Joshua is on his face at the ark of the Lord because of their defeat at Ai. Thirty-six Israelites were killed and Joshua cries out to the Lord in Joshua 7:9 The Canaanites and all the inhabitants of the land will hear of this, and they will surround us and cut off our name from the land. What will you do, for your great name?” But in Joshua 7:10 And Yahweh said to Joshua, “Stand up! Why have you fallen on your face?” and in Joshua 7:11 “Israel has sinned and transgressed my covenant that I commanded them. They have taken from the devoted things;”. This is not a problem for the Lord to fix, this is for Joshua to deal with. And once he does, the Lord sends him right back to Ai where they are now completely victorious and in Joshua 8:28 “So Joshua burned Ai and made it an everlasting heap of rubbish, a desolate place until this day” and threw the kings body in Joshua 8:29 “at the entrance of the gate of the city, and they raised over it a great heap of stones that remains to this day”. This may seem brutal, yet God was cleansing the land of evil and the doers of evil. We also have our place to stand against evil doers. Placing a grave at the entrance of the city made it uninhabitable and a memorial of the terrible end waiting for those that would choose to live as they had.
Stand up!
Joshua 7:8–18
Joshua and the children of Israel are going forward to take their promised land and God is with them as they are forcibly removing the inhabitants of the land city by city. That is, until they get to Ai where in
Joshua 7:5 The men of Ai killed about thirty-six of them, and they chased them from the gate up to Shebarim and killed them on the slope. And the hearts of the people melted and became like water.
Joshua “tore his clothes” and fell “on his face before the ark of Yahweh” in Joshua 7:6 and said “why did you bring this people … to destroy us” in Joshua 7:7 and in
Joshua 7:8 Please, my Lord! What can I say after Israel has fled from its enemies?
Then Joshua, in fear, in disbelief, in confusion, and I think in some self-pity, says to the Lord, “what will you do?” in
Joshua 7:9 The Canaanites and all the inhabitants of the land will hear of this, and they will surround us and cut off our name from the land. What will you do, for your great name?”
This is the man that the Lord told to be strong and very courageous. What is he doing here grovelling on the ground? He is the leader of the people so in
Joshua 7:10 And Yahweh said to Joshua, “Stand up! Why have you fallen on your face?
The Lord is telling Joshua, there isn’t any time to feel sorry for yourself, go and do something about it. This wasn’t something for the Lord to do, it was for Joshua to deal with. But then the Lord tells Joshua something Joshua didn’t know in
Joshua 7:11 Israel has sinned and transgressed my covenant that I commanded them. They have taken from the devoted things; they have stolen and acted deceitfully, and they have put them among their belongings.
This reference to “devoted things” is a concept that has no simple English counterpart. It is ‘The Cherem or Ban … Anything that fell under the ban was irrevocably withdrawn from common use, and was either consecrated irredeemably to God or to his sanctuary, Lev. 27:28; Num. 18:14; Ezek. 44:29; or put under a sentence of extermination … the thing so devoted to God was at the same time “most holy to the Lord.”’1
Joshua had specifically warned the people about this in Joshua 6:18-19 and now, his action was clear. He was to examine the people before the Lord and remove the evil from the people in
Joshua 7:15 The one caught with the devoted things will be burned with fire, he and all that belongs to him, because he transgressed the covenant of Yahweh, and because he did a disgraceful thing in Israel.” ’ ”
It is True I Have Sinned
Do Not Fear or Be Dismayed
Joshua 8:1–10
Joshua has dealt with the sin in the camp, but still has a problem, they had not been able to defeat the people of Ai. So, the Lord give him specific instructions in
Joshua 8:1–2 Then Yahweh said to Joshua, “Do not fear or be dismayed. Take all the fighting men with you and go up immediately to Ai. Look, I am giving into your hand the king of Ai, his city, and his land. 2 You will do to Ai and its king that which you did to Jericho and its king; you may take only its spoils and livestock as booty for yourself. Set for yourself an ambush against the city from behind it.”
Note again the Lord says “do not fear” and he says “take all the fighting men”, there was no half measure here, they were to overwhelm them with force. And, the Lord says “go immediately”, because the people of Ai are still gloating about their easy victory over Israel and they can use that to draw them away from the city for an ambush.
Two more things, from this city, they were allowed to take plunder and livestock. They could take anything they thought they needed and the livestock for food that they needed. And then, they were to burn the city and make it uninhabitable in
Joshua 8:8 And when you capture the city you will set it on fire as Yahweh commanded. Look, I have commanded you.”
I Will Give It Into Your Hand
At The Entrance of The Gate
Joshua 8:21–29
The ambush was successful, all of the fighting men were killed, then those in the city in
Joshua 8:21 And Joshua and all Israel saw that the ambush had captured the city and that the smoke of the city was rising; they returned and struck down the men of Ai.
and then also, those that had fled from the city until in
Joshua 8:25–26 All the people that fell on that day, both men and women, were twelve thousand—all the inhabitants of Ai. 26 For Joshua did not draw back his hand that was stretched out with the sword until he had utterly destroyed all the inhabitants of Ai.
There was not to be any reminder to Israel of their defeat. The Lord was on their side delivering the land into their hands in
Joshua 8:28–29 So Joshua burned Ai and made it an everlasting heap of rubbish, a desolate place until this day. 29 The king of Ai he hanged on a tree until the time of evening, and as the sun went down Joshua commanded them, and they brought down his dead body from the tree. Then they threw it at the entrance of the gate of the city, and they raised over it a great heap of stones that remains to this day.
He Read All The Words of the Law
Joshua 8:30–35
Study Verses
- Joshua 7:8–18 Stand up!
- Joshua 8:1–10 Do Not Fear or Be Dismayed
- Joshua 8:21–29 At The Entrance of The Gate
Today’s Reading
- Joshua 7:8-26
- Joshua 8:1-35
References
- 1. Berkhof, L. (1915). Biblical Archaeology (p. 154). Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans-Sevensma Co.