"First Things First"
Click below to download the Cornerstone Connections leader’s guide and student lesson. This week’s resources also include two lesson plans and a discussion starter video which offer different ways of looking at the topic. Each lesson plan includes opening activities, scripture passages, discussion questions, and real-life applications.
After Ai is finally defeated, Joshua reminds the people of the blessings that would attend their obedience to God and the curses that would haunt them should they disobey.
Beginning of the End
(Patriarchs and Prophets) ch. 46
The Miraculous Fall of Jericho
SCRIPTURE
OVERVIEW
Have you ever wondered why God allowed His people to wander in the desert for forty years? Have you ever wondered what God’s people thought and felt as they wandered in the desert? In today’s lesson, the land of Canaan is finally being conquered. What must it have been like to be part of the battle of Jericho and watch as God used His power to destroy a city that seemed impossible to conquer. Following God isn’t always easy, but when one does the rewards are incredible. Today’s lesson is the second act of the story where Israel is defeated by the army of the small town of Ai. Because of sin God did not allow His people to win the first battle and heavy losses were inflicted, but today marks the beginning of victory over Ai. Join today’s lesson as we follow the story of victory.
OPENING ACTIVITY: DRAWING ONE’S NEIGHBOR
TRANSITION
Rewriting history is easy because we know how it ends, but what about the future? Can the future be changed by an adjustment of attitudes or behavior? The easy answer is yes, but it is a lot more difficult to be done. Our lesson today shows us how bad behavior in the past cost countless lives and made Israel doubt God’s plan. As you study today’s lesson focus on the relationship between Israel and God and how He redeemed His people even though they didn’t follow the plan that He laid out the first time.
BIBLE STUDY GUIDE
Read Joshua 8:1-8.
Then the Lord said to Joshua, “Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged. Take the whole army with you, and go up and attack Ai. For I have delivered into your hands the king of Ai, his people, his city and his land. 2 You shall do to Ai and its king as you did to Jericho and its king, except that you may carry off their plunder and livestock for yourselves. Set an ambush behind the city.”
3 So Joshua and the whole army moved out to attack Ai. He chose thirty thousand of his best fighting men and sent them out at night 4 with these orders: “Listen carefully. You are to set an ambush behind the city. Don’t go very far from it. All of you be on the alert. 5 I and all those with me will advance on the city, and when the men come out against us, as they did before, we will flee from them. 6 They will pursue us until we have lured them away from the city, for they will say, ‘They are running away from us as they did before.’ So when we flee from them, 7 you are to rise up from ambush and take the city. The Lord your God will give it into your hand. 8 When you have taken the city, set it on fire. Do what the Lord has commanded. See to it; you have my orders.”
DISCUSSION
Read Joshua 8:9-28.
9 Then Joshua sent them off, and they went to the place of ambush and lay in wait between Bethel and Ai, to the west of Ai—but Joshua spent that night with the people.
10 Early the next morning Joshua mustered his army, and he and the leaders of Israel marched before them to Ai. 11 The entire force that was with him marched up and approached the city and arrived in front of it. They set up camp north of Ai, with the valley between them and the city. 12 Joshua had taken about five thousand men and set them in ambush between Bethel and Ai, to the west of the city. 13 So the soldiers took up their positions—with the main camp to the north of the city and the ambush to the west of it. That night Joshua went into the valley.
14 When the king of Ai saw this, he and all the men of the city hurried out early in the morning to meet Israel in battle at a certain place overlooking the Arabah. But he did not know that an ambush had been set against him behind the city. 15 Joshua and all Israel let themselves be driven back before them, and they fled toward the wilderness. 16 All the men of Ai were called to pursue them, and they pursued Joshua and were lured away from the city. 17 Not a man remained in Ai or Bethel who did not go after Israel. They left the city open and went in pursuit of Israel.
18 Then the Lord said to Joshua, “Hold out toward Ai the javelin that is in your hand, for into your hand I will deliver the city.” So Joshua held out toward the city the javelin that was in his hand. 19 As soon as he did this, the men in the ambush rose quickly from their position and rushed forward. They entered the city and captured it and quickly set it on fire.
20 The men of Ai looked back and saw the smoke of the city rising up into the sky, but they had no chance to escape in any direction; the Israelites who had been fleeing toward the wilderness had turned back against their pursuers. 21 For when Joshua and all Israel saw that the ambush had taken the city and that smoke was going up from it, they turned around and attacked the men of Ai. 22 Those in the ambush also came out of the city against them, so that they were caught in the middle, with Israelites on both sides. Israel cut them down, leaving them neither survivors nor fugitives. 23 But they took the king of Ai alive and brought him to Joshua.
24 When Israel had finished killing all the men of Ai in the fields and in the wilderness where they had chased them, and when every one of them had been put to the sword, all the Israelites returned to Ai and killed those who were in it. 25 Twelve thousand men and women fell that day—all the people of Ai. 26 For Joshua did not draw back the hand that held out his javelin until he had destroyed all who lived in Ai. 27 But Israel did carry off for themselves the livestock and plunder of this city, as the Lord had instructed Joshua.
28 So Joshua burned Ai and made it a permanent heap of ruins, a desolate place to this day.
DISCUSSION
Read Joshua 8:30-35.
30 Then Joshua built on Mount Ebal an altar to the Lord, the God of Israel, 31 as Moses the servant of the Lord had commanded the Israelites. He built it according to what is written in the Book of the Law of Moses—an altar of uncut stones, on which no iron tool had been used. On it they offered to the Lord burnt offerings and sacrificed fellowship offerings. 32 There, in the presence of the Israelites, Joshua wrote on stones a copy of the law of Moses. 33 All the Israelites, with their elders, officials and judges, were standing on both sides of the ark of the covenant of the Lord, facing the Levitical priests who carried it. Both the foreigners living among them and the native-born were there. Half of the people stood in front of Mount Gerizim and half of them in front of Mount Ebal, as Moses the servant of the Lord had formerly commanded when he gave instructions to bless the people of Israel.
34 Afterward, Joshua read all the words of the law—the blessings and the curses—just as it is written in the Book of the Law. 35 There was not a word of all that Moses had commanded that Joshua did not read to the whole assembly of Israel, including the women and children, and the foreigners who lived among them.
DISCUSSION
APPLICATION
The story of Ai is a challenging one. At time it seems that God is being unreasonable and at other times His desire for complete destruction of Israel’s enemies seems so complete that none will ever dare to challenge Israel. On one level God seems to be punishing Israel for one person’s greed and then follows it up with the complete destruction of Ai from the king down to the lowliest slave. To understand this story, one needs to look at the big picture of the great controversy. God’s people are always under attack from their enemies. It is only through complete obedience, the mercy of God, and the providence of God that His people will survive. Until sin is completely destroyed, God’s people will never be safe. As difficult as it seems, the people of Ai had proven themselves to God to be unsafe for His people to be around. God wants the best for His people. However, we get to choose which path to take.
FOLLOW UP
OVERVIEW
After the incredible stories of the Israelites crossing the Jordan River into the Promised Land of Canaan (Joshua 3), and then the unique battle plan for overthrowing Jericho (Joshua 6), the Israelites faced an abrupt reversal when they were defeated in their attack on the tiny town of Ai (Joshua 7). How could this happen?!
It turns out that it wasn’t overconfidence, but “sin in the camp” because a person by the name of Achan blatantly disobeyed God’s instruction to destroy everything in Jericho—like a complete sacrificial fire to God as an offering. Why did Achan disobey? According to his own confession (after he got exposed by God), “I wanted them so much that I took them” (Joshua 7:21 NLT). Dealing with “sin in the camp” was quite harsh. It had cost the lives of 36 Israelite soldiers and had completely demoralized the whole army (Joshua 7:5). That’s the lead-up to our study in Joshua 8.
The majority of the chapter describes God’s unique directions for conquering Ai on the second attempt. It worked masterfully! For some, the complete annihilation of a group of people (genocide) is problematic. Why would God direct the Israelites to do this? Would it be like giving Russia a directive to invade Ukraine and kill everyone there? North Americans hear about this almost every day. But we rarely hear about other current genocides (see the website “Genocide Watch” at https://www.genocidewatch.com/countries-at-risk) and we tend to forget genocides from the past (https://genocideeducation.org/resources/modern-era-genocides/) including in the United States. You may choose to avoid this topic because it can easily become the topic for the entire class time (and beyond), or it might be better to engage it if it matters to your youth. If you choose to do that, here’s a link with some background that includes Deuteronomy 7: https://www.reasonablefaith.org/writings/question-answer/slaughter-of-the-canaanites.
Joshua 8 closes with a renewal of the covenant between God and his people, including an oral reading of the entire law, with blessings for obedience and curses for disobedience. Everyone participated.
Let’s jump into the Bible story in Joshua 8!
If you aren’t sure, do you tend to back away, hold steady, or push forward?
Read Joshua 8:1-35.
Then the Lord said to Joshua, “Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged. Take the whole army with you, and go up and attack Ai. For I have delivered into your hands the king of Ai, his people, his city and his land. 2 You shall do to Ai and its king as you did to Jericho and its king, except that you may carry off their plunder and livestock for yourselves. Set an ambush behind the city.”
3 So Joshua and the whole army moved out to attack Ai. He chose thirty thousand of his best fighting men and sent them out at night 4 with these orders: “Listen carefully. You are to set an ambush behind the city. Don’t go very far from it. All of you be on the alert. 5 I and all those with me will advance on the city, and when the men come out against us, as they did before, we will flee from them. 6 They will pursue us until we have lured them away from the city, for they will say, ‘They are running away from us as they did before.’ So when we flee from them, 7 you are to rise up from ambush and take the city. The Lord your God will give it into your hand. 8 When you have taken the city, set it on fire. Do what the Lord has commanded. See to it; you have my orders.”
9 Then Joshua sent them off, and they went to the place of ambush and lay in wait between Bethel and Ai, to the west of Ai—but Joshua spent that night with the people.
10 Early the next morning Joshua mustered his army, and he and the leaders of Israel marched before them to Ai. 11 The entire force that was with him marched up and approached the city and arrived in front of it. They set up camp north of Ai, with the valley between them and the city. 12 Joshua had taken about five thousand men and set them in ambush between Bethel and Ai, to the west of the city. 13 So the soldiers took up their positions—with the main camp to the north of the city and the ambush to the west of it. That night Joshua went into the valley.
14 When the king of Ai saw this, he and all the men of the city hurried out early in the morning to meet Israel in battle at a certain place overlooking the Arabah. But he did not know that an ambush had been set against him behind the city. 15 Joshua and all Israel let themselves be driven back before them, and they fled toward the wilderness. 16 All the men of Ai were called to pursue them, and they pursued Joshua and were lured away from the city. 17 Not a man remained in Ai or Bethel who did not go after Israel. They left the city open and went in pursuit of Israel.
18 Then the Lord said to Joshua, “Hold out toward Ai the javelin that is in your hand, for into your hand I will deliver the city.” So Joshua held out toward the city the javelin that was in his hand. 19 As soon as he did this, the men in the ambush rose quickly from their position and rushed forward. They entered the city and captured it and quickly set it on fire.
20 The men of Ai looked back and saw the smoke of the city rising up into the sky, but they had no chance to escape in any direction; the Israelites who had been fleeing toward the wilderness had turned back against their pursuers. 21 For when Joshua and all Israel saw that the ambush had taken the city and that smoke was going up from it, they turned around and attacked the men of Ai. 22 Those in the ambush also came out of the city against them, so that they were caught in the middle, with Israelites on both sides. Israel cut them down, leaving them neither survivors nor fugitives. 23 But they took the king of Ai alive and brought him to Joshua.
24 When Israel had finished killing all the men of Ai in the fields and in the wilderness where they had chased them, and when every one of them had been put to the sword, all the Israelites returned to Ai and killed those who were in it. 25 Twelve thousand men and women fell that day—all the people of Ai. 26 For Joshua did not draw back the hand that held out his javelin until he had destroyed all who lived in Ai. 27 But Israel did carry off for themselves the livestock and plunder of this city, as the Lord had instructed Joshua.
28 So Joshua burned Ai and made it a permanent heap of ruins, a desolate place to this day. 29 He impaled the body of the king of Ai on a pole and left it there until evening. At sunset, Joshua ordered them to take the body from the pole and throw it down at the entrance of the city gate. And they raised a large pile of rocks over it, which remains to this day.
The Covenant Renewed at Mount Ebal
30 Then Joshua built on Mount Ebal an altar to the Lord, the God of Israel, 31 as Moses the servant of the Lord had commanded the Israelites. He built it according to what is written in the Book of the Law of Moses—an altar of uncut stones, on which no iron tool had been used. On it they offered to the Lord burnt offerings and sacrificed fellowship offerings. 32 There, in the presence of the Israelites, Joshua wrote on stones a copy of the law of Moses. 33 All the Israelites, with their elders, officials and judges, were standing on both sides of the ark of the covenant of the Lord, facing the Levitical priests who carried it. Both the foreigners living among them and the native-born were there. Half of the people stood in front of Mount Gerizim and half of them in front of Mount Ebal, as Moses the servant of the Lord had formerly commanded when he gave instructions to bless the people of Israel.
34 Afterward, Joshua read all the words of the law—the blessings and the curses—just as it is written in the Book of the Law. 35 There was not a word of all that Moses had commanded that Joshua did not read to the whole assembly of Israel, including the women and children, and the foreigners who lived among them.
1. Why was Joshua fearful and discouraged (vs. 1)?
2. What was the revised battle plan to conquer the town of Ai?
3. Why did the Israelites defeat the people of Ai on the second try?
4. Why did God have the Israelites wipe out the whole town of Ai?
5. Why did Joshua build an altar to God on Mount Ebal (vs. 30)?
6. What was included in this covenant renewal?
7. What covenant have you made with God? How often should it be renewed?
8. What blessings come from obeying God? What curses come from disobeying God?
SUMMARY
Sometimes we underestimate small things, such as the small town of Ai, or the debilitating impact of one person, Achan, to remove God’s blessing on His people the first time they attacked Ai. But after dealing with the “sin in the camp,” God directed His people to victory. And with that further spreading into the Promised Land, it was time to renew God’s covenant with His people. That’s a practice we could do more often.
APPLICATION
Here are three ideas for applying this Relational Bible Study to your life this week! Choose one or more of these, or let them spark other applications in your life. Talk about it with others in your Youth Sabbath School, then encourage and pray for each other to put God’s word into practice in your lives.
DO-OVER.
With the conquest of Ai, it took more than one attempt. In essence, God’s people had to implement a “do-over.” The problem wasn’t necessarily what you would expect—better military strategy, more weapons, timing, training, or something else. Because they were involved in this both physically and spiritually, the spiritual element had to be centered rather than neglected or ignored. With the start of the school year, it’s a time for new beginnings for you. Is there something lingering from last school year or from this past summer that you wish you could “do-over”? This might have to do with relationships, work or tasks, your personal walk with Christ, finances, physical fitness, preparing for academic rigor, or church commitments. Pause and reflect on something you might want to “do-over” and go beyond the obvious changes and consider making sure everything is right between you and Jesus—just like the Israelites had to get things right.
COVENANTS.
At Mount Sinai, God’s people entered into a covenant relationship with Yahweh. The key concept continues to be, “I will be your God and you will be my people.” But for that to happen, and to keep happening, there have to be guidelines, investments, and consequences. Relationships don’t just happen; they require work. But they are definitely worth it. God wants to be in a relationship with us, but there are expectations and consequences. The Old Testament uses the terms “blessings” and “curses” while we might just say, “good things” and “bad things.” Download the document “Which Covenant” and refer to those options as you renew your covenant/relationship with Jesus this week.
RENEWING BAPTISMAL VOWS.
If you have already been baptized, it might be time for you to renew your baptismal vows. Do you still have access to them? If not, you can download “Baptismal Vows” or the “Simplified Baptismal Vows” (or both). You may want to do this privately, renew them with a friend, or do them as a Youth Sabbath School group. If you haven’t been baptized, consider if you are ready to make that commitment publicly.
