The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him and what came to my heart and mind in Joshua 8:1-2,
"Then the Lord said to Joshua, 'Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged. Take the whole army with you, and go up and attack Ai. For I have delivered into your hands the king of Ai, his people, his city and his land. You shall do to Ai and its king as you did to Jericho and its king, except that you may carry off their plunder and livestock for yourselves. Set an ambush behind the city.'"
Following the victory of the Israelites over Jericho, and an initial rout at Ai, the Lord gives Joshua and the Israelites the direction to destroy Ai. After this was completed, using a masterful military strategy employed by the Israelites given them by God, here is the summary provided us: "When Israel had finished killing all the men of Ai in the fields and in the wilderness where they had chased them, and when every one of them had been put to the sword, all the Israelites returned to Ai and killed those who were in it. Twelve thousand men and women fell that day—all the people of Ai. For Joshua did not draw back the hand that held out his javelin until he had destroyed all who lived in Ai. But Israel did carry off for themselves the livestock and plunder of this city, as the Lord had instructed Joshua. So Joshua burned Ai and made it a permanent heap of ruins, a desolate place to this day. He impaled the body of the king of Ai on a pole and left it there until evening. At sunset, Joshua ordered them to take the body from the pole and throw it down at the entrance of the city gate. And they raised a large pile of rocks over it, which remains to this day." Joshua 8:24-29.
The entire city was annihilated and its king impaled on a pole till evening... thousands killed in a genocidal attack that left all dead. While we may find such an account shocking and at-odds with our concept of our loving God who commanded it, we really don't have a full account of what these people from Ai were culpable for. However, we do know the inhabitants of Palestine were given to idol worship, Numbers 33:52. They did not worship God, but false deities, whose worship included child sacrifice as well as other abominations.
God didn't ask the folks from Ai how they might feel about being annihilated. He didn't take a survey and didn't conduct a poll. These people had turned from the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, our Creator God, and turned to the abominations of idol worship. They did not served any purpose for the roll out of God's plan of redemption, and, in fact, by possessing a portion of the promised land, their presence impeded what God intended to do. Thus, they fell into the cross-hairs of God's judgment.
A cautionary tale, it helps remind us that, "It is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God." Hebrews 10:31. It also helps us to understand that God's perspective on life in this age, as well as the next, is different from ours. We recoil at the thought of destroying a whole city of people, we recoil at the notion of genocide.
"Then the Lord said to Joshua, 'Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged. Take the whole army with you, and go up and attack Ai. For I have delivered into your hands the king of Ai, his people, his city and his land. You shall do to Ai and its king as you did to Jericho and its king, except that you may carry off their plunder and livestock for yourselves. Set an ambush behind the city.'"
Following the victory of the Israelites over Jericho, and an initial rout at Ai, the Lord gives Joshua and the Israelites the direction to destroy Ai. After this was completed, using a masterful military strategy employed by the Israelites given them by God, here is the summary provided us: "When Israel had finished killing all the men of Ai in the fields and in the wilderness where they had chased them, and when every one of them had been put to the sword, all the Israelites returned to Ai and killed those who were in it. Twelve thousand men and women fell that day—all the people of Ai. For Joshua did not draw back the hand that held out his javelin until he had destroyed all who lived in Ai. But Israel did carry off for themselves the livestock and plunder of this city, as the Lord had instructed Joshua. So Joshua burned Ai and made it a permanent heap of ruins, a desolate place to this day. He impaled the body of the king of Ai on a pole and left it there until evening. At sunset, Joshua ordered them to take the body from the pole and throw it down at the entrance of the city gate. And they raised a large pile of rocks over it, which remains to this day." Joshua 8:24-29.
The entire city was annihilated and its king impaled on a pole till evening... thousands killed in a genocidal attack that left all dead. While we may find such an account shocking and at-odds with our concept of our loving God who commanded it, we really don't have a full account of what these people from Ai were culpable for. However, we do know the inhabitants of Palestine were given to idol worship, Numbers 33:52. They did not worship God, but false deities, whose worship included child sacrifice as well as other abominations.
God didn't ask the folks from Ai how they might feel about being annihilated. He didn't take a survey and didn't conduct a poll. These people had turned from the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, our Creator God, and turned to the abominations of idol worship. They did not served any purpose for the roll out of God's plan of redemption, and, in fact, by possessing a portion of the promised land, their presence impeded what God intended to do. Thus, they fell into the cross-hairs of God's judgment.
A cautionary tale, it helps remind us that, "It is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God." Hebrews 10:31. It also helps us to understand that God's perspective on life in this age, as well as the next, is different from ours. We recoil at the thought of destroying a whole city of people, we recoil at the notion of genocide.
Shall I insist that God begin seeing things my way, or should I work on seeing things his way?
Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!
If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just respond and let me know.
Trevor Fisk
trevor.fisk@gmail.com
Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!
If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just respond and let me know.
Trevor Fisk
trevor.fisk@gmail.com
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