In Joshua chapter 9, the Gibeonites are afraid that the Israelites are going to kill them next.  They pretend to come from far away so that the Israelites won't kill them. They told Joshua that they wanted to be friends. Joshua asked them where they were from. The Gibeonites showed them their old moldy bread, their worn out shoes, and their old clothes, hoping he would believe they had come a long way. The Israelites did believe them, and made a promise not to kill them. Three days later, they found out the truth! Now what will happen?

In the book of Joshua, chapter 8, God gives instructions on how to win the battle for Ai. Joshua sends soldiers to hide behind the city. Then he and his army attack from the front. When the men of Ai come out to fight, Joshua pretends to be losing the battle, and leads them away from their city. The soldiers who are hiding come out and set the city on fire. Now the army of Ai is stuck! There is an army behind them, and Joshua's army in front of them turns around to fight after all! There is nowhere for them to go. 

Because the town of Ai was so small, Joshua sent only about 2500 soldiers to fight. But what a surprise! The men of Ai fought back and chased the Israelites away! Thirty-six men were killed in the battle. Joshua got down on his face and asked the LORD what happened. God explained that someone in the Israelite camp had broken the agreement to keep the 10 commandments. The next day God showed Joshua who was guilty. The guilty one had caused a lot of trouble! 

When the Israelites come into their new land, there are enemies living there. The enemies close the gates of the city of Jericho so that Joshua and his army can't get in! Joshua has a surprise visitor that tells him how to get the walls to fall down. Will the plan work?

In Joshua chapter 3, the families of the Israelites are packed up and ready to cross the Jordan River into the land promised to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. The priests carried the ark of the covenant first. They stayed about a mile ahead of the tribes. When the priests set foot into the water, the water stopped flowing! They stood in the middle, while the Israelites passed through on dry land. Twelve men, one from each tribe, took a stone and made a memorial where the priests had stood. When Joshua commanded the priests to get out of the river bed, the water started flowing again. 

Joshua sends two spies into the land to find out what Jericho is like. The spies stop at Rahab's house. When the king sends soldiers to capture them, Rahab hides them on her roof. Then she asks them to protect her family when they come to battle for the city of Jericho. The spies are safe, and they will keep Rahab safe, too. 

When the Israelites traveled in the wilderness they passed through the land of other nations.  God told them not to fight in Seir, or in Ar. But there were two kings that God did want them to fight.  God caused those other nations to lose! But they lost because they were wicked. And the Israelites didn't win because they were good, but because God was on their side.  God was keeping his promise to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Now, Joshua was going to lead the people into the promised land. Moses cautioned them to trust God and not try to do things their own way. 

In Numbers 22 we hear the story about what happened when the Israelites complained against Moses and against God. Instead of trusting God, they said negative words! God sent poisonous snakes into the camp as a punishment for their sin. When they realized they were wrong, they asked Moses to pray for them. God gave them a way to be healed. He put the punishment for their sin up on a pole. When they looked at it, they didn't die. 

When the Israelites couldn't find water, they complained to Moses. They asked him why he had brought them out of Egypt. They said they wished they had died. They griped about not having nice food and water.  Moses and Aaron went right away to ask God what to do.  God told them that Moses could speak to the rock and the water would come out. But something was wrong with Moses that day. Instead of speaking to the rock, he yelled at the Israelites and he hit the rock! Moses disobeyed God. What will the consequences be?

Balaam's donkey talks to him. Balaam realizes he is making a mistake, thinking he can curse the Israelites. But he continues on to meet with King Balak. King Balak is expecting Balaam to curse the Israelites. Balaam builds seven altars, and sacrifices seven bulls and seven rams to God. Then God gives him the message. It's not a curse. A second time, Balaam builds seven altars and kills seven bulls and seven rams. This time, God gives Balaam another beautiful blessing. One more time, Balak gives Balaam a chance to curse the Israelites. What will he say?