February 18

Day 251: Signs That May Not Be Signs At All

The story of the walls of Jericho falling down may have ended up as a coloring page for Sunday School kids. The story in the next chapter did not, at least as I can remember.

God made the walls of Jericho fall down. God then told the people to storm the city, and destroy everything. He meant everything. By and large, that's what they did. Except one guy. Achan.

They soon know something was amiss, because their next conquest, the city of Ai, didn't go well at all. The Israelites got trounced. So they asked God to tell them why. And He told them.

One dude, only one dude had kept some nice booty (pirate term) for himself. He buried it all inside his tent. But he gets found out, in a most unusual way. God identifies the perp by process of elimination.

First it's tribe by tribe. Judah is chosen. Then clan by clan, and the Zerahites are taken. Then man by man, and Achan is taken. He is so busted.

Can you imagine being Achan, and watching this process unfold, knowing the finger of fate will eventually be pointed at him? Probably not too unlike the people of Jericho watching the Israelites do laps around their city for seven days. Foreboding for sure.

It didn't end well for Achan. He, his family, his animals, and everything he owned (including the Jericho booty) got stoned to death. Then set on fire. Then covered in a pile of stones. Pretty thorough.

Gets me to wondering. Why did God use weird ways to make His truth known, His will understood? In the Bible we read of the "Water of Bitterness," the "Urim and Thummin," casting lots.

It's almost like God tells his people to spin a giant roulette wheel to get their answers. Or for those of us old enough to remember, shaking a giant magic 8-ball. It all seems so weird.

Or does it? Like you, I've also heard some flimsy rationals for determining God's will. One in particular stands out in my memory.

Someone once said to me, "I read in Psalms 121:1 "I lift up my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come?" And based on that one verse, he moved his family to Colorado.

Silly, for sure. I still shake my head when I remember that conversation. But, we're all capable of similar. We all want to put out a Gideon fleece, asking God for confirmation, guarantee. Even if it's just in how the leaves are floating in our tea.

We're not too good at waiting. Waiting on the Lord. We're an impatient lot. And like the conversation I was in last night, none of us want to be purposefully out of God's will, right?

But on this side of the New Covenant, we are told to read His Word, consult with others in our faith community, watch and wait. And have better reasons for wanting to know God's specific will for us.

Ultimately, God is most interested and protective of His own glory. He's not an egomaniac; it's just the truth of Who He is. He deserves His glory, and so much more.

That being true, then it makes sense to seek whatever specifics of God's will for us...that will result, ultimately, in His glory. Because He knows, and we need to learn, that His glory also results in our joy.

Many of us in our church are contemplating transition, movement to a better set of circumstances, a more secure setting for our families. And it can be easy to look for confirmations and guarantees in strange places.

When all along, God says, "Don't look for signs. Look to Jesus." Instead of trusting in signs that may not be signs at all.