Joshua 8

I admit that I don't exhibit certain traits of a stereotypical tough male. I'm not much into sports (watching or, with the exception of jogging, participating). I dreaded P.E. in school even though it was always an easy A; I was often the most incompetent doofus on the court or field. Luckily, the other kids didn't tease me.  I'm not super into cars, I find typical male posturing and bravado stupid (not that I could pull it off myself), and I find most hard metal music to be, in the oft-repeated words of the Bard, "Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing."

However, I am a fan of action movies--the good ones, of course, but I get a kick out of some of the trashier ones as well. When I was young, my favorite Star Wars films were the original and Return of the Jedi because they had the best space battles. Raiders of the Lost Ark blew my mind wide open, and then the epic, almost overwhelming battles of The Lord of the Rings spread my gray matter all over the walls.

The Bible doesn't focus on thrilling the reader with spectacular action like authors Michael Crichton, Matthew Reilly, and Clive Cussler do, but the account of Ai is probably as adrenaline-fueled as the Scriptures get. The author concisely explains the Israelite army's specific tactics--they basically retreat, luring the people of Ai to chase after them, but leave a portion of the army near the city in preparation for an ambuscade. In an unbelievably stupid move, Ai does not leave anyone to behind to defend the city (verse 17). Then, 30,000 Israelite men lying in wait ambush the abandoned city, the retreating Israelites turn around to attack, and the hapless people of Ai find themselves trapped between a rock and another rock. (Many movies and books have since portrayed armies deploying a similar tactic including, if I remember correctly, that bastion of historical accuracy, The Patriot.)

To enliven the account of the battle, the author uses powerful verbs (ambush, fled, pursued, rose, escape, cut down) and striking, iconic imagery--the "smoke of the city rising up to the sky" (verse 20), the gruesome tableaux of the king of Ai impaled on a stick (verse 29), and, most cinematic of all, Joshua steadfastly holding up his javelin against the backdrop of the tumultuous conflict and the city aflame (verses 18, 26).

But the real driving force behind this decisive victory is God. After the Israelites consecrated themselves in the previous chapter, God once again bolsters Joshua, saying, "Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged" (verse 1). Now that the Israelites are once again right with God, He allows them to defeat the army that had sent them running with their tails between their legs only a chapter before. To reinforce the Israelites' dependence on God, Joshua acknowledges Him by building an altar and offering a sacrifice upon it. Not only that, but he also inscribes Book of the Law of Moses on stones and reads the entire thing to the Israelites, which must have taken several hours to read and who knows how long to carve (verses 34-35). Sure, it's not as flashy an image as a legion of men on horseback riding down a ridiculously precipitous hill towards an orc horde as the sun rises behind them. But the foundation in God's word allows for all the Israelites' dazzling victories.