Studies in the Life of Joshua

#9 The Call to Battle Joshua 8:1-35

No matter what mistakes we may make, the worst mistake of all is not to try again;

for “the victorious Christian life is a series of new beginnings” (Alexander Whyte).

The following quotation runs contrary to what most people today think about life, including people in the church. It was said in a sermon preached on August 12, 1849,  by F.W. Robertson: “Life, like war, is a series of mistakes, and he is not the best Christian nor the best general who makes the fewest false steps. Poor mediocrity may secure that; but he is the best who wins the most splendid victories by the retrieval of mistakes. Forget mistakes; organize victories out of mistakes.^8-1

Henry Ford defined a mistake as “an opportunity to begin again, more intelligently.” Joshua would also have agreed, because he is about to “begin again, more intelligently” and organize a victory out of his mistakes.

No matter what mistakes we may make, the worst mistake of all is not to try again; for “the victorious Christian life is a series of new beginnings” (Alexander Whyte).

Comfort From the Lord (vs. 1a)

“Then the LORD said to Joshua, "Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.

Discouragement over the past and fear of the future are the two reactions that often accompany failure. We look back and remember the mistakes that we made, and then we look ahead and wonder whether there’s any future for people who fail so foolishly.

The answer to our discouragement and fear is in hearing and believing God’s Word: “Fear not, neither be thou dismayed” (v. 1).  God never discourages His people from making progress. As long as we obey His commandments, we have the privilege of claiming His promises. God delights “to show Himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect [wholly devoted] toward Him” (2 Chron. 16:9).

The victory over Ai would be Israel’s first true military victory in the land. God was no longer angry with Israel, since atonement had been made for its sin, and the task now was to get on with the conquest. With the sin of Achan judged, God’s favor toward the nation was restored. Thus, He gave the city of Ai into the Israelites’ hands, which they captured via an elaborate ambush.^[1]

It was fitting too that all the people should witness with their own eyes the happy consequences of having faithfully put away the sin which had separated them from God.

The next thing we read concerns God’s new revelation to Joshua to both encourage him and give him directions for victory. The first words Joshua heard were “Do not fear or be dismayed.”

Joshua had heard these words before. These are special words to encour­age God’s people when facing the enemy:

·         These were the words Moses spoke in Kadesh-barnea as he sent out the 12 spies (Deut. 12:21).

·         These were also the words Joshua heard from Moses 40 years later as he turned the reins of leadership over to Joshua who would then be responsible to take the nation into the land of promise (Deut. 31:8).

·         Joshua would hear similar words directly from the Lord as He commissioned him to lead the people into the land (Josh. 1:9).

·         Joshua would use these same words to encourage the nation in the face of their enemies, and they would be used on three other occasions when Judah would be facing the enemy and terrible odds (Josh. 8:1; 10:25; 2 Chron. 20:15, 17; 32:7).

This serves to remind us that God is a God of comfort who wants to comfort and encourage us through His Word:

(Isaiah 40:1 NIV)  Comfort, comfort my people, says your God.

(Romans 15:4 NIV)  For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through endurance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.

(2 Corinthians 1:3 NIV)  Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort….

Once the nation of Israel had judged the sin that had defiled their camp, God was free to speak to them in mercy and direct them in their conquest of the land. “The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord, and He delights in his way. Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down; for the Lord upholds him with His hand” (Ps. 37:23-24, nkjv).

You start with the Word of God. We today don’t hear God’s audible voice as people often did in Bible times, but we have the Word of God before us and the Spirit of God within us; and God will direct us if we wait patiently before Him.

Directions From the Lord (vss. 1b-2)

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. {2} 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."

The sins of Achan had broken the special relationship God had established with His people, and so God reiterated His encouragement to Joshua. These words reinforce the statement of 7:26 that God had forgiven Israel, that He had “turned from the fierceness of His anger.” people of war: The usual term is “men of war” (5:4, 6). This phrase seems to emphasize the unity of the entire nation in doing battle, even though it was most likely only the men who actually engaged in the battles. I have given: The conquest of the city was certain because God had willed it.^[2]

With God’s blessing assured through the words of comfort, a few specific directions are given.

(1) Don’t make the same mistake twice: God’s word to Joshua was to use all the fighting men of Israel. Though the primary cause of the defeat at Ai was Achan’s sin, a secondary cause was underestimating the enemy, overestimating themselves, and presuming on the Lord (cf. 7:3‑4). So they are now told to take all the fighting men and to go forth at God’s command trusting in the fact it was God who would give them victory.

(2) Turn the place of defeat into the place of victory: Notice what happens here. Joshua is told to again go up and attack Ai. He is to return to the place of defeat, and now, because Joshua and the people are rightly related to the Lord, God promised they could turn the place of defeat into a place of victory.

(3) The basis of victory is always the same: The words, “just as with Jericho” reminds us that victory at Ai would not only be as complete as that at Jericho, but that as with Jericho, it would come by the power of God regardless of the strategy used. God wants our places of defeat turned into places of victory. We are not to live with defeat or accept it as the norm for the Christian life. But as always, victory comes through faith in God’s presence and provision.

(4) The spoils of victory promised—the irony of God’s blessing: In verse 2 Joshua was told that the spoils of Ai and its livestock could now be taken by Israel. As the first fruits of the land, Jericho had been placed under the ban, but this was not the case with Ai. What irony! Achan’s dissatisfaction, unsuppressed by patience and trust in the Lord for his needs, actually caused him to miss precisely what he longed for and much more. He wasted his life.

“If only Achan had suppressed his greedy and selfish desires and obeyed God’s word at Jericho he would later have had all his heart desired and God’s blessing too. How easy it is to take matters into our own hands and go ahead of the Lord!”[3]  The path of obedi­ence and faith is always best.

(5) A change in strategies (vs. 2b): The strategy used with Ai differed entirely from that employed at Jericho. This is highly instructive for us in ministry, in spiritual battles, or in the way God leads us. “The Israelites did not march around the walls of Ai seven times, nor did the walls fall miraculously.”[4] Israel was now directed to conquer the city through normal combat.

Principle: We should not expect God to work the same way or lead us always the same way. We need to be open and sensitive to the various ways God may lead. As the Sovereign God of the universe, He is never limited to one particular method to accomplish His purposes.

The Strategy for the Battle (8:3-13)

{3} So Joshua and the whole army moved out to attack Ai. He chose thirty thousand of his best fighting men and sent them out at night {4} with these orders: "Listen carefully. You are to set an ambush behind the city. Don't go very far from it. All of you be on the alert. {5} I and all those with me will advance on the city, and when the men come out against us, as they did before, we will flee from them. {6} They will pursue us until we have lured them away from the city, for they will say, 'They are running away from us as they did before.' So when we flee from them, {7} you are to rise up from ambush and take the city. The LORD your God will give it into your hand. {8} When you have taken the city, set it on fire. Do what the LORD has commanded. See to it; you have my orders."

{9} Then Joshua sent them off, and they went to the place of ambush and lay in wait between Bethel and Ai, to the west of Ai--but Joshua spent that night with the people. {10} Early the next morning Joshua mustered his men, and he and the leaders of Israel marched before them to Ai. {11} The entire force that was with him marched up and approached the city and arrived in front of it. They set up camp north of Ai, with the valley between them and the city. {12} Joshua had taken about five thousand men and set them in ambush between Bethel and Ai, to the west of the city. {13} They had the soldiers take up their positions--all those in the camp to the north of the city and the ambush to the west of it. That night Joshua went into the valley.

On the face of it, this section seems to describe two ambush forces sent out on two different days (vv. 3–9 and 10–13; especially vv. 3, 12). However, this is not according to God’s instructions in v. 2, and it presents the particular difficulty of a first (improbably large) ambush force of 30,000 men (v. 3) being forced to spend two nights and a day in hiding near Ai without being detected by its inhabitants (vv. 3, 9, 13). Note also that the entire population of Ai, according to v. 25, is only 12,000. More probably, there was one ambush force. If so, the best way of understanding the section sees vv. 11–13 as a parenthetical aside, recapitulating the events already described in vv. 3–9.

Thus the sequence of events would be as follows. Joshua commissioned a group of perhaps 5000 men to lie in ambush west of Ai, as Yahweh had instructed (vv. 2–4, 12, 13). He sent them out (v. 9), along with another fighting force (“the people of war”) to be stationed north of the city (v. 11), and he himself spent the night with them (vv. 9, 13). He and the people went up to Ai the next morning (v. 10).^[5]

God is not only the God of new beginnings, but He’s also the God of infinite variety. God changes His leaders lest we start trusting flesh and blood instead of trusting the Lord, and He changes His methods lest we start depending on our personal experience instead of on His divine promises.

The strategy God gave Joshua for taking Ai was almost opposite the strategy He used at Jericho. The Jericho operation involved a week of marches that were carried on openly in the daylight. The attack on Ai involved a covert night operation that prepared the way for the daylight assault. The whole army was united at Jericho, but Joshua divided the army for the attack on Ai. God performed a mighty miracle at Jericho when He caused the walls to fall down flat, but there was no such miracle at Ai. Joshua and his men simply obeyed God’s instructions by setting an ambush and luring the people of Ai out of their city, and the Lord gave them the victory.

It’s important that we seek God’s will for each undertaking so that we don’t depend on past victories as we plan for the future. The World War II song “We did it before/And we can do it again!” doesn’t always apply to the work of the Lord. How easy is it for Christian ministries to dig their way into administrative ruts that eventually become graves, simply because the leadership fails to discern whether God wants to do something new for them. The American business leader Bruce Barton (1886-1967) said, “When you’re through changing, you’re through.”

The strategy for Ai was based on Israel’s previous defeat; for God was organizing victory out of Joshua’s mistakes. The people of Ai were overconfident because they had defeated Israel at the first attack, and this overconfidence would be their undoing. “We did it before, and we can do it again!”

At night Joshua and his army marched fifteen miles from Gilgal to Ai; and, using 30,000 soldiers, Joshua set up an ambush behind the city from the west (vv. 3-9). He put another 5,000 men between Ai and Bethel, which was about two miles away (v. 12). This detachment would make sure that the army from Bethel wouldn’t make a surprise attack from the northwest and open another “front.” The rocky terrain in the highlands around Ai made it easy for Joshua to conceal his soldiers, and the whole operation was done at night.

The plan was simple but effective. Leading the rest of the Jewish army, Joshua would make a frontal attack on Ai from the north. His men would flee as they had done the first time and by fleeing draw the self-confident people of Ai away from the protection of their city. At Joshua’s signal the soldiers lying in ambush would enter the city and set it on fire. The people of Ai would be caught between two armies, and the third army would deal with any assistance that might come from Bethel.

Being a good general, Joshua lodged with his army (v. 9). He certainly encouraged them to trust the Lord and believe His promise for victory. The Captain of the host of the Lord (5:14) would go before them because they obeyed His Word and trusted His promises.

The work of the Lord requires strategy, and Christian leaders must seek the mind of the Lord in their planning. Like Joshua, we must get the facts and weigh them carefully as we seek the will of God. Too often, the work of the Lord only drifts along on the tide of time, without any rudder or compass to give direction; and the results are disappointing. Our English word strategy comes from two Greek words that together mean “to lead an army.” Leadership demands planning, and planning is an important part of strategy.

Regarding the 30,000 Ryrie points out,  “A seemingly large number for an ambush. It has been suggested that “thousand” should read “chief.” If so, Joshua sent 30 chiefs on a commando-type ambush.[6]

The second contingent was the main army which walked the 15 miles from Gilgal early the next morning and camped in plain view on the north side of Ai. Led by Joshua, this army was a diversionary force to decoy the defenders of Ai out of the city.

The third contingent was another ambush numbering 5,000 men who were positioned between Bethel and Ai to cut off the possibility of reinforcements from Bethel to aid the men of Ai.[7]

The Description of the Battle  (8:14-29) -- Ai emptied (Josh. 8:14-17).

{14} When the king of Ai saw this, he and all the men of the city hurried out early in the morning to meet Israel in battle at a certain place overlooking the Arabah. But he did not know that an ambush had been set against him behind the city. {15} Joshua and all Israel let themselves be driven back before them, and they fled toward the desert. {16} All the men of Ai were called to pursue them, and they pursued Joshua and were lured away from the city. {17} Not a man remained in Ai or Bethel who did not go after Israel. They left the city open and went in pursuit of Israel.

When morning dawned, the king of Ai saw the army of Israel positioned before the city, ready to attack. Confident of victory, he led his men out of the city and against the Jews. “They are the most in danger,” said Matthew Henry, “who are least aware of it.” Joshua and his men began to flee, and this gave the men of Ai even more assurance of victory.

Bethel is an important city in the Bible. It has a fine pedigree that goes back to patriarchal times, when Abraham offered a sacrifice to God there (Gen. 13:3) and Jacob had a dream from God there (Gen. 28:10–22). Bethel was near Ai to the west (7:2), although its exact site is disputed. The inhabitants of Bethel came out of their city to help the men of Ai. Since the Israelite ambush was stationed between Bethel and Ai, they may have felt threatened by the Israelites. Or it may be that Ai was a small outpost for the larger city of Bethel (7:3) and an attack on Ai was understood to be an attack on Bethel. The text does not record Bethel’s defeat, although its king is listed among those conquered by Joshua (12:16). It may be that in the defeat of Ai, Bethel was also defeated and no further reference was needed.^[8]

According to verse 17, the men of Bethel were also involved in the attack; but no details are given. Whether they were already in Ai or arrived on the scene just in time, we aren’t told; but their participation led to the defeat of their city (12:16) as well as Ai.

It was careless of the people of Ai to leave their city undefended, but such are the follies of self-confidence. When a small army sees a large army flee without even fighting, it gives them a feeling of superiority that can lead to defeat.

Ai captured (Josh. 8:18-20).

{18} Then the LORD said to Joshua, "Hold out toward Ai the javelin that is in your hand, for into your hand I will deliver the city." So Joshua held out his javelin toward Ai. {19} As soon as he did this, the men in the ambush rose quickly from their position and rushed forward. They entered the city and captured it and quickly set it on fire. {20} The men of Ai looked back and saw the smoke of the city rising against the sky, but they had no chance to escape in any direction, for the Israelites who had been fleeing toward the desert had turned back against their pursuers.

Conscious that the battle was the Lord’s (1 Sam. 17:47; 2 Chron. 20:15), Joshua waited for further instructions. God then told him to lift up his spear toward the city (Josh. 8:18). This was the signal for the other troops to enter the city and burn it, but the signal had to be given at just the right time. The men of Ai and Bethel were trapped, and it was a simple matter for the army of Israel to destroy them. Joshua held up his spear until the victory was won (v. 26), an action that reminds us of the battle Joshua fought against Amalek when Moses held up his hands to the Lord (Ex. 17:8-16).

Among all the cities that the Israelites captured, only three are said to have been burned: Jericho (6:24), Ai (8:19), and Hazor (11:11). The people of Israel were to live in and enjoy the cities of the land. Most of Israel’s battles were in the field; they generally did not have to destroy the cities.^[9]

Ai’s army and people destroyed (Josh. 8:21-29).

{21} For when Joshua and all Israel saw that the ambush had taken the city and that smoke was going up from the city, they turned around and attacked the men of Ai. {22} The men of the ambush also came out of the city against them, so that they were caught in the middle, with Israelites on both sides. Israel cut them down, leaving them neither survivors nor fugitives. {23} But they took the king of Ai alive and brought him to Joshua. {24} When Israel had finished killing all the men of Ai in the fields and in the desert 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. {25} Twelve thousand men and women fell that day--all the people of Ai. {26} For Joshua did not draw back the hand that held out his javelin until he had destroyed all who lived in Ai.

{27} But Israel did carry off for themselves the livestock and plunder of this city, as the LORD had instructed Joshua. {28} So Joshua burned Ai and made it a permanent heap of ruins, a desolate place to this day. {29} He hung the king of Ai on a tree and left him there until evening. At sunset, Joshua ordered them to take his body from the tree 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.

Seeing the smoke of the city, Joshua’s men stopped fleeing, and they turned and attacked the army of Ai that was pursuing them. After the Jewish soldiers in Ai left the city, they joined in the battle. The enemy was then caught between two armies. “Israel cut them down, leaving them neither survivors nor fugitives” (v. 22, niv).

Once the army was annihilated, the rest of the population of the city was destroyed, just as at Jericho (vv. 24-25; 6:21, 24). Keep in mind that this was not the “slaughter of innocent people” but the judgment of God on an evil society that had long resisted His grace and truth.

Joshua did not draw back his hand: This verse shows Joshua maintaining his arm outstretched, with his spear in hand, until the defeat of Ai was completed. The upraised spear was more than a signal to start the battle; it was also a symbol of God’s presence and help in the battle (v. 1).

This episode closely parallels that in Ex. 17:8–16, where the Israelites battled the Amalekites, and Moses stretched out his hand with “the rod of God” in it (Ex. 17:9). In that account, Moses’ outstretched arm stood for God’s presence, because the battle went in Israel’s favor when Moses’ hands were up, and against Israel when he tired and dropped his hands.

This episode in Joshua shows yet another way in which Joshua was the worthy successor to Moses (1:1, 5; 24:29). Note that Joshua was the military leader when Moses stretched out his hand, and now Joshua was in Moses’ position while others carried on the battle.^[10]

8:28 The word heap refers to a mound of ruins. Ancient cities were usually built on high points of land near water supplies, and when a city was destroyed a new city was built on the same site atop the packed and settled debris from the former city. Thus, over time, cities came to be on top of high mounds of compacted ruins. Ai was not rebuilt; therefore it remained a heap of ruins. The Hebrew word (tel) for heap is found in only a few places in the Bible (8:28; Deut. 13:16; 11:13; Jer. 30:18; 49:2), and in such place names in the Bible as Tel Melah and Tel Harsha (Ezra 2:59) or Tel Abib (Ezek. 3:15). The equivalent Arabic word tell is used today as part of the names of many sites in Israel. Ai’s very name means “The Ruin,” so the judgment implicit in its name is now made explicit in this wordplay.

Ai’s king slain (Josh. 8:23, 29).

{23} But they took the king of Ai alive and brought him to Joshua. {29} He hung the king of Ai on a tree and left him there until evening. At sunset, Joshua ordered them to take his body from the tree 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.

8:29 As God instructed (v. 27), Joshua executed the king of Ai and exposed his body on a tree (see the similar action in 10:26). But he took down the body at sundown in accordance with the injunction in Deuteronomy that a body could not remain exposed overnight (Deut. 21:22, 23). In these texts, hanged means exposing the dead body on a sharpened stake as a mark of shame and horror, not hanging by the neck. a great heap of stones: A different Hebrew word for “heap” is used here from the one in v. 28, but the connection is clear. The king’s fate here is exactly the same as Achan’s fate in 7:26. God would not favor His own people when they blatantly disobeyed, any more than He would favor wicked Canaanites; for his sin Achan was expelled from Israel and treated like a Canaanite.^[11]

This was the final symbolic gesture of complete victory on the part of Israel. The king had no army, subjects, or city; for the Lord had destroyed them all. It was total victory on the part of Israel. Joshua killed the king with a sword and then ordered that the corpse be humiliated by hanging it on a tree until sundown (Deut. 21:22-23). The body was then buried under a heap of stones at the entrance of the gate of the ruin that had once been Ai. The previous heap of stones that Israel had raised was a memorial to Achan who had caused their defeat at Ai (Josh. 7:25-26). But this heap of stones at Ai was a memorial of Israel’s victory over the enemy. By obeying the Word of the Lord, they had organized victory out of mistakes.

Out of their failure came not only a second chance but a great victory along with some much needed lessons. Though we should never seek to fail, failure can be the back door to success for God is willing to forgive and restore us if we will deal with our sin as prescribed in the Word.

These pages of Old Testament history have a living application to the many efforts and few victories of the churches today. Spiritual victories of the church are still won by its holiness rather than by its culture and wealth. Our conquests today are the conquests of an indwelling God, and He cannot share His churches with idols. Perhaps it would be well for us to look for the Babylonish garments and the shekels hidden in our tents to discover why our Christian efforts seem so fruitless.

Defeat in Christ’s work today is a result of our own spiritual deficiencies. Success depends on God’s presence, and God’s presence depends on our keeping His dwelling place holy. Christ cast out those who were using God’s house for something besides a place of worship and house of prayer. Christ loved the church and gave Himself for it.

These are days when we need to be working as people bonded together in Christ, cultivating the sense of being members of one whole body, being sensitive to our individual responsibility for the moral and spiritual health of the church which extends to the city, nation and the world.

Ai’s spoils claimed (Josh. 8:27).

{27} But Israel did carry off for themselves the livestock and plunder of this city, as the LORD had instructed Joshua.

Since the firstfruits of the spoils of war in Canaan had already been given to God at Jericho, He permitted the army to claim the spoils at Ai. Furthermore, at Jericho, the victory was theirs because of a miracle of God; while at Ai, because the men actually had to fight, they earned their reward. (For the laws governing the distribution of spoils, see Num. 31:19-54.) We aren’t sure that these rules were strictly followed in every situation, but they give you an indication of how Israel handled the spoils of war.

When at the close of the day the men buried the king of Ai under a heap of stones, there must have been a new sense of faith and courage in Israel; for they had won another victory. The people saw that not one word of God’s promise had failed. The disgrace and defeat caused by Achan had now been erased, and Israel was well on her way to conquering the Promised Land.

The Pilgrimage After the Battle  (8:30-35)

{30} Then Joshua built on Mount Ebal an altar to the LORD, the God of Israel, {31} as Moses the servant of the LORD had commanded the Israelites. He built it according to what is written in the Book of the Law of Moses--an altar of uncut stones, on which no iron tool had been used. On it they offered to the LORD burnt offerings and sacrificed fellowship offerings. {32} There, in the presence of the Israelites, Joshua copied on stones the law of Moses, which he had written.

{33} All Israel, aliens and citizens alike, with their elders, officials and judges, were standing on both sides of the ark of the covenant of the LORD, facing those who carried it--the priests, who were Levites. Half of the people stood in front of Mount Gerizim and half of them in front of Mount Ebal, as Moses the servant of the LORD had formerly commanded when he gave instructions to bless the people of Israel. {34} Afterward, Joshua read all the words of the law--the blessings and the curses--just as it is written in the Book of the Law. {35} There was not a word of all that Moses had commanded that Joshua did not read to the whole assembly of Israel, including the women and children, and the aliens who lived among them.

After the victory at Ai Joshua did what seemed to be foolish humanly and militarily-speaking (30‑31). To us it would seem best to immediately pursue the military campaign and move quickly ahead to capture and take control of the central sector of the land. But no, Joshua led the Israelites on a spiritual pilgrimage for a special time of worship. Why? Moses had command­ed it (Deut. 27:1‑8) because of what this event would stand for in the lives of the Israelites.

Deuteronomy 27: 1-8: “Moses and the elders of Israel commanded the people: “Keep all these commands that I give you today. ²When you have crossed the Jordan into the land the LORD your God is giving you, set up some large stones and coat them with plaster. ³Write on them all the words of this law when you have crossed over to enter the land the LORD your God is giving you, a land flowing with milk and honey, just as the LORD, the God of your fathers, promised you. ⁴And when you have crossed the Jordan, set up these stones on Mount Ebal, as I command you today, and coat them with plaster. ⁵Build there an altar to the LORD your God, an altar of stones. Do not use any iron tool upon them. ⁶Build the altar of the LORD your God with fieldstones and offer burnt offerings on it to the LORD your God. ⁷Sacrifice fellowship offerings^£ there, eating them and rejoicing in the presence of the LORD your God. ⁸And you shall write very clearly all the words of this law on these stones you have set up.”

At some time following the victory at Ai, Joshua led the people thirty miles north to Shechem, which lies in the valley between Mt. Ebal and Mt. Gerizim. Joshua interrupted the military activities to give Israel the opportunity to make a new commitment to the authority of Jehovah as expressed in His law.

Again this illustrates the principle of first priorities: our capacity in life is always dependent on our spiritual capacity and orientation to the plan of God. Many Christians continually face defeat in their walk because they fail to take time to get alone with the Lord and reflect on Him and to put on their spiritual armor.

Therefore, without delay Joshua led the entire nation—men, women, children, and cattle—from their camp at Gilgal northward up the Jordan Valley to the place specified by Moses, the mountains of Ebal (Josh. 8:30) and Gerizim (v. 33) which are at Shechem. This was a march of about 30 miles and evidently was not difficult or dangerous because they passed through an area that was sparsely populated.

The Israelites did face a possible confrontation with the men of the city of Shechem, a fortress guarding the entrance to the valley between these mountains. Perhaps the Sheche­mites remained shut up in their city, fearful because of what they had heard about the victories of Israel, or perhaps Israel conquered this city on the way.

Campbell points out: “Of course the Bible does not record every battle of the Conquest and the record of the capture of Shechem may have been omitted. On the other hand, the city at this time may have been in friendly hands or it may simply have surren­dered without resistance.”[12]

But we might ask, why was this location chosen? These mountains are located in the geographic center of the land and from either peak much of the Promised Land can be seen. Here then, is a place that represented all the land, both at the time of entrance into Canaan and also when Joshua’s leadership was coming to a close (cf. 24:1). With his leadership drawing to a close, Joshua again gathered all the tribes to Shechem and challenged the people to renew their covenant vows to the Lord.

James Boice writes: “The Mountains, which are about three thousand feet above sea level or one thousand feet above the valley between them, are quite barren. The valley is often green, and at one place where the mountains come close together there is a natural amphitheater.

F. B. Meyer describes it as a place where the mountains are hollowed out “and the limestone stratum is broken into a succession of ledges ‘so as to present the ap­pear­ance of a series of regular benches.’” It is “a natural amphitheatre … capable of contain­ing a vast audience of people.” This amphithe­ater was the people’s destination, and it was here that they camped out for the ceremony.[13]

This place has outstanding acoustical properties and one person standing on one mountain can be easily heard by someone standing on the other mountain.

The ceremonies here involved three things. Campbell comments on these: “First, an altar of uncut stones was erected on Mount Ebal and sacrifices (consisting of burnt offerings and fellowship offerings; cf. Lev. 1; 3) were offered to the Lord. Jericho and Ai, in which false gods of the Canaanites were worshiped, had fallen. Israel now publicly worshiped and proclaimed her faith in the one true God.

Second, at this same place, on Ebal but perhaps referring to different stones, Joshua also set up some large stones. On their surfaces he wrote a copy of the Law of Moses. How much of the Law was inscribed is not stated. Some suggest only the Ten Commandments were written, while others think the stone inscription included the contents of at least Deuteronomy 5‑26. Archaeologists have discovered similar inscribed pillars or stelae six to eight feet long in the Middle East. And the Behistun Inscription in Iran is three times the length of Deuterono­my.

Third, Joshua read … the Law to the people. The tribes were assigned their places in front of the two mounts, according to Moses’ instructions in Deuteronomy 27:11-13. Reuben, Gad, Asher, Zebulun, Dan, and Naphtali were at Mt. Ebal, the mount of cursing; and Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Joseph (Ephraim and Manasseh), and Benjamin were at Mt. Gerizim, the mount of blessing.

The tribes at Mt. Gerizim were founded by men who had either Leah or Rachel for their mother, while the tribes at Mt. Ebal were descended from either Zilpah or Bilhah, handmaids of Leah and Rachel. The only exceptions were Reuben and Zebulun, who belonged to Leah. Reuben had forfeited his status as the firstborn because he had sinned against his father (Gen. 35:22; 49:3-4).

In the valley between the two mountains stood the priests and Levites with the ark, surrounded by the elders, officers, and judges of the nation. The people were all facing the ark, which represented the presence of the Lord among His people. When Joshua and the Levites read the blessings of the Lord one by one (see Deut. 28:1-14), the tribes at Mt. Gerizim responded with a loud united “Amen!” which in the Hebrew means “So be it!” When they read the curses (see Deut. 27:14-26), the tribes at Mt. Ebal would respond with their “Amen” after each curse was read.

God had given the Law through Moses at Mt. Sinai (Ex. 19-20), and the people had accepted it and promised to obey. Moses then repeated and explained the Law on the Plains of Moab at the border of Canaan. He applied that Law to their lives in the Promised Land and admonished them to obey it. “See, I am setting before you today a blessing and a curse—the blessing if you obey the commands of the Lord your God that I am giving you today; the curse if you disobey the commands of the Lord your God” (Deut. 11:26-28, niv; note vv. 29-32).

Joshua now reaffirmed the Law in the land of promise. Since the area between Mt. Ebal and Mt. Gerizim was a natural amphitheater, everybody could hear the words of the Law clearly and respond with intelligence. By shouting “Amen” to the statements that were read, the people admitted that they understood the Law with its blessings and curses, and that they accepted the responsibility of obeying it. This included the women, children, and the “mixed multitude” (sojourners) who had joined Israel (Ex. 12:38; 22:21; 23:9; Deut. 24:17-22; 31:12). If they wanted to share in Israel’s conquest, they had to submit to the Law of Israel’s God.

What a scene these last verses in Joshua 8 give to us: this multitude of people divided into two groups on Mount Ebal and Mount Gerizim, the ark surrounded by the priests and Levites in the valley. Joshua read the law in a loud and clear voice before the people. What could have been more impressive! The erection of the altar, the offering of the burnt offering and peace offering, as well as the giving of the law, form a renewal of the covenant in the land of their inheritance.

8:33 This Hebrew word for stranger could more precisely be translated “resident alien.” It refers to those foreigners who lived as permanent residents within Israel. These were different from foreigners or outsiders who had incidental contact with Israel, such as travelers or traders, who had few rights within Israel (Ex. 12:43; Lev. 22:10, 25). Resident aliens enjoyed certain rights even though they were not Israelites by birth. They were allowed to take gleanings from the fields (Lev. 19:10; 23:22), and the Israelites were repeatedly instructed to give special care to them, along with the poor, the widow, and the orphan (Ex. 22:21; 23:9; Deut. 10:17–22).

This special concern for aliens within Israel’s borders was rooted in Israel’s own alien status in Egypt, which God wanted them to remember (Ex. 22:21; 23:9; Deut. 10:17–22; 23:7). This is part of the missionary message of the OT: Israel was to treat aliens within its own borders in such a way that they would want a relationship with Israel’s God.

This is certainly a worthy model for Christians today, as well, in their contacts with friends, neighbors, and business associates; they are to conduct themselves in a manner that points people to their Lord (Matt. 5:16). In this passage we see aliens participating right along with the rest of the Israelites in the covenant affirmation ceremony.^[14]

God’s people today stand in a valley between two mounts—Mt. Calvary, where Jesus died for our sins, and Mt. Olivet, where He will return in power and great glory (Zech. 14:4). The Old Testament prophets saw the Messiah’s suffering and glory, but they did not see the “valley” between this present age of the church (1 Peter 1:10-12).

Believers today aren’t living under the curse of the Law, because Jesus bore that curse “on a tree” (Gal. 3:10-14). In Christ believers are blessed with “every spiritual blessing” (Eph. 1:3, nkjv) because of the grace of God. For them life means the blessings of Gerizim and not the curses of Ebal.

However, because Christians “are not under the Law, but under grace” (Rom. 6:14; 7:1-6), it doesn’t mean that we can live any way we please and ignore the Law of God or defy it. We aren’t saved by keeping the Law, nor are we sanctified by trying to meet the demands of the Law; but “the righteousness of the Law” is “fulfilled in us” as we walk in the power of the Holy Spirit (Rom. 8:4). If we put ourselves under Law, we forfeit the enjoyment of the blessings of grace (Gal. 5). If we walk in the Spirit, we experience His life-changing power and live so as to please God.

Let’s give thanks that Jesus bore the curse of the Law for us on the cross and that He bestows all the blessings of the heavenlies on us through the Spirit. By faith we can claim our inheritance in Christ and march forth in victory!

So, Mount Ebal stood for cursing and Gerizim stood for blessing. This event between the two mountains formed a huge object lesson. What happened to the Israelites in the land, the history of Israel, was going to depend on where they lived, as it were—on Mount Ebal, in disobedience and under the curses, or on Mount Gerizim, in obedience and under God’s blessing.

Campbell writes: “From this point on the history of the Jews depended on their attitude toward the Law which had been read in their hearing that day. When they were obedient there was blessing; when they were disobedient there was judgment (cf. Deut. 28). It is tragic that the affirmations of this momentous hour faded so quickly.”[15]

The truth of this object lesson had already been demon­strated in the victory of Jericho and the defeat and victory at Ai. When there was obedience to the Law of God, there was victory, but when there was disobedience, it resulted in defeat. But there is more here that we should think about for no one can fulfill the law. We are also reminded in this object lesson of God’s grace and provision. The ceremony that was enacted teaches us more than the principle that obedience brings blessing and disobedience brings cursing.

Note three important principles:

(1) The first thing God did was to point to grace and His solution for sin by faith. On this occasion both the importance of the Law and the future of Israel, based on their response to the Law, was held before them. It was at this time that the solution to the problem of sin and failure was the first thing set before them. Why? Because all fall short of perfect obedience to the Law.

The same was true at Sinai: at the same time God gave the Ten Commandments and the judgments, He also gave the ordinances, the sacrifices. At the same time He gave them Moses, He gave them Aaron the high priest. It was as if God were saying, “thou shalt not, but I know you will and here is your way to escape condemnation.”

(2) Moses gave the command to build the altar on Mount Ebal, the place where the curses for disobedi­ence were to be read. But why this place instead of the place that represented blessing for obedience? Because the altar was for sinners. It was for those who acknowledge their sin and who would come not as righteous, but as sinners to the place of sacrifice.

Remember the words of the Samaritan woman of John 4? The Samaritans built an altar on Gerizim, not Ebal. The choice of Gerizim for the altar suggests they came to God not as sinners but rather in their self-righteousness (cf. John 4:20). But the Lord’s words to the Samaritan woman exposed her spiritual igno­rance, “You Samaritans worship what you do not know …” (vs. 22), and then uncovered her sin, “… You have had five husbands, and the man you now have is not your husband …” (vs. 18).

(3) The altar was constructed of uncut stones without any human workmanship. This was a complete negation of humanism and salvation (or spirituality) by works. It shows that human beings can add nothing to the work of God for salvation or for spirituality. It is all by grace through the work of God in Christ. This becomes a strong reminder that:

·         We must recognize our sinfulness and come to God as sinners (Rom. 3:23).

·         We must come to the place of sacrifice, the cross, acknowledging our need of another to die in our place.

·         We must repudiate our human works for salvation: recognize there is nothing we can do or add to the work of God’s substitute for our sin, the person and work of Christ.

In building the altar, Joshua was careful to obey Exodus 20:25 and not apply any tool to the stones picked up in the field. No human work was to be associated with the sacrifice lest sinners think their own works can save them (Eph. 2:8-9). God asked for a simple stone altar, not one that was designed and decorated by human hands, “that no flesh should glory in His presence” (1 Cor. 1:29). It’s not the beauty of man-made religion that gives the sinner forgiveness, but the blood on the altar (Lev. 17:11). King Ahab replaced God’s altar with a pagan altar, but it didn’t give him acceptance with God or make him a better man (2 Kings 16:9-16).

The priests offered burnt offerings to the Lord as a token of the nation’s total commitment to Him (Lev. 1). The peace offerings, or “fellowship offerings,” were an expression of gratitude to God for His goodness (3; 7:11-34). A portion of the meat was given to the priests and another portion to the offerer so that he could eat it joyfully with his family in the presence of the Lord (7:15-16, 30-34; Deut. 12:17-18). By these sacrifices, the nation of Israel was assuring God of their commitment to Him and their fellowship with Him.

The worship at Mount Ebal focused the people on the Law of God as that special revelation of God that was so crucial to their future well being as the people of God.

The Law pointed the nation to those righteous statutes that would enable Israel to be a holy nation, a special redeemed people, a people of God’s own possession and a light to the nations (see Ex. 19:4-6; Deut. 4:1-8).

The Law pointed Israel and all men to those moral statutes that are so vital to justice and law and order within nations. But it did more. It demonstrated the holiness of God and by virtue of man’s inability to keep the Law, it showed man his sin which separates him from God.

Through the tabernacle, the sacrifices, and the priesthood, it pointed forward to a suffering Savior, the Lamb of God, who must die for man’s sin that they might have a relationship with God and be the people of God in a fallen world. 

This act was in obedience to the command of Moses (Deut. 27:1-8). In the Near East of that day it was customary for kings to celebrate their greatness by writing records of their military exploits on huge stones covered with plaster. But the secret of Israel’s victory was not their leader or their army; it was their obedience to God’s Law (Josh. 1:7-8). In later years, whenever Israel turned away from God’s Law, they got into trouble and had to be disciplined. “And what great nation is there that has such statutes and righteous judgments as are in all this Law which I set before you this day?” asked Moses (Deut. 4:8, nkjv).

Believers today have the Word of God written on their hearts by the Holy Spirit of God (Rom. 8:1-4; 2 Cor. 3). The Law written on stones was external, not internal, and could instruct the people but could never change them. Paul makes it clear in the Epistle to the Galatians that while the Law can convict sinners and bring them to Christ (Gal. 3:19-25), it can never convert sinners and make them like Christ. Only the Spirit of God can do that.

This is now the fourth public monument of stones that has been erected:

1.      The first was at Gilgal (Josh. 4:20), commemorating Israel’s passage across the Jordan.

2.      The second was in the Valley of Achor, a monument to Achan’s sin and God’s judgment (7:26).

3.      The third was at the entrance to Ai, a reminder of God’s faithfulness to help His people (8:29).

4.      These stones on Mt. Ebal reminded Israel that their success lie only in their obedience to God’s Law (1:7-8).

But how quickly their commitment to this special revelation of God faded from their minds, for in the very next book of the Bible, Judges, we read about that which characterized the nation during the time of the judges, “In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in his own eyes” (Judges 21:25).

We are no different today in our country. Though our nation was founded on the precepts of Scripture as the moral Law of God, we have basically turned away from the Bible to do that which is right in our own eyes. Because we have rejected God’s Word and deny its relevance, we have turned to our futile imaginations (Eph. 4:17f).

As a result, we have become like those Isaiah cried out against who are not only experiencing the perversions of our own depraved thinking, but also the judgment of God on our society:

(Isaiah 5:20-24 NIV)  Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter. {21} Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes and clever in their own sight. {22} Woe to those who are heroes at drinking wine and champions at mixing drinks, {23} who acquit the guilty for a bribe, but deny justice to the innocent. {24} Therefore, as tongues of fire lick up straw and as dry grass sinks down in the flames, so their roots will decay and their flowers blow away like dust; for they have rejected the law of the LORD Almighty and spurned the word of the Holy One of Israel.

Just a casual glance at our society today provides clear evidence that we are in desperate need of spiritual and moral revival and a return to our godly roots as given to us by our forefathers. The moral breakdown in society and in our leadership, especially for a nation with our beginnings, is beyond imagination. We are so much like Israel in this regard.

I agree with Campbell who says: “The survival of our society may well depend on the willingness of all the people, the leaders in Washington and the citizens across the land, to allow the absolutes of God’s Word to become the law of the land. And Christians must lead the way. You and I must commit ourselves daily to the task of cleansing and purging the “Achan” from ourselves. We must commit ourselves to becoming people of purity, faith, and integrity, inside and out, publicly and privately. Then—and only then—will we be ready to march against the enemy fortresses that stand in our path—and win the victory.[16]