In the book of Joshua, we learned how, “the children of Israel committed a trespass in the accursed thing: for Achan, the son of Carmi, the son of Zabdi, the son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, took of the accursed thing: and the anger of the LORD was kindled against the children of Israel”, and in chapter seven and verse two of the book of Joshua, we learn how, “Joshua sent men from Jericho to Ai” where we read,
And Joshua sent men from Jericho to Ai, which is beside Bethaven, on the east side of Bethel, and spoke unto them, saying, Go up and view the country. And the men went up and viewed Ai.
The verse reads, “And Joshua sent men from Jericho to Ai, which is beside Bethaven, on the east side of Bethel, and spoke unto them, saying, …” Joshua or the writer said, “and Joshua” whose name means “Jehovah is salvation” “sent men from Jericho” or “dispatched and assigned male human beings separate and apart from Jericho whose name means its moon” “to Ai” which means “to Ai or Aija or Aiath or Hai 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”, “which is beside Bethaven” or “that exists alongside of Bethaven whose name means house of vanity and was a city east of Bethel”, “on the east side of Bethel” which means “upon the eastern side pertaining to the city of Bethel whose name means house of God”, “and spoke unto them” or “and uttered, declared and proclaimed to them, the men dispatched to Ai”, “saying” which means “uttering, declaring and proclaiming” the following words. Joshua dispatched “men” of Israel from the conquered “city of Jericho” to the next town known as “Ai” and told them the following words.
The verse goes on to say, “Go up and view the country. And the men went up and viewed Ai.” Joshua or the writer continued with the words, “go up and view the country” which means “arise and ascend and spy out, explore and be as a tale-bearer concerning the district, region, territory and land”, “and the men went up” or “and the male human beings from Israel arose and ascended” “and viewed Ai” which means “and espied, explored and were as tale-bearers about Ai whose name means ‘heap of ruins’”. Joshua instructed the dispatched “men of Israel” to spy out and explore “Ai”, so they ascended to “Ai” to observe the region.
When we think through the words in this verse, we learn how Joshua proceeded to the next city within the land that God promised to give to the people of Israel. “Ai” was next to “Jericho”, and “Joshua” dispatched “spies” once again to discover what they might encounter when they came against them. The men obeyed “Joshua’s” directive, and we shall see what they discovered in our next verses. This was God’s order for the people of Israel, and as long as they stayed close to Him and His desires, they were to be blessed. The same is true for us. When God sent His Son Jesus into the world to die on the cross for the sins of all mankind and raised Him from the dead after three days, He made the way for us through faith and trust in Him to be forgiven of our sins, granted everlasting life and provided with His Holy Spirit who will not only lead us to the truth (which implies that He goes before us), but also empower us to stay close to Him as we watch Him handle our difficult situations and foes.
Next time we learn how, “they returned to Joshua, and said unto him, Let not all the people go up”, 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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