Day 117
Joshua 11:1-12:24, Luke 24:1-35, Psalm 51:10-19
All the war and killing seems to be very harsh, especially when it is said to be in God's name, and because God said so! It is very hard for us to read and even harder for us to understand. There are lots of things that we can add in to this mix to try and fathom what is going on, but not many of them help us put together the God of the resurrection and the God of Joshua.
These are God's holy people, this is to be God's holy nation, he has needed a clean slate before in the life of this group of people and here is a clean slate again. But surely that can't be a motive for God. So what else could there be? There are a million and one questions that we can ask about the motives of God though and we can't answer a lot of them. The readings come together though to show us the God who sent his son so that all of this would no longer be necessary.
There are two sides to the Psalm today, there is the side that speaks of the God who saves us from guilt and who does not require sacrifice. This is the God who made the sacrifice to end all sacrifices and brought about all forgiveness, the God who tries to ensure that blood would not be let again. The other side is the God who creates a pure heart within us and ensures we are not cast from his presence. This all brought about by the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
When it seems as though we cannot escape the death and destruction, when it seems as though we can count the casualties in our life, one by one, then we can turn to the God who sustains us and ensures that his Spirit is with us. Hold the risen Christ close, and hold the words of the Psalm close for this is our God, the God of life and resurrection
All the war and killing seems to be very harsh, especially when it is said to be in God's name, and because God said so! It is very hard for us to read and even harder for us to understand. There are lots of things that we can add in to this mix to try and fathom what is going on, but not many of them help us put together the God of the resurrection and the God of Joshua.
These are God's holy people, this is to be God's holy nation, he has needed a clean slate before in the life of this group of people and here is a clean slate again. But surely that can't be a motive for God. So what else could there be? There are a million and one questions that we can ask about the motives of God though and we can't answer a lot of them. The readings come together though to show us the God who sent his son so that all of this would no longer be necessary.
There are two sides to the Psalm today, there is the side that speaks of the God who saves us from guilt and who does not require sacrifice. This is the God who made the sacrifice to end all sacrifices and brought about all forgiveness, the God who tries to ensure that blood would not be let again. The other side is the God who creates a pure heart within us and ensures we are not cast from his presence. This all brought about by the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
When it seems as though we cannot escape the death and destruction, when it seems as though we can count the casualties in our life, one by one, then we can turn to the God who sustains us and ensures that his Spirit is with us. Hold the risen Christ close, and hold the words of the Psalm close for this is our God, the God of life and resurrection
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