DCLM Daily Manna 2023: DCLM Daily Manna 21 January 2024: Holy Withdrawal
KEY VERSE: “Up, sanctify the people, and say, Sanctify yourselves against to morrow: for thus saith the LORD God of Israel, There is an accursed thing in the midst of thee, O Israel: thou canst not stand before thine enemies, until ye take away the accursed thing from among you.”
TEXT: Joshua 7:1-13
But the children of Israel committed a trespass in the accursed thing: for Achan, the son of Carmi, the son of Zabdi, the son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, took of the accursed thing: and the anger of the Lord was kindled against the children of Israel.
2 And Joshua sent men from Jericho to Ai, which is beside Bethaven, on the east of Bethel, and spake unto them, saying, Go up and view the country. And the men went up and viewed Ai.
3 And they returned to Joshua, and said unto him, Let not all the people go up; but let about two or three thousand men go up and smite Ai; and make not all the people to labour thither; for they are but few.
4 So there went up thither of the people about three thousand men: and they fled before the men of Ai.
5 And 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.
6 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.
7 And Joshua said, Alas, O Lord God, wherefore hast thou 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!
8 O Lord, what shall I say, when Israel turneth their backs before their enemies!
9 For the Canaanites and all the inhabitants of the land shall hear of it, and shall environ us round, and cut off our name from the earth: and what wilt thou do unto thy great name?
10 And the Lord said unto Joshua, Get thee up; wherefore liest thou thus upon thy face?
11 Israel hath sinned, and they have also transgressed my covenant which I commanded them: for they have even taken of the accursed thing, and have also stolen, and dissembled also, and they have put it even among their own stuff.
12 Therefore the children of Israel could not stand before their enemies, but turned their backs before their enemies, because they were accursed: neither will I be with you any more, except ye destroy the accursed from among you.
13 Up, sanctify the people, and say, Sanctify yourselves against to morrow: for thus saith the Lord God of Israel, There is an accursed thing in the midst of thee, O Israel: thou canst not stand before thine enemies, until ye take away the accursed thing from among you.
Stephen M. Miller in his book, The Complete Guide to the Bible, says, “Right after wiping Jericho off the map, the seemingly unstoppable Israelites were stopped by a tiny contingent of militia, from a tiny town, with a tiny name: Ai.”
Today’s passage reveals how one man’s sin caused the defeat of a whole nation through a very small and seemingly insignificant people. Before then, Israel had defeated Jericho, a very powerful nation with very tall and fortified walls. God had given them the instructions not to take to themselves anything unapproved by Him. But unknown to Joshua and other leaders, Achan had taken some booty out of the city and hidden them in his tent. Joshua and the elders, without consulting God, launched a battle against Ai with a small number of troops. They were stunningly defeated. They prayed and wept before the Lord to know the reasons for this set back. In answer to their prayers, God revealed to them that someone had brought accursed things into the camp, forcing Him to withdraw from them.
When God withdraws from the life of an individual, family church or nation, the problems that would ensue may include death. For example, some of the soldiers of Israel were killed When God withdraws, Satan will inevitably take over. Until the source of the problems is identified and removed, the defeat will persist.
Joshua did not sit on the fence and blame God or the people. He identified the problem and then prayed. He dealt with the cause of the sin and received directives from God on how to be restored to full fellowship with Him. Do you sense God’s withdrawal? Then you must search your life to find out what went wrong.
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY: The more distance you maintain from God, the nearer you are to the devil.
BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Acts 15-17
Thank you for studying today’s Daily Manna – Holy Withdrawal – by Pastor W.F Kumuyi
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Daily Manna 21 January 2024
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