The Next Battle

^“21 When I saw among the spoils a goodly Babylonish garment, and two hundred shekels of silver, and a wedge of gold of fifty shekels weight, then I coveted them, and took them; and, behold, they are hid in the earth in the midst of my tent, and the silver under it.” Joshua 7:21

In the sixth and seventh chapters of the book of Joshua we find the recording of the battles of Jericho and Ai.  The children of Israel (descendants of Abraham; God’s chosen people) at this time were being led by Joshua.  He is the successor to Moses and a mighty man of war.  They first enter Canaan land (the land promised to children of Israel) only to find the city of Jericho.  It was a mighty city and a seemingly impenetrable fortress; but Joshua and his army defeated Jericho in a most unorthodox way by simply obeying God; but the topic of this discourse is not Jericho but the next battle…..Ai.

Following the great victory of Jericho was the battle of Ai.  All things considered this should be an “easy win” for Joshua and his army.  Ai was considerably small, and less formidable.  So in the confidence of their strength they send but a few men to battle; no need to bother the whole crew.  Lo, and behold, there was another enemy, not without, but within, and the great victory of Jericho was soon overshadowed by the obvious defeat at the hands of the Amorites.  So the question in Joshua’s mind becomes; “why can we conquer the city of Jericho, so great and mighty, and then be defeated by little Ai?”  God responds: “because of Achan and his disobedience.”  Achan (in case anybody was wondering) was a man in the camp of Israel who disobeyed God. Israel was given specific instructions to refrain from taken anything from Jericho.  They were not to take the “spoils of war.”  Achan did; he took a Babylonish garment and some money, and he hid it in his tent.  All the wealth of Jericho was to be left alone; it was to be consecrated to God.  However, the pride of victory filled his heart and he took but a little.  A little disobedience is still disobedience.  I ask all, as I ask myself, are we not in danger of doing the same thing?

Often we see our fellow man defeated, not because of the strength of the enemy, but because of the condition of his heart.  God brings many through a fierce battle and they find victory on the other side; only to carry the “spoils of war” with them.  By and by they begin to think that the victory was won not by God, but by man, by themselves.  We must remember that God wins the battle and he gets the glory.  It is not always the Jericho that defeats us, but the next battle.  It is the small things that we do not consecrate to God, combined with a little temptation appropriately placed by the devil, which brings the once victorious Christian back into the depths of defeat.  Take for example the man or women who comes to God broken and obedient.  God then gloriously saves them from numerous sins and changes their heart making them a “new creature in Christ” (2 Cor 5:17).  A great victory won, but by and by the cares of this life sweep in.  They forget to pick-up the Bible, don’t take the time to engage in prayer, their lives become so busy that they can’t even carve out a few hours a week to attend church; and praise Him who hath called them “out of darkness into the marvelous light.” (2 Peter 2:9)  The failure to consecrate takes its toll on their soul, and then when a convenient day comes the littlest temptation slips up to them, and sin enters the camp.  If your soul is for sale, the devil will front the cash.  Whatever it is you want, he will find a way to put it in front of you.    

I suppose I am writing this today, because I needed it most.  I needed the reminder that nothing leaves Jericho.  Whether it is Jericho or Ai, it is God’s fight, God’s glory, and obedience towards him in every way; obedience towards God in the great big things, and obedience in the little things.   

Please respond with your thoughts if you feel lead:  pgcollins65@gmail.com