DOWNFALL TO VICTORY

Introduction

Joshua 7:4 “So there went up thither of the people about three thousand men: and they fled before the men of Ai.”
Joshua 8:19 “And the ambush arose quickly out of their place, and they ran as soon as he had stretched out his hand: and they entered into the city, and took it, and hasted and set the city on fire.”

In the above passages we read that the people of Israel was defeated in the place called Ai and they rose again in the same place by the strength of God. The Lord almighty who was with the people of Israel enabled his children to stand firm in the place of their downfall and he gave them a divine victory. Our Lord is the one who makes his children stand up and shine bright in the place of their downfall. Today, as a part of mediation we are going to meditate on the reasons for the downfall of Israelites. Also we are going to see how the people of Israel changed their downfall to victory.

BELIEF

Joshua 7:2-3 “And Joshua sent men from Jericho to Ai, which is beside Bethaven, on the east side of Bethel, and spake unto them, saying, Go up and view the country. And the men went up and viewed Ai. And they returned to Joshua, and said unto him, Let not all the people go up; but let about two or three thousand men go up and smite Ai; and make not all the people to labour thither; for they are but few.”

    Over here we see Joshua brings in the victory by taking the battle of Jericho. But when it comes to the city of Ai, Joshua sends people to spy on the land without a proper counsel. Joshua fully trusts the people who spied on the city of Ai. We see Joshua did not put this belief on the Lord God. He puts his trust on the people. This paved the way for the downfall. In Joshua 7:4 ‘So there went up thither of the people about three thousand men: and they fled before the men of Ai.’ Here in this passage we read that they did not use their full strength to conquer the land. The two main reasons that led to the downfall was their pride of winning the battle of Jericho and their laziness. The people of Israel miscalculated the strength of their opponent. And as a result, they were chased away, massacred and heartbroken. The self-belief brought a shame to their efforts. The people failed to understand that the victory comes from the Lord no matter the battle is huge or small.

    Even in our lives, we tend to shift our trusts on people and not on our heavenly father. The victory that we expect can proceed from God alone. Let us redirect our beliefs to our Lord God and act according to his counsel.

GLORY

Joshua 7:8-9 “O Lord, what shall I say, when Israel turneth their backs before their enemies! For the Canaanites and all the inhabitants of the land shall hear of it, and shall environ us round, and cut off our name from the earth: and what wilt thou do unto thy great name?”

    We see here Joshua puts his face down on the ground and prays soon as he encounters a downfall. Joshua regrets his decision and he beseeches the Lord to come to the rescue. We should totally understand that only the Lord almighty can pick us up from the downfall. When we submit ourselves to the presence of God, his name will be glorified. Let not our hasty decisions bring dishonor to our Lord God. We should be very cautious whenever we make decisions in our lives. May our decisions bring glory to the name of our Lord.

WORD

Joshua 7:10 “And the LORD said unto Joshua, Get thee up; wherefore liest thou thus upon thy face?”

Here on the above verse, we see the Lord says ‘Get up!’ The moment when the Lord God asks them to get up, there was a break through. The word of God does the necessary. We read in Joshua 7:13 ‘Up, sanctify the people, and say, Sanctify yourselves against tomorrow: for thus saith the LORD God of Israel, There is an accursed thing in the midst of thee, O Israel: thou canst not stand before thine enemies, until ye take away the accursed thing from among you.’ Our Lord does not like certain abominable things in our lives. It is high time that we get rid of all that and get up for the Lord God. In Joshua 8:18-19 ‘And the LORD said unto Joshua, Stretch out the spear that is in thy hand toward Ai; for I will give it into thine hand. And Joshua stretched out the spear that he had in his hand toward the city. And the ambush arose quickly out of their place, and they ran as soon as he had stretched out his hand: and they entered into the city, and took it, and hasted and set the city on fire.’ When Joshua stretches out his hand, the Lord gave his people the victory they wanted. It is true that when we obey the word of God, we will be victorious. Therefore, let us all make it a point to obey the word of God and believe in his glorious matchless name. Let us be blessed abundantly in the same place where we faced a failure and a downfall. May the Lord God bless us Amen.