The story of the Israelites offers me hope. They saw some pretty amazing things, yet they still had a hard time listening to God and following his will.
Take for example their entrance into the Promised Land. The Jordan River was overflowing its banks and would have been impossible to cross. I’ve been in the Jordan River when it was calm, but it would have still been difficult to cross. However, God performs a miracle and stops the Jordan from flowing and the Israelite community crosses safely.
Then, once they cross the Jordan, they lay siege to Jericho. Jericho was a large city with massive walls. Laying siege to a city could take weeks or months, waiting until the inhabitants finally surrendered. However, God tells his people to march around the city for a week and then yell at the walls. They do what God says and conquer Jericho in a week.
So they saw God perform two amazing miracles. The Israelites didn’t have to do anything but seek out God and then do what he said. He said to have the priests and the Ark walk into the river to stop it, and that’s what they did. God said to take a stroll around Jericho and then yell at the walls, and that’s what they did. After that, though, they stopped seeking after God and stopped doing what he said.
The Israelites got a little arrogant and thought they could conquer Ai with the same ease they conquered Jericho. Instead of seeking after God, they just looked at the numbers. They trusted in their own strength instead of seeking after God. Had they turned to God instead of their own strength, they might have learned that victory couldn’t be theirs because of Achan’s sin.
Then when the Gibeonites deceived the Israelites into making a treaty with them, the Israelites again refused to seek after God. The author of Joshua even says that they didn’t inquire of the Lord. So instead of following God’s command to destroy all the nations in the Promised Land, the Israelites end up making a treaty with the Gibeonites because they didn’t inquire of God.
They’re pride and their laziness kept the Israelites from inquiring of God. They had seen the benefit of doing what God says, yet they didn’t even stop to ask God what he wanted. And this is where I feel better about myself. I mean I don’t always inquire of God for what I should do, but I also didn’t see him stop the Jordan River or knock down Jericho’s walls.
I shouldn’t need to see those miracles to know my need to inquire of God. I’m a relatively smart person, but God is omniscient. He knows everything and he knows what’s best for me. So If I want to know how I should lead my life, the paths I should take or how to be a better husband, then why wouldn’t I inquire of God? For the same reasons the Israelites didn’t: pride and laziness.
Sometimes I don’t think I need God and other times I can’t be bothered to turn to him. But if I don’t want to fall into the same trap as the Israelites, then I need intentionally inquire of God. He cares about my life and everything that I go through; why wouldn’t I want to bring everything to him? And if I do and if I do what he says, then maybe I’ll see my own little miracle.
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