Jericho

Secret Sin to Devastating Downfall

/ Bob

After the resounding victory at Jericho the City of Ai seemed like an easy win. Joshua sent out his reconnaissance team and they came back with a report of easy pickings so Joshua sent a much smaller force to take Ai. However, Joshua was unaware that Israel had violated God’s command of total destruction of Jericho. It was only one soldier who did the deed, but the entire camp suffered the consequences.

God demands total destruction when it comes to the sin in our lives. We tend to play fast and loose with the sin in our lives. With a wink and a nudge we excuse those little insignificant sins that we think are basically harmless. But God ain’t playing that game. We must address the sin that separates from our Lord. We must address it and exterminate it. Only total destruction is acceptable.

This Bible study was presented to the Agape Life Bible Study Class of the First Baptist Church in Brenham, Texas, on Sunday, October 26, 2025. It is part of a series in a Bible study curriculum called Connect 360, published by the GC2 Press of the Baptist General Convention of Texas. The overall title of the current set of lessons is How Great Is Our God: Passing the Faith Along. You can find print and digital versions of this series online at https://gc2press.org/how-great-is-our-god-old-testament-digital-study-guide/. Handouts with class presentation content can be requested at: fromthebackporchintexas@gmail.com . Handouts are also available at: fromthebackporch.org .


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Do You Want to Be Safe or Saved? Rahab’s Dilemma and Ours

/ Bob

Rahab was a resident of the city of Jericho. Jericho was a well-fortified city with a double-wall defensive system. While Jericho had a history of being over run in the past, it had been about 1,000 years since anyone had been able to break through those defenses. It was a safe haven in the dessert that Rahab called home. She and her family lived there. Her business – be it brothel, hotel, or both served her well. She was respected enough to sway the city officials to go on a wild goose chase for spies who were known to have visited her establishment. She had a big decision to make – either stay in the city and hope that the Israelites would not prevail in their advance on the city or trust in the God of the Israelites for her salvation. She chose wisely. She chose to trust in God.

When things are going well as they were for the city of Jericho and for Rahab as well we have a tendency to become complacent. It’s a battle we face throughout our lives. We must count the cost as Rahab did and choose to follow God and trust Him. We can’t let the good things we are experiencing keep us from the best things God has for us. It is most definitely better to be saved than to be safe.

This Bible study was presented to the Agape Life Bible Study Class of the First Baptist Church in Brenham, Texas, on Sunday, October 12, 2025. It is part of a series in a Bible study curriculum called Connect 360, published by the GC2 Press of the Baptist General Convention of Texas. The overall title of the current set of lessons is How Great Is Our God: Passing the Faith Along. You can find print and digital versions of this series online at https://gc2press.org/how-great-is-our-god-old-testament-digital-study-guide/. Handouts with class presentation content can be requested at: fromthebackporchintexas@gmail.com . Handouts are also available at: fromthebackporch.org .


Website – FromTheBackPorch.org
Facebook – From the Back Porch in Texas

YouTube – youtube.com/@fromthebackporch

X – FromtheBackPorch@nationalfast

TikTok – tiktok.com/@fromthebackporchintexas
Email – fromthebackporchintexas@gmail.com

Class Notes – 10.12.2025 – Lesson 4 – Do You Want to Be Safe or SavedDownload