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Israel Defeated at Ai
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.
Joshua sent men from Jericho to Ai, which is near Beth-aven, east of Bethel, and said to them, “Go up and spy out the land.” And the men went up and spied out Ai. And they returned to Joshua and said to him, “Do not have all the people go up, but let about two or three thousand men go up and attack Ai. Do not make the whole people toil up there, for they are few.” So about three thousand men went up there from the people. And they fled before the men of Ai, and the men of Ai killed about thirty-six of their men and chased them before the gate as far as Shebarim and struck them at the descent. And the hearts of the people melted and became as water.
Then Joshua tore his clothes and fell to the earth on his face before the ark of the LORD until the evening, he and the elders of Israel. And they put dust on their heads. And Joshua said, “Alas, O Lord GOD, why have you brought this people over the Jordan at all, to give us into the hands of the Amorites, to destroy us? Would that we had been content to dwell beyond the Jordan! O Lord, what can I say, when Israel has turned their backs before their enemies! For the Canaanites and all the inhabitants of the land will hear of it and will surround us and cut off our name from the earth. And what will you do for your great name?”
The Sin of Achan
The LORD said to Joshua, “Get up! Why have you fallen on your face? 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. 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. 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.” 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. 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.’”
So Joshua rose early in the morning and brought Israel near tribe by tribe, and the tribe of Judah was taken. And he brought near the clans of Judah, and the clan of the Zerahites was taken. And he brought near the clan of the Zerahites man by man, and Zabdi was taken. And he brought near his household man by man, and Achan the son of Carmi, son of Zabdi, son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, was taken. 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.” And Achan answered Joshua, “Truly I have sinned against the LORD God of Israel, and this is what I did: 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.”
So Joshua sent messengers, and they ran to the tent; and behold, it was hidden in his tent with the silver underneath. 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. 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. 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. 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.
(ESV)
Joshua 7 Commentary
“The city and everything in it must be totally destroyed as an offering to the LORD. Only the prostitute Rahab and her household will be spared, because she hid our spies. [18] But you are not to take anything that is to be destroyed; if you do, you will bring trouble and destruction on the Israelite camp. [19] Everything made of silver, gold, bronze, or iron is set apart for the LORD. It is to be put in the LORD’s treasury.””
Joshua 6:17-19 GNB
In Joshua 6, the Israelites followed the Lord’s instruction before marching around Jericho. We do not find out until the beginning of Joshua 7 that one person within their camp was disobedient. Unaware of this, Joshua sends scouts to survey Ai, a small city near Bethel. The scouts suggest sending only a few thousand men to attack, but the mission ends in disaster as the Israelites are defeated, losing 36 men and fleeing from Ai.
This demoralizes the people. Joshua and the elders fall facedown before the ark of the Lord, mourning and seeking God’s guidance. Joshua laments their defeat, questioning why God brought them across the Jordan only to face destruction, fearing that Israel’s enemies will hear of their weakness, surround them, and destroy them, ultimately bringing dishonor to God’s name.
Get Up Joshua!
The Lord doesn’t pull any punches. He tells Joshua to get up and quit lying on the ground. Israel has sinned! Corporately, all of Israel is responsible for this poor decision, and it has breached the covenant with God.
The Lord had given specific instructions for the purpose of keeping Israel holy and pure. Going back to Joshua 6, God’s anger burned upon Jericho for their obscene corruption, and His desire was to both judge Jericho and protect Israel. In other words, it wasn’t just the taking of their items – a simple theft – that most angered the Lord. This went far deeper, and we know that because of how the sin is described by God.
“Israel has sinned! They have broken the agreement with me that I ordered them to keep. They have taken some of the things condemned to destruction. They stole them, lied about it, and put them with their own things. [12] This is why the Israelites cannot stand against their enemies. They retreat from them because they themselves have now been condemned to destruction! I will not stay with you any longer unless you destroy the things you were ordered not to take!”
Joshua 7:11-12 GNB
The verses here in Joshua 7 say, “the people of Israel ‘broke faith’ in regards to the devoted things.” The Hebrew word for ‘broke faith’ is used multiple times over the sweep of Joshua and is even used in Joshua 22 to describe the construction of an altar used to worship false gods. If the theft had been the primary issue it seems the text would have used a different Hebrew word translated as “steal” or “stole.”
The breach of faith on Israel’s part may have seemed like only a petty theft to the one who committed it, but to God, it represented a fracture of His holy covenant. This, by the very nature of how it was established, guaranteed that the Lord would not fight their battles for them.
Achan Confronted
God commands Joshua to purify the people and identify the guilty party through a process of selection. The next morning, the tribe of Judah is chosen, followed by the clan of Zerah, the family of Zabdi, and finally Achan. When confronted by Joshua, Achan is urged to confess his wrongdoing before the Lord.
In verse 21, we read Achan’s reply when confronted…
“Achan replied to Joshua, “It is true. I have sinned against the LORD, the God of Israel. This is what I did: [21] When I saw among the spoils a beautiful cloak from Babylon, five pounds of silver, and a bar of gold weighing a pound and a quarter, I coveted them and took them. You can see for yourself. They are concealed in the ground inside my tent, with the silver under the cloak.””
Joshua 7:20-21 CSB
I saw them. I coveted them. I took them and I concealed them.
God knows that when left to our natural desires, our flesh will compromise and sin. Much later in the New Testament, Jesus would speak along these same lines when talking about sin.
“If your right eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of the parts of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. [30] And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of the parts of your body than for your whole body to go into hell.”
Matthew 5:29-30 CSB
What is Jesus saying here? Of course, He knows that gouging out your eye does not stop you from lusting just as much as cutting off your right hand does not stop your mind from having impure thoughts. The point Jesus is making is that a small compromise can lead to death. It only takes one part (Achan) to corrupt the entire body (Israel), and that corruption leads us down a path of slavery that ends in death.
“But each person is tempted when he is drawn away and enticed by his own evil desire. [15] Then after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin, and when sin is fully grown, it gives birth to death.”
James 1:14-15 CSB
Just like Achan’s sin prohibited Israel from overcoming their enemies, our small, secret sins can prevent us from experiencing all that God has for us. In Jesus’ words, a repeated pattern of continual sin can lead the heart away from Christ and into hell!
The Ripple Effect of Sin
The story here in Joshua 7 sends a strong message that our decision to compromise also affects others just like it did for Achan.
As the rest of the chapter unfolds, Achan and his entire family were led out to a place called the Valley of Achor, which will become known as the Valley of Trouble, where they would be destroyed. It’s hard to wrap our minds around this dire act of God and consequences that led to death, but the reason was made clear. This sin affected the entire nation and it violated God’s law. God said they had acted unfaithfully and they must follow the law in order to rectify the problem.
“If one person sins unintentionally, he is to present a year-old female goat as a sin offering. [28] The priest will then make atonement before the LORD on behalf of the person who acts in error sinning unintentionally, and when he makes atonement for him, he will be forgiven. [29] You are to have the same law for the person who acts in error, whether he is an Israelite or an alien who resides among you. [30] “But the person who acts defiantly, whether native or resident alien, blasphemes the LORD. That person is to be cut off from his people. [31] He will certainly be cut off, because he has despised the LORD’s word and broken his command; his guilt remains on him.”
Numbers 15:27-31 CSB
In short, Achan’s sin of taking the robe, the gold, and the silver was like stealing from God Himself and it was punishable by death.
Jesus takes sin seriously. The Holy Spirit brings conviction into our hearts, but conviction alone is not enough. We need the power to change. That power will not come from trying harder to follow God’s law as we can never meet that standard. It is found through faith in God’s redemptive plan of grace. Through faith, we can experience the joy and gratitude of a new identity which gives us the power to change and be more like Christ. I am so thankful we no longer live under the curse of the law and can experience the fullness of God’s Holy Spirit!