Blame it on hubris, say it is incompetence, call it foolish certainty, but ‘mighty’ Ai has fallen. And the thud was so loud that her entrails were seen on the streets of Bethaven. Now fear has taken hold of the inhabitants of Gibeon.
Sudden unexpected victories happen daily, but far less often than planned expected wins. Life is miraculous, but it is primarily designed to function on principles. At creation, God made all things and designed systems that run on principles. That way, creation is reproducible, and human creatures can become procreators.
He didn’t want Adam coming daily to Him with empty palms to be filled with some spoons of rice; he rather asked him to cultivate the ground. By putting in place the principle of sowing and reaping, Adam was assured that as long as he tilled the ground and planted grains of rice, God would send the rain in its season to water the ground and give seed to the sower and bread to the eater.
It is therefore not an accident that many successful projects have come about through following the principles that govern those fields of endeavour, sometimes unknown and undiscovered. Novel? Yes, but there was a principle behind.
Becoming successful by accident but failing to understand that accidents don’t lead to success has led to successes quickly turning back to failures.
When you win a war that you were militarily and spiritually incapable of winning, the least you can do is to attempt to understand what led you to victory in the first place. Your initial fears were not unfounded; there was something else that led you to victory. Find it (them) out.
The military and political officers of Ai failed woefully in this. A little city of few inhabitants, that according to the spies of Israel could be overrun by 2,000 or 3,000 soldiers, had won an unexpected victory over a huge nation called Israel. The people of Ai couldn’t believe their eyes. Mighty Israel, that had just overthrown Jericho and destroyed its walls, was defeated by a little city on the East side of Bethel called Ai.
“No way. No way. No way,” mourned Joshua and the Israeli soldiers.
“Yes, we are strong. Yes, we are mighty. Yes, they are amateurs to us,” bragged the Ai soldiers.
The latter had failed to understand that the unexpected victory was a result of spiritual porosity in Israeli defence, and not their might. God had withdrawn his offence and defence mechanisms from Israel that even an untrained group of street boys could have defeated them.
Pumped by such a victory, Ai readied itself to fight a regrouped Israel again. They didn’t know that the Israeli Supreme Commander (read God) had restored his offensive and defensive armoury after Joshua and his men repented.
Call it pride or incompetence, as Israel pretended to be on the run, Ai marched out all her men to the battlefield. She marched out every adult with a male reproductive system, so that not one was left to defend the city (Judges 8:17).
The city of Ai was left open, completely defenceless against the enemies. By the time she realised her mistake, the city was up in flames. The sight of the destruction at home was devastating and eventually led to destruction away from home.
Listen, at every season of life, guard your home front. Secure your precious things before looking out for new territories to explore. If you’ve conquered a particular terrain (whatever that represents for you), protect and guard it. Before seeking new grounds, consolidate the ones you’ve won.
A wise man once said that you don’t leave your shop open to run after thieves.” It will always be a good idea to secure what you have before the pursuit of what is not guaranteed. A bird at hand is worth two in the Ukushi forest.
Another important lesson – discover the principles behind those seemingly accidental accomplishments (miracles). That’s the only way to make the miracles reproducible anywhere. Don’t allow excitement to cloud sound reasoning. Apply wisdom.
Ede chala m – I’m done writing.
