Israel Defeated at Ai – Joshua 7:1–15; 1 Chronicles 2:7
- Achan, of the tribe of Judah, steals some of the devoted things, and God is angry at the Israelites.
- Joshua sends some of his men from Jericho to spy out the town of Ai. The warriors return and tell Joshua that it won't take more than two or three thousand men to attack them. Three thousand soldiers are sent, but Ai defeats them, which paralyzes the Israelites with fear.
- Joshua and the elders tear their clothes, throw dust on their heads, and fall on their faces before the ark of the covenant. Joshua asks God why He brought them across the Jordan if the Amorites were going to defeat them. He asks God what he will say to the people and what will happen to His great name.
- God tells Joshua to get up and goes on to explain that Israel has broken his covenant by stealing things that were set apart for Him. He instructs Joshua to get up and tell the people to purify themselves and that they will never win a battle until the set-apart things are returned. God then says the Israelites must present themselves in the morning, and He will point out the guilty clan. The man who stole the items is to be burned, along with all his belongings.
The Sin of Achan
- The next morning, all the tribes assemble and the tribe of Judah is singled out. Achan is shown to be the man who has stolen the items set apart for God. Joshua addressed him, and Achan admits that he took a robe from Babylon, two hundred silver coins, and a bar of gold and buried them under his tent.
- Achan's tent is checked and the stolen items are found. Achan and all his belongings are taken to the valley of Achor, where he and his family were stoned and their belongings burned.
The Fall of Ai – Joshua 8
- God tells Joshua not to fear, and to take his men back to Ai to fight, because He will give them over to the Israelites as He did Jericho. This time they will keep the plunder and livestock for themselves.
- Joshua sends thirty thousand men. Five thousand will hide behind the town to ambush it. The other twenty-five thousand soldiers will attack the town and run away, and the people will chase them. The ambushing soldiers are then to take the town and burn it, and together the thirty thousand men attack the people of Ai. Only one person of Ai survives (the king) and he is brought to Joshua. Joshua impales the king on a sharpened pole and leaves him there until evening, when the Israelites took down his body, threw it in front of the town gate, and covered it with rocks.
Joshua Renews the Covenant
- Joshua builds an altar to the Lord on Mount Ebal following God's commands to Moses on altar building. All the Israelites divide into two groups facing each other, and between them stands the Levitical priests and the ark of the covenant. Joshua reads to them the blessings and curses Moses wrote in the book of instruction.
The Gibeonite Deception – Joshua 9
- All the kings west of the Jordan hear about what happened to the people of Ai. When the people of Gibeon hear it, they turn to deception to save themselves. They dress in old ragged clothing and bear dry and moldy bread when they greet the Israelites at Gilgal, and they tell Joshua that they've come from a distant land and wish a peace treaty.
- The Israelites question how they would know that they're not from the area, and the Gibeonites show them the bread and again insist they're from a far-off land. The Israelites examine the bread, but do not consult with God. Joshua makes a peace treaty with them, guaranteeing their safety.
- Three days later, Israel learns that the people were from nearby, and they set out to go to the towns. They cannot attack the towns, though, because they have made the treaty. They make the Gibeonites woodcutters and water carriers.
- Joshua questions the Gibeonites why they lied to them. They tell him that they knew God had given over the lands to Moses, so they feared for their lives. Joshua doesn't allow the people of Israel to kill them, instead making them servants of Israel.
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