I have recently been re-reading the old testament book of Joshua. Joshua was Moses’ successor – the man chosen by God to lead the Israelites into the promised land after their forty year wilderness wanderings. The first generation who came out of slavery in Egypt had all died as punishment for their unbelief on the occasion when ten out of the twelve spies sent to view their new homeland came back with a bad report, infecting the people with fear. (Numbers 13) Joshua was one of the two men of faith who’d seen potential where the others saw giants, sealing his right to become their new leader.
The first city they had to conquer after their miraculous crossing of the Jordan river was Jericho. Two men were sent to spy out the land, and they were protected by a prostitute called Rahab who willingly gave her life to Almighty God. (Joshua 2) The people of Jericho and their surrounding neighbours were terrified of god’s children, because they’d heard about all the incredible things their Lord had been doing for them. He’d dried up the red sea, and more recently the Jordan river. He’d fed them on manna in the wilderness, and already given them victory over two kings on the east of the river. Furthermore, he led them in a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night, and they set up a strange tent-like structure called the tabernacle whenever they camped.
Such was the level of fear in Jericho that the people were all locked inside with the gates bolted. (Joshua 6: 1) The sense of terror must have been palpable, but what did the city-dwellers think when they saw the strange events that unfolded? Once a day for 7 days, the Israelites encircled the city with priests blowing on rams horns. The strange box-like creation covered in gold called the ark of the covenant followed carried by more priests, then the armed men, and then the people. I can imagine the sense of fear and foreboding growing day by day. Then on the seventh day, the march happened seven times, at the end of which the Israelites shouted, and the walls of Jericho came tumbling down as easily as if they’d been made from a child’s building blocks. Just like that, the conquering army poured into the city plundering, and killing men, women and children alike. So much for Jericho’s great defensive walls. They were nothing compared to the power of God, such was his desire to claim the land for his children.
Joshua had given strict orders that everything inside the city was to be destroyed. Only the silver and gold could be kept, as it had to be dedicated to the Lord for his work in the tabernacle. However, Rahab and her family were spared as a favour for the way she had protected the spies. Everything was carried out to the letter, or so Joshua thought. What a wonderful sense of joy there must have been in the Israelite camp. Suddenly, the impossible seemed possible. Their God was for them, so who could stand against them?
So when it came to conquering the next town of Ai, I’m pretty sure confidence would have been at an all time high. When Joshua sent out his spies to suss things out, they were sure it wouldn’t take a vast army to win this battle. Ai was small pickings compared to Jericho, so surely just a couple of thousand men would be enough to take the city. Interestingly on this occasion, there is no mention of Joshua consulting the Lord for a battle plan. Perhaps he was overly confident they could do it by themselves. Yet when the time came, Israel was soundly defeated, and the people ran away in terror – chased down by the men of Ai. Over 30 Israelite warriors were dead, and the people were left stunned. (Joshua 7: 4-6.)
The joy of Jericho turned to mourning outside Ai. Their pride had taken a dent, and what had seemed so possible now seemed impossible. Isn’t it amazing how that happens – how we can be full of faith one minute, and full of fear the next? Poor Joshua didn’t know what to make of it. Hadn’t God promised to give him the land? All he’d done was obey orders. Yet as the Lord showed him, there was sin in the camp, and a holy god cannot work where there is unholiness and a blatant disrespect for his orders. (Joshua 7: 10-15.)
Through a process of elimination, it is discovered that a man called Achan had stolen some of the plunder of Jericho that had been either meant for destruction or setting apart for God’s service. The sin was discovered and Achan was punished. Then at last the Israelites take Ai with the help of a rather clever battle strategy given to Joshua by the Lord. And this time, they were allowed to keep the plunder.
Having read these few chapters (Joshua 6-8), I was left with the question of why there is such a contrast between these two accounts. Why did God’s people succeed so spectacularly against Jericho yet fail in their first attack on Ai? And what lessons can we learn from these stories to help us in our own spiritual journeys?
Firstly, there was the contrast in the attitudes of the two sets of spies. When the two men came back after scouting Jericho, their words to Joshua were: “The Lord has given us the whole land, for all the people in the land are terrified of us.” (Joshua 2: 24.) In contrast, the spies who visited Ai said: “There’s no need for all of us to go up there. It won’t take more than two or three thousand men to attack Ai.” (Joshua 7: 3.) Notice this second group didn’t give the Lord a mention. It was all about what they could do. Likewise, the danger point always comes for us when we think we are able to do something in our own strength. We often become over-exuberant after a great victory, like the Israelites did after Jericho, and our reliance upon the Lord can falter.
When I read this story, I thought about king David when he was fleeing from Saul, and how he always consulted with the Lord before making any important moves. When his camp at Ziklag came under attack and all the wives and children were stolen, David’s men were eager to go out all guns blazing and get their loved ones back, but although David must have been equally frantic about his family, he still took the time to ask God whether he should pursue the raiding party, and it was only when god said yes that he went. (1Samuel 30.)
Yet after he became king, David grew more complacent. This is how he ended up stealing another man’s wife and then having her husband murdered in an effort to cover up his sin. (2Samuel 11). Like Achan, David thought his misdeed was safe from the eyes of God, but God showed him otherwise. (2Samuel 12.) All this happened when David was supposed to be leading his army into battle. The Bible specifically says the events occurred in the spring, when kings go out to war, but David was at home putting his feet up instead of fulfilling his duty as king. Temptation crept in, and even after all his famous victories, David experienced his worst defeat. Success had led to complacency.
So when God has given you or me an amazing victory over our enemy, it would pay for us to remember that we can’t afford to rest on our laurels. Other attacks will come because we’ve troubled the enemy’s camp, and Satan will try and take advantage of us while we’re on a high. His hope is that we’ll be so bolstered by the previous victory that we’ll either miss the new attack altogether or think we can handle it by ourselves without bothering to ask god for help.
This attitude of self-confidence may have been what prompted Joshua to follow his own battle plan instead of seeking God for his. Often, we may think we know what to do in a situation, but if we seek God, we must be prepared for the fact that his strategy might be something totally different. Although God’s plans don’t always make sense to our finite human minds, his ways are higher than our ways and his thoughts higher than our thoughts. (Isaiah 55: 8-9.)
The battle of Jericho had already proved that God’s strange plans do really work. WE also see evidence of this in an account in 2Chronicles 20, when the Lord instructs the battle-ready army to send the singers at the head of the fighting men, and when Gideon’s army is reduced down to practically nothing in Judges 6, proving that with God on our side, there isn’t necessarily strength in numbers.
Before the battle of Jericho, Joshua had a strange encounter with a man with a drawn sword who claimed to be the commander of the Lord’s army. Many people believe this was a preincarnate appearance of Jesus. However, before Ai he doesn’t wait for anything similar to happen. If Joshua had taken the time to consult with God, the Lord would probably have revealed Achan’s sin, and everything would have been resolved before the disastrous Ai battle one. This is a timely reminder to us that we need to keep our consciences clear with God before we attempt anything in his name. I’ve always been told to keep short accounts – to repent of sin quickly, so it doesn’t have a chance to fester.
Achan’s sin was that of greed. He wanted his reward immediately. He also failed to trust that God would provide and preferred to create his own insurance policy in case his family ever needed anything in the future. He simply didn’t take God seriously enough. He should have known after the years in the wilderness that God was a reliable provider. However, he chose to store up treasures on earth – to think of temporary gain instead of eternal consequences.
Sometimes, like Achan, we too are impatient for our blessings. We want things here and now instead of waiting for god’s perfect timing. Then if we do get what we want, it can become tainted because we realise that if we’d waited, God would have had better things in store for us. Achan tried to cover up his sin and hide it from God, just like Ananias and Sapphira in Acts 5: 1-11, who boasted of giving all their assets away yet secretly kept some back for themselves. If only Achan had confessed his sin of his own accord, the people would not have been defeated the first time they went to attack Ai. We know from this story that we can’t hide things from God, so why do we still try? It’s far better to confess our sin, receive his forgiveness and learn from what we’ve done. If we obey god and follow his plans, we will have success beyond our imaginations, but if we rebel, stubbornly do things our own way or seek earthly rewards and accolades we will fail.
Finally, the second campaign against Ai was a success because Israel had learned a hard lesson. None of us likes learning hard lessons, but we are always better for the experience. We can be encouraged that with God, all things – even our failures – are turned around to work for good. (Romans 8: 28.) So let’s seek God first in everything – the big and the small battles, because the moment we arrest control out of his hands, we’ve lost even before we begin.