Alas, Sovereign LORD, why did you ever bring this people across the Jordan to deliver them into the hands of the Amorites to destroy us … the Canaanites and other people of the country will surround us and wipe our name from the earth” (Joshua 7:7-9)

For Encouragement

Has God told you to shut up before?

Poor Joshua was on his face in deep prayer. A tiny town called Ai had surprised Israel and routed them (Jos. 7:4), and Joshua could not believe it. This defeat came at the tail of an imposing and miraculous victory over Jericho. How was that? What happened to God’s lofty promises to Joshua (1:5- 6)? Where was God in Ai, and what would He do for His name?

Sin was the story of Ai, and until God removed its defilement from the camp of Israel, they had no stand against even the least of the nations God had promised them (7:10-12). God identified Achan’s sin as the cause of the defilement, and all Israel stoned him to death (24-26). God turned from His anger and led Israel to a rousing victory over Ai (8:28). But did Israel have to endure that humiliation before the victory? Do we have to suffer defeat and humiliation before dealing with the sin in our lives?

The problem of the church today is how we have succeeded in diminishing the disgustingly dirty nature of sin and God’s hatred for it. We have clothed sin in glamorous names and made it lose its bite. We don’t call our unfaithfulness a sin anymore. The new name is an affair or a relationship, so it gets a pass without raising heads. If only we knew the devastation sin could wreck on our lives, homes, churches, and nations, we would run at the scent of it. Sin defiles everything, grieves the Holy Spirit (Eph. 4:30), and quenches His fire (1 Thess. 5:19). We lose God’s immediate presence and power and miss His blessings when we wallow in unconfessed sin.

Another problem is that we don’t learn well. The Lord Himself had come down to take charge of his army in Israel’s Canaan campaign (Jos. 5:14-15). He led them to a stunning and miraculous victory over the heavily fortified Jericho (6:12-21). So, why didn’t Joshua consult the Lord before Ai? God would have told him about the defilement before their humiliating defeat, and that’s the point here.

We are most vulnerable after a significant victory (1 Kings 19:1-5). Complacency and arrogance sometimes kick in, and we lose our guard (Jos. 7:3). We lose our focus on the Captain of our lives and move in our wisdom and abilities. That’s the situation with humans, and it is more serious when children of God act that way. We forget our Adonai, Jesus Messiah, the go-to Person on everything for counsel and grace.

Israel suffered for what could have been an effortless victory, and we, too, can avoid many of them in the current confused world if we seek the Lord and wait on Him (Prov. 3:5-6; Isa. 40:31). This is not a passive waiting, but an active seeking of His will and guidance.

Your world has come apart overnight, and you’re considering your next step. Do not move without the Lord Jesus, no matter what. He is waiting to direct you (Heb. 4:16).

Ask serious questions about your situation on your knees and seek His direction. Pray as David did in Psalm 139:23-24. Ask God to search your heart, purge it, and lead you in His ways.

Pray with Me

Lord, have your way with me in all situations. Forgive my presumptuous moves and heal me from the pain of unnecessary defeat. Please let your wisdom guide me after purging me, and let my way be clear with your guidance in Christ Jesus. Amen!