Chanter 9:28-35
“And Joshua burnt Ai, and made it a heap forever, even a desolation unto this day. And the king of Ai he hanged on a tree until eventide: and as soon as the sun was down, Joshua commanded that they should take his carcass down from the tree, and cast it at the entering of the gate of the city, and raised thereon a great heap of stones, that remaineth unto this day.”
In their taking down the body of the king of Ai from the tree at sunset, Israel now humbled and restored, showed their zeal for the word of God, for they remembered that in the book of the law God had said that the body of one who was hanged should not remain all night upon the tree (Deut. 21:2323His body shall not remain all night upon the tree, but thou shalt in any wise bury him that day; (for he that is hanged is accursed of God;) that thy land be not defiled, which the Lord thy God giveth thee for an inheritance. (Deuteronomy 21:23)). The land which God had given them must not be defiled.
It also showed that Joshua felt it was God’s land, when he forbade the body to be left there all night.
“Then Joshua built an altar unto the Lord God of Israel in Mount Ebal,... and they offered thereon burnt offerings unto the Lord, and sacrificed peace offerings.” Thus in the midst of the scenes of destruction and judgment we have the worship of the Lord established in the law.
Here we have a picture of “things which must shortly come to pass.” Both Jericho and Ai represent the world. Their conquest by Joshua is but a foreshadowing of the glorious victory of Christ who will judge this world in righteousness, the overthrow of their kings tells of the complete overthrow of the power of Satan, and then we have Christ’s glorious reign when the worship of the Lord and His rule will be established in the earth. Lord, haste that day!
Moses had instructed Joshua to set up that altar the day they went over Jordan, but apparently Joshua had not done so at once.
Then according to Deuteronomy 27 they “plastered the stones with plaster,” and wrote upon them the words of the law; and dividing into two companies, half stood upon Mount Gerizim to bless, and half stood upon Mount Ebal to curse.
With loud voice the Levites read out the curses, and the hundreds of thousands of voices from those on Mount Ebal answered “Amen!” But when the blessings were read we do not hear of one “Amen!” from those assembled on Mount Gerizim.
Alas, no blessing could be earned by obedience from poor fallen man. Israel were a people under law, and “As many as are of the works of the law are under the curse.” Gal. 3:1010For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse: for it is written, Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them. (Galatians 3:10); “for it is written, Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them.”
But how blessed since Jesus has died to be under grace and not under law! For “Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us.” Gal. 3:1313Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree: (Galatians 3:13). And now every possible blessing is ours in Him. Blessed be His glorious name forever!
Free from the law
O wondrous condition!
Jesus has died
And there is remission;
Cursed by the law
And bruised by the fall
Grace hath redeemed us
Once for all!
ML-09/04/1977