Sin In The Camp

Joshua and the elders of Israel tore their clothing in dismay, threw dust on their heads, and bowed face down to the ground before the Ark of the Lord until evening.  Then Joshua cried out, “Oh, Sovereign Lord, why did you bring us across the Jordan River if you are going to let the Amorites kill us?  If only we had been content to stay on the other side!  Lord, what can I say now that Israel has fled from its enemies?  For when the Canaanites and all the other people living in the land hear about it, they will surround us and wipe our name off the face of the earth.  And then what will happen to the honor of your great name?” [Joshua 7.6-9]

The indiscretion of one man affected not only the battle at Ai, but the very reputation of Israel in all Canaan making possession of that 'promised land' potentially impossible.

Wow.  If Achan's sin could affect the outcome of an entire nation, what do the accumulated sins of many people in one nation do (I'm thinking of the USA here)?  This certainly could shed some light on my questions the last few days regarding the general powerlessness found in the Church today.

The entire saga of Israel seems to indicate that God's 'people' never could seem to get it together enough to actually live perpetually in God's favor. Even just one man's sin 'in the camp' disqualifies the whole of the community from the blessing and protection of the LORD. Holiness is that big of a deal to God.

What kind of revival would be required for the Church to realize and walk in God's favor as Israel was seen do (even if only on occasion)?  Or have we missed the point altogether?  Israel's story would seem to indicate that, even with all the supernatural manifestations of God's power that Israel witnessed, they still would not stay pure...  The fact that the nation as a whole suffered even if only one person sinned indicates the odds against any group of people being good enough  to live in God's blessing.  Any hope of things improving is slim.

The fact is seen in this story that regardless of the community's purity as a whole, the sin of one man blew the whole thing.  Also seen is the fact that when the community dealt with that single sin, they were once again in favor with God.

Not so simple for us today.  Who will fix this?  Who can fix this?

JESUS.

Then why are those of us who claim Jesus still so soundly defeated on so many fronts?  Something is not adding up.  When Israel repented and got sin out of the camp, God's manifest physical blessing was back upon them.  When we confess our sin and declare our faith in Jesus, we still die of cancer and suffer greatly.  Again, something does not equate.

I come back to faith - genuine faith.  Like the sin of one man in the camp, doubt accomplishes a whole lot of no-good.  But instead of us humbly admitting the glaringly obvious absence of true and genuine faith in Christ (and all His redemptive work), we instead point the finger back at God as if we are 'okay' and it is He Who hasn't done what He has said He would (in blessing us through Christ).  We have done this tactfully however with great "theological" care so as not to alarm folks either way ...and this very process has become 'religion' - by this definition here , a sin in and of itself.  Religion neither accuses man nor God in the apparent breach between them, but merely attempts to appease both and call it good.  Man is therefore left in sin and its consequences and God is left without fellowship with His creation.  And preachers stand up every week declaring "this is faith..."

Father, I don't know how many times I will have to say it here before I actually become proactive about the glaringly obvious absence of faith in the world (and myself) today.  Lord, help my unbelief!  Forgive me for my painfully obvious lack of faith!