In the book of Joshua, we learned how, “Joshua burnt Ai, and made it an heap for ever, even a desolation unto this day”, and in chapter eight and verse twenty-nine of the book of Joshua, we learn how, “the king of Ai he hanged on a tree until eventide” where we read,
And the king of Ai he hanged on a tree until eventide: and as soon as the sun was down, Joshua commanded that they should take his carcass down from the tree, and cast it at the entering of the gate of the city, and raise thereon a great heap of stones, that remains unto this day.
The verse reads, “And the king of Ai he hanged on a tree until eventide:” Joshua or the writer began with the words, “and the king of Ai” which means “and the royal ruler and leader belonging to Ai whose name means heap of ruins” “he hanged on a tree” or “he, Joshua, suspended and put to death by hanging on a tree” “until eventide” which means “even till and unto the evening time or sunset”. Joshua or the writer shared how “Joshua” suspended the royal ruler of “Ai” on a “tree” till the evening time came.
The verse goes on to say, “and as soon as the sun was down, Joshua commanded that they should take his carcass down from the tree, and cast it at the entering of the gate of the city,” Joshua or the writer continued with the words, “and as soon as the sun was down” which means “and at sunset or the moment or coming near of the sun descending”, “Joshua commanded” or “Joshua, whose name means Jehovah is salvation, charged and ordered” “that they should take his carcass down” which means “that they, the men of Israel, were to lower and get down his, the royal ruler of Ai’s, corpse” “from the tree” or “separate and apart from the tree”, “and cast it at the entering of the gate” which means “and hurl or throw it, the carcass of the royal ruler of Ai, at the opening, entrance or doorway pertaining to the port” “of the city” or “belonging to the dwelling place or town of Ai”. Joshua or the writer shared how “Joshua” ordered that the corpse of the royal ruler of “Ai” be lowered from the “tree” and thrown in front of the port opening of “Ai”.
Finally the verse says, “and raise thereon a great heap of stones, that remains unto this day.” Joshua or the writer concluded this verse with the words, “and raise thereon” which means “and set, establish and impose on the corpse of the royal ruler of Ai” “a great heap of stones” or “a massive and large mound of rocks”, “that remains” which means “that continues” “unto this day” or “to that particular time period or season”. Joshua or the writer ended this verse by sharing how “Joshua” instructed his men to establish a massive amount of rocks over the dead body of the royal ruler of “Ai”, and that mound of rocks continued to be in place to the day this book was written.
When we meditate upon the words in this verse, we learn what happened to the “king of Ai” after he was brought to “Joshua”. “Joshua” ordered that the royal ruler be hung "on a tree” till sunset, and after he was dead, the king’s body was to be extracted from the “tree” and thrown in front of the entryway to the “city of Ai”. “Joshua” also ordered his men to establish a huge amount of rocks over the “king’s” dead body, and that mound remained in place to the writing of this book. “Joshua” followed the will and purpose of Almighty God, and because God loves the people of Israel, their enemies were to be completely destroyed. God knows “sin” is as an enemy in our lives because it leads to death and eternal separation from Him. (See Romans 6:23) For this reason He sent His Son Jesus into the world to die on the cross for the sins of all mankind, and when He raised Him from the dead after three days, He conquered sin and death and made the way through faith and trust in Him to be forgiven of our sins, granted everlasting life and provided with His Holy Spirit who will guide us into all truth and give us assurance that our enemy, sin, has been destroyed and it need not have victory over us any longer. (See John 16:13; Acts 1:18; Romans 8:2)
Next time we learn how, “Joshua built an altar unto the LORD God of Israel”, 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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