Joshua and the Israelites just lost in battle. They should have easily won. So Joshua, and the Elders, turned to God in prayer. “What have we done wrong,” they essentially asked God. God’s answer was simple. “You rebelled (sinned) against me.” Then God told Joshua to get up – Joshua was going to be shown where the rebellion existed.
In the morning therefore you shall be brought near by your tribes. And the tribe that the LORD takes by lot shall come near by clans. And the clan that the LORD takes shall come near by households. And the household that the LORD takes shall come near man by man. And he who is taken with the devoted things shall be burned with fire, he and all that he has, because he has transgressed the covenant of the LORD, and because he has done an outrageous thing in Israel.'" (Joshua 7:14-15 ESV)
Courage from God will always drive us to walk with God. It will help us overcome those things that separate us from God. It will resist the enemy so the enemy will flee from us. It will draw near to God, inviting God to draw near to us. Joshua was going to need to root out the evil in Israel. It wasn’t a fun calling, but it was what God was calling him to do.
So Joshua rose early in the morning and brought Israel near tribe by tribe, and the tribe of Judah was taken. And he brought near the clans of Judah, and the clan of the Zerahites was taken. And he brought near the clan of the Zerahites man by man, and Zabdi was taken. And he brought near his household man by man, and Achan the son of Carmi, son of Zabdi, son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, was taken. Then Joshua said to Achan, "My son, give glory to the LORD God of Israel and give praise to him. And tell me now what you have done; do not hide it from me." And Achan answered Joshua, "Truly I have sinned against the LORD God of Israel, and this is what I did: when I saw among the spoil a beautiful cloak from Shinar, and 200 shekels of silver, and a bar of gold weighing 50 shekels, then I coveted them and took them. And see, they are hidden in the earth inside my tent, with the silver underneath." So Joshua sent messengers, and they ran to the tent; and behold, it was hidden in his tent with the silver underneath. And they took them out of the tent and brought them to Joshua and to all the people of Israel. And they laid them down before the LORD. And Joshua and all Israel with him took Achan the son of Zerah, and the silver and the cloak and the bar of gold, and his sons and daughters and his oxen and donkeys and sheep and his tent and all that he had. And they brought them up to the Valley of Achor. And Joshua said, "Why did you bring trouble on us? The LORD brings trouble on you today." And all Israel stoned him with stones. They burned them with fire and stoned them with stones. And they raised over him a great heap of stones that remains to this day. Then the LORD turned from his burning anger. Therefore, to this day the name of that place is called the Valley of Achor. (Joshua 7:16-26 ESV)
How about you? Do you have the courage to admit when you rebelled against God? Do you have the courage to root-out evil in your own mind, heart, and life? Do you have the courage to pursue righteousness? Do you want to walk together with God?
No comments:
Post a Comment