“And Joshua said, Alas, O Lord GOD, wherefore hast thou at all brought this people over Jordan, to deliver us into the hand of the Amorites, to destroy us? would to God we had been content, and dwelt on the other side Jordan! O Lord, what shall I say, when Israel turneth their backs before their enemies! For the Canaanites and all the inhabitants of the land shall hear [of it], and shall environ us round, and cut off our name from the earth: and what wilt thou do unto thy great name?” (Jos 7:7-9 AV)
There is so much going on here that I fail to mention it all. This is one of those times when God tells someone to stop praying. Joshua had it all wrong. He assumed God failed to support them and never considered there might be a sin in the camp. Achan took of the accursed thing from Jericho. As long as Achan had spoils from Jericho in his tent, the LORD would not be with Israel. Joshua did not know this. I find it interesting the argument made by Joshua sounds an awful lot like what his parents said in the wilderness. Instead of Egypt, Joshua inserts the wilderness. But the suggestion is still the same. In Joshua’s early years of leadership, he makes some mistakes. He shows his immaturity. There isn’t any single point Joshua is making that struck me this morning. Rather, the whole tenor of the prayer is what instructs me. The emotional nature of this prayer that lacks understanding of the facts is what I find applicable. Joshua works out his feelings. But his feelings are founded on insufficient facts. He didn’t know about Achan. He didn’t know God had withheld His favor because of disobedience. He simply dumped it all at the feet of God. Why it was happening did not matter to him. He was worried about the future, thinking nothing would change.
We all do this. We process our emotions but fail to seek wisdom. How we feel is more important that what is. Perhaps this is the cause for the LORD telling Joshua to get up and stop praying. His words, although genuine to him, were not helpful. They may have helped him to feel better, but it didn’t answer why the failed battlefield had occurred or how to fix it. God never told Joshua the covenants were null and void. There were unconditional promises made to Abraham, Isaac, and Moses. Israel was to go in and possess the land. In his distress, Joshua forgot the one constant in all of this. God’s faithfulness. Just because they lost a battle did not mean God had forsaken them. Joshua was despondent because he let circumstances dictate his response. He allowed his experience with Israel and God’s response to lead him down a possibility that simply was not on the horizon. Joshua had to process his feelings. We all do. But he should have stopped first to ask for wisdom.
Before we open our heart to the LORD, perhaps asking for understanding might be the prudent thing to do. How many of us have processed our feelings only to discover those feelings were based on limited information or incorrect assumptions? We go down a road that has a dead end or cliff at the end. We go down a dark tunnel when, in reality, it is a mere road block that can be overcome. We start our prayer with worry and anxiety rather than start it with a humble request for understanding and wisdom. Joshua did the same here. Knowing why something is the way it is and what might be changed just might be better medicine than dumping it all and picking up the pieces afterward. Joshua was a great man. Very few could have led Israel the way he did. Yet Joshua was still human. He made some rookie mistakes early on. This was one of them. He learned, however. He never did this again. He learned to go to the LORD, seeking wisdom and understanding, before he processed his emotions. May we do the same?
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