Today the kids went through a study of the Battle of Jericho. Below is the Teacher Devotion. See the Parent's Corner Tab, which has all the links to the Homework and Lesson Themes.
There was one question that I brought up in class that might be a good follow-up discussion with your little ones this week.
Question: How do you feel about God's command to destroy everything (men, women, children, animals) in the City of Jericho, except Rahab and her family (Joshua 6:24-25)?
Question: How do you feel about God's command to destroy everything (men, women, children, animals) in the City of Jericho, except Rahab and her family (Joshua 6:24-25)?
This question elicited some empathy/sadness from the children for the people of Jericho that were wiped out. I discussed with the kids that God is a Holy God, and that he was using Israel as his rod of judgement against the people of Jericho and later the other nations that the Israelites destroyed and drove out of the land. I told them that the peoples of the land did not worship God, and were doing very evil things, which included child/infant sacrifice. God was judging the peoples of this land for the evil that was occurring in that land. However, he did have mercy on Rahab and her family because they demonstrated a believing faith in Yahweh that saved them from His Judgement. While this is a simple answer, its not necessarily a very satisfying one, and how we reconcile God's judgement versus his mercy/love! Would love to know your thoughts on this, and how you may explain/discuss with your kids throughout this next week.
Blessing to you all and I hope you have a great week!
Brian
Teacher Preparation
Brian
Teacher Preparation
Scriptural Background
Before you begin to prepare for your lesson, please prepare your heart and mind by reading Joshua 5:13– 6:27 and Hebrews 11:30, noticing that the faith of Israel was instrumental in accomplishing God’s plan to defeat Jericho.
After God’s charge to Joshua to lead the nation into the Promised Land and after the episode of Rahab and the spies, the nation of Israel itself was still on the east- ern banks of the Jordan and had not yet crossed into the land that God had promised them. Chapters 3 and 4 of Joshua tell of the miraculous stopping of the Jordan River’s waters, allowing Israel to cross on dry ground, and of the memorial stones that Israel placed on the other side to commemorate God’s faithfulness. The bearing of the Ark of the Covenant before the nation (Joshua 3:11) declared that God was fulfilling His pur- pose to establish a nation for His own glory, which He had declared to Abraham nearly 500 years earlier.
The first obstacle before Israel was the city of Jericho. In Joshua 5:13–15, a Man identified as “the Commander of the Lord’s army” appeared to Joshua. This Man represents a Christophany—a pre-incar- nate appearance in history of the Lord Jesus. If that were not the case, Joshua would not have obeyed the Man when commanded to take off his sandals because he was standing on holy ground. This was the Son of God Himself in human form, declaring that He would lead and fight for Israel. This was to be no ordinary battle!
The battle plan from the Lord must have seemed very strange to Joshua. Jericho responded to Israel’s approach by securely shutting up the city (Joshua 6:1), an indication that they expected a siege. God’s instruc- tions to Joshua were for the army of Israel to march around the city once each day for six days, following the Ark of the Covenant, with the priests blowing trum- pets, but making no other noise (Joshua 6:3–4). Then on the seventh day, the city would be circled seven times in the same manner, and finally, the Israelites would be instructed to shout—and God promised that at that time, the city would be miraculously destroyed, leaving a path for Israel to march directly in and take the city (Joshua 6:4–5). No other battles had been fought by Israel in this manner, and no others would be. God had a particular purpose to mark this victory, the first in the Promised Land, with a miraculous triumph that would follow a week of ceremony. God desired to conquer Jericho in a way that could not be attributed to Israel’s. military prowess. Israel would have had every reason, from a standpoint of military tactics and wisdom, to doubt whether God’s directions for the battle would be successful. On the other hand, the Israelites knew the faithfulness of God’s care for 40 years in the wilder- ness, knew from the previous generation of their great deliverance from Egypt, and knew that God gives the victory from their successful battles against the kings Sihon and Og (Deuteronomy 2:26–3:11). The Israelites were convinced that God’s promise was to be trusted, and they obeyed His seemingly strange commands for the battle of Jericho.
Israel’s faith at Jericho is mentioned in Hebrews 11 along with many others who demonstrated their faith in God—among them Noah, Abraham, Moses, and Rahab. These saints of God had faith that led them to look beyond immediate circumstances and trust that God’s ways would lead to blessing beyond any earthly situation. In all of those examples, faith led to obedi- ent action (see Hebrews 11:7–31). Israel obeyed God’s instructions for the battle, trusting His goodness and faithfulness to His promises. After the seventh circle around the city on the seventh day, Israel shouted, the walls of Jericho fell, and the Israelites went straight into the city and destroyed their enemies—God’s enemies.
Just as the spies had promised, Rahab and her family were spared (Joshua 6:25) as reward for her help in protecting the spies before the battle (Joshua 2). Joshua 6:25 tells us that “she dwells in Israel to this day,” showing that Rahab became one of God’s people. It also shows us that the book of Joshua wasn’t written very long after the events of the book occurred, since Rahab was still living.
Historical/Apologetics Background
For much of the twentieth century, archaeologists declared that the biblical account of Jericho could not have happened as the Bible said it did. More recent discoveries, however, have not only led to an archaeo- logical revision of the date of Jericho’s destruction that accords with Joshua’s time in history but have also shown that the ruins that have been uncovered were destroyed in a way that is perfectly consistent with the Bible’s description of the event. What was once con- sidered a “problem” of the Bible’s inconsistency with archaeological research has turned out, upon further discovery and study, to be an example of archaeo- logical evidence displaying the trustworthiness of the Bible’s accuracy. Of course, God’s Word can be trusted completely, with or without such scientific “vindication.”
Before the Throne
Almighty Lord, I am awed by your power and faithfulness as I study this lesson. You are able. Help me Lord to live a life of faith like Rahab and Joshua and to pass that desire on to the children in my class. May each encounter I have with my students help them to fall in love with you and your Word more and more. Praise the name of the Lord! You are more than able.
Before you begin to prepare for your lesson, please prepare your heart and mind by reading Joshua 5:13– 6:27 and Hebrews 11:30, noticing that the faith of Israel was instrumental in accomplishing God’s plan to defeat Jericho.
After God’s charge to Joshua to lead the nation into the Promised Land and after the episode of Rahab and the spies, the nation of Israel itself was still on the east- ern banks of the Jordan and had not yet crossed into the land that God had promised them. Chapters 3 and 4 of Joshua tell of the miraculous stopping of the Jordan River’s waters, allowing Israel to cross on dry ground, and of the memorial stones that Israel placed on the other side to commemorate God’s faithfulness. The bearing of the Ark of the Covenant before the nation (Joshua 3:11) declared that God was fulfilling His pur- pose to establish a nation for His own glory, which He had declared to Abraham nearly 500 years earlier.
The first obstacle before Israel was the city of Jericho. In Joshua 5:13–15, a Man identified as “the Commander of the Lord’s army” appeared to Joshua. This Man represents a Christophany—a pre-incar- nate appearance in history of the Lord Jesus. If that were not the case, Joshua would not have obeyed the Man when commanded to take off his sandals because he was standing on holy ground. This was the Son of God Himself in human form, declaring that He would lead and fight for Israel. This was to be no ordinary battle!
The battle plan from the Lord must have seemed very strange to Joshua. Jericho responded to Israel’s approach by securely shutting up the city (Joshua 6:1), an indication that they expected a siege. God’s instruc- tions to Joshua were for the army of Israel to march around the city once each day for six days, following the Ark of the Covenant, with the priests blowing trum- pets, but making no other noise (Joshua 6:3–4). Then on the seventh day, the city would be circled seven times in the same manner, and finally, the Israelites would be instructed to shout—and God promised that at that time, the city would be miraculously destroyed, leaving a path for Israel to march directly in and take the city (Joshua 6:4–5). No other battles had been fought by Israel in this manner, and no others would be. God had a particular purpose to mark this victory, the first in the Promised Land, with a miraculous triumph that would follow a week of ceremony. God desired to conquer Jericho in a way that could not be attributed to Israel’s. military prowess. Israel would have had every reason, from a standpoint of military tactics and wisdom, to doubt whether God’s directions for the battle would be successful. On the other hand, the Israelites knew the faithfulness of God’s care for 40 years in the wilder- ness, knew from the previous generation of their great deliverance from Egypt, and knew that God gives the victory from their successful battles against the kings Sihon and Og (Deuteronomy 2:26–3:11). The Israelites were convinced that God’s promise was to be trusted, and they obeyed His seemingly strange commands for the battle of Jericho.
Israel’s faith at Jericho is mentioned in Hebrews 11 along with many others who demonstrated their faith in God—among them Noah, Abraham, Moses, and Rahab. These saints of God had faith that led them to look beyond immediate circumstances and trust that God’s ways would lead to blessing beyond any earthly situation. In all of those examples, faith led to obedi- ent action (see Hebrews 11:7–31). Israel obeyed God’s instructions for the battle, trusting His goodness and faithfulness to His promises. After the seventh circle around the city on the seventh day, Israel shouted, the walls of Jericho fell, and the Israelites went straight into the city and destroyed their enemies—God’s enemies.
Just as the spies had promised, Rahab and her family were spared (Joshua 6:25) as reward for her help in protecting the spies before the battle (Joshua 2). Joshua 6:25 tells us that “she dwells in Israel to this day,” showing that Rahab became one of God’s people. It also shows us that the book of Joshua wasn’t written very long after the events of the book occurred, since Rahab was still living.
Historical/Apologetics Background
For much of the twentieth century, archaeologists declared that the biblical account of Jericho could not have happened as the Bible said it did. More recent discoveries, however, have not only led to an archaeo- logical revision of the date of Jericho’s destruction that accords with Joshua’s time in history but have also shown that the ruins that have been uncovered were destroyed in a way that is perfectly consistent with the Bible’s description of the event. What was once con- sidered a “problem” of the Bible’s inconsistency with archaeological research has turned out, upon further discovery and study, to be an example of archaeo- logical evidence displaying the trustworthiness of the Bible’s accuracy. Of course, God’s Word can be trusted completely, with or without such scientific “vindication.”
Before the Throne
Almighty Lord, I am awed by your power and faithfulness as I study this lesson. You are able. Help me Lord to live a life of faith like Rahab and Joshua and to pass that desire on to the children in my class. May each encounter I have with my students help them to fall in love with you and your Word more and more. Praise the name of the Lord! You are more than able.
Thank you so much for setting up this blog and for teaching our children, Brian and Thomas. We are so thankful for you guys and so appreciate all that you do. God bless!
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