The message of the Lord to Israel before the defeat of Jericho was crystal clear and communicated to the people. They were not to take of the “accursed things”. They were not to enjoy any of the spoils of battle from Jericho and they were to destroy all the false religion associated with Jericho. Numbers 26 gives us a total of 601,730 soldiers prepared for the complete conquest of the Promised Land. Now this army proceeds inland to establish a base camp. Not every man will fight in every battle as the battle of Ai makes this clear.
