Stand Up!

Joshua 7-8; Psalms 69; 1 Corinthians 5 

“The Lord said to Joshua, ‘Stand up! What are you doing down on your face? Israel has sinned; they have violated the covenant…That which is devoted is among you, O Israel. You cannot stand against your enemies until you remove it’…All Israel, aliens and citizens alike…were standing on both sides of the ark of the covenant of the Lord…”

Joshua 7:10, 11, 13; 8:33

Our sin and shame cause us to fall prostrate before God, but it is his grace and mercy in Christ which call us to stand before him.

Have we heard Christ’s call to “Stand up!”?

When we cling to worthless idols, we forfeit the grace that could be ours (Jonah 2:8). Before we can stand against our enemies, we must stand in the forgiveness and grace of God. The Lord is our righteousness and in his name we can overcome. After overcoming Ai, Joshua and all Israel, including the aliens among them, stood in the presence of the Lord and listened to God’s Word and the terms of their covenant with God. Rahab and her family heard God’s Word for the first time that day. She embraced God’s covenant and became the mother of Boaz, mother-in-law of Ruth, the Moabite. When we stand before God and receive his grace, it affects the destiny of generations after us.

“Lord Jesus, I stand in your grace and mercy today, for your glory.”