Joshua 6:21-27

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TALKS FOR GROWING CHRISTIANS

Rahab is Rescued and Jericho is Burned

BACKGROUND NOTES



DOCTRINAL POINT(S)

  1. God keeps His word of salvation.

  2. God keeps His word of judgment.

PRACTICAL APPLICATION

  1. Be faithful and your fame will spread throughout the land.

  2. Let's not allow the walls of Jericho to be built again.

QUESTIONS

  1. Why would a loving God destroy the people of Jericho?

  2. What was the result of the Israelites' disobedience by leaving pockets of the enemy throughout the land?

  3. Why were the Israelites to remain in Egypt for many years?

  4. What was saved out of Jericho?

  5. After Rahab was spared, what distinguished her?

  6. How is 1 Kings 16:34 the confirmation of God's word in Joshua 6:26?

ANSWERS

  1. Jericho was a pagan Canaanite city, gross in their immorality and idolatry. God did not want His people polluted and contaminated because of their influence.

  2. It led to their downfall.

  3. See Genesis 15:16. Because of the iniquity of the Amorites (Canaanites). God gave them many years of opportunities to change their ways, but they would not.

  4. The precious metals to go into the treasury of the Lord; AND, of course, Rahab and her family.

  5. She not only came into the covenant family of Israel, but she married there and became the great-great grandmother of David, the line of the Messiah. See Matthew 1.

  6. God said that the man who rebuilt the walls of Jericho would be cursed. Its foundation would be laid on his firstborn, and with his youngest son he would set up the gates. In the days of King Ahab, 500 years later, God kept His word of judgment.

DISCUSS/CONSIDER

  1. Rahab asked the spies to spare her and her family. She believed, and God's word of salvation was kept. Read Hebrews 11:31 and Romans 10:9 and 10:13. Is your faith, like Rahab's, centered in what God has done and will do?

  2. God keeps His word of judgment. Note the judgment of God to both Rahab and Ahab. Read John 3:36. This is God's sure word of judgment. Have you acknowledged Jesus Christ as your Savior and Lord?

CHALLENGE

  1. All the Canaanites knew about Joshua's faithfulness in standing for the Lord. What does your life say? What will your epitaph say about your faithfulness in standing for the Lord?

  2. A major doubt or fear or temptation can keep you in despair. It can become a stronghold to keep you from possessing the spiritual land and its blessings. And even when you think it's been conquered, it can rise again. Don't let the walls be built again. There are no walls too high or too thick for God!

KEY VERSES

  • "Joshua spared Rahab the harlot and her family..." (Joshua 6:25)

  • "Israel has sinned...therefore they could not stand before their enemies...destroy the accursed from among you." (Joshua 7:11-12)

  • "...the Lord was with Joshua, and his fame spread throughout all the country." (Joshua 6:27)

Joshua, Old Testament, TalksRon ReidJOSHUA 6:21-27