Overconfidence: The killer within

Rereading the passage in Joshua 7 and 8, I was once again reminded of the dangers of overconfidence. The question that came up in my mind was: When is it okay to be confident and when is it not?
Israel had just won an impressive victory over Jericho. They had completely anihilated their enemy. The next town in line for destruction was Ai, and the advance team, aka scouts or spies came back with their impressions. These impressions were based on two false assumptions. The first was that they had singlehandedly destroyed Jericho. The second was that all things would go equally well in future engagements. Therefore they recommended a reduction in military power for this particular sortie, as they would just be attacking a small town.

What happened, however, was totally unforeseen by them. In the aftermath of a total rout with thirty six casualties, Joshua tore his clothes, fell face downward to the ground and led a daylong pity party with himself and the elders of Israel as participants. His conclusions were also false. They were: First, that all things had been equal to those in their encounter with Jericho. Second, that they might have been better off had they not risked crossing the Jordan and Third, that God's name would be besmirched by this event.

God's response touched upon the key issues: First, Israel has sinned. Second this is no time for self pity. and Third, this is not a time for prayer but for ACTION.

Confidence can only come when we are firmly planted on the right base. That foundation is a complete trust in God's promises coupled with a pure life based on exact obedience to God's direction. Israel had very quickly forgotten that God had promised that HE would chase the enemy away before them and that HE would say When and How to destroy them. If a reduction in military force was His decision (e.g. Gideon against the Midianites) all would go as He said it would. But if something was missing (total obedience in this case), they could not expect anything but disaster. There is no time or place for self-confidence and/or the subsequent self-pity. There is, however the need for constant weeding in the garden of our relationship to Him. When and if we are sure that there is no unconfessed sin, and we are resting on His promises and His power, we can be absolutely sure that He will give the victory. That is the time for action, and that action can rightfully be bathed in petition and thanksgiving.

The biblical illustration is that of the subsequent victory of Israel over Ai. God gave Joshua the formula for a campaign which would contain the element of surprise, and a victory without casualties. From that time on Israel had victory in all cases where they heeded God's plan, and they suffered the consequences when they did not consult Him.

In his book "ZVI and the next generation," Ellwood McQuaid tells of the repetition in modern history of this problem of overconfidence. "The decisive Six-Day War(1967) had been a high-water mark for Jews who had returned to Zion with such high hopes. The very euphoria enveloping the sweeping victory over the Arabs and the climactic reunification of Jerusalem helped set the stage for the near disaster of Yom Kippur (Oct. 1973). The Arabs saw the overconvidence produced by Israel's self-indulgent euphoria as a weapon in their hands. Egyptian General Ismail commented to this effect by saying, "He (Israel) is, moreover, an enemy who suffers the evils of wanton conceit." Israel learned the hard way that conceit could be a deadly companion." (p. 80)

This picture is a strong reminder to me concerning the need to keep my confidence in the right person (not myself but Christ) the right position (dependence upon God and not on self) and the right preparation (constant surveillance on my personal life and reliance upon the cleansing that only He can do in mylife).