Joshua 07

Introduction

Before the summer we reached the end of chapter 6 in the book of Joshua. In those first six chapters, the Lord brought his people through the Jordan River and he enabled them to conquer Jericho. He brought them through the Jordan River by stopping the flow of water so that they could cross over on dry land. And he enabled them to conquer Jericho by causing the walls of the city to collapse. And now the people are all set to take over the land of Canaan, that Eden-like land, flowing with milk and honey, which the Lord promised to give to his people and where he promised to dwell in their midst.

And I suppose that, after the victory over Jericho, the people are expecting, and we’re expecting, that they will go from one victory to another. Since the Lord was able to stop the river Jordan and since he was able to destroy the walls of Jericho, then surely the Lord will help them to conquer the rest of the land without difficulty. That’s what they’re expecting. That’s what we’re expecting. But that’s not what happens in chapter 7.

Verse 1

Verse 1 introduces the chapter to us and explains why things went wrong for the Israelites so soon after the victory over Jericho. So, why did things go wrong for them? It’s because the Israelites acted unfaithfully in regard to the devoted things.

Let me remind you about these devoted things. Right before the walls of Jericho fell, Joshua announced to the people that the city and all that is in it were to be devoted to the Lord. And what he meant was that every living thing was to be killed and every non-living thing — apart from what was made of precious metal — was to be destroyed. Whatever was made of precious metal was to be placed in the Lord’s treasury. And the only people who could be spared were Rahab and her family with her. They were to be spared because Rahab had asked the spies for mercy. But everyone else was to be killed. And everything that could be destroyed must be destroyed. Destroying them was a way of offering them to the Lord.

And Joshua warned the people to keep away from the devoted things so that they will not bring about their own destruction by taking any of them. If they take any of the devoted things, they will make the camp of Israel liable to destruction and they will bring trouble on it.

So, that’s the background to what we read in verse 1 of chapter 7. Joshua had warned the people not to keep anything they find in Jericho, but to devote everything to the Lord by destroying it. And if you keep anything for yourself, you’ll put everyone in danger of judgment.

That’s the background. And according to verse 1, the people acted unfaithfully in regard to the devoted things. One of them — this man Achan, who was from the tribe of Judah — took some of the devoted things. And so, because of what Achan did, the Lord’s anger burned against Israel.

Verses 2 to 5

And in verses 2 to 5 we see how the Lord’s manifested his burning anger. Joshua sent some of his men to spy out the city of Ai. And when the men returned, they advised Joshua that there was no need to send all of them against Ai, because ‘only a few men are there’. In other words, the city of Ai did not have a large army and it would be easy for the Israelites to take it.

Some commentators and preachers fault Joshua and his men for being too confident. They say Joshua and his men were being arrogant and they did not seek God’s help. However, there’s nothing in the text to suggest that they were being presumptuous. I think we’re to take it that the city of Ai was a sitting target and under normal circumstances we would expect Israel to conquer it easily. And they would have taken it, if it were not for God’s burning anger which burned against them because of what Achan had done. Joshua is not at fault; Achan is.

And because of the Lord’s burning anger, he enabled Ai’s small army to defeat the Israelites. Thirty-six of them were killed and the men of Ai chased the rest of them from the city. And as a result of this surprising defeat, the hearts of the people melted and became like water. In other words, they were filled with fear. Back in chapter 2 we read that the people in Jericho were melting in fear because of the Israelites. But now it’s the Israelites who are melting in fear.

Verses 6 to 9

In verses 6 to 9 we read how Joshua and the elders of Israel tore their clothes and fell face down before the ark of the Lord and they sprinkled dust on their heads. Tearing their clothes and sprinkling dust on their heads was a sign of lamentation and mourning. These men were distraught because of what has happened. And they continued to lament before the Lord until evening.

And Joshua then turned to God in prayer to ask the Lord why he brought them across the Jordan only to hand them over to their enemies. And in his prayer he wondered whether they should’ve remained on the other side of the river? It’s clear therefore that he doesn’t understand why this has happened to them. Was God being mean to them? Had they done something wrong? He did not know. He’s confused.

But one thing that is clear to him, which he mentions in his prayer, is that the Canaanites will no longer be afraid of them, but will surround them. And the Canaanites will wipe them out. And if that happens, what will that mean for God’s great name? What will it mean for God’s reputation among the nations if he lets his people be destroyed?

Verses 10 to 15

And so, Joshua and the elders lament before the Lord and Joshua leads them in prayer. And in verses 10 to 12 the Lord answers him by making clear that the reason this has happened to them is because Israel has sinned by violating the covenant he commanded them to keep.

Of course, only one of the Israelites had sinned against the Lord. But Joshua warned them in chapter 6 that if any of them took the devoted things, then all of them would suffer because of it. God regarded them all as being blameworthy because of what Achan had done when he stole some of the devoted things and lied about it. And that’s why the Israelites cannot stand against their enemies. They turn their backs and run from their enemies because, thanks to Achan, they were now liable to destruction.

And in verse 12 the Lord announced that he would not be with them any more unless they destroy the devoted things in their midst. And so, until they do something about their sin, the Lord will not go up with them to help them against their enemies.

And so, they need to deal with their sin. And in verses 13 to 15 the Lord tells them what to do. They’re to consecrate themselves. That means they were to prepare themselves for what was about to happen. And then, the next day, they were to present themselves before him tribe by tribe and then clan by clan and then family by family and then man by man. Presumably they used the Urim and Thummim to discern which tribe and which clan and which family and which man to select. We don’t know much about the Urim and Thummim, but it’s likely that they were stones and one signified yes and the other signified no. And the priest would draw one out at a time in order to reveal who it was who had taken the devoted things.

Verses 16 to 26

And in the rest of the chapter we see how they did what the Lord commanded. Early in the morning, the people presented themselves before the Lord tribe by tribe and clan by clan and family by family and man by man. And in the end, Achan was singled out.

And when Joshua asked him to admit to what he had done, he confessed that when he saw among the plunder in Jericho a beautiful robe and some silver and some gold, he coveted them and he took them. Temptation to sin often comes to us through what John Bunyan calls the eye-gate: we see something with our eyes which does not belong to us and which we have no right to own. But we see it and we want it for ourselves. And we say to ourselves: ‘Why can’t I have that thing? Why shouldn’t it be mine?’ And often we end up taking it.

And after Achan took the robe and the silver and the gold he hid them in the ground inside his tent.

And when Joshua sent men to search his tent, they found the stuff and they brought it before Joshua and the Israelites and the Lord. And while it’s not altogether clear, it seems that Achan and his family and all his possessions and the devoted things he had taken were destroyed. The Valley where this took place was named the Valley of Achor, which means the Valley of Trouble. But in the end, the Lord turned from his fierce anger so that when the Israelites went out against Ai again, the Lord went with them to help them.

Application 1

This chapter teaches us about the seriousness of sin. We learn about the seriousness of sin from the way the Lord described Achan’s sin in verse 15, where the Lord said that Achan had done a disgraceful thing. Sinning against the Lord is a disgraceful thing. And we learn about the seriousness of sin because of what happened to Israel and to Achan as a result of it. Because of Achan’s sin, the Lord’s anger burned against Israel and the Lord did not turn from his anger until Achan was destroyed.

In our church’s Shorter Catechism it says that some sins are more sinful in the sight of God than others. Some sins are worse then other sins. However, every sin deserves God’s wrath and curse both in this life and in the life to come. So, some sins are more serious than others, but every sin deserves God’s wrath. And therefore we deserve what happened to Achan, because we are sinners like him. We deserve to suffer God’s wrath in this life and in the next. But the good news of the gospel is that there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because the Lord Jesus suffered the wrath of God in our place. And through faith in him we receive forgiveness and peace with God.

And so, we don’t need to fear the wrath of God, because Christ has paid for our sins in full. And when we stand before the judgment seat of God, he will not even bring up the things we have done wrong and he will not make us ashamed by mentioning our many failures. Instead of mentioning our failures on that day, he will only mention the good things we have done by his grace.

Application 2

Why did Achan not receive forgiveness? It’s not altogether clear, but one possibility is that he did not repent even though he had the opportunity to repent.

Take a look at verse 13 again, where the Lord told the people to prepare themselves for the following day when the guilty person would be identified. And that means that Achan had a day to come forward and to confess his guilt and to turn from it and to seek God’s mercy. God, who is gracious and merciful, gave him a day to turn from his sin and to seek forgiveness.

But instead of confessing his sin and turning from it, he did nothing. And because he did nothing, he ended up suffering the wrath and curse of God. And so, the way to receive forgiveness from God is by turning from our sins in repentance and seeking mercy from God through faith in Christ.

Application 3

And the last thing to note is how all Israel suffered because of the sin of the one man. Because of Achan’s sin, God’s regarded the whole of Israel as blameworthy and his anger burned against them all. But once Achan was destroyed, then God’s anger turned from the rest of them.

This matches what we read in Romans 5 where it says that sin and death came into the world because of the disobedience of the one man, Adam. We are all implicated in Adam’s first sin and come under the wrath of God because of it. However, while sin and death came into the world because of the disobedience of the one man, Adam, the good news is that life and salvation has come into the world because of the obedience of the one man, Jesus Christ. Because of his obedience to the Father, even to the point of death on the cross to pay for our sins, all who repent and believe receive forgiveness and peace with God and the hope of everlasting life in the next and better world to come.

Sin and death come to us, because of one man, Adam. But life and salvation come to us because of one man, Jesus Christ. And so, we should give thanks to God for the Lord Jesus Christ in whom we receive forgiveness and peace with God and the hope of everlasting life.