To study the Conquest of Canaan we'll need to do some background
reading. I've prepared five articles that delve into various
important aspects. Why don't you read them as you study this
lesson. They are linked to the main Joshua page.

The Peoples of the Promised Land
http://www.jesuswalk.com/joshua/peoples.htm

The Detestable Religion of Canaan
http://www.jesuswalk.com/joshua/canaanite-religion.htm

Whose Land Is the Promised Land?
http://www.jesuswalk.com/joshua/promised-land.htm

Weapons in Joshua's Time
http://www.jesuswalk.com/joshua/warfare.htm

Why the Slaughter of Jericho? Devoted to Destruction - Herem
http://www.jesuswalk.com/joshua/herem.htm

The Battle of Jericho is one of those stories that we remember
from our Sunday School days. But what is happening here? What does
it mean? What are the lessons for us today? Let's go deeper.


MONDAY, OCTOBER 19
------------------
------------------------------------------------------------------
LEVEL 1: OBSERVATION QUESTIONS. WHAT DOES THE TEXT SAY?
------------------------------------------------------------------

1.1 Describe how the people of Israel circled the city? Who was
involved in the march? What were their instructions for the march?
What role did the ark play in this?

TUESDAY AND WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 20 - 21
--------------------------------------
------------------------------------------------------------------
LEVEL 2: INTERPRETATION QUESTIONS. WHAT DOES THE TEXT MEAN?
------------------------------------------------------------------

COMMENT: The expression "commander of the army of the LORD" (NIV,
5:14) is translated in the KJV as "captain of the host of the
LORD." The word translated "host" and "army" is Hebrew saba. The
plural sabaot used about 213 times in the phrase "the LORD of
hosts" (KJV). The NIV's "LORD Almighty" misses the military aspect
of the term.

2.1 EXTRA CREDIT. (5:14) The "army of the Lord" is more than
Joshua's fighting force. Look up: Genesis 32:1-2; 1 Samuel 17:45;
1 Kings 22:19; 2 Kings 6:14-17; Psalm 24:7-10; 148:2; Isaiah 13:4-
5; Luke 2:13; Revelation 19:14. What is the significance of this
Commander's appearance to Joshua?

2.2 (5:14) Who is this "Commander of the army of the LORD"? Do you
think he is an angel? The Lord himself? What does the passage
indicate?


2.3 (5:13-14). EXTRA CREDIT. When Joshua asks the Commander
whether he is "for us or for our enemies," why does the Commander
answer "neither"? What does he mean?


THURSDAY, OCTOBER 22
--------------------
2.4 (6:8-9) What is the significance of the ark in the procession
around the city of Jericho? (HINT: See Psalm 99:1 in a newer
translation such as the NIV, NASB, RSV, etc. Also read my article
at http://www.joyfulheart.com/kingdom/thrones.htm)

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 23
------------------
2.5 Why did God have the trumpets and silence, and then the final
shouting? What was the effect on the Israelites? On the
inhabitants of Jericho? What did this have to do with God's glory?

2.6 If you were looking for a "natural" cause for the walls of
Jericho to collapse, what would it be? Sound waves? If it can be
explained naturally, what is the miracle? What about Jericho's
location gives us a clue? (HINT: Look up the word "rift valley" in
your dictionary.)

MONDAY, OCTOBER 26
------------------
2.7 The Israelites have entered the "Promised Land" and are now
taking it away from its inhabitants. What right do they have to do
that? Is this just? (Read my article at
http://www.jesuswalk.com/joshua/promised-land.htm as you frame
your own answer.)

TUESDAY AND WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 27-28
------------------------------------
COMMENT: The word translated as "devoted" to the Lord (KJV
"accursed") in 6:17 is the Hebrew word herem. The word is closely
related to our word "harem" (from Arabic harim) which refers to a
secluded area of a house allotted to women. In Arabic the word
literally means "sanctuary," a "forbidden" area, since the women
in a harem are exclusively the property of the husband and off-
limits to all others. The Hebrew word herem used in our passage
refers to "the exclusion an object from the use or abuse of man
and its irrevocable surrender to God" (TWBOT 1:324).

2.8 (6:18-19) What in the city was said to be "devoted" to the
Lord? Why were the people prohibited from plundering the city for
themselves (as was the customary compensation for soldiers in that
day)? EXTRA CREDIT: What do these "devoted" things have to do with
the Commander (5:14) and the ark (6:6-9)?

2.9 The Israelites slaughtered all the inhabitants of Jericho
(except Rahab and her family) -- and the inhabitants of all the
other major cities in Palestine, for that matter. This grates on
our Christian sense of mercy. How are we to understand this? How
can the God of mercy be this brutal? (Read my article at
http://www.jesuswalk.com/joshua/herem.htm before you answer.)

CHAT SCHEDULED ON "WHY THE SLAUGHTER OF JERICHO?" on
TUESDAY, October 27: 5:30 pm Pacific Standard Time, 6:30 pm
Mountain, 7:30 pm Central, and 8:30 pm Eastern. For our
international friends this is Wednesday morning, September 29,
1:30 a.m. Greenwich Mean Time (GMT), the wee hours of the morning
for you in Europe and Africa. This is 9:30 am Wednesday in
Singapore, Hong Kong, and western Australia, and 10:30 am in Korea
and Japan -- I think :-)

THURSDAY AND FRIDAY, OCTOBER 29-30
----------------------------------
------------------------------------------------------------------
LEVEL 3: APPLICATION QUESTIONS. WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO ME?
------------------------------------------------------------------

3.1 The theme of the Battle of Jericho seems to be Joshua 1:9.
Can you share with us any times when you have found that the
Commander of the Army of the Lord has been with you in a time of
trouble?

Link to actual text version of these questions.

------------------------------------------------------------------
Copyright 1998, Ralph F. Wilson, all rights reserved. Joyful Heart
is a trademark of Joyful Heart Ministries. For reprint permission
contact pastor@joyfulheart.com