6 Then Joshua tore his clothes and fell to the earth on his face before the ark of the Lord until evening, he and the elders of Israel; and they put dust on their heads. 7 And Joshua said, "Alas, Lord God, why have You brought this people over the Jordan at all--to deliver us into the hand of the Amorites, to destroy us? Oh, that we had been content, and dwelt on the other side of the Jordan! 8 O Lord, what shall I say when Israel turns its back before its enemies? 9 For the Canaanites and all the inhabitants of the land will hear it, and surround us, and cut off our name from the earth. Then what will You do for Your great name?
6-9. Joshua rent his clothes, and fell to the earth ... before the ark ... he and the elders--It is evident, from those tokens of humiliation and sorrow, that a solemn fast was observed on this occasion.
The language of Joshua's prayer is thought by many to savor human infirmity and to be wanting in that reverence and submission he owed to God.
But, although breathing a spirit of bold remonstrance and complaint, it was, in reality, the outflow of a deeply humbled and afflicted mind, expressing his belief that God could not after having so miraculously brought His people over Jordan into the promised land, intend to destroy them, to expose them to the insults of their triumphant enemies, and bring reproach upon His name for inconstancy or unkindness to His people, or inability to resist their enemies.
Unable to understand the cause of the present calamity, he bowed to the hand of God.
The Sin of Achan
10 So the Lord said to Joshua: "Get up! Why do you lie thus on your face? 11 Israel has sinned, and they have also transgressed My covenant which I commanded them. For they have even taken some of the accursed things, and have both stolen and deceived; and they have also put it among their stuff. 12 Therefore the children of Israel could not stand before their enemies but turned their backs on their enemies because they had become doomed to destruction. Neither will I be with you anymore, unless you destroy the accursed from among you. 13 Get up, sanctify the people, and say, 'Sanctify yourselves for tomorrow, because thus says the Lord God of Israel: "There is an accursed thing in your midst, O Israel; you cannot stand before your enemies until you take away the accursed thing from among you."
10-15. the Lord said unto Joshua, Get thee up--The answer of the divine oracle was to this effect: the crisis is owing not to unfaithfulness in Me, but sin in the people. The conditions of the covenant have been violated by the reservation of spoil from the doomed city; wickedness, emphatically called folly, has been committed in Israel.
(Psa 14:1),
and dissimulation, with other aggravations of the crime, continues to be practiced. The people are liable to destruction equally with the accursed nations of Canaan.
(Deu 7:26).
Means must, without delay, be taken to discover and punish the perpetrator of this trespass so that Israel may be released from the ban, and things be restored to their former state of prosperity.
As we read on the sin of Achan was found out just as the bible says our sin finds us out.
Num 32:23 But if ye will not do so, behold, ye have sinned against the LORD: and be sure your sin will find you out.
It had to be dealt with before the blessings of God could be restored to Israel.
Achan was stoned to death along with his family but today we have the blood of Jesus to forgive us of our sin.
The Bible says if we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and all unrighteousness.
The example is God cannot bless if there is sin in the camp.
He told Joshua to get up and sanctify yourselves, and set yourself apart from the world.
The Bible says to come out from among them and be a separate people.
2Cr6:17 Therefore "Come out from among them and be separate, says the Lord. Do not touch what is unclean, And I will receive you."
Today we try to mix light and darkness and we can't.
You cannot serve to masters - you will love the one and hate the other even harsher it says in Revelations 3:14 "And to the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write, ‘These things say the Amen, the Faithful and True Witness, the Beginning of the creation of God: 15 "I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I could wish you were cold or hot. 16 So then, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of My mouth.
As Joshua closed the book, he challenged the nation of Israel to choose whom they were going to serve and he said, As for me and my house we will serve the Lord.
Jos24:15 And if it seems evil to you to serve the LORD, choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods which your fathers served that [were] on the other side of the river or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD."
Comments