How did the children of Israel trespass? Who took the accursed thing? What was the result?
Where did Joshua send men to? Where was it? What did he command them to do there?
What report did they return with? How many people did they suggest to send to fight? Why?
What was the result?
How did Joshua respond?
What was his complaint?
What was the Lord’s response to Joshua’s complaint? What did He tell Joshua that had happened? How did this tie in with their defeat?
What were the people supposed to do to the next day to prepare themselves for what was about to happen?
What was the procedure to be used to find the guilty party?
What were they supposed to do with the person who was found with the accursed thing? Why?
Who was finally found guilty?
What were the things Joshua asked him to do?
What was Achan’s response? What exactly had he taken? What was the reason he gave for it?
What did Joshua do with the items he had found in Achan’s tent?
What did they do to Achan?

Thought Questions

Why do you think God blamed “the children of Israel” for a trespass, when it was Achan that took the thing?
Why do you think the spies suggested a smaller army? Was this a good move?
Do you think Joshua’s response to the defeat of Ai was fair? Do you think God was pleased with his complaint? How do you respond when you face defeat in your life? Do you complain, or do you consider that there might be “more to the story” that needs to be discovered—and corrected—before victory can be achieved?
Why do you think the “accursed thing” was such a big deal to God?
Why is “Thou shalt not covet” one of the Ten Commandments? Why does it matter what we desire? Does this story help clarify that concept?
Do you think the punishment for the guilty person was too harsh? Why would a loving God ask for that? How important is the covenant of the Lord? (If human covenants are important, how much more so is a covenant with God?)
Did the fact that Joshua had to go through the divinely-inspired selection process to find Achan, rather than Achan stepping forward to confess, make a difference in the story? Do you think Achan was still holding out hope that he wouldn’t be discovered?
Did Achan give glory to God, as Joshua told him to? Do you think he was truly remorseful, or just forced to confess because he got caught? Do you think the outcome might have been different if he had a different attitude? (See Jonah chapter 3, Genesis 18:20-33)
Is confession the same as repentance?

My prayer is:

To understand and obey the tenth commandment;
To truly repent from my sin, not waiting until I’m caught by man—or God, and understand that confession needs to be followed by repentance and a true hatred for my sin;
To truly give glory to God, despite the difficulties of understanding all of His ways that may seem harsh to me, but trusting that His way is right.