Look inside this book.Where the Bush is Burning: A Daily Devotional by [Thomas Tice]

Tag: Joshua
A New View of Christ

A New View of Christ

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A New View of Christ

So He said, “No, but as Commander of the army of the Lord I have now come.”

Joshua 5:14

There is always more of Christ for us to see. Christ is like a large, very finely detailed, landscape portrait. The longer we gaze upon Him, the more we see. As the Scripture unfolds, we see Him as ‘the seed of the woman,’ ‘Melchizedek, the King of Righteousness,’ ‘the Provided Lamb,’ ‘the King of Peace,’ and the Burning Bush. Here we see Him as ‘the Commander of the Lord’s Army.’ These are only a few examples of the abundance of perspectives which God gives us of the Person of Christ. Our own personal experience of Christ corroborates this idea. When we first saw Christ, we saw Him as the Dying Savior. As we have come to know Him more, day by day we have come to see Him as, ‘the Shepherd and Bishop of our souls.’ To our wondering eyes He has shown Himself to be ‘the Rose of Sharon, the Lily of the Valley, the Loving Bridegroom, the Root and the Offspring of David, and the Bright and Morning Star.’ We could pile title upon title, and description upon description and would, in doing so, barely scratch the surface of all that Christ is. In our text today, Christ is showing Himself to Joshua in a new way. This is the view of Christ which Joshua most needed at that particular moment of His life. We may have the reasonable expectation that Christ will do the same for us. Christ reveals Himself to us in the way in which we most need to see Him at the time. So today may Christ thus show Himself to us.

Our Gracious and Loving God.
We praise You for every new view of Christ, which You bestow upon us.
We rejoice in every fine detail of the Altogether Lovely One,
which You display to us with a never-ending revelation.

Tomm Tice
Where the Bush is Burning
Timing is Everything

Timing is Everything

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Timing is Everything

So He said, “No, but as Commander of the army of the Lord I have now come.”

Joshua 5:14

Timing is everything. We may do the right thing, yet do it at the wrong time. Hopefully, we learn as we go. It is appropriate for us to raise the subject of discussion at the right moment.  It is appropriate for us to serve food when is it hot and ready to eat.  It is appropriate for us to arrive at the appointed hour for a meeting or social event. There is a time to be serious and a time to be humorous. There is a time to work and a time to rest. There is a time speak and a time to be silent.  God has perfect timing. Although we often fail to understand the wisdom of why He does things when He does them, if we could understand things from His Divine, Panoramic Perspective, we would better understand that He does things in the ‘fullness of time.’ In our text for today we hear Christ say, ‘No, but as Commander of the army of the Lord I have now come.’ Notice, please, this portion of the text, ‘I have now come?’ This is significant, for this reason, Joshua was about to embark on the greatest undertaking of his life. He now occupied the place of Moses as the leader of the nation of Israel. He had the responsibility of leading them into the uncharted territory of conquering the Promised Land. He had before him a daunting task, full of decisions both great and small. It was at this point that Christ revealed Himself to Joshua. So it is with us. Christ shows Himself to us when we need to see Him most. He reveals Himself to us when we need the most wisdom, guidance, understanding and aid. Today, let us both desire and expect such a sight of Christ. We will find Him Faithful. He will appear when we need Him most. His timing is perfect.

Our Gracious Master and God, we praise You this day,
that You appear to our aid in the hour in which we stand most in need of You.
You calm us with Your Presence, illuminate us with Your Wisdom
and You enable us with Your Strength.

Tomm Tice

Where the Bush is Burning
I Have Now Come

I Have Now Come

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I Have Now Come

So He said, “No, but as Commander of the army of the Lord I have now come.”

Joshua 5:14

Joshua was the new leader of Israel. He had been the understudy of Moses, the man of God, for years. God had selected Joshua to be the one to lead the nation of Israel in their possession of the promised land. The scene before us occurs at the beginning of that daunting endeavor. In the passage from which our text arises, Christ, in pre-incarnate form, appears to Joshua. He appears dressed for battle. Joshua does not recognize Him immediately and challenges Him with, ‘Are you for us, or for our adversaries?’ Christ responds with, ‘No, but as Commander of the Army of the Lord I have now come.’ It is good perhaps for us to take a moment to consider the larger context in which this appearance occurs. The book of Joshua begins with the words, ‘After the death of Moses,’ followed by the words, ‘directly addressed to Joshua, ‘Moses My servant is dead.’ In order for Joshua to assume the leadership of Israel, Moses, his mentor, had to be off the scene. Moses, in the life of Joshua, was a means to an end, not the end in itself. So it is often with us. We value and appreciate the mentors whom God has graciously bestowed upon us. If, however, we are to see more of Christ, God removes those mentors from the scene, in His time.  So, here we find that Christ did not reveal Himself more fully to Joshua until Moses, Joshua’s mentor was gone. Although it may be difficult for us to say goodbye to those who have helped us along the way, let us realize that their departure is necessary if we would see more of Christ. Christ makes no mistake in His Providential Plan for us. He may remove that which is good, but only to the purpose of providing something better.

O, Captain of our salvation,
we rejoice in all of Your ways.
We praise You that in Your Providential plan,
You will ever bring us to see more of Your Own Great Self.

Tomm Tice

Where the Bush is Burning

A Clear Confession from a Tragic Figure

A Clear Confession from a Tragic Figure

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A Clear Confession from a Tragic Figure

And Achan answered Joshua and said, 
“Indeed I have sinned against the Lord God of Israel, 
and this is what I have done…
Joshua 7:20

     We do not admire Achan for several reasons.  He disobeyed God at Jericho, hid his sin as long as possible, and caused the death of thirty-six men of Israel.  In one sense, he is the type of sinner on the Day of Judgement with sin exposed and confessed, but too late.  In another way, Achan serves as a lesson for us all that we cannot sin without affecting other people.  The key element which is lacking in Achan’s confession is repentance.  Repentance is vital to true confession.  There is one way, however in which we as Christians can learn a good lesson from Achan for our own spiritual lives regarding confession of sin.

     The first aspect of Achan’s confession worth our consideration is that he took the responsibility for what he had done.  He said, “I have sinned.”  We ought to do just the same.  Let us stop shifting the blame for the sins we commit by pointing the finger at someone or something else.

     Another noteworthy element of his confessions is that he called sin by its name.  He did not try to identify sin as a “little mistake,” a “personal glitch,” or an “error in judgement.”  We want to get away from the psychobabble jargon that calls sin by any title other than what it is.

     Another helpful aspect of Achan’s confession is that he clearly declared against whom he had sinned. He says, “I have sinned against the Lord God of Israel.”  His words remind us of David’s confession in Psalm 51:4, “Against, Thee, Thee only, have I sinned and done this evil in Thy sight.”  No matter who else suffers from the effects of our sin, we want to remember that we sin against the One True, Holy God.  Achan knew that, and said so.

     It is as well worthwhile to consider that this man did not glibly generalize his sin.  Our text says “and thus and thus have I done.”  The next verse enumerates his sin in graphic detail.  We ought not sin in specific and then confess in general.  Achan, whatever other defects he had, on this occasion enunciated exactly the kind of thing which should proceed from our mouths when we have transgressed God’s law.  Here is an excellent pattern of clear confession for us to follow.  What we want to add is that true heart repentance which is so vital.  Let us learn what we can from Achan’s confession.

O God and Father,
We do sin against Thee.
Give us honest hearts
And confessing lips.
Purify us in the cleansing blood of Christ.

Where the Bush is Burning
Tomm Tice

Besieging Jericho

Besieging Jericho

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Besieging Jericho
Joshua 6

So the people shouted when the priests blew the trumpets. 
And it happened when the people heard the sound of the trumpet, 
and the people shouted with a great shout, 
that the wall fell down flat. 
Then the people went up into the city, 
every man straight before him, and they took the city.
Joshua 6:20

     We tend to think of Jericho in terms of the exciting climax of this story.  We imagine the roar of triumph, the cracking, crumbling walls, the sack of the city, and the destruction of all its inhabitants save the family of Rahab.  We would do well, however, to consider what went before this resounding victory.  Six days of faithful adherence to God’s instructions plus one day of special effort preceded the fall of Jericho’s walls.  Here is instruction for us.

     Our occupation ought to be to obey God faithfully as we expectantly await His intervention.  Israel’s soldier’s were obeying the Lord’s instructions exactly during the siege of Jericho.  Day after day they march around the city without so much as a word passing from any lips.  The instructions were very specific, and their obedience was very complete.  So ought we to obey the instructions completely which God gives to us.  We should not deceive ourselves into thinking that He will bless an obedience that is half-hearted and half-done.  That said, it is interesting to notice that for all their obedience they were failing to see any visible results.  This would have been hard for the strong men of action to endure.  It is hard to continue on year after year when we see little, if any, appreciable results.  The Israelite soldiers however, continued onward, waiting for God’s intervention.

     We also need to adopt this practice.  We must remain faithful on the one hand and expectant on the other.  When the seventh day arrived, the army pressed onward for one final, special effort.  They march seven times over all the ground they had covered before, they shouted with the fullness of victorious confidence, and God saw to it that they were not disappointed.  The shout, the rumble, the cracks in the walls, the crash of the stones, the cry of the citizens all combine to picture for us the obstacles which will disappear when God intervenes for us.

Our Lord and Our God,
We pray that we would render
Whole obedience to Thee,
Would remain faithful,
And rejoice at Thy intervention.

Where the Bush Is Burning
Tomm Tice

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