A Tale of Two Cities

God brings about a great victory at Jericho. Joshua and the Israelites then turn their sites upon the city of Ai, assuming that the Lord will do to Ai what he had done to Jericho. The effort ends in defeat, however, and Joshua is incredulous. But he does not know what we, the reader, already know: the attack was bound to fail for the anger of the Lord burned against Israel. The reason why the Lord had suddenly become Israel's enemy raises provocative questions. This message asserts that the principles at play in this incident apply to the church in much the same manner as they did to Israel.