God said, “There are things under the ban in your midst"

God of Israel, has said, “There are things under the ban in your midst, O Israel. You cannot stand before your enemies until you have removed the things under the ban from your midst.” Joshua 7:13

On the heels of a great victory over Jericho, the Israelites planned to conquer Ai.

But Israel had acted unfaithfully, for Achan took some things from Jericho (as plunder) God had banned. Therefore the Lord was angry against all of Israel. So, when Joshua sent about 3,000 men from Jericho to destroy Ai, the men of Ai killed thirty-six of Johua’s men, and chased the rest of them from their gates and struck them down

Joshua tore his clothes and fell on his face (along with the elders) before the ark of the Lord. Joshua asked, “O Lord God, why did You ever bring this people over the Jordan, only to deliver us into the hand of the Amorites, to destroy us?” So the Lord said to Joshua, “Israel has sinned, and taken things under the ban and have also put them among their own things. Therefore I will not be with you anymore unless you destroy the things under the ban.”

Two important lessons...
1. When we sin against the Lord we cannot expect Him to bless our endeavors and make them fruitful and, 2. When we sin against the Lord there are consequences for those around us even if they have not sinned.

When things go wrong for us we are not generally inclined to ask God where we have gone wrong. We are more inclined to make a logical assessment and take corrective action. After all, asking God implies the possibility of moral failure and...who really wants to admit that? I’d far prefer admitting  to a failure in knowledge or skill. They don’t make me a “bad person”...only a dumb person. And, I can fix that!

Well, we can fix moral failure as well. It begins with admitting we are sinners (saved by grace) who need constant forgiveness. It continues with a devotion to obeying God’s directions in our lives. But...admitting we have profound existential flaws based on the judgement of another (even if it is God) is a blow to our pride so, we try to avoid doing so.

And...we can continue in denial if we choose. The real question is...how long do we want to ruin our lives as well as the lives of people we love?

Live boldly out there today...