Incomplete Obedience - Joshua

Joshua was commanded to completely obey God’s commands - Joshua 1:7

Joshua 1:7 NIV

7 “Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go.

There is to be no deviation from God’s law

Examples of Incomplete Obedience

Disobedience of Achan- Joshua 7:1

Joshua 7:1 NIV

1 But the Israelites were unfaithful in regard to the devoted things; Achan son of Karmi, the son of Zimri, the son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, took some of them. So the Lord’s anger burned against Israel.

This led to defeat at Ai - Joshua 7:3–5

“3 When they returned to Joshua, they said, “Not all the army will have to go up against Ai. Send two or three thousand men to take it and do not weary the whole army, for only a few people live there.” 4 So about three thousand went up; but they were routed by the men of Ai, 5 who killed about thirty-six of them. They chased the Israelites from the city gate as far as the stone quarries and struck them down on the slopes. At this the hearts of the people melted in fear and became like water.”

God revealed the disobedience of Achan affected the whole nation - Josh 7:11-12

Joshua 7:11–12 NIV

11 Israel has sinned; they have violated my covenant, which I commanded them to keep. They have taken some of the devoted things; they have stolen, they have lied, they have put them with their own possessions. 12 That is why the Israelites cannot stand against their enemies; they turn their backs and run because they have been made liable to destruction. I will not be with you anymore unless you destroy whatever among you is devoted to destruction.

Joshua’s disobedience with the Gibeonites - Joshua 9:14-15

Joshua 9:14–15 NIV

14 The Israelites sampled their provisions but did not inquire of the Lord. 15 Then Joshua made a treaty of peace with them to let them live, and the leaders of the assembly ratified it by oath.

Joshua failed to completely conquer the land - Joshua 13:1

Joshua 13:1 NIV

1 When Joshua had grown old, the Lord said to him, “You are now very old, and there are still very large areas of land to be taken over.

The Israelites entered into treaties instead of driving out their enemies - Judges 2:1-3

Judges 2:1–3 NIV

1 The angel of the Lord went up from Gilgal to Bokim and said, “I brought you up out of Egypt and led you into the land I swore to give to your ancestors. I said, ‘I will never break my covenant with you, 2 and you shall not make a covenant with the people of this land, but you shall break down their altars.’ Yet you have disobeyed me. Why have you done this? 3 And I have also said, ‘I will not drive them out before you; they will become traps for you, and their gods will become snares to you.’ ”

The Consequences of Disobedience

The Israelites intermarried with those in the surrounding culture - Judges 3:5-7

Judges 3:5–7 NIV

5 The Israelites lived among the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites. 6 They took their daughters in marriage and gave their own daughters to their sons, and served their gods. 7 The Israelites did evil in the eyes of the Lord; they forgot the Lord their God and served the Baals and the Asherahs.

They adopted the worship of the surrounding culture - Judges 3:7

Judges 3:7 NIV

7 The Israelites did evil in the eyes of the Lord; they forgot the Lord their God and served the Baals and the Asherahs.

They failed to pass on the worship of God to the next generation - Judges 2:10

Judges 2:10 NIV

10 After that whole generation had been gathered to their ancestors, another generation grew up who knew neither the Lord nor what he had done for Israel.

They refused to change a destructive cycle - Judges 2:19

Judges 2:19 NIV

19 But when the judge died, the people returned to ways even more corrupt than those of their ancestors, following other gods and serving and worshiping them. They refused to give up their evil practices and stubborn ways.