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Prepare

Tue, 22 May 2012 23:12:00 UTC +0100

I’m sure that we have all been be taken in at some time – by an unmissable opportunity or an online offer too good to be true. We are not alone in this…

Bible reading: Joshua 8:1–17

Tue, 22 May 2012 23:11:00 UTC +0100

Joshua 8

Ai Destroyed

¹ Then the LORD said to Joshua, "Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged. Take the whole army with you, and go up and attack Ai. For I have delivered into your hands the king of Ai, his people, his city and his land. ² You shall do to Ai and its king as you did to Jericho and its king, except that you may carry off their plunder and livestock for yourselves. Set an ambush behind the city."

³ So Joshua and the whole army moved out to attack Ai. He chose thirty thousand of his best fighting men and sent them out at night ⁴ with these orders: "Listen carefully. You are to set an ambush behind the city. Don't go very far from it. All of you be on the alert. ⁵ I and all those with me will advance on the city, and when the men come out against us, as they did before, we will flee from them. ⁶ They will pursue us until we have lured them away from the city, for they will say, 'They are running away from us as they did before.' So when we flee from them, ⁷ you are to rise up from ambush and take the city. The LORD your God will give it into your hand. ⁸ When you have taken the city, set it on fire. Do what the LORD has commanded. See to it; you have my orders."

⁹ Then Joshua sent them off, and they went to the place of ambush and lay in wait between Bethel and Ai, to the west of Ai—but Joshua spent that night with the people.

¹⁰ Early the next morning Joshua mustered his army, and he and the leaders of Israel marched before them to Ai. ¹¹ The entire force that was with him marched up and approached the city and arrived in front of it. They set up camp north of Ai, with the valley between them and the city. ¹² Joshua had taken about five thousand men and set them in ambush between Bethel and Ai, to the west of the city. ¹³ So the soldiers took up their positions—with the main camp to the north of the city and the ambush to the west of it. That night Joshua went into the valley.

¹⁴ When the king of Ai saw this, he and all the men of the city hurried out early in the morning to meet Israel in battle at a certain place overlooking the Arabah. But he did not know that an ambush had been set against him behind the city. ¹⁵ Joshua and all Israel let themselves be driven back before them, and they fled toward the wilderness. ¹⁶ All the men of Ai were called to pursue them, and they pursued Joshua and were lured away from the city. ¹⁷ Not a man remained in Ai or Bethel who did not go after Israel. They left the city open and went in pursuit of Israel.

Explore the Bible

Tue, 22 May 2012 23:10:00 UTC +0100

God’s agenda
We see a different Joshua now. Suitably chastened he is buoyant again and following God’s leading. God has promised to deliver Ai into his hands. Not that Joshua could sit back and God would hand him the city. It required him to be in partnership with God, working to God’s agenda and not his own.

So Joshua used his experience and resources and planned his campaign carefully. He worked out that the main army should make its move under cover of darkness (v 3). He determined the numbers needed, the route to be taken, the strategy to be used; he planned to perfection because this time God was in the detail.

God at the heart
Joshua sent a decoy to draw out the enemy army, who would be misled and underestimate the attack. In short Joshua presented them with an opportunity too good to miss and they fell for it. They followed their pride, laid aside their experience and training, and left the city exposed so Joshua’s men were able to enter and take it.

We need to be careful how we pursue our ambitions, ensuring that God is at the heart of all we do and that we leave no opportunity for the enemy to enter in.

Respond

Tue, 22 May 2012 23:09:00 UTC +0100

Ask God to help you stay focused on him and his glory and not to be drawn by decoys, which call us away from him, however attractive they might seem.

Deeper Bible Study

Tue, 22 May 2012 23:08:00 UTC +0100

Israel’s covenant relationship with God has been repaired and now its calling to possess the land can continue, but this time the ban on keeping the booty is lifted. If this seems unfair on Achan, the answer is that our calling is to obey God in each situation and not make the comparisons to which we are so prone. The root cause of Israel’s failure has been removed. The people must have been asking, ‘Who can stand in the presence of God’s judgement?’ Now the Father heart of God knew his people needed encouragement. Sensitivity and flexibility, as well as consistency, are part of the art of good fathering.

Joshua’s hard disciplinary action would have taken its toll on him. Now he needed loving care before he could continue his leadership role. The challenge not to be afraid or discouraged (v 1) comes in nine other places in the Scriptures and it needed to be heard by the leaders before they could speak it to their people (Deuteronomy 1:21; 31:8; Joshua 1: 9; 10:25; 1 Chronicles 22:13; 28:20; 2 Chronicles 20:15,17; 32:7). We need to take heed to this repetition in our own lives and in any leadership role we have.

The Royal Navy has a frequently quoted regulation which says, ‘No officer shall speak discouragingly to another officer in the discharge of his duties’. The Bible goes beyond this negative prohibition and gives us a positive command – but we can only give encouragement in difficult circumstances if we are first recipients of that gift from God.

God now gives Joshua clear instructions on how to capture Ai. It would be no pushover and would require the involvement of the whole army, but with God’s guidance victory would be assured.

Bible Background: Ai

Tue, 22 May 2012 23:07:00 UTC +0100

Its early history
Ai was a Canaanite town already settled in the time of Abraham (Genesis 12:8; 13:3). Its name (‘ruin’) suggests some feature of striking appearance or special significance.

Its destruction in the time of Joshua
The fact that Israel failed to defeat Ai at their first attack was a huge shock to Joshua and the people. If one town could withstand them despite God’s promise and presence, then so could others!

But God revealed to Joshua the spiritual roots of their defeat – the sin of Achan in taking booty in disobedience to God’s command. When Achan had been dealt with, the second attack, involving a hidden group in ambush, was successful. Joshua executed the captured king and left the city a heap of ruins (hence its name, perhaps).

Its later history
The exact location of the site is disputed. Ai was rebuilt and reoccupied during the monarchy, and seems to have been known by different names, eg Ayyah (1 Chronicles 7:28) and Aija (Nehemiah 11:31)

Bible in a year

Tue, 22 May 2012 23:06:00 UTC +0100

Read the Bible in a year:

1 Kings 14,15

1 Corinthians 15