When Joshua was by Jericho, he lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, a man was standing before him with his drawn sword in his hand. And Joshua went to him and said to him, “Are you for us, or for our adversaries?” And he said, “No; but I am the commander of the army of the Lord. Now I have come.” And Joshua fell on his face to the earth and worshiped and said to him, “What does my lord say to his servant?”
—Joshua 5:13-14
So [Jeroboam] took counsel and made two calves of gold. And he said to the people, “You have gone up to Jerusalem long enough. Behold your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt.”
1 Kings 12:28
As far as I know, the book of Kings doesn't use the contemporary term "yes-men", but the idea is there.
The description of Jeroboam's creation of his golden calves really makes me wonder: what question did he pose to his counselors? We all know that—from schoolroom tests, to surveys, to using AI models—the quality of the answer depends on the quality of the question that is asked (among other things). If Jeroboam started the conversation with something like, "How can I make sure nobody in my territory wants to go back to Jerusalem to worship?" then it's not hard to imagine how he and his counselors came up with their terrible idea.
This is very different from the conversation that Joshua had with the mysterious figure that met him after the first Passover in Canaan but before the fall of Jericho. Joshua had a question in mind—"Whose side are you on: ours or theirs?"—but the answer might be paraphrased as, "None of the above!" Joshua needed not to worry about whether God was on his side, but instead focus on whether he was on God's side.
The same is still true today.
Joshua's response reveals a heart focused on hearing and obedience. Instead of trying to control the agenda and forcing everything to "stay on point", Joshua dropped his body as fast as he dropped his off-target question. And he asked for direction. Unlike the Israelites at Sinai/Horeb.
Unlike Jeroboam, whose action anticipated Paul's warning to Timothy about people who sought teachers to tell them what they wanted to hear. And when Paul directed Timothy's focus to “the word”, he was bringing forward the ancient song that sought counsel from the Lord's testimonies.
Seek Counsel
Blessed are they who observe justice,
who do righteousness at all times!
...
But they soon forgot his works;
they did not wait for his counsel.
...
They made a calf in Horeb
and worshiped a metal image.
They exchanged the glory of God
for the image of an ox that eats grass.
—Psalm 106:3, 13, 19-20
Your testimonies are my delight;
they are my counselors.
—Psalm 119:24
When Joshua was by Jericho, he lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, a man was standing before him with his drawn sword in his hand. And Joshua went to him and said to him, “Are you for us, or for our adversaries?” And he said, “No; but I am the commander of the army of the Lord. Now I have come.” And Joshua fell on his face to the earth and worshiped and said to him, “What does my lord say to his servant?”
—Joshua 5:13-14
So [Jeroboam] took counsel and made two calves of gold. And he said to the people, “You have gone up to Jerusalem long enough. Behold your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt.”
1 Kings 12:28
As far as I know, the book of Kings doesn't use the contemporary term "yes-men", but the idea is there.
The description of Jeroboam's creation of his golden calves really makes me wonder: what question did he pose to his counselors? We all know that—from schoolroom tests, to surveys, to using AI models—the quality of the answer depends on the quality of the question that is asked (among other things). If Jeroboam started the conversation with something like, "How can I make sure nobody in my territory wants to go back to Jerusalem to worship?" then it's not hard to imagine how he and his counselors came up with their terrible idea.
This is very different from the conversation that Joshua had with the mysterious figure that met him after the first Passover in Canaan but before the fall of Jericho. Joshua had a question in mind—"Whose side are you on: ours or theirs?"—but the answer might be paraphrased as, "None of the above!" Joshua needed not to worry about whether God was on his side, but instead focus on whether he was on God's side.
The same is still true today.
Joshua's response reveals a heart focused on hearing and obedience. Instead of trying to control the agenda and forcing everything to "stay on point", Joshua dropped his body as fast as he dropped his off-target question. And he asked for direction. Unlike the Israelites at Sinai/Horeb.
Unlike Jeroboam, whose action anticipated Paul's warning to Timothy about people who sought teachers to tell them what they wanted to hear. And when Paul directed Timothy's focus to “the word”, he was bringing forward the ancient song that sought counsel from the Lord's testimonies.