Dear Saints,
I am reminded of an occasion when things were really not going well for Joshua.
Joshua as leader of Israel had just had a very successful
campaign against Jericho, successful because Joshua was very careful to carry out exactly what God required. Consequently, success came and the walls of Jericho fell down. By walls falling down I do not mean toppled over. No, I mean collapsed straight down into the earth so that the Israelites could enter the city and have great success as God had ordained.
Yes, the success at Jericho was tremendous. But, unfortunately, human nature being what it was and is, allows arrogance to linger often in the shadows, as unobtrusive pridefulness emerging on the heels of success, slipping in and operating as a benign assumption with little to no regard for asking God what one should do before one proceeds to act.
Yep! Arrogance slipped in unnoticed and embedded itself comfortably into premises upon which Joshua began to base his decisions. Undergirded and unstated, arrogance sandwiched itself between actions and thought that effectively say, "Thanks for past success,God. I can take it from here," and Joshua entered a campaign on Ai without first inquiring of God.
According to Joshua's "leadership" understanding, the project would be of little challenge especially given the expert abilities of his people, smaller numbers involved in the enemy camp, and the obvious favor of God residing on His people. So, Joshua estimates the troops needed, the resources required, and then sends some manpower into the next campaign, that of taking the city of Ai.
Unfortunately, to both the surprise and utter dismay of Joshua, the Israelites are whipped and routed, with no success but failure, huge failure most assuredly serving to embolden all of Israel's enemies to attack.
On the heels of that defeat in Ai, what does Joshua do?
Why, Joshua calls for the nation of Israel to pray, of course!
Joshua humbles himself, cries out to God, and prays,
"Alas, Lord GOD, why have You brought this people over the Jordan at all---to deliver us into the hand of the Amorites, to destroy us? Oh, that we had been content, and dwelt on the other side of the Jordan? O Lord, what shall I say when Issrael turns its back before its enemies? For the Canaanites and all the inhabitants of the land will hear it, and surround us, and cut off our name from the earth. Then what will You do for Your great name?"
Imagine. For all practical purposes the defeat at Ai constitutes a clear candidate for an emergency day of Israeli prayer dedicated to addressing this seemingly insurmountable situation confronting the Israelites.
Joshua literally does 2 Chronicles 7:14. You know the passage. It reads,
"...if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land."
Correction. Joshua mostly does what we now understand from our reading of 2 Chronicles 7. Joshua was in compliance with everything except one little phrase, the phrase of scripture,"turn from their wicked ways,...."
The idea that wickedness might be the problem did not even come to mind for Joshua initially. In fact, to hear Joshua tell it, God was at fault, letting Israel down in a time of need.
Anyway, as one would expect, Joshua did call on the name of the Lord, and did humble himself. In fact, the Holy Bible reports,
"Then Joshua tore his clothes, and fell to the earth on his face before the ark of the LORD until evening, he and the elders of Israel; and they put dust on their heads...."
One would expect God to correct the situation, speedily.
Right?
Well, the situation was corrected rather quickly, but not in a way that Joshua anticipated.
In fact, God's response was completely unanticipated by Joshua.
What was the response?
The answer appears in Joshua 7:19.
God says to Joshua,
"Get up! Why do you lie thus on your face? Israel has sinned, and they have also transgressed My covenant which I commanded them. For they have even taken some of the accursed things, and have both stolen and deceived; and they have also put it among their own stuff. Therefore the children of Israel could not stand before their enemies, but turned their backs before their enemies, because they have become doomed to destruction. Neither will I be with you anymore, unless you destroy the accursed from among you. Get up, sanctify the people, and say, 'Sanctify yourselves for tomorrow, because thus says the LORD God of Israel:' There is an accursed thing in your midst, O Israel; you cannot stand before your enemies until you take away the accrsed thing from among you.'"
As the Holy Bible tells us, we find that among the Israelites there was an individual who decided to treat that which was dedicated to God as if it was his own to do with as he wished. The Israelite, Achan, ultimately confessed that he had sinned against the LORD God of Israel by keeping devoted things--- a beautiful Babylonian garment, two hundred shekels of silver, and a wedge of gold weighing fifty shekels---items specifically taken from that which belonged to God. Because of the action of that one man, the entire nation of Israel suffered. Because one person violated the specific sanction not to take the "accursed things," those things that God said belong to Him, things God declared the Israelite community had "stolen" and "deceived" and "put among their own stuff," the entire Israelite nation was to suffer.
Do note, it was only after the offense against God was addressed that God was willing to restore success to Israel. Let me repeat this. Success did not come from simply calling out to God in humility. Success came when God's word was heeded and the correction of the offense was addressed in full view, that which was to be devoted to God was handled as God had specified, then success was restored.
Folks, I am sure there are those that might disagree with me on the following point, but here it is anyway.
I believe there are parallels between our current experiences in our nation and the challenges that Joshua confronts in the case of the failed Ai campaign.
The point of comparison is in understanding the import God places on obedience, especially as it relates to that which He has declared devoted to Himself. God had required the items of Jericho to be handled a certain way.
Likewise, God has also declared Israel to be His possession. And, He wants folks not to approach Israel in a way that is inconsistent with His word.
Saints, the truth is that Israel is not up for human manipulation in any form, not for debate, division, redistricting, strategic negotiation, nor well orchestrated re-landscaping, no matter how polite nor hostile the international parlance.
Israel belongs to God!
We in the United States would do well to remember the import God places on that nation.
If you are not already aware, a day of prayer has just been announced for the Gulf states July 18, 2010.
Prayer is good.
Most assuredly, God responds to prayer. And, by all means, let's pray.
But,in preparation I suggest that we sincerely consider the lessons offered in the case of Ai.
And, when we pray,let's make sure we don't just talk at God.
Let's also listen and then decisively choose to act in accordance with His Word, scrutinizing all that we hear, testing all spirits on the basis of God's Holy Scripture. God never contradicts His written word, the Holy Bible.
It is my prayer that ALL which is devoted to God be restored to rightful place in accordance with His Word:
--Israel
--Marriage
--Family
--Right to Life ...Just to name a few.
But, I am even more convinced that if our nation would at least do one thing; that is, change course and actively pursues policies toward Israel that honor God, God will indeed hear from heaven and He will heal our land, including the oil-hemorrhaging depths of the Gulf.
Pray for national, state, & local government policies in support of Israel.
Pray to find out exactly what those policies should be at this point in order to stand with Israel.
Assume nothing! Ask God in prayer first, test all ideas on the basis of the Holy Bible, and then act accordingly.
In other words, Do what's right to do!
And, just in case you think there is no connection between support for Israel and the economic and related conditions of a nation, you need not look any farther than our near North American neighbor, Canada. I invite you to take a real good look. The Canadian Prime Minister, Stephen Harper, has come out in support of Israel and because of it, to-date Canada is not facing the kinds of severe economic milieu confronting the United States.
Think about it!
Standing in the Gap,
--Livvy McDonald
P.S. Please do not wait for July 18th to come around before you begin to pray for the Gulf. And when you do,remember to Pray for the Peace of Jerusalem! Amen!
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