was supposed to be "watching" the Beloved Great Niece today, and went over earlier to take over.  But it seems that the Little One was sick last evening, mom & dad didn't call us but they had the Little One at the Emergency Room until around 03:00.  Turned out she has the "family disease" of severe and debilitating migraine headaches, at the age of 2-1/2.  So mom called off work; dad went in though. 

And Wife is back home with me, feet elevated as the doctors had recommended.  She has appointment with podiatrist on Wednesday, and perhaps she can recommend something for the damage there, in conjunction with the rheumatologist, etc.

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The Old Testament reading is chapters 9 and 10 in the book of Joshua.  This is war, and about the details of war.  It's not a pleasant subject is it?  and this is that era's version of Total War.  ALL of one culture will be destroyed, root and branch, including women and children and cattle.  Utter destruction.  It's not a pleasant subject.  I grew up in a denomination (Mennonite) that utterly rejects war or violence or even self-defense.  This section of the Bible was never, and I mean NEVER, taught.  Ever.  Nor were what we know as the "imprecatory Psalms", ) 5, 10, 17, 35, 58, 59, 69, 70, 79, 83, 109, 129, 137, 140). ever.  I am partial to their belief, though I don't share it completely.  I've never seen a closeup of the utter destruction of a people, though I've seen all too closely death and violence on a more "retail" level.  Not pretty there either.   But the Lord not only permitted this, He commanded it.  That's an uncomfortable reality for a lot of people, the Universalists and their like, which has come to include all too much of the Western church.  In fact, some of this goes back to the judgments that the Lord had levied generations previous.  Like it or not, He also judges cultures.  That's not an encouraging thought, not when I see our own.  Yes, it can happen here too.  And may.

Joshua 9 

1	And it came to pass, when all the kings which were on this side Jordan, in the hills, and in the valleys, and in all the coasts of the great sea over against Lebanon, the Hittite, and the Amorite, the Canaanite, the Perizzite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite, heard thereof;
2	That they gathered themselves together, to fight with Joshua and with Israel, with one accord.
3	And when the inhabitants of Gibeon heard what Joshua had done unto Jericho and to Ai,
4	They did work wilily, and went and made as if they had been ambassadors, and took old sacks upon their asses, and wine bottles, old, and rent, and bound up;
5	And old shoes and clouted upon their feet, and old garments upon them; and all the bread of their provision was dry and mouldy.
6	And they went to Joshua unto the camp at Gilgal, and said unto him, and to the men of Israel, We be come from a far country: now therefore make ye a league with us.
7	And the men of Israel said unto the Hivites, Peradventure ye dwell among us; and how shall we make a league with you?
8	And they said unto Joshua, We are thy servants. And Joshua said unto them, Who are ye? and from whence come ye?
9	And they said unto him, From a very far country thy servants are come because of the name of the LORD thy God: for we have heard the fame of him, and all that he did in Egypt,
10	And all that he did to the two kings of the Amorites, that were beyond Jordan, to Sihon king of Heshbon, and to Og king of Bashan, which was at Ashtaroth.
11	Wherefore our elders and all the inhabitants of our country spake to us, saying, Take victuals with you for the journey, and go to meet them, and say unto them, We are your servants: therefore now make ye a league with us.
12	This our bread we took hot for our provision out of our houses on the day we came forth to go unto you; but now, behold, it is dry, and it is mouldy:
13	And these bottles of wine, which we filled, were new; and, behold, they be rent: and these our garments and our shoes are become old by reason of the very long journey.
14	And the men took of their victuals, and asked not counsel at the mouth of the LORD.
15	And Joshua made peace with them, and made a league with them, to let them live: and the princes of the congregation sware unto them.
16	And it came to pass at the end of three days after they had made a league with them, that they heard that they were their neighbors, and that they dwelt among them.
17	And the children of Israel journeyed, and came unto their cities on the third day. Now their cities were Gibeon, and Chephirah, and Beeroth, and Kirjathjearim.
18	And the children of Israel smote them not, because the princes of the congregation had sworn unto them by the LORD God of Israel. And all the congregation murmured against the princes.
19	But all the princes said unto all the congregation, We have sworn unto them by the LORD God of Israel: now therefore we may not touch them.
20	This we will do to them; we will even let them live, lest wrath be upon us, because of the oath which we sware unto them.
21	And the princes said unto them, Let them live; but let them be hewers of wood and drawers of water unto all the congregation; as the princes had promised them.
22	And Joshua called for them, and he spake unto them, saying, Wherefore have ye beguiled us, saying, We are very far from you; when ye dwell among us?
23	Now therefore ye are cursed, and there shall none of you be freed from being bondmen, and hewers of wood and drawers of water for the house of my God.
24	And they answered Joshua, and said, Because it was certainly told thy servants, how that the LORD thy God commanded his servant Moses to give you all the land, and to destroy all the inhabitants of the land from before you, therefore we were sore afraid of our lives because of you, and have done this thing.
25	And now, behold, we are in thine hand: as it seemeth good and right unto thee to do unto us, do.
26	And so did he unto them, and delivered them out of the hand of the children of Israel, that they slew them not.
27	And Joshua made them that day hewers of wood and drawers of water for the congregation, and for the altar of the LORD, even unto this day, in the place which he should choose.

Joshua 10

1	Now it came to pass, when Adonizedec king of Jerusalem had heard how Joshua had taken Ai, and had utterly destroyed it; as he had done to Jericho and her king, so he had done to Ai and her king; and how the inhabitants of Gibeon had made peace with Israel, and were among them;
2	That they feared greatly, because Gibeon was a great city, as one of the royal cities, and because it was greater than Ai, and all the men thereof were mighty.
3	Wherefore Adonizedec king of Jerusalem, sent unto Hoham king of Hebron, and unto Piram king of Jarmuth, and unto Japhia king of Lachish, and unto Debir king of Eglon, saying,
4	Come up unto me, and help me, that we may smite Gibeon: for it hath made peace with Joshua and with the children of Israel.
5	Therefore the five kings of the Amorites, the king of Jerusalem, the king of Hebron, the king of Jarmuth, the king of Lachish, the king of Eglon, gathered themselves together, and went up, they and all their hosts, and encamped before Gibeon, and made war against it.
6	And the men of Gibeon sent unto Joshua to the camp to Gilgal, saying, Slack not thy hand from thy servants; come up to us quickly, and save us, and help us: for all the kings of the Amorites that dwell in the mountains are gathered together against us.
7	So Joshua ascended from Gilgal, he, and all the people of war with him, and all the mighty men of valor.
8	And the LORD said unto Joshua, Fear them not: for I have delivered them into thine hand; there shall not a man of them stand before thee.
9	Joshua therefore came unto them suddenly, and went up from Gilgal all night.
10	And the LORD discomfited them before Israel, and slew them with a great slaughter at Gibeon, and chased them along the way that goeth up to Bethhoron, and smote them to Azekah, and unto Makkedah.
11	And it came to pass, as they fled from before Israel, and were in the going down to Bethhoron, that the LORD cast down great stones from heaven upon them unto Azekah, and they died: they were more which died with hailstones than they whom the children of Israel slew with the sword.
12	Then spake Joshua to the LORD in the day when the LORD delivered up the Amorites before the children of Israel, and he said in the sight of Israel, Sun, stand thou still upon Gibeon; and thou, Moon, in the valley of Ajalon.
13	And the sun stood still, and the moon stayed, until the people had avenged themselves upon their enemies. Is not this written in the book of Jasher? So the sun stood still in the midst of heaven, and hasted not to go down about a whole day.
14	And there was no day like that before it or after it, that the LORD hearkened unto the voice of a man: for the LORD fought for Israel.
15	And Joshua returned, and all Israel with him, unto the camp to Gilgal.
16	But these five kings fled, and hid themselves in a cave at Makkedah.
17	And it was told Joshua, saying, The five kings are found hid in a cave at Makkedah.
18	And Joshua said, Roll great stones upon the mouth of the cave, and set men by it for to keep them:
19	And stay ye not, but pursue after your enemies, and smite the hindmost of them; suffer them not to enter into their cities: for the LORD your God hath delivered them into your hand.
20	And it came to pass, when Joshua and the children of Israel had made an end of slaying them with a very great slaughter, till they were consumed, that the rest which remained of them entered into fenced cities.
21	And all the people returned to the camp to Joshua at Makkedah in peace: none moved his tongue against any of the children of Israel.
22	Then said Joshua, Open the mouth of the cave, and bring out those five kings unto me out of the cave.
23	And they did so, and brought forth those five kings unto him out of the cave, the king of Jerusalem, the king of Hebron, the king of Jarmuth, the king of Lachish, and the king of Eglon.
24	And it came to pass, when they brought out those kings unto Joshua, that Joshua called for all the men of Israel, and said unto the captains of the men of war which went with him, Come near, put your feet upon the necks of these kings. And they came near, and put their feet upon the necks of them.
25	And Joshua said unto them, Fear not, nor be dismayed, be strong and of good courage: for thus shall the LORD do to all your enemies against whom ye fight.
26	And afterward Joshua smote them, and slew them, and hanged them on five trees: and they were hanging upon the trees until the evening.
27	And it came to pass at the time of the going down of the sun, that Joshua commanded, and they took them down off the trees, and cast them into the cave wherein they had been hid, and laid great stones in the cave's mouth, which remain until this very day.
28	And that day Joshua took Makkedah, and smote it with the edge of the sword, and the king thereof he utterly destroyed, them, and all the souls that were therein; he let none remain: and he did to the king of Makkedah as he did unto the king of Jericho.
29	Then Joshua passed from Makkedah, and all Israel with him, unto Libnah, and fought against Libnah:
30	And the LORD delivered it also, and the king thereof, into the hand of Israel; and he smote it with the edge of the sword, and all the souls that were therein; he let none remain in it; but did unto the king thereof as he did unto the king of Jericho.
31	And Joshua passed from Libnah, and all Israel with him, unto Lachish, and encamped against it, and fought against it:
32	And the LORD delivered Lachish into the hand of Israel, which took it on the second day, and smote it with the edge of the sword, and all the souls that were therein, according to all that he had done to Libnah.
33	Then Horam king of Gezer came up to help Lachish; and Joshua smote him and his people, until he had left him none remaining.
34	And from Lachish Joshua passed unto Eglon, and all Israel with him; and they encamped against it, and fought against it:
35	And they took it on that day, and smote it with the edge of the sword, and all the souls that were therein he utterly destroyed that day, according to all that he had done to Lachish.
36	And Joshua went up from Eglon, and all Israel with him, unto Hebron; and they fought against it:
37	And they took it, and smote it with the edge of the sword, and the king thereof, and all the cities thereof, and all the souls that were therein; he left none remaining, according to all that he had done to Eglon; but destroyed it utterly, and all the souls that were therein.
38	And Joshua returned, and all Israel with him, to Debir; and fought against it:
39	And he took it, and the king thereof, and all the cities thereof; and they smote them with the edge of the sword, and utterly destroyed all the souls that were therein; he left none remaining: as he had done to Hebron, so he did to Debir, and to the king thereof; as he had done also to Libnah, and to her king.
40	So Joshua smote all the country of the hills, and of the south, and of the vale, and of the springs, and all their kings: he left none remaining, but utterly destroyed all that breathed, as the LORD God of Israel commanded.
41	And Joshua smote them from Kadeshbarnea even unto Gaza, and all the country of Goshen, even unto Gibeon.
42	And all these kings and their land did Joshua take at one time, because the LORD God of Israel fought for Israel.
43	And Joshua returned, and all Israel with him, unto the camp to Gilgal.

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The New Testament reading is chapter 3 of the Gospel of Luke.  Here we see the ministry of John the Baptizer, the earthly cousin of Jesus.  We also begin to see Jesus the adult.  We see first the Spirit proclaiming Him.  In the area and era in which I was born, most businesses were small family-owned businesses: dry cleaners, grocers, bakers, hardware stores, etc.  Perhaps the sign out front said "Bertelucci's Bakery".  Later on, perhaps an adult son would become heavily involved in the business, enough to be listed, and the sign might change to "Bertelucci and Son Bakery".  But in time, it would be right and proper for the older one to step aside and perhaps retire.  Yes, the sign might remain unchanged, or not.  But, particularly in the older Jewish and Italian neighborhoods, there might be a gathering of the other small businesses, and Mr. Bertellucci (or Goldstein) might stand behind his son's chair, put his hands on his son's shoulders, and announce the change.  It might sound something like, "this is my son.  He's in charge now.  I am proud of him.  Let him take his rightful place here.".  Sounds like what we have here. 
And the passage here shows the earthly genealogy of Jesus.  Worth the read.  One of the functions of the old Temple complex in Jerusalem, was the record of the genealogy, the tribal records, of the Jews.  With the destruction of the Temple, that was lost.  This is the ONE we have left.  It's important.  Note that there are some names here of people who did not come from respectable Jewish families, but the Lord had a different opinion on the matter.

Luke 3

1	Now in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, Pontius Pilate being governor of Judaea, and Herod being tetrarch of Galilee, and his brother Philip tetrarch of Ituraea and of the region of Trachonitis, and Lysanias the tetrarch of Abilene,
2	Annas and Caiaphas being the high priests, the word of God came unto John the son of Zacharias in the wilderness.
3	And he came into all the country about Jordan, preaching the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins;
4	As it is written in the book of the words of Esaias the prophet, saying, The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.
5	Every valley shall be filled, and every mountain and hill shall be brought low; and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough ways shall be made smooth;
6	And all flesh shall see the salvation of God.
7	Then said he to the multitude that came forth to be baptized of him, O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come?
8	Bring forth therefore fruits worthy of repentance, and begin not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to our father: for I say unto you, That God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham.
9	And now also the axe is laid unto the root of the trees: every tree therefore which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.
10	And the people asked him, saying, What shall we do then?
11	He answereth and saith unto them, He that hath two coats, let him impart to him that hath none; and he that hath meat, let him do likewise.
12	Then came also publicans to be baptized, and said unto him, Master, what shall we do?
13	And he said unto them, Exact no more than that which is appointed you.
14	And the soldiers likewise demanded of him, saying, And what shall we do? And he said unto them, Do violence to no man, neither accuse any falsely; and be content with your wages.
15	And as the people were in expectation, and all men mused in their hearts of John, whether he were the Christ, or not;
16	John answered, saying unto them all, I indeed baptize you with water; but one mightier than I cometh, the latchet of whose shoes I am not worthy to unloose: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost and with fire:
17	Whose fan is in his hand, and he will throughly purge his floor, and will gather the wheat into his garner; but the chaff he will burn with fire unquenchable.
18	And many other things in his exhortation preached he unto the people.
19	But Herod the tetrarch, being reproved by him for Herodias his brother Philip's wife, and for all the evils which Herod had done,
20	Added yet this above all, that he shut up John in prison.
21	Now when all the people were baptized, it came to pass, that Jesus also being baptized, and praying, the heaven was opened,
22	And the Holy Ghost descended in a bodily shape like a dove upon him, and a voice came from heaven, which said, Thou art my beloved Son; in thee I am well pleased.
23	And Jesus himself began to be about thirty years of age, being (as was supposed) the son of Joseph, which was the son of Heli,
24	Which was the son of Matthat, which was the son of Levi, which was the son of Melchi, which was the son of Janna, which was the son of Joseph,
25	Which was the son of Mattathias, which was the son of Amos, which was the son of Naum, which was the son of Esli, which was the son of Nagge,
26	Which was the son of Maath, which was the son of Mattathias, which was the son of Semei, which was the son of Joseph, which was the son of Juda,
27	Which was the son of Joanna, which was the son of Rhesa, which was the son of Zorobabel, which was the son of Salathiel, which was the son of Neri,
28	Which was the son of Melchi, which was the son of Addi, which was the son of Cosam, which was the son of Elmodam, which was the son of Er,
29	Which was the son of Jose, which was the son of Eliezer, which was the son of Jorim, which was the son of Matthat, which was the son of Levi,
30	Which was the son of Simeon, which was the son of Juda, which was the son of Joseph, which was the son of Jonan, which was the son of Eliakim,
31	Which was the son of Melea, which was the son of Menan, which was the son of Mattatha, which was the son of Nathan, which was the son of David,
32	Which was the son of Jesse, which was the son of Obed, which was the son of Booz, which was the son of Salmon, which was the son of Naasson,
33	Which was the son of Aminadab, which was the son of Aram, which was the son of Esrom, which was the son of Phares, which was the son of Juda,
34	Which was the son of Jacob, which was the son of Isaac, which was the son of Abraham, which was the son of Thara, which was the son of Nachor,
35	Which was the son of Saruch, which was the son of Ragau, which was the son of Phalec, which was the son of Heber, which was the son of Sala,
36	Which was the son of Cainan, which was the son of Arphaxad, which was the son of Sem, which was the son of Noe, which was the son of Lamech,
37	Which was the son of Mathusala, which was the son of Enoch, which was the son of Jared, which was the son of Maleleel, which was the son of Cainan,
38	Which was the son of Enos, which was the son of Seth, which was the son of Adam, which was the son of God.