19 July 2010
Psalm 41, 52; Joshua 7:1-13; Rom. 13:8-14; Matt. 26:36-46

Joshua comes to a wrong conclusion. He sent men to spy out the land of Ai but didn’t ask the Lord for a battle plan or if the time was right to move against the city. Even though he had spent many years as Moses’ aide-de-camp he had to learn for himself how to lead the Lord’s people in the Lord’s way. We must take our plans to the Lord for His approval and guidance before setting out. Joshua concludes that the failure of the war party is a failure of God to go with them and believes that the Lord has failed to keep His promise. In his prayer we see that during those years in the wilderness he has also imbibed the ethos of the people. The prayer sounds very much like their grumbling about why the Lord brought them out of Egypt to kill them here. The reason for their failure is simple, they disobeyed concerning the devoted things and the Lord cannot move forward without dealing with the sin.

As Jesus agonizes over what is to come, the disciples rest, unaware of the looming danger. They have not truly believed that Jesus’ words are to come to pass so soon. This scene makes an interesting contrast with the scene with the disciples in the boat and Jesus sleeping on the cushion. There, the disciples are panicked over the storm on the sea of Galilee and they awaken Jesus to help them, believing He doesn’t care about the situation and here we see the opposite situation, Jesus in agony and the disciples asleep. They, however, can do nothing about what comes next, only the Father can change His destiny.

Paul gives ethical advice re how to love one another and includes that we should not owe one another anything. This could perhaps be better translated to let no debt remain outstanding except the debt to love one another which is never completed fulfilled. Jesus has enjoined us in Matthew 5 not to turn away anyone who seeks to borrow from us and it seems likely that Paul follows the teachings of Jesus rather than the teaching of Ben Franklin to be neither a borrower nor a lender. As Jesus has encouraged the disciples to remain awake with Him in His hour of need, so Paul calls the Roman church to wake up for their hour is near. We are to live as those eagerly awaiting the return of the Lord and reminded that we don’t know when that hour will be but we want to be found prepared to receive Him with joy, not go into hiding as Adam and Eve did at His approach.

I trust in the steadfast love of God
for ever and ever.
I will thank you for ever,
because of what you have done.
In the presence of the faithful
I will proclaim your name, for it is good.