24And it came to pass when Israel had made an end of slaying all the inhabitants of Ai in the field, in the wilderness where they pursued them, and when they all had fallen by the edge of the sword until they were consumed, that all the Israelites returned to Ai and struck it with the edge of the sword. 25So it was that all who fell that day, both men and women, were twelve thousand—all the people of Ai. 26For Joshua did not draw back his hand, with which he stretched out the spear, until he had utterly destroyed all the inhabitants of Ai. 27Only the livestock and the spoil of that city Israel took as booty for themselves, according to the word of the Lord which He had commanded Joshua. 28So Joshua burned Ai and made it a heap forever, a desolation to this day. 29And the king of Ai he hanged on a tree until evening. And as soon as the sun was down, Joshua commanded that they should take his corpse down from the tree, cast it at the entrance of the gate of the city, and raise over it a great heap of stones that remains to this day.
Sin and Justice
Joshua was the Lord’s hand of justice because of the sin of Ai and its inhabitants. Joshua crushed and showed no mercy as the Lord directed him. It may be hard for us to understand, why the women and children? The Lord was cleansing the land and He promises to do it in finality once again!
Isaiah 65:17 “For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth; And the former shall not be remembered or come to mind.
Consider your life and how you have lived it. Are you forgiven by the blood 🩸 of Jesus, or will your fate be similar to the inhabitants of Ai?
Matthew 13: 49So will it be at the end of the age: The angels will come and separate the wicked from the righteous, 50and throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
Blessings
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