Joshua, Chapter 7 - Rise After Defeat | Prophets of Israel

[music] >> Shalom and welcome to the Prophets of Israel daily. This is Joshua chapter 7 brought to you by the Land of Israel network at the landofisrael.com. [music] Okay. Imagine you're standing in the stillness of early morning at the edge of a battlefield. The dust of victory from Jericho hasn't even settled yet. The echoes of the shofar are still fresh in your ears. You watched fortified walls collapse without a single weapon. You're part of a people who just witnessed open miracles. You crossed the Jordan River on dry land. You're the presence of God feels tangible. Victory feels inevitable. Destiny is certain and then suddenly everything unravels. You prepare for the next battle. Uh it's a small city called Ai. Nothing compared to Jericho. Just a minor obstacle on the road to national destiny. Your commanders even say in verse 3, "Not all the troops need to go up. Let two or three thousand men go and attack Ai. Do not trouble all the troops to go up there for the people there are few. Send only a few thousand soldiers. This will be easy." That's directly from the verse. That is the translation of the It's a layup. And then the unthinkable happens. The army of Israel runs. Soldiers fall. Hearts melt. The nation trembles. How could the people who saw the sea split, the Jordan stop, the walls of Jericho collapse suddenly face defeat by such a small adversary, too? That emotional shock is where Joshua chapter 7 begins. It's one of the most sobering, honest, and I think spiritually piercing chapters in the entire conquest of the land. You know, I really agree. This is really the first failure in the land of Israel. And in that way, the Bible is so beautiful. Every other ancient national text, every record of every almost every king, they only record their victories. They constantly paint the king or the nation as this unrivaled hero, this heroic nation, because that was the legacy they wanted to leave. But Israel is God's legacy for the world. And he wanted to teach the world that everyone messes up. Everyone will fall, but you can always get up, do teshuvah, repent, take responsibility, and keep going. And so Israel's first true military test wasn't Jericho. Jericho was a miracle. Ai was the first battle that required real military action, and it's exactly there where Israel falls. And like we've said, Israel is transitioning away from miracles and entering into a life of providence. And here we're given a key to a life of providence, spiritual integrity. It's not enough to have a strong army or brilliant strategy. It's not enough to be powerful, advanced, or even prepared. If your life is not rooted in truth and goodness and God, your strength is not going to save you. I mean, look at October 7th. Internally, Israel was ripping itself apart. Integrity, we were literally disintegrating. And so we saw the greatest intelligence, the most sophisticated security agencies with the technologies and a bunch of pickup trucks, terrorists with sandals, defiled Israel in a way that hasn't been seen since the Holocaust. And so when Hashem stops carrying us openly, he asks us to walk honestly. And the most important ingredient for your relationship with Hashem is integrity. That's right. I mean, the the chapter opens exposing a glaring lack of that very honesty and integrity that Israel so badly needs that Jeremy so beautifully just said right now. Verse 1. The malu bene Israel maal baherem, but the children of Israel committed a trespass regarding the sanctified things. Achan, son of Carmi, son of Zabdi, son of Zerah from the tribe of Judah, took from the forbidden items and the anger of the Lord burned against the children of Israel. Right? One man sinned, but the verse says the entire nation trespassed. This is one of the the most uncomfortable and profound teachings of Jewish destiny. We learn it again and again. We are not merely individuals sharing a religion. We are a single living national organism. The spiritual actions of one Jew affect the entire body of Israel. Just like a small infection in one limb can endanger the entire body, one spiritual transgression can ripple through the entire nation. Right? So Joshua sends scouts to Ai. They return confident. But the battle collapses. 36 soldiers fall. The army retreats in panic. And Joshua, the fearless general who led the crossing of the Jordan, falls to the ground in despair. Vayikra Yehoshua simlatav vayipol panav, Joshua tore his garments and fell on his face to the ground before the ark of the Lord. Joshua is shattered. He cries out to God. He even wonders if entering the land itself was a mistake. The moment is is it's stunning. Right? Leadership here is not heroic bravado. It is vulnerability. It's responsibility and and brokenness. There's no other way to describe Joshua. He's devastated. He's broken. And God's response is sharp and direct. And we've heard it before. Kum lecha. Lama ze atah nofel al panekha? Rise up. Why are you fallen on your face? Israel has sinned. There are moments when prayer alone is not enough. Sometimes spiritual crisis demands courageous action, moral clarity, and national introspection. And this was a time for that. Right? Through a dramatic process of elimination, tribe by tribe, family by family, Achan is revealed. And when confronted, he confesses. Right? He doesn't really have a choice. Vaeira bashalal aderet shinar. It says, "I saw among the spoils a beautiful Babylonian garment, 200 shekels of silver, and a bar of gold weighing 50 shekels. I desired them and took them." Let's try verse 21. Notice the language. I saw. I desired. I took. It's the exact same spiritual sequence we were we first encounter in the Garden of Eden. Sight, desire, grasping because the Torah is teaching us something timeless. The greatest threats to redemption are not only the enemies outside us, but the temptation within us, within our own hearts. And maybe there's something even deeper happening here. I was I wasn't even sure where that I was going to go here, but it's just so hard not to. Perhaps the Land of Israel itself is meant to function as a kind of return to Eden. Right? Humanity was exiled from the garden. And history ever since has been the long road back. And the return of the nation of Israel to the land of Israel may not just be a national story. It may be the first stage of humanity's journey back towards the garden itself. Which means the tests we face here are not random. These are Eden-level tests because this is Eden-level responsibility. But that may be a conversation for another time. Perhaps deeper than we have fully time to step into right now. Anyways, >> [clears throat] >> Achan hides the stolen items beneath his tent, literally burying spiritual betrayal. Right? Just burying it right there in his tent beneath the surface of of national life. He's bearing that betrayal. The consequences are severe. Achan is judged and executed. I mean, this wasn't ordinary theft. It was a covenant breach at the very first moment Israel entered the land. This was treason against a holy wartime covenant. And 36 soldiers of Israel died because of it. The Valley of Achor, the Valley of trouble, becomes a national warning marker. The chapter ends with a haunting but redemptive closure as divine anger subsides and Israel is prepared to move forward again. Now, this chapter is uncomfortable, but it's also deeply hopeful because it teaches that redemption is not a straight line. Even after miracles, there are setbacks. Even after entering the land, there are moral tests. As we're starting to see again and again, the conquest of the Land of Israel is not merely military conquest. It's spiritual refinement. And when we zoom out, the parallels to modern Israel are breathtaking. Jeremy touched on it a little bit, you know, but think about it. We, too, returned to the land after generations of exile. We witnessed open miracles, survival against impossible odds, agricultural revival in barren soil, the rebirth of the Hebrew language, the ingathering of the exiles from the four corners of the world. But like in Joshua's time, national success does not exempt us from spiritual responsibility. Right? Despite all of that, we have fallen on our face again and again. Sometimes our greatest vulnerabilities are not external threats, but [clears throat] internal disunity, material distraction, or forgetting that sovereignty in the land carries this real accountability. There's an ancient teaching that when Israel lives outside the land, Judaism becomes fragmented into individual practice. But when the Jewish people return home, Judaism becomes national and holistic and alive. It's not even an ism anymore. Right? It's alive in every field, in every army base, in every vineyard, in every government decision. Living in the land magnifies both our light and our responsibility to ourselves and to the world. So Joshua 7 reminds us that setbacks are not a sign of failure. They're invitations to refine ourselves so redemption can continue with greater integrity and clarity. So today the valley of trouble can become the doorway of hope. I love that. The valley that is our current trouble can become the doorway of just as later prophets describe the that that very valley transforming into a place of renewal. We're witnessing history moving in that same direction. The Jewish people are rising. The land is flourishing. The story is unfolding. And the question this chapter asks each of us is a is a is a really a personal one that we have to do our own personal introspection. Right? And national at the same time. What are we carrying beneath the surface of our tents that may be holding back the next stage of redemption? Because redemption is not only something that we wait for, it's something that we participate in. It's something that we build together through courage and honesty and love for the destiny that we're privileged to live inside right now in these days. Jeremy, at this point is there anything you want to share here? Yeah, you know, as I read the prophets, I'm always asking myself one question. How does this prophecy speak to us today? And I think the two-year war in Israel has just had a profound [laughter] effect on the spiritual development of Israel. The challenge forced people to ask themselves, why did the cousins attack us on October 7th? Why are the Houthis in Yemen, the Hezbollah in Lebanon, the Ayatollah in Iran, why are they trying to kill us? It's like the hardships, the challenges of war, they've actually been a catalyst for our return. I mean, already calls it I believe the war was like a defibrillator, charging us and bringing us back to life and back to ourselves. And I feel like this first battle and the first fall at Ai speaks loudly to us today cuz in those days at this time, we don't blame God, we don't curse our fate, we go inside. We take responsibility. We try to be better, fix what needs to be fixed, and we get stronger. And that's really the essence of the message of the prophets. And and maybe that's the deepest takeaway of Joshua chapter 7. The story of Israel is not the story of a perfect people by any means. It's the story of a people who fall and then rise. Right? Who stray and then return. Because the covenant was never built on perfection, it was built on responsibility. Right? Kol Yisrael arevim zeh lazeh. All of Israel is bound together. We're interconnected. Not not only in punishment, but in destiny. Right? It's not just an issue of what we fail together, but we're also redeemed together. We're in this thing together. And I know this can be, you know, hard to hear, especially through the lens of modern Western individualism. Right? But our unity runs deeper than we can ever fully grasp. We're not just individuals standing side by side. We are one living story. We're one shared soul moving through history together. And that means something extraordinary for us, you know, alive living this story today. If one hidden act can weaken the entire nation, then one act of courage and faith can strengthen it. Right? If one moment of selfishness can delay redemption, then one moment of honesty and selflessness can accelerate it. Right? Joshua chapter 7 teaches us that the road into the land was never meant to be smooth. It was meant to shape us into a people worthy of carrying the presence of God inside history. And and maybe that's why God tells Joshua, kum l'cha, rise, get up. You don't have the luxury of staying broken or remaining in despair. Rise up, God tells Joshua. And when God tells you to rise, you rise. And my friends, I believe God is telling us to rise right now. We don't have the luxury of brokenness or despair because the mission isn't over. If anything, it's only just beginning. And every single one of us has a role to play, a real one, an indispensable one. If we didn't, we wouldn't be here. Not in this generation, not in this moment, not walking this story together. So whatever setbacks stand before us right now, they're not roadblocks, they're invitations. Each one is a chance to overcome and to refine ourselves and to become worthy of the great opportunity that lies before us. Because redemption doesn't stop when we stumble. Redemption advances through growth and refinement. And that message isn't ancient history, it's alive right now in Judea, in Israel, and in the hearts of everyone walking this journey with us around the world. So wherever you're joining us from today, Joshua chapter 7 leaves us with one simple question. What is one thing I can elevate, one truth I can face, one step of integrity that I can take that moves the story of Israel and the story of my own life one step closer to its destiny? Because the next chapter is already waiting. It's already waiting. And tomorrow, Israel rises again. Chazak u'baruch, my friends. B'ezrat Hashem, we will see you all tomorrow as we dive into chapter 8 with Jeremy. >> [music]