Joshua 7:10

10 The LORD said to Joshua, "Get up! Why do you lie flat on your face like this?

Joshua 7:10 Meaning and Commentary

Joshua 7:10

And the Lord said unto Joshua, get thee up
From the ground where he lay prostrate, with his face to it: this he said, not as refusing his supplication to him, but rather as encouraging and strengthening him; though chiefly he said this in order to instruct him, and that he might prepare for what he was to do:

wherefore liest thou thus upon thy face?
in this manner, so distressed and dejected; or for this thing, as the Targum, for this defeat of the army; something else is to be done besides prayer and supplication.

Joshua 7:10 In-Context

8 Please forgive me, LORD. What can I say now that Israel has retreated before its enemies?

9 The Canaanites and the whole population of the land will hear of it. They will surround us and make our name disappear from the earth. What will you do about your great name then?"

10 The LORD said to Joshua, "Get up! Why do you lie flat on your face like this?

11 Israel has sinned. They have violated my covenant, which I commanded them to keep. They have taken some of the things reserved for me and put them with their own things. They have stolen and kept it a secret.

12 The Israelites can't stand up to their enemies. They retreat before their enemies because they themselves have become a doomed thing reserved for me. I will no longer be with you unless you destroy the things reserved for me that are present among you.