Joshua 7:1-26
1 But the children of Israel committed a trespass in the accursed thing: for Achan,a the son of Carmi, the son of Zabdi, the son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, took of the accursed thing: and the anger of the LORD was kindled against the children of Israel.
2 And Joshua sent men from Jericho to Ai, which is beside Bethaven, on the east side of Bethel, and spake unto them, saying, Go up and view the country. And the men went up and viewed Ai.
3 And they returned to Joshua, and said unto him, Let not all the people go up; but let about two or three thousand men go up and smite Ai; and make not all the people to labour thither; for they are but few.
4 So there went up thither of the people about three thousand men: and they fled before the men of Ai.
5 And the men of Ai smote of them about thirty and six men: for they chased them from before the gate even unto Shebarim, and smote them in the going down: wherefore the hearts of the people melted, and became as water.
6 And Joshua rent his clothes, and fell to the earth upon his face before the ark of the LORD until the eventide, he and the elders of Israel, and put dust upon their heads.
7 And Joshua said, Alas, O Lord GOD, wherefore hast thou at all brought this people over Jordan, to deliver us into the hand of the Amorites, to destroy us? would to God we had been content, and dwelt on the other side Jordan!
8 O Lord, what shall I say, when Israel turneth their backsb before their enemies!
9 For the Canaanites and all the inhabitants of the land shall hear of it, and shall environ us round, and cut off our name from the earth: and what wilt thou do unto thy great name?
10 And the LORD said unto Joshua, Get thee up; wherefore liestc thou thus upon thy face?
11 Israel hath sinned, and they have also transgressed my covenant which I commanded them: for they have even taken of the accursed thing, and have also stolen, and dissembled also, and they have put it even among their own stuff.
12 Therefore the children of Israel could not stand before their enemies, but turned their backs before their enemies, because they were accursed: neither will I be with you any more, except ye destroy the accursed from among you.
13 Up, sanctify the people, and say, Sanctify yourselves against to morrow: for thus saith the LORD God of Israel, There is an accursed thing in the midst of thee, O Israel: thou canst not stand before thine enemies, until ye take away the accursed thing from among you.
14 In the morning therefore ye shall be brought according to your tribes: and it shall be, that the tribe which the LORD taketh shall come according to the families thereof; and the family which the LORD shall take shall come by households; and the household which the LORD shall take shall come man by man.
15 And it shall be, that he that is taken with the accursed thing shall be burnt with fire, he and all that he hath: because he hath transgressed the covenant of the LORD, and because he hath wrought follyd in Israel.
16 So Joshua rose up early in the morning, and brought Israel by their tribes; and the tribe of Judah was taken:
17 And he brought the family of Judah; and he took the family of the Zarhites: and he brought the family of the Zarhites man by man; and Zabdi was taken:
18 And he brought his household man by man; and Achan, the son of Carmi, the son of Zabdi, the son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, was taken.
19 And Joshua said unto Achan, My son, give, I pray thee, glory to the LORD God of Israel, and make confession unto him; and tell me now what thou hast done; hide it not from me.
20 And Achan answered Joshua, and said, Indeed I have sinned against the LORD God of Israel, and thus and thus have I done:
21 When I saw among the spoils a goodly Babylonish garment, and two hundred shekels of silver, and a wedgee of gold of fifty shekels weight, then I coveted them, and took them; and, behold, they are hid in the earth in the midst of my tent, and the silver under it.
22 So Joshua sent messengers, and they ran unto the tent; and, behold, it was hid in his tent, and the silver under it.
23 And they took them out of the midst of the tent, and brought them unto Joshua, and unto all the children of Israel, and laid them out before the LORD.
24 And Joshua, and all Israel with him, took Achan the son of Zerah, and the silver, and the garment, and the wedge of gold, and his sons, and his daughters, and his oxen, and his asses, and his sheep, and his tent, and all that he had: and they brought them unto the valley of Achor.
25 And Joshua said, Why hast thou troubled us? the LORD shall trouble thee this day. And all Israel stoned him with stones, and burned them with fire, after they had stoned them with stones.
26 And they raised over him a great heap of stones unto this day. So the LORD turned from the fierceness of his anger. Wherefore the name of that place was called, The valley of Achor,f unto this day.
Joshua 7:1. The children of Israel committed a trespass; that is, Achan and his children, who concealed their father's sin, by hiding the accursed plunder in their tent. The sin of one man is here attributed to all the people of Israel; as the sin of one member vitiates and shames the whole body.
Joshua 7:2. From Jericho to Ai; called Hai, Genesis 12:8; and Aija, Nehemiah 11:31. This town lay nine miles west of Jericho on a hill, and fell to the lot of Benjamin. There was another town of that name among the Ammonites. Jeremiah 49:3.
Joshua 7:9. What wilt thou do unto thy great name? When the church comes to extremities, God's honour comes to extremities: his great name is closely connected with that of his family.
Joshua 7:14. The tribe which the Lord taketh, as was the case when Saul was elected king. Our critics say, by lot; the text says, the Lord took the man. This was probably by the judgment of the Urim; a cloud of obscuration passed on the brilliant stones when the name was called. Be that as it might, the Lord will surely take the guilty in the day of scrutiny.
Joshua 7:24. His sons and his daughters. These by concealment became partakers of their father's sin; and as in Korah's case, were involved in his punishment.
Joshua 7:25. Why hast thou troubled us? Alluding to Achan's name, as well as to his sin; and sin is the cause of all trouble. And burned them with fire. This also is a gentile punishment. See on Exodus 22:18.
Joshua 7:26. They raised over him a great heap of stones. Tumuli of earth or of stones were raised by all the ancients on great occasions, as on Absalom. 1 Kings 18:17. Our Downs are full of burrows by Romans, Danes, and Saxons. The Romans are distinguished by urns and coins, and the Saxons by armour.
REFLECTIONS.
Jericho being the strongest city in all the vicinity, and excelling the other cities in wickedness, the Lord had peculiarly charged himself with its punishment, as a devoted place. The gold, silver, and brass, after being purified with fire, he had appropriated to his service. The first spoil the Lord claimed on the same principle as he had claimed the firstborn, and the firstfruits. The inhabitants he had devoted to the sword, and their houses to the flames. The whole city was therefore the Lord's, not only by a divine claim, but because he had by an omnipotent arm thrown down the walls.
From the tragic case of Achan we may learn, that all sin is, in God's account, an accursed thing. The anathema of the Lord is denounced against every violation of his holy law, Galatians 3:10; against all unbelievers, Mark 16:16; and against all who love not the Lord Jesus, 1 Corinthians 16:22.
One predominant sin often proves the ruin of men and of nations. Luxury and dissipation are frequently the ruin of our youth; a habit of saving in commercial people, not unfrequently becomes a confirmed covetousness in old age. This was Achan's sin. He entered the house of a prince; and after inflicting death on the family he saw in a secret place a splendid robe decorated with gold; he saw the silver and gold lying contiguous. At this sight the lusts of his heart, which he had neglected to mortify, gained the ascendency over him. This money, he said, will elevate me above my contemporaries; this robe will distinguish me above the families of Israel. I have children; old age will come, and I ought to consult the good of my family. Conscience would reply, touch it not; the God who divided the Jordan, and threw down the strong walls of Jericho, has pronounced it accursed; this transgression and sacrilege will bring all the sins of the devoted city on thee and thy house. True, he replied, but the Lord is merciful. I may repent in future; and I will make a good use of the treasure. Passion, which had already overpowered his understanding, next overpowered his conscience. So he put the money in his pouch; and casting away his own upper garment, folded up the robe in its place cautiously covered. What could human prudence do more? He enjoyed his guilty triumph of secresy and success.
One man's sins, however secret, may involve himself and his country in the dreadful visitations of God. Achan made his family parties in his crime; and the curse of Jericho being hereby transferred to them, the whole family perished. This was the first sin after the passover at Gilgal; and God, as in many places of scripture, has peculiarly punished the first gross offences after the renewal of a covenant. Israel, all elevated with the triumph, went up to Ai, but fainted on seeing the arms of the enemy and fled. So Samson, after violating his vows, was weak as another man. The reason of all this was, because Israel was one body, and shared in common the benefits of one covenant: therefore God thought proper to suspend the course of his blessings, that his people might be searched and sanctified: how instructive is this history to the christian church! If religion fall into decay in any place, when according to the promises it ought to flourish, a scrutiny should be made into the cause. Do the ministers and the people live in the spirit of holiness and love; for the loss of love will make any community droop? Is the public ministry faithfully enforced? Are the children and the young people properly instructed? Is there a sacred line of distinction drawn between the communicants and the corruptions of the world? Does no one live in the habits of adultery, fornication, drunkenness, malice, or fraud?
Are all family duties discharged, and the public worship respectfully attended? For all wilful and habitual sins will cause the Lord to suspend the glory of his presence, and restrain the course of his blessings. He will not be present with his people while Achan covers his crimes.
Ministers and magistrates, like Joshua and the elders, should weep and mourn when secret offences chill the spirit of religion; and when the crimes of our country retard its prosperity, and load it with calamities. Oh it was a fine spirit to see all Israel prostrate before the Lord in the day of humiliation.
God will soon discover all the secret sins of men, and bring the offenders to punishment. Achan little thought of the trouble he was bringing on his family and nation. Dazzled with ideas of opulence and splendour, he had no idea that the lot would soon find him out. Ah, and shall men for a fortune, a name, a villa, a carriage, indulge in habitual fraud. He who oppresses the labourer, or withholds a part of his treasure from religious and charitable uses, like Achan, defrauds his God. Wealth not justly acquired will prove to him and his house an accursed thing; and the Lord, far sooner than he expects, will take him by name and reveal his punishment.
Mark next the effects of Achan's sin. He concealed it, he dissembled, and did not make an ingenuous confession till death stared him in the face. Thus it is with wicked men. Oh, what it costs them to say, I have sinned. His confession nevertheless gave glory to the holiness and omniscience of God, who will by no means clear the guilty. It partially relieved the wounds of his conscience by a copious discharge; and it was all the fruits of repentance which circumstances allowed. Offenders should always be exhorted to give glory to God, and to take the shame to themselves.
From Joshua and the elders we learn how the ministers of religion should purge the church of those who work folly in Israel, leaving them with God to grant them repentance, or farther punishment, as he shall judge in his holy counsel. In many cases a man makes his family a party in his crimes, for guilt seems to contaminate all eyes which behold it destitute of tears. May the sin of this man, so dreadful to himself and instructive to the world, warn us not to leave one wicked propensity unsubdued in the heart.