How many times have we sinned against the Lord and wondered if we had finally gone too far?  That’s not the way the Gospel and grace work, but it’s still a thought that creeps in to strike at our confidence in Christ.  And it feels right and real because it’s half-true.  It takes a good look at sin, and it correctly judges that sin is a big deal.  But it forgets that grace doesn’t depend on us.

And so this week, as we come to Joshua 10:1-15, we’re going to see the Gospel move Joshua and us from uncertainty to certainty, from doubt to confidence.  The context matters here.  Remember back in chapter 8, Joshua wrapped up the conquering of the city of Ai by renewing the covenant with the Lord.  They would have spent ages doing this as they painstakingly copied the law of Moses onto altar on Mount Ebal.  But literally the next thing they do is sin against the Lord by presuming to know what was right with regards to the Gibeonites.  It’s not a good look for Joshua and the leaders of Israel.  This is the second major sin that the Israelites had committed, and the last one, Aachen’s sin, had led to their initial defeat at Ai.  So as Joshua marched toward this massive army, it would be fair to say that his heart might have reacted as ours do.  Did the Israelites finally go too far?  Was the Lord still with them?

But as we will see, the Lord is faithful and gracious to them and to us.  It’s not a particularly surprising message, but one that we seem to forget every time we are convicted of our sin.  That doubt flits into our hearts because we only see what we deserve.  But this Sunday, we will see God’s powerful and miraculous response to remind the Israelites and us that His faithfulness is not dependent on our performance.  So, come ready to marvel at the Lord’s grace and power to deliver us despite our sin.  See you Sunday!