Thoughts and Notes
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Jericho’s Jubilee
Joshua 6 is the account of the fall of Jericho. The people were to march around the city for a week while the priests blew trumpets until the walls came down. It is interesting to note that the trumpets used here are not the silver trumpets normally used to call the camp to action. These…
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Commissioning
Joshua was commissioned to lead the people of Israel over the Jordan into the land that God had promised to give them. His obedience is required. God says, “be strong and courageous… be careful to do according to all the law…do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left…the book of…
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The Gift of Testing
It is instructive to look at God’s call to Abraham to offer up Isaac in light of James. James says, “every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.” Isaac, the son of the promise, was…
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Baptism and New Creation
In the beginning, God created the the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters. The heavens were made fully formed. There is no progressive shaping of heaven, but rather…
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Baptism as Baptism
There is a very good and right and helpful association between baptism and circumcision, but it is also important to remember that baptism is baptism. There is much more in the Scriptures about baptism than about circumcision. There were many and various baptisms – sprinklings and cleansings associated with worship and the offerings. These were applied…
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Blood Covering
Leviticus 4 lays out the ritual of the sin offering, which deals with “unintentional” transgressions – the sin of wandering or being led astray. This is not the high-handed sin of open rebellion and refusal to repent. In this offering, the primary element is the blood, which covers the sin of the people. It’s important…
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Death of the Old Man
Romans 6 is a major amplification on the theme of putting off the old man and putting on the new. The flesh of the old creation is put to death in baptism, buried in Christ’s death, and raised to life in the new creation in Christ. If we have died to sin, we can no…
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Thine only son
God’s call to Abraham to sacrifice Isaac did not come in a vacuum. It is set within a greater context of all God’s prior dealings with Abraham. In chapter 12, “Yahweh said to Abram, ‘Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. And I…
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One new body
The hardening of Israel in Paul’s day is like the hardening of Pharaoh. They both harden themselves and are hardened by God. But Israel’s hardening is only partial. Paul says that God is making Israel jealous by fully including the Gentiles. This acts as a wake up call to the remnant in Israel and they…
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That you may know
Everything that God does in creation, in history, everything He gives us in his word and through His son, He gives as a revelation of Himself. All of history, all of the law, all of His dealings with His people together show us who He is. Look how often in scripture we see, “that you…