AFRAID AND DISCOURAGED?

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Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.

In Christ, Mark

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

** Follow The Christian Walk on Twitter @ThChristianWalk

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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

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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.

TRUSTING GOD'S PLAN

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

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

Now Jericho was tightly shut up because of the Israelites. No one went out and no one came in.

Then the Lord said to Joshua, "See, I have delivered Jericho into your hands, along with its king and its fighting men. March around the city once with all the armed men. Do this for six days. Have seven priests carry trumpets of rams' horns in front of the ark. On the seventh day, march around the city seven times, with the priests blowing the trumpets. When you hear them sound a long blast on the trumpets, have all the people give a loud shout; then the wall of the city will collapse and the people will go up, every man straight in."

So Joshua, son of Nun, called the priests and said to them, "Take up the ark of the covenant of the Lord and have seven priests carry trumpets in front of it." And he ordered the people, "Advance! March around the city, with the armed guard going ahead of the ark of the Lord."

When Joshua had spoken to the people, the seven priests carrying the seven trumpets before the Lord went forward, blowing their trumpets, and the ark of the Lord's covenant followed them. The armed guard marched ahead of the priests who blew the trumpets, and the rear guard followed the ark. All this time the trumpets were sounding. But Joshua had commanded the people, "Do not give a war cry, do not raise your voices, do not say a word until the day I tell you to shout. Then shout!" So he had the ark of the Lord carried around the city, circling it once. Then the people returned to camp and spent the night there.

Joshua got up early the next morning and the priests took up the ark of the Lord. The seven priests carrying the seven trumpets went forward, marching before the ark of the Lord and blowing the trumpets. The armed men went ahead of them and the rear guard followed the ark of the Lord, while the trumpets kept sounding. So on the second day they marched around the city once and returned to the camp. They did this for six days.

On the seventh day, they got up at daybreak and marched around the city seven times in the same manner, except that on that day they circled the city seven times. The seventh time around, when the priests sounded the trumpet blast, Joshua commanded the people, "Shout! For the Lord has given you the city! The city and all that is in it are to be devoted to the Lord. Only Rahab the prostitute and all who are with her in her house shall be spared, because she hid the spies we sent. 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."

When the trumpets sounded, the people shouted, and at the sound of the trumpet, when the people gave a loud shout, the wall collapsed; so every man charged straight in, and they took the city. They devoted the city to the Lord and destroyed with the sword every living thing in it—men and women, young and old, cattle, sheep and donkeys.

Joshua said to the two men who had spied out the land, "Go into the prostitute's house and bring her out and all who belong to her, in accordance with your oath to her." So the young men who had done the spying went in and brought out Rahab, her father and mother and brothers and all who belonged to her. They brought out her entire family and put them in a place outside the camp of Israel.

Then they burned the whole city and everything in it, but they put the silver and gold and the articles of bronze and iron into the treasury of the Lord's house. But Joshua spared Rahab the prostitute, with her family and all who belonged to her, because she hid the men Joshua had sent as spies to Jericho—and she lives among the Israelites to this day.

At that time Joshua pronounced this solemn oath: "Cursed before the Lord is the man who undertakes to rebuild this city, Jericho: At the cost of his firstborn son will he lay its foundations; at the cost of his youngest will he set up its gates."

So the Lord was with Joshua, and his fame spread throughout the land.

Joshua 6

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

One morning many years ago, I woke up, got ready for work, and climbed into my Jeep Liberty for the commute. When I started the car, an alarm immediately chimed and I saw on the dash display that there was a low tire pressure alert light and associated message.

Something was amiss.

So I got out the car, checked my tire pressures, and sure enough, the left rear tire was going flat. Thankfully, I did have enough air left in the tire to get to the gas station and inflate it back up to pressure but it wasn’t more than five hours later when I had to leave the Naval base where I was stationed, that the alert came back on. With 75,000 plus miles on my tires, I decided it was time to replace them so I made an appointment to get it done in the evening.

I arrived at the tire store and waited in the lounge as they took care of my vehicle and while taking care of editing some documents, a lady came into the lounge and sat down. I said hello to her and we started sharing conversation which I always try to turn toward the Lord when the opportunity presents itself, and in this case, it did. I learned that she was a believer too and that she worked as a nurse before she shared an awesome testimony that is in line with this message today.

The woman told me that she had unfortunately run over a nail that punctured her tire. After calling the same tire store I did, she was told it would cost well over $100 to replace the tire…$100 she didn’t have so she had asked them if they could just fix it. They said they could do that for $20 and so she had brought it in…and it was this that led to us coming together at that time and place.

Then she told me the amazing part of all this.

For after she got off the phone with the tire store, she was tending to a patient when a woman came to her in a lot of distress. She needed some immediate attention so the woman I was speaking with made the time to tend to the lady in need…and in gratitude, the lady gave her a gift of $20, just what she needed to get her tire fixed.

Now, the nurse didn’t have any idea that the lady was going to give her that $20. She wasn’t helping her for that reason but rather because she had a heart like Jesus…a heart that was ready to serve others in need when the need presented itself. She did what was natural for her…and in return, the Lord did what was natural for Him. He blessed her.

All and all, what’s totally amazing about this story, my encounter with this woman, and the scripture for today from Joshua, chapter 6 is that they have one important thing in common.

They were all part of God’s plan.

Turning to our passage for today, we find Joshua receiving detailed instructions from the Lord regarding what was to be done regarding the city of Jericho. I’m sure Israel’s leader was surprised by what God was telling him to do as it wouldn’t have been anything he would have come with on his own.

For the scriptures tell us that Lord directs Joshua to form a processional group to march around the perimeter of Jericho…a city that was “tightly shut up” as the city’s residents hoped they could possibly shield themselves from attack and destruction at the hands of the Israelites and their God.

We read where the procession was to start with “the armed guard” who marched ahead of the seven priests, each of which was sounding a trumpet fashioned from a ram’s horn. After the trumpeting priests were the priests who carried the ark of the covenant and then finally there was the rear guard which followed the ark. Once everyone was gathered together and in place on the day God commanded, Joshua called the priests together and said this:

“Take up the ark of the covenant of the Lord and have seven priests carry trumpets in front of it."

He followed this with an order for the Israelite people, saying:

"Advance! March around the city, with the armed guard going ahead of the ark of the Lord."

And with that, the procession happened as God commanded, making one round of the city walls before returning to camp. Following this, they repeated the act for five more days, six in all, but the seventh day was different. For the procession was to walk around the city seven times with the trumpets sounding the entire time and on the seventh lap, there was to be a “long blast on the trumpets” and “all the people” were to “give a loud shout”…a shout that would cause “the wall of the city” to collapse, exposing Jericho and its people to Israel’s invasion.

So the procession set out on the seventh day and did exactly what the Lord directed and the scriptures tell us that after the trumpets sounded their long blast and the people let out a loud shout, the walls of Jericho came crashing down. Immediately, the Israelites took action, sending “every man charg(ing) straight in” as they “took the city”. They then devoted “the city to the Lord’ before destroying every living thing in it — men and women, young and old, cattle, sheep, and donkeys”. No one was spared with the exception of Rahab and her family who survived because of the protection she had provided to the two Israelite spies earlier. Both she and her family were allowed to join the people of Israel, the reward for her act of courageous service to Israel’s God.

Through this chapter and the testimony of that woman at the tire store so many years ago, we see clearly that God always has a plan. After all He is God.

We also see that His plan doesn’t always go in ways we would design, often making things happen that we could never have imagined or orchestrated ourselves. For example, if Israel were left to plan their attack of Jericho, do you think they would have formed a procession and marched around the walls of the city once a day with trumpets blaring for six consecutive days and then do it seven times on the seventh day before shouting out and bringing down the walls? I don’t think so and anyone who would have even proposed such a strategy would have been viewed as crazy.

One other amazing aspect of this account is that we never see Joshua or any other Israelite question God’s plan. They didn’t stop and ask, “God, are you sure this will work?” No…they carried out His plan with obedience and did exactly what He wanted. In return, they were rewarded with victory over the fortified city through their God who miraculously brought down Jericho’s walls in power, just as He had parted the flooding Jordan River days earlier.

Likewise, the woman who was blessed with the $20 gift never questioned God’s plan either. The Lord knew her need before she did and set circumstances in motion where she would be blessed if she simply followed His plan…a plan that involved caring for someone in need, even when it meant interrupting everything she was doing at the time. The Lord placed it on her heart to help the woman who needed it and she obeyed Him. In return, she received the bounty of His blessings…granted not in the way of a mighty city like Israel but instead with the exact amount of money she needed at the time.

Friends, we need to always remember this lesson today. God has a plan…and it is most often far beyond anything we could ever contrive on our own. With this, we shouldn’t try and figure it out because we aren’t anywhere as smart as the Lord…not even close. Rather, we should only allow the Lord to take the wheel and guide us to where He wants us to be so to do what He wants us to do, each and every day. We should be praying for His will and way to be done in our lives, and then respond to Him in faith and trust. For if we surrender control of our lives to Him and follow His lead, then we, like Israel and the woman at the tire store, will experience the awesome blessings God has in store for each of us.

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

HOLY BEHAVIOR ON HOLY GROUND

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Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.

In Christ, Mark

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** Follow The Christian Walk on Twitter @ThChristianWalk

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

Now when Joshua was near Jericho, he looked up and saw a man standing in front of him with a drawn sword in his hand. Joshua went up to him and asked, "Are you for us or for our enemies?"

"Neither," he replied, "but as commander of the army of the Lord I have now come." Then Joshua fell facedown to the ground in reverence, and asked him, "What message does my Lord have for His servant?"

The commander of the Lord's army replied, "Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy."

And Joshua did so.

Joshua 5:13-15

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

Under the leadership of Joshua, Israel had crossed over the Jordan River and into Canaan. Their first challenge would be a formidable one: conquering the heavily fortified city of Jericho.

Now, you’ll remember that Joshua had sent two spies into Jericho already who narrowly escaped capture thanks to the heroic act of Rahab, the prostitute (Joshua 2). Thanks to her (and of course, the Lord), the spies returned to camp safely and brought with them valuable intelligence information concerning Jericho.

So as Israel moved toward Jericho, we read in passage that Joshua encountered a supernatural figure, “a man standing in front of him with a drawn sword in his hand”. Knowing that the enemies within Canaan could be expected to resist the Isrelites at any time, we find Joshua asking the man:

"Are you for us or for our enemies?"

I’m sure he was very surprised at the answer the man gave him. For in response, he simply said, "Neither” before telling Joshua that he was the “commander of the army of the Lord”. Those very words brought immediate distress and fear to Israel’s leader who “fell facedown to the ground in reverence” before asking this:

"What message does my Lord have for his servant?"

 

To which the commander of the Lord’s army replied:

“Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy."

And as chapter 5 ends, we see Joshua complying with the command.

Now, there is more to come regarding what the commander of the army of the Lord will instruct Joshua and Israel to do regarding Jericho but I want to focus in on Joshua and his actions in this passage…for they are actions that we should embody in our own approach to the Lord. I offer three key takeaways for us to ponder as we look at Joshua and his actions while before a divine representative sent by God.

First, Joshua immediately showed respect and reverence as he fell down before the commander of the army of the Lord. Right away, he recognized that the man before him was no ordinary person but rather a military leader of God’s fighting forces, a leader sent from Heaven to earth for the specific purpose of providing Joshua with special, personalized guidance from God Himself.

We should follow Joshua’s lead and mimic his attitude of reverence within each and every day God blesses us with. For He is ever working in our lives and we are expected to submit to His almighty authority, bowing down to Him in humble adoration and devotion. He and He alone deserves nothing less than our complete admiration.

In speaking with the Lord’s commander, the second thing we see from Joshua that he asks what God expects of him. Falling facedown in full submission, we find Joshua making himself available for whatever the Lord would have him do and through his actions, we see how he understands that God has a purpose for him and wants to fully know what that purpose is.

As for us today, we are purposed as well and we, like Joshua, should be inquiring of the Lord for Him to reveal to us what He wants us to do. When we do this, coming before Him in humble submission to His will, we can know and trust that He will put us where He wants us to be in order to carry out His plans…just as He did with Israel’s new leader.

Finally, Joshua displayed complete obedience to God. When told by the Commander of the Lord’s army to remove his sandals because he was standing on holy ground, Joshua did exactly what he was told and he did so because he grasped and respected the awesome magnitude of the moment…a moment of incredible holiness…a moment where he was in the presence of one of God’s holy military officers.

Friends, each and every day, we are living in the Lord’s presence and this should impel us toward reverent behavior. We should treat any place where we feel Him with us as holy ground because it is. Like Joshua, we need to express complete submission and honor toward our God.

Through our scripture passage today, we find Joshua modeling for us holy behavior in holy places. We would be well served to model his actions as we encounter the Lord in our own special ways each and every day.

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.

RENEWING COMMITMENT

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Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.

In Christ, Mark

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** 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

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

Now when all the Amorite kings west of the Jordan and all the Canaanite kings along the coast heard how the Lord had dried up the Jordan before the Israelites until we had crossed over, their hearts melted and they no longer had the courage to face the Israelites.

At that time the Lord said to Joshua, "Make flint knives and circumcise the Israelites again." So Joshua made flint knives and circumcised the Israelites at Gibeath Haaraloth.

Now this is why he did so: All those who came out of Egypt - all the men of military age - died in the desert on the way after leaving Egypt. All the people that came out had been circumcised, but all the people born in the desert during the journey from Egypt had not. The Israelites had moved about in the desert forty years until all the men who were of military age when they left Egypt had died, since they had not obeyed the Lord. For the Lord had sworn to them that they would not see the land that He had solemnly promised their fathers to give us, a land flowing with milk and honey. So He raised up their sons in their place, and these were the ones Joshua circumcised. They were still uncircumcised because they had not been circumcised on the way. And after the whole nation had been circumcised, they remained where they were in camp until they were healed.

Then the Lord said to Joshua, "Today I have rolled away the reproach of Egypt from you." So the place has been called Gilgal to this day.

On the evening of the fourteenth day of the month, while camped at Gilgal on the plains of Jericho, the Israelites celebrated the Passover. The day after the Passover, that very day, they ate some of the produce of the land: unleavened bread and roasted grain. The manna stopped the day after they ate this food from the land; there was no longer any manna for the Israelites, but that year they ate of the produce of Canaan.

Joshua 5:1-12

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

As Joshua, chapter 5, opens we see where the word of Israel’s arrival in Canaan had moved quickly. Earlier in this chapter, we learned from the story of Rahab and the Israelite spies she harbored that people within the Promised Land were already aware of Israel and how the almighty presence of their God was with them. Indeed, Canaan knew Israel was coming and now that they had crossed the Jordan River in miraculous fashion (“…the Lord had dried up the Jordan before the Israelites…had crossed over”), the scriptures tell us that “all the Amorite kings west of the Jordan and all the Canaanite kings along the coast” felt their hearts melt and “no longer had the courage to face the Israelites”. They knew the worst was yet to come.

Before that happened, we see in today’s passage where the Israelites had to do a few things while encamped at Gilgal, things that would serve to renew their commitment to the Lord and help them move forward united for one holy cause.

So what needed done?

Well, we see where the Lord issues this command to Joshua:

Now, you will recall that circumcision was important in Old Testament days. It had been put in place by God when He directed Abraham to circumcise all Israelite males, the circumcision serving as a sign of one’s covenant with Him (Genesis 17). This requirement would apply to all the descendants that would follow with male babies circumcised on the eighth day after birth (Leviticus 12:3).

Given these standards established by the Lord, Joshua did as he was asked and of interest, this mass circumcision involved adults and children.

Why?

We find the answer in our text:

“All those who came out of Egypt — all the men of military age — died in the desert on the way after leaving Egypt. All the people that came out had been circumcised, but all the people born in the desert during the journey from Egypt had not. The Israelites had moved about in the desert forty years until all the men who were of military age when they left Egypt had died, since they had not obeyed the Lord. For the Lord had sworn to them that they would not see the land that He had solemnly promised their fathers to give us, a land flowing with milk and honey. So He raised up their sons in their place…”

It was these sons, the sons of those who died in the wilderness as a part of God’s judgment on them, that were raised up to fight like their ancestors. They would be the ones who would invade and conquer Canaan but not before they were circumcised, bearing the special sign of God’s covenant before heading into battle. This showed the depth of their devotion and commitment to God which resulted in the “reproach of Egypt” being “rolled away” from them.

We need to know that circumcision wasn’t the only act of renewal that occurred before the Israelites entered into their first conflict at Jericho. For we read where “on the evening of the fourteenth day of the month, while camped at Gilgal on the plains of Jericho, the Israelites celebrated the Passover”. This was a critical event, not just because God had ordered His people to do it but also because the people of Israel needed a reminder of God’s awesome power of deliverance. Because of Israel’s past obedience in following God’s guidance to spread the blood of the sacrificed, unblemished lamb on their doorposts, they were passed over when death fell upon all the firstborn of Egypt. Fast forwarding to Gilgal, remembering God’s faithful act of protection for their ancestors in Egypt could only serve to further strengthen the confidence and strength of the Israelites as they headed toward war with Canaan’s current inhabitants.

So Gilgal was certainly a place of renewal…but it also was a place of new beginnings.

You see, the prior generation of Israelites had been blessed with manna, the special bread from Heaven, from the beginning of their exodus from Egypt until present. You’ll recall that God sent it to them when they were hungry and in need, in essence providing them with what literally became their daily bread to sustain them through their difficulties (Exodus 16). But now, the Israelites were finally in the Promised Land, the land that was indeed flowing with milk and honey just as God had promised. With this, there was now plenty of food for the people of Israel to partake in and this is why we read that on the “day after the Passover…they (the Israelites) ate some of the produce of the land” which included “unleavened bread and roasted grain”. And with food now readily available, the people of Israel no longer needed manna so we see in the scriptures where God stopped sending it. From this point forward, God’s people would eat from what they found in Canaan.

In sum, now recommitted to God’s covenant promise, reminded of His deliverance and protection, and nourished for the struggles ahead, the Israelites were now ready to move forward and take what the Lord had set aside for them.

As you read this today, how do you feel about how the Lord is moving in your life?

Do you feel prepared to handle the challenges before you?

Are you energized by knowing the Lord is with and for you, ready to move forward feeling able to handle whatever might come your way?

Have you kept in mind how God has delivered countless people from hardship throughout the history of mankind, showing Himself as a Lord who brings protection as we walk the path He sets before us with confidence and hope and faith?

Perhaps, you are even in a place where you need to renew and refresh your commitment to the Lord in your life and that’s okay because we all need it. In fact, I think it’s of critical importance that we renew our dedication and devotion to God each and every day so to move forward into each day centered on Him. Here’s a prayer we might lift up to that end:

“Thank you Lord for the blessing of this day and for Your mercy and grace and love. I give thanks for this gift of life and as I awake and rise, I commit myself to You just as fully as You have committed Yourself to me. Through this day, I ask that you use me as an instrument of Your will, I pray, so to bring you honor and glory. I offer myself to You as Your willing servant as I pray in Your holy name. Amen.”

Friends, I believe that if we say this and truly mean what we say with all our heart, then we can expect to see the Lord use us for amazing, incredible purposes. For our God has shown over and over and over again how He and He alone can take ordinary people like you and me and make us extraordinary…just as He is about to do with His beloved people of Israel when we continue our study of Joshua.

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