Joshua: God’s Strategies for Victory, Part 2
Estimated reading time: 17 minutes
The Battle of Ai and the Deception of Gibeon
The “ite” that we’ll see in the Battle of Ai deals with greed and lust.
Joshua 7:1 ESV:
But the people of Israel broke faith in regard to the devoted things, for Achan the son of Carmi, son of Zabdi, son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, took some of the devoted things. And the anger of the Lord burned against the people of Israel.
Achan took things that had been devoted to or dedicated to God.
Joshua 7:2–5 ESV:
2 Joshua sent men from Jericho to Ai, which is near Beth-aven, east of Bethel, and said to them, “Go up and spy out the land.” And the men went up and spied out Ai. 3 And they returned to Joshua and said to him, “Do not have all the people go up, but let about two or three thousand men go up and attack Ai. Do not make the whole people toil up there, for they are few.” 4 So about three thousand men went up there from the people. And they fled before the men of Ai, 5 and the men of Ai killed about thirty-six of their men and chased them before the gate as far as Shebarim and struck them at the descent. And the hearts of the people melted and became as water.
After the awesome victory at Jericho, here is a relatively small and insignificant town, yet Israel received a humiliating, humbling defeat.
When we consider that Achan had hidden his stolen spoils in his tent, it’s a good bet that his family was aware of it.
Achan broke the principle of firstfruits. The firstfruits belong to God. His actions affected the whole community.
Here’s a brief aside, a comment that may help us understand.
2 Corinthians 9:7 KJV:
Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver.
We tend to use that verse (above) without giving proper emphasis to the heart. The emphasis is not on purpose, but on heart. What God wants is an acknowledgement from our hearts that everything we have is from Him. Whatever we have belongs to God.
Giving of the first fruit of it is just a small token of giving back to God what already belongs to Him.
To enhance your understanding, you’ll find Trusting God Concerning Giving and Receiving Part 2 to be very enlightening.
1 Chronicles 29:9–13 ESV:
9 Then the people rejoiced because they had given willingly, for with a whole heart they had offered freely to the Lord. David the king also rejoiced greatly.
10 Therefore David blessed the Lord in the presence of all the assembly. And David said: “Blessed are you, O Lord, the God of Israel our father, forever and ever. 11 Yours, O Lord, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the victory and the majesty, for all that is in the heavens and in the earth is yours. Yours is the kingdom, O Lord, and you are exalted as head above all. 12 Both riches and honor come from you, and you rule over all. In your hand are power and might, and in your hand it is to make great and to give strength to all. 13 And now we thank you, our God, and praise your glorious name.
The principle is freewill giving and an acknowledgement that God is the source of everything good and every victory in our lives. Achan broke that principle.
If Achan had only waited—at the end of the battle of Ai, God told the people they could take as much spoil as they wanted! Had he waited, he would have gotten much more than the relatively small amount that he had stolen from God’s portion. By doing it his way, Achan failed to acknowledge that God was the source of all his supply.
Back to Joshua. In the flush of the victory at Jericho, Joshua failed to ask God what to do before attacking Ai. He listened to his men and didn’t bother to ask God.
This particular “ite,” greed and lust, is very deceiving because you think that you are right. You think that your way of working it out is the best.
Joshua 7:6–9 ESV:
6 Then Joshua tore his clothes and fell to the earth on his face before the ark of the Lord until the evening, he and the elders of Israel. And they put dust on their heads. 7 And Joshua said, “Alas, O Lord God, why have you brought this people over the Jordan at all, to give us into the hands of the Amorites, to destroy us? Would that we had been content to dwell beyond the Jordan! 8 O Lord, what can I say, when Israel has turned their backs before their enemies! 9 For the Canaanites and all the inhabitants of the land will hear of it and will surround us and cut off our name from the earth. And what will you do for your great name?”
Even Joshua became so discouraged that he said they should have stayed on the east side of the Jordan. He groaned that their enemies would be emboldened and they would be overwhelmed.
But the principle of giving of the first fruits is an acknowledgement that God is the source of everything in your life. Thanks to Achan, the Israelites had not done that.
I originally wrote this book after a year of studying and asking God because I wanted to understand why what I had been doing for many years didn’t seem to be working. What I learned was that it was my heart that was wrong; I did not really trust that God would take care of me.
For more information, refer to the teaching series, Trusting God Concerning Giving and Receiving.
Joshua 7:10–11 ESV:
10 The Lord said to Joshua, “Get up! Why have you fallen on your face? 11 Israel has sinned; they have transgressed my covenant that I commanded them; they have taken some of the devoted things; they have stolen and lied and put them among their own belongings.
Up until this point, Joshua had not asked God why it happened; he was just sorry that it happened.
Joshua 7:19–21 ESV:
19 Then Joshua said to Achan, “My son, give glory to the Lord God of Israel and give praise to him. And tell me now what you have done; do not hide it from me.” 20 And Achan answered Joshua, “Truly I have sinned against the Lord God of Israel, and this is what I did: 21 when I saw among the spoil a beautiful cloak from Shinar, and 200 shekels of silver, and a bar of gold weighing 50 shekels, then I coveted them and took them. And see, they are hidden in the earth inside my tent, with the silver underneath.”
Notice three things:
- Achan saw
- Achan coveted (desired)
- Achan took
That’s the pattern of greed. Not God, God, God, but I, I, I.
Joshua 7:25–26 ESV:
25 And Joshua said, “Why did you bring trouble on us? The Lord brings trouble on you today.” And all Israel stoned him with stones. They burned them with fire and stoned them with stones. 26 And they raised over him a great heap of stones that remains to this day. Then the Lord turned from his burning anger. Therefore, to this day the name of that place is called the Valley of Achor [trouble].
Joshua 8:1–3 ESV:
And the Lord said to Joshua, “Do not fear and do not be dismayed. Take all the fighting men with you, and arise, go up to Ai. See, I have given into your hand the king of Ai, and his people, his city, and his land. 2 And you shall do to Ai and its king as you did to Jericho and its king. Only its spoil and its livestock you shall take as plunder for yourselves. Lay an ambush against the city, behind it.”
3 So Joshua and all the fighting men arose to go up to Ai. And Joshua chose 30,000 mighty men of valor and sent them out by night
God told Joshua to take 30,000 fighting men; the city of Ai only had 12,000 people. Sometimes, after a bad situation, sin, or defeat, it takes much more to overcome the previous defeat.
“Though Ai had only about 12,000 armed men to guard her defenses, Joshua was clearly instructed to take all of Israel’s fighting men of 30,000 into action. Thus, the overwhelming odds against the enemy were a bit like the old adage of using a sledgehammer to swat a fly.
“The strategy to be used was one of deceit and subversion. Instead of an outright frontal assault, Ai was to be taken by ambush. It was a military maneuver that would be carried out under the cover of darkness.
“None of these tactics was the sort normally employed by forces with enormous military superiority. They were, instead, the cunning and craftiness used when a force was heavily outnumbered.”
Greed may sometimes seem to us like a small “ite” that we can conquer easily, but it really takes a heavily armed force and ambush to get rid of it.
Joshua 8:13–18 ESV:
13 So they stationed the forces, the main encampment that was north of the city and its rear guard west of the city. But Joshua spent that night in the valley. 14 And as soon as the king of Ai saw this, he and all his people, the men of the city, hurried and went out early to the appointed place toward the Arabah to meet Israel in battle. But he did not know that there was an ambush against him behind the city. 15 And Joshua and all Israel pretended to be beaten before them and fled in the direction of the wilderness. 16 So all the people who were in the city were called together to pursue them, and as they pursued Joshua they were drawn away from the city. 17 Not a man was left in Ai or Bethel who did not go out after Israel. They left the city open 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.” And Joshua stretched out the javelin that was in his hand toward the city.
Joshua 8:25–28 ESV:
25 And all who fell that day, both men and women, were 12,000, all the people of Ai. 26 But Joshua did not draw back his hand with which he stretched out the javelin until he had devoted all the inhabitants of Ai to destruction. 27 Only the livestock and the spoil of that city Israel took as their plunder, according to the word of the Lord that he commanded Joshua. 28 So Joshua burned Ai and made it forever a heap of ruins, as it is to this day.
If Achan had only trusted God and waited, he could have had much more spoil than what he had stolen from God.
Verse 25 suggests that all the people of Ai (including women and children) numbered 12,000, not just the fighting men.
When there has been defeat, it takes a lot more impetus to get over it.
Joshua 8:30–32 ESV:
30 At that time Joshua built an altar to the Lord, the God of Israel, on Mount Ebal, 31 just as Moses the servant of the Lord had commanded the people of Israel, as it is written in the Book of the Law of Moses, “an altar of uncut stones, upon which no man has wielded an iron tool.” And they offered on it burnt offerings to the Lord and sacrificed peace offerings. 32 And there, in the presence of the people of Israel, he wrote on the stones a copy of the law of Moses, which he had written.
We see that this time, they did not get prideful about their victory. This time, Joshua focused on God’s Word and putting His Word in their hearts. Joshua’s actions helped to reinforce in the people’s minds that the victory was from God.
Joshua 8:33–35 ESV:
33 And all Israel, sojourner as well as native born, with their elders and officers and their judges, stood on opposite sides of the ark before the Levitical priests who carried the ark of the covenant of the Lord, half of them in front of Mount Gerizim and half of them in front of Mount Ebal, just as Moses the servant of the Lord had commanded at the first, to bless the people of Israel. 34 And 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 commanded that Joshua did not read before all the assembly of Israel, and the women, and the little ones, and the sojourners who lived among them.
Psalm 119:11 KJV:
Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee.
Joshua hadn’t asked God what to do before the first battle of Ai. Later, Joshua will be deceived again.
Joshua 9:1–8 ESV:
As soon as all the kings who were beyond the Jordan in the hill country and in the lowland all along the coast of the Great Sea toward Lebanon, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, heard of this, 2 they gathered together as one to fight against Joshua and Israel.
3 But when the inhabitants of Gibeon heard what Joshua had done to Jericho and to Ai, 4 they on their part acted with cunning and went and made ready provisions and took worn-out sacks for their donkeys, and wineskins, worn-out and torn and mended, 5 with worn-out, patched sandals on their feet, and worn-out clothes. And all their provisions were dry and crumbly. 6 And they went to Joshua in the camp at Gilgal and said to him and to the men of Israel, “We have come from a distant country, so now make a covenant with us.” 7 But the men of Israel said to the Hivites, “Perhaps you live among us; then how can we make a covenant with you?” 8 They said to Joshua, “We are your servants.” And Joshua said to them, “Who are you? And where do you come from?”
Then all the kings of the “ites” in the area gathered together with one accord to fight with Joshua and Israel. The inhabitants of Gibeon had heard about Israel’s victories over Jericho and Ai, and deceived Joshua into an alliance with them by disguising themselves as ambassadors.
Joshua 9:9–13 ESV:
9 They said to him, “From a very distant country your servants have come, because of the name of the Lord your God. For we have heard a report of him, and all that he did in Egypt, 10 and all that he did to the two kings of the Amorites who were beyond the Jordan, to Sihon the king of Heshbon, and to Og king of Bashan, who lived in Ashtaroth. 11 So our elders and all the inhabitants of our country said to us, ‘Take provisions in your hand for the journey and go to meet them and say to them, “We are your servants. Come now, make a covenant with us.” ’ 12 Here is our bread. It was still warm when we took it from our houses as our food for the journey on the day we set out to come to you, but now, behold, it is dry and crumbly. 13 These wineskins were new when we filled them, and behold, they have burst. And these garments and sandals of ours are worn out from the very long journey.”
Verse 14 is a key verse here.
Joshua 9:14–16 ESV:
14 So the men took some of their provisions, but did not ask counsel from the Lord. 15 And Joshua made peace with them and made a covenant with them, to let them live, and the leaders of the congregation swore to them.
16 At the end of three days after they had made a covenant with them, they heard that they were their neighbors and that they lived among them.
Joshua had doubts about them but did not seek God’s counsel. Rather, he walked by his senses, was deceived, made a covenant with them, and then had to deal with the consequences of his actions. Joshua honored his word to them; among all the Canaanites that they fought, the Gibeonites were the only ones who were allowed to live. We’ll see later that to honor the covenant, Joshua had to defend the Gibeonites from their attackers. The Gibeonites became servants of Israel as hewers of wood and drawers of water, working in the temple through the time of David.
Joshua 9:26–27 ESV:
26 So he did this to them and delivered them out of the hand of the people of Israel, and they did not kill them. 27 But Joshua made them that day cutters of wood and drawers of water for the congregation and for the altar of the Lord, to this day, in the place that he should choose.
For many generations later, even through the time of David, you read about the Gibeonites. They cut wood and hauled water for temple use. Year after year, generation after generation, they saw the temple sacrifices and saw that God is a God of mercy.
The “ite” of deception: it’s very easy for us to walk by our five senses.
2 Corinthians 5:7 KJV:
(For we walk by faith, not by sight:)
We see a great strategy here. You repent of the sin, but you deal with the consequences. But God will give you guidance on how to deal with the situation that resulted from your walking by your senses.
God wanted us to learn from these records. He could have picked other battles to record in His Word, but he wanted us to learn practical things from these records. Joshua was just like us.
After this account, there is no other mention of Joshua walking by his senses. We can learn and be encouraged from these records that there are consequences to sin, but when we repent, God will enable us to deal with them. As Joshua, we can learn from our mistakes, and even when we don’t walk perfectly, we can remain faithful to continue seeking after God.
There are many other “ites” that we could talk about, such as those they fought under Moses before they even got to the Jordan. For instance, the Amalekites were always attacking Israel without cause.
Questions and Answers on the audio.
Scripture References
Scripture quotations marked (ESV) are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®, copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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