1) What was Joshua’s mistake when planning the attack on AI? What did he do differently than before?

What happened?Joshua did not seek the Lord. He thought they could handle it. He did not ask God what to do and trusted in himself. The people of AI overran the Israelites and 36 people died in the battle. This was the first time someone died in battle that the Bible records since leaving Egypt. This would have been devastating.

2) What happened when Achan saw the treasure in Jericho? Why was what he did so wrong?

Achan saw the treasure, he wanted it, and then he took it and hid it. This was not just him making a mistake. He knew exactly what he was doing and he wanted those things more than he wanted to obey God. He dishonored God and broke his covenant. God will not be mocked the Bible says (Gal 6). God’s perfect holiness and righteousness demands an atonement.

3) How was Achan’s sin like Adam and Eve? What does this teach us about Sin?

Similar to Adam and Eve, Achan saw, he coveted/wanted, he took, and then he hid. This is the pattern that sin brings. It says that God wasn’t serious about what he said. It desires something forbidden and against God’s perfect law and character. It begins in our heart a wanting for something that we think will bring happiness. We take it, and then the result of sin is always going to lead to death.

4) Why does God need to punish sin? Why could he not just forget about it?

God’s holiness is so great. And his righteousness is so perfect, that he must respond to it in some way. That is how perfect and righteous God is. He will forgive, but he does it through the means that satisfy his wrath against it. The Bible says without blood, there is no forgiveness of sins.

5) How does this point to our need for Jesus?

Jesus is the perfect sacrifice and he shed his own blood to forgive us for all the times we have been like Achan and Adam and broken God’s commands. We have turned our backs and went our own way, but the Lord has laid on Jesus the sins of us all and the punishment we deserved (Isaiah 53).