“OBEDIENCE ISN’T OPTIONAL”

Season 2: Heroes of the Bible
Episode 41: “Obedience Isn’t Optional”
Today’s Bible Bite: Joshua 7-8

Video Story:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uVQusPryR6Y (Cartoonworks)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JqOqJlFF_eU (The Bible Project – for adults and older children)

“Get up! Why are you lying on your face like this? Israel has sinned and broken my covenant! They have stolen some of the things that I commanded must be set apart for me. And they have not only stolen them but have lied about it and hidden the things among their own belongings.” (Joshua 7:10-11)

The Israelites had just conquered Jericho, by a miracle of God. The next place they needed to conquer was Ai; it was small and they didn’t think it would take much. But they were beaten! The Israelites were shocked. How could this happen? God tells Joshua that the answer is obvious. Someone had broken the covenant God had made with the people.

The next day, Joshua brought all the Israelites together to find out who had disobeyed and caused God not to help them. It was discovered that a man named Achan had stolen some items from the city of Jericho that belonged to God. Achan and everything he owned, including his family, suffered the consequences for his attempting to steal from God. He thought he could get away with disobeying God, but God wanted the Israelites to obey Him completely. He wasn’t interested in helping them if they were just going to do whatever they wanted rather than follow the instructions He gave them.

After Achan’s sin was discovered, Joshua and the people obeyed God. Now that they had made things right, God helped them conquer Ai. God made it clear that they couldn’t just expect His help unless they were willing to follow all His directions.

Think about it...
• God had promised to help the Israelites. So, why did He not help them at Ai?
• God told Joshua that someone had disobeyed the agreement they had made with God. How did they find out who had disobeyed?
• Achan confessed to having stolen some things from Jericho that were to be given to God. What had he stolen?
• Achan’s story shows us how important it is to God that we obey Him if we want His help. How can we obey God today?
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Prayer: Thank you, God, for showing the Israelites how important it was to trust you. You wanted to help them, but not if they were going to be selfish and disobedient. Help us to remember to live in a way that pleases you!