In the book of Joshua, we learned how “Joshua, and all Israel with him, took Achan the son of Zerah, and the silver, and the garment, and the wedge of gold, and his sons, and his daughters, and his oxen, and his asses, and his sheep, and his tent, and all that he had: and they brought them unto the valley of Achor. And Joshua said, Why have you troubled us? the LORD shall trouble you this day. And all Israel stoned him with stones, and burned them with fire, after they had stoned them with stones. And they raised over him a great heap of stones unto this day. So the LORD turned from the fierceness of his anger. Wherefore the name of that place was called, The valley of Achor, unto this day”, and in chapter eight and verse one of the book of Joshua, we learn how, “the LORD said unto Joshua, Fear not, neither be you dismayed” where we read,
And 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;
The verse reads, “And the LORD said unto Joshua, fear not, neither be you dismayed:” Joshua or the writer began with the words, “and the LORD” which means “and Jehovah who is the existing One and the proper name of the One True God” “said unto Joshua” or “uttered, declared and proclaimed to Joshua whose name means Jehovah is salvation”, “fear not” which means “do not be fearful and afraid” “neither be you dismayed” or “no and not in any manner are you to exist as broken, abolished, shattered and scared”. Joshua or the writer shared how Jehovah God told “Joshua” not to be afraid or scared.
The verse continues, “Take all the people of war with you, and arise, go up to Ai:” Joshua or the writer added the words, “take all the people of war with you” which means “lay hold of, receive and acquire each, every, the whole and everyone of the human beings pertaining to fighting and battle”, “and arise” or “and stand and get up”, “go up to Ai” which means “ascend and go forth 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”. Jehovah God instructed “Joshua” to lay hold of everyone of the warriors and ascend and go forth unto “Ai”.
Finally the verse says, “See I have given into your hand the king of Ai, and his people, and his city, and his land;” Joshua or the writer said, “see I have given into your hand” which means “perceive, consider and observe I, Jehovah God, have granted, bestowed and assigned to your, the people of Israel’s, power, might and authority” “the king of Ai” or “the royal ruler and leader of Ai whose name means heap of ruins”, “and his people” which means “and his, the king of Ai’s, human beings”, “and his city” or “and his, the king of Ai’s, dwelling place and town”, “and his land” which means “and his, the king of Ai’s, district, region, territory and country”. Jehovah God granted to Joshua and the people of Israel to have authority over the royal ruler of Ai, the “people” under him, the town of Ai itself and the surrounding territory.
When we consider the words in this verse, we learn how Jehovah God continued to instruct “Joshua” concerning the re-attack of the “city of Ai”. The people of Israel were not to be afraid or scared because God would be with them, and all the warriors of Israel were to be gathered together to go to war. They were to ascend to “Ai” where they would be given authority over the royal ruler, his people, his town and his territory. Though they suffered a great loss to “Ai” previously, they were being prepared for battle according to Jehovah God’s way. Because God loves us, He will give us other opportunities to win “battles” we have encountered and lost in the past. He won the ultimate battle for our salvation by sending His Son Jesus into the world to die on the cross for the sins of all mankind and raising 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 put His Holy Spirit within us to guide us into all truth and to empower us to live victoriously in that truth as we live within His presence and before His eyes.
Next time Jehovah God says, “you shall do to Ai and her king as you did unto Jericho and your king”, 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".
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