The Book of Joshua - Get Back in the Game
Our lives are less random than we think. There are a lot of patterns and cycles – cause and effect.
“What goes around, comes around.”
“You reap what you sow.”
We don’t often struggle with new things, but new versions of the same old things, and these things can help us know what happens next. There are positive and negative versions of this. We can use it to ground ourselves or warn ourselves.
Patterns remind us of who we are, but also of who God is.
Let’s recap the Book of Joshua up to this point.
Preparing for the Second Battle
God starts by giving specific instructions.
Joshua 8
1 Then the Lord said to Joshua, “Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged. Take the whole army with you, and go up and attack Ai. For I have delivered into your hands the king of Ai, his people, his city and his land. 2 You shall do to Ai and its king as you did to Jericho and its king, except that you may carry off their plunder and livestock for yourselves. Set an ambush behind the city.”
In the second battle of Ai, God makes available the spoils of the city to the people. If only Achan had waited, he would have gotten the things he thought he wanted.
Since the beginning (the Garden of Eden), we are tempted to believe that God is holding out on us, and we need to take matters into our own hands. Sometimes, it seems like God withholds to test our faithfulness and obedience. But then He blesses us.
When our faith is challenged, we need to trust, rehearse, remember, and cling to the nature and promises of God.
Joshua 8
3 So Joshua and the whole army moved out to attack Ai. He chose thirty thousand of his best fighting men and sent them out at night 4 with these orders: “Listen carefully.
God’s victory is not promised if we break the covenant.
God’s love for us is unconditional, but His promises are absolutely conditional.
We can only claim God’s promises if we walk in His way and do exactly what He calls us to, even if it seems ridiculous at the time.
At this moment, there had to be a PTSD moment from the defeat. It’s like thinking you have the game in hand and then lose it on a grand slam walkoff in the bottom of the 9th.
It’s about healthy conviction – this is what I did vs. toxic shame – this is who I am. Conviction motivates us toward change, and shame keeps us stagnant. For example, something happened in the past, and you continue to beat yourself up about it in the present.
Jesus literally came to set us free from this! It’s a promise, but it has a condition. Let Him be both our savior and Lord.
Our world has bristled against shame, but sometimes shame is actually conviction.
Conviction can feel like shame, but it’s not shame. For example, “I’m sorry for what I did,” vs. “I’m sorry for who I am.”
Conviction motivates us to turn in a better direction. God convicts us to turn back to Him. Sometimes, judgment or consequences drive us back to Him. We must own up to it, come clean, and ask for forgiveness. However, it’s not to punish as much as it is to restore the relationship.
Shame should never drive you away from Jesus, but conviction will always drive you to Jesus.
The Battle
Joshua 8
18 Then the Lord said to Joshua, “Hold out toward Ai the javelin that is in your hand, for into your hand I will deliver the city.” So Joshua held out toward the city the javelin that was in his hand. 19 As soon as he did this, the men in the ambush rose quickly from their position and rushed forward. They entered the city and captured it and quickly set it on fire.
Joshua stretching out his arm is a reminder of God’s power. He’s the one giving victory, not us. The strategy is different. The army is split up, and the Israelites fall back as a ruse. The men of Ai go out in pursuit, thinking about how things went last time. This time, they are overconfident.
We should look for ways to take ground from the enemy. We don’t do the fighting, God does. But we take the initiative. Too often, we’re more afraid of the darkness, but it’s about letting our light shine.
And the battle is won.
The People Re-Consecrate Themselves to God
Joshua 8
30 Then Joshua built on Mount Ebal an altar to the Lord, the God of Israel, 31 as Moses the servant of the Lord had commanded the Israelites. He built it according to what is written in the Book of the Law of Moses—an altar of uncut stones, on which no iron tool had been used. On it they offered to the Lord burnt offerings and sacrificed fellowship offerings. 32 There, in the presence of the Israelites, Joshua wrote on stones a copy of the law of Moses.
33 All the Israelites, with their elders, officials and judges, were standing on both sides of the ark of the covenant of the Lord, facing the Levitical priests who carried it. Both the foreigners living among them and the native-born were there. Half of the people stood in front of Mount Gerizim and half of them in front of Mount Ebal, as Moses the servant of the Lord had formerly commanded when he gave instructions to bless the people of Israel.
They stand at these two mountains, approximately 500 yards apart. Joshua follows the exact instructions that God had given in Deuteronomy. They read the blessings and curses, which show us just how closely consequences follow our unfaithfulness.
The Israelites and Canaanites are there. But there’s a significant difference – they’ve repented and turned from their ways and the community. It’s a picture of what Jesus does for us.
And it’s an altar of uncut stones that aren’t fancied up. We’re tempted to fancy up our worship as if that makes it better. God has a different idea of what makes it “better.”
1 Samuel 15
22 “Does the Lord delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obeying the Lord? To obey is better than sacrifice…”
Obedience is what makes our worship real.
So, Israel’s experience was an illustration of their future story and our story. It’s a pattern.
But God has a purpose for us, just like the Israelites. He can restore us to our purpose if we return to him. Sometimes, we need to go back to the way it used to be.
Not all change is progress, but all progress involves change.
Begin again. There’s a principle of looking back to return. We need to go back to go forward. We’ve lost sight of where we came from, what really matters, and the pattern. Let’s catch a fresh glimpse of the God who revealed Himself. Return to Him, and once again, receive the promise.
Want to play catch-up, or are you looking for a specific topic? Check out our collection of sermons and Season 2 of our podcast, LHC Unplugged!
For more LHC content, subscribe to our newsletter or follow us on Instagram.
“What goes around, comes around.”
“You reap what you sow.”
We don’t often struggle with new things, but new versions of the same old things, and these things can help us know what happens next. There are positive and negative versions of this. We can use it to ground ourselves or warn ourselves.
Patterns remind us of who we are, but also of who God is.
Let’s recap the Book of Joshua up to this point.
- The Israelites won a great battle weirdly at Jericho.
- They got overconfident, believing their victory was because of their military prowess, not God’s faithfulness.
- Sin happened in the camp – Achan took devoted things from the spoils of Jericho.
- They lose the next battle at Ai.
- The Israelites find the sin in the camp and stone Achan and his family to deal with it.
Preparing for the Second Battle
God starts by giving specific instructions.
Joshua 8
1 Then the Lord said to Joshua, “Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged. Take the whole army with you, and go up and attack Ai. For I have delivered into your hands the king of Ai, his people, his city and his land. 2 You shall do to Ai and its king as you did to Jericho and its king, except that you may carry off their plunder and livestock for yourselves. Set an ambush behind the city.”
In the second battle of Ai, God makes available the spoils of the city to the people. If only Achan had waited, he would have gotten the things he thought he wanted.
Since the beginning (the Garden of Eden), we are tempted to believe that God is holding out on us, and we need to take matters into our own hands. Sometimes, it seems like God withholds to test our faithfulness and obedience. But then He blesses us.
When our faith is challenged, we need to trust, rehearse, remember, and cling to the nature and promises of God.
Joshua 8
3 So Joshua and the whole army moved out to attack Ai. He chose thirty thousand of his best fighting men and sent them out at night 4 with these orders: “Listen carefully.
God’s victory is not promised if we break the covenant.
God’s love for us is unconditional, but His promises are absolutely conditional.
We can only claim God’s promises if we walk in His way and do exactly what He calls us to, even if it seems ridiculous at the time.
At this moment, there had to be a PTSD moment from the defeat. It’s like thinking you have the game in hand and then lose it on a grand slam walkoff in the bottom of the 9th.
It’s about healthy conviction – this is what I did vs. toxic shame – this is who I am. Conviction motivates us toward change, and shame keeps us stagnant. For example, something happened in the past, and you continue to beat yourself up about it in the present.
Jesus literally came to set us free from this! It’s a promise, but it has a condition. Let Him be both our savior and Lord.
Our world has bristled against shame, but sometimes shame is actually conviction.
Conviction can feel like shame, but it’s not shame. For example, “I’m sorry for what I did,” vs. “I’m sorry for who I am.”
Conviction motivates us to turn in a better direction. God convicts us to turn back to Him. Sometimes, judgment or consequences drive us back to Him. We must own up to it, come clean, and ask for forgiveness. However, it’s not to punish as much as it is to restore the relationship.
Shame should never drive you away from Jesus, but conviction will always drive you to Jesus.
The Battle
Joshua 8
18 Then the Lord said to Joshua, “Hold out toward Ai the javelin that is in your hand, for into your hand I will deliver the city.” So Joshua held out toward the city the javelin that was in his hand. 19 As soon as he did this, the men in the ambush rose quickly from their position and rushed forward. They entered the city and captured it and quickly set it on fire.
Joshua stretching out his arm is a reminder of God’s power. He’s the one giving victory, not us. The strategy is different. The army is split up, and the Israelites fall back as a ruse. The men of Ai go out in pursuit, thinking about how things went last time. This time, they are overconfident.
We should look for ways to take ground from the enemy. We don’t do the fighting, God does. But we take the initiative. Too often, we’re more afraid of the darkness, but it’s about letting our light shine.
And the battle is won.
The People Re-Consecrate Themselves to God
Joshua 8
30 Then Joshua built on Mount Ebal an altar to the Lord, the God of Israel, 31 as Moses the servant of the Lord had commanded the Israelites. He built it according to what is written in the Book of the Law of Moses—an altar of uncut stones, on which no iron tool had been used. On it they offered to the Lord burnt offerings and sacrificed fellowship offerings. 32 There, in the presence of the Israelites, Joshua wrote on stones a copy of the law of Moses.
33 All the Israelites, with their elders, officials and judges, were standing on both sides of the ark of the covenant of the Lord, facing the Levitical priests who carried it. Both the foreigners living among them and the native-born were there. Half of the people stood in front of Mount Gerizim and half of them in front of Mount Ebal, as Moses the servant of the Lord had formerly commanded when he gave instructions to bless the people of Israel.
They stand at these two mountains, approximately 500 yards apart. Joshua follows the exact instructions that God had given in Deuteronomy. They read the blessings and curses, which show us just how closely consequences follow our unfaithfulness.
The Israelites and Canaanites are there. But there’s a significant difference – they’ve repented and turned from their ways and the community. It’s a picture of what Jesus does for us.
And it’s an altar of uncut stones that aren’t fancied up. We’re tempted to fancy up our worship as if that makes it better. God has a different idea of what makes it “better.”
1 Samuel 15
22 “Does the Lord delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obeying the Lord? To obey is better than sacrifice…”
Obedience is what makes our worship real.
So, Israel’s experience was an illustration of their future story and our story. It’s a pattern.
- Obedience followed by victory.
- Victory followed by blessing.
- Blessing followed by pride and disobedience.
- Disobedience followed by defeat.
- Defeat followed by judgment.
- Judgment followed by repentance.
- Repentance followed by obedience.
- Obedience followed by victory, and the cycle continues.
But God has a purpose for us, just like the Israelites. He can restore us to our purpose if we return to him. Sometimes, we need to go back to the way it used to be.
Not all change is progress, but all progress involves change.
Begin again. There’s a principle of looking back to return. We need to go back to go forward. We’ve lost sight of where we came from, what really matters, and the pattern. Let’s catch a fresh glimpse of the God who revealed Himself. Return to Him, and once again, receive the promise.
Want to play catch-up, or are you looking for a specific topic? Check out our collection of sermons and Season 2 of our podcast, LHC Unplugged!
For more LHC content, subscribe to our newsletter or follow us on Instagram.
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