Yahweh said to Joshua, Don't be afraid, neither be dismayed: take all the people of war with you, and arise, go up to Ai; behold, I have given into your hand the king of Ai, and his people, and his city, and his land;
"Fear not, neither be thou dismayed ..." Joshua indeed had much to fear, as Matthew Henry said, "The treacherous Israelites were more to be dreaded than the malicious Canaanites!"[6]  As for the reason why God commanded so many to be involved in the capture of Ai, Calvin thought it was to give all the people a chance to view the struggle as their own, and "to reassure the people"[7] by giving them a close-up view of the coming victory.  As Blair put it, "In order that the morale of all the people could be restored."[8]