+ DAILY PRAYER +
After all the nation finished crossing the Jordan, Yahweh said to Joshua, 2 “Take twelve men from the people, one man from each tribe, 3 and command them, saying, ‘Take for yourselves twelve stones from the middle of the Jordan where the priests’ feet stood firmly, and bring them over with you, and set them up in the place where you will camp tonight…
This Daily Devotion covers the first five books of the Bible, Genesis through Deuteronomy also called the Books of Moses or the Pentateuch, in a period of one year in a Monday through Friday format, the Psalms and order of devotion follow those presented in The Treasury of Daily Prayer from Concordia Publishing House.
In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
Amen.
Hear my prayer, O Lord; give ear to my pleas for mercy!
In your faithfulness answer me, in your righteousness!
Evening and morning and at noon I utter my complaint and moan,
and he hears my voice.
Cast your burden on the Lord, and he will sustain you;
He will never permit the righteous to be moved.
Psalm 107:5-9
5 hungry and thirsty, their soul fainted within them.
6 Then they cried to the LORD in their trouble,
and he delivered them from their distress.
7 He led them by a straight way
till they reached a city to dwell in.
8 Let them thank the LORD for his steadfast love,
for his wondrous works to the children of man!
9 For he satisfies the longing soul,
and the hungry soul he fills with good things.
Reading for August 18th Joshua 4-5
The Israelites Make a Memorial
4 After all the nation finished crossing the Jordan, Yahweh said to Joshua, 2 “Take twelve men from the people, ?one man from each tribe?, 3 and command them, saying, ‘Take for yourselves twelve stones from the middle of the Jordan where the priests’ feet stood firmly, and bring them over with you, and set them up in ?the place where you will camp tonight?.’ ” 4 So Joshua summoned the twelve men whom he had appointed from the ?Israelites?, one from each tribe. 5 And Joshua said to them, “Cross over before the ark of Yahweh your God to the middle of the Jordan, and each one of you lift up a stone on your shoulder, according to the number of the tribes of the ?Israelites?, 6 so that this may be a reminder among you. When your children ask in the future, saying, ‘?What do these stones mean to you??’ 7 you will say to them that the waters of the Jordan were cut off ?from before? the ark of the covenant of Yahweh. When it crossed the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan were cut off. These stones will be as a memorial for the ?Israelites? for eternity.”
8 Thus the ?Israelites? did as Joshua commanded. They took twelve stones from the middle of the Jordan as Yahweh told Joshua, according to the number of the tribes of the ?Israelites?, and they carried them over with them to ?the camp?, and they put them there. 9 Then Joshua set up twelve stones in the middle of the Jordan, in the place where the feet of the priests carrying the ark of the covenant stood, and they are there to this day. 10 The priests carrying the ark remained standing in the middle of the Jordan until everything that Yahweh commanded Joshua to tell the people was finished, according to all that Moses commanded Joshua. And the people hastily crossed over.
11 And it happened, when all the people had finished crossing, the ark of Yahweh and the priests crossed over in front of the people. 12 The children of Reuben, Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh crossed over armed before the ?Israelites?, as Moses told them. 13 About forty thousand armed for fighting crossed over before the presence of Yahweh to the plains of Jericho for battle. 14 On that day Yahweh exalted Joshua ?in the sight? of all Israel, and they respected him as they respected Moses all the days of his life.
15 Then Yahweh said to Joshua, saying, 16 “Command the priests carrying the ark of the testimony ?to come up? from the Jordan.” 17 So Joshua commanded the priests, saying, “Come up from the Jordan.” 18 And it happened that when the priests carrying the ark came up from the middle of the Jordan, and the soles of the priests’ feet ?touched dry land?, the waters of the Jordan returned to their place and flowed over all its banks as before.
19 And the people came up from the Jordan on the tenth day of the first month, and they camped in Gilgal on the eastern edge of Jericho. 20 And those twelve stones that they took from the Jordan, Joshua set up in Gilgal. 21 And he said to the ?Israelites?, “When your children ask in the future ?their parents?, ‘?What is the meaning of these stones??’ 22 you will let your children know by saying, ‘Israel crossed this Jordan on dry ground.’ 23 For Yahweh your God dried up the waters of the Jordan before you, until you had crossed, just as Yahweh your God did to the ?Red Sea?, which he dried up before us until we had crossed over, 24 so that all the peoples of the earth may know that the hand of Yahweh is strong, so that you may fear Yahweh your God ?forever?.”
The Israelites Are Circumcised
5 And it happened, when all the kings of the Amorites who were beyond the Jordan to the west, and all the kings of the Canaanites who were by the sea heard that Yahweh dried up the waters of the Jordan in front of the ?Israelites? until they crossed over, their hearts melted, and ?there was no courage left in them? because of the presence of the ?Israelites?.
2 At that time Yahweh said to Joshua, “Make for yourself knives of flint, and circumcise the ?Israelites? a second time.” 3 So Joshua made knives of flint, and he circumcised the ?Israelites? at the hill of the foreskins. 4 This is the reason why Joshua circumcised all the people: all the males who went out from Egypt, all the warriors, died in the wilderness as they went out from Egypt ?on the journey?. 5 For all the people who left were circumcised, but all the people born in the wilderness ?on the journey? after they left from Egypt were not circumcised. 6 For forty years the ?Israelites? traveled in the wilderness until all the nation, the warriors that left Egypt, perished, because they did not listen to the voice of Yahweh. To them Yahweh swore that they would not see the land that he swore to their ancestors to give to us, a land flowing with milk and honey. 7 And it was their children whom he raised in their place that Joshua circumcised, for they were uncircumcised, because they had not been circumcised ?on the journey?.
The Israelites Celebrate Passover in Canaan
8 And it happened, when all the nation had finished circumcising, they remained where they were in the camp until they recovered. 9 And Yahweh said to Joshua, “Today I have rolled away the disgrace of Egypt from you.” Therefore, the name of that place is called Gilgal to this day. 10 And the ?Israelites? camped at Gilgal, and they kept the Passover on the fourteenth day of the month, in the evening, on the plains of Jericho. 11 On the next day after the Passover, on that very day, they ate from the produce of the land, unleavened cakes and roasted corn. 12 And the manna ceased the day after, when they started eating the produce of the land, and there was no longer manna for the ?Israelites?. They ate from the crop of the land of Canaan in that year.
The Commander of Yahweh’s Army Appears Before Joshua
13 And it happened, when Joshua was by Jericho, ?he looked up?, and he saw a man standing ?opposite him? with his sword drawn in his hand. And Joshua went to him and said, “Are you with us, or with our adversaries?” 14 And he said, “Neither. I have come now as the commander of Yahweh’s army.” And Joshua fell on his face to the earth, and ?he bowed down? and said to him, “What is my lord commanding his servant?” 15 The commander of Yahweh’s army said to Joshua, “Take off your sandals from your feet, for the place where you are standing is holy.” And Joshua did so.
Lord’s Prayer
Daily Prayer
O God, by the patient suffering of Your only begotten Son, You have beaten down the pride of the old enemy. Now help us, we humbly pray, to imitate all that our Lord has of His goodness borne for our sake, that after His example, we may hear with patience all that is adverse to us, through Jesus Christ, our Lord.
Concluding Prayer
Heavenly Father, send Your Holy Spirit into our hearts to direct and rule us according to Your will, to comfort us in all our afflictions, to defend us from all error, and to lead us into all truth; through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.
