DONNIE DAILY GEMS FOR SATURDAY APRIL 3:
DAILY BIBLE READING
Joshua
Joshua Encourages the People
23 The Lord gave Israel peace from their enemies around them. He made Israel
safe. Many years passed, and Joshua became very old. 2 At this time Joshua
called a meeting of all the older leaders, heads of families, judges, and
officers of the Israelites. Joshua said, I have grown very old. 3 You have
seen what the Lord did to our enemies. He did this to help us. The Lord your
God fought for you. 4 Remember that I told you that your people could have
the land between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea in the west. I
promised to give you that land, but you dont control it yet. I have taken
the land away from those nations, but they are still living there. 5 But the
Lord your God will force the people living there to leave. You will take
that land. The Lord will force them to leave, just as he promised.
6 You must be careful to obey every command written in the Book of the
Law[a] of Moses. Never turn away from that law. 7 There are still some
people living among us who are not Israelites. They worship their own gods.
Dont become friends with them. Dont serve or worship their gods. 8 You
must continue to follow the Lord your God. You have done this in the past,
and you must continue to do it.
9 The Lord helped you defeat many great and powerful nations. He forced
them to leave. No nation has been able to defeat you. 10 With his help, one
man from Israel could defeat 1000 enemy soldiers, because the Lord your God
fights for you, as he promised. 11 So you must continue to love the Lord
your God.
12 Never stop following him. Dont become friends with those people who did
not leave when you took the land. They are not part of Israel. Dont marry
any of their people. If you become friends with those people, 13 the Lord
your God will not help you defeat your enemies. They will become like a trap
for you. They will cause you painlike smoke and dust in your eyes. And you
will be forced to leave this good land. The Lord your God gave you this
land. But you can lose it if you dont obey this command.
14 It is almost time for me to die. You know and really believe that the
Lord has done many great things for you. You know that the Lord your God has
not failed in any of his promises. He has kept every promise that he has
made to us. 15 Every good promise that the Lord your God made to us has come
true. But in the same way, the Lord will make his other promises come true:
If you do wrong, bad things will happen to you. You will be forced to leave
this good land that the Lord your God has given to you. 16 This will happen
if you refuse to keep your agreement with the Lord your God. You will lose
this land if you go and serve other gods. You must not worship those other
gods. If you do, the Lord will become very angry with you. Then you will
quickly be forced to leave this good land that he gave you.
Footnotes:
a. Joshua 23:6 Law Or Teachings.
