Study Desk

The men left her house and went into the hills. They stayed there for three days. The king's men looked all along the road. After three days, they stopped looking and went back to the city.

Then the Lord said to Joshua, "Today I will begin to make you a great man for all the Israelites to see. Then the people will know that I am with you just as I was with Moses.

He said to them, "Go out into the river where the Holy Box of the Lord your God is. Each of you must find one rock. There will be one rock for each of the twelve tribes of Israel. Carry that rock on your shoulder.

These rocks will be a sign for you. In the future, your children will ask you, ‘What do these rocks mean?'

So the Israelites obeyed Joshua. They carried twelve rocks from the middle of the Jordan River. There was one rock for each of the twelve tribes of Israel. They did this as the Lord had commanded Joshua. The men carried the rocks with them. Then they put the rocks at the place where they made their camp.

The men from the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and half the tribe of Manasseh obeyed Moses. These men crossed the river in front of the other people. These men were prepared for war. They were going to help the rest of the Israelites take the land God had promised to give them.

About 40,000 soldiers, prepared for war, passed before the Lord . They were marching toward the plains of Jericho.

This is why Joshua circumcised the men: After the Israelites left Egypt, all the men who were able to serve in the army were circumcised. While in the desert, many of the fighting men did not listen to the Lord . So the Lord promised that they would not see the "land where much food grows." He promised our ancestors to give us that land, but because of those men, he forced the people to wander in the desert for 40 years. That way all those fighting men would die. So all the fighting men died, and their sons took their place. But none of the boys who were born in the desert on the trip from Egypt had been circumcised. So Joshua circumcised them.

The man answered, "I am not an enemy. I am the commander of the Lord 's army. I have just now come to you." Then Joshua bowed his face to the ground to show respect and said, "I am your servant. Does my master have a command for me?"

March around the city with your army once every day for six days.

On the second day, they all marched around the city one time. And then they went back to the camp. They continued to do this every day for six days.

Remember, we must destroy everything else. Don't take anything. If you take anything and bring it into our camp, you yourselves will be destroyed, and you will cause trouble for the rest of our people.

Then the Israelites burned the whole city and everything in it except for the things made from silver, gold, bronze, and iron. They put these things in the Lord 's treasury.

After they defeated Jericho, Joshua sent some men to Ai. Ai was near Beth Aven, east of Bethel. He told them, "Go to Ai and look for weaknesses in that area." So the men went to spy on that land.

The Israelites sinned against me. They have broken the agreement that I commanded them to obey. They took some of the things that I commanded them to destroy. They have stolen from me. They have lied. They have taken those things for themselves.

"Now go and make the people pure. Tell them, ‘Make yourselves pure. Prepare for tomorrow. The Lord , the God of Israel, says that some people are keeping things that he commanded to be destroyed. You will never be able to defeat your enemies until you throw away those things.

In Jericho, I saw a beautiful coat from Babylonia, about 5 pounds of silver, and about a pound of gold. I wanted these things for myself, so I took them. You will find them buried in the ground under my tent. The silver is under the coat."

Then Joshua said, "You caused much trouble for us, but now the Lord will bring trouble to you." Then all the people threw stones at Achan and his family until they died. Then the people burned them and everything he owned.

You will do to Ai and its king the same thing you did to Jericho and its king. Only this time you can take all the wealth and animals and keep it for yourselves. You will share the wealth with your people. Now, tell some of your soldiers to hide behind the city."

Joshua gave them this command: "Listen carefully to what I tell you. You must hide in the area behind the city. Wait for the time to attack. Don't go far from the city. Continue to watch and be ready.