To God Be the Glory

To God be the Glory Joshua 8:1-29 God gives Joshua and the people of Israel a second chance at Ai. This time, they have an amazing battle plan that we can completely understand, in stark contrast to the battle plan at Jericho. But in both cases, it is God's victory. In both, before-hand, God says to Joshua "See, I have given [Jericho/Ai] into your hand." Joshua were faithfully part of the victory... but the glory goes to God. Has God called you to "see" his more preferable future, given into your hand? And are you ready to give Him the glory even as it calls you to give your faithful utmost for His glory? Victory Over the Vikings Trigger warning: I will be talking about the Eagles victory over the Vikings, so if that is still too near for you, you may be excused. Vikings got killed last Sunday. I should Paxtyn Henry up to give us the play by play of exactly how and why. But you can see why. Ridiculous turnovers, interceptions, amazing plays. You can (and I did because I didn’t watch the game live) watch the highlights and dissect each play to see where the Vikings went wrong and exactly what the Eagles did right. We understand how the Eagles won. In the end they got the ball across the touchdown line more often than the other guys. Better offense and better defense on that day… and so they won. This is a human victory. Their strategies, tactics and skills prevailed and so the Eagles are going to the Superbowl! God in the Mysterious Victory The story of Jericho Walking a lap around the city and it falls down. In contrast to the Eagles victory, obviously this was God’s victory! Clearly this was God’s victory, because a human victory doesn’t make sense here. God in the Obvious Victory The story of the victory over Ai. 30 thousand (companies). 5 in ambush from the West. 18 Then the Lord said to Joshua, “Stretch out the javelin that is in your hand toward Ai, for I will give it into your hand.” And Joshua stretched out the javelin that was in his hand toward the city. 19 And the men in the ambush rose quickly out of their place, and as soon as he had stretched out his hand, they ran and entered the city and captured it. And they hurried to set the city on fire. Main company flees to the East and the men of Ai follow in hot pursuit. Ambush companies rush in and begin burning the city. Seeing the smoke, the men of Ai despair and turn around and try to get back to the city. The “retreating” men of Israel turn around and “see” their victory and now chase after the men Ai. 20 So when the men of Ai looked back, behold, the smoke of the city went up to heaven, and they had no power to flee this way or that, for the people who fled to the wilderness turned back against the pursuers. 21 And when Joshua and all Israel saw that the ambush had captured the city, and that the smoke of the city went up, then they turned back and struck down the men of Ai. The men of Ai are now trapped between the 5 companies of ambushers coming out of the city and the 25 companies of Israelites now attacking from behind. Classic hammer and anvil and the men of Ai are absolutely crushed and destroyed. Joshua 8:28-29 28 So Joshua burned Ai and made it forever a heap of ruins, as it is to this day. 29 And he hanged the king of Ai on a tree until evening. And at sunset Joshua commanded, and they took his body down from the tree and threw it at the entrance of the gate of the city and raised over it a great heap of stones, which stands there to this day. This is a human victory. We understand this one. We can see the battle plan. Superior numbers, superior tactics, better strategy. The only thing Ai had going for it was their fortified city but the clever plan tricked them out of that. Even used their previous defeat to their advantage. Of course the men of Ai would believe they could run off the Israelites, they had done it before. But the Israelites “saw” better. 4 “seeings” The men of Ai “saw” their destruction and despaired. The men of Israel “saw” their victory and rejoiced. But before all of that, God called on Joshua to “see” God’s victory, before it had ever occurred. He commanded this at Jericho: Joshua 6:1-2 1 Now Jericho was shut up inside and outside because of the people of Israel. None went out, and none came in. 2 And the Lord said to Joshua, “See, I have given Jericho into your hand, with its king and mighty men of valor. And he commanded it Ai: Joshua 8:1-2 1 And the Lord said to Joshua, “Do not fear and do not be dismayed. Take all the fighting men with you, and arise, go up to Ai. See, I have given into your hand the king of Ai, and his people, his city, and his land. 2 And you shall do to Ai and its king as you did to Jericho and its king. Only its spoil and its livestock you shall take as plunder for yourselves. Lay an ambush against the city, behind it.” This was God’s Victory. God had ordained the victory, envisioned the victory, before there was any plan given to Joshua. He invites Joshua into his vision, before Joshua knows the awesome epic plan. Before Joshua understands the next step, God commands him “see, I have given into your hand.” Now it turns out God gives Joshua the awesome plan play by play. But is that why it is God’s victory? What if Joshua had come up with the plan by himself? It is still God’s Victory. “See, I have given into you hand the king of Ai, and his people, his city, and his land.” The giving is God’s. The method is irrelevant to who gets the glory. The part each person or each tribe plays is irrelevant to who ultimately gets the glory. It is God’s Victory. He just invites the people of Israel to play more of a part in that victory at Ai. And what’s more, after that dramatic and tragic lesson in devoting all of Jericho to destruction and Achan and his family are killed for stealing spoils from God. Everyone who is left in Israel has had that lesson deeply imprinted upon them. And as God commands Joshua to envision the victory, what else does he do? 2 And you shall do to Ai and its king as you did to Jericho and its king. Only its spoil and its livestock you shall take as plunder for yourselves. Maybe Israel had learned their lesson with the first extreme example in Jerusalem. Maybe now that they aren’t getting manna anymore, they need to replenish the livestock they are eating, that’s practical. But either way, God invites them to participate more fully in His Victory. At Ai they both get to be more a part of the process. And they get to enjoy more of the rewards. Victory in Preaching Experience with seminary sermon. I studied the passage for months. I prepared the sermon for months. Nothing I could do to make it better. Than I preached it in class. Nobody fell to their knees in adoration at my brilliance. There was no glory for me. Then I preached it here. And before-hand, I knew so bone-deep, that if anyone was going to be touched by the Word of God, changed by this sermon, it had to be all Him. I had reached the end of myself and knew: I have a part to play in this… but the glory is all His. Kelly last week. Nothing she could do to make it better. What is left is for God to win the victory within the human heart. What is left is for God to speak His Word. What is left, after being faithful to the end of yourself, is God to win the victory. And all the glory goes to God. All the glory of the effort. All the glory of the intellect and creativity. All the glory goes to God! That isn’t false humility, that is Reality. How much victory can He trust you with before the glory goes to your head? This was dangerous with the Israelites, but they give glory to God. This story continues with them building an altar to praise Him. Even though they play a huge part… all glory goes to God. Your More Preferable Future The Eagles victory was a human victory. But that doesn’t mean God wasn’t in it. "First and foremost, all glory belongs to God. I wouldn't be here without Him and this is just very humbling and unbelievable," quarterback Nick Foles said immediately after the Eagles' win over the Minnesota Vikings. "I'm blessed to have amazing teammates, amazing coaches." Now I get that football players say this so often it gets trite. But let’s take it as authentic. “All glory belongs to God… because I wouldn’t be here without Him.” The victory is “humbling” because you get to be apart of it. You are a part of it. That isn’t false humility. He is a part of it. But you can see the rest of it. And you recognize that every part of it, including you, ultimately gives glory to God. Because we wouldn’t even be here without Him. Give God the Glory. Where is God saying to you: “See, I have given into your hand.” God has a more-preferable future, and maybe he has shown you a piece of it, given you a glimpse of it. All glory to God… and he will glorify you. All glory to God, and you get to participate in His victory to a greater and greater extent. This time you keep the livestock and spoils. Next time, streets of gold and eternity. It matters how faithful you are. It matters how you steward the gifts God has given you. He has given you intelligence and wisdom, he has taught you things, and He continues to guide you step by step by His Word, by His Holy Spirit. But when you stand in that victory, and you know full well that you were absolutely INSTRUMENTAL in the victory. Remember that you are INSTRUMENTAL because you are His instrument… and give God the glory. And then, perhaps, God can invite you to participate even more in His victory for His greater glory, knowing that you will continue to give Him the glory. For His glory is what you are for. This is what you are for. This is what you are created for. This is what you are saved by grace for. This is your purpose and your great pleasure. To be a part of God’s work and God’s victory and to give glory to Him. Ephesians 3:10 10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.