Bible Talks

From: Messages of God's Love: 1953

Joshua 8:1-27¹And the Lord said unto Joshua, Fear not, neither be thou dismayed: take all the people of war with thee, and arise, go up to Ai: see, I have given into thy hand the king of Ai, and his people, and his city, and his land: ²And thou shalt do to Ai and her king as thou didst unto Jericho and her king: only the spoil thereof, and the cattle thereof, shall ye take for a prey unto yourselves: lay thee an ambush for the city behind it. ³So Joshua arose, and all the people of war, to go up against Ai: and Joshua chose out thirty thousand mighty men of valor, and sent them away by night. ⁴And he commanded them, saying, Behold, ye shall lie in wait against the city, even behind the city: go not very far from the city, but be ye all ready: ⁵And I, and all the people that are with me, will approach unto the city: and it shall come to pass, when they come out against us, as at the first, that we will flee before them, ⁶(For they will come out after us) till we have drawn them from the city; for they will say, They flee before us, as at the first: therefore we will flee before them. ⁷Then ye shall rise up from the ambush, and seize upon the city: for the Lord your God will deliver it into your hand. ⁸And it shall be, when ye have taken the city, that ye shall set the city on fire: according to the commandment of the Lord shall ye do. See, I have commanded you. ⁹Joshua therefore sent them forth: and they went to lie in ambush, and abode between Beth-el and Ai, on the west side of Ai: but Joshua lodged that night among the people. ¹⁰And Joshua rose up early in the morning, and numbered the people, and went up, he and the elders of Israel, before the people to Ai. ¹¹And all the people, even the people of war that were with him, went up, and drew nigh, and came before the city, and pitched on the north side of Ai: now there was a valley between them and Ai. ¹²And he took about five thousand men, and set them to lie in ambush between Beth-el and Ai, on the west side of the city. ¹³And when they had set the people, even all the host that was on the north of the city, and their liers in wait on the west of the city, Joshua went that night into the midst of the valley. ¹⁴And it came to pass, when the king of Ai saw it, that they hasted and rose up early, and the men of the city went out against Israel to battle, he and all his people, at a time appointed, before the plain; but he wist not that there were liers in ambush against him behind the city. ¹⁵And Joshua and all Israel made as if they were beaten before them, and fled by the way of the wilderness. ¹⁶And all the people that were in Ai were called together to pursue after them: and they pursued after Joshua, and were drawn away from the city. ¹⁷And there was not a man left in Ai or Beth-el, that went not out after Israel: and they left the city open, and pursued after Israel. ¹⁸And the Lord said unto Joshua, Stretch out the spear that is in thy hand toward Ai; for I will give it into thine hand. And Joshua stretched out the spear that he had in his hand toward the city. ¹⁹And the ambush arose quickly out of their place, and they ran as soon as he had stretched out his hand: and they entered into the city, and took it, and hasted and set the city on fire. ²⁰And when the men of Ai looked behind them, they saw, and, behold, the smoke of the city ascended up to heaven, and they had no power to flee this way or that way: and the people that fled to the wilderness turned back upon the pursuers. ²¹And when Joshua and all Israel saw that the ambush had taken the city, and that the smoke of the city ascended, then they turned again, and slew the men of Ai. ²²And the other issued out of the city against them; so they were in the midst of Israel, some on this side, and some on that side: and they smote them, so that they let none of them remain or escape. ²³And the king of Ai they took alive, and brought him to Joshua. ²⁴And it came to pass, when Israel had made an end of slaying all the inhabitants of Ai in the field, in the wilderness wherein they chased them, and when they were all fallen on the edge of the sword, until they were consumed, that all the Israelites returned unto Ai, and smote it with the edge of the sword. ²⁵And so it was, that all that fell that day, both of men and women, were twelve thousand, even all the men of Ai. ²⁶For Joshua drew not his hand back, wherewith he stretched out the spear, until he had utterly destroyed all the inhabitants of Ai. ²⁷Only the cattle and the spoil of that city Israel took for a prey unto themselves, according unto the word of the Lord which he commanded Joshua. (Joshua 8:1‑27)

After all this time of trouble and sorrow because of Achan’s sin, the Lord said to Joshua, “Fear not, neither be thou dismayed.” The enemy of our souls has many different weans, and one of them is discouragement. Often when we have sought to act faithfully for God’s glory, he then tries to get us upset and discouraged, using the time of temporary occupation with evil to get our eyes off the Lord, and then we are weak and unable to go forward in Christian conflict. Let us be ever watchful against discouragement, for the enemy often uses it as his tool, and we do not realize he is doing it. We defend ourselves, and think the conflict is too great, with so many difficulties in the way. Oh how subtle the enemy is, and then, since the flesh likes an easy path, his suggestions seem very plausible. But Joshua hearkened to the Lord instead of to the enemy, we are thankful to see. He was encouraged by the Lord instead of allowing himself to be discouraged by Satan.

But the people of God were in a weakened state, and two or three thousand could not take Ai, so all the people had to go up. What a humbling thing this was. A little city, but it took all Israel’s men of war to take it! Surely sin makes us weak and feeble, but still, when judged, Israel need not be discouraged, for God said He would be with them and that victory was certain, Joshua then sent five thousand men of war at night to hide near Ai. Then he and all the people came up in the daytime, and when the people of Ai came out against them they pretended they were running away from them. When all the people of Ai had come out of their city, as well as all those from Bethel, a city nearby, Joshua raised his spear, and the men who were hiding came out of their hiding place and ran into the city, setting it on fire. When the people of Ai looked back and saw their city on fire, everything fell into confusion among them, and the Israelites who were fleeing turned back on them and put them all to death—not one escaped, Joshua did not lower his spear until the victory was complete, for faith knows that there are no half-measures in the things of God.

Another thing we learn here, is not to pay too much attention to what others think, as long as we are in the path of obedience. The children of Israel had once been defeated before the men of Ai, and so now the enemy thought they were fleeing again, but they were really acting in obedience, as it was soon seen. Too often we are afraid what others will say, but let us rather ask, “Lord, what wilt Thou have me to do?” Acts 9:6⁶And he trembling and astonished said, Lord, what wilt thou have me to do? And the Lord said unto him, Arise, and go into the city, and it shall be told thee what thou must do. (Acts 9:6), and then leave what others think, or say, or do, with the Lord. He will make things come out all right if we are acting obedience to His Word. Sometimes, too, we have to endure misunderstandings because of past failures, but let us not resent this, for God allows it in His government, and whatever humbles us is, in the end, good for us, if we bow to the hand of God in it. “Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time.” 1 Peter 5:6⁶Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time: (1 Peter 5:6).

ML 04/05/1953

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