March 24-28
[M] Deut 27-31; Luke 12
[T] Deut 32-34; Psalm 13; Luke 13
[W] Joshua 1-4; Psalm 143; Luke 14
[T] Joshua 5-8; Psalm 14; Luke 15
[F] Joshua 9-13; Luke 16
Dwell Plan Day 61-65 | CSB | Digital PDF | Printable PDF
Notes from Jon & Chris
Monday
Deuteronomy 27-28 | This passage covers two ideas: curses and blessings. Both sides of this point us to Jesus.
Take a look at how this works: God lays out the curses for anyone who doesn’t keep His law perfectly—which means we’re all in trouble. Since we could never live up to that standard, Jesus stepped in to do what we couldn’t, fulfilling the law both in His obedience and by taking its punishment. On the cross, He took the curse we deserved, just like Galatians 3:13 says: “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us.” When we put our trust in Him, we’re not just forgiven, we’re also credited with His perfect obedience. Instead of living under the weight of failure, we get to live in the freedom and blessing of His righteousness.
Deuteronomy 27:5 | This command comes up a few times in the Scripture, and an “uncut stone” (one not touched or chiseled or tooled by a human) is in Daniel’s vision of judgment. What is in this odd little detail of rocks that haven’t been touched by people? What is being taught here? This expresses a kingdom principle deep inside the Bible and our faith—our God alone is the one who saves us, not ourselves! Again and again God reveals this in story after story. Our strength, our goodness, our works—our “chiseling” of our bodies, lives, and careers—are not how God reveals His power to save. This is the teaching of our total inability to even make an altar good enough for sacrifice, and the complementary teaching: His grace alone is enough.
Deuteronomy 27:15-26 | As we read this year, I can’t help but notice liturgy in the Bible: scripts that are read back and forth between people. It’s hard not to notice these things as we at Cross & Crown consider becoming Anglican. Here we have a simple one: one group speaks the curse and another group speaks back (which is what antiphon means) to the first group. God’s people have always used liturgy to affirm and remember God’s words.
Deuteronomy 28 | Remember all of these curses when we get to the exile later in Kings and as we read the exiled prophets like Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and Daniel.
Deuteronomy 29:19 | It’s all about your heart and change inside. It always has been. Obedience as a form of performance, with your true thoughts and desires masked behind pious words and actions, is evil. Christ himself points out this problem of hypocrisy and outward fake spirituality again and again. So much that they can’t wait to kill him.
Deuteronomy 29:29 | Memory verse alert! This is one of the key texts in the whole Bible. There are things that God has revealed, and there are things that God keeps secret. Period. We don’t know the secret stuff, it belongs to Him. We’d sure like to know secret things, but that’s the problem: curiosity isn’t holiness. We have a whole lot of revealed truth that we barely know and remember already! Take care and commit this verse to your heart. There are so many things that you will not understand in this life, and even more that you won’t have any answer for. That’s deeply true to our experiences and suffering in this world. When we give up prying and desiring the “secret info” that we think we need, we’re then free to trust God with what He has made clear: He works all things for good for those who love Him, who are called according to His purposes.
Luke 12:1 | Christ targets hypocrisy in these next chapters, focusing on the super religious folks of his day and their self-righteous fakery. That’s the essence of hypocrisy: it’s presenting to people a false self and not the true you. This is the core problem of all human religious activities—we can appear as better than we are. Many people will even think you are better than you are; it’s the biggest payoff for outward religious actions, and it’s dangerous. Notice how closely this follows Deuteronomy. You can’t fake out God, just other people. God wants our hearts.
Luke 12:49-53 | Jesus sure doesn’t talk like a hippie. These words almost seem like God put them in just to check whether you’re really reading this or not! But this is unvarnished truth: Jesus came to divide as much as he came to unify. Jesus accepts no compromise, and yet offers an unimaginable grace. What a savior.
Tuesday
Deuteronomy 32-33 | Look in the song and the blessing of these chapters for the name Jeshurun. It’s another name for Israel, and only Isaiah uses it again in the Bible to refer to Israel (Isaiah 44:2.) It means “straight, upright, and level.” What kind of name is that for Israel? Seriously, how have they lived up to that? In fact, God has already predicted that they will turn away after Moses is gone; God tells Moses that will happen. So why this name? Is it aspirational? I don’t think so.
This is the presence and proclamation of our Father’s deepest mercy. God names his people not for what He hopes they might someday be—but for who He will make them in Jesus. It’s such a precious promise to be renamed by God; it’s also promised to every believer. God will rename us all. and it will truly describe us. I wonder what my name will be!
Deuteronomy 32:51 | It doesn’t matter how amazing or holy or faithful you are in God’s kingdom. God doesn’t play favorites. Moses is disciplined just like any other man. Let us all take note and turn from our sins, no matter our age or prestige or maturity. God will not be mocked.
Luke 13:3, 5 | “No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.… No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.” | The more that I read the gospels, the more I am baffled by the modern portrayal of Jesus as some peace loving hippie who just accepts people for who they are, no matter how sinful. That version of Jesus ignores His clear call to repentance and the reality that He is both Savior and Judge. You can only believe in a watered-down Jesus if you avoid reading what He actually says. Our goal isn’t to shape Jesus into who we want Him to be, but to worship Him for who He truly is—our Lord and King.
Psalm 13:1 | How long, O Lord? Will You forget me forever? How long will You hide Your face from me? | David wrote this psalm, but honestly, it could be the cry of any believer throughout history. There are moments when we feel exactly like this—forgotten, unseen, and alone. But the irony is this: it’s not that God forgets us; it’s that we forget Him. Even in our darkest moments, He is still there, faithful as ever.
Luke 13:33 | Holy sarcasm?! It looks like it. Who kills and hurts and rejects and despises God’s messengers and servants? God’s people do, again and again. The lesson is hard and a bit scary. If you think you’re at the center of God’s will and plan, and that He specially loves you, and that you’re being pretty holy and good—then you’re in a very very dangerous place. A “good times” and “good feelings” religion doesn’t work because it isn’t real. It’s just a prosperity gospel cashing in on pleasure. As Jesus puts it, anyone doing that has already gotten their reward. Joy in our salvation is a completely different matter, because it comes from realizing God’s love is for sinners, even the worst sorts. Even folks like me.
Wednesday
The Book of Joshua | Today, we’re starting the book of Joshua where the Israelites take the promised land through the destruction of the Canaanites. If you have been skipping the Bible Project videos, please take a minute to go and watch the one on this book. Not only does Tim give a great outline of the book that will help you understand the flow, he also tackles the destruction of the Canaanites and the violence in this book.
Joshua 1 | Count how many times God tells Joshua to be strong and courageous. It’s a lot! Then in verse 18, the people all say it to him. And if you go and read the end of Deuteronomy again you’ll see that Moses says it to Joshua too. What’s the point of all this encouragement? They all agree—God, Moses, and the people—that Joshua needs to hear it! Joshua has spent most of his life as the number two guy: he was Moses’ assistant. He isn’t the number one kind of guy, but that doesn’t matter to God! He hasn’t led out front and doesn’t have that kind of personality. So what? Our God uses us to do things outside of our comfort and gifts and abilities. Why? So God can get all of the glory.
Joshua 2 | This text tells the story of Rahab, a Canaanite woman who chose to trust in Yahweh rather than the gods of her people. Though an outsider and a prostitute, she acted in faith by hiding the Israelite spies and declaring, “For the Lord your God, He is God in the heavens above and on the earth beneath” (Joshua 2:11). Her faith wasn’t just words—she risked everything to align herself with God’s people. If you really think about it, all she had to go on was rumors and whispers. She had very little information, but she still took a leap of faith and decided to forsake the gods of her people and follow the God of these wandering-in-the-desert people.
Because of her trust in Yahweh, she and her family were spared when Jericho fell, and she became part of Israel. Amazingly, Rahab’s faith led to her inclusion in the genealogy of Jesus (Matthew 1:5), proving that God’s grace reaches beyond Israel to all who believe. Her story reminds us that no one is too far gone for redemption, and that God welcomes all who put their trust in Him.
Just like Rahab, we are saved not by our background or good works but by faith in the true and living God who offers grace to all kinds of people.
Thursday
Joshua 5:13-15 | The Commander of the Lord’s Army | There is a lot here in this little text but I want you to see a great insight from the Bible Project video on the book of Joshua: Tim Mackie points out that this passage shows us that we are constantly wanting God to be on our side but the real question should be, “Am I on God’s side?”
Joshua 5:13-15 | This person that Joshua meets here sure looks like, sounds like, and acts like Jesus. Scholars call this kind of appearing of God as human in the Old Testament a “theophany.” That’s just a fancy word for “God appearance.” This person accepts worship from Joshua and has the killer title “God’s army commander.” Some have thought maybe it was an angel, but angels get very antsy and irritated when you worship them; they correct you right away. The most logical and consistent explanation is that this is Jesus. A pre-incarnate Jesus, which is another fancy way of saying it’s just Jesus before He became the God/man person in the New Testament. The Bible is quite clear that Jesus is eternal. That means He doesn’t have a beginning or an end. He’s greater than time. So these theophanies are little glimpses of how Jesus lives beyond time and space. It’s mysterious, it’s supernatural, and it’s stunning. It’s who God is. Praise Him!
Luke 15:11-32 | In this passage Jesus tells the parable that we have come to call “The Prodigal Son.” The problem is, that name is a bit misleading. The story isn’t just about the runaway son. As Tim Keller points out in one of my (Jon’s) favorite books of all time, The Prodigal God, this story is about two lost sons. The younger son rebels openly, wasting his inheritance on reckless living, but the older son is equally lost—resentful, self-righteous, and unwilling to celebrate his brother’s return. Both sons misunderstand their father’s love: one thinks he must run away to find happiness, while the other believes he must earn it through obedience. But the father’s love is extravagant, welcoming the wayward son home with open arms and pleading with the older son to join the feast. This parable shows us that sin isn’t just about breaking the rules; it’s also about trying to be our own savior. Whether we rebel like the younger son or rely on our own goodness like the older son, we all need the Father’s grace. The good news is that Jesus, the true older brother, came to seek and save the lost, offering His life to bring us home. God’s love is prodigal—recklessly lavish—and He invites us to stop striving and simply receive it.
Joshua 6 | You’re going to read a phrase again and again in Joshua from this chapter onwards. It’s this expression about things and people as “devoted to destruction.” The Hebrew word is herem. There is no English equivalent. It describes a total act of judgment by God, to be carried out by his people. Its meaning is unambiguous. It describes the act of obliterating everything. This can be a bit disturbing, and it should be. It includes women, children, animals, and property. This has led many to judge God and reject the Bible, claiming that, in the end, it rationalizes genocide. Some scholars go on to say that the book of Joshua is written to make excuses for wholesale murder and expansionist imperialism.
But that is not what the Bible teaches us, and these scholars either don’t trust the Bible to truly be God’s words or they don’t believe what God says: God tells us that these people groups are very very wicked. We can only guess how bad it was from all the laws that God gave them—a bunch of those rules about incest and idolatry reflect the everyday practices of these people groups. All the way back in Genesis, over 400 years before these events, God told Abraham that these local people groups were adding up their wickedness until it was full. When it got full, God would judge them. So why the extreme violence? These folks serve as a picture of the final judgment. This is a big big moment in redemptive history, in God’s saving acts of grace. Because of that, eternal realities are out in the open. Life and death, blessing and judgment, they’re all super visible and clear.
It’s also a picture of how a culture can drift so far from God that He brings judgment on it. We’re learning who this God really is. As we see this holy violence in Joshua, remember what Jesus said about the cities that rejected Him. It would be worse for them on the day of judgment than it will be for Sodom. Do you need a real life picture of the judgment Jesus is talking about? Read the book of Joshua. And as you read that phrase “devoted to destruction” in the book of Joshua remember this: it was Jesus who was devoted to His own destruction on the cross—that saves sinners like you and me. Hallelujah, what a savior!
Joshua 7:11 | It was just one man’s sin, but God says that Israel sinned. How can one person’s sin scuttle the holiness of the whole group? Our holiness is a corporate thing as much as it’s a personal thing. Your holiness belongs to others and to your God, not just to you. And the corollary is in this chapter: your sins affect your community in ways that you don’t get, or understand, or fear. You can personally destroy church ministry by your own private unfaithfulness and sin. That’s sobering isn’t it? I wonder how many churches have failed or drifted for just this reason. There is no sin that doesn’t hurt others, is there? That’s a lie right out of hell itself, and this chapter reveals it. Your covetousness, idolatry, and selfishness can destroy in God’s kingdom, so let’s at least repent for the sake of others if we won’t be moved to do it for Jesus or for ourselves.
Joshua 8 | The Fall of Ai | I (Jon) grew up in what I call an evan-jelly church. And in that church, I remember one of my Sunday school teachers getting really excited to tell us how the capture of Ai is still taught at West Point in classes about military strategy (I don’t even know if that’s true or if it’s one of those preacher stories that nobody ever bothered to check). And even as a youth group age kid, I remember thinking, “Isn’t the point of this that God was on their side—not that they were amazing military tacticians?”
Psalm 14 | How bad is it out there in the world? The Bible never hesitates to speak clearly: It’s really bad. God can see it. It’s universal and awful. Your experience of how terrible people can be is accurate. But don’t be discouraged. The scripture paints such a dark picture because it’s the truth, but it also serves another purpose. The rescue and protection and restoration of God’s people shines all the brighter! That is God’s business, and the only people terrified in verse 5 aren’t the poor and weak, it’s the wicked ones who don’t believe in Him. Trust the Bible; it tells you the truth of what the world is really like. That’s why you can trust God’s rescue is the real thing.
Friday
Joshua 10:12-13 | Remember what genre of literature you’re reading: fantastical non-fiction. Or you can call it supernatural non-fiction. And for anyone who cares to ask, yes I believe this is cold historical fact. That’s the way it’s told. It’s so odd, because the text doesn’t create much fanfare. It just tells you what God did in a few sentences. In a few words God does something with the orbit of the earth around our sun, something so remarkable and incredible that it beggars the mind. Sort of like dead people rising. That’s the kind of stuff this God does. Trust these words and stories. He’s that reliable. Trust in Him.
Joshua 13:14, 33 | I always get a small thrill over the allotment given to the Levites. They serve God in his temple and so they don’t have a normal portion of land, like the rest of God’s people. This is a preview of all professional ministry, including pastors and worship leaders and church staff. And what is their portion or allotment? It comes from the fire of the altar of sacrifice; it comes in the presence of God himself as their inheritance. The Levites are then not just a picture of professional ministry are they? No, that’s why Peter calls us a kingdom of priests. So these little notes, where God mentions how the Levites will be taken care of, paint a picture of how God specially cares for those in the ministry and how God fully loves all of his people as his ministers.
Luke 16:1-13 | The Parable of the Dishonest Manager | Phillip Ryker has a great note on this parable in his commentary on Luke. He says, “Jesus used this story to set up some very practical advice about how to use our money for spiritual gain. There are three principles in this parable: first, use your worldly wealth to make everlasting friends (Luke 16:9); second, be faithful with what you have so you can receive something even better (Luke 16:10–12); and third, do not make money your master (Luke 16:13).”
Luke 16:19-31 | The rich man and Lazarus | I remember hearing a sermon at one point where the pastor pointed out that the rich man is never named but Lazarus is. We’re supposed to see that and realize that the rich man is probably not named because his wealth had become his identity. He’s no longer Jeff or George or whoever—he’s just a guy with money and no hope.