[0:00] Thank you, Aaliyah. I think I have to listen to harp music when I read the Bible now. This felt really spiritual, you know? That was awesome. Thank you. And John Marks, thank you for leading us in a time of singing praise and worship.
[0:16] So if you would, open up your Bibles now to Joshua chapter 5. Joshua chapter 5. So looking at this encounter between Joshua and the commander of the Lord's army.
[0:34] It says in verse 13, When Joshua was near Jericho, he looked up and saw a man standing in front of him with a drawn sword in his hand. Joshua approached him and asked, Are you for us or our enemies?
[0:47] Neither, he replied. I have now come as commander of the Lord's army. Then Joshua bowed with his face to the ground in homage and asked him, What does my Lord want to say to his servant?
[1:02] The commander of the Lord's army said to Joshua, Remove the sandals from your feet, for the place where you are standing is holy. And Joshua did that. So what we're talking about here is a special encounter.
[1:15] A special encounter. Joshua standing before this commander, this military figure with a drawn sword in his hand. Which would have been pretty intimidating, I believe.
[1:27] But what this is, as scholars agree across the landscape of scholarly work on the book of Joshua. This is what's known as a theophany. A theophany.
[1:38] A theophany is a time in the Old Testament when God appeared to human beings in a visible form. So the Old Testament is full of theophanies.
[1:48] There's examples from the flaming pot that passes through as Abraham has his covenant ceremony there with the Lord. To the pillar of cloud by day and the fire by night for the people of Israel.
[2:04] Some specific examples though of the Lord appearing to people in human form. You can look at Exodus chapter 24 verses 9 and 10. It says, Then Moses went up with Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and 70 of Israel's elders.
[2:20] And they saw the God of Israel. Beneath his feet was something like a pavement made of lapis lazuli, as clear as the sky. God appeared to Abraham when he told him that Sarah was going to have a child within the next year.
[2:34] In Genesis chapter 18 it says, The Lord appeared to Abraham at the oaks of Mamre while he was sitting at the entrance of his tent during the heat of the day. And of course one of the most well-known theophanies in the Old Testament is in Exodus chapter 3.
[2:49] When Moses, looking for a sheep, goes into the cave and sees a burning bush that was not consumed. Really actually wonderfully, I think, depicted in the movie The Prince of Egypt.
[3:00] Which also has a great soundtrack. That has nothing to do with the sermon. I just wanted to remind you. But why did God appear to people in visible ways? There's a couple reasons.
[3:11] One, God meets us in ways that we can comprehend him. That's the first and most obvious. He made it very clear that human beings cannot see his face and live.
[3:24] So God restricts his glory in some manner so that people can actually see him and encounter him and walk away from it to tell the tale.
[3:38] In Exodus chapter 33, Moses asks God. He says, You're withholding your glory from me. I want to see your glory. And the Lord says in Exodus 33, 20, But you cannot see my face, for humans cannot see me and live.
[3:55] So that's the first. God meets us in ways that we can comprehend. In ways that we can understand. And the second reason is God's appearing to people in the Old Testament looks ahead to the incarnation of Jesus Christ in the New.
[4:10] When God takes on human form in the person of Jesus Christ and becomes Emmanuel, God with us. Every Old Testament appearance of God pointed ahead to the coming of Christ.
[4:24] To Abraham he appeared as the giver and the keeper of the covenant. To Moses he appeared as the giver of the law. And here as we see to Joshua, he appeared as the commander of the Lord's army.
[4:36] For the people of Israel he appeared as a guide. A guiding light. A guiding cloud. A guiding pillar. And in the incarnation, Jesus Christ fulfilled each of these and more in his coming.
[4:49] So why did God appear to Joshua here in this moment? Let's look back at the text together. And we're going to talk about the divine encounter. So Joshua has a personal meaning with God.
[5:03] He has a personal meaning with God. So I love to imagine Joshua here. Because you have to think, this man is a war general. He's a wartime general no less. And so it says he's out by himself one morning.
[5:15] Or out by himself near Jericho. And he looked up and he saw this figure. So just imagine with me. Joshua is, you know, there in the ground drawing out his battle plans. And he's thinking about how they're going to get into Jericho.
[5:27] How are they going to take these walls down? How are they going to win this battle? Because if you think about it, the people of Israel have, they've been in battle before. But they've never been in this type of battle. They've never had to take a city.
[5:38] They've never been commanded by God to go and conquer walls and make their way in. And so Joshua has his thinking cap on. And he's trying to figure out how he can make this happen.
[5:49] When suddenly this figure appears before him. And Joshua, the wartime general that he is, looks up and says, Are you for us or are you for our enemies?
[5:59] Because you have to imagine, this man appeared to Joshua. It says, man, this man appeared to Joshua with a drawn sword. Joshua's preparing for battle. So he's trying to figure out, are you one of my soldiers?
[6:11] And if so, why is your sword drawn? Are you an enemy? And do I need to draw my sword? You know, it's his trying to figure out. Let's think of this in modern times. This would be like if a wartime general was out preparing for battle.
[6:22] And he looks up and someone was standing before him with a loaded gun, a drawn gun in his hand. That's an intimidating picture. Joshua was right to ask that question in some manner.
[6:34] So he was concerned. He was concerned. He thought that he asked the right question. Are you for us or for our enemies? But the answer from the Lord revealed that he really, he really didn't understand what he was asking or who he was talking to.
[6:50] There in verse 14, the CSB, it says that the Lord replied, neither. I have now come as the commander of the Lord's army. But in reality, he didn't say neither. That makes it sound like he's not going to fight for Israel.
[7:03] He didn't say neither. He actually said no. So Joshua asks, are you for us or for our enemies? No. No. I have come, but I have come now as the commander of the Lord's army.
[7:20] Do you remember that song, by the way? I'm in the Lord's army. Let me tell you something. We, we're good, you know, Southern Baptists. So we train jack up on all of the, you know, the old songs that we learned in Sunday school.
[7:32] I don't know if they still do it in Sunday school, you know, but we like to train them. This kid, my two-year-old, loves himself some I'm in the Lord's army, okay?
[7:44] If Jack ever walks up to you and says, yes, sir, yes, sir, you know why, okay? Because he is just, he's probably thinking about, I'm in the Lord's army, okay? So if you ever ask him if he's in the Lord's army, he'll just stop and, yes, sir, you know, he's ready.
[7:59] But I love that song, though. It's kind of fun. But anyways, when the Lord identified himself to Joshua, though, Joshua fell to the ground, bowed and worshipped in a position of worship, in a position of respect.
[8:11] And he asked what God wanted to say to his servant. So Joshua had this incredible encounter. When the Lord told him who he was, Joshua maybe didn't realize exactly what was going on in the moment.
[8:25] Because the words here kind of describe general respect, general reverence for an authority figure, not necessarily reverence or respect for worship for God. But Joshua nonetheless understood that who was in front of him was more important than he was, and he was about to hear something from him.
[8:41] So now Joshua asks the right question. He asks him, what does the Lord want to say to his servant? But I want you to understand, too, not only was this a personal encounter between Joshua and the Lord, it's also a picture for us of God's nonpartisan sovereignty.
[9:01] I want to be really clear about that. Not bipartisan. God is not for both. God is for what he is for. God is against what he is against. God is altogether righteous, altogether perfect, altogether holy.
[9:15] Joshua assumed that there were only two sides to the battle. He assumed that his side was righteous and the Jericho side was not. And while that was the case here in this instance, it's not the way that God viewed the whole ordeal.
[9:30] God did not view this as Israel's fight, that he was going to help them win. He didn't view this as Jericho's battle, that he was going to cause them to lose. He viewed this as his battle, as his fight.
[9:44] The Lord is completely sovereign. He is nonpartisan. He's not bound by human factions. And just to take a moment here, just so you know, God is not a Republican.
[9:56] God is not a Democrat. God is nonpartisan. God is sovereign over all. So what we have to do is, like Joshua, identify what lines up with what God wants to see.
[10:12] We have to identify what God wants to do. And we have to get in line. We have to get in line. That means sometimes we disagree with people that we generally agree with.
[10:26] Because we want to line up with what the Lord wants. God is the sovereign king of the entire universe. He wasn't fighting Israel's battle.
[10:37] Israel was participating in his. So now Joshua's asked him, what do you want to say? What does my Lord want to say to his servant?
[10:49] And there's a takeaway here. When we approach the Lord, we have to approach him humbly and reverently and seek his ways before we tell him our own.
[11:00] Joshua submitted himself to the will of the Lord. And we ought to do the same thing. Joshua understood that the one who has authority is the one who gives instruction.
[11:15] And it's better to go with his way than Joshua's own. And we would do well to make that same connection. So we have to stop bringing God into our battles.
[11:29] This is what we do, right? We're arguing something that we want people to, we want to convince someone of. And so we'll do what's called, it's called an appeal to authority. We'll say, well, you know, God says, or the Bible says, and we'll throw scripture in out of context completely just to win an argument, right?
[11:44] We have to stop bringing God into our battles. We have to seek the Lord and trust that he's in complete control and then follow where he leads.
[11:55] God calls his people to holiness, not to pursue personal passions or to justify their own agendas. Our focus should be on seeking his ways and his presence before we engage in any battle.
[12:10] And Joshua did the same. But the third thing here that you see during this divine encounter is God's holy presence. And I mentioned that this is similar to Moses in Exodus chapter 3, right?
[12:24] So I'm going to read for you Exodus 3 verses 1 through 5. It says, Meanwhile, Moses was shepherding the flock of his father-in-law Jethro, the priest of Midian. He led the flock to the far side of the wilderness and came to Horeb, the mountain of God.
[12:37] Then the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire within a bush. As Moses looked, he saw that the bush was on fire but was not consumed. So Moses thought, I must go over and look at this remarkable sight.
[12:50] Why isn't that bush burning up? Which, just by the way, would probably not be my first instinct. I see a burning bush that's not burning up. I'm probably running at it. I'm probably hightailing out of there.
[13:00] But Moses walked close. Moses walked close. I have to figure out what's going on. Verse 4. When the Lord saw that he had gone over to look, God called out to him from the bush, Moses, Moses.
[13:12] Here I am, he answered. Do not come closer, he said. Remove the sandals from your feet, for the place where you are standing is holy ground. So here in Joshua chapter 5, you see Joshua is standing in the holy presence of the Holy One.
[13:26] So it's very similar. But this entire scene is a call to holiness. As Joshua was preparing for battle, he was trying to think of the best way to win this fight.
[13:36] Maybe he was building a wooden horse, you know? And he was getting ready to load people up. That's a Trojan horse. Come on, guys. Okay. Anyways, instead of pursuing his own methods, he paused because he was encountered by God himself.
[13:53] And now he realized, now he's told, that really what God wants from him and from his people is not the best military strategy. It's not the most passion in battle.
[14:06] It's not excitement. It's not jubilation. God wants his people to be holy. God expects his people to be holy. So this entire scene is a call to holiness.
[14:19] God said in Leviticus chapter 19, verse 2, Speak to the entire Israelite community and tell them, Be holy because I, the Lord your God, am holy. Peter made that same reference in his first letter.
[14:32] The call to holiness remains for us today. God's holiness alone. The fact that he is holy commands our pursuit of holiness. Because we serve a holy, perfect, set-apart, distinct, good, righteous God, we also should pursue his holiness.
[14:53] And then what you also see is that as God's people are holy unto him, set-apart for his purposes, not pursuing their own fights, their own battles, God blesses and gives victory.
[15:09] And the reason, of course, is because the battle is the Lord's. It's not Israel's. It's not yours. It's not mine. And then I want to point out, this is one of those really awkward chapter breaks in the Bible.
[15:21] So we're going to keep going here through chapter 6 today. And the reason is because I think this scene, where Joshua is talking to the commander of the Lord's army, this scene continues into the beginning of Joshua chapter 6, where we just read earlier.
[15:34] And you see very clearly here in verse 2, The Lord said to Joshua. So I think that it's very clear that this is the Lord himself in a human form, and he's giving Joshua some divine instruction.
[15:47] So that's what we'll look at next, the divine instruction. Verses, let's see here. Verses, we'll look at verse 1. Okay, so it says, Now Jericho was strongly fortified because of the Israelites.
[16:01] No one was leaving or entering. So this is a parenthetical phrase or explanation of what was going on. And so people have taken that, and that's why there's that chapter break there, is because they think that, Oh, look, there's a break in the scenes.
[16:15] It's a new scene. This is just a parenthetical comment. What this verse is intended to show us is that the fight that Israel is about to take on is impossible. Okay, so I did some research on the city of Jericho because I was trying to figure out how hard was this really going to be to take down the city of Jericho.
[16:32] And what I found is that excavations have shown that Jericho had a two-wall system, and the thickest wall was about six feet wide.
[16:43] There was no chance that the Israelites were going to be able to take down that wall or make their way into Jericho because you have to imagine, not only was the wall that thick and that impressive, but also there were soldiers on the other side, and there were soldiers on top of that wall.
[17:00] There were people ready to defend the city. Israel really had no hope of making their way in. They've been traveling through the wilderness for 40 years. So how were they going to take this city? They were facing impossible tasks.
[17:13] This is a principle for us, though. God often calls His people to impossible tasks so that He can display His glory. God called the people of Israel. God called Joshua to lead the people of Israel up to an impossible task.
[17:25] He had already done this before. Remember when they crossed the Jordan? That was a raging river. It was an impossible task. But God called him. God commanded him. God instructed him on how they were going to cross.
[17:36] And then look at what God did. He stopped the waters, and they were able to cross on dry ground. And here, now they face an impossible task again, their first battle in the land. And it's impossible.
[17:47] They can't win. But God was prepared to display His glory. The next thing I want you to see about God's divine instruction is His unconventional plan. Verses 2 through 5 says, The Lord said to Joshua, Look, I have handed Jericho, its king and its best soldiers, over to you.
[18:03] March around the city with all the men of war, circling the city one time. Do this for six days. Have seven priests carry seven ram's horn trumpets in front of the ark. But on the seventh day, march around the city seven times while the priests blow the ram's horns.
[18:18] When there is a prolonged blast of the horn and you hear its sound, have all the troops give a mighty shout. Then the city wall will collapse, and the troops will advance each man straight ahead.
[18:30] So remember, Joshua's strategizing, right? Joshua's planning. Joshua's thinking, How am I best going to take on this wall? How am I best going to take on this city? And then this is the instruction that he gets from the Lord. He's like, Listen, I've handed Jericho and its king and its best soldiers over to you.
[18:43] That is in the perfect tense. God told Joshua about something that he had already done. This is already the case. God has already handed over this entire city, the king and its best soldiers to the people of Israel.
[18:57] Imagine Joshua. All right, awesome. Yeah, this is great. He's handed over to us. All right, how are we going to do it? Well, I want you to march around the city. Are you sure? You know, like Joshua's like, Really?
[19:09] March around the city? March around the city. One time. Okay. Sure. And then we'll fight? No, do that for six days. Okay. And then on the seventh day, All right, now we fight.
[19:22] March around the city seven times. You know? And so Joshua's just imagining. You can imagine. He's like, Are we sure about this? It's unconventional battle strategy. All right? I promise you, If you went and joined the military today, And you were in a war, And you told your general, Listen, general, I have an idea.
[19:38] It's really good. Let's march around the city. That'll really scare them, Don't you think? I mean, They'd laugh at you, right? It might get you, You know, Medically checked out or something.
[19:50] But God gave him this instruction That was unorthodox, Unconventional, Seemingly weird. And then what you see Is that Joshua told the troops, This is what we're going to do.
[20:02] Because you see the end there, Verse five, Once you do these things, Then the city wall will collapse, And the troops will advance Each man straight ahead. So God told him What would take place If they were obedient To follow his instructions.
[20:15] When God directs you To do the impossible, Whatever it may be, There's a moment Where you have to choose. You have to make a decision. Am I going to trust the Lord And his word, Or, Am I going to go my own way?
[20:32] Joshua chose to trust The Lord at his word, And the people of Israel Chose the same. So you see the Israelites' Obedience here, Verse six through fourteen, So Joshua, Son of Nun, Summoned the priests And said to them, Take up the ark of the covenant, And have seven priests Carry seven ram's horns In front of the ark of the Lord.
[20:50] Notice, by the way, The ark of the Lord, The Lord himself, The presence of God In this battle, Because this is his battle. This is not Joshua And the Israelites' battle. Verse seven, He said to the troops, Move forward, March around the city, And have the armed men Go ahead of the ark of the Lord.
[21:05] After Joshua had spoken To the troops, Seven priests carrying Seven ram's horns Before the Lord Moved forward And blew the ram's horns In the ark of the Lord, Lord's covenant, Followed them.
[21:17] All right. I'm going to just read Verse ten here And then we'll keep going. But Joshua had commanded The troops, Do not shout Or let your voice be heard. Don't let one word Come out of your mouth Until the time I say shout.
[21:29] Then you are to shout. And then what you see Is they went through And did exactly what he said. They marched around the city Seven times, And then on the seventh day They marched around it Seven times, And that one day, Joshua conveyed the instructions From the Lord And the people obeyed.
[21:44] This is one of those times Where if you really Didn't trust someone You would show it. You know what I mean? Like, Raise your hand if you're a parent. Parent? Okay, perfect. Sibling? Sibling?
[21:55] Is anybody an only child And not a parent? Okay, I'm just kidding. Okay, listen. Listen. Look, can you imagine For just, Go with me here for a second.
[22:06] Your spouse Walks up to you After, I don't know, Helping the kids with something Or changing a diaper And then you hear this phrase. Smell this.
[22:18] What do you do? Do you smell it? I don't. You might, but I don't. Whatever it is. You know what I mean? Look, here's the thing. When someone gives us instructions, If we don't trust that instruction, We will not follow it.
[22:30] Right? Like, I trust my wife. I trust my wife More than I trust anybody. But if she walks up to me And says, Smell this. Or taste this food. No, I'm good. If you don't like it enough That you want me to smell it Or want me to taste it, It must be pretty bad.
[22:44] So, I'm okay. Thank you. I'll pass. You know what I mean? But what we do is Whenever someone gives us instruction, We either judge the instruction Or judge the character Of the one giving the instruction.
[22:55] Right? If I trust the character Of the person who gives the instruction, Then, oftentimes, I'll follow through. I'll do what they said. If I don't trust their character, But the instruction sounds sound, It sounds good, Then I might still, Like, for example, I may not trust the character Of a person that I come upon In a city Where I'm asking for directions, But they may be a local And they can direct me.
[23:16] So, I don't know his character, Her character, whatever. But if they give me good instructions, I'll follow it. Right? So, here's the thing. God has never broken his character.
[23:27] He's never gone against his word. When someone, When a human being breaks trust, Like, the Audrey says, Smell this. And I do. Just, you know, okay. And it's horrible.
[23:38] That trust is broken. Right? Next time, I'm not going to smell that thing, Whatever it may be. I'm not going to taste that food, Whatever it may be. When trust is broken, We have to rebuild it. Right?
[23:48] God has never had to rebuild his trust. He established trust by his perfect character. He always does what he says he'll accomplish. Every single time. And so, when God gives this unorthodox, Strange, weird, military instruction, Joshua and the people of Israel Tested that instruction Against the character of the one who gave it.
[24:11] And they said, You know what? We should trust him. We should do it. We should obey. Obedience to the Lord, No matter the obscurity, Is the right path forward.
[24:25] Now, just consider for a second The way that this translates for us. Think about the gospel of Jesus Christ. The gospel of Jesus Christ. That's pretty unorthodox.
[24:38] That's pretty strange when you get down to it. In fact, The apostle Paul, In first Corinthians, Said that it was foolishness To those who don't believe.
[24:49] The cross is foolishness. For the word of the cross is foolishness To those who are perishing. But is the power of God To us who are being saved. Verse 23 and 24.
[24:59] But we preach Christ crucified. A stumbling block to the Jews. And foolishness to the Gentiles. Yet to those who are called, Both Jews and Greeks. Christ is the power of God And the wisdom of God.
[25:13] The message of the gospel. Put your faith in God Who took on human flesh. Died. This is the only religion in the world Where we serve a Savior Who came to earth and died.
[25:28] And then rose again. Put your faith in Him Because He accomplished What you can accomplish. He was perfect. And He's mighty to save.
[25:39] To forgive you of your sins. To cleanse you of all unrighteousness. Christianity is very much Like any other religion. Instead of working to attain salvation. Like Hunter said in his testimony.
[25:51] The only way to be saved Is by faith in Jesus Christ. But that message is strange. That message is unorthodox. And still, when God gives instruction.
[26:03] Act 17. Paul's talking to the people at Mars Hill. And he says, God now calls men everywhere to repent. God's instruction is to repent of our sin.
[26:16] To believe in Jesus Christ For the forgiveness of our sins. And trust that He will save us. God's instruction might seem strange.
[26:27] But trusting the Lord Is always the right path. We should always respond in obedience. So if you haven't put faith in Jesus Christ I implore you today To repent And believe in Jesus Christ.
[26:43] Even though the message might sound strange I promise there's life in Christ Jesus. The people of Israel Trusted and obeyed The instruction of the Lord And it led to victory.
[26:55] So now we'll look at the divine victory Here in verses 15 through 27. So the faith of the people Was strengthened. Alright? It says early on the seventh day They started at dawn And marched around the city Seven times in the same way.
[27:09] This was the only day That they marched around the city Seven times. After the seventh time The priest blew the ram's horns And Joshua said to the troops Shout! For the Lord has given you The city.
[27:21] So on the seventh day They did what they said They were going to do And then They were going to shout Knowing that What God was going to do Was destroy the walls And there's just a A really beautiful picture here Of the people of Israel They were They're passive participants In this battle To this point They have not engaged in battle They haven't fought They haven't done anything For themselves God has done everything for them They were only obedient They walked That's all they did Some people played the trumpet I mean like That's all they did They just They were obedient So God alone deserves the praise When there's victory And when you see victory That strengthens your faith It reminds you of why you trust the Lord So you have the strength in faith When you see victory But then Verses 17 through 19 I want you to see That there's a demand For persistent obedience But the city And everything in it Are set apart to the Lord For destruction Only Rahab the prostitute And everyone with her In her house will live Because she hid the messengers We sent But keep yourselves From the things set apart Or you will be set apart
[28:22] For destruction If you take any of those things You will set apart The camp of Israel For destruction And make trouble for it For all the silver And the gold And the articles of bronze And iron Are dedicated to the Lord And must go into The Lord's treasury So Joshua pauses In the middle of his Of his shout His command to shout To give instruction This might have happened earlier But the author puts it The writer of Joshua Puts it here in this place Because it's an emphasis On the importance Of obedience here Even in this victory Even in the moment of victory We have to persist In obedience Right When we see victory That doesn't then Open up the floodgates To live in sin When you see victory It's still time To remain And persist In obedience So Shout But remember Everything in this city Is set apart For the Lord So Shout And obey The Lord gave them Instructions On how they were Supposed to take Jericho And it includes By the way This reference to Rahab
[29:23] Remember Rahab Kept the spies Protected them The Lord remembered Rahab And offered her This protection But what you'll see As we continue on Through Joshua Next week In Joshua chapter 7 And the defeat At Some people say I I say AI Not like the robots That are going to take over But the city AI They lose They're defeated And they're all confused And what's going on here Well it turns out The soldier Achan Took some spoils of war That he was not supposed to take These things were supposed to be Set apart for the Lord Achan Was obedient To shout He was obedient To go into Jericho And fight But he was disobedient In the end Because he took What wasn't His He stole From the Lord Partial obedience Is disobedience Remember King Saul King Saul In 1 Samuel 15 Saul was told To defeat the Amalekites Kill them all Right
[30:23] Don't spare the king Don't spare their livestock Just take out the Amalekites And so he went And took out the Amalekites Except He kept some livestock alive And he kept the king alive Because he wanted to taunt him You know And then Samuel Gets the word from the Lord That he's rejected Saul as king And he goes now To this battle site And he says to Saul Why were you disobedient To the Lord's command Saul says What do you mean I obeyed everything And Saul As Samuel Like one of the greatest moments In the Bible He says Then what's the sound Of bleeding cattle I hear What's the sound Of sheep and goats And cattle And Saul Well I kept some of the things For the Lord We want to sacrifice To the Lord And Samuel says to him Is sacrifice Better than obedience He calls disobedience Like the sin of witchcraft Or divination Obedience Persistent obedience Is essential As we follow The command Of the Lord
[31:23] The last thing That I want you to see Is this picture Of destruction And salvation Joshua 6 21-27 It says They completely destroyed Everything in the city With the sword Every man and woman Both young and old And every ox Sheep And donkey Joshua said To the two men Who had scouted the land Go to the prostitute's house And bring the woman Out of there And all who were with her Just as you swore to her So the young men Who had scouted Went in And brought out Rahab And her father Mother Brothers And all who belonged to her They brought out Her whole family And settled Them outside Of the camp of Israel They burned the city And everything in it But they put The silver and gold And the articles Of bronze and iron Into the treasury Of the Lord's house However Joshua spared Rahab the prostitute Her father's family And all who belonged to her Because she hid The messengers Joshua had sent To spy on Jericho I want to address Something really quickly Because this is a really This is an important question That I think people ask I'll address it quickly now And in more detail In a later sermon But why would God Not only allow
[32:24] For this type of Destruction and conquest But even command This type of destruction And conquest That's an important question If God is all loving How can he call For this type of Wartime action The period of conquest Is an example Of God's justice Being poured out Or his wrath Being poured out On the disobedient People of Canaan So we know God's character Is that he's slow to anger That he's merciful Well 400 plus years Before this He told Abraham In Genesis chapter 15 That his people Would be sojourners In another land For 400 years Before they go back And take The land of Canaan And the reason for this God expressly states Is because the iniquity Or the sin Of the Amorites A people group In Canaan Has not yet Reached its full measure So God was patient With the people Of Canaan God was merciful To the people Of Canaan And offered salvation To all of them They had obviously
[33:25] Heard of what he had done They had obviously Heard of how great He was And the only example That we have In scripture Of someone Relenting To the Lord's Sovereign control Is Rahab But Rahab's a picture For us That God was willing To save Willing to forgive Willing To bring these people Into his covenant people But they chose Sin They chose Rejection Rahab Is a beautiful picture Of what it looks like To be saved By the grace Of God Certain death Was coming Upon her city And her home But the Lord Spared her Because she submitted To him She saw the fight As the Lord's Feared his wrath His just wrath And punishment And she ran To his mercy For those who Opposed the Lord
[34:25] There is certain Destruction But for those Who obey his command And submit to him There is life And salvation So listen As we close today We'll sing a song together And we'll close But I want you to understand That God Deserves Our complete trust And our Unending Obedience Even when his methods Seem unorthodox Praying to receive Christ Believing in Jesus For the forgiveness Of your sins Sounds unorthodox And yet It's the power of God For salvation When we are Obedient to the word Of the Lord Victory Is guaranteed And so Just like Rahab Saw victory With the people Of Israel When they came Through to wipe Out her city We too Can see victory Over death Because of the person Of Jesus Christ So A few takeaways To recap This chapter Of these chapter And a half Here is Stop pulling God Into your battles God is completely
[35:27] Sovereign God is Nonpartisan God is Over all Pursue his holiness And trust him Be completely And persistently Obedient When God Leads Even when his Commands Seem unorthodox And the only hope For salvation Is to trust The word of the Lord And believe In Jesus Christ For the forgiveness Of your sins If you have not done that I'm going to encourage you Yet again To do that Today Pray to receive Christ I'm going to pray for us We'll sing a closing song We'll continue in worship Oh God Thank you for who you are Thank you for your word God even in this picture Of conquest And violence We see Your grace And your mercy Thank you Thank you God For your love Thank you for your patience Thank you for your forgiveness God I pray right now For everyone in this room Who knows you That you would encourage them That you would strengthen Their faith That you would strengthen Their trust in you And their obedience
[36:27] To you and your word And God For those people Who don't know you In this room Oh God I pray that you By your Holy Spirit Would speak to their heart And call them To a relationship With yourself That they would have No choice But to submit To your call To your command To repent And believe in Jesus Now We love you And we praise you And it's in Jesus' name That we pray Amen Amen Amen