Do to Ai as Done to Jericho - Joshua 8:2

In the book of Joshua, we learned how “the LORD said unto Joshua, fear not, neither be you dismayed: Take all the people of war with you, and arise, go up to Ai: See I have given into your hand the king of Ai, and his people, and his city, and his land…”, and in chapter eight and verse two of the book of Joshua, we learn how Jehovah God said, “you shall do to Ai and her king as you did unto Jericho and her king” where we read, 

And you shall do to Ai and her king as you did unto Jericho and her king:

only the spoil thereof, and the cattle thereof, shall you take a prey unto yourselves:

lay you an ambush for the city behind it.

The verse reads, “And you shall do to Ai and her king as you did unto Jericho and her king:” Joshua or the writer began with the words, “and you shall do to Ai” which means “and you, Joshua and the people of Israel, will perform and produced toward Ai whose name means ‘heap of ruins’ and was a city lying east of Bethel and beside Bethaven near Jericho and the second city taken on the invasion of Canaan” “and her king” or “and her, Ai’s, royal ruler and leader” “as you did unto Jericho” which means “in similar and in like manner to the way you performed and produced toward Jericho whose name means ‘its moon’ and was a city five miles (8 km) west of the Jordan and seven miles (11.5 km) north of the Dead Sea and the first city conquered by the Israelites upon entering the promised land of Canaan” “and her king” or “and her, Jericho’s, royal ruler and leader”. Jehovah God told Joshua that he and the people of Israel would perform in the same manner toward “Ai” and it’s royal ruler as they did toward “Jericho” and its royal ruler.

 

The verse continues, “only the spoil thereof, and the cattle thereof, shall you take a prey unto yourselves:” Joshua or the writer added the words, “only the spoil thereof” which means “alone, altogether and except the prey, booty and plunder within the city of Ai”, “and the cattle thereof” or “and the animals, beasts and livestock within the city of Ai”, “shall you take a prey unto yourselves” which means “will you, the people of Israel, lay hold of, seize and despoil a plunder and booty to your own selves, the people of Israel”. Jehovah God told Joshua that the plunder within the city of “Ai” as well as the animals and livestock will the people of Israel seize for their own selves.

Finally the verse says, “lay you an ambush for the city behind it.” Joshua or the writer said, “lay you an ambush” which means “set, appoint and establish you, the people of Israel, a lurking and lying in wait” “for the city behind it” or “on behalf of “Ai” after and following the location of it. Jehovah God instructed Joshua to have the people lie in wait “behind” the location of the city of “Ai”. 

When we meditate upon the words in this verse, we discover how Jehovah God gave new instructions to the people of Israel to wage the battle against “Ai”. Unlike Jericho, they were to lie secretly in wait behind the city of “Ai”, and they would be allowed to plunder the “spoil” of “Ai” because they were going to destroy “Ai” even as they did “Jericho”. The difference this time is that they were following God’s directives rather than assuming that they knew best for themselves. God wants us to have this type of relationship with Him through His Son Jesus who was crucified on the cross for the sins of everyone and was raised from the dead after three days. When we put our faith and trust in Him as our “Savior and Lord”, He will forgive our sins, grant us everlasting life and equip us with His Holy Spirit who will guide us into all truth and direct our path in keeping with His perfect plan and will for our lives.  

Next time Jehovah God says, “so Joshua arose, and all the people of war, to go up against Ai”, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.

Until tomorrow…there is more…

See more devotionals on the website "thewordfortodaywithray.com" or look for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, “One Year in the Sermon on the Mount” and the new poetry book "Random Mushrooms Volumes I and II" and the new novel "Elizabeth County" in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com ; http://www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore. All references are from "Strongs Concordance".