Joshua grieved the loss at Ai, feared the safety and security of the Israelites, and was concerned for the Lord’s reputation among other nations. After seeing and hearing Joshua’s display of mourning, the Lord immediately called for Joshua to rise up and asked him why had he fallen to his face. The Lord already knew why Joshua was thinking and behaving the way he was. The Lord intentionally questioned Joshua to draw his attention to his behavior, which did not fit the circumstances, and to redirect him to what He told Joshua about the conditions for the Israelites’ ability to stand in victory over their enemies.  Since Joshua did not know about the sin of Achan, he was not grieving because the Israelites had sinned against the Lord. Joshua was grieving because the Israelites had lost the battle at Ai, and he was overwhelmed with the fears of what could happen as a result. Joshua most likely had repeated thoughts of what-ifs, what-cans, what-shoulds, and how-coulds. We read about Joshua wondering, ‘What if the Canaanites and all the inhabitants of the land hear of it, what if they surround us and cut off our name from the earth, and what can I say?’ He even asked the Lord what He would do for His own great name, as if the Lord needed to hurry to save His reputation from the defeat at Ai.  As the Israelites’ leader, Joshua’s grief led him to think and re-think about how he and the Israelites could recover from the defeat and what should be done to save their reputation as a mighty army, and secure their safety. The Lord’s command to rise up, His wise question, followed by His immediate reminder to Joshua about the consequences of taking and possessing the accursed and banned items, placed Joshua in the right frame of mind. Joshua now knew with certainty that the Ai defeat was not from his leadership, nor the Israelite armies’ military ability. He also knew that the Israelites needed to consecrate themselves and that the sin must be dealt with. Most importantly, Joshua was able to see a true and honest look at his faith in God at one of his lowest times in his leadership.  God is so gracious. He is always with us through each season of our lives. The Lord is there during mountaintop victories, the wilderness, and the valley experiences. He is faithful, and He remains as He is and always will be, which is our loving, holy, and sovereign heavenly Father, meaning He is always in control over all things. There are situations and circumstances in your life that the Lord has told you to “rise up” from. You may have felt the weight of defeat and may even blame yourself entirely for events that have occurred. God knows the whole of the situation. If the Lord shows you that there is sin in your life that contributed to the situation, repent, rise up, and thank the Lord for His gracious, loving hand that cares enough not to leave you in the condition you are.  If the situation was caused by the sin of another, seek to help restore your brother or sister in the Lord or share the Gospel to lead them to repentance. Also, make sure you evaluate your thoughts, actions, and words about the Lord. Did you, like Joshua, question God’s character, wisdom, love, and sovereignty? If so, take some time to go before the Lord, and seek Scriptures to strengthen your faith and renew your mind to think God’s thoughts to align with the truth about what He says about Himself.  My Prayer for You:
Lord, thank you for loving us enough to show us when we need to rise up from despair, whether it be from situations that are caused by the sin of others or our own. Guard our hearts and minds to see You as Your word says, and to believe it so that we love You with all of our hearts, minds, souls, and strength, and teach us to love others as we love ourselves. This means that we, like Joshua, may need to lead others to repentance. Help us to rise up, as we help others to do the same. In Jesus’ name. Amen. Comments are closed.
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