We begin in the Book of Joshua chapter 5:1
Joshua’s Hebrew name means “God is our Salvation” The Hebrew name Joshua is rendered in the Greek as Iesous which we pronounce in English as “Jesus”. So the names Joshua and Jesus are the same and have the meaning “God is our Salvation.”
The Children of Israel crossed over the Jordan River during flood season. The river was at it’s highest level and the pagan kings who occupied the promised land were probably counting on this natural boundary to keep the Israeli army at bay. Not so, for the Lord God caused the river to stop and be supernaturally dammed up when the priests carried the ark of the covenant into the water.
The Israeli army crossed the Jordan River without getting wet.
They were now “in” the promised land, but something was wrong. These Israeli soldiers had not been circumcised because their sinful parents did not observe God’s laws. So, in obedience to the Lord, Joshua had them all circumcised before they went into battle.
Understand that there is nothing magic about the ritual of circumcision. It was done as an act of obedience to the Lord. It was an act of purification and preparation for a life of service to the Lord.
After they were healed from their circumcision, Joshua 5:10 tells us that they observed the Passover meal – which we will do this coming Wednesday night.
Now they were prepared for battle.
Listen, it is vitally important that you be prepared for spiritual battle at all times.
Some of you have gone into battle unprepared and have been devastated by the enemy.
So, learn a lesson here – get prepared and stay prepared for spiritual battle.
Today is Palm Sunday, we remember that Jesus entered Jerusalem on a donkey and the people shouted “Hosanna” and “Bless the King who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven and glory in the highest heaven!”
Jesus knew that he was facing death on the cross, The biggest spiritual battle ever fought in history. What did he do to prepare for this battle?
Jesus “set his face” toward Jerusalem and then began his journey. I find it interesting that he first went to Jerico on his way to Jerusalem. It was a reminder of a spiritual battle fought long before by another warrior named “Joshua.”
After Jesus entered Jerusalem on Palm Sunday he threw out the crooks who had set up a lucrative business of selling animal sacrifices inside the temple. He taught daily in the temple and prayed in the garden at night. Now what was the last thing Jesus did before he went to the cross? He celebrated the Passover with his disciples.
Like Joshua and the Israeli Army prepared themselves for battle through obedience and observing the Passover Supper, so Jesus was now fully prepared for the spiritual battle that lay before him.
In Joshua 6 we have the account of the capture of Jerico.
- Joshua meets the commander of the Lord’s army.
- God gives him specific instructions on how to take the city.
- 7 priests with rams horns
- followed by the ark
- followed by the army
- 6 days march around once
- 7th day march around 7 times – long trumpet blast – shout
- Wall collapse – charge in and kill the enemy.
- Josh 6:15-21
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 people, "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 people shouted, and at the sound of the trumpet, when the people gave a loud shout, the wall collapsed; so every man charged straight in, and they took the city.
What did the ark of the covenant represent? (The presence of God)
Listen Christian, when you are spiritually prepared, you carry the presence of God with you. When you walk around your city, your neighborhood, your place of work and pray and sing praise to the Lord – the walls of demonic oppression begin to weaken, it’s all over but the shouting! When the Lord tells you to shout! Shout! Shout out the war cry and watch the walls fall down!
The fall of Jericho is the symbol of the overthrow of every worldly power that stands in opposition before the Lord, when He should come to lead His people into Canaan and establish His kingdom upon the earth. O the ground of this event, the blowing of trumpets is frequently introduced in the writings of the prophets, as the signal and symbol of the manifestations of the Lord in great judgments, through which He destroys one worldly power after another, and thus maintains and extends His kingdom upon earth, and leads it on towards that completion to which it will eventually attain.
For one day Jesus will descend from heaven in His glory at the time of the last trumpet, with a great shout, with the voice of the archangel and the trumpet blast of God, He will raise the dead and change the living in the twinkling of an eye.
He will judge the world, cast the devil, death and hell into the lake of fire, create a new heaven and new earth, and in the new Jerusalem erect the tabernacle of God among men for all eternity. Can you say Aman?
Jerico was a great victory for Israel, and then we come to chapter 7. Where we read: “But the Israelites acted unfaithfully in regard to the devoted things; Achan son of Carmi, 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.”
There was a problem – but Joshua didn’t know about it yet.
The next military target was the town of Ai. Joshua sent out some spies to check it out and they reported, “It’s a small town and it won’t take more than 2 or 3,000 of us to destroy it. There’s no need for all of us to go there.”
This wasn’t bravado.
This wasn’t overconfidence.
This was a realistic battlefield assessment.
Josh 7:4-5
4 So about three thousand men went up; but they were routed by the men of Ai, 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 and became like water.
Mistakes were made.
#1 Joshua was operating in the flesh and didn’t seek the Lord first before committing troops to the battle. He relied on his military intelligence instead of supernatural intelligence.
#2 One man sinned.
One man’s sin caused defeat and the death of 36 soldiers.
Listen, one person sinning in the church can cause equally devastating results. Sin in the camp can kill a church.
In verse 6 we see the mark of a true spiritual leader. On hearing the report of the defeat, Joshua recognizes that there is sin in the camp, tears his clothing as a sign of repentance, stops everything and calls a prayer meeting, and then falls on his face before the ark of the covenant.
In verses 10 &11 God tells Josuah, "Stand up! What are you doing down on your face? 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 hidden them with their own possessions.”
You can steal the things of God.
You can lie about your crime to yourself and to others.
You can even conceal the things you’ve stolen from God.
You may fool everyone.
Everyone but God that is…
You see, God sees everything – God knows everything.
There is no such thing as keeping a secret from God.
It doesn’t work, you’ll get caught and spanked every time!
Josh 7:12 – 13 in the New Living Translation:
“That is why the Israelites are running from their enemies in defeat. For now Israel has been set apart for destruction. I will not remain with you any longer unless you destroy the things among you that were set apart for destruction. Get up! Command the people to purify themselves in preparation for tomorrow.
When is the last time you purified yourself in preparation to met God?
How do you do that?
- Come before him with a sincere and repentant heart.
- Offer him praise and adoration – put on the garment of praise.
- Pray for God to prepare you personally to be ready to meet God, pray the same thing for your family and your church.
- Church, we need to be ready to meet God when we come together.
The last part of verse 13 says:
For this is what the Lord, the God if Israel, says: Hidden among you, O Israel, are things set apart for the Lord. You will never defeat your enemies until you remove these things.”
Are you going through life facing one defeat after another?
I just have one question for you – What do you have that belongs to God?
Is it a sin you are hanging onto and refuse to give up?
Let me read you a list of possibilities from Galatians 5:19 – 21 (New Living Translation)
“When you follow the desires of your sinful nature, your lives will produce these evil results: sexual immorality, impure thoughts, eagerness for lustful pleasure, idolatry, participation in demonic activities, hostility, quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, divisions, the feeling that everyone is wrong except those in your own little group, envy, drunkenness, wild parties, and other kinds of sin. Let me tell you again, as I have before, that anyone living that sort of life will not inherit the Kingdom of God.
Eph 5:3-11
3 But among you there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity, or of greed, because these are improper for God’s holy people. 4 Nor should there be obscenity, foolish talk or coarse joking, which are out of place, but rather thanksgiving. 5 For of this you can be sure: No immoral, impure or greedy person (for such a man is an idolater) has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God. 6 Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of such things God’s wrath comes on those who are disobedient. 7 Therefore do not be partners with them.
8 For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light 9(for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth) 10 and find out what pleases the Lord. 11 Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them.
What evil do you have in your life that you need to turn over to God?
If you’re going through life facing one defeat after another, you may be holding onto a deep injury that belongs to God.
A deep emotional scarring injury – perhaps you were abandoned, neglected or sexually abused. Perhaps you were injured by someone who should have nurtured and protected you but they betrayed you instead.
What do you have that belongs to God?
The Lord showed Joshua who the culprit was. It was Achan.
Listen your sins will come to light – I guarantee it.
Ps 90:8 says, “You have set our iniquities before you,
our secret sins in the light of your presence.”
Josh 7:19-21
19 Then Joshua said to Achan, "My son, give glory to the LORD, the God of Israel, and give him the praise. Tell me what you have done; do not hide it from me."
20 Achan replied, "It is true! I have sinned against the LORD, the God of Israel. This is what I have done: 21 When I saw in the plunder a beautiful robe from Babylonia, two hundred shekels of silver and a wedge of gold weighing fifty shekels, I coveted them and took them. They are hidden in the ground inside my tent, with the silver underneath."
Here we see the classic pattern of the development of temptation and sin – in this instance we can plainly see the anatomy of stealing.
What did Achan do wrong here?
Verse 21 – First he “saw” the stuff (the object of temptation)
- Second he “wanted” the stuff (He allowed a desire for the stuff to develop within him).
- Third he “took” the stuff (Achan acted on his desire and thus completed the act of stealing)
- Forth he “lied” about the stuff by “concealing” it.
What have you stolen from God lately?
Well, Pastor, I haven’t stolen anything from God. Really?
The things Christians constantly steal from God are:
- Time
- Talent
- Treasure
Let me explain: First you “see” time that should be devoted to serving the Lord. Maybe you should be teaching a Sunday School class. Then you begin to “want” that time for yourself – to use for your own purposes. Then you “take” the time away from God and spend it on yourself. Then when someone asks you why you aren’t teaching Sunday School anymore, you “lie” about it and make up some stupid story about why you can’t do it – when in reality you are sleeping in on Sunday Morning.
You’re just like Achan – he cost the lives of 36 fellow soldiers. How many lives could have been saved had you been at your post in Sunday School doing your duty serving the Lord?
You may think I’m exaggerating, but I want you to know that Billy Graham was saved in a small Sunday School class with just a few boys. His Sunday School teacher could have become discouraged and decided to stay home that day – but he was faithful to his post and as a result countless thousands of souls will be in heaven because one man did the right thing and gave his time to the Lord’s service. What would have happened had that Sunday School teacher decided to steal time from God?
Everyone in here has God given gifts and talents. Are you using them for God or are you hiding them?
What do you have that belongs to God?
Treasure: God says give a tithe on your income.
First you “see” that 10% of your income in your checking account. Then you “want” God’s money to use for your own purposes. So you don’t write the check and effectively steal God’s money. Then you lie to yourself and others about it. You come up with all kinds of arguments to try to justify your stealing from God.
And you wonder why your life is such a mess.
Josh 7:22-26
22 So Joshua sent messengers, and they ran to the tent, and there it was, hidden in his tent, with the silver underneath. 23 They took the things from the tent, brought them to Joshua and all the Israelites and spread them out before the LORD.
24 Then Joshua, together with all Israel, took Achan son of Zerah, the silver, the robe, the gold wedge, his sons and daughters, his cattle, donkeys and sheep, his tent and all that he had, to the Valley of Achor. 25 Joshua said, "Why have you brought this trouble on us? The LORD will bring trouble on you today."
Then all Israel stoned him, and after they had stoned the rest, they burned them. 26 Over Achan they heaped up a large pile of rocks, which remains to this day. Then the LORD turned from his fierce anger. Therefore that place has been called the Valley of Achor ever since.
What do you have that belongs to God?
You need to come clean before God and put your sin to death. Kill that sin, burn it and pile rocks on top of it – make it impossible to be resurrected. The pile of rocks should be a reminder that that part of your life is over.
What will happen as a result of you purifying yourself and setting things right with God?
Josh 8:1 “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.”
Once you’re right with God – look out! God will once again fight your battles and destroy your enemies. He will tear down the walls that are holding you back, He will go before you to prepare the way. He will open the floodgates of heaven and cause blessing upon blessing to flow down on you!
INVITATION:
Are you are a person who is considering becoming a follower of Jesus.
Maybe you’re a person who knew Jesus at one time in your life, but for a lot of reasons, you stopped following Him.
If you want to become a follower of Jesus today, say this prayer quietly where you are seated. Follow after me as I lead you in the prayer of faith:
O God, I recognize that I am a sinner,
that I stand in peril of suffering eternity in hell.
Please forgive me of my sins.
Jesus, come into my heart and be Lord of my life.
I renounce my old way of life and turn away from it.
Now I confess you as my Lord and savior.
Thank you for loving me and dying on the cross for me.
Holy Spirit, please lead and direct my life from now on. Amen
If you are a Christian who has something that belongs to God, Time, Talent, Money, secret sin or a painful past, it’s time to uncover those things and give them back to God.
If you made a commitment to follow Jesus today, please mark that on the back of the attendance card and put it into the offering when it comes by.
