Jesus and the Jericho Plan

Would you open a Bible to Joshua chapter 6?

Joshua 6 · chapter mention

And as you're turning, I'm going to pray for us.

Father God, we are your people. We are the sheep of your

pasture. And we would hear your voice

today. We ask you to send your Spirit,

and we ask you to teach us that this most famous story would

become our story and would become a teacher for us, proving

an example for us, giving us wisdom, giving us courage,

giving us the humility that it ought to as we stand and hear

the Lord Jesus Christ commanding his armies to move forward, to

take dominion. Lord, would you, Would you speak

to us? Would you encourage us?

Would you instruct us? So we ask you to bless us in

these moments through your Word and through your Spirit.

We ask it in Jesus name, Amen. So before we read Joshua chapter

Joshua 6 · chapter mention

6, there's a helpful thing to do sometimes when you read the

scriptures, especially if it's a very familiar story, is to try

and read it like you've never read it before.

Like this is the first time we've ever read the story and we

just want to observe details as we go through.

There's typically 2 hats you want to wear when you're when

you're trying to dig into the scriptures. 1 is the hat of a

novice. You, you'd never know the story

to, to kind of help yourself see it with fresh eyes.

And then you want to put on your thinking cap and know everything

you can possibly know about the scriptures to kind of draw out

the meaning. And So what I would like to do

is invite you as I read, We're going to read the whole chapter

together. I want you to, I want you to

read it as if for the first time.

It's the story of the fall of Jericho and you know it, but

read it as if for the first time.

And then when we're done, I will point out some details that you

might have missed and some of the meaning here.

So you're in Joshua chapter 6, verse one.

Joshua 6 · chapter mention

This is the word of the Lord. Now Jericho was shut up inside

and outside because of the people of Israel.

None went out and none came in. And then Yahweh said to Joshua,

See, I have given Jericho into your hand with its king and

mighty men of valor, You shall March around the city, all the

men of war going around the city once.

Thus you shall do for six days, 7 priests shall bear 7 trumpets

of ram's horns before the ark. On the 7th day you shall March

around the city 7 times, and the priests shall shall blow the

trumpets. And when they make a long blast

with the ram's horn, when you hear the sound of the trumpet,

then all the people shall shout with a great shout, and the wall

of the city will fall down flat, and the people shall go up

everyone straight before him. So Joshua son of Nun called the

priests and said to them, Take up the ark of the covenant, and

let 7 priests bear 7 trumpets of ram's horns before the ark of

the Lord of Yahweh. And he said to the people, go

forward, March around the city, and let the armed men pass on

before the ark of Yahweh. And just as Joshua had commanded

the people, the seven priests bearing the seven trumpets of

ram's horns before Yahweh. Does this sound familiar?

Is it getting tedious? The same detail repeated again

and again and again? I hope so.

They went forward blowing the trumpets, with the ark of the

covenant of Yahweh following them.

The armed men were walking before the priests who were

blowing the trumpets, and the rear guard was walking after the

ark while the trumpets blew continually.

But Joshua commanded the people. You shall not shout or make your

voice heard, neither shall any word go out of your mouth until

the day I tell you to shout, and then you shall shout.

So he caused the ark of Yahweh to circle the city, going about

it once. And they came into the camp and

spent the night in the camp. And then Joshua rose early in

the morning, and the priest took up the ark of Yahweh.

And the seven priests, bear, here we go again.

The seven priests bearing the seven trumpets of ram's horns

before the ark of Yahweh walked on.

And they blew the trumpets continually.

And the armed men were walking before them, and the rear guard

was walking after the ark of Yahweh while the trumpets blew

continually. And the second day they marched

around the city once and returned into the camp.

And so they did for six days. Verse 15, if you write in your

Bibles, put this in a parentheses.

On the 7th day, it's a Sabbath day.

On the 7th day, they rose early in the dawn of the at dawn of

day, at the dawn of day and marched around the city in the

same manner 7 times. It was only on that day that

they marched around the city 7 times.

And at the 7th time, when the priest had blown the trumpet,

Joshua said to the people, Shout, For Yahweh has given you

the city, and the city and all that is within it shall be

devoted to Yahweh for destruction.

Only Rahab the prostitute, and all that were with her in the

house shall live, because she hid the messengers whom he sent.

But you keep yourself from the things devoted to destruction,

lest when you have devoted them, you take any of the devoted

things, and make the camp of Israel a thing devoted, a thing

for destruction, and bring trouble upon it.

That's foreshadowing for Chapter 7.

But all silver and gold, every vessel of bronze and iron, are

holy to the Lord, and they shall go into the treasury of Yahweh.

So the people shouted, and the trumpets were blown.

As soon as the people heard the sound of the trumpet, the people

shouted a great shout, and the wall fell down flat, so that the

people went up into the city, every man straight before him.

They captured the city, then they devoted it all, all in it,

in the city to destruction, both men and women, young and old,

oxen, sheep, donkeys with the edge of the sword.

But to the two men who had spied out the land, Joshua said, Go

into the prostitute's house and bring out from there the woman

and all who belong to her, as you swore to her.

So the young men who had, who had been spies, went in and

brought out Rahab and her father and mother and brothers and all

who belonged to her. And they brought all her

relatives and put them outside the camp of Israel.

And they burned the city with fire.

Everything in it, only the silver and golden vessels of

bronze of iron, they put into the treasury of the House of

Yahweh. But Rahab, the prostitute in her

father's household, and all who belonged to her, Joshua saved a

line. And she has lived in Israel to

this day, because she hid the messengers whom Joshua sent to

spy out Jericho. Joshua laid an oath on them at

that time, saying, cursed before Yahweh, be the man who raises up

and rebuilds this city, Jericho. At the cost of his first born he

shall lay its foundation, and at the cost of his youngest son he

shall set up its gates. So Yahweh was with Joshua and

his fame was in all the land. This is the word of the Lord.

OK, so there's two details in this text that I think are

commonly overlooked and both have profound biblical

consequences. If we see what they're teaching,

they have massive consequences for biblical interpretation.

The the two details are the first one is the planner of the

battle plan of Jericho, and the second is the details of the

plan itself. Now obviously it would be easy

for us to say we all know that it was God who gave Joshua the

plan. But I wonder if that's a clear

enough thing for us to say. It's just God.

It's God's plan. There's something deeper here.

We have been taught, inadvertently or advertently I

don't know, that the Old Testament God was a God of wrath

and vengeance, of lions and tigers and bears.

Oh my. And that the New Testament God

is a God of grace and mercy and love.

Lambs and cuddly rabbits. That's what we've been taught.

Wrath, anger, love, mercy. Brothers and sisters, this text

excludes that idea all together and shows us something shocking

about our God. So in order to see it, you have

to actively disregard the chapter break between chapters

5:00 and 6:00. So we need to remember where

Joshua is when he's hearing this command.

Joshua hears the Jericho battle plan as he is barefoot prostate.

His face is in the dirt before a man standing with a drone sword.

Never forget that. Never forget that this man

himself styles himself in the following manner, that I am the

commander of the armies of Yahweh.

This man, whoever he is, receives worship from Joshua

like no created being ever has done in all of the scripture.

When Joshua asks this man for orders, the 1st order he gives

is to go. Is is greater humility in

worship? Take off the sandals from your

feet for the place where your standing is holy.

Brothers and sisters, this man who gives the battle plan is

none other than Christ the Lord. It is Jesus Christ pre Incarnate

who came and gave Joshua his plan.

So it's Joshua the greater giving a plan to Joshua the

younger. So none other than our dear Lord

Jesus Christ gives Joshua this plan.

And so let me remind all of us, brothers and sisters, that the

Christ who died for us is a holy, holy, holy Christ.

He is holy. He is altogether holy, A Christ

before whom angels must prostate fall, a Christ who has promised

either to rule all nations in love or ruin all nations in

wrath. He is holy and he is Christ the

Lord. OK, so so let's dispatch with

this Old Testament God of vengeance, New Testament God of

grace and love. This is Christ who is his name

is faithful and true. He's the one who gives the

orders. The other detail we need to

think on that will help us make sense of one of the most often

misunderstood books in the entirety of the Bible is the

battle plan that Jesus gives. It's very interesting.

You've known for a long time the counter intuition of this plan.

Nobody lays siege this way. Nobody does it.

We need to take a city. This is not the way we do it.

We expect ramparts, battering Rams, months or years of

skirmishes and Sally's, and then the eventual breach in the wall.

Small breach. Nobody's expecting a military

parade that leads to a sweeping victory.

But that's not what I want you to see.

What I want you to see is something more.

Have you ever noticed? You probably noticed it as we

read it together just now, the tediousness of the telling of

this tale, Like, listen, whoever wrote this book, you can get a

lot shorter. Just tell us this is what we're

doing. It's one time and then move on.

But there's this repeated, repeated how many times we got,

we got told that it was 7 priests with 7 trumpets and the

ark and the army. And they go around once a day.

And then on the 7th day, they go around again on 7 times.

So the writer of this book thinks it is really, really,

really important that we remember the details.

And what we need to remember is that the details of this battle

plan are like, are like nesting dolls, Russian nesting dolls.

Just go with me for a moment. My favorite author calls them.

One of my favorite teachers calls them telescoping sevens.

We're going to call them seven Russian nesting dolls in Nacho

accent. So you have first the first set

of dolls. You have 7 priests bearing 7

trumpets before the ark and they're walking before the army

rearguard in the back and they they walk 7 times.

They they walk once a day for seven days.

That's the that's the picture. OK, so first seven days are

first are our first seven dolls. And when you get to the 7th day,

7th day in a row of this, of this battle plan madness.

But when you get to the 7th day, you open that day and you reach

another set of seven. So once a day for seven days.

Then we get to that 7th day and now we open that one and we have

7 more trips around the city. A second set of seven dolls.

And when they've walked around the city on their seventh time,

you get another set of 77 trumpets blown, the people shout

and the walls fall flat. So summary just when the 7th 7

of Sevens takes place, the city that is under God's wrath falls,

the people under his protection are saved and the enemies of God

perish. Y'all see that?

It's very very important that you would understand because if

you don't understand this you will never understand the Book

of Revelation. Has anybody ever noticed that in

the Book of Revelation the battle plan is exactly the same

as the battle of Jericho? You have you have 7 seals, 7

trumpets, and seven bowls of judgment.

So when Christ is found in his ascension, this is Revelation 5.

When He is found in his ascension to be the only one

worthy to break the seals and open the scroll, there are 7

seals on the scroll and he breaks each one in turn, and

each one comes as a series of judgments upon the land of

Israel, focusing upon the apostate Temple in Jerusalem.

So there's 7 seals and we think, OK, that's the judgment, it's

just 7 seals. But then we get to the 7th seal

and it opens into 7 sequential trumpets that circle the same

territory. They just go back around.

The same kind of judgments are mentioned.

The judgments they bring are the the same essentially as the seal

judgments because it's all the same battle.

So you have a 7 and then on that 7th you have another set of

seven and then when the 7th trumpet is sounded, we are given

another set of 77 bowls of wrath that are poured out upon

Jerusalem as the final spend of God's fury on them for

crucifying his Son and for brutalizing his Son's bride.

So do you see that the, the, the battle plan of Joshua that Jesus

gives Joshua is essentially the same battle plan that Jesus

tells John he is going to use when he attacks and brings

judgement on Jerusalem? So the Book of Revelation is a

retelling of the battle of Jericho.

You read the Book of Revelation, you see it, it is equipped with

two spies that go into the city to save a remnant, a small

remnant. You have a saved Rahab.

You have the commander of the army of Yahweh bringing

judgement upon the same land but a different city in Canaan.

So just it's, it's very important, brothers, our thrice

holy Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.

And apparently he loves to begin his conquest in the exact same

way. So Jericho marks the beginning

of God's conquest of the land of Canaan.

And the fall of Jerusalem in 70 AD marked the beginning of

Christ's conquest of the world. So the new and better Joshua

began with Jerusalem in 70 AD, and he saw to it that Rome was

the next city to fall. This time, instead of falling in

judgement, it fell to conversion.

And then Paris fell and the heathen N fell, the English

Isles, the North, North Africa, eastward to India and to China

and even to Japan. Colonial America, the Canadian N

the Catholic South America. Christ began with Jerusalem and

has been establishing His rule upon the earth ever since.

The fall of Jerusalem is just like the fall of Jericho and

that it was the beginning of the end of paganism that Joshua is

going to conquer and Christ is going to conquer Joshua, the

land of Canaan, Christ the very world.

He is Lord of all nations, and they will give their free or

their forced Amen period. So says King Jesus.

So let me give you a a really fun detail about the Book of

Revelation and how Joshua helps us to understand it in the

ancient world, If if it was literature, it was written

chiastically, which just means the beginning and the end are

paired, they match. And then the second from the

beginning and the second from the end are paired, They match

and it builds to the very center.

And the center is always the most important thing.

And so if you find an ancient work that is, that is a work of

literature, you can count on it. You can, you can, you can start

in the beginning and start in the end and count conceptually

and mathematically to the very center of the book.

And when you get there, you will find what the author really

wants to highlight. And so as John would have it

riding in the under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit,

he gave us these words at the dead center of the Book of

Revelation. So if you if you start at the

beginning of Revelation and at the end and you count to the

middle, this is what you hear. This is what you hear.

Then the 7th Angel blew his trumpet.

So it's the it's the middle set of seven judgments, the last of

the middle set giving way to the bulls.

The 7th Angel blew his trumpet and there were loud voices in

heaven. Just like when Joshua blows the

trumpet, there's a shout, the people shout and the walls fall

flat. The 7th Angel blows his trumpet.

There were loud voices in heaven saying, what shall they preach?

Brother, sister, what's the what is the message of the Book of

Revelation? This is it.

The Kingdom of the world has become the Kingdom of our Lord

and of his Christ, and he shall reign forever.

That's the point of the Book of Revelation is that Christ has

begun his conquest and the 24 elders who sit on their Thrones

before God fell on their faces and worshiped God, saying,

listen close, we give thanks to you, Lord God Almighty, who is

and who was for you have taken your great power.

Watch these words and begun to reign.

He didn't bring it to completion at the fall of Jerusalem, but

that marks the beginning of the conquest of the world.

You have taken your power. You have begun to reign.

The nations raged, but your wrath came.

And the time for the dead to be judged and for rewarding your

servants, the prophets and Saints, those who fear your

name, both great and small. And for destroying the

destroyers of the earth. That's the mathematical center

of the Book of Revelation, that at the fall of Jerusalem, Christ

began to conquer on this world. OK, so we.

Yeah, we need to, we need to, to deal with and this text, one of

the most controversial ideas in your scripture.

If you have an atheist or if you have somebody who, who doesn't

want to believe the scriptures, typically what they do is they

borrow God's standard of morality and use it to judge

God. And they say things like, how

could a good God orchestrate the eradication of a, of a, of a

nation of, of a city of Jericho, we were told.

They devoted the city to destruction.

Men, women, young, old, oxen, sheep, donkeys with the edge of

the sword. So the question is, how can a

good God order the utter annihilation of the land of

Canaan? And I'm glad you asked, because

there's an important detail here that makes that controversy not

a controversy at all. It's not a controversy, and it's

not even close. The reminder in this text is

that Israel's extermination of the people of Jericho is not

rendered. It's not told to us as a story

of good guys killing bad guys. It's just not that.

Rather, it's a story. It's given to us as a story of

God shows his glory and mercy to some and God shows his glory and

judgement to others. And that is the point.

And the only difference is covenant relationship.

So you have all the people are bad people on this side, people

on that side, all of them are bad.

But God is in covenant with some and therefore he blesses those

some and the other are not in covenant with God and he brings

judgement upon them. Listen to the apostle Paul

talking about this same concept. He says, what shall we say then?

Is there injustice on God's part?

By no means, for he says to Moses quote, and he's quoting

Yahweh, I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will

have compassion on whom I have compassion.

And so then it depends not on human will or exertion, not on

human choosing, not on humans walking an aisle, not on humans

praying a prayer. It depends not on human will nor

exertion, but on God who has mercy.

For the Scripture says to Pharaoh.

And again, this is quoting God for this very purpose.

I have raised you up that I might show my power in you and

that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth.

So, so then he has mercy on whomever he wills, and he

hardens whomever he wills. By the way, if you have a

problem with what I'm saying, just understand I'm not your

problem. You got a problem with Paul, you

got a problem with the Bible, and most importantly, you have a

problem with the God of the Bible.

Paul goes on to say, you will say to me, then why does he

still find fault? For who can resist his will?

But who are you, O man, to answer back to God, what is

molded will? What is molded say to its

molder? Why have you made me like this?

Has the Potter no right over the clay to make of the same lump 1

vessel for honorable use and another for dishonorable use?

What if God, desiring to show his wrath and to make known His

power, has endured with much patience vessels of wrath

prepared for destruction, in order to make known the riches

of His glory for vessels of mercy which He has prepared

beforehand for glory, even us whom He has called, not from

Jews only, but also from the Gentiles.

Listen to me. This text is certainly not the

only thing to say on this matter.

The matter of God's severity and judgment and His prodigality and

mercy. But I'm going to resist the

temptation and the urge to show a biblical balance because this

aspect, this sovereign grace of God, is the one aspect of His

character that you just cannot talk about in our day.

You can't say it boils down to God and his choice, not man and

His choice. You can't say that, but the

Bible teaches that from beginning to end and all the way

in between. So I'm not going to balance it

out. I'm just going to let us sit and

Stew, OK, stewing in the truth that our God's mercy is a

sovereign mercy. He is still thrice holy, and let

all the earth keep silent before him.

And what that means, brother and sister, is that if you are in

and under the mercy of God, it ain't because you got your stuff

together and you're just so darn lovable.

You're like Rahab the prostitute that God just sovereignly says,

this one's mine. And so we shut our mouths and

don't have this idea of they're the bad guys and we're the good

guys. All of us are bad.

But he gives mercy. He gives mercy.

Our God, listen to me, would be perfectly just if He gave

command and slew the lot of mankind upon the earth,

including you and yours and me and mine.

Perfectly just. There would be no hint of of

injustice on His part if He burned the world with fire and

this time provided no arc of salvation for anyone.

It is what we deserve and it is what His just and holy nature

demands. Justice is not the problem

according to Scripture. The great mystery in the Bible

is not just judgment of God upon sinners.

It's not that all the people in Jericho were were killed.

It's that some were saved. That's the mystery.

How can God do that? The greatest mystery is God's

mercy. Mercy on sinners like the

Jericho prostitute, deserving of wrath by nature and by choice.

Mercy given to sinners like the ones she kept in her house.

Mercy given to sinners like the preacher in Muldoon and like the

sinners who gathered to hear and preach every Sunday.

That's the mystery, brothers and sisters, is how you can be found

in His mercy, and how I can be found in His mercy.

And so I repeat to all of us, the justice in the judgment of a

holy God upon sinners is not the mystery.

The mystery is His mercy, the mercy on any sinners.

So Joshua and the people of God are not good people.

They are sinners in the hands of a covenant keeping God who is

holy. And Rahab also is in his hands.

And so are you if you have repented of your sin and clung

in faith to Christ and there is invitation for any to repent and

to come and to be in covenant with him.

But we need to know that he is holy.

So one last short note before we come to the table.

Joshua at the end of this verse. I don't know if you if that hit

you as a jarring detail. What do you do after a a

resounding victory over a city? Well, the best thing to do is to

pronounce a curse on anybody who would want to build it up like

it's just the most weird text. It's it's kind of a jarring

thing. But Joshua pronounces a curse

upon the city of Jericho, which becomes a prophecy.

It actually happens, and it gives great insight into the

types of nations that Christ puts under foot in order to

break them forever. This is what we're told.

Joshua laid an oath on them, saying at that time, cursed

before the Lord, be the man who raises up and rebuilds this

city, Jericho. Listen to these words.

At the cost of his first born, he shall lay its foundation, and

at the cost of his youngest, he shall set up its gate.

What occurs? You rebuild this city, you're

going to lose 2 kids in the process.

Now, the offending word here, not offending, but the the word

that that renders the wrong idea to us is the word cost.

We tend to read it. I wonder if you're like me,

you've tended to read this as though if somebody tries to do

it. Maybe he doesn't even know that

Joshua has spoken. He just fat, dumb and happy goes

to rebuild the city and then God strikes his first born and then

when he finishes God kills his youngest.

I think this would be a great mistake.

The word doesn't speak of consequence, it speaks of cost.

That would be consequence. He will.

He will lay it at the consequence of his first born.

God is going to judge his first born if he does this.

It's not what the text says. It says he will lay it at the

cost, meaning if you want to do this thing, this is what you

will have to pay. That's the meaning.

Now, astounding fact. Archaeologists have discovered a

chilling fact in their excavations of the cities of pre

Israelite Canaan. Canaan.

And what they found are the remains of ritualistically

sacrificed children. And do you know where they would

bury them? They would bury them under the

foundation of the city, under the threshold of the city.

Which just goes to show you that Satan is A1 trick pony.

Satan's mantra is quote, give me the people of tomorrow, namely

your children. Give them to me now for the sake

of your prosperity now. So just sacrifice tomorrow for

prosperity now. So in their world, it was the

ritualistic sacrifice of their children and the burial of that

body under the threshold of the city or house as a guarantee for

prosperity, for the house or for the city.

That's what they would do. And it's it is pervasive across

the land of Canaan, a can. When a Canaanite would build a

city, they would sacrifice a child and buried under the

foundation. I think that's what Joshua was

saying. When Israel has fallen into such

apostasy that they would dare to rebuild Jericho, they will be in

such a state that they will they will be sacrificing their

children just like the Canaanites as a guarantee for

prosperity. So in our world we have the

satanic and sickening logic that has deceived so many that

children are too expensive for single mothers and that a baby

must die so that the mother can thrive.

There's nothing new under the sun.

This has been Satan's game from the beginning.

And so, Speaking of the just and holy wrath of God, this is just

the type of thing that our Christ hates with every fiber

and will judge when it is not repented of.

We have bodies in our past. We have if we have repented, He

is faithful and just not to require their blood at our

hands. Some of you bought into that

line and some of you have repented and all of you who have

done that and have repented, Christ has forgiven and there is

pardon, real pardon, forever and free.

But when those on the satanic left and those on the satanic

right of our political order, just so you know, I think

President Trump has been functionally our most our most

pro-life president of all time. But he said these words not too

long ago. He said, yeah, Christians,

something to the effect of Christians are going to have to

learn to compromise on abortion. Hell no.

Never in life we will never do that.

We will never compromise on murder.

Never. Now can we take incremental

approaches to to eradicating it? Of course we can.

But compromise, No, never in life.

Our entire country needs a healthy dose of Ninevite

sackcloth and ashes from the greatest to the least of us.

Or mark my words, brothers, sisters, Christ will make

America just one more relic and ruin of Satanistic paganism.

So let us pray. We do pray this.

We need to pray this more fervently, more consistently

that God would bring repentance, not just retribution, because we

deserve it. As a nation, we are up to our

ears, yeah, over our heads, in the blood of our children.

No nation can defy Christ like we have done and last long upon

this earth. And so, Speaking of cities

founded upon the blood and bones of children, we cannot do this

Pagan practice because God himself has already done it.

I don't know if you've ever spotted this or known this, but

we are the heavenly city of God, the New Jerusalem, coming out

down out of heaven from God. Our walls are the living stones

that He has named and that He himself is set in place.

And the foundation of our city is the cornerstone Himself,

Jesus Christ, the Son of God, crucified and raised so that the

city of God could have a sure foundation.

Indeed, the fear of the Lord is the treasure of Zion, and the

blood of Christ, brothers and sisters, is our sure foundation.

But He is risen, and so there are no bones to bury under the

threshold. His His body was broken for you.

His blood was poured out for the forgiveness of your sins.

And it is to our own damnation that we say to our children, You

must die, that I might live. It is to our wondrous salvation

that Christ has said to us, I die so that you might live.

This table, listen to me. This table is for those who have

blood and their Ledger. This table is for those who have

skeletons in their closet. This table is for those who are

clothed in the Crimson Rams of sin.

Christ has come to give you new garments, white and clean, to

cleanse every spot and every wrinkle, because He came to make

his Ledger your Ledger. So come to the table, sinners

repentant, and know the mystery of Divine Mercy, for it is a

just mercy too. You come to the judge of

Jericho. You come to the rescuer of

Rahab. You come.

Welcome to King Jesus. Let me pray for us.

Father in heaven, we pray as we come to the table, Lord, that

you administer to us by your Spirit as we eat and drink in

remembrance of Christ, remembering that we were dead in

our trespasses and sins and in your great mercy, because of the

great love with which you loved us, You, you raised us up with

Christ. You forgave us of our sin.

You reunited us to yourself in covenant loyalty.

And so our only claim, our only boasts, our only hope is Christ

the Lord, the greater Joshua, who comes to us as a rescuer.

So would you come to this table? Would you minister to us as we

eat and as we drink in humility, remembering that we stand here

because of your sovereign mercy toward us alone?

We trust You for that, and we ask you to draw near in Christ's

name, Amen.