P a g e | Joshua 8-9

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Joshua 8-9

Good evening, church.

It is do good to be here with you all.

Tonight we are going to continue our study through the Old Testament.

We will be in Joshua Chapter 8 and 9 tonight.

Let's pray before we began.

Now, last time we were together Joshua and the Nation of Israel experienced the first and only defeat.

It was a painful loss, and as we will see tonight it emboldened Israel's enemies.

Those once frightened nations will be encouraged that the little city of Ai was able to humiliate Joshua's army.

Remember after the great victory at Jericho, a victory that God supernaturally won for Israel, one man and his family took of the accursed things.

God had clearly commanded that everyone and everything be destroyed and all the plunder be devoted to Him.

And this man Achan saw with his eyes the gold and silver, and a Babylonian coat, and he coveted in his heart, and the temptation gave way to him sinning and taking of what he was supposed to give to God.

And because of this great sin, God's presence had left the armies of Israel.

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Now Joshua and the war council were not so innocent in the defeat of Ai as well.

Joshua and his leaders were so emboldened by their triumph in Jericho, that they became confident in themselves.

And already in the second battle that lay before them, they did not seek God's council.

The word of the spies that he sent ahead prevailed in the hearts of the people.

And they sent a few of the mighty army, and then the congregation of Israel watched in fear as that division of soldiers came running down the hill in defeat.

They lost 36 six warriors in the quarrel.

And now in the promise land, we read the embolden Israelites were in a moment turned to cowards.

It said in Josh 7:1 therefore the hearts of the people melted and became like water.

Joshua the mighty leader falls immediately on his face, and he and the elders put dust on their heads as a sign of humbling themselves before God.

Joshua thought God had abandoned His promises to the people.

He wondered if their God has deceived them, and Joshua's shamed heart cries to stay on the other side of the Jordan River, and he declares they would be content not entering the land of Canaan.

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God speaks to Joshua, now that Joshua is appealing to Him.

If only Joshua would have involved God in the first place, none of this would have taken place at all.

God tells Joshua to "Get up!" and to deal with the sin in the camp.

He is a Holy God, and He can only dwell in a holy camp.

And Joshua at the Word of the Lord arises to his place of leadership, and he deals with the rebellion and Achan and his family are destroyed along with the stolen items.

They raised a memorial heap of stones over the rebel as a fitting reminder and warning to the army of God to obey God in every detail in order to assure victory.

Now, as we will see in the next chapter, even one sin can have huge effects on the work of God.

This little city of Ai will require a full force and not just a small division.

Ai was a much smaller threat than Jericho, but after a humiliating defeat it will be much more difficult to win Ai than Jericho.

Ai's warriors are emboldened and Israel's soldiers once felt invincible and now they know that they are not.

Sin has such huge consequences in a person's life and in a body of believers as well.

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And we will see tonight recovering lost ground in our spiritual life is a difficult problem.

We can have 5 minutes of willful disobedience in our Christian life, and that can set us back for 5 years in our Christian walk.

I have seen faithful brothers and sisters who have served the Lord diligently for decades, and in one moment of compromise, their whole work becomes damaged and tainted for years.

Lost ground in our spiritual walk is so difficult to regain.

Every time I hear or see of one of these faithful fall, my soul cringes, not in judgment at all toward them, in fact it puts a fear within me, I know that wretched man is still within me, and I cannot afford for a moment to set out in my own flesh.

Too much is at stake.

Please note, that it was Joshua's confidence that led him blindly into defeat.

And this is the case, when a person is arrogant in his spiritual status, when they tout their righteousness and their spiritual superiority, when a person loses this very healthy fear of self, it us not usually long before they enter into the tragedy of defeat in their spiritual walk.

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When a person is deflecting, or excusing the condition of their sinful heart, that is usually the earmark of a soon calamity.

May we all sear into our conscious the fact that if we are not dependent on the Lord, and seeking the Lord in every area of our lives, we are in danger.

And as we move on now in our study, you will notice Joshua has learned from setting forth battle plans on his own, and he once again allows God to lead and develop the strategy.

Now that the sin and failure in the camp is dealt with, God is now back in the place He belongs, He is in command.

And He starts with an encouragement and reminder for Joshua.

The Fall of Ai

8:1 Now the Lord said to Joshua: "Do not be afraid, nor be dismayed; take all the people of war with you, and arise, go up to Ai. See, I have given into your hand the king of Ai, his people, his city, and his land. 2 And you shall do to Ai and its king as you did to Jericho and its king. Only its spoil and its cattle you shall take as booty for yourselves. Lay an ambush for the city behind it."

Now how wonderful God's Grace is.

Joshua humbled himself, repented and God speaks to Joshua as He has done in the past.

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Joshua, now that the relationship with God is restored, he is hearing once again those sweet promises and assurances from the Lord.

How destructive it is when a person remains unrepentant and has no sorrow over their transgressions.

I marvel at the misery some choose to walk in because they fail to address their sin problem honestly.

It is a one-step program to be back in fellowship with God, genuine repentance leads to a restored relationship.

The quickest way out of the chastening of the Lord, is adhere to the warning that the Apostle John wrote in ... 1 John 1:8-10 If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 10 If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us.

Understand if come to the Lord humbly and confess our sin, He will forgive us and cleanse us.

But if we refuse to admit our sins, and deal with them honestly, we choose to work against God's healing and restoring power.

When our relationship is right with God, His Word speaks and opens our understanding once again to His ways and His promises.

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Joshua is hearing God, and God is assuring once again victory.

What a great relief to Joshua, that the true Commander is once again assuring victory.

I don't know about you, but when I get ahead of God, and get away from hearing His voice, and I come back, His Word is like the Psalmist declared in...

Ps 119:103 How sweet are Your words to my taste,

Sweeter than honey to my mouth!

Joshua is tasting that sweetness now, and his courage has returned.

God tells him that Ai will fall as Jericho did, but this time, unlike Jericho all the spoil was theirs!

If Achan would have just waited on the Lord, he would have all the spoils he could carry.

He could have started a Babylonian garment selling business.

Obedience to God's way is not a burden, when we obey, even when we do not understand and we simply obey, usually blessing is right up ahead.

God will provide for Israel now with the spoil and livestock in Ai.

And even though the heavenly manna has stopped feeding Israel in Canaan, we see God is still providing for their needs.

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And at the end of verse 2 we get a glimpse into the strategy that God desires to use against Ai.

Since the warriors are self-assured from their previous victory, God will use their overconfidence to lure them out of the city, and an ambush will be set up behind them.

Look at verse 3...

3 So Joshua arose, and all the people of war, to go up against Ai; and Joshua chose thirty thousand mighty men of valor and sent them away by night. 4 And he commanded them, saying: "Behold, you shall lie in ambush against the city, behind the city. Do not go very far from the city, but all of you be ready. 5 Then I and all the people who are with me will approach the city; and it will come about, when they come out against us as at the first, that we shall flee before them. 6 For they will come out after us till we have drawn them from the city, for they will say, 'They are fleeing before us as at the first.' Therefore we will flee before them. 7 Then you shall rise from the ambush and seize the city, for the Lord your God will deliver it into your hand. 8 And it will be, when you have taken the city, that you shall set the city on fire. According to the commandment of the Lord you shall do. See, I have commanded you."

The battle instructions are given by the Lord, and Joshua relays them to the people.

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