Today's readings are Joshua 7.1-26 and Acts 10.34-48.
Up again, down again. "Life's wonderful!" "AAARRRRGGGHHHH" We seem to bounce from one pole to the other, again and again. Joshua does the very same thing in our reading today. Life is wonderful. The Israelites have defeated Jericho. They are going to take over Ai, only a small operation. They should be conquering the land and possessing the promise of God, if not by teatime, certainly by the start of the next school term.
When the defeat at Ai comes, Joshua is devastated, along with the elders of Israel. They don't know why this has happened. Is God no longer God? Is he unable to do anything? These leaders somehow don't remember how powerful the Lord has shown himself to be in the past. They look only at their present, momentary circulstance. It's overwhelming.
God's response is to show the leaders of Israel that he has not changed, that he has never changed, and that he has no intention of changing in the future. When the Achan transgressed against God's command by seizing some of the plunder for himself, God counted him as dedicated to destruction. He has stopped Israel in their progress while he shows them just how serious it is to disobey the God of the Universe.
What do we see in the New Testament? We see that Jesus has given himself for our sin. But since the resurrection we find it difficult to remember this victory our Lord has won for us. We somehow think he has actually left and we are responsible to do everything on our own now. We easily plunge ourselves into despair. We see that life is difficult and that sin is still active in the world. We forget that our Lord has promised to be with us always. Let us rather look to what our Lord has done, to what he has given, to the way he has given himself for us. Let us take courage this day in the fact that our Lord never changes.
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Dave Spotts
blogging at http://capnsaltyslongvoyage.blogspot.com
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