Joshua 7:4

_SO THERE WENT UP THITHER OF THE PEOPLE ABOUT THREE THOUSAND MEN: AND THEY FLED BEFORE THE MEN OF AI._ They fled before the men of Ai. An unexpected resistance and the loss of 36 of their number diffused a panic, which ended in an ignominious rout....

1-5 Achan took some of the spoil of Jericho. The love of the world is that root of bitterness, which of all others is most hardly rooted up. We should take heed of sin ourselves, lest by it many be defiled or disquieted, Hebrews 12:15; and take heed of having fellowship with sinners, lest we share their guilt. It concerns us to watch over one another to prevent sin, because others' sins may be to our damage. The easy conquest of Jericho excited contempt of the enemy, and a disposition to expect the Lord to do all for them without their using proper means. Thus men abuse the doctrines of Divine grace, and the promises of God, into excuses for their own sloth and self-indulgence. We are to work out our own salvation, though it is God that works in us. It was a dear victory to the Canaanites, whereby Israel was awakened and reformed, and reconciled to their God, and the people of Canaan ha...

Verse Joshua 7:4. _ABOUT THREE THOUSAND MEN_] The spies sent to reconnoitre the place (Joshua 7:3) reported that the town was meanly garrisoned, and that two or three thousand men would be sufficient to take it. These were accordingly sent up, and were repulsed by the Amorites....

EXPOSITION THE DEFEAT BEFORE AI.— JOSHUA 7:1 COMMITTED A TRESPASS IN THE ACCURSED THING. The word מָעַל, here used, signifies originally to _cover, _whence מְעִיל a garment. Hence it comes to mean to act deceitfully, or perhaps to steal (cf. the LXX. ἐνοσφίσαντο_, _a_ _translation rendered remarkable by the fact that it is the very word used by St. Luke in regard to the transgression of Ananias and Sapphira. But the LXX. is hare rather a paraphrase than a translation). It is clearly used here of some _secret _act. But in Le Joshua 5:15 it is used of an _unwitting _trespass, committed בִּשְׁגָגָה, in error of fact, but no

SO THERE WENT UP THITHER OF THE PEOPLE ABOUT THREE THOUSAND MEN,.... Joshua detached from the army the largest number proposed, that there might be strength enough to take the place; and those he sent under proper officers to Ai, who went up to the very gate of the city, as appears from Joshua 7:5: AND THEY FLED BEFORE THE MEN OF AI; for upon their appearing at the gate of their city, they came out with all their forces against them, and as soon as they did, the children of Israel durst not face them, but without engaging with them fled at once: God having forsaken them, their courage failed, the dread of their enemies falling on them....

7. ACHAN'S SIN AND ISRAEL'S DEFEAT CHAPTER 7 _ 1. The defeat of Israel (Joshua 7:1)_ 2. The source of the defeat revealed (Joshua 7:6) 3. The transgressor found out (Joshua 7:16) 4. The judgment of Achan (Joshua 7:24) The insignificant place Ai brings defeat. Joshua sent men to view Ai. What authority was given to him to do so? There was no need to send spies once more, for the Lord had said, that the whole land was given to them. They report Ai a place without walls and recommend that only two or three thousand men be sent up. Defeat follows. Ai means “ruins.” It is mentioned for the first time in...

VII. ACHAN'S TRESPASS, ISRAEL'S DEFEAT, ACHAN'S PUNISHMENT. Joshua 7:1. The name should probably be Achar. The narrative presents no difficulties till the end of the chapter, where Achan's punishment is recorded. Joshua 7:2. Ai: probably 2 miles SE. of Bethel (p. 31). Joshua 7:9. And what wilt thou do for (or on account of) THY GREAT NAME? The meaning is that if Israel is destroyed there will be none to worship Yahweh; an interesting example of the ancient belief in the close connexion between the deity and his worshippers. Joshua 7:19. GIVE. LORD: _ i.e_., tell the truth, _cf._...

_VER._ 4, 5. _AND THEY FLED,_ &C.— The garrison of Ai, observing the Israelites to be so few in number, made a sally. The latter, left by God, immediately lost courage, took flight, and left thirty-six of their comrades on the spot. The enemy pursued and beat them as far as to _Shebarim._ Some think this was a place betwixt Ai and Jericho; for _schebarim_ in the Hebrew signifies, _people defeated, broken, routed;_ while others, following the LXX, and taking the word in an appellative sense, translate, _they pursued them from before the gate, till they were entirely routed,_ &c. It is certain, that the runaways carried the alarm into the camp of Israel, and the consternation there was general. The historian describes it in very strong and lively terms. REFLECTIONS.—The last chapter left Israel triumphant, and Joshua's name great and glorious: this begins with a dire _But,_ which stops the...

_The Israelites Beaten Joshua 7:1-5_ But the children of Israel committed a trespass in the accursed thing: for Achan, 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 labor 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

REPULSE AT AI, DUE TO ACHAN'S SIN The capture of Jericho is followed by an attempt upon Ai, a place of strategic importance, as commanding a main entrance into the interior of Canaan westward; the upper entrance into the valley of Aijalon being commanded by Ai and Bethel. This chapter has an interest of its own, as exhibiting Joshua in a new light, as the spiritual guide, drawing out, with the mingled sweetness and severity of a father (Joshua 7:19), the sinner's detailed confession (see on Joshua 7:20). The incident of Achan's sin and its effects upon the fortunes of Israel is an illustration (_a_) of the penalty of solidarity—the inevitable spread of the results of sin and pollution from a single member to the whole body; (_b_) of the conditional nature of God's promises of success. In contrast to