Sunday Morning Bible Study 03/14/2010

Israel Defeats Ai
Joshua 8:1-35
I. Observation
A. Context
1. Who are the people in this passage? What do we know about them?
a. Joshua: _________________________________________________________________
b. Israel: __________________________________________________________________
c. King & People of Ai: ______________________________________________________
2. When does this passage take place? Is there anything significant about when this passage occurs?
a. Though not specifically given, we know that these events were likely during the first part
of the year, since they were already in the Promised Land to celebrate Passover in Nisan
(Ch. 5). The flow of this part of the book does not seem to indicate a great amount of
time passing between the victory at Jericho, defeat at Ai, and subsequent victory at Ai.
3. Where do the events of this passage take place? What do we know about these places?
a. Ai: located in the central hill country of Palestine, east of Bethel and about 15 miles from
Jericho (Ryrie Study Bible).
b. Mount Ebal: mountain 3,076 feet above sea level, and 1,200 feet above the level of the
valley, on the north side of which stood the city of Shechem (Easton Bible Dictionary)
c. Mount Gerizim: a mountain of Samaria, about 3,000 feet above the Mediterranean. It
was on the left of the valley containing the ancient town of Shechem (q.v.), on the way to
Jerusalem. It stood over against Mount Ebal, the summits of these mountains being
distant from each other about 2 miles (Easton Bible Dictionary)
B. Summary of Events
1. The Lord assures Joshua that Ai has been given into Israel’s hands and to set an ambush (v. 1-2)
2. Joshua sent part of the army behind Ai and with the rest, advanced on the city (v. 3-9)
3. The men of Ai went out to attack Israel, they retreated, & all Ai’s men pursued them (v. 10-17)
4. With no one left to defend Ai, the ambush captured the city and set it on fire (v. 18-19)
5. Ai’s men realized what happened, but they were caught in the middle and destroyed. (v. 20-22)
6. Ai’s king was captured and all the people of Ai were destroyed (v. 23-26)
7. God allowed Israel to keep the plunder of the city, then the whole city was burned (v. 27-28)
8. They hung the king of Ai and later covered his body with stones before the city gates (v. 29)
9. After this, Joshua built an altar on Mount Ebal as Moses had commanded. They offered sacrifices
and Joshua copied the law onto the stones there. (v. 30-32)
10. Half of Israel stood in front of Mt. Ebal and half before Mt. Gerizim and Joshua read the law and
the blessings and curses as Moses had instructed them to do before his death. (v. 33-35)

II. Interpretation
1. Other than the outcome, what was different about this attack on Ai?
______________________________________________________________________________
2. What was the spiritual effect of this victory on Israel? How did they respond?
______________________________________________________________________________
3. What principles are illustrated in this passage? What is the theme?
______________________________________________________________________________
4. What is God revealing about himself through this passage?
______________________________________________________________________________

III. Application
1. A right-standing relationship with God is vital for success in life. The reason that Israel was
defeated by Ai initially was not due to a lack of military skill, but to a lack of God’s favor. We
need to constantly be evaluating our walk with Christ as we live out life down the path he has for
us. You will not find true success, joy, or fulfillment apart from right-standing with Christ.
2. ______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
Teacher: Johnny Hughes (living2serve@gmail.com) MYA 2.0 is a ministry of Metropolitan Baptist Church, OKC, OK (http://www.mbcokc.org)