Thus God delivered Jericho into the hands of His people. All the
inhabitants were killed except Rahab and her relatives. These were
spared because Rahab had been kind to the spies whom Joshua had sent.

[Illustration: THE FALL OF JERICHO.]




ACHAN'S SIN.


God commanded the Israelites to destroy Jericho; and all the gold,
silver, and other riches found there were to be devoted to the Lord.
If any disobeyed this command then a curse was to rest upon all, and
they were not to prosper.

The Israelites were to conquer the Canaanites, and drive them out of
the land. So Joshua prepared to attack a city named Ai. Three thousand
of his men went to capture it, but the inhabitants came out and drove
them back, killing some of them. Joshua was greatly grieved. He knew
that unless God made the Israelites victorious, the Canaanites would
be able to overcome them, and God had appeared to fail them this time.
Oh! he was sorry. But he told God the trouble, and God showed him the
cause of it.

One of the Israelites, named Achan, saw among the spoil of Jericho, a
handsome garment, some silver, and a bar of gold, and coveted them. He
stole these things and hid them away in his tent, thinking that no one