PERSONAL JOURNAL:
SIN (verse 21): Today, I see a story about Achan who betrayed Your trust when they defeated those in the promised land. He chose to take some “treasures” after You had commanded them many times not to. He concealed this from everyone, but You know all so I guess he should not have been surprised at all when he was caught. The reason I find this particular verse as a sin confession for me is because I too have committed sins in my past which I have attempted to hide from everyone, including You, but I know better. I know I can’t hide anything from You, Father. I guess I was really just trying to hide it from myself. Please forgive me for my feeble attempts at concealing some past sins in the moment, Father. Forgive me for thinking in those moments that You are not almighty or all powerful by thinking that You did not see or know about my sin in that moment. Forgive me for even considering that it’d be possible for me to conceal anything I’ve done in this life from You, Father.
PROMISE (verse 12): At the very end of this verse, You make a promise to Joshua. You promise him that as a result of the person who betrayed You that You will no longer be with them until they remove from themselves that which has been set apart. You promised Joshua that You would no longer give them Your strength to win in all of these tremendous battles if he did not find the sinner who stole what was set apart from their battle victories. This led Joshua down a path of discovery based on the outline You gave him to cleanse Your people of this disgrace. Such a powerful promise that You would turn Your back on them if they didn’t discover the culprit, but also a powerful promise on the flip side of things if they did expunge the culprit and that which was set apart in the manner the Lord commanded.
ATTITUDE (verse 20): Although Achan had committed a sin against You which was about to be used to justify a punishment against all of Your people, he did do something the right way at the very end. He remained silent all throughout, trying to conceal his sin from everyone, including You, or so he thought. At the very end when You used a specific method through Joshua to narrow it down to him, he did step up and confess; he did embrace honesty in this moment instead of trying to conceal even further. He did all of this knowing that he would likely be killed as a result of his sin, but that the greater amount of people would continue to be blessed. Help me to embrace a true spirit of honesty, Father, especially in those things I really do not want to confess. Help me to embrace a true spirit of honesty both early in the process and consistently throughout my life, Father, so that I may glorify and honor You in all that I say.
COMMAND (verses 11-12): Here, I can see You giving Joshua not only a new command, but also a reminder of a previous command. The previous command You are reminding him of was that nobody was to take anything from the victories in battle, because all were to be destroyed so that Your people could build anew. This was simply to serve as a reminder, so that Joshua knew that someone had betrayed this command and that is why the Lord turned away from them briefly. The new, second command given here is about what they must do now that someone has betrayed You. Joshua must find this person who betrayed Your covenant with them to destroy them and what they stole else the Lord will turn from them forever. This is a no-brainer, but Joshua quickly followed the Lord’s command to find this person, using the steps You gave him, so that Your people could be returned into Your favor. I would have done the exact same thing in his situation.
EXAMPLE (verses 16-19): I really do like this example here. You gave Joshua clear instructions on what to do the next day in regard to regaining Your favor. What’d he do the very next day? Not only did he follow Your instructions step-by-step, but You point out that Joshua “got up early the next morning” to do this. He wasn’t trying to sleep in or put it off until later. He accomplished this task early and quickly to ensure that Your favor would return to Your people as soon as possible. Joshua was faithful and obedient in this example, but also very timely in taking the actions You wanted him to take. He didn’t stall, he didn’t drag his feet, he didn’t take his time to get it done. Instead, when You told him to get it done the next day, he ensured that he got up early to take care of it as early as possible the next day. Help me to be as quick to act in my tasks for You, Father. Help me to remember that although You may illuminate the steps for me to take, it’s up to me to take the actions needed to take those steps. I should get them done as quickly as I can and in the exact way which You want me to get them done.
*DAILY NOTE: Thank You, Father, for so many amazing examples in today’s conversation. I am beginning to see the little things which You have chosen to include in Your word that I didn’t see before, like You specify that Joshua “got up early” the next day. You could’ve just said when he got up the next day he took care of Your instructions, but that’s not how You chose to word it. Instead, You chose to be clear and concise about the words You used for me this morning. You are telling me that I need to get up early and get the tasks done for the day which You want me to get done. I should not be dragging my feet or sitting around being lazy about anything. Instead, I need to be getting things done quickly, efficiently, and consistently so that what I am doing is pleasing to You, Father. Thank You for this conversation today and thank You for pushing me to be a better man than I could have ever done on my own with the other broken people around me, Father.
EXPAND TO READ: GENERAL NOTE FOR MY QUIET TIMES
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