About 7 years ago when I asked God to change me, He changed some things about me right away. My bad temper was replaced by peace. Other things, however, took time. My fear of public interaction, for example, was defeated slowly and with exercise.
Reading through Joshua, I find it interesting that God gave them Jericho without a fight. He wanted to show them that victory came by His might, not theirs. But after Jericho there were many other kingdoms that needed to fall. And Israel had to get bloody & dirty. The victories were still from God, but they needed the battle.
I had my Jericho when God took my bad temper. But as I continue to claim all the ground God has paid for, I know I must fight the good fight of faith. And when I come across another kingdom of this world still residing in my heart, I must remember Jericho during the bloody battle.
I just finished a first draft for a song on these thoughts. I'll post it tomorrow.
2 comments:
matt, this is some great theological thinking. i wonder how it could be tied to God's overarching work in choosing a people through whom to reach the world. any thoughts?
hey aaron
good question to think about. one group the victory at jericho definitely affected was the gibeonites. they get a bad rap usually (b/c they used deception), but I think they were the cream of the canaanite crop. In fact, I'd go so far as to say one of God's purposes for Jericho was to save the Gibeonites.
Here are some of their good qualities (ch. 9):
1. they rejected the plan recommended by other area leaders to unite and attack Israel. See 9:3.
2. let's face it, their plan was very intelligent and worked perfectly. See 9:3-15
3. they had a genuine fear of Israel's God and Israel's people. See 9:3, 9-10, 24.
4. they seem to have had an advanced, representative style government instead of the typical monarchy. See 9:11.
5. they weren't tricking them to avoid defeat, they were very willing to serve Israel. See 9:25.
As far as historians can tell, the gibeonites became temple servants and were eventually 'grafted in' to Israel.
The reason I think God used Jericho to save the Gibeonites is because of Joshua 11:18-20. It says that it was God who hardened the hearts of the canaanites (the kings of chapter 9) to make war with Israel so that He could destroy them all. It is implied, then, that He did not harden the hearts of the Gibeonites (11:19), since they chose not to be part of that coalition.
Man, I really like the spiritual parallels in Joshua. To make a long comment short, I'd say God used Israel's obedience (at Jericho) to reach the most godly in canaan (the gibeonites), and, amazingly, used Israel's disobedience (at Jericho, through Achan) to teach Israel lessons AND unify the wicked in preparation for destruction.
It's astonishing to me how God can use the same event to do a work in various people & groups, both objects of mercy and objects of wrath.
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