Why blame everybody for one person s sin (7:11)?
Individualism as we know it was not the Israelites’ way of thinking. The ancient Israelites would wonder how we could think in any terms other than the community as a whole. Because Achan violated the instructions about Jericho, he broke trust between God and Israel and the nation as a whole suffered. The Quest Study Bible Why could the Israelites plunder Ai, but not Jericho (8:2)? In ancient times pillaging was a means of resupplying the army with food and equipment. So it was not the battle of Ai that was unusual, but the battle of Jericho. The dedication of Jericho s valuables to the Lord paralleled God s laws about firstfruits (see Leviticus 2:14), and so they honored the Lord by giving the first victory to him. The Quest Study Bible Are we to believe that the sun actually stopped (10:13-14)? While some argue that the passage is figurative, there is no reason to believe that God could not extend the day. He who created the world by the power of His word can certainly work beyond th
