Joshua 8: 1- 8
When God told the Israelites about the Promised land, the land flowing with milk and honey, He did not go into finer details explaining the nitty gritties of how they are going to take over the land and what they are going to encounter along the way.
The first three cities they had to conquer, gives us a glimpse into the three broad scenarios one encounters when embarking on a spiritual assignment.
The first city they had to deal with was Jericho, a very fortified city which they overcame mainly through Worship and paying close attention to instruction as well as fully obeying the instructions. Despite the city being heavily fortified, they seem to take it over without much effort. The other catching aspect about Jericho is the saving of the prostitute that hid the servants of God. There were other people in the land, but she alone was spared because, despite her trade, she hid the servants of God.
After the great success of Jericho, they were faced with Ai. In comparison with Jericho, Ai was much smaller and easy to overcome. Instead of seeking direction from the Lord as to how to take over Ai, they just go and plunge on it and even recommend that only few soldiers are needed and most of the soldiers should remain behind. To their dismay and surprise, more than thirty of their soldiers were killed in Ai. It is after this that they went to enquire from the Lord with fasting and prayer and it became apparent that they have foreign idols in their midst. Despite the fact that, Achan was the one who harbored these idols, but God addresses them corporately that there are foreign gods among them. It is only after Achan confessed and he as consequently killed and buried under a heap of stones that the Israelites managed to conquer over the land and people of Ai. We need to always remember that what one of us does in secret or in the open, affects all of us. There is an individual responsibility as well as corporate responsibility. We need to be our brother's keeper and also caution each other of our secret sin that put all of us in danger as it was with Achan, his hiding of foreign gods, cost Israel more than thirty precious life of fit and able soldiers.
The last one is the Gibeonites. The Gibeonites deceived Joshua into having a treaty with them. Having heard of the great things the Israelites were doing and how God was working among them, the Gibeonites pretended as if they come from very far and asked to enter into a covenant with the Israelites. They displayed torn shoes and rotten food and said they have been travelling for a long time. Ignorant of the fact that this was the next nation they were to overcome, Joshua entered into a covenant with the Gibeonites, a covenant that stretched for a long time even king Saul and David (2 Samuel 21) is recorded that he had to deal with the problem of Gibeonites living among the Israelites, Saul tried to exterminate them but the Lord fought for them. We should be very careful who we enter into covenant with and also always enquire of the Lord when we go on a spiritual assignment. Let not the glory and success of yesterday, predetermine your approach and therefore serve as an enemy of your future success. God always has fresh Grace for each assignment He gives us, let us always enquire of Him and seek His guidance.
Vision statement: As a missional church, we exist to declare the Lord Jesus Christ as the restorer of the broken world, to strengthen the healthy family structure and to let everyone know Jesus is the Hope of Glory. Kindly put in your email address in the space below in order to receive timely updates.
