SoJourn: You Can't Touch This!

Wednesday, August 6, 2008

You Can't Touch This!

And you, by all means abstain from the accursed things, lest you become accursed when you take of the accursed things, and make the camp of Israel a curse, and trouble it. Joshua 6:18 NKJV

There are countless ways to look at this verse and the events that surrounded it; In the next few days, I want to explore two of them.

The verse contains a small directive that came in the midst of a lot of big events. The Hebrews were taking the first city in the renowned Promised Land and God was directing the battle in a nifty way!

Someone said - in war, you kill people and break things.

They were going to do just that. God told them to completely destroy the city and it's inhabitants (with the exception of one family that you should really read about!)and all their stuff. But why?

I think it was because He knew that if they adopted the lifestyles of those Jerichoans (?) it would be detrimental to the Hebrews.

I further think that God - Who never wastes words or events - had some lessons for those of us that would read these stories centuries later. Lessons about how to deal with things in our own lives and things in the world that are ultimately harmful to us and to our relationship with Him and with those around us.

In this perspective I'll call these harmful things - accursed things.

Accursed things referred to the "stuff" - the paraphernalia from that pagan town. In fact, if you read Joshua 7, you will read about a guy named Achan that didn't obey. He took accursed things: some gold, some silver -and a nice sport coat. And it wrought havoc in the nation.

So the accursed things could have been ordinary trinkets; but God said leave them alone this time.

God did prescribe a use for some of the accursed thing, some of the silver, some of the gold; it was to go into the treasury of the tabernacle (the "church" of that day).

A cynical person might say that God was just keeping these riches from the people and enriching Himself . That is, until that cynical person realized that God really doesn't need riches since He made them all and can make more if He wanted.

That same cynical person might also remember that these Israelites were former slaves and had had no riches of their own. Yet back during their wilderness travels they gave so much gold, silver and precious jewels into the treasury of the tabernacle, that at one point Moses had to raise his hands and say "No MAS!" - enough already!

How did they come to have such vast amounts of loot? God had supplied it to them when He gave them favor in the sight of the Egyptians. It seems as if the Egyptian people just couldn't pile enough jewelry and wealth on those former slaves as they were walking out of the gates of the city.

So the treasures were of no consequence to God. Then why would He withhold them from these people? At other times, in different battles, God would allow the warriors to enrich themselves with the spoils of war. But not this time.

I think God was saying to them - just as He says to us sometimes - not "No, not ever" - just "No, not now".

God says:

Not now
Not here
Not at this level of maturity

When I was in the sixth grade at Westview Middle School in Morristown, TN, there was a kid in the eighth grade who had an artificial leg. His leg had been amputated from the knee down. The legend was that his grandfather had let him plow with a motorized tiller when he was too young and he somehow got his leg caught in it.

Not now; not at this level of maturity.

I read a news story from the ABC News affiliate in Memphis, TN over the weekend: a 13 year old boy had apparently cased out two automobile dealerships and when he was asked to leave the premises of one, he left in one of their 2008 Dodge Magnums. A chased ensued and ended when he struck a police officer and crashed into another vehicle.

Not here; not at this level of maturity.

Driving a car is fine when you are mature enough to handle it - say 35. Plowing is a great idea when your body and mind are at the point of being able to handle the tiller.

What does God seem to be withholding from you right now?

You know, that was the line of argument the serpent presented to Adam and Eve when he tempted them in the garden of Eden... remember he said: "God's holding out on you... if you eat this fruit - He knows you will be as smart as He is."

Are others passing you by and do you wonder why God doesn't accelerate your growth or fulfill your dreams the way He seems to be doing for others?

Perhaps God is just saying: "not now, not here, not at this level of maturity" .

So the first thing I hope to learn here is that God is not trying to keep something back from me, but rather is just saving it until I am ready - mature enough - to handle them.

The proverb says, He makes all things beautiful in His time.

Stay tuned for a different angle on Joshua 6:18.