The Chosen Key Word in this Chapter is “Ambush” it comes from the Hebrew Word “arab” which means “to lie in wait, to ambush.”
With the sin in the camp finally dealt with, Israel gets a second chance against Ai. Welcome to Bible Life Basics Chapter Reviews, I am Chris and this is Joshua 8.
God reassures Joshua not to fear, promising victory this time, and instructs him to set an ambush, “arab” in Hebrew, behind the city. Joshua sends thirty thousand men by night to hide behind Ai, while he leads the main army toward the city in a deliberate feigned retreat, drawing the king of Ai and his entire army out in confident pursuit, exactly as planned.
Once the men of Ai have been drawn completely away from their city, God tells Joshua to stretch out the spear in his hand toward Ai, signaling the ambush waiting behind the city to rise up and set it on fire. Seeing the smoke rising behind them, the men of Ai realize too late they have been trapped between Joshua’s returning army and the ambush now attacking from within their own city, and Israel destroys them completely, taking the king of Ai alive and hanging him until evening.
Afterward, Joshua builds an altar to the Lord on Mount Ebal, exactly as Moses had commanded, offering burnt offerings and peace offerings, and writes a copy of the law of Moses on stones in the presence of all Israel. Joshua then reads all the words of the law, blessings and curses alike, before the entire congregation, including women, children, and strangers living among them, “there was not a word of all that Moses commanded, which Joshua read not before all the congregation of Israel.”
After such a costly defeat caused by hidden sin, Israel’s second attempt at Ai succeeded completely once that sin was dealt with honestly. And Joshua’s immediate response to victory wasn’t celebration alone, but building an altar and publicly reading God’s entire law, keeping worship and obedience central even in the middle of an active military campaign.
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