Ep 545 – Joshua 7:1-9

How do you follow up a decisive victory over the enemy, made possible by the sovereign, all-powerful help of God? You go right back to war, choosing yet another enemy of God to conquer. And that’s exactly what the people of Israel did after their defeat of the city of Jericho. Fresh off their unexpected and inexplicable victory, the Israelites were ready to capitalize on their success and take on the next closest city they could find. That proved to be Ai. While this was a much smaller city with far-less-advanced fortifications, the Israelites found their confidence shattered when their forces were easily routed by Ai’s much-smaller army. That led to the blame game. Something had gone terribly wrong. And rather than look inwardly, searching for a possible reason for their unexpected defeat, Joshua blamed God. They lost the battle and Joshua lost faith. He questioned God’s integrity and began to fear for their future. In his mind, God had abandoned them. But he was going to learn that it was not God who had broken faith, but one of their own.