Take All the Plunder
24When Israel had finished killing all the inhabitants of Ai in the field, in the wilderness in which they pursued them, and they had all fallen by the edge of the sword, until they were consumed, all Israel returned to Ai, and struck it with the edge of the sword. 25All that fell that day, both of men and women, were twelve thousand, even all the men of Ai. 26For Joshua didn’t draw back his hand, with which he stretched out the javelin, until he had utterly destroyed all the inhabitants of Ai. 27Israel took for themselves only the livestock and the goods of that city, according to Yahweh’s word which he commanded Joshua. 28So Joshua burned Ai, and made it a heap forever, even a desolation, to this day. 29He hanged the king of Ai on a tree until the evening, and at sundown Joshua commanded, and they took his body down from the tree, and threw it at the entrance of the gate of the city, and raised a great heap of stones on it that remains to this day. 30Then Joshua built an altar to Yahweh, the God of Israel, on Mount Ebal, 31as Moses the servant of Yahweh commanded the children of Israel, as it is written in the book of the law of Moses, an altar of uncut stones, on which no one had lifted up any iron. They offered burnt offerings on it to Yahweh and sacrificed peace offerings. 32He wrote there on the stones a copy of Moses’ law, which he wrote in the presence of the children of Israel. 33All Israel, their elders and officers, and their judges, stood on both sides of the ark before the priests the Levites, who carried the ark of Yahweh’s covenant, the foreigner as well as the native; half of them in front of Mount Gerizim, and half of them in front of Mount Ebal, as Moses the servant of Yahweh had commanded at the first, that they should bless the people of Israel. 34Afterward he read all the words of the law, the blessing and the curse, according to all that is written in the book of the law. 35There was not a word of all that Moses commanded, which Joshua didn’t read before all the assembly of Israel, with the women, the little ones, and the foreigners who were among them.
Proverbs 3:16-17 tells us that length of days is in God’s right hand and riches and honor in his left, that his ways are ways of pleasantness and all his paths are peace. The point of this verse is that God lacks nothing. If his children will only trust him as their Father and live by faith, he stands waiting to give them at once the blessings of heaven he holds in both hands. Those who have such a Father can keep their hearts at peace even when the world turns to deep darkness, and they can live a joyful life without fear.
Achan’s sin brought suffering on Israel, but because they buried that sin in the Valley of Achor, God pardoned them. Having forgiven Israel, God went with them into the battle for Ai and helped them win a great victory.
Joshua 8:1
1Yahweh said to Joshua, “Don’t be afraid, and don’t be dismayed. Take all the warriors with you, and arise, go up to Ai. Behold, I have given into your hand the king of Ai, with his people, his city, and his land.
When God helps, no battle is hard. Israel still had to go out to the battlefield and fight to overcome their enemies, to be sure, but God had told them that he had already won the battle, so all Joshua had to do was give his best. When Joshua had been confident that he could take Ai easily, he did not even go out to the battle himself. He thought they were bound to win again, because they had met no great difficulty all the way from Egypt to Canaan.
But Israel had won until then because the God who worked on their behalf had not rested for a moment. And now that they had entered Canaan, their destination, they could have received even greater blessing, yet their complacency kept it from them. To take away Israel’s sin, God singled out Achan, and Israel buried him in the Valley of Achor.
Once Achan—that is, the sin—was gone, God told them they might take all the goods and livestock they captured at Ai. Forgiven, Israel could now keep all the plunder. This is the blessing that comes to those who live according to God’s will.
Since God is the Creator, all things in heaven and on earth belong to him. To stress that God is the Creator is to say that he has no reason to withhold what his children need. Yet people miss God’s blessing because they cannot let go of the greed that wants to make what is God’s their own. If God’s children, instead of clinging to possessions, came to understand what he counts as sin and what kind of life he wants them to live, they would be able to enjoy far more.
Even if greed had risen in Achan, had he overcome that craving by faith he would not have had to die over one robe and a little gold and silver, and he could have taken as much from Ai as he wanted. We too may long for whatever our greed reaches after, but if we conquer that desire by faith, we can be free of sin.
Everyone wants the world. But only when the time God permits has come can we own wealth that will never be taken from us again, so spiritual growth must come first. Without fully knowing God, we cannot receive the long life and riches that fill his hands, even when he shows them to us and promises to give them to us, because this blessing belongs only to those who have faith.
Joshua 8:4
4He commanded them, saying, “Behold, you shall lie in ambush against the city, behind the city. Don’t go very far from the city, but all of you be ready.
God commanded Joshua to set an ambush behind Ai. He was telling him to post troops in secret who would lie hidden behind the city and strike without warning the moment the enemy showed a weakness. Hearing God’s command, Joshua went up to Ai with thirty thousand soldiers. As God had instructed, he set five thousand men in ambush, led the rest before the city, and called out to the king of Ai, who opened the city gate and came out to pursue Israel.
Here, too, we can see the king of Ai’s mistake: having beaten Israel once, he did not weigh his decision with care. It is true that he had won a great victory in the last battle. But the miracles and power displayed through Israel from the time they left Egypt until they reached Canaan were not something a single battle could overturn. Because this battle was fought on a plan God himself had laid, Ai was bound to lose. Still, had its king been a little more cautious, he would not have lost his city so absurdly. When he saw the soldiers of Israel, he was sure he could win again, and that is why he threw the city gates wide open and came out.
Joshua 8:18
18Yahweh said to Joshua, “Stretch out the javelin that is in your hand toward Ai, for I will give it into your hand.” Joshua stretched out the javelin that was in his hand toward the city.
God told Joshua exactly when to attack. When the king of Ai opened the gate and came out, God made one company pretend to be beaten and flee toward the wilderness. And when the king and his soldiers had followed them too far to protect the city, he made them turn back and strike it. Everything has its appointed time, and so we can win only if we obey God’s word with all our strength the moment his command is given.
If Israel had decided an ambush was unnecessary and had not laid one, though God told them to, they would have failed again. Even though God had promised to help them win, if they did not obey, failure, sad to say, was the only possible outcome. And even with the gate of Ai standing open, without soldiers lying in ambush, taking the city would have been very hard. Had they only obeyed the word of God, who shapes history and every human life, they could have taken Ai this easily, yet they had lost precious lives. For God’s people, who cannot see even what lies just ahead, obedience is wisdom and understanding.
When God’s command came, Joshua raised his javelin and pointed it toward Ai. At that the men in ambush entered the city, and the Israelite soldiers who had been pursued turned and attacked the men of Ai. When we obey as God has shown us, there is no opponent to fear. This holds for everything—business, people, money, even the powers of this world. If you obey God’s word, you will find nothing on earth to fear.
Isaiah 41:8-12
8“But you, Israel, my servant, Jacob whom I have chosen, the offspring of Abraham my friend, 9You whom I have taken hold of from the ends of the earth, and called from its corners, and said to you, ‘You are my servant, I have chosen you and have not cast you away.’ 10Don’t you be afraid, for I am with you. Don’t be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you. Yes, I will help you. Yes, I will uphold you with the right hand of my righteousness. 11Behold, all those who are incensed against you will be disappointed and confounded. Those who strive with you will be like nothing, and shall perish. 12You will seek them, and won’t find them, even those who contend with you. Those who war against you will be as nothing, as a non-existent thing.
Israel had been taken captive because they did not live by God’s word, yet God is still sending them a love that is earnest and full of longing. He called those who had been carried off as slaves for their sin the offspring of Abraham his friend, Jacob whom he had chosen. Seeing God long for them like this, even we sinners feel sorrow and shame, for his longing is as deep as that of the father who waited for the prodigal son.
Israel, the very people he had loved, forsook God, but God, who had cherished them in love, could not abandon them. The God who tells his people that he has taken hold of them, called them, and chosen them, and has not cast them away, is the Father of us all.
That love was proven true through the cross of Jesus, and God kept his promise to see us through to the end. Yet just as Israel did not repent even as they were led into captivity, we go on sinning while we enjoy the love and sacrifice of the cross. What we must not forget is that sin always carries its price. God does love Israel, but he rebukes them because he cannot overlook his children’s sin. He holds his people to account for their sin, yet he urges them not to fear or be dismayed but to obey his word, for once they recognize their sin and turn back, he will help them.
Isaiah 41:11-12 says that those who are incensed against you will be disappointed and confounded, that those who strive with you will perish, and that however hard you search for those who fought against you, you will never find them. This is not a promise that God will take your side no matter what. There is a condition attached: ‘if you stand upright and whole.’ What he promises is that if you obey the word and grow mature in faith, he who created the world will hold your right hand and help you.
In the end, what God wants from us is a love that runs both ways, between him and us. Even our ability to love God comes from the grace he has given, and obeying his word is finally for our own good. Even so, we cast that love of his aside so easily.
The real pity is that people forsake so mighty a God and live in fear of the world. Those who believe that God is at work at every time and in every place have no reason to fear the world, and their boldness springs from that. Trusting that God will protect them even under Satan’s attack and the persecution of men, they neither fear the world nor are startled when hardship meets them.
Isaiah 41:15
15Behold, I have made you into a new sharp threshing instrument with teeth. You will thresh the mountains, and beat them small, and will make the hills like chaff.
God also made a remarkable promise: if you only stay by his side, he will make you into a new sharp threshing instrument with teeth and turn everything that torments you into crumbs and chaff, so that you will look for it and not find it. What he means is this. For now you are being trained to be born anew as God’s people, and you may meet wicked people and evil circumstances, but if you grow, evil spirits and wicked people will be so afraid of the heavenly authority you carry that they cannot stand before you, and you will never see them again. If we believe this word will surely come to pass, we can be bold.
If you only grow well, evil spirits will leave you, knowing that you are armed with the truth and will not be shaken by their attacks, and the wicked will vanish from your sight, having bowed down before the spiritual authority you hold. So you need not take revenge or fight in a temper. If you live by God’s will, you can be at peace.
Friends, I hope you will love the God who chose you and protects you. Then, seeing yourself made bold and unafraid, you can be filled all the more. As you grow in faith, you will see how small the world is, and you will realize that all the things you once feared so much pose no threat to you at all.
The men of Ai and Bethel had beaten Israel once, and on the strength of that experience they readily left their gates open and followed Israel out of the city. What they were doing now was the very mistake Israel had made when it was proud. When the king of Ai, deceived by Israel’s ambush, opened the gate and came out, Yahweh told Joshua to stretch out the javelin in his hand toward Ai, and said he would give the city into Joshua’s hand.
Israel obeyed God’s word and won a great victory. Just as God had promised to give them all the plunder taken from Ai, the Israelites received a great deal of spoil. In the same way, when God’s people first stand upright, he rewards them so that they can take on a greater calling, and he supplies everything they need along the way. But anyone who lets greed lead and reaches first for worldly wealth, power, and ability will end up with nothing. If you have taken as much as you wanted and God has not disciplined you, you must understand that he is not holding you as his child. That is a punishment more fearful than any rebuke.
Friends, my hope is that before anything else you will preach the gospel to yourself, so that your soul may prosper. If you read the Bible to yourself and fill yourself with the word, bring yourself into the company of people of faith who can labor alongside you, and pray to God so that you are equipped with spiritual power, you will become someone God can use for great things. God will see you, now mature, holding your lamp high to light up those around you. He will fill you with oil so that you can bear still more of his work, and he will set you on high and bring you honor.
In the end, the people of Ai were defeated by their own pride. Because God strikes at a proud heart, whether it is found in Israel or in the world, we must always remain humble. Through the war with Ai, Israel came to understand what it means to serve God without reserve. Only those who know sin as sin and turn from it can live as God’s people.
Israel had suffered shame and disgrace at the hands of Ai, a city not to be compared with Jericho. When they repented, God made that shame and disgrace depart and caused them to win a great victory in which the king of Ai was judged.
Joshua 8:31
31as Moses the servant of Yahweh commanded the children of Israel, as it is written in the book of the law of Moses, an altar of uncut stones, on which no one had lifted up any iron. They offered burnt offerings on it to Yahweh and sacrificed peace offerings.
After his great victory over Ai, Joshua built an altar of new, uncut stones on Mount Ebal and offered sacrifices there. As they presented burnt offerings and peace offerings, the people repented of having failed to give God a whole life, and they offered those sacrifices with hearts resolved to give themselves to him.
In Deuteronomy 27 Moses commanded that when they crossed the Jordan into the land, they were to set up stones on Mount Ebal, use no iron tool on them, and write the law on those stones. Just as Moses had commanded, Joshua built an altar of uncut stones on Mount Ebal and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings. He forgot nothing Moses had commanded and obeyed it all. Joshua wrote the law on the stones set up on Mount Ebal and read all the words of the law aloud to the people. He taught the word first of all, because obedience and devotion that stray from the word can become sin against God—and because only those who know the word can live as God’s people.
People today do not know what true faith is. They take the years they have attended church and the offices they hold as the measure of faith, and they pay no attention to the word. They follow their own experience and the common sense of the world rather than the law and the word God has established, and they call that faith. Such thinking is just like the king of Ai coming out through his gates, and like Joshua’s mistake of sending three thousand men against Ai apart from God’s will. And when someone tells them that this is not true faith, that it is not faith at all, they grow as angry as the Pharisees.
People come to church less out of interest in what Jesus said than to receive visible miracles and blessings. They think that going to church will get them into heaven and help them prosper in this life as well, and for that reason they take no interest in God’s word. They believe worldly success is God’s blessing and is faith itself. The word of truth, delivered just as it is without being softened, pierces every heart, which is why people find it uncomfortable to hear a sermon with nothing added and nothing taken away.
In response, the church runs itself much like the world to keep people from leaving, trimming and polishing the word to tell them what is pleasant to hear. The church has corrupted itself until it can no longer preach the truth as it is. Only those who endure, and endure again, in order to live by the word can win God’s approval, yet even believers want to hear words that are false and dressed up. But the blessing that comes with obedience cannot be compared with anything the world gives, so the church must throw away the false gospel and preach nothing but God’s word. A war between the Creator and his creatures is no contest at all. Problems we cannot solve though we try a hundred times vanish like mist at a single word from God: such is his power.
Friends, I hope you will do right by God, and that you will be candid and honest with him. If there is love for God in your heart, may you work to keep other souls from stumbling and serve the church faithfully. I pray, too, that you will never show the folly of the king of Ai, who threw his own gates wide open, nor harbor the pride that would conquer Ai with three thousand soldiers without God’s leave.
God loves most those who labor to save souls, so let us always be careful in word and deed and wise in our judgments. As the time spent in that effort adds up, before we know it we will find ourselves standing in a place of peace, a place of plenty, a place of faithfulness.
May you live always for the Lord alone, with a mature faith, enjoying the blessings of heaven. In the name of Jesus Christ I earnestly pray this blessing over you.