Be Strong

if you have just joined us for the first time tonight or it's been a while since you've been

here we've been working through the early chapters of Joshua in the Old Testament

last week we're in chapter 7 tonight we're in chapter 8 and chapter 7 was a brutal story of

God's judgment and chapters 7 and 8 go together as one story and so basically what that means is

we're back into blood and guts territory again tonight as we have just heard as James read out

to us all the people of AI are slaughtered 12,000 men and women are slaughtered it's a it's a massacre

and on one level we're kind of used to massacres to a degree I mean we live in a in a world that

as I read just very recently that since the end of World War II conflicts have trebled in number

around our world and all sorts of things like you know Kenya and Syria and Somalia and just massacred

hundreds of people dying all over the place and so on one level we're used to massacres even though

we're repulsed by them but what makes this one particularly hard is that God is caught up in

at all it's actually in fact on his orders and so the question that we have of texts like this as we

did last week and Chris alluded to this is what sort of God does that make him that I think is the

struggle that we have with this text the early sections of Joshua with the conquest of the land

of Canaan what sort of God is this well the the prominent atheist the tele-evangelist for atheism

Richard Dawkins has a little doubt on what sort of God this is he describes him in his book the God

delusion on page 31 as the God of the Old Testament is arguably the most unpleasant character in all

fiction a jealous and proud of it a petty unjust unforgiving control freak a vindictive bloodthirsty

ethnic cleanser a misogynist homophobic racist infants infanticidal genocidal filocidal pestilential

megalomaniacal sadomacistic capriciously malevolent bully there's a whole lot of adjectives that are

thrown together there some of which don't appear in the dictionary and it's the

what Dawkins Dawkins's problem is that he he knows what he thinks God is like the God of the Old

Testament and Dawkins's problem is not trying to understand God which is what we're trying to do

here tonight Dawkins's problem is trying to understand people who try to understand God

that's his problem and so this is just you know when you read that you hear that sort of stuff you

think he's gone way over the top he's in fact offensive which is what he's deliberately trying

to do in the God delusion he's trying to be offensive but as we face a chapter like this one

that we're looking at here in in Joshua 8 however much we want to sort of back away from from a Dawkins

and say that he's gone way over the top and we want to say that's in fact not my God we are still

I think in our modern context a little embarrassed about these sorts of chapters we're a little bit

uncomfortable with these chapters in fact if we you know jumping in to read the Bible the first time

with people we don't normally suggest you start at places like Joshua we go with more sort of you

know the birth of Jesus and work through the Gospels a year ago sorry a number of years ago a lady I know

rejected Christianity she'd become a Christian a couple of years earlier threw herself into the

life of the church and she rejected Christianity on the basis of reading Joshua 7 and 8 for the very

first time and she did that preparing for a Sunday school lesson and I remember her coming to me

what kind of God does this

that's the question I think behind many questions about God what kind of God is he and surprisingly

Joshua 7 and 8 don't just raise I think the question for us but actually come up with some of the answers

too if you were here last week then you would have had like Joshua gone through the chilling episode of

Achan sin in the camp the greed the theft the rejection of God's commands the exposure the

humiliation the execution the pile of rocks and the burning of the bodies and and Joshua I think

you know might have been wondering at that point who's next in fact what's next as Chris said it was

good news up to that point victory after victory victory and all of a sudden boom this this encounter

which just gutted the people of God and so the opening of chapter 8 is remarkably comforting and

reassuring God says to Joshua do not be afraid do not be discouraged and the Lord said that to

Joshua because understandably he was afraid he was discouraged what kind of God orders this

after the events of chapter 7 perhaps he was wondering if God in fact was still angry with him

you might know that feeling Chris in fact start off last week you know what it is to have someone

really angry with you you remember that feeling someone really angry with you and what I find is

not so much the person getting angry with me but it's the after effect it's the someone gets angry

with you and you have that feeling of uncertainty every time you see them that maybe there's probably

still that grudge there they've still got that issue with you they're brooding over the anger that is

the feeling that the anger just continues and continues and continues and I suspect that my

kids experience that for me sometimes I get angry with them about something and then you just can

tell by the way they approach you afterwards for some time as to is dad safe is he still angry with me

and you've got to kind of you know give them reassurance that it's all dealt with and stuff like that

I think that we often talk in terms of three strikes and you're out make three mistakes and that's the end of the

road for you and sometimes we even operate like that spiritually as if God is a one strike and you're out

kind of God and so after the disaster in the judgment of chapter 7 God makes it clear that he's not that

kind of God at all his anger with the death of Achan his anger is actually turned away

and so he approaches his people with reassurance he's a God of grace he's a God of the second chance

the you know 22nd chance of the 2222nd chance and so on and so on he is the God who embraces his

people in spite of the mistakes and the sins and the flaws he's the God who delivers on his promise in

spite of his people not deserving that promise his anger was satisfied with the death of Achan

and now he brings a word of comfort and reassurance his generosity in his goodness and his grace is

seen in fact in verse 1 as we continue on take the whole army with you and go up and attack Ai for I

have delivered into your hands the king of Ai his people his city and his land you shall do to Ai and

as king as you did to Jericho and his its king except that you may carry off their plunder and livestock for

yourselves see what they're saying if only Achan had waited

there was no need for the greed and the coveting of Jericho he could have freely enjoyed all of God's

provision at Ai

in Dale Ralph Davis's commentary on Joshua he has this intriguing phrase he uses to reflect on these

verses he calls it serpent theology he's picking up the image of the serpent the devil in Genesis 3

and serpent theology is thinking about God the way that the devil thinks about God as opposed to the

way that God has revealed himself to us and part of sinful serpent theology is to put our attention on

God's restrictions rather than his generous provision and that's what happens in Genesis chapter 3 in the

Genesis 3 · chapter mention

garden of Eden the serpent's word to Eve do you remember it did God really say that you must not eat of

any tree of the garden well no that's not what God said at all

but the devil wanted Eve and he wants us to imagine that that's exactly what God said he focuses on our

attention on what we can't do or what we shouldn't do as Christians rather than all that we enjoy as God's

people have you found yourself borrowing serpent theology at all it it's the theology that paints God as a

killjoy it puts the spotlight on the

restrictions it it blinds us to the God who generously provides it ignores the

beauty and the wonder and the provision and the perfection of the garden of Eden and it takes your attention off that and

focuses on one restriction do not eat from the fruit of that tree

Achan would have had every need met if only he had trusted every word that proceeded from the mouth of God and

obediently waited but he didn't

God never seeks to impoverish his people

it is only as his people lose sight of his generosity his provision his goodness that the cancer of covetedness

consumes them I actually think that recognizing God as a giving God is the prerequisite for our

faithfulness we need to understand that he's a giving generous merciful God it's a prerequisite to

faithfulness contentment with God's goodness is our antidote for faithlessness

so what kind of God are you we can see he is a generous and he's a merciful God

notice too that he is a sovereign God God's sovereignty is wonderfully displayed throughout this chapter

he's the he's the one with all the battle plans he gives all the orders

and yet it feels quite different than Jericho Jericho seemed more like a miracle than than AI if you like

it begins with God's instruction in verse 2 set an ambush behind the city and then you watch all of

Joshua's actions from chapter from verse 3 to 17 it is a classic lure and ambush strategy

Joshua hides a bunch of blokes behind the city to set a trap

and he grabs the rest of the blokes with him marches up to the front door knocks on the front door

they open it blows some raspberries ticks them off they grab their army they come off after him and he

retreats and they think oh this is fantastic we've just beaten the Israelites and we're gonna do it again

so let's finalize the deal and they send out everyone against the Israelites and it leaves

the city open and vulnerable and then we come to God's next instruction to Joshua in verse 18

hold out towards AI the javelin that is in your hand for into your hand I will deliver the city

so that's Joshua what he does he holds this stick this spear over there that's it that's the signal

does his instruction it's the signal springs the trap defeats the king the army in the city of AI

and when you read the story you notice that God is as every little bit as much in control and work here as he was in Jericho

what kind of God is he he's a sovereign powerful God with the power of God the great Jericho could be taken

without it the people of God couldn't even take the little outpost of AI

how utterly dependent his people are upon him upon his generosity and his power

so he's a God of generosity and goodness he's a God of sovereignty and power

and so now we come back to let's deal with the elephant in the room

it's hard to be to not notice God's awesome and destructive judgment in this chapter there is no denying it this this reads like a terrible massacre

verse 24 when Israel had finished killing all the men of AI in the fields and in the desert where they had chased them and when every one of them had beaten put

uh been put to the sword all the Israelites to return to AI and killed those who were in it

12,000 men and women fell that day all the people of AI

all of AI are dead and it's God it's people who are doing it under the orders of God

what kind of God are you

that's the question

that question is an enormous question and frankly we do not have the time

to sit here and to go through it all

so I'm going to encourage you to buy a book

called The God I Do Not Understand by Chris Wright

um it has a couple of very helpful chapters that addresses um several of the questions that people ask

and addresses specifically the conquest of Canaan

very very helpful little book

um there uh just as an advertisement point over here

uh there's not many hard copies available

but which is unusual for a book that was so helpful and it was only published in 2009

but there are e-book versions so you tech savvy people you can go to Kurong download the reader

if you haven't got the reader and buy the book very very helpful

alternatively if you are a small group leader here tonight

or you're particularly turned up about this question

um I've got two copies of the relevant chapters right here

two copies uh put them all together yesterday

really really helpful stuff so if you're a small group leader

and you're actually going through the book of Joshua

um come and grab a copy

or uh Chris can send you or I can send you an electronic version

it's it's substantial reading

but it is very very very helpful reading

about trying to understand

what's happening in the Canaan context

but I'll just mention one thing

to help us understand what's happening here

there is a backstory a behind the scenes story

to Joshua 7 and 8

and the clue comes for us surprisingly in verse 29

where we read that Joshua hung the body of the king of Ai on a tree

now there is more to that act than just mere intimidation

and gloating over a military victory

Joshua knows his bible

and the significance of what he's actually doing here

he would have known the words in Deuteronomy 22

that say

if a man guilty of a capital offense is put to death

and his body is hung on a tree

you must not leave his body on the tree overnight

which is why Joshua took it down and they buried it

be sure to bury him that same day

because anyone who is hung on a tree

is under God's curse

in other words

what's happening in this conquest

is God's judgment

it is his curse

divine judgment is being enacted here

now that doesn't make it any less violent or any nicer

but it does change the moral context

it changes the framework or the lens

through which we view this chapter

if you dig back further

you realise that

not only is this

God's judgment on the sins of these people

sins that range from sexual perversion to child sacrifice

but it's a judgment that's been a long time coming

you see a bit over 400 years before this is happening

Abraham lived here

he lived in this place called Canaan

and he was told by God when he lived there

that he would be the father of a nation

he was told that his descendants would be slaved

and mistreated in a foreign land for 400 years

and then God would bring them back

and that they would conquer this land

the promised land

and he was also told this

Genesis 15 verse 16

Genesis 15:16

in the fourth generation

your descendants will come back here

for the sin of the Amorites

has not yet reached its full measure

see what it's saying there

400 years earlier

God acknowledged the sinfulness of the Amorites

and he could have judged them at that particular moment

but he didn't

their sin had not yet exhausted God's patience

and yet over 400 years

the sin didn't stop

another 400 years of sinning

and defying

and exploiting

ignoring all the warnings

before God said

that's enough

and judgment fell

so what king of God

what kind of God are you?

well the king of Ai

and that pile of rocks

over his body

in verse 29

reminds us that he's a God

who's not to be trifled with

he's not a God

to be messed around with

he's not a God

that we deal with him

on

our terms

he is a God

who delivers on his promise

to bring

not just mercy

but justice

to

and so here's another bit

of serpent theology

that often

infects our minds

it's the thinking

that God won't do

what he says

he will do

again remember

chapter 3 of Genesis

in the garden of Eden

the serpent tempting Eve

to take and eat

for the fruit

and she remembers

the warning of disobedience

you will surely die

and the serpent

mocks it out

no you won't

you won't die

don't believe it

God will not hold you

accountable

and the

getting kicked out

of the garden of Eden

and that pile of rocks

in chapter 8

verse 29

reminds us that God

does in fact

hold sin accountable

and that he will judge

and that he expects

every word that proceeds

from his mouth

to be obeyed

what kind of God

have you

he's not a safe one

it is unwise

to mistake

God's patience

for weakness

or for lack of resolve

don't make the mistake

of thinking

he hasn't

and so he won't

or

I've got away with it

and so I will

get away with it

don't make that mistake

but I think

there's some

in terms of the

back story here

there's a little bit

more for us

as Christians

as Christians

reading a chapter

like this

we tend to put

ourselves in the

Israelite shoes

we tend to

identify with God's

people

looking

to step into

their inheritance

of all of God's

promises

and if we're not

careful

it can lead us

to a smug

or even a

patronizing

complacency

you know I'm part

of the people of God

that's good for me

but boo to everyone

else

we're the good guys

while they

over there

whoever they are

are in fact

the bad guys

and they deserve

this

but that's

not what this

chapter is teaching

it's not what the

back story teaches

us either

listen to

Deuteronomy

Deuteronomy 9 · chapter mention

chapter 9

after the Lord

your God

has driven

them out

before you

that is

you've gone

into the land

and driven

out all the

inheritance

of Canaanites

king of I

all those

of Jericho

after the Lord

has driven

them out

before you

do not

say to yourself

the Lord

has brought

me here

to take

possession

of this

land

because of

my

righteousness

no

it is on

account of

the wickedness

of these

nations

the Lord

is going

to drive

them out

before you

it is not

because of

your righteousness

or your

integrity

that you

are going

in to take

possession

of the

land

but on

account

of the

wickedness

of these

nations

the Lord

your God

will drive

them out

before you

to accomplish

what he

swore to

your fathers

to Abraham

Isaac

and Jacob

understand

then

he says

it again

that it

is not

because of

your righteousness

that the

Lord

or your God

is giving

you this

good land

to possess

for you

are a

stiff

neck

people

why is it

happening

it's not

because they're

worse than

the people

of God

it's not

because

Israel's

any better

God

isn't a

God of

favourites

he isn't

a God

who turns

a blind

eye to

our faults

and failures

either

and so

these

chapters

must be

set

in the

context

of

God's

promises

his

sovereignty

his

mercy

his

justice

these

chapters

are not

as they

have been

used

in the

past

they

are

not

a

legitimising

of war

or

of

religious

terrorism

or of

ethnic

cleansing

that is

not what

they are

and this

is why

this chapter

ends the

way it

does

it doesn't

end so

much with

the awesome

judgment

of God

as with

the

humbling

words

of God

and so

you move

from 29

terrible

picture of

rocks being

piled up

over

Achan

just being

killed

and then

all of a

sudden

there's a

shift

into

verse 30

it's a

massive

shift

one minute

you're in

a fast

moving

born

you know

movie

with lots

of action

and adventure

and the next

year watching

him appraise

it's like

what happened

there

it's an

abrupt

shift

in verse

29

we're standing

at the gates

of Ai

rocks piled

over the

king

verse 30

we're 30

odd

kilometres

north

of Ai

in the

shadow

of Mount

Ebal

near

Shechem

as they

participate

in a

ceremony

of covenant

renewal

and the

hearing

of the

blessing

and cursing

of the

law

it is

significant

that the

covenant

renewal

ceremony

is held

right there

in Shechem

at the

foot of

Mount

Ebal

it was

here

in that

place

that

Abraham

first

received

the promise

of the

land

from God

and it

was here

in that

place

that

Jacob

returned

safely

after a

long

exile

from the

land

that he

had been

promised

and so

now here

in Joshua

8

it's

Abraham's

seed

it's the

family of

Jacob

at promised

place

experiencing

God's promise

of the land

at the very

least

what we're to

hear from

that is

that time

does not

in any

sense

invalidate

God's

promises

promises

he is

true to

his

promise

the

climax

of the

ceremony

comes

with

Joshua's

reading

of the

law

and

everything

that

happens

in

verses

30

to

35

Moses

has

previously

commanded

Israel

to do

all the

details

Joshua

follows

every

detail

right down

to the

letter

even

the

place

they

deliberately

went

there

for this

ceremony

of

covenant

renewal

it's

like

they

needed

to go

from

Sydney

to

Brisbane

but they

went

via

Perth

because

it's

a really

important

thing

they

needed

to

do

in

Perth

notice

how the

text

emphasizes

that all

the word

of the

law

was

applicable

to

all

the

people

all

is

used

five

times

in

verses

33

to

35

the

Israelite

the

foreign

of the

leadership

the rank

and file

were all

meant to be

ruled by the

word of

God

what's the

point

given who

God is

covenant

obedience

is more

important than

military

victory

that's what

God really

desires of

his people

heeding

God's

word is

more important

than fighting

God's

war

obedience

to the

word of

God

is more

important

than

a whole

flurry

and

commitment

to

ministry

activity

Israel's

success

as the

people

of God

does not

primarily

consist in

knocking off

Canaanites

but in

everyone's

total submission

to the

word of

God

that's

where

success

will be

for the

people

of

God

a lesson

that was

brutally

experienced

for them

by

Achan

all the

people must

give all

obedience to

all the

word of

God

that is

the first

priority

for the

people of

God

and this

is true

for the

visitor in

the midst

as well as

for the

God's

people

it includes

men and

women

it includes

children and

foreigners

this is an

all age

and all

comers

service at

Mount

Ebal

verses

34 and

35

say that

Joshua

did not

leave

anything

out

in

reading

the

word

of

the

Lord

he

didn't

stick

to

his

favorite

bits

and he

didn't

sort of

say

things like

well that's

not suitable

for the

children

the children

heard

all of

God's

curses

as much

as they

heard

his

blessings

and the

foreigners

heard

at the

same

time

that they

too

could have

a place

in

God's

blessing

as

well

it

didn't

have

to be

all

about

it

didn't

have

the

result

for

them

didn't

have

to

be

like

it

was

for

AI

God's

word

keeps

us

humble

it

shows

the

foreigner

how

they

can

in

fact

be

safe

with

the

people

of

God

in

the

promises

and

the

blessings

of

God

and

it

shows

the

people

of

God

how

not

to

take

that

safety

for

granted

God's

word

keeps

us

humble

and so

what

kind

of

God

are

you

he's

a

God

of

extraordinary

generosity

what kind

of

God

are

you

he's

a

God

of

justice

unlike

us

he

isn't

a

God

who

draws

the

line

on

his

justice

he

doesn't

have

favorites

to

whom

he

turns

a

blind

eye

to

to

their

sin

as

Achan

found

out

and

Israel

will

soon

find

out

very

soon

what

kind

of

God

are

you

a

God

who

can

be

trusted

to

keep

his

word

whether

that's

a

word

of

blessing

how do

we

square

that

up

because

if

it

was

me

I

wouldn't

do

it

like

this

you

know

we're

all

drunk

peasants

we fall

off one

side of

the donkey

or the

other

because

God

keeps

it

together

he

can

hold

all

those

character

traits

together

competing

traits

are

sovereign

promise

keeping

God

of

justice

and

mercy

who

holds

people

accountable

well

thousands

of years

after

Joshua

another

king

was

hung

on a

tree

this

time

it

wasn't

the

king

of

Ai

it

was

the

king

of

the

Jews

the

promised

messiah

king

of

God

and

Jesus

willingly

placed

himself

under

God's

curse

not

for

his

sin

but

for

our

sin

in

fact

for

the

sin

of

the

world

he

did

it

not

because

we

are

righteous

but

because

we

are

wicked

not

because

we

deserve

God's

blessing

but

because

he

longs

for

us to

enjoy

God's

blessing

in spite

of who

we are

and what

we've

done

and the

only way

we can

enjoy

God's

blessing

is to

identify

with the

king

who took

the curse

of God

that we

deserved

psalm

psalm 2

read it

this

morning

summarizes

the

message

of

ai's

defeat

so

memorably

therefore

you

kings

be

wise

be

warned

you

rulers

of

the

earth

serve

the

lord

with

fear

rejoice

with

trembling

kiss

the

son

lest

he

be

angry

and

you

be

destroyed

in

your

way

for

his

wrath

can

flare

up

in

a

moment

blessed

are

all

who

take

refuge

in

him

the

same

son

is

the

one

whose

anger

and

wrath

can

pour

out

in

just

a

moment

and

yet

he's

a

place

of

refuge

and

safety

the

glorious

reality

is

that

we

can

take

refuge

in

him

because

he

hung

on

a

tree

for

us

outside

of

the

city

that

good

Friday

afternoon

and

because

he

took

our

place

he

atoned

for

our

sins

and

carried

our

guilt

we

do

not

have

to

face

the

fate

of

the

king

of

Ai

which

is

what

we

deserve

that

is

how

serious

our

sin

is

we

are

meant

to

look

at

that

pile

of

stones

in

chapter

8

verse

29

and

say

that

should

be

my

end

we're

meant

to

look

at

the

cross

of

Christ

which

let

me

be

frank

that

should

revile

us

as a

massacre

in the

same way

these

chapters

should

revile

us

as a

massacre

the

cross

of

Christ

was

a

massacre

on

an

innocent

individual

and we

should

see

that

cross

and we

should

see

the

seriousness

of

our

sin

and

the

awesome

justice

of

God

to

think

of

ourselves

in

any

other

way

regardless

of

how

long

we've

been

a

Christian

or

how

much

we've

served

and

contributed

to the

church

or how

much

money

we

give

is

to

be

too

busy

fighting

our

war

to

listen

to

the

word

of

God

and

yet

the

same

cross

that

reveals

the

awesome

justice

of

God

is

the

cross

that

reveals

the

incredible

patience

and

goodness

and

generosity

of

God

as

the

just

anger

of

God

is

poured

out

on

the

Lord

Jesus

in

such

a

way

that

God's

anger

towards

us

is

satisfied

and

the

death

of the

Lord

Jesus

turns

God's

anger

away

from

us

so

that

with

no

malice

no

grudges

he

can

say

things

to

us

like

do

not

be

afraid

do

not

be

discouraged

my

friends

being a

Christian

is not

about

playing

spiritual

games

it's

not

about

having

a

spare

time

religious

interest

called

Christianity

it

demands

the

whole

of

our

being

that's

what

we

see

at

the

end

of

Joshua

8

covenant

obedience

covenant

commitment

we

cannot

declare

allegiance

to

Christ

and

then

go

on

living

in

disobedience

which

is

exactly

what

I

can

did

because

the

two

attitudes

are in

fact

mutually

exclusive

but

if we

seek to

live in

obedience

although

we

will

often

fail

and

we

will

fall

if

our

lives

are

characterized

by

repentance

and

trust

and

obedience

God

is

with

us

as

the

old

song

goes

there's

no

other

way

to

be

happy

in

Jesus

than

to

trust

and

obey

this

God

is

committed

to

those

who

trust

and

obey

him

even

though

he's

a

God

who's

not

to

be

trifled

with

and

his

promised

victories

and

blessings

will

become

ours

because

that's

the

sort

of

God

he

actually

is

God

there's

God

Thank you.