DAY 6 MORNING Read Romans 8:31-39
JOSHUA: THROUGH CHRIST’S VICTORY EVERY ENEMY IS CONQUERED
The message of Joshua when read through the lens of the death, resurrection and ascension of Jesus Christ, speaks of the hope of the abundant life in Christ. In Joshua the enemies of the children of Israel are crushed emphatically. These promises of an enemy being crushed are ultimately fulfilled in Christ. Jesus has defeated the enemy totally and the book of Joshua has been read, by the early church fathers and by the church through the centuries, as a book that speaks of Christ’s victory in the life of the believer. Moses had died and his successor was Joshua. As he stood with the children of Israel looking over the river Jordan, beyond that river he could see the land of promise. Joshua, in following his commission obeyed and crossed the river Jordan and took the land. Joshua and the people consecrated themselves and crossed the river. They would know that the Lord the living God was with them because the ark of the covenant, the presence of the living God would pass before them as they crossed that river. After travelling forty years in the wilderness, in fear and intimidation, through grumbling and disobedience, Joshua lead Israel to possess the land. In a dramatic theophany,[1] meeting the commander of the Lord of hosts, Joshua fell on his face surrendered to God and his purposes. His commission was to obey exactly what was required. Throughout the book there are allusions to the victory in Christ. The valley of Achor would become the door of hope[2]. Ai was defeated after the sin of Achan was exposed. Through Christ every struggle and defeat can be turned around into a victory. Christ has won the victory that is appropriated when every sinner repents, believes and turns to Christ, but is also turned into victory progressively when he takes possession of all the areas of his life still under the dominion of Satan.
MISSIONARY MONKS: AUGUSTINE OF HIPPO 354-430
Augustine tells how he was converted[3] and how he was plagued by lust and was in a desperate state in a torrent of tears when he heard a child say “get up and read” (Tolle, lege). He picked up his Bible and read Romans 13:13,14 “not in rioting and drunkenness not in chambering and wantoness, not in strife and envying, but put on the Lord Jesus Christ and make no provision for the flesh.” His conversion gave his praying mother Monica great joy. He became bishop of Hippo and “one of the central figures in the history of Christianity, and ‘City of God’, is one of his greatest theological works. [4] “Written as an eloquent defence of the faith at a time when the Roman Empire was on the brink of collapse, it examines the ancient pagan religions of Rome, the arguments of the Greek philosophers and the revelations of the Bible. It points the way forward to a citizenship that transcends worldly politics and will last for eternity. “City of God’ is one of the most influential documents in the development of Christianity.” His “Exposition on the psalms” is one of many expositions on the psalms by Church Fathers, that influenced missionary monasticism over the centuries that followed his death. As he died a barbarian army was besieging Hippo, (in modern day Algeria, which borders Morocco), where he lived.
CLICK ON BOLD and you will be directed to Joshua Project website with more information for prayer.
PRAY for “the Arab, Moroccan in Spain, the sixth largest unreached people group in Europe whose language is Arabic, Moroccan and whose primary religion is Islam. They are 792,000, 0.1% Christian and 0.05% evangelical. ”[5] Augustine’s vision in North Africa in Algeria was that just as the greatest city of the world, Rome had fallen, the heavenly city of God from every tribe and nation lives forever. We pray for the Moroccan Arabs, from North Africa but now in Spain that have been regarded as cheap labour, for so long. May the good news of the Gospel be heard and received, by this poor unreached people group we pray. May the Moroccan Arabs be part of a heavenly family of nations in your presence here in Europe, Lord.
DAY 6 EVENING Read Psalm 26-30 Re-read Psalm 29
PSALM 29: THE VOICE OF LORD JESUS CHRIST IS AUTHORITATIVE, POWERFUL AND MAJESTIC
Psalm 29: 3-5 “ The voice of the Lord is over the waters; the God of glory thunders, the Lord thunders over the mighty waters. The voice of the Lord is powerful; the voice of the Lord is majestic. The voice of the Lord breaks the cedars; the Lord breaks in pieces the cedars of Lebanon ” David when writing Psalm 29 was probably impacted by watching a storm, seeing the power at work through an awesome thunderstorm, thick dark clouds, flashes of lightning and rumbling of thunder. But could “the voice of the Lord” be a metaphor subtly referring to the voice of the Lord at creation?… or to the voice of The Father at the Baptism of Jesus, saying from heaven, “You are my Son, whom I love, with you I am well pleased?” Is there one meaning, or could there be multiple meanings? How do we read Psalm 29, the Emmaus way? [6]
Craig Carter says that as we seek to recover pre-modern exegesis it is important to [7]firstly read the Bible as a unity, centred on Jesus Christ. The reason the New Testament came into existence is that it embodied the conviction of the apostles that Jesus Christ is the fulfilment of the Old Testament. Carter says secondly that we should let the literal sense controls all meaning. The literal sense [8] is the meaning conveyed by the words ofscripture and discovered by exegesis, following the rules of sound interpretation. Alec Motyer [9] says “It is best simply to let the wonder and awesomeness of this psalm sweep and swirl around us until we are so possessed in spirit by the majesty of the Lord that we too cry Glory.”According to ancient tradition, one can distinguish between two senses of scripture, the literal and the spiritual … the spiritual was divided into allegorical, moral and anagogical. A medieval couplet says “The letter speaks of deeds, Allegory to faith; the moral how to act; Anagogy our destiny”.
So how do we read Psalm 29? Are there allegorical, moral and anagogical meanings in Psalm 29, beyond the literal meaning namely that David was witnessing a thunderstorm ? As regards allegorical meaning for “voice of the Lord breaking the cedars of Lebanon,” lightning striking the trees, was a common metaphor in Hebrew poetry and a prophecy for God humbling the proud, cutting them down in judgment. As regards a moral meaning, the events in Scripture ought to lead us to act justly. Anything that proudly sets itself up against the voice of God is going to be cut down, the whole creation must humbly give allegiance to king Jesus and give him glory. As regards an anagogical meaning of this psalm (that is viewing realities and events in terms of their eternal significance), Jesus is the word of God incarnate, the living voice of God and when he humbly came on this earth he continually exposed the proud in the imaginations of their hearts. Eugene Peterson[10] says Jesus’ parables were “powerfully subversive, casting down the proud in the imagination of their hearts. When Jesus spoke, listeners relaxed their defenses, they walked away perplexed, wondering what they meant, but the stories lodged in their imagination. And then, like a time bomb, they would explode in their unprotected hearts.” Is this the majestic voice that breaks cedars? When Jesus’ listeners went away having heard him tell a parable and then realized he was speaking about them and the pride of the imagination of their hearts, was exposed, was that Jesus’ majestic voice breaking cedars?
PRAYER
Lord, as Jeremiah said the “word of God is a hammer”. As we seek to hear your voice and pray together, seeking to see the bible translated orally into the language of every mother tongue in the world, I submit to your powerful majestic voice today, show me my pride and ‘break the cedars,’ in the world today that is standing against your kingdom. May your kingdom come gloriously and cover the earth as the waters cover the sea. “ In his temple may all cry ‘Glory’.”
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[1] A theophany is a visible manifestation of God to man.
[2] Hosea 2:15
[3] Augustine, Confessions, Penguin, 2003.
[4] Augustine, City of God, Penguin, 2003.Dustcover.
[5] Data provided by Joshua Project https://joshuaproject.net/people_groups/13819/SP
[6] Jersak, B. A more Christlike word: Reading Scripture the Emmaus way, Whitaker House, 2021,
[7] Carter, C.A. Interpreting Scripture and the Great Tradition, Drawn from 129-191, Baker Academic, 2018,
[8] Jersak, B. A more Christlike word: Reading Scripture the Emmaus way, Whitaker House, 2021,131.
[9] Motyer, J.A. The Psalms, in New Bible Commentary: 21st Century Edition, ed. D. A. Carson, D.A. et al., 4th ed. (Leicester, England; Downers Grove, IL: Inter-Varsity Press, 1994), 503.
[10] Peterson, E. The Subversive pastor. http://www.cfdiocese.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/The-Subversive-Pastor-_-Leadership-Journal.pdf
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