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INTRODUCTION
If you have ever tried to master an athletic skill, you know that follow-through is crucial. Follow-through is extremely important in basketball, baseball, football, tennis, racquetball, golf, bowling, and many other sports. Not only is follow-through important in sports, but it is also imperative in a person’s spiritual life. It is one thing to begin to apply the principles for victory in the Christian life and another to follow through to complete victory.
Centuries ago, the principle of follow-through became critically important to the whole nation of Israel. Joshua failed to follow through and bring Israel into full victory. As a result, disastrous things happened. The same lesson is true for us today. If we do not learn to follow through in correcting certain areas of our lives, we will experience defeat in the future as well.
Joshua succeeded Moses as the leader of Israel. Moses had led the people from Egyptian bondage, through the wilderness, and up to the brink of the Jordan River. However, God did not permit Moses to enter the Promised Land because of his disobedience. God did allow him to stand on Mount Nebo and look across the Jordan and into the Promised Land, but Joshua took on the responsibility to take Israel over the Jordan River and into Canaan. When commissioned by God, Joshua was given a twofold plan for the possession of the land (Joshua 1).
1. God gave him a promise.
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2 “Moses My servant is dead; now therefore arise, cross this Jordan, you and all this people, to the land which I am giving to them, to the sons of Israel. 3Every place on which the sole of your foot treads, I have given it to you, just as I spoke to Moses. 4From the wilderness and this Lebanon, even as far as the great river, the river Euphrates, all the land of the Hittites, and as far as the Great Sea toward the setting of the sun will be your territory.”
God emphasized that Joshua should take every inch of the land because he was given the power to do so. Because of this, Joshua went from battle to battle defeating his enemies. He nearly defeated all of his enemies.
3. God gave him the power to prevail.
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5 “No man will be able to stand before you all the days of your life. Just as I have been with Moses, I will be with you; I will not fail you or forsake you.”
God gave Joshua a promise and the power to fulfill that promise. We need to learn that where there is vision, there is provision. In other words, God said, “Everywhere you go, I have already given you victory.” What a promise! The same promises He gave to His children then can be realized and actualized in our personal lives today. The same power at their disposal is available for our battles as well.
Joshua 11:16-23 at first appears to be a glowing account of full victory. It seems the Israelites would live happily ever after, but that is not the end of the story. Joshua failed to follow through for total victory. Do you remember who the Anakims were? When the twelve spies first went into the Promised Land (Numbers 13), they reported to Moses: 33“We became like grasshoppers in our own sight, and so we were in their sight.” They were referring to the Anakims.
The problem for many Christians today is we achieve victory in all but a few areas of our lives, and we are content with that. In this chapter, we will look at Gaza, Ashdod, and Gath. Some terrible events happened in each city because Joshua did not follow through. There are three battles we cannot afford to lose. These battles become illustrations of God’s plans and purposes for our lives about following through. Christians can follow through on commitments by learning from the events that took place later in Gaza, Ashdod, and Gath.
GAZA, THE PLACE OF DEFEAT
In Judges 14-16, we see Samson who was undoubtedly the strongest man ever to have lived. Entire armies trembled at his sight. One time he picked up a bleached jawbone and slew one thousand Philistines. Another time he defeated an attacking lion with his bare hands and on another occasion caught 300 foxes, tied their tails together, and set the enemy fields aflame. In Gaza, Samson ripped the gates from the walled city and then carried the gates more than 20 miles away—up a mountain. However, Gaza is where Samson went from being a victor to being a victim, from being an overcomer to being overcome, from being a hero to being a zero. Samson failed to master himself while he endeavored to master others.
If Joshua had followed through and completely conquered Gaza, the demise of Samson most likely would never have happened. Samson met his match in the person of Delilah. Several warnings preceded his defeat. We must always remember the damage that sin will do.
1. Sin will blind. Every day Delilah pressed Samson for the secret of his strength and success. Not realizing the consequences of flirting with temptation, Samson teasingly suggested several ways of bringing about his demise: “Bind me with seven fresh cords… bind me tightly with new ropes…weave the seven locks of my hair with the web and fasten it with a pin…A razor has never come on my head, for I have been a Nazarite to God from my mother’s womb. If I am shaved, then my strength will leave me and I will become weak and be like any other man.” (Judges 16:7,11,13,17).
The secret of victory is being freshly anointed with the power of God’s Spirit every day. Samson lived victoriously as long as he was anointed with the power of God’s Spirit. Because he was already blinded, Samson could not see what the Philistines were trying to do to him. They blinded him so they could make sport of him and mock his God for the rest of their lives.
This world’s system will push and press and try every way for us to give in to the ways of the world. The world says, “If you really love me, if you really want that pay raise, if you really want wealth or popularity—just give in.”
2. Sin will bind. Judges 16:21 says that they brought him down to Gaza and bound him with bronze chains. Not only is sin blinding, but sin is also binding. It will take such a hold on a person’s heart and life that it will snuff out the spiritual life. This happened because Joshua did not take care of the Anakims in Gaza.
3. Sin will bury. The world promises success, life, and happiness but never talks about the wreck and ruin of life after sin. Judges 16 says some 3,000 people filled the arena to make sport of Samson and to mock his God. 21“He was a grinder in the prison.” Sin was now grinding him and taking him all the way to the bottom. He allowed sin to take him farther than he wanted to go, cost him more than he wanted to pay, and keep him longer than he wanted to stay. Sin will always take us to the bottom. If we do not get victory over Gaza, Gaza will get victory over us.
Samson prayed, asking God to forgive and anoint him one more time. Samson could have gone down as the greatest judge of the nation of Israel; he went down in disgrace instead. He went down in death. It all happened in Gaza because Joshua failed to follow through.
ASHDOD, THE PLACE OF DEFILMENT
There is one place where God will not work. He will not work in “second place.” At this time Israel wanted what God could do for them, not what they could do for Him. The Philistines had the armies of Israel surrounded (1 Samuel 4-5:2) and would soon defeat them and capture the Ark of the Covenant.
1. The false assumption. The people of Israel made a false assumption when they thought they could live however they chose as long as the Ark was in their possession and that God would always deliver them. If we want God to give us victory in every area of our lives, we must have a heart after God. Israel lost their most sacred object, the Ark of the Covenant. False assumptions will rob us of the victory that God has intended for our Christian walk (1 Samuel 4:3-9).
2. The fatal affliction. Their false assumption led to a fatal affliction (1 Samuel 4:10-18).
a. They lost Israel’s people. Their false assumption led to the loss of 30,000 men at the hand of the enemy (1 Samuel 4:10).
b. They lost Israel’s provision. They lost the battle and the Ark of the Covenant, the symbol of God’s presence in their midst (1 Samuel 4:11). If we do not live a life pleasing to God, we will never live a life that is powerful for God. If we do not live a life that is consecrated to God, we will not live a life that brings glory and praise to God. If we are not careful, we will lose the most sacred thing to our lives—our relationship with God Almighty.
c. They lost Israel’s priests. The sons of Eli lost their lives in battle (1 Samuel 4:12-18). One escapee from the battle ran to Eli with the news of the lost battle, the death of his two sons, and the loss of the Ark of the Covenant. Upon hearing this shocking news, Eli’s chair fell backwards, he broke his neck, and he died. We, too, are in serious warfare. There will always be attacks upon the church, its ministers, and its people. We need to make sure that the priests and the people are consecrated and that we will never fall prey to the Anakims of our spiritual life.
3. The fierce abomination. On the heels of fatal affliction came fierce abomination (1 Samuel 4:19-5:2). God’s anointing departed, and the Ark was defamed. That is the account of the lowest time in Israel’s history. God had called them to change their world, and the Israelites allowed their world to change them instead. When Eli’s daughter-in-law learned of her husband’s death on the battlefield and of the loss of the Ark of the Covenant, she named her newborn son Ichabod which means “the glory has departed.”
Can you imagine what history would have recorded if Joshua had defeated Ashdod? Would Israel have ever lost the Ark of the Covenant? What would the world be like today? Joshua never imagined the outcome of his failure to follow-through on his commitment to God. We must always remember that our successes and failures impact others around us for good or evil. Every kick has a kickback.
Joshua did not rid Gaza of the Anakims. He did not rid Ashdod of the Anakims. And he did not rid Gath of the Anakims.
GATH, THE PLACE OF DEFIANCE
The city of Gath is associated with David and Goliath (1 Samuel 17). Goliath was raised in Gath, one of the cities Joshua failed to conquer completely during his lifetime. During Joshua’s day, a small militia could have defeated the people of Gath; however, since Joshua and succeeding generations were content to allow the enemy to live within their borders, there came a time when the entire army of Israel cowered before one man, Goliath. Yet for many years, God had been preparing David to do battle with Goliath.
David’s appearance on the battlefield was the beginning of the nation’s progress toward victory. Even though many did not believe David would lead them to victory, God had greater plans.
1. The men engaged in the battle. David was just a young man and Goliath a seasoned man of war. David was short and Goliath over nine feet tall. In the natural, David would not have been the choice to win a battle between these two men. David had never fought a battle like this, nor had he been involved in serious warfare while Goliath had fought in battles since his youth. He was an expert and knew how to overcome all opposition. He certainly knew how to intimidate the people of God. If we do not rid ourselves of the Anakims of Gath, we are sure to face a Goliath in our spiritual life some day. He will threaten and test and try to destroy everything we have and stand for. David and Goliath engaged in this battle, but notice also the methods employed in the battle.
2. The methods employed in the battle. Goliath came out with man’s weapons: a sword, a spear, and a shield. They are the weapons of man’s skill and wisdom. David came out with a total dependence upon God.
a. David’s total dependence. Saul tried to fit David with his weapons, but David remembered how God gave him the victory in battles with a bear and a lion. His total dependence was in Jehovah God. David went out not only with total dependence but also with total determination.
b. David’s total determination. David’s brothers told him to go back home to the sheep for he had no knowledge or experience on the battlefield, but David knew he was fighting with the help and power of God Almighty.
He picked up five smooth stones as his weapon, one each for Goliath and his four brothers, if necessary. David had total dependence, total determination, and total dedication.
c. David’s total dedication. Goliath mocked and made fun of little David, but David hurled a stone with his sling and brought down the giant in the name of the Lord God Jehovah. Then he followed through by cutting off the head of Goliath with Goliath’s own sword.
It is not enough to knock down the opponent. It is not enough to knock down sinful habits and desires. Victory is ours as we follow through on our commitment to serve God with all of our hearts. Victory happens when we follow through.
3. The meaning explained for the battle. On one side, Goliath fought with man’s weapons, words, and wisdom. On the other, David fought with dependence, determination, and deliverance from God.
CONCLUSION
The law of sowing and reaping applies to all areas of life. We are the composite of all the decisions, experiences, and thoughts of our lives. We reap what we sow. This is called the law of the land.
Centuries ago, God told Israel to sow and reap for six years, but on the seventh year they were to leave the land alone. However, the nation of Israel sowed and reaped the land for 490 years in a row. On each seventh year, Israel disobeyed God’s command to leave the land alone. If we divide 490 by 7, we see that Israel disobeyed God’s command 70 different times.
We may ask, “What is the big deal or the meaning of 70 times?” When Israel was taken into captivity, they had to spend exactly 70 years outside of their homeland. God kept them out of the land the same number of years they had disobeyed Him. God’s wheels may move slowly, but they move exceedingly well.
Are there any areas where you have failed to follow though? Have you made some commitments but since failed to keep them? Do you not think it is time to follow through on all of them now? May we use the failures of Gaza, Ashdod, and Gath to motivate us to follow through on our commitments to God.
