Day 82: The Valley of Achor — The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)

hi my name is father mike schmitz and you're listening to the bible in a year podcast where we encounter god's voice and live life through the lens of scripture the bible in the ear podcast is brought to you by ascension using the great adventure bible timeline we'll read all the way from genesis to revelation discovering how the story of salvation unfolds and how we fit into that story today it is day 82 and we are on the second day of the time period of conquest and judges we are reading today from joshua chapter 5 through

chapter 7 sticking as i mentioned yesterday with the book of joshua pretty much for the next eight or so days until day 88 where we'll conclude joshua and then day 89 move over to judges i'm also praying today from psalm 125 i am reading as always from the revised standard version 2nd catholic edition i'm using the great adventure bible from ascension if you want to download your own bible in your reading plan you can visit ascensionpress.com bible in a year you can also subscribe to this podcast that you're currently listening to on day 82 for

crying out loud if you've not see it subscribed we just all wonder we just wonder like what is it what is it we need to do what does what is it we need to do after 82 days to get you to subscribe chances are you've already subscribed and we are really really grateful for that as i said today we are reading from joshua chapter 5 through chapter 7 in praying psalm 125. the book of joshua chapter 5 the sons of israel are circumcised when all the kings of the amorites that were beyond the jordan to

the west and all the kings of the canaanites that were by the sea heard that the lord had dried up the waters of the jordan for the sons of israel until they had crossed over their heart melted and there was no longer any spirit in them because of the sons of israel at that time the lord said to joshua make flint knives and circumcise the sons of israel again the second time so joshua made flint knives and circumcised the sons of israel at gibeth haraloth and this is the reason why joshua circumcised them all the

males of the people who came out of egypt all the men of war had died on the way in the wilderness after they had come out of egypt though all the people who came out had been circumcised yet all the people that were born on the way in the wilderness after they had come out of egypt had not been circumcised for the sons of israel walked 40 years in the wilderness till all the nation the men of war that came forth out of egypt perished because they did not listen to the voice of the lord

to them the lord swore that he would not let them see the land which the lord had sworn to their fathers to give us a land flowing with milk and honey so it was their children whom he raised up in their stead that joshua circumcised for they were uncircumcised because they had not been circumcised on the way when the circumcising of all the nation was done they remained in their places in the camp till they were healed and the lord said to joshua this day i have rolled away the reproach of egypt from you and

so the name of that place is called gilgal to this day the passover at gilgal while the sons of israel were encamped in gilgal they kept the passover on the 14th day of the month at the evening in the plains of jericho and on the next day after the passover on that very day they ate of the produce of the land unleavened cakes and parched grain and the manna ceased on the next day when they ate the produce of the land and the sons of israel had manna no more but ate of the fruit of

the land of canaan that year joshua's vision when joshua was by jericho he lifted up his eyes and looked and behold a man stood before him with his drawn sword in his hand and joshua went to him and said to him are you for us or for our adversaries and he said no but as commander of the army of the lord i have now come and joshua fell on his face to the earth and worshiped and said to him what does my lord bid his servant and the commander of the lord's army said to joshua

put off your shoes from your feet for the place where you stand is holy and joshua did so chapter six jericho taken and destroyed now jericho was shut up from within and from without because of the sons of israel none went out and none came in and the lord said to joshua see i have given into your hand jericho with his king and mighty men of valor you shall march around the city all the men of war going around the city once thus shall ye do for six days and seven priests shall bear seven trumpets

of ram's horns before the ark and on the seventh day you shall march around the city seven times the priests blowing the trumpets and when they make a long blast with the ram's horn as soon as you hear the sound of the trumpet then all the people shall shout with a great shout and the wall of the city will fall down flat and the people shall go up every man straight before him so joshua the son of nun called the priests and said to them take up the ark of the covenant and let seven priests

bear seven trumpets of ram's horns before the ark of the lord and he said to the people go forward march around the city and let the armed men pass on before the ark of the lord and as joshua had commanded the people the seven priests bearing the seven trumpets of ram's horns before the lord went forward blowing the trumpets with the ark of the covenant of the lord following them and the armed men went before the priests who blew the trumpets and the rear guard came after the ark while the trumpets blew continually but joshua

commanded the people you shall not shout or let your voice be heard neither shall any word go out of your mouth until the day i bid you shout then you shall shout so he caused the ark of the lord to compass the city going about it once and they came into the camp and spent the night in the camp then joshua rose early in the morning and the priests took up the ark of the lord and the seven priests bearing the seven trumpets of ram's horns before the ark of the lord passed on blowing the

trumpets continually and the armed men went before them and the rear guard came up after the ark of the lord while the trumpets blew continually and the second day they marched around the city once and returned into the camp so they did for six days on the seventh day they rose early at the dawn of the day and marched around the city in the same manner seven times it was only on that day that they marched around the city seven times and at the seventh time when the priests had blown the trumpets joshua said to

the people shout for the lord has given you the city and the city and all that is within it shall be devoted to the lord for destruction only rahab the harlot and all who are with her in her house shall live because she hid the messengers that we sent but you keep yourselves from the things devoted to destruction lest when you have devoted them you take any of the devoted things and make the camp of israel a thing of destruction and bring trouble upon it but all the silver and gold and vessels of bronze and

iron are sacred to the lord they shall go into the treasury of the lord so the people shouted and the trumpets were blown as soon as the people heard the sound of the trumpet the people raised a great shout and the wall fell down flat so that the people went up into the city every man straight before him and they took the city then they utterly destroyed all in the city both men and women young and old oxen sheep and donkeys with the edge of the sword and joshua said to the two men who had

spied out the land go into the harlot's house and bring out from it the woman and all who belonged to her as you swore to her so the young man who had been spies went in and brought out rahab and her father and mother and brothers and all who belonged to her and they brought all her kindred and set them outside the camp of israel and they burned the city with fire and all within it only the silver and gold and the vessels of bronze and iron they put into the treasury of the house of

the lord but rahab the harlot in her father's household and all who belonged to her joshua saved alive and she dwelt in israel to this day because she hid the messengers whom joshua sent to spy out jericho laid an oath upon them at that time saying cursed before the lord be the man that raises up and rebuilds this city jericho at the cost of his firstborn shall he lay its foundation and at the cost of his youngest son shall he set up its gates so the lord was with joshua and his fame was in all

the land chapter 7 the sin of aiken and its punishment but the sons of israel broke faith in regard to the devoted things for aiken the son of karmy the son of zabdi the son of zerah of the tribe of judah took some of the devoted things and the anger of the lord burned against the sons of israel joshua sent men from jericho to ai which is near beth aven east of bethel and said to them go up and spy out the land and the men went up and spied out ai and they returned to

joshua and said to him let not all the people go up but let about two or three thousand men go up and attacked ai do not make the whole people toil up there for they are but few so about three thousand went up there from the people and they fled before the men of ai and the men of ai killed about 36 men of them and chased them before the gate as far as shibarim and slew them at the descent and the hearts of the people melted and became as water then joshua tore his clothes

and fell to the earth upon his face before the ark of the lord until the evening he and the elders of israel and they put dust upon their heads and joshua said alas o lord god why have you brought this people over the jordan at all to give us into the hands of the amorites to destroy us with that we had been content to dwell beyond the jordan oh lord what can i say when israel has turned their backs before their enemies for the canaanites and all the inhabitants of the land will hear of it

and will surround us and cut off our name from the earth and what will you do for your great name the lord said to joshua arise why have you thus fallen upon your face israel has sinned they have transgressed my covenant which i commanded them they have taken some of the devoted things they have stolen and lied and put them among their own stuff therefore the sons of israel cannot stand before their enemies they turn their backs before their enemies because they have become a thing for destruction i will be with you no more unless

you destroy the devoted things from among you up sanctify the people and say sanctify yourselves for tomorrow for thus says the lord god of israel there are devoted things in the midst of you o israel you cannot stand before your enemies until you take away the devoted things from among you in the morning therefore you shall be brought nearby your tribes and the tribe which the lord takes shall come near by families and the family which the lord takes shall come nearby households and the household which the lord takes shall come near man by man

and he who was taken with the devoted things shall be burned with fire he and all that he has because he has transgressed the covenant of the lord and because he has done a shameful thing in israel so joshua rose early in the morning and brought israel near tribe by tribe and the tribe of judah was taken and he brought near the families of judah and the family of the zera heights was taken and he brought near the family of the zerah heights man by man and zabdi was taken and he brought near his household

man by man and aiken the son of karmi the son of zabdi the son of zerah of the tribe of judah was taken then joshua said to aiken my son give glory to the lord god of israel and render praise to him and tell me now what you have done do not hide it from me and they can answer joshua of a truth i have sinned against the lord god of israel and this is what i did when i saw among the spoil a beautiful mantle from shiner and 200 shekels of silver and a bar

of gold weighing 50 shekels then i coveted them and took them and behold they are hidden in the earth inside my tent with the silver underneath so joshua sent messengers and they ran to the tent and behold it was hidden in his tent with the silver underneath and they took them out of the tent and brought them to joshua and all the sons of israel and they laid them down before the lord and joshua and all israel with him took aiken the son of zera and the silver and the mantle and the bar of gold

and his sons and daughters and his oxen and donkeys and sheep and his tent and all that he had and they brought them up to the valley of akhor and joshua said why did you bring trouble upon us the lord brings trouble on you this day and all israel stoned him with stones they burned them with fire and stoned them with stones and they raised over him a great heap of stones that remains to this day then the lord turned from his burning anger therefore to this day the name of that place is called the

valley of achor psalm 125 the security of god's people a song of ascents those who trust in the lord are like mount zion which cannot be moved but abides forever as the mountains are round about jerusalem so the lord is round about his people from this time forth and forevermore for the scepter of wickedness shall not rest upon the land allotted to the righteous lest the righteous put forth their hands to do wrong do good o lord to those who are good and to those who are upright in their hearts but those who turn aside

upon their crooked ways the lord will lead away with evildoers peace be in israel the father in heaven we give you praise and we thank you we thank you for uh sharing this story with us thank you for being part of our stories as we like aiken as we can be unfaithful knowing exactly what you've asked us to do so often lord we turn away and do what we want to do lord the heart of every sin is knowing what you want and yet doing what we want in violation of that and so we come

back to you knowing that in our guilt you meet us with your mercy in our shame you meet us with your reconciliation so please lord god transform our valley of ahr into a door of hope hope for our lives hope for our children for our families hope for our our culture hope for our world hope for your people in jesus name we pray amen in the name of the father and of the son and of the holy spirit amen so gosh oh man um there's so much you know in the narrative book here of joshua

there are so many things to cover one thing just to kind of recap um you noticed that when they entered the promised land right so they crossed the jordan river that was yesterday and today they're into the promised land and the lord said to joshua who replaced moses did we need to circumcise all of the men now this is remarkable because remember those even the scripture even indicates that those who were set free from slavery in egypt had been circumcised but during the wilderness journey during those 40 years they didn't circumcise anyone and there's almost

this sense of why is that why would that be well part of it is this there's being fully delivered here in the scripture today from this history of their slavery they're they're being released in this particular way that scripture indicates that says no you have a new life there's this covenant that's being renewed as often as uh the jewish man is circumcised he's brought into that covenant that covenant with abraham isaac and jacob and so that's what happens is like you're breaking free from this history of your slavery and being brought into a relationship of

love right now and so that's the first thing and then another thing is the recognition of that the men here of fighting age who are circumcised would be very vulnerable as we know that from back in story of genesis where the families of simeon in levi had basically entered into covenant with the men of the family who had raped edina and then killed them all in their vulnerability after they had been circumcised and so here they are why didn't they get circumcised in the plains of moab on the other side of the jordan well there's

a certain element of trust and that's i mean the very reality of circumcision when it comes to abraham is all about the sense of i'm making myself vulnerable in a very particular way out of trust for god which is just really again once again really remarkable next is we we they celebrate the feast of passover and the next day the manna ceases and there's something about that the lord cared for them all throughout their wilderness wanderings their desert journey and that's over now and now he will care for them in a different way but they've

been trained remember they've been trained by being fed by the lord and so now that manna is ceasing now the last two quick things i want to highlight at one point this angel of the lord appears to joshua and joshua asks the question are you for us or are you for our adversaries are you for us are you for our enemies and the answer of the angel of the lord is so unique he just says no i love this this is so powerful he just says no and what he is indicating is one of the

things he's indicating is he says basically the question we can say is is god on our side and the response is well not not yes or no but the response is that's not the question that's not the right question the question really should be are we on god's side i think that might have been something abraham lincoln had once said something along those lines what's revealed in this is not only our need to be on god's side and not wanting to just make god agree with us and be on our side but it also reveals

that this battle really isn't going to be simply against the canaanites this battle these subsequent battles are not merely against the philistines or against any of the other amorites or jebusites or any of these other people the battle truly is a cosmic battle one of the things that gets revealed to us about those whether it be the moabites or the jebusites or the canaanites or the philistines is not only that they were quote unquote different they're not just different they were living a life they were building a culture truly upon wickedness upon the denigration of

the human person i mean truly where you would offer in these in these communities we already experienced this they would offer human sacrifice sacrifice of their own children to the god moloch and so there's this cosmic battle happening where again it's not against the people it's not against those other people it's against a cosmic thing and saint paul will later on go on to say our battle is not with flesh and blood but is with principalities and powers and that's one of the things that's revealed here with joshua's vision is that this isn't merely armies

coming together this isn't merely let's drive out this people what it really is is a cosmic battle and again with eyes of faith we can see that with eyes that don't have faith we just we question that and that's one of the things we're going to continue to run into again and again where it's there's things that are happening in scripture that if we read them and listen to them through the eyes or ears of faith from the perspective of faith we say okay lord i trust you but if we read them or listen to

them take them into the perspective of distrust the perspective of cynicism or skepticism then i don't know if there's too much that we can really allow to penetrate our hearts even this last story of aiken where aiken takes some of the the plunder essentially from the destruction of the city of jericho and it even says that so he and his whole family and everything he owns is going to be destroyed now it we could look at that and say gosh that's so brutal it's so violent it's so unfair and yet and yet it wasn't as

if that was lost on the people like the tragedy of that wasn't lost on the people of israel but what happened was here's this one man's sin that does what that comes at the price of 36 people's lives if you remember that was because of aiken's sin that they lost the battle of ai and at the battle of a.i 36 israelites died and so you think this is towards the level of justice but it's not like a triumphant kind of justice it's not like yeah let's get this guy let's let's destroy aiken and destroy his

whole family and everything he has it's not a moment it's not a happy moment in fact they named the place where he dies they name the place where this where this justice is extended or it doled out they name it the valley of akhor a-c-h-o-r the valley of ahr means trouble trouble is the what ahr means or sadness or despair it's our shame it's a moment of our shame because it's not a great moment it's not a moment where the people of israel are saying yeah get aiken this is this is terrible we're so mad

at him what it is is ah here's the valley of ahora which is the valley of our shame the valley of our trouble and so just keep as we read this like let's look at from the perspective of the people of israel here is the justice that we have to dole out but it is not a happy moment no one considered it to be a happy moment and so again when we read through the eyes of faith we see that if i read through the eyes of cynicism or skepticism i i i can't see that

but later on what's going to happen is we're going to read the book of the prophet hosea and one of the things that the lord says through the prophet hosea about this valley of ahr is he's going to say this because he references it in hosea chapter 2 he says i will take your valley of a your valley of trouble your valley of shame and make it into a door of hope that here is the what the lord can do he can transform even this low point in the people's lives in our lives in the

lives of our families this low point that no one wanted but we had to do and transform it into a door of hope and so just as a kind of a quick teaser before we get to the book of hosea which is going to come up you know in a couple weeks or months to recognize that every one of us has a valley of akhor maybe it's something someone has done to us maybe it's something that we've chosen we brought upon ourselves trouble we brought upon ourselves shame brought upon ourselves something that we just absolutely

hate about our reality about our lives well hosea promises that even that even this low point even this this thing you say i can never ever get away from this this will haunt me for the rest of my life to come with me for the rest of my life that the lord god says actually that's not true i can take this valley of ahr this valley of trouble this valley of shame and i can transform it into a door of hope so that's my prayer for for every one of us today is we all have

a valley of trouble we all have a valley of shame we have a well of things in our past that contin have wounded us and continue to linger and hold on to us to surrender that today and say okay god i gave you permission transform my valley of a my valley of trouble my valley of shame into a door of hope if i surrender it to you you can change it and so that's what i'm praying i'm praying that that's what happens that every one of us can do that today praying for you please pray

for me that i can do that because i have my valleys as well and we'll just keep praying for each other my name is father mike and i cannot wait to see you again tomorrow god bless you