SERVICES: SATURDAY 6PM | SUNDAY 9AM & 10:45AM. 

We Livestream at www.FaithFellowshipWeb.com/livestream, through the FFC App, and YouTube.

A Servants Reward

Words of Faith Final

A Servants Reward

Words of Faith 9-30-2020

Dr. Jeffrey D. Hoy © 2020

Jeff.Hoy@faithfellowshipweb.com

Faith Fellowship Church - Melbourne, FL

To unsubscribe, follow the directions at the end of this devotion.

<>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <><

 

Joshua 19  

        [49]  When they had finished dividing the land into its allotted portions, the Israelites gave Joshua son of Nun an inheritance among them, [50]  as the LORD had commanded. They gave him the town he asked for--Timnath Serah in the hill country of Ephraim. And he built up the town and settled there.

       [51]  These are the territories that Eleazar the priest, Joshua son of Nun and the heads of the tribal clans of Israel assigned by lot at Shiloh in the presence of the LORD at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting. And so they finished dividing the land.

 

        The final allotments of land are outlined in chapter 19 of Joshua. The tribes of Simeon, Zebulun, Issachar, Asher, Naphtali, and Dan received their portions. But there was one final allotment to be given.  One last family that needed to be recognized. Of course, that was Joshua, son of Nun.

         The two faithful spies of Israel, Caleb, and Joshua, now had a special place and recognition. They are named separately for allotment of land. Caleb actually received his requested land before all the others (14:6-15). The recognition and reward to Joshua were last on the list.

        Everyone would have agreed to award land to Joshua. The Lord certainly agreed. He was given a small area within Ephraim, his tribe, called Timnath Serah. It was about eleven miles from Shiloh, so he would remain near to the Tabernacle.

        But it was a surprising choice.  This was a barren place, and one of the worst spots anyone might have chosen. Joshua could have appropriated land in the fairest and most productive area of Canaan, but this was not his way. He would take on another hard place to make it flourish.

       It reminds us of Abraham and Lot when they returned from the land of Egypt. Abraham said to Lot, "You pick any section you want, and I will take what is left of this land." Lot took the very best and left Abraham holding the bag. It actually shows us the character of such men.

        Joshua chose land that was similar to the backside of the desert. This is certainly a revelation of his character. It also reveals something about the Israelites. Even after these many years of service, they were perfectly willing to let this man of God have a small, barren place as his portion. Nevertheless, Joshua built up the town and settled in this rugged, infertile, mountainous district. We can almost picture the toughest cowboy from the roughest western, finally settling down. He was not afraid of work.

         There was surely deep appreciation for his godly leadership among Israel's sons as the granted Joshua his modest request.  Joshua settled there and built up the town. In one of the final pictures of this stalwart leader, Joshua is seen as a builder rather than a conqueror. After years of serving as a general, strategist, and administrator, he would now settle in among God's people.

        This short passage says a great deal about Godly Servants of the Kingdom. They should be appreciated, recognized, rewarded, and provided for. But we also see a profound humility in the leadership of Joshua. He was clearly not the leader of this new nation for the profit he would gain. May we know such leaders in our day.

 

          Father God, thank You for the Godly leaders who have brought the faith forward. Thank You for the humility of so many who have worked hard and asked for so little in return. May Your blessing be with those who labor in Your Vineyard unnoticed, bringing the Word of God and leading us to victory. May we express the appreciation You desire toward those servants. In Jesus’ Name.

 

<>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <><

© Jeffrey D. Hoy 2005, 2020

Dr. Jeffrey D. Hoy - Faith Fellowship Church (EFCA)       

2820 Business Center Blvd.

Melbourne, Florida 32940 (321)-259-7200

Jeff.Hoy@faithfellowshipweb.com

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

SUBSCRIPTIONS - To receive the Words of Faith devotion five days a week, send an E-mail message addressed to join-words-of-faith@hub.xc.org. To stop receiving Words of Faith, send an E-mail message addressed to unsubscribe-words-of-faith@hub.xc.org.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -     

The Words of Faith devotion is published five days a week by E-mail excluding Federal holidays. Please feel free to forward this devotion to a friend who might be blessed by this devotion. Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture is quoted from the New International Version (R) of The Holy Bible. Copyright (c) 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved. Words of Faith (c) 1997, 2010 Jeffrey D. Hoy. All rights reserved. Permission is granted to forward this copyrighted material or use portions of it with appropriate notation of the source for non-profit purposes.