Sunday, May 17: Joshua

Joshua 7-8

Two weeks ago, we saw God perform one of his most famous miracles in bringing down the walls of Jericho. From the outside, Jericho looked impenetrable. Fortified walls six feet thick. No one came in. No one went out. But not even that could stop God and He delivered the city to Israel as He had promised.

Joshua 7 and 8 are the flip side of the glory of the battle of Jericho in chapter 6. The first words are ominous: “But the people of Israel broke faith in regard to the devoted things . . . ” (Joshua 7:1). In the battle of Jericho, we saw what God would do when Israel trusted Him wholeheartedly. In the battle of Ai, we see the opposite.

Israel needed the lessons of both Jericho and Ai if they were going to occupy the Promised Land. (Remember, those giants were still there!) God promised to give them the land, but they needed to trust Him to receive it.

This week, we are going to look at the holiness of God and our response to it. Israel failed to respect God’s holiness at Ai and it cost them. But, God wasn’t done with them, and they also learned an important lesson about grace.

See you on Sunday!