Joshua 8: Victory Promised, Victory Achieved! Series

The prologue: the LORD’s promise

Text, Joshua 8:1-2, KJV: 1 And 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: 2 And 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.

The events of chapter 8 clearly took place after chapter 7, where Achan’s sin caused the death of about 36 Israelite soldiers. Achan did confess his sin but he paid the price for it. He not only lost what he had, plus what he had stolen, but he also lost his life.

Now that the sin was made right and the evil was purged, the LORD was ready to lead Israel to the next city. Once again, it was Ai. This time, the LORD gave Joshua a promise that He had already given the king, the people, the city, and the land into Joshua’s hand—a way of saying Israel could expect complete victory.

1 The Arrival at Ai

Text, Joshua 8:3-9, KJV: 3 So Joshua arose, and all the people of war, to go up against Ai: and Joshua chose out thirty thousand mighty men of valour, and sent them away by night. 4 And 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: 5 And 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. 7 Then ye shall rise up from the ambush, and seize upon the city: for the LORD your God will deliver it into your hand. 8 And 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. 9 Joshua therefore sent them forth: and they went to lie in ambush, and abode between Bethel and Ai, on the west side of Ai: but Joshua lodged that night among the people.

It’s worth remembering that the LORD gave Joshua a couple of mild corrective actions before going against Ai. First, He told Joshua to take all the people, not just a detachment or relatively small group, such as the group at the First Battle of Ai (chapter 7). Second, Israel is going up with the LORD’s complete approval—something that couldn’t have happened before due to the sin of Achan. Third, the LORD promised Israel that even as they could not take anything from Jericho for themselves, now at Ai they could have everything.

Joshua then took the whole army and prepared them to march against Ai. From these, Joshua chose 30,000 “mighty men of valour [sic]” and sent them away by night. He gave this group some specific instructions in verses 4-8. In a word, these men were to be the ones to launch a second, surprise attack against Ai after Joshua led the main army away from the city.

After this, Joshua and the main army, less the 30,000 he had sent to “lie in ambush”, went on to the area between Ai and Bethel. Joshua stayed with the people that night, a sign of true allegiance to those under his command.

And there they waited until the morning.

2 The Advance against Ai

Text, Joshua 8:10-17, KJV: 10 And 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. 11 And 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. 12 And he took about five thousand men, and set them to lie in ambush between Bethel and Ai, on the west side of the city. 13 And 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. 14 And 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. 15 And Joshua and all Israel made as if they were beaten before them, and fled by the way of the wilderness. 16 And 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. 17 And there was not a man left in Ai or Bethel, that went not out after Israel: and they left the city open, and pursued after Israel.