Achan’s Sin

Joshua 7

Chapter 7 opens with the statement, “But the sons of Israel acted unfaithfully…” (NAS) and we are presented with a dramatic turn of events in the life of Joshua and the conquest of the Promised Land. The capture and destruction of Jericho was marvelously accomplished with an overwhelming act of God in judgment toward unbelievers and an overwhelming act of mercy and grace toward believing Rahab and her family, and yet here in the next chapter we have such a devastatingly negative statement. How could a people who have seen such wonderful works of God so soon turn in unfaithfulness?

Looking at a map of the land of Canaan it looks like an elongated crescent shape of land with its western border the Great Sea (Mediterranean Sea) and bordered in the east by the River Jordan – north to Lebanon and south to below the Dead Sea. It makes strategic sense to start a campaign of conquest by dividing the country in half – so Jericho was the central city dividing the land into northern and southern parts. Jericho was in the valley of the Jordan and so to drive westward, cutting the country in two, he needed to take the higher ground above Jericho – the city of Ai. In a wise move, with precedent from his recent experience with Jericho, he sends spies to check out possible resistance from the people of Ai. They return with a favorable reply, “Do not let all the people go up; only about two or three thousand men need go up to Ai; do not make all the people toil up there, for they are few” (v. 3).

Some commentators suggest that this was bad advice but we don’t see any condemnation from the scripture here so I see this as a reasonable consideration. Remember that Joshua and his men did not learn of Achan’s sin and therefore had every expectation of continued success – they were living in light of the last verse in chapter 6 – “So the Lord was with Joshua, and his fame was in all the land.” So it is reasonable, since this was a smaller city and the route to battle involved climbing steep and narrow passes, that a smaller army would be more nimble and more than able, with God’s continued help, to defeat the enemy. A large army might have had difficulty making the approach and, in God’s kind providence, a smaller number would face defeat at the hands of the men of Ai - fewer men would die. But I am jumping ahead …

Why was God displeased with the sons of Israel? We recall, in chapter 6, the ‘ban’ on the city of Jericho – two things were required: all living things were to be destroyed (nothing was to be spared) and all material things were to be put into the treasury of the Lord. I find it curious that apparently no one committed the sin of allowing one to live who was condemned to die – we learn in the very beginning of chapter 7 that the sin committed was to take “some things” that were to be devoted to the Lord! Either sin probably would have equally displeased the Lord. Isn’t it interesting that here it was the 10^th Commandment that was violated. We are quick to covet something that is not our own, and, in this case, Achan was coveting something that he did not own, but even more frightening, he coveted something that was the Lord’s own by divine decree!

Ironically, when the sin of Achan was uncovered and God’s judgment was executed, the next thing commanded was to take the city of Ai – and “its spoil and its cattle as plunder for yourselves” (8:2). If Achan would just have obediently waited he would have had all the plunder he might desire. And are we so different than Achan? Tell me that we are not an impatient people wanting many things and being discontented with what the Lord has, in his divine timing, given us. Is this not an act of unbelief? Is it not sin when we doubt that the Lord knows our true needs and will provide all things necessary? Sure, we have the responsibility to work and do the things necessary to live and working to have a better home or clothes, etc. is not wrong. I’m talking about those things out of our control; those things that we think we ought to be able to control or produce; things that only God can provide. When our desires and God’s commands are in conflict we must be resolved to think more highly of God than our own desires. Clearly, Achan was foolishly thinking that he could simultaneously satisfy his own desire and hide this little bit of covetousness from his neighbors and from God.

So back to the beginning of chapter 7: why did they lose the battle of Ai and why did (v. 5) thirty six men have to die for Achan’s sin? First let’s consider Joshua’s reaction to the defeat: he asks the Lord the question, “why?” and follows that with a strange echo of the spies response to that first expedition into the land of Canaan – they came back with a similar report about ‘giants’ in the land and the question “Why is the LORD bringing us into this land, to fall by the sword? Our wives and our little ones will become plunder; would it not be better for us to return to Egypt?” (Numbers 14:3). Compare that with Joshua’s question, “Alas, O Lord GOD, why did You ever bring this people over the Jordan, only to deliver us into the hand of the Amorites, to destroy us? If only we had been willing to dwell beyond the Jordan!” (v. 7). What happened to the brave Joshua? Like Peter on the water, and like ourselves, he begins to sink when the storms come and when the cold wind blows. Yes, Joshua is flesh and blood just like us – reading through this section it almost appears that Joshua is trying to blame God for this defeat!

But now the Lord of Host speaks sharply and rebukes him, “Rise up! Why is it that you have fallen on your face? Israel has sinned…” (v. 10-11) and he learns the answer to the question, ‘why!’ Israel has sinned. Does that sound odd to you? Were you under the impression that Achan sinned? Why the accusation to the nation? But then, why is Joshua surprised that sin was the problem here? And why also are you surprised that the sin of one man had infected the whole community of Israel? Did not the sin of Adam corrupt the whole world? Was not sin the cause of the Great Flood that destroyed all mankind except the family of Noah? Did not sin cause the destruction of the city of Jericho? It almost seems as if the Lord is saying to Joshua, ‘why are you whining and accusing me, as you must surely know that sin is the cause of all trouble and sorrow, you must also know that you ought to be searching for the source of the sin among the people!’

Now I am not saying that the sin of an individual today will necessarily cause the whole community to be subject to punishment – but I am saying that we ought to consider what lesson there is in this narrative for communities (churches) of believers today. When the presence of God is removed from our worship and church family life I think we ought to consider the possibility that we are, in some way, displeasing God. Sometimes the felt presence of the Lord is removed for a season to test or grow us, and that is no fault of our own but something to endure by faith. But in either case it ought to cause us to ask questions such as: are we worshipping in an unworthy manner? Is there known or public sin going on in our church? I am saying that some sin is not public and we may never become aware of it but some sin is public and known. Known and/or public sin ought to be dealt with in a biblical manner. We are not given the divine means that Joshua was given – a family by family search. But we are given biblical means of church discipline and we see here an encouragement toward being faithful as a church to pursue church discipline when appropriate. Have you ever experienced the loss of the felt presence of God in your own life or the life of your family? When living through times like these; when the Lord appears to turn His face away; whether in a church or in your private life, we know that the Lord is working all things out ultimately for His glory and for our good. Whether you are displeasing the Lord or perhaps He is testing and growing you, either way it would be a good time for you to seek the Lord. Is there some way you are displeasing to the Lord? Confess and turn from your sin. Have you examined yourself and, like Job, judge yourself faithful? Then your duty is to simply endure by faith and wait on the Lord.

We are so careless about sin and we spend little time trying to discern its presence in ourselves – we are no better than Joshua in this sense. But after his conversation with the Lord, Joshua was faithful to act. He made a diligent search, family by family, for the sin in the camp and eventually coming to Achan’s tent and confronting Achan with his sin.

Imagine what that must have been like for Achan – sin in a crowd is easy to conceal. We so easily imagine that our sin is either hidden or insignificant. In a culture where many sins are laughed about and feelings of guilt are considered psychologically damaging we are so very much tempted to imagine our sin as no big deal. Did Achan think that because his action did not actually hurt anyone it was not a big deal? Perhaps Achan thought he was entitled to take just a few things for his family because of his effort in the battle – after all, conquering the city it involved some risk and besides, a couple of bars of silver and gold plus a new outfit wasn’t a big deal considering all the riches captured in the battle. And hidden beneath his tent he felt sure that no one, except his family, would ever know what he had done. Imagine now his concern when it became known that Commander Joshua was doing a family by family search for the sin that caused the defeat. Did he begin to wonder if his own sin might be uncovered? Or did he think perhaps it was someone else’s sin? Sometimes we sin because we see others’ casual attitude about sin. It is possible that before or during the battle Achan overheard others complaining about the waste or perhaps about how they ought to be entitled to a share of the plunder? Even if they technically did not steal from God did their own grumbling words contribute to Achan’s wretched decision? Is it possible that our own casual attitudes toward sin have unintentionally encouraged others to sin? I think it possible that Achan thought that many others had stolen and hidden riches as well. Did he think even now that the sins of ‘group’ might be passed over – after all, would the Lord not forgive when so many are involved? But as Commander Joshua went from family to family and narrowed down the search with no one being singled out it became more apparent that Achan would soon face the judge. How his heart must have fallen and how fast his heart began to beat as the inevitability of being discovered came to light. All his previous arguments and excuses for sin began to fall away and he increasingly became naked before the judge. Yes, “…trouble befalls the income of the wicked” (Proverbs 15:6). How dreadful in that day when we must all appear before the Righteous Judge to account for our lives. How blessed is the one who has run to Christ for salvation!

Notice three things about the confrontation between Joshua and Achan:

1) Joshua addressed Achan, “My son …” Joshua now knows how much suffering Achan induced, yet he speaks with fatherly care to this broken-down man. Joshua the Commander sent those 36 men with many others into battle, and it is now clear that it was because of Achan’s sin that they died – Commander Joshua loved those men so how is it that he shows such compassion on Achan? Is it possible that this is one of those small glimpses into the character of Christ? Even though believers may be tempted and may fall, Christ sympathizes with our weakness. And even though the consequences of our sin must be faced, Christ has compassion on His sheep. Even though the Lord created the world and all who would live in that world He had compassion on the one caused its fall - father Adam - and gave him the first promise (Genesis 3:15). Or perhaps Joshua had humbly examined his own heart and knew of a similar temptation that had been, by the grace of God, resisted (1 Corinthians 13)? We do not know whether Achan truly repented and was a believer; all we know is that the consequence of sin in this case was death and apparently he submitted to his rightful punishment.

2) Now when Achan was confronted we do not know whether he was truly repentant or whether he was simply confessing in the hope that it would soften the punishment for what he had done. We do know that he confessed his sin frankly (v. 20-21) and he hid nothing from Joshua before the stolen treasure was uncovered (v. 22). So it is possible that the things that he had stolen formerly were now calling out in condemnation and, under conviction, his heart was changed from loving sin to hating sin as evidenced by his new desire to rid himself of those stolen possessions – he no longer tried to hide the sin: he could not wait to confess and to have the symbols of his rebellion removed from his tent! Joshua knew all along that Achan needed to deal with God in this matter (Proverbs 28:3). But. as we have said, we do not know whether he was a believer or not. We do know that sinners who come to the point of seeing their miserable state of condemnation; who realize that all their excuses and justification for sin are but filthy rags before the Righteous Judge; and who give up any notions of hiding from judgment, are on the threshold of saving faith. The Law did its work on Achan: we know for certain that the Lord was glorified but we do not know whether grace was given to Achan. The Scriptures do teach us that all who recognize and repent of their sin; all who see their need for salvation; and all who put their trust in the Lord, will be saved.

3) When the people of God were asked to execute judgment (v. 25) on him they did not hesitate. And in addition they raised a monument to remind their descendants of the dreadful consequence of disobedience (v. 26). This judgment seems dark and ugly to us today but it is a mere shadow of the coming judgment at the Last Day. We love to think of the Lord’s love and mercy, and that is good and true. But to think on His awful wrath – that is another thing altogether. It is a mystery to consider the infinite love and the infinite righteousness of God existing at the same time but it would be a grave mistake for us to only teach one part without the other. “The LORD is slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, forgiving iniquity and transgression, but he will by no means clear the guilty …” (Deuteronomy 14:18). Why was Achan’s family also destroyed? We may conjecture but really this is another situation where we ought to take the Apostle Paul’s view of imputation – that even though the principle of imputation became a curse in Adam (all humankind inherits sin and condemnation through Adam’s sin); imputation becomes an even greater blessing in Christ! Those who trust Christ for salvation are ‘imputed’ the righteousness of Christ. ”For if many died through one man's trespass, much more have the grace of God and the free gift by the grace of that one man Jesus Christ abounded for many …” (Romans 5:15) and “so by the one man's (Christ Jesus) obedience the many will be made righteous…” (Romans 5:19). You see now that the Apostle takes the dark view of God’s righteous judgment for sin and turns it toward the glory of His mercy and the eventual undoing of all the horrible effects of sin endured through the ages because of the sinful disobedience of Adam.

Application:

a) We have no idea how our sins may wreck ourselves, our families, our church. We are urged to walk in holiness throughout the scriptures for the glory of God and simultaneously for our own good. What a glorious blessing we have knowing that there is ultimate happiness losing ourselves and gaining the Lord! In any case, without Christ our good works are nothing but filthy rags - trust Christ, and walk with Him in obedience. If you find yourself hating His righteous Law then ask him to give you a new heart - this is a prayer that He delights in granting.

b) Judgment day is coming and nothing is hidden from the eyes of whom we have to make an account on that dreadful day. We may flee to Mt Sinai (a symbol of good works according to the Law) but there is no safety there! - I urge you to flee to Mt Zion (a symbol of the Lord Jesus Christ) and that heavenly resting place in which there is no condemnation but grace through Christ! Repent and believe upon Christ and be saved (Acts 17:30-31)!

c) As individuals and as a church we must judge sin within ourselves - church discipline is an important part of our responsibility and though it is a somber responsibility we know that it is for God’s glory and for our good. The psalm writer said, “Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts! And see if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting!” The word translated ‘grievous’ is better translated ‘wicked’ in this case. So it is proper for individuals and churches ask the Lord to shed light on sins that may be hidden or sins that we may have falsely justified in our own minds.

Robin

Rahab

Joshua Chapter 6

Chapter 6 verses 22 through 25 we get a quick look at salvation in the midst of God’s judgment. Sandwiched in between the notices of Jericho’s destruction is this lovely story of salvation and rescue. Rahab so feared the coming judgment of God (chapter 2 verses 1-21), that she fled to his mercy. Now she received mercy. This pagan gentile and her family now stand within the circle of the chosen people. Why, then, should we be surprised if her God should one day take those who are far off and “bring (them) near by the blood of the Messiah” (Ephesians 2:13)? (Davis, Dale R. No Falling Words, MI Baker Book House: Grand Rapids, , pg 56)

In my mind this woman of faith was more impressive than any other woman in the biblical record for she believed with so little light. She never saw the redeemer; she had no knowledge of the promise made to Abraham and the children of Israel. Furthermore, she had absolutely no support or sympathy from her neighbors except perhaps her own family – we can imagine that her neighbors scoffed at her faith especially during the comical seven day parade encircling those high walls. Yet she persevered in her faith! Now the time had come for her to reap the reward of her faith … in her case it was but a short interval between the sowing and reaping. She was not only spared the destruction of her city but also was adopted into the family of Israel. She became an heir of Abraham’s blessing – she is the only other woman, besides Sarah, the wife of Abraham, included in the role of the faithful in the eleventh chapter of Hebrews. She would not have been included unless she had indeed been ‘changed’ and proven to be one of the elect. We may refer to the book of James, chapter 2 verses 24-25 – “You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone. in the same way was not also Rahab the prostitute justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out by another way?” In this we see that though Rahab made the good confession, she also hid the spies and hung the red chord from her window on that dreadful day. The Apostle James isn’t saying that her works saved her, no, the works that Rahab did originated with the regenerative power of the Holy Spirit and the fact that she did those ‘works’ were ‘proof’ of her conversion.

We don’t know why Rahab was a prostitute but let’s consider some possibilities. There are and were, of course, prostitutes because of greed, prostitutes because of need, and prostitutes because of slavery. A slave prostitute had little choice but this seems not to have been Rahab’s situation. She was free enough to live with her family in her own home. She had the privacy necessary to hide the spies and she apparently had enough freedom to choose to follow Jehovah. Furthermore, we see no evidence of poverty on her part. We don’t get the impression that her family would have starved if she had chosen a different profession. More likely she was motivated by a desire for more … things! Whether it was jewelry, a bigger home, the best food we don’t really know. We do recognize that love for money (stuff) is a great temptation for nearly all.

When Rahab was a little girl she was probably no different that my daughter or yours. Perhaps you can remember your own life as a child - loving life and beauty in all innocence and joy. Yet somewhere and somehow, because of her desire for beautiful things, or a desire to be accepted and loved, or perhaps simply a desire for luxury, the enemy snares her, chains her into sin - deeper and deeper into the mire until she is a hopeless slave to her circumstances. As the Preacher said, “… riches were kept by their owner to his (her) hurt …”(Ecclesiastes 5:13)

By the grace of God, she may eventually see that that her loves have consumed her and now have deserted her. Those things that she loved most, whether pleasure, relationships, luxury – she discovers to her dismay that they provide no lasting joy. A child-like life of joy and contentment now turns into a life of dismal servitude to her lust for more riches. “Can these bones live” (Ezekiel 37:3)? Can such a woman ever find her way to the “King’s chamber” (Song of Solomon 1:4)? That is the glory of the gospel – that dead men and women may live again! Our Lord Jesus Christ said, “For all things are possible with God” (Mark 10:27). The Apostle Paul reminds us that, “… you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God” (1 Corinthians 6:11). So we see that the Lord may change, “the sexually immoral … idolaters ... adulterers ... men who practice homosexuality ... thieves ... the greedy ... drunkards ... revilers ...” (1 Corinthians 6:9-10). “And such were some of you.” The happy feelings of her childhood return to her, as if she had drunk from the River of the Water of Life, and we can imagine she sang like a child again for the joy of her new life!

So now, Rahab with newness of life, begins this new life with the Lord’s people. Verse 23B says, “And they brought all her relatives and put them outside the camp of Israel.”point here is simply that they were to be treated as unclean until the rites of purification would be performed. She was not an actual physical descendant of Abraham – and her past was obviously ‘unclean’ due to her former title: harlot. For both reasons she required the rites of purification. We might be stretching the point a little but might the rite of purification represent the washing of regeneration and the renewal of the Holy Spirit?

Do you suppose her new sisters gave much encouragement to her as she joined the ‘church?’ She was a big unknown from their point of view and surely the ladies knew who she was in her previous life. Perhaps in their minds she was a threat to their marriages and to their children. Furthermore she was of a different race. It is possible that she was given the, ‘cold shoulder’ by her new sisters? If so, was Rahab disappointed to find that the people of God were so suspicious and cold? She had lived in a thoroughly quid pro quo society in Jericho, and would have expected the society of God’s family to be different. She had received grace and mercy from God; she had hoped that this new community might reflect that same grace of God – not the market based trading of affections as in her former life. Would not the foreigner expect the society of God’s people to reflect His love, generosity, purity, and nobility?

If she was treated thus is to her credit that she was not deterred by any of these disappointments. She was apparently more in love with the God who saves and His glorious attributes than the possible failures of his imperfect family! She apparently was looking beyond the fickle attitudes of men; keeping her eyes instead on the unchanging glory of Jehovah. Admiring His grace and power; in doing so insulating herself from the disappointment that comes from looking to people, even God’s people, for satisfaction.

Application:

1. As the Spirit of God moves in revival (are we praying for revival?) we may expect formerly ‘vile’ sinners to be saved. How may we receive such believers? Do our lives reflect the grace of God? It has been said that if the church today would take seriously 1 Corinthians 13, unbelief would vanish. I don’t know about that but if we want to be a serious witness for Christ we might spend less time devising clever ‘evangelistic’ methods and work on this: “Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things” (1 Corinthians 13:4-7). Brother Brandon mentioned a few weeks ago about meeting some youth with Mohawk hair, multiple piercings, and tattoos – these things can become distractions for us but if we desire to be like Christ we will welcome the outcast. With whom did the Lord spend more time – the underclass or the outwardly ‘religious’ and politically powerful? As the Apostle James said, “show no partiality as you hold the faith in our Lord Jesus Christ ..” (James 2:1)

2. Even though we are saved we may also, like the child Rahab, be seduced into thinking that things or persons may give us real joy. Things and persons are not, in themselves, bad things. It is when we put our trust in their ability to satisfy that they become idols – and our God is a jealous God who will not allow any to steal His glory. Idol worship is prohibited primarily because it ‘steals’ God’s glory (and He deserves all glory), but also because idols do not deliver joy and, in fact, idols distract us from true worship and eventually destroy hope and joy.

3. Fellow believers and even our spouses will disappoint us - look to Christ! He will not disappoint.

Robin

The Lord’s Judgment

Joshua Chapter 6

One of the themes of the book of Joshua is conquest – this theme makes us uncomfortable and on its face seems to contradict the modern notion of a loving God. Remember the WWJD bracelets back a few years? What would Jesus Do? That is the problem with an imaginary Jesus – the kind of savior we want rather than the Son of God who is revealed in the Bible. Now I know that I cannot give a totally satisfactory answer to all those questions and I have no illusions to convincing unbelievers of the rightness of what is recorded here, however if we interpret the difficult passages of the Bible from other, more clear passages, I think we can begin to see things from God’s perspective.

As we do this we will keep in mind the Apostle Paul’s argument in his letter to the Romans that no –one has an excuse for not knowing and worshipping the one, true God. We also make the point that we, as converted followers of Christ, ought to view ourselves with appropriate humility seeing that we ourselves, posses no greater merit than the pagan who rejects God.

Look at Genesis 15:12-20. The Amorites are the predominant peoples of Canaan … Gen 15 is the Lord’s promise to Abram for a son and for a land for his descendants. And we see clearly that the Lord is telling Abram that though his family will leave Canaan for a while they will return to claim the land. The Lord also reveals to Abram the when and the why! When: in four hundred years. Why: to accumulate many riches and for the purpose of executing the Lord’s judgment. Lord’s judgment on Egypt (for oppressing the sons on Israel) and also the Lord’s judgment on the Canaanites (for their wickedness -“… the iniquity of the Amorite is not yet complete” verse 16). In other words, God will judge the wicked – in the days of Noah the Lord used nature to judge the wicked (a Great Flood) but in this case it appears that He will use human ‘means’ – the descendants of Abraham – to accomplish that judgment. In Leviticus 18:24-25 and Deut 18:12 we are reminded, by way of warning to the sons of Israel, that the Canaanites are doing all that their hearts desire: very wicked things - and the Lord is just.

So we see that the Bible views the Canaanites as not some nice folk with quaint social customs – and the sons of Israel were not some land-grabbing murderers who were following a vicious God. No, this is another example of God using some not-so-nice people, the sons of Israel, to be the instrument of His just judgment on a people who had persistently rejected God. The sons of Israel had no grounds to be self-righteous because they frequently demonstrated their own unfaithfulness. Because of God’s sovereign choices they were His instruments of His judgment. Now you may ask, how did the Canaanites reject a God they did not know? I think they did know! They had the witness of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob when they resided in Canaan before Joseph and his brothers moved to Egypt. They had the same witness as the harlot Rahab, their own neighbor! She lived in the city and she heard the same rumors they heard – she so feared the judgment of God that she fled to His mercy, believed and was saved, they did not fear God; rejected Him; and were judged. She received mercy, they received judgment. And as I have already said, the Apostle Paul makes the argument that no-one has any excuse because the light of nature and conscience testifies to the existence and the righteousness of God.

The lesson here is that there will come a day of judgment – the writer of Hebrews says, “it is appointed for men to die once and after this comes judgment” Many will hear the gospel and say, ‘I will repent and believe later in life’ – perhaps the Canaanites said that very thing when they listened to Abraham preach, ‘oh, we see your point and your God is certainly impressive, but our family has always worshipped Baal’ or, ‘your God makes too many demands and will make our lives less ‘fulfilling’ but we respect your beliefs and if it works for you we are happy for you.’ I think the inclusion of the narrative about Rahab indicated that anyone of the residents of Canaan might have repented and been saved up to the day of judgment. But the constant rejection of the gospel call has a consequence – we know that as time passes cold hearts become colder and repentance becomes harder … the Bible also says, today is “THE DAY OF SALVATION”—(2 Cor 6:2), emphasis on the ‘today.’ We dare not wait on tomorrow – there is no assurance that tomorrow will come for any of us.

The residents of Jericho were faced with the possibility of death by this strange invading army – yet even in the face of death they were unwilling to look the Lord for salvation. Are you so arrogant as to think that later, or even on your death bed, you will come to Christ? After a life of rejecting Christ I wonder if that really likely.

Again, were the sons of Israel better folk than the Canaanites who perished? No! but God, in His covenant love, preserved them and used them in accordance with His promise and not because of their ‘better choices,’ or ‘future good behavior’ or any merit in themselves.

As a parenthesis, the sons of Israel were chosen to execute judgment on the unrighteous Canaanites; we have no warrant to perform capital punishment on our unrighteous neighbors. The testimony is clear, the civil government is charged with that responsibility. God was specific with Joshua and the sons of Israel – He is equally clear that we are to leave this kind of judgment to the civil authorities.

So to review – people have no excuse for unbelief and there is coming a day of God’s Righteous Judgment. Those of us who have been called and have trusted Christ have no cause for pride – all we have is by the grace of God.

Robin

The Lord Provides

This month we will start with Joshua 5:8-9, “Now when they had finished circumcising all the nation, they remained in their places in the camp until they were healed. the LORD said to Joshua, “Today I have rolled away the reproach of Egypt from you.” So the name of that place is called Gilgal to this day.” The sense here is that formerly, other nations scoffed at this bunch of runaway slaves but now, by the power of the Almighty Jehovah, the nations trembled in awe of Israel and their God. Look at verse 1 of chapter 6, “Jericho was tightly shut because of the sons of Israel; no one went out and no one came in.” From our studies in ancient history we know that the Canaanites were acquainted with invading armies and so we see that they were taking this threat seriously – not casually setting a few guards to fend off a group of escaped domestic servants!

In verse 10, “While the sons of Israel camped at Gilgal they observed the Passover on the evening of the fourteenth day of the month on the desert plains of Jericho.” They were now fairly close to one of the major fortified cities in the land of Canaan; they had been circumcised in obedience to the law; they are now properly prepared to observe the Passover. Also, the narrative states that they “ate some of the produce of the land, unleavened cakes and parched grain.” By that we can assume that by now they had occupied not a few of the surrounding Canaanite farms and, naturally, a number of Canaanite grain silos. They now are able to feed themselves – and in the next verse we read, “The manna ceased on the day after …”

From this narrative we see two sides of the same coin of God’s provision: first, the Lord will always provide that which His people need, for example food to feed the multitude during those 40 years wandering in the desert. Secondly, that the Lord expects us to feed ourselves if it is in our power to do so. Another way to put this is that the Lord gives us the grace to do what must be done, but only when we need that grace. The Israelites were unable to feed themselves in the desert – the Lord provided food. By God’s grace, the Israelites now had food available from a ‘natural’ source and therefore were responsible to gather and distribute that food. God provides in either circumstance, the difference is that in one case His people were unable to till the land and grow their own food in the desert, and in the other case His people have the food of the land available and have only to gather that which He has provided.

You may ask, ‘Robin, what is your point?’ Well, first the Lord will always give us the grace to endure when we need that grace, not before, or not when we already have the means to accomplish that which needs to be done. As the provider for our family we may become unemployed – we know that the Lord will provide for our family however if we are able to work but unwilling to work we have no grounds for blaming God when we can’t feed our family.

Are there cases where believers cannot support their families? Yes, and the church has a command to provide for the truly poor. The ‘Lord’s Poor’ don’t need ‘manna’ from heaven to feed their families – He has instituted and commissioned the church as the ‘means’ (through the office of deacon) whereby the Lord provides for His people. Nevertheless, the truly poor must also be willing to work, if able.

Did you know there are three kind of poor? The first kind of poor is those who are able bodied and healthy but too lazy to work. They may be called the ‘World’s Poor.’ The second kind may be called the ‘Devil’s Poor’ because they are in bondage to their master the devil and spend their money in gambling, drinking, and ‘lewd’ houses. The third kind of poor we may call the ‘Lord’s Poor’ who are professing believers and members of a local church; brothers and sisters in Christ who work hard and are carefully living within their budget, but are still living in need. The first two have the means to come out of poverty but are unwilling to do what is required – the third, the ‘Lord’s Poor’, are unable … but will receive the provision of the Lord – if the church is obedient to its directive to love one another. The ‘World’s Poor’ and the ‘Devil’s Poor’ are in need of the gospel – the church has already been commissioned to get the gospel to them - but what they do not need is cash! I’m not saying that we can never give material things to the ‘World’s Poor’ or the ‘Devil’s Poor’ but only after the ‘Lord’s Poor’ have been cared for, and only if we require a hearing of the gospel in all cases.

(I give credit to Rev. T. Rhodes for this view of ‘the poor’ written in a Circular Letter to The Georgia Association of Baptist Churches, 1808. When asked whether we should use the ‘Church’s bounty’ to help all the poor, Rev. Rhodes replied, “Let the World take care of theirs; the Devil of his; the covetuous, ambitious, rich man of his; and the Church of the Lord’s”)

Another and more common situation where the Lord provides what we need when and how we need it is where we have to make a major decision. We may properly ask the Lord for guidance but ought we expect a supernatural ‘voice’ from heaven giving us direction? Or are we responsible for using that which He has already provided for our comfort and direction? Why do we need extra-biblical information to help when He has given us the Bible in our own language – the only sufficient, certain, and infallible rule of all saving knowledge, faith, and obedience? It’s like asking for supernatural ‘manna’ when we have a grain silo full of the richest food imaginable at our disposal!

The narrative here in Joshua 5 seems so natural - the manna ceased and the people ate of the produce of the land. So too, we also pick up what the Lord has provided and not wait for some sort of ‘miraculous’ event to take action. We know what the Lord wants - we do not need extra information or some sort of extra ‘feeling’ to move forward. Next month we will look at Jericho and the ‘Captain of the Lord’s Host.’

Robin

Trust Christ!

Recall that in Joshua, Chapter 3, the Lord parts the Jordan and, in Chapter 4 the people memorialize the Lord’s provision as they see the dramatic unfolding of the promise. In Chapter 5 we see Joshua and the nation on the Canaan side of the River Jordan. We also are told that the kings of Canaan heard about the parting of the Jordan and were in great fear. We also learn that the Lord’s commands Joshua to circumcise the ‘sons of Israel.’

Though the text says, ‘circumcise the sons of Israel a second time’ it is not to be understood that they were already circumcised and were to be again circumcised. Obviously, from the rest of the passage, it becomes clear that their fathers, that rebellious generation, had not been circumcising their children during those years in the desert. Though it may have been inconvenient to circumcise their infant babies during their wanderings in the desert was certainly not a valid excuse since we know that the Lord does not command that which is harmful. No, the blame for not obeying the command to circumcise is properly put at the feet of that unfaithful generation.

Indeed, that older generation, though possessing all the marks of God’s covenant people, ‘… did not obey the voice of the LORD’ (verse 6). In 2 Corinthians 10, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, the Apostle Paul speaks of this generation, “I want you to know, brothers, that our fathers were all under the cloud, and all passed through the sea, and all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea, and all ate the same spiritual food,all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank from the spiritual Rock that followed them, and the Rock was Christ., with most of them God was not pleased.” And in addition, the Apostle warns us that, “… these things happened to them as an example, but they were written down for our instruction, on whom the end of the ages has come.”

The point for us to consider is that though we may exhibit all the external signs of being a ‘Christian’ and hold membership among God’s flock, we may, at the same time, have no relationship with the Shepherd. We may live in God’s country but hate His rule. We can be fluent in ‘religious’ talk and scrupulously avoid all foul language; we may be able to explain correctly deep theological concepts; our lives may be praiseworthy examples of purity; yet not know Jesus Christ. This was apparently the situation with that original generation who the Lord, “would not let them see the land that the LORD had sworn to their fathers to give to us ...’ (verse 6). Note that that the first generation, who were formerly slaves in Egypt rescued by the Lord according to His covenant with Abraham, remained under the care and provision of God even though they showed no evidence of being God’s people. We may observe the same today as unbelieving church members gain some measure of ‘common’ grace, because of their association with the people of God, even though they do not have a relationship with Christ and do not share in the promise.

In contrast, the generation that had not been circumcised according to the Law, the Lord ‘raised up …’ (verse 7) a people to inherit the Promise! They had apparently been given ‘new natures’ that would enable them to love and obey their God (Deuteronomy 30:6). Both generations, those who rebelled in the desert, and those who stood on the far side of Jordan awaiting circumcision, deserved God’s judgment and eternal wrath. God was (and is!) merciful, according to the secret council of will, to save a great many—but not by, ‘the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God’ (John 1:12).

We may also consider that the Lord shows his steadfast love for his people – God promised to bring his people to the land – God always honors his promises. Though the first generation fell by unbelief, and therefore lost the right to inherit the land, God’s purpose was not thwarted. God doesn’t need a ‘plan-B’ in case people fail to cooperate. Men may fail to gain the benefits of the covenant by unbelief, but human unbelief may never negate the promise. Indeed, we may fail to gain the benefits of the covenant by our own unbelief - even as believers we often live with the consequences of our failure to trust and obey! Even so, the Lord sustains his people and if we are truly trusting in Christ alone, even our disobedience will not void his promise to us. Though we rest in the promises of God we also take care to examine ourselves to be sure we are truly trusting in Christ.

There is also another thing to consider here. That is though we may have unbelieving parents or parents who did not raise us in obedience to the commandments, we may still, by the mercy of God, become inheritors of the promise. This second generation, though their parents were condemned because of their unbelief, were ‘raised up’ (verse 7) by God as inheritors of his Promise. Though their parents did not have them circumcised in obedience to God’s Law, they did not inevitably fall into the sins of their fathers. This is a great assurance since many of us had ungodly parents, and many of us have been ungodly parents to our children. By God’s grace we may find hope in either one of these situations.

Puritan John Brown of Haddington (1780’s) wrote on this passage,

“the sins of the parents often, in a fearful manner, bereave their children of the seals of God’s covenant, or their happy virtue: but his mercy can remove the reproach and plague in his time. And by circumcision of their hearts, by feasting them on the flesh and blood of his Son, by giving them foretastes of the heavenly joys, and manifestations of himself as their leader and protector, he must prepare his people for their spiritual warfare such then as would courageously fight his battles should first solemnly devote themselves to him, and act faith upon him, in the use of his sacraments. But let us use the gospel manna while we have it; the time is at hand when it shall be no more offered …”

As to the actual circumcision we wonder why, as these folks were now on the ‘enemy’ side of the Jordan River, the Lord would choose to have them circumcised in such an unsecure location. Surely, the fighting men would have been incapacitated for at least a few days during their recovery. It is not reasonable to assume the surrounding Canaanites might take this opportunity to attack this ‘undefended invader’? Why not perform the surgery in the ‘safety’ of the opposite side of the Jordan before entering hostile territory? Or perhaps why not wait till after they had eliminated all enemy forces? Why not take the advantage of the high spirits of the people and attack the Canaanites now that their Kings were in such fear and trembling (verse 1)? Though the text doesn’t give a reason is it possible that the Lord is again demonstrating his preeminence in this situation? – He promised to protect them and this event is another reminder that they are to be confident in the Lord, and not to rely on strength of arms. Again the New Testament brings some clarity:

“For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh …” (2 Corinthians 10:4)

This, of course, is a re-occurring theme in the book of Joshua – God provides and protects – God’s people are to watch, and observe, and obey. In an age of pragmatism where we are urged to use whatever method seems likely to be successful this passage is a reminder that we need to trust the Lord and His commands rather than our own reasoning. We are often in a hurry to get results and move forward but our view, distorted by our self-imposed deadlines; our desire to please people; a desire to please our own egos; even our sincere desires to see the church and the gospel expand - may not be the Lord’s way. As we see from this section of the book of Joshua, the Lord does all things in His time and in His way. It does not appear that Joshua and the people were acting out of pragmatism or self-willed presumption! What we do see in this narrative is a people prepared to thoughtfully obey the commands of the Lord. May we also always trust and obey our Lord and Redeemer, Jesus Christ!

Next month we will look at the ending of the Lord’s provision of manna and the amazing appearance of the magnificent Commander of the Lord’s Army!

Robin