Tuesday, August 24, 2004
Hieromartyr Eutychos, Disciple of John the Theologian
Kellia: Joshua 8:1-13 Epistle: 2 Corinthians 8:16-9:5 Gospel: St. Mark 3:13-19
Joshua 8:1-12 LXX, especially vss 1, 2: "And the Lord said to Joshua, Fear not,
nor be timorous: take with thee all the men of war, and arise, go up to Ai: behold, I have given
into thy hands the king of Ai and his land....set now for thyself as an ambush for the city behind."
Abba Dorotheos teaches us that "the sufferings of combat purify [a man] little by little and bring
him back to the natural state." Here he is speaking of spiritual combat, of course. Yet, as
Metropolitan Hierotheos Vlachos notes, "besides man's effort, if the Holy Spirit does not
descend, the dead nous cannot be purified and brought to life." Right action, he adds, requires
"the working together of divine grace and the human will." In this connection, it is especially
instructive to compare the first three times when Joshua and Israel prepared for combat - 1)
before the taking of Jericho (Josh. 5:13-6:5), 2) before the failed assault against Ai (Josh. 7:2-5),
and 3) before the second assault on Ai as described in today's passage (Josh. 8:1-2).
The noticeable omission during preparations for the first assault at Ai was the absence of the
Holy Spirit, which precluded any working together of divine grace and the human will. How
could there be right action under such circumstances? In the first assault against Ai, it was the
spies who set the battle plan, not God (Josh. 7:3)! Even the Prophet Joshua failed on that
occasion, for he did not send out the spies to Ai after prayer and Divine guidance. Rather, he
accepted the plan of the spies without attention to the Lord's will and word. As the text says
plainly, "And Joshua sent men to Ai" (Josh 7:2). No directions from the Lord are mentioned, but
right action must include prayer, Divine guidance, and the direction of the Lord. Most important,
this truth applies to all circumstance in life which the Faithful confront.
Hence, let us examine closely the direction that came from the Lord to help His People cooperate
rightly in a new plan of action. In the first place, this time Joshua opened himself to God with
prayer, and God gave special attention to fear because of the earlier defeat. The Lord built
confidence with a promise. He again set the general conditions - for a holocaust offering. He
made a gracious gift, and He set the plan in the form of an ambush (Josh. 8:1-2).
Having been thoroughly chastened by the earlier defeat at Ai, Joshua faced the same city of
dangerous opponents with proven ability to defeat his troops, but this time the Prophet displayed
a renewed spiritual balance - he began with prayer. While the passage begins with the phrase,
"And the Lord said...." (vs. 1), we should note that among the instructions that followed was the
command, "arise" (vs. 1). Joshua was already in prayer, prostrate before God. Therefore, the
Prophet was open to hearing the word of the Lord. He was learning!
How good was God in this instance! He knew the fear and trepidation both of Joshua and of the
People generated by their earlier mistakes and bitter defeat. Thus, He began with assurance and
words to strengthen the Prophet's heart: "fear not, nor be timorous" (vs. 1).
The Lord then followed with a promise: " I have given into thy hands the king of Ai and his land"
(vs. 1). He treated the coming action as a fait accompli. God meets awakened trust.
Along with the general conditions for a holocaust - "thou shalt do to Ai as thou didst to Jericho"
(vs. 2) - the Lord added to the coming engagement the unexpected gift of cattle (vs. 2).
Most significant, and typical of all truly right action, it was God Who gave the basic plan, right
from the start (vs. 2): "set now for thyself as an ambush for the city behind" (vs. 2). Largely this
reading is devoted to the careful carrying out of God's plan, always a right action!
Direct us, O Lord, in all our doings and further us with Thy continual help; that in all our works
begun, continued and ended in Thee, we may glorify Thy holy Name.
