The Meaning Of Life

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After Achan (and/or his family) were punished for his covetous and thievery, the Lord told Joshua to again, go up against the city of AI, and that this time, He would be with them. And this time, the Lord allowed them to take spoil of the animals.

And this time, they began to use war strategy. Joshua sent men to the back side of the city to lay in ambush, the other approached from the front gate. Once again, the men of Ai gave chase to the men of Israel, and the men of Israel fled again, as they did before. This was to make the men of Ai think they were winning once again. And once the men of Israel had drawn out all of the men of Ai, those laying in ambush attacked from the rear, and they had the army of Ai caught between two opposing fronts, and they were easily defeated.

In this battle, there were planty of the men of Israel to easily defeat the city of Ai, but later we will see where God instructs them to just send a few men to war, not only to show the enemy that God was on Israels side, but also to keep the men of Israel humble, “lest they say” they defeated the enemy on this own without the help of God.

After Israel defeated Ai, Joshua built an altar at the top of Mt. Ebal, in accordance with the instructions given to Moses, and he wrote the Mosaic Law on the stone, as a reminder of the law.

This is why it is important to read, and reread, and reread the Bible constantly. Not only will you find something new you missed before, but it is a good reminder of the law, a good reminder of how loving and merciful our Father is, and a good reminder of the meaning of our lives.

In Chapter 9, we read about how a tribe of Hivites deceived Joshua and the Israelites. The Hivites knew what Israel had done to Jericho and Ai, and were afraid of them. So they dressed in old clothing, took winesacks that were old and mended, put old bags on their donkeys, and they took bread that was stale and moldy, They came to Joshua, and told him they were ambassadors from a country far away, that they had heard about the God of Abraham, and that they had come to make peace and a treaty.

Joshua questioned them carefully, but they gave good answers to all of his questions, and their clothing and provisions were convincing that they had traveled far and long.

So Joshua made a covenant with them. Later, Joshua found out he had been deceived, and the Hivites confessed that they were afraid, and that is why they wanted a treaty.

Despite being deceived, law says that vows and covenants must be kept, so Joshua honored the covenant, but made the Hivites servants to them in exchange for their lives.

Was it the Hivites who deceived Joshua? Or was it Satan? My guess, is that it was Satan. God’s plan was to erase the pagans who were idol worshipers and who sacrificed children. He wanted to eradicate sin to keep it from spreading, and to keep Israel pure so they would not fall into the practices of the Canaanites. But Satan didn’t want that, he wanted to keep paganism alive.

Yes, God is all-knowing, and knew this would happen. But once again, God gives free choice, and Joshua had free choice to reject the Hivite’s offer, or to take it.

Does Satan use the same M.O. today? Does Satan outright tempt us to sin, and when we’re strong, does he resort to deceiving us? Yes, he does.

and that is why it is critical that we know God’s word, and we develop the ability to, through our knowledge of God and His word, discern good vs. evil.