March 8, 2022: Day 51 – Joshua 4-6 and Acts 4-6

We see the Israelites finishing up their crossing of the Jordan River with a memorial being set up on the other side.  Remember how important it is for the people and their children to remember the actions of God, especially the miraculous actions like the passover and now the passing over of the Jordan.  We then move to the people of Israel circumcising themselves.  It does surprise me that they would not circumcise their children while they were in the wilderness.  I would have thought that this crucial aspect of the covenant would have been done, even if they were terribly disobedient.  

This then takes us to Joshua who fought the battle of Jericho, but we see that it isn’t much of a fight.  Nothing like blowing trumpets in order to seize the victory.  Now that is the type of battle that we need.  We see that Rahab and her family are saved just as she had been promised.

In Acts we find Peter and John before the Sanhedrin, which would have been the governing body of the priests of the temple.  Peter and John were involved in healings and this really disturbed the religious leaders.  They commanded them to come before them and charged them with not speaking any longer in the name of Jesus.  But they replied, we have to do the will of God, not the will of man.  

We see the Christian body growing, now it is up to 5,000 people, a real bonified megachurch.  They begin to live together and share all of their possessions together, except for Ananias and Sapphira, of  course, but they didn’t last long.  The story starting in 5:33 is one to pay attention to, where Gamaliel states very wisely when he is speaking to the religious leaders who are at wits end to figure out what to do: “Leave these men alone.  Let them go.  For if their purpose or activity is of human origin, it will fail.  But if it is of God, you will not be able to stop these men, you will only find yourselves fighting against God.”  That is pretty powerful.