Discussion Questions
When Joshua asked the armed man, “Are you for us or on the side of our adversaries?”, the man replied, “No… I am now come, the chief captain of the host of the Lord,” forcing Joshua to rethink the question; what does that exchange reveal about God’s priorities in war and leadership, and how does it challenge the way Christians frame “God is on our side” today? JumpstartAnother way to ask: When the commander tells Joshua he’s not “for us or them,” what does that show about what God cares about in war and leadership? How does that challenge the way Christians say, “God is on our side” today?
The teacher argues this commander is likely Jesus pre-incarnate because he receives worship and calls the ground holy; how would early Christians—who confessed Jesus as Lord and read the Old Testament as pointing to him—have heard this scene, and what difference does it make if the commander is Jesus versus an angel? JumpstartAnother way to ask: If early Christians thought the Old Testament pointed to Jesus, how might they have understood this commander scene? What changes if the commander is Jesus before his birth instead of an angel?
The speaker says, “There is no place in the army of God for lone warriors,” and ties this to humility and the ability to fight alongside others; where do you see “lone warrior” spirituality (or pride disguised as discernment) harming unity in actual church life, and what would repentance look like in concrete relational terms? JumpstartAnother way to ask: Where have you seen “lone warrior” attitudes (or pride that looks like spiritual wisdom) damage unity in a real church? What would real repentance look like in how you treat and relate to people?
God’s plan for Jericho begins with a promise (“I will deliver Jericho into your hand”) but still requires Israel to surround the city and follow a process; how does this combination of divine sovereignty and human participation confront common evangelical instincts either toward passivity (“God will do it”) or control (“we’ll engineer the win”)? JumpstartAnother way to ask: God promises Jericho will be theirs, but Israel still has to follow steps—how do you hold both together? How does this correct the extremes of “God will do it all” versus “we can make it happen”?
The teacher highlights that God’s strategy centers on a unified shout—“everyone knows how to shout”—rather than specialized military skill; what does that suggest about the kinds of “weapons” God delights to use, and how might that critique churches that privilege competence, charisma, or technique over simple obedient participation? JumpstartAnother way to ask: God’s plan uses a united shout, not special military skills—what does that say about the kinds of tools God likes to use? How might that challenge churches that value talent, personality, or technique more than simple obedience?
Joshua commanded the people to march for days but remain silent until the appointed moment; what heart-postures are exposed by prolonged, repetitive obedience with no immediate results (impatience, cynicism, image-management), and where do you feel that pressure in your own life right now? JumpstartAnother way to ask: What does it reveal about your heart when you keep obeying for a long time and nothing seems to change? Where do you feel that struggle—like impatience or discouragement—right now?
The speaker claims many defeats against sin or church instability come from “refusal or negligence to follow the instructions… handed out from Christ and the apostles,” then lists Sermon-on-the-Mount commands (enemy-love, lust, anxiety, contentment, thanksgiving, esteeming others, gathering); which of those specific commands do you most instinctively treat as “extra credit,” and what do you fear would happen if you treated it as non-negotiable battle orders? JumpstartAnother way to ask: Which Sermon-on-the-Mount command do you tend to treat like “optional” (like enemy-love, lust, anxiety, contentment, thanksgiving, valuing others, or gathering)? What do you fear would happen if you treated it as a must-obey command from Jesus?
Jericho’s spoil was “accursed,” and Israel was warned that taking it would make “the camp… a curse and destroy us,” which the teacher connects to guarding from the world’s lust and pride; how does this corporate dimension of sin (one person’s compromise endangering the whole camp) collide with modern assumptions about private faith and private consequences? JumpstartAnother way to ask: Israel was warned that one person taking Jericho’s treasure could harm the whole camp—what does that teach about how one person’s sin can affect others? How does that challenge the idea that faith is only private and only has private results?
The teacher rejects attempts to explain Jericho’s fall purely by earthquakes or engineering and insists “it was the shout… a shout of faith,” then says faith without obedience and obedience without faith both fail; where do you see your own life drifting toward one-sided “faith-talk” without costly obedience, or dutiful obedience without trusting expectancy, and what would it look like to reunite the two this week? JumpstartAnother way to ask: Where do you see yourself doing “faith talk” without real obedience, or doing obedience without trust and hope in God? What is one concrete way you could bring faith and obedience back together this week?
The lesson ends with the unsettling reality that everything in Jericho was destroyed (even animals), a curse was pronounced on rebuilding, yet Rahab was spared and later entered Messiah’s lineage; what does this mixture of severe judgment, strict devotion-to-destruction, and unexpected mercy reveal about God’s character, and how should it reshape the way Christians talk about grace, holiness, and God’s right to judge? JumpstartAnother way to ask: Jericho was totally destroyed, yet Rahab was spared—what does that mix of strict judgment and surprising mercy show about what God is like? How should it shape how Christians talk about grace, holiness, and God’s right to judge?