We need to read this section again, but some background info will help open the passage up.

If you can’t picture the map of OT Israel find one online. Note the location of Jericho, just west of the Jordan River and just a few miles north of the Dead Sea. That was Israel’s first conquest when entering the Land, followed by Ai, about 5 miles northwest of Jericho. Then came the misguided treaty with the Gibeonites. The five kings listed here are all kings of cities (city states) in the southern portion of the Promised Land, west and generally south of Jericho.

This coalition of five kings attacks the Gibeonites because of their treaty with Israel. But the Gibeonites have what is called a vassal treaty with Israel. That is, the Gibeonites will be the servants of Israel and in return receive the promise of protection if they’re ever attacked. That’s why Israel comes to their defense.

Note that the foremost of the five kings, the one who puts together this coalition, is Adoni-Zedek, the king of Jerusalem. The date at this point is about 1400 B.C. and it won’t be until David, in 1000 B.C., that Jerusalem becomes the capital of Israel. At this point it’s just one of the walled city states Israel has to conquer.

Three factors contributed to the defeat of the coalition, and two of those factors were miraculous. Read the passage and identify those three factors. Can we draw any conclusions from this combination of good strategy and God’s actions when it comes to our own battles in life?

Same routine: read through the passage briskly, more than once if you’ve got time. Do it with a pencil in hand and underline any words or phrases that stand out as potentially significant to the narrative. We’ll go back and take a closer look next time. There’s some interesting stuff in here!

We’ve been going too quickly. Time to slow down and let God speak.

Read this chapter again, slowly. Listen to God speak. Ask him to call to your mind times when you have failed to “inquire of the Lord” and made what turned out to be a foolish (or worse) decision.

Are you facing a decision now for which you should be seeking God’s counsel? If your answer is no, consider that Joshua and the leaders didn’t think they were, either.

So read. slowly and prayerfully, asking God to open your mind, your eyes, your heart. THIS is where God’s Word works.

Read this narrative again. Take your time, and picture it in your mind. How big was the delegation? Were they nervous as Joshua and the elders questioned them? Did the interrogation take long, or was it done too quickly? Was that the problem? (Or did your identification of the key phrase point to another failure?)

Several interesting questions present themselves in this chapter. Yes, the Gibeonites tricked the leaders of Israel, but was that a moral failure or a perfectly legitimate tactic, similar the Israel’s trick in ambushing the army of Ai?

Can we assume Israel’s leaders acted uprightly when they insisted on sticking to their agreement with the Gibeonites even when it was made under false pretenses? If the answer is yes…what does that say about our obligations to fulfill contractual commitments, formal or informal? Our kids say, “That’s not fair!” What if we’ve been taken advantage of? Or made a foolish decision out of haste? Or neglected to do due diligence (incl. seeking God’s wisdom)? If it’s not fair are we still bound?

Can you think of a situation where a believer might think he/she isn’t obligated to go through with something because tit wasn’t fair?

By now you know the routine. Skim chapter 9 to get a feel for the story. It’s an interesting one.

As you read (and re-read) think about which verse stands as the key to this narrative. It’s really just a phrase.

I don’t know you’re out there because I can’t hear you breathing. That is, I have no idea who, if anyone, is participating in this blog on a regular basis. But assuming someone is, and that you’re one of them (or perhaps the only one), it’s time to try something new.

Read this brief section again, and then take the time to re-read the parallel passages from Deuteronomy.

Note that what Joshua has the Israelites do here carries out specific instructions given by Moses before he died. In keeping with the axiom that anything repeated in the Bible can be assumed to have particular significance, what’s the significance of this narrative? Why is it important for the Israelites to stand, half on one side of the Ark of the Covenant and half on the other, and hear the blessings and curses of obedience and disobedience, respectively?

Don’t expect me to give you the answer(s). But after you’ve thought about that some, ask what implications this has for believers today. What is God saying to us about the connections between obedience and blessing, disobedience and curses?

Read this short section through, then come back.

Have you read it, or are you cheating? (God knows if you are.)

Now go read Deut. 27:11-14, and then skim 27:15 - 28:14.

What happens in the second half of Joshua 8 is the fulfillment of an instruction Moses gave to the nation just before they entered the land. This portion of the Promised Land is characterized by significant hills (sometimes called “mountains” in the Bible) with valleys in between. Here, six of the tribes stand in front of Mt. Ebal and half in front of Mt. Gerizim with the priests and the Tabernacle in the valley in between.

This is a short section, so read it again, this time picturing the setting, and the content of the material Joshua recited.

Read this section once again. Now that you know the story read it with a view to some of the details. Also, ask questions as you read (this is a very good habit when doing your Bible reading). “What does this phrase mean? Why are they doing this? How can this be right?

That’s one of the questions that arises when we go through the narratives in Joshua - “How can this be right?” It bothers some people so much that they reject the book, and with it the Bible. How can God tell Israel to wipe out the Canaanites - men, women and children - and be considered a righteous, loving God? How can the nation of Israel claim to be any better than other genocidal armies?

The answer is not as complicated as you might expect. In a break from our normal procedure in this blog (you read and discover) allow me to comment briefly on this issue.

In Gen. 6:5-7 we read that the sinfulness of mankind was so egregious that he wiped out humanity through the use of the flood - save Noah and his family whom he preserved on the ark. We understand and accept God’s righteous judgment in using the flood to deal with mankind’s total corruption.

In Gen. 15 God speaks to Abraham re. the Promised Land. Abraham has entered it, having arrived there from his home in Ur. But in verse 12ff God tells Abraham that he won’t take possession of it now. His descendants will spend 400 years enslaved in a country that is not theirs (Egypt). Only after that enslavement they will return to Canaan and possess it, “for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete” (v. 16).

That is, the Amorites (aka, Canaanites) are sinking to the same level as existed throughout humanity in the days of Noah. Note: we know from archaeology about Canaanite civilization and it fits that description! So in Joshua we read narratives of God’s accomplishing two purposes at one time. He is giving the Promised Land to Israel. They are also his instruments to totally destroy the Canaanites because of their pervasive evil which, by the time of Joshua, will be “complete,” that is, warranting total destruction.

If we accept the validity and righteousness of God’s judgment through the flood waters we must also accept his judgment as carried out through the instrumentality of the Israelites. That they gained the Promised Land in the process is nothing but God’s sovereign will.

OK, read this narrative again. Do any other issues or questions come to mind?

Sorry for the hiatus. Traveling.

As we enter Joshua 8 do what you’ve done each time we begin a new section - skim it just to get the flow of the narrative. The first 29 verses form a narrative unit, so if you have time read it through twice.

A couple of details may help you picture what happens here. The very small city of Ai was located about 5 miles northwest of Jericho, so the people of that city knew exactly what happened to their powerful neighbor. The city of Bethel, slightly larger than Ai, was another 3 or 4 miles to the west.

Enjoy this narrative. It would make a great movie because it’s filled with action and very visual.

Read the last section, vv. 16-26.

Joshua begins narrowing things down from tribe to family to household until he arrives at Achan. This would have been done by the drawing of lots. That is, 12 stones or something similar would have been put into a bag, each with the name of one of the tribes written on it. The one pulled out was Judah’s. This procedure continued until Achan was called forward.

The phrase “Give glory to the Lord” (v. 19) is the equivalent to “Swear under oath.”

Verse 21 is key to the narrative. Underline each of the verbs in this verse. (Your version may have a slightly different translation than others, but you should come up with four verbs.) Do those verbs present a pattern for much of our sin?

Achan hid the booty under his tent. That is, he dug a hole under the floor of his tent and put it there, then covered it back up. That’s probably why his family is included in his punishment; it’s pretty hard to do something like that without the complicity of the others in the family.

Why was it necessary for all of Israel to participate in the stoning? Lesson there?

Does the Achan Dynamic still function? That is, does the sin of one member of the group negatively impact the entire group even if they’re unaware of it? Is that what happened with Jonah on board the ship he took to flee from the Lord? Do you think something like that could happen in a family, or in a church today? Or doesn’t God work like that anymore?