Joshua 8:10

"And Joshua arose up early in the morning, and mustered the people, and went up, he and the elders of Israel, before the people to Ai. And all the people, even the men of war that were with him, went up, and drew nigh, and came before the city, and camped on the north side of Ai: now there was a valley between him and Ai. And he took about 5,000 men, and set them in ambush between Bethel and Ai, on the west side of the city. So they set the people, even all the host that was on the north of the city, and their liers-in-wait that were on the west side of the city; and Joshua went that night into the midst of the valley. And it came to pass, that when the king of Ai saw it, that they hasted and rose up early, and the men of the city went out against Israel to battle, he and all his people, at the time appointed before the Arabah; but he knew not that there was an ambush against him behind the city. And Joshua and all Israel made as if they were beaten before them, and fled by the way of the wilderness. And all the people that were in the city were called together to pursue after them: and they pursued after Joshua, and were drawn away from the city. And there was not a man left in Ai or Bethel, that went not out after Israel: and they left the city open, and pursued after Israel."

This passage clears up the mystery of Bethel absolutely. Bethel and Ai were ONE, having the same king, and all of the men of BOTH places engaged in the battle here, and ALL were put to death! Also, it may be doubted that Ai itself was anything more than the principal fortress of Bethel. We have no idea why the name Ai received so much more emphasis here. "The references to Bethel here are mysterious and cannot be fully explained."[16] The "king of Ai" was also the "king of Bethel." This, if not proved, is certainly made likely by the fact that the Bible flatly declares that Joshua slew the king of Bethel (Joshua 12:16), and if the occasion discussed here is not when that happened, when was it? Could there ever have been a better time for Joshua to destroy Bethel, than this occasion, when not a single man had been left alive? To understand Ai and Bethel as "A city" instead of "TWO cities" clears up everything. It explains why "not a man was left in Ai or Bethel that went not after Israel" (Joshua 8:17).

In this connection, we begin to get a glimpse of what kind of book Joshua really is. It is not a detailed record of everything that happened in the conquest. The events narrated are given for specific reasons, the religious meaning of each one being the principal reason for its inclusion. We became familiar with this characteristic of the Hebrew Bible in the Book of Numbers especially, where the history of an entire forty years for a whole nation covers only a few pages.

Before leaving this passage, we wish to express appreciation for Lilley who rejected the common critical claim of multiple sources here, saying that the problem derives from the type of "narrative method rather than sources."[17]

The dramatic picture here is that of the total armies of both Bethel and Ai rushing down the steppes to destroy what they have mistakenly supposed to be the defeated Israelites. What a foolish, headlong rush into disaster! Men wonder how such a thing could happen, but it has happened often. Look at the example of Pharaoh rushing into the sea-bed itself where a quarter of a million of his best troops along with the Pharaoh himself went "gurgling down." We must go a little further and affirm with Pink that the same thing is also going on right this very moment in sinners who have not turned to the Lord:

"Before God destroys the wicked, he gives them a spirit of madness. The rebel against God must not suppose that his previous immunity from Divine punishment has endowed him with security. They are most in danger who are least aware of it. The king of Ai was blind to his own interests; is not the sinner the same? The king failed to take the most obvious precautions. Are not sinners also guilty of the same folly, hastening unto eternity utterly unprepared to meet God?"[18]