Introduction

After such a wonderful experience at Jericho, chapter 7 is surprising to say the least. Suddenly we are presented with a series of failures that stand in striking contrast to the victories of the past six chapters. But how instructive this is if we only have the ears to listen to the message of this chapter. The thrill of victory was so quickly replaced with the agony of defeat. Here is the story of life and one we must learn to deal with in our daily walk because this passage is so typical of most of us. One minute we can be living in victory—the next in defeat.

The distance between a great victory and a great defeat is only one step, and often only a short one at that. One sad truth of reality in a fallen world is that we can be riding high on the cloud of some great spiritual success and the very next moment find ourselves in a valley of spiritual failure and despair. One moment we can be like Elijah standing victoriously on Mount Carmel and the next shriveled up under a juniper tree or hiding in a cave in deep despair complaining to God: “… I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me too” (1 Kings 19:10).

Because of its strategic location, Ai was the next objective in the path of conquest. As with Jericho, its defeat was vital to the conquest of the entire land. Ai was smaller than Jericho, but its conquest was essential because it would give Israel control of the main route that ran along the highlands from north to south in the central portion of the land.

Jericho had been placed under the ban, a phrase which comes from the Hebrew word, herem, “a devoted thing, a ban.” The verb form, haram, means “to ban, devote, or destroy utterly.” Basically, this word refers to the exclusion of an object from use or abuse by man along with its irreversible surrender to God. It is related to an Arabic root meaning “to prohibit, especially to ordinary use.” The “harem,” meaning the special quarters for Muslim wives, comes from this word. So, to surrender something to God meant devoting it to the service of God or putting it under a ban for utter destruction.³²

For something to be under the ban meant one of two things. First, everything living was to be completely destroyed. This has been called barbaric and primitive and nothing less than the murder of innocent lives. The Canaanites, however, were by no means innocent. They were a vile people who practiced the basest forms of immorality including child sacrifice. God had given them over four hundred years to repent, but now their iniquity had become full (see Gen. 15:16; Lev. 18:24-28). The few who did turn to the Lord (Rahab and her family) were spared. As with Sodom and Gomorrah, if there had been even ten righteous, God would have spared the city (Gen. 18), but since He could not find even ten, God removed Lot and his family (Gen. 19). Further, if any city had repented as did Nineveh at the preaching of Jonah, He would have spared that city, but in spite of all the miraculous works of God which they had heard about, there was no repentance, they remained steadfast in their depravity.

… the battle confronting Israel was not simply a religious war; it was a theocratic war. Israel was directly ruled by God and the extermination was God’s direct command (cf. Exod. 23:27-30; Deut. 7:3-6; Josh. 8:24-26). No other nation either before or after Israel has been a theocracy. Thus, those commands were unique. Israel as a theocracy was an instrument of judgment in the hands of God.³³

Second, all the valuable objects like gold and silver were to be dedicated to the Lord’s treasury. This was evidently to be done as a kind of first fruits of the land, and as an evidence of the people’s trust in the Lord’s supply for the future (cf. Lev. 27:28-29).

The Disobedience of Israel Defined
(7:1)

1 But the sons of Israel acted unfaithfully in regard to the things under the ban, for Achan, the son of Carmi, the son of Zabdi, the son of Zerah, from the tribe of Judah, took some of the things under the ban, therefore the anger of the LORD burned against the sons of Israel.

Chapter 7 opens with the little but ominous word, “but.” This word contrasts this chapter with the preceding, but particularly 6:27. First, there was the thrill of victory, but now there is the agony of defeat. This little conjunction of contrast is designed to drive home an important truth—the reality of the ever present threat and contrasts of life—victory is always followed by at least the threat of defeat.

Never is the believer in greater danger of a fall than after a victory. We are so prone to drop our guard and begin trusting in ourselves or in our past victories rather than the Lord. One victory never guarantees the next. Only as it builds our confidence in the Lord and develops our wisdom in appropriating God’s Word do our victories aid us for the next battle. Always, the basis of victory is the Lord Himself and our faith/dependence on Him. A New Testament chapter that deserves consideration here is 1 Corinthians 10, especially verse 12. The problem is clearly stated in the words, “The sons of Israel acted unfaithfully in regard …” Let’s note several things about this problem facing the Israelites as a nation.

(1) The word “unfaithfully” represents a Hebrew word that means “to act underhandedly.” It was used of marital infidelity, of a woman who was unfaithful to her husband. The sin here was both an act of spiritual infidelity, being a friend of the world rather than a friend to the Lord (Jam. 4:4), and a faithless act, seeking happiness and security from things rather than from God (1 Tim. 6:6f).

(2) We see that the Lord held the whole camp of Israel accountable for the act of one man and withheld His blessing until the matter was corrected. There was sin in the camp and God would not continue blessing the nation as long as this was so. This does not mean this was the only sin and the rest of the nation was sinless, but this sin was of such a nature (direct disobedience and rebellion) that God used it to teach Israel and us a couple of important lessons.

God viewed the nation of Israel as a unit. What one did was viewed as a sin for the whole nation because Israel’s corporate life illustrates truth and warnings for us as individuals (1 Cor. 10). As a warning for the church, it shows us we cannot progress and move ahead for the Lord with known sin in our lives because that constitutes rebellion against the Lord’s direction and control (Eph. 4:30; 1 Thess. 5:19). It is a matter of loving the world—and to do so is to make one behave as though he or she was an enemy of God (Jam. 4).

Achan’s behavior also illustrates how one or a few believers out of fellowship, when pursuing their own selfish desires and agendas, can negatively impact an entire group. Such behavior can create trouble for the rest. Achan’s name, the Hebrew, akan, is a play on the word akor, which means “trouble.” So Joshua would declare that the Lord would bring trouble (akor) on Achan who had become a “troubler” to the nation because of his sin (cf. 7:24-25). Thus, the site of Achan’s death and grave was called, “the valley of Achor” (Hebrew, akor, “disturbance, trouble”). Though the crime was committed by one person, the whole nation was considered guilty. The nation was responsible for the obedience of every citizen and was charged with the punishment of every offender. This should call to mind the following verses:

See to it that no one comes short of the grace of God; that no root of bitterness springing up causes trouble, and by it many be defiled; that there be no immoral or godless person like Esau, who sold his own birthright for a single meal (Hebrews 12:15-16).

Your boasting is not good. Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump of dough? Clean out the old leaven, that you may be a new lump, just as you are in fact unleavened. For Christ our Passover also has been sacrificed (1 Corinthians 5:6-7).

The apostle Paul saw the same principle of solidarity at work in the church (1 Cor 5:6-13). Unjudged sin contaminated the whole assembly—”Don’t you know that a little yeast works through the whole batch of dough?” (v. 6).³⁴

(3) We also are reminded how nothing escapes the omniscience of God (Psa. 139:1f). Sin never escapes His watchful eye. We can fool ourselves and others, but never the Lord. God sees the sin in our lives and desires us to deal with it, not hide it. Hiding it only hinders our progress in God’s will and plan (Prov. 28:13) and creates trouble for others. Numbers 32:23 reminds us, “be sure your sin will find you out.” This is similar to the idea of reaping what we sow because of the natural consequences of God’s spiritual and moral laws and because of God’s personal involvement. The Numbers text, however, does not just teach that sin will be discovered but that the consequences of our sin become active agents in discovering us (see Gal. 6:7-8).

(4) The words, “therefore the anger of the Lord burned against the sons of Israel,” dramatically call our attention to the holiness of God. Sin is no small matter with God because sin is rebellion and rebellion is as the sin of divination (1 Sam. 15:23). Even though Christ died for our sins and stands at God’s right hand as our Advocate and Intercessor, God does not and cannot treat sin in our lives lightly. It is against His holy character (His holiness, righteousness, love, etc.) and against His holy purposes for us because it hinders His control and ability to lead us.

Or do you think the scripture means nothing when it says, “The spirit that God caused to live within us has an envious yearning?” But he gives greater grace. Therefore it says, “God opposes the proud, but he gives grace to the humble.” (James 4:5-6, the NET Bible, emphasis mine).

Thus, God must deal with us and the sin in our lives; He deals with us as a Father and as the Vine Dresser, but He nevertheless deals with us (John 15:1f; Heb. 12:5).

The Defeat at Ai Described
(7:2-5)

2 Now Joshua sent men from Jericho to Ai, which is near Beth-aven, east of Bethel, and said to them, “Go up and spy out the land.” So the men went up and spied out Ai. 3 And they returned to Joshua and said to him, “Do not let all the people go up; only about two or three thousand men need go up to Ai; do not make all the people toil up there, for they are few.” 4 So about three thousand men from the people went up there, but they fled from the men of Ai. 5 And the men of Ai struck down about thirty-six of their men, and pursued them from the gate as far as Shebarim, and struck them down on the descent, so the hearts of the people melted and became as water.

The defeat of Israel’s army at Ai described here is the only defeat recorded in Joshua and the only report of Jews slain in battle. Ai was smaller than Jericho! How could such a defeat occur so quickly? The root cause, as summarized in verse one, was the sin of Achan. There are other issues involved, however, which led Joshua to go up against Ai when he should not have.

In these verses we see some of the varying consequences of sin in the life of God’s people or in the life of the individual. Sin has many consequences, none of them good.

No doubt Joshua was eager to move forward for the Lord and to take more territory in keeping with God’s directions and His purpose for Israel. But being a little self-confident and resting too much on the victory at Jericho, Joshua evidently failed to take time to get alone with the Lord to inquire of Him and seek His strength. If he had, he would not have remained ignorant of the sin of Achan and could have dealt with it first. Four deadly errors were the result: (a) They remained ignorant of the sin of Achan. (b) They underestimated the strength of the enemy. (c) They over-estimated the strength of their own army. (d) They presumed on the Lord—they took Him for granted.

Later, when God gave the orders for them to go up against the enemy, perhaps because of their previous self-confident attitude and their presumption, He commanded them to take “all the people of war” (8:1). With Gideon, however, the Lord had him reduce his forces lest they boast in their own power as the source of their victory (Judges 7:1f).

How often are we not just like Joshua here in chapter 7? Because of a workaholic mentality or an activity-oriented bent or a desire to get things done and to be successful, there is the tendency to rush off without taking time to draw near to the Lord, draw on His resources, and to put on the full armor of God. Such is not only unwise, but it often causes us to be insensitive to serious failures in our own lives and ministries which grieve and quench the Spirit and leave us defenseless against the enemy because we are operating in our own strength and wisdom. Ultimately, then, these failures stand in the way of our progress and ability to handle the various challenges in life.

The last part of verse 5 reads, “so the hearts of the people melted and became as water.” The defeat at Ai demoralized the people. This is perhaps even more significant than the defeat itself because it created misgivings and a lack of confidence in the Lord. Rather than examine their own lives as the source of their defeat, they began to doubt the Lord and wonder if He had changed His mind or if they had misread His directions. Should we have crossed the Jordan? Should we have stayed on the other side? (cf. 7:7).

In our sinful human nature, we are typically just like that. We are so quick to become depressed, discouraged, and disoriented. We look in every direction for a reason for defeat—except to ourselves. We blame, we make excuses, we hide and hurl, but we so often fail to honestly examine our own lives. We assume the problem could not possibly be us … could it?

The Dismay of Joshua Depicted
(7:6-9)

6 Then Joshua tore his clothes and fell to the earth on his face before the ark of the LORD until the evening, both he and the elders of Israel; and they put dust on their heads. 7 And Joshua said, “Alas, O Lord GOD, why didst Thou ever bring this people over the Jordan, only to deliver us into the hand of the Amorites, to destroy us? If only we had been willing to dwell beyond the Jordan! 8 O Lord, what can I say since Israel has turned their back before their enemies? 9 For the Canaanites and all the inhabitants of the land will hear of it, and they will surround us and cut off our name from the earth. And what wilt Thou do for Thy great name?”

The Consternation Before the Ark (vs. 6)

In this description of Joshua we see one of the great evidences of the inspiration of Scripture. God’s people, including the great heroes of the faith, are pictured with blemishes, warts and all. God does not touch up the photo. Rather, He shows us their humanness to comfort us in our own failures and to challenge us to realize He can use us greatly if we will but trust Him. Failure is unique to none of us … and it is not the end. In fact, it can be the beginning depending on how we respond. Of course, it is always better to make a few new mistakes and learn from them than to repeat old ones. When we keep making the same mistakes our defeats have no life-changing value. In the defeat at Ai we see a real test of Joshua’s leadership. As Sanders remarks, “There are tests to leadership as well as tests of leadership,”³⁵ and one of those tests is the test of failure. Failure is unique to no one. Failure, like all testings, are common to all men (1 Cor. 10:13) and thus, the manner in which a leader handles failure, his own and others, will have a powerful impact on his growth and future leadership.

A study of Bible characters reveals that most of those who made history were men who failed at some point, and some of them drastically, but who refused to continue lying in the dust. Their very failure and repentance secured for them a more ample conception of the grace of God. They learned to know Him as the God of the second chance to His children who had failed Him—and the third chance, too …

The successful leader is a man who has learned that no failure need to be final and acts on that belief, whether the failure is his own or that of another. He must learn to be realistic and prepared to realize that he cannot be right all the time. There is no such thing as a perfect or infallible leader.³⁶

Joshua, of course, was stunned by the defeat and catastrophe at Ai, and his actions and those of the elders were in keeping with the Hebrew practices of mourning and despair. Prostrating himself before the Ark of the Lord certainly suggests that he and the elders were humbling themselves before the Lord. Joshua and the elders were not guilty of callused indifference. They were showing a deep concern and their need of God’s hand; they needed His intervention and wisdom. However, from the words that follow, intermingled with these feelings, there is also evidence of some self-pity and doubt.

Today we do not normally tear our clothes, fall face down on the ground, and put dust on our heads. But we do have ways of showing our consternation and pain and doubt. We may fall on our knees or put our face in our hands and sob, but if there are feelings of self-pity and depression, we may become inactive or sullen. But these responses do not remove the pain nor do they solve the problem and enable us to grow through the experience.

The Complaint to the Lord (vss. 7-8)

Finally, after a whole day on his face, Joshua verbalized his perplexity in three questions and two statements. He didn’t take it out on others, nor did he try to escape or repress it. He did what we should all do—he took it to the Lord.

The First Question (vs. 7a): “Alas, O Lord God, why did You ever bring this people over the Jordan …” The NIV translates this, “Ah, Sovereign LORD, why did you ever bring this people across the Jordan …” The word “alas” or “ah” is a strong interjection of despair. “Ah” is practically a transliteration of the Hebrew. It often, as here, points to a mood of hopelessness and defeat. In most places it is used with “Lord God” though not always as an expression of despair (Jud. 6:22; Jer. 1:6; 4:10; 14:13; 32:17; Ezek. 4:14; 9:8;11:13). With one breath he cries out “Ah, Adonai Yahweh,” which acknowledges God’s sovereign authority and lordship over their lives, but with the very next breath he seems to question God’s purposes and promises as the Sovereign Lord.

With the question, “why did You ever bring this people across the Jordan …” he was acting as though God were not in control or as though God had merely tricked them or had made a mistake. How quick we are to act religious while at the very same time we can deny God’s authority and power by other things we may think, or say, or do. Here is a perfect illustration of how focusing on the problem negatively affects our view of God which in turn affects our faith in His purposes, plan, and promises.

A wrong focus, on the one hand, often turns mountains into mole hills. Perhaps, trusting in their past victory instead of the Lord, they had their eyes on the smallness of Ai and saw it as just a little problem. On the other hand, with their eyes on the defeat, they turned this mole hill into a mountain that was too big for the Sovereign Lord to handle.

Whenever we are occupied with the problem, or whenever we fail to focus our minds and eyes on the Lord, we become insensitive to the Person, plan, promises, and purposes of God. At this point, it seems it never entered Joshua’s mind that God may have had a reason for allowing the defeat or that they might in some way be the cause. When our focus is wrong we either forget God’s promises or we question them. We then quit relating to God’s person in all His divine essence. In such a condition we no longer see the Lord as our hope, instead He becomes the villain.

The First Statement (vs. 7b): “If only we had been willing to dwell beyond the Jordan!” How narrow our vision grows and how negative we become to God’s purposes when we have our eyes on the circumstances and lose sight of the Lord! We go into reverse and look back. The tendency is to become nostalgic for the ‘good old days.’ We become like Israel who remembered the garlic, leeks and cucumbers, but forgot about the taskmasters and mud pits. In order to be comfortable we are willing to settle for a life of mediocrity rather than learn what the hindrances are so that we can move ahead in the pursuit of excellence.

There is the assumption here that, since they had been defeated, they could not go forward and that it would have been better not to have encountered the enemy. In their perspective, their failure had somehow weakened God’s ability to give them future victories. This is a typical assumption, but one that is wrong. God is never limited by our defeats. As the Sovereign Lord, He is able to work all things together for good, the good of conforming us like His Son (Rom. 8:28-29).

The Second Question (vs. 8): “O Lord, what can I say since Israel has turned their back before their enemies?” Following the defeat of Jericho, chapter 6 ended with the statement, “So the Lord was with Joshua, and his fame was in all the land.” Now we have this statement in 7:8 and it seems Joshua was now worried about the complaints of the people and their willingness to follow his leadership. Will this failure preempt my ability to do what you have called me to do because of their attitudes and questions? Furthermore, people were going to want some answers and he simply didn’t have any at this time. What could he possibly say to them? This was really a prayer for wisdom (Jam. 1:5).

Perhaps also, feeling a little shame or personal blame for the way the men had turned and fled, he was doubting his own ability to lead the army. He was perhaps feeling that he had let them down, that people would be blaming him for the defeat, and he was concerned about the impact of all this on his ability to lead the people.

A Second Statement and Worry (vs. 9): “For the inhabitants of the land will hear of it, and they will surround us and cut off our name …” Joshua was concerned about the impact of this defeat on their testimony to the nations and how it could bring them down in a concerted effort against God’s people. Would this provide a beachhead for the enemy to now go on the offensive and attack Israel rather than vice versa? The world is watching us and the way we handle our problems affects the attitude of the world toward the Christian community (1 Pet. 3:13-17).

The Third Question: “And what will You do for Your great name?” Even in all his fears, we see Joshua’s character and love for the Lord manifesting itself. It appears that Joshua’s greatest concern was that the news of this defeat might somehow reduce the respect of the heathen nations for God’s own name. Joshua may have been guilty of thinking what people often think, that one failure must lead to other failures; that victory is less likely now because they had so miserably failed. True, our sin and failure may affect our testimony for a while; it may give Satan an opportunity to establish a beachhead; it may have repercussions in other ways, but God is always able to work all things together for good for those who love Him.

Nothing is ever accomplished with our face in the dirt or with our eyes on our failures and problems. First, we must confess our failures and the things that caused them when they can be determined. Then we must seek to learn from them. Finally, we need to know that God’s will is immediate recovery and faith in the grace of God. God’s will is to get up and move on (vss. 10f).

Let’s summarize the causes of failure: (1) Apparently, there was a lack of prayer or a failure to get alone with God to seek His guidance. (2) Clearly, there was reliance on human wisdom when Joshua listened to the suggestion of the spies when they returned from the spying out Ai (vs. 3). (3) Then, relying on their past victory instead of the Lord, there was overconfidence in their own ability thinking they could easily go up against such a small city when compared to Jericho (vss. 3-4).

Now with verse 10, our attention is turned to God’s response and directions to Joshua. This is highly instructive for it not only gives us greater insight into the nature of Joshua’s actions (dismay and doubt), but it provides us with God’s evaluation of what Joshua was doing (He was not pleased) and His instruction for what was to done to correct the problem.

The Directions From God Delineated
(7:10-15)

10 So the LORD said to Joshua, “Rise up! Why is it that you have fallen on your face? 11 Israel has sinned, and they have also transgressed My covenant which I commanded them. And they have even taken some of the things under the ban and have both stolen and deceived. Moreover, they have also put them among their own things. 12 Therefore the sons of Israel cannot stand before their enemies; they turn their backs before their enemies, for they have become accursed. I will not be with you anymore unless you destroy the things under the ban from your midst. 13 Rise up! Consecrate the people and say, ‘Consecrate yourselves for tomorrow, for thus the LORD, the 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.” 14 In the morning then you shall come near by your tribes. And it shall be that the tribe which the LORD takes by lot shall come near by families, and the family which the LORD takes shall come near by households, and the household which the LORD takes shall come near man by man. 15 And it shall be that the one who is taken with the things under the ban shall be burned with fire, he and all that belongs to him, because he has transgressed the covenant of the LORD, and because he has committed a disgraceful thing in Israel.’”

The Directions to Joshua (vss. 10-12)

With the words, “So the Lord said to Joshua,” we have an illustration of the personal involvement of God in the lives of His people. God cares about our lives and ministries and is ever at work to reveal Himself and teach us about ourselves and what we need to be doing as we walk through life (1 Pet. 5:6-7; Heb. 13:5-6). The issue is are we listening?

“Rise up!” This command comes with Joshua lying on his face in despair and panic with dirt on his head in typical oriental fashion. As mentioned, falling on his face demonstrated his deep concern and humility since he was crying out to God. In view of God’s response, however, it seems Joshua’s actions were primarily out of despair and the product of a spirit of hopelessness and unbelief as his words in verse 7 aptly demonstrate. Note again the word “Alas,” the Heb. ‘ahah, an interjection, which, in this context, shows despair or deep concern.

Since nothing is accomplished with our face in the dirt, the Lord tells Joshua to rise up out of this condition. Such a condition, though very human and characteristic of all of us from time to time, is not a state we can afford to stay in—it accomplishes nothing, it dishonors God’s promises and person, and neutralizes us for ministry and for the Lord.

The KJV has “get thee up,” the NIV “stand up,” the NASB “rise up,” and the NET Bible has “get up.” The verb here is the Hebrew qum which often means to rise up from a prostrate position for various reasons and from various conditions. From this literal meaning, qum often has a figurative idea. It is used of rising as an act of preparation for action, of rising out of a state of inaction or failure, of showing respect and worship, of rising to hear God’s Word, of becoming strong or powerful, of rising up to give deliverance, of assuming an office or responsibility (as a prophet or a judge), and of rising up to give testimony. Several of these ideas are applicable here. This command calls for Joshua to rise up from his state of despair and futility, which has neutralized him, in order to prepare himself for action, listen to the Lord, take up his responsibility, and lead the people in God’s deliverance.

Application: While the Lord understands and sympathizes with our problems and fears, and while humbling ourselves before the Lord is always needed, He nevertheless never condones our being prostrate in despair nor excuses us from appropriating His grace and moving out in obedience. His word to us is get up off our face, get our eyes on Him and deal with our problems according to the principles and promises of Scripture. This is a call for decisive action that is willing to make tough decisions to deal with our sin. Feeling sorry and sad about our condition is not enough. We must be willing to deal decisively with our sins. “He who conceals his transgressions will not prosper, But he who confesses and forsakes them will find compassion” (Prov. 38:13).

“Why is it that you have fallen on your face?” Literally, the text say, “Why are you falling on your face?” The nature of this question carries a note of rebuke with a call for examination to get to the bottom of the problem, i.e., the cause of their failure. In effect, God is saying in view of who I am, in view of My plan for Israel and My promises to you, Joshua, what possible reason could you have for such despair? Here then is a call to get his eyes on the Lord but also to look for the cause in their own sinfulness! When failure comes, we should never think God has abandoned us or that His plan has failed. We need to ask, could I be the cause?

This, then, is a call for Joshua (and for us when this is applicable) to examine the nature of what we are doing and to look for the root causes for the defeats of life when they occur. We need to know precisely just what lessons God is seeking to teach us. Is this caused by something I did or failed to do?

The Cause of Israel’s Failure (vs. 11)

Reading verse 11 in the NASB or KJV makes it look like there are several different violations because of the way each clause is connected by “and,” but for the most part, each clause is a further explanation of the preceding. The translations of the NIV and the NET Bible seek to show this: each description is a further explanation of the problem, which goes from the general to the specific with each explanation adding more detail of what was involved.

Israel has sinned; they have violated my covenantal commandment. They have taken some of the riches; they have stolen them and deceitfully put them among their own possessions (NET Bible).

(1) “Israel has sinned” (this states the basic nature of their failure and ours—sin [the Heb. is hata meaning “miss, miss the way or goal or mark”]); (2) “they have violated” (“violated” is the Hebrew abar, “to pass over, overstep, go beyond, transgress”) “my covenantal commandment” (this points to the specific issue). (3) “They have taken some of the riches (the devoted things); they have stolen them” (this shows how they had transgressed the covenant and just what this entailed, stealing—stealing that which belonged to the Lord as devoted Him); (4) “and deceitfully put them among their own possessions” (this describes the further consequences, the snowball effect of sin and brings out the selfish, coveting nature of what was done, which is the root of most sin).

The Consequences of Israel’s Failure (vs. 12)

We should pay special attention to the “therefore” that introduces this verse. The NIV has “that is why” and the NASB and KJV have “therefore.” In this way, we are pointed to one of consequences of the sin of Achan and of unconfessed sin in general—weakness, inability to serve and live for the Lord. Why? Because sin grieves and quenches the Spirit (Eph. 4:30; 1 Thess. 5:10). This illustrates the truth declared in John 15:1-7 (the need for abiding in Christ); Ephesians 4:30 (how sin grieves the person of the Spirit); 1 Thessalonians 5:19 (how sin quenches the power of the Spirit); Proverbs 28:13 (how failure to confess and decisively deal with sin keeps the Lord from prospering our walk). In Christ we have the capacity to live victoriously for the Lord regardless of what we face, but the ability to do so always depends on fellowship with the Savior in the power of the Spirit; we need to walk in the light (1 John 1:5-9).

Directions for the People (vs. 13-15)

In preparation for his ministry of leadership, Joshua is again told to “rise up.” He can’t lead the people with his face in the dirt or while moping about, depressed over the defeat. This is in essence a call for restoration to fellowship and faith in the power of God. It’s like the Lord’s words to Peter in Luke 22. Peter was warned that Satan would sift him like wheat, but then the Lord told him, “and you, when once you have turned again (restoration to fellowship), strengthen your brothers” (Luke 22:32). Peter was not to allow his failure and denials to neutralize him or keep him from being a leader and ministering to others. So later, after being restored to fellowship, Peter himself would exhort, “gird up the loins of your mind …” (1 Pet. 1:13). In view of what follows, the examination and discharge of discipline on Achan and his family, Joshua undoubtedly communicated this same command to the people.

Next, in verse 13, Joshua was told to “consecrate the people” to prepare them to deal with the problem. He was to call their attention to the cause of their defeat. Someone had taken things that were under the ban which had caused God to withhold His power. As the Lord had emphasized to Joshua, so he was to call their attention to both the cause and the consequences of the sin. This also called for them to consecrate themselves, that is to prepare themselves for the activities that would take place on the next day. They were to set the day apart for this activity and to prepare their hearts perhaps by prayer and worship for what God would have to do.

In verse 14 specific instructions were given for purging out this sin from their midst. First, there was to be examination of the people tribe by tribe, family by family, and finally, man by man. Note how the men were the ones held responsible for their families. The examination would reveal the guilty party. Verse 15 describes the punishment that was to be carried out on the guilty party with the reason given for the severity of the punishment.

The Discovery of Achan Described
(7:16-21)

16 So Joshua arose early in the morning and brought Israel near by tribes, and the tribe of Judah was taken. 17 And he brought the family of Judah near, and he took the family of the Zerahites; and he brought the family of the Zerahites near man by man, and Zabdi was taken. 18 And he brought his household near man by man; and Achan, son of Carmi, son of Zabdi, son of Zerah, from the tribe of Judah, was taken. 19 Then Joshua said to Achan, “My son, I implore you, give glory to the LORD, the God of Israel, and give praise to Him; and tell me now what you have done. Do not hide it from me.” 20 So Achan answered Joshua and said, “Truly, I have sinned against the LORD, the God of Israel, and this is what I did: 21 when I saw among the spoil a beautiful mantle from Shinar and two hundred shekels of silver and a bar of gold fifty shekels in weight, then I coveted them and took them; and behold, they are concealed in the earth inside my tent with the silver underneath it.”

The Search for the Guilty Party (vss. 16-18)

Four times we read in Joshua that he rose early in the morning to take care of important business. Joshua was no procrastinator.

Then, in verses 16 through 18 the process of discovery is described beginning with all Israel until it was narrowed down by tribes to the tribe of Judah, then by families or clans to the Zerathites, then to the family of Zimri, and from that family to Achan. Why did Joshua follow this procedure and how was he able to narrow the search to Achan? The answer is found for us in verse 14 in the repeated words, “which the Lord takes” or “selects” (NET Bible). The words “by lot” found in the NASB are in italics and are not in the original, but they most likely express the means used because of the words, “which the Lord takes.”

“Which the Lord takes” or “selects” in verses 16-18 refers to a choice probably based on the use of the Urim and the Thummim in accordance with Exodus 28:15, 30 (cf. Num. 27:21) and which somehow involved the casting of lots (cf. Prov. 16:33; Jos. 14:1-2; 18:6).

A key question is what was the Urim and the Thummim? They appear in Scripture without explanation, but the following may help us though several theories have been given as to their meaning.

(1) The Hebrew for this phrase probably means “the lights” and “the perfections” or “light and perfection.” The Hebrew word for Urim (‘urim, a plural noun) is probably derived from ‘or “be light.” Thummim, also plural, probably comes from a Hebrew word meaning “perfection.”

(2) Urim begins with the first letter of the Hebrew alphabet (aleph) and Thummim (thummim) begins with the last letter (taw). Perhaps, as the Law which was built on the Hebrew alphabet (aleph to taw) stood for God’s moral will, so the Urim and Thummim stood for God’s guidance in special situations beyond human knowledge and ability.

(3) The Urim and Thummim appear in Scripture without explanatory identification, except that they were to be put “in the breastplate … and be upon Aaron’s heart” (Ex. 28:30), which may suggest that these are none other than descriptive terms for the twelve precious stones of the immediately preceding context, inscribed with the names of the tribes of Israel (vv. 17-21), and set in the breastplate of judgment upon Aaron’s heart (v. 29).³⁷ Some believe they consisted of only two special stones.

(4) Michaelis (Laws of Moses, 5:52) gives his opinion that the Urim and Thummim were three stones, on one of which was written ‘Yes,’ on another ‘No,’ whereas the third was left neutral or blank. These were used as lots, and the high priest decided accordingly as one or the other was drawn out. Kalisch (on Exodus 28:31) identifies the Urim and the Thummim with the twelve tribal gems. He looks on the name as one to be explained by an hendiadys (light and perfection—perfect illumination) and believes the high priest, by concentrating his thoughts on the attributes they represented, to have divested himself of all selfishness and prejudice and so to have passed into a true prophetic state. The process of consulting Jehovah by Urim and Thummim is not given in Scripture.³⁸

(5) They were contained in the breastplate or pouch of judgment worn on the outside of the ephod. The point is they were a means of seeking divine guidance and answers to questions and crises beyond human perception through the ministry of the priest.

Dr. Hannah in The Bible Knowledge Commentary says:

How they were used in determining God’s will is unknown, but some suggest the Urim represented a negative answer and the Thummim a positive answer. Perhaps this view is indicated by the fact that Urim … begins with the first letter of the Hebrew alphabet, and Thummim … with the last letter. Others suggest that the objects simply symbolized the high priest’s authority to inquire of God, or the assurance that the priest would receive enlightenment (“lights”) and perfect knowledge (“perfections”) from God.³⁹

(6) Whatever, they were probably sacred lots and were used in times of crisis to determine the will of God (see Numb. 27:21). Every decision of the Urim was from the Lord (Prov. 16:33). The use of the Urim and the Thummim to determine God’s decisions or to find His will was to be done by the high priest because he alone could wear the ephod which contained the Urim and Thummim.

(7) In 1 Samuel 2:28 three tasks of the priests are mentioned: (a) To go up to my altar, i.e., to perform the sacrificial rites at the altar of burnt offering in the courtyard of the tabernacle; (b) To burn incense at the altar of incense in the Holy Place (Ex 30:1-10), and (c) To wear an ephod. This is a reference to the special ephod to be worn by the high priests. This included the breastplate or pouch which contained the Urim and Thummim, the divinely ordained means of communication with God and to make decisions all of which was somehow related to casting lots.

God gave divine direction and Achan was discovered by supernatural means. He did not come forth voluntarily to confess or repent and throw himself on the mercy of God. His failure to do so stands in contrast with the attitude of the prodigal son and the publican in the New Testament.

Lessons From Achan’s Sin (vss. 20-21)

As 1 Corinthians 10 reminds us, what happened to Achan is recorded for our warning and instruction to remind us of one of the processes to sin. The process to Achan’s sin was a familiar one. He saw, he coveted, and he took. It was the same with Eve (Gen. 3:6) and with David (2 Sam. 11:2-4) and it is the same with us. Joshua’s approach was tender, yet firm. He hated the sin, but loved the sinner. Achan’s confession while honest, was too late and it was the product of discovery. It was not an act of repentance or godly sorrow that leads to repentance (2 Cor. 7:8-11).

Certainly there are some important lessons here:

(1) Confession without repentance or a genuine change of mind is hollow. It does not restore us to fellowship not because repentance is a work we must do to gain God’s forgiveness, but because without it we retain a wrong attitude which keeps a barrier between us and the Lord.

(2) Sometimes confession is too late to stop the discipline as in the case with David. The primary purpose of confession is not to get out of trouble or to keep us out of God’s woodshed. The purpose of confession is to reestablish fellowship and turn our lives over to God because we want to walk with Him under His control, going in His direction (Amos 3:3).

Perhaps the most practical need here is for us to note the process to see if we can discover what led to Achan’s choice and sin. The fact Achan hid the plunder shows he clearly knew he was doing wrong. So, why did he go ahead and do it? Well, why did Eve sin and fall for the deceptions of the serpent?

In answer to this, we might first take note of what Achan took. He took gold and silver which suggests materialism, trusting in riches for our security and happiness. But he also took a beautiful robe which came from Babylon. This not only points to materialism, but the desire to be fashionable and gain the approbation of men, seeking our sense of significance from the praise or applause of others.

Principle: These desires (lust patterns) illustrate the various lust patterns we all face and which, if not dealt with in faith, can dominate our lives. They include things like desire for position, power, prestige, pleasure, possessions, praise or applause, and recognition, but they are nothing more than human solutions or protective strategies we use to find security, significance, and satisfaction apart from God. Jeremiah calls them broken cisterns. “For My people have committed two evils: They have forsaken Me, The fountain of living waters, To hew for themselves cisterns, Broken cisterns, that can hold no water” (Jer. 2:13).

These lust patterns have their source in: (a) The sinful nature with its faulty thinking and reasoning (Isa. 55:8f; Prov. 14:12; Rom. 1:18f; Eph. 4:17f). (b) The world and its human reasoning or viewpoint that seeks to live life apart from God and His revelation and plan (Rom. 12:2). (c) False belief structures which, thinking with man’s viewpoint and believing the delusions of the world and Satan, believe that these things will meet our needs like security or happiness. (d) Unbelief in God’s goodness, wisdom, and timing in the way He supplies our needs.

Achan, as with Eve, was dissatisfied, impatient, and self-reliant. He was believing, trusting and using his own protective strategies to get what he wanted out of life. Ironically, God was in the process of taking all of Israel into the land where each man would have his own land, house, and abundant blessings. But dissatisfaction caused by failure to find his happiness in the Lord produced impatience which caused him to covet and run ahead with his own solutions. Though the command against coveting is only one of the Ten Commandments, it is the root sin against which most of the others were given and the root cause behind most of our sin.

Coveting stems from being dissatisfied with our lot in life and from our failure to seek our happiness in the Lord and to trust Him as the source of our needs for security, significance, and satisfaction. The New Testament defines coveting as idolatry (Eph. 5:5; Col. 3:5). In the final analysis, idolatry is seeking from things what only God can give. An idol may be (a) an impotent graven image made of wood or precious metal to which one prays and seeks help, (b) but it may also be materialism, that way of life that seeks security and significance from money, possessions, power, prestige, and pleasure. (c) It may also be secularism, a philosophy of life by which men seek to live apart from dependence on God, or (4) it may be the approbation of men, seeking satisfaction and security from the praise of others. Campbell writes:

It has been estimated that Americans are bombarded by 1,700 advertisements a day via various forms of the media. While there is no danger of our purchasing all 1,700 items, there is the possibility of our accepting the philosophy behind those advertisements—that we will have complete, fulfilled, satisfied lives if only we drive this car, use this hair spray, or drink that beverage.⁴⁰

So, what is our need? It is to learn Paul’s secret of contentment in the Lord as described in Philippians 4:12-13 (see also Phil. 3:13-14 and 1 Tim. 6:6-19).

The Death of Achan Discharged
(7:22-26)

22 So Joshua sent messengers, and they ran to the tent; and behold, it was concealed in his tent with the silver underneath it. 23 And they took them from inside the tent and brought them to Joshua and to all the sons of Israel, and they poured them out before the LORD. 24 Then Joshua and all Israel with him, took Achan the son of Zerah, the silver, the mantle, the bar of gold, his sons, his daughters, his oxen, his donkeys, his sheep, his tent and all that belonged to him; and they brought them up to the valley of Achor. 25 And Joshua said, “Why have you troubled us? The LORD will trouble you this day.” And all Israel stoned them with stones; and they burned them with fire after they had stoned them with stones. 26 And they raised over him a great heap of stones that stands to this day, and the LORD turned from the fierceness of His anger. Therefore the name of that place has been called the valley of Achor to this day.

When we read this passage, one of the questions that comes to mind is why was God so harsh on Achan and his family? In contrast to the mercy we see in the New Testament, this seems terribly harsh. We might think of the mercy the Lord demonstrated to the woman at the well who had five husbands (John 4:18) and the woman taken in adultery who, as a Jewish woman, could have been stoned according to the Law (John 8:3f) and wonder why Achan did not receive similar mercy. We are apt to forget a couple of other New Testament passages like the death of Ananias and Sapphira (Acts 5) and the awesome judgments of the Tribulation where the blood of men is pictured as flowing up to the horses’ bridles in the wine vat of God’s wrath (cf. Rev. 14:18-20; 19:13 with Isa. 63:1-6). We might also be prone to either forget or minimize the holiness of God. God is described as holy more than by any of His other attributes, more than even His love, mercy, and grace. As a holy God, He is perfect righteousness and justice, and because of His justice, He must deal with sin (cf. Psa. 50:21; Eccl. 8:11-12).

But there is another issue here we must not ignore as we think about this passage. Who were these people and what was their purpose? They were a people called of God to be His witness to the world and through whom God would give the Savior (cf. Ex. 19:4-6; Deut. 10:15f; with 1 Pet. 1:14f; 2:9-12). This involved protecting the welfare and purpose of the majority by dealing with this sin in such a way that it would cause them to realize just how serious was their calling and their walk with God. As the situation with Ananias and Sapphira occurred in the very early period of the church, so this judgment against Achan also occurred in the initial period of Israel’s entrance into the land in order to strike the fear of God into the hearts of the people and to provide an example of the seriousness of what Achan had done in violating the covenant of God. The great heap of stones set up over Achan’s grave seems to have been done as a memorial of warning for the generations to come.

The final stroke was accomplished by the raising of a historical marker, a large pile of rocks, over the body of Achan. This seems to have been a common method of burial for infamous individuals (cf. 8:29). It served in this case that good purpose of warning Israel against the sin of disobeying God’s express commands.⁴¹

Initial possession and enjoyment of the land and its blessings and their ability to fulfill their calling as God’s chosen people was dependent on obedience to God for it was He who was giving them the land with all its many blessings and responsibilities (Deut. 28-30).

We should note that though Achan did confess his sin, he only did so when he was found out and forced to. Had he voluntarily cast himself on the mercy of God, his life might have been spared, as was David when he sinned. Campbell writes: “In view of the fact that the Law prohibits the execution of children for their father’s sins (Deut. 24:16), we assume that Achan’s children were accomplices in crime.”⁴²

Another key issue that must not be forgotten is the trouble this brought on others. God took severe action because of the serious consequences of Achan’s sin on others (it was a terrible example, several lives were lost, Israel was routed, and God’s honor impugned [cf. vs. 25]). The memorial of stones in the valley called Achor, which means “trouble” addressed this fact.

Conclusion

There are three concluding points that I would like to focus on from this chapter.

(1) Our sin needs to be dealt with honestly and decisively.

(2) Achan’s choice grew out of the soil of dissatisfaction. How could there be dissatisfaction in view of all he had learned and seen as one of the privileged people of Israel? We don’t know, but for whatever reason, Achan was dissatisfied with his lot in life because he failed to rest his life in God’s providence and goodness. His failure to walk by faith led to seeking satisfaction, security, and significance in the material world so that, lusting after things, he chose to take the things under the ban. It was this spiritual condition of dissatisfaction and independent living that led him to take matters into his own hands believing he could meet his wants by his own solutions. Our failure to find our contentment in the Savior and His love and grace is surely the cause of a great deal of our own self-made misery and sinful behavior. The Lord highlighted this very thing in Matthew 6 when He warned the disciples against storing up treasures on earth and against worrying about the details of life—drink, food, and clothing. In the process, He defined the pursuit of the details of life at the expense of seeking first the kingdom of God and His righteousness as a simple matter of not truly trusting in God’s supply. The issue is one of having too little faith. After pointing to the way God cares for the birds and clothes the grass, He said,

“But if God so arrays the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, will He not much more do so for you, O men of little faith? 31 “Do not be anxious then, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘With what shall we clothe ourselves?’” (Matt. 6:30).

(3) It would be helpful to note that when Achan sinned and there was sin in the camp of Israel, the blessing and strength of God was halted and the nation met with discipline and failure. But once the sin was dealt with as the Lord commanded, by His grace the blessing and strength of God resumed. Again we are reminded that known sin in our lives creates a barrier between us and the Lord because it shows our commitment to go our own way and to handle our own lives by our own strategies.

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32 R. Laird Harris, Editor, Gleason L. Archer, Jr., Bruce K. Waltke, Associate Editors, Theological Word Book of the Old Testament, Moody Press, Chicago, Vol. 1, 1980, p. 324.

33 Norman L. Geisler, A Popular Survey of the Old Testament, Baker Book House, Grand Rapids, 1977, p. 100.

34 Frank E. Gaebelein, General Editor, Expositors Bible Commentary, Old Testament, Zondervan, Grand Rapids, 1997, electronic media.

35 J. Oswald Sanders, Spiritual Leadership, Moody Press, 1967, p. 159.

36 Sanders, p. 163-164.

37 R. Laird Harris, Editor, Gleason L. Archer, Jr. Bruce K. Waltke, Associate Editors, Theological Word Book of the Old Testament, Moody Press, Chicago, Vol. 1, 1980, p. 26.

38 The New Unger’s Bible Dictionary, electronic version.

39 John F. Walvoord, Roy B. Zuck, Editors, The Bible Knowledge Commentary, Victor Books, Wheaton, 1983,1985, electronic media.

40 Donald K. Campbell, Joshua, Leader Under Fire, Victor Books, 1989, p. 65.

41 Walvoord, Zuck, electronic media.

42 Campbell, p. 66.

Introduction

In a context where the apostle Paul has been discussing his ministry as an ambassador of Christ (see 2 Cor. 4:1-5:20), he declares “for we walk by faith, not by sight.” To walk by faith is to walk in a spirit of prayerful dependence on the Lord and His guidance. So James encourages us, “If anyone of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God” (Jam. 1:5). We are always to seek God’s wisdom because we need His omniscient and sovereign guidance no matter what the issue is that faces us. Later, in his epistle, James will warn against the sin of presuming on the Lord or against pursuing our own dreams and objectives apart from seeking God’s leading and will (4:13-17).

Jeremiah declared, “I know, O Lord, that a man’s way is not in himself, Nor is it in man who walks to direct his steps” (Jer. 10:23). Man does not have the wisdom or ability, nor often the will to direct his way for “There is a way which seems right to a man, But its end is the way of death” (Prov. 14:12). Our need is to always commit our way, our objectives, our pursuits, and our responsibilities to the Lord for not only His will and wisdom, but for His enablement (see Prov. 16:1-4, 9). The danger is that we will presume on God’s grace and strike out in our own wisdom without really seeking and searching His heart and blessing while ever realizing our total inadequacy and need of His grace.

The danger of presumption and walking by sight is amplified a hundred fold when we consider the fact we are in an age old conflict with supernatural forces that are extremely cunning and many times more powerful than are we. We see the material world, we see flesh and blood, and we can see the physical evidence and think, “I can handle it … it’s not that difficult.” We must be ever wary because often we are not just dealing with just flesh and blood. Rather, we are dealing with an insidious enemy who uses people to promote his schemes. When we consider our weakness and Satan’s power, cunning, deception, and methods of operations, we must certainly listen to Paul’s admonition in Ephesians 6:10-18:

6:10 Finally, be strengthened in the Lord and in the strength of his power. 6:11 Clothe yourselves with the full armor of God so that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. 6:12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world-rulers of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavens. 6:13 For this reason, take up the full armor of God so that you may be able to stand your ground on the evil day, and having done everything, to stand. 6:14 Stand firm, therefore, by fastening the belt of truth around your waist, by putting on the breastplate of righteousness, 6:15 by fitting your feet with the preparation that comes from the good news of peace, 6:16 and in all of this, by taking up the shield of faith with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 6:17 And take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. 6:18 With every prayer and petition, pray at all times in the Spirit, and to this end being alert, with all perseverance and requests for all the saints. 6:19 Pray for me, that I may be given the message when I begin to speak—that I may confidently make known the mystery of the gospel, 6:20 for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may be able to speak boldly as I ought to speak (NET Bible).

In chapter nine, though somewhat cautious, Joshua nevertheless failed to inquire of the Lord through prayer. Looking at the evidence, he supposed he could wisely discern what they were facing. He was wrong and ultimately, he was guilty of presuming on the Lord.

In the depths of winter at Valley Forge, George Washington went to his knees in prayer, certain that unless God aided his bedraggled and discouraged army, all hope for the fledgling United States was lost.

During the Civil War, when the fate of the nation again hung in the balance, Abraham Lincoln confessed to a friend that he was often driven to his knees to pray because he had nowhere else to go.⁵³

In the passage before us (verses 9-10), we see the danger of failing to commit their way to the Lord (Prov. 3:5-7; Ps. 37:4-6), the peril of prayerlessness and the peril of walking by sight—making decision on the basis of how things appear.

As we have seen, Israel’s failure at Ai was to a large degree the result of failing to consult the Lord. Now again the failure of the leaders to commit their way to the Lord was about to produce another crisis. It reminds us again how susceptible we are to acting before praying.

There is another related problem here. The problem of trusting in our victories and our religious experiences. The context here is most significant. The people had just returned from a mountain-top kind of spiritual experience after hearing the Word of God read to them from Mt. Ebal and Mt. Gerizim. They had heard God’s promises of blessings and had affirmed their commitment to follow the Lord (see Deut. 27:11-28:14). It had been a time of spiritual victory, a spiritual high, but this is an important time for walking circumspectly knowing that such is also a time when often Satan attacks because he knows we are apt to trust in our experiences rather than in the Lord (see 1 Cor. 10:12). The moment we let down our guard and think we have it made because of our spiritual experiences, we are most vulnerable to the devil’s attacks. The judgment of God’s word here is that they “… did not ask for counsel of the Lord” (9:14).

As we study this passage we should be reminded of four passages of Scripture—1 Samuel 12:23; Proverbs 3:5-6; 1 Corinthians 10:12; Ephesians 6:10-18. These verses along with this passage in Joshua remind us of four things:

(1) As Christians, we are involved in deadly spiritual warfare with a power far superior to our own strength.

(2) To be delivered from our opponent and his nefarious schemes, we must cloth ourselves with our spiritual armor as given us in Christ.

(3) The offensive weapons given to us by the Lord are the Word of God and prayer. Without the Word and prayer, we are sitting ducks.

(4) When God’s people are victorious or are prospered, it seems Satan doubles his efforts in attacks against them.

The Alliances Against Joshua and Israel
(9:1-2)

1 Now when all the kings west of the Jordan heard about these things—those in the hill country, in the western foothills, and along the entire coast of the Great Sea as far as Lebanon (the kings of the Hittites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites)— 2 they came together to make war against Joshua and Israel (NIV).

The record given here is typical of Satan’s strategies. Powerful alliances began immediately to form in both the north and the south of Canaan. Where tribal warfare had gone on for years, suddenly deadly enemies were brought together in alliances as they united against the invasion of God’s people into the land.

When righteousness becomes aggressive and bent on an objective, it has a way of uniting the forces of righteousness and the enemies of righteousness. It happened this way when Jesus Christ launched his earthly ministry. His aggressive ministry of healing, preaching, and the confrontation of sin galvanized his own followers—but it also welded together three groups which had formerly been enemies, the Pharisees, the Sadducees, and the Herodians. Scripture predicts that His future return will have a similar effect (See Ps. 2:2; Rev. 19:19.)

The more boldly the Christian faith advances, the more vocal and violent the opposition will become.⁵⁴

It appears that all the city-states in mountainous regions joined forces against Israel as a means of keeping Joshua and his army from attacking one city at a time as had been done with Jericho and Ai.

Perhaps these kings were encouraged by the initial defeat of Israel at Ai. No longer would the reports of earlier victories lead them to suppose that Israel was invincible. In resisting Israel, however, they were resisting God. Their stubborn rebellion against God was eloquent testimony that the sin of the Amorites had reached its full measure (cf. Gen 15:16).⁵⁵

The Deception of the Gibeonites
(9:3-15)

9:3 When the residents of Gibeon heard what Joshua did to Jericho and Ai, 9:4 they did something clever. They collected some provisions and put worn out sacks on their donkeys, along with worn out wineskins that were ripped and patched. 9:5 They had worn out, patched sandals on their feet and dressed in worn out clothes. All their bread was dry and hard. 9:6 They came to Joshua at the camp in Gilgal and said to him and the men of Israel, “We have come from a distant land. Make a treaty with us.” 9:7 The men of Israel said to the Hivites, “Perhaps you live near us. So how can we make a treaty with you?” 9:8 But they said to Joshua, “We are willing to be your subjects.” So Joshua said to them, “Who are you and where do you come from?” 9:9 They told him, “Your subjects have come from a very distant land because of the reputation of the LORD your God, for we have heard the news about all he did in Egypt 9:10 and all he did to the two Amorite kings on the other side of the Jordan—Sihon king of Heshbon and Og king of Bashan in Ashtaroth. 9:11 Our leaders and all who live in our land told us, ‘Take provisions for your journey and go meet them. Tell them, “We are willing to be your subjects. Make a treaty with us.”’ 9:12 This bread of ours was warm when we packed it in our homes the day we started out to meet you, but now it is dry and hard. 9:13 These wineskins we filled were brand new, but look how they have ripped. Our clothes and sandals have worn out because it has been a very long journey.” 9:14 The men examined some of their provisions, but they failed to ask the LORD’s advice. 9:15 Joshua made a peace treaty with them and agreed to let them live. The leaders of the community sealed it with an oath. (NET Bible)

Not all were willing to openly go against Israel in view of Israel’s victories. The Gibeonites, which included a league of cities (see vs. 17), concocted a clever ruse designed to deceive the Israelites and hide their true identity—a typical strategy of Satan, the deceiver. Their goal, which was successful, was to convince the Israelites they were from a country outside the land (vs. 6). They evidently somehow knew that God had commanded the Israelites to totally destroy all the inhabitants of the land. Their claim was that they were impressed with the great things Joshua had done and so they wanted a treaty allowing them to live because they were not of the land of Canaan.

It is hard not to admire the Gibeonites for their scheme. In view of verse 9, it appears they really did believe in the power of the God of Israel much like Rahab. The Gibeonites were not cowards (cf. 10:2). They knew they could not withstand the power of God and did the next best thing in their thinking; they turned to deception through disguise. This resulted in two major approaches:

(1) They played on their sympathies by appearing as weary travelers who had been on a long journey. Their garments were dirty and worn, their food was dry and moldy (or hard, crumbly), their wineskins old and patched, and their sandals worn and thin.

(2) They played on their egos and their sense of pride. They insisted they came from a great distance to show their respect for the power of the God of the Israelites and wanted to be allowed to live as the servants of Israel. Caught off guard, Joshua and the leaders of Israel listened to the ruse of the Gibeonites and they made two mistakes:

(1) They made the mistake of allowing the Gibeonites to play on their emotions. They accepted the evidence, though questionable, without further and more reliable evidence. Here we see the peril of sight versus faith and fact.

(2) The primary mistake, however, is not seeking counsel from the Lord. They should have sought direction from the Lord through the Urim and Thummim. Here we see the peril of presumption through prayerlessness.

It is always a mistake for us to lean on our own wisdom or judgment and make our own plans apart from God’s direction. It was a mistake then … and it still is. The exhortation of God’s Word is:

Trust in the LORD with all your heart, And do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He will make your paths straight. Do not be wise in your own eyes; Fear the LORD and turn away from evil (Proverbs 3:5-7).

Before entering into any alliance—taking a partner in life, going into business with another, yielding assent to any proposition which involves confederation with others—be sure to ask counsel at the mouth of the Lord. He will assuredly answer by an irresistible impulse—by the voice of a friend; by a circumstance strange and unexpected; by a passage of Scripture. He will choose His own messenger; but He will send a message.⁵⁶

Though Satan surely knows he can never really defeat the Lord and that he is a defeated foe, he nevertheless turns to his many tricks and deceptive devices to defeat God’s purposes for and with His people (cf. Eph. 4:14; 2 Tim. 2:25).

The Discovery of the Deception
(9:16-17)

9:16 Three days after they made the treaty with them, the Israelites found out they were from the local area and lived nearby. 9:17 So the Israelites set out and on the third day arrived at their cities—Gibeon, Kephirah, Beeroth, and Kiriath Jearim.

Within only three days the deception was discovered, but as is often the case with the consequences of sin, they would live with their decision for the rest of their lives. Proverbs 12:19b is pertinent here which says, “Truthful lips will be established forever, But a lying tongue is only for a moment.” Words of truth are consistent, and stand all tests, while lies are soon discovered and exposed.⁵⁷

The Decision of the Leaders
(9:18-27)

9:18 The Israelites did not attack them because the leaders of the community had sworn an oath to them in the name of the LORD God of Israel. The whole community criticized the leaders, 9:19 but all the leaders told the whole community: “We swore an oath to them in the name of the LORD God of Israel. So now we can’t hurt them. 9:20 We must let them live so we can escape the curse attached to the oath we swore to them.” 9:21 The leaders then added, “Let them live.” So they became woodcutters and water carriers for the whole community, as the leaders had decided.

9:22 Joshua summoned the Gibeonites and said to them, “Why did you trick us by saying, ‘We live far away from you,’ when you really live nearby?” 9:23 Now you are condemned to perpetual servitude as woodcutters and water carriers for the house of my God.” 9:24 They said to Joshua, “It was carefully reported to your subjects how the LORD your God commanded Moses his servant to assign you the whole land and to destroy all who live in the land from before you. Because of you we were terrified we would lose our lives, so we did this thing. 9:25 So now we are in your power. Do to us what you think is good and appropriate.” 9:26 Joshua did as they said; he kept the Israelites from killing them 9:27 and that day made them woodcutters and water carriers for the community and for the altar of the LORD at the divinely chosen site. (They continue in this capacity to this very day.)

The text tells us that once the ruse was discovered, the people grumbled against their leaders because they judged them to be responsible. Apparently, in view of verses 19-21, the people also wanted them to disregard their covenant and destroy the Gibeonites. However, though they erred by leaning on their own understanding rather than consulting the Lord, they honored their agreement with the Gibeonites. Had they not been men of honor and integrity, they might easily have sought to cover their tracks by destroying the Gibeonites, but they honored their pledge because it had been ratified in the name of Yahweh, the God of Israel. To break the covenant would dishonor God’s name and bring down His wrath. “In fact, such a judgment from God would later come to pass during David’s reign because Saul disregarded this agreement. (see 2 Sam. 21:1-6).”⁵⁸

While they could not go back on their pledge, the Gibeonites had deceived them, so a punishment fitting their sin had to be prescribed. First, Joshua rebuked them for their dishonesty and then sentenced them to perpetual slavery. In the ruse of the Gibeonites, they had offered to be the subjects of the Israelites (vss. 8, 11). By this they were merely offering to become Israel’s vassals. In return they expected Israel, the stronger of the two, to protect them from their enemies (see 10:6). This backfires on them and they had to become Israel’s slaves. They would become woodcutters and water-bearers for the Israelites, especially in relation to the tabernacle service. In God’s grace, this turned out to be a great blessing.

… to keep the Gibeonites’ idolatry from defiling the true faith of Israel, their work would be carried out in the tabernacle, where they would be exposed to the worship of the one true God.

As a result, the very thing the Gibeonites hoped to retain—their freedom—was lost. But the curse eventually became a blessing. It was on behalf of the Gibeonites that God later worked a great miracle (see Josh. 10:10-14). Later, the tabernacle of the Lord would be pitched at Gibeon (see 2 Chron. 1:30, and the Gibeonites (later known as Nethinims) would replace the Levites in temple service (see Ezra 2:43 and 8:20).

That is the amazing way the grace of God works. He is still able to turn a curse into a blessing. While it is true that the natural consequences of our sin generally have to run their course, God in His grace not only forgives but in many cases He actually overrules our mistakes and brings blessing out of sin.⁵⁹

In verse 27 we read, “… and that day made them woodcutters and water carriers for the community and for the altar of the LORD at the divinely chosen site. (They continue in this capacity to this very day.)” How tremendous and gracious of God. They had the privilege of being brought close to the Lord and spiritual things on a regular basis. It is interesting that in later years, when the Israelites would go into idolatry, the Gibeonites would still be standing at the altar where the true God ordained that sacrifices should be made for sins. As a result of what they had seen God do for Israel, they became convinced, like Rahab, that Israel’s God was the true God. Like Rahab, they evidently became loyal believers.

For many years after this incident, there was war between the citizens of the land and the invading Israelites. Yet never once in the record of that long conquest do we hear of any Gibeonite defecting to his original side.⁶⁰

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53 Campbell/Denny, p. 133.

54 Campbell/Denny, p. 134.

55 Expositors Bible Commentary, Old Testament, Zondervan, Grand Rapids, 1997, electronic media.

56 F. B. Meyer, Joshua: And the Land of Promise, Revell, p. 108.

57 Robert Jamieson; A.R. Fausset, and David Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.), 1998.

58 Campbell/Denny, p. 139.

59 Campbell/Denny, pp. 139-140.

60 James Montgomery Boice, Joshua, We Will Serve The Lord, Revell, Old Tappan, New Jersey, p. 105.

Introduction

The story of Elijah and the nation of Israel is heroic narrative built around the exploits of the main character, Elijah. It is the story of a man raised up by God in a time of conflict in his community, in a time of spiritual and moral degeneracy. He was there to bring the nation back to God, to turn them from their idolatry to a vital faith in the true God, the God of Israel and the Bible.

In heroic narrative, the story focuses on the protagonist, the central figure or hero and his conflicts and encounters as the story moves toward the goal of the narrative. The goal of the narrative and the high point of the story is found for us in 1 Kings 18, the challenge and contest with the prophets of Baal before the people on Mount Carmel.

The purpose of this high mark in the story is spelled out for us in two verses, 18:21 and 18:37. Chapter 17 is the preparation for this event. It is showing us God’s preparation of Elijah and the nation for what will happen on Mount Carmel. Then chapter 19 is the aftermath--the effects of this event on the nation and on Elijah, the hero.

What we must not miss is the fact that the hero or heroine of heroic narrative is a representative person. In other words, the story and its hero capture the universal human situation. The historian tells us what happened, but literary narrative in the Bible tells us more. It shows us what happens in life.¹ The hero, then, becomes a model, an example for faith, for spiritual experience and life, and the conflict he is in becomes an illustration of what we face in life.

Values and virtues, failures and weaknesses, strengths and abilities of the hero and the conflicts he and his society faced show us this is the way life is. They reveal what we need to know, to appropriate, and to avoid as we live in our society.

Thinking about the impact the life of Elijah should have on us in the day in which we live, I am reminded of Psalm 11:3 which asks an important question. “If the foundations are destroyed, what can the righteous do?” The question was being asked of David by his friends and is another heroic narrative of Scripture. This question forms a fitting introduction for the study of Elijah. The NIV translates this: “When the foundations are being destroyed, what can the righteous do?” Or “what is the righteous one doing?” David’s friends had become fainthearted and depressed over national conditions. They were suggesting that David should flee to the mountain where he fled from Saul (Ps. 11:1). The question relates to a time when law and order were being destroyed. It may have been when Absolom, David’s own son, was seeking to usurp his throne. Or as some suggest, it may have been when Saul was seeking to kill David. Regardless, the foundations refer to the law and order of society based on the Lord’s protective rule through the absolutes of the Word.

This asks a question we are facing in our nation today because our country is under the countdown with its foundations being destroyed by godless humanism. David’s answer is given in Psalm 11:4-7. In short, David’s focus was on the Lord. He contrasted the problems on earth with the sovereign and exalted position of the Lord who sits in heaven, the place of authority and power.²

The sovereign Lord sits on His heavenly throne, not indifferently, but observantly. He is working out His purposes on earth. Though transcendent, God is also intimately and immanently involved with mankind, especially those who trust Him. David then reminds us that while the Lord tests the righteous and the wicked, He never forsakes the righteous who can, by faith, behold His face and thus experience His strength and courage. The righteous can experience His peace now in the midst of any situation and will one day experience His presence and blessings in God’s eternal kingdom.

Second Chronicles 7:13-14 reminds us of another privilege and responsibility:

If I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or if I command the locust to devour the land, or if I send pestilence among My people, and My people who are called by My name humble themselves and pray, and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.

First Chronicles 12 also tells us of another serious time in David’s history when the foundations of the nation were crumbling. As 1 Samuel 26:20 puts it, David was being chased by Saul like a partridge on a mountain. During this time some of God’s people did something else. “Day by day {men} came to David to help him, until there was a great army like the army of God” (1 Chr. 12:22). These men joined together to form a band of men who would stand against the times they were facing. Included among these were the sons of Issachar of whom was said: “Men who understood the times, with knowledge of what Israel should do” (1 Chr. 12:32).

What does this mean to us in our day? The righteous need to know what to do and then do it because they know and believe that God sits in the heavens observantly. Withdrawing, becoming bitter, angry, depressed, diseased in our attitudes, or seeking sinful ways of escape is not what the righteous should do.

I am reminded of what Daniel said about those who truly know God. Daniel 11:32 refers to the godless, humanistic mind-set and activity of the last days, especially in the days of the Tribulation. Satan will promote and use this humanistic and demonic mind-set to advance his end-time system and the Man of Lawlessness (the Antichrist). The objective will be to turn people away from God and His covenant promises in the Savior. But Daniel 11:32b tells us even then, as bad as that will be, God will have His remnant who know Him intimately. Regardless of the pressures, they will display strength and take action. We are getting a taste of this now, as Israel did in the time of Antiochus Epiphanies around 175-164 B.C.

You might ask, what does all this have to do with a study of Elijah? He too lived in dismal times. They were times of spiritual apostasy and moral decay. But we find in this colorful and powerful prophet a wonderful illustration of what the righteous should do when the foundations are destroyed. Elijah is one of the prominent figures in the Word of God. His significance is evidenced by over 20 direct references to him in the New Testament, and by his appearance in the transfiguration of the Lord with Moses, the great Law giver. However, to gain greater insight from the example of his life, we need to understand the historical setting in which this great man of God abruptly and suddenly appeared on the scene.

The Historical Setting

In the day in which Elijah lived and ministered, the foundations had crumbled far beyond what King David experienced in his day. As we study the Word, we must always remember that the Bible was written to and about living people in real life situations. It does not represent just a group of ethereal, religious, and proverbial sayings thought up by a group of religious hermits who were isolated from people and from life.

Rather, through the Bible as the Word of God, God has revealed Himself historically, setting forth His eternal truth to real people in real-life situations. Practically speaking, what does this mean? It means we dare not divorce our study from understanding the historical setting of every passage of Scripture if we are going to come to grips with the truth and message of the Bible. Much of its relevance and application to us personally in our need is derived from our understanding of the historical setting in which a passage is written. This is undoubtedly why many of the Psalms begin with a reference to some historical situation.

A Nation in Decay

The books of 1 and 2 Samuel record the establishment, consolidation, and extension of the Theocratic kingdom of God in the reigns of David and his son, Solomon. It was a glorious time--a time of great prosperity in the nation. This was the result of God’s blessing for obedience to the holy absolutes of His Word, or His covenant with Israel according to God’s purpose for the nation among the nations (cf. Ex. 19:4-6 with Deut. 4:6-11 and Deut. 28-30).

Though Solomon began well, about the middle of his reign he began to act foolishly. As is so often the case, in his spiritual decline, his country was gravely influenced as well. He brought upon himself the disfavor of God by permitting the thinking and customs of other nations to influence his decisions and manner of life. This situation developed as a result of the following:

(1) He allowed idolatry to invade his kingdom through foreign marriages, a practice forbidden by the Word (Deut. 17:14-20; Neh. 13:23-27). Marriages were commonly seals of foreign alliances. He had Moabite, Ammonite, Edomite, Zidonian, and Egyptian wives and this suggests alliances with all these nations.³

(2) Furthermore, he levied excessive taxes and labor constrictions on the people, without pay, because of his own selfish extravagances. These included some of the very things Deuteronomy 17 warns against. In other words, rather than remaining distinct and separate from the nations, Solomon became like the nations.

Leon Wood calls our attention to a marked contrast between the kingships of Solomon and his father David, a contrast created by the diverse backgrounds of the two rulers. It speaks volumes to us in our day of prosperity, softness, and moral breakdown.⁴

DAVID	SOLOMON
David had been raised in the open, watching sheep, and later experienced the testings of a fugitive life.	Solomon, however, had known only the ease of the palace, with its attendant luxuries.
David became a king of action, aggressive and efficient, who could personally lead armies to victory.	Solomon became a king of peace, happy to stay home and content merely to retain the land his father had gained.
David’s court never grew larger than the requirements of his government.	Solomon became lavish to suit his tastes and expensive appetites. As a result, he needed more revenue and raised taxes.
David was more a man of the people.	Solomon was a man of the court.
More significant, David maintained a vibrant faith in God as a “man after God’s own heart.”	Solomon, began well in spiritual devotion, but failed to maintain this basic relationship before God. He fell into sinful ways and finally came under God’s censure.

When Rehoboam, Solomon’s son took over the throne of his father, the ten tribes of Israel (all but Judah and Benjamin), sought a solution to this heavy taxation through the leadership of Jeroboam.

Rehoboam was a young man accustomed to extreme prosperity and luxury. Rather than cut back on the heavy taxation and labor constriction imposed by Solomon, he acted selfishly and foolishly. He refused the counsel of the older men to cut back, and threatened to increase taxes because he wanted to continue enjoying a lavish court. As a result, the ten tribes seceded immediately and there was a division of the kingdom.

Jeroboam then became king of the northern ten tribes of Israel. Rather than seeking the glory of God and the benefit of his people, he followed his own selfish agenda and committed gross sin in the sight of God. He established a substitute worship for his people, two new worship centers, one at Dan and another at Bethel. As symbols for the new places of worship, he made golden images of calves. His proposed aim was to worship Yahweh, but his real motive was political and selfish. He wanted to keep the people from going back to Jerusalem because of his fear they would eventually want to reunite into one kingdom. He put his own desires ahead of God’s will and the good of the people. Of course, this was in direct violation of the Law of Moses. It set the people up for religious syncretism of the true worship of God with the fertility cult of Baal. Without doubt, this new worship of Jeroboam paved the way for the introduction of Baal worship under Ahab and Jezebel in the time of Elijah.

In the southern kingdom of Judah, there were occasionally kings who did good in the sight of the Lord, like Uzziah and Hezekiah. In the northern kingdom, there were no good kings of whom it could be said in the record of Scripture, “they did that which was right in the sight of the Lord.” In fact, all eighteen of Jeroboam’s successors continued his substitute form of worship which God held against each as a serious sin. The descriptive sentence, “And he did evil in the sight of the LORD and walked in the way of his father and in his sin which he made Israel sin,” is repeated with variations of most of Jeroboam’s descendants (1 Kgs. 15:26). Not only were these kings evil, but there was a continuous decline. Scripture indicates that the next king was worse than his father. There was continual spiritual and moral erosion, much as we have seen in our nation.

With the rise of Ahab in the time of Elijah, things had reached an all time low. Fifty-eight years had passed since the division of the kingdom. Seven kings had reigned and all were evil. All were idolatrous, but with Ahab idolatry reached an all-time high even to the point of seeking to stamp out the worship of Yahweh altogether. How? Why? Ahab married Jezebel, the famed princess from Tyre, daughter of Ethbaal, King of Tyre. Again, following the poor examples that preceded him, his aim was to seal a pact with Phoenicia for profitable political reasons. His trust was in his own schemes rather than in the Lord. The weak Ahab allowed Jezebel to introduce the worship of the satanic and idolatrous cult of Baal-Melqart into Israel. The worship of Baal, a Canaanite deity, had been observed by Israelites in the days of the Judges and before the establishment of the kingdom. David rid the land of this dirge, but now it was resurrected on a new scale, larger than ever, and this was done by the government, the king.

Likewise today, we have seen every conceivable cult introduced into our society along with the New Age movement. In many ways this too is being promoted by our government, while at the same time Christianity is hindered under the ploy of separation of church and state.

Not only was Jezebel persistent, but she was highly dominant and held a great amount of influence over Ahab. Jezebel did not want Baalism to coexist with the worship of Yahweh. She wanted to completely stamp out the worship of God. This is precisely the way Satan and his world system works. People are often broad-minded with the varying religions and philosophical ideas of the world, but never with the truth. Thus Jezebel slaughtered every prophet she could get her hands on (1 Kgs. 18:4). Today, humanism and the New Age movement would like nothing better than to stamp out Christianity because it stands in the way of Satan’s world wide purposes.

New Agers are not naive enough to believe that everyone will accept the dawn of this new day. Some will oppose the emerging New Order. For these, there is another solution: intimidation, starvation, and liquidation.

Make no mistake: if and when the New Order comes, it will not be because everyone will voluntarily fall in line. Those religions that will not accept the lie that man is God will be systematically eliminated by whatever means is necessary. In the New Age, disarmament will be the guise used to get the nations of the world to surrender their sovereignty to an authoritative global political machine, which will in turn use those weapons (if necessary) to force everyone, especially the religious objectors, to get on board with the new agenda.

Understand Satan’s methodology: there is a vast difference between his advertising and the product that the purchaser receives. George Orwell called it newsspeak. Talk about disarmament but plan to use weapons on those who refuse to accept your agenda. Campaign for individual freedom but plan to eliminate the freedom of those who don’t toe the line. Affirm the value of humanity while at the time you favor the systematic killing of the unborn and eventual death of millions.⁵

An Explanation of Baalism

Baal, a Semitic word that means “lord, master, or owner,” was the chief god worshipped by the Canaanites at the time of Israel’s entrance into the land. The head of the Canaanite pantheon of gods was called El, who was regarded as the father of 70 elim or gods. The most popular of these gods was called Baal.

Baal was the most popular because he was considered the god of fertility in all aspects of life--human, animal, and vegetable. Production and prosperity were dependent on Baal. The Ras Shamrah text, an important archaeological find, praises Baal as the god who has power over rain, wind, clouds, and therefore over fertility. Baal was also worshipped as the weather god, the god of storm, of rain and good crops. As you can see, this is very important to the background of 1 Kings 17-19 with the story of the drought and the contest on Mount Carmel.

Worship was localized so that each area worshipped its own Baal. A name from the city or place where Baal was being worshipped was frequently added. This resulted in a variety of names like Baal-Meon, Baal-Hermon, Baal-Hazor, Baal-Zebub, Baal-Marduk, and Baal-Peor. In Elijah’s time, Israel worshipped Baal-Melqart because this was the form of Baalism worshipped at Tyre. Jezebel, a Tyrian princess, introduced the worship of Baal-Melqart into Israel.

Baal worship included the following: (a) The offering of incense and burnt sacrifices (Jer. 7:9); (b) Sometimes the offering of human sacrifices (Jer. 19:5); (c) It especially included licentious sexual activity--including sodomy (cf. 1 Kgs. 14:23-24; 15:12; with 22:46).

The slaughter of innocent children and sodomy are sure indications that the foundations of a society have crumbled. We can obviously see the clear parallel to our country today with the very political gay movement and the slaughter of millions of unborn children (called fetuses by those who call themselves pro-choice). These are two terms designed to hide the fact they are killing babies in the womb and are really anti-life. Remember, in the Old Testament Pentateuch (which was the Bible of Elijah), God had a special purpose for Israel. God had promised blessing for obedience, but cursing for disobedience. The curses included shutting up the heavens and no rain meant no production (Deut. 11:8-17; 28:1f, 23-24).

An interesting historical reference is found in 1 Kings.16:32-34. First there is the statement of how Ahab provoked the LORD with his idolatry more than all the kings of Israel, This is followed with a seemingly out-of-place reference to the death of the two sons of Hiel who fortified Jericho. All this forms a fitting introduction to 1 Kings 17 and the appearance of Elijah. It was a reminder that God’s promises and warnings are true. They do come to pass. As Hiel had disregarded God’s sure curse on anyone who fortified Jericho (Josh. 6:26), so Israel had disregarded the promised discipline of God for disobedience (Deut. 11:8-17). Here God gave Israel a reminder to demonstrate emphatically that not only is God’s Word true, but God is involved in the life of the nations (including Israel), and Israel was ripe for judgment.

That’s not all. With Elijah’s sudden, dramatic, brave, bold entrance and declaration to Ahab, “As the LORD, the God of Israel lives, before whom I stand, surely there shall be neither dew nor rain these years, except by my word,” we have a direct confrontation between Yahweh, the living and true God of Scripture, and Baal-Melqart, one of the heathen deities of ancient Babylon. This confrontation comes about through God’s prophet, Elijah, an obscure prophet who suddenly, like lightening out of the blue, confronted a godless Ahab.

God was dramatically challenging Baalism, or the belief of the people in Baal, on the very thing they worshipped Baal for--RAIN! On the one side there was Ahab the King, the ruthless and notorious Jezebel, the impotent and false god Baal, and the Baal priests and priestesses. On the other side was Yahweh and a single servant, the prophet Elijah, a man of faith, deeply committed to God. It was a question of authenticity and power.

Conclusion

As we dig into this story, please note that Elijah’s prayer for the cessation of rain in the land was according to the warnings of the Word. Elijah was not going out on a limb. He was acting on the promises, or in this case, the warnings and principles of the eternal Word of God. He knew God’s Word was true and he was standing firmly on the propositions of Scripture. Furthermore, this prayer for the cessation of rain was designed to bring Israel to repentance, to bring the nation back to Yahweh, the true God. Elijah burned with concern for God’s glory and for his nation. He was also available to the Lord to be used as part of God’s solution. Certainly, as Elijah faced the rigors and crumbling foundations of his day, he had his ups and downs as you and I do. It is through God’s work in Elijah, a man of like passions with us, that we can learn how to handle our ups and downs, fears, and times of discouragement in our day of fallen foundations. We can grasp something of what God is calling us to do.

Questions:

(1) Do we really know God in such a way that, as Daniel declared, we will display strength and take action?

(2) Are we willing to pray like Elijah and follow God’s direction? Or are we more concerned for our pleasure and business as usual than we are for God’s glory and revival in our nation?

(3) Are we willing to take a stand against the forces stacked against us because we are standing on the promises of God and resting in the assurance of His presence and provision regardless of how overwhelming the situation looks from our viewpoint?

(4) Are we like the men of Issachar, who joined with David to form an army of God in a time of national need to serve the Lord and their nation, because we understand the time and know what we should do?

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1 For more on heroic narrative and the Bible as literature, see How to Read the Bible as Literature by Leland Ryken, Zondervan Publishing, Grand Rapids, 1984.

2 The Bible Knowledge Commentary, Old Testament Edition, John F. Walvoord, Roy B. Zuck, editors, Victor Books, electronic media.

3 Leon Wood, A Survey of Israel’s History, Zondervan, Grand Rapids, 1970, p. 293.

4 Ibid., p. 287.

5 Erwin W. Lutzer and John F. DeVries, Satan’s Evangelistic Strategy for this New Age, Victor Books, Wheaton, 1989, p. 151.

Introduction

Elijah is best known as a man of prayer. James, whom tradition tells us was known as “camel knees” because of his own prayer life, uses Elijah as an example of the power of the prayer of a righteous man. James tells us: “The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much. Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed earnestly that it might not rain; and it did not rain on the earth for three years and six months” (James 5:16b-17).

In 1 Kings 17:1b, Elijah boldly declares to King Ahab, “Surely, there shall be neither dew nor rain these years, except by my word.” Putting these two passages together we know this was the result of Elijah’s prayers. Elijah forms a fitting example of the power of prayer, but effective and meaningful prayer is never an isolated religious exercise, something unrelated to the rest of a person’s spiritual life and walk with God. The prayer that accomplishes things and gets God’s ear, is the outflow of a vital relationship with God. It is born of one’s burden, concern, and the reality of God in one’s life. It flows from a sense of need, a heart full of faith, and from the desire to see God’s purposes accomplished and His glory manifested.

As we have seen, Elijah lived in a time when the foundations were being destroyed. It was a time of spiritual apostasy and moral decay. The nation had abandoned God’s law and turned to the worship of Baal-Melqart. We saw that Elijah was a common man--a man of like passions as you and me. He was also a man of uncommon courage--a man willing to risk his life for the glory and cause of God. We saw that out of the blue, Ahab was confronted by this rugged prophet dressed in his camel’s hair coat, who stood in striking contrast to the effeminate, perverted Baal priests. I imagine him looking like an Abe Lincoln in contrast to a Tiny Tim tiptoeing through the tulips.

What gave Elijah this uncommon courage? Did the Lord appear to him in a dream, or speak to him from a bush as with Moses? Possibly, but the text doesn’t say that. Rather, I believe his courage came about in a less sensational but even more miraculous way. I believe it came about as the result of a common man being absorbed with the reality of his God. His courage was the product of intimately knowing God and living in close fellowship with the Lord through the Word and prayer. In the process, God’s purposes, burdens, values, and desires became engraved on his heart. Being moved by faith, he prayed for the cessation of rain in accord with the warnings and principles of Deuteronomy (Deut. 11:16-17; 28:23-24). Then, convinced of God’s answer, the prophet went forth to declare his message to King Ahab.

In lesson two we looked at the man Elijah. Now we turn to his short, but powerful message. Elijah’s message also sheds light on his theology and his faith that became the root of his courage and actions. Elijah’s message to Ahab in 1 Kings 17:1b divides into three sections, each of which forms a key that gives us insights into this man’s courage and faith. These words reveal the prophet’s heart. The mouth speaks out of that which fills the heart. So, if we want to understand this man and learn from his example, we need to examine these powerful, revealing words.

(1) The words, “As the Lord, the God of Israel lives,” teach us he was convinced and confident in God’s person.

(2) The words, “Before whom I stand,” teach us he was cognizant of God’s presence and committed as God’s representative.

(3) The words, “Surely there shall be neither dew nor rain these years, except by my word,” reveal the fact he was confident in God’s promises.

Keys to Elijah’s Courage and Faith

The First Key

“As the Lord, the God of Israel lives,” show us Elijah was convinced and confident in God’s person. “Living” is the first word in the statement of Elijah in the Hebrew text. It is emphatic by its position and stresses his faith in the fact of the reality of God. God was not just a theological idea to him, but a living, and personal God. He did not just know about God, but he knew God in such a personal way that it transformed his life. As Daniel said, “but the people who know God will display strength and take action” (Dan. 11:32).

Actually, in the Hebrew text, the words “living” and “LORD” (Yahweh) are bound together rather than separated as in the English Bible. They are joined by what grammarians call the binding maqqeph and means they are to be pronounced together as one. This combination was a technical device for introducing an oath or a solemn statement of fact. We are to translate it like the NASB with the word “as.” Literally, it is “As living is Yahweh . . . so surely there shall be neither be dew nor rain . . .” The idea is: “Just as sure as Yahweh, the God of Israel is alive and well, so surely there shall be neither dew nor rain . . .”

To grasp the significance of this, let’s focus in on the name, Yahweh. Yahweh means “I Am that I Am.” It is derived from the Hebrew verb hayah, meaning “to be, exist.” This name itself stresses God’s aliveness, His dynamic and active self-existence, but it also brings into view His eternal existence, sovereignty, and independence. Further, it is the name by which God revealed Himself to Israel as their redeemer as seen in Exodus 3. It strongly reminds us that He is the God of special revelation and redemptive love. In summary, this name stands for God’s being, His revelation to Israel, and His redemption of the nation.

Elijah’s appearance, his message, and this oath were all based on the vivid reality of all that God was to him. It was based on the fact that the God who had revealed Himself to the nation, was alive and actively involved in the affairs of the nation and His people. As Psalm 33 reminds us:

12 Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD, The people whom He has chosen for His own inheritance. 13 The LORD looks from heaven; He sees all the sons of men; . . . 18 Behold, the eye of the LORD is on those who fear Him, On those who hope for His lovingkindness, . . .

Ahab, Jezebel, and the Baal prophets thought they had successfully killed, embalmed, and buried the God of Israel along with His worship, His Word, and His representatives. I am reminded of Psalm 50:21, “These things you have done, and I kept silence; you thought that I was just like you, I will reprove you, and state (the case) in order before your eyes.”

Likewise today, the modern world, the humanists, evolutionists, liberal theologians, cults, and New Agers as a whole, think Christianity, the Bible, marriage, and a morality with absolutes are all but dead. Certainly they think moral absolutes have no place having any impact on the political and moral decisions of our society. They say it’s old fashioned, out-dated, obsolete. People living in immorality are often heard saying, “we’re living in the ’90s,” as though society has outgrown such foolish ideas. It is as though God has been proven to no longer be an issue in life and people can ignore God without serious ramifications to themselves and society. But individuals, as well as nations, cannot ignore God’s Holy Word without serious consequences, which, like water breaking through a dam, spill over into every aspect of society. Knowing and believing this was the secret of Elijah’s boldness, his presence before King, Ahab, and the reason for the drought that was to follow. It was a judgment from the living God.

Elijah had not been infected by the mood of his day nor by God’s silence--what people so often mistake as His indifference or unreality. Rather, Elijah was convinced God was not only alive, but immanent--personally and actively involved in the affairs of both Israel and the nations. Being infused with this reality of God and His person, Elijah acted on God’s promises. He prayed and proclaimed his message to King Ahab. God was not only alive and well, but very much operative in human history. This fact transformed Elijah’s life. By the words, “as living is Yahweh, . . .” Elijah was not only declaring the reality of Israel’s God as the only true God, but declaring the fact God was superior over the false ideas of mankind and the pagan idols of the nations. Elijah was declaring it was not just any man’s ideas about God that counted, but the revelation of the God of the Bible--he alone is the true God. Likewise, our responsibility is to know God intimately, and then to proclaim the Christ of the Bible as the true Savior and God.

King after king in the northern kingdom of Israel had openly defied Yahweh and ignored Him with no apparent consequences. The idea so prevalent in the thinking of the people (just as it is today) was either Yahweh God had no real existence, or He was not concerned or involved with Israel. This was a subtle form of deism that had crept in since the people had been infiltrated by the idolatrous thinking of the nations. This is evident in a number of passages like Zephaniah 1:12; Ezekiel 8:12; 9:9; Malachi 3:14. Through Elijah’s life and message, the idea of deism was being challenged and judgment declared and experienced. Ecclesiastes 8:11-12 brings home an important lesson for us:

Because the sentence against an evil deed is not executed quickly, therefore the hearts of the sons of men among them are given fully to do evil. Although a sinner does evil a hundred [times] and may lengthen his [life] still I know that it will be well for those who fear God, who fear Him openly.

Likewise, we need to be able to openly demonstrate from the facts how this nation is experiencing the futility of its beliefs. We are experiencing a moral and spiritual drought as a judgment from God because this nation has puts its trust in almost anything but the Lord of the Bible. By the facts I am talking about our past history and heritage as a Christian nation. These are not the figments of someone’s imagination, these are facts of history. But we have jettisoned that foundation and with that change has come the present moral decline and the failure of our society to deal with its problems. Programs developed by secular humanists and big government to improve society simply have not worked and can’t work apart from faith in the living God. The founding fathers of our Constitution knew this and spoke accordingly. On October 11, 1798, President John Adams stated in his address to the military:

We have no government armed with power capable of contending with human passions unbridled by morality and religion. Avarice, ambition, revenge, or gallantry, would break the strongest cords of our Constitution as a whale goes through a net. Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.⁷

God’s Word reminds us of this in Psalm 127. “Unless the Lord guards the city, the watchman keeps awake in vain” (Ps. 127:1b). Societies need what is equivalent to a watchman--the police and the military. However, when that is not first founded on a deep faith in the Lord, as it was when our country began, then, its confidence will be in vain. The first words of Psalm 127, “Unless the LORD builds the house, they labor in vain who build it,” remind us the same principle applies to the home. By mentioning the home first, we are shown its priority. The character of a nation’s leaders is formed in the home. As goes the home, so goes the society. This means, we need to be living the kind of Christian lives that clearly declare the reality of God, lives that demonstrate the impotence and futility of the false belief systems of the World. Elijah was declaring that their objects of worship were lifeless and had no capacity to save or to meet their needs (provide for rain and good crops, etc.).

The Second Key

The words, “Before whom I stand,” reveal two things about Elijah: He was cognizant of God’s presence and committed as God’s representative. Elijah was not only convinced of the aliveness of his God, but he was aware of God’s personal presence. He knew God was with him and that he was a personal representative of the Lord--one sent by the living and sovereign God of the universe. “Before whom I stand” showed Elijah’s awareness that God was with him, God had sent him. He was under God’s watchful eye, protection, supply, enablement, and orders. This statement also highlights Elijah’s loyalty to the God of Israel in contrast with the disloyalty of the majority in Israel under the false and idolatrous system of Baal. Can people tell we are different because of our relationship with the Lord? Finally, this statement showed that Elijah’s faith was anchored in at least three biblical concepts that were on his mind and in his consciousness, and that motivated and controlled his life. They gave him the courage and motivation to stand before King Ahab. These were:

(1) God’s Person: Elijah had God’s omniscience and omnipresence in mind as he spoke these words. He knew that there was no place where he would be absent from the caring and watchful eye of God (Ps. 139; Josh. 1:8).

(2) God’s Plan: As a believing Israelite under God’s covenant and as a man with the gift of a prophet, Elijah knew he was a personal representative of the living God who had the responsibility to “proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called us out of darkness into God’s marvelous light” (1 Pet. 2:9).

(3) God’s Power and Provision: With God’s presence and orders, also came God’s power, protection and provision to do what he was called to do. I am reminded of the two witnesses of Revelation 11 who will go forth in the spirit and power of Moses and Elijah, and who will be protected until their ministry is over (cf. Matt. 28:18-19).

Let’s focus on Elijah’s statement as it pertains to God’s omnipresence. As the transcendent God, He transcends all. He is far above and outside of the universe, totally independent of it. He is totally separate from and outside of time and creation, enthroned on high, and exalted above the heavens. He is the sovereign King, the independent and all powerful God of the universe (Ps. 103:19; 113:4-5; 115:3; 123:1). As such, He is the source of all authority, power, and deliverance. While God is that, He is also the immanent God who operated in time and creation. He created it and He sustains it--every atom and molecule is held together by Him (Col. 1:16-17; Heb. 1:3). God is also intimately concerned with His creatures--particularly with mankind. Though distinct from His creation, God is immanently present everywhere in creation and in our lives. Proverbs 5:21 says, “For the ways of a man are before the eyes of the Lord, and He watches all his paths.” And Psalm 33:13-14 teaches us, “The LORD looks from heaven; He sees all the sons of men; from His dwelling place He looks out on all the inhabitants of the earth.”

There is nothing we can do, no thought we can think, no place we can go without God being there and knowing it completely. This means four things: (a) The whole of God is wholly present everywhere at all times, yet, He is separate and independent from the world and the things and creatures in the world. (b) There is no limit to God’s presence and no place is closer to God than another. (c) He does not need to travel and He can act in all parts of the universe at once with all His authority and power. (d) God is above us, below us, at both sides of everything and within all at the same time in some inexplicable way. Elijah was consciously fortified by this truth as he stood before Ahab. He knew he was not alone. He knew it was Ahab, Jezebel, and over 400 Baal prophets against him--plus one. This meant Elijah was in the majority with God who was above, below and everywhere with him.

Elijah was living in the light of God’s omnipresence and was practicing the presence of God. He was counting on God’s person and promises according to God’s Word. The person who knows the Lord can never be alone. We often may feel like Elijah’s servant, utterly alone, but we are never alone. Our need is to flee to the Lord, to draw near to Him and know His presence, rather than to flee to our strategies for handling life. But God is not only present as the omniscient one, He is present to manifest Himself on our behalf because He loves us, has done the most for us in Christ, and has chosen to use us as his vessels to manifest His love (Josh. 1:9; Deut. 31:6-8; Matt. 28:20; Heb. 13:5-6).

Consider Elijah’s statement as it pertains to his ministry as a personal representative of the Lord. Here is one of the miracles of the universe, that the infinite, almighty God who is transcendent and completely independent and who can use any means He desires, has nevertheless, created us in His own image that we might be a visible representative of the invisible God. Even after the Fall, He has still chosen to use believers to represent Him to a world fallen in sin (Psalm 8).

Elijah understood as a believer and a prophet, he was not on earth merely to have a good time or seek his own satisfaction and comfort. He knew he was there to represent the Lord boldly and courageously in the battle with Satanic forces for the souls of men and for the glory of God. Further, Elijah lived in a time when many believers were hiding in caves, afraid to speak. They were acting as though God was either dead or had taken a vacation. He could have said, “Well, no one else is taking a stand, so I guess I won’t either.”

Today, we live in a time when the world is challenging Christian beliefs and people are crying for answers. It is a time when the fields are white unto harvest. Many Christians, however, are hiding in their caves of materialism and comfort, afraid to risk their lives or reputations for the Lord. Or, rather than representing the Lord, we are representing ourselves in games of spiritual king of the mountain, defending our own turf, or simply carrying on business as usual without a sense of God’s mission for us in this world. We stutter in fright when confronted with a cultist because we haven’t learned our Bible well enough and aren’t secure enough in our faith. Or, perhaps we are being choked and bound from growth and service by the thorns, thistles, and vines of the details of life--what the Lord called “the deceitfulness of riches.” But God is still looking for men and women who will count on His presence by faith, represent Him and face the challenges and risks of our day with all its various “isms” (cf. Ezek. 22:29-31).

The Third Key

The words, “Surely there shall be neither dew nor rain these years, except by my word,” show he was confident in God’s promises. Elijah stood before King Ahab and made this statement because he was confident in the principles, promises and warnings of God’s Word, and confident of answered prayer when it is based on God’s Word and concerned for God’s glory.

Elijah’s prayer for no rain was not just something he cooked up out of his own imagination or because he was angry at Jezebel. Rather, he was acting on the truth of the Word. He was standing firmly on the promises. His prayer and statement to King Ahab were the result of knowing and believing the promises of Scripture (cf. Deut. 11:8-32; 28:23-24 with 1 Kgs. 18:18. This shows that Elijah was relying on the principles of Deut. 11). Remember, the prophets of Baal claimed Baal-Melqart was the god of thunder, rain, and good crops. Elijah’s declaration in 1 Kings 17:1 strongly challenged the reality of their god and their faith. It showed Baal was false and impotent and that the prophets of Baal were liars. It also showed truth and salvation could only be found in the prophets of Yahweh who alone spoke for God.

Likewise today, we have the responsibility to demonstrate by the way we live (our priorities and values), and by our personal testimony, the truth of John 14:6 and Acts 4:12. “If you know these things you are blessed if you do them” (John 13:17), and “blessed are those who hear the Word of God and observe it” (Luke 11:28). It is equivalent to telling people that true happiness and meaning in life come only from the Lord and then demonstrating it by our priorities, faithfulness, integrity, and by biblical pursuits that control and direct our lives.

Conclusion

Earl Nightingale, a motivational expert, has said, “wherever there is danger, there lurks opportunity; wherever there is opportunity, there lurks danger.” Serving and doing what God has called us to do whether it involves seeking and saving souls, taking a stand against the immoral tide of a society, or challenging a brother or sister in Christ, has always been a risky business.

In Kindred Spirit, Larry Dinkins writes:

Sooner or later obedience to the Great Commission will involve risk. The buzz word today is not ‘risk’ but ‘security.’ Risk may be popular as a parlor game but not as a lifestyle. People are interested in social security, home security, secure savings and loans, and especially secure relationships. The problem is that our security-oriented culture tends to insulate us from the real needs around us while at the same time maximizing pleasure and minimizing pain.

Recently I heard Chuck Swindoll make this convicting observation. ‘In the process of growing older we lose the desire to risk. It is a tragic loss. We become sophisticated, cautious, careful. We call it wisdom--it is cowardice, that’s all. We are afraid to take giant steps of faith. We’d much rather stay near the shoreline than cast off into the deep. We want to know that our security will be down at the end of the road.’⁸

Dinkins also writes:

While on furlough I heard Dr. Keith Phillips, head of World Impact, give his testimony of commitment to the urban poor. For a while Dr. Phillips tried to minister in the Watts area of Los Angeles by commuting. But his slum ministry by long distance was not meeting needs. Finally he moved his family into public housing where he was still residing. During the first three months their apartment was robbed so often that they erected a sign: GO RIGHT IN, TAKE WHAT YOU WANT, PLEASE DO NOT BREAK THE LOCK.

Having been robbed repeatedly myself, I immediately identified with the Phillips family and risks they encountered. You may be thinking, ‘That’s fine for missionaries, but I don’t plan to live in a slum, pick up a hitchhiker, or plant a church in hostile soil. How does all of this relate to me?’ Good question. The first thing is to realize that risks are not confined to slum areas, interstates, or foreign fields. A difficult neighbor or recalcitrant relative can be just as threatening as a gang member from Watts or hitchhiker along the road. Building a bridge of friendship to someone of a different race or background in your community may be as big a hurdle as translation is for missionaries in Colombia.⁹

Again I am reminded of Daniel’s words, “but the people who know their God will display strength and take action.” Obviously, the big question is--how well do we really know our God?

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7 William J. Federer, America’s God and Country Encyclopedia of Quotations, Fame Publishing Co., Coppell, TX, 1994, pp. 10-11.

8 Larry Dinkins, “At The End of The Road . . . Taking Risks to Achieve the Greater Reward,” Kindred Spirit, Autum 1991.

9 Ibid.