Joshua-Futile Deception

Scripture: Joshua chapters 7-9

During the pandemic, like everyone else, my husband and I bought an RV.  I wish I could say it was our first one, but it wasn’t.  We lived in a 5th wheel trailer while building our house and decided for years we weren’t going to camp.  Living simply has its advantages, but with two growing kids it was pretty close quarters.  After taking a long break from camping, we decided with the rest of America in 2020 that we were ready to travel again. We were lucky to find a good deal on a small R-pod and use our vehicle for a few trips every year to get away with our friends.  

A few years ago, the plastic lever below the toilet stuck down and the water that usually partially fills the tank to remove waste overflowed.  We weren’t in the trailer at the time so didn’t notice the water until it started dripping out the back corner of the trailer.  Luckily, we had caught the leak early and got to work using towels to quickly absorb the water.  Once we got home, we aired out the trailer with fans and thought we had taken care of the problem.  The next year we had lost some adhesive in the bathroom floor but everything else seemed fine.  

You can probably guess the end of the story…during packing for our first trip this summer we noticed discoloration on the vinyl so my husband took a box knife to cut the floor and see what was underneath.  The discoloration was water damage from sitting on damp wood beneath.  After returning from our trip, he started to demo the floor with the intention of replacing the top layer of wood and install new laminate.  As he tore up more, he saw that not only was the top layer damaged but all the structural layers had to go. The water had leaked beyond the walls of the bathroom as well.  

His initial review of the damage was incomplete.  For years the floor had been rotting and we thought we had stopped the damage as on the surface we couldn’t see the destruction underneath.  Our human senses can only understand so much as we only see what is readily apparent and obvious.  Contrastingly, our God is omnipotent, meaning He knows all things.  1 Samual 16:7 says that the LORD sees not as man sees; man looks on the outward appearance, but the LORD looks on the heart. The Lord can see beyond the surface to the layers underneath, especially the complex motivations and character of man. 

As the narrative of Israel’s journey unfolds in chapters 7-9, man’s desire to use deception comes into play.  Often, because we can’t see all that is true, we think that God won’t notice.  Our attempt to deceive others can’t be hidden from God.  

We see this when we study two stories in this section.  First, the sin of Achan in Joshua chapters 7 and 8.   Now that Israel has brought Jericho down, they continued their campaign to continue to conquer cities in the promised land.  Spies were sent to Ai to scout it and brought Joshua the report that only 3,000 men were required to defeat it, a fraction of their soldiers as the population that dwelt there was small.  Unexpectedly, the Israelites fled before this small army and 36 of them died.  Joshua, who tears his clothes prostrate before the Lord in grief, questions why this has happened when God had promised to defeat their enemies.  The Lord reveals that He has kept His promises but that Israel had sinned against Him so He has withheld victory from them.  Someone had taken spoils of war that had been devoted to destruction.  This act had brought death and defeat to the camp.  

In humility, the camp was instructed to consecrate themselves and God would show Joshua who had sinned by tribe, clan, and household to the very man who had disregarded the Lord’s command.  Joshua obeys and it is revealed the Achan from the tribe of Judah had taken and cloak, silver and hold and buried them underneath his tent.  The spoils were taken and Achan was stones for his disregard of God’s law. Israel fights again after purifying themselves from sin and were victorious, capturing Ai and defeating their enemies.  Joshua renews the covenant, himself and Israel vowing to follow the law of God.  

Then starting in chapter nine, another deception is revealed.  Hearing about the defeat of Ai, the kings who ruled the coast of the Great Sea gathered their forces together to go out against Israel.  Gibeon, another nation in proximity to allied kings, dressed themselves in worn out clothing, outfitted their donkeys with expired provisions and approached Israel deceptively as “far away” neighbors to make a covenant of peace with them.  Israel, without consulting God for the wisdom in entering into this agreement, accepts the covenant only to found out that they were actually inhabitants of Canaan whom God had commanded them to destroy!  The Israelites did not harm the Gibeonites, as they had sworn and oath by the Lord, but instead made them servants.  

What harm does deception do? What are some spiritual lessons we can take away from these stories?  

We can’t hide from God 

God knows all.  He sees beyond the surface and beholds every action and motive of heart.  The fact that  God can penetrate what we hide from others may feel uncomfortable, especially if one is living a double life, trying to project holiness to others.  The convicting feeling of being called to acknowledge who you really are is a kindness from God who wants you to lean on Him fully.  For the Christian, we are fully known by God and fully loved.  He has seen our darkest thoughts and deeds and sacrifices Himself to satisfy the holiness He requires to give us access to Him. If the thought of God knowing everything about you is unsettling, it may be because of two reasons.  One, you haven’t fully accepted the gospel or Jesus and been forgiven.  Maybe faith is an intellectual belief and not yet spiritual transformation.  Two, you could be a Christian who is being sanctified to let go of a lesser god.  Like Achan, maybe you have hidden idols in your tent and don’t want God to see.  In love, let me remind you that He is better and will forgive. 

Sin effects more than ourselves 

We also see in these stories the consequence of our sin reaches far beyond personal consequences.  The Israelites lost a battle when the treasures was hoarded.  Even though it was one man out of thousands, being part of the people God withheld their victory.   God is keeps His word and is to be obeyed.  His character is faithful and can be trusted.  He did what He had warned them he would do. When we sin, our sin effects other people.  

Seek God’s council before making decisions

The Gibeonites deceived Israel because they let their eyes make a judgement without consulting God.  They didn’t pray or seek His will.  They trusted in themselves to know what is best, even though their viewpoint was limited.  As a result, they had to keep their enemies alive in the land they were conquering and even come to their aid as an army.  As God sees past the surface, He can guide our decisions.  Obeying Him when we can’t see displays trust in who He is. 

We got a gift recently we didn’t deserve.  A coworker of a friend heard about our trailer repair and to serve my hubs, who is pastor, took it on a project for a minimal fee.  We didn’t have the skills to repair such damage, but God provided.  We can keep taking it down the road for all our adventures.  As a message of hope, remember that whatever you are hiding, God can clean and repair every misstep, mistake, sin, or tragedy that you have faced.  You don’t need to hide your sin, in fact you can’t.  The God who sees all saves all.  He sent His Son Jesus to exchange your hidden darkness for His glorious light.  

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