Joshua, Chapter 8 - Failure Isn't Final | Prophets of Israel

[music] >> Shalom friends, welcome to the Prophets Visceral Daily. This is the book of Joshua chapter [music] 8. This series is brought to you by the Land of Israel Network. It So, what happens when we [music] fail? Not just personally, but as a nation. When the miracles stop and all we're left with is the mess we made. In chapter 8 of Sifrei Yehoshua, we go from a crushing defeat to a comeback story with the first detailed tactical battle plans recorded in the Tanakh. One of the most clearly described step-by-step strategic plans recorded in history. But, it isn't just a military victory, it's a spiritual reset. And this is the moment when Israel stops being carried and starts walking on her own. Israel stumbles and falls, and this is the story of them rising up and finding out how chuva, repentance, and taking responsibility really can rebuild a nation. Yeah, if I could just say, you know, up until now, Israel's journey has been the most unbelievable guided tour in history. It's like, on your left, the Jordan River stopping. On your right, the Jericho walls collapsing. Please keep your hands inside the miracle train. It's like, we're just on this ride of miracles, and then suddenly, no miracles. Just consequences, which honestly makes this first chapter that actually feels like real life. Right? We don't see blatant nature-defying miracles now. Sometimes it feels close, but we don't see the blatant nature-defying. But honestly, you know, this might be one of the most dangerous moments in the entire conquest. You know, not the defeat, the victory. Because defeat makes you pray, right? But victory makes you think you did it yourself. And Joshua understands something every educator and every leader has to understand. If you don't stop and reconnect to the covenant itself after success, success itself becomes the failure, or it can be. You know, it's exactly that. Their success in Jericho set the stage for Israel's failure, and now Israel is recovering. It's the first time we fall as a nation in the land, and we have to get back up. And you know, it's just never been an easy road for Israel. But, even though we fall, we rise up and we never give up. So, let's get in verse 1 of the chapter. Now, the Lord said to Joshua, "Do not be afraid, nor be dismayed. Take all of 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." This verse is the emotional reset of the nation. Do not be afraid. This command, lo tira, al tira, al tirau, don't be afraid, have no fear, it's mentioned over a hundred times in the Hebrew Bible. It's one of the most repeated ideas in the prophets. Have no fear, even if you fail, even if it's your fault. The failure is not the final stage. Take responsibility, get up, move forward, no fear. And so now, God commands a military strategy involving an ambush. Something we haven't seen yet. Jericho was the opposite of military strategy. We're taking another step now, away from miracles, and entering into a natural state in the land of Israel. Verse 2. And you shall do to Ai and its king as you did to Jericho and its king. Only its spoil and its cattle you shall take as booty for yourselves. Lay an ambush for the city behind it. So, Jericho fell by a miracle. Ai fell through plan- planning, coordination, and battle. Joshua sets an ambush force near the city's walls, sends part of the army forward, deliberately recreates the appearance of retreat, echoing Israel's earlier defeat, and then as the men of Ai chase Israel, the ambush enters the city and sets it on fire. Verse 20. Now, when the men of Ai looked behind him and saw, and behold, the smoke of the city ascended to heaven, so they had no power to flee this way or that way. And the people of Israel who fled to the wilderness turned back on the pursuers. So, Israel, who was seemingly fleeing in panic, now turns back in strength. Ai, so confident, they become trapped with nowhere to go. Israel's earlier failure of them fleeing actually transformed and was used as the tool for their victory. And so, instead of rushing to the next battle, the chapter ends with a little bit of a celebration, a little bit of honor to God. Joshua stops the military campaign, and he builds an altar. Verses 30 and 31. Now, Joshua built an altar to the Lord God of Israel in Mount Ebal, as Moses, the servant of the Lord, had commanded the children of Israel, as it is written in the Torah of Moses, an altar of whole stones, which no man has wielded an iron tool. And they offered on it burnt offerings to the Lord and sacrificed peace offerings. Then Joshua reads the Torah publicly. Verse 34. And afterward, he read all the words of the Torah, the blessings and the curses, according to all that is written in the book of the Torah. I think Joshua is the ultimate educator of the generation. Now, they experienced their first real-life military conquest. They took spoils from Ai. Now, for the first time, they could make the mistake and say it was their power and their might that caused this great victory and forget who gave them the strength for that victory. And so now, before moving forward, Joshua is realigning Israel and reminding them There are blessings, there are curses in this land, there are consequences. And so now, as we're slowly leaving the world of miracles, Joshua is reminding them, don't forget God. Jeremy, if I could, I I do want to interject here because this idea isn't just theoretical for me. It's something I've had to live over and over again in my life. Because the truth is, when we fall, it's never random. And I fall a lot, so this is a precious subject to me. If we really believe everything comes from Hashem, then even the fall itself is carrying a message. It's carrying the seed of the next victory. You just have to have the eyes to see it and the faith that it's from God. Right? And that's exactly what happens here. Israel doesn't just recover from the failure, they actually use the shape of their previous fall as the strategy for their success. They flee again, and the people of Ai think, "Ah, same story, same weakness." And that exact assumption becomes the trap. And I think that's one of the deepest lessons of redemption. Sometimes, the very place you fell is exactly the place God hid the blueprint for you, how you're meant to rise stronger than ever. You know, I love that idea. And I think that's what the sages of Israel were saying when they say that Mashiach will be revealed on the 9th of Av. It's like, already now, the day of destruction planted the seed for the day of redemption. But I want to share one more idea in chapter 8, cuz if you pay attention, chapter 8 doesn't occur in a random place. It unfolds between Beit El and Ai. So, in order to get full depth of the prophets, you really need a bird's-eye view and see all of scripture as one. So, long before Joshua, Abraham stood exactly there. Twice. In Genesis chapter 12 verse 8, it says, "He moved from there to the mountain east of Beit El, and he pitched his tent with Beit El on the west and Ai on the east. There he built an altar to the Lord and called out in the name of the Lord." And then, astonishingly, Abraham returns to the same altar when he comes back from Egypt. Genesis chapter 13 verse 4. And he returned to the place of the altar which he had made there at first, and there Abraham called on the name of the Lord. This is the only altar that Abraham visits twice, and it's the one altar out of the four that he made that makes the least sense. I mean, he makes one in Jerusalem, that's going to become the eternal capital. He makes one in Hebron, that was his first purchase in the land of Israel. He makes one in Shechem, that's where God first promised him the land of Israel. So, why return in between Beit El and the Ai? It's such seemingly a random place. And the Midrash answers, "Abraham foresaw Israel's first failure in the land of Israel. He foresaw Jericho's mir- miraculous victory giving way to arrogance. He saw that Achan was going to take what wasn't meant for him, and he saw the first battle Israel would lose. So, Abraham prayed a prayer specifically for humility after he came back from Egypt rich with gold, silver, and livestock. He's like, "Uh-oh, I know this feeling. I need to pray not only for myself, but I need to pray for the children of Israel in the future." And so, praying for his great, great, great, great grandchildren that they wouldn't fall into the trap of arrogance and forget God. And so, chapter 8 is the answer to Abraham's prayer. Israel falls, but it doesn't collapse. Israel regains victory only after their humility is restored. And so, in the place in Genesis that once seemed meaningless, it becomes the place where Israel learns its most dangerous lesson. The greatest threat to redemption isn't our enemies, it's forgetting who gave the victory. And the greatest victories in life, they're not when God carries us, it's when God teaches us how to walk again. And that's what this chapter is all about. All right, friends, so that was chapter 8. We will see you tomorrow for chapter 9 in the book of Joshua, and if you're enjoying this series, you're invited to join our Joel global community at the Land of Israel fellowship. It's like nothing else on Earth. You can find out more at the [music] land of israel.com.