The Lord tells Joshua again in Chapter 8, “Do not be afraid, do not be discouraged. Take up, the whole army with you and go up and attack Ai. (The Instruction) For I have delivered into your hands the king of Ai, his people, his city and his land…(The Promise) you may carry off their plunder and livestock for yourselves. (The Permission)
So Joshua did as the Lord told him to do. “Do what the Lord has commanded. See to it; you have my orders.” (The Obedience)
After Israel cleansed itself from Achan’s sin, Joshua began to prepare to attack the city of Ai; but this time to win! There are lessons that Joshua learned from this that we can also benefit from:
Confess wrongdoing when God reveals it…
When we fail, refocus on God, deal with the problem, and move on…
God wants the cycle of sin, repentance and forgiveness to strengthen us not weaken us…
We all make mistakes, error judgements, bad decisions, wrong moves; sin. And, the awesome God we serve is eager to cleanse and forgive us if we’re open to correct the problem, work it through and move on. It is when we “give up” that we lose. You and I know what kind of person we are by how we handle second and third attempts. That’s life!
Just as God restored his power and protection over Joshua and his troops; he will do the same for you and I. But, we must depend on Him with outright obedience; follow the instructions, study them, meditate on them, don’t deviate from them. The promise? “I will not fail you or abandon you.” Joshua 1:5
What more could we possibly want as we journey through our life?
ritasalomon 