Story...
In this passage, Israel goes to Ai and get defeated...and why? because God was not with them in battle. God was no longer with them because of the sin of Achan.
"Israel has sinned; they have transgressed my covenant that I commanded them; they have taken some of the devoted things; they have stolen and lied and put them among their own belongings. 12 Therefore the people of Israel cannot stand before their enemies. They turn their backs before their enemies, because they have become devoted for destruction. [1] I will be with you no more, unless you destroy the devoted things from among you. 13 Get up! Consecrate the people and say, ‘Consecrate yourselves for tomorrow; for thus says the Lord, God of Israel, “There are devoted things in your midst, O Israel. You cannot stand before your enemies until you take away the devoted things from among you.”
We need God....
See that's what happens when we are trying to do things on our own. When we try to do things on our own, without relying on God, it ends in our destruction. That goes for everything. If you are trying to get people to think you are cool, it won't work. If you are trying to get a job, it won't work. But most importantly, it works with salvation. If you are trying to work your way into Heaven. It will not work. It will not work unless you rely on God. Put faith in Jesus. Faith in Jesus alone.
Sin...
Our sin is soo bad, only God can save us. How bad is sin? There is punishment..Just look at what happened to Achan. He got stoned. Israel got destroyed. God was no longer with them. God is that holy, He can't tolerate sin. And why, sin is a belittling of God. Saying, "You know God, I don't need you, I can do it on my own. I won't trust in you because I just don't." That's a belittling of God. That is not relying on God. God can't save you? God can't take care of you? Watch out...
Faith...
Does this mean then we need to follow all these rules in order for God to be on our side? No, but it does show how HOLY God is. God says, "Consecrate yourselves" So we need to be be clean, consecrated to God. But how can we be consecrated, the power of Christ working in us. We need to rely on God for this. Only through true faith in Jesus can we be saved. Only through true genuine faith in Jesus can we be justified. Only through true genuine faith in Jesus can we be sanctified.
Reliance on God...
Where do we get that faith from? Through God working in us, we can't force ourselves to love God. But God can work in us. So see it's total dependence on God.
What can we learn from Joshua 7?
1. God is HOLY - basis comes from the fact that when Israel sinned, God was no longer with them. So God commanded them to consecrate themselves. They need to be clean and holy, that's the only way we can be in God's presence. And to further emphasize that, God had to purge evil and destroy sin, which is observed through the stoning of Achan.
2. Sin is when we belittle God and when we do not give Him the glory that He is due - basis comes from when Achan did what he wanted by stealing and lying
3. Without God, we are nothing, we are devoted for destruction - basis when Israel was defeated at Ai
4. We find rest and peace in the complete work of Christ. Full reliance on God, full reliance on the work of Jesus (faith), and full reliance for the ability of having faith in Jesus.
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