DONNIE DAILY GEMS FOR TUESDAY MARCH 30:
WORD OF WISDOM
Faith is taking the first step, even when you don't see the whole staircase.
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DAILY DEVOTION
Unquestioning Obedience
"And it came to pass after a while, that the brook dried up, because there
had been no rain in the land. And the word of the LORD came unto him,
saying, Arise, get thee to Zarephath, which belongeth to Zidon, and dwell
there: behold, I have commanded a widow woman there to sustain thee. So he
arose and went to Zarephath."
1 Kings 17:7-10
God sent Elijah to King Ahab with the message that it would not rain because
of the people's worship of Baal. Ahab attempted to kill the prophet because
he did not like the message, and God sent Elijah to hide by the brook
Cherith where He sent ravens to feed Elijah. When the brook dried up, God
sent Elijah to Zarephath.
To our logic and reasoning, the command to go to Zarephath was a crazy
instruction. Zarephath was in Zidon-the home country of Jezebel. If there
was anyone who wanted Elijah dead more than Ahab, it was his evil wife. Now
God was sending His prophet deep into enemy territory.
Furthermore, God sent Elijah to a widow who did not have the resources to
take care of him. When he arrived in Zarephath, she was preparing one last
meal for herself and her son-she was literally scraping the bottom of the
barrel. But that was God's place for His prophet, and Elijah obeyed. There
is no record in Scripture that he argued with God. God said "Go," and Elijah
went. Through his faith and obedience, he was kept safe and provided for
until the famine was over.
When we obey God, we honor and please Him. There are people doing things in
the name of God which God has not told them to do, and that is not faith no
matter what it may be called. God's directives for our lives are found in
His Word. Each command of Scripture is to be obeyed, regardless of whether
it fits our logic or not.
When you do what God says without question, you receive the rewards of
obedience.
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DAILY BIBLE READING
Joshua
Joshua 19 Easy-to-Read Version (ERV)
Land for Simeon
19 Then Joshua gave all the families in the tribe of Simeon their share of
the land. The land they got was inside the area that belonged to Judah. 2
This is the land that was given to that tribe: Beersheba (also called
Sheba), Moladah, 3 Hazar Shual, Balah, Ezem, 4 Eltolad, Bethul, Hormah, 5
Ziklag, Beth Marcaboth, Hazar Susah, 6 Beth Lebaoth, and Sharuhen. There
were 13 towns and all the fields around them.
7 They also got the towns of Ain, Rimmon, Ether, and Ashan. There were four
towns and all the fields around them. 8 They also got all the fields around
the cities as far as Baalath Beer (Ramah in the Negev). So this was the area
that was given to the tribe of Simeon. Each family got its land. 9 Simeon's
share of land was within the area that Judah got. The people of Judah had
more land than they needed, so the people of Simeon got part of their land.
Land for Zebulun
10 The next tribe to get their land was Zebulun. Each family in Zebulun got
the land that was promised to them. The border of Zebulun went as far as
Sarid. 11 Then the border went west to Maralah and just touched Dabbesheth.
Then it went along the ravine near Jokneam. 12 Then the border turned to the
east. It went from Sarid to Kisloth Tabor. Then it went on to Daberath and
to Japhia. 13 Then the border continued to the east to Gath Hepher and Eth
Kazin. It ended at Rimmon. Then it turned and went to Neah. 14 At Neah the
border turned again, went north to Hannathon, and then continued to the
Valley of Iphtah El. 15 Inside this border were the cities of Kattath,
Nahalal, Shimron, Idalah, and Bethlehem. In all, there were twelve towns and
all the fields around them.
16 So these are the towns and fields around them that were given to Zebulun.
Each family in Zebulun got its part of the land.
Land for Issachar
17 The fourth part of the land was given to the tribe of Issachar. Each
family in that tribe got its part of the land. 18 This is the land that was
given to that tribe: Jezreel, Kesulloth, Shunem, 19 Hapharaim, Shion,
Anaharath, 20 Rabbith, Kishion, Ebez, 21 Remeth, En Gannim, En Haddah, and
Beth Pazzez.
22 The border of their land touched Tabor, Shahazumah, and Beth Shemesh. It
ended at the Jordan River. In all, there were 16 towns and the fields around
them. 23 These cities and towns were part of the land that was given to the
tribe of Issachar. Each family got its part of the land.
Land for Asher
24 The fifth part of land was given to the tribe of Asher. Each family in
that tribe got its part of the land. 25 This is the land that was given to
that tribe: Helkath, Hali, Beten, Acshaph, 26 Allammelech, Amad, and Mishal.
The western border continued to Mount Carmel and Shihor Libnath. 27 Then the
border turned to the east. It went to Beth Dagon. The border touched Zebulun
and the Valley of Iphtah El. Then it went north of Beth Emek and Neiel. It
passed north of Cabul. 28 Then the border went to Abdon,[a] Rehob, Hammon,
and Kanah. It continued to the Greater Sidon area. 29 Then the border went
back south to Ramah. It continued to the strong city of Tyre. Then the
border turned and went to Hosah. It ended at the sea, near Aczib, 30 Ummah,
Aphek, and Rehob.
In all there were 22 towns and the fields around them. 31 These cities and
the fields around them were given to the tribe of Asher. Each family in that
tribe got its share of the land.
Land for Naphtali
32 The sixth part of land was given to the tribe of Naphtali. Each family in
that tribe got its share of the land. 33 The border of their land started at
the large tree near Zaanannim. This is near Heleph. Then the border went
through Adami Nekeb and Jabneel. It continued to Lakkum and ended at the
Jordan River. 34 Then the border went to the west through Aznoth Tabor. It
ended at Hukkok. The southern border touched Zebulun and the western border
touched Asher. The border went to Judah, at the Jordan River to the east. 35
There were some very strong cities inside these borders. They were Ziddim,
Zer, Hammath, Rakkath, Kinnereth, 36 Adamah, Ramah, Hazor, 37 Kedesh, Edrei,
En Hazor, 38 Iron, Migdal El, Horem, Beth Anath, and Beth Shemesh. In all,
there were 19 towns and all the fields around them.
39 These cities and the fields around them were given to the tribe of
Naphtali. Each family in that tribe got its land.
Land for Dan
40 Then land was given to the tribe of Dan. Each family in that tribe got
its land. 41 This is the land that was given to them: Zorah, Eshtaol, Ir
Shemesh, 42 Shaalabbin, Aijalon, Ithlah, 43 Elon, Timnah, Ekron, 44 Eltekeh,
Gibbethon, Baalath, 45 Jehud, Bene Berak, Gath Rimmon, 46 Me Jarkon, Rakkon,
and the area near Joppa.
47 But the people of Dan had trouble taking their land. There were strong
enemies there and the people of Dan could not easily defeat them. So the
people of Dan went to the northern part of Israel and fought against
Laish.[b] They defeated Laish and killed the people who lived there. So the
people of Dan lived in the town of Laish. They changed the name to Dan
because that was the name of the father of their tribe. 48 All these cities
and fields around them were given to the tribe of Dan. Each family got its
share of the land.
Land for Joshua
49 So the leaders finished dividing the land and giving it to the different
tribes. After they finished, all the Israelites decided to give Joshua son
of Nun some land too. This was land that was promised to him. 50 The Lord
had commanded that he get this land. So they gave Joshua the town of Timnath
Serah[c] in the hill country of Ephraim. This was the town that Joshua told
them he wanted. So he built the town stronger and lived there.
51 All these lands were given to the different tribes of Israel. Eleazar the
priest, Joshua son of Nun, and the leaders of each tribe met together at
Shiloh to divide the land. They met before the Lord at the entrance of the
Meeting Tent. So they finished dividing the land.
Footnotes:
Joshua 19:28 Abdon Or "Ebron."
Joshua 19:47 Laish Or "Leshem."
Joshua 19:50 Timnath Serah Or "Timnath Heres."
