Joshua 8

VERSES 1, 2.-Here we get God's power acting, but not signalizing the people. This is where the Irvingites went wrong; they expected to be signalized. I do not expect the same amount of manifestation now as in the early days of the church, though I believe the Holy Ghost is just as powerful in this room as ever He was, but He does not manifest His power in the same way that He did then.
I believe we get a great deal of instruction from Ai. When Joshua stretched out his spear it was not a preconcerted signal; it was really God's word to him: " Stretch out the spear that is in thy hand toward Ai, for I will give it into thy hand." The city was apparently taken by ambush, by cleverness, by military stratagem, but, as to fact, it was God gave it into their hand.
Wherein we have failed. God does not ever signalize us. The same power was still with them, but not the same manifestation. It is not in reference to service; it is in reference to position. If it were in reference to service, it would be a great argument for the use of means. You never saw a self-confident man yet that he did not come down. Peter would never have gone into the high priest's house if he had not under-estimated his foe. The armor and the trumpet is our true place; it is heavenly position. I do not believe Ephesians is for service as such; it is holding our ground.
I think it is More Ai that is 'going on now; there is very little of Jericho. There is not magnificence or display now, though the same divine power; and there is a great deal more means used-more toil--perhaps waiting on God in prayer to get this standing, whereas before, souls were in it without any effort. Now you never see a man get on to heavenly ground that there is not more or less of self-sacrificing toil; everyone sees the struggle going on. There is now nothing 'of the 'singular way in which God planted them in the land at first.
It is a wonderful thing to study the ways of God with His people.. In the worst days Paul says to his pupil: Be of good courage; " God hath not given us the spirit of fear, but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind." Do not be discouraged; it may not be so easy to get possession as it was at first, but press on, and you will certainly get it. Joshua did give them the land; and 'though it is no effort to get title, it is always labor to possess; practically, you have to take possession.
Well, it is a very comforting thing to think that the Lord is our God, and, in the midst of all the weakness, to See what he would do for us if we, with cheerfulness and courage go on.
Verses 25-29.-When Ai is at last taken by another signal victory, God teaches us a fresh lesson, and that is, that He uses His power to make us a heavenly people, and that on earth-not in heaven. There is really no promise given to us of heaven when we die, though of course we shall be in heaven then. It is a great thing for the soul to get hold of the fact that God ministers His power in the present day to set us as heavenly men on the earth. Christ being rejected was the condemnation of the world, but it has turned to richest blessing for the saints; for God has given us heaven instead of earth in consequence of it, and ministers His power, enabling us in the face of all that is here, to be heavenly -men.
The higher thing would be to turn to Jericho and say, I do not want the earthly things; but in Ai we see that we are allowed to have some of the spoil. It is not as it was in the early chapters of the Acts, where no one said "that ought of the things which he possessed was his own, but they had all things common," and where any who had " lands or houses, sold them, and brought the prices, and laid them down at the apostles', feet." By-and-bye we find this was not the case; it was, " every man according to his ability determined to send relief unto the brethren which dwelt in Judea." And still later' on the 'apostle charges' " them that are rich in this world."
It is not now a question of giving all up, but of consecration to the Lord. Still, a man might imperil everything here for the sake of the testimony; like Abram who went out by night with all his servants to rescue " his brother Lot, and his goods, and the women also, and the people." No doubt Jericho is the brighter light, but with no less doubt is there just as much of divine power in the subjugation of Ai as of Jericho.
It has been remarked that the way in which Joshua treated the king-not allowing his dead body to stay hanging all night-showed that he acknowledged the land to be already the Lord's. "His body shall not remain all night upon the tree, that thy land be not defiled." We are to treat even our enemies in a heavenly way. Though Joshua had not possession of it, yet he treats the land as his and as Jehovah's.
Verses 30, 31.-Then he establishes the law in it: it was to be read upon two mountains, Ebal and Gerizim-the mountain of curse, and the mountain of blessing. It is an old and very interesting remark, that where the curse was, there was an alter; where the blessing was there was none; just as in Exodus 20., you get all the terrors of the law, and then the altar to meet them. They never reached to the blessings.
Verses 32-35.-They were all brought unto the one standing. It was a wonderful sight! There they were, the whole company, the congregation of Israel, and the little ones, and the strangers, brought together to hear this recital-to hear what God was, and claimed respecting them on this new ground. All were thus formally introduced on to it.