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March 29, 2017

No Better Guide Than God...

If men will walk in the path that God has marked out for them, they will have a counselor whose wisdom is far above any human wisdom...

Joshua 1:8

This Book of the Law shall not depart from your 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 good success

Joshua 1:8
In the days of the wilderness wandering the Lord had made abundant provision for His children to keep in remembrance the words of His law. After the settlement in Canaan the divine precepts were to be repeated daily in every home; they were to be written plainly upon the doorposts and gates, and spread upon memorial tablets. They were to be set to music and chanted by young and old.

No Better Guide Than God
If men will walk in the path that God has marked out for them, they will have a counselor whose wisdom is far above any human wisdom...

Joshua was a wise general because God was his guide. The first sword that Joshua used was the sword of the Spirit, the Word of God. Will the men who are handling large responsibilities read the first chapter of Joshua? [Joshua 1:1, 5, 7 quoted.]
Do you think that all these charges would have been given to Joshua if there had been no danger of his being brought under misleading influences? It was because the strongest influences were to be brought to bear against his principles of righteousness that the Lord in mercy charged him not to turn to the right hand or to the left. He was to follow a course of strictest integrity. [Joshua 1:8, 9 quoted.] If there had been no peril before Joshua, God would not over and over again have charged him to be of good courage. But amid all his cares, Joshua had his God to guide him.
There is no greater deception than for man to suppose that in any difficulty he can find a better guide than God, a wiser counselor in any emergency, a stronger defense under any circumstance (MS 66, 1898).
7, 8. Secret of Joshua's Success—The Lord has a great work to be done in our world. To every man He has given His work for man to do. But man is not to make man his guide, lest he be led astray; this is always unsafe. While Bible religion embodies the principles of activity in service, at the same time there is the necessity of asking for wisdom daily from the Source of all wisdom. What was Joshua's victory? Thou shalt meditate upon the Word of God day and night. The word of the Lord came to Joshua just before he passed over Jordan.... [Joshua 1:7, 8 quoted.] This was the secret of Joshua's victory. He made God his Guide (Letter 188, 1901).
Counselors Should Cherish Everything Coming From God—Those holding the positions of counselors should be unselfish men, men of faith, men of prayer, men that will not dare to rely upon their own human wisdom, but will seek earnestly for light and intelligence as to what is the best manner of conducting their business. Joshua, the commander of Israel, searched the books diligently in which Moses had faithfully chronicled the directions given by God,—His requirements, reproofs, and restrictions,—lest he should move unadvisedly. Joshua was afraid to trust his own impulses, or his own wisdom. He regarded everything that came from Christ, who was enshrouded by the pillar of cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night, as of sufficient importance to be sacredly cherished (Letter 14, 1886).


Joshua 1:8 "This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success."
“The book of the law”: A reference to Scripture, specifically Genesis through Deuteronomy, written by Moses (compare Exodus 17:14; Deut. 31:9-11, 24).
 “Meditate therein day and night”: To read with thoughtfulness, to linger over God’s Word. The parts of Scripture they possessed have always been the main spiritual food of those who served Him, e.g., Job (Job 23:12); the psalmist (Psalm 1:1-3); Jeremiah (Jer. 15:16); and Jesus (John 4:34).
If Joshua wanted to be successful, he needed to “Meditate” on (repeatedly read and recite), the words of God constantly and continually, follow them exclusively, and accept them totally (Psalm 1:1-3). Obedience begins with a relentless quest to know and take to heart God’s Word. Throughout his life, Joshua heeded what God told him in this divine consultation (23:6).
Prosperous … success”: The promise of God’s blessing on the great responsibility God has given Joshua. The principle here is central to all spiritual effort and enterprise, namely the deep understanding and application of Scripture at all times.
This verse indicates both the existence of the “law” by the time of Joshua and its Mosaic authorship (compare 8:31-35).
Their entire lives were to be guided by the law of God. They were to hide the Words of the law in their hearts so they would never forget them. They were to think on the reason for them, as well as the demand of keeping them. The law had to become part of their very beings. They will prosper and have great success if they keep this law of God.

Jeremiah 30:11. God is ever with His people even though He may have to chastise them (Heb. 12:5–8). He will not cast off the one who is truly His (Gen. 28:15Deut. 31:6–8Josh. 1:5–9Heb. 13:56). 

Principles of Interpretation:

Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. 
2 Tim. 2:15 As we study the Word of God, we should apply both the spiritual and literal principles of interpretation. The spiritual principles include prayer (Ps. 119:18), cleansing 1 John 1:9), and the illumination by the Holy Spirit (1 Cor. 2:12-16). The principle of literally understanding scripture is to interpret it according to: (1) the mind of the author, (2) its historical background; (3) the context of the passage; and (4) the basic rule of grammar. If we desire the will of God in our lives, we must regularly and systematically interpret God's Word according to its proper meaning!  




Asbury Bible Commentary – A. God's Charge to Joshua (1:1–18)
A. God's Charge to Joshua (1:1–18)
Ch. 1 introduces most of the themes of the book. God's sovereignty and initiative are highlighted. It was God who commanded Joshua to end thirty-eight years of Israelite inactivity by leading the people across the Jordan to possess the land. The beginning of the charge to Joshua contains three promises: (1) All the land will be theirs, (2) no enemy will withstand them, and (3) God will be with them and will not forsake them.
We should not spiritualize this historical narrative when we consider whether it offers anything of promise for God's people after Joshua. We cannot conclude that because God promised all this to Joshua he promises a Christian today a particular house, spouse, or position. The transfer of a specific promise in a particular ancient context to a particular modern context is risky because the contexts usually are not parallel.
But we can make a legitimate transfer of promise or principle from the specific context of the ancient situation to the general human context in all ages. God gives Christians all the “land” of their experience for an eternal inheritance. Even though Christians may suffer reverses in this life, ultimately no enemy of the soul can stand before those who trust in God. No Christian ever awoke to find that God had forsaken him/her.
The land of Israel was always more than a physical entity; it was also a central part of the spiritual inheritance of Israel. If we err by spiritualizing the material or the temporal, we err equally by unspiritualizing them. God created the human race with one foot in the world of space, time, and matter and the other foot in the eternal world. The spiritual creature is also the material creature; for this life, at least, our material destiny is an important part of our spiritual destiny. While we are here, the two really cannot be separated. The spiritual importance of the land of Israel for the redemption of the human race is central in its Conquest and allotment.
God commanded Joshua three times (vv. 6, 7, 9) to be strong and very courageous. Then, for good measure, the people said they would follow Joshua if he would be strong and courageous. Israel had failed to enter the land years before because they lacked the courage to trust in God. Failure to receive the good gifts God would give his people was not only Israel's problem.
The command for care in keeping God's laws (vv. 7-8) is not works righteousness. The keeping of the law was the external evidence of Israel's faithfulness to God. A right relationship with another person will show in actions and attitudes pleasing to that person.
The land as the promised rest for God's people is also presented in this first chapter. What Israel had held in hope for many years was soon to be reality.

Hoe kan jy se dat jy iemand lief het as jou hart en verstand nie daar is nie? Hoeveel meer as daai iemand se Naam Jesus is?
Die voorwaardes om wysheid te bekom is: n mens moet soek soos n prospekteer sou soek vir goud...
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Die voorwaardes om wysheid te bekom is: n mens moet soek soos n prospekteer sou soek vir goud...
“For the Lord gives wisdom; from His mouth come knowledge and understanding
(Prov. 2:6)
The conditions for obtaining wisdom are given first: one must earnestly seek it, as a prospector would search for gold (vv.1-4). It is not an undirected search, however, since the parent’s instruction is the basis. The consequences of obtaining wisdom are then listed (vv.5-22): knowledge of God (vv.5-8) and right conduct 
(vv.9-22).’
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KING JAMES STUDY BIBLE

Die bybel se dat: Slegs diegene wat verstandig (die wil van God doen) is, is waarlik en volkome lewend (gered) (Spreuke 8:35)

Blessed is the one who finds wisdom and the one who gets understanding Proverbs 3:13
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obedience is more important to God than worship

1 John 2:27

27 But the anointing that you received from Him abides in you, and you have no need that anyone should teach you. But as his anointing teaches you about everything, and is true, and is no lie—just as it has taught you, abide in Him.

1 Corinthians 2:12-16

12 Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might understand the things freely given us by God.13 And we impart this in words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the Spiritinterpreting spiritual truths to those who are spiritual.
14 The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned. 15 The spiritual person judges all things, but is himself to be judged by no one. 16 “For who has understood the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him?” But we have the mind of Christ.



#Wisdom #Obiedence