March 11

The Israelites had great success at Jericho except for one thing, a man named Achan took things that he was commanded not to take. The command of the Lord was to NOT plunder, but to destroy, but Achan, because he wanted the items, decided to rebel against God. The rebellion went untold until 36 people died in a battle that the Israelites should have won easily. We know the fate of Achan, death. Do we realize that the fate of 36 men was death because Achan wanted some stuff? Our sin rarely only affects us alone.

The grander point for me – a leader – was what Joshua did at the defeat by Ai. He cried. He tore his robe and asked God why He did this to them. Did you get that? The first thing he did when something didn’t go as planned was to accuse God! Blame God? I think I have done that a few times. (It sure is easy to point out Joshua’s deficit though). What did the Lord do? Rebuked Joshua! God told him to get up and stop your sniveling! This wasn’t the Lord who had planned this rout of the Israelites, it was a rebellious Israelite who was RESPONSIBLE for the defeat!

I too often, even when inquiring of the Lord about what is going on, have this attitude like: hey God, this is your fault, why is this happening. Oh Lord, I am sorry for all of those times, may I know that you are faithful and will complete everything that you have said you would do. If there is a kink in the plans, it is on the human end and not on your end. May I humbly inquire of you what to do next and never accuse you for the rest of my days.