Key Verse: Verse 1 - “But the children of Israel committed a trespass in the accursed thing: for Achan, the son of Carmi, the son of Zabdi, the son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, took of the accursed thing: and the anger of the LORD was kindled against the children of Israel.”
Key Words: But the children of Israel committed a trespass
Joshua is still filled with joy over the victory of Jericho, but he is about to learn that yesterday’s victories do not immune us from tomorrow’s defeats.
The spies return from spying out Ai and basically say we can make quick work of this. God’s people had become overconfident. They had forgotten that it was God who brought victory, not Israel. The spies in their overconfidence underestimate the strength of the enemy and overestimate their own ability. Overconfidence not only can lead to struggle and defeat, it will lead us into the valley of despair.
Golf immortal Arnold Palmer recalls a lesson about overconfidence:
“It was the final hole of the 1961 Masters tournament, and I had a one-stroke lead and had just hit a very satisfying shot. I felt I was in pretty good shape. As I approached my ball, I saw an old friend standing at the edge of the gallery. He motioned me over, stuck out his hand and said, ‘Congratulations.’ I took his hand and shook it, but as soon as I did, I knew I had lost my focus.
“On my next two shots, I hit the ball into the sand trap, then put it over the edge of the green. I missed a putt and lost the Masters. You don’t forget a mistake like that; you just learn from it and become determined that you will never do that again. I haven’t in the thirty years since.”
We would do well to learn from others the defeat of overconfidence.
What to do:
✞Remember, he who fails to learn from his failures is bound to repeat them.
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