Joshua 7:6 - Meaning and Application

Here we see how deeply Joshua was troubled by this sad event. As a public leader, he cared more than anyone else about this public loss, and he gives princes and great men a good example. He shows them that they should take their people’s troubles to heart. He also points to Christ, whose people are precious to him (Psalm 72:14).

Notice first how Joshua mourned. He tore his clothes (Joshua 7:6), showing deep sorrow for this public disaster, and especially fear of God’s displeasure, which he knew had caused it. If this had been only the normal chance of war, as people often say, a commander would not have been right to collapse like this. But when God was angry, Joshua was right, and honored, to feel it deeply. Even one of the bravest soldiers ever said that his body trembled in fear of God (Psalm 119:120).

Joshua humbled himself under God’s mighty hand and fell on his face to the ground. He did not think it beneath him to lie low before the great God. He kept his eyes toward the ark of the Lord, as a sign of reverence. The elders of Israel, sharing his concern and moved by his example, fell down with him. They put dust on their heads, not only as mourners, but as repentant sinners. They knew God was dealing with them for some sin, though they did not know which one. So they humbled themselves and asked God to stop his anger. They stayed like this until evening, showing that this was not a passing feeling, but a deep sense of danger if God should turn away from them.

Joshua did not lash out at the spies for their wrong report, or at the soldiers for their fear, though both may have had blame. His eyes were on God. If there was trouble in the camp, he knew God had allowed it. What burdened him most was that God seemed displeased.

Notice next how Joshua prayed, or rather pleaded with God. He spoke humbly about the matter, not bitterly or stubbornly, like David when the Lord struck Uzzah down, but with deep feeling. His spirit was shaken, but not so much that he could not pray. By bringing his grief honestly to God, he kept his heart from breaking apart, and that ended well.

First, he wished they had stayed on the other side of the Jordan, in the land of the two tribes and a half (Joshua 7:7). He thought it would have been better to remain there and be cut short than come here and be destroyed. This sounds too much like discontent and distrust, and it cannot be defended. Still, his shock and pain, as one deeply concerned for the whole nation, partly explain it. His words, “Why have you brought us over the Jordan to destroy us?” are very much like the complaints of the murmuring Israelites before (Exodus 14:11-12; Exodus 16:3; Exodus 17:3; Numbers 14:2-3). Yet God, who searches the heart, knew Joshua spoke from another spirit, and so he did not deal strictly with his mistake.

If Joshua had remembered that this trouble probably came from some wrong among them, and that it could still be fixed, as happened many times in Moses’ day, he would not have spoken as if they were already handed over to the Amorites to be destroyed. God understands what he is doing, even when we do not. Still, we can be sure of this, he never does us any wrong.

Second, Joshua spoke as one who did not know what this event meant (Joshua 7:8). He asks, in effect, “What can I say? How can I explain this, when Israel, your own people, for whom you have done such great things, and to whom you promised this land, turn their backs before their enemies?” The word means their necks, that is, they ran away. They did not only flee, but fell before their enemies and became their prey. What, he asks, should people think of God’s power? Has the Lord’s arm grown weak? What should they think of his promise? Is his word dependable or not? What should they think of all he has already done for them? Will it all now be undone and wasted?

God’s ways in providence, his wise rule over events, are often hard to understand. Even the wisest and best people do not always know what to say about them. But they will understand later (John 13:7).

Third, Joshua pleads the danger Israel now faced of being ruined. He assumes the worst: “The Canaanites will surround us and cut us off” (Joshua 7:9). He thinks they will say that Israel’s defense has left them, that the balance has turned against them, and that they will soon be as weak and despised as they once were feared. So he fears they will wipe out Israel’s name from the earth. Good people, when things go badly even for a little while, often fear the worst and draw harder conclusions than they should.

Still, Joshua uses this as a plea: “Lord, do not let Israel’s name, which has been so dear to you and so honored in the world, be destroyed.”

Fourth, he pleads the shame that would come upon God, and the dishonor to God’s glory if Israel were destroyed. He says they will cut off our name, but then almost corrects himself, as if to say that losing their small name would be a small matter. What really troubles him is this: “What will you do for your great name?” He sees this as the greatest weight in the disaster. He fears it will reflect badly on God’s wisdom and power, his goodness and faithfulness. What would the Egyptians say?

Nothing grieves a faithful heart more than dishonor brought on God’s name. Joshua keeps pressing this as his plea for relief and for God’s favor to return. It is the only hopeful word in all his prayer. He ends by leaving everything with God’s honor, like this: Father, glorify your name.

God’s name is great, higher than every other name. Whatever happens, we should trust that he will act for his own glory, and we should pray that he would, so that his name is not shamed. That should matter to us more than anything else. We should keep that goal before us as the end of all our desires, and draw our confidence from it as the ground of all our hope. We cannot make a better plea than this: “Lord, what will you do for your great name?” Let God be glorified in everything, and then we can accept his whole will.