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Because Joshua believed the Lord would help the Israelites win another battle, he led the people in attacking the city of Ai. Israel lost miserably. The Lord told Joshua that one of the Israelites had taken things for himself during the battle of Jericho instead of devoting them to the Lord. Soldiers found a robe, silver and gold, that a man named Achan had buried and hidden inside his tent. Achan was stoned outside the city. The Lord then told Joshua to attack Ai again. This time, the Israelites won the battle. Achan thought he could hide his sin from the Lord, but he was wrong.

Bible verses used in this episode:

Joshua 6:18-19; 7:1-8:1

Outline:

1. Achan secretly kept spoils from the Battle of Jericho. (Joshua 6:18-19 and 7:1)
2. Without God’s blessing the Israelites lose the Battle of Ai. (Joshua 7:2-5)
3. Achan’s sin is exposed and punished. (Joshua 7:6-26)
4. Now, with God’s blessing, Joshua leads the people towards victory over Ai. (Joshua 8:1)

Tips for teaching children:

• Place a number of pieces of fabric on the floor to represent tents in a camp. Before the children arrive, hide items resembling gold and silver under one of the “tents” so the children can find them.
•  Write “good secrets” and “bad secrets” on the white/chalkboard. Ask the children to list some and then discuss them. Examples might be as follows:
  • Good secrets: A surprise birthday party, Christmas gift, doing something nice for someone and not telling them who did it, etc. 
  • Bad Secrets- doing something that is wrong and not telling, not telling someone something that could help them, hiding things that break the law or that could hurt someone or make them unhappy, anything that makes you lie to keep it hidden is a bad secret; any time someone tells you to keep something from your parents is a bad secret, and you should tell your parents.) 
• Warning: Treat this very carefully. It is a sad fact that children can be abused or mistreated and then told to keep it a secret. Be sensitive and alert to any situation in the lives of your children. If you become aware of any such situation seek professional advice. This is not a secret you can ignore.

Tips for teaching adults:

• If time allows, have a reader read the entire text aloud to the class.  The reading could be divided into sections and multiple readers used. One way to divide the reading is to use the points in the outline provided above.
• Have the class members give examples of how the actions of one person can affect others.  In other words, ask class members for examples of people being affected, good or bad, by the consequences of the actions of another person.
• Neither Joshua nor Achan fully trusted God in this story. Ask the class to discuss what can be learned from each of these characters.
• End the class by praying for the leaders of your church to seek God’s guidance. Also pray that we can re-commit ourselves in fulfilling our commitment to God.
  
  

Full teaching instructions free from Mission Bible Class:

Scriptures quoted from the International Children’s Bible®, copyright ©1986, 1988, 1999, 2015 by Tommy Nelson. Used by permission.

Excerpts from Mission Bible Class used by permission.

Music: Upbeat Positive Culture (Acoustic Corporate Travel Promo Christian Rock), Individual License, Stock Media provided by HumansWin, pond5.com

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