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Week 21

Come Follow Me 2026 · Week 21

📖 Weekly Overview

May 18–24 - Joshua 1–8; 23–24

Week at a Glance

Joshua 1–8 follows Israel’s first steps into Canaan under Joshua: the Lord commissions a new leader, Israel crosses the Jordan, Jericho falls, Israel stumbles at Ai because of hidden sin, and then returns to covenant obedience at Mount Ebal. Joshua 23–24 closes the book’s major arc with Joshua’s farewell sermons and a public covenant renewal at Shechem, where Israel must choose whom they will serve. Come, Follow Me emphasizes courage rooted in God’s presence, prosperity tied to the word of God, faith that acts (Rahab), sanctification before God’s wonders, obedience that unlocks divine power, and the lifelong decision to serve the Lord.

🏛️ Historical & Cultural Context

5 topics · Geography, customs, archaeology

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Canaan in the Late Bronze Age: City-states under Egypt, and why Israel fights local kings

Joshua’s opening campaigns unfold in Late Bronze Age Canaan (roughly 1550–1200 BC), a land politically dominated by Egypt’s New Kingdom. Egypt maintained control through suzerainty relationships with many local city-states, each with its own king, fortifications, and small army. Egyptian administrative centers and garrisons clustered in the lowlands and along major routes, including places such as Gaza, Joppa, Megiddo, and Beth Shan, while the central hill country had less direct Egyptian presence.

This helps explain why Joshua fights Canaanite city-states rather than a single unified “Canaanite nation.” The Amarna Letters (14th century BC) portray a fragmented region with rival kings, shifting alliances, and social unrest. Joshua’s battles in these chapters focus on Jericho and Ai, both positioned near routes leading from the Jordan Valley into the hill country. The narrative’s silence about Egyptian intervention is striking given Egypt’s influence, yet it fits a situation where Israel’s earliest operations concentrate in the central highlands and near the Jordan, away from the densest Egyptian military footprint.

Dating the conquest remains debated. Some scholars support an early date around 1406 BC (with an Exodus around 1446 BC), while others prefer a 13th-century setting. The overview of archaeology below will show why Jericho and Ai remain central to that discussion.

The Jordan River crossing and the base at Gilgal: Geography that shapes the story

Israel enters Canaan by crossing the Jordan River into the plains of Jericho, a fertile zone fed by springs and seasonal flows. Jericho (Tell es-Sultan) lies about five miles west of the Jordan, near the Ein es-Sultan spring. The Jordan itself forms a natural boundary, and in flood season it becomes a formidable obstacle. Joshua 3–4 portrays the crossing as a public sign that the Lord who parted the Red Sea still leads Israel.

After crossing, Israel camps at Gilgal, which functions as a staging ground for the first campaigns. While archaeologists have not identified a definitive site for Gilgal, the text treats it as Israel’s operational base: they set up memorial stones, renew covenant signs, keep Passover, and prepare for war. Gilgal’s role matters because Joshua is not only a general. He is also a covenant leader who must shape Israel into a holy people before they can settle a holy land.

The movement from the Jordan Valley up into the hill country also explains the sequence of targets. Jericho guards the approach from the east, and Ai sits near the route toward Bethel and the central ridge. Controlling these corridors opens access to the interior where Israel will later settle.

Jericho (Tell es-Sultan): Walls, destruction layers, and the logic of a springtime siege

Jericho is one of the most excavated sites in the southern Levant. At Tell es-Sultan, archaeologists have identified ancient city walls and major destruction layers. John Garstang’s 1930s excavations dated the destruction of a major city phase (often called City IV) to around 1400 BC. He reported evidence of a large destruction by fire, with ash deposits up to several feet thick, and he argued that the city walls fell outward, creating a ramp-like slope into the city.

Kathleen Kenyon’s 1950s work re-dated that destruction to around 1550 BC and concluded Jericho was not fortified or occupied in the period many associate with Joshua. More recent analyses, including radiocarbon work, have produced mixed signals: some samples fit a Late Bronze IB destruction around 1400 BC, while others align with an earlier timeframe. The archaeological discussion remains contested, but the site’s identification as biblical Jericho is not disputed.

One detail from the excavations aligns closely with Joshua 6’s portrayal of a short siege and a devotion of the city to the Lord. Excavators found numerous jars of burned grain stored in houses. If the siege had dragged on, the inhabitants would have consumed that grain, and if Israel had taken the city as plunder, they would have carried it away. Burned grain left in place fits a springtime capture soon after harvest and a destruction in which goods were not taken because the city was placed under herem, devoted to the Lord.

Ai and the problem of location: et-Tell versus Khirbet el-Maqatir

Joshua 7–8 treats Ai as Israel’s second major target, near Bethel and on the route into the hill country. For much of the twentieth century, many identified Ai with et-Tell. The difficulty is that et-Tell shows no occupation or destruction layer in the Late Bronze Age, leading many scholars to question the historicity of the account.

More recent work by the Associates for Biblical Research has argued for Khirbet el-Maqatir as a better match. Khirbet el-Maqatir sits about 0.6 miles west of et-Tell and fits several biblical criteria, including a north-facing main gate and proximity to Bethel (modern El Bireh) and Beth-aven (modern Beitin). Excavations have uncovered a fortified settlement with a substantial wall (reported up to 12–13 feet thick) and evidence of destruction by fire: ash layers, burned stones, and refired pottery.

Artifacts reported from the site include storage jars, sling stones, and Egyptian scarabs, including one associated with Amenhotep II (mid-late 15th century BC). Those finds are used by proponents to support a Late Bronze I setting consistent with an early-date conquest model. The debate is not settled in the wider scholarly world, but the discussion helps readers see that Joshua’s geography is not a vague backdrop. The narrative’s details about ambush routes, gates, and burning a city have real archaeological stakes.

Mount Ebal and Mount Gerizim: Covenant ceremony in Israel’s heartland

Joshua 8 ends with an altar on Mount Ebal and a public reading of “all the words of the law” (Joshua 8:34), with blessings and curses proclaimed between Mount Gerizim and Mount Ebal. These mountains rise near Shechem, in the central hill country, close to modern Nablus. The setting matters because Shechem sits at a natural crossroads. A covenant ceremony there is not private devotion. It is national identity-making in the land itself.

In 1980, Adam Zertal identified a stone structure on Mount Ebal as an altar dating to early Iron Age I (about 1220–1000 BC), the era of early Israelite settlement. The structure’s form and the animal bones reported there (young male bulls, sheep, goats, and fallow deer) align with sacrificial categories in Leviticus. In 2022, a lead curse tablet reported from this site drew attention because it contains proto-alphabetic script and includes an early YHWH inscription, paralleling the covenant-curses tradition associated with Deuteronomy 27 and Joshua 8.

Even with scholarly debate about dates and interpretation, the covenant logic is clear in Joshua. Israel does not treat land as mere territory. They treat it as an inheritance held by covenant, with obedience and worship at the center.

👤 Key People

4 people in this week's reading

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Joshua

Joshua (Hebrew Yehoshua or Yeshua, meaning “Jehovah saves”) succeeds Moses and becomes Israel’s covenant leader in the land. In Joshua 1 the Lord establishes him by promise and command, “As I was with Moses, so I will be with thee” (Joshua 1:5), and by tying his success to obedience to the book of the law (Joshua 1:8). Across these chapters Joshua functions as general, judge, and covenant mediator, culminating in his farewell warnings (Joshua 23) and the covenant renewal at Shechem (Joshua 24). His leadership shows how Israel’s conquest is meant to be governed by holiness and scripture, not ambition.

Rahab

Rahab is a Canaanite woman in Jericho who shelters Israelite spies and binds herself to Israel by oath. She confesses faith in Israel’s God, “The Lord your God, he is God in heaven above, and in earth beneath” (Joshua 2:11), then acts on that faith by hiding the spies and gathering her household under the sign of the scarlet cord (Joshua 2:18–21; 6:25). Later scripture treats her as a model of faith that works (Hebrews 11:31; James 2:25). In the conquest narrative, Rahab embodies the possibility of covenant mercy extended beyond Israel when a person turns to the Lord.

Achan

Achan is an Israelite whose private theft becomes a national crisis. He takes items from Jericho that were devoted to the Lord under herem and hides them in his tent (Joshua 7:21). Israel’s defeat at Ai follows, and the Lord declares that Israel cannot stand before enemies “until ye take away the accursed thing from among you” (Joshua 7:12). Achan’s story explains why covenant communities treat sin as more than personal preference. Covenant breaking affects worship, unity, and spiritual power.

The captain of the host of the Lord

In Joshua 5:13–15 Joshua meets a divine messenger identified as “captain of the host of the Lord” (Joshua 5:14). The figure’s drawn sword and the command to remove sandals on holy ground connect the encounter to earlier theophany patterns (Exodus 3:5). The captain’s presence teaches Joshua that Israel’s battles belong to the Lord’s purposes, and that Joshua must approach conquest with reverence and submission. The scene prepares the reader for Jericho’s fall by ritual obedience rather than conventional siegecraft.

💡 Doctrinal Themes

Courage grounded in the Lord’s presence and in scripture · Faith that acts: Rahab, covenants, and deliverance · Obedience, holiness, and spiritual power in a covenant community

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Courage grounded in the Lord’s presence and in scripture

The Lord commands Joshua, “Be strong and of a good courage” (Joshua 1:9), and He anchors that courage in a promise: “I will be with thee: I will not fail thee, nor forsake thee” (Joshua 1:5). Joshua’s courage is covenant courage, the steadiness that comes from knowing who leads Israel. The same principle appears in the Book of Mormon when the Lord tells disciples to “be of good cheer” because He has overcome the world (John 16:33), and when Alma teaches that God grants strength “according to their faith” (Alma 50:20).

The Lord also ties courage to the word of God: “This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night” (Joshua 1:8). Scripture study is presented as leadership equipment. In Latter-day Saint terms, this aligns with the Lord’s promise that those who “treasure up” His word will not be deceived (Joseph Smith, Matthew 1:37). It also harmonizes with the doctrine that light grows as we receive the word and act on it (D&C 50:24).

Joshua 1:5-9Joshua 1:8Joseph Smith, Matthew 1:37D&C 50:24

Faith that acts: Rahab, covenants, and deliverance

Rahab’s deliverance comes through belief expressed in action. She confesses the Lord’s sovereignty (Joshua 2:11), then risks her safety to hide the spies and binds herself to Israel by covenant oath (Joshua 2:12–14). Her household is saved as they gather under the sign of the scarlet cord (Joshua 2:18–21; Joshua 6:25). The New Testament later interprets her as evidence that faith is not passive: “By faith the harlot Rahab perished not” (Hebrews 11:31), and “was not Rahab… justified by works?” (James 2:25).

For Latter-day Saints, Rahab’s story fits a consistent covenant pattern. Salvation is offered by the Lord’s power, and we respond by entering and keeping covenants. King Benjamin describes covenant discipleship in similar terms: after receiving the Lord’s mercy, the people “are willing to enter into a covenant with our God to do his will” (Mosiah 5:5). Rahab’s actions do not replace grace. They show what grace produces in a believing person: loyalty, courage, and a willingness to be gathered into the Lord’s people.

Joshua 2:11-14Joshua 6:25Hebrews 11:31James 2:25Mosiah 5:5

Obedience, holiness, and spiritual power in a covenant community

Joshua 6–7 places obedience and power side by side. Jericho falls through exact obedience to the Lord’s command, centered on the ark and priestly action (Joshua 6:3–5, 20). Ai becomes a disaster when Achan violates herem and hides devoted items, and the Lord declares, “Neither will I be with you any more, except ye destroy the accursed from among you” (Joshua 7:12). The principle is not that God is fickle. It is that covenant presence and covenant rebellion cannot coexist.

Joshua 3 adds the preparatory dimension: “Sanctify yourselves: for to morrow the Lord will do wonders among you” (Joshua 3:5). Sanctification precedes miracles. Modern revelation uses similar language about power connected to holiness. The Lord teaches that “the rights of the priesthood are inseparably connected with the powers of heaven” and those powers “cannot be controlled nor handled only upon the principles of righteousness” (D&C 121:36). Joshua’s Israel learns that lesson early. When they repent and remove the accursed thing, the Lord again commands, “Fear not” (Joshua 8:1), and Israel moves forward.

Joshua 3:5Joshua 6:20Joshua 7:12Joshua 8:1D&C 121:36

⛪ Come Follow Me Tie-In

What to expect in Sunday's discussion

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Come, Follow Me highlights the Lord’s repeated command to Joshua, “Be strong and of a good courage” (Joshua 1:6–9), and asks learners to connect that counsel to their own challenges. It also points readers to Joshua 1:8, where the Lord links success to constant engagement with “the book of the law,” and encourages a scripture-centered approach to decision-making and discipleship.

The manual also emphasizes Rahab as a model of faith paired with action (Joshua 2; Hebrews 11:31; James 2:25), Israel’s need to sanctify themselves before witnessing God’s wonders (Joshua 3:5), and the contrast between Jericho and Ai as a lesson that obedience brings divine power while hidden sin blocks it (Joshua 6–7). It concludes with Joshua’s farewell charge, “Choose you this day whom ye will serve” (Joshua 24:15), inviting discussion about daily covenant loyalty in a world filled with competing gods, then and now.

Reference Layer

Chapter-by-Chapter Summaries

📜 Joshua 1: Joshua Commissioned: Courage, Covenant, and the Book of the Law

The Lord commissions Joshua after Moses’s death · The Lord commands courage and promises His presence · Joshua orders preparations to cross the Jordan and mobilizes the tribes

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Joshua opens with a leadership transition. “Moses my servant is dead” (Joshua 1:2), and the Lord charges Joshua to lead Israel across the Jordan to possess the land promised to the fathers. The Lord repeats the land promise in geographic terms, from wilderness to Lebanon and from the Euphrates to the Great Sea (Joshua 1:4), framing the conquest as fulfillment of a covenant made long before Joshua was born.

The Lord’s central promise to Joshua is presence: “As I was with Moses, so I will be with thee: I will not fail thee, nor forsake thee” (Joshua 1:5). On that foundation the Lord commands courage three times, “Be strong and of a good courage” (Joshua 1:6–7, 9). Joshua’s strength is not self-confidence. It is covenant confidence rooted in the Lord’s companionship.

Joshua’s success is tied to obedience and to scripture. The Lord commands, “This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night” (Joshua 1:8). In Israel’s world, a leader did not separate military strategy from covenant fidelity. The Lord links prosperity and “good success” to doing “according to all that is written therein” (Joshua 1:8).

Joshua then acts as a leader who speaks and organizes. He commands officers to prepare provisions for crossing within three days (Joshua 1:10–11). He also reminds the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and half Manasseh of their obligation to help their brothers fight, even though they have received land east of the Jordan (Joshua 1:12–15). The chapter ends with the people’s pledge to Joshua, “Only be strong and of a good courage” (Joshua 1:18), echoing the Lord’s words and showing that Joshua’s authority is now publicly recognized.

Key Verses

Joshua 1:5Joshua 1:8Joshua 1:9

Key Events

  • •The Lord commissions Joshua after Moses’s death
  • •The Lord commands courage and promises His presence
  • •Joshua orders preparations to cross the Jordan and mobilizes the tribes

📜 Joshua 2: Rahab and the Spies: Covenant Mercy in Jericho

Two spies enter Jericho and are sheltered by Rahab · Rahab confesses faith in the Lord and seeks mercy for her household · A scarlet cord becomes the sign of deliverance

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Joshua sends two men to spy Jericho, and they lodge in the house of Rahab, a woman identified as an harlot (Joshua 2:1). Jericho’s king learns of the spies and orders Rahab to bring them out. Rahab hides them on the roof under stalks of flax and misdirects the king’s men, sending them toward the Jordan crossings (Joshua 2:4–7).

Rahab then explains why she risks herself for Israel. She has heard of the Red Sea and of Israel’s victories east of the Jordan, and fear has melted the courage of Jericho: “Our hearts did melt, neither did there remain any more courage in any man” (Joshua 2:11). Her confession is direct theology: “The Lord your God, he is God in heaven above, and in earth beneath” (Joshua 2:11). In a polytheistic Canaanite setting where cities honored many gods, Rahab speaks as a convert in the making.

Rahab asks for covenant protection for her household, and the spies agree, binding themselves by oath (Joshua 2:12–14). The sign is a “scarlet line” in the window (Joshua 2:18), and her family must gather inside the house to be spared (Joshua 2:18–20). The imagery recalls Passover in Exodus 12, where a marked house became a place of deliverance.

The spies escape by rope, hide in the mountains three days, and return to Joshua with a report that frames the conquest as the Lord’s work: “Truly the Lord hath delivered into our hands all the land” (Joshua 2:24). Rahab’s story will continue beyond this week’s reading, and later scripture will treat her as an example of faith expressed through action (Hebrews 11:31; James 2:25).

Key Verses

Joshua 2:11Joshua 2:18Joshua 2:24

Key Events

  • •Two spies enter Jericho and are sheltered by Rahab
  • •Rahab confesses faith in the Lord and seeks mercy for her household
  • •A scarlet cord becomes the sign of deliverance

📜 Joshua 3: Crossing the Jordan: Sanctification and the Ark

Israel sanctifies itself in preparation for God’s wonders · Priests carry the ark into the Jordan and the waters stop · Israel crosses on dry ground and Joshua is magnified before the people

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Joshua prepares Israel to cross the Jordan with a command that sounds like Sinai language: “Sanctify yourselves: for to morrow the Lord will do wonders among you” (Joshua 3:5). The crossing is not only a logistical move. It is a sacred event that will establish Joshua’s leadership and reaffirm that the Lord still leads Israel.

The ark of the covenant takes center stage. Priests carry the ark ahead of the people, with a measured distance between the ark and the camp (Joshua 3:3–4). The ark symbolizes the Lord’s covenant presence, and Israel follows the Lord into the land rather than rushing ahead on their own.

When the priests’ feet touch the water, the Jordan stops flowing: “The waters which came down from above stood and rose up upon an heap” (Joshua 3:16). The people pass over on dry ground while the priests stand firm in the riverbed with the ark (Joshua 3:17). The miracle parallels the Red Sea crossing, but now it happens at the boundary of inheritance rather than the boundary of escape.

The Lord also uses this event to establish Joshua publicly: “This day will I begin to magnify thee in the sight of all Israel, that they may know that, as I was with Moses, so I will be with thee” (Joshua 3:7). Joshua’s authority is not personal charisma. It is the Lord’s endorsement displayed through covenant power.

Key Verses

Joshua 3:5Joshua 3:7Joshua 3:17

Key Events

  • •Israel sanctifies itself in preparation for God’s wonders
  • •Priests carry the ark into the Jordan and the waters stop
  • •Israel crosses on dry ground and Joshua is magnified before the people

📜 Joshua 4: Twelve Stones: Memory Built into the Landscape

Twelve stones are taken from the Jordan as a memorial · The priests exit the riverbed and the Jordan returns to its course · The memorial is designed to teach children and witness of the Lord’s power

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After the crossing, the Lord commands a memorial. Joshua appoints twelve men, one from each tribe, to take twelve stones from the Jordan where the priests stood and carry them to the lodging place (Joshua 4:2–3). The stones are not decoration. They are a teaching tool for future generations.

The purpose is explicit: “That this may be a sign among you, that when your children ask their fathers in time to come, saying, What mean ye by these stones?” (Joshua 4:6). Israel is commanded to remember in a way that prompts questions. The answer ties the miracle to covenant identity: “The waters of Jordan were cut off before the ark of the covenant of the Lord” (Joshua 4:7).

Joshua also sets up twelve stones “in the midst of Jordan” (Joshua 4:9), marking the riverbed itself. The priests then come up out of the Jordan, and the waters return to their place (Joshua 4:18). The timing emphasizes that the Lord controls the boundary, and Israel passes only under His direction.

The chapter ends with the Lord’s stated purpose for the sign: “That all the people of the earth might know the hand of the Lord, that it is mighty: that ye might fear the Lord your God for ever” (Joshua 4:24). Israel’s memory is meant to shape worship and confidence, not nostalgia.

Key Verses

Joshua 4:6Joshua 4:7Joshua 4:24

Key Events

  • •Twelve stones are taken from the Jordan as a memorial
  • •The priests exit the riverbed and the Jordan returns to its course
  • •The memorial is designed to teach children and witness of the Lord’s power

📜 Joshua 5: Gilgal: Circumcision, Passover, and the Captain of the Lord’s Host

Israel is circumcised at Gilgal as a covenant renewal · Israel keeps Passover in the plains of Jericho and manna ceases · Joshua encounters the captain of the Lord’s host on holy ground

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Joshua 5 pauses the military narrative for covenant preparation. First, the surrounding kings hear of the Jordan miracle and lose heart (Joshua 5:1). Then the Lord commands a mass circumcision at Gilgal because the wilderness generation had not been circumcised (Joshua 5:2–7). Circumcision is the covenant sign given to Abraham (Genesis 17), and Israel renews it at the threshold of the land.

After healing, Israel keeps Passover “in the plains of Jericho” (Joshua 5:10). The timing is significant. Passover commemorates deliverance from Egypt, and now it is celebrated as Israel begins to receive the promised inheritance. The next day they eat “of the old corn of the land” (Joshua 5:11), and “the manna ceased” (Joshua 5:12). The Lord’s mode of provision changes. Israel moves from wilderness dependence to land stewardship.

The chapter closes with a theophany-like encounter. Joshua sees a man with a drawn sword and asks, “Art thou for us, or for our adversaries?” (Joshua 5:13). The answer reframes the question: “Nay; but as captain of the host of the Lord am I now come” (Joshua 5:14). Joshua falls on his face and is told, “Loose thy shoe from off thy foot; for the place whereon thou standest is holy” (Joshua 5:15), echoing Moses at the burning bush (Exodus 3:5).

Joshua learns that Israel’s wars cannot be separated from holiness. The land will not be taken by Israel’s strength alone. The Lord’s host leads, and Israel must align with Him.

Key Verses

Joshua 5:10Joshua 5:12Joshua 5:14-15

Key Events

  • •Israel is circumcised at Gilgal as a covenant renewal
  • •Israel keeps Passover in the plains of Jericho and manna ceases
  • •Joshua encounters the captain of the Lord’s host on holy ground

📜 Joshua 6: Jericho: Holy War, Herem, and the Fall of the Walls

The Lord gives a ritual battle plan centered on the ark · Jericho’s walls fall after the seventh-day march and shout · Jericho is devoted to the Lord; Rahab’s household is spared

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Jericho is shut up, and the Lord gives Joshua an unconventional battle plan. Israel is to march around the city once a day for six days, with priests bearing trumpets before the ark, and on the seventh day they march seven times, then shout (Joshua 6:3–5). The strategy emphasizes ritual obedience. The ark, priests, and trumpets place the Lord at the center of the campaign.

Joshua commands the people to keep silent until the appointed shout (Joshua 6:10). The city’s fall will not be credited to intimidation, negotiation, or siegecraft. When the seventh day comes, the priests blow the trumpets, the people shout, and “the wall fell down flat” (Joshua 6:20). Israel takes the city.

Jericho is placed under herem, “devoted” to the Lord. Joshua declares, “The city shall be accursed, even it, and all that are therein, to the Lord” (Joshua 6:17). In this practice, what is devoted to God cannot be treated as ordinary spoil. The precious metals are placed into “the treasury of the house of the Lord” (Joshua 6:19), and the rest is destroyed.

Rahab and her household are spared according to the oath, and she is brought “without the camp of Israel” (Joshua 6:23), then later “dwelleth in Israel even unto this day” (Joshua 6:25). The chapter ends with a curse on rebuilding Jericho (Joshua 6:26), a warning that Israel must not treat the devoted city as a normal prize.

Archaeological discussions about Jericho often circle back to the pattern of destruction by fire and the presence of stored grain. Those details fit a short, decisive capture and a destruction consistent with herem, where Israel does not live off the city’s stores.

Key Verses

Joshua 6:17Joshua 6:20Joshua 6:25

Key Events

  • •The Lord gives a ritual battle plan centered on the ark
  • •Jericho’s walls fall after the seventh-day march and shout
  • •Jericho is devoted to the Lord; Rahab’s household is spared

📜 Joshua 7: Achan’s Sin: Hidden Theft, National Defeat

Achan steals from what was devoted to the Lord at Jericho · Israel is defeated at Ai and Joshua seeks the Lord · Achan is identified, confesses, and the covenant breach is removed

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Joshua 7 begins with a shock: “But the children of Israel committed a trespass in the accursed thing” (Joshua 7:1). A man named Achan takes items from Jericho that were devoted to the Lord. The narrative immediately links private sin to public consequence: “the anger of the Lord was kindled against the children of Israel” (Joshua 7:1).

Israel then attacks Ai with insufficient preparation, assuming it will be easy. They are routed, and about thirty-six men die (Joshua 7:4–5). Joshua tears his clothes and prays, distressed that Israel’s reputation and the Lord’s name will suffer (Joshua 7:6–9). The Lord answers with a command to act: “Get thee up; wherefore liest thou thus upon thy face?” (Joshua 7:10). The problem is covenant breach, not military intelligence.

The Lord explains that Israel cannot stand before enemies “until ye take away the accursed thing from among you” (Joshua 7:12). The solution requires sanctification and investigation (Joshua 7:13–14). The process identifies Achan, and he confesses that he coveted and took “a goodly Babylonish garment,” silver, and gold, and hid them in his tent (Joshua 7:21).

Achan and what he took are destroyed in the Valley of Achor (Joshua 7:24–26). The severity reflects the logic of herem. Devoted things belong to the Lord, and stealing them is sacrilege. The chapter ends with the Lord turning from “the fierceness of his anger” (Joshua 7:26), preparing Israel to move forward again.

For Latter-day Saints, this chapter often reads like a warning about the way sin spreads. The Book of Mormon uses similar language about secret sin undermining a people, including secret combinations that bring destruction when tolerated (Helaman 6:38). Joshua 7 shows the same covenant principle in an earlier setting: holiness cannot be compartmentalized.

Key Verses

Joshua 7:1Joshua 7:12Joshua 7:21

Key Events

  • •Achan steals from what was devoted to the Lord at Jericho
  • •Israel is defeated at Ai and Joshua seeks the Lord
  • •Achan is identified, confesses, and the covenant breach is removed

📜 Joshua 8: Ai Taken, Then the Law Read: War and Worship in One Story

Israel takes Ai by ambush and burns the city · Joshua builds an altar on Mount Ebal according to Moses’s command · Joshua reads the law, including blessings and curses, to all Israel

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With the covenant breach removed, the Lord renews His command to be courageous: “Fear not, neither be thou dismayed” (Joshua 8:1). This time the Lord permits Israel to take spoil from Ai (Joshua 8:2), highlighting that Jericho’s herem status was specific and non-negotiable, not a general rule for every city.

Joshua sets an ambush. A force hides behind the city while Joshua draws Ai’s men out by feigning retreat, repeating the pattern of the earlier defeat but reversing its outcome (Joshua 8:3–19). When the ambush rises, they set the city on fire (Joshua 8:19). Ai’s king is captured and later hanged, and the city becomes “an heap for ever” (Joshua 8:28–29). The narrative includes “women” among the casualties (Joshua 8:25), a detail that has intersected with archaeological discussion at Khirbet el-Maqatir, where an infant jar burial has been cited as evidence that families lived at the site.

The chapter then shifts from battle to covenant. Joshua builds an altar on Mount Ebal “as Moses the servant of the Lord commanded” (Joshua 8:31), using unhewn stones, and offers burnt offerings and peace offerings. He writes “a copy of the law of Moses” on stones (Joshua 8:32), then reads “all the words of the law, the blessings and cursings” (Joshua 8:34) before the whole assembly, including “the strangers that were conversant among them” (Joshua 8:35).

This placement is deliberate. Israel’s first victories are followed by public submission to God’s law. The land is received by covenant, and Israel must hear again what covenant life requires. In Latter-day Saint terms, this resembles a people receiving both deliverance and instruction: the Lord redeems, then teaches. King Benjamin later uses the same order, delivering his people from contention and then binding them to covenant service (Mosiah 2–5).

Key Verses

Joshua 8:1Joshua 8:34Joshua 8:35

Key Events

  • •Israel takes Ai by ambush and burns the city
  • •Joshua builds an altar on Mount Ebal according to Moses’s command
  • •Joshua reads the law, including blessings and curses, to all Israel

📜 Joshua 23: Joshua’s Farewell I: Warnings against Idols and Intermarriage

Joshua gathers Israel’s leaders in his old age · Joshua commands covenant courage through obedience to Moses’s law · Joshua warns that idolatry will bring covenant consequences

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Joshua 23 jumps forward to Joshua’s old age after the Lord has given Israel “rest” from war (Joshua 23:1). Joshua gathers Israel’s leaders and reminds them that the Lord has fought for them: “The Lord your God is he that hath fought for you” (Joshua 23:3). The conquest is not portrayed as Israel’s genius. It is covenant warfare under divine direction.

Joshua urges continued faithfulness. “Be ye therefore very courageous to keep and to do all that is written in the book of the law of Moses” (Joshua 23:6). Courage is now defined as long obedience, not battlefield bravery. Joshua warns against turning aside to the nations that remain and against making mention of their gods (Joshua 23:7).

He also warns about intermarriage with the remaining peoples (Joshua 23:12–13). In the ancient Near East, marriage alliances often carried religious obligations and household cult. Joshua’s concern is covenant loyalty. Israel’s survival depends on exclusive worship of the Lord in a land filled with Baal, Asherah, and other deities.

Joshua ends with a covenant logic that mirrors Deuteronomy. The Lord has kept His promises of blessing, and He will also keep His warnings of judgment if Israel breaks covenant: “When ye have transgressed the covenant of the Lord your God… then shall the anger of the Lord be kindled against you” (Joshua 23:16).

Key Verses

Joshua 23:3Joshua 23:6Joshua 23:16

Key Events

  • •Joshua gathers Israel’s leaders in his old age
  • •Joshua commands covenant courage through obedience to Moses’s law
  • •Joshua warns that idolatry will bring covenant consequences

📜 Joshua 24: Choose You This Day: Covenant Renewal at Shechem

Joshua leads a covenant renewal ceremony at Shechem · Joshua calls Israel to put away foreign gods and choose the Lord · Joshua records the covenant and sets up a stone witness

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Joshua 24 presents a formal covenant renewal at Shechem. Joshua gathers “all the tribes of Israel” and recounts the Lord’s saving history, beginning with ancestors beyond the River who served other gods, then moving through Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, the Exodus, and the conquest (Joshua 24:2–13). The speech frames Israel’s identity as a story of grace and deliverance: “I took your father Abraham… and gave unto Isaac” (Joshua 24:3), “I sent Moses also and Aaron” (Joshua 24:5), “I brought you into the land” (Joshua 24:8).

Joshua then presses the issue of loyalty. “Now therefore fear the Lord, and serve him in sincerity and in truth… and put away the gods which your fathers served” (Joshua 24:14). The command assumes that idolatry remains a live temptation even after Jericho and Ai. Canaanite religion was polytheistic, and Israel lived among altars, images, and local cults. Joshua demands a clean break.

The chapter’s most remembered line is Joshua’s personal declaration: “Choose you this day whom ye will serve… but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord” (Joshua 24:15). Israel responds that they will serve the Lord because He delivered them (Joshua 24:16–18). Joshua warns them not to speak lightly. “Ye cannot serve the Lord: for he is an holy God” (Joshua 24:19), meaning that covenant service requires exclusive loyalty and repentance, not casual affiliation.

The people reaffirm their choice, “The Lord our God will we serve” (Joshua 24:24). Joshua makes a covenant, writes words “in the book of the law of God,” and sets up a great stone as a witness (Joshua 24:25–27). The chapter closes with notices of Joshua’s death and burial, and Joseph’s bones being buried at Shechem (Joshua 24:29–32), tying the end of Joshua’s life to the long arc that began when Joseph prophesied Israel’s return to the land (Genesis 50:25).

For modern readers, Shechem becomes a place where memory, scripture, and choice converge. Israel’s future will depend on repeated, conscious covenant choosing, the same pattern restored in the latter days through covenants and ordinances that bind disciples to Jesus Christ (D&C 20:77, 79).

Key Verses

Joshua 24:14Joshua 24:15Joshua 24:24

Key Events

  • •Joshua leads a covenant renewal ceremony at Shechem
  • •Joshua calls Israel to put away foreign gods and choose the Lord
  • •Joshua records the covenant and sets up a stone witness
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