Don’t you love that light, refreshing, atmosphere after a storm? The clouds part, the sun shines through, the birds start singing.
We’re not, talking about the weather.
After the disagreement. The argument. The break-up. The fight…
The cold shoulder turns into a warm hug. The scowl lifts into a smile.
That’s what’s happening here in Joshua chapter eight.
The fiery anger of the Lord has lifted.
They settle back into their comfortable routine.
God tells Josh. Josh tells the people. The people follow through.
All goes well. Simple as that. Hard perhaps, but simple.
Later, after the dust settles, to celebrate the reunion, Josh
and crew will hold a ceremony; kind of like when a reunited couple renews their
wedding vows.
If this chapter were a play, the program might look like this:
Ø God tells
Joshua 1-2
Ø Joshua
tells the people 3-8
Ø The
people follow through 9-29
Ø Wedding
vows renewed 30-35
On the surface, the main event is Israel’s rematch with Ai. However, the real story, is how God deals with us, after a storm, after we fail. His loving, forgiving, compassionate character is revealed as follows:
1.
God doesn’t hold a grudge
2.
God isn’t greedy or needy
3. God always has a plan
Joshua 8:1-2
And
the Lord said unto Joshua, Fear not,
neither be thou dismayed: take all the people of war with thee, and arise, go
up to Ai: see, I have given into thy hand the king of Ai, and his people, and
his city, and his land:
2 And thou shalt do to Ai and her
king as thou didst unto Jericho and her king: only the spoil thereof, and the
cattle thereof, shall ye take for a prey unto yourselves: lay thee an ambush
for the city behind it.
God doesn’t hold a grudge.
Consider the context of that statement from God to Joshua.
They
are just emerging from the back side of God’s anger. The smoke is still
rising from burning sin of Achan and family. The dirt is still fresh from three
dozen graves. And now, the Lord shows up with something to say.
Oh boy. Joshua must’ve felt like he was being called to the
principal’s office. They’re on the heels of a major defeat. They had sin in the
camp. Joshua had dropped the ball, and to top it off—he blamed God for it.
Surely God will bring it all back up, and let Joshua know how
it feels to be thrown
under the bus.
But God doesn’t.
Instead, He says, Fear not, neither be dismayed.
Wait. Why’d you say that? Aren’t You going to let me know what
a screw up I’ve been? I deserve it. ‘Fear not?’ That’s what You said,
before we crossed the Jordan, before You stopped the mighty, rushing, raging,
river…before, I dropped the ball, failed, messed up so bad, and then, blamed
You. I’m so sorry.”
God’s not done. He keeps right on going. Take all the people, go up to Ai.
Who?
me? how can…? are You…? Um, after how awful… I blew it too... I can’t. Don’t
deserve a second... probably just mess it all up any—
God
doesn’t even slow down. See, I have given into your hand the king, his
people, his city, and his land.
If
Joshua hasn’t hit the ground already, he probably does right now. Dear God,
that’s what You said to me, as we stood outside Jericho, before we marched
round and round, before the walls fell flat…before, I did, too.
So,
there they are. Joshua feeling like a loser; God treating him like a super-hero.
It’s
what He does. It’s one of His Superpowers. He sees good, in the worst of
situations. Ignites hope, in the hopeless. His specialty is bringing Life, from
death.
If only you could
see you, the way He sees you, you’d be wearing a smile from here to eternity.
Once Joshua and
Israel, dealt with the sin issue, God wiped the slate clean. To Him, it was
gone.
It’s the same for
us, today. So, if it comes bubbling back up to the surface—it’s not coming from
Him. It’s from you, or the devil, or perhaps that nosy neighbor. But not God.
Whose report will
you believe? We shall believe the report of the Lord. (Isaiah
53).
Wait. The sin
issue? What’re you talking about?
Back in Joshua’s
day, and today, the consequences of sin, are the same. Death. The wages
of sin is death… (Romans 6:23a).
We’ve all sinned. We’re all
guilty. (Romans
3:23).
We all deal with
it, one way or another.
One way leads to
Life. …the gift of God is eternal Life, through Christ Jesus, our
Lord. (Romans 6:23b).
The other way,
leads to a fiery, eternal, death.
Both are, forever.
But there’s One difference for us today. Jesus,
instead of Joshua.
The names are basically the same. The name Yehoshua, is Joshua in Hebrew, Jesus in Greek. They both mean, the Lord is Salvation.
Back then, Joshua, dispensed justice for sin. The guilty party
paid the price.
Today, Jesus dispenses justice for sin. He became the guilty
party. He paid the price.
We call that, amazing grace.
It’s important to note, the payment Jesus made is only
relevant upon submission, acceptance and repentance.
Not simply confession.
To receive the amazing grace unto salvation we must submit
to Jesus Christ as Lord. Which means surrendering our will for His. Like Jesus
did in the garden: Not my will, but Thine. If He calls something sin, so
do we. Period. No compromise. No selective sinning. No considering
consequences—that only causes confusion.
Accept Jesus as the One and Only
Way to be saved from the death penalty of sin.
Repentance is what makes confession, legit.
It is intentionally turning from sin, purposing, never to return.
God is ready able and more than willing to forgive and forget.
But His divine justice must be served. He won’t ignore the sin debt.
So, the question is, when He looks at us, who does He see,
Joshua, or Jesus?
Joshua represents the old covenant, where we pay the price,
make the sacrifice, in a futile attempt, to atone for our own sin.
Jesus, represents the new covenant, where He pays the price,
as the perfect Lamb of God, sacrificed to take away the sins of the world, once
and for all.
I pray, none of us, reject His generous Love Gift.
Speaking of generous, that brings us to the next point: God’s
not greedy, or needy. Here we see the magnanimous generosity of God and how,
He’s not trying to get, from us, but give, to us.
We’ll address that next time. Be sure to sign up,
so you don’t miss it.
For now, let’s do the most important thing a human being could
ever do. Make sure Jesus Christ, is Lord of your life.
Let’s pray.
Lord Jesus,
I don’t really understand all
this Bible stuff. But I have this feeling, it’s like a hunger, to know You. I need
to know You.
I’ve blown it worse than Joshua.
Will You’ll forgive me?
I don’t know how to do this. Will
You help me be the person I should be? Not sure what else to say. So, I’ll just
watch and see, and trust, You, to lead the way.
Thank You.
Amen.
Remember, we love
you.
Most importantly, Jesus loves you.
How can we pray
for you?
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