The men of Ai looked back and saw the smoke of the city rising up into the sky, but they had no chance to escape in any direction; the Israelites who had been fleeing toward the wilderness had turned back against their pursuers. – Joshua 8:20

Today’s Scripture Reading (January 4, 2019): Joshua 8

Confidence is essential to life, but it is also a double-edged sword. Confidence must be exercised in balance. Too little and you will never attempt to do anything in this life. Without confidence, you will walk cautiously and slowly in a race that is meant to be run. But there is also a danger in being overconfident. Overconfidence makes us miss the warning signs of failure. The overconfident run the race with abandon, but they are often running on the wrong track.

Ai had already defeated Israel once. There was no reason to believe that a second time would have a different conclusion. So when the army of Israel appears outside of the city, the city defenders decided to react with shock and awe. They were so sure of both the strategy of Israel and their own capacity to repel the invaders that they threw everything at the incoming army. They opened up the city gates, and the defenders of the city raced out with abandon.

For Israel, it was the perfect strategy. When the defenders of the city came barreling out after the invading force, and Israel’s army was forced to retreat, or maybe better phrased as a “turn and run,” the response was what was expected for both sides. The defenders of Ai expected Israel to run away and followed the fleeing army with something close to glee, while Israel expected that the overconfident defenders would follow the retreating army, attempting to chase them down and teach the invaders one more lesson.

Of course, all of that changed when the city defenders turned back to look, from a distance, at their unguarded city. It must have been quite a shock to see the city in flames. Then the defenders of Ai turned back to see the smiling faces of the invading force that was no longer retreating. The defenders of Ai had fallen into a trap that they might have seen if they had not been so overconfident. The defenders of Ai had run the race with abandon, but their overconfidence caused them to be on the wrong the track. The real battle had taken place back at the city walls, a place which they had left undefended.

Overconfidence has that effect on us. It causes us to overlook some of the significant battles of our lives and allows us to wear ourselves out fighting battles that should never have been fought. In Ai, the results of the battle would have been quite different if the defenders of the city had stayed home and performed their primary duty to the inhabitants of Ai, which was defending the city. Instead, they chased an army leaving the city unguarded, and in the end, they found themselves with no city to defend, and no home to which they could return.

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Joshua 9