Joshua Do Over With Ai

Achan’s sin caused Israel to be defeated by the people of Ai. After dealing with the sin, Israel gets a ‘do over’ with Ai. And they come out the victors.

Something I think is worth noting here is that God gave Joshua the battle plan for Ai this time. The first time, Joshua listened to the spies and took their advice. I have a feeling, that if Joshua would have asked for the Lord’s direction the first time, he would have found out about Achan’s sin much earlier. But the people were on a high from defeating Jericho and didn’t feel the need to ask for directions from the Lord.

The people of Ai had become bold after defeating Israel the first time. This was something Joshua feared, but this time he used it to his advantage. Let’s join the battle as Israel gets a second crack at conquering Ai.

♥ ♦ ♥

Achan’s sin is in the past now. His punishment has been fulfilled. The Lord’s anger has abated. Joshua has come to the door of the Tent to spend time with the Lord. As he kneels before the Lord, the Lord speaks to him regarding Ai.

“Do not fear and do not be dismayed. Take all the fighting men with you, and arise, go up to Ai. See, I have given into your hand the king of Ai, and his people, his city, and his land. ² And you shall do to Ai and its king as you did to Jericho and its king. Only its spoil and its livestock you shall take as plunder for yourselves. Lay an ambush against the city, behind it.” (Joshua 8:1-2)

Joshua’s heart sings! The Lord is giving him a battle plan and promising victory again. “How I wish I would have asked for Your battle plan the first time” Joshua tells the Lord.

It has been a long day. It isn’t really late in the day, but the people are emotionally spent after dealing with Achan’s sin. Joshua wrestles with when to share the Lord’s plan with them.

“If I share it now, it will boost the people’s lagging spirits. But if I wait until tomorrow, it will give them time to process the weight, and price, of sin.” After going back and forth for a little while, Joshua decides to do it now. Doing so will save a full day in which Ai might try and make allies with other cities.

Joshua goes to the Levit on duty in the Tabernacle and has him summon the congregation with the silver trumpets. Joshua is waiting in the place where Moses always stood by the time the people start gathering. Once they are all assembled, he is ready to begin.

There is weariness and concern evident on the faces of many of the people. This is their second assembly of the day. The first one was for a VERY heavy concern. They are wondering what this one is for.

Joshua smiles inwardly, knowing that their spirits will be lifted by the time he finishes speaking to them.

“The Lord is giving Ai into our hands” Joshua announces with an excited voice.

The people’s shoulders, which were sagging straighten up and their eyes go wide with surprise.

“That’s better” Joshua thinks to himself. He begins to share the Lord’s battle plan with the people.

“The Lord has given us a battle plan for conquering Ai. It is not the same as the one He gave us for Jericho, as we don’t face the same kind of obstacles. He is calling for us to set an ambush behind the city. We are also to take ALL of our forces into battle with Ai. No one will be left behind. Each tribe will provide 2,500 of your BEST soldiers for action this night. The remaining forces will set out in the morning. I want to meet with the leaders now to finalize the plan. The rest of you, return to your tents and be ready when called. And know that the Lord fights for us again!”

As the assembly was breaking up, the leaders of the tribes were making their way to Joshua. Once they were all together, Joshua shared the fullness of the plan. “I need your best men. You will select them and have them ready to go at the time of the evening sacrifice. Once they are assembled this is what they will do.” Joshua draws a crude map of the city and its surroundings. “Behold, you shall lie in ambush against the city, behind it. Do not go very far from the city, but all of you remain ready. And I and all the people who are with me will approach the city. And when they come out against us just as before, we shall flee before them. And they will come out after us, until we have drawn them away from the city. For they will say, ‘They are fleeing from us, just as before.’ So we will flee before them. Then you shall rise up from the ambush and seize the city, for the Lord your God will give it into your hand. And as soon as you have taken the city, you shall set the city on fire. You shall do according to the word of the Lord. See, I have commanded you.” (Joshua 8:4-8)

Smiles were on the faces of the leaders by the time Joshua finished sharing this portion. They liked the though of using Ai’s newfound confidence against them.

“Then, when we see the city burning, we will turn back on them and have them surrounded.”

Heads nodded around the group. Talk began immediately of who should be in the 30,000. It didn’t take long for the decision to be reached, as each tribe had special groups who were more skilled and better trained than the others. And these groups were already expecting to be summoned.

By the time the evening sacrifice was being laid on the altar, 30,000 of the best of Israel’s fighting men were assembled and awaiting orders.

“To make sure you are not seen, you will leave now and be in position before dawn. The rest of the forces will set out from here, at first light. When the larger forces reach Ai, they will be drawn out of the city. They will pursue Israel as we draw them away from the city. Once they are in pursuit, you will slip in behind them and take the city. As soon as it is yours, set it on fire. We will see it and turn back on our pursuers to attack them. They will be surrounded and WILL fall. The Lord has promised this.” Just before sending the contingent out, Joshua added one final blessing. “May the Lord guide your steps and guard your hearts.”

Joshua watched the fighting men leave the camp and disappear into the night. Moonlight would be their only light tonight. Torches would alert others to their presence. Once they were out of sight, Joshua retired to his tent for the night. He needed rest for what lay ahead too.

It took all night for the 30,000 men to find positions with good cover. They needed to be hidden from view when the sun rose. It wouldn’t do for them to be discovered by an overly vigilant sentry. Once they were in place they took two-hour watches so they could all be rested when the time came. They would be in place for more than a day before anything happened.

At first light, Joshua and the remaining fighting men left the camp of Israel. They did nothing to disguise the noise of their approach. They wanted to be seen. It would take all day for them to get to the place where they would make set up.

When they got near Ai, they took up a position on a hill opposite the city. As Joshua was setting up his forces, he set a second ambush from the west of the city of about 5,000 men. His other contingent was behind the city. This second group would be reinforcements for them, if needed.

The two ambush forces stayed hidden through the night while the main company made certain to light campfires. They wanted Ai to know they were there.

Success of step one! The guard spied the campfires. He saw that there were MANY of them and hurried to find the king.

“O king, there is a large force camped across the ravine from us. I believe it is the people of Israel.”

“Why do you believe this?”

“Because no one else would be stupid enough to attack us! And Israel is trying to make inroads into the land.”

“We will see about that! We will roust them tomorrow, just as we did the last time. They will think twice about coming to our doorstep ever again.”

The guard smiled. “Israel will be in for a big surprise in the morning” he thinks.

At first light, all the forces of Israel are ready and waiting. Each knows their part of the plan. A smile splits Joshua’s face as he sees the gates of Ai swing wide and a contingent of soldiers marching out through them. “It’s working” he thinks.

The king of Ai leads his men into the ravine to meet Israel in battle. Joshua leads his group of Israel’s army down from the other side. As soon as the ravine is filled with combatants from both sides, swords begin to swing. After a short time, Israel begins to pull back, as if being pressed hard by Ai. The men of Ai are excited to see Israel retreating and begin to push harder.

Joshua sounds a retreat for Israel and they begin running from the battle. The king of Ai and his soldiers follow in hot pursuit. As soon as the last of the soldiers from Ai have cleared the opposite side of the ravine from their town, the Lord speaks to Joshua.

“Stretch out the javelin that is in your hand toward Ai, for I will give it into your hand.” (Joshua 8:18b)

Joshua stops running and immediately stretched out the javelin he was holding towards the city.

Those lying in wait behind the city see Joshua’s raised javelin and slips into the city through the open gates. There isn’t a single man in sight. All of them had left in pursuit of Israel. The women and children put up no resistance and are easily captured. The city is quickly set on fire. The smoke quickly rises into the air.

Joshua’s troops are running from the men of Ai; until they spot the smoke behind them. The men of Ai see it too. They stop in their advance, not knowing what to do. At that moment, the larger forces of Israel turn around. The smaller ambush group moves in from the side and those who have taken the city rush out to attack Ails forces. Ai’s forces are surrounded. There is nowhere for them to flee.

All of Israel’s forces go on the offensive. From all directions, Ai is attacked. Not a single one breaks through Israel’s lines. There is only one inhabitant of Ai left alive; the king. He is quickly taken prisoner and marched back to his city.

Even after the last man has fallen, Joshua still kept his javelin raised and pointed towards the city. Israel’s forces drag Ai’s king back with them to the burning city, pushing and shoving him the whole way.

Once the whole of Israel’s forces has reached the city, they put every person to death. The king was made to watch as the women and children were put to the sword. Joshua kept his javelin raised and pointed at Ai until the last person in the city lies dead at Israel’s feet. Twelve thousand men and women lay dead at the conclusion of the battle; all the inhabitants of Ai. Israel didn’t lose a single man.

The king of Ai was the last to fall as he was hung on a tree in front of his city. After the king was hung, Israel searched the city for spoils of war. All the livestock were taken and anything of value gathered up. Carts were filled and taken outside the city to await transport back to Israel’s camp.

At sunset, Joshua called for the king to be taken down. The Law that the Lord gave to Moses stated that a body hung on a tree could not be left there after dark. It had to be buried the same day.

“Take him down and bury him” commanded Joshua.

“How should we bury him?”

“Throw him between the gates of the city and cover him with a heap of stones. This will be a testament against them and any who look upon it.”

It was quickly done. Israel then gathered the carts and livestock and returned to their camp. They marched through the night without fear of being noticed as they carried their torches to light the way.

As the sun was just peeking over the horizon, the men of Israel approached the edge of their camp. They would stay outside the camp this day as they were ceremonially unclean from their battle. They could enter the camp after sunset.

Tomorrow would come soon enough and Joshua had a promise to keep on that day.

(to be continued)

I hate thinking of all the ‘non-combatants’ being killed (women and children). It hurts my heart, but I understand a little of God’s reasoning. He told Israel why when they brought back the women and children captives during a previous battle. God allowed only the virgin girls to remain alive. God said that they would bring in the gods of their cultures if they remained alive.

Israel wouldn’t escape having other gods brought into their midst, but they needed a strong start to begin as a nation. I’m going to assume that this is the reason for the ‘scorched earth policy’ they took in the beginning.

Father God, I’m glad wars are not done to this extreme in most of the world today. In spiritual warfare though this HAS to be the policy. Letting even a part of sin stand in my heart leaves me vulnerable. Thank You for showing me this correlation right now. Help me take a ‘scorched earth’ attitude towards sin in MY OWN LIFE. I will leave the lives of others to You to direct the battle plan. You know EVERY heart MUCH better than I ever could hope to. Work on mine Lord.