Scripture
10But the Lord said to Joshua, “Get up! Why are you lying on your face like this? 11Israel has sinned and broken my covenant! They have stolen some of the things that I commanded must be set apart for me. And they have not only stolen them but have lied about it and hidden the things among their own belongings. 12That is why the Israelites are running from their enemies in defeat. For now, Israel itself has been set apart for destruction. I will not remain with you any longer unless you destroy the things among you that were set apart for destruction. Joshua 7:10-12
Observation
No one was looking. Who would even notice? It wasn’t anyone else’s business anyway. Who would miss a robe, some coins, and a few bars of gold taken from a defeated enemy? After all, Achan had fought hard and he deserved a little recompense for his labors. He obviously knew this was wrong as he hid it under his tent. One man made one choice and certainly the judgment would only come on him right? Yet, when God confronts Joshua He clearly states, “Israel has sinned and broken my covenant!” God saw the action of one man as the action of the whole nation. No one knew Achan had taken sinned against God and yet they were all defeated. No man sins in a vacuum. No man can make a choice that doesn’t have a direct effect on those around him, either positively or negatively. Like a rock thrown into the middle of a quiet pond the concentric circles of choice reverberate out until the circles get so wide it brings waves to the shore. Achan’s one sin meant defeat for a whole nation. The opposite is also true. The obedience of Achan at the battle of Jericho along with every other man in Israel’s army meant blessing for the whole nation. He obeyed the seemingly ludicrous strategy of marching around the impenetrable walls multiple times and yet Achan obeyed. In the New Testament we see the interconnectedness of the saints through the metaphor of the body: “that there may be no division in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one another. 26 If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, all rejoice together. 27 Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it.”(1 Cor. 12:25-27) Whether we like it or not, we are all in this together and every choice we make will hurt or heal those around us.
Application
Recently, I revisited the famous poem by John Donne famous where he writes “No man is an island” many times. However, I had no idea this poem came out of a time of isolation during a spreading epidemic not unlike what we currently face with Covid-19. “He wrote this line after almost dying from spotted fever in 1623. Donne was 51 and the dean of St. Paul’s Cathedral when he fell gravely ill. His daughter was engaged to be married when he got sick; he urged her to wed while he was in the hospital, so he would know she was taken care of. From his bed, he listened to the church bells toll the news of weddings and of deaths from the epidemic around him. Physically, Donne felt largely alone. “Variable, and therefore miserable condition of Man; this minute I was well, and am ill, this minute,” he wrote. “As sickness is the greatest misery, so the greatest misery of sickness, is solitude.” And yet the very loneliness of lying in bed was what led him to his most famous insight about the human experience. ”No man is an island, entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main … any man’s death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind, and therefore never send to know for whom the bells tolls; it tolls for thee.”(The Atlantic) Like many others around me, I wasn’t taking the onset of the Coronavirus too seriously even just a month ago. I was judging decisions as more panic than prudent and didn’t like the interruptions to my self-reliant lifestyle. I was concerned about its spread through China and Italy but that didn’t really impact me directly or immediately. We prayed for those who were most at risk due to age or preexisting conditions, but again, not a direct impact on my day-to-day living. Then, as it broke out in Washington State where my mother-in-law Pat lived, I worried that she might have contracted it when she came down with a fever and breathing problems. Thankfully, it turned out she did not test positive for Covid-19 but she was fighting pneumonia. She wanted to get better so she could come back to Hawaii and help us with the boys, but it dawned on me that if she came we could be directly responsible for her contracting the virus in her weakened state. I couldn’t bear the thought of being responsible for her sickness or worse yet her death simply because I was a carrier of the virus without knowing it. We thanked her for her care for us and told her it was our turn to care for her by asking her to stay in her controlled environment. Then, with every subsequent day, as the government recommendations grew more stringent I realized my compliance would literally save the lives of other grandparents and those who are weaker. These quarantines, social distancing measures, and curfews are all reminders that we are all connected, that no man or woman is an island… especially when living on an island. Ironically, the best way to embrace my fellow man is to embrace solitude. The best way to serve my neighbor is to stop serving my own “right to wander”. For the first time in my lifetime everyone is connected everywhere around the globe as we face the same challenge- loving those around us by staying away from those around us.
Prayer
I am one man making one choice and that’s to put my trust in You! I’m taking all of my extrovert tendencies to be around crowds and I’m laying them at the foot of The Cross. The unity of the globe is facing the same sickness is a perfect set up for us seeking the same Savior. Let me put others first but laying my rights down. Forgive me for my self-centeredness and pride. Let my self-distancing allow You to do some healing until Covid-19 has been completely crushed by The Cross of Jesus Christ. Let the Church unite as never before in serving those around us rather than serving our own agendas. Unity always precedes revival and I will contend in prayer, in my home, for Your Spirit to invade every home!
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