Originally posted: 08/25/2019
Repurpose: (verb) to change (something) so that it can be used for a different purpose; adapt for use in a different purpose.
Yesterday, we saw the horrible consequence of sin in the midst of the camp of the Lord as the Israelites were put to shame by the humiliating defeat at Ai; including the death of some of their warriors. Chased by the men of Ai, they ran from what should have been their decisive victory.
So about three thousand men from the people went up there, but they fled from the men of Ai. 5 The men of Ai struck down about thirty-six of their men, and pursued them from the gate as far as Shebarim and struck them down on the descent, so the hearts of the people melted and became as water, (Joshua 7:4-5).
But now, under the leadership of Joshua, the people have responded in repentance and are ready for their new orders.
I was fascinated by the Lord’s strategy. He would again have His men retreat, being chased away in the same manner as when they were undergoing His discipline.
But this time, under His authority, He would Repurpose their Failure and set an ambush against the enemy. Rather than chasing them into certain doom, the men of Ai chased the children of Israel straight into the plan of Him Who Repurposes our Failures.
Consider Him Who Repurposes our Failures
- He Repurposes our Failures through His Promise for the Future.
- Now the Lord said to Joshua, “Do not fear or be dismayed. Take all 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. 2 You shall do to Ai and its king just as you did to Jericho and its king; you shall take only its spoil and its cattle as plunder for yourselves. Set an ambush for the city behind it,” (8:1-2).
- Now the Lord said to Joshua, “Do not fear or be dismayed. Take all 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. 2 You shall do to Ai and its king just as you did to Jericho and its king; you shall take only its spoil and its cattle as plunder for yourselves. Set an ambush for the city behind it,” (8:1-2).
- He Repurposes our Failures through His Intervening Power.
- He commanded them, saying, “See, you are going to ambush the city from behind it. Do not go very far from the city, but all of you be ready. 5 Then I and all the people who are with me will approach the city. And when they come out to meet us as at the first, we will flee before them. 6 They will come out after us until we have drawn them away from the city, for they will say, ‘They are fleeing before us as at the first.’ So we will flee before them. 7 And you shall rise from your ambush and take possession of the city, for the Lord your God will deliver it into your hand,” (8:4-7).
- He commanded them, saying, “See, you are going to ambush the city from behind it. Do not go very far from the city, but all of you be ready. 5 Then I and all the people who are with me will approach the city. And when they come out to meet us as at the first, we will flee before them. 6 They will come out after us until we have drawn them away from the city, for they will say, ‘They are fleeing before us as at the first.’ So we will flee before them. 7 And you shall rise from your ambush and take possession of the city, for the Lord your God will deliver it into your hand,” (8:4-7).
- He Repurposes our Failures through our Obedience.
- “Then it will be when you have seized the city, that you shall set the city on fire. You shall do it according to the word of the Lord. See, I have commanded you,” (8:8).
- He Repurposes our Failures through our Worship.
- Then Joshua built an altar to the Lord, the God of Israel, in Mount Ebal, 31 just as Moses the servant of the Lord had commanded the sons of Israel, as it is written in the book of the law of Moses, an altar of uncut stones on which no man had wielded an iron tool; and they offered burnt offerings on it to the Lord, and sacrificed peace offerings, (8:30-31).
- Then Joshua built an altar to the Lord, the God of Israel, in Mount Ebal, 31 just as Moses the servant of the Lord had commanded the sons of Israel, as it is written in the book of the law of Moses, an altar of uncut stones on which no man had wielded an iron tool; and they offered burnt offerings on it to the Lord, and sacrificed peace offerings, (8:30-31).
- He Repurposes our Failures through our Commitment to His Word.
- He wrote there on the stones a copy of the law of Moses, which he had written, in the presence of the sons of Israel.… 34 Afterward, Joshua read all the words of the law—the blessings and the curses—just as it is written in the Book of the Law. 35 There was not a word of all that Moses had commanded that Joshua did not read to the whole assembly of Israel, including the women and children, and the foreigners who lived among them, (8:32, 34-35).
- He wrote there on the stones a copy of the law of Moses, which he had written, in the presence of the sons of Israel.… 34 Afterward, Joshua read all the words of the law—the blessings and the curses—just as it is written in the Book of the Law. 35 There was not a word of all that Moses had commanded that Joshua did not read to the whole assembly of Israel, including the women and children, and the foreigners who lived among them, (8:32, 34-35).
How do we respond to Him Who Repurposes our Failures?
The Lord has promised when we come to Jesus in faith and repentance, He will Repurpose our Failures and bring beauty to our lives and all glory to Him.
The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me,
Because the Lord has anointed me
To bring good news to the afflicted;
He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,
To proclaim liberty to captives
And freedom to prisoners;
2 To proclaim the favorable year of the Lord
And the day of vengeance of our God;
To comfort all who mourn,
3 To grant those who mourn in Zion,
Giving them a garland instead of ashes,
The oil of gladness instead of mourning,
The mantle of praise instead of a spirit of fainting.
So they will be called oaks of righteousness,
The planting of the Lord, that He may be glorified, (Isaiah 61:1-3).
Although we are born into His family by faith, sadly we will still fail. When we do, let us be quick to confess our sins.
If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness, (1 John 1:9).
Let us not allow our defeats to defeat us. By faith, let us hear the encouraging voice of Him Who Repurposes our Failures.
“Do not call to mind the former things,
Or ponder things of the past.
19 “Behold, I will do something new,
Now it will spring forth;
Will you not be aware of it?
I will even make a roadway in the wilderness,
Rivers in the desert,” (Isaiah 43:18-19).
As we receive His forgiveness, let us follow the example of Paul; that we would let go of the past in order to take hold of His Future. And as we entrust ourselves to what He alone will accomplish by His Power, committing our lives to Obedience, Worship and His Word, may we press on by faith and His grace; for faithful is He Who Repurposes our Failures.
Not that I have already obtained it or have already become perfect, but I press on so that I may lay hold of that for which also I was laid hold of by Christ Jesus. 13 Brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet; but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 3:12-14).