November 2025

Covenant First

Read Joshua 5:1–7. Why did the Lord command Joshua to circumcise the second generation of Israelites at this particular time of the conquest?

After the exploration of the country, the encouraging report of the spies, and the miraculous crossing over the Jordan, we would expect an immediate engagement with the enemy. However, there is something more important than the military conquest: Israel’s covenant with God.

Further Thought

Read Ellen G. White, “The Fall of Jericho,” pp. 493–498, in Patriarchs and Prophets.

“The deadly sin that led to Achan’s ruin had its root in covetousness, of all sins one of the most common and the most lightly regarded. . . .

A Witness to God’s Power

As we have learned, God had given the pagan nations an opportunity to know about Him and to turn from their evil ways (see Lesson 5). They, however, had refused and were ultimately facing the judgment of God.

Read Joshua 7:6–9, which deals with Joshua’s initial reaction to the calamity that befell them. Focus especially on Joshua 7:9. What important theological principle is found in his words?

Fateful Choices

Read Joshua 7:19–21. What is Joshua asking Achan to do? What is the significance of such a request? How do we understand his confession?

Joshua asks Achan to do two things: First, to give glory to God and honor Him. Second, to confess what he had done without concealing it. Achan was supposed to give glory to God by admitting what he had done. The term used here (todah) can refer to thanksgiving (Ps. 26:7, Isa. 51:3, Jer. 17:26) but also to the confession of sin (Ezra 10:11).