Jos 8:3-22 | KingComments | STEP | They have to take the whole army to capture this small town. That is a deep humiliation. Half of the people also have to flee. This time it has to because it fits into God’s plan, but at the same time it is a shameful performance. They must learn never to underestimate the enemy. Every step is pre-written by the LORD ( ). Here we find in the different actions the different attitudes that the people of God must adopt toward the enemy. In the New Testament we find its spiritual counterparts: 1. Stand against the enemy to resist him ( ; ). 2. Watch the enemy from an ambush ( ; ). 3. Show themselves to the enemy, that he may reveal himself ( ; ). 4. Flee before the enemy ( ; ). 5. Destroy the enemy ( ; ).

‏ Joshua 8:3-22

Going to Ambush

They have to take the whole army to capture this small town. That is a deep humiliation. Half of the people also have to flee. This time it has to because it fits into God’s plan, but at the same time it is a shameful performance. They must learn never to underestimate the enemy. Every step is pre-written by the LORD (Jos 8:8).

Here we find in the different actions the different attitudes that the people of God must adopt toward the enemy. In the New Testament we find its spiritual counterparts:

1. Stand against the enemy to resist him (Jos 8:11; Eph 6:13).

2. Watch the enemy from an ambush (Jos 8:12; 1Cor 16:13).

3. Show themselves to the enemy, that he may reveal himself (Jos 8:14; Eph 5:11).

4. Flee before the enemy (Jos 8:15; 2Tim 2:22a).

5. Destroy the enemy (Jos 8:26; Col 3:5).

Ai Walks Into the Ambush

Again Joshua gets up early and goes with the people of war to Ai. He lets himself be defeated with the people and flees with them. These shameful experiences are made up for by the fact that God is on their side. The power of God is with them and everything succeeds.

Yet the revelation of this power is not as at Jericho. At Ai there is a lot of human input, a lot happens. That will appeal to all who love action. In comparison to this, marching around Jericho is a boring display. But at Jericho, the power of God is revealed in the exercise of faith and all honor goes to God. The way Ai is conquered doesn’t show the strength of the faith but the weakness of the human being.

We can apply this to our victories of faith. Our greatest victories are won in our inner room, on our knees, without any noteworthy characteristics. We can also apply it to the many forms of meetings offered by Christianity. There are places where there are impressive, often so-called, manifestations of the Spirit. In contrast, we read of the church in Philadelphia: “You have a little power, and have kept My word, and have not denied My name” (Rev 3:8b). The question is what we choose.

To conquer the city, a lot of actions have to be done. Joshua and the part of the people who are with him are approaching the city from the north (Jos 8:11). This happens at night, while the Jordan has been crossed during the day and everything related to Jericho has taken place during the day. Then a part of the people west of Ai are ambushed (Jos 8:13). When the king of Ai has observed them, they pretend to flee (Jos 8:14-16). All this is necessary to judge all self-confidence.

Ai Captured and Burned

When the city is empty, God shows that He is in charge. He tells Joshua what to do. How important it is always to listen to the voice of the Lord. Joshua has to stretch out his javelin. That is not a sign for the ambush to get out, at least we don’t read that. He keeps the javelin stretched out until the full victory is achieved. It recalls the raised hands of Moses, when he is on the mountain, while Joshua is fighting the Amalekites (Exo 17:11-13).

The javelin is the symbol of judgment and the sign for victory. In Joshua we see here the picture of the Spirit of Christ Who is powerfully present among God’s people and works for them in power in the judgment on their enemies. Thus we may look upon Christ in glory and know that we have victory in Him.

The men stand up from the ambush, possibly on the exhortation of what God gives in their hearts. We see Him here as the hidden origin of all actions. They know what to do because He is in charge. We will always be dependent on this leadership. Then those who have fled turn around and take part in the conquest.

After the lesson of Ai God is again with His people. Israel eradicates Ai in obedience to what God has said. Attached to this obedience is Joshua’s attitude, who holds his hand with the javelin stretched out as a sign of confidence in complete victory. That the hand with the javelin is not withdrawn until the enemy has been completely defeated demonstrates perseverance.

This contains an important lesson for us. Only through persevering confidence victory can be achieved. This is missing with Joash, the king of Israel in the days of Elisha. When Elisha tells him to strike the ground with his arrows, he does so only three times. Joash should have struck much more often, but because he stops too early, his victory is not total (2Kgs 13:17-19). It is about persevering until the end, until the last enemy is defeated.

Joshua perseveres, as do the believers of the church in Philadelphia, who are praised by the Lord Jesus for having kept “the word of My perseverance” (Rev 3:10). The “word of My perseverance” also means that this perseverance is found in Himself: “May the Lord direct your hearts into the love of God and into the steadfastness of Christ” (2Thes 3:5). We can only take possession of spiritual blessings by persevering in confidence on the Lord.

At Jericho everything is for the Lord, at Ai everything is for the people. First all for the Lord, then we receive our share, as the Lord may determine. Furthermore, Ai becomes a desolation. As said, Ai means ‘ruin’ and that is what God’s people make of it.

The command given by Joshua regarding the dead body of the king of Ai (Jos 8:29), shows that he knows the Word of God. He acts according to what God has said about it in the law: “If a man has committed a sin worthy of death and he is put to death, and you hang him on a tree, his corpse shall not hang all night on the tree, but you shall surely bury him on the same day (for he who is hanged is accursed of God), so that you do not defile your land which the LORD your God gives you as an inheritance” (Deu 21:22-23).

The territory of Ai is part of the inheritance. It must not be defiled. A hanged man is a curse to God. There is curse for him who hangs on a tree and for those who do not abide in the works of the law. That is the teaching of Galatians 3. The hanged king of Ai shows that the Lord Jesus has taken that place for everyone who believes in Him and has become the cursed One on the tree. The consequence for us is that we have been redeemed: “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the Law, having become a curse for us—for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree”” (Gal 3:13). The law does not apply literally to us. The curse of the law no longer strikes us because the Lord Jesus bore it. Whoever believes will never again come under the curse of the law.