Joshua 7:2-5

Joshua 7:2-5

[2] And Joshua  sent  from Jericho  to Ai,  which is beside  Bethaven,  on the east side  of Bethel,  and spake  Go up  and view  the country.  went up  and viewed  Ai.  [3] And they returned  to Joshua,  and said  unto him, Let not all the people  go up;  but let about two or three  thousand  men  go up  and smite  Ai;  and make not all the people  to labour  thither; for they are but few.  [4] So there went up  thither of the people  about three  thousand  men:  and they fled  before  of Ai.  [5] And the men  of Ai  smote  of them about thirty  and six  men:  for they chased  them from before  the gate  even unto Shebarim,  and smote  them in the going down:  wherefore the hearts  of the people  melted,  and became as water. 

What does Joshua 7:2-5 Mean?

Contextual Meaning

The spies who reconnoitered Ai based their advice on the numbers of these Canaanites and the Israelites.
"East of Ai . . . one route descends due east to the pass across Wadi Makkuk. This pass affords the last crossing before the wadi deepens into a major canyon and obstacle. From there on, the unified stream bed of the wadi cuts a twisted path through the uplifted limestone resulting in rocky scarps of up to200 meters or660 feet before continuing east through the rough chalk wilderness. The difference between this rugged region and the pass just west of it is very dramatic. It may reflect what the Biblical writer states in Joshua 7:5 when he says that the defenders of the Hill Country pursued the Israelites as far as the broken/fractured area (shebarim), striking them down along the descent [1]. (If this first attack came from the route southeast of Ai, the word shebarim may point to the same type of broken terrain, but the descent would refer to the steep slope off the eastern side of the uplifted limestone where this route to Jericho turns due east.)" [2]
The spies in Numbers 13 , 14lacked faith in God because they did not believe that the Israelites were strong enough to defeat their enemies. They failed to reckon on God"s help. The spies in Joshua 7 lacked faith in God because they believed the Israelites were strong enough to defeat their enemies. They disregarded the need for God"s help. The fact that the people"s hearts melted ( Joshua 7:5; cf. Joshua 2:11) hints that Israel may have been trusting in her own strength rather than in the Lord.
"It is strange indeed that the description which was originally used for the Canaanites about to be defeated now describes the heart of the Israelites ..." [3]