The Battle of Ai

 

And the Lord said to Joshua, “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. 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 ESV).

 

The first battle with Ai was a disaster for Joshua. That battle was lost. The biblical account tells us that the failure was due to the prior sin of Achan. Once this was rectified they are instructed to attack again. This time the Israelites burn Ai completely and "made it a permanent heap of ruins." God told them they could take the livestock as plunder and they did so. When Israel returned to Ai, the people of Ai were confident that they could rout Israel, as they had done before.

 

However, there was a difference this time. This time Israel began its battle with the Lord’s permission, and they followed his instructions. When God’s people comply with heaven, God’s will is done on the earth (cf. Matthew 6:10). And because Jericho was the firstfruits that went into the Lord’s treasury, Israel would receive the riches of Ai.

Unable to resist the divinely planned ruse, Ai’s soldiers hurried out to the battle, overconfident and unaware of the doom they faced. Israel. But the Lord’s strategy—hiding and catching the enemy by surprise—brought Ai to its knees. Following the Lord in this world can be dangerous and messy, for body and soul. But not following him leads to far greater danger.

 

The destruction of Jericho and Ai are a sign, to this day, of the nations’ fear of God. The death and resurrection of Christ is also a sign, to this day, not of fear but of God’s victory over sin, over misplaced confidence, and over those who gather together against the Lord and his anointed. Listen to the psalmist:

 

Why do the nations rage and the peoples plot in vain? The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the Lord and against his Anointed, saying, “Let us burst their bonds apart and cast away their cords from us.” He who sits in the heavens laughs; the Lord holds them in derision. (Psalm 1:1-4 ESV).

 

Those who stand against the Lord will not win. It is only when we follow Him that we can know victory our enemies.