Subduing or Serving?

[Joshua]

“Come near, put your feet upon the necks of these kings. And they came near, and put their feet upon the necks of them. And Joshua said unto them, Fear not, nor be dismayed, be strong and of good courage: for thus shall the Lord do to all your enemies against whom ye fight.” (Joshua 10
)​

How often, instead of putting our feet on the necks of our sins, subduing them, are we found bowing down with our necks at their feet, serving them?

 

[chothomas]

Joshua 10:24 seems like an odd verse for subduing our sins. I understand this verse as God warning Israel about what will happen to Israel if they become like Canaanites. Can you clarify?

 

[Joshua]

Joshua 10:24 seems like an odd verse for subduing our sins. I understand this verse as God warning Israel about what will happen to Israel if they become like Canaanites. Can you clarify?

It’s an application of the text, not an interpretation. Much of the carriage of God’s people with regard to their deliverance out of Egypt, their time in the wilderness, their temporal entry into the land of rest, subsequent invasion and captivity amidst it, has a lot of good fodder in our own lives as we traverse this world of clay, and our journey to eternal Zion.

Those kings, which were to be eradicated, must receive feet to the neck, Joshua displaying thy God’s people were under no dominion of theirs. Our sins, though we are yet in battle against them, are to be subjugated, and we are to understand that we are no longer their dominion. Again, this is a mediation, application, not an interpretation.

 

[Contra_Mundum]

Hi Josh,
Yes, insofar as that verse may (after exegeting it within the passage, and the passage within the whole) be compared to a believer's individual conflict with sin, one reflection that could well come to mind is an inversion of the picture, a turning of the elements within on its head. What if it appeared that in the face of one of those kings, I saw my own visage as in a mirror or photo? Who might it be with the foot on my neck?

Some possibilities (as we play with the image):
1) Joshua and the men of Israel. Wait, whose side am I on? Am I on the LORD's side? Have I refused to kiss the Son, taken the side of the kings of the earth against the LORD and his Anointed?

2) The kings of the land. What, have the tables been turned? Has Ai been repeated somehow, and Israel is in revolt against the LORD? Imagine the terrible circumstances that would have to be, or imagine what it was like to see a scene like this actually played out after many centuries of decline... thus leading to

3) The king of Egypt, or Assyria, or Babylon. Thus shall the LORD do to all his enemies, which side you have taken? Death/Exile to such.

4) The personification of sin. Let not sin have dominion over you, Ps.19:13; Rom.6:14.

Perhaps there are others. I think it is important to get first and foremost to the text's (the Holy Spirit's) primary purpose, to know THE meaning of the text. Once that is clear in our minds, further applications may follow naturally.

 

[Joshua]

Thank you, Pastor. It was not intended to be a comprehensive look or distraction from the primary purpose, so perhaps even application is too strong. My apologies if it came across as anything more than expression of one of my own previous private meditations on the passage, in accordance with the analogy of scripture.

 

[chothomas]

Again, this is a mediation, application, not an interpretation.

I had a knee-jerk reaction and ended up reading related passages again. If the intent is to use the text for applications, then perhaps using it in "quotation" within your sentences or explaining your application will be helpful. I am a bit wary of "quoting" too since Rick Warren uses this method in his books (which created confusion for me during my Christian conversion days). However, I think it may reduce confusion by not citing the whole verse like that.

I understand better now. Thank you!