Christ's Church of Oronogo Classes & Bible Studies

Joshua - Week 3

• Season 35 • Episode 3

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Teaching by Josh Clark

Week 3: The Ban and the Blessing (Ch 6-8)


1. Divine Judgment

  • Rhetoric of Herem (“the ban” / “total destruction”)
    • Hyperbole
      • Deut 7:1-4 
    • Merisms- a rhetorical and literary device in which the whole is represented through contrasting and opposite parts.
      •  Josh 6:21
  • God is just and has every right to execute judgment on sin
    • Exodus 34:5-6
      • The most quoted OT text within the OT
      • Highlights God’s Justice and His Mercy

2. Jericho (Ch 6)

  • V. 16-25  
    • V. 16 They are to shout because God had given them the city
      • There must be a complete trust in God for the Israelites to have victory. 
    • V. 18-19 Keep these verses in mind as we go into chapter 7
    • V. 22 & 25 Rahab is referred to as the prostitute to show how unsuitable her deliverance may seem. 


3. Achan (Ch 7)

V. 2 - 9

  • V. 1  Just as soon as they make it into the promised land they sin. 
  • V. 5 “And the hearts of the people melted and became as water.”
    • The Israelites are responding the way the Canaanites have (Josh 2:9, 11; 5:1). 
  • V. 6-9 Joshua intercedes for the people
    • Joshua does not know that there is sin in the camp
    • V. 9 Joshua appeals to God’s name and reputation

V. 10-26

  • V. 11 “Israel has sinned”
    • One man’s sin affects the entire nation. 
    • Achan’s sin leads to the death of 36 men (7:5) and his entire family (7:24)
  • V. 12 “I will be with you no more” 
    • Israel is devoted to destruction
  • V. 21 “Saw”, “Beautiful” (good), “coveted” (desired), “took” 
    • Gen 3:6
    • Just as Achan’s treasure is in the ground, so Achan goes into the ground. 
      • Being an Israelite alone does not preserve you from herem. 
    • V. 24 Valley of Achor (Valley of Trouble) 
      • Isaiah 65:10; Hosea 2:14 

4. Ai (Ch 8:1-29)

V. 1-2 

  • V. 1 “Do not fear and do not be dismayed” - “be strong and courageous” of chapter 1
  • V. 2 
    • “Only its spoil and its livestock you shall take as plunder for yourselves.”
      • (Compare Josh 6:18-19)
    • “Lay an ambush against the city, behind it.”
      • God is the one who is commanding the Israelites. 

V. 3-29

  • V. 3-13 Joshua prepares for the ambush
  • V. 14-17 The armies of Bethel and Ai respond
  • V. 18 God Commands Joshua to stretch out his javelin
  • V. 19-27 The Ai-Bethel army is defeated
  • V. 28-29 The memorial of Ai
    • Ai burned; The king of Ai is hung on a tree (Deut 21:22-23)
      • A heap of stones piled over his body (compare Josh 4:1-10,19-2; 7:24-26)

5. Covenant Renewal (Ch 8:30-35)

V. 30-35

  • V. 30-31 “just as Moses the servant of the Lord had commanded the people of Israel, as it is written in the Book of the Law of Moses”
    • Deut 27-28
      • Gerizim = blessing; Ebal = curse 
      • Curses shall be read by the Levites and all the people say “Amen”

6. Christ Connection

  • Life is found within the boundaries of God's Word. 
    • Israel and Rahab experience blessing through obedience
    • Jericho, Achan, and Ai experience judgment because they reject God's Word
  • Jesus came as the perfectly obedient Son who remained faithful where Adam, Israel, Achan, and we have failed
    • The King of Ai was hung on a tree as a sign of God's curse (Josh. 8:29; Deut. 21:22–23); Jesus, though innocent, was hung on a tree and became a curse for us, redeeming us from the curse we deserved (Gal. 3:13)
    • In Christ, the place of judgment becomes a place of mercy, and those who deserve the curse receive the blessing of life

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ssP-wQv2v5g&feature=youtu.be

https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/god-guilty-genocide/