READING GUIDE FOR DECEMBER 24, 2024: JOSHUA 3, REVELATION 15, PSALM 128 JOSHUA 3 Crossing the Jordan River into the Promised Land
The arrow marks the likely crossing location.
Finally, the time has come for Israel to cross the Jordan River and enter the promised land. For those of us who have been part of this reading plan, doesn’t it seem like it has been a long time coming? Imagine how long it felt for those experiencing it. The officers went throughout the camp giving the order to follow a safe distance behind the ark of the covenant. The ark was to provide direction for the people since they had never been this way before. The word of God provides us this direction. Like Israel, each day we are experiencing new situations unlike what has gone on before in our lives. It’s a bit scary.
Joshua told the people to prepare themselves for the miracles God would do the next day. It turns out that today is Christmas Eve. Christmas celebrates what we call the incarnation, which means the miracle of God the Son entering His world as a human infant so He could provide the only possible sacrifice for our sins. How might we prepare today for the celebration of this miracle? Consider attending the Christmas Eve service tonight at Yorktown Methodist Church.
Back to Joshua. He told the people to listen to God’s words. Let’s join them. Joshua said God’s miracle would be a sign that the seven people groups living in the promised land would be defeated by God. So, believers also know the miracles of the incarnation and the resurrection guarantee that God will defeat Satan and take us with Him to heaven. Joshua then said that when the priests carrying the ark rest their soles, by faith, in the river, the water flowing from the source will stand up in a heap and leave dry ground for the nation’s crossing. Just to put a cherry on top, this happened during the season when the river overflowed its banks. Of course, everything happened as God said. We can trust this Lord of all the earth to be faithful.
REVELATION 15: The chapter begins with seven angels holding seven last plagues. These are called “last” for with these, God’s wrath will be completed. (15:1) Before the plagues are poured out, the scene moves back to the throne of God where a multitude of saints sing the song of Moses and the Lamb. In their song, we can find several reasons to join them in praise: "Great and marvelous are your deeds, Lord God Almighty. Just and true are your ways, King of the ages. Who will not fear you, O Lord, and bring glory to your name? For you alone are holy. All nations will come and worship before you, for your righteous acts have been revealed." (Revelation 15:3-4)
They sing praise because God has done great and marvelous deeds. This reminds us that God is an active God. He is not just sitting in a distant heaven ignoring us.
READING FOR DECEMBER 24 CONTINUED: REVELATION 15, PSALM 128 They sing praise because God is the Lord God Almighty. There is no one like him and there is no other God but him. All the power of the Antichrist and the Beast and the Dragon are seen as nothing compared to the Lord God Almighty.
They sing praise because God’s ways are true and just. God’s deeds refer to things he does, but his ways are a reflection of his heart. It’s the reason he acts in certain ways. Even in this part of the Bible filled with pictures of God’s wrath against sinners, his ways are true and just. Even if it doesn’t make sense to us, we can trust that God will always be true and just.
They sing praise because God is the King of the Ages. At Christmas time, we remember the Magi who came looking for a King. They found the baby Jesus who is the King of the Kings and who will reign throughout eternity.
They sing praise because they fear the Lord. The “fear of the Lord” is used over 100 times in the Bible. The Fear of God is hard to define for it is to be experienced rather than analyzed. Christian author Jerry Bridges defines it as, “The fear of God is the animating and invigorating principle of a godly life. It is the well spring of all godly desires and aspirations.”
They sing praise because they want to bring glory to God’s name. The baby that we celebrate this week has been given the name that is exalted above all other names. (Philippians 2:9) We bring glory to his name when we honor his name.
They sing praise because God is holy. They sing, “For you ALONE are holy,” yet we are also called to be holy, and we are told that without holiness, no one will see God. (Hebrews 12:14) The difference is that God is holy, but we can only be made holy. God’s very essence is holy whereas we must come to the Christ-child to be changed and made holy.
They sing praise because God has revealed righteous acts. The best example of this is the life of Jesus. For 33 years, Jesus revealed the righteousness of God.
PSALM 128 The Psalmist tells us what a person who fears and follows God could generally expect from life. Of course, these blessings from God are based on His value system, are given in His timetable, and are contingent on our studying and obeying God’s word. With all that in mind, we can expect to enjoy the sustenance that we earn from our own hard work. In fact, we can expect the normal aspects of life to go well for us. Normally, if we are married, we can expect to be blessed with children, which we learned in Psalm 127 are clearly something to be desired in life. In fact, we will be especially blessed if we experience peaceful times and live to see our grandchildren. Consider if this has been our experience thus far. If so, give thanks to God who made it possible. If not, either start or keep fearing and following God and see what God does in His perfect timing! God, in his great wisdom, may have a different plan for some.
