Biblical Friendship - Our Communal Walk with Christ

There is a strong biblical theme that appears to me to be often missing or at least muted from the hyper-individualistic west.  That is community.  There is communal joy and communal sorrow, groups praised and groups condemned in the Bible.  Even the Israelites recognized this when the people came to Moses and said, "We sinned," (Num 21:7 after another time of complaining against God in favor of Egyptian gods).

Becoming an Israelite Secret Agent

Read: Joshua 2

Background: When the Israelites first prepared to enter the land of Canaan, promised to them by the LORD God, Moses sent 12 spies into the land to map it out, determine the best routes for invasion, and bring back some of the fruit of the land to encourage the people (Num 13).  The men chosen to spy out the land were leaders, men of courage and cunning, some of the best in Israel, including Caleb from Judah and Joshua from Ephraim.  After forty successful days of spying out the land, the expedition of secret agents returned.