The heart of the people sank, all spirit knocked out of them. Joshua ripped his clothes and fell on his face to the ground before the Chest of God...Joshua said, "Oh, oh, oh...Master, God. Why did you insist on bringing this people across the Jordan? To make us victims of the Amorites? To wipe us out? Why didn't we just settle on the east side of the Jordan?"...God said to Joshua, "Get up. Why are you groveling?...You won't be able to face your enemies until you have gotten rid of these cursed things." (7:5-13)God basically told Joshua, "Quit praying. Get on your feet and deal with the sin."
I find it fascinating that there are times that God might not want us to waste time on our knees praying (or whining) about what's going wrong in our lives. I'm not saying that God doesn't want us to bring our burdens to Him; clearly He does. (Phil. 4:6-7, 1 Peter 5:7, Matt. 11:28-30) Even Joshua and the other leaders were prostrate until evening. (7:6) But at some point, God commands us to get up and deal with our sin.
Sure, I can be upset with someone, but rather than just praying to God (or telling others) about how much they hurt/disappointed/offended me, I need to get up and deal with my sinful, unloving response, and do what God's already told me. Forgive as quickly and completely as the Master forgave you. (Colossians 3:14) I can think of plenty of other examples related to self-righteousness, gossip, worry, profanity, and selfishness where I just need to stop whining and do what God commands.
Through Joshua, God is telling us that we have real battles to fight and real enemies to slay in our lives.
"Defeating their enemies involved conflict for Israel, failure, and the need for discernment, just as it does in your life. Israel had to fight real battles with real swords that shed real blood. Some of the people, like Achan, preferred blessings to battle. That preference led to failure as it will in your life." 66 LLWhat am I discerning that God wants me to battle today? Where do I need to get up and deal with my sin? What sins are defeating me, or at least winning right at this moment?
A random side note: I'm guessing that Jericho is the only battle in history where the troops were circumcised on their way to meet their enemies. It definitely has to be supernatural that the Israelites won the battle so quickly after their procedures! :-)
2 comments:
Reading the Jericho account, I cannot get the Veggie Tales version of "Josh and the Big Wall" out of my mind!!
Cici, I thought the same thing when I read about Joshua falling down, only to be told "quit grovelling". How many times do I pray about my responses or difficult people rather than DO something?! If God's Word already says it/commands it, I need to deal with it right away.
Too funny, Stac. We listen to that Veggie Tales song all the time! "Joshua fought the battle of Jericho and the walls came tumbling down!" Meredith can usually chime in on the word DOWN. Haha
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