This was a fun day in my Read-thru-the-Bible-in-a-year plan! The walls of Jericho have crumbled, but Rahab, who hid the spies was rescued. The Israelites were supposed to destroy it, and put some of the gold and silver and riches to the LORD. BUT there was one who disobeyed. Unfortunately, the Israelites didn't find that out until they tried to attack the Ammonites and got routed. Joshua fell facedown and said, "O LORD, what can I say, now that Israel has been routed by it's enemies? The Canaanites and the other people of the country will hear about this and they will surround us and wipe out our name from the earth. What then will you do for your great name?"
God said, "Stand up! What are you doing down on your face?" Hang on. I stopped and thought about why God didn't want Joshua on the ground. It's kind of a funny line huh? But I thought about how I would feel if a people had tried to deceive me, then tried to honor me. Perhaps God found that ironic and a bit unacceptable. God told Joshua that Israel had violated the covenant. So the Israelites cast the lot until they found the man who was hiding some riches for himself - Achan. He was stoned for his sin, though he was repentant.
It's interesting reading in the Old Testement - before the Son and the Holy Spirit came to earth. Back then, if you did something very bad, YOU DIED FOR YOUR SIN. You were punished. Blood was the only remedy. Yours or someone else's. That's why they sacrificed so many lambs. There was no other way. Now we have an escape. "Like water spilled on the ground, which cannot be recovered, so we must die. But God does not take away life; instead, he devises ways so that a banished person may not remain estranged from him." Now we have Jesus so we can be forgiven and not be detestable in God's sight!
Join me next Tuesday as the Israelites continue to wipe people out and clean house!!!
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