"THE BOOK OF JOSHUA ~ a Type & Shadow” A-032 (01-26-22) Today: Joshua 7:11-15.
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Joshua 7:11 (NET) says, “Israel has sinned; they have violated my covenantal commandment! They have taken some of the riches; they have stolen them and deceitfully put them among their own possessions.”
● When we talk about the cause of Israel’s failure, verse 11 from the NASB says, “Israel has sinned, and they have also violated My covenant which I commanded them. And they have even taken some of the things designated for destruction, and have both stolen and kept it a secret. Furthermore, they have also put them among their own things.”
● Joshua 7:12 (NET) says, “The Israelites are unable to stand before their enemies; they retreat because they have become subject to annihilation. I will no longer be with you, unless you destroy what has contaminated you.”
● God says, “unless you destroy what has contaminated you,” which the Hebrew says, “what is set apart [to destruction by the LORD] from your midst.” In other words, the mindsets of deceit or deception must be dealt with by each individual, so that all that Father intends for you will be unhindered. The consequences of Israel’s failure is the sin of Achan and of unconfessed sin in general which presents itself as weakness, or the inability to serve and live for the Lord.
● Joshua 7:13 (NET) says, “Get up! Ritually consecrate the people and tell them this: ‘Ritually consecrate yourselves for tomorrow, because this is what the LORD God of Israel has said, “You are contaminated {set apart}, O Israel! You will not be able to stand before your enemies until you remove what is contaminating you.”
● I think that when issues or problematic mindsets are hindering our walk with the Lord, there comes a time when that which has continuous consequences in our lives, must be destroyed, or come to an end. So, Joshua and the leaders of Israel were to set the day apart to prepare their hearts by prayer and worship to discover what God would have them to do.
● Joshua 7:14 (NET) says, “In the morning you must approach in tribal order {or, by your tribes}. The tribe the LORD selects must approach by clans. The clan the LORD selects must approach by families {Heb. houses}. The family the LORD selects must approach man by man.”
From the NET footnotes we see a translator’s note (tn) suggesting that the Hebrew reads, “takes forcefully, seizes.”
● Commentary says, “In verse 14 specific instructions were given for purging out this sin from their midst. First, there was to be examination of the people tribe by tribe, family by family, and finally, man by man. Note how the men were the ones held responsible for their families. The examination would reveal the guilty party.”
● Joshua 7:15 (NET) says, “The one caught with the riches must be burned up along with all who belong to him, because he violated the LORD’s covenant and did such a disgraceful thing in Israel.’”
● From the Gesenius' Hebrew-Chaldee Lexicon we find a dominant meaning which is “to such in, to absorb, or to drink,” and for me, I think they had to do with facing the wrong done, which speaks of consequences and to deal with the punishment handed out to them.
● It seems that verse 15 describes the punishment that was to be carried out on the guilty party with the reason given for the severity of the punishment. The bottom line is that no matter what you face in life, your Father will never leave you, nor forsake you, and in essence, He will never abandon you.
● You are not alone since the Living God dwells within you as a part of your being, which is why you can face anything that comes at you in life. I hope you were enlightened and inspired to “dig deep into the well of Father’s mind within” as you watch this video lesson!