So I gave you a land on which you did not toil and cities you did not build; and you live in them and eat from vineyards and olive groves that you did not plant.
Joshua 24:13

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READ: Joshua 24:1-13

Years ago, when time for studying was short and exams were looming, SparkNotes and CliffsNotes got many students through college. These days, AI and ChatGPT step in, offering a quick synopsis of the book we should have read, providing a summary, theme, key points, and important characters in a fraction of the time it would have taken us to actually read War and Peace. They also free us up to stay out late for pizza or spend Saturday at the beach instead of studying! (Bless you, SparkNotes, CliffsNotes, and AI!)

Highlight reels of football games serve a similar function in sports, splicing together all the best moments and key plays of the game. This allows players and fans alike to catch a quick snapshot of the game, along with commentary from the armchair-quarterback sportscasters. If we couldn’t see the whole game live—and we forgot to record it—then watching a highlight reel is the next-best thing.

Joshua understood the value of something like ChatGPT or a highlight reel. After assembling the entire nation of Israel, he recounted God’s activity throughout their entire history, reflecting on key events that demonstrated God’s faithfulness. Beginning with Abram’s parents, he covers Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; Israel’s 400 years of slavery in Egypt; Moses leading them out of Egypt; the miraculous crossing of the Red Sea—and then the Jordan River; and the victories won east of the Jordan River and in Canaan. It’s a sweeping highlight reel of their entire history as God’s people, delivered not by an armchair quarterback, but by their beloved leader, someone who’d been on the journey with them since Egypt. Joshua told their story from God’s perspective, reflecting not on his own role but on what God has done. All credit went to God.

A STORY OF THEN & NOW

My Life Reflects God’s Rescue | Tommy F. | Willow South Barrington

I never thought my story would be worth telling—it’s not glamorous. I grew up in a house f illed with anger, abuse, and addiction. My father drank, and my mother showed me love only when it wouldn’t get her hurt. My heartbreak at home led me to search for acceptance anywhere I could find it, leading me to the streets, drugs, and eventually prison. I lost years of my life running from pain, from responsibility, from myself. I hurt people—especially my kids. I became the man I swore I’d never be.

But as I reflect back over my life, in the midst of all that chaos, God was never far from me. I got arrested, and in jail, I accepted Jesus after hearing about Him from a group of inmates.

In that moment, I felt a light—real and warm—shine over me. But after my release, I didn’t stay on the straight-and-narrow path. Still, something inside me had changed: for the first time, I experienced a sense of conviction for my wrongdoings. God was calling me back to Himself.

I ended up in prison again after an overdose. I should have died, but God saved me. In prison, God granted me favor with the prison officers and my fellow inmates. He opened doors and gave me a peace I hadn’t previously known. I studied His Word and led Bible studies, and I even got my plumbing certification!

I’ve been sober for more than two years now. I have a job, a wife, and a church home at Willow. I’m slowly rebuilding relationships with my kids. I still face challenges, but now, I am facing life sober with God by my side, and my story reflects God’s activity in my life. I’ve been rescued from a deep pit, and if God could pull me out, I believe God can reach anyone.

DID YOU KNOW?

The gathering of Israel in Joshua 24 wasn’t just an oversized family meeting; it was a holy religious service. Scholars think it’s likely that for this event, the priests carried the ark of the covenant from its usual home (the Tabernacle in Shiloh) to where they now gathered in Shechem, a distance of about ten miles.21 Under the Old Covenant between God and Israel, the ark symbolized God’s presence, so with God in their midst, Joshua reflected over their entire history. Under our New Covenant with God through Jesus, no ark of the covenant is needed for us to be in God’s presence. “For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them” (Matthew 18:20).

A PRAYER

God, as a follower of Jesus, I inherit a rich family history, not only through the patriarchs of Israel, but through the entire history of the church—from Jesus’ time until today. May I add to that church history by following You with my whole heart. Amen.

FOR REFLECTION

In the highlight reel of God’s activity from Abraham through Joshua, which story inspires you the most? Why?

When you reflect on all God has done through your own local church, what stands out to you? What has impacted you the most? Why?