PORTERVILLE POST | The Right News at the Right Time

| Joshua’s Errors to Learn By
The Right Word^© - Aug 25, 2024
with Brother Scott : scott@portervillepost.com

I am fond of many of our Bible’s heroes and their stories, and one of those is the man Joshua. From about the time that Moses began leading the children of Israel out of their bondage in Egypt, as a much younger man Joshua was never far from Moses’ side.

In Exodus 17 he was commissioned as the captain of the army of Israel for their first battle, which was against the Amalekites.

In Exodus 24 he is called Moses’ minister and accompanied Moses up the mountain of God.

At Exodus 33 we read that Joshua spent a lot of time at the tabernacle even as the cloud of the Lord was upon it. It was Joshua and Caleb that stood opposed to the 10 spies who wanted to abandon all hope in living in the Promised Land.

In Numbers 27 the Lord says that he is “a man in whom is the spirit” and was given great honor by Moses at the command of God before the whole congregation. Later and immediately before the time of Moses’ retirement and death, Joshua was made his successor.

† Deuteronomy 34:9 And Joshua the son of Nun was full of the spirit of wisdom; for Moses had laid his hands upon him: and the children of Israel hearkened unto him, and did as the LORD commanded Moses.

With all that Joshua had seen and heard and learned having been at the side of Moses all those 40 years, having acquired wisdom and spiritual strength, and having the hand of God upon his life, Joshua was not all-knowing or ever to be independent from the God of Israel—and neither are you nor me as the children of God. When we get sloppy in our walk with God, or think we know enough to handle this or that on our own, when we fail to defer to the guidance of our Lord, WE MAKE MISTAKES—just like Joshua did.
The Scriptures Are Given To Us By God For Many Reasons
The Scriptures are given to us by God for many reasons—one of those reasons is to show us how easy it is to presume upon God (arrogant, proud [act independent from]) and get ourselves into trouble in our lives and with Him. Joshua did that at least twice, as did others such as Nathan the prophet. In this simple exhortation, let us learn from their mistakes and not presume to know God’s mind or speak in His place what He has not said.

† Joshua 7:1 But the children of Israel committed a trespass in the accursed thing: for Achan, the son of Carmi, the son of Zabdi, the son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, took of the accursed thing: and the anger of the LORD was kindled against the children of Israel. 2 And Joshua sent men from Jericho to Ai, which is beside Bethaven, on the east side of Bethel, and spake unto them, saying, Go up and view the country. And the men went up and viewed Ai. 3 And they returned to Joshua, and said unto him, Let not all the people go up; but let about two or three thousand men go up and smite Ai; and make not all the people to labour thither; for they are but few. 4 So there went up thither of the people about three thousand men: and they fled before the men of Ai. 5 And the men of Ai smote of them about thirty and six men: for they chased them from before the gate even unto Shebarim, and smote them in the going down: wherefore the hearts of the people melted, and became as water. 6 And Joshua rent his clothes, and fell to the earth upon his face before the ark of the LORD until the eventide, he and the elders of Israel, and put dust upon their heads. 7 And Joshua said, Alas, O Lord GOD, wherefore hast thou at all brought this people over Jordan, to deliver us into the hand of the Amorites, to destroy us? would to God we had been content, and dwelt on the other side Jordan! 8 O Lord, what shall I say, when Israel turneth their backs before their enemies! 9 For the Canaanites and all the inhabitants of the land shall hear of it, and shall environ us round, and cut off our name from the earth: and what wilt thou do unto thy great name? 10 And the LORD said unto Joshua, Get thee up; wherefore liest thou thus upon thy face? 11 Israel hath sinned, and they have also transgressed my covenant which I commanded them: for they have even taken of the accursed thing, and have also stolen, and dissembled also, and they have put it even among their own stuff. 12 Therefore the children of Israel could not stand before their enemies, but turned their backs before their enemies, because they were accursed: neither will I be with you any more, except ye destroy the accursed from among you. 13 Up, sanctify the people, and say, Sanctify yourselves against to morrow: for thus saith the LORD God of Israel, There is an accursed thing in the midst of thee, O Israel: thou canst not stand before thine enemies, until ye take away the accursed thing from among you.

In the instance of this defeat, Joshua quickly challenged the Lord and proceeded to tell God what the future now holds for the people of Israel. He did it by whining, including others in his arrogance, passing judgment against God to His face by implying that He really had plans for evil and not for good. It was a childish temper-tantrum and an insult to God after 40 years of His showing great power, patience and care for the nation. And how did God respond? [vs. 10-11, 13]

Many Of Us Have Done The Same Kinds Of Things

Many of us have done the same kinds of things: We inform God how He should have done this or that, we complain to others about not getting the help in the way we thought we needed, we whine about what our future now holds since He blew it! It’s a wonder that God doesn’t just send a mighty angel with sword drawn to ask, “Who do you think you are talking to?” Job had a similar though lengthier encounter with God because of his presumption; this is a tidbit of what God had to say to Job:

† Job 38:1 Then the LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind, and said, 2 Who is this that darkeneth counsel by words without knowledge? 3 Gird up now thy loins like a man; for I will demand of thee, and answer thou me. 4 Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth? declare, if thou hast understanding. . .

Then there is this instance in Joshua’s leadership of the nation—another presumption by this man that he could do some things quite well on his own and not bother with the counsel of God—and he was wrong to do so.

† Joshua 9:1 And it came to pass, when all the kings which were on this side Jordan, in the hills, and in the valleys, and in all the coasts of the great sea over against Lebanon, the Hittite, and the Amorite, the Canaanite, the Perizzite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite, heard thereof; 2 That they gathered themselves together, to fight with Joshua and with Israel, with one accord. 3 And when the inhabitants of Gibeon heard what Joshua had done unto Jericho and to Ai, 4 They did work wilily, and went and made as if they had been ambassadors, and took old sacks upon their asses, and wine bottles, old, and rent, and bound up; 5 And old shoes and clouted upon their feet, and old garments upon them; and all the bread of their provision was dry and mouldy. 6 And they went to Joshua unto the camp at Gilgal, and said unto him, and to the men of Israel, We be come from a far country: now therefore make ye a league with us. 7 And the men of Israel said unto the Hivites, Peradventure ye dwell among us; and how shall we make a league with you? 8 And they said unto Joshua, We are thy servants. And Joshua said unto them, Who are ye? and from whence come ye? 9 And they said unto him, From a very far country thy servants are come because of the name of the LORD thy God: for we have heard the fame of him, and all that he did in Egypt, 10 And all that he did to the two kings of the Amorites, that were beyond Jordan, to Sihon king of Heshbon, and to Og king of Bashan, which was at Ashtaroth. 11 Wherefore our elders and all the inhabitants of our country spake to us, saying, Take victuals with you for the journey, and go to meet them, and say unto them, We are your servants: therefore now make ye a league with us. 12 This our bread we took hot for our provision out of our houses on the day we came forth to go unto you; but now, behold, it is dry, and it is mouldy: 13 And these bottles of wine, which we filled, were new; and, behold, they be rent: and these our garments and our shoes are become old by reason of the very long journey. 14 And the men took of their victuals, and asked not counsel at the mouth of the LORD. 15 And Joshua made peace with them, and made a league with them, to let them live: and the princes of the congregation sware unto them.

Although one might admire the craftiness of the Gibeonites, they were nevertheless inhabitants of the land that by the command of God were to be destroyed—or at least driven out. Two things we should learn from this situation: -1- We dare not “presume” that we already know what the Lord would say in such and such a situation, [think we know] and then proceed on our own because we do not know all there is to know about really anything—even our own hearts; we must consult with and take the time to wait on the Lord. -2- Making a vow or pledge is never to be taken lightly where God is concerned. Israel was now stuck with these Amorite pagans in the midst of their land, and now even had to defend them from other more powerful tribes (Josh. 10), and satisfy them later for what King Saul had done to them (2 Sam. 21).

God Expects Us To Honor Contracts & Agreements We Sign
God expects us to honor the contracts and agreements that we sign, the promises that we make, and the vows that we speak—or there will be consequences (no matter that we have been forgiven), as if we had shed innocent blood. Take care not to presume that you know what God wants or would say, and make no promises you do not plan to keep—to a spouse, children or parents, or to others or those you do business with.
Now as to this issue of saying things for God that He did not say to say, we must not! That is the case for genuine prophets, especially for false prophets, and even applies to the counsel we might offer to another off-the-cuff (spontaneous, spiritually unconfirmed, i.e. “Well, God wouldn’t hold that against you”, or “I’m sure that would be okay with the Lord”). One of the prophets to King David did that and was rebuffed by God in the night.

† 1 Chronicles 17:1 Now it came to pass, as David sat in his house, that David said to Nathan the prophet, Lo, I dwell in an house of cedars, but the ark of the covenant of the LORD remaineth under curtains. 2 Then Nathan said unto David, Do all that is in thine heart; for God is with thee. 3 And it came to pass the same night, that the word of God came to Nathan, saying, 4 Go and tell David my servant, Thus saith the LORD, Thou shalt not build me an house to dwell in. . .

We have the toughest of times ahead of us, whether you believe that yet or not. As the children of God and followers of Jesus we must be prepared in advance to look to God in humility and trust in Him for *what we will hear that shocks us, *for what we see that scares us, *and about those things that we do not understand that tries to confuse and defeat our faith in Him.
We Cannot Blame God For Good Plans Gone Bad
We cannot blame God for good plans gone badly when His grace is blocked because of sin in the camp that is our personal life—or reproach Him for our losses or the people or things precious to us being taken. We especially cannot presume to know what He would say to us about significant events like Joshua did with the fraudsters from Gibeon. We dare not give others or ourselves permission to take giant steps in life without consulting God as did Nathan the prophet. The answer to this very question at the heart of life’s matters, “How difficult is it to keep the Lord always in mind in the face of trials, troubles, plans and big decisions?” It is that it is not a hard thing to do at all—and it is wisdom that comes by a sincere fear of the Lord!

† James 4:13 Go to now, ye that say, To day or to morrow we will go into such a city, and continue there a year, and buy and sell, and get gain: 14 Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away. 15 For that ye ought to say, If the Lord will, we shall live, and do this, or that. 16 But now ye rejoice in your boastings: all such rejoicing is evil.

† Psalm 51:17 The sacrifices of (offerings unto) God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.

† 1 Corinthians 10:12 ...let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall. 13 There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.

† Psalm 139:17 How precious also are thy thoughts unto me, O God! how great is the sum of them! [Let us find out what they are.] 18 If I should count them, they are more in number than the sand: when I awake, I am still with thee.

† James 1:5 If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.

You have heard me say often that when hard things come up that incite you to a breaking point that I have learned to first “turn and face God, ask for grace, and worship Him”. In this you cannot go wrong if you will acknowledge that your life is indeed in His hands, and although you do not know the whys of what He permits—He does do all things well; if we will believe that and trust Him by remaining faith-filled—all will turn out well in the end. Trust the Lord and remember something else that He taught me many years ago, and that is this: “Nothing catches God off-guard”.
“Nothing Catches God Off-Guard”

† Psalm 37:23 The steps of a good man are ordered by the LORD: and he delighteth in his way. 24 Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down: for the LORD upholdeth him with his hand.

† Proverbs 3:5 Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. 6 In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.

† Psalm 19: 3 Keep back thy servant also from presumptuous sins; let them not have dominion over me: then shall I be upright, and I shall be innocent from the great transgression. 14 Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O LORD, my strength, and my redeemer.