confronted with the impossible and admitted their inability to overcome the problem. What did the Lord say? He gave them a precise, definite promise: " . . . I have given into thine hand Jericho, the king thereof, and the mighty men . . ” (6 :2 ). He also gave them the plan cmd method to follow to gain the vic tory: 1. They were to go around the city six days, without saying a single word (6 :3 ). The six days indicated to Israel that they did not have to wait in definitely for the fulfillment o f God’s promise. It also meant that nobody would ever be able to say, “ This just happened accidentally.” 2. They were to take with them the ark o f the cove nant as assurance of the presence o f God (6 :4 ). 3. Seven priests were to blow w ith trumpets of rams’ horns, as a sign o f their presence and as an indica tion that they had no inten tion of withdrawing their and God’s claims upon Jeri cho (6:4, 5). It was entirely God’s dealing with Jericho. The Lord performed it and gave the victory. And the Lord says, “ I AM THAT I AM . . . the Everlasting One.” We are told in His Word—and God has proved it true innumera ble times right through the his tory o f His chosen people, of His Church, and of our own organiza tion—and God’s promises remain true. “ I have given into thine hand . . . (6:2) I am sure every one o f us has had many such wonderful experi ences in his own life: victories over sin against which we strug gled so long in vain; victories in the lives and hearts o f loved ones; victories in overcoming seeming ly in su rm oun tab le obstacles. These are true, great victories, for which we can only rejoice and praise the Lord!
of the things o f the Lord! He had to pay for it with his life, and he drew his whole family into the disaster (7:24). In addition he had caused the death of 37 men of his own peo ple, an unnecessary defeat o f Is rael, and a setback in the pro gram o f conquest o f the promised country—the work that had been committed to them. What was the promised country—the work that had been committed to them. What was the cause, then ? It was sin! It is not the unwillingness of other people to help; it is not the contradictory opinion o f friends; it is not the wickedness o f ene mies; it is not the adverse situa tions of our lives that are the cause o f our defeats. It is SIN! “Wherefore . . . let us lay aside . . . the SIN which doth so easily beset us . . .” (Heb. 12:1). How many o f us cry like the Apostle Paul, “ O wretched man that I am! Who shall deliver me . . . ? (Rom. 7:24). What’s the solution? “ Looking unto Jesus . . .” ! (Heb. 12:2). What’s the answer to the pain ful ques tion ? “ I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord ” (Rom. 7 :25 )! On the cross He bore our sins — He defeated the Enemy — He won the battle and the Victory for you and me! Therefore let us rise up again, looking unto Jesus, who by His own p r e c iou s blood wrought the cleansing our hearts so sorely needed; and looking unto Jesus, “ . . . let us run with pa tience the race that is set before us . . .” (Heb 12:11): at home in every possible situation; in the apparently subordinate but vi tally essen tia l, God-appointed place o f “helpers” ; or on the mis sion field in our assigned place. Looking unto Jesus — not to ourselves and our weakness . . . not to the situations around us— only thus will we be spared from defeat; only thus will we experi ence victory. Let us praise Him for the vic tory He has already won for us!
Israel hath sinned . . ( 7 : 1 1 ) When we read the next chapter, however, we are impressed at how near great victory and total defeat can be !—defeat in matters that we regard as insignificant, defeat in apparently small things, is able to destroy the gain o f the great victory that precedes. How many blessed servants o f the Lord have been defeated utterly by seemingly small snares of the Enemy o f their souls! How often we are made ashamed by such weakness! Elijah experienced a great vic tory on Mount Carmel. But in the next few hours he fled to the des ert because of the threat of a Jezebel. What a blessing Demas, as a co-worker of the Apostle Paul, might have been — but he drew back into worldly interests. There are many, many others who experienced what the Apostle Paul wrote to the Galatians, “Ye did run well; who did hinder y o u .. . ?” (Gal. 5 :7). “And Joshua sent men from Jeri cho to Ai . . . And the men of Ai smote them . . . And Joshua said, Alas, O Lord God . . .” (7:2, 5, 7) What a disgrace! After such a great victory over the big city of Jericho, such an ignominious de feat a few days later at the hands of this little town of Ai! Just so near can defeat be to victory! “But the children of Israel com mitted a trespass . . . for Achan . . . took . . . (7:1) Achan took of the things for himself that had been declared consecrated unto the Lord—that should have been put into the treasury o f the Lord! Is this experience not o f spirit ual significance for us, too? When God grants us a great victory, He expects us to give all the honor and glory to Him! But if you, or I—even as Achan—take the “ ac cursed” thing, i.e., take what be longs entirely to the Lord, what is declared consecrated to the Lord, it will prove to be a curse to us. We cannot take for our own use that which belongs entirely to God. Achan proved to be a thief
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THE KING'S BUSINESS
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