Joshua 8:14-29 - A New Victory

18 Then the LORD said to Joshua, "Stretch out the spear that is in your hand toward Ai, for I will give it into your hand." And Joshua stretched out the spear that was in his hand toward the city. 26 For Joshua did not draw back his hand, with which he stretched out the spear, until he had utterly destroyed all the inhabitants of Ai. 27 Only the livestock and the spoil of that city Israel took as booty 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 to this day. 29 And the king of Ai he hanged on a tree until evening. And as soon as the sun was down, Joshua commanded that they should take his corpse down from the tree, cast it at the entrance of the gate of the city, and raise over it a great heap of stones that remains to this day..   We are looking at the Book of Joshua, a book that teaches us that victory in our Christian experience only comes by faith. Faith alone in our Joshua, the Lord Jesus Christ, our great High Priest, our Captain of the host of heaven’s armies. My friend, you can put your faith and trust in Him no matter what you might face each day. Every day is a new day, and it brings new challenges. The people of Israel had a great victory over Jericho in chapter 6, but then suffered a humiliating defeat in chapter 7 at little Ai.   Now in chapter 8, Israel had an opportunity for a new beginning. God gives them a word of encouragement and a promise (vv. 1-2), He gives them a new strategy for the battle with new instructions (vv. 3-13), and He tells them how to experience a new victory over Ai (vv. 14-29). Please take the time to read this entire section of verses that describes in detail this battle at Ai.   In verses 14-17, when morning dawned, the king of Ai saw the army of Israel positioned before the city, ready to attack. Confident of victory, he led his men out of the city and against the Jews. Joshua and his men began to flee, and this gave the men of Ai even more assurance of victory. It was careless of the people of Ai to leave their city undefended, but such are the follies of self-confidence. When a small army sees a large army flee without even fighting, it gives them a feeling of superiority that can lead to defeat.   Conscious that the battle was the Lord's (1 Sam. 17:47; 2 Chron. 20:15), Joshua waited for further instructions. God then told him to lift up his spear toward the city (Josh. 8:18). This was the signal for the other troops to enter the city and burn it, but the signal had to be given at just the right time. The men of Ai and Bethel were trapped, and it was a simple matter for the army of Israel to destroy them. Joshua held up his spear until the victory was won (v. 26), an action that reminds us of the battle Joshua fought against Amalek when Moses held up his hands to the Lord (Ex. 17:8-16). Ai's army and people were then destroyed (Josh. 8:21-29).   When Ai's king was slain (Josh. 8:23, 29), his body was then buried under a heap of stones at the entrance of the gate of the ruin that had once been Ai. The previous heap of stones over Achan’s body was a memorial and reminder of the sin that had caused their defeat at Ai (Joshua 7:25-26). But this heap of stones at Ai was a memorial of Israel's victory over the enemy. By obeying the Word of the Lord, they had organized victory out of mistakes.   At the close of the day there must have been a new sense of faith and courage in Israel; for they had won another victory. The people saw that not one word of God's promise had failed. The disgrace and defeat caused by Achan had now been erased, and Israel was well on her way to conquering the Promised Land.   We can thank the Lord that every day gives us the opportunity to have a new beginning, and to by faith experience a new victory! Our task is simply to “trust and obey….”.   God bless!