CAC LIVING WATER A THOROUGH SEARCH

LIVING WATER DAILY DEVOTIONAL

A THOROUGH SEARCH

6^TH JANUARY, 2022

EXTRA READING FOR TODAY: Genesis 18-20

READ: Joshua 7:1-26

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.
And Joshua sent men from Jericho to Ai, which is beside Bethaven, on the east side of Bethel, and spake unto them, saying, Go up and view the country. And the men went up and viewed Ai.
And they returned to Joshua, and said unto him, Let not all the people go up; but let about two or three thousand men go up and smite Ai; and make not all the people to labour thither; for they are but few.
So there went up thither of the people about three thousand men: and they fled before the men of Ai.

And the men of Ai smote of them about thirty and six men: for they chased them from before the gate even unto Shebarim, and smote them in the going down: wherefore the hearts of the people melted, and became as water.
And Joshua rent his clothes, and fell to the earth upon his face before the ark of the LORD until the eventide, he and the elders of Israel, and put dust upon their heads.
And Joshua said, Alas, O Lord GOD, wherefore hast thou at all brought this people over Jordan, to deliver us into the hand of the Amorites, to destroy us? would to God we had been content, and dwelt on the other side Jordan!
O Lord, what shall I say, when Israel turneth their backs before their enemies!
For the Canaanites and all the inhabitants of the land shall hear of it, and shall environ us round, and cut off our name from the earth: and what wilt thou do unto thy great name?
And the LORD said unto Joshua, Get thee up; wherefore liest thou thus upon thy face?
Israel hath sinned, and they have also transgressed my covenant which I commanded them: for they have even taken of the accursed thing, and have also stolen, and dissembled also, and they have put it even among their own stuff.
Therefore the children of Israel could not stand before their enemies, but turned their backs before their enemies, because they were accursed: neither will I be with you any more, except ye destroy the accursed from among you.
Up, sanctify the people, and say, Sanctify yourselves against to morrow: for thus saith the LORD God of Israel, There is an accursed thing in the midst of thee, O Israel: thou canst not stand before thine enemies, until ye take away the accursed thing from among you.
In the morning therefore ye shall be brought according to your tribes: and it shall be, that the tribe which the LORD taketh shall come according to the families thereof; and the family which the LORD shall take shall come by households; and the household which the LORD shall take shall come man by man.
And it shall be, that he that is taken with the accursed thing shall be burnt with fire, he and all that he hath: because he hath transgressed the covenant of the LORD, and because he hath wrought folly in Israel.
So Joshua rose up early in the morning, and brought Israel by their tribes; and the tribe of Judah was taken:
And he brought the family of Judah; and he took the family of the Zarhites: and he brought the family of the Zarhites man by man; and Zabdi was taken:
And he brought his household man by man; and Achan, the son of Carmi, the son of Zabdi, the son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, was taken.
And Joshua said unto Achan, My son, give, I pray thee, glory to the LORD God of Israel, and make confession unto him; and tell me now what thou hast done; hide it not from me.
And Achan answered Joshua, and said, Indeed I have sinned against the LORD God of Israel, and thus and thus have I done:
When I saw among the spoils a goodly Babylonish garment, and two hundred shekels of silver, and a wedge of gold of fifty shekels weight, then I coveted them, and took them; and, behold, they are hid in the earth in the midst of my tent, and the silver under it.
So Joshua sent messengers, and they ran unto the tent; and, behold, it was hid in his tent, and the silver under it.
And they took them out of the midst of the tent, and brought them unto Joshua, and unto all the children of Israel, and laid them out before the LORD.
And Joshua, and all Israel with him, took Achan the son of Zerah, and the silver, and the garment, and the wedge of gold, and his sons, and his daughters, and his oxen, and his asses, and his sheep, and his tent, and all that he had: and they brought them unto the valley of Achor.
And Joshua said, Why hast thou troubled us? the LORD shall trouble thee this day. And all Israel stoned him with stones, and burned them with fire, after they had stoned them with stones.
And they raised over him a great heap of stones unto this day. So the LORD turned from the fierceness of his anger.

Wherefore the name of that place was called, The valley of Achor, unto this day.

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MEMORISE: O LORD, what shall I say when Israel turns its back before its enemies? (Joshua 7:8 ).

EXPOSITION

When things fail to be in the way they ought to be, there will be suspicion that something is definitely wrong somewhere and sensitive stakeholders will commence finding solution to the situation. There is a popular proverb in Yorubaland, which is translated thus, if the dog that wags its tail at its owner suddenly starts barking at him, there is definitely a cause for alarm! It therefore implies that if you fail to realise the normal usual result of embarking on a course of action, something is not right somewhere! It is wise therefore to look for reasons that has to be!

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The Israelites, under the leadership of Joshua, were on their way to The Promised Land when they had to defeat Ai, shortly after their God-given heroics concerning the walls of Jericho (Josh. 6:20). The battle with the 'infinitesimal country ought to be a walk over, for it was a very small country compared to those they had faced and defeated. However, Israel failed before Ai as their men fell terribly before the uncircumcised! What was wrong? Thank God for a sensitive and spiritual leader like Joshua. At once, the responsive leader commenced seeking God's face because he knew they should not have lost to Ai, of all countries! Joshua's timely digging deep on the matter produced positive result as Achan, their troubler and causer of disaffection, was exposed and expunged on time! (vv. 24-25).

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What a sensitivity! Are you like this? Are you not too relaxed, unbothered and complacent? Some say there is no answer to the question the Psalmist asks in 11:3 "If the foundations are destroyed what shall the righteous do?" The answer is that the righteous has to respond by delving or digging deep into the faulty foundations. There has to be thorough search through timely fasting and prayer with action. The action or step next to the prayer and fasting is to carry out research on the problem. Some of us do not just care to ask questions concerning certain things that continue to happen in our lives! If you don't ask the right question at the right time, you won't get to the root of the matter. You must henceforth refuse to allow abnormal things to continue as normal things in your life, home, ministry and business without asking questions with the a view to finding a lasting solution. May every "Achan" in the camp of your life be exposed on time, even as you take proactive measures. Stay victorious, in Jesus name.

PRAYER POINT:

1. Lord, search me through and help me to make necessary amends.
2. Lord, help me to be spiritually sensitive at all times.
3. Lord, expose all "Achans" in churches promoting Satan's agenda, in Jesus' name!

DO HAVE A BLESSED DAY

©2022 LIVING WATERS IS a daily devotional by THE CHRIST APOSTOLIC CHURCH