Joshua 8;1

Joshua 8:1 says, And the LORD said unto Joshua, Fear not, neither be thou dismayed: take all the people of war with thee, and arise, go up to Ai: see, I have given into thy hand the king of Ai, and his people, and his city, and his land:  God told Joshua to not fear or be dismayed.  The people of Ai had just defeated the army of Israel, but God told Joshua to not let this cause him to be afraid or dismayed.  God had already assured Joshua of the victory.  The army of Israel were fighting by their own power the first time, and now they were fighting under God's leadership.  If we suffer defeat in the world today, we need to listen to God's voice to make sure that we are doing what He is directing us to do, and if we are, then we need not be afraid.  Verse two states, And thou shalt do to Ai and her king as thou didst unto Jericho and her king: only the spoil thereof, and the cattle thereof, shall ye take for a prey unto yourselves: lay thee an ambush for the city behind it.  God said that the army of Israel would defeat Ai just as they had Jericho, but this time the spoils would go to the people of Israel.  God was already giving them victory over their enemies, and now He was going to give them material blessings.  If we want to be blessed by God, we must do things according to His timetable.  The first spoils went too God, then He gave the next to the people of Israel.  They were  to lay an ambush behind the city.  Verse three declares, So Joshua arose, and all the people of war, to go up against Ai: and Joshua chose out thirty thousand mighty men of valour, and sent them away by night.  Joshua chose thirty thousand men of valor and sent them away by night.  They were not really referred to as an army, but as people of war, which we would call an army.  These men were noted for their valor, but I am sure many were the ones who had recently been routed by the people of Ai.  Even if we have recently failed God, we must still be people of valor as we do God's work.  We cannot allow past failures to keep us from future success.  Verse four adds, And he commanded them, saying, Behold, ye shall lie in wait against the city, even behind the city: go not very far from the city, but be ye all ready:  These men Joshua selected were to lay in wait behind the city, but close to it.  Joshua was carrying out God's plan, just as we must today if we re to be successful.  Verse five continues, And I, and all the people that are with me, will approach unto the city: and it shall come to pass, when they come out against us, as at the first, that we will flee before them,  Joshua said that the rest of the people and he himself would come to the city from the front and flee when the people of Ai came out to face them.  They were basically to be the bait, and they were to flee as they had before.  Joshua was actually placing himself in a more dangerous position, and we today should be willing to accept the dangerous position if we know that we are doing what God wants us to do.  Verse six states, (For they will come out after us) till we have drawn them from the city; for they will say, They flee before us, as at the first: therefore we will flee before them.  Joshua said that the people of Ai would come out of the city to chase the people of Israel, believing that they were fleeing again.  If we have failed in our stand for God, then the people of the world may be emboldened.  Verse seven adds, Then ye shall rise up from the ambush, and seize upon the city: for the LORD your God will deliver it into your hand.  Joshua told them that when the people of Ai had left the city that those behind them were to seize the city, because God had given it to them.  Joshua did not say that it was his plan, but that it was God's plan and that God was giving them the victory.  The only way that we are going to be victorious today is if we are following God's plan, and when we are victorious, we should always give God the credit for the victory.  Verse eight continues, And it shall be, when ye have taken the city, that ye shall set the city on fire: according to the commandment of the LORD shall ye do. See, I have commanded you.  Though the people of Israel were to share in the spoils, the were to burn the city itself.  Verse nine concludes, Joshua therefore sent them forth: and they went to lie in ambush, and abode between Bethel and Ai, on the west side of Ai: but Joshua lodged that night among the people.  The ambush was set, and Joshua remained among the people who stayed behind.  Sometimes, even if we are in a position of leadership, God may direct us to stay behind where we might think that we are out of the battle.  Just like Joshua though, we are to follow what we believe to be God's leadership for us.

Joshua 7:16

Joshua 7:16 says, So Joshua rose up early in the morning, and brought Israel by their tribes; and the tribe of Judah was taken:  Again Joshua rose up early and brought the twelve tribes of Israel before him, and the tribe of Judah was separated out as the looked for the accursed thing that had led to their defeat.  Verse seventeen states, And he brought the family of Judah; and he took the family of the Zarhites: and he brought the family of the Zarhites man by man; and Zabdi was taken:  Then Joshua began to separate the families of the tribe of Judah.  Though all of Israel was affected, it was the one who had brought the accursed thing into the nation that had to be identified.  One person bringing an accursed thing into the church today can affect many Christians.  Verse eighteen adds, And he brought his household man by man; and Achan, the son of Carmi, the son of Zabdi, the son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, was taken.  Finally, Achan was identified as the one responsible.  Though Joshua was identified as the one responsible for the search, I believe that it was only by the power of God that he was able to identify Achan.  We cannot accuse other Christians of acting in a sinful way unless we are sure that we are following God's leadership when we do.  We cannot do so simply because we do not like or agree with what they are doing.  Verse nineteen declares, And Joshua said unto Achan, My son, give, I pray thee, glory to the LORD God of Israel, and make confession unto him; and tell me now what thou hast done; hide it not from me.  Joshua didn't just condemn Achan, but referred to him as his son and gave him an opportunity to confess and repent before God.  We should never just look for an opportunity to have a reason for other Christians, or even the lost of the world, to be punished, but should always reach out tot them with the love of God so that the may repent.  Verse twenty states, And Achan answered Joshua, and said, Indeed I have sinned against the LORD God of Israel, and thus and thus have I done:  Achan confessed that he had sinned, as we all have.  Verse twenty-one adds, When I saw among the spoils a goodly Babylonish garment, and two hundred shekels of silver, and a wedge of gold of fifty shekels weight, then I coveted them, and took them; and, behold, they are hid in the earth in the midst of my tent, and the silver under it. Achan said when he saw some silver and gold, he took it and buried it in his tent.  It really was doing him no good where it was, and it broke his covenant with God.  Anything that we gain outside the will of God, no matter how appealing it may be, will be just as useful as this silver and gold were to Achan in everlasting terms.  If we are guilty of trying to steal from God, we know that we cannot hide our sin from Him.  Verse twenty-two proclaims. So Joshua sent messengers, and they ran unto the tent; and, behold, it was hid in his tent, and the silver under it.  Joshua sent messengers to see if the silver and gold were where Achan said they were.  We should likewise always make sure that we know that our facts are straight if we are dealing with others.  Verse twenty-three adds, And they took them out of the midst of the tent, and brought them unto Joshua, and unto all the children of Israel, and laid them out before the LORD.  They brought the silver and gold to Joshua, but it says they laid them before the LORD.  Ultimately, that is where the sins of each individual must be laid.  Even when someone comes before the church or the preacher to profess their sins, it is to God that that person is really confessing.  Verse twenty-four declares, And Joshua, and all Israel with him, took Achan the son of Zerah, and the silver, and the garment, and the wedge of gold, and his sons, and his daughters, and his oxen, and his asses, and his sheep, and his tent, and all that he had: and they brought them unto the valley of Achor.  Everything that Achan owned and his family were brought to the valley of Achor.  Then verse twenty five adds, And Joshua said, Why hast thou troubled us? the LORD shall trouble thee this day. And all Israel stoned him with stones, and burned them with fire, after they had stoned them with stones.  Joshua asked Achan why he had done this and troubled Israel.  We today have to ask why we have sinned and troubled God if we are to find forgiveness.  We might think that it was extreme to kill Achan's whole family and all his animals, but what he had done had brought shame to Israel and God.  Though Achan and his family were stoned, I believe that they all had an opportunity to make things right with God.  We may suffer earthly consequences fr our sins, but if we confess and make things right with God then that doesn't matter.  Verse twenty-six concludes, And they raised over him a great heap of stones unto this day. So the LORD turned from the fierceness of his anger. Wherefore the name of that place was called, The valley of Achor, unto this day.  After the sin was dealt with, God turned from His anger.  Unless we accept Christ as our Savior and Lord, one day we will face the judgment of God, and our punishment will be much greater than that of Achan.  We will be separated from God to endure everlasting punishment.

Joshua 7:10

Joshua 7:10 says, And the LORD said unto Joshua, Get thee up; wherefore liest thou thus upon thy face?  God told Joshua to get up, and then asked him why he was lying on his face.  Joshua seemed to have at least temporarily forgotten the power of God.  When the troops returned in defeat, Joshua questioned God.  As followers of Christ today, if things go wrong in life and we are feeling defeated, we don't need to question God, but to ask what we have done wrong instead.  The Israelites at this time had just assumed that God was going to bless everything they did and went ahead in their own power, without making sure that everyone was being obedient to God.  Verse eleven declares, Israel hath sinned, and they have also transgressed my covenant which I commanded them: for they have even taken of the accursed thing, and have also stolen, and dissembled also, and they have put it even among their own stuff.  God told Joshua the reason that the men had been defeated.  It wasn't because of the power of the enemy, but because of the sin of Israel.  Even though we are only told of one person stealing an accursed thing, it affected all of God's people.  We might think this to be unfair, but all the people were delivered from bondage to the promised land together and they all made a covenant with God together.  We today are not saved as a collective group, but individually, but the sin of one Christian can still impact more than just the individual sinner.  The sin of one can weaken the effectiveness of a whole group of believers as we reach out to the lost world with the gospel of Christ.  Verse twelve adds, Therefore the children of Israel could not stand before their enemies, but turned their backs before their enemies, because they were accursed: neither will I be with you any more, except ye destroy the accursed from among you.  God said that He was not responsible for their defeat, but their disobedience to their covenant with Him was.  God also said that this wasn't going to change as long as this sin remained in their midst.  We cannot hide our sin from God, nor can we expect  Him to continue to bless us if we are allowing sinful actions into our life again.  Verse thirteen continues, Up, sanctify the people, and say, Sanctify yourselves against to morrow: for thus saith the LORD God of Israel, There is an accursed thing in the midst of thee, O Israel: thou canst not stand before thine enemies, until ye take away the accursed thing from among you.  God told Joshua to get up and sanctify the people and to tell them that there was an accursed thing amongst them.  God also told Joshua to tell them that until this accursed thing was removed that they could not stand before their enemies.  If we are going to stand before our enemies today by the power of God, we cannot allow sin, no matter how insignificant it might seem, to enter into our life.  Verse fourteen declares, In the morning therefore ye shall be brought according to your tribes: and it shall be, that the tribe which the LORD taketh shall come according to the families thereof; and the family which the LORD shall take shall come by households; and the household which the LORD shall take shall come man by man.  God told Joshua that the next day that the people were to come before God, and God would single out the tribe, then the family, and finally the man who was guilty.  Ultimately, we stand before God individually to be judged for our sins, and we alone will be accountable for them. We will either have forgiveness through our relationship with Christ as our Savior and Lord, or we will suffer the punishment ourselves.  There is no in-between.   Verse fifteen concludes, And it shall be, that he that is taken with the accursed thing shall be burnt with fire, he and all that he hath: because he hath transgressed the covenant of the LORD, and because he hath wrought folly in Israel.  There was  a severe penalty for the one who had taken the accursed thing, because this had affected the whole nation.  We may think that a small failure to follow God's will is no big thing, but we need to realize that sin brings serious consequences.  The person who had the accursed thing and all that he owned was to be burned.  No one else was going to profit from the sin of this one person by claiming what he left behind.  When the judgment of God comes, all that anyone has gained outside of the will of God will be burned up, so as His people, we need not attempt to lay up earthly treasures.  We must always put the will of God first.

Joshua 7:1

Joshua 7:1 says, But the children of Israel committed a trespass in the accursed thing: for Achan, the son of Carmi, the son of Zabdi, the son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, took of the accursed thing: and the anger of the LORD was kindled against the children of Israel.  Once more, one of those called to be God's people disobeyed God's command.  Achan took an accursed thing.  Whatever it was, it was something that the people of Israel had been told not to take.  God was angry, not at just Aachan, but with all the people of Israel.  I believe that this was most likely because they had not corrected Achan.  We today cannot take the sins of others lightly, especially those committed by someone who professes to be a Christian.  Verse two states, And Joshua sent men from Jericho to Ai, which is beside Bethaven, on the east side of Bethel, and spake unto them, saying, Go up and view the country. And the men went up and viewed Ai.  Joshua sent men from Jericho to view, or scout out, Ai.  Verse three adds, And they returned to Joshua, and said unto him, Let not all the people go up; but let about two or three thousand men go up and smite Ai; and make not all the people to labour thither; for they are but few.  The scouts returned and told Joshua to just send a few men, because Ai was small.  They were beginning to rely on their own strength instead of asking God what they should do.  When we begin to rely on our own strength, even when confronted with what seems to be a small problem, instead of relying on God's guidance and power, we have taken the first step toward failing spiritually.  Verse four says, So there went up thither of the people about three thousand men: and they fled before the men of Ai.  The three thousand went to Ai, and they failed.  Verse five adds, And the men of Ai smote of them about thirty and six men: for they chased them from before the gate even unto Shebarim, and smote them in the going down: wherefore the hearts of the people melted, and became as water.  When the people of Ai chased the men of Israel back to camp, the hearts of the people of Israel turned to water.  They were looking at the events of the world and not looking to God.  When we fail to keep God in charge of our plans, we should not be surprised when we suffer defeat.  We may begin to look at the world in fear.  Verse six declares, And Joshua rent his clothes, and fell to the earth upon his face before the ark of the LORD until the eventide, he and the elders of Israel, and put dust upon their heads. Joshua and the elders, the religious leaders of Israel, humbled themselves before God.  When we realize that we have been acting without God's leadership, we need to humble ourselves before God and ask His forgiveness and guidance.  Verse seven adds, And Joshua said, Alas, O Lord GOD, wherefore hast thou at all brought this people over Jordan, to deliver us into the hand of the Amorites, to destroy us? would to God we had been content, and dwelt on the other side Jordan!  Joshua, the man of courage and strength in his faith, questioned God.  He asked why God didn't just leave them across the Jordan in safety.  When we feel that the world is about to overcome us, then we need to simply draw closer to God and not to question Him out of doubt.  Verse eight continues, O Lord, what shall I say, when Israel turneth their backs before their enemies!   Joshua asked God what he was to say when the people had run away from their enemies.  What are we to say to our fellow believers today when we flee from the world because of a lack of faith in God?  Verse nine concludes, For the Canaanites and all the inhabitants of the land shall hear of it, and shall environ us round, and cut off our name from the earth: and what wilt thou do unto thy great name?  Joshua forgot the great things that God had already done, and said that the people of Israel were going to be destroyed.  How often does our faith in God falter?  We need to always remember that the victory has already been secured through Christ.

Joshua 6:22

Joshua 6:22 says, But Joshua had said unto the two men that had spied out the country, Go into the harlot’s house, and bring out thence the woman, and all that she hath, as ye sware unto her.  Joshua kept the promise to Rahab.  He told the two men who had been the spies to go to her house and bring out all that were with Rahab and Rahab herself.  When we, as followers of Christ make a promise, especially one made in God's name, we should always do our best to keep it.  First though we must make sure that what we are promising is in the will of God.  For example, we cannot promise salvation by any other method than by faith in Christ as one's Savior and Lord, nor can we promise prosperity unless it is for the furthering of God's work and within His will.  Verse twenty-three states, And the young men that were spies went in, and brought out Rahab, and her father, and her mother, and her brethren, and all that she had; and they brought out all her kindred, and left them without the camp of Israel.  The two young men who were spies went in and brought Rahab and her family out of the city.  They were the ones who knew her and had made the promise to her.  These two young men were also the ones that she knew.  Sometimes, it is easier to trust those that we have a personal relationship with, so we should be witnessing especially to those that we know who are lost, even though we are to also witness to those that we don't know.  Verse twenty-four declares, And they burnt the city with fire, and all that was therein: only the silver, and the gold, and the vessels of brass and of iron, they put into the treasury of the house of the LORD.  The people of Israel burned up everything and everyone in the city of Jericho, except the gold, silver and vessels of brass and iron.  These they brought into God's storehouse.  Though we might see this as being extreme, I believe that it was God's way of removing all pagan influence and insuring that His people were not just following Him for profit.  They could have had the whole city and its wealth, but what they were doing was not for them to get rich, but for them to prove their faithfulness to God.   We today should never see following God as a way to earthly riches, and I believe that we should never follow those who proclaim that God promises us riches if we follow Him.  Verse twenty-five says, And Joshua saved Rahab the harlot alive, and her father’s household, and all that she had; and she dwelleth in Israel even unto this day; because she hid the messengers, which Joshua sent to spy out Jericho.  This verse says that Joshua saved Rahab abd her family, but her faith in God and actions because of that faith saved Rahab.  We must not only have faith in God if we are to be effective in the world today, but we must act on that faith.  Verse twenty-six declares, And Joshua adjured them at that time, saying, Cursed be the man before the LORD, that riseth up and buildeth this city Jericho: he shall lay the foundation thereof in his firstborn, and in his youngest son shall he set up the gates of it.  Joshua warned the people against trying to rebuild the city of Jericho, just as we today should never attempt to rebuild the things that we tore down when we came to God by our faith in Jesus.  Verse twenty-seven adds, So the LORD was with Joshua; and his fame was noised throughout all the country.  God had promised Joshua that He would be with him, and He was.  Joshua's fame did not grow because of his own abilities, but because of his faithfulness to God.  If people know our name today, let it be because of our faithfulness to God.

Joshua 6:6

Joshua 6:6 says, And Joshua the son of Nun called the priests, and said unto them, Take up the ark of the covenant, and let seven priests bear seven trumpets of rams’ horns before the ark of the LORD.   Joshua began to implement God's plan.  It is not enough to know what God wants us to do, but we must actually carry out His plan if we are going to be effective in the world.  Verse seven declares And he said unto the people, Pass on, and compass the city, and let him that is armed pass on before the ark of the LORD.  Joshua was getting the people ready for the victory, not just the battle.  As long as they followed God's plan, the victory was assured, just as our victory over sin and death are assured today, if we only put our faith in God through our relationship with Christ.  Verse eight states, And it came to pass, when Joshua had spoken unto the people, that the seven priests bearing the seven trumpets of rams’ horns passed on before the LORD, and blew with the trumpets: and the ark of the covenant of the LORD followed them.  The seven priests bearing the seven trumpets passed before the Lord.  I believe this must mean that they passed before the ark of the covenant, which represented the Lord to them.  As followers of Christ, wherever we go, we pass before the Lord, since we are indwelled by the Holy Spirit.  Verse nine adds, And the armed men went before the priests that blew with the trumpets, and the rereward came after the ark, the priests going on, and blowing with the trumpets.  With the armed men in front, the priests came after the ark of the covenant.  The priests were armed with trumpets, which doesn't seem to be much of a weapon.  When we are following God's directions, we will be capably armed, no matter how the world may view us.  Verse ten declares, And Joshua had commanded the people, saying, Ye shall not shout, nor make any noise with your voice, neither shall any word proceed out of your mouth, until the day I bid you shout; then shall ye shout.  Joshua told the people to remain silent until he told them to shout.  We today would be better off remaining silent unless we are speaking under the leadership of the Holy Spirit, and when we are, we need to boldly shout God's word.  Verse eleven says. So the ark of the LORD compassed the city, going about it once: and they came into the camp, and lodged in the camp.  The people and the ark of the covenant went around the city once and returned to camp.  I believe that the people of Jericho had to be wondering what was going on, just as lost people in the world today often wonder what is going on with God's people.  When we follow Christ, we should be living by a different standard than the world does.  Verse twelve states, And Joshua rose early in the morning, and the priests took up the ark of the LORD.  Then verse thirteen adds, And seven priests bearing seven trumpets of rams’ horns before the ark of the LORD went on continually, and blew with the trumpets: and the armed men went before them; but the rereward came after the ark of the LORD, the priests going on, and blowing with the trumpets.  The next day, starting early in the morning, the priests circled the city, blowing their trumpets continuously.  When we have something to do for God there is no need to wait if we know for sure that God is leading us to do it now.  Verse fourteen concludes, And the second day they compassed the city once, and returned into the camp: so they did six days.  For six days, they made a circuit around the city.  Even when we may not understand exactly why God is leading us to do something, all we need to do is to obey His command, and if we do, we will be successful in our task for His glory.

Joshua 6:15

Joshua 6:15 says, And it came to pass on the seventh day, that they rose early about the dawning of the day, and compassed the city after the same manner seven times: only on that day they compassed the city seven times.  The seventh day was different.  The people of Israel once again arose early, but instead of circling Jericho once, they circled it seven times.  Again this was according to God's guidance.  When we are following God's guidance, some days more will be required of us physically than others, but the same thing is required spiritually, and that is that we obey God.  Verse sixteen states, And it came to pass at the seventh time, when the priests blew with the trumpets, Joshua said unto the people, Shout; for the LORD hath given you the city.   There was another difference on this day as well.  Joshua told the people that when the priests blew the trumpets that they were to shout.  Joshua said they were to do ths because God had given them the city.  At this point, the walls were still up and it looked like nothing had changed, so the people had to act in faith.  Sometimes, when we are doing God's work, it may seem as though nothing changes, but if we are following God's guidance, we need to just shout in victory anyway, because God has given us the victory.  Verse seventeen adds, And the city shall be accursed, even it, and all that are therein, to the LORD: only Rahab the harlot shall live, she and all that are with her in the house, because she hid the messengers that we sent.  Joshua said that everyone in the city was to be accursed, except for Rahab and those of her family that were with her.  God was going to honor the promise made to Rahab because of what she did for the spies out of faith.  Even if the whole world around us falls apart, we as followers of Christ are assured of our deliverance because of our faith in Him.  Verse eighteen declares, And ye, in any wise keep yourselves from the accursed thing, lest ye make yourselves accursed, when ye take of the accursed thing, and make the camp of Israel a curse, and trouble it.  Basically, the people of Israel were told to not attempt to profit materially from the fall of Jericho.  We today are not called to follow God so that we can profit materially, but so that we can profit spiritually.  Joshua said if they took the things that God had called accursed that they would make the people of Israel accursed.  When we begin to bring the values of the world into our life, we will end up causing our actions to be accursed by God.  We cannot serve both God and worldly things.  Verse nineteen adds, But all the silver, and gold, and vessels of brass and iron, are consecrated unto the LORD: they shall come into the treasury of the LORD.  All the gold, silver and vessels of brass were to be brought into God's storehouse.  God gave them the victory, and He didn't do it so they could be more successful materially.  We are saved by our faith in Jesus Christ, not so we can be more successful materially, but so that we can be more successful spiritually.  We owe it all to God, but how much are we willing to give back to Him materially?  Verse twenty declares, So the people shouted when the priests blew with the trumpets: and it came to pass, when the people heard the sound of the trumpet, and the people shouted with a great shout, that the wall fell down flat, so that the people went up into the city, every man straight before him, and they took the city.  When the trumpet sounded and the people shouted the wall fell flat.  I have heard people try to explain why the wall fell, saying that harmonics of sound vibrated the walls causing them to fall.  They miss the whole point.  The trumpet and the shouting didn't cause the wall to fall, but God did.  The trumpet playing and the shouting were only ways for the peole of Israel to show their obedience to God.  God could have caused the wall to fall at anytime without the people of Israel doing anything.  When we are doing things for the Lord today and meet with success, we must always remember that He is the One Who brings victory.  God simply allows us to show our obedience by doing what He calls us to do.  Verse twenty-one declares, And they utterly destroyed all that was in the city, both man and woman, young and old, and ox, and sheep, and ass, with the edge of the sword.  The people of Israel killed ever living thing in the city.  We might find this extreme, but God was establishing His people in the land that He had promised them.  I personally believe that no one who died had their spiritual destiny altered, but we are told by their actions concerning God and His people that the people of Jericho were never going to accept God.  They had several days to open the gates and surrender to God.  People today may die in what seems to be an unfair manner, but none will die without having an opportunity to come to God.  If they did, then God would be an unjust God, and He is not.