God can be seen to act when we obey him together

Every day we're reading or listening to part of the Bible together and sharing thoughts with you. Today it’s Bern Leckie:

What did I like about today’s passage?

I love how clearly God is at work in partnership with his people here. The process God gives people to follow before the walls of Jericho collapse sounds much more like a religious ritual than a strategically planned attack.

I wonder how the army felt when they were doing their daily quiet, ceremonial march around the city – were they being useful? They knew they were obeying simple instructions from God, but was their faith building that God would act?

I wonder how much jeering and abuse they picked up from Jericho’s watchmen at the city walls. Why walk and not fight? Were they any good at being soldiers? They must have looked all kinds of weird. Even if the people of Jericho were afraid of the Lord, did they get a little comfort every day they saw his army seem to leave them alone?

I love that God breaks the apparent deadlock on the seventh day with seven priests and seven trumpets. This has the divine stamp of God’s special number on his holy day all over it. No-one thought the wall fell by accident. The people who obeyed, anticipated and waited for God were all ready to give him credit when they saw him act.

Contrast that with people’s despair when Achan’s disobedience leads to widespread loss and death. Is it fair that people suffer for something which is not their fault? God is treating Israel as a body which shares responsibility. If there is blessing, it is everyone’s blessing, and if there is a problem, it is everyone’s problem. This isn’t always how we see things today. From my individualist viewpoint, it seems unfair, but I can see how God’s way of treating his people helped to bring a nation together to reflect his glory and deploy his power.

What did it show me about Father God, Jesus or the Holy Spirit?

God wants to be known so that people can partner with him and share in the good things that happen as his kingdom is established. When people listen and obey, God can be seen to act, sometimes in ways which seem to make no sense humanly. God also knows that we don’t always obey as our motives are mixed. So he gave standing instructions for people’s discipline and renewal through religious laws until we could discover new life in Jesus.

What am I going to do differently as a result?

I need to review where I get my sense of what God wants and how obedient I am. Sometimes I think I’m not as content as I should be to follow God’s instructions to wait. I want God to be recognised as he works in me, so I should be more willing to take the faith risk of waiting and not acting in my own strength when he seems to call for this.

Who am I going to share this with?

I will pray more with some of the people I’ve been talking with about projects and action.