Inspire: Joshua, Judges & Ruth 978-1-4964-7519-0 - Flipbook - Page 17
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“May the curse of the Lord fall on anyone
who tries to rebuild the town of Jericho.
At the cost of his firstborn son,
he will lay its foundation.
At the cost of his youngest son,
he will set up its gates.”
So the LORD was with Joshua,
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and his reputation spread
throughout the land.
Ai Defeats the Israelites
But Israel violated the instructions about the things set apart for the Lord.
A man named Achan had stolen some of these dedicated things, so the Lord
was very angry with the Israelites. Achan was the son of Carmi, a descendant of
Zimri son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah.
2 Joshua sent some of his men from Jericho to spy out the town of Ai, east of
Bethel, near Beth-aven. 3 When they returned, they told Joshua, “There’s no need
for all of us to go up there; it won’t take more than two or three thousand men
to attack Ai. Since there are so few of them, don’t make all our people struggle to
go up there.”
4 So approximately 3,000 warriors were sent, but they were soundly defeated.
The men of Ai 5 chased the Israelites from the town gate as far as the quarries, and
they killed about thirty-six who were retreating down the slope.
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The Israelites were
paralyzed with fear
at this turn of events,
and their
courage melted away.
Joshua and the elders of Israel tore their clothing in dismay, threw dust on
their heads, and bowed face down to the ground before the Ark of the Lord
until evening. 7 Then Joshua cried out, “Oh, Sovereign Lord, why did you bring
us across the Jordan River if you are going to let the Amorites kill us? If only we
had been content to stay on the other side! 8 Lord, what can I say now that Israel
has fled from its enemies? 9 For when the Canaanites and all the other people
living in the land hear about it, they will surround us and wipe our name off the
face of the earth. And then what will happen to the honor of your great name?”
10 But the Lord said to Joshua, “Get up! Why are you lying on your face like this?
11 Israel has sinned and broken my covenant! They have stolen some of the things
that I commanded must be set apart for me. And they have not only stolen them
but have lied about it and hidden the things among their own belongings. 12 That
is why the Israelites are running from their enemies in defeat. For now Israel
itself has been set apart for destruction. I will not remain with you any longer
unless you destroy the things among you that were set apart for destruction.
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