Joshua 6:26-7:6 | Sunday October 4th, 2026
As Israel enters the Promised Land, they are starting to take possession of God’s blessings and gifts. The Promised Land does not represent heaven, but God’s people are taking ownership of their inheritance in Him. God gave this land to them, and He has promised to make them victorious. All the people have to do is walk faithfully and obediently with Him. This can sound so easy, yet in practice we know how much we struggle with this, and we will see Israel struggle as well. It is difficult to walk faithfully with God because of how sinfully stubborn our own hearts can be. The curse Joshua puts on Jericho after its destruction shows this.
Joshua 6:26-27 ESV
(26) Joshua laid an oath on them at that time, saying, “Cursed before the LORD be the man who rises up and rebuilds this city, Jericho. “At the cost of his firstborn shall he lay its foundation, and at the cost of his youngest son shall he set up its gates.”
(27) So the LORD was with Joshua, and his fame was in all the land.
Jericho was put to the ban of God’s judgment. The city is not to be rebuilt. God promises that the person who rebuilds Jericho will do so at the cost of not only their firstborn but also their youngest child. At various times small groups of people occupied the ruins of Jericho, yet for over 500 years it was not rebuilt or refortified until the time of King Ahab.
1 Kings 16:33-34 ESV
(33) And Ahab made an Asherah. Ahab did more to provoke the LORD, the God of Israel, to anger than all the kings of Israel who were before him.
(34) In his days Hiel of Bethel built Jericho. He laid its foundation at the cost of Abiram his firstborn, and set up its gates at the cost of his youngest son Segub, according to the word of the LORD, which He spoke by Joshua the son of Nun.
Hiel of Bethel shows how stubborn our hearts can be. Over 500 years have passed, and He decides that this curse is not real. He outright rejects God’s Word and decides God will not be able to carry out the punishment. To be fair, God’s Word might have been so forgotten by the time of Ahab that Hiel might not even know the curse exists. Then Hiel’s firstborn, Abiram, is killed as he was working on laying the foundations of the city. It is sobering to realize that Hiel does not stop building Jericho. In the stubbornness of his own sin, he continues to build after already being shown that God will fulfill His Word of judgment. At its core our sin nature disbelieves what God says and wants to challenge it. Hiel was not unique but shows how stubborn our own hearts can be. We are promised that this attitude will continue.
2 Peter 3:3-4 ESV
(3) knowing this first of all, that scoffers will come in the last days with scoffing, following their own sinful desires.
(4) They will say, “Where is the promise of His coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all things are continuing as they were from the beginning of creation.”
I am amazed at how easy it is for the world to accept world-altering/ending events like an asteroid that supposedly killed the dinosaurs or to live, fearing future world-ending events caused by nuclear war or climate collapse. Yet, the truth that there is a just creator who judged this world with a flood and will again judge the world is far-fetched. The world will accept random natural events but not a just judge. For Hiel, 500 years proved that God was unable to fulfill His Word. After 2000, the scoffers feel very confident that Jesus will never return. Our sin nature keeps selling us the lie that we can sin and get by with it and that there will not be consequences for sin. As we look at Israel’s next city to conquer, we will see how quickly sin had infiltrated the camp and the disastrous consequences of it.
Joshua 7:1 ESV
(1) But the people of Israel broke faith in regard to the devoted things, for Achan the son of Carmi, son of Zabdi, son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, took some of the devoted things. And the anger of the LORD burned against the people of Israel.
One man, Achan, sinned, and God said that the people of Israel have broken faith. God interacts with Israel as a whole unit in part so that it can be used as an example for us. It also shows the corporate unity that God’s people share.
1 Corinthians 12:26-27 ESV
(26) If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, all rejoice together.
(27) Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it.
The American culture emphasizes individuality, whereas other cultures are more communal. God interacts with us on both levels. Salvation is for the individual and cannot be chosen for or transferred to someone else. Yet, once we are saved, we are brought into the unity of the body of Christ and are intricately connected one to another. If one part of the body suffers, we all suffer. The individual affects the whole, just as Adam sinned and we all became sinners. Jesus paid His blood, and we can all be saved. Sin is in the Israelite camp because of Achan, and God’s anger burns against Israel.
Joshua 7:2-3 ESV
(2) Joshua sent men from Jericho to Ai, which is near Beth-aven, east of Bethel, and said to them, “Go up and spy out the land.” And the men went up and spied out Ai.
(3) And they returned to Joshua and said to him, “Do not have all the people go up, but let about two or three thousand men go up and attack Ai. Do not make the whole people toil up there, for they are few.”
Joshua has no idea that God’s anger is burning against them. Defeat is the last thing on his mind. The walls of Jericho fell, and it is time to conquer the next city. Ai was strategically located in the hill country and would help Israel control the whole region.
Ai did not have the near defenses that Jericho had. The spies feel full confidence that only a few thousand men would be needed to conquer the city. Yet, nothing will go according to plan with Ai.
Joshua 7:2-5 ESV
(4) So about three thousand men went up there from the people. And they fled before the men of Ai,
(5) and the men of Ai killed about thirty-six of their men and chased them before the gate as far as Shebarim and struck them at the descent. And the hearts of the people melted and became as water.
Israel is defeated by Ai. Just as Rahab said (Josh 2:11), the people of Jericho’s hearts melted when they heard what the God of Israel had accomplished; now it was the Israelites' hearts who melted. They felt utterly abandoned and vulnerable. They were in the Promised Land with no way to retreat, and Ai defeated them. God did not give them the victory, and they don’t know why. After watching God accomplish such an amazing victory, Israel felt crushed by this defeat. Ai exposes a pattern of the vulnerability and danger that can come after a great spiritual victory. Peter serves as a great example.
Matthew 16:15-19 ESV
(15) He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?”
(16) Simon Peter replied, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”
(17) And Jesus answered him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven.
(18) And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.
(19) I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.”
I cannot imagine the thrill Peter experienced when Jesus complimented Him. The truth that Jesus is the Christ was revealed by God the Father to Peter. He knew who Jesus was. It is the truth that Jesus is the Christ that Jesus promises to build His church. I imagine Peter was overwhelmed with what God the Father had revealed to Him. He just saw God accomplish something incredible in His life.
Matthew 16:20-23 ESV
(20) Then He strictly charged the disciples to tell no one that he was the Christ.
(21) From that time Jesus began to show His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised.
(22) And Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him, saying, “Far be it from You, Lord! This shall never happen to You.”
(23) But He turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a hindrance to Me. For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man.”
Peter went from declaring a truth that was revealed to Him by God the Father to correcting Jesus and being called Satan in no time at all. After seeing God accomplish something amazing, we tend to let our guard down and forget what secured the victory in the first place. Instead of staying focused on the truth of God’s Word, Peter’s thinking went back to the things of man. This was easy to do because this human thinking is what is natural to us. We tend to forget that anything eternally good comes from God’s truth and Him working and not from us. This is a pattern that we need to recognize and guard against. We are so prone to rely on our own strength and thought process. God warned Joshua and instructed him of what would guarantee success before Israel ever entered the Promised Land.
Joshua 1:3; 5; 8 ESV
(3) Every place that the sole of your foot will tread upon I have given to you, just as I promised to Moses.
(5) No man shall be able to stand before you all the days of your life. Just as I was with Moses, so I will be with you. I will not leave you or forsake you.
(8) This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.
Israel was not sinning by going up to conquer Ai. God clearly commanded them to conquer all the land; that was His will for them. Israel was defeated because Achan sinned. Achan did not follow the Word of God, and the entire camp suffered for it. Joshua was promised success and victories if they walked according to the Word of God. We don’t get to redefine what fellowship with God is; His Word does that. Israel was out of fellowship. Israel was not defeated because they underestimated Ai, which we will find out had 12,000 people in it (Josh 8:25). Numerically it might have been larger than Jericho but just less fortified. Yet, the size of the military does not matter. Israel was victorious when they were in fellowship with God according to His Word and suffered defeat when they were not in fellowship. The core issue exposed at Ai is how dangerous our sin truly is.
John 15:5 ESV
(5) I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in Me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing.
Israel just found out how much they could accomplish outside of fellowship with God. They went to do a good thing, but sin had broken fellowship. How we walk in a fellowship with God matters. We cannot just go do good things and be in sin and think that God will empower our actions. Ai shows that the end does not justify the means. God wants us to walk in obedience with Him, as it is defined in His Word. Achan sinned and Israel reaped the consequences of this disobedience.
Galatians 6:7-10 ESV
(7) Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap.
(8) For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life.
(9) And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up.
(10) So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith.
This spiritual principle is put on practical display with Israel's defeat at Ai. Through Achan’s sin, Israel had sown to the flesh and reaped corruption, decay, and deterioration. At Jericho they walked in obedience to God and, in His power, reaped victory. In our lives as believers, the same principle is true but is displayed on a spiritual level. Earthly victories and defeats are not directly tied to our sin. Yet if we sow to the flesh, we experience the decay of walking out of fellowship with God. If we sow to the Spirit as believers, we will reap eternal life. This is the rich contentment and joy that is found in an abiding walk with Jesus. Sin leads to decay and prevents us from walking in the spiritual blessings that God has for us.
2 Timothy 2:19-21 ESV
(19) But God's firm foundation stands, bearing this seal: “The Lord knows those who are his,” and, “Let everyone who names the name of the Lord depart from iniquity.”
(20) Now in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and silver but also of wood and clay, some for honorable use, some for dishonorable.
(21) Therefore, if anyone cleanses himself from what is dishonorable, he will be a vessel for honorable use, set apart as holy, useful to the master of the house, ready for every good work.
All believers are called to depart from sin. By the blood of Jesus we have been given new life, so we should walk in this new life. God wants to use us as the master to accomplish His purposes. Some vessels are too dirty and cannot be used for certain tasks. It is the master who is the one who wants to accomplish His will. We are called to be ready, clean vessels in fellowship, eager to watch Him go to work. Ultimately we are frail and weak and can do nothing without Him. Success will not be found in our strength but in the humility of knowing how close sin remains to us and seeking after Him.
1 Corinthians 9:27 ESV
(27) But I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified.
Romans 7:21 ESV
(21) So I find it to be a law that when I want to do right, evil lies close at hand.
Paul knew how available sin was to Him at any given moment. Yesterday’s victory in Jericho does not make the believer immune from a defeat at Ai today. We must constantly draw near to God and let His Word search out our hearts. Achan’s sin is still secret at this point. It shows how important it is to seek God in prayer and ask Him to search out our hearts.
Psalms 139:23-24 ESV
(23) Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts!
(24) And see if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting!
David is asking God to search out the areas of His heart that He does not fully understand yet. He trusted that God would be faithful to convict and reveal the sin in his heart. We just need to listen and not callous ourselves from His conviction. God is faithful not to hide from Joshua what went wrong.
Joshua 7:6-7 ESV
(6) Then Joshua tore his clothes and fell to the earth on his face before the ark of the LORD until the evening, he and the elders of Israel. And they put dust on their heads.
(7) And Joshua said, “Alas, O Lord GOD, why have You brought this people over the Jordan at all, to give us into the hands of the Amorites, to destroy us? Would that we had been content to dwell beyond the Jordan!
This defeat has caused Joshua to grieve. The rug has been pulled out from him, and now he is doubting if they should have crossed the Jordan at all. Without the detail of sin in the camp, God seems unfaithful to His promises. God will be quick to explain this discipline. He does not leave Joshua guessing at what happened.
Joshua 7:10-11 ESV
(10) The LORD said to Joshua, “Get up! Why have you fallen on your face?
(11) Israel has sinned; they have transgressed my covenant that I commanded them; they have taken some of the devoted things; they have stolen and lied and put them among their own belongings.
God clearly explains His discipline. He reveals to Joshua that Israel has sinned and taken things that were under the ban. God is faithful to convict us and draw us back to a fellowship with Him. We simply have to ask Him to search our hearts and expose ourselves to His word, and He will keep drawing us to Him. When something is pointed out, we are called to confess and walk fresh with Him.
1 John 1:7-9 ESV
(7) But if we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin.
(8) If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.
(9) If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.