Joshua 22

Joshua 22: 1-6

Then Joshua called the Reubenites, and the Gadites, and the half tribe of Manasseh,2 And said unto them, Ye have kept all that Moses the servant of the Lord commanded you, and have obeyed my voice in all that I commanded you:3 Ye have not left your brethren these many days unto this day, but have kept the charge of the commandment of the Lord your God.4 And now the Lord your God hath given rest unto your brethren, as he promised them: therefore now return ye, and get you unto your tents, and unto the land of your possession, which Moses the servant of the Lord gave you on the other side Jordan.5 But take diligent heed to do the commandment and the law, which Moses the servant of the Lord charged you, to love the Lord your God, and to walk in all his ways, and to keep his commandments, and to cleave unto him, and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul.6 So Joshua blessed them, and sent them away: and they went

After seven years of fighting and helping their brothers, it was time for the Reubenites, Gadites, and half-tribe of Manasseh to return to their homeland east of Jordan. Joshua reinforced the instructions to heed the Lord's command given to them by Moses in Deuteronomy 6:5, "You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength.". In the King James and several other translations in the remainder of verse 5 in chapter 22, we find the word cleave translated from the Hebrew word, habaq.  Biblical concordances give the following as definitions of cleave cling, stick, stay close, keep close; follow closely; join; adhere to as if glued; to be glued.

We find this commandment in Matthew 22:37-40, Mark 12;30-31, and Luke 10:27.  We are to walk in His ways as commanded by Jesus. Walking closely to the LORD was the way to abundant life for the twelve tribes in the Promised Land and is the way of abundant life in Brandon, Valrico, Lithia, Seffner, Dover, Riverview, etc. We are to walk in his ways, be obedient to Jesus, hold fast- CLEAVE -to our LORD in every trial, every sorrow, every challenge, and every celebration. At the end of each day, we should reflect upon how we loved, served, walked, and, yes, cleaved to the LORD.

Prayer: Lord, you gave us your first commandment in the Old Testament, and you had Joshua remind us again not only to love you, to walk in your ways, to keep your commandment, and to serve you, but to cleave to you. How important it is for us to cleave, to abide, to follow closely. How much sweeter is our life is when we do! We have the peace that passes understanding when we cleave to you. We have joy when we cleave to you, even in our darkest storms. Holy Spirit we ask you to come against the “solvents” of this world which try to keep us from cleaving to you. We ask this in the name of Jesus. Amen.