“So approximately 3,000 warriors were sent, but they were soundly defeated. The men of Ai chased the Israelites from the town gate to the quarries, and they killed about thirty-six who were retreating down the slope. The Israelites were paralyzed with fear at the turn of events, and their courage melted away.” (Joshua 7:4-5 NLT)
The people of Israel were fresh off their victory at Jericho. Moral was so high that when spies were sent into Ai, the report came back; this is easy, we can take them, send in only two or three thousand fighters. The Israelites attacked Ai and got their tails kicked. The scripture reads like thirty-six Israelites got arrows in their backs while they ran for the lives. In response, the people’s faith wavered like mirages in the desert. Joshua was undone.
His leadership response was humble and heartfelt: great grief over the lost men and groveling on the ground before God. Doubt even snuck into his prayer and we realize it’s okay for us to ask God what went wrong.
“Joshua cried out: “Oh Sovereign Lord, why did You bring us across the Jordan River if You are going to let the Amorites kill us?”” (Joshua 7:7 NLT)
Joshua asks the question that many ministers ask when they feel called to a particular place and people, only to find the ground harder than they anticipated. We are right to humble ourselves in such circumstances, and take our questions straight to the source. Sovereign God didn’t pull any punches with Joshua, He answers his inquiries with cold, hard facts.
“The Lord said to Joshua, “Get up! Why are you lying on your face like this? Israel has broken My covenant! They have stole some of the things that I commanded must be set apart for Me. Not only have they stolen them, but they’ve lied about it and hidden them among their own belongings.”” (Joshua 7:10-11 NLT)
Joshua did what we all tend to do when we come to a tough battle: we assume the difficulty we face is a God problem and not an us problem. Joshua had not yet looked within his own camp to find the source of his troubles. Turns out that someone had been unfaithful in the overthrow of Jericho. God had commanded that the spoils of that city belonged to Him along but a man named Achan felt otherwise. He saw and stole and hid some treasure in the ground inside his tent and his sin cost the community greatly. The Lord laid it out clearly for Joshua and all God’s people:
“Hidden among you, O Israel, are the things set apart for the Lord. You will never defeat your enemies until you remove these things from among you.” (Joshua 7:13 NLT)
We see in Israel how one individual’s sin affects an entire nation. As a stolen piece of produce from an ancient garden evicted an entire family; stolen firstfruits resulted in utter defeat in battle. I think about our own nation on it’s knees and I wonder how the unrepentant sins of many have affected our whole.
We also realize that sin makes us weak in battle. Obviously physical battles, but maybe more importantly, our spiritual skirmishes. Individually and corporately, sin interferes with our ability to win. Sin puts us in a position of weakness, one where we cannot stand against our enemy, particularly the adversary who seeks to steal, kill and destroy.
Repentance is the first step on the path to righteousness. We cannot possibly plot out a course towards Christ apart from it. We must confess wrongdoing in order to change the direct of our story, both as an individual and as a nation.
Lord, please give us the courage today to look within for the source of our troubles. Search us out with Your Holy Spirit. Helps us see the places where pride or covetousness or lust has led us away. We see how sin leaves us vulnerable for attack and ultimately defeat. We confess our sinful choices and ask for Your grace to cover our shortcomings. Shore us up with Your mercy and make us strong in standing against our adversary. Amen.