SYNOPSIS: God desires to bless us—he really does. But there is a path to blessing that we must follow. The path is against the grain of human reasoning and self-gratification, but it is the one and only path that God has chosen for his people to walk. What is that path? It is to ruthlessly truth and completely obey God! Walk it, my friend! It always leads to untold blessing! And on that path, don’t sacrifice a future of promised blessing that arrives only through trust and obedience for quick but temporal fixes that will end up destroying you.
The Journey // Focus: Joshua 8:2
You will destroy Ai this time as you destroyed Jericho and its king. And this time, you may keep the plunder and the livestock for yourselves.
God told Israel to completely destroy Jericho—an evil city that was a part of an exceedingly evil culture—which happened to stand directly in the way as Israel entered the Promised Land. It was the first city of conquest, and as such, it was the first-fruits of sorts—the initial battle of the many battles to come in their conquest of Canaan. These first-fruits belong to God—in this case, and in every case. God says, “Give me the best (that is, the first part), then I will give you the rest. This is how you will honor me and keep me first in your life.” Thus with Jericho, the spoils of the battle were to be totally devoted to the Lord by totally annihilating this evil city and everything in it.
Yet one man, Achan, secretly, selfishly, and in willful disregard to what God has just commanded, took some plunder for himself (Joshua 7:20-21), and as a result of his individual disobedience, national disgrace settled upon Israel. The Israelites lost the next battle—one they should have easily won—and scores of warriors died. Because of the sin of one man, the whole nation suffered. Sound familiar? That is exactly what happened when Adam sinned,
When Adam sinned, sin entered the world. Adam’s sin brought death, so death spread to everyone, for everyone sinned. (Romans 5:12)
When you read the story of Achan’s punishment—and the brutality of his entire family being executed for his sin—and you are both feeling sorry for them and miffed that God overreacted, keep in mind that thousands of Israelites were mourning the deaths of their warrior sons who had been killed in battled because of this one man’s selfish act. That will put the harsh consequences of disobedience placed upon Achan, along with his entire family, into a sobering but more understandable light.
The take-away from this story, and it is a sad one, is that Achan could have had everything his heart desired had he just followed the Lord’s commands. As we see in this next battle, the soldiers were free to take the plunder.
When Israel had finished killing all the men of Ai in the fields and in the wilderness where they had chased them, and when every one of them had been put to the sword, all the Israelites returned to Ai and killed those who were in it. Twelve thousand men and women fell that day—all the people of Ai. For Joshua did not draw back the hand that held out his javelin until he had destroyed all who lived in Ai. But Israel did carry off for themselves the livestock and plunder of this city, as the Lord had instructed Joshua. (Joshua 8:24-27)
Achan made the mistake we often make: We sacrifice a future of promised blessing that arrives only through trust and obedience for quick but temporal fixes that will end up destroying us. Call it what you will—delayed gratification, long-range planning, ruthless trust—waiting upon God in faith and obedience is the job of the Christian. And scripture is replete with promises for those who do:
No one who trusts in you will ever be disgraced, but disgrace comes to those who try to deceive others. (Psalm 25:3)
Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you your heart’s desires. Commit everything you do to the Lord. Trust him, and he will help you. (Psalm 37:4-5)
Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need. (Matthew 6:33)
The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of all the earth. He never grows weak or weary. No one can measure the depths of his understanding. He gives power to the weak and strength to the powerless. Even youths will become weak and tired, and young men will fall in exhaustion. But those who trust in the Lord will find new strength. They will soar high on wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not faint. (Isaiah 40:28-31)
God desires to bless us—he really does. But there is a path to blessing that we must follow. The path is against the grain of human reasoning and self-gratification, but it is the one and only path that God has chosen for his people to walk.
Walk it, my friend! It always leads to untold blessing!
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