JOSHUA CHAPTER 8, “The
Conquest Of Ai”
By
Jim Bomkamp
1. INTRODUCTION
1.1. In our last study, we
finished up chapter 7 of Joshua and looked again at Joshua’s prayer to the Lord
after the loss in battle at Ai, and the Lord’s response back to him. We saw how the Lord led Joshua to resolve the
problem of their having lost the Lord’s favor and fellowship because of the sin
of Achan taking that which was to be under the ban from the battle of Jericho
1.1.1. The children of
1.1.2. The children of
1.1.3. The Lord told Joshua that in
order to regain His favor that they were going to have to destroy those things
from the ban that were in their camp and that the man who had taken these
things from Jericho, and all that belonged to him, would have to be burned with
fire
1.1.3.1.
We talked then about the importance of dealing with sin when it is
discovered in our camp, either personally or corporately
1.2. In our study today, we are
going to look now at the conquest of the city of Ai
1.2.1. We will see how when Joshua
waits upon the Lord for his marching orders that the Lord tells him the plan
that will succeed in victory for them
1.2.2. We will see the importance
of not letting your defeats defeat you and render you ineffective in your
testimony and Christian service
1.2.2.1.
As we have seen, the book of Joshua symbolizes for us as Christians our
walking in the victory and blessing that is our inheritance in Christ. I am comforted that the book shows God’s
people failing and falling into sin, and this is because I also sometimes fail
and fall into sin. If the book only
included stories of the great victories of God’s people, I’m afraid that I
would come to the conclusion that I would not qualify to be one of God’s
people. Wonderfully however, it shows
God’s people failing yet not being utterly cast down. Failing, and yet letting the Lord work good
from their failures
1.2.3. We will see again many
lessons to be learned in this story
1.2.4. We will see yet again
another memorial built by the children of
1.2.5. We will see that after the
victory that Joshua leads the people to go up to Mount Ebal and carry out a
ritual involving their recommitment to His covenant through obedience to the
Commandments of the Lord
2. VS 8:1 - “1 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.” - The Lord again tells Joshua
to not be afraid or dismayed and to now go up and conquer the people of the
city of
2.1. We notice first of all that Joshua
is told to ‘arise’ and go to Ai and this implies then that Joshua had again
come and prostrated himself before the Lord, this time after the sin of
Achan had been completely removed from their midst and a memorial to this event
had been erected.
2.1.1. We saw previously that when
Jericho had been conquered that Joshua and the children of Israel had errored
by going straight into battle at Ai without taking time to again come before
the Lord and reconsecrate themselves to Him.
2.1.2. Remember, service for the
Lord needs to be preceded by worship and consecration of our lives to the Lord.
2.2. Joshua needed this
encouragement by the Lord to not fear nor be dismayed since he and the children
of Israel had been terribly humbled by the loss at Ai, a loss which occurred
because of their being sin in their camp and their being presumptive of the
Lord and going straight into the battle without first coming before the Lord.
2.3. Now that the sin which had
invoked the Lord’s anger against them had been removed from them, the Lord
immediately tells Joshua to go up to Ai and conquer it. The children of
2.3.1. We must never forget that it
is always a man’s sin which impedes fellowship with the Lord, nothing more or
less. That fellowship can only be restored
by removing his sin in repentance and through the shed blood of Christ, for
the scripture tells us that there is no forgiveness without the shedding of
blood (Heb. 9:22).
2.4. Here, the Lord again
promises victory to Joshua and the children of
2.4.1. It is the case though is it
not, that many a Christian has in one moment of weakness and rebellion
against the Lord fallen to never really get up and again be cleaned up by the
Lord and used mightily by Him? Many
men once aspired to be used greatly by God, some once were even ministers
themselves, yet they have never been able to allow the Lord to help them get past
that one fall into sin which has caused them since to go through their
Christian life ineffective, lukewarm, and shining only a but dull reflection of
the light of Christ.
2.4.2. If only when we Christians
fail we could hear the Father’s heart which yearns for His son or daughter to
yet again arise and be led courageously by Him to yet greater challenges…
2.4.3. We have already mentioned
that the Lord allows us to fail but He does so not to smash or destroy us but rather
to make us better (purify our hearts), show us the way to further victory, and
to teach us lessons vital to our survival and success.
2.4.4. Humility is usually gained
through failure not through mighty victories, and humility is essential, for
all of God’s people need to realize their own weakness and the sin which
indwells their hearts. It is only when
we become truly humble that God will be properly lifted up and glorified in our
hearts and lives.
3. VS 8:2 - “2 “And you shall do to Ai and
its king just as you did to
3.1. The Lord tells Joshua that just
as they had annihilated all of the people at the conquer of
3.2. Since the conquest of
3.2.1. How Satan rips off those who
fall to temptation. Achan we see is found to
be such a fool, for if he had only waited he could have had all of the
spoils of war that he wanted.
3.3. The Lord tells Joshua that with
this battle at Ai that they were to ‘set an ambush for the city behind it.’ At the battle of Jericho the people
had to march around the city once each day for six days, however on the
seventh day they were to march around it seven times, then shout and the walls
of the city would fall down so they could precede into the city and conquer
it. Here, however the Lord’s strategy
is completely different. This battle was
to be a covert operation with an ambush set behind the city. There are some lessons to glean from this
strategy determined by the Lord for the battle of Ai:
3.3.1. It is important to get our
instructions from the Lord on how to proceed in the decisions we make in our
lives and in the church, especially concerning ministry and reaching the lost
with the gospel.
3.3.1.1.
We must learn to wait upon the Lord’s leading in our lives. It would have been tragic here if Joshua had
not waited upon the Lord and got instructions from Him on how to proceed in
order to have victory over his enemies.
3.3.1.2.
There are churches in our day in whom the Lord once worked in a
particular way and now today they are still doing the same things that they did
then, with
little fruit as a result.
3.3.1.2.1.
What if the children of
3.3.2. By waiting upon the Lord’s
leading in our lives and then following how He instructs us to proceed we will
have His hand guaranteeing our success!
3.3.2.1.
This covert operation by Joshua would require supernatural power in
order to succeed.
3.3.2.1.1.
30,000 men taking roughly 48 hours to sneaking around behind the city
undetected would be close to impossible except for the Lord’s hand being involved.
3.3.2.1.2.
Plus, only God knew the men of Ai would be overconfident after their
previous victory over the children of
3.3.3. The Lord knows our enemy and
in order to proceed into victory with the greatest confidence of success we
need wisdom to understand our enemy’s schemes and tactics to thwart us.
3.3.3.1.
The Lord knew that the people of Ai would become overconfident if they saw a relatively
small group of the children of
3.3.3.2.
We Christians need to study our enemy:
3.3.3.2.1.
In 2 Cor. 2:10-11, Paul wrote about how he was not ignorant of
Satan’s schemes, “10 But whom you forgive anything, I forgive also;
for indeed what I have forgiven, if I have forgiven anything, I did it for your
sakes in the presence of Christ,11 in order that no advantage be taken of us
by Satan; for we are not ignorant of his schemes.”
3.3.3.2.2.
The scriptures tell us much about the schemes of Satan.
3.3.3.2.2.1.
Ephesians chapter 6 is a good place to begin to study about spiritual
warfare.
3.3.4. God’s plan is always bigger
than ours.
3.3.4.1.
The Lord in this story wanted the children of
4. VS 8:3-9 - “3 So Joshua rose with all the
people of war to go up to Ai; and Joshua chose 30,000 men, valiant warriors,
and sent them out at night.4 And 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 it will come about when they come out to meet us as at the first,
that we will flee before them.6 “And 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 “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.”9 So Joshua sent them away, and they went to the place of
ambush and remained between Bethel and Ai, on the west side of Ai; but Joshua
spent that night among the people.” - Joshua
instructs the army with his plans to conquer the city of
4.1. Throughout this book, in
every battle, and in this chapter we see Joshua functioning as a type of the
Lord Jesus Christ. Here, we see Joshua as
their commander in the battle sending out the troops, but then also
going up and leading the frontal attack as the captain and leader of the army.
4.1.1. In Heb. 2:10, the
author of that book speaks of Jesus as being the “captain of our salvation”
leading us His people, and as being the One who in His leading leads us
by first Himself suffering trials of such as nature as the ones which we go
through, “10 For it became him, for whom are all things, and by whom
are all things, in bringing many sons unto glory, to make the captain of their
salvation perfect through sufferings.”
4.1.1.1.
The Lord is an example for us in our suffering and trials, having
suffered first, but then He also shows us the way to proceed in order to
have victory in the midst of those trials, the way to walk in the blessing and
victory of Christ.
4.2. Notice here that though the
people were promised victory in their conquest of Ai, they none-the-less had
to follow the Lord’s leading and commands in proceeding in that
battle. We Christians too are
promised that we can walk in the victory and blessing in Christ at all times,
however this gives us no excuse for not heeding the commands and admonitions
of the scripture in all areas of our life as we go.
4.2.1. As Ps. 119:105 tells
us, the scriptures are always to be a light to our path to show us the
way that we are to go, “105 Thy word is a lamp to my feet, And a light to
my path.”
4.3. Joshua’s spending the night
there among the people prior to the victorious battle has been compared to the
incarnation of Jesus, His coming to earth and walking and living freely among people for
those 33 years leading up to His going to the cross to obtain our redemption
from our sins.
4.4. It has also been pointed out that with Joshua
feigning to flee from the enemy only to turn around and to summon the troops
and conquer him that this symbolizes the Lord who upon the cross of Calvary
seemed to be conquered by Satan when He was nailed to the cross, however in
the end that very act ended up being what caused Satan to be finally defeated
and rendered powerless.
5. VS 8:10-13 - “10 Now Joshua rose early in the
morning and mustered the people, and he went up with the elders of Israel
before the people to Ai.11 Then all the people of war who were with him went up
and drew near and arrived in front of the city, and camped on the north side of
Ai. Now there was a valley between him and Ai.12 And he took about 5,000 men
and set them in ambush between Bethel and Ai, on the west side of the city.13
So they stationed the people, all the army that was on the north side of the
city, and its rear guard on the west side of the city, and Joshua spent that
night in the midst of the valley.” - Early in
the morning Joshua mustered the people and went to Ai and made a camp
5.1. We see here the wisdom that
God gave Joshua for this battle.
5.1.1. 30,000 men, the most valiant warriors,
had left the day before to sneak around behind the city, on its south side.
5.1.2. Now, Joshua took the rest
of the men and headed south towards Ai very early in the morning and they
camped there.
5.1.3. Since the city of
5.1.4. The rest of the men went
with him directly south towards Ai into the valley on its north side.
5.2. As a result of Joshua’s wise
leadership and the Lord’s direction and supernatural power, the children of
6. VS 8:14-23 - “14 And it came about when the
king of Ai saw it, that the men of the city hurried and rose up early and went
out to meet Israel in battle, he and all his people at the appointed place
before the desert plain. But he did not know that there was an ambush against
him behind the city.15 And Joshua and all Israel pretended to be beaten before
them, and fled by the way of the wilderness.16 And all the people who were in
the city were called together to pursue them, and they pursued Joshua, and were
drawn away from the city.17 So not a man was left in Ai or Bethel who had not
gone out after Israel, and they left the city unguarded and pursued
Israel. 18 Then the Lord said to Joshua,
“Stretch out the javelin that is in your hand toward Ai, for I will give it
into your hand.” So Joshua stretched out the javelin that was in his hand
toward the city.19 And the men in ambush rose quickly from their place, and
when he had stretched out his hand, they ran and entered the city and captured
it; and they quickly set the city on fire.20 When the men of Ai turned back and
looked, behold, the smoke of the city ascended to the sky, and they had no place
to flee this way or that, for the people who had been fleeing to the wilderness
turned against the pursuers.21 When Joshua and all Israel saw that the men in
ambush had captured the city and that the smoke of the city ascended, they
turned back and slew the men of Ai.22 And the others came out from the city to
encounter them, so that they were trapped in the midst of Israel, some on this
side and some on that side; and they slew them until no one was left of those
who survived or escaped.23 But they took alive the king of Ai and brought him
to Joshua.”
- Joshua tells the story of how
everything went according to the plan that the Lord had given them in
conquering the city of
6.1. The king of Ai and his army
were vigilant and waiting when the sun came up on this day expecting
that perhaps the children of
6.2. When the king of Ai saw that it appeared that the
children of Israel had tried the same plan as before and were now again
retreating like cowards, because of his over confidence he had his
commanders go and send all of the men of the city to come and pursue the
children of Israel to conquer them.
6.3. Matthew Henry once wrote, “They are
most in danger who are least aware of it.”
6.4. The scriptures teach in many
places and ways that it is dangerous for anyone because of self-confidence to
think he knows what he is doing, for the Lord loves to overthrow men in their
plans, for example:
6.4.1. 1 Cor. 10:12, “12 Therefore
let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall.”
6.4.2. Ps. 9:16, “16 The Lord
has made Himself known; He has executed
judgment. In the work of his own hands the wicked is snared. Higgaion
[Selah].”
6.4.3. Ps. 127:1, “Unless the
Lord builds the house, They labor in vain who build it; Unless the Lord guards the city, The watchman
keeps awake in vain.”
6.5. We see here that Joshua
waits for the Lord to lead him even during the battle:
6.5.1. In verse 18 the Lord tells
Joshua to raise the javelin in his hand to signal the men behind the city to begin
to attack.
6.5.2. We Christians need to learn
that the Lord doesn’t need our counsel to know how to win the world for
Christ. He will lead us in all things
and as Joshua we must learn to wait upon the Lord to lead us.
6.6. We see here that not only
had all the men of the city of
7. VS 8:24-28 - “24 Now it came about when Israel
had finished killing all the inhabitants of Ai in the field in the wilderness
where they pursued them, and all of them were fallen by the edge of the sword
until they were destroyed, then all Israel returned to Ai and struck it with
the edge of the sword.25 And all who fell that day, both men and women, were
12,000—all the people of Ai.26 For Joshua did not withdraw his hand with which
he stretched out the javelin until he had utterly destroyed all the inhabitants
of Ai.27 Israel took only the cattle and the spoil of that city as plunder for
themselves, according to the word of the Lord which He had commanded Joshua.28
So Joshua burned Ai and made it a heap forever, a desolation until this day.” - Joshua tells us of how when they had killed
off the army of Ai in the field that they went into the city itself and killed
every person there as well, for a total of 12,000
7.1. We see here that the Lord
led the children of
7.1.1. We should keep in mind that
these people in Canaan were not innocent for they were the most wicked of all of the
nations, so much so that the Lord had told Abraham some 400 years before
this that at this point in time that their wickedness would be complete—indicating
they could now only be judged in the most severe way.
7.2. We see here that Joshua kept
his javelin high in the air all during this battle against Ai.
7.2.1. Joshua had learned now to
follow the patterns that the Lord had established.
7.2.2. At the battle of Rephidim which occurred just after
the children of
7.3. Following the command of the
Lord, Joshua burned the city to the ground, and Joshua tells us here that to that day
the city was still a desolation.
8. VS 8:29 - “29 And he hanged the king of Ai
on a tree until evening; and at sunset Joshua gave command and they took his
body down from the tree, and threw it at the entrance of the city gate, and
raised over it a great heap of stones that stands to this day.” - Joshua hanged the king of Ai and they threw
his body at the entrance to Ai and raised a great heap of stones over it
8.1. The hanging of the king of
Ai was a symbolic gesture completed now that the city was completely destroyed just as the Lord
had told them would occur.
8.2. The children of
8.2.1. One was at Gilgal to remind
them of how the Lord parted the
8.2.2. One was in the middle of the
Jordan River, a further reminder of
8.2.3. One covered the charred
bodies of the family of Achan and all that he had possessed.
9. VS 8:30-35 - “30 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.32 And 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.33 And all Israel with
their elders and officers and their judges were standing on both sides of the
ark before the Levitical priests who carried the ark of the covenant of the
Lord, the stranger as well as the native. Half of them stood in front of Mount
Gerizim and half of them in front of Mount Ebal, just as Moses the servant of
the Lord had given command at first to bless the people of Israel.34 Then
afterward he read all the words of the law, the blessing and the curse,
according to all that is written in the book of the law.35 There was not a word
of all that Moses had commanded which Joshua did not read before all the
assembly of Israel with the women and the little ones and the strangers who
were living among them.” - Joshua takes all of the
people 100 miles to
9.1. In Deut. 11:26-32 and
then again in Deut. 27:1-14, when Moses was charging the children of
Israel concerning the keeping of their covenant with the Lord by obeying all of
His commandments, he gave them strict and very specific commands about
performing this ritual when they had entered the land of Canaan, “26 “See,
I am setting before you today a blessing and a curse:27 the blessing, if you
listen to the commandments of the Lord your God, which I am commanding you
today;28 and the curse, if you do not listen to the commandments of the Lord
your God, but turn aside from the way which I am commanding you today, by
following other gods which you have not known.29 “And it shall come about, when
the Lord your God brings you into the land where you are entering to possess
it, that you shall place the blessing on Mount Gerizim and the curse on Mount
Ebal.30 “Are they not across the Jordan, west of the way toward the sunset, in
the land of the Canaanites who live in the Arabah, opposite Gilgal, beside the
oaks of Moreh?31 “For you are about to cross the Jordan to go in to possess the
land which the Lord your God is giving you, and you shall possess it and live
in it,32 and you shall be careful to do all the statutes and the judgments
which I am setting before you today…
1 Then Moses and the elders of Israel charged the
people, saying, “Keep all the commandments which I command you today.2 “So it
shall be on the day when you shall cross the Jordan to the land which the Lord
your God gives you, that you shall set up for yourself large stones, and coat
them with lime3 and write on them all the words of this law, when you cross
over, in order that you may enter the land which the Lord your God gives you, a
land flowing with milk and honey, as the Lord, the God of your fathers,
promised you.4 “So it shall be when you cross the Jordan, you shall set up on
Mount Ebal, these stones, as I am commanding you today, and you shall coat them
with lime.5 “Moreover, you shall build there an altar to the Lord your God, an
altar of stones; you shall not wield an iron tool on them.6 “You shall build
the altar of the Lord your God of uncut stones; and you shall offer on it burnt
offerings to the Lord your God;7 and you shall sacrifice peace offerings and
eat there, and you shall rejoice before the Lord your God.8 “And you shall
write on the stones all the words of this law very distinctly.”9 Then Moses and
the Levitical priests spoke to all
9.2. It is also true that in
Genesis chapter 12 we read that as Abraham was traveling through
this country that he also built an altar to the Lord on this very spot on
9.3. A few times in the
scriptures
there is given the very specific command that when altars are built to the
Lord that they are to be built with uncut stones (See for instance Exod.
20:24-25; Deut. 27:5-6). An altar is a place where sinful man is to
meet with a holy God, and there are a couple of reasons why it is
believed uncut stones should therefore be used for altars:
9.3.1. It is not a man’s good works
which make him worthy for entry into the Lord’s presence, for his sin must be
removed through the shedding of Christ’s blood to allow him to enter the
presence of the Lord. Thus, no work
can be done in order to make an altar that would be nice enough to make the
worshipper worthy to enter the Lord’s presence.
9.3.2. There would be less temptation
to hypocrisy in those who would make a show of true “from the heart” worship by
creating a beautiful altar.
9.4. Moses had designated in the
Deut. 11 and 27 accounts that the altar be built and that a copy of the law be
written upon some stones at this altar. However, notice
that the altar was actually placed upon
9.5. This was the ideal place to
perform this ritual to the Lord. The
valley where
Joshua, the priests, and the “Ark of the Covenant” were was a natural
amphitheatre and even to this day a group standing atop one of the mountains
does not need to yell in order to talk with a group upon the other mountain.
9.6. What then we see happening
here is that the children of
9.6.1. Half of the children of
Israel stood upon Mount Ebal and the other half upon Mount Gerizim.
9.6.2. As the law was read in the
hearing of all of the people, when a blessing of the law was read then the
people standing on Mount Gerizim would shout their, “Amen!” to the reading,
and when a curse was read then the people standing on Mount Ebal would shout
their, “Amen!”
9.7. Because the children of
Israel were at this time recommitting themselves to the Lord’s covenant, formally
accepting that they would be obedient to all of the commandments of the Lord,
then we see in the wisdom of God that throughout the rest of the book of Joshua
the “Ark of the Covenant” is no longer mentioned.
9.7.1. We would not have expected
this to occur seeing how to this point it has been made obvious in the book
that the “Ark of the Covenant” was always central to the story and to the
children of
9.7.1.1.
In chapters 3 and 4 it had been mentioned 16 times.
9.7.1.2.
In chapter 6 it was mentioned 8 times.
9.7.2. However, the “Ark of the
Covenant” contained the tablets with the commandments of the Lord on them, and
now that the children of
9.8. In this story of the conquer
of Ai, it should be mentioned in regard to this altar with the 10 Commandments
engraved upon it, that the victory at Ai really had occurred because of the
obedience of the children of Israel to the Lord’s commandments. Originally they had failed when they had
sinned in breaking the Lord’s commandments, now they had succeeded because of
their obedience.
9.9. We Christians today must see
at least see one symbolism
which applies to us in this story. With Joshua, the type of
Jesus Christ, the priests and the “Ark of the Covenant” containing the
scriptures in the middle of the valley, and one mountain on one side
symbolizing the blessing of keeping the law and another mountain on the other
side symbolizing the curse of breaking the law, we Christians must always
realize that the law of God as well as its consequences are always before us. Though we are free from the curse of the
law through the cross of
9.9.1. You see, a person claiming
to be a Christian reveals the genuineness of his faith by his attitude towards
God’s law.
10. CONCLUSION:
10.1.
This story itself reminds us of the blessings or the curse involved in
our own obeying of the Lord and His commandments
10.1.1. What a blessing it is when
we from the heart have it as our heart’s delight to obey the Lord and His
commandments, no matter how they shall at times cut against us and expose our
failures, nor how difficult they shall seem to be in keeping
10.1.2. Conversely, what heartache
eventually comes to us whenever we choose to set aside just even one of God’s
commandments
10.2.
We should take heart though, for it is said that, “God’s commandments
are His enablings!” Whenever we submit
to the Lord to be obedient to His commandments, then He sees that we are
enabled to keep them. For the Lord never
commands us to do anything for which He does not give us the power to do. As we commit ourselves to obey the Lord, we
are suddenly empowered by Him to do so