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 Then Joshua built on Mount Ebal an altar to the Lord, the God of Israel, ³¹ as Moses the servant of the Lord had commanded the Israelites. He built it according to what is written in the Book of the Law of Moses—an altar of uncut stones, on which no iron tool had been used. On it they offered to the Lord burnt offerings and sacrificed fellowship offerings. ³² There, in the presence of the Israelites, Joshua wrote on stones a copy of the law of Moses. ³³ All the Israelites, with their elders, officials and judges, were standing on both sides of the ark of the covenant of the Lord, facing the Levitical priests who carried it. Both the foreigners living among them and the native-born were there. Half of the people stood in front of Mount Gerizim and half of them in front of Mount Ebal, as Moses the servant of the Lord had formerly commanded when he gave instructions to bless the people of Israel.

³⁴ Afterward, Joshua read all the words of the law—the blessings and the curses—just as it is written in the Book of the Law. ³⁵ There was not a word of all that Moses had commanded that Joshua did not read to the whole assembly of Israel, including the women and children, and the foreigners who lived among them. (NIV)

Years ago a friend told me about a successful minister who described himself as a ‘serious reader of the Bible.’ Where God’s Book is concerned, is there any other way to be, I ask myself? In order to take God’s Word seriously, we must be serious students of ”all” of it, and not just the parts we especially like, or prefer.

In this act of re-dedication – renewal of the covenant – ”all’ the Word of God was central. For Joshua and the Israelites this was the ‘Torah’: the first five books of Moses. But Joshua knew that all of it mattered. In his commissioning to leadership he had been told:

”“Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go. ⁸ Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful. ⁹ Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.” (Joshua 1:7-9)

If they took the Bible they had so seriously, how can we who have the full revelation of Scripture do less? Taking it seriously means seeking to live it (obey it), not just amass knowledge about it.

Warren Wiersbe points out that the ceremony described in Deut.27 ‘…was observed only once, after Israel entered the land and began to conquer it (Josh.8:30-35). It was a solemn reminder to them that obedience to God was the secret of success (Josh.!:8)…The ceremony was a renewal of the nation’s covenant with God, for new beginnings deserve new acts of dedication. The burnt offering spoke of total dedication to God. The peace offerings, and the meal that followed, spoke of joyful fellowship with God…Israel’s obeying the Law did not deliver them from Egypt or take them into Canaan, but it did enable them to live together and enjoy the blessings of God.’

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. ² 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.”

³ 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 ⁴ 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. ⁵ 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. ⁶ 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, ⁷ you are to rise up from ambush and take the city. The Lord your God will give it into your hand. ⁸ When you have taken the city, set it on fire. Do what the Lord has commanded. See to it; you have my orders.” (NIV)

‘Never permit one failure to rob you of future victory. When God sees that we have obeyed His Word and sincerely dealt with sin, He comes with encouragement and guidance for the next step. It has been well said that the victorious Christian life is a series of new beginnings. (See Ps.37:23-24.)

Had Achan waited, he could have taken all the spoils he desired, but he ran ahead of God and lost everything. (See Mt.6:33).’ Warren W. Wiersbe

As you will see, today’s reading takes in the first 29 verses, but I have printed only the first eight. But these give us the outline which will be ‘coloured in’ later in the chapter.

We see the mercy and goodness of God in that, once the people have truly repented, and put away the sin from the camp, they experience again the abundant blessing of God. Freshly chastened, they are spiritually sensitive to the Lord’s instructions, and as they obey Him they are again ‘winners’. Wiersbe points out that in this case it is the people of Ai who are presumptuous, to their own cost.

God’s strategy is not always identical. We need to hear His voice in each ‘fight’ we come to. But may we again recognise the futility of thinking we know best and of pursuing our own course.

‘The restrictions as to the spoil which had been in force and which had led to Achan’s undoing were now removed. God often tests us before allowing us to enjoy. Certain injunctions or prohibitions may be given to prove us; but are removed when our lesson is learned, Deuteronomy 8:2.’ F.B. Meyer

 But to the wicked person, God says:

“What right have you to recite my laws
    or take my covenant on your lips?
¹⁷ You hate my instruction
    and cast my words behind you.
¹⁸ When you see a thief, you join with him;
    you throw in your lot with adulterers.
¹⁹ You use your mouth for evil
    and harness your tongue to deceit.
²⁰ You sit and testify against your brother
    and slander your own mother’s son.
²¹ When you did these things and I kept silent,
    you thought I was exactly like you.
But I now arraign you
    and set my accusations before you.

²² “Consider this, you who forget God,
    or I will tear you to pieces, with no one to rescue you:
²³ Those who sacrifice thank offerings honour me,
    and to the blameless I will show my salvation.” (NIV)

If you remember, when we last looked at Psalm 50, I made the observation that it splits straight down the middle (as does the whole world). We either belong to the people of God or we don’t. However, I need to correct that. It is true that the world divides in this way, but further study has caused me to see that the whole of Psalm 50 is addressed to God’s people, but the second half speaks in particular to those who believe all the correct stuff, but who don’t live it. It is possible to have ‘profession without possession.’

To my mind, verse 17 depicts many people in our society (and even in the professing church). But we must all, ultimately, appear before the Lord our Judge. ‘God’s silence must not be taken as indifference, for he is carefully watching each word and act…’ F.B. Meyer.

There will only be ”salvation” (23) for those who seek to come to God through His appointed sacrifices (23, see also 16) which, of course, find their fulfilment in the final sacrifice of Christ.

Jesus is the only way to the only God there is. Salvation is to be found in Him alone.

‘Nothing in my hand I bring, simply to thy Cross I cling.’ Augustus Toplady.

 Then seizing him, they led him away and took him into the house of the high priest. Peter followed at a distance. ⁵⁵ And when some there had kindled a fire in the middle of the courtyard and had sat down together, Peter sat down with them. ⁵⁶ A servant girl saw him seated there in the firelight. She looked closely at him and said, “This man was with him.”

⁵⁷ But he denied it. “Woman, I don’t know him,” he said.

⁵⁸ A little later someone else saw him and said, “You also are one of them.”

“Man, I am not!” Peter replied.

⁵⁹ About an hour later another asserted, “Certainly this fellow was with him, for he is a Galilean.”

⁶⁰ Peter replied, “Man, I don’t know what you’re talking about!” Just as he was speaking, the rooster crowed. ⁶¹ The Lord turned and looked straight at Peter. Then Peter remembered the word the Lord had spoken to him: “Before the rooster crows today, you will disown me three times.” ⁶² And he went outside and wept bitterly. (NIV)

Oh that look! What a look it must have been. But to some extent we know it. Our souls have blushed crimson in the presence of Jesus, at the recognition of some sin that stains us. We feel its shame. But may it always be a godly sorrow we feel – one that leads to repentance. Then, wonderfully, we can know that the stain is cleansed, and the blushes can be gone.

Jesus loves us constantly. It is hard for us to accept it, but He loves us no less when we are sinning than He does when we are not. Jesus had lovingly prepared Peter for this moment (see 31-34), and probably this was the beginning of this disciple’s ‘turning back.’

‘Peter loved Christ truly, but miscalculated his strength. Be very careful not to venture into the midst of temptation. If God leads you thither, that is another matter. We do well to remember Ps.1:1-3. Let us beware of warming ourselves at the world’s fires.’ F.B.Meyer

 While he was still speaking a crowd came up, and the man who was called Judas, one of the Twelve, was leading them. He approached Jesus to kiss him, ⁴⁸ but Jesus asked him, “Judas, are you betraying the Son of Man with a kiss?”

⁴⁹ When Jesus’ followers saw what was going to happen, they said, “Lord, should we strike with our swords?” ⁵⁰ And one of them struck the servant of the high priest, cutting off his right ear.

⁵¹ But Jesus answered, “No more of this!” And he touched the man’s ear and healed him.

⁵² Then Jesus said to the chief priests, the officers of the temple guard, and the elders, who had come for him, “Am I leading a rebellion, that you have come with swords and clubs? ⁵³ Every day I was with you in the temple courts, and you did not lay a hand on me. But this is your hour—when darkness reigns.” (NIV)

I have long thought that we also, even as we are ‘kissing’ Jesus with the ‘lips‘ of praise and worship, may be Judas-like in betraying Him with our lives. May God help us. If Judas was trying to hide his treachery from his fellow disciples, He could not pull the wool over the eyes of His Lord. Yet it has been argued that even in that sad moment Jesus sought to touch Judas’ heart (48).

This paragraph shows Jesus’ power, even in a situation (humanly-speaking) of weakness. It gives us a glimpse of the Lord’s capability had He chosen to resist. But, of course, He didn’t. We see in Him ‘Meekness and Majesty’.

The last sentence underlines the truth that Jesus could not die before His appointed time. Not for one millisecond did God surrender His control of all things.

Jesus went out as usual to the Mount of Olives, and his disciples followed him. ⁴⁰ On reaching the place, he said to them, “Pray that you will not fall into temptation.” ⁴¹ He withdrew about a stone’s throw beyond them, knelt down and prayed, ⁴² “Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done.” ⁴³ An angel from heaven appeared to him and strengthened him. ⁴⁴ And being in anguish, he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground.

⁴⁵ When he rose from prayer and went back to the disciples, he found them asleep, exhausted from sorrow. ⁴⁶ “Why are you sleeping?” he asked them. “Get up and pray so that you will not fall into temptation.” (NIV)

You may have come across the saying, ‘Seven prayerless days make one weak!’

We find ourselves locked in a very real spiritual battle, but there is no doubt that prayer is important for spiritual strengthening. We can see this in the example and experience of Jesus Himself (43). Our Lord did not simply ‘preach’ about prayer (exhorting others to do it); He prayed (did it Himself). In verse 37 He had said, ”… what is written about me is reaching its fulfilment.” He knew what time it was on God’s calendar, and He was feeling the heat. But He also knew what He needed to do about it (and what His followers needed to do).

In verse 44 I find that the simple words ”he prayed” demand my attention, and warm my heart. Jesus prayed, but it seems the disciples did not. Look what happened to them in the short term.

The fact that these men were ”exhausted from sorrow” rings true. It resonates. Feelings of grief and sadness can make you want to pull the duvet over your head and seek relief in the oblivion of sleep. But there is a challenge here for sleepy saints. May we shake off every temptation to sloth and pray while we can. There we will find very real strength for this very real battle.

”And do this, understanding the present time: The hour has already come for you to wake up from your slumber, because our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed. ¹² The night is nearly over; the day is almost here. So let us put aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armour of light.” (Romans 13:11,12)

PRAYER: ”Oh, my Lord, thy chosen disciples failed thee in that hour; but so have we! What can we say! Help us to share thy vigil and thy prayer!” F.B.Meyer

But the Israelites were unfaithful in regard to the devoted things; Achan son of Karmi, the son of Zimri,the son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, took some of them. So the Lord’s anger burned against Israel.

² Now Joshua sent men from Jericho to Ai, which is near Beth Aven to the east of Bethel, and told them, “Go up and spy out the region.” So the men went up and spied out Ai.

³ When they returned to Joshua, they said, “Not all the army will have to go up against Ai. Send two or three thousand men to take it and do not weary the whole army, for only a few people live there.” ⁴ So about three thousand went up; but they were routed by the men of Ai, ⁵ who killed about thirty-six of them. They chased the Israelites from the city gate as far as the stone quarries and struck them down on the slopes. At this the hearts of the people melted in fear and became like water.

⁶ Then Joshua tore his clothes and fell facedown to the ground before the ark of the Lord, remaining there till evening. The elders of Israel did the same, and sprinkled dust on their heads. ⁷ And Joshua said, “Alas, Sovereign Lord, why did you ever bring this people across the Jordan to deliver us into the hands of the Amorites to destroy us? If only we had been content to stay on the other side of the Jordan! ⁸ Pardon your servant, Lord. What can I say, now that Israel has been routed by its enemies? ⁹ The Canaanites and the other people of the country will hear about this and they will surround us and wipe out our name from the earth. What then will you do for your own great name?”

¹⁰ The Lord said to Joshua, “Stand up! What are you doing down on your face? ¹¹ Israel has sinned; they have violated my covenant, which I commanded them to keep. They have taken some of the devoted things; they have stolen, they have lied, they have put them with their own possessions. ¹² That is why the Israelites cannot stand against their enemies; they turn their backs and run because they have been made liable to destruction. I will not be with you anymore unless you destroy whatever among you is devoted to destruction. (NIV)

‘There are hours in our life when we are called from the exercises of devotion, good and God-honouring though they may be, to deal with the sin of our people, or to cut out some source of failure and defeat.’ F.B.Meyer

As we read today’s passage we do well to keep in view Joshua 6:18/19. The instructions given through Joshua had been crystal clear.

A number of lessons stand out when you read the whole of Joshua 7. (I have printed just the first thirteen verses above). These include:

• The danger of spiritual complacency and presumption; of resting on our laurels: assuming that because we were ‘successful’ previously we always will be. In our hubris thinking we’ll just ‘walk it’;
• The need to know God’s strategy, and obey Him;
• The collective impact of sin. A person may sin privately, but we do not sin alone. Achan sinned. Nevertheless God declared, ”Israel has sinned” (11, see also 1 Corinthians 5, which is in some ways this chapter’s New Testament ‘twin’);
• No-one can hide from God. Truth will out, sooner or later.

Yes, this chapter is a goldmine of shining nuggets of spiritual truth. But here is the one I most want to underline today: There is a time to be on our faces in prayer; but there is also a time to be on our feet taking decisive action. When God shows you that you need to do something urgently, go and do it. You can still be prayerful as you go, but don’t drag your feet.

Nowhere do we see the destructive power of sin more graphically than in the Cross. May we hear afresh today the Holy Spirit’s urgent call to ”Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature:..” (Col.3:5). Declare war on sin. Destroy that which will destroy you. Pray about it by all means. But also, remove your sword and slay it! If we take the Sermon on the Mount seriously, we will be committed to living in radical repentance (Mt.5:29,30)

‘Ai (see Genesis 12:8 ; Genesis 13:3 ) lay two miles north of Jericho, and was a comparatively small place; but without God the smallest opposition is too great for us. Joshua seemed more concerned for the disgrace brought on the divine name than for the disaster to his men. Let us always look at our failures from God’s side! We must not lie too long in the dust of despair, but arise to detect and put away the hidden cause of our defeat, Hosea 5:15 ; Hosea 6:1-2.’ F.B.Meyer

²² Joshua said to the two men who had spied out the land, “Go into the prostitute’s house and bring her out and all who belong to her, in accordance with your oath to her.” ²³ So the young men who had done the spying went in and brought out Rahab, her father and mother, her brothers and sisters and all who belonged to her. They brought out her entire family and put them in a place outside the camp of Israel.

²⁴ Then they burned the whole city and everything in it, but they put the silver and gold and the articles of bronze and iron into the treasury of the Lord’s house. ²⁵ But Joshua spared Rahab the prostitute,with her family and all who belonged to her, because she hid the men Joshua had sent as spies to Jericho—and she lives among the Israelites to this day.

²⁶ At that time Joshua pronounced this solemn oath: “Cursed before the Lord is the one who undertakes to rebuild this city, Jericho:

“At the cost of his firstborn son
    he will lay its foundations;
at the cost of his youngest
    he will set up its gates.”

²⁷ So the Lord was with Joshua, and his fame spread throughout the land. (NIV)

What an example Rahab is of saving faith. She certainly did not ‘have it all together.’ She wasn’t even a good person. But she had a faith that worked. She believed God’s Word, and expressed her faith in what she did. Furthermore, what she did showed great courage. She believed in the God of Israel, and feared Him more than men.

‘’ By faith the prostitute Rahab, because she welcomed the spies, was not killed with those who were disobedient.^{’’ (Hebrews 11:31)}

‘’ In the same way, was not even Rahab the prostitute considered righteous for what she did when she gave lodging to the spies and sent them off in a different direction? ²⁶ As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead.’’ (James 2:25,26)

It is hard to disagree with F.B.Meyer:

‘It is not the amount of truth that we know which saves us, but the grasp with which we hold it. All that Rahab knew was very slight and partial, but she held to it with all the tenacity of her soul, and it was accounted to her for righteousness, Romans 4:15 . Also her works approved her faith. She identified herself with Israel by the scarlet thread, gathered her kinsfolk under her roof, and waited in anticipation of deliverance, James 2:25.

She had yet to be delivered from falsehood and lying, but that God-consciousness which is the first ray of dawn had broken upon her, and would necessarily result in perfect day. Poor outcast though she was, she became incorporated with Israel and the type of Gentile sinners who are permitted to sit with Christ in heavenly places. See Ephesians 2:17-18.’

⁶ So Joshua son of Nun called the priests and said to them, “Take up the ark of the covenant of the Lord and have seven priests carry trumpets in front of it.” ⁷ And he ordered the army, “Advance! March around the city, with an armed guard going ahead of the ark of the Lord.”

⁸ When Joshua had spoken to the people, the seven priests carrying the seven trumpets before the Lord went forward, blowing their trumpets, and the ark of the Lord’s covenant followed them. ⁹ The armed guard marched ahead of the priests who blew the trumpets, and the rear guard followed the ark. All this time the trumpets were sounding. ¹⁰ But Joshua had commanded the army, “Do not give a war cry, do not raise your voices, do not say a word until the day I tell you to shout. Then shout!” ¹¹ So he had the ark of the Lord carried around the city, circling it once. Then the army returned to camp and spent the night there.

¹² Joshua got up early the next morning and the priests took up the ark of the Lord. ¹³ The seven priests carrying the seven trumpets went forward, marching before the ark of the Lord and blowing the trumpets. The armed men went ahead of them and the rear guard followed the ark of the Lord, while the trumpets kept sounding. ¹⁴ So on the second day they marched around the city once and returned to the camp. They did this for six days.

¹⁵ On the seventh day, they got up at daybreak and marched around the city seven times in the same manner, except that on that day they circled the city seven times. ¹⁶ The seventh time around, when the priests sounded the trumpet blast, Joshua commanded the army, “Shout! For the Lord has given you the city! ¹⁷ The city and all that is in it are to be devoted to the Lord. Only Rahab the prostitute and all who are with her in her house shall be spared, because she hid the spies we sent. ¹⁸ But keep away from the devoted things, so that you will not bring about your own destruction by taking any of them. Otherwise you will make the camp of Israel liable to destruction and bring trouble on it. ¹⁹ All the silver and gold and the articles of bronze and iron are sacred to the Lord and must go into his treasury.”

²⁰ When the trumpets sounded, the army shouted, and at the sound of the trumpet, when the men gave a loud shout, the wall collapsed; so everyone charged straight in, and they took the city. ²¹ They devoted the city to the Lord and destroyed with the sword every living thing in it—men and women, young and old, cattle, sheep and donkeys. (NIV)

See what they did. They were simply obedient. They followed God’s strategy to the letter.

See what HE did. He caused the walls to collapse.

When we step out in faith at God’s Word, He will do what only He can do. The ”ark of the covenant” symbolised God’s presence. Apart from the Lord we can do nothing. How absolutely we must believe this. ” ‘Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,’ says the LORD Almighty” (Zech.4:6)

‘By faith the walls of Jericho fell down,” Hebrews 11:30 …To the citizens the action of the Israelite invaders must have appeared incomprehensible and even ludicrous. What do these feeble folk ? But God’s people were being daily trained in patience, obedience and humility. Let God perform all things for you! Many strongholds of the enemy which now remain obstinate would fall if only all the Church would encompass them in faith, 2 Corinthians 10:4 . F.B.Meyer