Tags
Ai, Canaan, conquest, disobedience, Jericho, Jordan River, Joshua, leadership, miracles, Moses, Nebo, Rahab, responsbility, sin, spies, walls of Jericho
During the 40 years wandering in the wilderness, Moses’ abilities and patience had been tried to the utmost. One day, when Israel began grumbling once again about water, Moses just “lost it”. God had told Moses to go to a designated rock and speak to it, but Moses’ anger and frustration deviated a bit from the command…
Numbers 20:9-13 “So Moses took the rod from before the LORD, just as He had commanded him; and Moses and Aaron gathered the assembly before the rock. And he said to them, ‘Listen now, you rebels; shall we bring forth water for you out of this rock?’ Then Moses lifted up his hand and struck the rock twice with his rod; and water came forth abundantly, and the congregation and their beasts drank. But the LORD said to Moses and Aaron, ‘Because you have not believed Me, to treat Me as holy in the sight of the sons of Israel, therefore you shall not bring this assembly into the land which I have given them.’ Those were the waters of Meribah, because the sons of Israel contended with the LORD, and He proved Himself holy among them.”
Consequently, as Israel approached Canaan God selected Joshua to be Moses’ successor to lead Israel into the land and conquer it. We might be tempted to think it not fair of God to bar Moses from entering the land of promise for “one little sin”. However, there is a principle that runs throughout Scripture about the higher standards of behavior applied to leaders. When followers see leaders disobey the Lord, followers are tempted to follow their leaders. It’s an important warning for any and every kind of leader to consider—from parents, to politicians, to teachers, to celebrities, to church leaders.
Moses was, however, allowed to climb a mountain on the east side of the Jordan that gave him a wide, miraculous view of the land of promise that he couldn’t enter (Deut. 32:49). After he saw it, the LORD took him, and (Deuteronomy 34:6) “And [God] buried him in the valley in the land of Moab, opposite Beth-peor; but no man knows his burial place to this day.”
New Leadership
Joshua now took the place of leadership of Israel, and God told him to enter. Between Israel and Canaan, the promised land, however, was the Jordan River, now at flood stage. For anyone else, this would be a serious problem, but when God’s on your side, nothing is really a problem. Israel actually crossed the Jordan River on dry ground, in a very similar way to crossing the Red Sea.
The first place that Israel encountered was the city of Jericho. Israel sent spies into the city to get a little intelligence. They stayed at the house of Rahab the harlot, who probably was running an ancient version of a hotel, the seedy variety, located on the wall of the city. When city rulers discovered that Israelite spies were in the city, Rahab hid them. In return for this kindness, the spies promised that when they attacked the city, she and her family would be spared. The spies escaped and Joshua and the army of Israel came to Jericho to conquer it.
However, the strategy God gave them was strange indeed. First, God told them that the whole city was to be destroyed. All gold or silver was to be given to the Tabernacle, but everything else was to be destroyed. No one was to capture and keep any plunder. Moreover, it was forbidden that anyone should rebuild the city. Second, the plan of attack was to form a circle around the city and for 6 days the army of Israel would circle the city once. One the seventh day, the army of Israel would circle the city 7 times and on Joshua’s command shout. As Israel shouted on the seventh day, the walls of the city fell down flat and the army of Israel was able to walk straight ahead into the city.
The sin of Achan
The city was destroyed just as God commanded, and everyone destroyed everything just as God had commanded—well, almost everyone. One man, named Achan, couldn’t resist taking some of the gold, silver, and cloth that he saw. He took it and hid it under the “floor” of his tent.
The next city that stood in the way of conquest was a relatively small city named Ai. Joshua expected little resistance from Ai and didn’t even send the full army of Israel to conquer it. Unexpectedly, however, Israel was defeated and they suffered—get this—the deaths of 36 men. Now, in either ancient or modern warfare this is not many to lose, but the loss threw Israel into a panic. What is unstated, but clear, is that Israel had never suffered loss in battle—God had protected them.
Joshua fell in prayer before God asking what they did wrong. Achan was revealed as being the one whose sin had caused this defeat and after he had been punished, Israel was able to easily defeat the city of Ai, too.
The Land Conquered
The rest of the conquest of Canaan went as easily as Jericho; God led them in complete victory. For example, when one day wasn’t enough to complete one day’s battle, God cause the sun to stand still, until Israel had defeated their Canaanite enemies. When God is on your side, nothing can stand in your way.
Things to think about
When God is on your side, what can stand in your way? What causes God to be on your side? Or not on your side? Are God’s strategies sometimes strange by the world’s standard? Does one little sin seem to make any difference to God?