Joshua 8: Victory Promised, Victory Achieved! Series

I have to admire Joshua, as so often it's recorded that he “rose up early in the morning”. Some of us think the day shouldn’t begin before 10:30 AM or so, but not Joshua. One wonders, with all that he had going on, how well he could have possibly slept during that era.

Even so, this is another time when rose up early and here he numbered the people. Ellicott observed that Joshua “mustered” them and then basically made a parade of Israel’s forces in front of Ai (https://biblehub.com/commentaries/ellicott/joshua/8.htm). Ai was close to Jericho and the people of Ai might well have seen or heard about the non-traditional strategy Israel used in that campaign. If nothing else, Joshua knew about psychological warfare!

After the parade or demonstration, Joshua led the forces to the north side of Ai. There was a valley, verse 11 states, which probably indicates a ravine or something deeper, more severe than just a shallow dip, for lack of a better word, between two pieces of ground. For example, the land between a wide river and a parcel of land between hills are both called “valleys”; the only difference being the size.

Some have observed that these “valleys’ were also “wadis” or dry stream beds. When it rained, watch out; but otherwise this was dry ground. The American southwest, in different states, has similar features called arroyos. I’ve never knowingly seen any but have heard of them. The bottom line is that Joshua and his army would have had to march uphill towards Ai.

This marks the end of Day 2 in this second campaign against Ai. Joshua, this time, took about 5,000 men and had them move to the west of Ai, where, according to an on-line Bible atlas (https://bibleatlas.org/ai.htm), there was another valley. Joshua and the rest then spent the night.

But in the morning, the king of Ai and others saw the Israelites where they had camped for the night. The king took everybody with him “at a time appointed (meaning uncertain)” to fight against Israel but nobody knew there were “liers in ambush” waiting behind the city.

Remembering what had happened before, Joshua led the main set of troops in a fake or feint away from Ai. Israel pretended to be defeated, and “fled by the way of the wilderness” or undeveloped land. Everyone in Ai went to fight Israel, as mentioned, and incredibly nobody was left in the city! They were all in on the fight against Israel, probably hoping that since they’d done away with a few before, they would do away with many this time.

The LORD, however, had other plans and He was not about to abandon His people. This second battle of Ai was nowhere near complete, in spite of what the people of Ai might have thought.

3 The Attack against Ai

Text, Joshua 8:18-23, KJV: 18 And 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. 19 And 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. 20 And 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. 21 And 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. 22 And 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. 23 And the king of Ai they took alive, and brought him to Joshua.