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Some Thoughts and Questions on the Pastoral Search Process

Author's Note: I've served in two churches, a mother church (6 years) and a daughter church (27 years). I have been involved in the process from different sides. Here are some of my thoughts. I'm not sure that I would directly ask each and every question, but I think I'd be looking for the answers to these questions.

The Pastoral Search Process

1. As elders, are you all in full agreement with what you want of a senior pastor? If not, please explain. Are there different sets of expectations outside of the elders?

2. How many pastors has this church had in the past, and how long has each stayed?

3. Why did the previous pastor(s) leave?

4. How long has this position remained vacant?

5. Would you mind sharing with me some of the guidelines you are following in your search process?

6. Where are you looking for your candidates for a new senior pastor? (From what sources are you seeking a pastoral candidate?)

7. Have you been turned down by any candidates to whom you have offered this job?

8. How will you reach a decision as to whether or not you will invite a man to be your pastor?

9. What will some of the deciding factors be in your decision to invite or not invite a man to serve as senior pastor?

My (Your) Ministry

1. Is there a job description for the position of senior pastor?

2. What role do you expect me to play with other staff members?

3. Are there other staff members who have applied for this position? If so, why did you turn them down?

4. Is there anything I need to know about any of the staff, or their relationships with each other and the congregation?

5. What strengths are you looking for in a senior pastor?

6. What spiritual gifts are you looking for in a senior pastor?

7. What is it you are hoping I can do for this church?

8. What do you not want me to do for this church?

9. How do you want me to function, as compared with the previous pastor(s)?

10. Is there anything you haven't told me, that I really deserve to know?

11. What kind of preaching are you looking for?

12. What do you consider as expository preaching?  Who are a few preachers who you feel are good examples of Bible exposition?

13. What is the content that has been taught from the pulpit in the last 5 years?

14. How much time do you want and expect me to spend in sermon preparation?

15. How many times do you expect me to teach or preach each week?

16. How do you feel about my involvement in outside ministry (preaching abroad, serving on the board of a Christian organization, etc.)?

17. What standards will you apply to my ministry to determine whether or not it is successful and effective?

18. Do you assume that I will immediately be an elder? How do you expect me to relate to you as elders? (How do you see my relationship to you?)

The Vision Of The Church

1. Are you in full agreement as elders in regard to your vision for this church?

2. In terms of your vision regarding the mission of this church, what are your top priorities?

3. What efforts have already been made to pursue these?

4. What role do you expect me to play to help the church get there?

5. What role are you willing to play to help the church get there?

6. What do you see for this church in the future?

7. Strengths and weaknesses of the church:

8. What are the strengths of the church (things from which other churches might benefit, and thus they might ask for your advice or help in this area)?

9. What are the greatest weakness of this church (things for which you may need outside help)?

10. How has this church changed in the last 25 (you may wish to adjust this number) years? Would you call this progress or otherwise?

11. What issues have been the source of disagreement or strife in the past several years? Where do these issues stand at this moment?

12. What is the biggest problem this church has ever faced? What is the most recent problem this church has faced? How were these problems deal with?

13. Has this church ever exercised church discipline? When, and for what? How was it carried out?

Leadership

1. Who are the dominant leaders in this church?

2. Put differently, what people exercise the most influence and control? Are they in formal leadership positions? (In other words are there those whose approval and support you will need to succeed, even if they are not formal leaders?)

3. Describe what a typical elders meeting looks like? What do you do? Who does it? How long do they last? How often do you meet? How are decisions reached? How do you resolve differences within the leadership when decisions must be reached?  Who sets the agenda for the elders meeting?   Who chairs the meeting?  Who can (and normally does) write checks?

4. Describe the strengths and weaknesses of each elder.

5. If you were to add additional elders, what kind of men would you look for?

6. How long has it been since you appointed a new elder?

7. How many people do you think there are who are qualified to be a leader, but are not functioning as a formal leader at this moment? (What is your pool of potential leaders?)

8. What spiritual gifts are evident and operational in this church? What gifts are not?

9. What gifts do you wish were manifested in the church, but are not at present?

Related Topics: Administrative and Organization, Issues in Church Leadership/Ministry, Leadership

Joshua: A Faithful Warrior (Expository Sermons On O.T. Characters)

This series of sermons will cover some of the main O.T. characters. These sermons will not cover every account or incident in the lives of each person, but are selected (1) to give an overview of how God worked in their lives to accomplish his purposes; and (2) to learn important lessons about character and conduct as it relates to the people of God.

Amongst many other lessons in this series, one thing becomes abundantly clear, that the human heart does not change: it remains deceitful above all things and desperately wicked (Jer. 17:9). Nonetheless, God in his grace continues to reveal himself, often in remarkable ways, to finite, frail, and failing human beings whom he uses to represent him, to communicate his instructions and plans, to provide leadership to others, and, generally, to carry out his purposes as the drama of redemption unfolds through the progress of salvation history.

I hope that this series will bless you as much as it has me. It was a pleasure to preach these sermons and it is now a pleasure to share them with you in written form. May the Lord use them to encourage and inspire you as you serve him and faithfully “preach the word.”

Related Topics: Character Study, Christian Life

1. Facing The Future In Faith (Josh. 1:1-9)

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Change causes everyone a certain amount of anxiety. We become very comfortable with the way things are - new situations can be unsettling and stressful. Generations change, leaders change, governments change, circumstances change; church leaders change. Whenever there is a change in leadership this causes a certain amount of instability, of wondering “what will happen now?” Many evangelical churches are at that place, in a time of change. It’s right and proper to remember and celebrate our church leaders who have gone before us. There is a time to reflect on the past and a time to face the future.

Change is scary for some and a challenge for others. But change for the right reasons is good. Sometimes we must change in order to accomplish God’s will. Indeed, it’s also right and proper to face the future in faith.

This is a continuation of my series of expository sermons on O.T. characters. We have studied various significant events in the lives of Noah, Abraham, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, and now “Joshua, A Faithful Warrior.” I have titled this message, “Facing the Future in Faith.” The subject of this message is specifically the courage of faith - moving forward in times of change. The overall principle that we learn from this message is that as we face changes in the future, we have nothing to fear and everything to look forward to when we exercise the courage of faith in the God who is faithful.

Change requires us to exercise the courage of faith in three ways…

I. We Must Exercise The Courage Of Faith In Order To Face Watersheds (Josh. 1:2a)

1 After the death of Moses the Lord’s servant, the Lord spoke to Joshua son of Nun, Moses’s assistant: 2 “Moses my servant is dead” (1:2a). This is a remarkable and stunning statement. Sometimes, God tells us things we know but refuse to admit. We get so used to the way things were that sometimes we don’t want to face the way things are or will be. It seems this was the case for Joshua and Israel.

In this statement, God is saying, “The time for mourning the loss of Moses and for wondering what you’re going to do next is over! Stop looking back and start moving forward! Now it’s time for change, time to pass the baton, time to move on with the next task at hand.” Because Moses had died did not mean that the Israelites would not move forward into Canaan. It meant that they would have a new leader to lead them into Canaan.

This was a watershed moment for Israel. Moses was 120 years old when he died and he had been Israel’s leader for 40 years. He was the only leader they had known since leaving Egypt. He had been Joshua’s mentor and model. Joshua had worked alongside him, he had seen Moses’ character, decision-making, responses to crises, personality. He had witnessed Moses’ relationship with God and his faith in God. No wonder they were grieving Moses’ death! But now it’s time to face the reality that things are going to change. It’s a watershed moment, a time of change for Israel.

When God directs change it is always for a good reason. For Israel, the time had come for the people to possess the land and Moses was not the man to take them there. Moses had been their intercessor with God. He alone had spoken with God at the top of the mountain. He alone had interceded with God on their behalf time and again. But where Moses was the intercessor, Joshua is the warrior.

Moses stood at the top of the hill with the rod of God in his hand, but Joshua led the people into battle with the Amalekites (Ex. 17:8-16). Moses was the man who spoke with God face to face (Ex. 33:11), but Joshua was the man who will go out before them and come back in before them, and who will bring them out and bring them in, so that the Lord’s community won’t be like sheep without a shepherd (Num. 27:17).

God has his person for every situation. He has a Moses and he has a Joshua, each perfectly suited to the next task. What Moses had done in the past was not the task Joshua would do in the future. And what Joshua is about to do was not the task for Moses. God uses individuals for specific tasks and He equips them accordingly.

As we face our own watersheds (turning points), God supplies those who are gifted for the task at hand, whether it is a special committee for a specific task, or deacons and elders suited to leading the church through a certain time period, or custodians, Sunday School teachers, children’s program workers, kitchen helpers, administrators and the like. He gives unseen and unsung heroes to the church, who work without reward or praise to help the church move forward.

God’s people face change from time to time. In Israel it was time for a new leader and a new home - that was a very significant change. For 40 years they had wandered in the wilderness – that had been their home. Now they face a complete relocation to a new land with a new leader, a land where they would face enemies, giants, and battles, where they would rub shoulders with pagans, where they would be tested in their faith, where they would have challenges that they had never faced before. And in every situation God proves himself faithful.

So, as we face change in the days ahead, we must exercise the courage of faith to follow God’s leading. We must prepare in faith, change in faith, and follow in faith, whether that means changes to our ministry, to our role in the community, or to how we relate to one another.

We must exercise the courage of faith in order to face watersheds. And …

II. We Must Exercise The Courage Of Faith In Order To Move Forward (Josh. 1:2b-6)

Now you and all the people prepare to cross over the Jordan to the land I am giving the Israelites (1:2b). I can hear Joshua saying: “Really? I am now the leader? I am Moses’ replacement?” Joshua must have quaked at the thought that he couldn’t possibly measure up to his predecessor.

Joshua must have remembered Moses’ courage dealing with Pharoah, Moses’ determination as he led the Israelites out of Egypt, Moses’ unwavering faith at the Red Sea as he held out his rod, Moses’ meeting with God at the top of Sinai and the radiant glow of God’s glory on his face as he came down, Moses’ confidence as he brought water out of the rock, and as he promised them food from heaven. I can hear Joshua saying: “I can’t possibly do any of that. Surely someone else would be a better choice.”

Joshua must have remembered the criticism and rejection Moses’ suffered from the Israelites. How they accused Moses of bringing them out of Egypt to kill them in the wilderness. How they threatened to stone Moses to death. How they quickly replaced Moses with Aaron when Moses stayed on the mountain too long. The time when he (Joshua) and Caleb spied out the land and how excited they were about the prospects, only to be stonewalled by the Israelites because of their lack of courage and faith. And now Moses, their intrepid leader, was dead!

And God says to Joshua: You and all the people prepare to cross over the Jordan (1:2b). The reality of what was happening must have been crushing. The prospect of leading such an unpredictable, rebellious lot of people must have been utterly daunting. And God knew that. He knew that at such a time as this Joshua needed words of comfort, encouragement, and affirmation.

When God orders his people to exercise the courage of faith and move forward…

A. He provides us with reassurance. First, God reassures us of his provision. I have given you every place where the sole of your foot treads (1:3a). God renews his covenant, reaffirms his commitment, and restates his provision of the land for them to inhabit. What he had said to their previous leader is still true. And just to be sure that Joshua got it, God spells out exactly the boundaries of the land he had given them in Joshua 1:4.

Second, God reassures us of his promise. Just as I promised Moses (1:3b). God does not change; He is fully trustworthy. The very same possession promised to Moses he now gives to Joshua – just as I said to Moses. Those must have been sweet words to Joshua. He had no reason to fear. Yes, Moses was dead but Moses’ God was alive and all the promises and assurances and affirmations that God gave to Moses, he repeats now to Joshua.

Joshua could count on God just as Moses had. Their possession of the land was as secure now as it ever was, whether under Moses leadership or Joshua’s, because it is God’s provision and He is fully trustworthy!

When God commands us to exercise the courage of faith and move forward, he reassures us with his provision, he reassures us with his promise. And…

Third, He reassures us with his protection. No one will be able to stand against you as long as you live (1:5a). Any fears they might have are put to rest. They can go forward boldly. Any new situations they may face should cause them no alarm. They would be invincible and untouchable - no one could overpower them. And the promise was good for the rest of Joshua’s life! God gave him a lifetime guarantee: As long as you live.

So, when God commands us to exercise the courage of faith and move forward, he reassures us with his provision, his promise, his protection. And…

Fourth, He reassures us with his presence. I will be with you, just as I was with Moses. I will not leave you or abandon you (1:5b). Under Moses their shoes had not worn out, they had received food from heaven and water from a rock, the cloud shielded them by day and the pillar of fire gave them heat and light by night. God had been faithful despite their unfaithfulness. And God says: “Just as I have been with you for the past 40 years, so I will be with you in the future. I will not leave you nor forsake you.”

In Hebrews 10:23, God gives us a similar assurance of his faithfulness to his Word: Let us hold on to the confession of our hope without wavering, since he who promised is faithful. Similarly, in Lamentations 3:22b-26, 22 Because of the Lord’s faithful love we do not perish, for his mercies never end. 23 They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness! 24 I say, “The Lord is my portion, therefore I will put my hope in him.” 25 The Lord is good to those who wait for him, to the person who seeks him. 26 It is good to wait quietly for salvation from the Lord.

The Israelites could go forward with the courage of faith in the God who never changes and who is always with them, the God who is always trustworthy and always keeps his word.

When God orders us to exercise the courage of faith and move forward, first he provides us with reassurance. And, second, when God orders us to exercise the courage of faith and move forward…

B. He provides us with encouragement. Three times God repeats the same words of encouragement. Be strong and courageous (1:6)… Above all, be strong and very courageous (1:7)… Be strong and courageous (1:9). These were the same words Moses had said to Joshua in Deut. 31:7-8. But that was then and this is now. Then it was in the future; now it is reality and Joshua is understandably fearful.

We all need encouragement, especially in times of change and uncertainty. There are enough things to discourage us and often not many to encourage us, so we all need encouragement. We need encouragement especially in those times when we are fearful of the future: “What’s going to happen now? How is it all going to work out? How long will it take?” We all need encouragement…

And we all need affirmation that what we are doing is good and appreciated – “You can do it!” A young woman I know had been training to run a half marathon. On one of her practice runs she only completed 11.5 kilometers instead of the full 20 kilometers. She told me that she wasn’t able to complete the course because she made some mistakes that day: (1) she hadn’t eaten enough before starting; (2) she hadn’t practiced for 2 weeks; and (3) she started out running too fast. Perhaps what she also needed at that time was someone to encourage and affirm her: “You can do it!”

It’s certainly understandable that Joshua would have needed encouragement and affirmation at this time. After all, he’d never been in this leadership position before, even though he had been told it was coming, and even though he had had considerable leadership responsibilities like spying out the land. Now, reality was hitting home. The prospect was daunting to say the least, even to such a brave man as Joshua.

This was an intimidating task, leading this ragtag bunch of refugees from Egypt, leading this fickle group of rebels, who might oppose you at any moment. How would you feel if you were in Joshua’s position? It might be like being told that you are going to lead the Syrian rebels, or even Hezbollah. “Are you crazy? If Moses the greatest prophet ever (Deut. 34:10) had a hard time, how do you think I can do it?”

It takes strength and courage to face such a task. Our strength and courage are rooted not in ourselves but in God – faith in the God who is all-powerful and fully trustworthy; faith in the God of Moses and Joshua. Remember: Their God is our God.

The courage of faith is rooted in (1) God’s provision: 3a I have given you every place where the sole of your foot treads; (2) God’s promise: 3b just as I promised Moses; (3) God’s protection: 5a No one will be able to stand against you as long as you live; (4) God’s presence: 5b I will be with you, just as I was with Moses. I will not leave you or abandon you. God completes what he starts. His word is infallible and unfailing. That’s why we can be strong and very courageous.

Only through the courage of faith can we face the future confidently in times of testing and change. When it’s time to move forward, God says, Be strong and courageous. You’re going to start moving forward now, Joshua. The time for grieving for Moses is over. Things are changing so don’t be fearful or weak-kneed now. Don’t give up when the going gets tough. Don’t turn back or lose heart. Don’t turn away from Me. ‘Be strong and very courageous.’”

Why do we need special strength and courage when we move forward in faith? Here’s why. When we move forward, we need to be strong and courageous in order to accomplish God’s purposes. God’s purpose for Joshua was to distribute the land I swore to their ancestors to give them as an inheritance (1:6). For that, he would need supernatural strength and courage. The enemy was still there – those they had seen when they spied out the land; those giants in whose sight they were like grasshoppers! They were still there. “Remember, Joshua, what you said back then: ‘We can do it! We can overcome them and take this land.’ Well, now’s the time, Joshua.” That’s why we need supernatural strength and courage in order to accomplish God’s purposes.

So then, first, we must exercise the courage of faith in order to face watersheds. Second, we must exercise the courage of faith in order to move forward and…

III. We Must Exercise The Courage Of Faith In Order To Stand Firm (Josh. 6:7-8)

Moving forward requires that we stand firm. That sounds like an oxymoron, but it isn’t. We need to move forward in order to accomplish God’s purposes and we need to stand firm in order to be faithful to God’s word. Above all, be strong and very courageous to observe carefully the whole instruction my servant Moses commanded you. Do not turn from it to the right or the left, so that you will have success wherever you go (1:7).

Only by exercising the strength and courage of faith can we fulfill the purposes of God and be faithful to the word of God. Change is tough – it challenges us. It can be so disruptive that we want to give up. That’s why we need these words of encouragement. That’s when we need to be focused on fulfilling the purposes of God and being faithful to the Word of God. And that takes strong courage to stand firm.

Facing watersheds and moving forward create insecurity, but stand firming on the Word of God gives us stability. In order to stand firm for God…

A. God’s word must characterize our speech. This book of instruction must not depart from your mouth (1:8a). We must talk about it with our family and friends. We must teach it to those who don’t understand. We must explain it to those who are not Christians.

B. God’s word must control our thoughts. You are to meditate on it day and night (1:8b), by reading it regularly so that we know it and understand it, by meditating on it deeply so that it becomes part of who we are - shaping and directing how we think, act, feel, relate, react, make decisions and choices. May the word of God fill our minds and always be on our lips. Let’s delight to talk about it with one another and demonstrate it to one another.

C. God’s word must direct our behavior. You must carefully observe everything written in it (1:8c). You can only practice God’s word if you know it and understand it. And when you know it and understand it, then our obligation is to obey it, practice it – carefully observe everything written in it - so that it becomes part of our everyday thinking and behavior. Notice that these instructions are so important that God repeats them twice in verses 7 and 8.

What does it mean to obey and practice God’s word? It means not veering away from it to the right hand or the left, not deviating from its truth a single iota. Just because there’s going to be a change, don’t start to compromise the truth, don’t think this is an opportunity to lower the standard. Just because things are going to be tough for a while, don’t start to get soft on obedience. Let’s keep our eyes straight ahead with no deviation. Let’s keep on the straight and narrow path of God’s word. It takes courage to carefully observe everything written in it (1:7b, 8c). It takes courage to be unyielding, turning neither to the right or the left (1:7c).

If you stand firm for God - fulfilling his purposes and keeping his word - then you will have success wherever you go (1:7d)then you will prosper and succeed in whatever you do (1:8c). The assurance of success for Joshua and the Israelites was based on their obedience to the word of God. And this is the assurance for our prosperity and success - fulfilling the purposes of God and keeping the word of God.

Biblical prosperity has nothing to do with financial increase. It has everything to do with fulfilling God’s purposes and keeping God’s word. It takes courage to stand firm for what’s right but that’s the recipe for a “prosperous and successful” Christian life. It will be prosperous because we will grow spiritually. It will be successful because we will influence others and see fruit for God.

Final Remarks (1:9)

Remember our thesis: As we face changes in the future, we have nothing to fear and everything to look forward to when we exercise the courage of faith in the God who is faithful.

Courage lies at the root of dealing with change successfully. Without courage, we will be weak and give up at the first obstacle. So, be courageous! Be assured of your convictions! Don’t let circumstances discourage you! Satan uses discouragement to weaken Christians. He knows that without courage he has stripped us of the most important tool in our arsenal and he has effectively taken us out of the battle.

Why should we do this? Because God has commanded it. Haven’t I commanded you: be strong and courageous? Do not be afraid or discouraged… (1:9a).

But, how can we do this? We can do this because God is with us: …for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go (1:9b). The opposite of strength and courage is fear and dismay. But, remember, God has not given us a spirit of fear, but one of power, love, and sound judgment (2 Tim. 1:7). Fear is the product of trusting self and not God. Dismay is the product of anticipated failure rather than success.

We so easily get down in the mouth when adverse circumstances assail us. We think we’re beaten. We can’t see how God can deliver us and discouragement takes over. But God says: Do not be afraid or discouraged, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go (1:9b). He doesn’t prosper us one minute and then abandon us the next. He never leaves us nor forsakes us (Heb. 13:5). He is the same yesterday, today, and forever (Heb. 13:8). The antidote for fear and dismay is strength and courage – not in ourselves but in God.

Like Joshua, we all face fears and inadequacies at times. God knows that in advance and he encourages us and reassures us of his faithfulness and trustworthiness. So, we need to trust God to enable us to become all that he wants us to be, to expand the borders of our ministries both here and around the world. One of my colleagues in Burkina Faso (West Africa) trusted God about impacting a rural area of the country with the gospel. In faith he acquired a piece of land, not knowing how he would develop it or what it would be. Today, his faith that God would use that property to impact that entire community has come to fruition with a vibrant primary and secondary school, a church, a medical clinic, and a vocational trade school. All because in faith he claimed God’s promises for that project.

We need to trust God’s promises, power, and presence, that he will never leave us nor forsake us, that his love and commitment to his people are unchanging. We need to trust God for the prosperity of our churches. Biblical prosperity is found in walking worthy of the gospel, trusting God in faith for the future, walking in submission to God’s word - studying it, knowing it, meditating on it, teaching it to others, and obeying it. If we are obedient to God’s word, he will guide us, empower us, comfort us. And that gives us the ultimate strength and courage to go forward for him in faith.

God reminds us of his character and the truth of his word. This gives us strength and courage to face the future in faith, to face watersheds and, at the appropriate time, to move forward and always to stand firm.

God knows us through and through. For he knows what we are made of, remembering that we are dust (Ps. 103:14). The apostle Paul dealt with fear and weakness when he was opposed by the messenger of Satan, his thorn in the flesh (2 Cor. 12:7). And God empowered him, encouraged him, and assured him so that he could meet that enemy head on – My power is perfected in weakness (2 Cor. 12:9).

The unmovable foundation for our lives, especially when facing an unknown future, is faith in God – his promises, his purposes, his presence, his power. The key to successful Christian living is keeping God’s word - reading it, knowing it, inculcating it, practicing it. If we are active in fulfilling God’s purposes and faithful in keeping God’s word, we will face watersheds with confidence - confidence in God’s character, his trustworthiness, his faithfulness, and his comfort. And we will move forward in the strength and courage he provides. We will stand firm on our convictions concerning the Word of God.

Remember: As we face changes in the future, we have nothing to fear and everything to look forward to when we exercise the courage of faith in the God who is faithful

Related Topics: Character Study, Christian Life

2. Rahab – The Courage Of Faith (Joshua 2:1-24)

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One of the remarkable aspects of the Bible is that it contains stories of some of the most disreputable and despised people in society, who come to faith in the one true God. Who would have thought that a prostitute would have been afforded such an important place in the unfolding of God’s ways with Israel? Indeed, Rahab the prostitute (as she is known) not only acted in faith to enable Israel to defeat Jericho, but she is actually recorded in Scripture as one of the mothers in the messianic line. How about that for the grace of God!

Let us never underestimate the saving power and grace of God in Jesus Christ. He reaches out to all levels of society, some of whom are among the lowest and poorest social outcasts, into whom he pours his love and grace to bring them to a saving knowledge of, and relationship with, Jesus Christ. We see this abundantly in the Gospels, where Jesus reached out to those who were hungry, sick, poor, and demonized, as well as the elite and powerful.

We are continuing our series studying O.T. characters. The primary character we are studying at the moment is Joshua. One person who plays an important role in Joshua’s siege of Jericho, the first city he attacks as he begins to take possession of Canaan, is Rahab the prostitute. Rahab is one of those people who lives on the edge of society and in whose life God powerfully intervenes. We don’t know how or when she realized that the God of Israel is God in heaven above and on earth below (2:11), but this interaction with Joshua’s spies clearly indicates that her faith was real, as demonstrated in what she said and in what she did.

The passage we are studying today is Joshua 2:1-24. The subject of this study is the sovereign and providential ways of God through the most unlikely people. The primary theological point of this passage is that in the midst of impending judgement, God still saves sinners and uses them to achieve his own purposes.

Let’s start by examining the action that gives rise to this event. By this point in the narrative of Israel’s journey from Egypt to Canaan, (1) Moses has died, (2) Joshua has taken Moses’ leadership position, and (3) the Israelites are about to enter and take possession of the promised land, in preparation for which Joshua sends out a spying mission to Jericho in response to which the king of Jericho activates his own intelligence mission.

I. The Two Spying Missions (2:1-7)

A. Joshua’s spying mission (2:1). Evidently Joshua wants to gather intelligence about Jericho, the first city they would encounter upon their entrance into the Promised Land, a fortified and wicked city. So, he sends to Jericho two unnamed Israelite spies.

Joshua was well qualified to organize a spying mission. After all, he himself had been one of the spies sent out by Moses to check out the Promised Land some 40 years earlier (Num. 13). Notice that one of the lessons Joshua learned from his earlier experience was to only send two spies not twelve. Joshua son of Nun secretly sent two men as spies from the Acacia Grove (2:1a). Perhaps he didn’t want to take the risk of disagreement among the spies, which might once again cause havoc among the Israelites. Or, perhaps he just knew that two spies could be more successful than twelve - after all, secrecy was of the utmost importance for such a mission.

So, he instructed the spies as follows: “Go and scout the land, especially Jericho.” So they left, and they came to the house of a prostitute named Rahab, and stayed there (2:1b). At first reading, it seems most peculiar to us that the spies would take refuge and counsel from such a person: (1) because she was a Canaanite – the enemy; (2) because she was a woman - women in that society were regarded as second class citizens; (3) because she was a prostitute – one of the lowest, immoral members of society. But what becomes clear as we continue our study is that, despite all these negative characteristics, she had faith.

Clearly, as the narrative continues, though Rahab was known for her sordid profession (a trait that would remain with her throughout Scripture), a spiritual conversion had taken place that would now become known as well. So, not only was this a military mission which would give them intelligence regarding how to defeat Jericho, but also it was a providential mission which would secure the salvation of Rahab and her family.

In addition to Joshua’s spying mission, there was also another counter intelligence mission going on…

B. The King of Jericho’s counter intelligence mission (2:2-7). Someone in Jericho had seen the Israelite spies enter the city and, somehow, knew what their intentions were. The king of Jericho was told, “Look, some of the Israelite men have come here tonight to investigate the land” (2:2). How this intelligence was gathered we don’t know. But including this detail certainly gives life and movement and heightened tension to the story. What we do know is that as soon as the king of Jericho found out what was going on he sprang into action to counter this act of aggression. Then the king of Jericho sent word to Rahab and said, “Bring out the men who came to you and entered your house, for they came to investigate the entire land” (2:3).

Having established the setting, the narrator now leads us into the mystery of the story, that Rahab is not intimidated by the king’s demand (2:4-7). Rahab’s actions here are the first clear demonstrations of her faith. Notice…

First, Rahab hides the Israelite spies: But the woman had taken the two men and hidden them (2:4). This in itself is an overt act of faith. After all, at that point she had no guarantee that the Israelite spies would protect her. This was her unilateral act of faith in the Israelites and in the God of Israel.

Second, Rahab risks being discovered by the king’s spies, which undoubtedly would have incurred being put to death for treason. The king’s spies knew that the Israelite spies had entered her house and what their mission was. Thus the king of Jericho issues the order to Rahab: Bring out the men who came to you and entered your house for they came to investigate the land (2:3). Rahab readily admits that 4a Yes, the men did come to me… but she lies about who and where they were: 4b…but I didn’t know where they were from. 5a At nightfall, when the city gate was about to close, the men went out, and I don’t know where they were going (2:4-5a). If the king’s men had searched her home, they would have undoubtedly found the Israelite spies hiding on the roof, but, incredibly, they didn’t. In God’s providence they naively believed Rahab’s word that the spies had left her house just before nightfall. This was a bold act of faith on her part.

Third, the king’s men blindly followed Rahab’s advice. 5b “Chase after them quickly, and you can catch up with them!” 6 But she had taken them up to the roof and hidden them among the stalks of flax that she had arranged on the roof. 7 The men pursued them along the road to the fords of the Jordan, and as soon as they left to pursue them, the city gate was shut (2:5b-7). With the king’s men gone and the city gates locked shut the question remains as to how the Israelite spies will escape. We shall see as the story unfolds.

Let me take a moment to briefly engage with the issue of Rahab’s deceit. Much has been said and written about the ethical implications of what Rahab did. First, it appears that she committed treason by harboring and hiding spies in her home. Second, she lied to protect the Israelite spies from the king. Though a discussion on whether it is ever morally right to lie is a good and worthwhile debate to have, I wish to simply note the following two observations:

1. The passage emphasizes…

a) The rightness of what she did and said as it relates to God’s providential ways with, and the subsequent victory of, the Israelites.

b) Rahab’s confession of, and faith in, the God of Israel, rather than the morality of what she did for the spies. Or, to put it another way, the text focuses on her confession of faith and the consequent promise of salvation from the Israelite spies rather than on her deception of the king’s spies (cf. Heb. 11:31; James 2:25).

2. This passage does not comment on the morality of what she did and said. Therefore, this is not the time to have that discussion. But I think it worthwhile just to note that throughout the O.T. it is apparent that the moral standards in war and oppression are very different from those of everyday life – e.g. killing in war is not considered murder. Perhaps the same can be said of lying in such circumstances. In that regard, one cannot help but think of the many lies told by those involved in the resistance movement during the second world war in order to protect the lives of Jews they were hiding. Who of us would condemn them for that? In fact, they are generally considered by most to be heroes. Since Rahab knows that the Lord is giving Canaan to the Israelites and since she confesses that the God of Israel is the one true God (2:11), her lie was undoubtedly formulated on that basis: (a) to advance what God was doing; and (b) to protect the Israelite spies in the process.

The way the narrator tells this story, it seems that the king’s spies are either very naïve or they are of the same persuasion as Rahab herself regarding the Israelites and their God, since they took her at her word without any search of her home, even though, by her voluntary confession, they knew that the spies had come to her house. As the subsequent narrative explains, somehow Rahab knew about the mighty acts of God on behalf of Israel in the past and she understood the implications of that as we shall see.

II. Rahab’s Courageous Confession of Faith (2:8-14)

A. Her faith is based on evidence (2:8-11). First, the evidence of what she knew (2:8-9). 8 Before the men fell asleep, she went up on the roof 9 and said to them, “I know that the Lord has given you this land and that the terror of you has fallen on us, and everyone who lives in the land is panicking because of you.”

How Rahab knew that “the Lord has given you (the Israelites) this land” is not stated. Evidently the experiences of the Israelites in their departure from Egypt and their miraculous journey through the wilderness had been widely reported, including the fact that their intention, under God’s guidance and through God’s power, was to inhabit and subdue the land of Canaan, the land God had promised to them. As a result, Rahab knew that there would be inevitable conflict between her people and the Israelites and that Jericho would be the first point of conflict. The amazing fact is that she did not rebel against that reality but accepted it. In saying “God has given you this land” she is admitting the defeat of the Canaanites and the sovereign right of the Israelites to the land. As a result, even before the Israelites take any aggressive action against the Canaanites, terror and panic had struck the inhabitants of Jericho.

Second, the evidence of what she had heard (2:10-11). For we have heard how the Lord dried up the water of the Red Sea before you when you came out of Egypt, and what you did to Sihon and Og, the two Amorite kings you completely destroyed across the Jordan” (2:10).

This is why terror and panic had struck the inhabitants of Jericho. They had heard two terrorizing pieces of news. They had heard about the Israelites’ miraculous crossing of the Red Sea. Undoubtedly, the news about the Red Sea crossing would have quickly spread throughout that part of the world. Not only was the parting of the waters a miraculous demonstration of God’s power in delivering the Israelites from their enemy, but also the drowning of the Egyptians was a powerful demonstration of God’s power in judgement on their enemy. This ought to, and apparently did, strike terror and panic into those with whom the Israelites would come into conflict.

And they had heard about the Israelites’ defeat of the two Amorite kings. They had heard how Israel had resoundingly defeated King Sihon of the Amorites (Num. 21:21-31). They had merely asked him for permission to pass through his territory on their journey to Canaan. Yet, despite their promise to not traipse through their fields or vineyards or drink any of their well water but to keep strictly to the King’s Highway, King Sihon refused permission. As a result, Israel struck him with the sword and took possession of his land (Num. 21:25). As they journeyed on they met with similar opposition from King Og of Bashan. Again they struck him, his sons, and his whole army until no one was left and they took possession of his land (Num. 21:35).

So, Rahab continues her testimony: When we heard this, we lost heart, and everyone’s courage failed because of you, for the Lord your God is God in heaven above and on earth below” (2:11). Though everyone else was terrorized by this news, somehow Rahab began to put the pieces together and drew different (and correct) conclusions from everyone else concerning the Israelites and their God. She concluded from what they knew that “the Lord your God is God in heaven above and on earth below. This was a major step in her journey of faith. She acknowledged who God is, the Lord almighty, the Creator of heaven and earth.

Evidently, she also came to the realization of her deep need. She needed God in her life. She needed a new life, a new beginning, one that could erase her past and grant her a brand new future with new values, new behavior, new relationships. Seemingly, these convictions led her to act as she did in protecting the spies. What Rahab needed and wanted was salvation and peace and security for herself and for her family, which she recognizes can only be found through God’s people, as represented by the spies.

So, to that need she now turns. Notice that her faith is not only based on evidence but also…

B. Her faith is demonstrated in action (2:12-14). Her first concern is for the salvation of her family. “Now please swear to me by the Lord that you will also show kindness to my father’s family, because I showed kindness to you” (2:12a). This clearly indicates that she truly believes what she has confessed since her first concern is the safety of her family from certain and impending doom. True faith always manifests itself in works. We are saved by faith (Rom. 5:1) and justified by works (James 2:25).

Rahab’s negotiating position is a quid pro quo – a favor granted in return for something – as follows: “Since I have shown you kindness in saving your lives, now you also show me kindness by saving my family’s lives.” To make this agreement binding…

First, Rahab demands a seal of authenticity. It is common to seal an agreement with a pledge by the other party that they will do what they say. Rahab obviously considers the highest and most trustworthy pledge to be to swear to me by the Lord (2:12a). Her faith in God is already in evidence.

Second, Rahab demands a sign of security. 12b Give me a sure sign 13 that you will spare the lives of my father, mother, brothers, sisters and all who belong to them and save us from death” (2:12b-13). Rahab demonstrates the faith of one who has just discovered the truth of the gospel - she does not keep it to herself but wants her family to participate in the security and peace that she has found. Evidently, her family must have trusted her and believed her testimony. She is like the woman in John 4 with whom Jesus speaks at the well. He exposes her past by declaring that she has had five husbands and the man she now lives with is not her husband. At first the woman confesses Jesus as a prophet, but Jesus makes known to her that he is the Messiah: “I, the one speaking to you, am he” (Jn. 4:26). As soon as she realizes who Jesus is, she immediately went into the town and told the people, “Come, see a man who told me everything I ever did. Could this be the Messiah?” (4:28-29).

Though the spies did not immediately give Rahab a sign as she requested, the men did make her a pledge. The men answered her, “We will give our lives for yours. If you don’t report our mission, we will show kindness and faithfulness to you when the Lord gives us the land” (2:14). These must have been wonderful words of security for Rahab. The spies are agreeing not just to show her “kindness and faithfulness” but to actually give their lives for her life, to sacrifice themselves as her substitute, if they failed to keep their pledge. The only condition is that she must not report their mission. Considering that she was already complicit in their mission, this condition is a no-brainer.

Surely, this pledge reminds us of the substitutionary atonement of our Lord on our behalf. He gave himself for us (Eph. 5:2; Tit. 2:14); he took our place on the cross so that we, by faith in him, would not have to bear God’s punishment for our sin. He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree; so that, having died to sins, we might live for righteousness (1 Pet. 2:24).

After Rahab’s courageous profession of faith, she enters into…

III. The Promise Of Salvation (2:15–21)

Her faith continues to be shown in action. She frees the spies: She let them down by a rope through the window since she lived in a house that was built into the wall of the city (2:15). And she instructs them what to do: “Go to the hill country so that the men pursuing you won’t find you. Hide there for three days until they (the king’s officers) return; afterward, go on your way” (2:16).

As the spies leave her home, the agreement of 2:14 is signified, detailed, and finalized (2:17-21). The agreement of 2:14 was very broad-brush – it did not include her family or a sign. A good agreement always contains a pledge of the sincerity of the parties and clear details as to its conditions, which the men now state:

First, a pledge of sincerity is signified: 17 We will be free of this oath you made us swear 18 unless, when we enter the land you tie this scarlet cord to the window through which you let us down” (2:17-18a). The only way that the invading Israelites could identify Rahab’s house simply and easily would be by the scarlet cord in her window. This signified the identity of her home and her relationship to the Israelites – she was one of them, she was on their side.

Thus, the scarlet thread of redemption continues to unfold throughout salvation history. We see it in the Passover: “When I see the blood I will pass over you” (Ex. 12:13). Now the blood on the two doorposts is signified in the scarlet cord hung in the window. In both instances salvation takes place in the context of judgement. Also, through the scarlet cord, Rahab is unified with Israel - the prostitute becomes a member of the covenant people of God!

Then, the agreement is detailed: “Bring your father, mother, brothers, sisters and all you father’s family into your house” (2:18b). Earlier they had talked about Rahab’s security (2:14) and now they include her family just as she had requested (2:13). They would not be responsible for anyone who is not in Rahab’s house. That is the only secure place of refuge from the oncoming attack of the Israelites. And just to make sure that Rahab understands the importance of this condition, “If anyone goes out of the doors of your house, his death will be his own fault, and we will be innocent. But if anyone with you in the house should be harmed, his death will be our fault” (2:19). Everyone in Rahab’s home would be secure unless they ventured outside, in which case their demise would be their own responsibility and the spies would be innocent.

Finally, they repeat the condition first mentioned in 2:14: “If you report our mission, we are free from the oath you made us swear” (2:20). It seems that the spies wanted to emphasize the importance of this condition. The deal is off if you prove to be unfaithful to us.

And so, at last, the agreement is finalized: “Let it be as you say…” (2:21a). This same sentiment is echoed by Mary after hearing and submitting to the news from the angel Gabriel that she would be the mother of our Lord: “May it happen to me as you have said” (Lk. 1:38). This is a statement of acceptance and submission. And so it is with Rahab, who immediately puts the first condition into practice: After they had gone she tied the scarlet cord to the window (2:21b).

As to the spies, they obeyed unquestioningly Rahab’s instruction: So the two men went into the hill country and stayed there three days until the pursuers had returned. They searched all along the way, but did not find them (2:22). The search for the Hebrew spies by the King’s men having been called off, they could safely return to Joshua on the other side of the Jordan river.

Returning to Joshua they reported everything. 23 Then the men returned, came down from the hill country, and crossed the Jordan. They went to Joshua son of Nun and reported everything that had happened to them. 24 They told Joshua, “The Lord has handed over the entire land to us” (2:23-24a). What a different report from the earlier report by the ten spies in Numbers 13. With what confidence they reported to Joshua. Only sending two spies this time was clearly the right thing to do. They were in full agreement as to the Lord’s providential hand in this and as to the climate in Jericho: “Everyone who lives in the land is also panicking because of us” (2:24b).

Final Remarks

Some have wondered what the point of this narrative is. It seems to sit here between chapters 1 and 3 without adding anything to the storyline, but such is not the case. What chapter 2 teaches us is that in the midst of impending judgement, God still saves sinners and uses them to achieve his own purposes. In the wicked city of Jericho, the first fortified obstacle that the Israelites would encounter upon their entrance into the Promised Land, God marvelously saved a prostitute and her family, such that when the walls of the city fell, her home remained standing as a vivid witness to God’s mercy and salvation. Though there is only this one family in the whole of Jericho and despite Rahab’s tainted past, they are the objects of God’s saving grace. Gentiles are thus brought into the family of God, a precursor of and evidence for God’s promise that through Abraham all the nations (Gentiles) of the earth would be blessed (Gen. 12:1-3; 18:18; 22:18; Gal. 3:7-9).

Also, this story gives us vital background to this remarkable woman, Rahab. Following the events of Joshua 2, Rahab is not mentioned again until the invasion and defeat of Jericho in chapter 6, where it is recorded that Joshua spared Rahab the prostitute, her father’s family, and all who belonged to her, because she hid the messengers Joshua sent to spy on Jericho (6:25).

Remarkably, Rahab surfaces again in the genealogy of Christ in Matthew 1. It turns out that Rahab the prostitute would marry Salmon and give birth to Boaz. Boaz would marry Ruth the Moabitess and give birth to Obed. Obed would be the father of Jesse and Jesse would be the father of King David, to whom, by the prophet Nathan, God had promised that his kingdom would an eternal kingdom (2 Sam. 7: 16), which promise was fulfilled in Jesus Christ, great David’s greater Son. Talk about the grace of God! Rahab the prostitute is recorded in holy Scripture in the ancestral line of the Messiah (Matt.1:5). Perhaps the scarlet cord was a sign of this wonderful heritage that was to come.

After Matthew 1 we hear no more about Rahab until Hebrews, where she is listed in the hall of faith: By faith Rahab the prostitute welcomed the spies in peace and didn’t perish with those who disobeyed (11:31). The last we hear of her is in James where she is commended for her works: Wasn’t Rahab the prostitute also justified by works in receiving the messengers and sending them out by a different route? (James 2:25).

I wonder what the Israelite spies must have thought when they found out God’s plan for besieging Jericho, by which the walls of the city would collapse. At that moment their promise to Rahab must surely have caused them some discomfort. How would they keep their pledge to her? But their fears are assuaged when, after the seventh circuit around Jericho, Joshua announces that “the city and everything in it are set apart to the LORD for destruction. Only Rahab the prostitute and everyone with her in the house will live, because she hid the messengers we sent” (6:17). How could this be, they must have wondered? Well, little did they know that the entire city wall would collapse except for the part on which Rahab’s house was built.

What a wonderful story of God’s power and saving grace, even to those whose lives have been marked by moral and spiritual depravity. Let us take comfort and courage in knowing that in the midst of impending judgement, He still saves sinners and uses them to achieve his own purposes.

Related Topics: Character Study, Christian Life

3. Facing Challenges With Caution And Courage: Crossing Over The Jordan (Josh. 3:1-4:24)

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At various times in our lives we all face obstacles – spiritual, psychological, moral, and physical. To face them is one thing; to overcome them is another. Obstacles that we face can easily instill a certain amount of trepidation in our hearts as we think about the possible unknown dangers and anticipate the challenges. To face such obstacles without fear, we need confidence - confidence that God is in control and will mark out our path as we move forward in faith. To overcome obstacles, on the other hand, we need courage – courage to make a plan, trust the Lord, and move forward in wisdom and dependence on God.

In our expository sermon series on O.T. characters, we are continuing our study of “Joshua – A Faithful Warrior.” Our subject in today’s passage is: Facing obstacles with courage and faith. And the primary theological lesson is that God opens up the way for us when we are obedient to him, even when there are significant obstacles.

Last time we considered the experience of the two spies whom Joshua sent into Jericho to check out the place before the Israelites enter Canaan (Josh. 2). This was wise planning since Jericho, a strongly fortified city, was the first obstacle they would face in taking possession of the Promised Land. Earlier, God had assured Joshua that (1) He was giving the land to the Israelites 1:2); (2) that no one would be able to stand against them (1:5); (3) that I will be with you just as I was with Moses (1:5); and (4) that they were to be strong and very courageous (1:6-7, 9). These must have been very encouraging and motivating words. But nonetheless, they still faced the reality of the challenges that taking the land would incur. Now the time has come for the Israelites to face their biggest challenges yet – crossing over the Jordan into Canaan and fighting their first battle against Jericho, which, with all its fortifications and troops, posed a formidable obstacle.

Remember that, other than Caleb and Joshua, most of the Israelites who are now crossing over the Jordan into Canaan have not faced obstacles like this before. Most of them can only remember, at most, the last 40 years of wandering in the wilderness. Most of them had not experienced God’s powerful deliverance at the Red Sea crossing. And for those who had, they were probably either too young to remember the experience or it was just a distant memory. Now, all those years of wandering because of their unbelief at Kadesh Barnea, in which all those 20 years old and above died under God’s judgement (Num. 14:27-30), are over and the land that God had promised to them is before them. All they need to do is cross the Jordan and fight Jericho. That’s all! Surely that must have caused them a certain degree of fear, understandably – fear of the unknown and the future. But surely, at the same time, it must have filled them with a sense of excited anticipation that their long looked-for destination is at hand. Their days of wandering are coming to an end. They are about to cross over into Canaan, the Promised Land. This would be the beginning of a whole new way of life, which would bring with it a whole new set of challenges.

These two conflicting emotions (fear and excitement) are hard to reconcile sometimes, aren’t they? They are both emotions that are given to us by God to act as response mechanisms. Fear wants us to hold back – that’s caution; and excitement pushes us forward – that’s courage. When we face obstacles and difficulties, let’s try to experience both those emotions in godly and wise ways - on the one hand, caution because we have not travelled this way before (1:4), and on the other hand, courage because God is in control and leading us to our promised destination.

When we face challenges in our Christian lives, first of all…

I. We Need To Be Prepared By God (3:1-13)

Early on the morning after the spies returned with their positive report (2:24), Joshua leads the Israelites to the river Jordan where they stay three days before crossing (3:1). These are evidently days for preparation and instruction. After all, organizing perhaps 2 million people to cross a river is a huge task. But consider that, at that time of year, the river floods over its banks and the task just becomes a whole lot more difficult, if not insurmountable to human capabilities. The preparations seem to have two stages…

A. Instructions concerning the ark of the covenant (3:3-6). First, the instructions from the officers to the people: “When you see the ark of the covenant of the Lord your God carried by the Levitical priests, you are to break camp and follow it” (3:3). Previously, throughout their wanderings in the wilderness, the people were guided by the cloud during the daytime and the pillar of fire at night. But not anymore. Now, they are to follow the ark of the covenant carried by the Levitical priests. When the priests carry the ark forward, the people are to follow. This would be their signal that they are to move on. But they are to keep a significant distance, “about a thousand yards” (3:4a), between themselves and the ark. Three factors come to mind for the purpose of this separation between the ark and the people:

1. Spiritually, the separation between the people and the ark remind them that God is utterly holy and they were sinful. Thus, they must maintain a respectful distance between themselves and God so that they never trivialize nor take for granted his presence among them. This separation between them and the ark is a reminder of the previous demarcation between the people and Mount Sinai where God met with Moses (Ex. 19:12, 23-24).

While there is intimacy between God and his people (he dwells among them), nonetheless we need to be constantly reminded that he is utterly other than we are.

2. Practically, it would allow people far back in the crowd to “see the way to go” (3:4b), so that they could have a clear view of the priests up ahead, holding up the ark to encourage and guide them as they enter the Jordan river.

3. Wisely, it would help to prevent the people from stumbling or falling, “for you have not travelled this way before” (3:4c). This is unfamiliar territory in two senses:

(a) It is unfamiliar geographically - they are crossing the boundary into foreign territory.

(b) It is unfamiliar spiritually - they need even more to depend on and trust the Lord as they venture into pagan country. In other words, the officers are instructing the people to move forward with boldness but exercise caution because this is new territory for them.

That is wise advice for them and for us. The admonition that “you have not traveled this way before” (3:4) rings loud and clear in our ears. This isn’t intended to create fear but to advise caution. Caution is wise when we face unknown obstacles, isn’t it? Tread slowly and carefully along paths where you have not travelled before, seeking God for wise discernment, insight, clarity, and courage.

The ark of the covenant takes centre stage in this passage. The ark contained (1) the stone tablets on which were inscribed the 10 commandments that Moses had received on Mt. Sinai from the Lord (Ex. 25:16); (2) Aaron’s rod (Numbers 17:10); and (3) the jar of manna (Exodus 16:33-34; see also Heb. 9:4). Thus, the ark of the covenant symbolized God’s presence among his people. It reminded the people constantly of their covenant relationship with God and how God had faithfully led them and provided for them during their long years of wandering in the wilderness. This reminder would accompany them across the Jordan in this new venture. Just as God had faithfully protected them in their journey from Egypt to Canaan, so now he would protect them and direct them as they entered the Promised Land.

Second, Joshua’s instructions to the people: “Consecrate yourselves, because the Lord will do wonders among you tomorrow” (3:5). Little do the Israelites know what they are about to experience. They are about to cross over the Jordan river into Canaan and begin a whole new way of life in a brand new country – the Promised Land. But in order to do so they need to “consecrate” themselves to the Lord, cleanse themselves ritually and spiritually from anything that could defile them and thus interrupt their relationship with God. They need to separate themselves from the sinful culture around them so that they are holy and acceptable to God (cf. Ex. 19:10-11).

Consecration has in view the “wonders” which the Lord will do the next day when he stops the waters of the Jordan from flowing, a miracle that would quickly be followed by the miraculous demolition of the walls of Jericho. These are acts which could only be performed by God and which cause wonder and worship (e.g. the 10 plagues in Egypt, the parting of the Red Sea).

Like the Israelites, we also need to consecrate ourselves to God. God calls us to be a holy people because He is holy (e.g. Lev. 11:44-45; 1 Pet. 1:16). It is hypocritical of us to claim to be followers of Jesus if we are knowingly living with unjudged sin in our lives (1 Jn. 1:6-10). God’s people must be a separate people, set apart from the world around us, so that our lives reflect the life of Christ. We cannot expect the Lord to do wonders in us and through us and for us if we are not living according to his commandments, according to his nature and character.

From time to time, we all face experiences like the Israelites here at the Jordan river, don’t we? Those times when we take steps that radically change our lives. Perhaps it’s getting married. Or, perhaps it’s moving to another country for your job. Or, perhaps it’s transitioning into fulltime vocational ministry. Whatever it might be, those are the times when we are at the edge of a Jordan, when we need to exercise both caution and courage. Probably for most of us, courage is what we often lack – courage that we have made a good decision as before the Lord; courage that He will enable us to face whatever obstacles might be ahead; courage to adjust and adapt to our new circumstances.

At times like this, we need to remember the comforting words of Isaiah 43:16-21, where Isaiah reminds us that the Lord is the One who 16 makes a way in the sea, and a path through raging water, 17 who brings out the chariot and horse, the army and the mighty one together (they lie down, they do not rise again; they are extinguished, put out like a wick). Then come these words of comfort and encouragement: 18 Do not remember the past events; pay no attention to things of old. 19 Look, I am about to do something new; even now it is coming. Do you not see it? Indeed, I will make a way in the wilderness, rivers in the desert. 20 Wild animals—jackals and ostriches—will honor me, because I provide water in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert, to give drink to my chosen people. 21 The people I formed for myself will declare my praise.”

What a comfort this promise is to us whenever we face major changes in our lives, those times when we are prone to think back to “past events” and long for the “things of old” (the “good old days”), because we have a certain fear of change and the unknown future – we prefer the old and the familiar. But God says, “I am about to do something new.” Let’s have the courage before God to embrace new challenges and face them with the courage that God provides. I have had many of these experiences throughout my life. Sometimes I have wondered whether I made the right decision to cross over this “Jordan” or whether I should have stayed on the other side where I was. But each time, God makes a way and shows us his powerful hand, just when we need it.

Then Joshua’s instructions to the priests: “Carry the ark of the covenant and go on ahead of the people.” So they carried the ark of the covenant and went ahead of them (3:6). Thus, the move forward into the Promised Land finally begins. The priests go first and the people follow. It’s always nice to follow someone who can show us the way. Of course, at a spiritual level this means following the Lord. But at a practical level this may mean obtaining advice from someone who has had more experience than us, someone who has gone this way before.

The instructions concerning the ark of the covenant are followed by…

B. Instructions for crossing the Jordan river (3:7-13). Before any action is taken, God affirms and instructs Joshua. 7 The Lord spoke to Joshua: “Today I will begin to exalt you in the sight of all Israel, so they will know that I will be with you just as I was with Moses. 8 Command the priests carrying the ark of the covenant: When you reach the edge of the water, stand in the Jordan (3:7-8).

Joshua is Moses’ replacement in the leadership of the Israelites and the intermediary between God and his people. And God is now going to affirm Joshua and his authority over the people through the miracle that is about to take place, just as He had, on many previous occasions, affirmed Moses in the eyes of the people. God’s exaltation of Joshua takes place entirely through God’s sovereign, powerful act and no action on the part of Joshua other than obeying the Lord. The purpose of God’s affirmation of Joshua is that “they will know that I will be with you just as I was with Moses” (3:7). God’s exaltation of Joshua is not for Joshua’s sake but for the people’s, so that they will have confidence in Joshua’s leadership, knowing that God is with him.

The first step in this marvelous endorsement of Joshua is for him to exercise his God-given authority by commanding the priests to stand in the Jordan when they reach the edge of the water (3:8). In other words, they are to enter the edge of the water and to stand in it. As the readers of this narrative, we might ask “Why? What is the point of this instruction.” The purpose of this instruction is not disclosed right away but will become clear soon. We do not find out until 3:13 that God will miraculously stop the downstream waters of the Jordan so that the people can safely pass over. Clearly, the narrative is designed to build up tension about what is going to happen as this event progresses.

After God instructs and affirms Joshua, Joshua conveys the words of the Lord to the people. 9 Then Joshua told the Israelites, “Come closer and listen to the words of the Lord your God.” 10 He said, “You will know that the living God is among you and that he will certainly dispossess before you the Canaanites, Hethites, Hivites, Perizzites, Girgashites, Amorites, and Jebusites 11 when the ark of the covenant of the Lord of the whole earth goes ahead of you into the Jordan” (3:9-11).

How the entrance of the ark into the Jordan is going to give them comfort and assurance that God will dispossess the land of these seven pagan nations is still not disclosed. Nonetheless, Joshua assures them that, by what is going to happen “you will know that the living God is among you” and that he will drive out the inhabitants of the land “when the ark of the covenant of the Lord of the whole earth goes ahead of you into the Jordan” (3:10-11). The power of God will be so evident and demonstrated so clearly and miraculously that they will know without any doubt that the living God is among them. In other words, what God is about to do is designed to do far more than just aid the Israelites across the Jordan. It’s primary purpose is to assure the Israelites of God’s presence among them. And they would know this certainty “when the ark of the covenant of the Lord of the whole earth goes ahead of you into the Jordan” (3:11). Although what will happen has not yet been disclosed, that will be the moment when all will become clear. The “wonders” of 3:5 will be performed in front of their eyes.

Undoubtedly, the term “the living God” is used purposely to contrast with the dead gods of the pagan nations. The inhabitants of the land are divided into seven nations but the people of God are united. The people of the land are godless but the God of Israel is alive and dwelling among his people. The pagan gods are powerless but the God of Israel is all-powerful. God is going to demonstrate to the Israelites that his power at the Jordan is more than sufficient to act on their behalf to drive out their enemies from the land that he is giving them. Their God is “among” them and “goes ahead” of them. His presence is with them and leads them in this campaign. As a result of what God is about to do, “you will know that the living God is among you.” This will instill in them confidence in God’s presence. This will give them courage to move forward in God’s power. And this will generate in them respect for, and obedience to, the leadership of Joshua whom God is affirming by what is about to happen.

When God calls us into new experiences and environments, trusting God for his provision, protection, and guidance are paramount. This gives us confidence and courage in the midst of change, for He does not change nor does He fail. And, for our benefit, God gives us trustworthy, godly leaders, who are called and gifted by God for just this moment and experience. We are not lone rangers - God has given us leaders who instruct us, go ahead of us, and mark out the way.

Finally, Joshua reveals a glimpse of the first “wonder” to take place (3:12-13). In addition to Joshua and the priests, the Israelites will be led by a representative from each tribe: Now choose twelve men from the tribes of Israel, one man for each tribe” (3:12). These men will lead the way as they cross the Jordan and enter the land. This would undoubtedly have been a nervous time for the Israelites. They had never travelled this way before. In fact, the last time they had come close to this was when Moses sent the twelve spies into the land, ten of whom came back with a bad report, which convinced the people to not go in (Num. 13-14). That decision cost them another 38 years of wilderness wanderings under God’s judgement. Now, they are back here again and this time they will enter into the land God had promised to them. This time they will confidently follow their leaders.

The first obstacle in their journey forward was crossing the river Jordan. For that the instructions are clear: “When the feet of the priests who carry the ark of the Lord, the Lord of the whole earth, come to rest in the Jordan’s water, its water will be cut off. The water flowing downstream will stand up in a heap” (3:13). Notice that the focus shifts back again here to the ark in 3:11 and 13. It’s “the ark of the covenant of the Lord of the whole earth” (3:11), “the ark of the Lord, the Lord of the whole earth” (3:13). The ark and the Lord and his covenant are deeply and inseparably intertwined. Thus, the ark not only symbolizes God’s presence among them but also his power – He is “the Lord of the whole earth,” the Creator and Sustainer of all things (Col. 1:15-20).

When we face challenges in our Christian lives, first of all we need to be prepared by God. Second…

II. We Need To Move Forward In Obedience (3:14-17)

When the people broke camp to cross the Jordan, the priests carried the ark of the covenant ahead of the people (3:14). This is the sequence of how the crossing will take place, the details and the purposes for which had been described earlier (3:3-6). To add further tension and to heighten the extent of the miracle, this background note is added: Now the Jordan overflows its banks throughout the harvest season (3:15). This will be no ordinary crossing – they are facing a flood! They could never cross over by wading or swimming. What they need is a miracle, for only a miracle could give the people passage over the Jordan at this time of year.

A. When we move forward in obedience, God acts on our behalf at just the right time. Notice what happens now. Despite the time of year and the flooded conditions, as soon as the priests carrying the ark reached the Jordan, their feet touched the water at its edge (3:15b) and two miraculous events happened:

1. The water stopped flowing in both directions.

a) It stopped flowing downstream from higher up. The water flowing downstream stood still rising up in a heap that extended as far as Adam, a city next to Zarethan (3:15b-16a).

b) It stopped flowing downstream to the Dead Sea lower down. The water flowing downstream into the Sea of the Arabah—the Dead Sea—was completely cut off, and the people crossed opposite Jericho.

2. The people crossed over. The priests carrying the ark of the Lord’s covenant stood firmly on dry ground in the middle of the Jordan, while all Israel crossed on dry ground until the entire nation had finished crossing the Jordan (3:17).

The detail that “as soon as” the priests’ feet touched the edge of the water it stopped flowing (3:15b) leaves no room for debate as to the cause and effect of this miracle. This is the moment to which the prior thirteen verses have pointed. What Joshua had predicted in 3:13 comes to pass in 3:16-17. This is the “wonder” that Joshua promised the people in 3:5. Now the presence of God among them and the power of God for them is revealed in all its splendor and awe. The people cross the flooded Jordan on dry land by God’s miraculous intervention. By this miracle, not only do the people cross an otherwise unnavigable river, but, more importantly, they witness the goodness of God on their behalf. The focus here is on the miracle more so than the crossing. Their crossing was the consequence of the miracle. Everything points to God’s work on their behalf.

Notice also the repeated and emphatic wording in these two verses. First, the comparison between the waters and the priests. The water flowing downstream from above stood still…rising up in a heap (3:16a), and the water flowing downstream to the Dead Sea was completely cut off (3:16b), while at the same time the priests stood firmly on dry ground in the middle of the Jordan (3:17).

Second, the contrast between the priests and the people. The priests stood firmly on dry ground and the people crossed over on dry ground (3:17). The priests were stationary like soldiers guarding the way, while the people moved across in front of them. That the priests stood still, during what would have undoubtedly been a long period of time, indicates that they had no fear – no fear of the waters returning and drowning them; no fear that this was a temporary phenomenon in nature. This was not merely an aberration in the normal course of weather patterns. No! This was a complete overriding of nature by the God of creation himself. They were in God’s hands completely.

Third, the repeated emphasis on the entirety of the Israelite nation moving into the Promised Landall Israel crossed on dry ground until the entire nation had finished crossing the Jordan (3:17).

B. When we move forward in obedience, God tends to every detail. The author emphasizes the fact that all Israel crossed on dry ground…the entire nation. No one was left behind, no one got wet, and no one drowned. No one had to try to wade across the raging torrent nor did anyone have to try to swim across – that would have been deadly. No, miraculously, what had moments before been a raging flood is now dry ground both for the priests and for the people. And it remained that way until the entire nation had finished crossing the Jordan.

Of course, what the author also wants us to do is reflect back on the Red Sea crossing. What had been experienced by the former generation of Israelites at the Red Sea is now experienced by the current generation at the Jordan. Both instances are designed (1) to reveal God to them in a spectacular way, giving them assurance of who He is and what He can do, and (2) to affirm Joshua as their leader, the one appointed by God for this new venture.

I think the point that the author is making with these details is to emphasize the supernatural aspect of this event, that only God could do this, and that God cares about every person individually and the nation collectively. Isn’t it wonderful how God gives them such a miraculous demonstration of his power even as they cross the river and before they ever face Jericho? What a boost to their faith and courage this must have been.

When we face challenges in our Christian lives, first of all when need to be prepared by God. Second, we need to move forward in obedience. And third, when the challenge is complete…

III. We Need To Remember What God Has Done (4:1-24)

Here the details of the story of crossing the Jordan are reiterated and fresh details are added. Such an awesome event as this had to be memorialized as a testimony to the present and future generations of the mighty power of God.

In the grammatical construction of 4:1, the author not only connects back to 3:17 but also indicates progression to the next stage of the narrative: After the entire nation had finished crossing the Jordan, the Lord spoke to Joshua (4:1) concerning...

A. The memorial stones gathered from the Jordan for Gilgal (4:1-8). 2 “Choose twelve men from the people, one man for each tribe, 3 and command them: Take twelve stones from this place in the middle of the Jordan where the priests are standing, carry them with you, and set them down at the place where you spend the night” (4:2-3).

While the author had earlier made reference to choosing twelve men (3:12), seemingly without connecting them to any specific task, it seems that now in 4:2 he describes what their task is - to select twelve stones from the middle of the Jordan and carry them with you, and set them down at the place where you spend the night (4:3). Soon we will discover where their camp is and what the stones’ purpose is (cf. 4:20-24). By splitting the story into these non-chronological segments, the author not only heightens the tension of the narrative as we wait for it to unfold, but he also expands the details as the story progresses.

In all of the movement of people and stones that is taking place here in and across the Jordan, everything and everybody is protected from the return of the waters by the ark, held by the priests who are standing in the middle of the Jordan right where the stones are to be selected (4:3). Thus, the ark, the symbol of God’s presence, does not move so long as the waters are cut off. God dwells with his people; he does not abandon them.

In 3:7-8, the Lord gives Joshua the instructions for the priests to carry the ark to the edge of the Jordan. When Joshua repeats this to the Israelites, he adds the details about the waters of the Jordan being cut off when the priests’ feet come to rest in the river (3:13). Similarly, now the Lord tells Joshua to choose twelve men who are to select twelve stones from the middle of the Jordan “where the priests are standing” and to carry them to their camp (4:2-3). But, again, when Joshua repeats this to the twelve men (4:4-5), he adds the details as to the purpose for, and significance of, these stones: 6 so that this will be a sign among you. In the future, when your children ask you, ‘What do these stones mean to you?’ 7 you should tell them, ‘The water of the Jordan was cut off in front of the ark of the Lord’s covenant. When it crossed the Jordan, the Jordan’s water was cut off.’ Therefore these stones will always be a memorial for the Israelites” (4:6-7).

Now we know the purpose for these stones. They would be a “sign among you” (the current generation), pointing them back to, and constantly reminding them of, this moment and this experience of God’s grace and presence and power. And these stones would also be a permanent memorial for future generations (“your children”) when they ask: “What do these stones mean to you?” (4:6). The current generation is thus charged with the responsibility of telling and re-telling the story of their experience here to future generations who did not experience or cannot remember this moment. These stones would “always be a memorial for the Israelites” (4:7), giving the current participants of this mighty deed the opportunity to testify to the saving grace of God - who God is and what He did at the Jordan.

That’s what memorials do – they give permanent visual and verbal reminders of the past. Such reminders are so vitally necessary for us, not only to remember what God has done and who He is but also to encourage us when circumstances get tough. The Israelites would need this reminder when they face tough times ahead as they take possession of the land. And it’s a good practice for us to remember our past experiences with God, to look back constantly at what God has done in our lives. It’s so easy to forget how God has intervened, provided, defended, and guided us over the years. This, of course, is what our church communion services are all about. They are designed to remind us of what the Lord has done for us at the cross so that we never forget.

Notice that, even though 21/2 tribes of the Israelites had been assigned their land inheritance on the other side of the Jordan (in accordance with Moses’ agreement with the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and the half tribe of Manasseh in Numbers 32), Joshua makes clear by the selection of these twelve men from each tribe and the number of stones to be collected that Israel is still one people.

So, the Israelites did just as Joshua had commanded them (4:8a). Joshua was God’s mouthpiece to the people, just as Moses had been before him. Notice the chain of command here: God commanded Joshua, Joshua repeated those commands to the people, and the people (through the agency of the twelve representative men whom Joshua had chosen) carried them out. The twelve men took stones from the middle of the Jordan, one for each of the Israelite tribes, just as the Lord had told Joshua. They carried them to the camp and set them down there (4:8b).

After gathering the memorial stones from the Jordan for the camp at Gilgal, another set of stones is set up.

B. The marker stones set up in the middle of the Jordan (4:9). It has been suggested that both these sets of stones are actually only one set, but I don’t think that suggestion fits with the text. The text specifically states that the first set of twelve stones was carried by the twelve men from the middle of the Jordan to the camp (4:8), where they would be set up as a permanent memorial (4:20). Whereas the second set of twelve stones was set up by Joshua as a marker in the middle of the Jordan where the priests who carried the ark of the covenant were standing (4:9a). Furthermore, the text states that those stones (the second set) are still there to this day (4:9b) – i.e. in the middle of the river, not at Gilgal. So, these are two different sets of stones. The first set would be a permanent memorial to remind the people of this experience and what God did, and the second set would be a permanent marker of the very place where God stopped the waters of the Jordan from flowing, the very spot where the priests stood holding the ark of the covenant while the people crossed over.

In conclusion (and by way of summary), 4:10 states that the priests carrying the ark continued standing in the middle of the Jordan until everything was completed that the Lord had commanded Joshua to tell the people, in keeping with all that Moses had commanded Joshua. The priests were obedient to God’s word, which was communicated to them through Joshua and which, at the same time, fulfilled Moses instructions to take possession of the land (cf. Deut. 31:3-8; Num. 32:28-30).

Having established the marker stones in the middle of the Jordan and the memorial stones at the camp at Gilgal…

C. The people cross the Jordan (4:10b-14). In keeping with earlier evidences that this author’s account does not necessarily follow a chronological sequence, what is described in 4:2-9 seems to have taken place after the people crossed over and before the priests crossed over and the waters returned. Thus, connecting back to 3:17 (all Israel crossed on dry ground) and 4:1 (After the entire nation had finished crossing the Jordan…), the text now says, 10b The people hurried across 11 and after everyone had finished crossing, the priests with the ark of the Lord crossed in the sight of the people (4:10b-11). Now, the attention now shifts from the stones (4:2-9) back to the crossing, the last step of which was the crossing of the priests.

This step highlights the climax and completion of this marvellous and miraculous crossing, pointing forward to the battle of Jericho to come. The question it raises in the minds of the readers is, “Will the Israelites’ possession of the Promised Land be as miraculous as the crossing of the Jordan? Will the taking of Jericho be as powerful and dramatic as the crossing of the Jordan? Will God give the people victory over the walls of Jericho as he gave them victory over the waters of the Jordan?”

In accordance with their earlier agreement with Moses, the 2½ tribes, who received their inheritance from Moses on the other side of the Jordan (cf. Josh. 1:13-18; Num. 32), now assemble near Jericho, ready to assist their brethren in the assault on that city. 12 The Reubenites, Gadites, and half the tribe of Manasseh went in battle formation in front of the Israelites, as Moses had instructed them. 13 About forty thousand equipped for war crossed to the plains of Jericho in the Lord’s presence (4:12-13). As we have seen repeatedly in this episode, the emphasis seems to be (1) on the people’s obedience to God’s word, to Joshua’s word, and here to Moses’ word, and (2) on the people’s unity, despite geographical separation on either side of the Jordan.

D. God exalts Joshua (4:14). What God had promised Joshua in 3:7 now is confirmed. On that day the Lord exalted Joshua in the sight of all Israel, and they revered him throughout his life, as they had revered Moses (4:14). Everything comes about just as God said. It’s instructive to see not only the people’s obedience to commands from God and Joshua, but also that God himself always keeps his word. God must be obeyed because his word is totally trustworthy.

After setting up the marker stones in the middle of the Jordan and the memorial stones at the camp at Gilgal, the people cross the Jordan. This is followed by God exalting Joshua in the sight of all Israel, and…

E. Then, the waters of the Jordan return (4:15-18). Again, the narrative seems to back up in order to make connection with what has already been mentioned (i.e. the priests’ crossing in 4:11) and to complete the chronological sequence of events. In accordance with the Lord’s instructions, Joshua commands the priests to “come up from the Jordan” (4:17).

This is the final step of the crossing and its dramatic finale when the priests carrying the ark of the Lord’s covenant came up from the middle of the Jordan (4:18a). The priests are still faithfully carrying the ark, that visible and powerful testimony to the Lord’s presence among them and his covenant with them.

That the Lord had supernaturally withheld the waters of the Jordan and not any other “natural” explanation is evident in that as soon as the priest’s feet stepped out on solid ground, the water of the Jordan resumed its course, flowing over all the banks as before (4:18b). When the Lord withdrew his presence, his intervention was also withdrawn – nature resumes her course. And finally…

F. The memorial stones are set up in Gilgal (4:19-24). This episode cannot end until the memorial to God’s power and goodness are set up in Gilgal where the people were camping on the eastern limits of Jericho (4:19b). That this took place on the tenth day of the first month (4:19a) is significant in that it connects this “exodus” from their wilderness wanderings on the east side of the Jordan to their earlier exodus from Egypt at the time of Passover (cf. Ex. 12:3).

20 Then Joshua set up in Gilgal the twelve stones they had taken from the Jordan, 21 and he said to the Israelites, “In the future, when your children ask their fathers, ‘What is the meaning of these stones?’ 22 you should tell your children, ‘Israel crossed the Jordan on dry ground’” (4:20-22). Joshua mentions three distinct purposes for this memorial at Gilgal…

First, this memorial would be a permanent testimony to future Israelite generations of the miracle God performed in stopping the waters (as Joshua had mentioned before in 4:6-7), just as He had at the Red Sea: “For the Lord your God dried up the water of the Jordan before you until you had crossed over, just as the Lord your God did to the Red Sea, which he dried up before us until we had crossed over” (4:23). Now Joshua links together the stopping of the waters of the Jordan with the dividing of the waters of the Red Sea, both of which made possible the Israelites’ crossing from one side to the other. This is a testimony to God’s goodness to them and his miraculous intervention on their behalf, an experience that would surely give them courage in the imminent battle of Jericho and all the subsequent battles as they take possession of the land.

Second, this memorial would be a permanent testimony to the world (i.e. the Canaanites) of the power of Yahweh: “…so that all the peoples of the earth may know that the Lord’s hand is strong” (4:24a). Let all nations and enemies beware that if they oppose God and his people, they do so to their own peril for the God of Israel is all-powerful; no one can withstand him.

Third, this memorial would remind the Israelites to bow before God: “…so that you may always fear the Lord your God” (4:24b). It’s so easy to forget who God is and what He has done, even after an experience as dramatic as the crossing of the Jordan. It’s so easy to fail to give God thanks and to attribute such experiences to His intervention on our behalf. This memorial would never let the Israelites forget and, in so doing, it would cause them to bow before Yahweh in reverence and to worship Him, the one true God who alone is worthy of all praise.

Final Remarks

I hope that this study has given you a greater understanding of what is involved in facing challenges in our Christian lives. Remember our summary statement for this message: God opens up the way for us when we are obedient to him, even when there are significant obstacles. Here are three principles we have learned from this episode in the Israelites’ experience...

First, in facing challenges, we need to be prepared by God (3:1-13). Preparation means spending time in prayer and reading God’s word. Perhaps it also includes wise and godly advice from a trusted friend. Here we need to exercise caution and dependence on God before making any decisions or taking any action.

Second, at the appropriate time we need to move forward in obedience (3:14-17). When the preparation work has been done and we see with clarity the way God is leading us, then we need to move forward with courage, trusting God for the outcome and that he will see us through.

Third, we need to constantly give God thanks for what He has done (4:1-24). When the trial or challenge is over, we need to establish “memorial stones” to remind us of his intervention on our behalf and to give him the thanks. Knowing how easily we forget, Jesus instituted the memorial supper (the Lord’s table) for us, to constantly remind us of what He has done at the cross.

How easy it is for us to get through a particular challenge and promptly forget what happened – forget how God prepared us and enabled us to face the challenge; forget how God laid out the path ahead for us to move ahead in obedience and faith; forget the evidences of God’s mighty power which he exercised on our behalf. That’s how prone we are to accept God’s blessings – his deliverance, his provision, his power - without ever remembering to give God the glory (cf. Lk. 17:15). May this never be true of us. We are to be grateful people (cf. 1 Thess. 5:18; Phil. 4:6); yet, sometimes I think we are so ungrateful. God intervenes for us time and time again, and yet we do not erect memorial stones as a reminder to ourselves and as a testimony to others who ask, “What do these stones mean?”

Worse yet, perhaps other people don’t ask us that question because they don’t see any memorial or marker stones in our lives at all. Perhaps there is no evidence that we walk by faith and not by sight (2 Cor. 5:7); no evidence that we are seeking to be obedient to the Lord (1 Jn. 5:2-3). In fact, perhaps there’s no evidence in your life that you are a Christian at all! If that’s the case, according to the Bible, you’re not a Christian for the Bible says that you will recognize them by their fruit” (Matt. 7:16). I think that there are so many people who go to church regularly, talk like Christians, look like Christians, enjoy fellowship with other Christians, listen to the preaching of God’s word, think they are Christians but they are not regenerate – they do not have spiritual life in them (cf. Heb. 6:1-8; 1 Jn. 3:6, 9; James 2:19-22). Well, if that describes you, may this study encourage you to get right with God through repentance and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ (Acts 2:21).

Related Topics: Character Study, Christian Life

4. Victory At Jericho (Josh. 6:1-27)

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As we continue to make our way through some of the experiences of some of the O.T. characters, we are currently studying the life of Joshua: A Faithful Warrior. In the last study we learned about “Facing Challenges With Caution And Courage” (Josh. 3:1-4:24) as the Israelites crossed over the Jordan into the Promised Land. Now in this study, let’s look at their first encounter with their enemy, the Canaanites, at “The Battle of Jericho.”

Of all the O.T. stories that grip our imaginations, I suppose the top three would be David and Goliath, Daniel in the lions’ den, and Joshua and the battle of Jericho. I think that what engages us at a deep visceral level are three factors: first, the sheer magnitude of God’s power; second, the utter uniqueness of God’s plans and methods; and third, the absolute assurance of God’s success.

Though these stories on the surface appear simple, they are full of challenging theological lessons, implications, and questions. The first question that arises, as we begin studying this passage, has to do with the instructions God gives to Joshua to attack Jericho (6:1-5).

The subject before us in this passage is: “Trusting and obeying God’s Word.” And the overall theological principle of this passage is that God is with us during our most difficult challenges and provides us with a way out. This principle is confirmed in 1 Corinthians 10:13 which states that God is faithful: he will not let you be tried beyond what you are able to bear, but with the trial will also provide a way out so that you may be able to endure it (NET Bible).

Sometimes we may not understand God’s ways or his purposes in our lives, but we know that He always has our good and blessing in view, for we know that all things work together for the good of those who love God, who are called according to his purpose (Rom. 8:28). The “good” that He has in view for us is our conformity to the image of His Son (Rom. 8:29). Thus, the “good” that God plans for us does not imply pleasant or happy experiences necessarily, but it does mean the greatest blessing we could ever want or have – being more and more like Christ. Let’s bear that in mind as we study this passage. Notice first that…

I. When God’s People Face Enemies, God Provides A Battle Plan (6:1-7)

The battle of Jericho marks the beginning of the Israelites’ conquest of Canaan as they take possession of it in accordance with God’s promise and instructions. As with the crossing of the Jordan, so now God gives the people explicit instructions about what they are to do. As we study these instructions, it becomes clear that…

A. Sometimes, we cannot understand God’s ways (6:1-5). That would certainly have been true if we had been participants in the battle against Jericho in which God’s plans would have been incomprehensible from a human perspective.

Now Jericho was strongly fortified because of the Israelites—no one leaving or entering (6:1). Despite the fortification of the city, Jericho feared an invasion by the Israelites to such a degree that a city-wide lockdown was in force. Perhaps the expectation of an imminent attack was because they knew that the Israelite spies had been in town and had escaped. Undoubtedly, this step was taken not only as a defensive action to protect the inhabitants of Jericho against invasion but also as an offensive tactic to repel the Israelites, to prevent them from gaining entrance. But, as we shall see, no protective action by Jericho could withstand God’s power.

In spite of the fortification of Jericho and its appearance of impregnability, God assures Joshua of victory: “Look, I have handed Jericho, its king, and its best soldiers over to you” (6:2). God has predetermined Israel’s victory. Then, God gives Joshua explicit instructions as to how this battle is to be won: 3 March around the city with all the men of war, circling the city one time. Do this for six days. 4 Have seven priests carry seven ram’s horn trumpets in front of the ark. But on the seventh day, march around the city seven times, while the priests blow the rams’ horns. 5 When there is a prolonged blast of the horn and you hear its sound, have all the people give a mighty shout. Then the city wall will collapse, and the people will advance, everyone straight ahead” (6:3-5).

So, here’s the plan: For 6 days the Israelites are to march around the city once a day in accordance with God’s order of procession. Though 6:3-4 is addressed to Joshua, who is to be accompanied by “the men of war” and “seven priests,” 6:7 makes clear that God’s address to Joshua is an all-inclusive command for all the people to march. Then, on the 7th day this procession is to march around the city seven times (not just once) in the same manner, at the end of which the priests are to blow their ram’s horn trumpets and upon hearing a “prolonged blast of the horn” all the people are to give “a mighty shout,” at which sound the walls of Jericho will fall down flat and the people are to march straight ahead into the city. Thus, God instructed and assured Joshua.

To any objective observer, God’s instructions to Joshua must have seemed bizarre. At the very least, this battle plan is truly unique, isn’t it? Who could have thought up such a plan as this and make it successful? No one except God - that’s the point. This battle plan makes no sense to human logic or military strategy. In fact, the key to this strategy was not military action, just obedience to the word of the Lord through the ceremonial routine of the priests blowing the trumpets while carrying the ark around the city, followed by the shout of the people.

To the people of Jericho, God’s strategy undoubtedly must have seemed weak and contemptible, perhaps even insane, until their fortified walls fell down flat. Then, their jeering must have changed to utter dread and panic. In fact, until then the people of Jericho must have felt pretty smug and secure inside the city walls, because they made no attempt to attack the Israelites as they marched around the city. But now the God whom they had heard about, and His miraculous ways with Israel from the exodus to the present moment, now becomes very real and undeniable.

We could ask the same question of God’s plan of salvation. Who could have thought up such a plan and expect it to be successful? No one except God – that’s the point. Like the Israelites as they prepared to invade Jericho, we can claim no merit for our salvation. We can do nothing for it, nor can we plead any entitlement to it. It’s all of God’s grace and redeeming power - that’s the point. As the apostle Paul notes: We have this treasure (the gospel) in clay jars, so that this extraordinary power may be from God and not from us (2 Cor. 4:7). Just as the Israelites’ victory over Jericho was a powerful testimony to the saving grace and act of God, so with our salvation. It is all of Him and nothing of us except our obedience to, and faith in, His word.

Any doubts the Israelites may have had about God’s battle plan gives way to their faith in the God of the Jordan crossing. As at the Jordan so now, Joshua and the people have to trust the Lord, not their own power or plans. They are completely dependent on God, to whom alone the victory could be attributed. Walking around the city walls may have seemed inadequate, even foolish, but it ensures that the Israelites know without a doubt that their victory is from the Lord.

I suppose the Israelites had learned from the crossing of the Jordan immediately prior to this event that God is all-powerful, that God’s ways are unfathomable (Rom. 11:33), that God’s love and care are unceasing, and that God’s strategies are incomprehensible to our minds. Such unique and powerful ways of God had been demonstrated many times before, such as Noah and the ark, the plagues in Egypt, and the crossing of the Red Sea. The same God who ordered the priests to step into the waters of the Jordan just before this is the God who now orders them to attack Jericho in this way. Strange? Yes. Will it be successful? Without doubt.

Though sometimes we cannot understand God’s ways, nonetheless,…

B. Our response to God must be unquestioning obedience (6:6-7). Joshua faithfully repeats God’s instructions. First, he instructs the priests to “take up the ark of the covenant and have seven priests carry seven rams’ horns in front of the ark of the Lord” (6:6). Then he said to the people, “Move forward, march around the city, and have the armed men go ahead of the ark of the Lord” (6:7). Joshua didn’t change God’s instructions or question them. Everything is done exactly as God planned and ordered it.

After giving them their instructions, Joshua gives the final command: “Move forward.” This surely is the acid test, this is crunch time – will they or will they not move forward in faith as God has prescribed through Joshua? Will they give in to fear? Will they rebel against Joshua? Will they simply turn back and defy the Lord? No, the order and composition of this vast congregation of people advances around the city exactly as God had commanded.

Joshua had demonstrated faith as a spy when he and Caleb checked out the Promised Land for Moses and brought back a good report. He recognized the good things of the land that God had promised them and was not intimidated at all by the potential opposition from the giants there. Once again here, Joshua demonstrates unswerving obedience to, and trust in, God. He believed God implicitly; he trusted God completely. Here we see in Joshua confidence in God, not doubt; boldness for God, not fear.

When God’s people face enemies, God provides a battle plan. And..

II. When God’s Instructions Are Followed, Victory Is Assured (6:8-21)

A. By faith, God’s instructions are followed exactly (6:8-15). 8 After Joshua had spoken to the people, the seven priests carrying the trumpets of rams’ horns before the Lord moved forward and blew the rams’ horns; the ark of the Lord’s covenant followed them. 9 While the rams’ horns were blowing, the armed men went in front of the priests who blew the rams’ horns, and the rear guard went behind the ark. 10 But Joshua had commanded the people, “Do not shout or let your voice be heard. Don’t let one word come out of your mouth until the time I say, ‘Shout!’ Then you are to shout.” 11 So the ark of the Lord was carried around the city, circling it once. They returned to the camp and spent the night there (6:6-11).

The people move forward around the city, with the armed guards ahead of the seven priests who were carrying the ark and the rear guard behind them. The continuous sound of the ram’s horns not only indicates the ceremonial nature of the event, but also provides leadership and encouragement to the people, much like the noise of fans at a football stadium, I suppose, that encourages the players.

When the command is given the people dutifully move forward as they begin their seven day ritual around Jericho (6:8-9), but they are to do so in utter silence until Joshua gives the order to shout (6:10). Like a parent repeating important instructions to their children, Joshua says, Don’t let one word come out of your mouth until the time I say, ‘Shout!’ Then you are to shout.” Any shout from the Israelites prior to Joshua giving the command would both alert the people of Jericho and would be a premature claim to victory.

You see, the path to victory demands absolute obedience, right down to the last letter. The excitement of finally taking possession of the land, after years of wanderings and failings, might have caused them to forget the Lord’s instructions. But they must not get ahead of the Lord, even though the temptation to shout on the first day may have been overwhelming.

Notice that God’s presence, symbolized by the ark, is still in their midst, as it was at the Jordan. The ark remains at the center, protected here by the armed men in front and behind. In a Christian context, this surely reminds us of Jesus’ promise that “where two or three are gathered together in my name, I am there among them” (Matt. 18:20). His presence is among us when we gather in assembly. In a sense also, we protect the Lord’s holy presence (1) by collectively and individually judging any known sin in our lives, (2) by not eating and drinking unworthily at the Lord’s table, which is tantamount to blaspheming the work of Christ (1 Cor. 11:27-29), and (3) in the context of Matthew 18:20, by reconciling with those who have sinned against us. May we always be alert to anything that might defile the congregation of the Lord’s people and use every effort to be holy, for He is holy.

Thus, the seven day routine begins. Day 1 to 6, the people, the troops, the priests with the ark and the ram’s horns circumnavigate the city once each day, returning to the camp at night (6:11-15). One might wonder, “Why the repeated circumnavigation of the city?” Perhaps we can understand this as demonstrating the grace of God in giving the inhabitants of Jericho that extended period of time to repent, to capitulate to the Israelites. But in spite of the constant blowing of the horns, warning the people of Jericho, there is no evidence of any repentance on their part.

On day 7, they begin at dawn because on that day they must march around the city seven times in the prescribed manner until Joshua gives the order to shout. And when he does…

B. By faith, God’s victory becomes immediately evident (6:16-21). After the seventh time, the priests blew the rams’ horns, and Joshua said to the people, “Shout! For the Lord has given you the city” (6:16). But before doing so, Joshua has two additional instructions and a warning. First, the additional instructions: (1) “The city and everything in it are set apart to the Lord for destruction” (6:17a); (2) “only Rahab the prostitute and everyone with her in the house will live, because she hid the messengers we sent” (6:17b). Second, a warning: 18 Keep yourselves from the things set apart, or you will be set apart for destruction. If you take any of those things, you will set apart the camp of Israel for destruction and make trouble for it. 19 For all the silver and gold, and the articles of bronze and iron, are dedicated to the Lord and must go into the Lord’s treasury” (6:18-19).

These reminders are timely, aren’t they? In moments like this it would be so easy to plunge ahead and forget the conditions of the attack – forget that the city, its people, and its contents “are set apart to the Lord for destruction”; forget that Rahab and her household are set apart for salvation because of her faith in God and her demonstration of faith to the spies. But Joshua wants to make certain that these matters are properly attended to.

The word translated “set apart” (or “devoted to”) in this context means to give over something or someone to the Lord, either for destruction or for the Lord’s treasury. In both cases, the connotation is of being wholly given over to, set apart for, dedicated to the Lord. The city, its contents, and its inhabitants are “set apart to the Lord for destruction” (6:17a). The Israelites must not take any of the contents of the city. Indeed, they are to keep away from those things or they themselves would also be “set apart for destruction” (6:18). The only exceptions to this rule are: (1) Rahab and her household are to be protected (6:17; cf. 2:9-13), and (2) “all the silver and gold and the articles of bronze and iron are dedicated to the Lord and must go into the Lord’s treasury” (6:19).

Unlike the secular wars of the day, they were not to touch the unclean things; they were not to take the spoils of war – either material things or people. They were to be spiritually pure and be separate from such an ungodly place and people. But within the city, there is one family whom God honors for their faithfulness – they are to be spared. Judgement belongs to the Lord our God (Isa. 33:22; Rom. 2:1-16). Everything and everyone are His to do with them as He sees fit – destruction for the rebellious and salvation for the faithful.

Picking up the flow of thought from 6:16, So the people shouted, and the rams’ horns sounded (6:20) and just as God had promised, when they heard the blast of the ram’s horn, the people gave a great shout, and the wall collapsed. The people advanced into the city, each man straight ahead, and they captured the city. 21 They completely destroyed everything in the city with the sword—every man and woman, both young and old, and every ox, sheep, and donkey (6:20-21). When God’s instructions are followed, victory is assured. The people shouted, just as God had instructed Joshua. The walls collapsed, just as God had promised Joshua. The people advanced into the city, just as God had described to Joshua (cf. 6:5). They captured the city, just as they were commanded. And they completely destroyed everything in the city with the sword - every man and woman, both young and old, and every ox, sheep, and donkey, just as they were instructed.

The brief description of the capture of the city seems almost anticlimactic after the build up to this point throughout the chapter. But by structuring the narrative this way, the author conveys the idea that the description of the battle itself (6:20-21) is less important than the preparation for the battle (6:2-19) and the consequences of the battle (6:22-26). What is most important is that when God’s instruction are followed, victory is assured. It’s that simple! Thus the author of the book of Hebrews writes: By faith the walls of Jericho fell down after being marched around by the Israelites for seven days (11:30).

Faith is the key to victory in the Christian life. This does not mean, in our N.T. context, that we will always be assured freedom from trial or dominance over opposition. What it does mean is that when we are obedient to God, He stands side by side with us in the trial, giving us the strength and courage to be faithful to him.

When God’s people face enemies, God provides a battle plan. When God’s instructions are followed, victory is assured. And…

III. When God Acts, He Is True To His Word (6:22-27)

The consequence of this invasion is that the faithful are spared and the enemies are destroyed; salvation is assured for believers and condemnation for God’s enemies. Four details conclude this narrative:

A. The agreement with Rahab is fulfilled by the spies (6:22-23). It is poignant and appropriate, isn’t it, that the same two spies who made the agreement with Rahab now fulfill that agreement. Just as God is faithful to his word to Israel through Joshua, so Joshua is faithful to the word of the spies to Rahab to spare her and her family because of her faith, which she demonstrated in her actions (to the point of risking her life) and her words.

B. Jericho is totally destroyed and cursed (6:24-26). The entire city and everything in it is burned except (1) the silver and gold and the articles of bronze and iron which they put into the treasury of the LORD’s house (6:24) and (2) Rahab’s household because she hid the messengers Joshua had sent to spy on Jericho (6:25).

At that time Joshua imposed this curse: The man who undertakes the rebuilding of this city, Jericho, is cursed before the Lord. He will lay its foundation at the cost of his firstborn; he will finish its gates at the cost of his youngest (6:26). This was not an empty curse. In fact, Hiel the Bethelite did rebuild Jericho but it cost him the life of his firstborn son, Abiram, and his second born son, Segub, according to the word of the Lord he had spoken through Joshua son of Nun (1 Kgs 16:34). God is not mocked. He carries out what He says.

C. Joshua’s leadership is affirmed (6:27). The author confirms that what God had told Joshua about his leadership of Israel (3:7; 4:4) was true and, as evidence of it, his fame spread throughout the land.

Final Remarks

So, we come to the end of this brief study of the battle of Jericho, one that is emotionally exciting, intellectually fascinating, and theologically challenging. The structure of this passage that we have followed in this study is as follows:

I. When God’s People Face Enemies, God Provides A Battle Plan (6:1-7)

A. Sometimes, we cannot understand God’s ways (6:1-5).

B. Our response to God must be unquestioning obedience (6:6-7).

II. When God’s Instructions Are Followed, Victory Is Assured (6:8-21)

A. By faith, God’s instructions are followed exactly (6:8-15).

B. By faith, God’s victory becomes immediately evident (6:16-21).

III. When God Acts, He Is True To His Word (6:22-27)

A. The agreement with Rahab is fulfilled by the spies (6:22-23).

B. Jericho is totally destroyed and cursed (6:24-26).

C. Joshua’s leadership is affirmed (6:27).

Our summary of the overall theological teaching of this passage is that God is with us during our most difficult challenges and provides us with a way out. How we should thank God that He is the same God today as when He gave the Israelites their victory at Jericho. He is wholly trustworthy and perfectly consistent in his judgement of sinners and his salvation of believers.

As I mentioned at the beginning, this passage (and many others like it in the O.T.) raise many challenging theological lessons, implications, and questions. One such issue is trying to understand and explain the apparent difference between the God of the O.T. and the God of the N.T. Typically, I think many of us, who have been reading the Bible for many years, tend to emphasize the victories in the O.T. and ignore the indiscriminate slaughter. We readily accept God’s love and grace but can’t quite align that with His wrath and justice. Some, therefore, conclude that either God is not all-powerful or that God is not all-loving. Of course, neither of those positions is satisfactory because the Bible tells us that He is both.

Specifically, it raises the question of how a good God can order such death and destruction, at least as it appears in passages like the one we have just studied. Some people never get past this apparent dichotomy, never get past the questions and arrive at acceptable answers. Some conclude that they cannot believe in such a God. I understand fully how a passage like this that contains such preordained destruction could shake one’s faith, or, at the very least, make one question who God is and how He acts.

While it is beyond the scope of this article to tackle this subject adequately, if you have been asking questions about the God of the O.T. compared to the God of the N.T., let me suggest the following for you to consider:

1. Be assured that God is unchanging and perfect in his nature, character, and actions. Therefore, He is unchanging and perfect in His goodness and in His justice (cf. Num. 23:19; Ps. 145:17; Jn. 3:16; Rom. 5:8; Heb. 6:17-18; 13:8; James 1:17; Tit. 1:2).

2. Remember that God is sovereign. That means that He is answerable to no one. It means that He has the right to execute judgement as, when, and how He so chooses. And sometimes that doesn’t match our understanding or expectations of God. Remember also that 22 because of the Lord’s faithful love we do not perish, for his mercies never end. 23 They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness! (Lam. 3:22-23). So there you have it – the sovereign execution of God’s judgement and the sovereign extension of his saving grace to those who do not deserve it.

3. Consider the progressive nature of God’s revelation in the Bible. We are not told everything in the O.T. that God reveals to us in the N.T., but when read together it becomes evident that the God of the O.T. is exactly the same as the God of the N.T. His love and grace are shown out in both the O.T. and the N.T. (e.g. Ex. 34:6; Num. 14:18; Jn. 3:16). And His wrath and justice are told out in both the O.T. and the N.T. (e.g. Jer. 30:23; Nahum 1:2; Rom. 1:18; 2:5; Rev. 19:15).

In the O.T. when the Israelites repented, we see God time and time again extend his grace to them, despite their disbelief and disobedience, just as He does to us today. Note also, that God’s justice in the O.T. is often deferred to give more time for people to repent, but ultimately his justice is meted out. In the N.T. we see God’s love and grace manifested every single day in the withholding of His justice, giving people the opportunity to repent and believe in Him before it is too late (2 Pet. 3:9). But the N.T. is also perfectly clear that His justice will be executed one day (2 Pet. 3:9; Acts 17:31). And when it is, it will be perfectly consistent with who God is (holy, just, loving) and with the ample warnings He has given of judgement to come on those who do not repent and believe in our Lord Jesus Christ (Rev. 20:12-13; Rom. 6:23; Acts 20:21).

4. Remember that God’s redeeming love is most fully revealed in Jesus Christ - specifically, in His miraculous incarnation (Lk. 1:39-45; 1 Tim. 3:16), His perfect life (Phil. 2:5-8; Heb. 1:2-4), His substitutionary death on the cross (1 Cor. 1:18-31) and His glorious resurrection (1 Cor. 15:1-8).

To human thinking God’s plan of redemption makes no sense. The Jews demanded visible, miraculous proofs of who Jesus was and the Greeks sought after philosophical reasons for human and divine existences (1 Cor. 1:22). But, Paul writes, we preach Christ crucified (1 Cor. 1:23a). Instead of visible proofs and logical arguments, God chose crucifixion as the means of our redemption. This completely contradicted both the Jews’ and Gentiles’ understandings and expectations of the Messiah. Thus, the Christian gospel is to the Jews a stumbling block - they trip over it; they can’t get passed it - and to the Gentiles the Christian gospel is foolishness (1 Cor. 1:23b) – they laugh and jeer at it. But, compared to the highest level of human wisdom, God’s foolishness is wiser, and compared to the greatest demonstration of human strength God’s weakness is stronger (1 Cor. 1:25). Indeed, 27 God has chosen what is foolish in the world to shame the wise and God has chosen what is weak in the world to shame the strong. 28 God has chosen what is insignificant and despised in the world – what is viewed as nothing – to bring to nothing what is viewed as something (1 Cor. 1:27-28). Why? …so that no one may boast in his presence (1 Cor. 1:29). But rather, Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord (1 Cor. 1:31).

That’s the point! God’s plans and ways and purposes are so far “other” than ours that when we grasp a sense of his magnificent glory and unfathomable wisdom and infinite power, then we have only one option – not to doubt God nor to boast in ourselves, but to trust and glory in Him alone. Though we cannot fully understand God (after all He wouldn’t be God if we could), what we need above all else is faith. That’s how the walls of Jericho fell down (Heb. 11:30) and that alone is how we can have peace with God (Rom. 5:1).

So, in conclusion, remember that God’s plans and ways are far above and beyond our comprehension. 8 For my thoughts are not your thoughts, and your ways are not my ways.” This is the Lord’s declaration. 9 “For as heaven is higher than earth, so my ways are higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts” (Isa. 55:8-9). Indeed, God accomplishes his purposes, “not by strength or by might, but by my Spirit,” says the Lord of hosts (Zech. 4:6).

I know these comments do not do justice to this topic, but I suggest these few thoughts for you to consider.

Related Topics: Character Study, Christian Life

5. Defeat At Ai (Josh. 7:1-26)

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We continue on with our study of some experiences of O.T. characters. We are currently studying the life of Joshua: A Faithful Warrior. In the last article we learned about “Victory at Jericho” (Josh. 6:1-27) as the Israelites began their assault on the Canaanites in their quest to subdue and take possession of the land that God had given them. But, sadly, immediately after that miraculous victory, the Israelites suffer a crushing and humiliating defeat from a seemingly insignificant enemy, Ai.

The subject of this study is: God’s anger against, and judgement of, sin. What we learn in this study is that God does not tolerate sin amongst his people. God is a thoroughly holy God, separate from evil. God’s eyes are too pure to look on evil (Hab. 1:13). That’s why our approach to God as believers is only on the basis of the mediation of his beloved Son, our Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ, who did not commit sin and no deceit was found in his mouth…(who) himself bore our sins in his body on the tree; so that, having died to sins, we might live for righteousness (1 Pet. 2:22-24). Only on the basis of Christ’s redeeming, cleansing work on the cross can we draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed in pure water (Heb. 10:21-22).

Let’s try to identify the theological principles in this passage. First note that…

I. Pride Comes Before A Fall Into Sin (7:1-5)

Barely have the Israelites victoriously demolished Jericho than warning bells are sounded: The Israelites, however, were unfaithful regarding the things set apart to the Lord. Achan son of Carmi, son of Zabdi, son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, took some of what was set apart, and the Lord’s anger burned against the Israelites (7:1).

This first verse sets the tone for what is about to happen in the rest of the chapter. Trouble for Israel is brewing because of one person’s sin. Even as the Israelites waged war against the city of Jericho, sin was at work in Achan, who stole for himself some of the things that were to be set apart for the Lord, things that Israel had been expressly told not to take for themselves (cf. 6:17-19).

Here at the outset, we learn two important factors that help us understand the rest of the chapter. First, Achan’s sin is named and is attributed to the Israelites as a whole – they “were unfaithful” even though it was Achan’s individual sin. We will examine this in more detail later in our study. Second, unlike the report of the men who spied out Jericho, the spies whom Joshua sent to Ai came back and gave him some fatal and false advice: 3 Don’t send all the people, but send about two thousand or three thousand men to attack Ai. Since the people of Ai are so few, don’t wear out all our people there.” 4a So about three thousand men went up there (7:3-4a).

The tone has subtly changed. Unlike before at Jericho, the spies do not report everything that had happened to them (2:23), nor do they express their conviction that “the Lord has handed over the entire land to us” (2:24). No, now, without any mention of the Lord in all of this, they confidently state that Joshua does not need to send all the Israelite troops to attack Ai, because they are “so few.” In other words, “Don’t weary all our people, Joshua, with such an easy target. They are sitting ducks. We can overcome this place with only two or three thousand men.” Also, this differs from the attack on Jericho in that, noticeably, Joshua receives no communication from the Lord to take this action (cf. 6:2). Confidence in God has been replaced by confidence in self. As Proverbs 16:18 says, Pride comes before destruction, and an arrogant spirit before a fall. The truth is that, from the moment they belittled Ai, they were defeated by their pride.

Sadly, Joshua follows their advice: 4b So about three thousand men went up there, but they fled from the men of Ai. 5 The men of Ai struck down about thirty-six of them and chased them from outside the city gate to the quarries, striking them down on the descent. As a result, the people lost heart (7:4b-5). As we know from 7:1, Israel’s defeat is due to sin in the congregation. Sin in the congregation is so often demonstrated in self-confidence. And self-confidence leads to lack of dependence on the Lord. That’s the pattern that happened among the Israelites in this story> And it’s a pattern that is repeated so often in our churches, para-church ministries, and mission agencies today. What starts out with utter confidence in the leading of God and dependence upon God to provide the resources needed for the ministry soon changes into self-confidence and lack of prayerful dependence.

No wonder that the Lord’s anger burned against Israel (7:1). God knew what had happened with Achan and the presence of sin among the congregation, not to mention their self-confidence and absence of communication with Him. Because God was not honored among them, he withdrew his power and they are resoundingly defeated by “so few” people in Ai. This reminds me of the story of the feeding of the five thousand in John 6:1-15. Faced with only five barley loaves and two fish to feed such a vast crowd, Andrew says to Jesus, “But what are they for so many?” (Jn. 6:9). Little did he know who Jesus was and what He could do with so few resources. And little did Joshua and the Israelites know what God could do with “so few” people at Ai. Their defeat at Ai was the first indicator, surely, that something was drastically wrong. Something had radically changed since their victory at Jericho.

We see this so often, don’t we? Confidence in God that turns into confidence in self. Perhaps it’s a pastor who leads a church through a tremendous period of growth, such that the church exerts huge influence across its community and perhaps around the world. Over time the identity of the church and the pastor become blurred and soon it becomes the pastor’s church. The freshness and vigor of God’s call becomes the success of the pastor. And as his reputation, influence, and power grow, so does his self-confidence. Then, sadly, one day you find out that he has engaged in sexual immorality or some other sin. He is stripped of his credentials as a pastor and fades from view – no longer usable by God; another gifted minister of the gospel robbed from active service by self-confidence and pride. Here in Canada, a number of years ago, there was an evangelist by the name of Charles Templeton, who became very well know, even partnered at times with Billy Graham and co-founded the international ministry called Youth for Christ. Sadly, he became cynical about the gospel message that he had once so dearly loved and so powerfully proclaimed. Eventually he declared himself an agnostic and, later, an atheist. Or, perhaps it’s a youth pastor who participates in an inappropriate relationship with a girl in the youth group and eventually runs off with her and divorces his wife. How many times has Satan robbed the church of gifted pastors through self-confidence and pride.

It’s the little Ai’s that can so easily defeat us, the little foxes that ruin the vineyards (Song of Solomon 2:15), little faults of character or unjudged sins that eventually overpower us. Satan is so clever at tripping us up. Indeed, ministers of the gospel (as well as Christians in general) are prime targets for Satan’s attacks. Satan does not want us doing what we do. No wonder that the apostle Paul warns us about this and urges us to protect ourselves with God’s armor: 11 Put on the full armor of God so that you can stand against the schemes of the devil. 12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers of this darkness, against evil, spiritual forces in the heavens. 13 For this reason take up the full armor of God, so that you may be able to resist in the evil day, and having prepared everything, to take your stand. 14 Stand, therefore, with truth like a belt around your waist, righteousness like armor on your chest, 15 and your feet sandaled with readiness for the gospel of peace. 16 In every situation take up the shield of faith with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one (Eph. 6:11-16). Notice Paul describes these spiritual attacks as the schemes of the devil (Eph. 6:11), the flaming arrows of the evil one (Eph. 6:16).

We are engaged in all-out spiritual war. Our enemy is not human armies but “spiritual forces in the heavens.” Satan and his fallen angels know our points of vulnerability, spiritual weakness, temptation. It’s the temptation when you’re away from home on a business trip, alone in a hotel room at nights, where pornographic films are readily available and openly advertised. It’s the physical attraction of another woman in the office where you work that, when left unchecked, can lead to illicit relations and, potentially, disastrous consequences for your marriage and family and church. That’s what can happen when you take your eyes of the Lord and give in to your own desires, when you give up dependence on the Lord and replace it with confidence in self.

Well, so much for the self-confidence of the spies in our passage whose assessment of the enemy at Ai and their advice to Joshua were just so wrong. So much for their argument that there was no need to “wear out all our people” in attacking such a feeble few (7:3). The consequence of this fatal perspective was that the men of Ai struck down about thirty-six of them (the Israelites) and chased them from outside the city gate to the quarries, striking them down on the descent. As a result, the people lost heart (7:5). Instead of victory, they were chased away and thirty-six Israelite men died. No wonder the people became discouraged! Their recent success in defeating Jericho is still fresh in their memories, puffing them up with confidence. Then to be defeated by so few men at Ai is humiliating. Immediately, courage is replaced by fear and discouragement.

Pride so often comes before a fall into sin. And…

II. Sin Causes Anguish Before God (7:6-9)

Undoubtedly, Joshua and all Israel thought they were unstoppable after the great victory at Jericho. But instead, great victory is followed by humiliating defeat at Ai. Understandably, Joshua and the elders are distraught about this, as indicated by putting dust on their heads (7:6). And Joshua cries out to the Lord: 7 Oh, Lord God,” Joshua said, “why did you ever bring these people across the Jordan to hand us over to the Amorites for our destruction? If only we had been content to remain on the other side of the Jordan! 8 What can I say, Lord, now that Israel has turned its back and run from its enemies? 9 When the Canaanites and all who live in the land hear about this, they will surround us and wipe out our name from the earth. Then what will you do about your great name?” (7:7-9)

You can understand why Joshua seems mystified by what has happened. Hence, his question #1:Why did you ever bring these people across the Jordan to hand us over to the Amorites for our destruction?” (7:7a). Joshua begs God to reveal why this has happened. Why would God bring them across the Jordan river into Canaan, the land that he had promised them, only to let them be defeated by the Amorites? But, before we question God’s motives, before we ask God the “why” question, surely we should first consider what God has done in the past and what he requires of us in the present. Had Joshua carefully considered the facts of their recent history – that God had just miraculously brought the Israelites across the Jordan, and miraculously enabled them to defeat Jericho - perhaps that might have caused him to consider that there was something going on here of which he was unaware. There is more to this than meets the eye. Joshua’s question of God is the same as the repeated question of the Israelites in the wilderness: Had God brought them out of Egypt into the wilderness to let them die? The rhetorical answer is: Of course not! And now, had God brought them across the Jordan into Canaan to let them die? The rhetorical answer is: Of course not! “If only we had been content to remain on the other side of the Jordan” (7:7b) he opines. If they had known that this would happen, it would have been better for them to have stayed on the east side of Jordan.

I suppose, in such a situation as this, it’s human nature to say “if only.” Regrets about past decisions surface very quickly when we face defeat. Past actions which we thought were so right and were, in fact, ordered by God, soon take on a whole different perspective when things don’t work out as we expected. We are so prone to hanker after the “good old days.” When things go wrong we long for the past and the familiar and shy away from the future and the unfamiliar, even though the past might have been filled with life-threatening thirst and hunger and the future filled with life-giving nourishment (milk and honey).

Question #2: “What can I say, Lord, now that Israel has turned its back and run from its enemies?” (7:8). Joshua is at a loss for words to explain what has happened. Israel had not simply been defeated – that would have been bad enough. They had actually turned their back and run away from their enemy. This turn of events is inexplicable based on their recent history and God’s promises. Joshua’s fear is that “When the Canaanites and all who live in the land hear about this, they will surround us and wipe out our name from the earth” (7:9a). Joshua’s concern now turns to Israel’s future prospects. He fears that, when this news spreads throughout Canaan, the Canaanites will take advantage of Israel’s current state of weakness and cowardice and, potentially, destroy them completely. Initially, he seems only to be concerned about the humiliation brought on Israel and the threat of their annihilation. But then his attention turns to how this would impact God’s reputation.

Question #3: “Then what will you do about your great name?” (7:9). Joshua turns from the “why” question to a “what” question, from Israel’s humiliation to its impact on God’s reputation. Joshua rightly infers that Israel’s defeat would be interpreted by the Canaanites as Yahweh’s defeat, which would bring dishonor on His “great name.” It’s bad enough that when the Canaanites hear about Israel’s defeat they will “wipe out our name from the earth,” but the consequences for God’s name are even greater. “Then what will you do about your great name?” How will God defend his honor in the light of what has happened? What will God do to protect and restore his reputation? After all, He won a mighty victory at Jericho but now His people have been utterly defeated at Ai.

Thankfully, Joshua does not rationalize the outcome of the defeat. He doesn’t surmise that they underestimated the number of troops required, or that only thirty-six men died, or that it could have been much worse, or that they would just send more men against Ai the next time. No, from his prayer, it is evident that he not only has concerns for Israel’s reputation and future but more importantly he has concerns for God’s reputation. Thankfully, Joshua is a godly man who in the face of defeat turns immediately to the Lord. Sad that such a godly man who is used so powerfully by God does not consult the Lord before engaging with Ai as they did.

Joshua’s last question is so relevant for God’s people today. Whenever there is sin among the people of God that becomes publicly known, the Lord’s name is dishonored. There is a direct link between what Christians and churches do and say and what the world thinks and says about our God. When Christians act immorally or unjustly, God’s name is tarnished before the world. When Christians adopt worldly ways, God’s name is dishonored before the world. No wonder, when commenting on the death of Saul and Jonathan, David laments: Do not tell it in Gath, don’t announce it in the marketplaces of Ashkelon, or the daughters of the Philistines will rejoice, and the daughters of the uncircumcised will celebrate” (2 Sam. 1:20). Dealing with sin in the assembly is one thing – it’s a paramount obligation - but publishing it before the world brings God’s name into disrepute.

So then, we have learned thus far that (1) pride comes before a fall into sin (7:1-5); and (2) sin causes anguish before God (7:6-9). Now…

III. One Person’s Sin Affects The Whole Congregation (7:10-15)

10 The Lord then said to Joshua, “Stand up! Why have you fallen facedown? 11a Israel has sinned” (7:10-11a). That’s why Israel has been defeated and humiliated. Just as God had warned them, this act has brought “trouble” upon Israel (6:18). That’s why they have no power against their enemy. Achan’s sin is attributed by God to the whole congregation of Israel. “They have violated my covenant that I appointed for them. They have taken some of what was set apart. They have stolen, deceived, and put those things with their own belongings” (7:11b). This is a premeditated violation of God’s covenant with them that they must not take any of the things in Jericho that were set apart for destruction or for the Lord’s treasury (6:17-19, 24). This violation involved theft, deceit, and concealment. “This is why the Israelites cannot stand against their enemies. They will turn their backs and run from their enemies, because they have been set apart for destruction” (7:12a) The people themselves have become what the inhabitants and contents of Jericho were – “set apart for destruction.” They fled before the men of Ai because they are doomed for destruction by virtue of their violation of God’s covenant. For that reason, God says, “I will no longer be with you unless you remove from among you what is set apart” (7:12b).

God does not turn a blind eye to sin. God does not minimize, trivialize, or ignore sin. Sin among God’s people denigrates God’s name and holiness. If the congregation does not judge sin in their midst, then God will. God punishes unconfessed sin. But, thanks be to God, there is a way of escape, there is an “unless.” God will remove his presence from them “unless you remove from among you what is set apart.” If judgement is enacted by the congregation on the guilty party and the things that were stolen and hidden are removed from their midst, then God will be gracious. By God’s grace, today, because of Calvary, If anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father – Jesus Christ the righteous one (1 Jn. 2:1).

Some people say that the God of the O.T. is vindictive, that the O.T. is about God’s law and not God’s grace. But that is not true. Here we see an example where God is gracious. Despite punishing the Israelites by causing their defeat, God gives them the chance to put things right. You will not be able to stand against your enemies until you remove what is set apart” (7:13). In order to do this, the people must be examined tribe by tribe, clan by clan, family by family, man by man until they discover who is responsible for this (7:14). And when they discover who is responsible, “The one who is caught with the things set apart must be burned, along with everything he has, because he has violated the Lord’s covenant and committed an outrage in Israel” (7:15).

All Israel has sinned, but one person is guilty. One person’s sin contaminates the whole congregation. What had been done in secret by one person for his own personal gain must be exposed and judged by the congregation as a whole in order for them to be cleared of this sin and made holy before the Lord. The congregation cannot stand against the attacks of the enemy until sin is expunged.

There is a principle that the time has come for judgment to begin with God’s household ( 1 Pet. 4:17). Sin must be dealt with among God’s people – it cannot be ignored, cannot be swept under the rug. Remember, our God is a consuming fire (Heb. 12:29). Do you want to know why so many churches today are so ineffective in their testimony? Do you want to know why so many Christians are indistinguishable from non-Christians in their behavior, lifestyle, priorities, relationships, and morality? In many cases it’s because of unjudged sin in their individual lives which taints the congregation as a whole. We are not islands to ourselves. How we live and what we do impacts the entire church and Christian community. Sin in one person’s life spreads like yeast which leavens the whole batch of dough (Gal. 5:9).

So far we have discovered wonderful principles from this O.T. narrative that are directly applicable to the Christian life. First, pride comes before a fall into sin (7:1-5). Second, sin causes anguish before God (7:6-9). Third, one person’s sin affects the whole congregation (7:10-15). And then…

IV. Certain Sins Can Easily Ensnare Us (7:20-23)

After carrying out the Lord’s instruction for discovering the person responsible for this calamity, Achan is identified (7:20-21). Immediately, he confesses, “It is true. I have sinned against the Lord, the God of Israel” (7:20a). In his confession, Achan clearly describes what he did (7:20b) that led to this downfall. First, he was attracted by what he saw – “I saw a beautiful cloak from Babylon, five pounds of silver, and a bar of gold weighing a pound and a quarter” (7:21a). The sight of this bounty, which was to be set apart either for destruction or for the Lord’s treasury, ignited in him this overwhelming lust of the eyes (1 Jn. 2:16). So powerful was it, that he ignored Joshua’s warning to “keep yourselves from the things set apart, or you will be set apart for destruction” (6:18).

Second, Achan “coveted them” (7:21b). What he saw with his eyes led to covetousness in his heart. Covetousness can be such a powerful influence in our lives - that desire for things that you do not have but which you really want; that urge for more things. So powerful was this covetousness in Achan that he could not resist taking the forbidden things. The writer of the book of Hebrews urges us to lay aside every hindrance and the sin that so easily ensnares us (Heb. 12:1). For Achan that ensnaring sin apparently was the beautiful, expensive Babylonian cloak and the silver and gold.

Third, Achan “took them” (7:21c). What his eyes saw, his heart lusted after, and he took them. A good principle to remember when we find ourselves in this type of situation is this: Be sure your sin will catch up with you” (Num. 32:23). This is a relevant and practical warning to remember. The apostle John reminds us that everything in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride in one’s possessions—is not from the Father, but is from the world (1 Jn. 2:16).

Four, Achan hid them. “You can see for yourself. They are concealed in the ground inside my tent, with the silver under the cloak” (7:21d). You may try to hide your sins, but remember, all things are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give an account (Heb. 4:13). There is nothing you can do or say or think that is concealed from God. Other people may not find out, but God knows. That’s a sobering thought, isn’t it? If you find yourself in Achan’s position, try first to remember that there is One who is observing you - He knows all about you and takes account of everything.

So you see, Achan’s action was all the result of covetousness. When it says “I took them,” Achan really means “I stole them.” These items were not Achan’s to take – they were under the ban. You can see what impact the covetousness of one man had on the entire congregation. One man’s sin became the sin of all. Israel was one community, not just a lot of individuals with common roots and a communal lifestyle. In the western world, I think we have trouble understanding this concept of congregational oneness. But that’s what our church relationship is meant to be. One people of God, joined together inseparably through Christ. There is one body and one Spirit – just as you were called to one hope at your calling – one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is above all and through all and in all (Eph. 4:4-6).

Of course, the antidote to covetousness is contentment (Phil 4:11). Wanting more and more possessions robs us of our joy in Christ. Contentment, for a Christian, is being satisfied with what God gives us, living within our means, and using those things for his glory. The apostle Paul’s perspective is worthy of note: 6 Godliness with contentment is great gain. 7 For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out. 8 If we have food and clothing, we will be content with these. 9 But those who want to be rich fall into temptation, a trap, and many foolish and harmful desires, which plunge people into ruin and destruction. 10 For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, and by craving it, some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs. 11 But you, man of God, flee from these things, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance, and gentleness. 12 Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of eternal life to which you were called and about which you have made a good confession in the presence of many witnesses (1 Tim. 6:6-12).

Finally…

V. Sin Must Be Removed From The Congregation (7:24-26)

God’s judgement is swift. Joshua and all Israel with him took Achan son of Zerah, the silver, the cloak, and the bar of gold, his sons and daughters, his ox, donkey, and sheep, his tent, and all that he had and brought them up to the Valley of Achor (7:24). This is congregational judgement in action. This is the congregation taking corporate responsibility for judging Achan’s sin and cleansing the congregation. At the Valley of Achor (“Valley of Trouble”) they stoned Achan and his family to death, burned their bodies, and covered them with stones (7:25). It appears that Achan’s family must have been complicit somehow in what he did because it is a biblical principle that children are not required to be punished for their parents’ sins and vice versa: Fathers are not to be put to death for their children, and children are not to be put to death for their fathers; each person will be put to death for his own sin (Deut. 24:16).

Finally, over Achan they heaped a large pile of rocks (7:26a). Undoubtedly this pile of rocks would serve as a constant warning to everyone, a constant reminder of the consequences of sin. Then the Lord turned from his burning anger (7:26b). God’s burning anger at the beginning of the chapter (7:1) is assuaged by the corporate judgement of sin at the end of the chapter (7:24-26). Fellowship with God is restored. The spiritual rot caused by sin has been exposed, judged, and removed.

As in Israel, so in our churches today. Sin must be removed from the congregation in order for God’s presence to be among us, for his holiness to be maintained among us, and for his name to be honored among us. Again, Paul’s instruction governs us: Remove the evil person from among you (1 Cor. 5:13).

Final Remarks

This account reminds us of the principle set out in James 1:15 that after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin, and when sin is fully grown, it gives birth to death. We see this amply illustrated for us in the story of Achan and the defeat at Ai. The Bible is clear: The wages of sin is death, but… (thanks be to God, because of the atoning work of our Lord Jesus Christ on the cross)…the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord (Rom. 6:23).

The structure of this O.T. narrative sets out the sequence of what happens when someone falls into sin and what the congregation has to do about it, as follows:

1. Pride comes before a fall into sin (7:1-5).

2. Sin causes anguish before God (7:6-9).

3. One person’s sin affects the whole congregation (7:10-15).

4. Certain sins can easily ensnare us (7:20-23).

5. Sin must be removed from the congregation (7:24-26).

May we take heed to the events recorded for us in Joshua 7 – they are very instructive and relevant for us today. Remember that whatever was written in the past was written for our instruction, so that we may have hope through endurance and through the encouragement from the Scriptures (Rom. 15:4). Through this study, may we be quick to judge our sin (personal and corporate) in order to maintain fellowship with God. Let us avail ourselves of the access we have through Christ in one Spirit to the Father (Eph. 2:18). Let us approach the throne of grace with boldness, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in time of need (Heb. 2:16). May we be alert to the presence of sin and take swift and appropriate action to deal with it so that it does not affect the glory of the Lord’s name.

Related Topics: Character Study, Christian Life

6. Victory at Ai (Josh. 8:1-33)

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The story of Joshua’s conquest of the Promised Land follows a bit of a roller coaster ride in these first few chapters as victory at Jericho is followed by defeat at Ai, then that defeat is followed by victory at Ai. I suppose this sequence serves to underscore the absolute terms in which God views sin. If his people separate themselves to him and keep themselves pure, then He blesses them and gives them victory. But the converse is also true - if they act independently of him and defile themselves, then He punishes them with defeat by their enemies. Our God is a holy God who cannot look upon sin (Habakkuk 1:13). In order for us to claim God’s presence and power among us, we need to keep ourselves pure, separate from sin (cf. Lev. 19:2; Deut. 7:6; 14:2; 1 Pet. 1:15-16; 2:9-10).

This principle is powerfully displayed for our instruction in the defeat of the Israelites at Ai. Ai was just a small town and Israel was a mighty nation. But size and military might are of no benefit when they disobey God. Nonetheless, as we saw in Joshua 7, when sin is judged and removed from the congregation (7:24-26) God is gracious and forgiving (Ps. 86:5; 1 Jn. 1:9; Heb. 10:17) and ready to restore us. That’s the overall theme of this study: When we repent, God is ready to forgive and to display his power in us and through us.

Notice the first difference in this attack and the previous attack on Ai…

I. Victory Is Only Possible When We Hear from God (8:1-13)

God speaks words of encouragement and instruction (8:1-2). After the removal of sin from the midst of the Israelites, the Lord turned from his burning anger (7:26) and fellowship is restored, the first evidence of which is divine guidance: The Lord said to Joshua, “Do not be afraid or discouraged. Take all the troops with you and go attack Ai. Look, I have handed over to you the king of Ai, his people, city, and land” (8:1).

Unlike the last attack on Ai which was characterized by independence on the part of the Israelites and the absence of divine guidance, thus ending in defeat (7:5), now Israel has cleared themselves of sin in their midst (7:16-26). Now, God renews his communication with, and encouragement of, Joshua. Now, the guilt of Achan’s sin has been dealt with. Now, Israel can proceed with their possession of the land. Now, all the troops are engaged in the battle against Ai, whereas previously it was only a few thousand (7:3). Now, the Lord promises Joshua victory. Now, fear and discouragement are banished.

Whenever we are confident that our actions are rooted in God’s instructions and with his endorsement we do not need to be afraid or discouraged. In fact, in this case, God assures them of victory for He says: “I have handed over to you the king of Ai, his people, city, and land.” What a word of encouragement this must have been to Joshua after the previous devastating defeat at Ai. Now he could go forward with courage and confidence. Now the Israelites could take up again their responsibility of possessing the land in the full assurance that God is with them and that they are acting on His instructions and in His power.

God gives two short and simple instructions: First, “Treat Ai and its king as you did Jericho and its king, except that you may plunder its spoil and livestock for yourselves” (8:2a). As with their attack on Jericho, they are to destroy Ai and not spare any lives, but unlike their attack on Jericho they are permitted to keep for themselves the spoils of victory such as material goods and livestock. Second, as to the method of their attack, the only instruction the Lord gives to Joshua is, “Set an ambush behind the city” (8:2b). How Joshua puts this instruction into practice is described in 8:3-13.

First, Joshua instructs the ambush contingent (8:3-9). Based on God’s plan, Joshua and all the troops set out to attack Ai. Joshua selected thirty thousand of his best soldiers and sent them out at night (8:3). There has been considerable debate by scholars about the number of troops, given the fact that Ai was a small town of about 12,000 people. We will look into this further below.

As he sends them out, 4 He commanded them, “Pay attention. Lie in ambush behind the city, not too far from it, and all of you be ready. 5 Then I and all the people who are with me will approach the city. When they come out against us as they did the first time, we will flee from them. 6 They will come after us until we have drawn them away from the city, for they will say, ‘They are fleeing from us as before.’ While we are fleeing from them, 7 you are to come out of your ambush and seize the city. The Lord your God will hand it over to you. 8 After taking the city, set it on fire. Follow the Lord’s command—see that you do as I have ordered you.” 9 So Joshua sent them out, and they went to the ambush site and waited between Bethel and Ai, to the west of Ai. But he spent that night with the people (8:4-9).

So the first step in Joshua’s military strategy is that the 30,000 ambush troops will take up their position “behind the city” (to the west of the city as viewed from Gilgal near Jericho where these instructions were being given) but “not too far from it.” They are to pay rapt attention to the details of the operational plans as follows: Joshua and the people with him will approach the city (on the east side) in plain view so that its inhabitants come out to fight them (8:5). As they did on the previous occasion (7:4), the Israelites will flee from them, not, this time, because they are overpowered but to lure the Ai army out of the city (8:6). Once they have drawn them away from the city (going eastward), the ambush troops are to come out of their position behind Ai (on its west side), take control of the city and then set it on fire (8:7). This, Joshua says, is “the Lord’s command – see that you do as I have ordered you” (8:8).

Second, Joshua moves the people and the rest of Israel’s troops (8:10-13). Joshua himself stays that night with the rest of the people, presumably at Gilgal, and early the next morning they move from there to Ai: 10 He and the elders of Israel led the people up to Ai. 11 All the troops who were with him went up and approached the city, arriving opposite Ai, and camped to the north of it, with a valley between them and the city (8:10-11). So, now there are two Israelite encampments – the ambush party to the west of Ai and the rest of the people with Joshua camped near Ai, separated from it by a valley.

Another detail is pertinent: Now Joshua had taken about five thousand men and set them in ambush between Bethel and Ai, to the west of the city (8:12). This is where further confusion arises about the number of troops (two contingents or one; 30,000 in total or 30,000 plus 5,000), their location, and their responsibilities. My analysis is as follows:

1. As to the total number of troops, the primary argument against it being 30,000 is that this seems like a lot of soldiers to attack the small town of Ai. One solution that has been proposed is that “thirty thousand troops” should be translated “thirty chiefs” or “thirty officers.” Maybe, but this proposal seems to me to swing to the opposite extreme of insufficient troops for the task assigned to them.

2. As to their geographical location, the three references to it are similarly described as “behind the city” (8:4) and “between Bethel and Ai” (8:9, 12) and “to the west of the city” (8:13). Given the proximity of Bethel and Ai, these geographical descriptions could easily refer to the same location.

3. As to their responsibilities, both sets of troops are assigned the same task - to “ambush” the enemy (8:2, 3-4, 7, 9, 12). One very slight distinction is that Joshua “selected” the 30,000 from his “best soldiers” (8:3); whereas of the 5,000 men it says that he “had taken” them (8:12). What isn’t clear is whether he “had taken” the 5,000 from the 30,000 or from the people who were camped with him to the north of Ai (8:11). The wording and sequence pushes me toward the view that there was probably a single ambush group with two separate responsibilities – the larger group assigned to ambushing and destroying Ai (8:3-9) and the smaller group assigned to ambushing and destroying Bethel (8:12) whose troops evidently came to the aid of Ai (8:17).

Evidently, the narrator understood the difficulty of describing this military maneuver and for that reason included a summary verse to clarify this very issue as to who was stationed where and for what duty: The troops were stationed in this way: the main camp to the north of the city and its rear guard to the west of the city (8:13a) - the main body of troops with Joshua to the north of Ai, separated from it by a valley (8:11) and one ambush contingent to the west of Ai. That night Joshua went into the valley (8:13b). This is the final step in preparation for the next day’s attack. Presumably, the people and troops with Joshua accompanied him into this valley that separated them from Ai on its north side (8:11) so that they would be in full view from the city the next day.

First, then, victory is only possible when we hear from God (8:1-13). And…

II. Victory Is Only Possible When We Follow God’s Plan (8:14-29)

Having taken up their battle positions, everything is set for God’s plan of attack to be executed.

Step 1: 14 When the king of Ai saw the Israelites, the men of the city hurried and went out early in the morning so that he and all his people could engage Israel in battle at a suitable place facing the Arabah. But he did not know there was an ambush waiting for him behind the city. 15 Joshua and all Israel pretended to be beaten back by them and fled toward the wilderness. 16 Then all the troops of Ai were summoned to pursue them, and they pursued Joshua and were drawn away from the city. 17 Not a man was left in Ai or Bethel who did not go out after Israel, leaving the city exposed while they pursued Israel (8:14-17).

It appears that there was some sort of coalition between the armies of Ai and Bethel, both of whom left their cities defenseless as they chased the Israelite troops eastward from Ai. The ambush trick worked perfectly! You would think that maybe the king of Ai would have twigged that something was up when the Israelites ran away without so much as a single act of combat. Of course, he did not know there was an ambush waiting for him behind the city (8:14) nor that the Israelites were pretending to be beaten. Evidently, he was so confident from previously defeating Israel that he didn’t stop to give it a thought. As Joshua told the ambush troops, “They will say, ‘They are fleeing from us as before’” (8:6) and that’s exactly what happened. Step 1 of the plan worked flawlessly.

You can understand how nerve racking this would have been for the Israelites were it not for God’s assurance that he had “handed over” to them “the king, his people, city and land” (8:1). Even with that assurance, it would surely have taken great courage to stand in plain view of the enemy and feign defeat by running away.

Step 2: 18 Then the Lord said to Joshua, “Hold out the javelin in your hand toward Ai, for I will hand the city over to you.” So Joshua held out his javelin toward it. 19 When he held out his hand, the men in ambush rose quickly from their position. They ran, entered the city, captured it, and immediately set it on fire (8:18-19). This is the turning point in the narrative of this wonderful victory. The Lord spoke again to Joshua. At the first God told Joshua the plan and Joshua followed the plan. Now God tells Joshua how to execute the plan. And again, Joshua obeyed God’s instructions explicitly. Clearly, the ambush troops did their job, lying in wait until all the troops from Bethel and Ai had left the cities to chase after Israel, at which time the Israelite troops ran, entered the city, captured it, and immediately set it on fire (8:19).

Joshua’s holding out of the javelin reminds us of Moses’ holding out of the rod over the waters of the Red Sea, doesn’t it? There is no inherent power in the javelin – it was merely a signal to the ambush troops to come out of hiding and take the city. But even so, a lifeless rod or javelin becomes a powerful weapon when wielded in obedience to God and in God’s power. This is the key to success in the Christian life – obedience to God.

The total destruction of the city of Ai also reminds us of the total destruction of Ziklag when David was on the run from Saul. You will remember that he convinced Achish, the king of Gath, to allow him and his men to join the Philistine army in their attack on Israel at Jezreel. When the Philistine commanders rejected him, David and his men returned to Ziklag only to find that, while they were away, the Amalekites had attacked and utterly destroyed the city by fire and had kidnapped everyone in the city – their wives and children. This is what can happen when you do not take your instructions from the Lord – you get ambushed by the enemy!

And so it happened at Ai. The Israelite ambush troops ran from their hiding position and without any opposition entered the city, captured it and immediately set it on fire. The entire city was a sitting duck to the ambush. God’s plan was simple but its results were nothing short of miraculous – just like at Jericho and the Red Sea.

Step 3: 20 The men of Ai turned and looked back, and smoke from the city was rising to the sky! They could not escape in any direction, and the troops who had fled to the wilderness now became the pursuers. 21 When Joshua and all Israel saw that the men in ambush had captured the city and that smoke was rising from it, they turned back and struck down the men of Ai. 22 Then men in ambush came out of the city against them, and the men of Ai were trapped between the Israelite forces, some on one side and some on the other. They struck them down until no survivor or fugitive remained, 23 but they captured the king of Ai alive and brought him to Joshua (8:20-23).

What a shock this must have been for the Ai troops when they realized that they had been duped! After destroying the city, the ambush troops then chased after the men of Ai while the rest of the Israelites with Joshua turned back towards the men of Ai. In this way, the men of Ai were trapped between the Israelite ambush forces behind them and Joshua with his troops in front of them. The tables were turned – the army of Ai looked back and saw their defeat (8:20) and the Israelites saw their victory (8:21). The pursuers (Ai) became the pursued and the pursued (Israel) became the pursuers, such that the Ai troops could not escape in any direction, and the troops who had fled to the wilderness now became the pursuers (8:20). Consequently, the Israelites forces annihilated the men of Ai until there were no survivors or escapees, except for the king of Ai whom they brought to Joshua (8:22-23).

It all took place in living color, scene by scene right before their eyes. God’s work done God’s way will always prevail. Victory is assured when we hear from God and follow his plan.

Step 4: 24 When Israel had finished killing everyone living in Ai who had pursued them into the open country, and when every last one of them had fallen by the sword, all Israel returned to Ai and struck it down with the sword. 25 The total of those who fell that day, both men and women, was twelve thousand—all the people of Ai. 26 Joshua did not draw back his hand that was holding the javelin until all the inhabitants of Ai were completely destroyed. 27 Israel plundered only the cattle and spoil of that city for themselves, according to the Lord’s command that he had given Joshua. Joshua burned Ai and left it a permanent ruin, still desolate today (8:24-28).

Again, like Moses, Joshua held his javelin high throughout the process until all the inhabitants of Ai were completely destroyed. Then Israel took for themselves all the livestock and the spoils of the city in accordance with the Lord’s permission (8:2). After plundering the city, stripping it of its goods and livestock, Joshua burned Ai and left it a permanent ruin, still desolate today. The ruins of the city would be a permanent reminder for all to see of the consequence of not bowing to the God of Israel.

As the story continues to unfold, the author repeats and escalates his description of the extent of the slaughter and the destruction of Ai, leaving the reader in no doubt about the finality and superiority of God’s power and the totality of Israel’s victory: The men of Ai were captured and struck down (8:21), no survivor or fugitive remained (8:22), everyone living in Ai was killed (8:24a), every one of them fell by the sword (8:24b), the total of those who fell that day, both men and women, was twelve thousand – all the people of Ai (8:25).

Step 5: One thing remained – the execution of the king of Ai, whose body Joshua 29 hung…on a tree until evening, and at sunset Joshua commanded that they take his body down from the tree. They threw it down at the entrance of the city gate and put a large pile of rocks over it, which still remains today (8:29). The spectacles of the destroyed city and the king’s body hanging on a tree were clearly intended to stress the utter humiliation of Ai as the enemies of God’s people.

Just as Israel heaped stones over Achan’s body after stoning him to death for his sin (7:25-26), so now they heaped a pile of rocks over the king of Ai’s body at the entrance of the city, a constant public testimony to Israel’s military superiority by the power of Israel’s God as they sweep through the land taking possession of it. Israel’s God is not to be trifled with. Israel may have suffered defeat previously because of their own sinfulness, but when they walk in step with God they are invincible.

Victory is only possible when we hear from God (8:1-13). Victory is only possible when we follow God’s plan (8:14-29). And…

III. Victory Is Only Possible When We Are Fully Committed to God (8:30-35)

After their ignominious defeat in chapter 7 followed by their resounding victory in chapter 8, Israel consequently renews their commitment to their covenant relationship with God. 30 At that time Joshua built an altar on Mount Ebal to the Lord, the God of Israel, 31 just as Moses the Lord’s servant had commanded the Israelites. He built it according to what is written in the book of the law of Moses: an altar of uncut stones on which no iron tool has been used. Then they offered burnt offerings to the Lord and sacrificed fellowship offerings on it (8:30-31).

Is it not true that victories in our Christian lives should be celebrated and acknowledged by worshipping the Lord? Surely, we should praise God for every blessing, receiving it as a good and perfect gift from Him (James 1:17). Joshua and the Israelites certainly did. Following their great victory, Joshua built an altar on Mount Ebal and all the Israelites joined Joshua in a congregational act of worship, commitment, and obedience to the God of Israel. They offered burnt offerings to the Lord and sacrificed fellowship offerings on it (8:31b). And there on the stones of the altar, exactly in accordance with Moses’ instructions (Deut. 27:1-8), 32 Joshua copied the law of Moses, which he had written in the presence of the Israelites (8:31-32).

All Israel participated in this glorious celebration of thanksgiving to God. All Israel - resident alien and citizen alike – with their elders, officers, and judges (their religious and civic leaders) stood on either side of the ark of the Lord’s covenant facing the Levitical priests who carried it. Half of them were in front of Mount Gerizim and half in front of Mount Ebal, as Moses the Lord’s servant had commanded earlier concerning blessing the people of Israel (8:32-33).

God had instructed Moses to build an altar of stones on Mount Ebal, with all the words of the law written on them, after they crossed the Jordan into the land of Canaan, the land which God had given them (cf. Deuteronomy 27:1-8, 12-13). But Moses was prevented from doing so because God barred him from entering the land for rebelling against God when he struck the rock rather than speaking to it in order for it to produce water (cf. Num. 20:1-12). Thus, it is Moses’ successor, Joshua, who here fulfills this command from the Lord.

This is a congregational celebration of Israel’s covenant relationship with God. God is in their midst, symbolized by the ark of the Lord’s covenant at the center of the gathering. This was an acknowledgement of their renewed commitment to the God of Israel, who had led them in glorious victory by his mighty hand. They were his people and he was their God. The significance of this covenant renewal, taking place just as Israel enters the Promised Land, is undoubtedly to set the stage for the rest of their military campaigns as they take possession of the land.

Afterward, their commitment to God is reinforced as Joshua 34 read aloud all the words of the law – the blessings as well as the curses – according to all that is written in the book of the law. 35 There was not a word of all that Moses had commanded that Joshua did not read before the entire assembly of Israel, including the women, the dependents, and the resident aliens who lived among them (8:34-35). When we read the word of God we need to pay attention to the blessings as well as the curses, the commandments as well as the prohibitions, the things that bring honor to God as well as the things that bring dishonor to God, those things that elicit his approbation as well as those things that elicit his repudiation.

Remember, we cannot recall what the word of God says if we have not read it! And even when we have read it, our memoires often fail us. And even when our memories do not fail us, we often neglect what we know to be true. For those reasons we need to be constantly reminded of what the word of God says and how it applies to our lives. That’s why it is so important for us to read the Scriptures for ourselves and to be instructed in the Scriptures by teachers whom God has gifted to do so. This means that, in addition to our private devotional and study times, we need to attend a good, Bible believing church where the word of God is faithfully and accurately taught, and where we can be well instructed in the truth of God and its application to our lives. You cannot do that in isolation – this is a congregational activity. The word of God is vital for living an obedient, God-honoring life, for it undergirds and guides our worship of God and our covenant relationship to Him.

Final Remarks

Do you see the significance of the sequence of this narrative and how its theological principles apply directly to our lives? First, victory is only possible when we hear from God (8:1-13). Second, victory is only possible when we follow God’s plan (8:14-29). Third, victory is only possible when we are fully committed to God (8:30-35). God’s word is never out of date or irrelevant. Even events as far removed from our experience as this victory at Ai contain principles that guide and encourage us in our own lives.

As we noted earlier, God’s work done God’s way will always prevail - victory is assured when we hear from God and follow his plan. In its context, the overriding truth of this passage is that when we repent, God is ready to forgive and to display his power in us and through us. And he surely did so for Israel.

May we live our lives in obedience to God’s word, in the intimacy of our living relationship with Him through the Lord Jesus Christ, and in unswerving faithfulness to his guidance, provision, and protection until that day when He calls us home, when all the battles and disappointments and sorrows of this life will be over and we will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

Related Topics: Character Study, Christian Life

7. Deception by the Gibeonites (Josh. 9:1-27)

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None of us likes to be deceived. We teach our children not to lie and we administer punishment if they do. And yet, lying and disobedience have been present since the fall of the human race. Satan lied to Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden - they were deceived and disobeyed God by eating the forbidden fruit. Then, they lied to God, by making false excuses – Adam said, I was afraid because I was naked, so I hid (Gen. 3:10). No, the reason why he was afraid and hid from God was because he feared the consequences of having sinned against God, by which act of disobedience his eyes were opened to know good and evil. Thus, the human race was plunged into sin, and ever since then lying and disobedience have characterized and plagued our existence. In our chapter, we will see how the Gibeonites resorted to lying in order, so they thought, to protect themselves from attack as the Israelites took possession of the Promised Land.

Our subject in this study is “the consequences of failing to seek God before we act.” As we will see, such action may lead us into a conflict of ethics. The primary theological principle that emerges from this study is that seeking God’s mind before making commitments is imperative to avoid conflict and disobedience.

The narrative opens with a coalition of kings against Israel (9:1-2). The news of Israel’s victory at Ai (chapter 8) spread throughout the region, just as it had earlier at Jericho (2:10-13) and at the crossing of the Jordan (5:1). Previously, Rahab had told the spies that when they heard what the Lord had done for Israel at the Red Sea and how they had utterly destroyed the two Amorite kings, they lost heart (2:10-11). Similarly, when the Amorite kings heard how the Lord had dried up the water of the Jordan they lost heart and their courage failed because of the Israelites (5:1). In both cases, what they “heard” about the Lord’s power exercised on Israel’s behalf generated in them “fear.” Such is not the case, however, in our passage among the kings who were west of the Jordan in the hill country, in the Judean foothills, and all along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea toward Lebanon – the Hethites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites. Instead, when they heard about Jericho and Ai…they formed a unified alliance to fight against Joshua and Israel (9:1-2). What they heard did not generate fear in them but emboldened them to form a coalition to fight against Israel.

So, what changed? Why no fear now? Because Israel had been defeated at Ai. That’s what changed. Now their enemies knew that the Israelites were not invincible due, as we know, to the debilitating effect of sin in their midst. As we noted before in our study of the defeat at Ai (chapter 7), one person’s sin can have devastating effects on the entire congregation. In the case of Achan’s sin, it caused a delay in Israel’s possession of the land and, instead of fear, generated courage in a coalition of their opponents. If Achan had not sinned, none of this would have happened. In fact, all their enemies might well have capitulated, as Rahab had done earlier and as the Gibeonites do in our chapter. As someone else has pointed out, as with Adam and Eve in the garden, so with Israel in the Promised Land – one sin had long term consequences (Richard S. Hess, “Joshua: An Introduction & Commentary,” 175-176).

The Gibeonite treaty with Joshua follows similar patterns to previous experiences:

1. Rahab’s agreement with the spies in Joshua 2 preceded Israel’s attack against, and defeat of, Jericho in Joshua 6, just as the Gibeonites’ treaty with Israel in Joshua 9 precedes the wars of Joshua 10. In both cases, deliverance is preceded by the confession of God’s power and salvation for Israel.

2. The Gibeonite deception follows Israel’s covenant renewal (8:30-35), just as Achan’s sin followed the Israel’s consecration to God in circumcision (5:2ff) and the Passover celebration (5:10-12).

Notice these theological principles…

I. When You Act Without God’s Direction, You Can Easily Be Deceived (9:3-15)

The deception enacted - a treaty by trickery (9:4-5). Like the kings of the Hethites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites, the Gibeonites also heard what Joshua had done to Jericho and Ai (9:3). But unlike the allied kings, the Gibeonites chose a vastly different response. Rather than risk direct combat, which would undoubtedly lead to their defeat, the Gibeonites chose to trick Israel into making a peace treaty with them.

The Gibeonite deception was not motivated by any threat or loss of life by an Israelite attack - it was purely an act of self-defense and self preservation by way of a well-thought-out trick. In that sense the Gibeonites were shrewd in a prudent way, just like the business manager in Luke 16, who sought to deceive his boss for his own benefit. Somehow the Gibeonites knew that God had promised Israel that he would drive out the Amorites, Canaanites, Hethites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites (Ex. 34:11). And they also knew that He had warned Israel to not to make a treaty with the inhabitants of the land that you are going to enter; otherwise, they will become a snare to you (Ex. 34:12). Moses repeats this instruction in Deuteronomy 7:1-2 (cf. Deut. 20:15-18).

Thus, the Gibeonites knew that without a peace treaty they would die as Israel took possession of the land. And evidently, since Gibeon was not far from Jericho or Ai, the Gibeonites must have reasoned that, in order to enter into a peace treaty and protect themselves from Israel’s attack, they would have to pretend to come from a distant land, a land beyond the borders of the Promised Land, a land with which Israel was permitted to make a peace treaty. Hence, their elaborate ruse to deceive Israel as to where they came from.

In order to make their fictional story about being from a far away country appear authentic, they gathered provisions and took worn out sacks on their donkeys and old wineskins, cracked and mended. They wore old, patched sandals on their feet and threadbare clothing on their bodies. Their entire provision of bread was dry and crumbly (9:4-5). Everything about their appearance, their clothes, and even their moldy food gave the appearance that they had been travelling for a long time.

The Gibeonite plea (9:6-13). When they meet with Joshua, (1) they profess to be from a distant land (9:6a); (2) they petition for a peace treaty (9:6b); and (3) they pledge to be Israel’s servants (9:8). Understandably Joshua and the men of Israel are skeptical of this story, challenging them: Perhaps you live among us. How can we make a treaty with you? ...Who are you and where do you come from? (9:7-8). But the Gibeonites persist by repeating their earlier pleas, adding that their reason for coming such a distance to make this treaty with Israel is because of the reputation of the Lord your God. For we have heard of his fame and all that he did in Egypt and all that he did to the two Amorite kings beyond the Jordan (9:9-10a). For this reason, their people had sent them (9:10b) to meet with the Israelites and gain their agreement, pleading: We are your servants. Please make a treaty with us (9:11).

No doubt the report they had heard about the power of the God of Israel was the driving force behind this whole drama. No doubt their fear of being attacked and possibly annihilated drove them to carry out this deception. Clearly, as on previous occasions, the reputation of Yahweh preceded the Israelites as they move into Canaan.

The Gibeonites’ confession parallels in some respects that of Rahab with the spies (2:10) in that (1) they had heard of Israel’s victories in Egypt and at the Jordan; (2) they confessed that Israel’s successes are due to the Lord your God (9:9). The Israelites, on the other hand, made no such confession about their God. Instead, they took some of the (Gibeonites’) provisions, but did not seek the Lord’s decision (9:14). They failed to ask for divine guidance, just as they failed to do so at Ai (7:3-4). They relied on their own intuition, their own self-confident abilities. Even for a decision as far-reaching as this, they didn’t stop to seek God.

This should be a powerful lesson to us. Though we are not commissioned by God to physically attack enemies in order to take vacant possession of a geographical area for God’s people, nonetheless we frequently face important, perhaps even life-changing, decisions for which we need God’s wisdom and guidance. This decision of the Israelites was not a simple or inconsequential everyday situation. Furthermore, they had explicit instructions from God through Moses to not make such a treaty (Ex. 34:12, 15). Without wisdom from God, they fell into a trap which would prove difficult to remedy.

In order to bolster their claim to be from a distant land, the Gibeonites describe again the “evidence” by repeating what they had already stated in 9:4-5 – this bread of ours was warm when we took it from our houses as food on the day we left to come to you; but see, it is now dry and crumbly. These wineskins were new when we filled them; but see, they are cracked. And these clothes and sandals of ours are worn out from the extremely long journey (9:12-13). All this, of course, was a bald-faced lie in order to manipulate the Israelites into protecting them by a peace treaty!

From our perspective, the words of Hamlet spoken about Lady Macbeth come to mind: “Methinks the lady doth protest too much.” Surely, their description of the details about why they came and how far they travelled was a bit over the top. Surely, their explanation should have raised some questions about its truth. But when we are not in sync with God, we can be so easily deceived. We need the wisdom that comes from above, James writes as he draws a distinct contrast between earthly wisdom and heavenly wisdom (James 3:13-18). There is no substitute for wisdom that comes from above. We need both the power of God and the wisdom of God which is found in Christ alone (1 Cor. 1:23-24).

The peace treaty finalized (9:14-15). Despite God’s prohibition through Moses against making a treaty with the inhabitants of the land, Joshua established peace with them and made a treaty to let them live, and the leaders of the community swore an oath to them (9:15b). The peace treaty is finalized.

The first theological principle, then, that we learn in this episode is that “When You Act Without God’s Direction, You Can Easily Be Deceived” (9:3-15). Second…

II. When You Act Without God’s Direction, You May Face An Ethical Dilemma (9:16-25)

The deception exposed (9:16-18). Deception will ultimately be exposed. No one can lie indefinitely without being caught. In this case, three days after making the treaty with them (the Israelites), they heard that the Gibeonites were their neighbors, living among them (9:16). They were not from a distant land at all. They lived nearby, which meant that, according to God’s instructions, they had to drive them out of the land. What a shock for the Israelites to discover that they had been tricked! (This reminds us of how the Israelites themselves had tricked Ai with an ambush - 8:14, 20-21). So, the Israelites chased them to Gibeon and reached them on the third day (9:17).

So, what should they do now? How could they obey God and at the same time be true to their treaty? They had made an agreement based on a false premise and without God’s direction. This conflict of ethics is the direct consequence of failing to seek God before they acted; it is the ethical dilemma that can result from not seeking or following God’s guidance and wisdom.

True to their oath, the Israelites did not attack them… Then the whole community grumbled against the leaders (9:18). Unwise actions by leadership without God’s direction can cause conflict and complaints among God’s people. Grumbling seems to have been a common response of the Israelites when their leaders did not act as they thought they should. In this case, they certainly had justification for their complaint – not against God or Joshua but against the leaders as a group. But it’s always easy to complain after the fact and it’s always easy to complain about decisions made by others. Armchair quarterbacks are always around to give their opinion and to criticize. Nonetheless, the leaders had acted unwisely, perhaps we could say rashly, and in their own self-confidence. God’s thoughts on the matter did not even enter into their thinking when they made the treaty with the Gibeonites.

The irony is that Israel didn’t need to make a treaty with them. They weren’t under any obligation to do so. Moreover, surely you would think that before doing so they would have checked out the Gibeonites’ story. Certainly, the reason for their seeking a peace treaty was reasonable enough, for the reputation of the God of Israel and the victories of the Israelites had preceded them. That part of their story made sense. But would it have been sensible to at least verify their story as to where they came from before entering into this peace treaty? Should it not have seemed strange to the Israelite leadership for unknown people to come to them seeking a peace treaty without anything more than a made-up story? It wasn’t as though Israel had attacked them and they sought to prevent annihilation by seeking peace. No, this was an unprovoked unverified attempt to prevent Israel from taking possession of the land in accordance with God’s instructions.

The deception evaluated (9:19-21). By not consulting God, they now faced an ethical dilemma – namely, to punish the Gibeonites for their deception or to remain true to their treaty. What should they do? Under the circumstances, the Israelite leaders did the only thing they could: We have sworn an oath to them by the Lord, the God of Israel, and now we cannot touch them (9:19). The treaty was unconditional; they must keep their word, erroneous or unwise as it was. This is how we will treat them: we will let them live, so that no wrath will fall on us because of the oath we swore to them (9:19-20). To this the community agreed, Let them live (9:21a). As someone else has said, they must “live as faithfully as they could within the twisted situation” (Dale Ralph Davis, Joshua, 81).

But just because the Gibeonites had a peace treaty with Israel did not mean that there would be no consequences for their deceit in obtaining it. Thus, the Gibeonites became woodcutters and water carriers for the whole community, as the leaders had promised (9:21b). Their lives would be spared, and they would be slaves. But the matter did not rest there. The deception exposed and evaluated is followed by…

The deception examined (9:22-25). Why did you deceive us by telling us you live far away from us, when in fact you live among us? Therefore, you are cursed and will always be slaves – woodcutters and water carriers for the house of my God (9:22-23). Their explanation is that they deceived the Israelites because they knew what the Lord your God had commanded his servant Moses to give you all the land and to destroy all the inhabitants of the land before you. We greatly feared for our lives because of you, and that is why we did this (9:24). The Gibeonites did what they did because of what they knew – that God had commanded them to destroy all the inhabitants of the land. And what they knew generated in them fear.

It’s ironic, isn’t it, that the Gibeonites acted on what they knew (albeit deceptively), whereas the Israelites did not. The Israelites knew that God had commanded them not to enter into a treaty with the inhabitants of the land and yet they did so anyway.

Both knowledge and fear are powerful motivators. Knowledge is power, they say. In this case, the Gibeonites’ knowledge was power in that it motivated them to action, to do something to prevent or avoid the inevitable destruction that they knew was coming. But that knowledge also generated fear. Put together, it is easy to understand why the Gibeonites acted so deceitfully. Deceit is never morally right, but when faced with the loss of life one wonders what you would do. Again, like the business manager in Luke 16, they acted shrewdly to make their future secure.

No wonder the Gibeonites said, Now we are in your hands. Do to us whatever you think is right (9:25). To be in your hands really indicates that they are throwing themselves on Israel’s mercy. Do whatever you think is right is an acknowledgement that Israel is the superior power with the authority to grant justice and mercy. This is unconditional surrender, complete dependence on Joshua’s grace and truthfulness.

The first theological principle, then, that we learn in this episode is that “When You Act Without God’s Direction, You Can Easily Be Deceived” (9:3-15). The second is that “When You Act Without God’s Direction, You May Face An Ethical Dilemma” (9:16-25). The third is…

III. When You Act Without God’s Direction, You Need A Redemptive Solution (9:26-27)

With the support of the community and based on what he and the elders had decided, Joshua did what was right under the circumstances. He was caught in an ethical dilemma between his obligation to the Gibeonites and his obligation to God. Now he acts with the wisdom that comes from above. First, he rescued (the Gibeonites) from the Israelites, and they did not kill them (9:26). Joshua lives up to the meaning of his name: “Salvation.” He is their redeemer and protector from the wrath if Israel. This is a huge demonstration of mercy. Their lives were spared for what otherwise could have been disastrous.

Second, on that day he made them woodcutters and water carriers – as they are today – for the community and for the Lord’s altar at the place he would choose (9:27). Though they are consigned to a life of servitude and drudgery, their lives are spared. That in itself would have been enough, but there’s more. In an even greater act of undeserved mercy and favor the Gibeonites joined the Israelite covenant community of faith by serving not only the community but also the Lord’s altar. Granted their position was at the lowest level of servanthood – woodcutters and water carriers - but they participated in the sacrificial worship of the God of Israel by serving at His altar. They were brought into the sphere of spiritual blessing, brought near to the Lord. This was true redemption for those who otherwise deserved to die.

The consequences for Israel and Gibeon could have been far worse. God is very gracious to them. Failure to seek God is different than outright rebellion against God. For that they would have suffered a far worse punishment. But God metes out to us the consequences of our sins and failures with justice and fairness. And that justice and fairness is also meted out by the Israelites to the Gibeonites. A life of servitude and drudgery is far better than annihilation. They recognized the fidelity of Joshua and the Israelite leaders to the covenant they had made with them.

Final Remarks

Israel’s failure to seek the Lord before entering into their treaty with Gibeon follows the same pattern as their failure to seek the Lord when they attacked Ai with only two or three thousand men because, so the spies reported, the people of Ai are so few (7:3). Indeed, they were few. But that didn’t mean they could attack them without seeking God’s direction and power, which they completely failed to do. What they forgot is that without God’s direction and power they were utterly weak, even before just a few. We can’t imagine how much the sin of self-confidence, like Israel’s at Ai, can affect our subsequent lives. It just seems that our own pride so often gets in the way of our dependence on, and trust in, God.

Interestingly, the alliance of the kings (9:1-2) didn’t seem to cause Israel any alarm. In fact, there is no record of this alliance actually fighting Israel, but there will be other alliances later that will do battle with them (chapters 10 and 11). In both instances, in pure grace, God speaks, assuring Joshua to not be afraid of them for He will give him victory over them (10:7 and 11:6). No, it wasn’t the outright threat of war by the kings that caused Israel’s failure and consequent ethical dilemma. Rather, they failed to consult the Lord and were duped by a simple, naïve, poorly executed deception.

Clearly, they had not learned their lesson, for the Gibeonites did not come to protect themselves by military might, but to protect themselves by deception. As at Ai, Israel did not seek the Lord’s counsel (9:14), nor did they consider the clear instructions they had received previously from the Lord (Ex. 34:11-12) and from Moses (Deut. 7:1-2) about destroying the nations in the Promised Land and not making any treaties with them.

So, Israel’s fault here was both a sin of commission (disobedience to God) and a sin of omission (failure to seek God’s direction), both of which exposed their utter weakness. But in spite of this, God is gracious. Israel does not suffer defeat as they did at Ai, but they suffer the humiliation resulting from a very simple deception – one that could have so easily been avoided.

Do you not find in your own life, that you do the same thing? Sometimes we just don’t stop to think about what we are doing and what its consequences might be. Sometimes we fail to seek the Lord in prayer or his word and we plunge ahead with a course of action based solely on or own judgement (or lack thereof). Then there comes a point at which God in his grace prompts us by the Holy Spirit as to why things did not go well, reminding us that we relied on our own understanding rather than on trusting in the Lord with all our heart (Prov. 3:5-6). How much and how often do we need to learn that lesson! But time and time again we neglect the Lord and trust our own self-confidence.

Remember the theological principles we have derived from this narrative:

I. When you act without God’s direction, you can easily be deceived (9:3-15).

II. When you act without God’s direction, you may face an ethical dilemma (9:16-25).

III. When you act without God’s direction, you need a redemptive solution (9:26-27).

Despite their failure here, Joshua and the leaders of Israel found a redemptive solution, one that (1) permitted them to act with integrity in keeping their oath to the Gibeonites; (2) allowed them to punish Gibeon for their deception; and yet (3) provided a way for Gibeon, by sheer grace, to participate in the service and worship of God, as well as their service to the Israelites. That’s brilliant, isn’t it? Only God could do that.

Remember our thesis, our sermon-in-a-sentence: Seeking God’s mind before making commitments is imperative to avoid conflict and disobedience. As we study these wonderful narratives about O.T. characters, may we apply the principles we learn from them to our own lives. God’s word never grows old or out of date, for, as the Scripture says, whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope (Rom. 15:4).

Related Topics: Character Study, Christian Life

8. Caleb: Finishing Strong (Josh. 14:6-15)

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When Vincent Foster, adviser to President Clinton, committed suicide in 1993, Clinton said, “It would be wrong to define a life like Vincent Foster’s in terms only of how it ended.” Nonetheless, that’s how Foster will be remembered—by how he finished the race. And that’s true of most people, isn’t it? – the end of their life defines who they were. I know that is true for my mentor, Dr. Stephen Olford. He was witnessing to the nursing and medical staff in the hospital right up to the moment he went into a coma and died.

We need to be people who finish strong in faith both to glorify the Lord and to be an encouragement and example to those who come behind us. That’s our subject: “Finishing Strong: The Life of Faith.” Our text is Joshua 14:6-15, the end of Caleb’s life. The overall lesson we learn from this passage is that we can finish strong in faith if we wholly follow the Lord.

You’ll remember the story, how Moses had sent 12 spies to look over the land that they were about to conquer, just to find out what they were up against. Their espionage trip took 40 days. When they came back, 10 of the spies brought a negative report but Joshua and Caleb brought a positive report. The fact is that all 12 spies had seen the same land but their reactions were entirely different.

The 10 spies admitted that the land flowed with milk and honey. They even brought back a sample of the land’s lush produce – its grapes and pomegranates and figs (Num. 13:23). Nonetheless, their report was negative, not because the land was no good or problematic, but because the inhabitants were giants and the cities strongly fortified and large (13:28-29). They went so far as to say that32 the land we passed through to explore is one that devours its inhabitants, and all the people we saw in it are men of great size… 33 To ourselves we seemed like grasshoppers, and we must have seemed the same to them” (13:32-33).

Joshua and Caleb on the other hand saw things differently. They were kindred spirits. They had the same courage and the same faith that God would fulfill his promises and give them the land. They were not intimidated by the majority who sided with the 10 spies (Numbers 13). They were of one mind to “go up now and take possession of the land because we can certainly conquer it!” (Num. 13:30). The 10 spies only saw the problems but Joshua and Caleb saw God’s promises. They were very positive about things. They were ready to attack the country. They were confident in their ability, with God’s help, to defeat the enemy.

But as you remember, the negative report won out. The Israelites didn’t go up to take Canaan captive. In fact, the Israelites whined and complained so much so that they actually said, “If only we had died in the land of Egypt, or if only we had died in this wilderness!” (Num. 14:2). They were so opposed to Joshua and Caleb that they were ready to stone them to death (Num. 14:10)!

It must have been discouraging at the time to see the people turn against them and against Moses and against God, but God judged the rebellious majority by causing them to wander 38 more years in the wilderness until all the adult males (20 years old and up) died without entering the promised land – except, of course, Caleb and Joshua. At that time, God said of Caleb, “Since my servant Caleb has a different spirit and has remained loyal to me, I will bring him into the land where he has gone, and his descendants will inherit it” (Num 14:24).

There is a leadership lesson here. Sometimes leaders need to do what is unpopular, not what the majority want. Indeed, the majority is not always right. The leadership of God’s people is not governed by democratic opinion but by spiritual, godly leaders who seek and act on the mind of the Lord.

Moving forward to our text in Joshua 14, we come to the first principle concerning “Finishing Strong: The Life of Faith” …

I. Those Who Finish Strong Remember God’s Faithfulness (14:6-10)

By now, 45 years have gone by since that spying episode in the life of Israel. Moses is dead, Joshua is now their leader, and Caleb is an 85 year old man. Caleb is evidently the spokesperson for a larger group, the descendants of Judah, who approached Joshua at Gilgal (14:6a).

It seems that Gilgal, on the eastern border of Jericho, was the operational center for Israel after crossing the river Jordan. Undoubtedly, it reminded them of God’s miraculous intervention earlier in parting the Red Sea (Ex. 14). Now again, God had cut off the waters of the river Jordan so that they could cross over into Canaan (Josh. 4:1-18). To celebrate that event and to serve as a permanent memorial to what God had done, they erected 12 memorial stones there (Josh. 4:19-24). This was a special place in Israel’s history, a place to give God thanks and a place to remember God’s intervention and power if they got discouraged, as they fought for possession of the land in the days to come.

What Gilgal was to Joshua, Bethel was to Abraham and Jacob, and Carmel and Shiloh were to Samuel and Elijah. These were watershed places, turning points, where powerful experiences with God took place, where important decisions were made that would affect their futures. We need memorial places and events so that we never forget what God has done for us in the past and what he will still do for us in the future. Isn’t that why Jesus instituted the Lord’s supper, a feast of memorial that reminds us of what He has done for us in the past, when He laid down his life at the cross so that we could live, and of what He is going to do for us in the future when He comes again? We need constant reminders of God’s faithfulness in the past – they enable us to deal with present circumstances and anticipate future blessings.

I remember years ago when I became convinced that God was calling me into fulltime pastoral ministry. The moment was very vivid then and it still is today. It was as though all the lights went on in my head. I knew that this was what God wanted me to do. I related the details of that experience to someone one time, and she said to me, “Don’t ever forget that moment. It will keep you going when the tough times come.” Her words have been ever so true. When you run into rough spots in your life and ministry, look back on how God has led you thus far in your Christian life, how He has provided for you and protected you. Those memories will give you encouragement just when you need it.

So now Caleb comes to Joshua, his old friend and fellow spy, the new leader of the Israelites, and he reminds Joshua of Moses’ promise to him back when he and Joshua had spied out the land at Kadesh Barnea. 6 You know what the Lord promised Moses the man of God at Kadesh-barnea about you and me. 7 I was forty years old when Moses the Lord’s servant sent me from Kadesh-barnea to scout the land, and I brought back an honest report. 8 My brothers who went with me caused the people to lose heart, but I followed the Lord my God completely” (14:6b-8).

Caleb remembers God’s promise that He had made all those years before at Kadesh-Barnea. Undoubtedly, Caleb’s experience of God since that time has reinforced his trust in God’s word back then. Such memories tend to put the present into perspective, reminding us of God’s constancy, faithfulness, goodness and power. In this case, Caleb remembers and reminds Joshua of a past commitment: On that day Moses swore to me, ‘The land where you have set foot will be an inheritance for you and your descendants forever, because you have followed the Lord my God completely’” (14:9). Caleb remembers well the promise that God had made to Moses concerning Joshua and himself (14:6), a promise which Moses in turn made to Caleb and Joshua (cf. Num. 14:24, 30; Deut. 1:36-38), to bring them into the land of Canaan and give them a land inheritance there, “the land where you have set foot.”

Notice that the basis for this promise to Caleb of a land inheritance in Canaan was Caleb’s wholehearted and unswerving faithfulness to the Lord, despite the cowardice and rebellion of the people. He had brought back to the Israelites at Kadesh-barnea an honest report, whereas the other 10 spies had brought back a report that caused the people to become discouraged, to distrust the Lord, and to retreat in fear. Yet, despite the opposition and rebellion against him, Caleb “followed the Lord my God completely.” This is what Caleb remembers from the past, clearly and firmly.

We all love it when someone keeps their promise to us, don’t we? And we know how disappointed we are when someone fails to keep their promise. Well, take heart in this – God keeps his word, always and fully! If we remain faithful to God, persevering in faith to the end, we will have the joy and reward of hearing Jesus himself say, “Well done, good and faithful servant! You were faithful over a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Share your master’s joy” (Matt. 25:23).

Caleb continues to reflect on God’s faithfulness: 10As you see, the Lord has kept me alive these forty-five years as he promised, since the Lord spoke this word to Moses while Israel was journeying in the wilderness. Here I am today, eighty-five years old. 11 I am still as strong today as I was the day Moses sent me out. My strength for battle and for daily tasks is now as it was then (14:10-11).

Now, 45 years later, Caleb attributes his longevity and strength to God: “The Lord has kept me alive these forty-five years as he promised.” Through God’s faithfulness to his word, Caleb still sees the promise to occupy Canaan being fulfilled. Just as God, through all the changing scenes of life, had kept him alive to this moment, so He would continue to keep him alive to secure his promised inheritance. He is as strong this day as he was back then – strong for war, strong for daily tasks. He is still physically able, ready, and willing to engage in battle to secure his inheritance. The fortified cities and giants, which he had seen before, still do not deter him. His confidence is still in God’s word.

Isn’t it encouraging to see that the intervening years of wandering in the wilderness have not dimmed Caleb’s hope or diminished his anticipation of what God is going to do? Nothing has lessened his trust in God’s word. Nothing has discouraged him from moving ahead with this God-given task. That’s amazing, isn’t it? Discouragement is such a powerful tool in the hands of our enemy, Satan. I think it is one of his most potent weapons against the people of God now, just as it was among the Israelites back then.

So, the first lesson we learn here is that those who finish strong remember God’s faithfulness. Second…

II. Those Who Finish Strong Claim God’s Promises (14:12)

Caleb continues: “Now give me this hill country (mountain) the Lord promised me on that day, because you heard then that the Anakim are there, as well as large fortified cities. Perhaps the Lord will be with me and I will drive them out as the Lord promised” (14:12). Notice these attributes of Caleb’s perspective on the future…

An undaunted request. Here is Caleb, in the waning years of his life, requesting that Joshua fulfill the Lord’s promise: “Give me this hill country (mountain) the Lord promised me on that day.” He reminds Joshua that what he heard back then about the Anakim giants and the large fortified cities is still true, but so is God’s promise. And, with the Lord’s help, “I will drive them out as the Lord promised.” God’s promise so many years before is still valid.

In faith, Caleb was still ready to storm a mountain and do battle with these enemies of God. He is as positive now as he was 45 years earlier. The land of giants and the fortified cities still do not discourage him; with the Lord’s help he will defeat them and possess the land that God had long ago promised to His chosen people. Nothing has dampened his spirit or his enthusiasm or courage, or faith. His positive outlook on life and his trust in the Lord remain steadfast.

Sometimes we think that God has forgotten us, or that God is slow in answering our prayers. Sometimes we get discouraged. But not so Caleb. Even though he is 85 years old and has experienced his fair share of opposition, criticism and discouragement, he is still positive and bold. Now, he is receiving the inheritance that God through Moses had promised him so many years before without any indication of bitterness for having to wait so long, no evidence of rebellion or anger, no “where-were-you-God-when-I-needed-you.” No, just quiet acceptance and submission to the sovereign will of God.

This really challenges us, doesn’t it? As we grow older, do we have such a positive perspective on the future? Do we have such enduring confidence in God to fulfill his word, even to confidently wait 45 years, still trusting God in our old age? What a wonderful example of persevering faith we see here in Caleb. What a blessing to have such a positive outlook, even after all that he and the Israelites had been through. What a powerful reminder that God faithfully fulfills his promises, even though it might be years later. Let this be a reminder to us that God does not necessarily act immediately, nor as quickly as, or in the way that, we would like. But in his sovereign purposes God always keeps his word, completing what He began.

I hope my attitude to life will be like that if I reach Caleb’s age. Some of you are closer to Caleb’s age than I am. I hope your outlook is like that. Oh, you may not have the physical strength that Caleb did but you can have his positive and confident attitude. Positive about what God can do. Positive about the prospects ahead. Determined to finish strong in the strength that God supplies. Never wavering in your faith in God. Ready to conquer a mountain. Confident that God is at work and that “he who started a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus” (Phil. 1:6). Confident that Christ is building his church (regardless of what we may see around us) and that He will present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or anything like that, but holy and blameless (Eph. 5:27). Fully convinced that the gospel is as powerful today as it ever was. Encouraging the next generation to take over where we leave off.

I think in our latter years, that’s our calling - to cheer on those who are coming behind us; to leave them a legacy of faith and confidence; to impress on them that the God who has preserved and led us is the one who will preserve and lead them; to set the standard for them to aspire to; to instill in them a sense of hope, joy, peace, faith. John Phillips puts it this way: “As we age we may become weak in body. The important thing is to be strong in spirit, strong enough to say to God, ‘Give me this mountain’” (People of the O.T., 267).

Caleb’s perspective on the future is expressed in an undaunted request and…

An undeterred vision. Forty-five years earlier, Caleb had had the vision of life in Canaan. He had a strong and certain vision of what life would be like in the new land that God was giving them. He didn’t hanker for the “good old days” in Egypt. He had moved on in confidence that God had delivered them at the Red Sea and would lead them into the new land. He couldn’t wait to begin their new life as pioneers in the land that flows with milk and honey. This was God’s provision for them. He didn’t want to go back to a life of servitude under Egyptian taskmasters. What kind of life was that compared with what God had in store for them?

The small taste that he had garnered of Canaan as a spy at Kadesh Barnea years before was enough to make him steadfast, never wavering in his vision of the future. Why would he want to go back to a diet of leeks and onions and garlic in Egypt when ahead of them were grapes and pomegranates and figs hanging off the trees in Canaan, just waiting to be picked and eaten? No, Caleb never wavered in his outlook and his trust in God.

A life that is strong in faith asks for an unflinching request, sees an undeterred vision, and manifests...

An unwavering attitude. Now, forty-five years later, Caleb has lost none of his determination. Years may have passed, but his outlook is still the same. In the meantime they had experienced successes and defeats, victories and failures. They had stormed and destroyed the city of Jericho (Josh. 6) but they had suffered defeat at Ai (Josh. 7). Nonetheless, Caleb was still positive and enthusiastic about the future. He is determined to finish strong. He is still sure of God’s will.

This isn’t a case of physical strength, although undoubtedly Caleb had that. But this is a case of spiritual strength, the spiritual strength to take one more mountain. His attitude was like that of the apostle Paul who could say, 7 I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. 8 There is reserved for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give me on that day, and not only to me, but to all those who have loved his appearing (2 Tim. 4:7-8).

The same could be said of Caleb now as Moses said of him earlier, “You have followed the Lord my God completely” (14:9). Can you say that? Maybe there were times in your life when you waivered, times of a double life, times when you found the world attractive. But now you’re here and, by God’s grace, you can say, “I am wholly following the Lord.” You know without a doubt that God is your refuge and strength. You rejoice in the Lord always. You know whom you have believed and you are persuaded that he is able to guard what I have entrusted to him until that day (2 Tim. 1:12). How powerful is a life lived for God! How influential our lives can be on others when they see consistency, faithfulness, kindness, hope, love, and joy oozing out of our lives.

As Caleb asked Joshua for this “mountain,” he knew what he was asking for. He knew what it entailed. He knew that it would be an uphill climb, tough sledding. He knew that the battle at the end would be dangerous, after all the Anakim were there. He had seen them with his own eyes. He knew what he was up against. He was under no delusion about the dangers. In Paul’s words, he could say, But I consider my life of no value to myself; my purpose is to finish my course and the ministry I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of God’s grace (Acts 20:24).

A life that is strong in faith asks for an unflinching request, sees an undeterred vision, manifests an unwavering attitude, and rests on…

An unfailing confidence. As Caleb asked Joshua for this mountain, he still rested on the promises of God. “Perhaps the Lord will be with me and I will drive them out as the Lord promised” (14:12). Why was Caleb so positive, so optimistic about the future? It was his relationship with the Lord. He was fully confident in the Lord’s presence. He was fully dependent on the Lord’s power. He was fully trusting in the Lord’s promise.

Is that your strength and confidence as well? His presence, his power, his promises – “the Lord will be with me ... he will drive them out ... as the Lord promised.” I don’t think Caleb ever tired of the Lord’s wonder, the Lord’s work, and the Lord’s word. I don’t think he ever lost sight of God’s glory, God’s greatness, and God’s goodness. I don’t think he ever got over their deliverance from Egypt, their direction through the wilderness, and their destiny in Canaan.

May that be our strength and confidence as well. Looking to the author and finisher of our faith (Heb. 12:1-2). Cleaving to the Lord with steadfastness of heart. Seeing the finish line just ahead, even as we ask him for one more mountain. In the apostle Paul’s words, 13 Forgetting what is behind and reaching forward to what is ahead, 14 I pursue as my goal the prize promised by God’s heavenly call in Christ Jesus (Phil. 3:13-14).

Firstly, we learn here that those who finish strong remember God’s faithfulness. Secondly, those who finish strong claim God’s promises. Thirdly…

III. Those Who Finish Strong Receive God’s Blessing (14:13-15)

Well, Joshua had every reason to grant Caleb’s request. Indeed, he must grant it in order to fulfill God’s promise. 13 Then Joshua blessed Caleb son of Jephunneh and gave him Hebron as an inheritance. 14 Therefore, Hebron still belongs to Caleb son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite as an inheritance today because he followed the Lord, the God of Israel, completely (14:13-14).

There are many forms of blessing in Scripture. We bless God in worship by expressing our praise of him and our devotion to him. One person may bless another in their desire for God’s favor and protection to be upon them. God blesses us spiritually, physically, and, sometimes, materially. All that we have and are is a blessing from God. Generally speaking, when we invoke a blessing for ourselves or someone else, we are asking God for a favor or mercy or benefit. Here Joshua blesses Caleb with his long-awaited land inheritance in Canaan. There is never a question about Caleb’s singular, unswerving devotion to God and his trust in God. This is the recognition of Caleb having faithfully “followed the Lord, the God of Israel, completely.”

Hebron is the place that is granted to Caleb as his inheritance in the promised land. Hebron demonstrates God’s blessing on those who, like Caleb, remain faithful to God in spite of setbacks, unpopularity, criticism, and rejection. Caleb portrays a picture of a patient, faithful, persevering Christian, who believes and acts on the certainty of God’s word. Although Caleb’s true and honest report concerning the land was rejected by the people, Caleb did not abandon them nor did he turn against God. Rather, he stayed at his post, maintained his positive attitude, believed God and, ultimately, entered into the blessing of God in the land. Caleb was patient – he stuck it out, for years! He awaited God’s time to act, even though it was in his old age. Even now, he could face giants boldly with a faith that can move mountains (Matt. 17:20).

Ironic, isn’t it, that Kiriath-arba that formerly belonged to Arba, “the greatest man among the Anakim” (14:15b), became Caleb’s? The place that the 10 spies rejected because of doubt, became Caleb’s by faith and its name was changed from Kiriath-arba to Hebron, the place where the Israelites would move forward unitedly to possess the land. Hebron figures largely in the progress of redemptive history. Joshua leads the people to conquer it (Josh. 10). Caleb drives out the Anakim giants from it (Josh 14:12). Later, Joshua declares it to be the territory of Judah, specifically the Kohathite Levites (21:11). Later still, God himself gives Hebron to king David as the capital of his kingdom (2 Samuel 2:1). And here in our passage, Joshua gives it to Caleb as his inheritance (14:14).

The place of battle with the Anakim became one of the 6 cities of refuge in Israel and after this, the land had rest from war (14:15). It’s as though the writer is saying, “There was one more battle to be fought. One more war to be won. One more mountain to be taken. And Caleb did it. Then the land had rest from war.”

Final Remarks

What a magnificent finale to Caleb’s life. He finished strong in faith. If you had to write a title over Caleb’s life, what would it be? I think it would be: He wholly followed the Lord. I trust that will be said of you and me. I hope that the next generation will say this of us: They wholly followed the Lord.

Steve Green sings a song called “Find us faithful.” It goes like this:

We’re pilgrims on the journey of the narrow road
And those who’ve gone before us line the way
Cheering on the faithful, encouraging the weary
Their lives a stirring testament to God’s sustaining grace.

Surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses
Let us run the race not only for the prize
But as those who’ve gone before us
Let us leave to those behind us
The heritage of faithfulness passed on through godly lives

Chorus:
Oh may all who come behind us find us faithful
May the fire of our devotion light their way
May the footprints that we leave
Lead them to believe
And the lives we live inspire them to obey
Oh may all who come behind us find us faithful

After all our hopes and dreams have come and gone
And our children sift through all we’ve left behind
May the clues that they discover and the memories they uncover
Become the light that leads them to the road we each must find

(Songwriter: Jon Mohr. Find Us Faithful lyrics © Birdwing Music, Jonathan Mark Music)

This is my prayer for my life. Is it yours as well? Remember, we can finish strong in faith if we wholly follow the Lord.

Related Topics: Character Study, Christian Life

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