Towards the end of his ministry Moses was called by GOD to meet Him at the Tabernacle of Meeting. And he was told to bring Joshua with him…
NUMBERS 27:18-23
18 And the LORD said to Moses: "Take Joshua the son of Nun with you, a man in whom is the Spirit, and lay your hand on him; 19 "set him before Eleazar the priest and before all the congregation and inaugurate him in their sight. 20 "And you shall give some of your authority to him, that all the congregation of the children of Israel may be obedient. 21 "He shall stand before Eleazar the priest, who shall inquire before the LORD for him by the judgment of the Urim. At his word they shall go out, and at his word they shall come in, he and all the children of Israel with him-all the congregation." 22 So Moses did as the LORD commanded him. He took Joshua and set him before Eleazar the priest and before all the congregation. 23 And he laid his hands on him and inaugurated him, just as the LORD commanded by the hand of Moses (See also DEUT. 31:3-8; 14-23).
After a rather significant, serious blunder on the part of Moses, the LORD ended his career, stating that he would not lead Israel into the promised land. That mission would go to Joshua (NUM 20:11-12).
If you’ve ever been asked to fill the shoes of your mentor, someone that you’ve held the highest respect for – you know something about how Joshua must have felt. Even Scripture itself states that there was never another prophet like Moses (DEUT 34:10). How could Joshua possibly live up to that?
This is why GOD had to keep reassuring this man (JOSH 1:5-9).
This story begins at the riverfront of the Jordan, where Joshua and Israel are about to crossover into Canaan land…
Introduction: True Wisdom in the Christian is born of the Holy Spirit; we can't have wisdom without GOD and His Word of Truth.
As we continue to go through Proverbs, let's understand that we are just as dependent on GOD for real wisdom as we are for salvation!
PROVERBS 25:1-2
1 These also are proverbs of Solomon which the men of Hezekiah king of Judah copied: 2 It is the glory of God to conceal a matter, but the glory of kings is to search out a matter.
INTRODUCTION: Philippi was, early on in Roman history, a city held in high esteem, having a port nearby and considerable gold mines that were still profitable. Paul the apostle left Troy and entered into Europe on his second missionary journey, due to a vision he received from GOD and first preached in Philippi (located in the province of Macedonia) and established the first church in the region, starting with a convert by the name of Lydia, an affluent woman, a trader in fabrics and dyes.
We read about Paul’s time in Philippi in ACTS 16:12-40.
It was during his first internment in Ephesus (or possibly Caesarea or perhaps even Rome) that he wrote this epistle to the Philippians. While he was quite hopeful for a release, it was far from a certainty. This might have meant an end to his ministry had not the LORD intervened!
Doctor Luke was from Philippi (but most likely born in Antioch) and probably attended a school there where he studied medicine, which would explain his affinity for this city and the church there. He joined the missionary team that the apostle assembled and helped to minister to the relatively new church but then remained behind to continue ministry there when Paul and Company moved on. Note the “we” in ACTS 16:10 – implying that the writer of ACTS (being Luke himself) – joined the team but then remained in Philippi once Paul moved on by the “they” in ACTS 17:1. There’s textual evidence that Luke rejoined the team on two subsequent occasions.
Paul returned to visit Philippi after he left Ephesus, again traveling to the region of Macedonia (2 COR 2:12-3; 7:5) and once more sometime later (ACTS 20:3). The apostle maintained regular communication with the Philippian church by way of messengers as well (ACTS 18:5; 19:22; 2 COR 11:9; PHIL 2:25).
The theme for this epistle has long been known as “joy in the midst of suffering” and we will see this theme again and again through this letter.
