Understanding Ai

I'd like you to imagine for a minute a great chalk board or blackboard. On one corner is written the equation, 1+1= blue. In another corner appears the equation, 1+1=3, down at the bottom appears 1+1= k, then 1+1= loud, and faster and faster other equations like 1=1= dark, 1+1= touch, 1+1= *, 1+1=%, 1+1=?

Then a great hand appears and with a piece of chalk writes in the very center of the board, 1+1=2.

Have you ever wondered why God would swear to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob that He would give them a particular piece of land? Why was God so passionate about the physical land of Israel , and not just then some 4000 years ago, but even today? Deuteronomy 11:21 quoted God as saying this about the people of Israel being obedient to Him in order to stay upon the land, listen to the intensity that God feels for this land? ?'that your days and the days of your sons may be multiplied on the land which the Lord swore to your fathers to give them, as long as the heavens remain above the earth.? Why is God so passionate about the land of Israel , the place where the people of Israel are to be? Is it possible that it is here, on the center of the chalkboard, that God has written for all to see, the truth about who He is, about what is and we are? To Him it is a foundational, even elementary concept upon which all other truth is built. The land of Israel was the chalk board where . . .

Then a great hand appears and with a piece of chalk writes in the very center of the board, 1+1=2.

I. Grace ? A Gift of Memorial and Future Proportion.

Every one of us has had times of defeat in our lives, times when taking the next step was almost impossible, perhaps for fear of something, perhaps for feelings of inability. Joshua, the great courageous warrior was in such a place. This chapter begins with a voice of encouragement to a dismayed leader and what God says to Joshua is really what He says to each of us. God's grace is always both a memorial statement and a future proclamation. ?Look at what has already happened in your life, I was there with you. In fact you would not be here now if My grace had not been with you then.? The words of God's grace call you to see what He has already done, 'see, I have given into your hand??. That's what grace is, it's a gift, and that which you've already received is directing you to arise and receive what is even greater, from the desert floor of Jericho to the lush top lands of Ai. What's the greatest thing that God could ever give you? It's not resource or even health is it, it's Himself. The gift of God to you is Jesus Christ, very God Himself, that by Him you would be healed beyond mortality, cleansed beyond depravity, through a grace that crucified Him for you, through a grace which calls you to faith in that truth, through a grace that bonds you forever to Christ by His love. Grace, it is a gift of memorial and future proportion. That's the first element, the grace of God, the beginning upon which all that comes rests.

II. Works ? Strategy, Risk and Reward, A Faith Response To Grace.

The city of Ai was located on a plateau that was a highway to the main cities to north and the south. Though not a large fortress (12000 people) it was a key to the unlocking of the land of Israel . Look at this cross section of Israel .

If we zoom in on this we?ll see the strategy that Joshua employed. It was an ambush, their apparent defeat would draw out the full force of the enemy, then they would cutoff retreat and completely defeat the enemy. But there was risk, the ambush force would have to lie in between Bethel and Ai a whole night, Joshua would have to make himself vulnerable by going into the valley to draw out the king of Ai. It reminds you of Genesis 3:15 where One would be bruised on the heel so that the enemy would be bruised on the head and defeated. The strategy of the cross was much like this wasn't it? Christ entered the valley of death for you and I and Satan viewed this as opportunity to defeat God. The defeat of Satan and the conquering of death that is the result of sin, all this began from the grace of God, the strategy and risk engaged and the reward reaped.

You can hear the cry of 1Cr 15:55? ?O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, Who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.? Our works? strategy, risk and reward, are faith responses to grace.

III. Renewal ? The Passion of God For a Distracted People.

The city of Ai is defeated, all the land of Israel lies before them and what does Joshua do? he marches the nation of Israel about 40 kilometers to the north to the valley between Mount Ebal and Mount Gerizim, represented by that small red square.

It is here that Joshua builds an altar from raw stones and offers burnt offering and peace offering on it. Why? The first response is that Moses commanded they do it, as recorded in Deut. 11:29-32 and more specifically Deut. 27:1-8. There on top of Mount Ebal Joshua had sacrifices offered and there he had great stones plastered with lime and the commandments of Moses written on them, and there he had all Israel assemble, half by Mount Ebal and half by Mount Gerizim. In a great responsive reading the Levitical priests in unison cried out the phrases of Deut. 27 and 28 to the people, Blessings of Obedience and the Curses of Rebellion. Let's ask the obvious question here, if Israel had already pledged their faith and obedience to God why was this renewal so necessary? Why would Joshua halt the course of the whole nation to carry this out? Let me suggest that the answer begins with the phrase, ?Because it was God's passion?

1. Because it was God's passion that the world would know Who He is, God chose the land of Israel and this people to be the chalk He would write with, even the Word for all to see.

2. Because it was God's passion that man sees how sin separates him from God, He used sacrifice to point to the severity of the separation.

3. Because it was God's passion that man be holy, God ordained renewal to defeat distraction.

4. Because it was God's passion that all renewal of heart be ultimately rooted in the work of Christ Jesus, He covenanted eternal promises.

5. Because it was God's passion to glorify His name, He has taken Almighty care that the truth of Who He is clearly revealed by the life blood of Jesus Christ and our communion to Him in that blood.

The reaffirmation of God's covenant promises to us and that of ours to Him are to God key acts of obedience which He uses to reveal His glory.

Rev. Spence Laycock pastors at Church of the Open Bible, Ponoka, Alberta, Canada.
www.churchoftheopenbible.ab.ca