Joshua 8:1

Now the LORD said to Joshua,
“Do not fear or be dismayed.
Take all the people of war with you and arise, go up to Ai;
see, I have given into your hand the king of Ai, his people, his city, and his land.

“You shall do to Ai and its king just as you did to Jericho and its king;
you shall take only its spoil and its cattle as plunder for yourselves.
Set an ambush for the city behind it.”

The Lord was giving Joshua instruction and encouragement.

Why would Joshua have feared Ai?
The Lord tells him to do as they did with Jericho.

Does this mean to march around?
Joshua knew the great victory they had there.

So, why fear?

The previous chapter tells us.

They had already gone up against Ai once.
They were defeated!

Why?

Firstly, pride/hubris/arrogance.
They started believing that they were the source of the victory…

Jos 7:2-3
Now Joshua sent men from Jericho to Ai, which is near Beth-aven, east of Bethel, and said to them, “Go up and spy out the land.”
So the men went up and spied out Ai.

They returned to Joshua and said to him,
“Do not let all the people go up; only about two or three thousand men need go up to Ai;
do not make all the people toil up there, for they are few.”

The spies said “we don’t need all the men”…we can defeat with little.

Note the Lord now tells them to take all the people of war.
We have the same picture today.
We need the fullness of the Body of Christ for the battle we are in.

Then, secondly…and more importantly…the people of the Lord had been unfaithful related to the things that the Lord had banned.

Joshua 7:1
But the sons of Israel acted unfaithfully in regard to the things under the ban, for Achan,
the son of Carmi, the son of Zabdi, the son of Zerah, from the tribe of Judah, took some of the things under the ban, therefore the anger of the LORD burned against the sons of Israel.

(Read chapter 7 if you are unfamiliar/do not remember what occurred.)

One person had been unfaithful.
One family paid the price.
One people were defeated because of it.

Think on that.

Now, we know why Joshua might have been reticent as to Ai.

But the Lord tells him that he would be victorious.

Have you failed at something?
Is the Lord telling you to “try again”?
Be faithful and obedient in His power.

Fear not.
Do it.
The Lord will give it into your hands.

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