Hidden Treasures

Joshua 7

God specifically said everything in Jericho must be destroyed except for the gold, silver, bronze and iron, and that is to be given to the Tabernacle. But Achan wasn't listening.

After the fall of Jericho, Joshua sent spies to Ai. The spies came back saying 'No problem. There aren't very many people there, just a few thousand of us can take them.' So he sent those few thousand men to Ai and they became afraid. Thirty-six men were killed and the Isrealites lost their faith.

Now even Joshua began to blame God. 'Why did you have to bring us here, to kill us? We were just fine on the other side of the Jordan. It was nice enough. Now all the Amorites and Canaanites will hear this and they will come kill us.'

Wow, how many times, when things get hard, do I do the same thing? God wins a battle with Satan and I'm feeling good and suddenly something tries to kill me and all faith is lost. I begin to whine to God. "Now look. Everyone's going to see what happened and they're gonna start talking..."

God quickly called Joshua out of this despair. "Isreal sinned", God reveals, "they are cursed because they took what didn't belong to them--after I told them to destroy it." He continues to tell Joshua to get up and find out who did it and destroy those things or else they are on their own. Following God's commands, Joshua brough the people before him tribe by tribe, family by family, household by household, person by person. Finally, Achan was taken and when asked, confessed to taking silver and gold and hiding them beneath his tent. Everything that belonged to Achan, including his wife and children, were taken to the Valley of Achor, and they were stoned and burned. Destroying Achan and his property was the only way to destroy the sin in the tribe. Removing the sin was the only way for the people to be redeemed. Fortunately for us, Christ made that redemption possible for us. Through His death, our sin has been removed.

Notice that Achan hid the treasure? He wanted it so badly that he stole it, yet when it was his, he couldn't even enjoy it because he had to hide it to keep from being found out. I frequently read the blog Encouragement for Today by Proverbs 31 Ministries. In today's entry, Lisa Whittle talks about the secret thins in our heart--"those secret places that reside deep within our soul that we keep hidden from others and even try to hide from God?" She notes "The crafty, conniving one knows that if he can get us to continue to bury our secret places deep within our heart, we can’t be effective for God. He knows that thoughts of our private sins will eventually eat away at us, causing us to feel fraudulent and unworthy of the love and acceptance of others, and most of all, our Heavenly Father." Whittle goes on to remind us of the redemption we have in Jesus Christ and gives practical ways of combating those secret-keeping habits.

The people then built a memorial of stones in the Valley of Achor. This memorial reminded them that disobedience brings destruction, but also repentence brings redemption. In my Memorials post, I mentioned memorial stones in our spiritual lives. Brian commented, "...Some remind us of times when we were just plain stupid and others are very painful...." The memorial built in the Valley of Achor is one such set of stones. They remind Isreal of a time when they messed up and found themselves on their face in destruction. But when we look back on these stones, they also remind us of the forgiveness and mercy of Christ and what He brought us from.

Oh be careful little mouths what you shout (and when you shout it)

Joshua 6
All the Canaanites who lived in Jericho went inside the city walls and locked the gates because they were afraid of the Isrealites. God told Joshua to take all the men of war and march around the city once a day for 6 days and seven times on the seventh day. The priests were to take trumpets before the ark and play and on the seventh round on the seventh day, when the trumpets played a long blast, the people were to shout and the wall would fall. Joshua did as he was told and gathered the people. He told them "You should not shout or let your voice be heard, nor shall any word proceed out of your mouth until the day I tell you to shout. Then you shall shout!" (6:10)

I can imagine the tendency of the Isrealites. Maybe they were thinking, in the words of one of my all-time favorite Camp Lake Stephens campers, "My feet hurt. Bugs be bitin me. All we ever do here is walk. I'm tired of walkin. There ain't no roller-coasters here." Okay, maybe they weren't lookin for roller-coasters, but I can see a tendency to complain none-the-less. And Joshua knew them, he knew this tendency and he knew that there was no room for doubt. So he told them to be quiet until it was time to shout.

We can learn from Joshua's command. When you're facing challenges and trials, do not allow your lips to speak unbelieving words. When we refuse to speak doubt and fear, it keeps our heart more inclined to see what God can do rather than what we cannot.


Everyone and everything in Jericho was to be destroyed except that of Rahab and her family in her home. The only items that were not to be destroyed were the silver, gold, bronze, and iron which were to go to the treasury of the Lord's house. The Isrealites were to abstain from the accursed things because they were associated with pagan practices. After the walls fell, the Isrealites killed every person inside (except Rahabs family) and they burned the city.

Rahab's life and the lives of her family were spared because she spared the spies. She was adopted in to God's family, the Isrealites, and became a decendant of David and Jesus.

An Outward Sign

Then God said to Abraham, "As for you, you must keep my covenant, you and your descendants after you for the generations to come. This is my covenant with you and your descendants after you, the covenant you are to keep: Every male among you shall be circumcised. You are to undergo circumcision, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and you."
(Genesis 17: 9-11)

Circumcision was a sign -- an outward, physical sign of a covenant between God and Abraham. God promised to bless Abraham, to make him the father of many nations, to be his God and the God of His decendants, and to give Abraham's decendants everlasting possession of Canaan. Abraham's part? Abraham was to trust God as his God--to follow and obey Him in trust to care for His every need. And, Abraham was to circumcise himself and every male in his family or possession, and every child born to his family when he turns 8 days old.

There was rules to partaking in the Passover. When God gave Moses and Aaron the regulations for the Passover, every male in the household must have been circumcized (Exodus 12). Now, Joshua is leading the Isrealites and it's time for the Passover, but none of the Isrealites had been circumcised since they left Egypt and all those who left Egypt had died in the wilderness. So Joshua circumcised this generation. That day, when the Isrealites performed the outward sign that they were children of God, God removed the shame of slavery from them. Then, on the fourteenth day of the month, in the plains of Jericho, the Isrealites celebrated Passover. As they entered into the Promised Land, they were reminded that this inheritance was because of their simple faith in the blood of the Lamb.

That day, the Isrealites ate food from the land and the manna stopped. In the Promised Land, God provided food from crops. The Isrealites no longer needed manna, but they would have to assume some responsibility to working the land to get their food.

"In him you were also circumcised, in the putting off of the sinful nature, not with a circumcision done by the hands of men but with the circumcision done by Christ, having been buried with him in baptism and raised with him through your faith in the power of God, who raised him from the dead." (Colossians 2:11-12)

We no longer have to be circumcised, but we do have to realize that we are free from the shame of sin. We need to realize that we are free and will receive the promises of God simply because of the blood of the Lamb.

Memorials

When all the people had crossed the Jordan, God had Joshua get 12 men to gather stones from the middle of the river to take with them when they camped that night. These stones were to be built into a memorial so the people had something physical to remind them about the wonders God had done that day. When their children saw these stones and ask what they mean, the people were to tell them of the time God stopped the waters of the Jordan river. (Joshua 4)

We too, put up stones as memorials. Cemetaries are full of them. Stones put up where we bury our loved ones and something is usually etched on these stones in order to remind us what they meant to us. Just as the Isrealites were told to remember and pass along to future generations what God did, we are to pass along to future generations what God has done for us--and we have memorials to remind us.

I recently went on a couple of memorial tours with my grandparents. The days were filled with cemetary tours (complete with my taking photos), but we did more than just look at peices of stone. At each stop, my grandparents would tell me stories of those whose names we read on the stones. "Grandmother was a lady. She always sat up straight and only crossed her legs at the ankles. The only negative comment I ever heard her make was if she was really frustrated, she would sometimes say 'well dog my cats." Not only were there scores of stories of people, which I only pray I remember long enough to write some of them down (really need to go on another trip so I can get these down), but there were stories of places. "I used to ride my bike down this road to school. My old girlfriend lived there. That's where my grandmother went to church." My grandparents made sure I knew that our family was made of believers. They weren't all happy stories, but they reminded me how Christ was always there for them. "That's the graves of your great-grandmother's sisters. They were killed in the tornado in 1936. That's where my brother and his fiance' died the day before they got married."

We also have memorials in our spiritual lives. People, places, dates, and things that remind us of significant events on our Spiritual journey. They aren't always happy memories, but they tell of a time when we experienced the move of God. I was going to list mine here, but I think that's another post. What's the purpose of these memorials? Theres two: 1) to remind you what God did for you and 2) so when your children ask "what's that?," you can tell them what God did for you and they too will know God is real and His hand is mighty.

You want me to go where?

I often wonder about the thoughts of people in the Bible. We get the facts, what people said or did, but many times the thoughts and attitudes are left to our own interpretations.

I think it's safe to say that the Isrealites were initially excited and releived when Moses led them out of Egypt. We are told that it wasn't long after they are travelling through the desert that they began to complain and grumble. It's pretty safe to say they quickly became tired, frstrated, anxious, bewildered. They finally reach the promised land and Moses sends spies in. At hearing the report of these spies, the are afraid and unbelieving. Because of these attitudes, we are told, that generation was not allowed to enter the Promised land. So they wondered and walked and got old and had children and traveled. I wonder if they regretted their unbleif. The first generation died and their children finally reached Canaan again. Moses had died and Joshua was in charge. Joshua sends in tow spies who return stating the people in the land are afraid of them.

Here we find the Isrealites in Joshua chapter 3. Camped on the eastern side of the flooding Jordan river, waiting. I wonder what they were thinking. "So, this is the land mom and dad told us about. It really is beautiful. I don't see any giants yet? Do you really think we can take them? How long are we going to be here? It's going to be months before that river goes down enough that we can cross."

Three days later, just as they are settling in, Joshua comes around saying "When you see the priests come by with the ark of the covenant of the Lord (God's house), get up and follow it. Make sure you stay behind a ways so you can see where it's going. You haven't gone this way before. Oh, and sanctify yourselves so you can see His miracles tomorrow." Were the Isrealites excited, thrilled, anxious? I wonder if they were thinking, "We haven't been this way before? We've walked all over this desert. The only place we haven't been is across that river and it's flooding. Oooh, wait, who does he think he is, Moses?" And the ark starts moving. No cloud, no fire, just priests carrying the ark toward the river. By now, I'm sure the people are thinking, "really, he's really going to do it. Has he lost his mind? What happened to that cloud we used to follow?" But they can't help but follow. Partly because they were told to, partly because they don't want to be left alone in the wilderness, but I wonder if it wasn't mostly because they wondered what was going to happen when those priests stepped in the water.

Just as the priests step into the water carrying the ark of the covenant, the water stopped. Suddenly, 15 or 20 miles up the road in the city of Adam, something happened that caused the water to dam up. Amazed, the people of God, walked across the dry riverbed into the land of Promise, no doubt thinking, "hmm, maybe he is Moses. He certainly is favored by God. God is real. God is good. Better hurry across before that dam breaks." The priests stood there until the entire nation crossed over the river Jordan.

Sometimes I feel like the Isrealites. I feel like I've wandered around not exactly sure where I'm going for some time. Then God passes by in a way I don't expect. I follow, not really sure where He's going or what He's going to do. Then He walks toward the water and for a moment I'm frozen in my tracks. "The river? But it's flooding. There's no way I can cross that. What are you thinking?" But He assures me He'll go before me and He'll stay in that river with me until I'm safely across. Then, He'll lead me onward. But the wonders can't begin until I'm willing to step into the and get my soul wet.

You're Spying on Us? We know about you...

Joshua 2

News travels fast. Especially in the information and technology driven world we live in today. It's easy to understand how news travels so quickly today. In fact, it would be more difficult today, to understand how someone would not know pertinent news. Media is everywhere and you only have to go as far as your cell phone (which is probably in your pocket, if not your hand), to connect to the Internet and know what is happening anywhere in the world. It's not difficult to understand even, how news traveled in the past century with television and newspapers so readily available. I never had considered how news traveled, though, in Biblical times.

I'm reading the book of Joshua. I find it interesting in Joshua chapter 2 that the inhabitants of Jericho not only knew the Isrealites were coming to spy on the land, but they also knew that God had dried up the Red Sea for them and completely destroyed the Amorite kings, Sihon and Og, east of the Jordan river. For some reason I find it especially interesting that Rahab knew of the crossing of the Red Sea, some 40 years before. I wonder, was Rahab alive then or did she learn about it from “world history.” I digress.

Rahab was not a Jew. She did not have to believe in the God of the Israelites. She believed because she had heard what God did. As she begged the spies to spare her life, she confessed the God of the Israelites, “the Lord, your God, He is God in heaven above and on earth beneath.” Now, Rahab was part of a multi-theistic society; they believed in many gods. So, it is possible that while Rahab believed in the God of the Israelites, she also believed in other gods, we don't know. Nevertheless, God used this prostitute to serve His ultimate purposes and ultimately allowed her to become part of His family. In fact, she even was a descendant to the King of Kings.
So these spies came into Rahab's house and she hid them from the king's officials, then sent them on their way. As they left, the spies told Rahab that anyone in her house would be safe as long as she tied a scarlet cord in the window of her home. The spies followed advice given to them by Rahab to hide in the woods for three days before returning to their camp. Rahab didn't know when the Israelites would be back, but she knew they would return—and she knew she had only 3 days to get her family and provisions for her family into her home.

Just as the scarlet cord in Rahab's window saved her family from a gruesome death, Jesus Christ shed his blood to save His family from eternal death. The hearts of those who have accepted Him are marked with His blood. When Jesus was crucified, he was dead for 3 days then he rose and went to be with Our Father in Heaven. We don't know when He will return, but I KNOW He will. Like the Israelite spies promised Rahab, my Jesus promised me that he will spare me from death as long as I have the scarlet mark of His blood on my heart.

Have you heard what God has done? God used the prostitute, Rahab, and blessed her because she heard and believed. Won't you trust Him to protect you? He can do so much more than you can imagine.

Be of good courage

Thoughts from Joshua chapter 1

When God calls you to a job, it's common to be afraid. Afraid of what people might say. Afraid of failure. Afraid of success. It's common to be afraid, because God doesn't call us to do jobs that we, as humans, can do easily. God calls us to God sized jobs.

Joshua had been Moses's assistant, he knew the job. He had been in the desert with the people God called him to lead (okay, so maybe that's why he was afraid). He had seen the land God had promised and he knew that, with God's help, it could be conquered. (Numbers 14:6-9) The job wasn't completely unknown to him. Yet, he must have been afraid. Four times in the first chapter of the book of Joshua, God tells him to "Be strong and of good courage." God assured Joshua that He was with him wherever he goes and reminded him to remember what Moses taught him and to meditate in the law day and night. Joshua was tho have courage, so he could encourage the Hebrew people.

When God calls us to lead, it's natural for us to be afraid. We are to have courage and know God is with us, leading us. When we follow Him and keep His Word on our heart, mind, and lips, we can have the courage to do whatever it is He calls us to do. Then, we can encourage those He puts under our influence.

Joshua encouraged the people that they were about to see God's greatness. He gave them three days to prepare the provisions they needed to cross the Jordan and take the land God promised them. What is that you need to do to prepare yourself to take God's promise? Have courage. Meditate on His Word and prepare yourself for God to pass by. He'll do more than you ever could.