Why Did You Bring Trouble on us? (Joshua 7:25)

 Why Did You Bring Trouble on us? (Joshua 7:25)

How many times, in churches and families and other organizations, has this question been pertinent: “Why Did You Bring this Trouble on us?” Someone lost sight of the big picture. Someone thought only of him/her self. Someone succumbed to temptation. Someone thought that the rules did not apply in their own case.

The question is found in the Bible, in the Book of Joshua, just after the defeat of Jericho. God’s instructions had been clear: “raze the city and all the plunder was to be given to God.” In other words, don’t take anything for yourselves. There would be plenty of time and opportunity for that later.

The victory over Jericho was so easy that they thought the next town would be easier. “Let’s just send a portion of the fighting force against Ai.” And down they went, to defeat. How could this happen? How could God’s blessing, apparent at one moment, be gone the next? The answer was quite simple. There was sin in the camp. There was a troubler in Israel.

And so God directed how the guilty party was to be found. Achan was spotlighted, and he confessed. “I saw and I took,” that old pattern that still holds today. They found the loot under the floor of his tent, and then Achan and his family were buried under a pile of rocks. They called the place “Achor,” which is the Hebrew word for “trouble.” “Why did you bring this trouble on us?”

We’ve all seen it happen enough times that we must have talked to ourselves about it many times over: “Lord, don’t allow me to be the one to bring trouble to this place.” It’s not the most elevated of thoughts. It’s not aspirational. It is not the recipe for leading to greatness.

But since we are all sinners, we know that we each have the seeds in us for any number of sins. Many of those sins could be of a nature to ruin the trust that must exist for families to operate; or to ruin the public testimony of a local church; or, most importantly, to bring shame to the testimony of Christ (“look how those Christians say one thing and do another. They are no different than anyone else”).

So yes, there must be steps of faith that lead us forward, directed by God’s Spirit. And yet there are many warnings, “Watch and pray, that you may not enter into temptation.” And for all the mighty endeavors in the world that begin with fanfare and faith, it only takes one Achan, one trouble, to bring it all crashing down.

 A Kidney and a Pancreas walked into a Church

As you can tell, this is not a post in the “Critical Questions of the Bible” series. We’ll get back to that. But I was thinking …

We are learning a lot about parts of the body that we didn’t even want to know about. Namely, the kidney(s) and pancreas. 

Kidneys have many functions, and they are essential. If they don’t function, then you are going to have problems, big problems. The trouble is, poor kidney function is not readily apparent in a direct way. A person usually does not say, “Oh, my kidneys are out of sorts.” Rather, you might retain fluid and your blood pressure might go up. Filtering will decrease, and you will fill up with toxins.

So what happens when a kidney walks into a church? Well, a lot of good things happen. That person (part of the Body) will contribute in a whole lot of ways, but largely anonymously. We tend to take these people for granted, but we could not be a healthy church without them. We might notice them most when they become ill or are absent. Sometimes that’s a little too late. Let’s thank the Lord for kidneys among us.

When a pancreas walks into a church, it’s a slightly different story. We have been told that the pancreas is the most fragile organ. I thought, “Oh, so handle with care!” But then another medical person called it an “angry” organ. It doesn’t like to be handled. Then I thought, “Oh, let’s keep our distance.” When the pancreas gets “angry” because it has been handled, as happens in a transplant, it shows its displeasure sometimes by secreting digestive enzymes. Those are great in the digestive system, but not outside of it.  There are people who walk into a church fragile and angry, who when handled in a way they do not like, give off destructive enzymes. You’ve met people like that.

And so I had to think, am I more like a kidney or a pancreas? Now maybe you would say that you are neither. You probably think you are the brains of the operation. Well, good for you, but we know that Christ is the Head, so, actually, you are in a lower position. But evaluating myself, I have found that I’ve become more sensitive; more prone to react to criticism; less tolerant. These past couple of years have been very difficult for many people in several ways. Perhaps you can see some changes in yourself as well. And we need to move back to where we once were. We need to “guard our hearts.” We need to be humbled. We need to remember that we are not lords, but servants.

Two other points: one is that the church is a body of believers. The true church as a whole is the Body of Christ, and Christ has only one Body. But it seems that each local church is a local manifestation of that cross-generational and cross-cultural Body. Thus, even in the local church, we have many members who function in different ways. We therefore need one another. Kidneys, feet, eyes - they are all needed. And even an occasional pancreas. We need each other and we need to appreciate each other.

The other point is that we all, those saved by grace, are still sinners, and that we are in a process of becoming more like Jesus. We are not yet what we one day will be. And so we confess and receive forgiveness; and, as God is patient with us, we are patient with one another.

I was talking with a friend whose wife was seriously ill with a very sick liver. She needed a transplant, though doctors doubted that she would live until the transplant date. Then, her liver began to be renewed on its own. On its own? I don’t think so. I’m sure God was doing the renewing. And may we all, whatever parts we may be, experience that kind of renewal.

Who is like You among the gods, O LORD? Who is like You, majestic in holiness, Awesome in praises, working wonders? (Exodus 15:11 NAS95)

“Who is like You among the gods, O LORD? Who is like You, majestic in holiness, Awesome in praises, working wonders?” (Exodus 15:11 NAS95)

There are notable songs in Scripture: Deborah’s song at the defeat of Siserah (Judges 5); Hannah’s song at the birth of Samuel (1 Sam 2); certainly the heavenly songs around the throne as the final defeat of the devil approaches and culminates (Revelation 4,5,15. But one of the greatest songs belongs to Moses after the defeat of Pharaoh at the Red Sea (the story is in Exodus 14; the song in Exodus 15). And in this song, he asks a critical question: “Who is like You among the gods, O LORD?"

Our brains seem to depend on comparisons in order to understand something or to attach appropriate value. So when we come to phrase like “one of a kind,” the first thing we tend to do is compare it with something else. But that’s a bit of a contradiction, because if it is truly “one of a kind,” then it is beyond comparison. It reminds me of when people say, “it’s kind of unique.” No, it’s either unique or it’s not. It’s either “one of a kind,” or it is not.

And so what Moses is saying when he sings this song and asks this question is that our God, the LORD, is one of a kind. He is unique. He is beyond comparison. He is not, then, bigger than …; or stronger than …; or wiser than …  No, His magnitude and strength and wisdom are of a whole different order, so much so that they cannot be compared to mere created monsters or men, galaxies or geniuses. In the Creator department, there is only God. In the created/creature department is all the rest, not to be compared with the Creator.

A person can sing a sweet song to a loved one who is more special in his heart than any other girl. That’s fine, and there are plenty of love songs. But they don’t match this hymn of praise, which includes words like “majestic” and “awesome” and “wonders.” These are the things that truly take our breath away; things that inspire a godly fear; things that truly get our attention and stick with us.

And these truths have practical application. Note this verse: Psa. 35:10 All my bones will say, “LORD, who is like You,Who delivers the afflicted from him who is too strong for him, And the afflicted and the needy from him who robs him?” When we are up against those who, by comparison, out-match us, we look to our God who is out-match-able. And it makes a difference, deep down in our bones. A proper fear  and love of this God will drive out fear of earthly despots, whether they operate on the world stage or whether they live next door. This is the God who never disappoints, because He never suffers in comparison to anyone or anything that is better. He is worthy of our worship, and worthy of our songs.

Perhaps a closing verse will help sum up: Psa. 86:10 For You are great and do wondrous deeds; You alone are God.

Note regarding the picture at the top of page 1: In bicycle racing, the French use a term called “hors catégorie” which designates a mountain route as “beyond classification.” Perhaps we could think of God as “hors catégorie”