Holiness or Failure 2 - Dependence on God

Joshua 6:15-19; 7:1-26;

Introduction

You will hopefully remember, if you have been with us over recent weeks, that the people of Israel have just come out of a tremendous victory. They�ve engaged in the first battle for which they had been prepared all those 40 years in the wilderness on the other side of the Jordan River and now that had faithfully followed God�s leading and guiding and crossed the Jordan - miraculously - and have engaged the first spiritual enemy, the first real enemy, the fortified and garrison city of Jericho. And it had been given into their hands by God in such a simple and yet effective way. The first big victory.
The strategy was simple, the directions clear:

v1	the people sought and received the will and word of God

v2	they obeyed that will and word implicitly

v3	they praised God ahead of time by shouting

v4	they took the city of Jericho.

However, something happened in the flush of victory.
Something happened to the people of Israel - as will probably happen to every woman and man of God here if we do not follow these principles related to the word of God here:
They then walked straight into a crushing defeat. Why such a crushing defeat? Why did the people of God fall in front of a silly little town called Ai? Especially as they had conquered the superpower ahead of time? Why the contrast?
The reason for victory was relatively simple:
a) Holiness - they set themselves apart for God and b) Obedience to God - which is part of holiness
The reason for the defeat at Ai was also relatively simple:
The people of God, became self-reliant we can do this no problem was the type of attitude. They moved on and engaged in the next battle without consulting the commander-in chief, without consulting God.
And there was hidden sin, a lack of holiness, a lack of integrity because at least one of their number had disobedyed God�s clear instruction.
In Josh 6:17-19 we read of how Achan ignored the command of the LORD to give up to God all the devoted things, the silver and gold and all the treasure of Jericho, and place it in the LORD�s treasury. He did not do so, he secretly saw and took and kept and hid for himself some of the treasure. If we were to read on, if he had of been more obedient and more trusting of God, he would have discovered that not so long afterwards, the LORD blessed all his people with the spoils of conquest and he would have been blessed with far more than he had taken. But he didn�t.