INTERMEDIATE
AGE: 12 - 13
YEARS
STANDARD/GRADE:
VII & VIII
Permission is granted only for
free distribution among Sunday School children.
No part of this document can be
modified, sold or used for any commercial purpose.
LESSON – 12
ACHAN
TROUBLES ISRAEL
The Israelites,
after their deliverance from the Egyptian slavery made a long journey towards
Canaan, led by Moses. The leader of the Israelites Moses passed away at the age
of 120 years, before they entered Canaan. After the death of Moses, Joshua led
the Israelites towards Canaan. The Israelites had to cross the overflowing
Jordan River before they could enter Canaan. God did a miracle and made the
Jordan River to turn back and the Israelites walked across the dry river. Although
the Israelites had arrived at Canaan, they had to capture the Canaanite cities
from various Canaanite tribes, before they could make it their homeland.
The Capture
of Jericho
The Defeat
at the City of Ai
The next
Canaanite city Joshua laid his eyes on was the city of Ai. Joshua sent some of
his men to spy out Ai. The men went around Ai. They came back to Joshua and
told him that only few soldiers were needed to capture Ai, since it was a small
city with few men. So, Joshua sent around three thousand men. But surprisingly,
the battle was not easy; the Israelites suffered loss and thirty-six soldiers
were killed. The Israelite men returned in defeat and the Israelites were
disheartened. Joshua, the leader of the Israelites tore his clothes, put dust
on his head and fell face to the ground before the ark of the Lord. Joshua was
confused. He was wondering why the defeat had happened and worried that the
enemies of Israel might destroy them after their defeat at Ai.
Sin in the
Camp
The Lord spoke to
Joshua and told him to get up from the ground; he had to do a clean-up work of
the Israelite camp, before they could defeat Ai. The Lord revealed that there
is sin in the Israelite camp. One of them had disobeyed God’s command and had
stolen the accursed stuff from Jericho that should have gone into God’s
treasury. God told them that, it was the reason for their defeat and why they
couldn’t stand before their enemies. God instructed Joshua to sanctify the
people and remove the accursed thing from the camp. The person who stole the
cursed thing from Jericho, and who caused the defeat of the Israelites at Ai
should also be punished and removed from the camp.
Achan is
Identified
Early the next
morning, Joshua called all the Israelites together by their tribes. Joshua had
to identify the person who had caused the trouble for Israel and remove the
accursed stuff from the camp. When the Israelites came together, the tribe of
Judah was identified as the tribe. Next, the particular clan (or big families) from
the tribe of Judah had to be found. The clan of the Zarhites was marked. Then
it was found that the guilty person was from the family of a man named Zabdi. Zabdi
brought his entire household man by man and Achan was identified. (It is not
specifically stated in the Holy Bible, how the guilty person was singled out. It
could have been through casting lots which was common in the ancient world).
Achan’s
confession
Joshua asked
Achan to give glory to God and confess his sins. Achan admitted that he had
stolen the spoils from Jericho. He had taken a beautiful Babylonian garment,
two hundred shekels* (Refer Notes) of silver, a wedge of gold weighing fifty
shekels and hid them under his tent. Achan had taken things that belonged to
God’s treasury. Perhaps he thought that he could bury the things he stole under
his tent and that no one would ever find out. He forgot that the Lord sees
everything. Nothing can be hidden from the Lord. Achan told Joshua that the
things he had stolen were buried inside his tent. Joshua sent messengers, who
went to Achan’s tent and found the stolen stuff buried under his tent and
brought them to Joshua.
Why have you
troubled us?
Joshua and the Israelites
brought Achan and the stolen stuff to a place called the Valley of Achor. Then
Joshua said to Achan, “Why have you troubled us? The Lord will trouble you this
day.” So, the Israelites stoned him to death and they raised a heap of stones
there called the Valley of Achor.
Joshua
defeats Ai
After the
accursed person and the stuff were removed from the camp, God comforted and
strengthened Joshua and promised that he would hand over Ai into their hands.
God gave them specific instructions and showed them how to approach Ai and to
capture the city. Joshua did as God instructed him and they captured Ai.
Teachers Notes:
Shekel was used
as a unit of weight in ancient Israel and was later used as a currency. One ancient
shekel was around 11 grams. The currency of Israel is still called shekel,
although there are differences between the ancient shekel and the new shekel.
Bible
Portion: Joshua 6 - 8
Memory
Verse: Joshua said to
the people, “Sanctify yourselves, for tomorrow the Lord will do wonders among
you.” (Joshua 3:5)
I. Give one
word answers:
1.
The first Canaanite city the Israelites came across was the huge walled city of
……………………..
2. Joshua sent around ……………………… men to
capture Ai.
3. Achan was from the clan of ........................
4. Joshua and the Israelites brought Achan and the stolen stuff to a place called the ………………………...
II.
Give short answers:
1. What was the important command given by Joshua about the things in
Jericho?
2. What was the reason given by God for the Israelites defeat at Ai?
3. Why did Joshua call all the Israelites together by their tribes?
4. What did Achan steal from Jericho?
III. Give brief answers:
1. Write
about the defeat at the city of Ai?
No comments:
Post a Comment