I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading. I had been using One Year Bible Online, but it was time for a change.

Today, I am reading and commenting on Joshua 1-4.

    Upon Moses’ death God spoke with Joshua. He gave him a message which can serve as encouragement to us. In that message God told Joshua to be strong and courageous several times. Further, God gave Joshua, and us, a reason to be strong and courageous; He, the Lord our God, will be with us wherever we go. He will not fail us, nor will He abandon us. In turn we must obey God’s instructions. He has given us a Book of Instructions, let us meditate on it day and night. If we meditate on the Book which God has given us, and strive to follow the instructions contained within to the best of our ability, God will be with us in all that we do.

    I am struck by the ingeniousness of the memorial which the Israelites set up to mark their crossing of the Jordan. They took twelve stones from the middle of the Jordan River and constructed a memorial out of them. Now, that might not strike us as much. However, stones which have been in the middle of a river for any length of time have distinctive characteristics which can be recognized for years after. Geologists use such characteristics to identify areas where bodies of water once existed but have been long gone. By taking stones out of the middle of the Jordan River and using them to build a memorial to their crossing, the children of Israel left clear evidence to their descendants that the story about the crossing was true.