IF YOU CAN'T BEAT THEM, JOIN THEM

Can I pray for you in any way?

Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.

In Christ, Mark

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

** Follow The Christian Walk on Twitter @ThChristianWalk

** Like posts and send friend requests to the author of The Christian Walk, Mark Cummings on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/mark.cummings.733?ref=tn_tnmn

** Become a Follower of The Christian Walk at http://the-christian-walk.blogspot.com

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

Now when all the kings west of the Jordan heard about these things — those in the hill country, in the western foothills, and along the entire coast of the Great Sea as far as Lebanon (the kings of the Hittites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites) - they came together to make war against Joshua and Israel.

However, when the people of Gibeon heard what Joshua had done to Jericho and Ai, they resorted to a ruse: They went as a delegation whose donkeys were loaded with worn-out sacks and old wineskins, cracked and mended. The men put worn and patched sandals on their feet and wore old clothes. All the bread of their food supply was dry and moldy. Then they went to Joshua in the camp at Gilgal and said to him and the men of Israel, "We have come from a distant country; make a treaty with us."

The men of Israel said to the Hivites, "But perhaps you live near us. How then can we make a treaty with you?"

“We are your servants," they said to Joshua. But Joshua asked, "Who are you and where do you come from?"

They answered: "Your servants have come from a very distant country because of the fame of the Lord your God. For we have heard reports of Him: all that He did in Egypt, and all that He did to the two kings of the Amorites east of the Jordan — Sihon, king of Heshbon, and Og, king of Bashan, who reigned in Ashtaroth. And our elders and all those living in our country said to us, 'Take provisions for your journey; go and meet them and say to them, "We are your servants; make a treaty with us.” This bread of ours was warm when we packed it at home on the day we left to come to you. But now see how dry and moldy it is. And these wineskins that we filled were new, but see how cracked they are. And our clothes and sandals are worn out by the very long journey.’"

The men of Israel sampled their provisions but did not inquire of the Lord. Then Joshua made a treaty of peace with them to let them live, and the leaders of the assembly ratified it by oath.

Three days after they made the treaty with the Gibeonites, the Israelites heard that they were neighbors, living near them. So the Israelites set out and on the third day came to their cities: Gibeon, Kephirah, Beeroth and Kiriath Jearim. But the Israelites did not attack them, because the leaders of the assembly had sworn an oath to them by the Lord, the God of Israel.

The whole assembly grumbled against the leaders, but all the leaders answered, "We have given them our oath by the Lord, the God of Israel, and we cannot touch them now. This is what we will do to them: We will let them live, so that wrath will not fall on us for breaking the oath we swore to them." They continued, "Let them live, but let them be woodcutters and water carriers for the entire community." So the leaders' promise to them was kept.

Then Joshua summoned the Gibeonites and said, "Why did you deceive us by saying, 'We live a long way from you,' while actually you live near us? You are now under a curse: You will never cease to serve as woodcutters and water carriers for the house of my God."

They answered Joshua, "Your servants were clearly told how the Lord your God had commanded His servant Moses to give you the whole land and to wipe out all its inhabitants from before you. So we feared for our lives because of you, and that is why we did this. We are now in your hands. Do to us whatever seems good and right to you."

So Joshua saved them from the Israelites, and they did not kill them. That day, he made the Gibeonites woodcutters and water carriers for the community and for the altar of the Lord at the place the Lord would choose. And that is what they are to this day.

Joshua 9

This ends our reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

After the victory over Ai, the dedication of the altar, and the reading of the law at Mount Ebal, Israel returned to their encampment at Gilgal. Meanwhile, enemy forces, realizing that Jericho and Ai had been attacked and defeated individually, decided their best chance of survival was to band together and fight.

And so, the scriptures tell us that “all the kings west of the Jordan…those in the hill country, in the western foothills, and along the entire coast of the Great Sea as far as Lebanon (the kings of the Hittites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites)…came together to make war against Joshua and Israel.” These forces had no other motive in mind outside of wiping out the people of Israel, feeling that their sheer numbers would overwhelm the invading people and result in easy victory.

The problem was they forgot one important thing. For the Israelites had God on their side and He had promised them success over anyone who would come against them in the Promised Land. With this, things weren’t looking good for the combined enemy forces but as we see in today’s passage, there was a group of people, the Gibeonites, who took a different approach, daring to be different in what they did and, as a result, exchanging sure death for life.

You see, the nation of Gibeon was very aware of “what Joshua had done to Jericho and Ai” and decided to take a very daring, cunning strategy in dealing with Joshua and the Israelites. Unlike the other enemy forces who chose aggression and combat, the Gibeonites “resorted to a ruse”, going “as a delegation” to the Israelites but appearing as if they had traveled a very long distance to do so although they were actually close neighbors.

We read where the people of Gibeon loaded their donkeys with “worn-out sacks and old wineskins” that were “cracked and mended”. Additionally, the men put “worn and patched sandals on their feet and wore old clothes” and “all the bread of their food supply was dry and moldy”. And so with their real identity disguised, the Gibeonites “went to Joshua in the camp at Gilgal” and said this:

"We have come from a distant country; make a treaty with us."

At first, the plan looked like it was on shaky ground as there was a sense of suspicion within the Israelite camp as the men asked:

"…perhaps you live near us. How then can we make a treaty with you?"

They said this because God had forbidden His people to make any treaty with another people inhabiting Canaan (Deuteronomy 20:16-18). But as we see, the Gibeonites had their deception well rehearsed as they replied:

“We are your servants."

Still, Joshua sought more information, asking:

"Who are you and where do you come from?"

The people of Gibeon answered:

"Your servants have come from a very distant country because of the fame of the Lord your God. For we have heard reports of Him: all that He did in Egypt, and all that He did to the two kings of the Amorites east of the Jordan — Sihon, king of Heshbon, and Og, king of Bashan, who reigned in Ashtaroth. And our elders and all those living in our country said to us, 'Take provisions for your journey; go and meet them and say to them, "We are your servants; make a treaty with us." This bread of ours was warm when we packed it at home on the day we left to come to you. But now see how dry and moldy it is. And these wineskins that we filled were new, but see how cracked they are. And our clothes and sandals are worn out by the very long journey."

Notice how the Gibeonites were careful not to mention any recent events even though they were very aware of them. They were careful to not blow their assertion that they had come from a distant land.

Well, their plan worked for we see where “Joshua made a treaty of peace with them to let them live, and the leaders of the assembly ratified it by oath”. No matter what happened from that point on, no harm could be done to the Gibeonites without breaking the oath and finding disfavor from God.

Now, what’s interesting about these series of events is that neither Joshua nor Israel stopped to “inquire of the Lord” for if they had done so, God would have exposed the Gibeonite scheme and Israel wouldn’t have broken God’s command to completely destroy everything in Canaan lest they end up being adversely influenced by their sinful worship practices. But not one Israelite sought the Lord on this and, in turn, the oath was made and sealed, ensuring Gibeon’s survival…even after Joshua discovered he and Israel had been duped three days after making the treaty.

The scriptures tell us that the Gibeonites had returned home and it was after this that the Israelites realized that they were actually “neighbors, living near them”. And so we read where the Israelites “set out and on the third day came to (the Gibeonite’s) cities: Gibeon, Kephirah, Beeroth and Kiriath Jearim”. And although I’m sure it must have been tempting for Israel to attack Gibeon, they didn’t “because the leaders of the assembly had sworn an oath to them by the Lord, the God of Israel”. This led to “the whole assembly” grumbling “against the leaders”, wanting to exact revenge but the leaders told them this:

“We have given them our oath by the Lord, the God of Israel, and we cannot touch them now…We will let them live, so that wrath will not fall on us for breaking the oath we swore to them."

We should note that this didn’t mean that the Gibeonites would get off free of consequences. For although the nation of Gibeon had survived attack and eradication from Canaan, the Israelite leaders proposed that the Gibeonites would be forced into a life of hard labor, serving as “woodcutters and water carriers for the entire community."

And this is what happened. For the scriptures tell us that Joshua summoned the Gibeonite people and let them know they were under a curse for their deceitful actions and would “never cease to serve as woodcutters and water carriers for the house of…God."

In response to this, the people of Gibeon answered:

"Your servants were clearly told how the Lord your God had commanded His servant Moses to give you the whole land and to wipe out all its inhabitants from before you. So we feared for our lives because of you, and that is why we did this. We are now in your hands. Do to us whatever seems good and right to you."

And so we read where “Joshua saved them from the Israelites” who “did not kill them” and “made the Gibeonites woodcutters and water carriers for the community and for the altar of the Lord at the place the Lord would choose”.

On the surface, this story would appear to be one that would shine the spotlight on lying and dishonesty but I think that would be too shallow of an interpretation of what was really going on here. For I feel the real theme here is servitude…willing servitude unto God.

You see, the Gibeonites knew everything that all the other people of Canaan knew…that Israel had arrived in the land and had already wiped out their first two adversaries. Further, they knew that God had promised His people victory against any enemy they would face.

So what made the people of Gibeon different?

We can see where they made the choice to join God vice try to beat Him, realizing that their only chance at survival was to change who they were and what they were…becoming a part of God’s people. They introduced themselves as servants and there’s little doubt that they feared and respected Israel’s God, knowing that His will was going to be carried out in Canaan. No one could stand against Him and hope to win.

And so after reaching the treaty with Joshua and the people of Israel, the Gibeonites got to do what they said they had come to do…serve. Yes, they may have been relegated to being woodcutters and water carriers in the Lord’s service but at least they were alive and would remain so.

Now, you might be wondering where I’m going with this and how it has a life application for us today. Let me share my thoughts there.

For think about who you were before you came to the Lord in your life. He was your Father but only because He created you. You were not yet a true child of His because that only happened when you placed your belief in Jesus as Savior (Romans 8:16-17). And so, having not become a new creation in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17), you were actually still condemned and in your sins, choosing to chase after your desires while opting to not follow or obey the One who was not only Your Maker but your Master as well. This placed you in a position where death would lead to an eternal life in Hell where everlasting darkness, torment, and suffering would be waiting.

But then, something opened your eyes up to the impending doom and destruction you faced…like Gibeon coming to grips that Jericho and Ai had fallen and they were going to be next unless they came up with a survival plan and did it fast. To spark your change of heart, maybe someone told you the good news of the Gospel and how you could trade in eternity in Hell for a life forever in Heaven if you would only just believe and trust in Jesus as your Lord and Savior. Perhaps these words prompted you to take immediate action, joining the countless others who also had made the same decision to become a Christian, therefore choosing life over death, victory over defeat, and hope over despair.

In making that key, life-altering choice, you, like the people of Gibeon, entered into a lifetime of servitude to the Lord…giving Him your all in whatever He called you to do…whether that was woodcutting, water carrying, or anything else.

Friends, this scripture passage carries with it good news. For if it wasn’t God’s will for the Gibeonites to be His servants, then He would have brought about events that would have stopped that from happening. But that’s not the way things went down, was it? No…the treaty with Israel was made…the people of Gibeon were saved…and God gained a whole community of servants in return.

Before I close, two questions for you:

Have you made your personal commitment to the Lord Jesus Christ, placing your belief in Him? Have you decided to join Him and find your way from death to life…not just life as the world knows it, but rather life with the Father and His Son forever?

If your answers to these questions are yes, then praise God that you have made the only right choice in life…the choice to believe, trust, and serve the One (Jesus) who died so you might live.

But if your answers to these questions were no, I implore you to not delay coming to Jesus right now, this very moment, professing Him as your personal Savior and pledging your service unto Him. Know and trust He is ready to receive you, love you, and lead you to a life like no other…both now and forevermore.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it. Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.

THE POWER IN THE WORD

Can I pray for you in any way?

Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.

In Christ, Mark

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

** Follow The Christian Walk on Twitter @ThChristianWalk

** Like posts and send friend requests to the author of The Christian Walk, Mark Cummings on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/mark.cummings.733?ref=tn_tnmn

** Become a Follower of The Christian Walk at http://the-christian-walk.blogspot.com

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

Then Joshua built on Mount Ebal an altar to the Lord, the God of Israel, as Moses the servant of the Lord had commanded the Israelites. He built it according to what is written in the Book of the Law of Moses — an altar of uncut stones, on which no iron tool had been used. On it they offered to the Lord burnt offerings and sacrificed fellowship offerings. There, in the presence of the Israelites, Joshua copied on stones the law of Moses, which he had written. All Israel, aliens and citizens alike, with their elders, officials and judges, were standing on both sides of the ark of the covenant of the Lord, facing those who carried it — the priests, who were Levites. Half of the people stood in front of Mount Gerizim and half of them in front of Mount Ebal, as Moses the servant of the Lord had formerly commanded when he gave instructions to bless the people of Israel.

Afterward, Joshua read all the words of the law — the blessings and the curses — just as it is written in the Book of the Law. There was not a word of all that Moses had commanded that Joshua did not read to the whole assembly of Israel, including the women and children, and the aliens who lived among them.

Joshua 8:30-35

This ends our reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

Moses and the elders of Israel commanded the people: “Keep all these commands that I give you today. When you have crossed the Jordan into the land the Lord your God is giving you, set up some large stones and coat them with plaster. Write on them all the words of this law when you have crossed over to enter the land the Lord your God is giving you, a land flowing with milk and honey, just as the Lord, the God of your fathers, promised you. And when you have crossed the Jordan, set up these stones on Mount Ebal, as I command you today, and coat them with plaster. Build there an altar to the Lord your God, an altar of stones. Do not use any iron tool upon them. Build the altar of the Lord your God with fieldstones and offer burnt offerings on it to the Lord your God. Sacrifice fellowship offerings there, eating them and rejoicing in the presence of the Lord your God. And you shall write very clearly all the words of this law on these stones you have set up." Deuteronomy 27:1-8

As we see in today’s passage from the closing verses of Joshua, chapter 8, this demand from “Moses and the elders of Israel” didn’t get forgotten after the Israelites crossed the Jordan River and won victories over the cities of Jericho and Ai. For we read that “Joshua built on Mount Ebal an altar to the Lord, the God of Israel, as Moses the servant of the Lord had commanded the Israelites”, doing so exactly per the specifications given by Moses before his death. Indeed, Joshua performed the acts ”according to what (was) written in the Book of the Law of Moses”, constructing “an altar of uncut stones on which no iron tool had been used”.

Once the altar was constructed, the scriptures tell us that the Israelites “offered to the Lord burnt offerings and sacrificed fellowship offerings” before “Joshua copied on stones the law of Moses…in the presence of the Israelites” who were “were standing on both sides of the ark of the covenant of the Lord, facing those who carried it — the priests, who were Levites”. “Half of the people” stood in “front of Mount Gerizim” and the other half “in front of Mount Ebal…as Moses the servant of the Lord had formerly commanded” We read where Joshua then “read all the words of the law — the blessings and the curses — just as it is written in the Book of the Law”. We know he didn’t skip anything for “there was not a word of all that Moses had commanded that Joshua did not read to the whole assembly of Israel, including the women and children, and the aliens who lived among them”. No one was absent and so there wasn’t anybody who wasn’t reminded of what God commanded and expected from His people. This also meant that there wasn’t a single person who didn’t understand that there would be harsh consequences doled out for disobedience and/or worshipping any other god than God Himself.

The bottom line was that this event on Mount Ebal amounted to a refresher course for the Israelite people, a reminder of what the Lord expected straight out of His Word.

So why did the people of Israel need reminded?

Well, for starters it would be impossible to completely remember everything that God had commanded. So having His commands read regularly would keep His expectations fresh on the minds of His people.

Maybe just as good a reason, if not more so, was Israel’s high rate of failure. For despite being told by God not to do certain actions, Israel historically didn’t listen, blatantly disobeying the Lord over and over again leading to His disfavor and punishment. Now, as Joshua wrote down all the words of God, the hope was that they would remain fresh on the hearts and minds of the Israelites, leading to a lower failure rate while choosing righteousness over sinfulness.

So how about us as believers today? Do we do a good job of keeping our hearts and minds refreshed with the Word of God?

My concern is that we don’t do it nearly enough. In fact, I’m afraid that a lot of Christians fail to even open and read their bibles up outside of church on Sundays and that simply doesn’t cut it when we are on the spiritual battlefield every day against an enemy like Satan.

For when we fail to read the Word of God every day, it is the same as going up against the enemy unarmed and that’s not going to allow anyone to defend themselves against the devil. It’s of little wonder that we see people falling into sin so much.

The Apostle Paul addresses this matter of being properly armed for spiritual self defense when he writes this in the seventeenth verse of Ephesians, chapter 6:

“Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.”

Need an example of someone using this weapon to perfection?

Go to the fourth chapter of Matthew and you will find this from our Savior Jesus:

Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.

After fasting forty days and forty nights, He was hungry. The tempter came to Him and said, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.”

Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”

Then the devil took Him to the holy city and had Him stand on the highest point of the temple. “If You are the Son of God,” he said, “throw Yourself down. For it is written:

‘He will command his angels concerning you, and they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.’”

Jesus answered him, “It is also written: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’”

Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. “All this I will give You,” he said, “if You will bow down and worship me.”

Jesus said to him, “Away from Me, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve Him only.’”

Then the devil left Him, and angels came and attended Him. Vv.1-12

As in every other area of life, Jesus shows us how to use the scriptures to protect ourselves and fend off Satan. We see Him leading by example in regard to defending ourselves when Satan tries to tempt us and we should note that each time Jesus invoked the Word of God, Satan stopped that particular attack and tried a different approach. After the third unsuccessful try, he fled and the angels attended to Jesus.

My brothers and sisters, if we’re going to have any hope in fending off the devil’s advances, we need to be grounded in the scriptures each and every day. We must know the Word well enough that we can pull out just the right verse to use against the enemy to fend off the attack he chooses, just as Jesus did.

To that end, we need to know and trust that Jesus is ready to equip us with the right words at the right time when we have the scriptures embedded in our hearts and minds. We only need to draw near to Him every day, so near that there’s no room for the enemy to operate when he decides to come upon us.

There is unbelievable, wonder-working power found in the Word of God but it’s up to us to use it. Don’t let a day pass without making it central to your life.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it. Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.

AFRAID AND DISCOURAGED?

Can I pray for you in any way?

Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.

In Christ, Mark

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

** Follow The Christian Walk on Twitter @ThChristianWalk

** Like posts and send friend requests to the author of The Christian Walk, Mark Cummings on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/mark.cummings.733?ref=tn_tnmn

** Become a Follower of The Christian Walk at http://the-christian-walk.blogspot.com

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

Then the Lord said to Joshua, "Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged. Take the whole army with you, and go up and attack Ai. For I have delivered into your hands the king of Ai, his people, his city and his land. You shall do to Ai and its king as you did to Jericho and its king, except that you may carry off their plunder and livestock for yourselves. Set an ambush behind the city."

So Joshua and the whole army moved out to attack Ai. He chose thirty thousand of his best fighting men and sent them out at night with these orders: "Listen carefully. You are to set an ambush behind the city. Don't go very far from it. All of you be on the alert. I and all those with me will advance on the city, and when the men come out against us, as they did before, we will flee from them. They will pursue us until we have lured them away from the city, for they will say, 'They are running away from us as they did before.' So when we flee from them, you are to rise up from ambush and take the city. The Lord your God will give it into your hand. When you have taken the city, set it on fire. Do what the Lord has commanded. See to it; you have my orders."

Then Joshua sent them off, and they went to the place of ambush and lay in wait between Bethel and Ai, to the west of Ai — but Joshua spent that night with the people.

Early the next morning Joshua mustered his men, and he and the leaders of Israel marched before them to Ai. The entire force that was with him marched up and approached the city and arrived in front of it. They set up camp north of Ai, with the valley between them and the city. Joshua had taken about five thousand men and set them in ambush between Bethel and Ai, to the west of the city. They had the soldiers take up their positions — all those in the camp to the north of the city and the ambush to the west of it. That night Joshua went into the valley.

When the king of Ai saw this, he and all the men of the city hurried out early in the morning to meet Israel in battle at a certain place overlooking the Arabah. But he did not know that an ambush had been set against him behind the city. Joshua and all Israel let themselves be driven back before them, and they fled toward the desert. All the men of Ai were called to pursue them, and they pursued Joshua and were lured away from the city. Not a man remained in Ai or Bethel who did not go after Israel. They left the city open and went in pursuit of Israel.

Then the Lord said to Joshua, "Hold out toward Ai the javelin that is in your hand, for into your hand I will deliver the city." So Joshua held out his javelin toward Ai. As soon as he did this, the men in the ambush rose quickly from their position and rushed forward. They entered the city and captured it and quickly set it on fire.

The men of Ai looked back and saw the smoke of the city rising against the sky, but they had no chance to escape in any direction, for the Israelites who had been fleeing toward the desert had turned back against their pursuers. For when Joshua and all Israel saw that the ambush had taken the city and that smoke was going up from the city, they turned around and attacked the men of Ai. The men of the ambush also came out of the city against them, so that they were caught in the middle, with Israelites on both sides. Israel cut them down, leaving them neither survivors nor fugitives. But they took the king of Ai alive and brought him to Joshua.

When Israel had finished killing all the men of Ai in the fields and in the desert where they had chased them, and when every one of them had been put to the sword, all the Israelites returned to Ai and killed those who were in it. Twelve thousand men and women fell that day — all the people of Ai. For Joshua did not draw back the hand that held out his javelin until he had destroyed all who lived in Ai. But Israel did carry off for themselves the livestock and plunder of this city, as the Lord had instructed Joshua.

So Joshua burned Ai and made it a permanent heap of ruins, a desolate place to this day. He hung the king of Ai on a tree and left him there until evening. At sunset, Joshua ordered them to take his body from the tree and throw it down at the entrance of the city gate. And they raised a large pile of rocks over it, which remains to this day.

Joshua 8:1-29

This ends our reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

49.

This is how many times we find the words, “Do not be afraid”, spoken in the Old Testament as the Lord took the time to reassure His people that things were going to be okay because He was with them and would bring protection and deliverance.

As we see in the opening verses of Joshua, chapter 8, the Lord speaks those four words…”Do not be afraid”…to Joshua in the aftermath of his men being slaughtered by army of Ai, a loss that you will remember happened due to the sinful greed of one Israelite named Achan whose actions had broken the covenant. The loss to Ai had left Joshua forlorn and discouraged, unsure of why God had allowed his men to be killed but the Lord spoke into this space to expose Achan’s transgression which had stoked His anger. This resulted in Joshua and the Israelites carrying out judgment on Achan, an act that brought them back into God’s favor.

We know this because as we move to chapter 6, we find God immediately giving Joshua a plan that involved going back after the people of Ai, this time to gain victory. He says this to Israel’s leader:

“Take the whole army with you, and go up and attack Ai. For I have delivered into your hands the king of Ai, his people, his city and his land. You shall do to Ai and its king as you did to Jericho and its king, except that you may carry off their plunder and livestock for yourselves. Set an ambush behind the city."

These words of God had to be an awesome boost of confidence for Joshua and the people of Israel for they had seen first-hand what happens when the Lord was on their side, delivering the enemy into their hands at Jericho so they knew what a win looked like. Now, God was guaranteeing them the same triumph, proclaiming that the “king of Ai, his people, his city and his land” would all be given to them. Unlike Jericho, they would even be allowed to “carry off (Ai’s) plunder and livestock” for themselves. All they had to do was remain obedient in doing everything He commanded.

As we see in our passage for today, the Israelites set out to carry out what God called them to do with “Joshua and the whole army” which consisted of thirty thousand of his best fighters, moving “out to attack Ai”. Israel’s leader gave them the following orders:

"Listen carefully. You are to set an ambush behind the city. Don't go very far from it. All of you be on the alert. I and all those with me will advance on the city, and when the men come out against us, as they did before, we will flee from them. They will pursue us until we have lured them away from the city, for they will say, 'They are running away from us as they did before.' So when we flee from them, you are to rise up from ambush and take the city. The Lord your God will give it into your hand. When you have taken the city, set it on fire. Do what the Lord has commanded. See to it; you have my orders."

And with that, “Joshua sent them off, and they went to the place of ambush and lay in wait between Bethel and Ai, to the west of Ai”.

We can see how Joshua’s plan was designed to maximize on Ai’s overconfidence after defeating Israel the first time. He (Joshua) would take some of his men and assemble in a place where they would be in plain sight of Ai, knowing the city’s king would take his men, leave the city and come out to attack with the goal of killing every Israelite he could.

As things played out, we see where Joshua was right on the money as they say. For the king of Ai took all his men and left the city to attack Joshua and his army. And what further caused the ruse to be so convincing was Joshua and his men ran away, feigning retreat so to lure them as far away from their city as they could.

Overall, the plan was a major success. For the army of Ai pursued Joshua and his men…and after they had been drawn far enough away from their city, the Lord gave Israel’s leader the following command:

“Hold out toward Ai the javelin that is in your hand, for into your hand I will deliver the city.“

And so Joshua does exactly as God directed and held his javelin out towards Ai. This was the signal for the Israelite ambush team to “rise quickly from their position” and rush into the city, easily capturing it because every man had left to go and fight. The Israelite ambushers set the city on fire and when the smoke rose up, the king of Ai and his men realized they had been tricked. They had lost everything they had come out to fight for and now they were going to perish as well.

For we read that Joshua and his men reversed course and now ran towards the king of Ai and his army, engaging them in battle. At the same time, the ambushing Israelite forces came from the city towards the Ai fighting forces from the back. In other words, there was no escape for Ai’s army and the scriptures tell us that the Israelites cut them down, leaving no survivors. “All the Israelites” then “returned to Ai and killed those who were in it”.

When it was over, all the people of Ai…12,000 “men and women fell that day” and their king was the last to go. We read where Joshua “hung (him) on a tree and left him there until evening” after which the body was taken down and thrown “at the entrance of the city gate” before a “large pile of rocks” was placed over the body.

Essentially, we see in today’s passage how the nation of Israel had gone from the outhouse to the penthouse with God…from defeat to victory…from fear to confidence…from discouragement to joy…all because God was back with them and for them. They were once again in His good favor.

“Do not be afraid…do not be discouraged.”

God’s words to Joshua are words to us as well today. For life’s circumstances can get us down if we allow them to and too often, we forget to turn to God for help, choosing instead to rely on ourselves…to formulate our own solutions. In other words, we live like we’re in control…like our lives are predicated on our will.

When we get into this mindset, God will allow us to try and do or own thing just to show us how much we can screw up our lives up when we try and take charge, when we refuse to let go of our troubles and let God handle them. Typically, this leads us to a place of fear and dismay…a place where we are…wait for it…afraid and discouraged.

Friends, why would we ever think it’s a good idea to turn away from God …the One and only One who can do anything and everything?

His Word assures us that there’s nothing beyond the work of His hands…no problem that He can’t resolve in accordance with His will. All we need to do is simply trust Him, deferring to His power and wisdom, a wisdom that always knows the right time and place to make things happen.

And so I encourage you today to adopt an attitude that leads you to patiently wait on the Lord with faith, knowing that He has a plan and purpose for you and your life. Stand firm in your belief in Him through any and all circumstances because He is ever with you…every second of every minute of every hour of every day, 24/7, 365 days a year. Because of this, let us commit ourselves to never ever be afraid or discouraged for our Lord is indeed in control and working things out for the good of believers who love Him, those who have been called according to His purpose (Romans 8:28).

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it. Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.

DEVOTE YOURSELF

Can I pray for you in any way?

Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.

In Christ, Mark

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

** Follow The Christian Walk on Twitter @ThChristianWalk

** Like posts and send friend requests to the author of The Christian Walk, Mark Cummings on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/mark.cummings.733?ref=tn_tnmn

** Become a Follower of The Christian Walk at http://the-christian-walk.blogspot.com

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

But the Israelites acted unfaithfully in regard to the devoted things; Achan son of Carmi, the son of Zimri, the son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, took some of them. So the Lord's anger burned against Israel.

Now Joshua sent men from Jericho to Ai, which is near Beth Aven to the east of Bethel, and told them, "Go up and spy out the region." So the men went up and spied out Ai.

When they returned to Joshua, they said, "Not all the people will have to go up against Ai. Send two or three thousand men to take it and do not weary all the people, for only a few men are there." So about three thousand men went up; but they were routed by the men of Ai, who killed about thirty-six of them. They chased the Israelites from the city gate as far as the stone quarries and struck them down on the slopes. At this, the hearts of the people melted and became like water.

Then Joshua tore his clothes and fell facedown to the ground before the ark of the Lord, remaining there till evening. The elders of Israel did the same, and sprinkled dust on their heads. And Joshua said, "Ah, Sovereign Lord, why did You ever bring this people across the Jordan to deliver us into the hands of the Amorites to destroy us? If only we had been content to stay on the other side of the Jordan! O Lord, what can I say, now that Israel has been routed by its enemies? The Canaanites and the other people of the country will hear about this and they will surround us and wipe out our name from the earth. What then will you do for your own great name?"

The Lord said to Joshua, "Stand up! What are you doing down on your face? Israel has sinned; they have violated my covenant, which I commanded them to keep. They have taken some of the devoted things; they have stolen, they have lied, they have put them with their own possessions. That is why the Israelites cannot stand against their enemies; they turn their backs and run because they have been made liable to destruction. I will not be with you anymore unless you destroy whatever among you is devoted to destruction.

"Go, consecrate the people. Tell them, 'Consecrate yourselves in preparation for tomorrow; for this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: That which is devoted is among you, O Israel. You cannot stand against your enemies until you remove it.’”

"In the morning, present yourselves tribe by tribe. The tribe that the Lord takes shall come forward clan by clan; the clan that the Lord takes shall come forward family by family; and the family that the Lord takes shall come forward man by man. He who is caught with the devoted things shall be destroyed by fire, along with all that belongs to him. He has violated the covenant of the Lord and has done a disgraceful thing in Israel!"

Early the next morning Joshua had Israel come forward by tribes, and Judah was taken. The clans of Judah came forward, and he took the Zerahites. He had the clan of the Zerahites come forward by families, and Zimri was taken. Joshua had his family come forward man by man, and Achan, son of Carmi, the son of Zimri, the son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, was taken.

Then Joshua said to Achan, "My son, give glory to the Lord, the God of Israel, and give Him the praise. Tell me what you have done; do not hide it from me."

Achan replied, "It is true! I have sinned against the Lord, the God of Israel. This is what I have done: When I saw in the plunder a beautiful robe from Babylonia, two hundred shekels of silver and a wedge of gold weighing fifty shekels, I coveted them and took them. They are hidden in the ground inside my tent, with the silver underneath."

So Joshua sent messengers, and they ran to the tent, and there it was, hidden in his tent, with the silver underneath. They took the things from the tent, brought them to Joshua and all the Israelites and spread them out before the Lord.

Then Joshua, together with all Israel, took Achan, son of Zerah, the silver, the robe, the gold wedge, his sons and daughters, his cattle, donkeys and sheep, his tent and all that he had, to the Valley of Achor. Joshua said, "Why have you brought this trouble on us? The Lord will bring trouble on you today."

Then all Israel stoned him, and after they had stoned the rest, they burned them. Over Achan, they heaped up a large pile of rocks, which remains to this day. Then the Lord turned from his fierce anger. Therefore that place has been called the Valley of Achor ever since.

Joshua 7

This ends our reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

Fresh off the defeat of Jericho, we find Joshua setting his sights on a new conquest…Ai, which scripture tells us was “near Beth Aven to the east of Bethel”. As he did with Jericho, Joshua sent men out in advance to “spy out the region” and we read where they returned with this favorable news:

“Not all the people will have to go up against Ai. Send two or three thousand men to take it and do not weary all the people, for only a few men are there."

And so Joshua sent “about three thousand men” to Ai, confident that victory would be just as certain as it had been in Jericho. In fact, Joshua was so confident that he didn’t even consult God first…something that he should have done because he might have found out ahead of time that God was not happy with the people of Israel. In fact, God’s Word tells us that His “anger (was burning) against” the Israelites.

Why?

Well, we see where “the Israelites (had) acted unfaithfully in regard to the devoted things”…the things that they were ordered to dedicate to God from Jericho. This unfaithfulness involved a man - “Achan son of Carmi, the son of Zimri, the son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah” – who decided to keep some of the spoils for himself. The scriptures tell us he took possession of “a beautiful robe from Babylonia, two hundred shekels of silver and a wedge of gold weighing fifty shekels”. Achan coveted these items by his own confession and buried them under his tent but unfortunately, it wasn’t just him that the Lord held accountable. Rather, it was the entire nation of Israel, that is, until Achan was exposed.

Because of the sin of Achan, Joshua saw nearly three thousand of his fighting forces “routed by the men of Ai” who “killed about thirty-six of them” before chasing “the Israelites from the city gate as far as the stone quarries and (striking) them down on the slopes”. The onslaught caused “the hearts of (God’s) people (to melt) and became like water”.

We read where Joshua was thrown headlong into deep mourning over what happened, tearing his clothes and falling “facedown to the ground before the ark of the Lord” where he remained until evening. He was joined in remorse by the “elders of Israel” who “sprinkled dust on their heads” as a sign of repentance. There had to be many questions racing through their minds.

Why had God not been with them?

Why would He allow such a defeat?

This is why we see Joshua crying out to the Lord saying:

“Ah, Sovereign Lord, why did You ever bring this people across the Jordan to deliver us into the hands of the Amorites to destroy us? If only we had been content to stay on the other side of the Jordan! O Lord, what can I say, now that Israel has been routed by its enemies? The Canaanites and the other people of the country will hear about this and they will surround us and wipe out our name from the earth. What then will you do for your own great name?"

Here we see Joshua, who decided to not consult God before sending his men into battle, now questioning the Lord about why He was absent at Ai, even going as far as wanting to know why He brought His people into Canaan in the first place. Further, we find Joshua wondering if the Israelites had lost its competitive edge against its adversaries. For when word had spread about their defeat, then surely other enemies would feel confident in coming to attack, anticipating victory as well.

Well, as we see in our passage, God allowed Joshua to whine for just a short while before intervening and saying:

“Stand up! What are you doing down on your face? Israel has sinned; they have violated my covenant, which I commanded them to keep. They have taken some of the devoted things; they have stolen, they have lied, they have put them with their own possessions. That is why the Israelites cannot stand against their enemies; they turn their backs and run because they have been made liable to destruction. I will not be with you anymore unless you destroy whatever among you is devoted to destruction”.

Here, we see God making it very clear that the Israelites had brought trouble on themselves by taking items that were designated as “devoted”. Granted, Achan was the one who took the items but sin wasn’t just an Achan problem; it was an Israelite problem as well just as it was a Jericho problem and we know God brought judgment on the city through His own people. Now He showed that His punishment could be placed on His own people as well if they chose to be disobedient.

So what would it take for the people of Israel to get back into good graces with God?

We see the Lord letting Joshua saying:

“Go, consecrate the people. Tell them, 'Consecrate yourselves in preparation for tomorrow; for this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: That which is devoted is among you, O Israel. You cannot stand against your enemies until you remove it.’”

In other words, nothing was going to change until the problem at hand was resolved…the problem being the things taken and the person responsible. To find who that was, we see the Lord putting in place a process of elimination. First, He would select one of the twelve tribes and then a clan from that tribe. Then, a family would be singled out from the clan before a man was identified, the man who was the guilty party. We read where there would be severe consequences for anyone who sinned against God for they, the one “caught with the devoted things”, was to be “destroyed by fire, along with all that belongs to him” for violating “the covenant of the Lord” and doing “a disgraceful thing in Israel!"

So “early the next morning”, Joshua had Israel “come forward by tribes” and the Lord picked the tribe of Judah. This eliminated the other eleven tribes.

Next, the clans of Judah came forward and the Lord “took the Zerahites”.

Then when the “clan of the Zerahites come forward by families”, the Lord selected the family of Zimri, after which Joshua had each person come forward “man by man” before picking the guilty man, “Achan son of Carmi, the son of Zimri, the son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah”. Joshua then addressed him saying:

"My son, give glory to the Lord, the God of Israel, and give Him the praise. Tell me what you have done; do not hide it from me."

And with that, we find Achan come clean replying:

“It is true! I have sinned against the Lord, the God of Israel. This is what I have done: When I saw in the plunder a beautiful robe from Babylonia, two hundred shekels of silver and a wedge of gold weighing fifty shekels, I coveted them and took them. They are hidden in the ground inside my tent, with the silver underneath."

After Achan’s confession, the scriptures tell us that Joshua sent messengers to Achan’s tent to see if his words were true and they were. The items were found right where Achan said they were and the messengers “took the things from the tent, brought them to Joshua and all the Israelites and spread them out before the Lord”.

And so with Achan exposed and the stolen devoted items recaptured, we read where “Joshua, together with all Israel, took Achan son of Zerah, the silver, the robe, the gold wedge, his sons and daughters, his cattle, donkeys and sheep, his tent and all that he had, to the Valley of Achor”. There, Joshua asked Achan:

“Why have you brought this trouble on us? The Lord will bring trouble on you today."

What did that “trouble” look like?

We read where all of Israel were used as God’s instruments of judgment as they first stoned him and then his family and the other living things that were his, They then burned everything before covering them with “a large pile of rocks”, a solemn reminder of the penalty for breaking God’s covenant promise.

Friends, Joshua, chapter 7, serves to remind us that God expects integrity from His people, especially when it comes to their dealings with Him. Going back to chapter 6, you’ll remember the Lord telling His people this before their conquest of Jericho:

“…But keep away from the devoted things, so that you will not bring about your own destruction by taking any of them. Otherwise you will make the camp of Israel liable to destruction and bring trouble on it. All the silver and gold and the articles of bronze and iron are sacred to the Lord and must go into his treasury."

Through his selfish greediness, Achan had brought destruction down on his fellow Israelites and we know that thirty-six of his brothers in arms had died because of his actions. And so, when his punishment was rendered, it ended up being just as severe. The penalty fit the crime.

Through Achan, we need to understand that our sinful actions can sometimes have far reaching ramifications. People around us can be hurt and hurt badly if we decide to selfishly seek to satisfy our own wants, even going as far as sinning to satisfy them. We also need to understand that God will not let the selfish sinner go undisciplined and His prescribed discipline could be extremely severe.

The bottom line is that we shouldn’t ever think that we serve a God who won’t correct us when He deems it necessary. Yes, He loves us yes. Yes, He wants the best for us. Yes, He is merciful and full of grace…but He will not tolerate us trying to take advantage of His good nature…choosing to not respect His Word, will, and way. We can know and trust that.

Given this, my prayer is that we will always think twice before we fall victim to any temptation from the enemy to sin in any way that would bring us into disfavor and enmity with the Lord. To that end, let’s all become hypersensitive to the times when God seeks to convict us through the moving of the Holy Spirit within. For any time our “spider senses” are going off and giving us advance feeling that we’re about to do something wrong, we need to stop immediately and not carry out what we were thinking about doing.

The Lord is always at work to try and help us stay out of sin. All we need to do is be ready to respond appropriately when He works to guide us onto right and righteous paths in life. For it’s then and only then that we can assure ourselves that we are devoting to Him the most important thing…the thing He desires the most…and that is ourselves.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it. Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.