It's A Bargain
Opening Prayer
Lord God, my God, speak to me now through Your holy Word. I’m ready and eager to hear from You.
Read Joshua 8:1-17
[1] Then the LORD said to Joshua, “Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged. Take the whole army with you, and go up and attack Ai. For I have delivered into your hands the king of Ai, his people, his city and his land. [2] You shall do to Ai and its king as you did to Jericho and its king, except that you may carry off their plunder and livestock for yourselves. Set an ambush behind the city.” [3] So Joshua and the whole army moved out to attack Ai. He chose thirty thousand of his best fighting men and sent them out at night [4] with these orders: “Listen carefully. You are to set an ambush behind the city. Don’t go very far from it. All of you be on the alert. [5] I and all those with me will advance on the city, and when the men come out against us, as they did before, we will flee from them. [6] They will pursue us until we have lured them away from the city, for they will say, ‘They are running away from us as they did before.’ So when we flee from them, [7] you are to rise up from ambush and take the city. The LORD your God will give it into your hand. [8] When you have taken the city, set it on fire. Do what the LORD has commanded. See to it; you have my orders.” [9] Then Joshua sent them off, and they went to the place of ambush and lay in wait between Bethel and Ai, to the west of Ai-but Joshua spent that night with the people. [10] Early the next morning Joshua mustered his army, and he and the leaders of Israel marched before them to Ai. [11] The entire force that was with him marched up and approached the city and arrived in front of it. They set up camp north of Ai, with the valley between them and the city. [12] Joshua had taken about five thousand men and set them in ambush between Bethel and Ai, to the west of the city. [13] So the soldiers took up their positions-with the main camp to the north of the city and the ambush to the west of it. That night Joshua went into the valley. [14] When the king of Ai saw this, he and all the men of the city hurried out early in the morning to meet Israel in battle at a certain place overlooking the Arabah. But he did not know that an ambush had been set against him behind the city. [15] Joshua and all Israel let themselves be driven back before them, and they fled toward the wilderness. [16] All the men of Ai were called to pursue them, and they pursued Joshua and were lured away from the city. [17] Not a man remained in Ai or Bethel who did not go after Israel. They left the city open and went in pursuit of Israel. Scripture taken from the Holy Bible, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 International Bible Society. All rights reserved throughout the world. Used by permission of International Bible Society.
Reflect
What was different about this attack on Ai?We see a different Joshua now. Suitably chastened, he is buoyant again and following God’s leading. God has promised to deliver Ai into his hands. Not that Joshua could sit back and God would hand him the city. He was required to be in partnership with God, working to God’s agenda and not his own. So Joshua planned his campaign carefully, having been told by God to set an ambush (2). He worked out that the main army should make its move under cover of darkness (3). He determined the numbers needed, the route to be taken, the strategy to be used; he planned to perfection because this time God was in the detail. Joshua sent a decoy to draw out the enemy army which would be misled and underestimate the attack. In short, Joshua presented them with an opportunity too good to miss and they fell for it. In their pride, they forgot their experience and training, and left the city exposed so Joshua’s men could enter and take it. We need to be careful how we pursue our ambitions, ensuring that God is at the heart of all we do and that we leave no opportunity for the enemy.
Apply
Ask God to help you stay focused on him and not be drawn away by decoys, however attractive they might be.
Closing prayer
Lord, I do want to keep focused on You. Help me keep my plans and ambitions in line with Your will.
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