March 24th, 26:Joshua 18-20; 1 Corinthians 9; Daily Bible in a Year

Welcome to the Daily Radio Bible podcast for March 24th, 2025! In this episode, Hunter—your Bible Reading Coach—guides us through the next stage of our journey in scripture, exploring Joshua chapters 18-20 and 1 Corinthians 9. Together, we witness the distribution of land among the tribes of Israel, the establishment of cities of refuge, and a compelling lesson on spiritual purpose and generosity from Paul's letter to the Corinthians.

With heartfelt prayers and reflections, Hunter invites us to see how ancient laws and unfamiliar stories still speak to our lives today, encouraging us to "chart out the boundaries" of God's blessings and truly occupy what He has given us. Settle in for a time of scripture, thoughtful commentary, and prayer, as we focus our hearts on the transformational story of God's love for the whole world—and remember, you are loved!

TODAY'S DEVOTION:

The lesson of the ox. Sometimes in the Bible, we encounter strange, obscure laws like “Don’t muzzle an ox while it’s threshing grain,” taken from Deuteronomy 25. At first, these sayings may seem puzzling or out of place for our everyday lives. But layered within them are implications that reach deep into the heart of God’s wisdom. God is not only speaking to farmers about showing care to their animals—He’s also painting a picture for us, showing how we should treat those who serve and work on our behalf, even those who work for the benefit of our souls.

When we read through the Old Testament, so much of it can feel unrelated to our experience. How does muzzling an ox have anything to do with me, you might ask? Yet when we read these things, we shouldn’t dismiss them or move quickly past them. Yes, the words are spoken to farmers, and yes, Joshua is speaking to the tribes of Israel—but God is speaking to us, too. It was written not just for them, but for us. God calls us to a deeper reading, sometimes an allegorical or analogous reading. Many church fathers felt that a spiritual engagement with Scripture—a creative, allegorical interpretation—was a higher form of connecting with the text.

Maybe God would have you chart out what He’s put in front of you. Maybe He’d have you sit and write out the boundaries of His blessings and gifts for you. Maybe, as was true for the Israelites, you’ll find that there is unoccupied land and unrealized gifts in your life. God may be calling you to chart them, to seize them, to claim the inheritance that He has set before you.

The lesson in the ox, and in all the pages we read, is that the Bible is for us. It’s not just about ancient animals or ancient reports—it’s about what God has done for us. This book is a revelation of Him, about the God who gave us His very life and about learning to seize and live in the reality of it. So maybe we can all chart out what God has already done for us—write it down, recognize it—and then go out and occupy it. Seize it. Live in the reality of who you are in Christ.

That’s a prayer that I have for my own soul. That’s a prayer that I have for my family, for my wife and my daughters and my son. And that’s a prayer that I have for you. May it be so.