Joshua 8

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 booty unto yourselves. Lay thee an ambush for the city behind it."

3 So Joshua arose, and all the people of war, to go up against Ai; and Joshua chose out thirty thousand mighty men of valor, 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 who 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 stayed between Bethel and Ai, on the west side of Ai; but Joshua lodged that night among the people.

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 who were with him, went up and drew nigh, and came before the city and pitched camp 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 those lying 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 hastened 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 knew not that there lay an 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 who 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 who went not out after Israel; and they left the city open and pursued after Israel.

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 hastened 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 who 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 others 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.

24 And it came to pass, when Israel had made an end of slaying all the inhabitants of Ai in the field, in the wilderness wherein they chased them, and when they had all fallen on the edge of the sword until they were consumed, that all the Israelites returned unto Ai and smote it with the edge of the sword.

25 And so it was that all who fell that day, both of men and women, were twelve thousand, even all the men of Ai.

26 For Joshua drew not his hand back, wherewith he stretched out the spear, until he had utterly destroyed all the inhabitants of Ai.

27 Only the cattle and the spoil of that city Israel took for a prey unto themselves, according unto the word of the LORD which He commanded Joshua.

28 And Joshua burned Ai and made it a heap for ever, even a desolation unto this day.

29 And the king of Ai he hanged on a tree until eventide; and as soon as the sun was down, Joshua commanded that they should take his carcass down from the tree and cast it at the entrance of the gate of the city, and raise thereon a great heap of stones that remaineth unto this day.

30 Then Joshua built an altar unto the LORD God of Israel in Mount Ebal,

31 as Moses the servant of the LORD commanded the children of Israel, as it is written in the Book of the Law of Moses: "an altar of whole stones over which no man hath lifted up any iron." And they offered thereon burnt offerings unto the LORD, and sacrificed peace offerings.

32 And he wrote there upon the stones a copy of the Law of Moses, which he wrote in the presence of the children of Israel.

33 And all Israel, and their elders and officers and their judges, stood on this side of the ark and on that side before the priests, the Levites, who bore the ark of the covenant of the LORD, the stranger as well as he that was born among them -- half of them over against Mount Gerizim and half of them over against Mount Ebal, as Moses the servant of the LORD had commanded before, that they should bless the people of Israel.

34 And afterward he read all the words of the law, the blessings and cursings, according to all that is written in the Book of the Law.

35 There was not a word of all that Moses commanded which Joshua read not before all the congregation of Israel, with the women and the little ones and the strangers who walked among them.

Joshua 8 Commentary

Chapter 8

God encourages Joshua. (1,2) The taking of Ai. (3-22) The destruction of Ai and its king. (23-29) The law read on Ebal and Gerizim. (30-35)

Verses 1-2 When we have faithfully put away sin, that accursed thing which separates between us and God, then, and not till then, we may look to hear from God to our comfort; and God's directing us how to go on in our Christian work and warfare, is a good evidence of his being reconciled to us. God encouraged Joshua to proceed. At Ai the spoil was not to be destroyed as at Jericho, therefore there was no danger of the people's committing such a trespass. Achan, who caught at forbidden spoil, lost that, and life, and all; but the rest of the people, who kept themselves from the accursed thing, were quickly rewarded for their obedience. The way to have the comfort of what God allows us, is, to keep from what he forbids us. No man shall lose by self-denial.

Verses 3-22 Observe Joshua's conduct and prudence. Those that would maintain their spiritual conflicts must not love their ease. Probably he went into the valley alone, to pray to God for a blessing, and he did not seek in vain. He never drew back till the work was done. Those that have stretched out their hands against their spiritual enemies, must never draw them back.

Verses 23-29 God, the righteous Judge, had sentenced the Canaanites for their wickedness; the Israelites only executed his doom. None of their conduct can be drawn into an example for others. Especial reason no doubt there was for this severity to the king of Ai; it is likely he had been notoriously wicked and vile, and a blasphemer of the God of Israel.

Verses 30-35 As soon as Joshua got to the mountains Ebal and Gerizim, without delay, and without caring for the unsettled state of Israel, or their enemies, he confirmed the covenant of the Lord with his people, as appointed, ( Deuteronomy 11 , Deuteronomy 27 ) . We must not think to defer covenanting with God till we are settled in the world; nor must any business put us from minding and pursuing the one thing needful. The way to prosper is to begin with God, ( Matthew 6:33 ) . They built an altar, and offered sacrifice to God, in token of their dedicating themselves to God, as living sacrifices to his honour, in and by a Mediator. By Christ's sacrifice of himself for us, we have peace with God. It is a great mercy to any people to have the law of God in writing, and it is fit that the written law should be in a known tongue, that it may be seen and read of all men.

Chapter Summary

INTRODUCTION TO JOSHUA 8

Joshua is encouraged to go up and take Ai, and is directed what method to make use of, Jos 8:1,2; accordingly he set an ambush on the west side of it, and, he and the rest of the army went up before it, Jos 8:3-13; which, when the king of Ai saw, he and all his forces came cut against them, and the Israelites making a feint as if they were beaten, drew on the men of Ai to pursue them, upon which the ambush arose and entered the city and set fire to it, Jos 8:14-19; the smoke of which being observed by Joshua and Israel, they turned back upon the pursuers, and the ambush sallying out of the city behind them, made an entire destruction of them, then slew all the inhabitants, took the spoil, burnt the city, and hanged the king of it, Jos 8:20-29; after this Joshua built an altar at Ebal, wrote the law on stones, and read the blessings and curses in it before all Israel, Jos 8:30-35.