Joshua
7:1 The people of Israel broke faith in
regard to the devoted things, for Achan the son of Carmi…of the tribe of Judah,
took some of the devoted things. And the anger of the Lord burned against the
people of Israel.
The speed in which the
Israelites went from mindful and obedient to forgetful and disobedient is
startling. After the destruction of Jericho, Joshua sends the army out to spy
on the city of Ai. With 3,000 men the army advanced and was routed. They
suffered the death of 36 men. Joshua laments these deaths and complains, believing
God has let them down.
God responds by pointing out
that Israel had sinned. Someone had taken God’s “devoted things” from Jericho. God’s
anger is expressed by the defeat of the spies. “I will be with you no more,
unless you destroy the devoted things from among you.” Israel must choose
between God and the “devoted things”. Joshua and the people have a significant
theological problem. The sin of one person has implications for the entire
community.
We cannot always be the
people marching through the Jordan or around Jericho. Often times we are the
people in utter defeat falling before the Father with pleas for mercy and
renewal.
Being God’s people means
accepting certain obligations set down by him. It means accepting the divinely
ordered life style and world view. It means making each life decision in light
of divine revelation, not in the shadow of personal self-interest. Being God’s
covenant people means looking back at salvation history with gratitude, and
living life forward in faith and obedience.
