Joshua 7 tells how Israel suffered a humbling defeat at Ai after one hidden sin in the camp, and how that sin was exposed and dealt with. These questions help a small group, a Sunday class or a personal reader work through the chapter verse by verse, moving from what the text says to what it means and how it applies today.
Joshua 7 at a Glance
The chapter opens with a surprising statement: Israel as a whole has sinned, though the story has not yet revealed who did it. Joshua sends a small force against Ai, expecting an easy win, and the men are routed, losing about thirty-six soldiers. Joshua and the elders fall before the ark in grief, and God explains that the nation has broken the covenant by taking devoted things. The lot then identifies Achan, who confesses, and the stolen goods are found in his tent. The chapter closes with Achan’s family and possessions being removed to the valley of Achor, a place that is remembered as a reminder of the cost of sin.
As you work through the questions, keep in mind that the story moves in two stages: first the defeat and the hidden cause, then the confession and the consequences. Many questions below follow this order, so a leader can simply move down the list.
Observation Questions
Use these questions to slow the group down and anchor everyone in the actual wording of the chapter before anyone offers an opinion. Ask people to point to the verse in their own Bible or on the screen, and let several readers answer before the leader adds anything.
Joshua 7:1
But the children of Israel committed a trespass in the devoted things; for Achan, the son of Carmi, the son of Zabdi, the son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, took some of the devoted things. Therefore the LORD’s anger burned against the children of Israel.
(WEB)
This opening verse names the hidden sin and the consequence at once, setting the tone for the entire chapter. Reading it first lets the group hold the central problem in mind as the story unfolds.
Joshua 7:10-12
10 The LORD said to Joshua, “Get up! Why have you fallen on your face like that? 11 Israel has sinned. Yes, they have even transgressed my covenant which I commanded them. Yes, they have even taken some of the devoted things, and have also stolen, and also deceived. They have even put it among their own stuff. 12 Therefore the children of Israel can’t stand before their enemies. They turn their backs before their enemies, because they have become devoted for destruction. I will not be with you any more, unless you destroy the devoted things from among you.
(WEB)
God speaks directly to Joshua here, naming the sin plainly and explaining why Israel cannot stand. Hearing the divine voice in this passage helps the group grasp why the defeat was not random.
Joshua 7:19-21
19 Joshua said to Achan, “My son, please give glory to the LORD, the God of Israel, and make confession to him. Tell me now what you have done! Don’t hide it from me!” 20 Achan answered Joshua, and said, “I have truly sinned against the LORD, the God of Israel, and this is what I have done. 21 When I saw among the plunder a beautiful Babylonian robe, two hundred shekels of silver, and a wedge of gold weighing fifty shekels, then I coveted them and took them. Behold, they are hidden in the ground in the middle of my tent, with the silver under it.”
(WEB)
This exchange between Joshua and Achan contains both a gentle appeal and a full confession. Reading it aloud lets the group notice the tone of both speakers and the honesty of the admission.
Joshua 7:24-26
24 Joshua, and all Israel with him, took Achan the son of Zerah, the silver, the robe, the wedge of gold, his sons, his daughters, his cattle, his donkeys, his sheep, his tent, and all that he had; and they brought them up to the valley of Achor. 25 Joshua said, “Why have you troubled us? The LORD will trouble you today.” All Israel stoned him with stones, and they burned them with fire and stoned them with stones. 26 They raised over him a great heap of stones that remains to this day. The LORD turned from the fierceness of his anger. Therefore the name of that place was called “The valley of Achor” to this day.
(WEB)
The chapter’s final scene is solemn and sobering, and reading it aloud allows the group to face its weight together. The closing reference to the valley of Achor draws the story to a memorable end.
Joshua 7:6-9
6 Joshua tore his clothes, and fell to the earth on his face before the LORD’s ark until the evening, he and the elders of Israel; and they put dust on their heads. 7 Joshua said, “Alas, Lord the LORD, why have you brought this people over the Jordan at all, to deliver us into the hand of the Amorites, to cause us to perish? I wish that we had been content and lived beyond the Jordan! 8 Oh, Lord, what shall I say, after Israel has turned their backs before their enemies! 9 For the Canaanites and all the inhabitants of the land will hear of it, and will surround us, and cut off our name from the earth. What will you do for your great name?”
(WEB)
Joshua’s grief and prayer show that honest lament has a place in the life of faith. Reading this passage gives the group a model for bringing their own confusion and disappointment before God.
Memory Verse for Joshua 7
Joshua 7:11
Israel has sinned. Yes, they have even transgressed my covenant which I commanded them. Yes, they have even taken some of the devoted things, and have also stolen, and also deceived. They have even put it among their own stuff.
(WEB)
This verse captures the chapter’s central truth: sin, even when it is hidden, breaks the covenant and affects the whole community. Memorizing it helps keep the lesson of Achan’s story close during everyday decisions.
A Closing Prayer for the Group
Father, we come to you as people who know that hidden things are not hidden from you. Thank you that you are holy and that you speak plainly about what separates us from your presence. Give us courage to name our own quiet compromises and to bring them into the light rather than covering them over. Where we have coveted, taken what was not ours, or kept silence when we should have spoken, forgive us and make us honest. Teach us to give you glory by confessing, and help us to care for one another in the body of your people. Strengthen us when we feel the sting of loss or failure, and lead us back to trust in you. Amen.
