◄ Joshua 7:8 ►
O Lord, what can I say, now that Israel has turned its back and run from its enemies?
Study Bible
O Lord
This phrase is a direct address to God, indicating a personal and intimate relationship. The Hebrew word used here is "Yahweh," the covenant name of God, which signifies His eternal presence and faithfulness. Joshua's invocation of "O Lord" reflects a deep reliance on God's sovereignty and a recognition of His ultimate authority over Israel's fate. In times of distress, calling upon the Lord is a demonstration of faith and acknowledgment of His power to intervene.

what can I say
This expression reveals Joshua's bewilderment and desperation. The Hebrew root "amar" (to say) implies not just speaking but also expressing one's thoughts and emotions. Joshua is at a loss for words, highlighting the gravity of the situation. This phrase underscores the importance of seeking divine wisdom when human understanding falls short, reminding believers that God's perspective is essential in times of crisis.

now that Israel has turned its back
The imagery of turning one's back is significant in the Hebrew context, symbolizing retreat and shame. The phrase suggests a failure to uphold the covenantal promise of victory over enemies. Historically, Israel's military success was contingent upon their obedience to God. This turning away is not just a physical retreat but a spiritual one, indicating a breach in their relationship with God. It serves as a cautionary reminder of the consequences of disobedience and the need for repentance.

and run from its enemies
The act of running from enemies is a stark contrast to the expected triumph promised by God. The Hebrew word "nus" (to flee) conveys a sense of panic and defeat. This phrase highlights the reversal of Israel's fortunes due to sin within the camp, specifically Achan's transgression. It serves as a powerful lesson on the impact of individual sin on the community and the necessity of holiness and unity in the pursuit of God's promises.

Persons / Places / Events
1. Joshua
The leader of Israel after Moses, tasked with leading the Israelites into the Promised Land. In this verse, he is expressing his distress and confusion to God after a military defeat.

2. Israel
The nation chosen by God, consisting of the descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. They are in the process of conquering the Promised Land but have just suffered a setback at Ai.

3. Ai
A city in Canaan where the Israelites faced a surprising defeat due to disobedience within their ranks.

4. Achan
Although not mentioned directly in this verse, Achan's sin of taking forbidden items from Jericho is the underlying cause of Israel's defeat at Ai.

5. The Lord (Yahweh)
The covenant God of Israel, to whom Joshua is praying for guidance and understanding.
Teaching Points
The Consequences of Sin
Sin has communal consequences, affecting not just the individual but the entire community. Achan's sin led to Israel's defeat.

The Importance of Obedience
Obedience to God's commands is crucial for success. Disobedience leads to failure and separation from God's blessings.

Seeking God in Times of Trouble
Like Joshua, we should turn to God in prayer when facing difficulties, seeking His guidance and understanding.

The Need for Repentance
Acknowledging and repenting of sin is necessary to restore our relationship with God and regain His favor.

God's Faithfulness Despite Our Failures
Even when we fail, God remains faithful and provides a way for restoration and victory.
Bible Study Questions
1. What does Joshua's reaction in this verse teach us about how to respond to unexpected setbacks in our lives?

2. How does the account of Achan and the defeat at Ai illustrate the communal impact of individual sin? Can you think of a New Testament example that parallels this?

3. In what ways can we ensure that we are obedient to God's commands in our daily lives, and what are the potential consequences of disobedience?

4. How can we apply Joshua's example of seeking God in prayer during times of trouble to our own lives?

5. Reflect on a time when you experienced a setback. How did you see God's faithfulness in that situation, and what steps did you take to seek His guidance and restoration?
Connections to Other Scriptures
Deuteronomy 28
This chapter outlines the blessings for obedience and curses for disobedience, providing context for Israel's defeat due to Achan's sin.

1 Samuel 4
The defeat of Israel by the Philistines when they took the Ark of the Covenant into battle without seeking God's guidance, similar to the presumption seen in Joshua 7.

Psalm 44
A communal lament where Israel questions why God has allowed them to be defeated, echoing Joshua's plea.

Romans 6:23
The principle that sin leads to death and defeat, which is evident in the consequences faced by Israel due to Achan's sin.
Sermons
Deep AfflictionA. B. Mackay.Joshua 7:6-9
Joshua's Plea Before the ArkW. Seaton.Joshua 7:6-9
People
Achan, Amorites, Canaanites, Carmi, Israelites, Joshua, Zabdi, Zarhites, Zerah, Zerahites, Zimri
Places
Ai, Beth-aven, Bethel, Jericho, Jordan River, Shebarim, Shinar, Valley of Achor
Topics
Ah, Attackers, Backs, Enemies, Neck, O, Oh, Routed, Turn, Turneth
Dictionary of Bible Themes
Joshua 7:8

     1230   God, the Lord

Joshua 7:1-16

     6024   sin, effects of

Joshua 7:1-26

     6173   guilt, and God
     8479   self-examination, examples

Joshua 7:7-8

     8726   doubters

Joshua 7:7-9

     8605   prayer, and God's will

Library
Achan's Sin, Israel's Defeat
'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 Beth-aven, on the east side of Beth-ei, 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 …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

Whether one Can, Without a Mortal Sin, Deny the Truth which Would Lead to One's Condemnation?
Objection 1: It would seem one can, without a mortal sin, deny the truth which would lead to one's condemnation. For Chrysostom says (Hom. xxxi super Ep. ad Heb.): "I do not say that you should lay bare your guilt publicly, nor accuse yourself before others." Now if the accused were to confess the truth in court, he would lay bare his guilt and be his own accuser. Therefore he is not bound to tell the truth: and so he does not sin mortally if he tell a lie in court. Objection 2: Further, just as …
Saint Thomas Aquinas—Summa Theologica

Contention Over the Man Born Blind.
(Jerusalem.) ^D John IX. 1-41. [Some look upon the events in this and the next section as occurring at the Feast of Tabernacles in October, others think they occurred at the Feast of Dedication in December, deriving their point of time from John x. 22.] ^d 1 And as he passed by, he saw a man blind from his birth. [The man probably sought to waken compassion by repeatedly stating this fact to passers-by.] 2 And his disciples asked him, saying, Rabbi, who sinned, this man, or his parents, that he should …
J. W. McGarvey—The Four-Fold Gospel

The Eighth Commandment
Thou shalt not steal.' Exod 20: 15. AS the holiness of God sets him against uncleanness, in the command Thou shalt not commit adultery;' so the justice of God sets him against rapine and robbery, in the command, Thou shalt not steal.' The thing forbidden in this commandment, is meddling with another man's property. The civil lawyers define furtum, stealth or theft to be the laying hands unjustly on that which is another's;' the invading another's right. I. The causes of theft. [1] The internal causes …
Thomas Watson—The Ten Commandments

Confession of Sin --A Sermon with Seven Texts
The Hardened Sinner. PHARAOH--"I have sinned."--Exodus 9:27. I. The first case I shall bring before you is that of the HARDENED SINNER, who, when under terror, says, "I have sinned." And you will find the text in the book of Exodus, the 9th chap. and 27th verse: "And Pharaoh sent, and called for Moses and Aaron, and said unto them, I have sinned this time: the Lord is righteous, and I and my people are wicked." But why this confession from the lips of the haughty tyrant? He was not often wont to …
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 3: 1857

Restraining Prayer: is it Sin?
"Thou restrainest prayer before God."--JOB xv. 4. "What profit should we have, if we pray unto Him?"--JOB xxi. 15. "God forbid that I should sin against the Lord in ceasing to pray for you."--1 SAM. xii. 23. "Neither will I be with you any more, except ye destroy the accursed from among you."--JOSH. vii. 12. Any deep quickening of the spiritual life of the Church will always be accompanied by a deeper sense of sin. This will not begin with theology; that can only give expression to what God works …
Andrew Murray—The Ministry of Intercession

The Practice of Piety in Glorifying God in the Time of Sickness, and when Thou Art Called to Die in the Lord.
As soon as thou perceivest thyself to be visited with any sickness, meditate with thyself: 1. That "misery cometh not forth of the dust; neither doth affliction spring out of the earth." Sickness comes not by hap or chance (as the Philistines supposed that their mice and emrods came, 1 Sam. vi. 9), but from man's wickedness, which, as sparkles, breaketh out. "Man suffereth," saith Jeremiah, "for his sins." "Fools," saith David, "by reason of their transgressions, and because of their iniquities, …
Lewis Bayly—The Practice of Piety

Exposition of the Moral Law.
1. The Law was committed to writing, in order that it might teach more fully and perfectly that knowledge, both of God and of ourselves, which the law of nature teaches meagrely and obscurely. Proof of this, from an enumeration of the principal parts of the Moral Law; and also from the dictate of natural law, written on the hearts of all, and, in a manner, effaced by sin. 2. Certain general maxims. 1. From the knowledge of God, furnished by the Law, we learn that God is our Father and Ruler. Righteousness …
John Calvin—The Institutes of the Christian Religion

Of a Private Fast.
That we may rightly perform a private fast, four things are to be observed:--First, The author; Secondly, The time and occasion; Thirdly, The manner; Fourthly, The ends of private fasting. 1. Of the Author. The first that ordained fasting was God himself in paradise; and it was the first law that God made, in commanding Adam to abstain from eating the forbidden fruit. God would not pronounce nor write his law without fasting (Lev. xxiii), and in his law commands all his people to fast. So does our …
Lewis Bayly—The Practice of Piety

The Knowledge of God
'The Lord is a God of knowledge, and by him actions are weighed.' I Sam 2:2. Glorious things are spoken of God; he transcends our thoughts, and the praises of angels. God's glory lies chiefly in his attributes, which are the several beams by which the divine nature shines forth. Among other of his orient excellencies, this is not the least, The Lord is a God of knowledge; or as the Hebrew word is, A God of knowledges.' Through the bright mirror of his own essence, he has a full idea and cognisance …
Thomas Watson—A Body of Divinity

Beth-El. Beth-Aven.
Josephus thus describes the land of Benjamin; "The Benjamites' portion of land was from the river Jordan to the sea, in length: in breadth, it was bounded by Jerusalem and Beth-el." Let these last words be marked, "The breadth of the land of Benjamin was bounded by Jerusalem and Beth-el." May we not justly conclude, from these words, that Jerusalem and Beth-el were opposite, as it were, in a right line? But if you look upon the maps, there are some that separate these by a very large tract of land, …
John Lightfoot—From the Talmud and Hebraica

The Covenant of Works
Q-12: I proceed to the next question, WHAT SPECIAL ACT OF PROVIDENCE DID GOD EXERCISE TOWARDS MAN IN THE ESTATE WHEREIN HE WAS CREATED? A: When God had created man, he entered into a covenant of life with him upon condition of perfect obedience, forbidding him to eat of the tree of knowledge upon pain of death. For this, consult with Gen 2:16, 17: And the Lord commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt …
Thomas Watson—A Body of Divinity

The Holiness of God
The next attribute is God's holiness. Exod 15:51. Glorious in holiness.' Holiness is the most sparkling jewel of his crown; it is the name by which God is known. Psa 111:1. Holy and reverend is his name.' He is the holy One.' Job 6:60. Seraphims cry, Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts, the whole earth is full of his glory.' Isa 6:6. His power makes him mighty, his holiness makes him glorious. God's holiness consists in his perfect love of righteousness, and abhorrence of evil. Of purer eyes than …
Thomas Watson—A Body of Divinity

Second Great Group of Parables.
(Probably in Peræa.) Subdivision F. Parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus. ^C Luke XVI. 19-31. [The parable we are about to study is a direct advance upon the thoughts in the previous section. We may say generally that if the parable of the unjust steward teaches how riches are to be used, this parable sets forth the terrible consequences of a failure to so use them. Each point of the previous discourse is covered in detail, as will be shown by the references in the discussion of the parable.] …
J. W. McGarvey—The Four-Fold Gospel

Joshua
The book of Joshua is the natural complement of the Pentateuch. Moses is dead, but the people are on the verge of the promised land, and the story of early Israel would be incomplete, did it not record the conquest of that land and her establishment upon it. The divine purpose moves restlessly on, until it is accomplished; so "after the death of Moses, Jehovah spake to Joshua," i. 1. The book falls naturally into three divisions: (a) the conquest of Canaan (i.-xii.), (b) the settlement of the …
John Edgar McFadyen—Introduction to the Old Testament

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