Day 1 (Monday)
Joshua 23 (Joshua’s Exhortation)
Last time we saw Joshua and the Israelites used as the instrument of Yahweh to inflict complete judgment on the five kings of the Amorites who had allied against them, and destroy their armies and their cities. Through the rest of the book of Joshua, the conquest of the Promised Land continues, and the land (both that which has been conquered, and that which remains to be conquered) is allotted to the tribes of Israel, and Yahweh promises to remain with them if they remain faithful to Him, and to deliver what remains into their hands. At this time, however, Joshua is old, and as he is preparing to die he gives a final exhortation to the people, that they should remain faithful to Yahweh, the God of Israel, always, even after his death.
Joshua Exhorts the People
23 A long time afterward, when the Lord had given rest to Israel from all their enemies all around, and Joshua was old and well advanced in years, 2 Joshua summoned all Israel, their elders and heads, their judges and officers, and said to them, “I am now old and well advanced in years; 3 and you have seen all that the Lord your God has done to all these nations for your sake, for it is the Lord your God who has fought for you. 4 I have allotted to you as an inheritance for your tribes those nations that remain, along with all the nations that I have already cut off, from the Jordan to the Great Sea in the west. 5 The Lord your God will push them back before you, and drive them out of your sight; and you shall possess their land, as the Lord your God promised you.
6 Therefore be very steadfast to observe and do all that is written in the book of the law of Moses, turning aside from it neither to the right nor to the left, 7 so that you may not be mixed with these nations left here among you, or make mention of the names of their gods, or swear by them, or serve them, or bow yourselves down to them, 8 but hold fast to the Lord your God, as you have done to this day. 9 For the Lord has driven out before you great and strong nations; and as for you, no one has been able to withstand you to this day. 10 One of you puts to flight a thousand, since it is the Lord your God who fights for you, as he promised you.
11 Be very careful, therefore, to love the Lord your God. 12 For if you turn back, and join the survivors of these nations left here among you, and intermarry with them, so that you marry their women and they yours, 13 know assuredly that the Lord your God will not continue to drive out these nations before you; but they shall be a snare and a trap for you, a scourge on your sides, and thorns in your eyes, until you perish from this good land that the Lord your God has given you.
14 “And now I am about to go the way of all the earth, and you know in your hearts and souls, all of you, that not one thing has failed of all the good things that the Lord your God promised concerning you; all have come to pass for you, not one of them has failed. 15 But just as all the good things that the Lord your God promised concerning you have been fulfilled for you, so the Lord will bring upon you all the bad things, until he has destroyed you from this good land that the Lord your God has given you. 16 If you transgress the covenant of the Lord your God, which he enjoined on you, and go and serve other gods and bow down to them, then the anger of the Lord will be kindled against you, and you shall perish quickly from the good land that he has given to you.”
Discussion questions:
1) What did you notice in today’s reading? What surprised you or what was memorable to you? (The Leader should note that Joshua is very clear that the children of Israel are not, in fact, guaranteed always of victory, nor of the favor of God, regardless of what they do. They have been given a great gift, and have been called by Yahweh the Most High God as His own particular people, but they must be faithful to this calling. If they are unfaithful, then they will be cut off, exactly as the nations that they have been driving out of the Promised Land have been cut off. What we will see in the remaining weeks of the year is how over the coming centuries, most of the people of God will be unfaithful, but some will remain faithful and will be preserved, and it is to them that the final fulfillment of the promise will come, in the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ and His perfect fulfillment of all these things that have been promised.)
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: 32 – 35
Last time, we saw St. Justin introduce his main proof of the truth of the Christian Gospel, that all the things that happened to the Lord had been prophesied many years before, and had then come to pass in the person of Jesus Christ, and in the progression of history after His Coming into the world. This time, we will see him begin to outline these prophecies and fulfillments; we will not read all of his examples, as there are many. We will, however, look at the basic points he makes through the end of the Apology: chapters 32 through 41 deal with prophecies about the Lord Himself, chapters 42-46 deals with free will and responsibility for sin in the face of the reality of prophecy, and chapters 47-51 with what has happened to both the Jews and the Gentiles after His coming, and in chapters 52 – 53 he gives further prophecies which have not yet been fulfilled, as a warning and exhortation to the emperors. In chapters 54-60, he then outlines the errors, demonic perversions, and heresies which twist these truths and lead many astray, and finally, in chapters 61-68, he outlines what the Christians do in their worship.
Chapter 32
Indeed, Moses, the first of the Prophets, spoke literally in these words: ‘The sceptre shall not be taken away from Juda, nor a ruler from his thigh, until He come for whom it is reserved; and He shall be the desire of nations, tying His foal to the vine, washing His robe in the blood of the grape.’ It is up to you to make a thorough investigation and to learn up to what time the Jews had their own ruler and king. [They had a ruler] until the coming of Jesus Christ our Teacher, and Expounder of the prophecies that were not then understood, as the divine and holy Prophetic Spirit predicted through Moses: ‘The ruler will not depart from Juda, until He come, for whom the kingdom is reserved.’ For Juda was the forefather of the Jews, and from him they derive their name; and after He [Christ] appeared you started to rule the Jews, and have become masters of their whole country.
But the prophecy, ‘He shall be the desire of nations,’ meant that people from all nations would look for His second coming, as you yourselves can see with your own eyes and be convinced by factual evidence; for men of every nation look for Him who was crucified in Judea, after whose coming the country of the Jews was immediately given over to you as booty of war.
And the words, ‘tying His foal to the vine, and washing His robe in the blood of the grape,’ allegorically signified the things that would befall Christ, and the deeds that He would perform. For the foal of a donkey stood tied to a vine at the entrance to a village, and He ordered His disciples to lead it to Him, and when this was done, He mounted and sat upon it, and entered Jerusalem, where was located the greatest Jewish temple, which you later destroyed. After this He was crucified, in order that the rest of the prophecy be verified, for the words, ‘washing His robe in the blood of the grape,’ were a forewarning of the passion He was to endure, purifying with His blood those who believe in Him. For, what the Divine Spirit called through the prophet ‘His robe’ are those believers in Christ, in whom dwells the seed3 of God, namely, the Word. And the saying, ‘the blood of the grape,’ means that He who was to appear would have blood, though not through the seed of man, but through the power of God.
The first power after God the Father and Lord of all things is the Word, who is also His Son, who assumed human flesh and became man in the manner which we shall presently explain. For, just as God, not man, made the blood of the grape, so was it indicated also that this blood would not arise from human seed, but from the power of God, as we stated above. Another Prophet, Isaias, expressing the thoughts in different language, spoke thus: ‘A star shall rise out of Jacob, and a flower shall spring from the root of Jesse, and in His arm shall nations trust.’ Indeed, a brilliant star has arisen, and a flower has sprung up from the root of Jesse—this is Christ. For, by God’s power He was conceived by a virgin who was a descendant of Jacob, who was the father of Juda, the above-mentioned father of the Jewish race; and Jesse was His forefather according to this prophecy, and He was the son of Jacob and Juda according to lineage.
Chapter 33
And, again, hear how it was expressly foretold by Isaias that He was to be born of a virgin; here is the prophecy: ‘Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and His name shall be called Emmanuel’ [i.e., God with us]. For, what man has deemed incredible and impossible, God foretold through the Prophetic Spirit as about to take place, so that, when they did take place, they should not be denied, but believed because they had been foretold. But, lest some who do not grasp the meaning of this prophecy should accuse us of the very things of which we accused the poets who said that Jupiter approached women for the sake of sensual pleasure, let us attempt to explain the words of the prophecy. The words, ‘Behold, a virgin shall conceive,’ therefore mean that the virgin shall conceive without intercourse. For, if she had had intercourse with anyone whomsoever, she was then no longer a virgin, but, the power of God descending upon the virgin overshadowed her, and caused her, while still a virgin, to conceive.
And the angel of God, who was then sent to that same virgin, carried the glad news to her when he said: ‘Behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb of the Holy Ghost, and shalt bring forth a Son, and He shall be called the Son of the Most High, and thou shalt call His name Jesus, for He shall deliver His people from their sins.’ This happened as related by the recorders of all the acts of our Savior, Jesus Christ, whom we believed, and through the above-mentioned Isaias the Prophetic Spirit foretold that He should be born in the manner we stated above. It is not right, therefore, to understand the Spirit and the power of God as anything else than the Word, who is also the First-begotten of God, as Moses, the previously mentioned Prophet, has stated. And it was this Spirit who came upon the virgin, overshadowed her, and brought it about that she became pregnant, not by sexual intercourse, but by divine power. Jesus is a name in the Hebrew tongue which means Savior in the Greek; thus, the angel said to the virgin: ‘And thou shalt call His name Jesus, for He shall deliver His people from their sins.’ I think that even you will concede that the Prophets are inspired by none other than the Divine Word.
Chapter 34
And hear in what part of this earth He was to be born, as it was foretold by another Prophet, Micheas, who spoke thus: ‘And thou, Bethlehem, land of Judah, art not the least among the princes of Judah; for out of thee shall come forth a Ruler, who shall feed my people.’ Now, this [Bethlehem] is a certain village in the land of the Jews, distant thirty-five stadia from Jerusalem, where Jesus Christ was born, as you can learn by consulting the census taken by Quirinius, your first procurator in Judea.2
Chapter 35
Hear also how it was foretold that, after His birth, Christ should escape the notice of other men until He reached the age of maturity, and this also took place. Here are the words of the prophecy: ‘A child is born to us, and a young man is given to us, and the government is upon His shoulders.’ This signifies the power of the cross, which, at His crucifixion, He placed on His shoulders, as shall be demonstrated more clearly as we proceed in this discourse.
And again the same Prophet Isaias, inspired by the Prophetic Spirit, said: ‘I have stretched out my hands to an unbelieving and contradicting people, who walk in a way that is not good.’ They now ask judgment from Me, and dare to approach God.’ Again [the Prophetic Spirit] says, in other words, through another Prophet: ‘They have pierced My hands and My feet, and have cast lots for My clothing.’ David, however, the king and prophet who spoke these words, endured none of these sufferings, but Jesus Christ stretched out His hands when He was crucified by the Jews who contradicted Him and denied that He was the Messiah. And, as the Prophet said, they placed Him in mockery on the judgment seat, and said: ‘Judge us.’ And the words, ‘They have pierced My hands and My feet,’ refer to the nails which transfixed His hands and feet on the cross. And, after He was crucified, they cast lots for His clothing, and His crucifiers divided it among themselves. That these things really happened, you can ascertain from the Acts of Pontius Pilate. We shall now cite the predictions of another Prophet, Sophonias, to prove that it was foretold that He was to enter Jerusalem sitting upon the foal of an ass. Here are the words of the prophecy: ‘Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Sion, shout for joy, O daughter of Jerusalem; behold thy King cometh to thee, gentle and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt the foal of an ass.’
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), 66–73.
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 simply that Justin is being very precise and detailed here, and connecting multiple individual prophecies from throughout the Old Testament with matters that are fulfilled in our Lord Jesus Christ. It should also be noted how explicit St. Justin is that Jesus is Himself truly God, and not some lesser being. He is not expressing the doctrine of the Trinity in the terms of Nicaea, as those have not yet been articulated, but he is still expressing and confessing the Holy Trinity.)
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)
2 Peter 1
Last time we finished St. Peter’s first general Epistle, so this time, we will begin his second Epistle, and see what he has to say to the churches of his time. This seems to have been written soon before his martyrdom, perhaps in the early 60’s A.D. It is only three chapters long, so we will read one chapter each week, and then finish the year with the Epistle of St. James.
Salutation
1 Simeon Peter, a servant and apostle of Jesus Christ,
To those who have received a faith as precious as ours through the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ:
2 May grace and peace be yours in abundance in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord.
The Christian’s Call and Election
3 His divine power has given us everything needed for life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. 4 Thus he has given us, through these things, his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may escape from the corruption that is in the world because of lust, and may become participants of the divine nature. 5 For this very reason, you must make every effort to support your faith with goodness, and goodness with knowledge, 6 and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with endurance, and endurance with godliness, 7 and godliness with mutual affection, and mutual affection with love.
8 For if these things are yours and are increasing among you, they keep you from being ineffective and unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 For anyone who lacks these things is short-sighted and blind, and is forgetful of the cleansing of past sins. 10 Therefore, brothers and sisters, be all the more eager to confirm your call and election, for if you do this, you will never stumble. 11 For in this way, entry into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ will be richly provided for you.
12 Therefore I intend to keep on reminding you of these things, though you know them already and are established in the truth that has come to you. 13 I think it right, as long as I am in this body, to refresh your memory, 14 since I know that my death will come soon, as indeed our Lord Jesus Christ has made clear to me. 15 And I will make every effort so that after my departure you may be able at any time to recall these things.
Eyewitnesses of Christ’s Glory
16 For we did not follow cleverly devised myths when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we had been eyewitnesses of his majesty. 17 For he received honor and glory from God the Father when that voice was conveyed to him by the Majestic Glory, saying, “This is my Son, my Beloved, with whom I am well pleased.” 18 We ourselves heard this voice come from heaven, while we were with him on the holy mountain.
19 So we have the prophetic message more fully confirmed. You will do well to be attentive to this as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts. 20 First of all you must understand this, that no prophecy of scripture is a matter of one’s own interpretation, 21 because no prophecy ever came by human will, but men and women moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God.
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 St. Peter here provides his credentials, explaining that he speaks with authority because he himself saw the Lord Jesus Christ revealed as Most High God by the voice of the Father on Mount Tabor, at the Transfiguration, as seen in Mark 9. It is also worth noting that he makes clear in the final verses of the passage that there is indeed a correct interpretation of Scripture, which indicates that some people are already interpreting the Scripture in a way contrary to the Gospel, and he is correcting this error; this is why he is asserting this particular and unique authority as an eyewitness, in order to call the churches back to faithfulness and protect them from error.)
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?