Friday, May 27, 2016
Joshua 8:1 Now the LORD said to Joshua: "Do not be afraid, nor be dismayed; take all the people of war with you, and arise, go up to Ai. See, I have given into your hand the king of Ai, his people, his city, and his land."
OUR LORD SAYS, "DO NOT BE AFRAID"
Everyone is afraid of something from time to time. It could be whether or not they will have enough money. It could be in connection with parents or children being healthy or safe. Or it could be in simply in failure to do what needs to be done. Joshua and the Children of Israel had a stumbling point as they marched on for the LORD's promised land of inheritance. Desire had led to coveting, coveting had led to stealing, stealing had led to lying, and lying had led to the death of the liar. The temptation we face when sin, failure, or disappointment comes our way is whether or not to believe that God is really with us. We doubt and wonder whether or not the LORD will fight our battles anymore. Our faith fails us.
That's when you and I need the LORD (our Triune God) to speak to us through His word again-- like He did for Joshua. When you disobey the LORD, He is the One you need to hear forgiveness from. When you doubt His presence with you, He is the One from whom you need to hear words like He spoke to Joshua, "Do not be afraid, nor be dismayed" (discouraged). Our LORD proves His love for us by showing us that we need not fear even death itself because of what Christ Jesus our Lord has done for us on the cross. He has gone to battle for you and for me in order to defeat our greatest enemies: sin, death, and our own rebellious nature. In His compassionate, incomparable love, the LORD goes with us just as He did with Joshua and His people -- battle after battle!
Joshua 8:28-29 So Joshua burned Ai and made it a heap forever, a desolation to this day. And the king of Ai he hanged on a tree until evening. And as soon as the sun was down, Joshua commanded that they should take his corpse down from the tree, cast it at the entrance of the gate of the city, and raise over it a great heap of stones that remains to this day.
