When I meditate on God's strategy of victory ...

In God's strategy for victory,

about 5,000 Israelite soldiers were ambushed

between Bethel and Ai to lure the people of Ai into a trap.

The main force of the Israelite army pretended to be defeated

by the king of Ai and his troops and fled toward the wilderness.

When all the soldiers of Ai pursued the Israelites and left the city far behind,

there were no remaining enemies in Ai or Bethel,

and the gates of the city were wide open, leaving it defenseless.

At that moment, Joshua raised his javelin

to signal toward the city of Ai as commanded by God,

and the ambushed Israelite soldiers rushed into Ai and captured the city

(Joshua 8:9-19).

Reflecting on this divine strategy for victory,

I believe there are several lessons we can learn:

(1) God's strategy is ever-victorious.

(2) God made the Israelite army's decoy operation successful.

(3) The success of this decoy operation divided the Israelite forces into two:

while 5,000 soldiers were lying in ambush,

the rest of the main force pretended to be defeated

when the king of Ai led his troops out of the city.

They fled toward the wilderness, leaving Ai defenseless.

The ambushing Israelite soldiers stormed into the city,

capturing it and immediately setting it on fire.

Seeing the flames, the Israelite soldiers who were retreating to the wilderness

turned back and came out in a counterattack formation.

The ambushing Israelite troops inside the city also emerged

and attacked the people of Ai from behind.

Eventually, the people of Ai were completely surrounded and killed off

by the attacks from both sides of the Israelite army,

leaving no survivors as they tried to flee (vv. 20-22).

(4) Arrogance is a deadly sin in spiritual warfare.

Because the king of Ai had won in the first battle against the Israelite army,

he presumed he would win again in the second battle.

He led his army out of Ai, leaving the city defenseless,

thinking they would triumph once more.

His arrogance led to his defeat in the war.

(5) Humility is crucial in spiritual warfare.

Trusting and relying solely on the God of victory

and obeying His commands is the key to success.