October 2025

Read Ellen G. White, “The Fall of Jericho,” pp. 491–493, in Patriarchs and Prophets.

As with everything in the Bible, knowing the context and the background is crucial. As we have seen, the cosmic conflict and the motif of God as judge are crucial in understanding these wars against the Canaanites.

How do the following texts describe the future that God had envisioned for His people? Isa. 9:6, Isa. 11:1–5, Isa. 60:17, Hos. 2:18, Mic. 4:3.

Read Deuteronomy 20:10, 15–18; Deuteronomy 13:12–18; and Joshua 10:40. How does the law of warfare and the procedure against an idolatrous town in Israel, expressed in Deuteronomy, help us understand the limitations of total destruction in the war that the Israelites were engaged in?

Compare Exodus 23:28–30; Exodus 33:2; Exodus 34:11; Numbers 33:52; and Deuteronomy 7:20 with Exodus 34:13; Deuteronomy 7:5; Deuteronomy 9:3; Deuteronomy 12:2, 3; and Deuteronomy 31:3, 4. What do these texts reveal about the purpose of the conquest and the extent of the destruction?

Read Genesis 18:25; Psalm 7:11; Psalm 50:6; Psalm 82:1; Psalm 96:10; and 2 Timothy 4:1, 8. What are these verses saying about God’s moral character? How does the role of God as the Judge of the universe help us understand the question of divine war?

Read Genesis 15:16, Leviticus 18:24–30, Deuteronomy 18:9–14, and Ezra 9:11. What are these texts telling us about God’s larger plan in offering the land of Canaan to the Israelites?

We need to look beyond the book of Joshua to completely understand what was meant by the iniquity of the nations inhabiting Canaan. These nations’ abhorrent practices of child sacrifice, divination, sorcery, witchcraft, necromancy, and spiritualism give us a hint (Deut. 18:9–12).

Read Genesis 15:16, Leviticus 18:24–30, Deuteronomy 18:9–14, and Ezra 9:11. What are these texts telling us about God’s larger plan in offering the land of Canaan to the Israelites?

We need to look beyond the book of Joshua to completely understand what was meant by the iniquity of the nations inhabiting Canaan. These nations’ abhorrent practices of child sacrifice, divination, sorcery, witchcraft, necromancy, and spiritualism give us a hint (Deut. 18:9–12).

Read for This Week’s Study

Gen. 15:16; Lev. 18:24–30; 2 Tim. 4:1, 8; Exod. 23:28–30; Deut. 20:10, 15–18; Isa. 9:6.

Memory Text:

“And Joshua captured all these kings and their land at one time, because the Lord God of Israel fought for Israel” (Joshua 10:42, ESV).

The book of Joshua contains some disturbing scenes. Serious questions are raised by the concept of a divine or holy war portraying a group of people with a God-given mandate to destroy another group.

Read Ellen G. White, “The Fall of Jericho,” pp. 487–493, in Patriarchs and Prophets.

When rebellion against God’s authority arose in the universe, either God was going to cease to be what He essentially, immutably, and eternally is and give away the leadership of the whole universe to one of His rebellious creatures, or He was going to be the holy, righteous, loving, and merciful Father of all that exists. The Bible presents the second picture, and in this case, the clash between the forces of evil and His power is inevitable.

Read Exodus 17:7–13 and Joshua 6:15–20. What similarities do you find between these two war narratives? How do they differ?