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Sunday 26 November 2023

Joshua 7:6,7 - Joshua fell facedown

7:6

Joshua was distraught and fell face down before the Lord for several hours. In fact, before the ark of the Lord, but the ark represented the presence of God. He was joined by the elders of Israel. When things go wrong our first reaction should be to seek the Lord, for the answer always ultimately lies with Him.


7:7

Joshua feels very sorry for himself and is angry with God. Much as the Israelites in the desert asked why Moses/God had brought them out of Egypt to let them die in the desert, so Joshua asks God why He brought them across the Jordan to let them die (deliver them into the hands of the Amorites). He thinks they should have been content to stay on the other side of the Jordan. So we see Joshua on the one hand being very devout, but on the other being all too human in his emotions. A key element is that Joshua took his complaints to God. We should also be aware that God can handle us when we are having a hissy-fit. We should also be aware that when things look bad or we have suffered some sort of defeat, our emotions and thoughts are extremely unreliable. Joshua’s assessment of the situation as given here is completely wrong.


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