From Joshua 8:1-29

I must admit, I am not an expert strategist.  As a matter of fact, I’m not even an amateur strategist.  The extent of my strategic knowledge comes from video games – for whatever that’s worth.  Still, Israel’s strategy here seems like it would be effective.  Joshua drew out the people in the city of Ai by pretending to retreat, then an ambush of Israelites came in from behind to raze the city.  In the chaos and panic that resulted, Israel destroyed the army of Ai.  Sounds like a pretty good plan, which makes it stand out a little.  Not that I doubt Israel’s strategic capabilities, but in many military conflicts God instructs the Israelites to go about the fight in a way that doesn’t necessarily make sense – just take the city of Jericho for example. Even though one could come to the conclusion that in this instance Israel could’ve done it one their own, God tells Joshua that He has given Ai into their hands.

We have a tendency to see our own skills and abilities involved in a situation and take credit for ourselves. But the conquest of Ai reminds us that even in those circumstances, without God there is never any success.  Fundamentally because all of our skills and abilities and gifts are from God in the first place, so even if those bring us success it is just an indirect gift from God.  These verses remind me of another line of thinking though – if God had told Joshua “keep retreating, because I will not give you this city today” then the city of Ai wouldn’t have fallen, regardless of how well off Israel was strategically. Every success we have would be impossible if God acted against us, so we give thanks for His mercy and grace for all of our successes and victories in life.

Focus on God

We are reminded in these verses that God is the source of all our blessings in life.

Function in Our Lives

We are encouraged to give thanks to God for everything good in our lives.

Topics to Pray About                                                               

  • Thank God for the blessings He has given to you.
  • Confess to God the times where you don’t think about His role in your life.
  • Ask God to help you glorify Him in everything you do.

In His Service,

J. LeBorious