Day 53: November 6, 2025 – Joshua 10-12 and Acts 10-12

We see an accounting of all the battles that Joshua was involved in, all of which ended up with Joshua and Israel winning the battles and conquering the lands. One by one, and there are many, Joshua is given the battle. In one even hail stones are part of the victory that God brings about to the people of Israel. Even with the other nations gathering together and trying in a coordinated effort to overtake the Israelites, God is still stronger. This is the place where we see the most slaughter and battle and how the people of God take the land that was promised to them.

With Acts we see a different story where instead of battles and conquering of the gentiles, we see that the gentiles are fully included into the salvation story of God. Peter has a dream, what I call “pigs in a blanket” where he sees all of the unclean animals that were forbidden to be eaten declared clean by God for what God has made is clean, period. We also see Saul, who has now become Paul, welcomed into the fellowship and gentiles who were outside of the community brought into the community even under much criticism. Instead of God demanding a certain rigor in who is part of His people, we see an opening and an expansion of God’s people to all of humanity. This is crucial to who is now God’s people. It is not just the Israelites, but all of creation and all of humanity.