~Sin in the Camp~ ( Part IV)

~The Conquest of Ai~

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. [JOSHUA 8:1] [NAS]

How would you like to get this commandment from God; do not fear for I have given into your hand the king, his city, people and land? But, you know, sometimes we do get this type of command from God without realizing it. We just don’t act upon it.

As in the previous few lessons we saw where Joshua lost the battle at Ai because of sin in the camp by Achan. Now after Achan told Joshua the truth and confessing this sin, the camp was clean again and ready to conquer Ai by the mighty army of Israel.

The Lord spoke to Joshua, letting him know exactly how to proceed and win the battle at Ai. The short version is that Joshua and part of his army would go outside the city of Ai and when the city of Ai would see the army of Israel, they would come out to attack, leaving their city defenseless. And that is the way it happened. The city of Ai did not know it was a set-up. For the balance of the Israelite army was waiting in ambush behind the city. The Israelite army captured the city and burned it. When the Ai army looked back and saw the city of Ai burning they had no way to escape. The Israelites had them cornered on both sides. The Bible tells us that 12,000 people of Ai died that day, destroying all inhabitants. You can read the complete story in Joshua, Chapter 8.

Why do I relate this story to you? You see what can happen when we obey God and do exactly as He has commanded –“Not turning to the right or to the left”. The battle is ours in the “Name of the Lord.”

The first battle with Ai was lost due to “sin in the camp.” The second battle was won due to the obedience of Joshua and the Israelites following God’s commandments.

The next time you are sent to battle the enemy:

• Clean out your sin
• Ask for instructions from God
• Do exactly what God commands
• And the victory will be yours

There was not a word of all that Moses had commanded which Joshua did not read before all the assembly of Israel with the women and the little ones and the strangers who were living among them. [JOSHUA 8:35] [NAS]

Brother Dewey E. Fox