BiblicalInsights.net

Thomas Zurbuchen selected the name Perseverance for the space rover sent to Mars following a nationwide K-12 student “name the rover” contest.  The contest attracted over 28,000 proposals.  A seventh grade student from Virginia, Alexander Mather from Lake Braddock Secondary School in Burke, VA, submitted the winning entry at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory.  He and his family were invited to Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in FL to watch the launch of the rover.  Mather wrote in his winning essay, “Curiosity, Insight, Spirit, Opportunity.  If you think about it, all of these names of past Mars rovers are qualities we possess as humans.  We are always curious, and seek opportunity.  We have the spirit and insight to explore the Moon, Mars, and beyond.  But, if rovers are to be the qualities of us as a race, we missed the most important thing.  Perseverance.”
It Takes Perseverance to Go to Mars
How far is it to Mars?  The average distance to Mars is 140 million miles.  How long would it take to get there?  If you were walking (about 4 mph) it would take 4,000 years!  By car at 70 mph it would take 228 years. By jet plane, it would take 32 years.  By space ship (the Apollo Ten space craft flew 39,896 km/h) it would take 8.4 months.  By space craft now at 58,599 mph…about 6 months, 18 days).  (distances provided by distancescalculator.com). If you want to track the rover, go to: eyes.nasa.gov and you can track the location in real time.  Wednesday, December 2, the rover had traveled 196,353,000 miles at 55,677 mph, with 96,172,000 miles to go.  67% of the trip has been completed (the trip is nearly 300 million miles).  Perseverance launched July 30, 2020 and will land on Mars Feb. 18, 2021. It takes perseverance to go to Mars.
The Definition of Perseverance
The apostle Paul in Eph. 6:18, states, “Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints.”  The Greek word translated by the English word perseverance means, “strong towards.”  It is an intensive form.  Thus, the word means, “unremitting, steadfast.” The Oxford English Dictionary gives the following definition to perseverance: “persistence in doing something despite opposition, difficulty, or delay in achieving success.”  The opposition can take many forms: enemies oppose, difficulties arise, and delays hinder.  Some quotes capture the essence of this word: “too determined to be defeated” and “Perserverance is the hard work you do after you get tired of doing the hard work you already did” (Newt Gingrich).  Perseverance is a character trait.  Some synonyms are: endurance, patience, steadfastness, unremitting, unrelenting, persistent and determined.
The Context of the Struggle
In Eph. 6:10-18, Paul establishes the need for perseverance in the context of the spiritual struggle that characterizes the Christian warfare.  The Christian life can be viewed as having:  a beginning, i.e. conversion; a goal, heaven; a journey, day to day living; opposition and obstacles, i.e. enemies; support and help, God, the armor of God, godly character, prayer, fellow Christians; and an end, i.e. victory.  We live our lives as Christians in the context of spiritual struggle.  When we become a New Testament Christian and are baptized into Christ (Gal. 3:26-27) we depart from iniquity.  We take a stand against evil and for righteousness.  Consequently, all evil forces will oppose us.   We must keep our eyes on the goal–heaven.  Like Paul, we must stay focused on the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus (Phil. 3:13-14).  Opposition will come from many sources.  In Eph. 6:12, Paul mentions the spiritual principalities, powers and rulers of the darkness of this world.  Satan and his allies will assail each Christian.  In Christ, we must face our enemies with courage and perseverance.  Satan opposes everything that is true, good and right.  He uses deception skillfully to ensnare the minds and hearts of people.  Christians are not defenseless.  We can and must equip ourselves with the whole armor of God.  This involves: truth, righteousness, the gospel of peace, the shield of faith, the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit which is the word of God (Eph. 6:14-17).  With these spiritual instruments, we can fight and win decisively.  “For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds, Casting down imaginations and every high thing that exalted itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ” (II Corinthians 10:4-5).  If God be for us, who can be against us? (Rom. 8:31).  Christians have the power of prayer.  Christians have godly character and stay attentive to the circumstances that they find themselves confronting.  They watch with all perseverance.  Dear Christian, never let down your guard.  Always be prepared to advance the faith and defend the faith which was once delivered to the saints (Jude 3).  We are assured the victory through Jesus Christ our Lord.  “But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through Jesus Christ our Lord” (I Cor. 15:57).  “Greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world” (I John 4:4). “Fight the good fight of the faith, lay hold on eternal life” (I Tim. 6:12).

Around B.C. 1400, Joshua, the newly appointed leader of the children of Israel, led in a successful attack against the city of Jericho.  Jericho represented the “firstfruits” of the conquest of the land of Canaan by the Israelites.  During this campaign, God forbade Israel from taking any of the spoils from the battle for themselves (Joshua 6:18,19).  The spoils of the battle belonged to God.  The “accursed things” (items under the ban) were dedicated to God.
Sabatoging Success
In Joshua 7:1, 20-21, we are told that Achan coveted some of the items, stole them and hid them in the floor of his tent.  The items were:  a Babylonian garment, 200 shekels of silver and a wedge of gold that weighed 50 shekels.  Achan stole these items from God.  During the first battle of Ai, Israel mustered 3,000 men to go up against the city.  The total population of Ai was 12,000.  The men able to fight wars in Ai were few.  However, when Israel engaged in the battle with the men of Ai, they were defeated.  Thirty-six Israelites died.  These are the only causualites Israel suffered during the conquest.  Why were they defeated?  The sin of Achan sabatoged victory!  God withdrew His favor.
Securing Success.
God told Joshua that there was sin in the camp.  Joshua set up a procedure to discover the person and his sin.  A search was made among the tribes and families of Israel and Achan was revealed to be the transgressor.  Joshua confronts Achan and says, “My son, give, I pray thee, glory to the LORD God of Israel, and make confession unto him; and tell me now what thou hast done; hide it not from me.”  Achan answered Joshua, and said, Indeed I have sinned against the LORD God of Israel, and thus and thus have I done:  When I saw among the spoils a goodly Babylonish garment, and two hundred shekels of silver, and a wedge of gold of fifty shekels weight, then I coveted them, and took them; and, behold, they are hid in the earth in the midst of my tent, and the silver under it” (Joshua 7:19-20).  God had instructed Joshua to punish him.  Achan, his family and his livestock were brought to the valley of Achor.  Achan and his family were stoned and then burnt with fire (Joshua 7:25).  The sin in the camp was purged and so Israel was sanctified before God.  This is the first step toward success.
The second step involved following the strategy that God gave Joshua for victory.  God instructed Joshua to lay an ambush against the city of Ai.  Joshua laid out the plan before his army.  Joshua divides the army of 30,000 men into two groups.  One group of 5,000 would form an ambush against Ai by positioning themselves on the west side of the city.  Joshua and the remaining army would attack from the north side of the city.  Joshua planned to withdraw after beginning to attack, in order to draw the men of Ai from the city.  He said, “…for they will say, They flee before us, as at the first: therefore we will flee before them…” (Joshua 8:6-7).  When the men of Ai pursue after the Israelites, then the ambush would arise and go into the city and set it on fire.  When Joshua saw the smoke of the city going up, he would turn his army to fight the men of Ai.  The plan worked.  Israel defeated Ai that day and took all of the possessions of the people for spoil.
Lessons.
Several lessons can be drawn from this battle.  First, you win with God and you face defeat without Him.  Second, you sabotage success by sinning.  God withholds His favor. Third, you secure success thr0ugh sanctification (purging out the sin) and following the strategy God gives for victory.  Part of that strategy involves taking advantage of your enemies’ weaknesses.  The men of Ai were arrogant after they won a minor victory over Israel in the first battle.  This made them vulnerable to ambush.  Following God’s strategy for victory led to triumph.  We have power to prevail over all enemies when we team up with God, remove sin from our lives and pursue God’s will in faith.