Joshua 8:1 "And the Lord said unto Joshua, "Fear not, neither be thou dismayed: take all the People of war with thee, and arise, go up to Ai: see, I have given into thy hand the king of Ai, and his people, and his city, and the land:"

Joshua and the people faced their problem and got rid of the troublemaker, Achan that was in their congregation, and this pleased our Heavenly Father YHVH. God is now telling Joshua not to be discouraged over the losses at Ai, but gather your army and go against up to Ai. This time God is with Joshua and the Lord promises to give Ai, the king, the city and its people and land to the children of Israel. Just as God promises a victory for Joshua, He will give you the victory in your life today also. When the children of Israel found out what the problem was back in Jericho, the dealt with it, and put it out of their midst. We find out our problems as we study His Word, and learn of those things that please God, then seek to do them.

Joshua 8:2 "And thou shalt do to Ai and her king as thou didst unto Jericho and her king: only the spoil thereof, and the cattle thereof, shall ye take for a prey unto yourselves: lay thee an ambush for the city behind it." 

The battle plan for Ai will be different than you used at Jericho, but the victory will be the same: I will give you the victory. Remember at Jericho, God told the people that the things of that city were His: The gold, the silver, the brass and the Iron are to be taken and put in the house of God. This was the first of the battles, and many more would follow, but the tithe the first of the yield belongs to Me. Bring it into the house of the Lord. So now in this battle of Ai, the spoil of the city, the cattle and things of value, God is instructing that these shall belong to the children of Israel as a prey for their victory.

So now God is laying out the battle plan for this fight, and he is going to use a little ambush and covert activity to bring Ai down. God has nothing against covert activity, and urged His people to use it. When you see false teaching being spread in the congregation, that's the time to practice covert activity to root it out, and ambush those that substitute the traditions of men, and doctrines that go against the Word of God. We do that by calling attention to the truth as it is Written in the Word of God. Truth will dispel and ambush those lies. When the light of the Word is present, the darkness must go. It is important that we keep on guard to keep "the accursed thing" out of our congregations, and that accursed thing, as read in the prior chapter, is allowing the mantel [teachings, and things] of a heathen religion to enter into our worship of the One True God: The accursed thing is to partake of false teaching and religion. The accursed thing is lies being taught to people as the gospel of God.

Amongst the tribes of Israel, Judah was suppose to be praise as the leader of all the tribes. Within Judah was the king line, as Jacob assigned them to back in Genesis 49:8-10. "Judah, thou art he whom thy brethren shall praise: thy hand shall be in the neck of thine enemies: thy father's children shall bow down before thee." [8] This established the king line.

Genesis 49:9 "Judah is a lion's whelp: from the prey, my son, thou art gone up: he stooped down, he couched as a lion, and as an old lion; who shall rouse him up?"

Judah was suppose to have the wisdom of a lion, in its youth, cunning and swift, and in its old age, the wisdom above all the other animals of the land. Judah was suppose to have the leadership qualities that the rest of the people should follow, and the wisdom to make wise choices.

Genesis 40:10 "The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto Him shall the gathering of the people be."

This sceptre right to rule "shall not depart from Judah" in this earth age of flesh man. Now here before the children of Israel even took control of the promise land, there was trouble in their family, and it had to be dealt with. When God judges He always starts with the leadership, and when this earth age is over, those preachers and teachers that took pride in messing with the accursed thing are the first to be judged and dealt with. This is why it is so important to make sure you are correct in your teaching, when you say that God said this or that. It is an accursed thing to say that God said something in His Scriptures, and His Word is not backing you up. If you say, "I talked to God today." you had better make sure that you did, before you declare it, or you are partaking of the accursed thing.

Sure, you want to roll easter eggs and mix those things of Baal worship with Passover? There are many traditions that have crept into Christian churches and are accepted and redefined as being of God, when they were part of some heathen religious form. Passover is to be remembered through all generations and when our Lord Jesus Christ shed His blood and died, and arose again; He became our Passover. Passover for the past two thousand years has been the communion table, and yet today many Christians still look at it as being the sacrifices of the Old Testament. Then they put on the show of rolling easter eggs, bowing to the sun on Easter morning and all the other things brought into Christianity from Baal worship. The accursed thing is all around us, and by tradition we accept it as being of God, because we are taught to do so as a child.

If you teach and preach God's Word, God will bless you and your ministry, if you depart for His Word, you will be judged by those traditions that you teach.

Joshua 8:3 "So Joshua arose, and all the People of war, to go up against Ai: and Joshua chose out thirty thousand mighty men of valour, and sent them away by night."

Last time the children of Israel went up to battle against Ai, thirty six men were killed, and the rest of them ran like rabbits. This time instead of three thousand men, God told them to sent thirty thousand mighty men against this same small town. The first time Joshua used the advise of the spies, and they got whipped, and here God is instructing in the course of battle. By sending these men of war away by night starts the covert activity that will give them victory.

Joshua 8:4 "And he commanded them, saying, "Behold, ye shall lie in wait against the city, even behind the city: go not very far from the city, but be ye all ready:"

God told Joshua to instruct these men to slip around the city and on the back side of the city, close to the city, and lie in wait to be ready to attack when the time comes.

Joshua 8:5 "And I, and all the People that are with me, will approach unto the city: and it shall come to pass, when they come out against us, as at the first, that we will flee before them,"

Joshua will bring a large number of the people with him up to Ai, and when they open the gate to come out after us, Joshua and the people will run, just like they did in that first battle when thirty six men were killed. This time we are going to do the same thing all over to draw them out of the town. The last time the entire army of men of Ai chased the Israelites all the way to Shebarim, and left the city open and defenseless. Will the men of Ai do the same that they did in that first battle? Joshua thought so.

Joshua 8:6 "(For they will come out after us) till we have drawn them from the city; for they will say, `They flee before us, as at the first:' therefore we will flee before them."

We know what they will do when we run from the, so lets let them chase us. Joshua is going to play a little cat and mouse with the men of Ai.

Joshua 8:7 "Then ye shall arise up from the ambush, and seize upon the city: for the Lord your God will deliver it into your hand."

Joshua is giving the orders, but God promised the victory to him. God ordered the ambush, and of course God can change men's minds and give them as false sense of victory. God knew that these men would act out of impulse and respond quickly, and that's what makes an ambush successful.

When we see a false teacher teaching something that is just not true, it is good to ambush them with the truth. Bait them to clarify their teaching, then show them the error in their traditions with the truths from the Word of God. The best time to do this is when questions can be asked of the Pastor or teacher, and then give your response direct from the Word of God.

Joshua 8:8 "And it shall be, when ye have taken the city, that ye ye shall set the city on fire: according to the commandment of the Lord shall ye do. See, I have commanded you."

This is God's instructions, that when you have taken the city, burn the city to the ground. Spiritually speaking, "God is a consuming fire", as we read in Hebrews 12:29. God is commanding Joshua, and Joshua is playing the role of the general over his troops.

Joshua 8:9 "Joshua therefore sent them forth: and they went to lie in ambush, and abode between Beth-el and Ai, on the west side of Ai: but Joshua lodged that night among the People."

Stop and think for a moment: go back to Genesis 12:8 for this is the exact location that Abraham received the promises from God.

Genesis 12:7, 8 "And the Lord appeared unto Abram, and said, "Unto thy seed will I give this land:" and there builded he an altar unto the Lord, Who appeared unto him" [7] "And he removed from thence unto a mountain on the east of Beth-el, and pitched his tent, having Beth-el on the west, and Hai [Ai] on the east: and there he builded an altar unto the Lord, and called upon the name of the Lord." [8]

The first victory that would come would be at this exact location where the Lord appeared to Abraham and made the covenant with him. Abraham built an altar to God here, and received the promise from God that this land would belong to his children and their future generations. God's promise to Abraham is being fulfilled in this verse of Joshua. It wasn't an accident that this battle took place here, and the start of taking the promise land started here at the place Abraham made the altar to God.

Joshua 8:10 "And Joshua rose up early in the morning, and numbered the People, and went up, he and the elders of Israel, before the People to Ai."

The plans have been set in motion, the armed troops went to the back side the city in the dark of the night, and lie in wait. Now in the morning, Joshua rose and mustered and inspected the rest of the people to get them ready for the big chase ahead. Then they marched up to the gate of the city of Ai and taunted the People of Ai.

This is a good example as to how we should run our lives, for even in the planning for the day, we ought to know what must be done, and the order that it should take place.

Joshua 8:11 "And all the People, even the people of war that were with him, went up, and drew night, and came before the city, and pitched on the north side of Ai: now there was a valley between them and Ai."

They stopped and made ready for the chase with a little valley between them and the gate.

Joshua 8:12 "And he took about five thousand men, and set them to lie in ambush between Beth-el and Ai, on the west side of the city."

The number five in biblical numerics is Divine grace. Joshua took five thousand of the men, and put them on the west side of the city, right were Abraham built that altar to God some 470 years before. So here, under God's grace and orders comes the ambush.

Joshua 8:13 "And when they had set the People, even all the host that was on the north of the city, and their liers in wait on the west of the city, Joshua went that night into the midst of the valley."

This is the night before the big battle, and Joshua took the time to meditate and talk with God, and thank Him for His mercy and protection.

Joshua 8:14 "And it came to pass, when the king of Ai saw it, that they hasted and rose up early, and the men of the city went out against Israel to battle, he and all his People, at a time appointed, before the plain; but he wist not that there were liers in ambush against him behind the city."

In the morning when the king of Ai saw the army of Israel outside their gate, he didn't hesitate at all, but ordered his men to prepare for battle and get moving. this looked like a cake walk for the men of Ai, for they had just chased these same people all the way to Shebarim, and smote many of them along the way.

There was one factor that this king of Ai overlooked; for God was not with Israel in that first battle, but God was the commander in this second battle. In the night Joshua moved his men into place while the king of Ai slept. So the men of the children of Israel are set and ready for the battle to begin according to God's plan. God is not against winning a victory by using ambushes, and covert activity on His children's behalf.

Joshua 8:15 "And Joshua and all Israel made as if they were beaten before them, and fled by the way of the wilderness."

Imagine the stage being set, and it is time to play the role of a coward for the sake of the ambush. Sure they cried, yield and played the role of cowards and ran off in all direction away from the city. The bait has been set, and the people of Ai are taking the bait.

Joshua 8:16 "And all the People that were in Ai were called together to pursue after them: and they pursued after Joshua, and were drawn away from the city."

The armed men of the city, all of them were drawn away from the city, and left their city completely without protection.

Joshua 8:17 "And there was not a man left in Ai or Beth-el, that went not out after Israel: and they left the city open, and pursued after Israel."

As the men left the city, they left the gate open behind them. To the men of Ai, every one of them wanted to make their mark, and get his trophy. They thought they were chasing cowards, and this was to be an easy task. Then right behind them was God's Divine grace, the five thousand men of Israel, that would walk through the gate, and burn the city to the ground.

Stop and think for a moment, for what is taking place here is human nature, mob action, when all the people act individually and for their own personal glory. Human nature allows people to believe that there are no teeth in the enemy.

Joshua 8:18 "And the Lord said unto Joshua, "Stretch out the spear that is in thy hand toward Ai; for I will give it into thine hand." And Joshua stretched out the spear that he had in his hand toward the city."

When the men of Ai were well away from the city, God instructed Joshua to stop and stretch out his hand, for it was time to charge the enemy. God selected the time to run and back off, and He set the time to turn and fight. This spear represents the "sword of the Lord", and there is coming a time when many of us will have to back off, and another time when God expects us to take that sword of the Lord into battle.

We are in a generation like never before, and the enemy of God is like it has never been before. The battle that we will face is not with arrows and guns but with words and ideas that come from the very Word of God. In our battle we are to lie back for the ambush, and not rely on our own thinking and imaginations, for the Holy Spirit Himself will be the one to give the Words that must be spoken. We are reminded of this in Mark 13:11

Mark 13:11 "But when they shall lead you, and deliver you up, take not thought beforehand what ye shall speak, neither do ye premeditate: but whatsoever shall be given you in that hour, that speak ye: for it is not ye that speak, but the Holy Spirit [Ghost]."

It is time now to prepare for that spiritual battle, to seal in our minds the truths for God's Word. Then when that time come, we are to allow God's Spirit to direct the battle against Satan and his system, for only God is able to know the words or battle plan to defeat Satan in that hour when he is here on earth.

Joshua 8:19 "And the ambush arose quickly out of their place, and they ran as soon as he had stretched out his hand: and they entered into the city, and took it, and hasted and set the city on fire."

As the five thousand men ran through the city, there wasn't a man in sight, God gave them the city and the men of Israel burnt it to the ground. This is exactly how god will act in your life when you seek His guidance and instruction from His Word. When you run your business God's way, you will be blessed and successful. God will provide you with the materials, but He expects you to do the work. God opened the city, left the gates of the city open, but the men had to go in and set the fires to burn it down.

Joshua 8:20 "And when the men of Ai looked behind them, they saw, and, behold, the smoke of the city ascended up to heaven, and they had no power to flee this way or that way: and the People that fled to the wilderness turned back upon the pursuers."

When the men of Ai were just a little ways out of the city, they looked back and saw their city going up in smoke. It was to late for them to do anything, for Joshua and the people of Israel that were running away from them, were now attacking them. Those cowards, were now an armed force of power. The men of Ai now know that their goose has been cooked, and they are in trouble.

Joshua 8:21 "And when Joshua and all Israel saw that the ambush had taken the city, and that the smoke of the city ascended, then they turned again, and slew the men of Ai."

There was no mercy given to these men of Ai.

Joshua 8:22 "And the other issued out of the city against them; so they were in the midst of Israel, some on this side, and some on that side; and they smote them, so that they let none of them remain or escape."

Did you get that; there was no giving ground to the enemy, Joshua killed the men of Ai to the land man, just as God had ordered, except for one.

Joshua 8:23 "And the king of Ai they took alive, and brought him to Joshua."

Joshua 8:24 "And it came to pass, when Israel had made an end of the slaying all the inhabitants of Ai in the field, in the wilderness wherein they chased them, and they were all fallen on the edge of the sword, until they were consumed, that all the Israelites returned unto Ai, and smote it with the edge of the sword."

Not one human life of the people of Ai was allowed to live, just as every person of the family of Achan was killed and burnt, so also were the inhabitance of Ai.

Now in a spiritual sense, what happens at the seventh trump? When the elect actually has the victory, all flesh is over and done with, changed in the wink of an eye. The false messiah Satan is done with and his system is no more. At that instant in time all the people of the earth move into the Millennium age of our Lord Jesus Christ. It is the tongue of our Lord Jesus Christ that is the two edged sword that brings this to pass.

Revelation 19:15 "And out of His mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it He should smite the nations: and He shall rule them with a rod of iron: and He treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God."

Today the sword of the Lord is being unsheathed, and made ready for battle. Truth has its way cutting through the darkness and going all the way around the world. God promised us in the book of Daniel and Revelation that this truth would be revealed in the end times and it is; for there are many ministries that are bringing this light of the Gospel out into the open.

Joshua 8:25 "And so it was, that all that fell that day, both of men and women, were twelve thousand, even all the men of Ai."

Joshua 8:26 "For Joshua drew not his hand back, wherewith he stretched out the spear, until he had utterly destroyed all the inhabitants of Ai."

God didn't allow the spear to be drawn by Joshua until all the inhabitance of Ai were completely destroyed. This is an ensample or example to us living today in these end times.

I Corinthians 10:11 "Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come."

These things written in Genesis and Joshua, in Job and Jeremiah are all written as examples of what we can expect in this final generation. They are warnings as to how the ends of this world age will come to an end. We can use this historical story and convert it to a spiritual sense to have an example of things that we will witness today. Historically God had given this land to Israel to live in safely, and the heathen enemy was possessing the land at the time. God set out to clear the land of these heathen peoples to give keep His promise that He gave to Abraham.

Joshua 8:27 "Only the cattle and the spoil of the city Israel took for a prey unto themselves, according unto the word of the Lord which He commanded Joshua."

When the children of Israel followed the instructions of the Lord, God rewarded them with the spoils of the city and the cattle and livestock. The blessings and rewards came after the work and following the instructions of the Lord. You first of all have to know what God expects of you, then you follow His Word to be a doer of the Word. After the work is done, the blessings come to those that are faithful to the Word.

Joshua 8:28 "And Joshua burnt Ai, and made it an heap for ever, even a desolation unto this day."

This city of Ai to this day is called "Tell", and in the Hebrew that means "Heap".

Joshua 8:29 "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 carcase 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 remaineth unto this day."

When you go back to the prior chapter, we read that this is the same thing that the people did to Achan and his family and wealth: stoned him, burned him and covered them with a heap of stones.

This law of carrying out the process of punishment of death is written in Deuteronomy 21:22-23; "And if a man have committed a sins worth of death, and he be to be put to death, and thou hand him on a tree:" [22] "His body shall not remain all night upon the tree, but thou shalt in any wise bury him that day; (for he that is hanged is accursed of God;) that thy land be not defiled, which the Lord thy God giveth thee for an inheritance."

Joshua 8:30 "Then Joshua built an altar unto the Lord God of Israel in mount Ebal,"

The altar that Joshua built to the Lord is just as God ordered it and gave it to Moses on Mount Sinai. A sketch of this will be at the close of this chapter. Historians have dug up this altar of Joshua's time, and it is proof to those living in these end times that the Word of God is true.

Joshua 8:31 "As Moses the servant of the Lord commanded the children of Israel, as it is written in the Book of the Law of Moses, an altar of whole stones, over which no man hath lift up any iron: and they offered thereon burnt offerings unto the Lord, and sacrificed peace offerings."

The altars that are made to God are to be made according to the law that God gave to Moses, as recorded in Exodus 20:24, 25. The altar is to be made with earth or unhewn stones, not altered by the hand of a man. Altars were build in locations to honor God, spots hallowed by religious association to events that happened in that location. On the altar, a victim or animal was sacrificed, it's blood spilled and burnt. The earth that lead to the altar must be gradual, because of the garments that the priests were required to wear. It kept the dignity of the priests in tact. Joshua built one of these altars at mount Ebal, to the Lord God and offered an peace offering to the Lord.

This "burnt offering" is called "Hiphil" of the verb "`alah" meaning "to ascend". The flame and smoke from the offering ascends by the burning to God, and the message being conveyed to God as something wholly given or burnt.

The "peace offering", called the Shelem, conveys the idea of peace on the ground of perfection of compensation or recompense. Thus it represents the thought of rendering payment of vows or praises because of peace that you enjoy. The giving of the peace offering is given eucharistic rather than propitiatory.

Joshua 8:32 "And he wrote there upon the stones a copy of the law of Moses, which he wrote in the presence of the children of Israel."

Joshua wrote a copy of the ten commandment and place it on that altar of God, while the children of Israel watch on. This has been done many other times down through history, when an altar was built a copy of the ten commandments was placed on that altar. This was continued by the Levitical priests many times, that the law would be made stable in the stones of the altar.

Joshua 8:33 "And all Israel, and their elders, and officers, and their judges, stood on this side of the ark and on that side before the priests the Levites, which bare the ark of the covenant of the Lord, as well the stranger, as he that was born among them; half of them over against mount Gerizim, and half of them over against mount Ebal; as Moses the servant of the Lord had commanded before, that they should bless the People of Israel."

Many years later Jesus met the woman at that well at Gerizim, and many people of that town were saved by her testimony. This was the location of this service that Joshua was having with all the people of Israel. The service was taking place at the altar of God, and only God's Word was taught.

Joshua 8:34 "And after ward he read all the words of the law, the blessings and the cursings, according to all that is written in the Book of the Law."

Those blessings and cursings are given to us in Deuteronomy 28, and all of the words of the law dealing with these instructions where made know and clear to the people of Israel at that time. In our day, People want to read and claim the blessings, but they fail to view the cursings. Both are important, and we should have an understanding of. True love is to instill in the minds of the congregation both the blessings and the cursings. Why? So when those cursings come down upon you, you know you are out of the will of God. Most people today want only the blessing preached in their church houses. If a teacher is teaching from the entire Word of God you will have both the blessings and the cursings, for only then can we learn how to please God. When we please God, then we get His blessings.

Joshua 8:35 "There was not a word of all that Moses commanded, which Joshua read not before all the congregation of Israel, with the women, and the little ones, and the strangers that were conversant among them.

Joshua taught the entire law of Moses to all of the nation. The women and little ones were there as well as all the strangers, not of Israel, that could talk and understand in the Hebrew tongue. They all were there for this sermon by Joshua on the law of God, by Moses. God doesn't change, nor does His Word. When Jesus came to this earth and became our sacrifice for sin for one and all times: this law was not done away with. Sure the parts dealing with animal sacrifice were done away with because they were fulfilled in the sacrifice of our Lord Jesus Christ: but not one jot or tittle of the law. Jesus told us in Matthew 5:17 "Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil."

Matthew 5:18 "For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, on jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled."

Until the Millennium age and the great white throne judgment of Revelation 20:11-15 takes place, and Satan and all his followers have marched into the lake of fire, the Word of God will stand just the way that God made it though Moses and the prophets of the Old Testament.

Matthew 5:19 "Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven."

The kingdom of heaven is where Jesus is; and Jesus is telling you that if you think that you can go around breaking His commandments, and teaching others to do so, He has no time or respect for you. If you tell others that the Old Testament is outdated and doesn't apply to us any more, Jesus is telling you that you are at the bottom of His list. He wants nothing to do with you. Jesus has laid out His entire plan for the ages within the entire Bible, and He expects us to learn the lessons that help us live in His will and please Him. Jesus is the Word, He is God and there is only one God. He was in the beginning, and just like you and I, He became flesh and dwelt amongst us.

John 1:1,2 "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God." Then go down to the fourteenth verse. "And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth." So is there two Gods? No, there is one God, and He is eternal, all powerful and knowing. There was no beginning to our Heavenly Father, nor to Jesus the Christ, for they are one and the same. On Man with two offices. This should be easy for us to understand, for many of us are fathers, and at the same time sons.

There are offices that we hold and when we are acting as Father, we act in one way, and as a son, we give respect to our father. When God entered into this earth age as a flesh and blood person, He entered this age the same way you and I did, by birth, through the womb of Mary, a woman. He was tried by Satan the same as we are, He saw the same trials of hunger and gossip that we face. The difference though between you and I and Christ is that we sin and deserve to die for our sins, and Christ was perfect, without sin. That is what made Him the Perfect Sacrifice for one and all times. Jesus willingly went to the cross to do that one thing that you and I could not do for ourselves: pay the price for your and my sins. Get it? He loved His created children so much that He was willing to go through what you and I go through, and then die in our place, so that He could have fellowship with you.

John 3:16 "For God so loved this world, that he gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life."

It was the Spirit of God Himself that planted that Divine seed in Mary, to allow Jesus to be born of woman, of the Virgin Mary. Because of the fall of Satan in that first earth age when one third of all souls rebelled and followed him, God brought about this second age we now live in. We are born into this age so that we [our soul] can be brought back in fellowship with God. God sent each soul through this earth age but once. Once to die, and then the judgment. Each soul is born into this world age of flesh man to live and choose between God and Satan before Satan is sent to the lake of fire.

God set the stage for all the earth ages and He presented it through the law and the prophets of the Old Testament, as well as the New Testament. When you start to pick and choose what you will accept and what you will reject, you are doing the accursed thing, mixing the things of this world with the Holy things that God has set up to guide you. Get it? That is what Achan started to do, and he brought it, that accursed thing right into the camp of God's people and God turned His back on the whole bunch for allowing it to happen. So now the choice is yours, what are you going to do with His holy Word, mess around with it? or study it to make yourself a workman that need not be ashamed before the throne of God.