Immerse: Kingdoms - Flipbook - Page 22
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IMMERSE
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KINGDOMS
6:27–7:12
“May the curse of the Lord fall on anyone
who tries to rebuild the town of Jericho.
At the cost of his firstborn son,
he will lay its foundation.
At the cost of his youngest son,
he will set up its gates.”
So the Lord was with Joshua, and his reputation spread throughout
the land.
But Israel violated the instructions about the things set apart for the Lord.
A man named Achan had stolen some of these dedicated things, so the
Lord was very angry with the Israelites. Achan was the son of Carmi, a
descendant of Zimri son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah.
Joshua sent some of his men from Jericho to spy out the town of Ai, east
of Bethel, near Beth-aven. When they returned, they told Joshua, “There’s
no need for all of us to go up there; it won’t take more than two or three
thousand men to attack Ai. Since there are so few of them, don’t make all
our people struggle to go up there.”
So approximately 3,000 warriors were sent, but they were soundly defeated. The men of Ai chased the Israelites from the town gate as far as the
quarries, and they killed about thirty-six who were retreating down the
slope. The Israelites were paralyzed with fear at this turn of events, and
their courage melted away.
Joshua and the elders of Israel tore their clothing in dismay, threw dust
on their heads, and bowed face down to the ground before the Ark of the
Lord until evening. Then Joshua cried out, “Oh, Sovereign Lord, why
did you bring us across the Jordan River if you are going to let the Amorites kill us? If only we had been content to stay on the other side! Lord,
what can I say now that Israel has fled from its enemies? For when the Canaanites and all the other people living in the land hear about it, they will
surround us and wipe our name off the face of the earth. And then what
will happen to the honor of your great name?”
But the Lord said to Joshua, “Get up! Why are you lying on your face
like this? Israel has sinned and broken my covenant! They have stolen
some of the things that I commanded must be set apart for me. And they
have not only stolen them but have lied about it and hidden the things
among their own belongings. That is why the Israelites are running from
their enemies in defeat. For now Israel itself has been set apart for destruction. I will not remain with you any longer unless you destroy the things
among you that were set apart for destruction.
The Partnership
Tyndale House Publishers, founded in 1962, is one of the largest privately
held Christian publishers of books, Bibles, and digital media in the world.
Tyndale publishes the Holy Bible, New Living Translation (NLT), the
translation of choice for millions of readers. www.tyndale.com
The Institute for Bible Reading is an activist think tank uncommonly
focused on providing people tools and frameworks that fundamentally
change the way they read the Bible so it can achieve its mission and become that story that defines their lives. www.instituteforbiblereading.org
The Art
A Word from Rachel Van Dyke, Illustrator:
When I was approached by Tyndale House Publishers to consider creating
art work for the covers of their new Reading Bible series, I had already
been in prayer for a few months about how God might use my artistic gifts
for His Kingdom. There was a deep need in me to see a direct connection
between my artistic expression and bringing people to the saving
knowledge of Christ.
The title, Immerse, is so visually expressive for me. I was thrilled to create
a series of works that would embody this feeling of immersion in Christ’s
love and God’s word.
I was given the book titles for the Immerse series, each one inspiring in
me a color and gesture. Throughout the series, the cover art represents
a set of harmonious colors to express the title to that particular Reading
Bible volume. It feels alive and in motion, much like the Spirit of God in
our lives.
immersebible.com
