Tuesday, April 19, 2011

Joshua 7

I have missed blogging. I have had a couple of very busy school weeks but it's break now so I have some time to read and post about Joshua. Interestingly right now The DailyAudioBible.com is going through Joshua so I get to hear it each day.

Right after the walls of Jericho fell down the Isreaelites fall under the holy curse. Joshua sends men against Ai and they have to flee. Joshua is devasted and falls before the Lord and asks why they weren't allowed to just settle on the other side of the Jordan. God says "get up!" Okay I added the exclamation point, but I bet that He said it that way. He informs Joshua that they have sinned and how to find out who it was.

I want to stop there because this is where I got the most out of the chapter. How many times have I felt the victory of the Lord just to end up running from the enemy and telling God "why did or didn't You...?" I think it's interesting that after Joshua has been made famous all over the land he sends out spies, again, and then sends only a few thousand men against the city of Ai. I wonder if Joshua was feeling invincible, prideful, and thought "I got this." I wonder if he talked to God about it all. The Bible doesn't say that he did. As an aside I am amazed at how some of the Old Testament people talked and listened to God so regularly. I wish I was at that point in my walk.

Joshua sent his small group of men up against a seemingly weak city and they had to run for their lives. Sometimes I forget who is the one who wins the victories in my life. It isn't me! It's the Lord and I wonder if Joshua did the same. He sent his spies, will he not learn about those spies, didn't talk to God about Ai, and sent only a small group of men against the city. I send out spies, don't talk to God, and go forth in my own strength and end up running for my life. I thought I could defeat the enemy I went up against.

Then I do a Joshua and fall down on my face and cry out to God asking Him why He didn't let me stay immature in my faith, why He asked me to step out in faith and take the land which He promised me. Then He says "get up and stop graveling! You have sinned." Yup, I have sinned. I have come short of the glory of the Lord over and over again and sometimes that sin results in a fleeing before my enemies. I may have never hidden gold or silver, or a robe, that must have been one nice robe, but I have taken hold of unclean things and tried to hide them from God, just like Achan did.

Thankfully, even though I have to face the consequences of my sin, I don't have to be stoned to death and then burned. But hopefully that part of me that needs to die will. As much as I don't like the consequences of my sin I hope that the Lord is gracious and what needs to die in me does. I don't like repeating the same mistakes. I don't want the selfishness, fear, covetness, etc. to continue in me. I want to deal with the root of my sin and have God tell me to not hesitate or be timid and to go back up against my city of Ai like He tells Joshua in chapter 8, but that's for next time.

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