Fighting on our Knees, Learning from Ai

By:  Dale Weckbacher   

Joshua 8:1

Now the LORD said to Joshua:"Do not be afraid, nor be dismayed; take all the people of war with you, and arise, go up to Ai. See, I have given into your hand the king of Ai, his people, his city, and his land.

NKJV

The people of Israel have entered the Promised Land.  They witnessed the power of God with the fall of the walls of Jericho.  Unfortunately, this great victory made them a bit cocky, believing the taking over of the Promised Land would be a cakewalk. 

After the defeat of Jericho, Joshua sent men to Ai.  These spies returned from spying out the land and told Joshua that they would not need all the people to defeat Ai.  Hearing this, Joshua sends about three thousand men up but they suffered a devastating defeat at the hands of the men of Ai (Joshua 7:2-4).  Joshua then does what he should have done at first, he gets on his knees and prays to God (Joshua 7:6-9).  God’s reply to Joshua provides guidance for us when we face defeat as a nation and in our lives.   

This past Friday, the Supreme Court, in a 5-4 decision, made a blatantly ungodly decision by ruling gay marriage legal in all 50 states.  (1)  Legally there is no constitutional basis for this decision and the decision is another example of an out of control judicial system acting as legislators, writing new law instead of interpreting existing law as is their constitutional duty.  (2) 

My initial reaction to the ruling was anger, disgust, and hopelessness.  Anger at seeing the nation I love fall further down the slippery slope of Godlessness by redefining marriage into something abhorrent to God.  Disgust at justices who swore to uphold the Constitution when they took office, now shredding the same Constitution into confetti.  Hopelessness at ineffective leadership with a tyrannical executive, a feckless and cowardly legislature, and now an activist Supreme Court.  However, as I prayed about this situation, I realized that the account of Israel’s defeat and eventual victory at Ai tell us as Christians what we need to do. 

Israel’s initial defeat at Ai was due to the sin of Achan (Joshua 7:10-26).  Had Joshua paused to pray before sending men into Ai, God would have revealed Achan’s sin, sparing Israel of a humiliating defeat.  Thankfully, God is merciful and gracious for when Israel dealt with the sin issue and sought His direction, they were able to defeat Ai (Joshua8:1-29). 

As Christians we must now,

1)      Confess our sins (1 John 1:9) – This begins with each of us dealing with any sin in our own lives and then confessing the sins of our nation.  Even though we may not be guilty of the sin of homosexuality, confessing the sin is a way for us as believers to intercede for the sins of the nation.  King Josiah did this in 2 Kings 22:1-20 and his intercession delayed God’s wrath. 

2)      Pray – James 5:16 reminds us that the effectual, fervent prayers of a righteous man has great power. 

3)      Act – Not by our own power but according to God’s direction as Israel did when they were able to defeat Ai. 

We cannot trust government to stop the slide down the slippery slope of godlessness.  We have elected Godly men to office only to see them rendered ineffective.  We have elected Godly people to the legislature only to see them cower in fear.  We have seen men appointed to the Supreme Court promising to uphold the Constitution only to see them become drunk with power, thinking they are God and have the power to Legislate.  (3) 

Ephesians 6:12 reminds us that the battle we face is not against flesh and blood but instead against principalities, powers, rulers of darkness of this world, and against spiritual wickedness in high places.  We have a formidable enemy that cannot be defeated with the conventional political weapons of government but only with the spiritual weapons God has provided. 

I have previously written about the armor of God.  When I read about these weapons (Ephesians6:13-17) I picture a Roman soldier standing wearing all of these weapons.  However, I now picture us as the people of God, using these weapons from our knees in prayer, humbling ourselves before God. 

1)       Truth – We can pray with confidence knowing we possess the truth

2)      Righteousness – We can pray with confidence knowing the Righteousness of Christ covers us (Philippians 3:9). 

3)      Shoes – The gospel of peace covers our feet so wherever we go, we bring the gospel of peace but when we are on our knees in prayer, we have an opportunity to pray for those that do now know Jesus as their savior.  The Holy Spirit then prepares their hearts making us more effective when we bring them the Gospel.

4)      Shield – We can pray in faith knowing that should the enemy attack us, even in prayer, we can deflect his attacks with our shield of faith. 

5)      Helmet – We wear the helmet of salvation.  When in prayer this helmet protects our minds from distractions, freeing us to focus on what God wants us to pray for and do. 

6)      Sword – When praying we can pray the promises of God as contained in his Word.  Jesus showed us how the Word of God disarmed Satan when he was tempted (Matthew4:1-11).  That same Word of God still has the power to disarm the enemy.

Instead of allowing the slide of the United States down the slippery slope of Godlessness to cause anger, disgust, and hopelessness, let us let it drive us to our knees armed with the armor of God.  From this position, we are primed and ready to deal the enemy a stunning defeat just like the defeat Israel dealt Ai. 

1. Sells, Heather. Gay Marriage Ruling Fallout: Christian Leaders React. www.cbn.com. [Online] CBN News, June 27, 2015. [Cited: June 27, 2015.] http://www.cbn.com/cbnnews/us/2015/June/Christian-Leaders-React-to-Gay-Marriag-Ruling/.

2. Anderson, Ryan T. Judicial Activism From Supreme Court on Marriage. Here’s How to Respond. dailysignal.com. [Online] The Daily Signal, June 26, 2015. [Cited: June 27, 2015.] http://dailysignal.com/2015/06/26/judicial-activism-from-supreme-court-on-marriage-heres-how-to-respond/?fb_action_ids=10203556821115830&fb_action_types=og.shares&fb_source=other_multiline&action_object_map=[879839602087580]&action_type_map=[%22og.shares%.

3. Shapiro, Ben. SCOTUS Declares Itself God, Redefines Marriage and Rights. www.breitbart.com. [Online] Breitbart News, June 26, 2015. [Cited: June 27, 2015.] http://dailysignal.com/2015/06/26/judicial-activism-from-supreme-court-on-marriage-heres-how-to-respond/?fb_action_ids=10203556821115830&fb_action_types=og.shares&fb_source=other_multiline&action_object_map=[879839602087580]&action_type_map=[%22og.shares%.