We're gonna take a look this
evening at Joshua chapter eight, and I'm using for the title and
subject for the message from what the Lord had given to Israel
in their day. And the title and the subject,
as we read in chapter eight, is complete victory over Ai. Or we could say Joshua was given
a complete victory over every enemy. He won the day convincingly. Now remember before they were
soundly defeated by the armies of Ai. They went up to take Ai
in the energy of the flesh without waiting upon the Lord. If you
want to turn back to Chapter 7. In Chapter 7, remember, when the men, they chose out
3,000 men to go up, they said, let us go up, we can take the
city, remember? Verse 3, chapter 7, they returned
to Joshua and said, let not all the people go up, but let about
2 or 3,000 men go up and let us smite Ai. Make not all the
people to labor there, for they were but few. And so they went
up to Ai, those 3,000 men, and we know from reading in chapter
7 that they were smitten. 36 of them were killed and they
went back running back to the camp in confusion and with the judgment
of God upon them. Instead of waiting upon the Lord,
they went in the energy of the flesh. Instead of waiting, as
David said, wait I say upon the Lord and again I say wait. Remember
too how Joshua mourned over the loss. You remember back in chapter
7 verse 7, and Joshua said, Alas, O Lord, wherefore hast thou at
all brought this people over Jordan to deliver us into the
hand of the Amorite to destroy us? Would to God we had been
content and dwelt on the other side of Jordan. He was heartbroken
when they were defeated and those men were killed. But now, a complete
different story. We see tragedy turned into triumph,
and we see that by the hand of the Lord. In chapter 8 of Joshua,
the Lord completely destroyed the enemy, and Israel is able
to defeat the enemy because they do so by the will of the Lord. if you look at chapter 8 verse
25 and verse 26. And so it was that all that fell
that day, both men and women were 12,000, even all the men
of Ai. And Joshua drew not his hand
back wherewith he stretched out the spear until he had utterly
consumed all the inhabitants of Ai. The Lord completely destroyed
Ai by the hand of his Joshua. Israel is able to defeat the
enemy because they do so this time by the command of God and
by the will of God. Remember, he worketh all things
after the counsel of his own will. We can learn many lessons
from this chapter, but let us learn how the Lord is able to
bless his people even in all their trials, or what we might
say, their AI, their trial, their conflict, their difficult. The
difficulties that we might face, and we face them every day, don't
we? Difficulties and heartaches, different things in this life.
The Lord has promised his people daily grace for every trial the
Lord sends our way. And these trials are called precious
trials. In 2 Corinthians 12 verse 9,
remember when Paul asked the Lord to remove that thorn in
the flesh You know, a thorn in the flesh is a painful thing.
You just get a little thorn or a sliver, that's a painful thing. And Paul asked the Lord to remove
that trial, that thorn in the flesh, and the Lord said, my
grace is sufficient. Let me read that scripture to
you. My grace is sufficient for thee.
For my strength is made perfect in weakness, most gladly therefore
will I rather glory in my infirmity that the power of Christ, the
power of Christ may rest upon me. Now, let's begin by looking
at verses one and two in Joshua chapter eight. And the Lord said,
and the Lord said. Now when the Lord speaks, And
when he speaks, he speaks with absolute power. We ought to sit
up and listen. And the Lord said, remember James
said, let us be swift to hear, swift to hear, slow to speak.
And the Lord said unto Joshua, fear not, fear not. Neither be thou dismayed, but
take all the people of war with thee, and arise and go up to
Ai. See, I have given into thy hand
the king of Ai, his people, his city, and his land. And thou
shalt do to Ai and her king as thou didst unto Jericho and her
king, only the spoil thereof, the cattle thereof, shall ye
take for a prey unto yourselves. Lay thee an ambush for the city
behind it." Now, Joshua, he said, fear not. Don't even be discouraged. Don't even be dismayed. Now remember
before he was so discouraged when they were defeated. He said,
Lord, it would have been better if we just stayed over there
on the other side of Jordan. No, it wouldn't. No, it wouldn't. But Joshua, fear not. Be not
dismayed. Don't be discouraged. Don't be
cast down. Don't be depressed. What a comfort
this word of the Lord must have been to his servant Joshua. What a comfort this must have
been to him at this time when he needed to hear a word of encouragement
to strengthen his heart, to strengthen his faith, the Lord sent him
a word in due season and due time. Now, Joshua had heard something
similar Before, turn back just a few pages into Deuteronomy
chapter 31, verse 7 and 8. Deuteronomy 31, 7 and 8. And
Moses called, verse 7, Deuteronomy 31, 7. And Moses called unto
Joshua and said unto him, in the sight of all Israel, be strong
and of good courage for thou must go with this people "'unto
the land which the Lord hath sworn "'unto their fathers to
give them, "'and thou shalt cause them to inherit it. "'And the
Lord, it is he that goeth before thee, "'and he will be with thee. "'He will not fail thee, neither
forsake thee, "'fear not, neither be dismayed.'" Now, this is a
word that Joshua had heard before. You remember, turn to Joshua
chapter one. Joshua chapter 1 verse 5, there
shall not any man be able to stand before thee all the days
of thy life. As I was with Moses, I'll be
with thee. I will not fail thee. I will
not forsake thee. Be strong. Be of good courage
unto this people. Thou shalt divide for an inheritance
of land, which I swear unto their fathers to give them Only be
strong and be courageous that thou mayest observe to do according
to the law, according to the word of God. Turn not away from
it, not to the right hand nor the left hand. And God said,
I will prosper, I will prosper you. Now, fear not, I'm with
thee. It reminded me of what the Lord
said on another occasion. To Peter, turn over to John chapter
14. Remember, Peter had said unto the Lord
that I will never forsake thee. I'll follow thee wherever you
go. I'll lay down my life for your
sake, for thy sake. And the Lord in Joshua, this
is John chapter 13 verse 38, and we'll get to chapter 14.
And the Lord said, will you lay down thy life for my sake? Verily I say unto you, unto thee
the cock shall not crow till thou hast denied me three times. Three times you're going to deny
me. Now, what do you think Peter's frame of mind was when he heard
the Lord say, you're going to deny me? He's thinking, he knows
he's got to be perplexed and maybe even dismayed, but look
what the Lord says here. And in essence, it's the same
thing. Chapter 14, John 14.1, let not
your heart be troubled, You believe in God, believe also in me. Fear not, be not dismayed. Let
not your heart be troubled. In my Father's house are many
mansions. If it were not so, I would have told you. I go to
prepare a place for you, I will. And if I go and prepare a place
for you, I will come again and receive you unto myself where
I am, there you may be also. Now, you know that had to encourage
Peter. when the Lord said, you're going
to forsake me, and then the Lord turns right around and encourages
him. This too is a message of the gospel of the Lord Jesus
Christ that we need to hear. Oh, may God give us ears to hear
it and to believe him. We have no need to fear, even
to be dismayed, not believers. You know, the first time we read
those words, they were said to Abraham. When Abraham was in
the air of the Chaldees, when God called him out, he said,
fear not, Abram. I am thy shield and thy exceeding
great reward. Fear not. Believe God. Believe God. You know, faith
and fear are somewhat opposites, are they not? If we believe God,
we have nothing to fear. Turn over to Isaiah 41. Several times in the book of
Isaiah, this statement is given to us to encourage our heart.
Oh, that we may hear the word of the Lord. Isaiah 41, 10. Isaiah
41, 10. Fear thou not. This is one of
my favorite verses in the book of Isaiah. Fear thou not. I am
with thee. Be not dismayed. Same message,
is it not? Be not discouraged, I am thy
God, I will strengthen thee, yea, I will help thee. Yea, I
will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness, I will
be with thee. Same chapter, Isaiah 41, look
at verse 14. Isaiah 41, 14. Fear not thy worm, Jacob, ye
men of Israel. I will help thee, saith the Lord,
thy Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel. See right here in the
book of Isaiah, look at Isaiah 43, Isaiah 43 one. Isaiah 43 one, but now thus saith
the Lord that created thee, O Jacob, he that formed thee, O Israel,
fear not, fear not. Well, I have redeemed thee, I
have called thee by thy name, you're mine, do not fear. And then one other reference,
turn one page, Isaiah 44, Isaiah 44, verse one and two. Yet now
here, O Jacob, my servant, and Israel, whom I have chosen, God's
chosen us. Fear not, hear, lest saith the
Lord that made thee and formed thee from the womb which will
help thee. Fear not, O Jacob, my servant,
and thou, Jeshurun, another name for Israel, whom I have chosen. Fear not. We have all through
the Word of God much reason to trust Him rather than to fear. It is the sweet promise of our
unfailing God in the midst of all our heartaches, discouragements,
trials, and our spiritual warfare that the Lord would have us to
trust Him and not fear when these precious trials come our way. They come from the hand of our
loving Father and therefore are good. You remember Peter said
this, The trial of your faith, being much more precious than
gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be
found unto praise and honor at the appearing of the Lord Jesus
Christ. Trials are more precious than
gold. Gold perishes. God works the
trial that he sends our way. He works that trial in our heart
for our eternal good. And that trial will keep on and
keep on and keep on until it has worked God's purpose in our
heart and in our life. We read in Romans, and we know
that all things All things work together for good to them who
love God, to them who are called according to his purpose. That's why Paul says, in everything,
let us give thanks. In all things, let us give thanks. Now here's a second thought over
here in Joshua chapter eight. God promised to Joshua, not only
his presence, but also the victory over the enemy. Look what he
says, to rise and go up to Ai, see I have given into thy hand
the king, his people, his city, and his
land. Thou shalt do to Ai and her king
as thou did to Jericho and her king only to spoil thereof. The
cattle thereof you shall take for prey unto yourselves, lay
thee in ambush for the city, behind it. He even tells him
the battle plan, gets him the battle plan. Now God promised
Joshua not only his presence but also the victory. Now think about this, the final
outcome was not in doubt, was it? You're going to go up and
maybe, maybe you'll win the day and maybe not. No, you're going
to go up and I'm going to give that city into your hand. The
final outcome was never in doubt. The Lord even told Joshua how
to win. He gave him the battle plan to
lay ambush for the city. Remember when Israel came to
the Red Sea and Pharaoh and his army went down in after them
and the sea covered them up and they all drowned. And Israel
on the other side, you remember they sang that song of victory. And here's some of the words
of that song. They said, the Lord is a man
of war. The Lord is his name. The Lord is a man of war. David said in Psalm 44, we just
read a moment ago, the Lord is my strength which teaches my
hands to war and my fingers to fight. The Lord teaches us how
to deal with our enemies and how to deal with our trials.
David was not strong in David. His strength was in the Lord
his God. Remember in defeating Goliath,
that giant? He said to Goliath, you come
out with sword and spear, but I come to thee in the name of
the living God. Now who's gonna win that battle?
God has the victory over all his enemies. David was strong,
not in David, but David was strong in trusting the Lord. And so
it is with us. The Lord is our refuge and our
strength and the very present help in our trouble. Same God. He said, I'm the Lord,
I change not. Therefore you sons of Jacob,
you are not consumed. The Lord has promised never to
leave us or forsake us. We can be sure His promise never
fails, not one time. You remember from our study in
the book of Hebrews 13, the Lord said, I'll never leave thee,
I'll never forsake thee. He has said, so that we may boldly
say, the Lord is our helper. He will not forsake us. He will
not leave us. And then the Lord promised His
church when He ascended up on high, recorded in Matthew 28,
He said, Lo, I am with you always. He said, all power in heaven
and earth is given unto me. Go and preach that gospel. Remember,
I am with you always, always. The Lord has also promised his
people that he would never leave us, he would never forsake us,
and his promise is certain and true, yea and amen. The Lord
has also promised to provide for us. to provide for us. Haven't you found that true all
your life? That the Lord has provided for
you all, even before you knew him, the Lord has provided for
us. My God shall supply all your
need according to his riches in glory. He is Jehovah Jireh. What does that mean? The Lord
will provide. And he provides in an abundant
way. I often think of the Lord with
his disciples in that ship when the storm came up and when the
ship started taking on water and the boat started to sink.
And they, like Joshua, were fearful and dismayed. Lord, don't you
care? This boat's going to sink. We're
all going to drown. Remember what the Lord said?
Why are you so fearful, O ye of little faith? And the Lord
stood forth and rebuked the wind, and there was a great calm. Remember
what they said? Oh, what manner of man is this,
that even the wind and the sea obey his word? He not only stopped
the wind, but those waves, the momentum of those waves. It was
a great calm. That's the power of our God. Here's the second thing I want
us to look at in verses 3 down through verse 8. So Joshua rose
and all the people of war to go up against Ai and Joshua chose
out 30,000 mighty men of valor. Now some think 30,000 here and
then the 5,000 down here that lie in ambush, some think maybe
a total of 35,000. Before they just went up with
3,000 men, but now 30,000, 35,000 men and he commanded them saying,
behold, you shall lie in wait against the city, even behind
the city, go not very far from the city, but be all ready, be
ready. Be ready, Paul says, for as much
as in me is, I'm ready to preach the gospel to you. Be ready.
And I and all the people that are with me will approach unto
the city and it shall come to pass when they come out against
us is at first that we will flee before them. That's what happened
last time they tried to attack the city. For they will come
out after us till we have drawn them from the city. For they
will say they flee before us. as at first, therefore we will
flee before them. Then you shall arise from the
ambush and seize upon the city for the Lord your God will deliver
it into your hand. And it shall be when you have
taken the city that you shall set the city on fire according
to the commandment of the Lord shall you do. See, I have commanded
you." Now, they can't lose. God commanded them and given
them the city, given them the victory. Joshua conquered by
seemingly yielding at first to the enemy, right? Seemed like
when he said, when they come out against us, we'll just fall
back. We'll just act like we're in retreat. We'll act like we
have been defeated. Both Robert Hawker, whom I read,
and Matthew Henry had this thought, and I thought it was a good thought
and I'm going to give it to you. At first, like before, they fled
before the enemy to draw them out of the city, but the ambush
was set in a place according to the command of God and the
city was taken and Ahi was utterly destroyed. It seemed like at
first they were defeated, they were routed, but not so. Now here's the thought of Hocker
and Matthew Henry. In the death of Christ, and I
love the way these old timers always get to Christ and the
gospel. We know that Joshua is a type
of the Lord Jesus Christ. In the death of Christ, it seemed
at first to be a defeat, did it not? When he yielded to the
enemy, the Jews, they said, we've got him now. When they turned
him over to Pilate, The Romans, they whipped him and mocked him
and said, hail, hail king. They mocked him in his lordship,
they mocked him in his priesthood. It seemed like the enemies had the victory over him. And
the Lord Jesus Christ said, no man takes my life, I lay it down.
I lay it down because of the command of God. The Lord Jesus
Christ submitted to death, even the death of the cross. And it
seemed like he yielded to the enemy, it seemed like that they
had gotten the day they killed him. But rather, it was a complete
victory, was it not? By dying, Hocker said, And death, by his death, he overcame
death. Remember, they did only what
God determined before to be done. His death is considered not a
defeat, but rather an accomplishment, being made sin for us. He put
away sin by the sacrifice of himself. He put away Our sin
being made sin for us. There's an old English writer,
an old English preacher by the name of John Owen. Most of you've
heard of John Owen. He wrote a book called The Death
of Death in the Death of Christ. It's about the atonement of the
Lord. The Death of Death in the Death of the Lord Jesus Christ.
I read that book many, many years ago, probably 30 or so years
ago. But I remembered this one statement
as I was thinking about the Lord Jesus Christ dying for our sin
according to the scripture. And here's what John Owen said,
when our sin was laid upon the Lord Jesus Christ, sin committed
suicide when it was laid on Christ. I never forgot that. We see in
the death of the Lord Jesus Christ, He put away death and He conquered
death by His death. We read in Philippians 2, He
became obedient to death, even the death of the cross. But also
God has highly exalted Him and given Him a name which is above
every name. Now He's seated at the right
hand of God and the good news of the gospel is that we're seated
in Him. Seemed like at first his death
was a defeat, right? He was delivered for our offenses
and raised again for our justification. And we are seated in the heavenlies
in the Lord Jesus Christ. Now here's the third thing. From
verse 9 down through verse 29, I'm not going to go back and
re-read these verses, but we're given the details how Joshua
and Israel are given victory that day. The victory Joshua
was given was a complete victory over the enemies of Israel, over
the enemies of God. It was never in doubt who would
win the battle. The Lord had given them the city
and the victory over it before they even marched one step. The victory was not in doubt,
and they hadn't even marched one step. Joshua had not even
called the army to attention, those 30 or 35,000 men. The victory
was given them before they even took one step, or even before
they girded on their sword. It was done and they had the
victory because God had commanded it to be so. And did so from,
when did He command it to be so? From all eternity, from all
eternity. Verse 7 again, He says, According
to the commandment of the Lord, shall you do, see, I have commanded
you. Again, look over at verse 27. The last part, according unto
the word of the Lord which he commanded Joshua, which he commanded
our Joshua, the Lord Jesus Christ. You see, salvation is a done
deal from all eternity. Before we were born, before we
even took one breath, before we ever took one step, our salvation
was finished, final, and complete in Christ were justified from
all eternity because God has decreed our salvation in that
eternal covenant of death. And we know that Joshua is a
personal type of the Lord Jesus Christ who is our Joshua. Remember
what the Lord says of our Joshua? Call his name Savior, For he
shall save his people from all their sin. Now, how many sin
had you personally committed when the Lord Jesus Christ died? None. But your salvation was already
completed, done, and atonement was already made. Because the
Lord Jesus Christ stood as a lamb slain before the foundation of
the world. Before Adam ever sinned, the
Lord Jesus Christ already stood as our surety, already stood
as our Savior, our Redeemer. It was done. He already had justified
us by His blood. Our blessed Redeemer had determined
from all eternity to win the complete victory for us before
we were born, before we took one step, given us in Christ
before the world began. We call that being eternally
justified in Christ. It's so. It is so. Listen to
this scripture. I quote this almost every sermon
I bring. 2 Timothy 1.9 is God who saved
us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our
work, but according to God's own purpose and grace that was
given us in the Lord Jesus Christ before the foundation of the
world. Is there any doubt that his people
are gonna have the victory? That they're gonna have salvation?
Absolutely not. Chosen in Christ before the foundation
of the world, accepted in the beloved, the Lord Jesus Christ. Christ is the captain of our
salvation that is bringing many sons unto glory. Christ suffered
once for our sin, the just for the unjust that he might bring
us unto God. The Lord Jesus Christ has already
defeated all our enemies for us, by Himself, with Himself. When He by Himself purged our
sin, sat down at the right hand of the Lord. You remember Psalm
110? The Lord said unto my Lord, sit
thou at my right hand, till I make thine enemies thy footstool. Now, if you wanna turn with me,
you can, but if not, I'll just read it to you, but find the
book of Colossians, Philippians, Colossians chapter two. This is one of my favorite scriptures
in the book of Colossians chapter two, because it tells us about
the victorious Lord Jesus Christ. He knows nothing about the agony
of defeat. Now he knows a lot about agony,
but nothing of defeat. Colossians 2 verse 13, And you,
being dead in your sins, and the uncircumcision of your flesh,
hath equipped together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses,
blotting out the handwriting of the ordinances that was against
us, which was contrary to us, took it out of the way, nailing
it to his cross, having spoiled principalities and power, he
made a show of them openly, triumphing over them, And it says, in it,
the marginal reference says, or in himself, by himself, with
himself, conquering all our enemies. We have the victory in Christ,
not defeat. You remember from Romans 8, where
it says, we are more than conquerors. We are more than conquerors through
him that loved us. Nothing can separate us from
the love of God, which is in the Lord Jesus Christ. You remember over in 1 Corinthians, and I read, I use this verse
all the time too. Thanks be to God, 1 Corinthians
15, 57. Thanks be to God who has given
us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. 1 Corinthians 15,
57. Thanks be to God who had given us the victory through
our Lord Jesus Christ. Victory over what? Victory over
what? All our enemies? Sin? We can't put away our sin. I
can't do one thing about my sin. But the Lord Jesus Christ has
put away all our sin. Satan? I can't handle him. I
can't handle him. The Lord Jesus Christ crushed
his dominion, his power. The Lord dealt with him. Dealt
with him upon the cross. The woman's seed crushed the
serpent's head. Over death, let's see you take
care of death. Just gonna determine, well, I'm
not gonna die. A lot of people think that. I'm
not gonna die. Yes, you will. His body is going
back to the dust. But the Lord Jesus Christ has
conquered death for us. He said, I am he that liveth
and was dead. Behold, I am alive forevermore. I have the keys of hell and death.
Because He lives, we live in Him. You see, all these things
that were against us, our sin, the accuser of the brethren,
Satan, death, the law of God that was against us and contrary
to us. He redeemed us from the curse
of the law being made a curse for us. Hell, there is therefore
now no condemnation of those who are in the Lord Jesus Christ.
He took all the wrath of God in his own body and put it away. No condemnation. Who can lay
anything to the charge of God to let? It's God that justifies. Who is he that condemneth? It's
Christ that has died, ye brethren, that has risen again. In the
grave, we're going to take our precious loved ones, and we're
going to take their body, and we're going to put it, prepare
it, put it in a box, take it to the cemetery, and bury that
body of clay. One day, there's gonna be a resurrection
day, and we're gonna have a new body, a glorious body, like unto
his glorious body, just like Christ. We do believe in a real
resurrection. One last thought here. That king, Ahi, the king of Ahi,
when they burned the city, verse 28, 29, Joshua 8, 28, 29. Joshua burnt Ahi at the command
of God, killed 12,000 men and women, destroyed the city, took
all the cattle, all the land, all the riches, burnt the city
and made a heap of it forever, desolation unto this day, verse
29. And the king of Ahi, He singled
him out on a tree, hanged him on a tree, and the leaven tied. As soon as the sun went down,
Joshua commanded they should take his carcass down from a
tree and cast it at the entering of the gate of the city and raise
thereon a great heap of stone that remaineth unto this day.
The king was completely defeated. The king himself. The king of
Ahab, we don't have his name. Joshua killed him and hung him
up on a tree. Now do you know why he hung him
up on a tree? Showing he was cursed of God. The reference
is given there in Joshua chapter 8 verse 29. And the reference is given there
to Deuteronomy 21, 23. You see it? Deuteronomy 21, 23.
And here's what that says. If a man commit a sin worthy
of death, and he be put to death, and thou hang him on a tree.
Now, under the law, most of the time you were stoned to death,
and then you were hung up on a tree to show you were cursed
of God. His body shall not remain, all
night upon the tree, but thou shalt in any ways bury him that
day, for he that is hanged is accursed of God, that the land may not be defiled,
which the Lord thy God giveth thee for inheritance." Now hang
on to your seat. Turn to Galatians chapter three. Even in the death of the king
of Ahi, we see a type and picture of the gospel of the Lord Jesus
Christ. How so? Okay, turn to Galatians
chapter three. You see, everything in scripture
is relative to Christ. That's why Hawker and Matthew
Henry, John Gill, all them old timers, they all read the word
and preach the gospel. And that's what we try to do
every time. So if you'll read Galatians 3.10,
for as many as are of the works of the law are under a curse,
what is written, cursing is every one that continues not in all
things which are written in the book of the law to do them. Deuteronomy
27. Now we're gonna see that in our
next lesson, the last part of Joshua chapter eight. But that
no man is justified by the law in the sight of God, it is evident,
for the just shall live by faith. And the law is not of faith,
but the man that doeth them shall live in them." Now watch this,
verse 13, Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law,
being made a curse for us, being made guilty for our sin, for
it is written, Why was He crucified upon a tree? Why didn't the Romans
just put a sword in Him and bury Him out somewhere? Because He
died for our sin according to the Scripture. Cursed is everyone
that hangeth on the tree. And here we see the Lord Jesus
Christ as our great sacrifice for sin. We see what happened
when our sin was laid upon Him. The curse of that law was put
upon him, and the law says the guilty must die, and the Lord
Jesus Christ died for our sins according to the Scripture. But
that's not the end of the story, is it? He's risen again, because
He put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself. Had He not put away
our sin, He would not come forth from
the grave on the third day. Because He made satisfaction
for our sin, because He put away our sin, therefore God, He was
delivered for our offenses and raised again because He had justified
us in putting away our sin.