This week we are returning to the book of Joshua, and we will be considering the defeat of Ai. There is a theme that is quite familiar in Joshua that comes to the forefront in this passage in God's wonderful instruction to his people: "do not fear and do not be dismayed." There are many things in this world that can cause us to fear, but our encouragement is that a proper fear of the Lord dispels every other fear. This absence of fear is also not irrational on our part, it is the direct result of God's promise that he is with us.