Joshua 7:10-15

¹⁰The Lord said to Joshua, “Stand up! What are you doing down on your face? ¹¹Israel has sinned; they have violated my covenant, which I commanded them to keep. They have taken some of the devoted things; they have stolen, they have lied, they have put them with their own possessions. ¹²That is why the Israelites cannot stand against their enemies; they turn their backs and run because they have been made liable to destruction. I will not be with you anymore unless you destroy whatever among you is devoted to destruction.
¹³“Go, consecrate the people. Tell them, ‘Consecrate yourselves in preparation for tomorrow; for this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: There are devoted things among you, Israel. You cannot stand against your enemies until you remove them.
¹⁴“‘In the morning, present yourselves tribe by tribe. The tribe the Lord chooses shall come forward clan by clan; the clan the Lord chooses shall come forward family by family; and the family the Lord chooses shall come forward man by man. ¹⁵Whoever is caught with the devoted things shall be destroyed by fire, along with all that belongs to him. He has violated the covenant of the Lord and has done an outrageous thing in Israel!’”

Road Accidents

One reality: There is no day when there’s no road accident. Violation of traffic rule and regulations is a frequent cause of road accidents. Proper driving habit and observance of traffic rules and regulations are preventive measures to road mishaps. Rules and regulations are beneficial to the obedient.

The Lord Jesus declared in John 14:6, 6I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

If we think about Jesus as the Way, it implies travelling to final destination, The Father. Our spiritual journey to our final destination is still in progress. As we follow the Way, what are some conditions that we need to abide if we are to be with the Lord? If we don’t abide with His conditions, do we not lose our focus?

The Lord guided the Israelites in their journey to the promise land. Before they have occupied their final destination, they struggled against their enemy. The Lord has clearly given them conditions if they expected Him to be with them.

1. Condition

¹⁰The Lord said to Joshua, “Stand up! What are you doing down on your face?
¹¹Israel has sinned; they have violated my covenant, which I commanded them to keep. They have taken some of the devoted things; they have stolen, they have lied, they have put them with their own possessions. ¹²That is why the Israelites cannot stand against their enemies; they turn their backs and run because they have been made liable to destruction. I will not be with you anymore unless you destroy whatever among you is devoted to destruction.

The Israelites were not victorious because the Lord was not with them. The Lord does not condone or excuse violators. The Lord told Joshua about the violation of His covenant. Why did the Lord not directly reprimand or rebuke the violator? Why did the Lord punish all the Israelites when only one violated?
Earlier, Joshua expressed his frustration and fear after they were defeated. To be frustrated and have fear were not the commands the Lord gave Joshua.
Before they entered Canaan, the Lord told Joshua to be strong and courageous. Yet Joshua did the opposite. He entertained frustration and fear.
The Israelites were victorious over Jericho but the few people of Ai defeated them. The Lord said that it was because they violated His covenant. One man did it. Joshua instructed the Israelites about devoted things.
Flashback in Joshua 6:18, ¹⁸ But keep away from the devoted things, so that you will not bring about your own destruction by taking any of them. Otherwise you will make the camp of Israel liable to destruction and bring trouble on it.
That’s interesting! It was Joshua who gave them instruction. Did God give the instruction to Joshua privately about the devoted things? It’s not mentioned. Most of them obeyed but Achan ignored Joshua’s instruction. The instruction that Joshua gave was not a personal idea. It’s the covenant of the Lord with Israel.

Disobedience to leaders is a common occurrence even in the church. People may not know when God is speaking through leaders or leaders are just giving their own personal ideas.
How could we discern when God is giving instruction through our leaders? We need to be careful in selecting our leaders. If we pray for God to raise leaders, whoever God would establish as leaders, we should respond positively.

Great Voice

Imagine this situation: Someone pointed out the necessity to report about electrical problem. The leader said, “Why didn’t you report it?” The person who brought out the electrical problem answered, “I would like you to report it because you as the leader have a greater voice. People listen to you!”
“Okay! I will assign you to report it,” the leader said. “No! You report it. You have a commanding voice. People listen to you!” the answer came.
The leader thought, “If I have a great voice, why does he not listen to me? If he doesn’t listen to me, how can he claim that I have a great voice and that people will listen to me, when he himself doesn’t act on my instruction?”
The leader ended up reporting the electrical problem. Delegating work is a leadership strategy. Good leaders have deeper concerns than followers.

Unwillingness to obey is unwillingness to discover the benefit of obedience. There are seemingly good reasons to disobey but obedience to the Lord’s instruction is beneficial to us in practical and spiritual ways. Obedience to the Lord is very possible by those who are consecrated by the Holy Spirit.

2. Consecration

¹³“Go, consecrate the people. Tell them, ‘Consecrate yourselves in preparation for tomorrow; for this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: There are devoted things among you, Israel. You cannot stand against your enemies until you remove them.

When Joshua told the Israelites to consecrate themselves what did they actually or practically do to be consecrated? Bible scholars suggest that they were to clean themselves, take a bath, and change their clothes. They needed to present themselves the best way possible.
It has been observed that some people have display cabinets to keep their chinawares. Those chinawares are to be used only during special occasion. Not just simply special occasions but when there are dignified visitors.
That is the idea of consecration. The Israelites consecrated themselves for a special occasion. They presented themselves with dignity before the Lord. Believers are consecrated and washed by the blood of Jesus. By faith, we become righteous and acceptable before God.

¹⁴“‘In the morning, present yourselves tribe by tribe. The tribe the Lord chooses shall come forward clan by clan; the clan the Lord chooses shall come forward family by family; and the family the Lord chooses shall come forward man by man. ¹⁵Whoever is caught with the devoted things shall be destroyed by fire, along with all that belongs to him. He has violated the covenant of the Lord and has done an outrageous thing in Israel!’”

The Lord sets apart those He chooses to set apart. He knew who violated His instruction but why did He not just tell Joshua or to the elders directly? Why did the Israelites need to present themselves tribe by tribe, clan by clan, family by family, and man by man? Has the Lord given Achan a chance to confess?
The Lord could have just punished Achan secretly without telling others to consecrate themselves, right? The Lord did not instantly or secretly destroy Achan. The Lord was teaching that His decree includes punishment for violation. The Lord wanted each Israelite to be accountable for their actions.

Volunteer

Someone justified his inconsistencies, “I am just a volunteer.” That statement reveals that the person has not been called by God. The calling of the Lord includes His presence and joy. The joy of the Lord is our strength to serve.
It says in Isaiah 41:9-10, ⁹from its farthest corners I called you. I said, ‘You are my servant’; I have chosen you and have not rejected you. ¹⁰So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.

No member of the body of Christ, the church should be called volunteers in the body of Christ. If God is with us, we have the joy of Christ. When we rely upon the Lord in everything we do, He strengthens, helps and upholds us.

It says in Ephesians 5:23-24, ²³ For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is the Savior. ²⁴ Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything.

The relationship between Christ and the church is comparable to the relationship between husband and wife. It is not very amusing for husbands and wives to say to their spouse, “Sorry, I am just a volunteer spouse!”
Friends, are you a significant part of the body of Christ or just a volunteer?
Has Christ performed Lordship in your life? Do you have joy to serve Him?

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