Discussion Questions

The teacher says Rahab was promised salvation “on the condition of staying inside her house,” and connects that to “no salvation outside of the church” (Cyprian); how does this conditional, location-bound picture of deliverance challenge common evangelical instincts about assurance, individualism, and “just me and Jesus”? JumpstartAnother way to ask: Rahab was saved only if she stayed inside her house, and the teacher links this to “no salvation outside the church.” How does that challenge the common “it’s just me and Jesus” way of thinking and our confidence about being saved no matter what?

The teaching frames the conquest as God’s work with Israel’s “cooperation,” insisting God “could have done it all Himself” but chose not to; what does that reveal about God’s purposes for His people (then and now), and where do you see modern Christianity resisting the idea that God expects real cooperation rather than passive receiving? JumpstartAnother way to ask: The teacher says God could have won the conquest alone but chose to use Israel’s real help. What does that show about what God wants from His people, and where do Christians today act like God wants passivity instead of cooperation?

The speaker argues the “total destruction” of Jericho was driven by extreme wickedness that “defiled” even clothes and animals, pointing to Leviticus 18 and 20; what does this suggest about God’s view of sin’s contaminating power, and which sins or cultural practices today do we tend to treat as “private” that Scripture would treat as defiling to a whole community? JumpstartAnother way to ask: If Jericho had to be totally destroyed because sin “defiled” even things like clothes and animals, what does that say about how sin spreads and pollutes? What sins or cultural habits today do we call “private” that God might see as damaging to the whole community?

Genesis 15 is used to highlight “hundreds of years” of divine patience before judgment (“sin…has not yet reached its full measure”); how does that timeline reshape your view of God’s mercy and wrath, and what modern assumptions about “God is love” get exposed when you take that long-suffering seriously? JumpstartAnother way to ask: Genesis 15 shows God waited hundreds of years before judging because sin wasn’t “full” yet. How does that change how you see God’s patience and anger, and what does it expose about simple ideas like “God is love”?

The teacher stresses, “not Israel versus Canaan, but God versus human evil,” and notes God can judge His own people more swiftly; how would early Christians—who expected discipline within the church and feared apostasy—hear that warning differently than many believers today? JumpstartAnother way to ask: The teacher says this is really God against human evil, and God may judge His own people faster than others. How might early Christians—who expected discipline in the church and feared falling away—take this warning more seriously than many believers today?

After the defeat at AI, Joshua humbles himself, but God commands him, “Rise up… sanctify the people,” and the teacher says there’s “a time to be on our face, and then…deal with the problem”; what kinds of “spiritual humility” can become avoidance tactics, and what would it look like for a church to move from lament to concrete purification without becoming harsh or reactionary? JumpstartAnother way to ask: Joshua grieves after the loss, but God says, “Get up” and fix the problem. When can “being humble” become an excuse to avoid action, and what would it look like for a church to move from sorrow to real cleaning-up without becoming harsh?

The narrative says “the children of Israel committed a great offense,” even though Achan alone stole the accursed items, and God says, “I will not be with you until you remove” it; what does this corporate framing imply about covenant identity, and how does it confront modern habits of treating sin as only an individual matter with only individual consequences? JumpstartAnother way to ask: Even though Achan sinned alone, God said Israel as a whole had sinned and that He wouldn’t be with them until it was removed. What does that say about shared identity in the covenant, and how does it challenge the idea that sin only affects the individual?

The teacher asks why God didn’t tell Joshua what verse 1 reveals to the reader, and suggests God may have been giving Achan time to repent; how does this “painful process” of exposure (tribe to family to household to man) challenge our preference for quick fixes, and what might it teach about God’s wisdom in letting hidden sin come to light slowly? JumpstartAnother way to ask: God didn’t immediately tell Joshua about Achan, and the teacher suggests God was giving Achan time to repent. How does the slow process of exposing sin challenge our desire for quick fixes, and what might it teach about God’s timing?

Achan describes his sin as “I saw, I desired, and I took,” and the teacher ties it to Eden and to covetousness as a “deadly sin”; where do you recognize that same sequence operating in your own temptations (especially respectable ones), and what specific practices could interrupt the pattern before it reaches “I took”? JumpstartAnother way to ask: Achan says, “I saw, I wanted, and I took,” like the story in Eden, and the teacher calls covetousness a deadly sin. Where do you see that same pattern in your own temptations, and what habits could stop it before it turns into action?

The speaker highlights that victory returned when sin was judged, plans were obeyed, and God was “with” them again—yet God also allowed Israel to plunder AI (unlike Jericho); what does this difference teach about obedience not being a mechanical formula, and how should it shape the way you discern God’s commands instead of assuming grace means outcomes won’t be affected by disobedience? JumpstartAnother way to ask: God let Israel take plunder from Ai but not from Jericho, and victory came back when they dealt with sin and obeyed. What does that show about obedience not being a simple formula, and how should it shape how you listen for God’s commands instead of assuming disobedience won’t change the outcome?