Pastor Mike Impact Ministries Michael L Grooms

For some reason today I could not help but remember Psalm
136 as I was looking at Joshua 8. Every verse in Psalm 136 ends with, “His
mercy endures forever”, or as in some translations, “His steadfast love
endures forever”. I am so thankful that after all our failures, like the
defeat at Ai (Joshua 7), the Lord because of His love, His mercy, and His
forgiveness, He gives us the opportunity of a new beginning (Joshua 8; 1 John
1:7-9). To find peace with God, to renew fellowship with God, to get back on
our feet and face whatever challenges or battles that still lie ahead of us.
God gives us a new beginning, a new guidance and wisdom, and new victories as
we continue our journey, our pilgrimage through this world of sin.

 

Now, in verses 30-35, of Joshua 8, we find that the people
of Israel make a new commitment as they build this altar. At some time
following the victory at Ai, Joshua led the people thirty miles north to
Shechem, which lies in the valley between Mt. Ebal and Mt. Gerizim. Here the
nation obeyed what Moses had commanded them to do in his farewell speech. “Therefore
it shall be, when you have crossed over the Jordan, that on Mount Ebal you
shall set up these stones, which I command you today, and you shall whitewash
them with lime. And there you shall build an altar to the LORD your God, an
altar of stones; you shall not use an iron tool on them. You shall build with
whole stones the altar of the LORD your God, and offer burnt offerings on it to
the LORD your God. You shall offer peace offerings, and shall eat there, and
rejoice before the LORD your God. And you shall write very plainly on the
stones all the words of this law." (Deuteronomy 27:4-8)

 

“Now Joshua built an altar” (v.
30). “Now”, not shortly, not later, not tomorrow, but “now” is
always the time to make sure of our relationship and fellowship with the Lord! Joshua
interrupted the military activities to give Israel the opportunity to make a
new commitment to the authority of Jehovah as expressed in His law. Since
Abraham had built an altar at Shechem (Gen. 12:6-7), and Jacob had lived there
a short time (chap. 33-34), the area had strong historic ties to Israel.
Joshua's altar was built on Mt. Ebal, "the mount of cursing,"
because only a sacrifice of blood can save sinners from the curse of the law
(Gal. 3:10-14).

 

In building the altar, Joshua was careful to obey Exodus
20:25 and not apply any tool to the stones picked up in the field. No human
work was to be associated with the sacrifice lest sinners think their own works
can save them (Eph. 2:8-9). God asked for a simple stone altar, not one that
was designed and decorated by human hands, "that no flesh should glory in
His presence" (1 Cor. 1:29). It's not the beauty of manmade religion that
gives the sinner forgiveness, but the blood on the altar (Lev. 17:11).

 

In verse 31, the priests offered burnt offerings to the
Lord as a token of the nation's total commitment to Him (Leviticus1). The peace
offerings, or "fellowship offerings," were an expression of gratitude
to God for His goodness (Leviticus 3; 7:11-34). A portion of the meat was given
to the priests and another portion to the offeror, so that he could eat it
joyfully with his family in the presence of the Lord (Leviticus 7:15-16, 30-34;
Deut. 12:17-18). By these sacrifices, the nation of Israel was assuring God of
their commitment to Him and their fellowship with Him.

 

Today, we can renew fellowship with the Lord at His altar
of the sacrifice of Jesus Christ on Calvary! There we can confess our sins and be
assured that, “If we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have
fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us
from all sin” (1 John 1:7).

 

God Bless!

18 Then the LORD said to Joshua, "Stretch out the
spear that is in your hand toward Ai, for I will give it into your hand."
And Joshua stretched out the spear that was in his hand toward the city.

26 For Joshua did not draw back his hand, with which he
stretched out the spear, until he had utterly destroyed all the inhabitants of
Ai.

27 Only the livestock and the spoil of that city Israel
took as booty for themselves, according to the word of the LORD which He had
commanded Joshua.

28 So Joshua burned Ai and made it a heap forever, a
desolation to this day.

29 And the king of Ai he hanged on a tree until evening.
And as soon as the sun was down, Joshua commanded that they should take his
corpse down from the tree, cast it at the entrance of the gate of the city, and
raise over it a great heap of stones that remains to this day..

 

We are looking at the Book of Joshua, a book that teaches
us that victory in our Christian experience only comes by faith. Faith alone in
our Joshua, the Lord Jesus Christ, our great High Priest, our Captain of the
host of heaven’s armies. My friend, you can put your faith and trust in Him no
matter what you might face each day. Every day is a new day, and it brings new
challenges. The people of Israel had a great victory over Jericho in chapter 6,
but then suffered a humiliating defeat in chapter 7 at little Ai.

 

Now in chapter 8, Israel had an opportunity for a new beginning.
God gives them a word of encouragement and a promise (vv. 1-2), He gives them a
new strategy for the battle with new instructions (vv. 3-13), and He tells them
how to experience a new victory over Ai (vv. 14-29). Please take the time to read
this entire section of verses that describes in detail this battle at Ai.

 

In verses 14-17, when morning dawned, the king of Ai saw
the army of Israel positioned before the city, ready to attack. Confident of
victory, he led his men out of the city and against the Jews. Joshua and his
men began to flee, and this gave the men of Ai even more assurance of victory. It
was careless of the people of Ai to leave their city undefended, but such are
the follies of self-confidence. When a small army sees a large army flee
without even fighting, it gives them a feeling of superiority that can lead to
defeat.

 

Conscious that the battle was the Lord's (1 Sam. 17:47; 2
Chron. 20:15), Joshua waited for further instructions. God then told him to
lift up his spear toward the city (Josh. 8:18). This was the signal for the
other troops to enter the city and burn it, but the signal had to be given at
just the right time. The men of Ai and Bethel were trapped, and it was a simple
matter for the army of Israel to destroy them. Joshua held up his spear until
the victory was won (v. 26), an action that reminds us of the battle Joshua
fought against Amalek when Moses held up his hands to the Lord (Ex. 17:8-16). Ai's
army and people were then destroyed (Josh. 8:21-29).

 

When Ai's king was slain (Josh. 8:23, 29), his body was
then buried under a heap of stones at the entrance of the gate of the ruin that
had once been Ai. The previous heap of stones over Achan’s body was a memorial
and reminder of the sin that had caused their defeat at Ai (Joshua 7:25-26).
But this heap of stones at Ai was a memorial of Israel's victory over the
enemy. By obeying the Word of the Lord, they had organized victory out of
mistakes.

 

At the close of the day there must have been a new sense of
faith and courage in Israel; for they had won another victory. The people saw
that not one word of God's promise had failed. The disgrace and defeat caused
by Achan had now been erased, and Israel was well on her way to conquering the
Promised Land.

 

We can thank the Lord that every day gives us the
opportunity to have a new beginning, and to by faith experience a new victory! Our
task is simply to “trust and obey….”.

 

God bless!

In Joshua 8, the Lord not only gave Israel an opportunity
for a new beginning with His word of encouragement, His word of instruction,
and His word of promise, He also gave them a new strategy to conquer the city
of Ai.

God is not only the God of new beginnings, but He's also
the God of infinite variety. God changes His leaders, like He did with Moses
and Joshua, lest we start trusting flesh and blood instead of trusting the Lord.
God also changes His methods lest we start depending on our personal experience
instead of on His divine promises.

 

The strategy God gave Joshua for taking Ai was almost
opposite the strategy He used at Jericho. The Jericho operation involved a week
of marches that were carried on openly in the daylight. The attack on Ai
involved a covert night operation that prepared the way for the daylight
assault. The whole army was united at Jericho, but Joshua divided the army for
the attack on Ai. God performed a mighty miracle at Jericho when He caused the
walls to fall down flat, but there was no such miracle at Ai. Joshua and his
men simply obeyed God's instructions by setting an ambush and luring the people
of Ai out of their city, and the Lord gave them the victory.

 

It's important that we seek God's will for each undertaking
so that we don't depend on past victories as we plan for the future. How easy
is it for Christian ministries to dig their way into administrative ruts that
eventually become graves, simply because the leadership fails to discern
whether God wants to do something new for them. The American business leader
Bruce Barton (1886-1967) said, "When you're through changing, you're
through."

 

The strategy for Ai was based on Israel's previous defeat;
for God was organizing victory out of Joshua's mistakes. The people of Ai were
overconfident because they had defeated Israel at the first attack, and this
overconfidence would be their undoing. "We did it before, and we can do it
again!"

 

At night Joshua and his army marched fifteen miles from
Gilgal to Ai; and, using 30,000 soldiers, Joshua set up an ambush behind the
city from the west (vv. 3-9). He put another 5,000 men between Ai and Bethel,
which was about two miles away (v. 12). This detachment would make sure that
the army from Bethel wouldn't make a surprise attack from the northwest and
open another "front." The rocky terrain in the highlands around Ai
made it easy for Joshua to conceal his soldiers, and the whole operation was
done at night.

 

The plan was simple but effective. Leading the rest of the
Jewish army, Joshua would make a frontal attack on Ai from the north. His men
would flee as they had done the first time and by fleeing draw the
self-confident people of Ai away from the protection of their city. At Joshua's
signal the soldiers lying in ambush would enter the city and set it on fire.
The people of Ai would be caught between two armies, and the third army would
deal with any assistance that might come from Bethel.

 

Being a good general, Joshua lodged with his army (v. 9).
He certainly encouraged them to trust the Lord and believe His promise for
victory. The Captain of the host of the Lord (5:14) would go before them
because they obeyed His Word and trusted His promises.

 

The work of the Lord requires strategy, and Christian
leaders must seek the mind of the Lord in their planning. Like Joshua, we must
get the facts and weigh them carefully as we seek the will of God. Too often,
the work of the Lord only drifts along on the tide of time, without any rudder
or compass to give direction; and the results are disappointing. Our English
word strategy comes from two Greek words that together mean "to lead an
army." Leadership demands planning, and planning is an important part of strategy.

 

God bless!

In Joshua 8 after the defeat at Ai, Joshua needs and
receives a word of encouragement from the Lord. I am so thankful that we have a
Bible that is full of promises of God that should encourage us even after we
feel that we have failed. I’m thinking of Elijah after the great victory on Mt.
Carmel where he prayed down fire from heaven and had the prophets of Baal put
to death, and the wicked queen Jezebel said she was going to kill him, and he
flees to the mountain and becomes so discourage that he wanted to die. How God
met with him and assured him of His presence with the “still small voice”. (1
Kings 18-19). 

 

Not only did the Lord give Joshua a word of encouragement
but He gave him a word of instruction (Josh. 8:1b-2). God always has a plan for
His people to follow, and the only way for us to have victory is to obey God's
instructions. In his first attack on Ai Joshua followed the advice of his spies
and used only part of the army; but God told him to take "all the
people of war"(v. 1).

 

The Lord also told Joshua to use an ambush and take
advantage of Ai's self-confidence stemming from Israel's first defeat (7:1-5).
Finally, God gave the soldiers the right to claim the spoils, but they were to burn
the city. Had Achan waited only a few days, he could have picked up all the
wealth that he wanted. God always gives His best to those who leave the choice
with Him. When we run ahead of the Lord, we usually rob ourselves and hurt
others.

 

The Lord also gave Joshua a word of promise (Josh.
8:1c).  "I have given"
was God's promise and Joshua's guarantee of victory as long as he obeyed the
instructions of the Lord. "God never made a promise that was too good to
be true," said evangelist D.L. Moody; but every promise must be claimed by
faith. Unless the promises of God are "mixed with faith" (Heb. 4:2),
they accomplish nothing. Because Israel acted presumptuously in their first
attack against Ai, they failed miserably. The promises of God make the
difference between faith and presumption.

 

You can never exaggerate the importance of the Christian
soldier spending time daily in the Word of God. Unless daily we take the sword
of the Spirit by faith (Eph. 6:17), we go into the battle unarmed and therefore
unprepared. Spiritually minded believers are victorious because they allow the
Word of God to "saturate" their minds and hearts. The Spirit using
the Word controls their desires and decisions and this is the secret of
victory.

 

Years later after the conquest of the land of Canaan,
Joshua in his last words to the people just before he died in Joshua 23:14 was:
“And now I am about to go the way of all the earth, and you know in your
hearts and souls, all of you, that not one word has failed of all the good
things that the LORD your God promised concerning you. All have come to pass
for you; not one of them has failed.”

 

My friend, you can always trust in the promises of God in
His Word!

 

God bless!

In Joshua 8 Israel has the opportunity for a new beginning
after a humiliating defeat at Ai. But even after sin has been confessed and
dealt with, we still might feel defeated in our spirit because of our failure.
Joshua personally must have felt like, as a leader, the defeat was his fault,
and the voice of failure was loud in his ears. He might have sensed the glares
and stares of the people, and maybe heard them whispering about him and
questioning his wisdom.

 

For us it might be when we lost our job, flunked the exam,
or dropped out of school. It could be that your marriage went south, or your
business went broke. We even begin to question ourselves and feel disqualified.
Our self-worth drops to zero. But that is when we need to listen to the voice
of truth from the Word of God. That is when Jehovah spoke to Joshua with a word
of encouragement! (v. 1). “Don’t be afraid or dismayed. Don’t stay in the
cesspool of self-pity but trust me.”

 

Over the past several years one of my favorite verses has
become Psalm 9:10; “And those who know Your name will put their trust in
You; For You, LORD, have not forsaken those who seek You.” Joshua must have
remembered his meeting with the Commander of the LORD’s army outside the wall
of Jericho (Johsua 5:14). Maybe he also recalled the altar Moses built after
they defeated Amalek in Exodus 17:15; “And Moses built an altar and called
its name, Jehovah-Nissi. (The-LORD-Is-My-Banner).

 

We need to remember 1 John 1:9; “If we confess our sins,
He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all
unrighteousness.” And in the following chapter, 1 John 2:1-2; “My little
children, these things I write to you, so that you may not sin. And if anyone
sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. And He
Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for
the whole world.”

 

We might also recall 1 John 4:4; “You are of God, little
children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater than he
who is in the world.”

 

Yes, my friend, the voice of Truth can become louder than
the voice of failure if we will remember the great Name of our Jehovah and seek
Him with our whole heart. There are so many verses that come to mind but let me
share this passage from Romans 8:31-39; “What then shall we say to these
things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare His own
Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely
give us all things? Who shall bring a charge against God's elect? It is God who
justifies. Who is he who condemns? It is Christ who died, and furthermore is
also risen, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession
for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or
distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is
written: "For Your sake we are killed all day long; We are accounted as
sheep for the slaughter." Yet in all these things we are more than
conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am persuaded that neither death nor
life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things
to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to
separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

 

Today, what voice will you listen to?

 

God bless!

In Joshua 6, Israel had experienced a great victory over
the city of Jericho. But in Joshua 7, they suffered a humiliating defeat in
their battle with the little city of Ai because of unconfessed sin in their camp.
They made the mistake of becoming proud and thinking they could enjoy victory
in the battles of life without praying or seeking the Lord’s instructions
first. Paul said it this way; “Let a man who thinks he stands take heed lest
he fall” (1 Corinthians 10:12).

 

We are also warned in Galatians 6:1-3, “Brethren, if a
man is overtaken in any trespass, you who are spiritual restore such a one in a
spirit of gentleness, considering yourself lest you also be tempted. Bear one
another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ. For if anyone thinks
himself to be something, when he is nothing, he deceives himself.” We can’t
afford to be careless in our daily spiritual walk, especially after
experiencing a spiritual victory of lifting a brother or sister out of a sinful
situation.

 

But we must also realize that we are still human, and life
is a series of mistakes! If you don’t want to make any mistakes, don’t do
anything or go anywhere! It was Henry Ford who defined a mistake as "an
opportunity to begin again, more intelligently." Joshua would also have
agreed, because he is about to "begin again, more intelligently" and
organize a victory out of his mistakes. Today we should be encouraged knowing
that “where sin abounded, grace did much more abound” (Romans 5:20).

 

In Joshua 8, God gave Joshua and the people of Israel an
opportunity for a new beginning. Once the nation of Israel had judged the sin
that had defiled their camp, God was free to speak to them in mercy and direct
them in their conquest of the land. "The steps of a good man are
ordered by the Lord, and He delights in his way. Though he fall, he shall not
be utterly cast down; for the Lord upholds him with His hand" (Ps.
37:23-24). No matter what mistakes we may make, the worst mistake of all is not
to try again; for "the victorious Christian life is a series of new
beginnings" (Alexander Whyte).

 

I’ll never forget a message I heard in my earlier years
entitled, “Failure plus failure, plus failure, plus failure, plus failure,
equals success!” Proverbs 24:16 reminds us that “Though a righteous man
falls seven times, he will rise again.”  I
love how the Living Bible translates 2 Corinthians 4:8-9; “We are pressed on
every side by troubles, but not crushed and broken. We are perplexed because we
don’t know why things happen as they do, but we don’t give up and quit. We are
hunted down, but God never abandons us. We get knocked down, but we get up
again and keep going.”

 

In Joshua 8:1 we find that a new beginning always starts with
the Word of God. It was a word of encouragement. Today we don't hear God's
audible voice as people often did in Bible times, but we have the Word of God
before us and the Spirit of God within us; and God will direct us if we wait
patiently before Him. Discouragement over the past and fear of the future are
the two reactions that often accompany failure. We look back and remember the
mistakes that we made, and then we look ahead and wonder whether there's any
future for people who fail so foolishly.

 

The answer to our discouragement and fear is in hearing and
believing God's Word: "Fear not, neither be thou dismayed" (v.
1). Take time to study the "fear not" statements of the Bible. Note
that God spoke these words to different kinds of people in various
circumstances, and His Word always met the need. God never discourages His
people from making progress. As long as we obey His commandments, we have the
privilege of claiming His promises.

 

Remember that today is the first day of the rest of your
life! Arise and fix your eyes on Jesus!

 

God bless!