The consequences of disobedience

The walls of Jericho had fallen, and Joshua was flushed with victory. Their next challenge was the town of Ai, with a population of only 20,000 people. So Joshua decided that 3,000 of his soldiers could do the job. He was wrong. “The men of Ai chased the Israelites from the town gate as far as the quarries, and they killed about thirty-six who were retreating…The Israelites were paralyzed with fear at this turn of events, and their courage melted away” (vv. 4-5 NLT). What caused this? Achan, one of Joshua’s soldiers, had disobeyed God’s command and taken the spoils of Jericho and hidden them in his tent. As a result, Israel went down in a humiliating defeat, and Achan and his family were stoned to death in the valley of Achor. Joshua had a meltdown. He tore his clothing and fell on his face and prayed, “Oh, that we had been content, and dwelt on the other side of the Jordan!” (v. 7 NKJV). Note what God said to him: “Get up! Why do you lie thus on your face? Israel has sinned.” There’s an important lesson here: there’s a time to pray and a time to “get up” and deal with the issues God’s talking to you about! Sometimes we pray hoping that God will overlook our disobedience or change His mind. But God’s goal is to change us! Why did Achan take the spoils of Jericho? Because he didn’t trust in God’s ability and willingness to provide for him. Is God dealing with you about the same thing?