Day 1 (Monday)
Joshua 10 (The Sun Stands Still; The Conquest Continues)
Last time we saw Joshua and the elders of the people fooled by the Hivites from Gibeon, who pretended to be from a distant country and made an alliance with Israel, even though they were idolators and seem to have remained so. The conclusion was that the people of Gibeon were subjugated in service to the people of Israel and to the house of God, but without a clear statement that they would have to repent of their evils and renounce the demon gods they had served. This time, we will see what results from this, and how it becomes the opportunity for a great defeat of the Amorites in the hill country.
The Sun Stands Still
10 When King Adoni-zedek of Jerusalem heard how Joshua had taken Ai, and had utterly destroyed it, doing to Ai and its king as he had done to Jericho and its king, and how the inhabitants of Gibeon had made peace with Israel and were among them, 2 he became greatly frightened, because Gibeon was a large city, like one of the royal cities, and was larger than Ai, and all its men were warriors. 3 So King Adoni-zedek of Jerusalem sent a message to King Hoham of Hebron, to King Piram of Jarmuth, to King Japhia of Lachish, and to King Debir of Eglon, saying, 4 “Come up and help me, and let us attack Gibeon; for it has made peace with Joshua and with the Israelites.” 5 Then the five kings of the Amorites—the king of Jerusalem, the king of Hebron, the king of Jarmuth, the king of Lachish, and the king of Eglon—gathered their forces, and went up with all their armies and camped against Gibeon, and made war against it.
6 And the Gibeonites sent to Joshua at the camp in Gilgal, saying, “Do not abandon your servants; come up to us quickly, and save us, and help us; for all the kings of the Amorites who live in the hill country are gathered against us.” 7 So Joshua went up from Gilgal, he and all the fighting force with him, all the mighty warriors. 8 The Lord said to Joshua, “Do not fear them, for I have handed them over to you; not one of them shall stand before you.” 9 So Joshua came upon them suddenly, having marched up all night from Gilgal. 10 And the Lord threw them into a panic before Israel, who inflicted a great slaughter on them at Gibeon, chased them by the way of the ascent of Beth-horon, and struck them down as far as Azekah and Makkedah. 11 As they fled before Israel, while they were going down the slope of Beth-horon, the Lord threw down huge stones from heaven on them as far as Azekah, and they died; there were more who died because of the hailstones than the Israelites killed with the sword.
12 On the day when the Lord gave the Amorites over to the Israelites, Joshua spoke to the Lord; and he said in the sight of Israel,
“Sun, stand still at Gibeon,
and Moon, in the valley of Aijalon.”
13 And the sun stood still, and the moon stopped,
until the nation took vengeance on their enemies.
Is this not written in the Book of Jashar? The sun stopped in midheaven, and did not hurry to set for about a whole day. 14 There has been no day like it before or since, when the Lord heeded a human voice; for the Lord fought for Israel.
15 Then Joshua returned, and all Israel with him, to the camp at Gilgal.
Five Kings Defeated
16 Meanwhile, these five kings fled and hid themselves in the cave at Makkedah. 17 And it was told Joshua, “The five kings have been found, hidden in the cave at Makkedah.” 18 Joshua said, “Roll large stones against the mouth of the cave, and set men by it to guard them; 19 but do not stay there yourselves; pursue your enemies, and attack them from the rear. Do not let them enter their towns, for the Lord your God has given them into your hand.” 20 When Joshua and the Israelites had finished inflicting a very great slaughter on them, until they were wiped out, and when the survivors had entered into the fortified towns, 21 all the people returned safe to Joshua in the camp at Makkedah; no one dared to speak against any of the Israelites.
22 Then Joshua said, “Open the mouth of the cave, and bring those five kings out to me from the cave.” 23 They did so, and brought the five kings out to him from the cave, the king of Jerusalem, the king of Hebron, the king of Jarmuth, the king of Lachish, and the king of Eglon. 24 When they brought the kings out to Joshua, Joshua summoned all the Israelites, and said to the chiefs of the warriors who had gone with him, “Come near, put your feet on the necks of these kings.” Then they came near and put their feet on their necks. 25 And Joshua said to them, “Do not be afraid or dismayed; be strong and courageous; for thus the Lord will do to all the enemies against whom you fight.” 26 Afterward Joshua struck them down and put them to death, and he hung them on five trees. And they hung on the trees until evening. 27 At sunset Joshua commanded, and they took them down from the trees and threw them into the cave where they had hidden themselves; they set large stones against the mouth of the cave, which remain to this very day.
28 Joshua took Makkedah on that day, and struck it and its king with the edge of the sword; he utterly destroyed every person in it; he left no one remaining. And he did to the king of Makkedah as he had done to the king of Jericho. 29 Then Joshua passed on from Makkedah, and all Israel with him, to Libnah, and fought against Libnah. 30 The Lord gave it also and its king into the hand of Israel; and he struck it with the edge of the sword, and every person in it; he left no one remaining in it; and he did to its king as he had done to the king of Jericho.
31 Next Joshua passed on from Libnah, and all Israel with him, to Lachish, and laid siege to it, and assaulted it. 32 The Lord gave Lachish into the hand of Israel, and he took it on the second day, and struck it with the edge of the sword, and every person in it, as he had done to Libnah. 33 Then King Horam of Gezer came up to help Lachish; and Joshua struck him and his people, leaving him no survivors.
34 From Lachish Joshua passed on with all Israel to Eglon; and they laid siege to it, and assaulted it; 35 and they took it that day, and struck it with the edge of the sword; and every person in it he utterly destroyed that day, as he had done to Lachish. 36 Then Joshua went up with all Israel from Eglon to Hebron; they assaulted it, 37 and took it, and struck it with the edge of the sword, and its king and its towns, and every person in it; he left no one remaining, just as he had done to Eglon, and utterly destroyed it with every person in it.
38 Then Joshua, with all Israel, turned back to Debir and assaulted it, 39 and he took it with its king and all its towns; they struck them with the edge of the sword, and utterly destroyed every person in it; he left no one remaining; just as he had done to Hebron, and, as he had done to Libnah and its king, so he did to Debir and its king.
40 So Joshua defeated the whole land, the hill country and the Negeb and the lowland and the slopes, and all their kings; he left no one remaining, but utterly destroyed all that breathed, as the Lord God of Israel commanded. 41 And Joshua defeated them from Kadesh-barnea to Gaza, and all the country of Goshen, as far as Gibeon. 42 Joshua took all these kings and their land at one time, because the Lord God of Israel fought for Israel. 43 Then Joshua returned, and all Israel with him, to the camp at Gilgal.
Discussion questions:
1) What did you notice in today’s reading? What surprised you or what was memorable to you? (The Leader should point out that there are a lot of questions that are not made clear in this text, but that the final statement, that “Yahweh the God of Israel fought for Israel” indicates clearly that these kings and their cities were entirely given over to evil, and therefore under the ban, given over to destruction due to their devotion to evil demons and to the evils done in worship of them. Therefore, whatever the rightness of the alliance with Gibeon, God used it an opportunity to destroy the rest of the Amorites, and to execute judgment upon them. With the standing still of the sun in the sky, the Lord accomplished this through great wonders. Nonetheless, we should also see this victory as containing a great caveat, because Israel is already on the road to corruption, not least because they have already failed to root out all the evil, and will continue to fail to do so. Thus, although Israel itself remains faithful to Yahweh during the life of Joshua and the other leaders, the seed of corruption and faithlessness is already planted.)
2) Where do we see Christ in this text; what is He saying or doing here?
3) Do we see ourselves and the Church in this text; what does it say about us?
4) What do you find difficult about this reading? Is there anything confusing about it, or anything that you dislike? (This is an open question, as always. )
5) Does this reading make you think that you need to change anything in your life?
Day 2 (Wednesday)
First Apology of Justin Martyr – 2: 27-31
Last time, we saw St. Justin proclaim the Christian doctrines of the Resurrection, of the Creation of the universe by one God, and of the Incarnation of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, upholding the singularity of the Christian doctrine while arguing that many elements of pagan belief either point toward this truth, or pervert its truth in demonic imitation, and most especially in perverted imitation of the idea of a son of God. This time, he will speak about the evils that were done among the idolatrous Greeks and Romans of his time, and most especially the exposure of infant children at the behest of the demons, and what happened to those children, and of the Most High God’s endurance of these evils for a time, with the ultimate promise of justice and holiness being restored.
Chapter 27
Here, St. Justin outlines the evils of the exposure of unwanted infants, many of whom were then taken and enslaved, treated like animals and worse, often raised in sexual slavery, as accessories of the worship of a great serpent god. He will explain who this is in Chapter 28.
Chapter 28
As you may learn by examining our writings, the chief of the wicked demons we call the serpent, Satan, the devil, and Christ foretold that he with his army of demons, and the men who follow him, will be cast into the fire [of Hell] to be punished for endless ages. The cause of God’s delay in doing this is his regard for mankind, for in His foreknowledge He sees that some will be saved by repentance, some who are, perhaps, not yet in existence.
Indeed, in the beginning when He created man, He endowed him with the power of understanding, of choosing the truth, and of doing right; consequently, before God no man has an excuse if he does evil, for all men have been created with the power to reason and to reflect. If anyone does not believe that God takes an interest in these things, he will by some artifice imply either that God does not exist, or that though He does exist, He takes delight in evil, or that He is [as unmoved] as stone, and that neither virtue nor vice is a reality, but that things are considered good or bad only in the opinion of men: this indeed would be the height of blasphemy and injustice.
Chapter 29
St. Justin is defending the Church against the accusation of exposing children, and affirms that this is not done, saying:
But either we marry, in the first place, in order to raise children, or, refusing to marry, we live in continence for the rest of our lives.
He then proceeds with a positive example of a chaste Christian who would be known to the emperors, and then a negative example of a young man who had been used as a sexual object even by a predecessor emperor, whom the Greeks and Romans had begun to worship as a god after he died, as an example of what they meant when they talked about “sons of god.”
Chapter 30
Lest anyone should object and ask, ‘What prevents us from supposing that He whom we call Christ was a man born of men, and has worked what we term miracles through the art of magic, and thus appeared to be the Son of God,’ we how present proof that such was not the case. We shall do so not by trusting in mere statements [without proof], but by necessarily believing those who predicted these things before they happened, for we are actual eye-witnesses of events that have happened and are happening in the very manner in which they were fortold. This, we are sure, will appear even to you the greatest and truest proof.
Chapter 31
Indeed, there were certain men among the Jews who were Prophets of God, through whom the Prophetic Spirit predicted events, that were to happen, before they actually took place. The successive kings of Judea carefully kept their prophetic sayings in their possession, as they were worded at the time of their utterance in their Hebrew language, and as they were arranged in books by the Prophets themselves. When Ptolemy, King of Egypt, was forming a library, and attempting to collect the writings of every nation, he heard about these prophetic writings and he sent to Herod, then King of the Jews, asking that he send the prophetic books to him.
King Herod did send them, written, as we said, in the Hebrew language. But when the Egyptians could not understand these writings, he again sent and asked for some persons to translate them into the Greek tongue. After this was accomplished, the books remained in the possession of the Egyptians from that day to this, as they are also in the possession of every Jew, wherever he be. But these Jews, though they read the books, fail to grasp their meaning, and they consider us as their enemies and adversaries, killing and punishing us, just as you do, whenever they are able to do so, as you can readily imagine.
In the recent Jewish war, Bar Kocheba, the leader of the Jewish uprising, ordered that only the Christians should be subjected to dreadful torments, unless they renounced and blasphemed Jesus Christ. In the books of the Prophets, indeed, we found Jesus our Christ foretold as coming to us born of a virgin, reaching manhood, curing every disease and ailment, raising the dead to life, being hated, unrecognized, and crucified, dying, rising from the dead, ascending into Heaven, and being called and actually being the Son of God. And [we found predicted also] that He would send certain persons to every nation to make known these things, and that the former Gentiles rather [than Jews] would believe in Him. He was foretold, in truth, before He actually appeared, first five thousand years before, then three thousand, then two thousand, then one thousand, and, finally, eight hundred. For, in succeeding generations new Prophets rose time and again.
Thomas B. Falls with Justin Martyr, The First Apology, The Second Apology, Dialogue with Trypho, Exhortation to the Greeks, Discourse to the Greeks, The Monarchy or The Rule of God, vol. 6, The Fathers of the Church (Washington, DC: The Catholic University of America Press, 1948), 63–67.
Discussion questions:
1) What did you notice in today’s reading? What surprised you or what was memorable to you? (The Leader should point out that the logical thread that Justin is following to address the emperors begins with critiquing and refuting the pagan idea of children of god, as springing from immoral practices and abhorrent deities. The point of this is ultimately to proclaim the long-proclaimed birth of the only true and only-begotten Son of God, our Lord Jesus Christ, out of purity and holiness and chastity. The intent here is the favorable contrast between the shamefulness of the idolatrous stories and practices, on the one hand, and the rightness and worthiness of the Lord’s birth and life and death. Justin here is swinging for the fences, and is not just urging the emperors to stop persecuting the Christians, but is striving to make them Christians, even as we see St. Paul doing in his own time.)
2) Where do we see Christ in this text; what is He saying or doing here?
3) Do we see ourselves and the Church in this text; what does it say about us?
4) What do you find difficult about this reading? Is there anything confusing about it, or anything that you dislike? (This is an open question, as always. )
5) Does this reading make you think that you need to change anything in your life?
Day 3 (Friday)
1 Peter 5
Last time, we finished our reading of the Gospel of Mark, which we began in September of last year. Through the course of this year, on various occasions, we have also read from the first Epistle of St. Peter, as a reminder that the Gospel of Mark presents St. Peter’s witness of the Lord’s life and purpose, and as a supplement to that proclamation of the truth in St. Peter’s own words, so that we can see what he thought was important to teach the Church on a pastoral level for daily life. We have only the final chapter to read from 1 Peter, and then we will continue with St. Peter’s 2nd Epistle and the General Epistle of St. James for the remainder of this year.
Tending the Flock of God
5 Now as an elder myself and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, as well as one who shares in the glory to be revealed, I exhort the elders among you 2 to tend the flock of God that is in your charge, exercising the oversight, not under compulsion but willingly, as God would have you do it—not for sordid gain but eagerly. 3 Do not lord it over those in your charge, but be examples to the flock. 4 And when the chief shepherd appears, you will win the crown of glory that never fades away.
5 In the same way, you who are younger must accept the authority of the elders. And all of you must clothe yourselves with humility in your dealings with one another, for
“God opposes the proud,
but gives grace to the humble.”
6 Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, so that he may exalt you in due time. 7 Cast all your anxiety on him, because he cares for you.
8 Discipline yourselves, keep alert. Like a roaring lion your adversary the devil prowls around, looking for someone to devour. 9 Resist him, steadfast in your faith, for you know that your brothers and sisters in all the world are undergoing the same kinds of suffering. 10 And after you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, support, strengthen, and establish you. 11 To him be the power forever and ever. Amen.
Final Greetings and Benediction
12 Through Silvanus, whom I consider a faithful brother, I have written this short letter to encourage you and to testify that this is the true grace of God. Stand fast in it. 13 Your sister church in Babylon, chosen together with you, sends you greetings; and so does my son Mark. 14 Greet one another with a kiss of love.
Peace to all of you who are in Christ.
Discussion questions:
1) What did you notice in today’s reading? What surprised you or what was memorable to you? (The Leader should point out that, as St. Peter winds down this letter, he urges them to be faithful in the face of persecution, assuring them that they are not alone, and that the glory of the Lord is awaiting those who endure to the end. He begins, however, by urging the leaders/elders – which is to say, the clergy, since the word for elder is Presbyteros, which we have shortened in English to Priest by a process: Presbyteros -> Presbyter -> Prester -> Prest/Priest – to be faithful shepherds of the flock of Christ, and the people to submit to and humble themselves to the leaders and to one another, as the first and most essential step of faithfulness to God in the face of persecutions. The other thing that is worth noting is that, when he talks about Babylon, he is referring to the city of Rome, and therefore we can presume that he is writing this from Rome, toward the end of his life.)
2) Where do we see Christ in this text; what is He saying or doing here?
3) Do we see ourselves and the Church in this text; what does it say about us?
4) What do you find difficult about this reading? Is there anything confusing about it, or anything that you dislike? (This is an open question, as always. )
5) Does this reading make you think that you need to change anything in your life?