Israel experienced defeat the first time they went up against the city of Ai because Achan stole some of the devoted things from Jericho. But now that incident has been dealt with and the Lord gives the Israelites a do-over.
We've all messed up from time to time but the Lord doesn't want us mired in the past. If we've repented to Him, He wants us to move on. The Lord knows the people are discouraged by their previous defeat, and because He does not want them mired in the past, He encourages them before the battle. "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.'" (Joshua 8:1-2)
The people were not allowed to plunder anything from Jericho when they destroyed it; only the items intended for the Lord's treasury were removed from the city. We might say that the city of Jericho was something like a firstfruits offering to the Lord. It was the first city in the promised land that the Lord gave over to Israel's army. He made the wall fall down so they could rush into the city and He deserved the credit for their victory. Allowing the soldiers to plunder the first city they destroyed on this side of the Jordan might have resulted in a self-congratulatory spirit. Burning all the items except the precious metals for the Lord's treasury resulted in a thankful spirit. It was like saying, "Lord, we owe it all to You." It was also like saying, "I ask nothing for myself. I want all the glory and honor to go to the Lord." It made the statement, "I'd rather have the Lord in my life than anything this world can offer me."
Now that the people (with the exception of the sinful Achan) have offered the firstfruits to the Lord, they are allowed to plunder Ai when they conquer it. If only Achan had exercised some self-control at Jericho he could have had much plunder at Ai! But he had no desire to deny himself for a season in order to give glory to God. He put himself ahead of God and when we put ourselves ahead of God we start doing carnal things. We start going our own way, ignoring the guidance of the Holy Spirit and allowing ourselves to be led by sinful desires.
"So Joshua and the whole army moved out to attack Ai." (Joshua 8:3a) As I said when studying our previous chapter, some have criticized Joshua for only sending a small portion of the army against Ai the first time. But based on the number of Ai's soldiers according to the Israelite spies, the three thousand men Joshua sent should have been enough. And they would have been enough had there not been sin in the camp of Israel. I don't think Joshua did wrong in only sending three thousand men the first time; that is not the reason Israel was defeated. But the Lord instructs Joshua to send the whole army the second time Israel goes against Ai and I feel the reason for this is so all the soldiers of Israel can regain their confidence. They've suffered a shocking and discouraging defeat. They feel a sense of national shame for what their fellow citizen Achan did. They're mourning the deaths of thirty-six soldiers who were struck down in the first battle. It's important for them all to participate in the successful taking of Ai. They could have conquered Ai with fewer men, militarily speaking, but from a spiritual and emotional standpoint they all need to participate in this fight so they can all participate in the victory.
When we fall into sin and realize our mistake and repent of it, what's to be gained by continuing to lie there in the dust? Nothing. The Lord wants to pick us up, dust us off, and send us forward with encouraging words. If we are feeling ashamed and beaten down by the things in our past---things we've already repented of---it's because we are putting ourselves down. The Lord isn't bringing our past up to us. He doesn't keep pointing at it and saying, "Remember what you did back there?" He does for us what He does for Israel in our passage today: He puts us back on the right path and points us toward the future. It doesn't honor the One who forgave us for our sins when we don't allow ourselves to get past our past. We can't be effective soldiers for the Lord if we can't stop thinking about defeats we experienced way back yonder somewhere. The Lord doesn't dwell on the past and neither should we. The Israelites are going to be successful on their second foray to Ai and that's because they are going to put the past behind them and move forward with the Lord.
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