Joshua said, “Alas, O Lord GOD [Adonai Yahweh], why did You ever bring this people over the Jordan, only to deliver us into the hand of the Amorites, to destroy us? If only we had been willing to dwell beyond the Jordan!” (Josh 7:7)

Even great leaders sometimes question God when suffering defeat. Under Joshua’s leadership, Israel’s first military foray into the Promised Land went down as a wild success, totally obliterating Jericho. They had seen God divide the Jordan River for their miraculous crossing, and then witnessed the great walls of the fortified city miraculously fall. God’s promise held true:

“No man will be able to stand before you all the days of your life … I will be with you; I will not fail you or forsake you … you shall give this people … the land which I swore to their fathers to give them” (Josh 1:5–6).

Confidence ran high. Word on the street, as Rahab the woman of Jericho earlier put it, was this: “The terror of [Israel] has fallen on us … all the inhabitants of the land have melted away before you” (Josh 2:9). They must have thought, “If God be for us, who can stand against us?” as the apostle Paul would later write (Rom 8:31). Indeed, “The LORD was with Joshua, and his fame was in all the land” (Josh 6:27).

But—and this is the pivotal word, “but,” in the very next verse—after proclaiming God’s faithfulness to Joshua, our text tersely points out: “But the sons of Israel acted unfaithfully…” (Josh 7:1a). This is the eternal exception, the fulcrum of God’s relationship with His image bearers: He is gracious, working on our behalf, and we are to be faithful to Him, trusting His word. God brought defeat where He had promised victory. “Therefore the anger of the LORD burned against the sons of Israel” (Josh 7:1b), resulting in complete disaster in their second military offensive, at the hands of the army of Ai.

Joshua was devastated and began to question God. Notice, he went directly to the ultimate source that had animated him from the beginning, the Lord GOD, Adonai Yahweh, as we read in Joshua 7:7. He did not blame a faulty battle plan, nor regress into self-doubt. He understood the divine dimension in the event, and it didn’t make any sense at all. Why would the Lord GOD bring defeat when He had promised victory? He soon discovered there was sin in the camp and that one person’s sin affected the whole nation (Josh 7:20-26). Though we may use our human reasoning to understand failure, we must look to the Lord GOD, Yahweh Adonai. He ultimately controls the destinies of all men, both great and small.

Lord, in life’s confusing defeats, help me understand Your guiding hand.