“Then the LORD said to Joshua, ‘Point the spear in your hand toward Ai, for I will hand the town over to you.’ Joshua did as he was commanded……… Then Joshua built an altar to the LORD, the God of Israel, on Mount Ebal.” Joshua 8:18, 30 NLT
There may be times in your life you wish you could turn around and go back either to a previous job, a former place of residency, a school you transferred from, or to anything other than being in the military. You have come to the conclusion that you have made a mistake. I have been there several times in my life, but one sure thing I found out is if God has lead me all the way, I didn’t make a mistake. Understand you haven’t either if you truly know the Lord. Last week in our reading of Joshua 7, Israel had thought it was a mistake to enter the Promised Land, their new territory. They were defeated in battle by a much smaller fighting force from the city of Ai. Joshua, in particular cried out, “Oh, Sovereign LORD, why did you bring us across the Jordan River if you are going to let the Amorites kill us? If only we had been content to stay on the other side!” (Jos. 7:7 NLT) What Joshua didn’t know at the time their defeat was due to their sin and not due to a mistake in entering the land. If we look hard enough, myself included, I’m sure we can find some losing battles in our new territory that were cause by sin and not as a result of a mistake.
The Lord knows what we are made of; “For he knows how weak we are; he remembers we are only dust.” (Ps. 103:14 NLT) He also knows of our sin nature; “All of us, like sheep, have strayed away. We have left God’s paths to follow our own.” (Is. 53:6a NLT) Yet the Lord forgives us of our sin as we confess to Him and continues to lead us in the path He has set for us. The apostle John writes the most memorable verse for confession of sins in 1 John 1:9, “But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness.” (NLT) It is the Lord’s desire that we follow Him and are successful in our new territory. We can say with the Psalmist King David, “You will show me the way of life, granting me the joy of your presence and the pleasures of living with you forever.” (Ps. 16:11 NLT)
Yes, God will discipline us as we go our own way. He only wants the best for us as any parent does for their children, especially when they are embarking upon something new. God wanted the best for Israel in the land He led them to and He wants the best for us where He is leading us. The best for Israel and for us today is total obedience to God Almighty who has done such great things for us. As we acknowledge His greatness recognizing it is only through Him we have blessings we never thought we would have, we begin to understand it is only by His leading we are in the place we are today.
God restored his blessing to Israel upon them getting rid of the sin before them. We read in the beginning of chapter 8 after the disaster of chapter 7, “Then the LORD said to Joshua, ‘Do not be afraid or discouraged. Take all your fighting men and attack Ai, for I have given you the king of Ai, his people, his town, and his land.’” (Jos. 8:1 NLT) The Lord not only guaranteed victory, but permitted them to take the plunder and the livestock for themselves. An important insight here is the Lord does not hold back any good thing from His people. If Achan had only waited on the Lord and not coveted, stealing the material goods he would have received in God’s timing, Israel would have not been defeated and Achan would be around to enjoy the spoils of victory.
If you have overstepped and gone ahead of God by going about things your own way and it didn’t turn out so good. God is in the restoration business. He knows we are sheep and go our way. Confess it to God, restore your fellowship with Him, and be obedient in the future with faith and courage in His leading.
Read Joshua 8, The Israelites Defeat Ai; https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Joshua%208&version=NLT
Word for the Soul 