Our pastor recently preached a sermon series about women of the Bible. He very creatively called it “Chick Flicks of the Bible.” The sermon on Rahab reminded me that I hadn’t read the book of Joshua in a while, and so I started reading it in my devotional time.
One of the things that really jumped out at me this time as I read Joshua was the phrase “dedicated to the LORD for destruction.” I know that many things in the Bible are dedicated to the Lord. The biblical concept of holiness is explained as being dedicated to, or set apart for, the Lord. But the idea of being set apart for the LORD for destruction was a twist I hadn’t often thought about.
The phrase “dedicated to the LORD for destruction” popped out at me as the story took an unexpected turn in the 7th chapter of Joshua. The Joshua-era was the beginning of a “new phase” for the nation of Israel. The wandering in the wilderness was over because all the people who had refused to obey and believe God, i.e. had refused to believe the positive report form the spies and refused to go into the promised land and take it from the people who were already there, had died (5:4). The new generation had seen the LORD do the amazing miracle of holding open the Jordan River for them to cross it in flood season (chapter 3); they had dedicated themselves to the LORD by all being circumcised (5:2-9); they had seen Him use their shout of obedient faith to knock down the walls of Jericho (chapter 6).
Right after Joshua led the nation in obedience and victory over the fortified city of Jericho, he followed the same basic procedure—spies, favorable report, go take the city – which he had used in Jericho to take the city of Ai. But instead of the easy victory he was expecting (7:3) -- the victory he felt God had promised (chapter 1) -- Joshua and his men found themselves thoroughly defeated, scared and running away from their enemy (7:5).
An anguished Joshua fell down in prayer before the LORD. He asked the LORD why He was destroying His people (7:7), why He had turned His back on them (7:8), why He would let the nation bearing His name be wiped out (7:9).God told Joshua to get up – it wasn’t about God not holding up His end of things; the problem was that the nation of Israel had sinned (7:11). They had broken the covenant they made with God, had taken dedicated things, stolen from God and lied about it and put the things with their own belongings. It was the incorporation of things God had devoted to destruction that was causing the nation of Israel’s defeat. By mixing things devoted for destruction with those devoted for blessing, all became devoted to destruction (7:12).
Clean-up was needed; the people needed to re-consecrate themselves to God. The nation had to agree to assemble and pass before Joshua. Using a system of lots, God showed Joshua the tribe, clan, household, and man who had sinned (7:13-21). Turns out it was a man named Achan.
The story is achingly human. Achan saw a beautiful cloak from Shinar among the things, and 200 shekels of silver and a bar of gold. When he saw them he wanted them, so he took them. He hid them in the earth inside his tent (7:21). He didn’t think about the fact that these things belonged to God, that they were dedicated to God for destruction as part of the removal of a sinful culture. He wasn’t thinking about God making a place for godliness in a Promised Land. God was focused on a cosmic plan for the good of all; Achan saw something that would make a few of his days a little nicer.
And so, for a classy coat and some cash, Achan forfeited victory for his nation and ultimately the lives of all his family members and himself (7:22-26). It is so easy to understand Achan even knowing he was so wrong. I have the same problem Achan had: I lose sight of the knowledge that there is big picture God is working on, I don’t remember to trust Him and to use things for the purposes to which He has dedicated them.
Which got me to wondering about what things in my world have been “dedicated to destruction”?Right away a verse from 1 Corinthians 6:13 came to mind: “Food is meant for the stomach and the stomach for food”—and God will destroy both one and the other. The body is not meant for sexual immorality, but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body.
Romans 8:19 and 21 tell us …the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God…in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to decay and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. Revelation 21:1 says, I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away…
I do need to use my body and my planet wisely, but I know that neither is permanent in its present state. And neither my body’s needs nor my planet is the focus God wants for my life. HE is the focus of life.
So today I am reminding myself not to love dwelling place or location, not to love food or drink or any provision, but to love the God who provided them all—and who will destroy them at the right time. The upgraded replacements will be amazing and are worth waiting for. I can trust God for now and for later.
It’s something to remember if a classy coat and cash are in front of me but are not in the plan for today...
