From Defeat to Triumph
#10 in Series: "Learning from the Past, Preparing for the Future"
(A Study in the Book of Joshua)
Joshua 8:1-35
Life is filled with defeats and triumphs… Simply because we live in a fallen world, and are marred by a sin nature – we are going to experience defeat. As we saw last time, defeat often comes because of willful, purposeful decisions to sin. When that occurs, you can count on experiencing defeat!... Listen to God's Word on this –
James 1:13-16
13 Let no one say when he is tempted, "I am being tempted by God"; for God cannot be tempted by evil, and He Himself does not tempt anyone. 14 But each one is tempted when he is carried away and enticed by his own lust. 15 Then when lust has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and when sin is accomplished, it brings forth death. 16 Do not be deceived, my beloved brethren.
When a moral, or spiritual defeat happens in one's life, it is due to sin – their own sin, or the sin of others, but sin nonetheless… Most of our defeats are due to our own sin! Just like this passage says; "Do not be deceived…"
We certainly understand that unregenerate people are enslaved to their sin nature. They are free to make choices – but even their choices are bound by their sin nature…
Christians are also not immune from the possibility of willful acts of sin… We hate our sin, but we are quite capable of sinning nonetheless…
Listen to –
Psalm 37:23-24
23 The steps of a man are established by the Lord,
And He delights in his way. [Stop there for a moment… Notice Who is delighted in whose way!... The Lord is delighted in the ways of a man, who walks the path the Lord establishes… Let's read on –]
24 When he falls, [notice "when", not "if"... God's people also fall, but when we do, there is … hope.] he will not be hurled headlong,
Because the Lord is the One who holds his hand.
Like a child who walks with their hand being held by a parent – and then stumbles – they are … caught, and … lifted up!...
Too often, God's children stumble… But, praise be unto Him – He restores them!
I have read more than one "old-timer", who has said – "the victorious Christian life is a series of new beginnings"...
In Joshua 7, we read of the consequences of sin – sin in the camp, led to the defeat the people of God experienced at Ai… God had Joshua and the nation to deal with Achan in the most traumatic way!... And now that the sin has been dealt with, we read of the Lord's restoration of the nation, and the victory that He would bring against Ai…
Our text today begins with –
1. A Fresh Affirmation
Joshua 8:1
1 Now the Lord said to Joshua, "Do not fear or be dismayed. Take all the people of war with you and arise, go up to Ai; see, I have given into your hand the king of Ai, his people, his city, and his land.
The Lord tells Joshua to not fear… I've not counted them, but I understand that there are 365 times that the phrase "do not fear", or "fear not" appears in Scripture… It reveals that … even God's Own people have the capacity, if not the tendency, to be afraid – when we shouldn't… It also reveals that God is concerned, and offers words that should encourage us to … not fear!
The word to Joshua goes even further – don't "be dismayed" – or "unsettled"... What Joshua recently experienced was unsettling… but the Lord is now restoring and … settling Joshua!
In these direct words to Joshua, the Lord is not only addressing Joshua's attitude and outlook – He is speaking words of assurance about what is about to take place!
The Lord gives the assurance that victory is coming!
Again, look at the balance of verse 1 –
Take all the people of war with you and arise, go up to Ai; see, I have given into your hand the king of Ai, his people, his city, and his land.
In these simple-to-understand directions – the Lord gives an affirming statement that we cannot run by… Notice the verb He uses. The Lord does not say "I will give" – but "I have given"! As far as the Lord is concerned – it's already done!
This is Joshua's guarantee of victory! There is nothing that can stop, or prevent Israel from capturing Ai – for the Lord … has decreed its destruction!
As we saw in the previous chapter, Israel acted presumptuously in their first attack against Ai – and as a result, they failed … miserably. Whenever God's people try to … get ahead of the Lord – they will find themselves getting behind!... The Lord is giving this land to Israel – His way – His timing! God's people are to follow Him! As one commentator puts it – "The promises of God make the difference between faith and presumption" (Wiersbe).
Joshua and the nation are not to live in the shadow of their failure! The Lord affirms His commitment to His people, and promises the coming victory!
Christians today should be encouraged to know that God … is the God of fresh starts, and new beginnings!
What we see next is –
2. A Fortified Instruction
There are details in the Lord's words that should encourage Joshua greatly. The Lord gives specific instructions, and in following them explicitly, Joshua and the nation will experience the victory they've been looking for!
Let's think through the Lord's instructions. Again, notice the assurance of the coming victory –
Joshua 8:2-13
2 You shall do to Ai and its king just as you did to Jericho and its king; [the victory will be the same – but the method is going to be different… First, notice that this time, the people will be given the spoils] you shall take only its spoil and its cattle as plunder for yourselves. [no "ban" this time… As some have pointed out – if Achan had only been faithful, he and his family could have had all they wanted … if he had simply obeyed the Lord…][Now, further instructions] Set an ambush for the city behind it." [No "marching around walls" this time… No trumpets. No shouting… But there is some silence, as they prepare for ambush] 3 So Joshua rose with all the people of war to go up to Ai; and Joshua chose 30,000 men, valiant warriors, and sent them out at night. [10 times the amount of soldiers than the first attempt…] 4 He commanded them, saying, "See, you are going to ambush the city from behind it. Do not go very far from the city, but all of you be ready. [Joshua sends these soldiers "behind the city"... and then tells what the rest will do…] 5 Then I and all the people who are with me will approach the city. And when they come out to meet us as at the first, we will flee before them. 6 They will come out after us until we have drawn them away from the city, for they will say, 'They are fleeing before us as at the first.' So we will flee before them. [This strategy in warfare has been studied … and followed through the centuries!... What we now consider "classic warfare" was once "innovative"... Joshua gives the instruction, that when they are "pursued" by the men of Ai, then –] 7 And you shall rise from your ambush and take possession of the city, [Joshua's instructions are clear and precise! They are also … reassuring, when he says –] for the Lord your God will deliver it into your hand.
[The capture of the city is one thing, but God's instructions through Joshua is to bring … justice to Ai!... Let's read on –] 8 Then it will be when you have seized the city, that you shall set the city on fire. You shall do it according to the word of the Lord. See, I have commanded you."
[Those were the words of instruction… But, instructions require action – and that's what we see next –] 9 So Joshua sent them away, and they went to the place of ambush and remained between Bethel and Ai, on the west side of Ai; but Joshua spent that night among the people. [... which is a great example of leadership!... Joshua doesn't merely give instructions – he spends the night with the people before the battle!...] 10 Now Joshua rose early in the morning and mustered the people, and he went up with the elders of Israel before the people to Ai. 11 Then all the people of war who were with him went up and drew near and arrived in front of the city, and camped on the north side of Ai. Now there was a valley between him and Ai. 12 And he took about 5,000 men and set them in ambush between Bethel and Ai, on the west side of the city. 13 So they stationed the people, all the army that was on the north side of the city, and its rear guard on the west side of the city, and [after a long day of getting set… once again – ] Joshua spent that night in the midst of the valley.
Listen – the principle we need to glean here is … God always has a plan for His people to follow … and the only way for God's people to have victory is to obey God's instructions!
In his first attack on Ai Joshua followed the advice of his spies and used only part of the army, but God told him to take "all the people of war" (v. 1). The Lord also told Joshua to use an ambush and take advantage of Ai's self-confidence stemming from Israel's first defeat (7:1–5). Finally, God gave the soldiers the right to claim the spoils, but they were to burn the city… (Wiersbe).
There is another principle to highlight… God doesn't always repeat previous strategies! The victory of Ai would come by a different strategy than the victory over Jericho!
In fact, there is a deeper strategy that we may not grasp upon the first reading… The Lord had Joshua to follow a plan that would take advantage of "the over confidence" that Ai had because of their previous victory over Israel… They were quick to come out of the city again in pursuit of Israel's army…
The plan was simple but effective! Joshua would make a frontal attack on Ai from the north. His men would turn and flee – to make it look like a repeat from the first time… Ai, in their confidence would come out and pursue them… Then, at Joshua's signal the soldiers lying in ambush would enter the city and set it on fire. The people of Ai would be caught between two armies, and the third army would deal with any assistance that might come from Bethel…
Why could Joshua and Israel be so confident that victory would come?... Well, in the opening verses, we read that the Lord "told" Joshua – and that would be enough… But, let's not forget… Back in chapter 5 –
(Joshua 5:14)
… Joshua had a face-to-face meeting with "Captain of the host of the Lord"! The Lord Himself is directing his battle! The Lord Himself will bring the victories in these battles!...
What follows in the text, is –
3. The Faithful Implementation
By that, we mean the faithful implementation – or execution of the Lord's instructions!... Victory will only come about, as God's people follow His instructions!... Let's read it –
Joshua 8:14-29
14 It came about when the king of Ai saw it, that the men of the city hurried and rose up early and went out to meet Israel in battle, he and all his people at the appointed place before the desert plain. [The king of Ai did … exactly as predicted!...] But he did not know that there was an ambush against him behind the city. [Listen… I don't want to read something here that is not here … but there is a principle being illustrated here … "What you don't know, can hurt you"...]15 Joshua and all Israel pretended to be beaten before them, and fled by the way of the wilderness. 16 And all the people who were in the city were called together to pursue them, and they pursued Joshua and were drawn away from the city. 17 So not a man was left in Ai or Bethel who had not gone out after Israel, and they left the city unguarded and pursued Israel. 18 Then the Lord said to Joshua, "Stretch out the javelin that is in your hand toward Ai, for I will give it into your hand." [Stop there for a moment… We've said that the Lord doesn't always follow the same strategies He previously gave – but does this sound familiar?... The Lord had Moses "stretch out" the staff on several occasions – in the execution of the plagues (Exo. 7:19, 8:5, 16-17, et al), as well as when the waters of the Red Sea were parted (Exo. 14:16)... Joshua knew God was about to do something, when He had him to "stretch out" this javelin!... He knew that –
(1 Sam. 17:47, 2 Chron. 20:15)
… the "battle is the Lord's"!... The victory that is about to happen, is because the Lord is accomplishing this act of justice, through the hands of Israel!] So Joshua stretched out the javelin that was in his hand toward the city. 19 The men in ambush rose quickly from their place, and when he had stretched out his hand, they ran and entered the city and captured it, and they quickly set the city on fire. 20 When the men of Ai turned back and looked, behold, the smoke of the city ascended to the sky, and they had no place to flee this way or that, for the people who had been fleeing to the wilderness turned against the pursuers. 21 When Joshua and all Israel saw that the men in ambush had captured the city and that the smoke of the city ascended, they turned back and slew the men of Ai. 22 The others came out from the city to encounter them, so that they were trapped in the midst of Israel, some on this side and some on that side; and they slew them until no one was left of those who survived or escaped.
Joshua 8:22c (NIV)
… Israel cut them down, leaving them neither survivors nor fugitives.
23 But they took alive the king of Ai and brought him to Joshua. 24 Now when Israel had finished killing all the inhabitants of Ai in the field in the wilderness where they pursued them, and all of them were fallen by the edge of the sword until they were destroyed, then all Israel returned to Ai and struck it with the edge of the sword. 25 All who fell that day, both men and women, were 12,000—all the people of Ai. 26 For Joshua did not withdraw his hand with which he stretched out the javelin until he had utterly destroyed all the inhabitants of Ai. [Again, this likened to when Moses lifted up the staff –
(Exo. 17:8-16)
… during the long battle Joshua fought with the Amalekites, and Aaron, and Hur supported Moses' arms for hours... Here Joshua holds up the javelin until the battle is over…] 27 Israel took only the cattle and the spoil of that city as plunder for themselves, according to the word of the Lord which He had commanded Joshua. 28 So Joshua burned Ai and made it a heap forever, a desolation until this day. 29 He hanged the king of Ai on a tree until evening; and at sunset Joshua gave command and they took his body down from the tree and threw it at the entrance of the city gate, and raised over it a great heap of stones that stands to this day.
If you wonder why they would hang the king, look up –
Deuteronomy 21:22-23
This form of execution was explicitly given by the Lord! The one guilty of a capital offense, was to be hanged from a tree, and then the body buried on the same day… Joshua's execution, and subsequent burying under a mound of stones, was a faithful adjudication of God's justice…
Following the battle, came a time for … deep reflection, and an all-important dedication to the Lord…
Let's read about –
4. A Focused Rededication
What follows the battle, is a time of … dedicating themselves afresh to the Lord!... Joshua led the people about thirty miles north of Ai to Shechem – which lies in the valley between Mount Ebal and Mount Gerizim…
Joshua 8:30-35
30 Then Joshua built an altar to the Lord, the God of Israel, in Mount Ebal, 31 just as Moses the servant of the Lord had commanded the sons of Israel, as it is written in the book of the law of Moses, an altar of uncut stones on which no man had wielded an iron tool; and they offered burnt offerings on it to the Lord, and sacrificed peace offerings. [Joshua erected an altar, precisely the way the Lord required… An altar is a specific place to offer worship to the Lord!... The uncut stones are required for an altar, because that is where sacrifice would be offered… Man's "work" can add nothing to the sacrifice required! Man has never been able to "work" for salvation, forgiveness, or grace! Those come from God, on God's terms! He required a "substitute" – the animal that would be completely burned in the burnt offering – indicating that just as that animal would be completely given to God – so the people of God are to be completely dedicated to Him!In the peace offering, the best parts of the sacrifice would be burned – dedicated to God, while the rest of the sacrificed would be consumed by the priest, and the worshipper as a sign of a "covenant meal" – celebrating what God's people enjoy because they belong to Him, and are in fellowship with each other…
What follows is very important as well.] 32 He wrote [that is Joshua wrote] there on the stones a copy of the law of Moses, which he had written, in the presence of the sons of Israel. [This act was in obedience to the command of Moses –
(Deut. 27:1-8)
… All that Joshua did, was in compliance with the Lord's instructions.] 33 All Israel with their elders and officers and their judges were standing on both sides of the ark before the Levitical priests who carried the ark of the covenant of the Lord, the stranger as well as the native. Half of them stood in front of Mount Gerizim and half of them in front of Mount Ebal, just as Moses the servant of the Lord had given command at first to bless the people of Israel. [This was a natural amphitheater, where the nation could gather, and all could hear what was about to be shared… In fact, what happens next is vital!...] 34 Then afterward he read all the words of the law, the blessing and the curse, according to all that is written in the book of the law. 35 There was not a word of all that Moses had commanded which Joshua did not read before all the assembly of Israel with the women and the little ones and the strangers who were living among them. [God's Word – the portion they had then – was vital for the people of God to hear … again and again!... God's Word has always been vital for God's people!... Even for believers today, we need to be reminded of our standing with the Lord –
(Rom. 8:1–4; 2 Cor. 3)
… we have a right standing – not because we perfectly keep His Word (we want to, but often fail)... No, we have a right standing because we are in Christ, and He is in us!... And by the power of the Holy Spirit, we have God's Word "written" on our hearts!
We now live with the witness of the Spirit, guiding with His Word, a life that is ever learning to live in grace!
(Rom. 6:14; 7:1-6, 8:4)
God's Word, be it Law, Prophets, Writings, Gospels, History, or Prophecy – is all for teaching and equipping us for a life, lived in God's grace!...
The dedication that God's people are to be committed to – is not merely the following of rules … but following the Ruler!... We are not saved merely for escaping the wrath we deserve – we are saved to … love and enjoy the Savior!...
Too many Christians have lost their way in the rigors of religion, and are missing out on the joy and peace that comes from an abiding relationship with the Lord, our Savior… and King!]
Questions to Consider in Community Group
- Why do you think God repeats the same encouraging words He gave Joshua at the very beginning of his leadership (Joshua 1:9)?
- God starts by telling Joshua, "Do not be afraid or discouraged." Why does past failure make one afraid of moving forward with God?
- Why, do you suppose, God told Joshua to take the whole army (8:1) for this battle compared to the first attempt to capture Ai?
- What does it mean that Joshua spent the night "among the people" (8:9) before the battle? What can we learn about leadership from his actions?
- Why was it important that Joshua, before doing anything else after the victory, built an altar (8:30) and read the entire Law (8:34-35)?
- Joshua read "all the words of the law," including both the blessings and the curses. Why is it important for us to study the "difficult" or "uncomfortable" parts of the Bible today?
- What is the significance of building an altar out of "uncut stones" (8:31)? What is the significance of worshiping God exactly as He commanded, without human "refinement"?
- Joshua used a complex ambush strategy this time (8:3–9). How do we balance "waiting on the Lord" with using our own wisdom and strategic planning in our spiritual lives?
- Joshua held out his javelin toward Ai until the victory was complete (8:18). How does this act of persistence remind you of Moses holding up his hands in Exodus 17?
- Why did Joshua stop in the middle of a military campaign to build an altar and read the Law? What does this teach us about the priority of worship in the midst of our "busy" seasons?
- How can we "renew our covenant" with God on a daily or weekly basis to ensure our hearts stay focused on His Word?
