Price Paid

Joshua 7-8     Psalm 70    Hebrews 7

Almost as soon as they enter the promised land the people test the Lord by going up with minimum force when the people are to be together. When someone defies the Lord and takes and hides things they were commanded to destroy and he whole of Israel begins to pay the price of that sin. Joshua appears before the Lord and God instructs him on how to find that person and that they and all that they kept must be destroyed. While the guilty one confesses, he is still held accountable and destroyed.

Joshua then takes all the people up and lay an ambush on the city of Ai as God had commanded them and they destroy them completely. Afterward Joshua reads the whole of the law to the people and reminds them they will only be blessed if they follow that law.

David in today’s song calls on God to be his help and deliverer and to let those who seek his life be ashamed and humiliated. He declares that those who seek the Lord can rejoice and be glad because he offers salvation and reason to praise God.

In Hebrews it is pointed out that Abraham presented the high priest and king a tithe of a tenth when he had been successful. That would become a practice of the people of God. It is pointed out that the law made no on perfect, but that Jesus was the perfect hope. Because of his perfection he holds the title of high priest forever. It is proper to have a high priest that is a perfect reflection of God to be the judge of all people. The need for sacrifice was complete with Jesus when he offered himself up as the unblemished sacrifice.

Throughout the history of men and women we have continually struggled to follow the commandments of God and are in need of one that will take the burden on for us. That was what Jesus did for us, that rather than be destroyed, we can confess our sin and he will take that on on our behalf.