Introduction: In Joshua chapter 6 God destroyed the walled
city of Jericho. The people watched as God collapsed the
massive walls. It was an absolutely glorious victory for the
Israelites. Previous to that they crossed over the flooded
Jordan when God turned it into dry land. Now the next
target city is Ai. If you were one of the Israelites would
you feel great confidence because of these recent successes?
I would. But something very negative turns success into
defeat. We will study that in this lesson and see what we
can learn if we want to live a successful life. Let’s dive
into our study of the Bible!
I. The Campaign Against Ai
A. Read Joshua 7:2-3. What was the first step Joshua
took in conquering Ai? (He sent spies. Recall that
we had a discussion about whether Joshua should
have sent spies to Jericho.)
1. Other than saving Rahab and her family, can
you name any contribution the spies made to
the defeat of Jericho?
2. What was the purpose in sending spies to Ai?
(To assess the strength of the people in Ai.
We know this because of the nature of the
report that they gave: only a few men were in
Ai.)
3. Is sending these spies an act of faith by
Joshua?
B. Read Joshua 7:4-5. In light of what happened, is
the report of the spies that “they are few” of any
help?
1. Did the number of men in Ai matter to God? (If
you are on God’s side, it does not matter how
many are against you, it matters whether God
is with you.)
2. If Joshua had not based his military decision
on the spy report and sent the whole army,
would they have defeated Ai?
3. What lesson do we find in these verses when we
face problems? (Joshua was looking in the
wrong place. When you face a problem do not
concentrate on the size of the problem,
concentrate on your relationship with God. As
we will see next, Joshua would have done
better to be looking more closely at what was
going on at home instead of what was going on
at Ai.)
C. Look again at the last part of Joshua 7:5. Is a
“melted heart” an appropriate response? If God has
given you success in the past, have you let one
recent defeat create mistrust in God?
II. Turning to God
A. Read Joshua 7:6-9. What do you think about Joshua’s
reaction to this defeat?
1. What is the first thing Joshua did when he
heard of this defeat? (He turned to God.
Good!)
2. What is the second thing he did? (Blame God.)
B. Read Numbers 14:3. This is what the Hebrews said
when they first approached the land promised to
them and heard the unfavorable spy report. How does
this compare to what Joshua said in Joshua 7:7?
(Forty years later Joshua is saying essentially
what he fought against when he was a “minority
spy.”)
III. The Nature of Sin (Joshua v. Achan)
A. Go back and read Joshua 7:1 and Joshua 7:10-12.
Also read Joshua 7:19-21. God says the people have
violated God’s covenant by stealing and lying.
Which sin do you think is worse, stealing and lying
or losing faith and blaming God?
1. Let’s think about the basis for Achan’s sin.
What was the root cause of Achan’s sin?
(Covetousness.)
2. What is the root cause of covetousness? (Not
trusting God to take care of us. Or seeking
more than we get from God.)
3. Think about Joshua sending spies and the spies
saying that just a few men are defending Ai.
Joshua then relies on his judgment of the spy
information for the battle plan against Ai. Is
this similar to Achan’s sin – a failure of
trust?
B. Look again at Joshua 7:5. In the context of our
discussion about whether Achan’s sin or Joshua’s
post-defeat attitude are the greater sin, do you
also find sin in Joshua’s decision to send only a
few men?
1. Would it be fair to say the defeat was caused
by Achan and Joshua?
2. When you find that you are defeated, is the
defeat the result of more than one sin?
Including the sin of another person?
C. Let’s jump ahead and read Joshua 8:26-27. Achan is
in trouble for taking plunder from Jericho. What
was God’s rule about taking plunder from Ai? (God
allowed it.)
D. Look again at Joshua 7:21. What were the three
steps to sin that Achan describes? (He saw. He
coveted. He took.)
1. Achan could have properly taken these kinds of
things from Ai. What does that tell us about
the foolishness of sin? The foolishness of a
failure to trust?
IV. Achan v. Rahab
A. Read Joshua 6:17-18 and Joshua 7:13. What rule is
God enforcing? (Israel will face trouble and
destruction if it takes any of the wealth of
Jericho that is devoted to destruction.)
B. In Joshua 7:13-18 we see a systematic narrowing of
the tribe, clan, and household until we get to
Achan and his household. Read Joshua 7:19. What is
Joshua’s tone towards Achan?
1. Recall that we learned from Joshua 7:5 that 36
of the Hebrew fighting men were killed by the
people of Ai. (Joshua sounds kind rather than
angry.)
C. Read Joshua 7:24-26. What are all the things that
result from Achan’s sin? (His whole family is
killed. Thirty-six men died in battle. Israel
cannot win in the future until this sin is
addressed.)
1. Why? Isn’t this the sin of only one person?
D. How should we look at this in light of Rahab?
Joshua 6:25 tells us that Rahab and all her family
were saved. Does salvation and punishment go by
family units?
1. If God handles things in groups, why didn’t
Rahab die in Jericho? (We don’t have enough
information about Achan to adequately examine
God’s judgment. But one lesson we know to be
true. Sometimes we get hurt because of the
sins of others.)
a. Do you see this today in our families? In
our church? In our country?
E. Read Deuteronomy 24:16. Can you reconcile this with
what happened to Achan’s family? (The resolution
must be that they knew what Achan had done and
supported it. He could hardly dig a hole in their
tent and bury the goods without them knowing about
it.)
V. The Second Attack on Ai
A. Read Joshua 8:1 and Joshua 8:3-7. Describe this
battle plan.
1. Do we finally have a plan that makes sense
from a military point of view?
a. If so, why?
2. Was it a lack of faith to have a good battle
plan? If not, why not have one for Jericho
that made military sense? (If God gives us a
plan, we had better follow it. But good
planning is not contrary to God’s will. He can
and will bless good plans.)
B. Read Joshua 8:13-16 and Joshua 8:19-21. How many
men did Israel lose? (None are reported.)
C. Friend, obedience to God makes all the difference!
Trust in God is essential. Your faith and obedience
will impact your family and those around you. Will
you resolve today, through the power of the Holy
Spirit, to obey and trust God?
VI. Next week: Ultimate Loyalty: Worship in a War Zone.
Copr. 2025, Bruce N. Cameron, J.D. Scripture quotations are
from the ESV Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard
Version ), copyright 2001 by Crossway, a publishing
ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All
rights reserved. Suggested answers are found within
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but it is lost one week, you can find it by clicking on this
link: http://www.GoBible.org. Pray for the guidance of the
Holy Spirit as you study.
