Joshua 7 10

Joshua 7:10 kjv

And the LORD said unto Joshua, Get thee up; wherefore liest thou thus upon thy face?

Joshua 7:10 nkjv

So the LORD said to Joshua: "Get up! Why do you lie thus on your face?

Joshua 7:10 niv

The LORD said to Joshua, "Stand up! What are you doing down on your face?

Joshua 7:10 esv

The LORD said to Joshua, "Get up! Why have you fallen on your face?

Joshua 7:10 nlt

But the LORD said to Joshua, "Get up! Why are you lying on your face like this?

Joshua 7 verses

Joshua 7 10 Meaning

Joshua 7:10 conveys God's sharp rebuke and command to Joshua. Following Israel's defeat at Ai, Joshua lay prostrate in deep lament and despair. The LORD directly challenges Joshua's posture, asserting that it is a time for immediate action, not prolonged mourning, because the defeat was not due to God's failure but to a sin committed within the Israelite camp. The verse highlights the urgency of addressing sin and God's call for active leadership in the face of transgression.

Joshua 7 10 Context

Joshua chapter 7 immediately follows the great victory at Jericho, where God specifically commanded that all plunder, except for precious metals and vessels, be "devoted to destruction" (cherem), meaning it was sacred to the LORD and could not be taken for personal gain. Disobedience to this command carried severe consequences. Israel, emboldened by Jericho, then faced the much smaller city of Ai but suffered an unexpected and humiliating defeat, with 36 men dying. This defeat plunged Joshua into deep despair, leading him to tear his clothes, fall on his face before the ark of the LORD, and question God's purposes (Josh 7:6-9). He expresses profound lament, concern for God's reputation, and anxiety about Israel's future among the Canaanite nations. Verse 10 is God's direct, abrupt, and powerful response to Joshua's prostration, cutting through the lament to demand immediate attention to the true cause of the defeat: a specific sin within the camp, not God's abandonment or weakness.

Joshua 7 10 Word analysis

• The LORD (יְהוָה - YHWH, Yahweh): The covenant name of God, emphasizing His personal relationship with Israel, His faithfulness to His promises, and His sovereign authority. His direct intervention and addressing Joshua by His covenant name underscore the gravity of the situation and the personal nature of His communication with His chosen leader.
• said (וַיֹּאמֶר - vayyōʾmer): Indicates direct, authoritative speech. This is not a subtle hint or an indirect communication, but an immediate and unequivocal declaration from God, demanding attention and action.
• to Joshua (אֶל-יְהוֹשֻׁעַ - ʾel-Yəhôšuaʿ): Specifically directed at Israel's leader. This highlights Joshua's accountability and responsibility for the people, even though he himself was blameless in the act of sin. God deals with His people through their chosen leadership.
• "Stand up!" (קוּם לָךְ - qūm lāk): An emphatic, imperative command. Qūm means "arise" or "stand." The addition of lāk ("for yourself," "up with you") makes the command even more urgent and personal. It's not just a physical rising but a call to cease from passive lament and to assume an active, authoritative stance to deal with the problem. This verb is often used to signal a call to action or a new beginning.
• "Why (לָמָּה - lāmmâ)": A rhetorical question expressing divine displeasure, impatience, and challenge. It questions the appropriateness and efficacy of Joshua's current behavior given the pressing need for action. It's a question not for information but for immediate behavioral change.
• do you lie facedown (נֹפֵל עַל-פָּנֶיךָ - nōfēl ʿal-pāneyḵā): This phrase describes Joshua's posture of complete prostration on the ground, literally "falling upon your face." This was a common posture for deep reverence, earnest prayer, intense supplication, humility, or profound lament and despair (as seen in Joshua 7:6). However, in this context, it's critiqued as an insufficient, indeed, an inappropriate, response when concrete action is required to purge sin.
• on the ground (אַרְצָה - ʾarṣāh): Emphasizes the utter humiliation and depth of despair in Joshua's posture. While often an act of reverence, here it signifies a helplessness that God deems unhelpful.

Words-group Analysis

• "The LORD said to Joshua, 'Stand up!'": This phrase underscores God's active involvement and clear leadership even in times of Israel's failure. It signifies God cutting short the period of lament to initiate the process of conviction and restoration. The transition from the spiritual despair of 7:6-9 to this sharp command is pivotal, redirecting Joshua from questioning God's ways to recognizing the failure within the human camp.
• "Why do you lie facedown on the ground?": This challenging question highlights the core message of the verse. God is not criticizing prayer or humility, but the misplaced focus and unproductive nature of Joshua's lament given the situation. It implies: "Your distress is warranted, but your posture of despair is unsuited for this specific crisis. There's a tangible problem (sin) that requires a specific, active remedy, not just mournful prostration." It's a divine challenge to move from despair to discernment and decisive action.

Joshua 7 10 Bonus section

• The Principle of Corporate Solidarity: A significant theological concept highlighted here is that the sin of one individual (Achan) affected the entire community, causing defeat and divine displeasure for all Israel. This concept emphasizes the interconnectedness within the covenant people, where the defilement of one member brings repercussions for the whole.
• Misplaced Lament: While deep lament (prostration) is a biblical expression of sorrow, repentance, and humility before God, God's rebuke in Josh 7:10 distinguishes between appropriate spiritual grief and lament that becomes counterproductive when action is required. God was not interested in perpetual lament, but in repentance leading to concrete action to address the breach of His covenant.
• God's Initiative in Revelation: God often initiates the revelation of sin or the solution to a crisis. Here, God directly intervenes to inform Joshua of the true problem and provide the way forward, highlighting His desire for His people to walk in holiness and blessing, and His readiness to guide them in restoration.

Joshua 7 10 Commentary

Joshua 7:10 is a pivotal moment in the narrative, marking God's shift from silence and judgment to active guidance. Joshua's profound lament, though sincere, reflected a misunderstanding of the immediate crisis: the defeat was not arbitrary divine abandonment, but a direct consequence of disobedience within the covenant community. God's sharp command, "Stand up! Why do you lie facedown on the ground?" immediately halts Joshua's unfruitful despair. It's not a denigration of prayer or lament itself, which are appropriate in many circumstances. Rather, it is a pointed corrective: in the face of corporate sin, prostrate despair is insufficient. The LORD's priority is the identification and removal of sin, which requires proactive leadership and decisive action, not just grief over symptoms. This moment underscores God's holiness and His intolerance for unconfessed sin within His people, demonstrating that blessing (victory) is contingent upon obedience. The immediate task was not to plead with God for mercy in general, but to ascertain the specific sin and purge it, a task Joshua needed to undertake on his feet, actively engaged.