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Joshua Chapter Seven

1. The great victory over Jericho was marred by the faithlessness of one man (Josh. 7:1).
   1. “The sons” (plural) of Israel acted unfaithfully.
   2. Achan (עָכָן ‘ākān ^#5912: troubler) was personally responsible for his personally sinful actions (Deut. 24:16).
   3. The family of Carmi had a familial responsibility to discover and expose the evil within their sphere of accountability.
   4. The division of Zabdi had a divisional responsibility to discover and expose the evil within their sphere of accountability.
   5. The clan of Zerah had a clannish responsibility to discover and expose the evil within their sphere of accountability.
   6. The tribe of Judah had a tribal responsibility to discover and expose the evil within their sphere of accountability.
   7. The nation of Israel had a national responsibility to discover and expose the evil within their sphere of accountability.
2. The Lord’s anger is directed against the nation in response to the rebellion of the one man (Josh. 7:1b).
3. Joshua, unaware of Achan’s sin, dispatched spies to Conquest City #2: Ai (Josh. 7:2).
   1. The spies viewed Ai as a relatively easy conquest (Josh. 7:3).
   2. Joshua accepts the spies assessment, and dispatches a strike force of 3,000 men who faced immediate defeat (Josh. 7:4,5).
4. Joshua and the elders of Israel humbled themselves before the Lord, and lamented the shame and reproach they had brought upon Israel (Josh. 7:6-9).
5. The Lord lifts up Joshua, and teaches him that the defeat was a spiritual defeat rather than a military defeat (Josh. 7:10-12).
6. The Lord also teaches Joshua that the only solution for Israel is to investigate the sin and root it out (Josh. 7:13-15).
7. Joshua presided over the national grand-jury investigation.  Lot by lot was selected, and the chain of evidence from Judah to Zerah to Zabdi to Carmi to Achan was established (Josh. 7:16-18).
8. Provided with the opportunity to confess, Achan confessed to what he had looted from Jericho (Josh. 7:19-21).
9. The evidence is then collected, and the entire family of Achan is then brought to trial for sentencing (Josh. 7:22-26).

Joshua Chapter Eight

1. The Conquest is now permitted to go forth (Josh. 8:1).
   1. The first attempt was not ordained by the Lord.
   2. The second attempt will be made by the entire army, and not a limited human force based upon a finite perspective of human ability.
2. Joshua oversees the destruction of Ai through stratagem and ambush (Josh. 8:2-23).
3. Unlike Jericho (first fruits), Israel will be blessed by the plunder of Ai (Josh. 8:24-29).
4. Joshua built an altar of uncut stones (Ex. 20:24,25) to the Lord (Josh. 8:30-35), in obedience to the instructions of the Lord (Deut. 27:2-8).

Joshua Chapter Nine

1. Israel’s victories over Jericho & Ai prompted a united Canaanite alliance formed to fight against Israel (Josh. 9:1,2).
2. Israel’s victories over Jericho & Ai also prompted a Gibeonite plan to deceive Israel (Josh. 9:3-15).
   1. The Gibeonites were a clan of Hivites (Josh. 9:7).
   2. Israel suspected the origin of the Gibeonites (Josh. 9:7).
   3. Israel succumbed to the flattery of the Gibeonites (Josh. 9:8-13).
   4. Israel failed to inquire of the Lord for His wisdom in the matter (Josh. 9:14).
3. Israel’s covenant with Gibeon was against the will of God (Ex. 23:32; 34:12; Deut. 7:2), but as an oath, Israel could not violate it (Josh. 9:18-20; Deut. 23:21-23).
4. Joshua enslaved the Gibeonites to temporal-life service to the Levitical priesthood (Josh. 9:21-27).