Who’s to Blame

So the Lord said to Joshua, “Stand up! Why is it that you have fallen on your face?  Joshua 7:10 NASB

וַיֹּ֧אמֶר יְהֹוָ֛ה אֶל־יְהוֹשֻׁ֖עַ קֻ֣ם לָ֑ךְ לָ֣מָּה זֶּ֔ה אַתָּ֖ה נֹפֵ֥ל עַל־פָּנֶֽיךָ

Stand up!

קֻ֣ם “Stand up”  1999           קוּם (qûm) rise, arise, stand^[1]

לָ֑ךְ “toward”  “from”  1063  לְ (lĕ) to, at, in, in reference to, of, by etc.^[2]  “from yourself”  Idiomatically – “Get yourself up!”  But there’s another way to read this.

לָ֣מָּה literally “for what” – “why” – 1063    לְ (lĕ) to, at, in, in reference to, of, by etc.^[3] + 1149   מָה (mâ) what?

 נֹפֵ֥ל  “have fallen”  1392    נָפַל (nāpal) I, fall, lie, be cast down, fail.^[4]

Read this verse as God being upset.  His question is a rebuke.  Why?  First, Joshua did not go with the soldiers.  Moses promised that Joshua would be victorious as long as he “went with” the people, but in this case Joshua sends them and stays behind.  Second, God implies (next verse) that Joshua should have anticipated the possibility of sinful action.  Had he been there, his presence could have prevented it.  Third, this is not a time for pleas and prostration.  It is a time for action.  Fix the problem!  Finally, Joshua has no right to question what God will do or to doubt God’s character or commitment.  The fault is not God’s.

Now read קֻ֣ם with a different vowel (qamets).  Now the words mean “brought it upon yourself.”  Joshua should not be challenging God because Joshua is the one at fault.  “This happened to you because you did not do what you were told by Moses” (Deut. 31:6-7).  God is effectively saying, “Don’t get angry with Me.  Deal with the problem!  Go fix it!”  What is the problem?  It should be obvious, implies God.  Israel must have sinned.  Joshua should have implicitly understood this.  It is the leader’s job to lead and to anticipate roadblocks to leading.  When things don’t turn out the way God intended, the leadership is to blame.  A terse assessment of our penchant expecting God to take care of everything.

Topical Index: leadership, get up, Joshua 7:10

^[1] Coppes, L. J. (1999). 1999 קוּם. R. L. Harris, G. L. Archer Jr., & B. K. Waltke (Eds.), Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament (electronic ed., p. 793). Chicago: Moody Press.

^[2] Harris, R. L., Archer, G. L., Jr., & Waltke, B. K. (Eds.). (1999). Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament (electronic ed., p. 463). Chicago: Moody Press.

^[3] Harris, R. L., Archer, G. L., Jr., & Waltke, B. K. (Eds.). (1999). Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament (electronic ed., p. 463). Chicago: Moody Press.

^[4] Fisher, M. C. (1999). 1392 נָפַל. R. L. Harris, G. L. Archer Jr., & B. K. Waltke (Eds.), Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament (electronic ed., p. 586). Chicago: Moody Press.