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March 9 - Morning
“Then Joshua tore his clothes and fell facedown to the ground before the ark of the Lord, remaining there till evening. The elders of Israel did the same, and sprinkled dust on their heads.
And Joshua said,
'Alas, Sovereign Lord, why did you ever bring this people across the Jordan to deliver us into the hands of the Amorites to destroy us? If only we had been content to stay on the other side of the Jordan! Pardon your servant, Lord. What can I say, now that Israel has been routed by its enemies? The Canaanites and the other people of the country will hear about this and they will surround us and wipe out our name from the earth. What then will you do for your own great name?'
The Lord said to Joshua, 'Stand up! What are you doing down on your face? Israel has sinned; they have violated my covenant, which I commanded them to keep. They have taken some of the devoted things; they have stolen, they have lied, they have put them with their own possessions.' ”
- Joshua 7:6-11 |
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| Sin and Defeat |
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There was sin, and thus judgment, in the camp of Israel because Achan had taken from Jericho “a beautiful robe from Babylonia, two hundred shekels of silver and a wedge of gold weighing fifty shekels” (Joshua 7:1). These things were to be devoted to the Lord in the fire of Jericho along with the rest of the city. Then, before the next battle Joshua and his men did not inquire of the Lord, but instead planned their strategy assuming the Lord would be with them. Joshua’s 3,000 troops were routed for about 3.5 miles east-southeast along the road leading to Jericho to the Wadi el-Makkuk, or the sebarim (Joshua 7:5), “stone quarries” by the Canaanite forces stationed at Ai.
With this defeat Joshua uses the common signs of mourning: tore his clothes, fell facedown, and sprinkled dust on his head (7:6). While on his face before the Lord, or in front of the Ark of the Covenant, Joshua speaks pathetic words of doubt that are laced with the view point of the exodus generation that perished in the wilderness. Joshua questioned God and even accused him of failure and deception when he says:
- Why did you bring us across the Jordan?
- You delivered us into the hands of the Amorites!
- Crossing the Jordan River was a mistake!
- It’s my fault! I took Israel too far.
- I should not have tried to conquer the Promised Land.
- Now every one of us is going to be killed by the Canaanites!
- What are you going to do, Lord? I’ve destroyed your reputation!
The Lord was not impressed with Joshua’s prayer and did not accept his confession. In fact, the Lord rebukes Joshua for being in the wrong place at the wrong time with the wrong attitude. The Lord commands Joshua, “Stand up!” Then, the Lord asks him, probably with a divine level of sarcasm and great disgust, “What are you doing down on your face?” Joshua’s prayer, intercession, theology and attitude were all utterly rejected by the Lord.
Instead, the Lord indicates the plan to conquer the Promised Land is still a “Go” and God has not changed his mind concerning his covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Neither, did Joshua overextend himself by crossing the Jordan. The problem was that Israel had sinned, and since the Lord does not support sin, Israel had fought alone. The Israelites had fought the Canaanites without the presence and protection of the Lord. They were in a sense, in the same condition the Canaanites were when Joshua said in Numbers 14:9, “Their protection (“shadow”) was gone.” Joshua is told to deal with the sin and resume the conquest of the land. |
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"There is a sad irony in the seeming success of many Christian churches and schools. The irony is that the more you adjust obscure Biblical doctrines to make Christian reality more attractive to unbelievers, the less Christian reality there is when they arrive… If you adjust your doctrine to fit the world in order to attract the world, sooner or later the world realizes that they already have what the church offers."
- John Piper |
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New Testament words for sin:
1. Kakos – means bad as in morally bad
2. Poneros – means evil, usually moral evil. Often
used to describe Satan
and demons.
3. Asebes – means godless or ungodly
4. Enochos – means guilty, and when used in a legal context, it usually refers to
being worthy of capital punishment.
5. Hamartis – means to miss the mark
6. Adikia – used to refer to any unrighteous conduct.
7. Anomos – means lawless and is translated "iniquity"
8. Parabates – means transgressor and refers to violations of the law
9. Agnoein – refers to ignorant worship or lack of worship that occurred when Jews did not worship Christ (Acts 3:17) or the Gentiles did not worship the true God (Acts 17:30; Eph. 4:18.
10. Planao – means to go astray and is used of leading or deceiving others or self
11. Paraptoma – means falling away and usually, an intentional falling away
12. Hypocrisis – translated "Hypocrite" and refers to:
a. People who pretend,
like an actor
b. People who interpret
falsely
c. People who follow false interpretations that are
known to be false |
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Ratson (Hb) – Favor (Eng) – ratson is the Hebrew word that means “favor,” “goodwill,” “acceptance,” “desire,” and “pleasure.” Ratson is a very positive reaction of a superior to an inferior. God’s ratson is his blessing in Deuteronomy 33:16. In Isaiah 49:8; 58:5; and 61:2, the prophet Isaiah describes the great day of the Lord’s ratson. |
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There is a portrait of one of the kings of Israel depicted on the Black Obelisk of Assyrian King Shalmaneser III. The detailed image shows King Jehu (2 Kings 9-10;
2 Chronicles 22:7-9). Jehu began following the Lord, but during his 28 year reign he turned away and God allowed foreign invasion (2 Kings 10:32-33). During this point Jehu sought Assyrian assistance and bowed before Shalmaneser as depicted on this Black Obelisk found in 1845 in the ancient Assyrian city of Calah, or modern Nimrud. It is a polished block of black limestone 6 feet tall with 4 sides and 5 lines of reliefs on each side. A total of 200 lines of text explain the images with the line above a bowing Jehu saying:
“Tribute of Jehu, son of Omri: Silver, gold, a golden bowl, a golden beaker, golden goblets, pitchers of gold, tin, staves for the hand of the king and javelins received from him.”
(Image here, here and here.
Details here and here.) |
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Do expect God to bless my sinful actions?
Do I realize God does not compromise his character?
I will seek to live in obedience and in agreement with God's character. |
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"Whoever corrects a mocker invites insults;
whoever rebukes the wicked incurs abuse."
- Proverbs 9:7 |
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Ask God to convict you of sin, error |
Maturity in understanding and life |
ACLU (updates at "Nation" or "World") |
Benin |
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| Reps & Sets is a daily Bible devotional for Christians from Generation Word Bible Teaching used each morning and evening. |
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