Evening Sermon

October 28, 2007

If At First You Don't Succeed...

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If at first you don't succeed, try, try again. That bit of simple wisdom may be the overall message you come away with after reading Joshua 7 and 8 quickly. Joshua 7 describes the first attempt to conquer Ai, which we studied last week. It was an unmitigated disaster. And so, in Joshua 8, he tries again. But there is much more to be learned from these historical events than just the moral of the story, "If at first you don't succeed, try, try again." In fact, that description is actually a very inadequate explanation of the battle of Ai. There is much, much more going on.

The lessons of Joshua 7 and 8 cut to the very heart of the covenant relationship that God has established with his people. And the heart of that covenant was announced by Moses just before the people of Israel were to enter the promised land.

Deut. 30:15 "See, I have set before you today life and good, death and evil, 16 "in that I command you today to love the LORD your God, to walk in His ways, and to keep His commandments, His statutes, and His judgments, that you may live and multiply; and the LORD your God will bless you in the land which you go to possess. 17 "But if your heart turns away so that you do not hear, and are drawn away, and worship other gods and serve them, 18 "I announce to you today that you shall surely perish; you shall not prolong your days in the land which you cross over the Jordan to go in and possess. 19 "I call heaven and earth as witnesses today against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life, that both you and your descendants may live; 20 "that you may love the LORD your God, that you may obey His voice, and that you may cling to Him, for He is your life and the length of your days; and that you may dwell in the land which the LORD swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to give them."

By setting before his covenant people blessings and curses, God shows his people that they are responsible for their actions, which is perhaps the best way to summarize these chapters 7 and 8.

I. AS GOD'S COVENANT PEOPLE, WE ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR OUR ACTIONS. That has always been the case, even in the covenant of grace.

Moses said, "I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life, that both you and your descendants may live; that you may love the LORD your God, that you may obey His voice, and that you may cling to Him, for He is your life and the length of your days."

Choose life. That call to commitment is a call to responsible action.

Peter said on the day of Pentecost the very same thing: "Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off --for all whom the Lord our God will call."

Paul says the very same thing in theological explanation to the church in Romans 10. "That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved..."Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved."

We are responsible to choose life.

Illus: Now, don't be confused. I have chosen life, but I understand perfectly that God chose me first. I know that he chose me in Christ before the foundation of the world, and that he changed my heart and renewed my will before I ever received Jesus Christ as my Lord and savior. I understand perfectly that if God had not come to me first, I would not have come to him. And in humility, I have nothing to boast about. I can do nothing else but praise him.

But that knowledge of God's sovereign predestinating love for his elect people does not eliminate this central fact of our relationship with him. We are responsible for our actions. Specifically, curses and blessings are at the heart of the covenant relationship between God and his people. Disobedience brings God's curses. And obedience brings God's blessings.

The historical events surrounding the capture of Ai demonstrate that God's covenant people are responsible for their actions. To briefly summarize last week's message from Joshua 7,

A. Disobedience brings God's curses. Israel disobeyed God, when Achan stole some of the money and a fashionable piece of clothing from Jericho. Achan stole from God, for God had declared that all the spoils of Jericho belonged to him. The whole city was to be put under the ban, totally devoted to him.

Achan's disobedience brought God's curse upon the entire nation. Sin in the camp affected the whole camp. And that sin among God's people caused great trouble. 7:4-9

There was no secret to the reason for this disaster. 7:10-13

Disobedience, sin, brings God's curses upon his people. Sin, disobedience, causes great trouble among God's people. And so, the NT clearly teaches us that sin among God's people must be exposed and eliminated. It cannot be ignored.

Paul writes to a church that had tolerated sin, and he gave them clear and specific instructions. 1Cor. 5:11 "But now I have written to you not to keep company with anyone named a brother, who is sexually immoral, or covetous, or an idolater, or a reviler, or a drunkard, or an extortioner--not even to eat with such a person. 12 For what have I to do with judging those also who are outside? Do you not judge those who are inside? 13 But those who are outside God judges. Therefore "put away from yourselves the evil person."

He couldn't have said it any clearer. He doesn't tell us to stone to death unrepentant sinners such as Achan. But he does tell us to put them out of the church. And he tells us why: "Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump? Therefore purge out the old leaven, that you may be a new lump, since you truly are unleavened."

If there is a message that our society desperately needs to hear from the church of Jesus Christ, it is this: You are responsible for your actions. If there is an answer to the problems of immorality and superficial Christianity that is so much a part of our culture, it is this: You are responsible for your actions. Obedience brings blessings. Disobedience brings curses.

That principle clearly must apply in the civil realm as well, and if there is a solution to the problem of crime in our country, it is that too many people believe that they simply are not responsible for their actions. We hear that often. We are trained to think that way.

But in our day, in our country we hear the exact opposite. We are trained to think that we are not responsible for our actions. And we make up excuses! We use psychological labels, long descriptive syndromes that render you inexcusable. We hear excuses of temporary insanity. We blame things outside ourselves, even drugs or alcohol. We blame depression. We blame our parents. We blame public pressures.

And in the civil realm in our own country, we have all but forgotten that most basic truth of justice. Responsibility. And a generation of parents are now making excuses for their children, so that the children grow up not being held responsible. We are so good at making excuses for sin. But God doesn't hear those excuses. Disobedience brings his curses. But the opposite is also true!

B. Obedience brings God's blessings. And that is the difference between Joshua 7 and 8. It wasn't just a matter of try, try again. It was a matter of obedience. A matter of faithfulness. Joshua and the nation of Israel exposed and confronted the sin of Achan. Justice was served. And God was then ready to bless his people again. Joshua 8 is a description of that blessing. Before we look at all the details of this chapter, I want you to get that big picture. v.1-8

Now, let me also emphasize clearly, I am not talking about a works salvation nor a works-based righteousness that avails before God. I am not saying that we enter into that covenant with God on the basis of our obedience. I am not saying that we earn our salvation or somehow merit God's blessings. "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith --and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God-- not by works, so that no one can boast."

But as God's covenant people, as people who have been saved by grace through faith in Jesus Christ, as Christians, we are still responsible for our actions. There is no contradiction between the Old and New Testaments. In all ages, God calls his people to love him with all their heart, and with all their soul, and with all their mind. And he tells us that love for him is obedience to his commands.

With that big picture in place, let's study the details of how Israel did, in fact, obey their God and what happened as a result. Their obedience was a simple trust, a dependence upon their God. And I want to emphasize that,

II. AS GOD'S COVENANT PEOPLE, WE MUST DEPEND ON HIM AND NOT ON OURSELVES. Chapter 8 is really a story of dependence. And dependence was a lesson that Joshua learned very well from what happened the first time he attacked Ai. Joshua learned to depend on God. He learned, first of all, to depend on,

A. His promise to do us good. Look at the wonderful promise of, v.1

Also, v.2a

God is promising a very different outcome than in chapter 7. The difference? Israel had dealt with the sin in their camp. The promise of blessing had been dependent upon their obedience. With the unexposed sin of Achan, there was no such promise of success from God. Indeed, in chapter 7, there is no reference of God talking to Joshua before the attack on Ai.

But there is such a reference here. God promises to do us good. Let me bring that up to date. God still promises to do us good. In fact, Rom. 8:28 "...we know that all things work together for good."

One of the most life changing verses I ever read. Basis of my whole approach to life. But that is not exactly what that verse says, or not all of what that verse says. Listen to the whole verse: "And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose."

There are two conditions for his blessings, two descriptions of those who are blessed. The promise is to those who love God. And to those who are called according to his purpose. The Bible tells us how much we are supposed to love God--with all our heart and with all our strength and with all our mind. That's how the law is summarized, but the duty of love. And the Bible tells us what it means to love him. It means to obey him.

1John 5:3 "For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome."

And the Bible also tells us what his purpose is. God's purpose for his people is to make them like Christ. Rom. 8:29 "For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren."

That is God's purpose for you. And the Bible tells us more about that, more of what it means to be conformed to the likeness of Jesus Christ. 1Pet. 1:1 "Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ..., [writes to those who are the] 2 elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, in sanctification of the Spirit, for obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ: Grace to you and peace be multiplied."

Chosen for obedience to Jesus Christ and sprinkling by his blood. Chosen to be forgiven by grace. And chosen to obey in love. So God's purpose for you is to obey him. God's purpose for you is to make you holy.

And if you are called according to that purpose, and if you love him with all your heart, then he promises the greatest of all promises. He promises that he will work everything together for good. That is a promise that results from our obedience. That is a promise Joshua depended on, and acted upon. That is a promise we, too can depend on.

Yet even more covenant blessings are described in Joshua 8. For we can also depend on,

B. His provisions to satisfy our needs. v.2b

Here at Ai, God allows his people to take the spoils of war. He allows them to plunder the Canaanites. He takes care of their needs. v.27

Think a minute about Achan. What was his terrible sin? He took plunder that God had said, "Don't take." At Jericho, the first city conquered, God said, "It all belongs to me. Jericho is to be the firstfruits." Achan stole from God. If he had only waited until Ai. He could have gotten all he needed, and probably all he wanted. If only he had waited and done it God's way. Such is the deceitfulness of sin.

If we will obey God, he will satisfy our needs.

Obvious application to the principle of tithing today. God says, "Give me the first part." God says, "Devote the firstfruits to me, sacrifice to me the first 10%." Anything else is robbing from God. He says that in no uncertain terms.

Mal. 3:8 "Will a man rob God? Yet you have robbed Me! But you say, 'In what way have we robbed You?' In tithes and offerings."

And God identifies the result of that sin: Mal. 3:9 "You are cursed with a curse, For you have robbed Me, Even this whole nation."

But then he promises the blessing to those who will obey, he promises to provide for all our needs: Mal. 3:10 "Bring all the tithes into the storehouse, That there may be food in My house, And try Me now in this," Says the LORD of hosts, "If I will not open for you the windows of heaven And pour out for you such blessing That there will not be room enough to receive it."

And the blessings go on: Mal. 3:11 "And I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes, So that he will not destroy the fruit of your ground, Nor shall the vine fail to bear fruit for you in the field," Says the LORD of hosts."

God promises to satisfy our needs, and we need to depend on that promise. Listen to Jesus' own words, saying the very same thing:

Matt. 6:25 "Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? 26 "Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? 27 "Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature? 28 "So why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; 29 "and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. 30 "Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? 31 "Therefore do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' 32 "For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. 33 "But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you."

"Seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you." That is Christianity. That is the covenant of grace. That is the call to us as Christians, to you who understand that you are justified by faith, who are freed from the ultimate curse of the covenant and condemnation of God's wrath by faith in Jesus Christ, the call of Jesus is simple. Now, seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness. All those other things, food, clothing and shelter, shall be added to you by God.

I don't want that to be pious advice. I want that to be real. I want that to really change the way that you live. "Being a good Christian" doesn't just mean going to church. It means depending on God to satisfy your needs, really depending upon him as you seek first his kingdom.

This also means depending on,

C. His plans to direct our paths. What a difference between chapter 7 and chapter 8. How did Joshua attack Ai in ch. 7? 7:2-4

No indication that Joshua asked God for directions. No indication that Joshua prayed about that attack. He just attacked, based on the report of the spies. His human overconfidence was certainly evident, and it took a disaster to humble that overconfidence.

Do any of you identify with Joshua? I do.

Joshua doesn't make the same mistake twice. In chapter 8, he depends on God to direct his paths. Gets a pretty good battle plan, too! v.3-8

Do you understand the plan? It is reminiscent of the allied strategy at the end of WWII. To decoy and to confuse the Germans, the allies set up a phantom army. That phantom army had no troops, and it's success was due to the inflatable tanks and equipment that was displayed for the Germans to see. It is hard for me to believe such a plan worked. But it certainly did. That phantom army immobilized parts of the German army, and contributed to the success of the invasion at Normandy.

God commanded Joshua to employ a similar ploy. This time, Joshua depended on God's plan. It was carried out exactly as God commanded. v.9-13

And it worked! v.14-17

It was a decoy. Interestingly, the success of that decoy depended on the overconfident foolishness of the people of Ai to leave their city unprotected. And of course, their minds swollen with the pride of the previous victory, they did exactly that. And Joshua knew that he needed to follow God's plans.

Thus we learn this simple truth, Pro. 3:6 "In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths."

Illus: A recall a television program preceding the games of the winter Olympics, a program which featured blind skiers being trained for slalom skiing, impossible as that sounds. Paired with sighted skiers, the blind skiers were taught on the flats how to make right and left turns.

When that was mastered, they were taken to the slalom slope, where their sighted partners skied beside them shouting, "Left!" and "Right!" As they obeyed the commands, they were able to negotiate the course and cross the finish line, depending solely on the sighted skiers' word. It was either complete trust or absolute catastrophe.

I have never been on a ski slope and I doubt that I ever will be, but I promise you, if I ever do ski it will not be with a blindfold, no matter how skilled a partner is guiding me. But what a perfect picture that is of the Christian life! In this world, we are in reality often blind about what course to take. We must depend entirely on his plans to direct our paths.

And Joshua depended on God in one final way. He depended on,

D. God's power to conquer his enemies. Joshua depended on God's power, not his own. And his obedience was rewarded with great blessing. v.18

Some commentators have suggested that the sun reflected off the javelin, so that all of Joshua's army waiting in the ambush would know when to move on Ai. And that may have been true, but I believe there is an even greater significance to that javelin. I believe that javelin was a symbol of doom and destruction, it was a symbol of military strength and power.

Very similar to Moses' rod that was raised as a symbol of God's power: Exod. 9:23 "And Moses stretched out his rod toward heaven; and the LORD sent thunder and hail, and fire darted to the ground. And the LORD rained hail on the land of Egypt."

Exod. 10:13 "So Moses stretched out his rod over the land of Egypt, and the LORD brought an east wind on the land all that day and all that night. When it was morning, the east wind brought the locusts."

Exod. 14:16 "But lift up your rod, and stretch out your hand over the sea and divide it. And the children of Israel shall go on dry ground through the midst of the sea."

Exod. 17:11 "And so it was, when Moses held up his hand, that Israel prevailed; and when he let down his hand, Amalek prevailed. 12 But Moses' hands became heavy; so they took a stone and put it under him, and he sat on it. And Aaron and Hur supported his hands, one on one side, and the other on the other side; and his hands were steady until the going down of the sun. 13 So Joshua defeated Amalek and his people with the edge of the sword. 14 Then the LORD said to Moses, "Write this for a memorial in the book and recount it in the hearing of Joshua, that I will utterly blot out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven." 15 And Moses built an altar and called its name, The-LORD-Is-My-Banner; 16 for he said, "Because the LORD has sworn: the LORD will have war with Amalek from generation to generation."

Joshua learned that lesson. The Lord's power was successful in conquering his enemies. v.19-26,28

That victory over God's enemies was personalized: v.23, 29

For the King, there was the symbolism of God's curse, for we read,

Deut. 21:22 "If a man has committed a sin deserving of death, and he is put to death, and you hang him on a tree, 23 "his body shall not remain overnight on the tree, but you shall surely bury him that day, so that you do not defile the land which the LORD your God is giving you as an inheritance; for he who is hanged is accursed of God."

So how do we apply that to our lives today? How can we learn to depend on God's power to conquer his enemies? It begins with an attitude. A confidence. God will conquer his enemies. God's kingdom will succeed. God's church will see victory. There will be Christians from every nation on earth.

Christians shouldn't be pessimists, not when it comes to the big picture. When it comes to the kingdom of Jesus, we should live with a sense of triumph. "Onward, Christian soldiers, marching as to war, with the cross of Jesus going on before; Christ the royal master leads against the foe, forward into battle, see, his banner go."

That hymn describes the attitude of people who depend on God's power to conquer his enemies.

And with that attitude, get to work. Get to work building the kingdom. Get to work building the church. The church is not a hospital or a nursing home. It's not a place to come for treatment and recuperation. It is an army barracks. A military base established in the heart of a foreign nation. The church is God's army. And it's task is to build God's kingdom. That work of building the kingdom is far more important than any other work that you will ever do.

So spend your time and your energy working for the kingdom of God. Spend your time and your energy on things that have eternal value.

Most importantly, this work of building the kingdom includes prayer. Prayer is work. So let our church be a praying church, a church that prays together, and a church of people who pray in their homes and in their own closets.

How you pray, and what you pray for, reveals how much you really depend on God's power to conquer his enemies. The content of your prayers will reveal exactly what you expect God to do. How you pray and what you pray for also reveals how much you really depend on his plans to direct your paths, on his provisions to satisfy your needs, and upon his promise to do you good.

And so my conclusion this evening is not a moralistic, "If at first you don't succeed, try, try again."

No, my conclusion is far more profound, a challenge to pray with utter dependence upon God for everything.

And as you depend upon him, walking by faith and not by sight, seek those blessings from him with which he responds to your faithful obedience. For indeed, we know his promise to be true,

Rom. 8:28 "And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose."

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