With the sin of Achan dealt with, God reveals to Joshua that the city of Ai will now fall to the Israelites on their second attempt, because the Lord is once again on their side.
Noticeably different this time is that God now permits the plunder of the city to be kept by the invaders. This is a good example of how God may alternatively say, "Yes," "No," and "Not Yet." For Jericho, God's plan was for all of the spoil to be devoted to destruction. The Israelites were to be permitted to keep nothing, but destroy it all. Yet that wasn't God's intention for all of the cities in Israel's path. There would be occasions when they would indeed be able to profit from the military conquest. If only Achan had been patient, his opportunity would have come. Instead, his rash disobedience earned him a death by stoning instead of an Ai trophy.
By a clever ruse and ambush, Joshua's forces are able to utterly defeat the citizens of Ai. Faking a military defeat, they draw the men of the city out in pursuit, while a hidden detachment of Israelite forces come in and burn the city. The men of Ai are then trapped in the open between Joshua's army and the group that had taken over the city in their absence. They were utterly crushed.
With two victories under his belt and a toehold established in the Promised Land, Joshua fulfills the instructions that God had set for the building of an altar on Mount Ebal (Deuternomy 27:4).
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