Luke 2:25-52
“He came by the Spirit into the temple.” This phrase is used of Simeon, a man that God had promised he would not die until he had seen the Messiah. This is a man under the old covenant, before the cross and before the Holy Spirit came to indwell the Christian. The Holy Spirit is not just a new testament phenomenon. The Holy Spirit has always moved on Simeon knew the Christ because the Holy Spirit revealed it to him. Mary and Joseph marveled at this confirmation. It wasn’t the only one.
Anna was another confirmation to the baby Jesus. Anna was not just one who prophesied; Anna was a prophetess. This means she served as a proclaimer of messages for God. She was from the tribe of Asher. She was married for seven years, but lost her husband. She remained a widow and gave her full focus to a leadership role in ministry. She fasted and she prayed night and day. When she saw the Christ, she instantly knew, by the Holy Spirit, that Jesus was the redeemer.
Even as a child, Jesus knew He was the Son of God. We see this in verses 39-52. Let’s never doubt a child’s ability to hear the voice of God.
Joshua 7-8
Because of Achan’s sin of holding onto accursed items (Joshua 7:1), Israel was defeated at the city of Ai.
One man’s sin affected the whole nation.
Achan had held onto accursed items.
The people of Ai were few.
God’s anger was against the nation for one man falling into sin at the first conquest.
Because God was not with them, Israel was defeated.
Joshua mourned the death of the lost soldiers.
Joshua inquired of the Lord to know why they lost the battle; there had to be a reason. It was not a short, quick prayer. Sometimes when we want to hear from God, there is a determined pursuit involved.
We see Joshua dealing with things Moses dealt with, and what a lot of leaders go through today – the responsibility for a group of imperfect people and the desire for making God’s name known to those around us.
God revealed Achan’s sin and instructed Joshua to kill him and burn Achan with fire to cleanse the nation of sin.
In chapter 8, Israel defeats Ai with the help of the Lord (verse 7).
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