Never permit one failure to rob you of future victory. When God sees that we have obeyed His Word and sincerely dealt with sin, He comes with encouragement and guidance for the next step. It has well been said that the victorious Christian life is a series of new beginnings. (See Ps. 37:23–24.)
决不可以让一场失败夺走你未来的胜利。当神看见我们顺服祂的话并真诚对待罪时，祂必指导与鼓励我们走下一步。得胜的基督徒生活就是一系列的新开始——这句话说得没错。（见诗37:23-24）
Had Achan only waited, he could have taken all the spoils he desired, but he ran ahead of God and lost everything. (See Matt. 6:33.)
亚干若愿意等待，他是可以获得所有想要的战利品。不过，他却跑在神前面，因而失去了一切。（见太6:33）。
Joshua knew how to bring victory from defeat, for he used the original battle plan to deceive the inhabitants of Ai. Now they were the ones who were presumptuous, and it cost them their lives. The strategy in verse 26 was learned from Moses (Exod. 17:8–13).
约书亚知道如何反败为胜，因为他使用原有的作战计划来欺骗艾城的居民。如今，骄横恣肆的是他们，而他们为此赔上了性命。第26节的战略是向摩西学习的（出17:8-13）。
New victories ought to result in new steps of dedication (vv. 30–35). Joshua obeyed what Moses had commanded (Deut. 27), for obedience to the Word is the secret of success (Josh. 1:8).
新的胜利也当带来新的委身（30-35节）。约书亚听从摩西所吩咐的一切（申27），因顺服话语就是成功的秘诀（书1:8）。
Praying the Scripture 用经文祷告
- No matter what mistakes we may make, the worst of all is to not try again. Alexander Whyte once said, “The victorious Christian life is a series of new beginnings.” Once the nation of Israel had been judged for the sin that had defiled their camp, God was free to speak to them in mercy and direct them in their conquest of the land. Sometimes we hear people say “the Lord can forgive me, but I cannot forgive myself.” If this is the case, this man is too proud because he thinks he is bigger than God. Let’s pray that we humble ourselves and follow God’s standard rather than our own.
无论我们犯下什么错误，最糟糕的就是不再尝试。亚历山大·怀特曾经说过：“得胜的基督徒生活就是一系列的新开始。”以色列国因被罪玷污了阵营而受到审判之后，神就能以怜悯待他们，引导他们征服应许之地。有时，我们会听人说：“神能原谅我，但我无法原谅自己”。倘若如此，这人就太骄傲了，因为他认为自己比神大。让我们祈祷，能够谦卑自己并遵照神的标准，而不是自己的。
- After the victory at Ai, Joshua led the people 30 miles north to Shechem. It was here Joshua built an altar for the Lord. In the Near East of that day it was customary for kings to celebrate their greatness by writing records of their military exploits on huge stones covered with plaster. But what Joshua wrote on the stone was the Word of God (Jos 8:32). The secret of Israel’s victory was not due to their leaders; it was their obedience to God’s Law (Josh. 1:7–8). Notice Joshua 8:35, “There was not a word of all that Moses commanded that Joshua did not read before all the assembly of Israel, and the women, and the little ones, and the sojourners who lived among them (Jos 8:35).
在艾城得胜后，约书亚带领百姓往北行30英里（48公里）到示剑。约书亚在这里为神立了一座坛。在那时的近东时代，国王普遍会在巨大的灰泥石块刻上军队的伟绩，表扬自己的伟大。但是，约书亚在石头上刻的是神的话（书8:32）。以色列战胜的秘诀不在乎他们的领导，而是对神律法的顺服（书1:7-8）。请注意约书亚8:35：“摩西所吩咐的一切话，约书亚在以色列全会众和妇女，孩子，并他们中间寄居的外人面前，没有一句不宣读的。”
