A Different Way of Doing Things

Theme: Obedient Faith

Scripture: Joshua 6:1-27

Notes and questions:

B1 Background and situation

• Summary: http://www.preceptaustin.org/joshua_commentaries
• 
• In the book of Joshua we see God fulfilling His promise to Israel. They did receive the land that was promised to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. God fulfills His promises.
• Jericho was the city before them. It was very fortified with double walls, open area between the walls, and a ditch before the walls. If Jericho could withstand the advance of Israel, then Canaan was safe.

B2 Outline

• City prepared Joshua 6:1
• God’s instructions Joshua 6:2-5
• Joshua’s instructions to priests Joshua 6:6-11
• The 6 days of marching Joshua 6:12-14
• The 7th day of marching and final instructions Joshua 6:15-19
• The conquest Joshua 6:20-21
• Rahab and family rescued Joshua 6:22-23
• The final outcome Joshua 6:24-25
• The curse Joshua 6:26-27

B3 City prepared Joshua 6:1,

• What was the attitude of the people of Jericho?
• What do you think Rahab was thinking?

B4 God’s instructions Joshua 6:2-5,

• Who is the deliverer?
• Is anything too hard for the Lord?
• How can we apply this to our situation?
• Why did God give these types of instructions? Doesn’t it seem a little weird for an army to do this?
• How do the Israelis show their faith?

B5 Joshua’s instructions to priests Joshua 6:6-11

• How long was it before Joshua gave the command to march?
• Why the trumpet?
• Note: the trumpet was an animal horn, the shofar.
• Attribution: By slgckgc - Blowing The Shofar on Rosh Hashanah, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=43461373
• 
• A prayer and example of shofar: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6e/The_National_Library_of_Israel_-_Shofar_Prayer%2C_Ashkenazi_version_-_1785188_SHOFAR78.ogg
• Why did the people have to be silent?

B6 The 6 days of marching Joshua 6:12-14

• Would it seem weird to do this for six days?
• How can we apply this to our day and lives?

B7 The 7th day of marching and final instructions Joshua 6:15-19

• Why were all the goods of the city devoted to God?
• Did the people understand the directions?
• Why were only the metals to be given to the treasury of God? (They were cherem, that is, devoted).

B8 The conquest Joshua 6:20-21

• Was it wrong to kill every single person in the city except Rahab and her family?
• Is God wicked, as some charge, to order this?
• See Deuteronomy 9:4-6 and Genesis 15:16.
• See also Romans 6:23.
• What about the infants? The parents made a bad decision, so the children suffered. Rahab and family were NOT killed.

B9 Rahab and family rescued Joshua 6:22-23

• Was the promise of safety carried out?
• Why were Rahab and her family placed outside the camp?

B10 The final outcome Joshua 6:24-25

• Why was the city burned?
• What is the significance of the phrase “...to this day?”

B11 The curse Joshua 6:26-27

• Why was rebuilding the city given a curse?
• Why was Joshua successful?
• Can we be success in what God has asked of us? How?

B12 Next week

• Divine intervention
• Theme: Miraculous faith
• Scripture: Joshua 10:1-27