Teaching by Josh Clark
Week 3: The Ban and the Blessing (Ch 6-8)
1. Divine Judgment
- Rhetoric of Herem (“the ban” / “total destruction”)
- Hyperbole
- Merisms- a rhetorical and literary device in which the whole is represented through contrasting and opposite parts.
- God is just and has every right to execute judgment on sin
- Exodus 34:5-6
- The most quoted OT text within the OT
- Highlights God’s Justice and His Mercy
2. Jericho (Ch 6)
- V. 16-25
- V. 16 They are to shout because God had given them the city
- There must be a complete trust in God for the Israelites to have victory.
- V. 18-19 Keep these verses in mind as we go into chapter 7
- V. 22 & 25 Rahab is referred to as the prostitute to show how unsuitable her deliverance may seem.
3. Achan (Ch 7)
V. 2 - 9
- V. 1 Just as soon as they make it into the promised land they sin.
- V. 5 “And the hearts of the people melted and became as water.”
- The Israelites are responding the way the Canaanites have (Josh 2:9, 11; 5:1).
- V. 6-9 Joshua intercedes for the people
- Joshua does not know that there is sin in the camp
- V. 9 Joshua appeals to God’s name and reputation
V. 10-26
- V. 11 “Israel has sinned”
- One man’s sin affects the entire nation.
- Achan’s sin leads to the death of 36 men (7:5) and his entire family (7:24)
- V. 12 “I will be with you no more”
- Israel is devoted to destruction
- V. 21 “Saw”, “Beautiful” (good), “coveted” (desired), “took”
- Gen 3:6
- Just as Achan’s treasure is in the ground, so Achan goes into the ground.
- Being an Israelite alone does not preserve you from herem.
- V. 24 Valley of Achor (Valley of Trouble)
4. Ai (Ch 8:1-29)
V. 1-2
- V. 1 “Do not fear and do not be dismayed” - “be strong and courageous” of chapter 1
- V. 2
- “Only its spoil and its livestock you shall take as plunder for yourselves.”
- “Lay an ambush against the city, behind it.”
- God is the one who is commanding the Israelites.
V. 3-29
- V. 3-13 Joshua prepares for the ambush
- V. 14-17 The armies of Bethel and Ai respond
- V. 18 God Commands Joshua to stretch out his javelin
- V. 19-27 The Ai-Bethel army is defeated
- V. 28-29 The memorial of Ai
- Ai burned; The king of Ai is hung on a tree (Deut 21:22-23)
- A heap of stones piled over his body (compare Josh 4:1-10,19-2; 7:24-26)
5. Covenant Renewal (Ch 8:30-35)
V. 30-35
- V. 30-31 “just as Moses the servant of the Lord had commanded the people of Israel, as it is written in the Book of the Law of Moses”
- Deut 27-28
- Gerizim = blessing; Ebal = curse
- Curses shall be read by the Levites and all the people say “Amen”
6. Christ Connection
- Life is found within the boundaries of God's Word.
- Israel and Rahab experience blessing through obedience
- Jericho, Achan, and Ai experience judgment because they reject God's Word
- Jesus came as the perfectly obedient Son who remained faithful where Adam, Israel, Achan, and we have failed
- The King of Ai was hung on a tree as a sign of God's curse (Josh. 8:29; Deut. 21:22–23); Jesus, though innocent, was hung on a tree and became a curse for us, redeeming us from the curse we deserved (Gal. 3:13)
- In Christ, the place of judgment becomes a place of mercy, and those who deserve the curse receive the blessing of life
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ssP-wQv2v5g&feature=youtu.be
https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/god-guilty-genocide/
