“Every person is saying that other people are making plans against him. You should not believe those things. Don’t be afraid of the things those people fear. Don’t be afraid of those things!”
If you will respect the Lord and consider him holy, then he will be a safe place for you. But you don’t respect him. So God is like a rock that you people fall over. He is a rock that makes the two families of Israel stumble. The Lord is a trap to catch all the people of Jerusalem.
The people in the city of Gibeon sent a message to Joshua at his camp at Gilgal. The message said: “We are your servants! Don’t leave us alone. Come and help us! Hurry! Save us! All the Amorite kings from the hill country have brought their armies together to fight against us.”
Then the Lord said to Joshua, “Don’t be afraid. Don’t give up. Lead all your fighting men to Ai. [39] I will help you defeat the king of Ai. I am giving you his people, his city, and his land.