We invite trouble when we rely on ourselves or others

“So about three thousand men went up there (Ai) from the people, but they fled before the men of Ai.”       Joshua 7:4

Here we learn a very important lesson.  To get the background on this passage, Joshua had sent men to Ai to spy out the land, much as he had done many years before when Moses had sent him and 11 others to spy out the promised land.  They came back and told Joshua that he didn’t need to bother all the fighting men, only send 3,000.  That would be plenty because the people of Ai were small in number.  So Joshua listened to them and sent the 3,000.  They were sorely defeated by the people in Ai.  In fact, they turned and ran from them.

This happened for two reasons.  First, Achan had taken clothes, silver and gold from Jericho, which God has said not to take.  His sin was known about by his family (he had hidden the items in a hole in the middle of his tent) but had not said anything.  This brought trouble on Israel as God had said it would.  And the second reason, Joshua DID NOT STOP AND PRAY AND ASK GOD FOR GUIDANCE.  He listened to the men’s report, and made his own decision.  Disastor was the result.

So what do we need to learn from this?  How can these verses written thousands of years ago apply to our lives today?  We can clearly see where before Joshua had gone before the LORD for guidance.  However, in this case he did not.  He acted under his own power.  He listened to people rather than seek God.  We must learn this lesson well.  How many times do we go to others, even other Christians that we know to be mighty prayer warriors, and ask their opinion on something?  Then we follow the advice they give us, but everything falls apart. 

We must must must go to God first and foremost.  We can’t make the mistake that Joshua made and expect a different result.  God is the same yesterday, today, and forever.  The way He responds in a situation is the way He will respond in that same situation years and years later.  In our own power, we are nothing.  We know nothing.  We can do nothing.  We have to rely on God.  We have to seek His face.  Spend the time in prayer and mediatation until you receive an answer.

This is a timely lesson.  We must always move forward with God, not move forward and then ask God to bless us.  God refuses to be second fiddle.  He demands to be put first in our lives.  We can’t help ourselves, our help comes from the LORD.

Selah, my friends – Think about it.