After removing the sin of
Israelites the Lord turned from his fierce anger. It’s the wonderful promise of
God that all his children made by the cleansing blood of Christ Jesus have
second chance in the marvelous grace of the Lord only if they repent and change
their mind and heart to obey him. Not just one time offer, but over and over
again if we repent our sins and ask for his pity then the merciful Father
forgives us and purifies us from all unrighteousness (1 John 1:9). It’s because
the demand of the Father has fully been met by the ransom blood of the Son
Jesus Christ once for all. That’s the Ai experience for Joshua and his people.
Once again the Lord God forgave the sins of the assembly of Israel for they had
admitted the wrongs by obeying God’s commandment to punish Achan and all his
belongings. That’s what our Jesus taught us to do, taking the drastic actions
to get rid of the part of body which committed sins.
“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. 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.’” (Joshua 8:1-2)
Then the Lord said to Joshua,
“Do not be afraid and do not be discouraged.” This is the phrase that the
Scripture is saying over and over again. Why not be afraid and not be
discouraged? The answer is God says so. What really caused him to fear was God
himself who led them out to be defeated by the enemies of Ai because of the sin
committed by the man Achan. God’s fierce anger was revealed against the whole
assembly of his people because he could not bear the sin of them. God told
Joshua that they robbed the things dedicated to the Lord and commanded him to
destroy what was devoted to destruction. When they obeyed God turned from his
wrath and anger against his people. So, only God can make people tremble and
fear and make them not be afraid. It is beautifully illustrated in the Gospel
that when our Lord Jesus walked on the water the disciples on the boat in a
stormy night were terrified because they thought it was a ghost. Jesus
immediately told them, "Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid." It was Jesus who terrified them and stopped fear in them.
“Shortly before dawn Jesus went
out to them, walking on the lake. When the disciples saw him walking on the
lake, they were terrified. ‘It’s a ghost,’ they said, and cried out in fear. But
Jesus immediately said to them: ‘Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.’”
(Matthew 14:25-27)
The Lord said to Joshua to take
the whole army with him and go up and attack Ai. Previously, Joshua sent not
the whole army but three thousand for the attack of Ai and they failed
miserably. God is telling that the whole assembly of God’s people is involved
in the fight of holy war although the number isn’t important at all for God.
Gideon and his three hundred men defeated the hundred thousand of Midianites
(Judges 7:22). In the time of King Hezekiah, God slaughtered one hundred and
eighty-five thousand in the Assyrian camp by the angel of the Lord (Isaiah
37:36).
Remember God is not fighting for
Joshua’s sake but for his holy name’s sake because the time has come for the
judgment against the Amorites. It is God who has delivered into Joshua’s hand
the king of Ai, his people, his city and his land. So, they shall take the city
as they did Jericho and its king. God graciously allowed them to carry off
their plunder and livestock for themselves. And God commanded to Joshua to set
an ambush behind the city. God can work out in thousand and one different ways.
Read the Book of Acts and observe how the Holy Spirit worked every time in a
different way. Our God is eternal and never repeats the same way he did it
before.
“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 with these orders: ‘Listen carefully. You are to set an
ambush behind the city. Don’t go very far from it. All of you be on the alert.
I and all those with me will advance on the city, and when the men come out
against us, as they did before, we will flee from them. They will pursue us
until we have lured them away from the city, for they will say, ‘They are
running away from us as they did before.’ So when we flee from them, you are to
rise up from ambush and take the city. The Lord your God will give it into your
hand. When you have taken the city, set it on fire. Do what the Lord has
commanded. See to it; you have my orders.’ Then Joshua sent them off, and they
went to the place of ambush and lay in wait between Bethel and Ai, to the west
of Ai—but Joshua spent that night with the people.” (Joshua 8:3-9)
Joshua chose thirty thousand of
his best fighting men and sent them out at night for an ambush behind the city
between Bethel and Ai. They were carefully told to be alert and be ready to attack
the city according to the arrangements what the Lord had commanded to do. Three
things we can observe out of the battle against the city of Ai. First, the
Amorites were proudly confident and pursued the Israelites as they did before,
leaving the city open.
“Early the next morning Joshua
mustered his army, and he and the leaders of Israel marched before them to Ai.
The entire force that was with him marched up and approached the city and
arrived in front of it. They set up camp north of Ai, with the valley between
them and the city. Joshua had taken about five thousand men and set them in
ambush between Bethel and Ai, to the west of the city. So the soldiers took up
their positions—with the main camp to the north of the city and the ambush to
the west of it. That night Joshua went into the valley. When the king of Ai saw
this, he and all the men of the city hurried out early in the morning to meet
Israel in battle at a certain place overlooking the Arabah. But he did not know
that an ambush had been set against him behind the city. Joshua and all Israel
let themselves be driven back before them, and they fled toward the wilderness.
All the men of Ai were called to pursue them, and they pursued Joshua and were
lured away from the city. Not a man remained in Ai or Bethel who did not go
after Israel. They left the city open and went in pursuit of Israel.” (Joshua
8:10-17)
Note that all the men of Ai were
called to pursue the Israelites and not a men remained in Ai or Bethel who did
not go after them. They even left the city open and went in pursuit of Israel.
This is exactly what’s going on in human history. Mass killing and hurting
others by one class or country have repeatedly been occurring in the earth centuries
over centuries. Tremendous efforts with genius minds, skills, and monetary
investments have been made to stop the killings and abuses each other, but it
never improves the morality of humans at all. Regardless of the recurring
failures, the proud humanity doesn’t accept it honestly but instead keeps on
pursuing the ideas and minds, thinking that they can improve and make an
idealistic world. This is called the flesh in the Scriptures. It doesn’t
surrender to the One who created the heavens and the earth but always opposes
him in every way (Galatians 5:17). The forces behind the human flesh and proud
mind are the authorities, the rulers, the powers of this dark world, and the
spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms (Ephesians 6:12).
Second, it shows the
thoroughness of God’s judgment as were demonstrated in Noah’s day by the flood
and in the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah by the burning sulfur.
“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. 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. The men of Ai looked back and saw the smoke of the city rising
up into the sky, but they had no chance to escape in any direction; the
Israelites who had been fleeing toward the wilderness had turned back against
their pursuers. For when Joshua and all Israel saw that the ambush had taken
the city and that smoke was going up from it, they turned around and attacked
the men of Ai. Those in the ambush also came out of the city against them, so
that they were caught in the middle, with Israelites on both sides. Israel cut
them down, leaving them neither survivors nor fugitives. But they took the king
of Ai alive and brought him to Joshua. When Israel had finished killing all the
men of Ai in the fields and in the wilderness where they had chased them, and
when every one of them had been put to the sword, all the Israelites returned to
Ai and killed those who were in it. Twelve thousand men and women fell that
day—all the people of Ai.” (Joshua 8:18-25)
No one could escape from the
hand of the Lord Almighty. All the men of Ai in the fields and in the
wilderness had been put to the sword and killed as well as those who were in
the city. Twelve thousand men and women fell that day, all the people of Ai. This
is the preview of the Day of the Lord which shall be coming one of these days
in the most suddenness and unexpectedness. In fact, history has been moving
toward the end of all and the new beginning of eternal life. Individual life
reveals the truth exactly that all dies without exception. The death rate is
flat 100% despite of the medical science advancements and outstanding
achievements as the Scripture soberly says so.
“Just as people are destined to
die once, and after that to face judgment.” (Hebrews 9:27)
The physical death is not the
end of story because there is the second death which is called Hades in the
Scriptures.
“But the cowardly, the
unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice
magic arts, the idolaters and all liars—they will be consigned to the fiery
lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death.” (Revelation 21:8)
So, the author of Hebrews warns
seriously not to fall into the hands of living God by continually rejecting all
the opportunities and chances given justly and fairly to everyone.
“It is a dreadful thing to fall
into the hands of the living God.” (Hebrews 10:31)
Third, God answers our prayers. Joshua
did not draw back the hand that held out his javelin until he destroyed all who
lived in Ai. Holding out his javelin is the expression of prayer.
“For Joshua did not draw back
the hand that held out his javelin until he had destroyed all who lived in Ai. But
Israel did carry off for themselves the livestock and plunder of this city, as
the Lord had instructed Joshua. So Joshua burned Ai and made it a permanent
heap of ruins, a desolate place to this day. He impaled the body of the king of
Ai on a pole and left it there until evening. At sunset, Joshua ordered them to
take the body from the pole and throw it down at the entrance of the city gate.
And they raised a large pile of rocks over it, which remains to this day.” (Joshua
8:26-29)
Jesus says so pertinently to
Peter that until he prays for either binding or loosening whatever on earth will
be bound or loose in heaven as well.
“I will give you the keys of the
kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and
whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.” (Matthew 16:19)
This is a profound mystery which
we cannot fathom its depth and height and width and length. It reveals that
there is an unbreakable relationship between the visible on earth and the
invisible in heaven. Although God can work out everything on his own, even the
creation of another universe, he waits the prayers of the saints on earth until
he acts. Prophet Jeremiah prophesied about the invasion of the Babylonians and
the exile in the foreign land for seventy years (Jeremiah 29:10). Prophet
Daniel was one of the captives and witnessed all the events during the exile
while serving the kings as the second man in the mighty kingdom. He was
illuminated by the marvelous visions and revelations and known the mysteries of
God throughout the captivity in Babylon. When the prophesied seventy years
passed, Daniel began to pray to God that he would send his people back to the
land of Canaan just as he promised through Prophet Jeremiah. Daniel made a plea
to God not for his people’s sake but for his name’s sake.
“In the first year of Darius son
of Xerxes (a Mede by descent), who was made ruler over the Babylonian kingdom—in
the first year of his reign, I, Daniel, understood from the Scriptures,
according to the word of the Lord given to Jeremiah the prophet, that the
desolation of Jerusalem would last seventy years. So I turned to the Lord God
and pleaded with him in prayer and petition, in fasting, and in sackcloth and
ashes. I prayed to the Lord my God and confessed: Lord, the great and awesome
God, who keeps his covenant of love with those who love him and keep his
commandments, we have sinned and done wrong. We have been wicked and have
rebelled; we have turned away from your commands and laws. We have not listened
to your servants the prophets, who spoke in your name to our kings, our princes
and our ancestors, and to all the people of the land. ‘Lord, you are righteous,
but this day we are covered with shame—the people of Judah and the inhabitants
of Jerusalem and all Israel, both near and far, in all the countries where you
have scattered us because of our unfaithfulness to you. We and our kings, our
princes and our ancestors are covered with shame, Lord, because we have sinned
against you. The Lord our God is merciful and forgiving, even though we have
rebelled against him; we have not obeyed the Lord our God or kept the laws he
gave us through his servants the prophets. All Israel has transgressed your law
and turned away, refusing to obey you. ‘Therefore the curses and sworn
judgments written in the Law of Moses, the servant of God, have been poured out
on us, because we have sinned against you. You have fulfilled the words spoken
against us and against our rulers by bringing on us great disaster. Under the
whole heaven nothing has ever been done like what has been done to Jerusalem. Just
as it is written in the Law of Moses, all this disaster has come on us, yet we
have not sought the favor of the Lord our God by turning from our sins and
giving attention to your truth. The Lord did not hesitate to bring the disaster
on us, for the Lord our God is righteous in everything he does; yet we have not
obeyed him. ‘Now, Lord our God, who brought your people out of Egypt with a
mighty hand and who made for yourself a name that endures to this day, we have
sinned, we have done wrong. Lord, in keeping with all your righteous acts, turn
away your anger and your wrath from Jerusalem, your city, your holy hill. Our
sins and the iniquities of our ancestors have made Jerusalem and your people an
object of scorn to all those around us. ‘Now, our God, hear the prayers and
petitions of your servant. For your sake, Lord, look with favor on your
desolate sanctuary. Give ear, our God, and hear; open your eyes and see the
desolation of the city that bears your Name. We do not make requests of you
because we are righteous, but because of your great mercy. Lord, listen! Lord,
forgive! Lord, hear and act! For your sake, my God, do not delay, because your
city and your people bear your Name.” (Daniel 9:1-19)
It is certain that if we are
experiencing the answers of prayers someone else must have been praying for us.
What is then prayer? Prayer is our expression of the dependence on God. There is
nothing we do not depend on God to live life. Jesus says that he is the bread
of life and the light of the world. In the parable of the unfortunate widow,
our Lord Jesus says that we should always pray and not give up.
“Then Jesus told his disciples a
parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up.” (Luke 18:1)
We in Christ are always either
in prayer or faint. If we do not depend on God for everything, even a single
breath of air we shall faint. We’re designed and made to depend on him always. Prayer
is not our tool to execute our own agenda or program but our honest plea for
God to act according to his promise and will for his holy name’s sake. That’s
the reason we are given full of promises in the Scriptures. Obviously, it’s
useless if we do not pay careful attention to the words of God’s promise. How can
we pray to God if we do not understand his promises and plans? Psalmist says so
pertinently.
“Blessed is
the one who does not
walk in step with the wicked or stand in
the way that sinners take or sit in
the company of mockers, but whose
delight is in the law of the Lord, and who
meditates on his law day and night. That person
is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields
its fruit in season and whose
leaf does not wither—whatever
they do prospers. Not so the
wicked! They are
like chaff that the
wind blows away. Therefore,
the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners
in the assembly of the righteous. For the Lord
watches over the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked leads
to destruction.” (Psalm 1:1-6)
Prayer: Thank you Father once
again for the promise of forgiveness only if we repent and for listening and
answering our prayers just as you have promised in the Scriptures. May we help
us to depend on you in every corner and area of our lives from sex life, work,
study, recreation, relationship to church life. In Christ’s name. Amen.
April 9, 2016
© 2015-2016 David
Lee Ministries – All Rights Reserved.
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