Teaching Children About Joshua and Jericho Through Faith and Obedience

Teaching children about Joshua and Jericho can become much more than a dramatic story about walls falling down. Joshua 6 gives us a chance to talk about courage, obedience, patience, prayer, God’s power, and mercy. It also gives us a chance to slow down when the story feels difficult. Children deserve honesty, not a softened version that skips the hard parts or turns the battle into entertainment.

Our goal is simple: help children hear what Scripture says, understand what the passage meant for Israel, and respond with faithful trust in God today. Joshua and the walls of Jericho offer plenty to discuss, especially when we keep the Bible at the center and use creative storytelling as a doorway rather than a replacement for Scripture.

Begin with the Bible’s own setting

Before reading Joshua 6, give children a little background from Joshua 1 and 2. Moses has died, and Joshua has been appointed to lead Israel. God tells him to be strong and courageous, not because Joshua will be naturally fearless, but because God will be with him. That distinction matters. Courage in the Bible isn’t pretending that danger doesn’t exist. It’s moving forward while depending on God.

Joshua 2 introduces Rahab, a woman in Jericho who protects two Israelite spies. She recognizes that the Lord has given Israel the land and asks that she and her household be spared. The spies agree, and Rahab marks her window with a scarlet cord. Her story belongs in the lesson. Otherwise, children may hear only about a city judged by God and miss the mercy shown to those who turned to Him.

Joshua 2 records that two spies were sent to Jericho, giving children a concrete detail to remember as they connect the background account with Joshua 6.

Then read Joshua 6 aloud. We recommend keeping a Bible open while teaching from any retelling. That small habit quietly tells children where the authority lies.

Teach Joshua’s courage as dependence on God

Joshua was a leader, but he wasn’t the hero in the way children sometimes expect. He didn’t invent a clever battle plan or win through physical strength. He listened to God and led the people in an unusual act of obedience.

Ask, “What might Joshua have felt when God gave him these instructions?” Children may suggest fear, confusion, pressure, or even embarrassment. Those answers are reasonable. A leader can obey while still having questions. Scripture doesn’t require us to pretend that faithful people never feel nervous.

Courage is not the same as confidence

Joshua 1:9 says, “Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.” For children, connect this verse to ordinary moments. A child may need courage to tell the truth, welcome a lonely classmate, apologize, or stand apart from unkind behavior. Those situations aren’t identical to Joshua’s calling, but they can help children understand the shape of biblical courage.

We should also avoid promising that obedience guarantees a particular result. Following God doesn’t mean every hard thing will end the way we want. Joshua’s story shows God fulfilling His purpose, not a formula that lets us control outcomes. That nuance protects children from a faith built on bargains.

Give children a leader’s-eye view

Try asking children to imagine being responsible for leading a large group around a fortified city. What would they need from God? What would they need to remember when people complained? What would make it hard to keep following instructions?

For a family activity, invite each child to draw a small “courage card” with Joshua 1:9 on one side and a real-life situation on the other. The situation might say, “I need to admit I broke something,” or “Someone is being left out.” Keep the cards practical. Children usually connect better with a school hallway or sibling conflict than with vague instructions to “be brave.”

Make the marching instructions precise

The details in Joshua 6 matter. The Israelites were told to march around Jericho once each day for six days. On the seventh day, they were to march around the city seven times. Priests carried trumpets, the people were instructed to shout at the appointed time, and the wall fell after the people obeyed God’s command.

The Israelites marched around Jericho once daily for six days, then marched seven times on the seventh day, making the seventh day’s pattern noticeably different.

Children often remember the noise, but the waiting may be the better teaching point. Six days passed with no visible change. That’s a long time for a child who wants an answer right now. It’s also a useful way to talk about patience without pretending that waiting is easy.

Use a simple path around the room. On the first six “days,” have the children walk once in silence. On the seventh round of the activity, let them count seven laps, then shout together at the end. Make clear that this is a teaching activity created for your group, not something Scripture asks families to reenact as a spiritual technique. The point is to remember the sequence and feel the difference between waiting and the final command.

Silence can be part of obedience

Joshua 6 includes instructions about when the people were to remain quiet and when they were to shout. That gives us a good opening to discuss self-control. Obedience sometimes means doing less, waiting longer, or refusing to push our own timing.

Try a one-minute quiet exercise with young children. Ask them to notice sounds in the room without speaking. Afterward, ask, “Was being quiet easy or hard? What helped you wait?” Keep it brief. A long silence can become a behavior contest, and that misses the point.

Older children might compare the Jericho instructions with situations where they need to listen carefully before acting. A Sunday school class could create two columns labeled “What God said” and “What the people did.” A homeschool lesson could use the same format for reading comprehension and Bible study. The activity is simple, but it helps children separate God’s command from their own guesses about what should happen.

Talk about God’s power without turning the story into a trick

The walls of Jericho fell because God acted. The marching wasn’t a magic procedure, and the trumpets weren’t a secret weapon. The people’s obedience mattered, but their obedience didn’t create God’s power. That’s worth saying plainly.

Children may ask whether the walls fell because of sound waves, a hidden weakness, or some other physical cause. We don’t need to pretend we can answer every question about the event’s mechanics. Scripture presents the fall of Jericho as God’s act. We can affirm what the text says without making unsupported archaeological claims or treating disputed details as settled evidence.

Joshua 6 describes seven priests carrying seven trumpets before the ark, reinforcing how carefully the account repeats the number seven.

Those repeated details can help children notice that the story isn’t rushed. The text keeps drawing attention to God’s instructions. Ask, “What did the people have to do before they saw the wall fall?” The answer is not “figure everything out.” They had to trust God and obey what He had said.

Still, we need to handle application carefully. A child might conclude, “When I obey God, I’ll always get what I want.” We can gently correct that idea. God is trustworthy, but obedience isn’t a way to control Him. Sometimes faithfulness leads through hardship, disappointment, or a long wait. Joshua 6 teaches that God keeps His word, not that every personal plan will succeed.

Include Rahab and the mercy in the account

Rahab should never be treated as a footnote. She protected the spies, acknowledged the Lord, and asked for rescue. Joshua 6 says that Rahab, her family, and all who belonged to her were brought out safely. This is a natural place to explain that God’s judgment and God’s mercy are both present in the account.

Age matters here. With younger children, we can say that Jericho was judged and that the people of Israel were told to fight, while Rahab and her household were rescued because she had protected the spies and trusted the Lord’s warning. We don’t need graphic descriptions. With older children, we can acknowledge that the passage describes the death of people in the city and invite honest questions. “Why did this happen?” is not a disrespectful question.

We should also say what this passage does not mean. It isn’t permission for Christians today to attack people who disagree with us. It doesn’t make aggression holy. Israel’s conquest belongs to a particular point in biblical history under God’s specific command, and we must not turn it into a model for modern violence.

Help children see the person behind the rescue

Ask children what Rahab might have feared and why her choice required courage. Then ask how her actions affected her household. This can lead to a thoughtful conversation about how one person’s faithfulness may protect, encourage, or bless others.

A useful activity is a “welcome window.” Give each child a paper window to decorate with words such as “mercy,” “courage,” “truth,” and “hope.” Explain that the craft is a reminder of Rahab’s rescue, not a symbol with magical power. Some children will love the visual connection. Others may be more interested in discussing why Rahab chose to help the spies. Both responses are fine.

Use a storybook without confusing it with Scripture

Joshua and the Walls of Jericho by Don D. Brown, published by Rebell Books, retells the account through the fictional Divine News Team: Penny the Squirrel, Professor Hoot the Owl, and Dominic the Donkey. That animal-reporter framework can give children a memorable way to enter the story and notice its major movements.

Here’s the boundary we recommend: tell children which parts come from the Bible and which parts are imaginative storytelling. The animals, their reporting setup, and any invented dialogue are fictional additions. They can help children picture the account, but they aren’t biblical characters or quotations from Joshua.

Read a section from the storybook, then open Joshua 1, 2, or 6 and compare the ideas. Ask, “What does the Bible say here? What has been added to help us imagine the scene?” This teaches discernment without taking the fun out of reading. And honestly, children often enjoy spotting the difference.

Our team appreciates this kind of framework because it creates conversation. A child may remember Dominic the Donkey’s perspective and then ask about the real instructions given to Israel. That’s a useful bridge, as long as we keep returning to the biblical text.

Conversation starters for home or church

The following questions are article resources for parents, grandparents, homeschool educators, Sunday school teachers, and children’s ministry leaders. They aren’t features included in the book.

• What did God ask Joshua to do before the people entered Jericho?

• Why do you think the marching instructions included so much waiting?

• What might have made Joshua feel afraid or discouraged?

• How did the people show obedience during the seven days?

• What do we learn about Rahab from the way she helped the spies?

• How can we show courage when doing what is right feels unpopular?

• Why shouldn’t we treat the Jericho battle as permission for Christians to hurt people today?

• What questions do you still have about the story?

Don’t rush to answer every question yourself. Sometimes children need room to say, “I’m not sure.” Mark the question and return to the text together. That habit is more valuable than producing a perfectly tidy lesson.

Plan a lesson that fits the child in front of you

A preschool lesson might focus on one phrase: “God was with Joshua.” Use blocks to make a wall, walk around it quietly, and talk about listening to God. Avoid making the wall collapse into a loud surprise if a child is sensitive to noise.

For elementary-age children, use the seven-day pattern, a map-style drawing, and the conversation questions above. Let them retell the story in their own words. Correct details gently, especially the difference between marching once for six days and seven times on the seventh day.

With older children, read selected verses from Joshua 1, 2, and 6. Discuss leadership, judgment, mercy, and the danger of using Bible stories to justify our own anger. A good lesson may end with unanswered questions. That’s not failure. It’s often the beginning of serious faith.

Joshua 6 presents a seven-day pattern, while Joshua 2 provides the earlier account of Rahab and the two spies, so reading both chapters gives children two connected angles on the story.

For a full teaching plan and related biblical guidance, visit our resource for teaching children about faith and obedience. We recommend using it alongside an open Bible and adapting the discussion to your children’s ages and questions.

FAQs for Teaching Children About Joshua and Jericho Through Faith and Obedience

How should we explain the fall of Jericho to young children?

Use clear, age-appropriate language. You might say, “God told Israel what to do, the people obeyed, and God caused the wall to fall.” You don’t need graphic details or a technical explanation that Scripture doesn’t provide. Keep the focus on God’s power and the people’s obedience.

Should children act out the battle of Jericho?

They can act out the marching sequence as a memory activity, but we don’t recommend turning the battle into a game where children pretend to injure or defeat one another. Walk around a pretend wall, count the days, and make the final shout about remembering the passage. Keep the difficult events age-sensitive.

Why is Rahab important when teaching this story?

Rahab shows that the account includes mercy and rescue, not only judgment. She protected the spies, acknowledged the Lord, and was rescued with her household. Including her helps children see that biblical stories can hold serious themes together without reducing everything to a simple victory scene.

How can we explain that fictional animals are not part of the Bible?

Say it directly and without making fiction sound suspicious. Penny the Squirrel, Professor Hoot the Owl, and Dominic the Donkey are fictional storytellers in Don D. Brown’s retelling. They help children imagine the scene, while Joshua 1, 2, and 6 provide the biblical account. Ask children to identify what comes from Scripture and what has been added creatively.

What should we say when a child asks why people died at Jericho?

Tell the truth in simple language: Joshua 6 describes God’s judgment on Jericho and the rescue of Rahab and her household. Older children may be ready for a fuller discussion about sin, judgment, and God’s authority. We can also make clear that this unique biblical event is not a command for Christians to use violence today.

Keep the central lesson clear

Joshua and Jericho is not mainly a story about making enough noise to force a breakthrough. It’s about God’s faithfulness, Joshua’s dependence, Israel’s obedience, the patience required to wait, and the mercy shown to Rahab and her household.

Read the Bible. Use the storybook as a helpful imaginative companion. Let children ask hard questions. And keep bringing the conversation back to God’s character. That’s where the story has lasting weight.