Theme: After dealing with sin, God wants us to go forward by faith and continue to win spiritual battle through prayer and faith in God.
After the battle at Jericho, Israel attempted to conquer Ai but was defeated and God revealed that there was sin in the camp of Israel and that it must be dealt with before God would bless Israel again. It was discovered that Achan had taken of the accursed thing and Joshua, along with all Israel, stoned Achan and all that he had and burned them with fire.
Having dealt with the sin in Israel, God now commands Joshua to take all the men of war and go up against Ai and destroy the city, saying “Fear not, neither be thou dismayed.”
The Plan to Destroy Ai (Vs 1-9)
- The command to destroy Ai (Vs 1-2)
a. Previously, we noted that Joshua and the people had gone up to attack Ai without seeking God’s mind on the matter.
– The men went and spied out the city and returned to Joshua saying that it was only a small city and would only require a small group from Israel to conquer it.
– This turned out to be foolishly presumptuous in their part as God was not with them due to the sin of Achan.
b. Israel was likely hesitant to go up against Ai this second time, since they had been defeated in the first instance.
– God encouraged Joshua to “fear not, neither be thou dismayed.” To be dismayed is to be totally discouraged, to be laid down low because of fear. - God gave instructions for carrying out the attack.
a. Joshua was to take all the men of war up to the battle.
– It is interesting that, when the men of Israel planned the attack, Israel sent just 3,000 men, but when God sent Israel up, he told Joshua to take every man of war. Usually this would be the other way round but, in this case, there is a distinct change in the pattern.
– Usually, it would be Israel that would want everyone to go to battle, but God would restrain them so He could show Himself strong. In this case, however, Israel had presumed upon God’s goodness and God had reminded them of their own weakness.
i. Perhaps, Israel was so afraid of defeat that God knew they wouldn’t go up against Ai without the whole army being present for the battle.
ii. Perhaps they had lost their confidence in God.
– Spiritual defeats in our Christian life shouldn’t make us doubt the power of God. To doubt God’s power really is to blame God for our spiritual defeat in the first place. The reality is victory over sin is always available to us but is isn’t always availed of by us. - God promised victory over Ai (Vs 2)
a. Israel had the promise of victory, and God said that, in the same way that they had destroyed Jericho, so they would destroy Ai.
– There is an important lesson to be learned from this. When we deal with our sin before God and we repent of it, God forgives us and then restores us to fellowship with him as though we had never sinned. Our sin is covered by the blood of Jesus Christ, and it is forgotten. We don’t have to continue living in spiritual defeat just because we failed once in the past.
b. They would take the spoil for themselves.
– The principle to learn from this change is that God deserves first place in everything, including in our increase.
– When God gives us an increase in wealth, we need to honour him with that increase. That is why we tithe, because it is scriptural to give God the first 10% of all of our increase. - The plan to ambush Ai (Vs 3-10)
a. In preparation for the coming battle, Joshua sent some of his men to prepare an ambush of the city.
– Joshua sent them away by night so that they wouldn’t be spotted as they made their way to the hiding place behind the city of Ai.
– “The neighbourhood in which Ai was situated is described as “a wild entanglement of hill and valley;””[1] In the wild hills and valleys these 30,000 men would find a place to hide out and wait for the battle to begin. [1] Albert Barnes, Notes on the Old Testament: Exodus to Ruth, ed. F. C. Cook and J. M. Fuller (London: John Murray, 1879), 368–369.
b. Joshua commanded the men to be ready for when the time came for battle.
– ““Be ye all ready” is a great motto for Christian service. Be ready to serve God at any time.”[1] John G Butler, Analytical Bible Expositor, Volume 3; 2010; Pg 80
– In the heat of the battle, Israel would pretend to be retreating before the men of Ai, as had happened the first time they had attacked.
– Once they were far enough away from the city, Joshua would give the signal for his ambush to begin and the men lying in wait would come out of their hiding place and attack the city itself unopposed.
The Battle to Destroy Ai (Vs 10-29)
- The approach to Ai (Vs 10-13)
a. Along with the elders of Israel, Joshua would take the army to the battlefield and reveal their approach to the enemy defenders.
– Joshua pitched their camp on the north side of the city of Ai with a valley between them and the city.
– Joshua wasn’t concerned about concealing his camp and sneaking up on the enemy, since his plan involved drawing the enemy out onto the battlefield.
b. Having already set an ambush of 30,000 men, Joshua decided to prepare a further 5,000 men for the same task.
– Beware of Albert Barnes: He frequently questions the accuracy of the scriptural accounts, often stating that copyists made errors rather than seeking to reconcile apparent contradictions.
i. Commenting on this passage, Albert Barnes says that there was an error made in copying out verse 2, which states that Joshua took 30,000 men for an ambush. He believes there was only one group of 5,000 men sent out.
iii. It is very clear from the passage, however, that Joshua sent out two groups, 30,000 on the night before the battle (Vs 9) and 5,000 on the morning of the battle (Vs 10-12). These are not contradictory statements, but rather complimentary.
– Verse 13 tells us that once everyone was in place and ready to carry out the battle plan, Joshua went down into the valley by night. - The battle with Ai (Vs 14-22)
a. The men of Ai were tricked into leaving the city unprotected (Vs 14-17)
– When the king of Ai rose early the next morning, he discovered an army on his doorstep. He immediately gathered the people and prepared to go out against Israel, but what he didn’t know was that there were men lying in wait, ready to take the city from behind.
– Because of their over-confidence, all the men of Ai left the city and pursued Israel.
b. God had told Joshua that Israel would destroy Ai as they had done to Jericho, now Joshua was to point his spear in the direction of Ai as an act of faith in God.
– Notice the statement in verse 26, “For Joshua drew not his hand back, wherewith he stretched out the spear, until he had utterly destroyed all the inhabitants of Ai.”[1][1] The Holy Bible: King James Version, Electronic Edition of the 1900 Authorized Version. (Bellingham, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc., 2009), Jos 8:26.
– This seems to be a very intentional reminder to Joshua of the battle against Amalek, in Exodus 17. You remember how Joshua fought with Amalek while Moses stood on top of the hill overlooking the battle with the rod of God raised over his head. As long as Moses held up the rod of God, Joshua prevailed, but when he began to lower the rod, Amalek prevailed.
c. When Joshua held out his spear, the ambush rose quickly and took the city.
– When the men of Ai saw their city burning, they realised that they had been fooled into leaving it unprotected and Joshua and all Israel saw the smoke signal and stopped pretending to be on the retreat. They turned and began fighting with vigour once again. - The destruction of Ai (Vs 22-29)
a. As the men of Israel came out of the city behind the men of Ai, they began to scatter and try to escape the battle.
– They were caught between the hammer of the ambush and the anvil of Joshua’s main force. Militarily speaking this was a total disaster for the men of Ai. They were completely outnumbered and now they were surrounded.
b. Having destroyed the army of Ai, Israel returned to the city and destroyed everything else.
The Worship After Destroying Ai (Vs 30-35)
- The altar built in Mt Ebal (Vs 30-31)
a. Joshua, and all Israel, knew that it was God who gave them the victory in their battle.
– For the Christian, we need to remember that the victory is still God’s to give or to withhold.
– This is why prayer is so important in the spiritual battle. To roughly quote Andrew Murray, “It is prayer that moves the hand of God to work on our behalf in ways that he otherwise might not have moved.”
b. The prayer of faith says, “I believe that God holds the key to victory in the Christian life, and I believe that he wants me to ask for it in faith, with nothing wavering, knowing that he will deliver me.” - The commemoration in Mt Ebal (Vs 32-35)
a. Following the battle, Joshua wrote a copy of the Ten Commandments on the stones he had used for an altar, and he read the Law of Moses to the people.
– As long as Israel would keep the Law of Moses and walk in the ways of God, then God would continue to bless them in the Land of Promise, but if Israel turned away from God, then God would take his hand of blessing off the nation, and they would become a prey unto their enemies. That is what is pictured in the account, from the sin of Achan to the defeat of Ai.
– As Joshua read the Law of Moses to the people, it was a reminder that being God’s people and living for God is a lifestyle that must be maintained.
b. Applying this more practically, the Christian life is one that demands ongoing dedication to God.
– Our closeness with God and our obedience with Him must be maintained throughout our whole lives. There will never come a day when you can say that you are so well established as a Christian that you don’t need to prayerfully depend on God anymore.
– “Life is a whole, and the pious hour of prayer is judged by God from the ordinary frame of the daily life where the hour of prayer is only a small part. Not the feeling I call up but the tone of my life during the day is God’s criterion of what I really am and desire.” ― Andrew Murray, With Christ in the School of Prayer
Conclusion:
- You don’t have to remain in a state of spiritual defeat. You can choose to repent of your sin and return God and He will forgive your sin and restore you to fellowship with Him.
- And then, going forward in the battle, maintain open lines of communication between yourself and heaven. Go forward in prayer and faith, trusting the God will continue to give you the victory.