Posted on June 9, 2023 by Elizabeth Welte in Freedom Fighters
“So the LORD said to Joshua: “Get up! Why do you lie thus on your face? Israel has sinned, and they have also transgressed My covenant which I commanded them. For they have even taken some of the accursed things, and have both stolen and deceived; and they have also put it among their own stuff.” – Joshua 7:10-11 (NKJV)
Isaac Newton’s third law of motion goes as follows; for every action (force) in nature there is an equal and opposite reaction. So, if object A exerts a force on object B, object B also exerts an equal and opposite force on object A. In other words, forces result from interactions. This means that as a jet engines hot exhaust blows out the back of it, it’s pushing itself and whatever it’s attached to goes along with it. So, if this engine is attached to a 251-foot long Boeing 777-9 (actually the 777-9 takes two GE9X-105B1A’s), approximately 450 people can travel 7,285 nautical miles at an amazing 644 mph. Talk about getting there really fast, but I wonder if this law of motion can be applied biblically? Hmm…
Joshua leads the nation of Israel across the Jordan River and into the Promised Land. The walled city of Jericho is in his sights and the LORD God has given instruction on how to take the city. There were a couple days of prep work that hadda be done, six days of silent marching with the Ark of the Covenant before them and then one day of horn blowing and utter chaos. Then BOOM!! Jericho’s walls fall and Jericho into the hands of God’s Chosen… just like He promised. “But Israel violated the instructions about the things set apart for the LORD. A man named Achan had stolen some of these dedicated things, so the LORD was very angry with the Israelites.” (Joshua 7:1a,b)
Well, that didn’t take very long did it? In the time it took to barely turn the page from the end of Joshua 6 to Joshua 7 was as fast as it took Achan to swipe a Babylonian rug, $29,536 of gold and a whopping $52.97 of silver. At a time where the LORD God was demonstrating His devotion to His Chosen, Achan was demonstrating the covetousness that remained in his heart. There may not have been anyone who saw Achan do this, or any accomplices to help, but this action was met with an equal and opposite reaction. Not only did Joshua fail at Ai because of Achan, but now he had to exact the LORD God’s punishment on him, his family, and everything else he owned in the Valley of Achor. One ambush and 30,000 men later, the LORD God hands over Ai to Joshua.
“It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you, and such sexual immorality as is not even named among the Gentiles–that a man has his father’s wife! And you are puffed up, and have not rather mourned, that he who has done this deed might be taken away from among you.” – 1 Corinthians 5:1-2
The apostle Paul had some great things to say to the church in Corinth. However, by 1 Corinthians 1:10, Paul starts addressing the many things this church had been getting wrong. He does a lot of explaining right after verse 10 and by the time we get to the Chapter 5, we see Paul calling out the blatant sin in the church that apparently people were okay with. Guess the Corinthians didn’t understand that by letting whoever and whatever into their midst would have had a negative impact to their worship, but they were blending what was outside with what was inside and that was causing the divisions among them. “REMOVE THE WICKED MAN FROM AMONG YOURSELVES.” (1 Corinthians 5:13b) Sounds kinda urgent, don’t it?
It as if no one thought this man’s actions weren’t gonna affect them, but as Paul would later explain to them, the church they were part of was to be treated as one body. So, if one part of it was sick (in sin) or not doing its part, the whole was affected, and the church won’t grow. It’s more of a social club then, ain’t it? The nation of Israel found that out as well, through Achan. I’m sure no one was thrilled to see that warrior go the way he went, but God was faster than a Boeing 777-9 with His judgement wasn’t He? I’m sure no one woulda thought that Joshua would have to go to the extreme that he had to in order to exact YHVH’s punishment, but that was all explained before they crossed the Jordan.
We don’t know how fast we can travel outta God’s Will until we see the impact it is having in our everyday surroundings. I didn’t think the addictive lifestyle that I was once leading had anything to do with the wife and kids. I found out really, really fast that when that disobedient jet engine (that I’ll name Chris), traveling at 644 mph, hits the wall with all its fury, everything is broken. Our logic says to clean up, rebuild, and start anew.
God says clean up, rebuild and start following Jesus. Amen?
Written by Chris Hughes: Chris is a child of El Elyon, a son, a husband, and a father. He has an education in Biblical doctrine and is a graduate of The Colony of Mercy, 11/2003. He has been a Freedom Fighter contributor since 2008. You can email him at cphughes515@verizon.net.
Think About This:“My fear is that, perhaps without even realizing it, we’ve fallen into the very dangerous habit of neglecting God’s commands in favor of our logic.” – Francis Chan
The Daily Bible Reading: 2 Chronicles 5-6. You can download our 2023 Daily Bible Reading Plan by clicking here.
This Week’s Verse to Memorize: “For it was fitting for Him, for whom are all things and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons to glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings. 11 For both He who sanctifies and those who are being sanctified are all of one, for which reason He is not ashamed to call them brethren.” – Hebrews 2:10-11
Consider a retreat at America’s Keswick retreat center.
