DONNIE DAILY GEMS FOR WEDNESDAY MARCH 8:
WORD OF WISDOM
When you're in a dark place, don't complain, light a candle!
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DAILY DEVOTION
Tangled in the World
"Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free,
and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage. Behold, I Paul say unto
you, that if ye be circumcised, Christ shall profit you nothing. For I
testify again to every man that is circumcised, that he is a debtor to do
the whole law."
Galatians 5:1-3
In April of 2016 the crew of a fishing and sightseeing boat was scouting the
waters not far off the coast of California. They were looking for whales or
other large marine animals when they spotted a large leatherback sea turtle
that was struggling, entangled in a large mass of kelp. One of the crew
members who had grown up in Hawaii and whose family often rescued turtles
there jumped into the water and cut the seaweed from around the turtle's
flippers. Released from the restrictions, the turtle dove and swam rapidly
away.
The freedom that God gives to us as His children is not a license to do
whatever we choose, but the liberty to do what He has commanded. When we
wallow in the things of the world, seeking our pleasure and meaning outside
of God's will, we may think that we are free, but in truth we are simply
entangled by the deceitfulness of sin-and our walk will be hindered. The
things God calls and commands us to do cannot be done while sin restricts
our mobility.
"Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of
witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily
beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us"
(Hebrews 12:1). The allure of sin during the moment of temptation obscures
the chains that always follow. We need to be mindful of our high calling and
purpose as God's children and not be entangled with sin.
The snares of sin are not easy to see up front, but they are real-and need
to be avoided.
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DAILY BIBLE READING
Joshua 16-18New King James Version (NKJV)
Ephraim and West Manasseh
16 The lot fell to the children of Joseph from the Jordan, by Jericho, to
the waters of Jericho on the east, to the wilderness that goes up from
Jericho through the mountains to Bethel, 2 then went out from Bethel to
Luz,[a] passed along to the border of the Archites at Ataroth, 3 and went
down westward to the boundary of the Japhletites, as far as the boundary of
Lower Beth Horon to Gezer; and it ended at the sea.
4 So the children of Joseph, Manasseh and Ephraim, took their inheritance.
The Land of Ephraim
5 The border of the children of Ephraim, according to their families, was
thus: The border of their inheritance on the east side was Ataroth Addar as
far as Upper Beth Horon.
6 And the border went out toward the sea on the north side of Michmethath;
then the border went around eastward to Taanath Shiloh, and passed by it on
the east of Janohah. 7 Then it went down from Janohah to Ataroth and
Naarah,[b] reached to Jericho, and came out at the Jordan.
8 The border went out from Tappuah westward to the Brook Kanah, and it ended
at the sea. This was the inheritance of the tribe of the children of Ephraim
according to their families. 9 The separate cities for the children of
Ephraim were among the inheritance of the children of Manasseh, all the
cities with their villages.
10 And they did not drive out the Canaanites who dwelt in Gezer; but the
Canaanites dwell among the Ephraimites to this day and have become forced
laborers.
The Other Half-Tribe of Manasseh (West)
17 There was also a lot for the tribe of Manasseh, for he was the firstborn
of Joseph: namely for Machir the firstborn of Manasseh, the father of
Gilead, because he was a man of war; therefore he was given Gilead and
Bashan. 2 And there was a lot for the rest of the children of Manasseh
according to their families: for the children of Abiezer,[c] the children of
Helek, the children of Asriel, the children of Shechem, the children of
Hepher, and the children of Shemida; these were the male children of
Manasseh the son of Joseph according to their families.
3 But Zelophehad the son of Hepher, the son of Gilead, the son of Machir,
the son of Manasseh, had no sons, but only daughters. And these are the
names of his daughters: Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah. 4 And
they came near before Eleazar the priest, before Joshua the son of Nun, and
before the rulers, saying, "The Lord commanded Moses to give us an
inheritance among our brothers." Therefore, according to the commandment of
the Lord, he gave them an inheritance among their father's brothers. 5 Ten
shares fell to Manasseh, besides the land of Gilead and Bashan, which were
on the other side of the Jordan, 6 because the daughters of Manasseh
received an inheritance among his sons; and the rest of Manasseh's sons had
the land of Gilead.
7 And the territory of Manasseh was from Asher to Michmethath, that lies
east of Shechem; and the border went along south to the inhabitants of En
Tappuah. 8 Manasseh had the land of Tappuah, but Tappuah on the border of
Manasseh belonged to the children of Ephraim. 9 And the border descended to
the Brook Kanah, southward to the brook. These cities of Ephraim are among
the cities of Manasseh. The border of Manasseh was on the north side of the
brook; and it ended at the sea.
10 Southward it was Ephraim's, northward it was Manasseh's, and the sea was
its border. Manasseh's territory was adjoining Asher on the north and
Issachar on the east. 11 And in Issachar and in Asher, Manasseh had Beth
Shean and its towns, Ibleam and its towns, the inhabitants of Dor and its
towns, the inhabitants of En Dor and its towns, the inhabitants of Taanach
and its towns, and the inhabitants of Megiddo and its towns-three hilly
regions. 12 Yet the children of Manasseh could not drive out the
inhabitants of those cities, but the Canaanites were determined to dwell in
that land. 13 And it happened, when the children of Israel grew strong,
that they put the Canaanites to forced labor, but did not utterly drive them
out.
More Land for Ephraim and Manasseh
14 Then the children of Joseph spoke to Joshua, saying, "Why have you given
us only one lot and one share to inherit, since we are a great people,
inasmuch as the Lord has blessed us until now?"
15 So Joshua answered them, "If you are a great people, then go up to the
forest country and clear a place for yourself there in the land of the
Perizzites and the giants, since the mountains of Ephraim are too confined
for you."
16 But the children of Joseph said, "The mountain country is not enough for
us; and all the Canaanites who dwell in the land of the valley have chariots
of iron, both those who are of Beth Shean and its towns and those who are of
the Valley of Jezreel."
17 And Joshua spoke to the house of Joseph-to Ephraim and Manasseh-saying,
"You are a great people and have great power; you shall not have only one
lot, 18 but the mountain country shall be yours. Although it is wooded, you
shall cut it down, and its farthest extent shall be yours; for you shall
drive out the Canaanites, though they have iron chariots and are strong."
The Remainder of the Land Divided
18 Now the whole congregation of the children of Israel assembled together
at Shiloh, and set up the tabernacle of meeting there. And the land was
subdued before them. 2 But there remained among the children of Israel
seven tribes which had not yet received their inheritance.
3 Then Joshua said to the children of Israel: "How long will you neglect to
go and possess the land which the Lord God of your fathers has given you? 4
Pick out from among you three men for each tribe, and I will send them; they
shall rise and go through the land, survey it according to their
inheritance, and come back to me. 5 And they shall divide it into seven
parts. Judah shall remain in their territory on the south, and the house of
Joseph shall remain in their territory on the north. 6 You shall therefore
survey the land in seven parts and bring the survey here to me, that I may
cast lots for you here before the Lord our God. 7 But the Levites have no
part among you, for the priesthood of the Lord is their inheritance. And
Gad, Reuben, and half the tribe of Manasseh have received their inheritance
beyond the Jordan on the east, which Moses the servant of the Lord gave
them."
8 Then the men arose to go away; and Joshua charged those who went to survey
the land, saying, "Go, walk through the land, survey it, and come back to
me, that I may cast lots for you here before the Lord in Shiloh." 9 So the
men went, passed through the land, and wrote the survey in a book in seven
parts by cities; and they came to Joshua at the camp in Shiloh. 10 Then
Joshua cast lots for them in Shiloh before the Lord, and there Joshua
divided the land to the children of Israel according to their divisions.
The Land of Benjamin
11 Now the lot of the tribe of the children of Benjamin came up according to
their families, and the territory of their lot came out between the children
of Judah and the children of Joseph. 12 Their border on the north side
began at the Jordan, and the border went up to the side of Jericho on the
north, and went up through the mountains westward; it ended at the
Wilderness of Beth Aven. 13 The border went over from there toward Luz, to
the side of Luz (which is Bethel) southward; and the border descended to
Ataroth Addar, near the hill that lies on the south side of Lower Beth
Horon.
14 Then the border extended around the west side to the south, from the hill
that lies before Beth Horon southward; and it ended at Kirjath Baal (which
is Kirjath Jearim), a city of the children of Judah. This was the west side.
15 The south side began at the end of Kirjath Jearim, and the border
extended on the west and went out to the spring of the waters of Nephtoah.
16 Then the border came down to the end of the mountain that lies before the
Valley of the Son of Hinnom, which is in the Valley of the Rephaim[d] on the
north, descended to the Valley of Hinnom, to the side of the Jebusite city
on the south, and descended to En Rogel. 17 And it went around from the
north, went out to En Shemesh, and extended toward Geliloth, which is before
the Ascent of Adummim, and descended to the stone of Bohan the son of
Reuben. 18 Then it passed along toward the north side of Arabah,[e] and
went down to Arabah. 19 And the border passed along to the north side of
Beth Hoglah; then the border ended at the north bay at the Salt Sea, at the
south end of the Jordan. This was the southern boundary.
20 The Jordan was its border on the east side. This was the inheritance of
the children of Benjamin, according to its boundaries all around, according
to their families.
21 Now the cities of the tribe of the children of Benjamin, according to
their families, were Jericho, Beth Hoglah, Emek Keziz, 22 Beth Arabah,
Zemaraim, Bethel, 23 Avim, Parah, Ophrah, 24 Chephar Haammoni, Ophni, and
Gaba: twelve cities with their villages; 25 Gibeon, Ramah, Beeroth, 26
Mizpah, Chephirah, Mozah, 27 Rekem, Irpeel, Taralah, 28 Zelah, Eleph,
Jebus (which is Jerusalem), Gibeath, and Kirjath: fourteen cities with their
villages. This was the inheritance of the children of Benjamin according to
their families.
Footnotes:
a.Joshua 16:2 Septuagint reads Bethel (that is, Luz).
b.Joshua 16:7 Or Naaran (compare 1 Chronicles 7:28)
c.Joshua 17:2 Called Jeezer in Numbers 26:30
d.Joshua 18:16 Literally Giants
e.Joshua 18:18 Or Beth Arabah (compare 15:6 and 18:22)
New King James Version (NKJV)
Scripture taken from the New King James VersionR. Copyright C 1982 by Thomas
Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
