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The city of Ai is destroyed.

Joshua 8 (5)

And it came to pass when Israel had made an end of slaying all the inhabitants of Ai in the field, in the wilderness where they pursued them, and when they all had fallen by the edge of the sword until they were consumed, that all the Israelites returned to Ai and struck it with the edge of the sword. So it was 
that all who fell that day, both men and women, were twelve thousand—all the people of Ai. 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. 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. So Joshua burned Ai and made it a heap forever, a desolation to this day. 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. Joshua 8.24-29

Reflect.
1.  Keep in mind, as we continue through the book of Joshua, that the people of the land of Canaan represented the most unbridled and violent forms of paganism, including burning their own children in the fire and ripping open the wombs of the pregnant women of their enemies. Why are these peoples an apt symbol for sin?

2.  How does Israel’s treatment of these people counsel us concerning our own attitude and behavior toward sin?

Think about it.
We cannot help but read a passage like this and feel sad. The city and all its people are devoted to God. Twelve thousand people – probably including the inhabitants of Bethel – slaughtered in a single day by the people sent by the God Who is love! We can argue a rational theological case for this, of course, and we should. But even the most solid case cannot keep us from feeling deep sadness over the destruction of so many lives. Truth sets us free, it’s true; but it doesn’t always keep us from feeling sad about the plight of sinners.

Think of what lies ahead for unrepentant sinners – people who scorn God’s free offer of forgiveness and life, who refuse to acknowledge Him as Creator and Lord, who mock the claims of His Son, and whose attitudes toward one another are dominated by pragmatism, narcissism, and sensuality. Such people will know eternal punishment, a punishment of their own choosing, from which there will be no relief. The pagan peoples of the land of promise lived in fear and hatred of one another, only combining when survival was at stake or some advantage was to be gained. The pagan peoples of our world live in the fear of death and typically only work together when they discern some benefit for themselves. Such people are the very antithesis of the divine image, of the God Who gave His Son that the world might be saved.

Nevertheless, the fact that unrepentant sinners are judged and doomed should cause sadness to rise within us, such sadness as will move us to tell them about Jesus, even if they resist, revile, and reject us.

Meditate and discuss.
1.  Meditate on Genesis 15.16. What do you suppose a society would look like whose sin was “complete”? The sins of the Amorites in Canaan were “complete” as Israel began their conquest. Why was it necessary to destroy these peoples?

2.  In our day, the Holy Spirit and the common grace of God exert a restraining effect on human sinfulness (cf. 2 Thess. 2.6, 7). Does the Church have a role in this? Why would God choose to restrain sin in our day rather than to destroy it utterly, as in Joshua’s?

3.  The king of the sinners in Ai was hanged on a tree, a sign of being cursed by God (Deut. 21.22, 23). In a dark but real way, this points us to the work of Jesus. Explain.

“Conquerors, indeed, are wont to spare captive kings, because their rank seems to carry something venerable along with it, but the condition of kings was different among those nations in which God wished particularly to show how greatly he detested the wickedness which he had so long tolerated. For while all were doomed to destruction, the divine vengeance justly displayed itself with greater sternness and severity on the leaders, with whom the cause of destruction originated.” John Calvin, Commentary on Joshua (1509-1564AD)

Lord Jesus, You became sin for me so that I would…

Pray Psalm 32.
1-7
Let the Lord search your heart as you wait on the Spirit to convict you of any sin.

Psalm 32.1-7 (Hendon: Take My Life and Let It Be)
Blessed are they whose sins the Lord has forgiven by His Word!
Pure their spirits are within; them He charges with no sin;
them He charges with no sin!

When in silence I remained, groaning in my sinful pain, 
You Your hand upon me lay; all my strength You drained away, 
all my strength You drained away.

I confessed my sin to You; You forgave me, ever true!
Let confession’s pleading sound reach You while You may be found,
reach You while You may be found.

When flood waters threaten me, You my hiding place will be.
O’er them I will rise above, buoyed by Your redeeming love,
buoyed by Your redeeming love.

T. M. Moore

Where does the book of Joshua fit in the ongoing story of God’s covenant? Our workbook, God’s Covenant, can help you discover the place in God’s work of redemption not only of Joshua but of all the books of the Bible. God’s Covenant is a valuable resource to guide you in all your studies in God’s Word. To order your copy, click here.

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Except as indicated, Scripture taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. All psalms for singing adapted from The Ailbe Psalter. All quotations from Church Fathers from Ancient Christian Commentary Series, General Editor Thomas C. Oden (Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 2006).

T.M. Moore

T. M. Moore is principal of The Fellowship of Ailbe, a spiritual fellowship in the Celtic Christian tradition. He and his wife, Susie, make their home in the Champlain Valley of Vermont.
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