Walking In Victory Sample

The order of destroying Jericho to the ground may sound hard to us, but that ́s what the Israelites had to do. However, some of the men there didn't follow up with the plan. Achan took some things from Jericho and thus God became angry with the people of Israel (7:1). 

This went unnoticed until they have to fight against Ai and had to flee in defeat before them. Verses 7-9 shows us the humanity of Joshua. He has just seen how the Jordan opened before his eyes. He has seen how the walls of Jericho have come down in a miraculous way. But now, in the face of defeat, the first he does is questioning God. Why did you bring us here? To wipe us out? This tends to be our first reaction, right? When things don ́t go our way, we blame God. But verse 11 tells us the reason for the defeat of Israel – sin. Israel has sinned. They broke the covenant by taking things from Jericho. 

We have to be aware that our sin has consequences. When we decide to do things our way and sin against God, we can be sure that He will forgive us if we repent, but we can ́t forget that we ́ll have to live with the consequences of our own sin. 

Oh Father, please, help me be aware of my faults and wrongdoings. I want to live a righteous life. When I sin, help me see that the consequences of my sin are my own responsibility and, instead of blaming you, drawing near to You to do things right. In Jesus name. Amen.