Title: Rise up Joshua / Joshua 7:6-15
Wake up, Joshua
Text: Joshua 7:6-15
Israel's defeat at Ai was fatal. The incident where Israel defeated the two kings of the Amorites, Sihon and Og, on the other side of the Jordan River, and crossed the Jordan River on dry ground, and the incident that destroyed the strong city of Jericho melted the conversations of the Canaanites. However, the defeat of Israel in the battle of Ai, a place that is not so strong, has given courage to the other Canaanites again.
In Joshua's prayer we read today, this situation is well illustrated. In verse 9, it is well understood from the expression, "When the Canaanites and all the inhabitants of the land hear this, they will surround us and cut off our name from the world." Israel is in desperate danger. This was not only a crisis of Israel, but also a crisis of God. The defeat of Israel will prove that the Lord God who is with Israel is insignificant God, for it will profane your great name.
So, in this crisis, Joshua went to God and knelt down. He tore his clothes, and fell to the ground with the elders of Israel, praying and dusting their heads. Ripping clothes is an expression of sadness or anger. Putting dust on your head is an expression of humility, confessing that you are as insignificant as dust. These are the two things we need when we go to God and pray. A broken heart, that is, a longing heart and humility. God does not accept our prayers with lengthy words or muffled mundane babble. To babble refers to a conscious prayer that contains one's truth or lacks earnestness. Even if you say "Oh Lord, Oh Lord" because you are not good at speaking, God is pleased with the prayer that contains the truth and breaks your heart.
Also, when we go out to pray, we must go forward with humility. We must go before Almighty God, confessing that we are less than dust. As a creature that is inferior to dust, we must pray for God's will, not for imposing our own will and greed.
Joshua prays in front of the ark of the Lord until the sun goes down. There was one other reason besides the current crisis in Israel that made Joshua kneel before God so earnestly. It was the fact that God was not with him as he had previously promised. In Joshua 1:5 and 6, God made a clear promise to Joshua. “I will be with you as I was with Moses; I will never leave you or forsake you. Be strong and of good courage.”
Joshua could not understand, and it was difficult for Joshua to understand that God had made such a promise, but that God had left him and that he had forsaken himself.
There are times when we are faced with the same situation in our religious life. Even though God has promised to be with me either through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit or through the Word of the Bible, there are many times when I feel like God is not helping me in the most difficult moments.
But God never forsakes what He has promised us. God is always with us and He hears our prayers. When it seems that our prayers are not answered at all, then it is not that God has abandoned us, He is not blocking our ears to our prayers, He has other intentions and is merely silent. Right now, God's silence is scary and painful, but after time passes, the day will come when you will know God's good will and give thanks to God.
God did not leave Joshua. Because of Achan's transgression, God turned away for a while, and through this, He wanted Israel to become a sanctified people who were faithful to God's Word. Joshua was frustrated because he did not know this fact, and he fell on his face before God until the sun went down. Then Joshua received an answer from God. I learned that Achan had been defeated in Ai.
Are there some of you who are suffering because of God's silence? Wait patiently. Our Father is silent right now to give you something better. God will never forsake you.
God speaks to Joshua, who is kneeling down and praying. "Get up", this word is the Hebrew word for "qum." God speaks to Joshua. “Kum, Joshua, why did you fall down like this?”
God is saying the same thing to you this morning. "Get up"
Are you in despair right now? God says "Get up!"
Are you helpless right now? God says "Get up!"
Do you fall asleep in laziness? God says "Wake up!"
Just as Jesus took the hand of a dead little girl and raised the little girl to life by saying “run and run,” so at this time the Lord takes our souls by the hand and raises our souls that have died of lethargy, discouragement, and laziness.
When these words of God fell, Joshua was able to get up in despair and sorrow. God gives specific commands to Joshua like this. In verse 13, Joshua gives the command to consecrate the people of Israel and make them wait for tomorrow. Then God says that tomorrow, God will choose the sinner himself. First, I would choose one tribe from among the twelve tribes, one tribe from among the tribes constituting that tribe, one family from among those tribes, and one male from the family. The chosen person and all that he possesses are said to be burned. This is because they have broken God's covenant, the commandment to keep God's word, and because they have done vain things, that is, foolish and evil things in Israel. The foolishness of this is that it is foolish in the sense that it can deceive God, and the wickedness is evil in that it made all the people of Israel sin.
Joshua's prayer today makes us think about what a spiritual leader should look like. Spiritual leaders should always be sensitive to the spiritual condition of the members of the community they serve. We should always watch over them in prayer to see if they are going astray. When we pray earnestly, God makes us aware of that person's spiritual condition and teaches us what to pray for.
We have been called to be spiritual leaders in various ways, whether we are chaplains or ministers. In order to take good care of the sheep that the Lord has sent us without losing a single sheep, like Joshua, it is necessary to always watch and pray like Joshua.