(20 minutes)
Teacher Note: Today’s Treasure Story is found in Joshua 1-3. Since the passage is lengthy, you may want to review only the summary included below. Encourage your students to find the passage in their Bibles. As a way to introduce the story, invite your students to take turns reading Joshua 1:1-9.
How do you think the Israelites might have felt after Moses died?
Do you think they may have been scared because their leader had died?
After Moses died, God once again showed his love for Israel by raising up a man named Joshua to lead the Israelites. Joshua would be in charge of leading Israel into the land that God had promised to give to them.
How would you have felt if you had been Joshua?
At the beginning of the book of Joshua, God gives instructions and a promise to Joshua. God instructs him to be strong and courageous and to obey all the laws He had given to Moses. Then in verse 9, God tells Joshua why he can be strong and courageous.
What does verse 9 say? (Ask for a volunteer to read Joshua 1:9.)
Joshua did not have to be afraid as he led the people into the Promised Land because God would be with him wherever he went.
Joshua had seen God do amazing things through Moses and for the Israelites. He had seen God’s awesome power and glory when He freed the Israelites from slavery, led them through the Red Sea on dry land, and provided manna and water for them in the wilderness. Joshua showed great faith in God when he was sent by Moses to spy out the Promised Land. Joshua knew he could trust God to keep His promises.
Soon after Joshua became Israel’s leader, he sent spies to the city of Jericho, a part of the land God had promised them. When the spies went to observe the people and land, they met a woman named Rahab. Rahab showed great faith and trust in God by hiding the spies in her house when the king of Jericho sent men looking for them. The king did not want the Israelites to spy on his land.
Rahab feared the Lord and believed that God had given Jericho to the Israelites. She had heard of all the wonders God had done when He brought Israel out of Egypt. She asked the spies to protect her and her family when they came to conquer the city. In exchange for her protection, the spies agreed to spare her life and the lives of her family. They instructed her to tie a red cord outside of her window when the Israelite army attacked. All those inside of her house would be saved.
Rahab agreed and helped the spies escape by lowering a rope through her window. Since Rahab’s house was a part of the city walls, the men were able to escape safely. The spies returned to the Israelite camp and gave their report to Joshua. Forty years ago, ten spies were too afraid to take the land. This time, the spies were excited. They knew God was going to keep His word.
In Joshua 3:5, Joshua told the Israelites that they were going to see God do amazing things among them. When they came to the Jordan River, God told Joshua to command the priests who carried the Ark of the Covenant to stand in the water. When they stepped into the river, the water stopped flowing and stood “in a heap” upstream (Joshua 3:16). The Israelites crossed the Jordan River on dry ground, just as the generation before them had crossed the Red Sea. God allowed this new generation of Israelites to see His miraculous power. Once all of the Israelites were safely across, God told them to set up 12 rocks gathered from the middle of the river as a reminder of what He had done that day.
In the first four chapters of Joshua, the Israelites continue their journey into the Promised Land, and we continue to see God’s rescue mission for all of mankind unfold. God would one day send a leader greater than Moses or Joshua. Just as Rahab put her trust in God and in a red cord, we need to put our faith in the one God sent to save us¾Jesus¾and in His blood.
In these chapters, we also see that God provided a way for the Israelites to receive the land He promised to give them. Through the parting of the Jordan River, God was fulfilling His promise to His people. God also fulfilled His promise to Abraham that “all the nations of the earth” would be blessed through His offspring by providing a way for us to be with Him through His Son Jesus (Genesis 26:4).
The Bible is all about Jesus! Every promise that God keeps points us to Jesus. All of God’s promises are fulfilled in His Son. If you have never accepted Jesus’ gift of salvation or if you would like to know more about Him, please talk to a teacher or parent today.