Joshua10 (1)

Joshua 7:10-25

The consecration

1.  The punishment of Achan and his family is a very difficult lesson.  The Lord considered the Canaanites to be an entirely sinful race.  The only way the land could be consecrated is the total elimination of the inhabitants.  To better understand God’s command and the need for cleansing the land, let’s carefully look at the first two commandments.  (Exodus 20:3-5)

This is a very important concept.  As Christians, we must be prepared to respond to the challenge, “how can you say that your God is loving, when He would bring so much destruction or death?  During Noah’s time, your God destroyed everyone except Noah’s immediate family.  In the land of Canaan, during Joshua’s time, kingdom after kingdom were totally destroyed.  During these times, only those who accept Jesus as their Lord and Savior will be saved - all others will be condemned to eternal damnation.  You say your God is loving and just!”  How would you respond to this?

2.  The Lord’s instruction to Moses, and to the nation of Israel, were explicit, “you shall not leave alive anything that breathes”  (Deut 20:16)  In previous chapters, we learned how Rahab earned an exception to this command.  In effect, Rahab became an Israelite.  By God’s treatment, we could similarly conclude that Achan became a Canaanite.

What do these two events, back to back, teach us about God’s relationship to the Israelites?

3.  In Chapter 3, verse 5, the Israelites were told to consecrate themselves prior to crossing the Jordan River.  Here again, following the defeat at Ai, the Israelites needed to consecrate themselves.  In spite of God’s promise to the Israelites, He would not honor that promise as long as sin lived amongst the Israelites.

            a)  How was this stain to be eradicated?

            b)  Was this appropriate punishment?  Was it fair?