God Why? - Joshua 7:7

In the book of Joshua, we learned concerning Israel how, “the men of Ai smote of them about thirty and six men: for they chased them from before the gate even unto Shebarim, and smote them in the going down: wherefore the hearts of the people melted, and became as water. And Joshua rent his clothes, and fell to the earth upon his face before the ark of the LORD until the eventide, he and the elders of Israel, and put dust upon their heads”, and in chapter seven and verse seven of the book of Joshua, we learn how Joshua asked, “O Lord GOD, wherefore have you at all brought this people over Jordan, to deliver us into the hand of the Amorites, to destroy us?” where we read, 

And Joshua said, Alas, O Lord GOD, wherefore have you at all brought this people over Jordan, to deliver us into the hand of the Amorites, to destroy us? would to God we had been content, and dwelt on the other side Jordan!

The verse reads, “And Joshua said, Alas, O Lord GOD, wherefore have you at all brought this people over Jordan, to deliver us into the hand of the Amorites, to destroy us?” Joshua or the writer said, “and Joshua said” which means “and Joshua whose name means ‘Jehovah is salvation' uttered, declared, proclaimed and asked”, “Alas, O Lord GOD” or “Ah, Oh, Yahweh which is the title of reverence given to the Supreme Deity”, “wherefore have you at all brought this people” which means “why and for what reason have you, Jehovah God, even carried, lead and allowed the human beings of Israel to march and cross” “over Jordan” or “through and beyond the Jordan whose name means descender and was the river of Palestine running from the roots of Anti-Lebanon to the Dead Sea a distance of approximately 200 miles (320 km)”, “to deliver us” which means “to rescue and save us, Joshua and the people of Israel” “into the hand of the Amorites” or “in the power, might, strength and authority belonging to the Amorites whose name means a sayer and was one of the peoples of east Canaan and beyond the Jordan, dispossessed by the Israelite incursion from Egypt”, “to destroy us” which means “to kill and exterminate us, Joshua and the people of Israel”? Joshua  began to call out to Jehovah God as he asked Him for the reason that He rescued “Israel” and allowed them to cross the “Jordan river” just to be destroyed by the Amorites. 

 

The verse continues, “… would to God we had been content, and dwelt on the other side Jordan!” Joshua or the writer added the words, “would to God” which means “if only or oh that to the Supreme Deity” “we had been content” or “we, Joshua and the people of Israel, were willing, pleased and determined”, “and dwelt on the other side Jordan” which means “and remained, stayed and abode upon the opposite bank of Jordan whose name means descender and was the river of Palestine running from the roots of Anti-Lebanon to the Dead Sea a distance of approximately 200 miles (320 km)”. Joshua in anguish cries out to Jehovah God with the idea of he and the people of Israel remaining on the other bank of the “Jordan” river. 

When we meditate upon the words in this verse, we can almost hear the lamentation of “Joshua” and the people of Israel in his appeal to Jehovah God. He concluded that they would have been better off to have remained on the opposite “side” of the “Jordan” river. God had a plan for “Joshua” and the people of Israel, and they were to learn to go to Him in prayer before they faced their enemies and foes. God wants us to do the same, and when we receive His Son Jesus who died on the cross for the sins of all mankind and was raised from the dead after three days as our “Savior and Lord”, He will forgive our sins, grant us everlasting life and give us the wisdom of His Holy Spirit to lead and guide us according to His perfect plan for our lives. 

Next time we learn how Joshua asks, “what shall I say, when Israel turns their back?”, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.

Until tomorrow…there is more…

See more devotionals on the website "thewordfortodaywithray.com" or look for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, “One Year in the Sermon on the Mount” and the new poetry book "Random Mushrooms Volumes I and II" and the new novel "Elizabeth County" in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com ; http://www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore. All references are from "Strongs Concordance".