"They Have Transgressed My Covenant"
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March 29, 2015 |
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 "So the LORD said to Joshua, 'Rise up! Why is it that you have fallen on your face? Israel has sinned, and they have also transgressed My covenant which I commanded them…''' (Joshua 7:10-11)
Senior Pastor Dr. Jaerock Lee
Joshua and the Israelites went up to the city of Ai after conquering the city of Jericho. Ai was a small city compared to Jericho, so they thought they could easily win, but they were defeated. Now let's look into the reason they were defeated at Ai and what we should learn from this incident.
1. The defeat at Ai because of Achan's sin
In the battle of Ai, the Israelites suffered casualties without actually conquering the small city. It was a great shock to Joshua. He tore his clothes and fell to the earth on his face before the ark of the LORD until evening, both he and the elders of Israel; and they put dust on their heads and pleaded with God (Joshua 7:6-9).
Then, God told Joshua the reason for Israel's defeat. God had told the Israelites to offer to God everything they gained from Jericho, the first city they conquered, but among the sons of Israel somebody disobeyed (Joshua 7:10-12).
God meant that He would not be with Israel until they solved this problem. Here, God did not tell them directly who that person was, but He told them to find him by a system of drawing lots. Joshua conveyed the command of God to the people and told them to consecrate themselves (Joshua 7:13-15).
That next morning when they cast lots among all the tribes of Israel the tribe of Judah was selected. Next, among the tribe of Judah, the family of Zerahites was selected, and from them, the men of Zabdi. Finally, Achan was selected among the men of Zabdi (Joshua 7:16-18).
As a result of the selection process God had accurately selected this one man, Achan of the tribe of Judah, who had committed the sin. Achan had taken a beautiful mantle, two hundred shekels of silver and a bar of gold weighing fifty shekels and concealed them in the earth inside his tent. On account of the sin of this one person's disobedience, it caused God to leave Israel as a whole.
Through this, we have to remember that God was not with the entire nation of Israel because of the sin of one person. In Ecclesiastes 9:18, the latter part says, "…but one sinner destroys much good." Because of this, God could not help but to turn His face from them and the people were defeated in Ai.
What God wanted was complete sanctification of all Israel and their complete obedience. But one person sinned and broke the covenant with God, which had dreadful consequences.
2. The City of Ai Conquered
In the following verses of Joshua 7:24, Joshua told them to take Achan with the silver, the mantle, and the bar of gold that he had taken along with his family, animals, and all his possessions to the valley of Achor. All Israel stoned him and all the things with him and burned them. They raised over him a great heap of stones. Only after Israel solved the problem of sin did God tell them in detail how to attack the city of Ai.
The strategy given to Israel by God was essentially for Israel to feign being defeated and retreat while still engaged in the fighting so that they could draw the enemy force out of the city of Ai. Then, other Israelite soldiers who were hiding in ambush near the city were to enter into the city, conquer it, and burn it. The soldiers in two different groups attacked the soldiers of Ai and destroyed them completely (Joshua 8:1-7).
Joshua followed the Word of God. With some soldiers waiting in ambush, Joshua led another group of soldiers to join with him in the attack, but then soon they began their retreat. Since the people in Ai had already won a victory, they were careless enough to pursue the retreating Israelite soldiers leaving their city gates wide open. At this moment, the Israelites who were in ambush rose up and easily conquered the empty city. They achieved a great victory (Joshua 8:10-29).
3. The Bitter Lessons Learned from the Battles to Conquer Ai
1) We have to know the will of God in everything
They shouldn't have just thought, "Two or three thousand soldiers are enough because it's a small city" (Joshua 7:2-4), but they should have asked God what to do.
Just because they had conquered the impregnable city of Jericho, they should not have been so careless as to try to conquer the city of Ai with human strength. Until they had conquered all the lands in Canaan, they had to ask for God's power with humble hearts and minds.
Essentially, when we plan something and try to accomplish it at home, in business, and in our workplaces, we first have to hear the voice of the Holy Spirit and be guided by Him through fervent prayers to discern the will of God.
2) We have to cast off sins and evil completely and become sanctified
The reason why Israel lost at Ai the first time was because God was not with them due to the sin of Achan. Only after they removed this sin from Israel could they win by the help of God.
Here, we should realize that only when we cast off sins and evil can we confidently ask before God. If a person commits a sin and tries to conceal it, or if someone pretends to be holy but his heart is full of evil, nothing can be hidden from God and God will not be with him.
John 8:29 reads, "And He who sent Me is with Me; He has not left Me alone, for I always do the things that are pleasing to Him." As written, when we remove sins and evil from our hearts and live by the Word of God, God is with us. He lets all things prosper and shows us the evidence of His presence.
4. Proclamation on Mount Gerizim and Mount Ebal
From Joshua 8:30 we learn that Joshua did not just continue to march in conquest of the rest of the Canaan Land, but instead, he built an altar before God together with the people. Since they had gone through a defeat because of the sin of Achan, Joshua must have felt the need once again to teach the people God's Law that had been delivered to them by Moses.
At the center of the Canaan Land, there were two mountains, Gerizim and Ebal. Joshua built the altar, divided the nation of Israel into two, and had one group stand before Mount Gerizim and the other before Mount Ebal. Then the Levites began to proclaim the Law of God to the people with a loud voice. When the words of blessing were proclaimed, those people of the tribes who were standing at Mount Gerizim responded with "Amen," and at the curses, the people of the tribes at Mount Ebal responded with "Amen" (Deuteronomy 27:12-13).
Those who attended this solemn ceremony probably remembered the commands of God and had no desire to violate them 'until their deaths', especially since they had experienced so clearly through the defeat at Ai what kind of blessings and curses they would experience according to their obedience or disobedience to the Word of God.
They were taught the Word of God so many times by Moses, and now Joshua would speak it once again. God had made it so dramatic this time that the people would now keep the Law deep in their hearts.
Even though they learned the Law of God again and again, they sometimes left God and committed sins and consequently suffered from famine, wars, and suppression from other countries.
Time and time again they repented and sought God in times of hardship, but when they had peace, they violated the Law again. What God desires from His children is not forced belief just to avoid sufferings or calamities. He wants true children who understand His heart, keep His commands with joy and thanks for His love, and sanctify themselves to resemble God Himself.
I pray in the name of the Lord that you will engrave the Word of God on your hearts, obey Him, and become His true children.
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