All of Israel Be Cleansed
Dr. Sam Tsang
Joshua 6 – 8
60 glorious years of theological education is a moment to celebrate. With the denomination being the largest in Hong Kong, we have a lot to be thankful for. Yet, this is a great time to reflect on God’s will when we may be on the cusp of something great. Joshua 6-8 provides the foundation for our reflection.
The Fall of Jericho
The preparation for the invasion of Jericho is telling in that Joshua 5:13-15 invites us to compare the preparation of this event with Exodus 3:5 where YHWH asked Moses to take off his shoes. Joshua was the new generation’s leader, although he was no longer a young person. Just like Moses’ generation, Joshua now faced a new era with new possibilities. Before the battle could ensue, he had to go through a similar process as Moses. In this process, God called for him to reenact the drama of Moses. Why? It is to show that YHWH was the same God even though His people were a different generation living in a different time and place. Every generation needs to walk the same path of obedience and faith. We notice that Joshua 6:2-8 shows the Israelites a time of obedience, thus leading to victory. Yet, this victory takes on a peculiar form. The Israelites were using the 7 days of the Feast of Unleavened Bread to walk around Jericho. In other words, YHWH wanted His people to remember His salvation more than He wanted them to fight physically. We can see the priority of God’s heart as he directed this generation.
Failure of Ai
The initial preparation for Ai pales in comparison to Joshua 5-6. There was no inquiry of the Lord. There was no self-purification. Instead, the spies came back giving a glowing report predicting an easy victory. The Israelites in this situation only had a maximum of 3000 soldiers at the time of the invasion of Ai. There was a quick defeat. This shows that confidence and even faith in our own ability is not enough. The culprit here was Achan who greedily took loot from Ai. In comparison to the nobody, Rahab, at the end of Joshua 6, Achan was a somebody whose lineage was easily traceable, as evident in Joshua 7:1 and one who had the large part in the drawing lots within his tribe. This shows that background was not enough. We may ask why God ultimately killed Achan’s family. There is no certain answer. But if we were to answer such a question, then we must equally attempt to explain why God saved Rahab’s family. The fact is, God’s mercy may be wide, but His justice is equally swift, especially against those who should have known better. This serves as a warning to us today.
Victory at Ai
The victory at Ai this time involved the entire army directed by the word of God as we see in Joshua 8:1. Once again, in contrast to the failure, we see a picture closer to that of Jericho as people purified themselves the sin from their midst, involved everyone in the fight and most importantly, listened to God’s call. In the end, we may notice that God did allow the Israelites to bring back some of the loot in Joshua 8:2, 27. The fact is, God is not a cosmic killjoy, but he does want his people to put his interest first above their own. Joshua had learned an important lesson this time. He went to Mount Gerezim and Ebal, some 25 miles out of the way to renew their covenant with God, because this time, Joshua knew he should not be in a hurry for success. Sometimes, success can be the mother of failure when the people of God fail to pause and reflect on what God has done in their lives. God’s people must always serve God’s interest first.