7 But the people of Israel broke faith in regard to the devoted things, for Achan the son of Carmi, son of Zabdi, son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, took some of the devoted things. And the anger of the Lord burned against the people of Israel…. 10 The Lord said to Joshua, “Get up! Why have you fallen on your face? 11 Israel has sinned; they have transgressed my covenant that I commanded them; they have taken some of the devoted things; they have stolen and lied and put them among their own belongings. 12 Therefore the people of Israel cannot stand before their enemies. They turn their backs before their enemies, because they have become devoted for destruction. I will be with you no more, unless you destroy the devoted things from among you. 13 Get up! Consecrate the people and say, ‘Consecrate yourselves for tomorrow; for thus says the Lord, God of Israel, “There are devoted things in your midst, O Israel. You cannot stand before your enemies until you take away the devoted things from among you.” 14 In the morning therefore you shall be brought near by your tribes. And the tribe that the Lord takes by lot shall come near by clans. And the clan that the Lord takes shall come near by households. And the household that the Lord takes shall come near man by man. 15 And he who is taken with the devoted things shall be burned with fire, he and all that he has, because he has transgressed the covenant of the Lord, and because he has done an outrageous thing in Israel.’” 16 So Joshua rose early in the morning and brought Israel near tribe by tribe, and the tribe of Judah was taken. 17 And he brought near the clans of Judah, and the clan of theZerahites was taken. And he brought near the clan of the Zerahites man by man, and Zabdi was taken. 18 And he brought near his household man by man, and Achan

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the son of Carmi, son of Zabdi, son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, was taken. 19 Then Joshua said to Achan, “My son, give glory to the Lord God of Israel and give praise to him. And tell me now what you have done; do not hide it from me.” 20 And Achan answered Joshua, “Truly I have sinned against the Lord God of Israel, and this is what I did: 21 when I saw among the spoil a beautiful cloak from Shinar, and 200 shekels of silver, and a bar of gold weighing 50 shekels, then I coveted them and took them. And see, they are hidden in the earth inside my tent, with the silver underneath.” 22 So Joshua sent messengers, and they ran to the tent; and behold, it was hidden in his tent with the silver underneath. 23 And they took them out of the tent and brought them to Joshua and to all the people of Israel. And they laid them down before the Lord. 24 And Joshua and all Israel with him took Achan the son of Zerah, and the silver and the cloak and the bar of gold, and his sons and daughters and his oxen and donkeys and sheep and his tent and all that he had. And they brought them up to the Valley of Achor. 25 And Joshua said, “Why did you bring trouble on us? The Lord brings trouble on you today.” And all Israel stoned him with stones. They burned them with fire and stoned them with stones. 26 And they raised over him a great heap of stones that remains to this day. Then the Lord turned from his burning anger. Therefore, to this day the name of that place is called the Valley of Achor.

8 And the Lord said to Joshua, “Do not fear and do not be dismayed. Take all the fighting men with you, and arise, go up to Ai. See, I have given into your hand the king of Ai, and his people, his city, and his land. 2 And you shall do to Ai and its king as you did to Jericho and its king. Only its spoil and its livestock you shall take as plunder for yourselves. Lay an ambush against the city, behind it.” Joshua 7 and Joshua 8:1-2

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How would you describe your financial situation?FAITHFUL, FEARFUL, or FALSE SECURITY

24 “No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money. 25 “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? 33 But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. Matthew 6:24-25, 33

READING PLAN:

Mon: Joshua 10:1-17

Tue: 1 Kings 18:20-46

Wed: Mark 11:20-25

Thu: James 5:13-20

Fri: 1 John 5:13-15

Sat: Luke 11:9-13

WEEK 1BY: RON AND CAITLIN ARMSTRONG Hope’s Closet Manager, Disciple Group MinisterTOPIC: OBEDIENCE

Why do we practice Lent? We participate in Lent as a way to prepare our hearts and minds to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ. It isn’t commanded in Scripture, but here at Eleven22, we do it because we believe it’s bene-ficial at times to tell our flesh no, so we can tell Jesus yes.

WEEKLY DEVOTIONALObedience is one of those words that often brings forth a negative connotation when it comes to how we want to live our lives. We want our dogs and our children to be obedient, but when God demands us to obey, our feathers get a little ruffled. We want to be our own boss and our own authority. We want to be lord. Obedience is a spiritual discipline, which means it does not just happen, but there has to be

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intentional effort that is put towards it. All throughout Scripture, obedience and love are directly tied to each other. It is out of God’s love for us that He calls us to obey. He is the ultimate authority that deserves our worship through obedience, and He is the Father who calls His children into His blessings. Obedience is not begrudging submission but rather should be our response to what God has done for us; namely in Christ being obedient on the cross.

QUESTIONHow are you obeying God right now? Does it line up with Scripture?

FAMILY APPLICATION(An opportunity for you and your children to practice lent together)Bake two batches of cookies. Bake the first batch by intentionally skipping a step, such as leaving out a particular ingredient. Be sure to make a big deal of it and let your child know you are skipping that step (Pretend by saying: “Because it doesn’t matter/It is no big deal to skip”). When that batch comes out, brainstorm why the cookies did not turn out right. Bake the second batch by following the steps exactly. Use this as a launching pad to discuss why we follow directions; obey you, as their parent, and ultimately God.

WEEKLY READING PLANMon: Joshua 10:1-17

Tue: 1 Kings 18:20-46

Wed: Mark 11:20-25

Thu: James 5:13-20

Fri: 1 John 5:13-15

Sat: Luke 11:9-13

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