Defeat and Redemption

Introduction

There are several lessons to be learned from Israel’s failure at Ai. Their victory at Jericho was supposed to be an all-out, 100%, utterly convincing military strike that showed the inhabitants of Canaan, Israel’s God is God.

In one sense, that happened. They won… and did nothing… except obey God. In another sense, the people’s bent toward disobedience cost them greatly. One man’s sin… cost the entire nation a military victory; the lives of at least 36 soldiers; Joshua’s security as the nation’s leader; and Israel’s confidence as a nation.

Today, we will cover a LOT of ground. We are combining chapters 7 and 8. They go together to form a complete response. In chapter 7, Israel failed to continue in obedience like they had when taking Jericho. However, what impeded their mission from the background was unknown sin. Their execution of battle tactics in the foreground was also a lack of consideration for what God told them to do to take the land (i.e. - notice the differences in the reports from the soldiers who scouted Jericho and those who scouted Ai).

Jericho would be delivered into Israel’s hands by God. Ai, was looked at as though they were a pushover- ruined (Ai = ruin) city. Israel comes with a strategy to seize Ai… but not a strategy to obey God.

So, the section unfolds with God encouraging Joshua after the discover of sin in the camp; He has Joshua perform the footwork of executing His justice, and in chapter 8, Israel is redeemed and builds a new alter and carries on their mission to take the promised land.

The breakdown of Chapter 7

Israel’s sin is uncovered

Israelites are killed in an attempted attack

Joshua’s made aware of sin

Achan is found out

Joshua executes justice on Achan

Reading of Chapter Joshua 7

Joshua 7 (ESV)

1 But the people of Israel broke faith in regard to the devoted things, for Achan the son of Carmi, son of Zabdi, son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, took some of the devoted things. And the anger of the Lord burned against the people of Israel.

2 Joshua sent men from Jericho to Ai, which is near Beth-aven, east of Bethel, and said to them, “Go up and spy out the land.” And the men went up and spied out Ai. 3 And they returned to Joshua and said to him, “Do not have all the people go up, but let about two or three thousand men go up and attack Ai. Do not make the whole people toil up there, for they are few.”

4 So about three thousand men went up there from the people. And they fled before the men of Ai, 5 and the men of Ai killed about thirty-six of their men and chased them before the gate as far as Shebarim and struck them at the descent. And the hearts of the people melted and became as water.

6 Then Joshua tore his clothes and fell to the earth on his face before the ark of the Lord until the evening, he and the elders of Israel. And they put dust on their heads. 7 And Joshua said, “Alas, O Lord God, why have you brought this people over the Jordan at all, to give us into the hands of the Amorites, to destroy us? Would that we had been content to dwell beyond the Jordan!

8 O Lord, what can I say, when Israel has turned their backs before their enemies! 9 For the Canaanites and all the inhabitants of the land will hear of it and will surround us and cut off our name from the earth. And what will you do for your great name?”

10 The Lord said to Joshua, “Get up! Why have you fallen on your face? 11 Israel has sinned; they have transgressed my covenant that I commanded them; they have taken some of the devoted things; they have stolen and lied and put them among their own belongings. 12 Therefore the people of Israel cannot stand before their enemies. They turn their backs before their enemies, because they have become devoted for destruction. I will be with you no more, unless you destroy the devoted things from among you.

13 Get up! Consecrate the people and say, ‘Consecrate yourselves for tomorrow; for thus says the Lord, God of Israel, “There are devoted things in your midst, O Israel. You cannot stand before your enemies until you take away the devoted things from among you.” 14 In the morning therefore you shall be brought near by your tribes. And the tribe that the Lord takes by lot shall come near by clans. And the clan that the Lord takes shall come near by households. And the household that the Lord takes shall come near man by man. 15 And he who is taken with the devoted things shall be burned with fire, he and all that he has, because he has transgressed the covenant of the Lord, and because he has done an outrageous thing in Israel.’ ”

16 So Joshua rose early in the morning and brought Israel near tribe by tribe, and the tribe of Judah was taken. 17 And he brought near the clans of Judah, and the clan of the Zerahites was taken. And he brought near the clan of the Zerahites man by man, and Zabdi was taken. 18 And he brought near his household man by man, and Achan the son of Carmi, son of Zabdi, son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, was taken. 19 Then Joshua said to Achan, “My son, give glory to the Lord God of Israel and give praise to him. And tell me now what you have done; do not hide it from me.” 20 And Achan answered Joshua, “Truly I have sinned against the Lord God of Israel, and this is what I did: 21 when I saw among the spoil a beautiful cloak from Shinar, and 200 shekels of silver, and a bar of gold weighing 50 shekels, then I coveted them and took them. And see, they are hidden in the earth inside my tent, with the silver underneath.”

22 So Joshua sent messengers, and they ran to the tent; and behold, it was hidden in his tent with the silver underneath. 23 And they took them out of the tent and brought them to Joshua and to all the people of Israel. And they laid them down before the Lord. 24 And Joshua and all Israel with him took Achan the son of Zerah, and the silver and the cloak and the bar of gold, and his sons and daughters and his oxen and donkeys and sheep and his tent and all that he had. And they brought them up to the Valley of Achor. 25 And Joshua said, “Why did you bring trouble on us? The Lord brings trouble on you today.” And all Israel stoned him with stones. They burned them with fire and stoned them with stones. 26 And they raised over him a great heap of stones that remains to this day. Then the Lord turned from his burning anger. Therefore, to this day the name of that place is called the Valley of Achor.

That’s a hefty amount of Scripture… with no small litany of questions that come up. In the amount of time we have, I want to name a few standout points of the account and then go straight into the next chapter of the saga.

Other than fear… what are some clear takeaways we get from this account?

1. Sin has serious and far reaching consequences. No sin ever effects the sinner alone! NONE!

- Notice how Achan’s sin PUNISHED the entire Israelite community. (7:1 ‘anger burned...’; 7:2-5 ‘…hearts of the people melted’; and Israelite soldiers died.)

- Notice how Achan’s sin affected Joshua’s security! (7:6-9)

- Notice how Achan’s sin enhanced our understanding of God’s feelings toward sin… YIKES! (7:22-26)

2. When God gives a command and we commit ourselves to that command… the consequences of rupturing that commitment can be great… Personally, AND Communally.

3. God didn’t punish Israel as a community because He was mean, unjust, and hateful… just “all hot n’ bothered” so He reacted hastily. HE SAID they would exact the punishments as a community if they individually or communally disobeyed Him. His justice, then was not perverted… it was flawless.

Sin is serious… it’s consequences just as much so.

What do we do with the severity of Achan’s Punishment?

Consider “First Times” - Ananias ans Saphira in Acts 5

Chapter 7 revolves around the defeat of the Israelites. In fact, most of our “lessons” come from this section of our study .

However, our life is much like the account of Ai. It sometimes takes staggering defeat… to recognize the power of REDEMPTION! Chapter 8 is ALL ABOUT REDEMPTION! We are going to “parse” several of the passages because of the time we have. But there are a few points I want to derive from the whole of this account.

Redemption is all the sweeter in light of heinous sin and punishment.

Joshua 8 (ESV)

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.”

3 So Joshua and all the fighting men arose to go up to Ai...

Joshua was reminded in 8:1 of the command God initially gave him in 1:8-9! Not only that, notice how God re calibrated Joshua and restored his confidence. It was through a conversation!

What was Joshua’s next move? ANOTHER ACT OF OBEDIENCE!

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. 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. 22 And the others came out from the city against them, so they were in the midst of Israel, some on this side, and some on that side. And Israel struck them down, until there was left none that survived or escaped. 23 But the king of Ai they took alive, and brought him near to Joshua.

24 When Israel had finished killing all the inhabitants of Ai in the open wilderness where they pursued them, and all of them to the very last had fallen by the edge of the sword, all Israel returned to Ai and struck it down with the edge of the sword. 25 And all who fell that day, both men and women, were 12,000, all the people of Ai. 26 But Joshua did not draw back his hand with which he stretched out the javelin until he had devoted all the inhabitants of Ai to destruction. 27 Only the livestock and the spoil of that city Israel took as their plunder, according to the word of the Lord that he commanded Joshua. 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.

Israel repents… and Joshua walks in OBEDIENCE

30 At that time Joshua built an altar to the Lord, the God of Israel, on Mount Ebal, 31 just as Moses the servant of the Lord had commanded the people of Israel, as it is written in the Book of the Law of Moses, “an altar of uncut stones, upon which no man has wielded an iron tool.” And they offered on it burnt offerings to the Lord and sacrificed peace offerings. 32 And there, in the presence of the people of Israel, he wrote on the stones a copy of the law of Moses, which he had written. 33 And all Israel, sojourner as well as native born, with their elders and officers and their judges, stood on opposite sides of the ark before the Levitical priests who carried the ark of the covenant of the Lord, half of them in front of Mount Gerizim and half of them in front of Mount Ebal, just as Moses the servant of the Lord had commanded at the first, to bless the people of Israel. 34 And afterward he read all the words of the law, the blessing and the curse, according to all that is written in the Book of the Law. 35 There was not a word of all that Moses commanded that Joshua did not read before all the assembly of Israel, and the women, and the little ones, and the sojourners who lived among them.

In the final segment of this account, we see Joshua confidently, reassuring the entire nation and all the foreigners and alien travelers with the entire Word of the Lord.

You see, this is an account about redemption! In the midst of a heinous crime… a powerful and painful punishment… one that impacted a person, his family, and the entire nation… God had made a way to “get back on track”.

We are blessed today as the church, we are looking back on the most stiff accounts depicting God’s heart toward sin. Yet, we lean heavily on the promise given by Paul in Romans 8:1-2

Romans 8:1–2 ESV

1 There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. 2 For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death.

Our sins are no less requiring of God’s judgement than Achan’s or Ananias and Saphira...

But, Christ has stayed His judgement in the life of believers - even when we falter. As He said, in Matthew 4:4 “4 But he answered, “It is written, “ ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’ ” His Word says in Hebrews 4:15-16 “15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. 16 Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”

Today, is there sin that you need to confess? Do you need to lay that before the LORD and experience the restoration that He is offering you? Our God is a God who restores and REDEEMS His people. And He does so in our moments of greatest failure.

Are you Redeemed? Do you know your Redeemer? Do you need the redemption that our God, in Christ alone, offers?

Come.

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There is a parallel in the book of James, Chapter 5:16

Confession is not ONLY a singular act… it’s more than just ONE person’s penitent heart asking for forgiveness and seeking affirmation. IT’S THE OTHER PERSON… OR GOD… who, SPEAKS CONFIRMATION, FORGIVENESS, AND REDEMPTION to the perpetrator.