Joshua 8:3–29
3 So Joshua rose up with all the people of war to go up to Ai; and Joshua chose thirty thousand men, valiant warriors, and sent them out at night.
4 He commanded them, saying, “See, you are going to ambush the city from behind it. Do not go very far from the city, but all of you be ready.
5 Then I and all the people who are with me will approach the city. And when they come out to meet us as they did the first time, we will flee before them.
6 They will come out after us until we have lured them away from the city, for they will say, ‘They are fleeing before us just as they did the first time.’ So we will flee before them.
7 Then you shall rise from your ambush and take possession of the city, for the Lord your God will hand it over to you.
8 Then it will be when you have seized the city, that you shall set the city on fire. You shall do it in accordance with the word of the Lord. See, I have commanded you.”
9 So Joshua sent them away, and they went to the place of ambush and remained between Bethel and Ai, on the west side of Ai; but Joshua spent that night among the people.
10 Now Joshua got up early in the morning and mustered the people, and he went up with the elders of Israel before the people to Ai.
11 Then all the people of war who were with him went up and approached, and arrived in front of the city; and they camped on the north side of Ai. And there was a valley between him and Ai.
12 Then he took about five thousand men and set them in ambush between Bethel and Ai, on the west side of the city.
13 So they stationed the people, all the army that was on the north side of the city, and its rear guard on the west side of the city, and Joshua spent that night in the midst of the valley.
14 And it came about, when the king of Ai saw them, that the men of the city hurried and got up early, and went out to meet Israel in battle, he and all his people at the appointed place before the desert plain. But he did not know that there was an ambush against him behind the city.
15 Then Joshua and all Israel pretended to be defeated before them, and fled by the way of the wilderness.
16 And all the people who were in the city were called together to pursue them, and they pursued Joshua and were lured away from the city.
17 So not a man was left in Ai or Bethel, but they had all gone out after Israel, and they left the city unguarded and pursued Israel.
18 Then the Lord said to Joshua, “Reach out with the sword that is in your hand toward Ai, for I will hand it over to you.” So Joshua reached out with the sword that was in his hand toward the city.
19 Then the men in ambush rose quickly from their place, and when he had reached out with his hand, they ran and entered the city and captured it, and they quickly set the city on fire.
20 When the men of Ai turned back and looked, behold, the smoke of the city ascended to the sky, and they had no place to flee this way or that, for the people who had been fleeing to the wilderness turned against the pursuers.
21 When Joshua and all Israel saw that the men in ambush had captured the city and that the smoke of the city ascended, they turned back and killed the men of Ai.
22 The others came out from the city to confront them, so that they were trapped in the midst of Israel, some on this side and some on that side; and they killed them until there was not one left who escaped or survived.
23 But they captured the king of Ai alive and brought him to Joshua.
24 Now when Israel had finished killing all the inhabitants of Ai in the field in the wilderness where they pursued them, and all of them had fallen by the edge of the sword until they were destroyed, then all Israel returned to Ai and struck it with the edge of the sword.
25 So all who fell that day, both men and women, were twelve thousand—all the people of Ai.
26 For Joshua did not withdraw his hand with which he reached out with the sword until he had utterly destroyed all the inhabitants of Ai.
27 Israel took only the cattle and the spoils of that city as plunder for themselves, in accordance with the word of the Lord which He had commanded Joshua.
28 So Joshua burned Ai and made it a refuse heap forever, a desolation until this day.
29 And he hanged the king of Ai on a tree until evening; but at sunset Joshua gave the command and they took his body down from the tree and threw it at the entrance of the city gate, and erected over it a large heap of stones that stands to this day.
Conquest of Ai
Sending the troops
Joshua’s combat strategy was as follows: (1) Joshua selected 30,000 valiant warriors and sent them out at night. (2) Early next morning, Joshua took the main army up and camped on the north side of Ai. (3) Observing the landscape, he placed 5,000 troops for ambush on the westside, between Bethel and Ai. This was about the same place where the first contingent was positioned. However, this contingent was placed to interfere with the possible reinforcement from Bethel. (4) The king of Ai saw Israel’s army camping before the city. He hurried and went out to meet Israel in battle. The main army led by Joshua pretended to accept defeat and fled toward the Jordan Valley. The king of Ai, thinking that he had won, took the bait and pursued Israel with the entire army. The king of Bethel followed Ai and pursued Israel as well. (5) Joshua turned around and signaled the ambush by stretching out the javelin in his hand aimed at Ai. Upon receiving the signal, the troops ambushed the city and set it on fire. Then the main army with Joshua turned around against the pursuers.
Result of the battle
(1) On that day, a total of 12,000 people of Ai, both men and women, fell. It was just as the Lord had commanded to place the city under the ban. (2) However, the king of Ai was taken alive and hanged from a tree until evening. Then the body was taken down at sunset, thrown at the entrance of the city gate, and a great heap of stones was raised over it. Ai was one evil city, but the most problematic was the king himself. (3) The Israelites took the cattle and the spoils as plunder for themselves. (4) Thus, Israel had taken it in its hand and conquered the central plateau of Canaan (also known as “the hill country of Ephraim”). Henceforth, all battles were made a lot easier. (5) The city of Bethel was also conquered in this battle. Again, the victory in the battle at Jericho was won using supernatural methods. However, God does not always use such a method. In the battle at Ai, a human strategy was used. Often times, the Lord uses humans for His work. Let’s learn to be victorious in spiritual battles, through God’s wisdom.
Today's prayer
God of Israel, please use me as Your messenger. Use me not as a messenger of judgment, but as a messenger delivering love and grace. I pray in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.