So Joshua burned Ai and made it a permanent heap of ruins, a desolate place to this day. He hung the king of Ai on a tree and left him there until evening. At sunset, Joshua ordered them to take his body from the tree and throw it down at the entrance of the city gate. And they raised a large pile of rocks over it, which remains to this day. (Joshua 8:28-29)
When Israel crossed the Jordan River to take possession of the Promised Land under Joshua’s leadership, they had to drive out the previous inhabitants. Israel was called to fight a holy war, a unique moment in history. The Canaanites were under God’s righteous judgment and had to be removed from the land. This holy war was a precursor of the believer’s battle for spiritual growth, in which sin is under God’s judgment and must be removed from the believer’s life. (Holy war is not a model for any of the ethnic and religious fighting that is now taking place in the Middle East.)
One of the first places to be confronted was the small town of Ai. Please note that it’s Ai, not AI. In 2024 we may need to clarify that Ai was a city, not artificial intelligence. Although Ai was small, it proved to be a stumbling block for Israel. As a result of Achan’s sin, the Israelites were thwarted in their first attempt to take the city. God disciplined the nation of Israel for their sin and delivered Ai into their hands. Everyone in the city was killed, even the women and children. This is hard for us to understand, but it’s a question we will have to leave for another day.
The king of Ai was taken captive. Joshua executed him and hung his body on a tree, demonstrating that this defeated king – along with the people he had ruled, all dead – were under God’s curse. Here is the first recorded use of the cursing tree. Divine judgment had fallen upon the people and their king. The city was burned and never rebuilt. Joshua followed the regulations God issued in Deuteronomy 21:22-23 and took down the king’s body at sunset.
In the New Testament, sin would again be defeated at the cursing tree. The cross is where sin died under a curse in the form of Jesus (cf. Gal. 3:13).
Prairie Pastor 