Joshua 8

Joshua 8 -

So in chapter 7, Joshua sent out some spies to check on Ai, to see what they were up against.  You can almost cringe when you hear the men say to Joshua, "not all the people will have to go up against Ai.  Just send two or three thousand..."  First mistake, they didn't seek God...second mistake, it doesn't matter, because from here on everything was a mistake; if God isn't the first one, we are in trouble.  They felt confident within their own skins and they LOST.  Anytime, and I mean anytime, I have ever felt so confident in my skin about something...i lost.  So they have to deal with this situation, plus the Achan trial, which I talked about yesterday.  But let's look at chapter 8

This time Joshua, as well as the men, have God on their minds and not themselves...and the outcome, much better.  Not only do they win, but they realize that it was God that HANDED the enemies over to them...lesson learned, right?  Yes, until the next time.  What is it about us...uggh...we learn, repent, and then do it again.  And yet God knows that about us and yet EVERYTIME, He opens His Arms to us.  His love is really just too amazing.  And the men built an altar to worship God.  So you ready for this revelation I just had at this moment...oh my gosh.

We close chapter 7 with a pile of rocks and death underneath the rocks...because of mankind's own confidence and not listening to God.

We close chapter 8 with a pile of rocks honoring a living God, who, when we are focused on Him, will remind us that our confidence is in HIM and not in ourselves.

So tonight/tomorrow - we all have a choice to make...what will we do with the pile of rocks in our hands?  Cast them or build an altar to our Faithful God.

"Ah!  dear friend, wherever we journey, union to Jesus and holiness from His Spirit flowing into us, is our chief and only happiness" - My dear friend Robert Murray McCheyne