How does God react towards this unfaithfulness? When Jehoshaphat ruled and kept his heart set towards following God Judah was blessed with a time of peace because the dread of God was upon the nations surrounding Judah. Once Judah started to play the harlot, just as Israel, God removed the dread of Himself from the surrounding nations and Judah was invaded.

When we volitionally follow God and seek to keep His commandments He may readily choose to shelter you from harm. When we play the harlot to whatever idol we choose God may use hardship to nudge us back to Him. Can any guarantee of favor from God be obtained? There is nothing good or bad that I can do that will change how God will choose to interact in my life. I believe that there is something that happens when we seek to follow God wholeheartedly but I cannot fully express that in words. I exhort you to cling to God with all of your heart, mind, soul, and strength. How does submission to God work? It is a daily relationship that blossoms into a love for God as you learn who He is. It is a mystery to me but I am enjoying new facets to this sojourning with God on a daily basis.

In the first chapter of Joshua God reaffirms the leadership of Joshua and His desire to bless the Israelites. God details all the lands that will become a possession of the Israelites. God promises that, “no man will be able to stand before you all the days of your life. Just as I have been with Moses, I will be with you; I will not fail you or forsake you.” (Deuteronomy 1:5) The people living in the promised land were filled with a sense of fear, dismay, and dread over the coming of the Israelites. The signs and wonders that God performed for the Israelites were known far and wide and increased the fear of Israel because He was their God.

Joshua chapter 1 encourages me to be strong and courageous. The leadership of Israel had changed and the people needed to know they could trust the leadership of Joshua. Their benchmark for a great leader was Moses so the people desired to follow Joshua but they wanted to be assured that God would be with Joshua as He was with Moses and that Joshua would be strong and courageous. What does it mean to be strong and courageous? I think source strength can be found in Deuteronomy 1:7,8 “Only be strong and very courageous; be careful to do according to all the law which Moses My servant commanded you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left so that you may have success wherever you go. This book of the law shall not depart from you mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it; for then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have success.” The center of strength and courage is found when a person centers their life upon the Bible and the truths therein. Where do you place your hope for strength and courage? I know that my foundation of strength and courage is being built up on a consistent and daily basis as I seek to know Jesus Christ through the studying of scripture.

The narrative of Joshua starts in chapter 2 when spies enter into the promised land to spy on the cities of the land especially Jericho. The men were soon discovered and hidden by a woman named Rahab who hid them in her house. Have you heard this story before? Every wonder why she was able to hide these men so easily? Why did people not see a woman escorting men into her house? The key fact is that Rahab was a harlot and she commonly would have brought men into her house was key in her ability to hide these men. I am continually amazed that God will use the least people of this world in the greatest ways. We are too often feeling like we live in an exclusive club of the people that God only choose to uses. The fact that God used a prostitute to saves these men points to the truth that He looks at a persons heart and we all too often judge by outer  appearance. Rahab knew that God was on Israel’s side and she sought protection for herself and her family from the men she hid. What an amazing trust she had by acknowledging that God was in control, that it was futile to fight against God’s will by alerting the city, and knowing her only salvation would come at the hand of God. This story sounds very much like my journey of faith with God. I acknowledge my helplessness, God’s power, and His authoring of salvation. Where do you trust to obtain salvation? Will you believe that Jesus Christ is the only way for you to find help?

The most interesting question I had from Hosea was, “What kind of man would take a harlot for a wife?”. It is simple to say that it would be a man who was so confident in who God is because it is counter intuition to take a harlot as a wife. Do we trust God enough to follow Him no matter what He asks or where we find ourselves. I wonder if I would have reacted as Hosea and take a harlot as a wife. I pray that I will grow in my faith to trust God more.