Then the LORD said to Joshua, “Stretch out the sword that is in your hand toward Ai; for I will give it into your hand.” And Joshua stretched out the sword that was in his hand toward the city. As soon as he stretched out his hand, the troops in ambush rose quickly out of their place and rushed forward. They entered the city, took it, and at once set the city on fire. So when the men of Ai looked back, the smoke of the city was rising to the sky. They had no power to flee this way or that, for the people who fled to the wilderness turned back against the pursuers. When Joshua and all Israel saw that the ambush had taken the city and that the smoke of the city was rising, then they turned back and struck down the men of Ai. And the others came out from the city against them; so they were surrounded by Israelites, some on one side, and some on the other; and Israel struck them down until no one was left who survived or escaped. But the king of Ai was taken alive and brought to Joshua. (Joshua 8:18-23)

Victory is sweet. The first battle against Ai had been a disaster because one man had stolen some plunder at Jericho from God. The second battle, with God’s instructions, went much better. Joshua’s early career repeated incidents similar to those faced by Moses, in order that the Israelites could recognize that God was with him just as he had been with Moses. Thus, just as Moses, with the help of Aaron and Hur, had held his staff symbolically up while Joshua had led Israel to battle against the Amalekites, so God told Joshua to raise his sword over the city of Ai. Joshua’s troops that had been in hiding in ambush entered the city and set it afire. The enemy troops of Ai that had been pursuing Jacob and the soldiers with him saw their city in flames and lost heart, making it easy then for the Israelites to finally conquer them. When the king of Ai came before Joshua, Joshua himself executed him by impaling him on a pole. Afterward, he had the king’s body thrown down at the entrance of the city. They raised a large pile of stones over the body, as a memorial to Israel’s victory.

God will grant us victory over our troubles, whether they be external foes or internal ones.

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