Be Strong and Courageous

The battle begins. They are standing on the promised land, but they must fight to get it. The corruption and the idolatry in the land are great. The people who already live in the land sacrifice their own children to their gods and they prostitute themselves in their temples. The purging of the land is brutal. There must be no remnants, of what use to be. They must get rid of everything in order to live peacefully in their promised land. But as in any battle there were some obstacles within that stood in their way.

"We are never closer to defeat than in our moments of our greatest victories." Jericho's mighty walls collapsed under the mightier hand of God. Their first victory was a slaughter. Ai, an easy second battle. "There’s no need for all of us to go up there; it won’t take more than two or three thousand men to attack Ai. Since there are so few of them, don’t make all our people struggle to go up there.” (Joshua 7:3) "So approximately 3,000 warriors were sent, but they were soundly defeated."

Why was there such victory followed by a defeat that should have been an easy battle? Joshua cried out to the LORD asking, "why He had done this?" Why? "But the Lord said to Joshua, 'Get up! Why are you lying on your face like this? Israel has sinned and broken my covenant!...'" One man's sin made the entire Israel family suffer. His sin brought destruction on the whole mission and until his sin was dealt with, they could not move forward. But after that sin was purged from the camp, the fighting continued and the enemy was afraid.

Still, one more lesson to learn. Trickery and deceit was next. "But when the people of Gibeon heard what Joshua had done to Jericho and Ai, they resorted to deception to save themselves...'We have come from a distant land to ask you to make a peace treaty with us.' The Israelites replied to these Hivites, 'How do we know you don’t live nearby? For if you do, we cannot make a treaty with you.' They replied, 'We are your servants.' 'But who are you?' Joshua demanded. 'Where do you come from?'.... So the Israelites examined their food, but they did not consult the Lord." (9:1-13)

Two very large mistakes were made in the beginning of the seven year battle in conquering the Promised Land. First, holding on to what one saw as valuable. That "valuable" thing cost him his Promised Land. If he had waited upon the LORD then he could have had so much more, but he did not and what should have been an "easy" battle was followed by a great defeat. Next, "they did not consult the Lord." Moses was the most humble man who ever lived and he never made a rash decision. Before he ever agreed to anything, he always consulted the LORD first. Joshua did not consult the LORD and was bound to a treaty that he should have never made.

Nothing is easy about entering into a new land. Nothing. There are sins revealed that you would never realize you were struggling with. Things that you are holding on to, that want to hold you back. The temptation is to bury those sins and pretend you don't have them, but the purging will continue and they must be expelled. You want to make peace with things that seem to you to be from a distant land. A land that you will never have to see, but if you do not consult the LORD, you will be deceived and have to live with a treaty you were never meant to keep.

The light at the end of the tunnel: “Do not be afraid of them,” the Lord said... “Don’t ever be afraid or discouraged,” Joshua told his men. “Be strong and courageous..." (10) After the sin from within is dealt with, there is victory. Do not be afraid or discouraged. Be strong and courageous. The victory is coming and the LORD will win the battles for you, but you must fight. It is hard and the purging hurts to the deepest of your being, but afterward, there is great reward. Before you can win any battle, the hardest battle to face, is the one from within. “Do not be afraid,” the Lord said... “Don’t ever be afraid or discouraged,” Joshua told his men. “Be strong and courageous..." Deal with what is in you. Do not cower in fear of what you may see. For afterwards, there is the great reward of your Promised Land is near.