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Blessings brothers.
The consequences of not knowing how to listen are painful. Therefore, we must learn to develop our ability to listen. Listening is much more than getting the information one needs. Sometimes it makes the difference between success and failure, joy and sadness, or well-being and pain.
When we don't listen, we run the risk of causing a lot of pain.
In Joshua 7: 1-13 we find a good example. God had just given the Israelites a great victory in Jericho, and Joshua sent a group of soldiers to spy on the small town of Ai. He then commissioned a small troop to take it, and although Hai paled in size in front of Jericho, the Israelites were deeply defeated in a serious setback that generated great sadness and fear throughout the camp.
What was the difference between both military campaigns?
First, God gave Joshua the order to conquer Jericho and promised that he would deliver the city into his hands. Second, God gave Joshua the military strategy through which he could gain victory (Joshua 6). The victory was from God, and He received all the glory for her.
Without a doubt, God also had a battle plan for Ai, but Joshua did not find out what it was. Instead, he sent spies, and when he was informed that Ai could be easily taken, he sent about two thousand or three thousand men without consulting God. It was based solely on human opinion.
On the other hand, God had commanded all people not even to touch the abhorrent "anathema" of Jesricó, certain objects considered impure according to the law, in addition to various personal belongings.
They should only carry silver, gold, bronze and iron utensils to consecrate them to the treasure of the house of the Lord and burn everything else (Jos. 6:18). But Achan decided to disobey the Lord and introduced things of anathema into the camp, including a fine Babylonian mantle, two hundred silver shekels and a gold ingot. He hid his loot on the ground under his tent and thought that no one had seen him, but the Lord in due time exposed Achan's sin.
Israel's defeat in Ai was humiliating.
If Joshua had followed the Lord's advice before advancing against the city, God would surely have revealed what Achan did. The problem could have been resolved and the attack against Hai would have been successful.
Sin steals the opportunity to live right before God. It encourages us to deviate from selfish actions and ignore the ways of the Lord. The truth is that we don't have to fall into the devil's sinful traps. We have the power of Christ alive within us and we can learn to walk in the truth and power of God.