The Lord told Joshua that Israel's defeat at Ai was due to sin in the camp. He said he would not go out with Israel's army until the matter was taken care of. No one in the congregation has admitted to wrongdoing so the Lord describes a method by which the guilty party will be revealed in front of the whole multitude.
"Go, consecrate the people. Tell them: 'Consecrate yourselves in preparation for tomorrow; for this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: 'There are devoted things among you, Israel. You cannot stand against your enemies until you remove them.'" (Joshua 7:13) The word translated in our chapter as "devoted" means in the original language the complete surrender of a thing to God---often by the thing's destruction. For example, when the Israelites were commanded to devote everyone and everything in the city of Jericho to the Lord, the intention was that they would destroy everyone and everything in the city. The only exception was the gold, silver, bronze, and iron which were to be brought into the Lord's treasury. These items too can be referred to as "devoted", for although they are not destroyed they are to be wholly surrendered to the Lord. The Lord staked His claim on them and anyone who took these items for himself was stealing from the Lord. So we see that Achan stole from the Lord when he kept items of precious metal and we see that he also disobeyed the Lord by not destroying a detestable thing: the beautiful robe from the heathen territory of Shinar in Babylon.
The Lord continues His instructions to Joshua. "In the morning, present yourselves tribe by tribe. The tribe the Lord chooses shall come forward clan by clan; the clan the Lord chooses shall come forward family by family; and the family the Lord chooses shall come forward man by man. Whoever is caught with the devoted things shall be destroyed by fire, along with all that belongs to him. He has violated the covenant of the Lord and has done an outrageous thing in Israel!" (Joshua 7:14-15) Of course the Lord knew all along that Achan was the guilty party and He could have revealed this to Joshua. But Achan's secret sin was affecting the entire congregation and the congregation had a right to have the secret brought into the open. The Lord could have revealed Achan's name to Joshua and then Joshua could have gone ahead and taken action but this would not have had the same effect on the people. Not only do they need to see a public revealing of the one who brought such defeat upon them, and not only do the widows and fatherless children of the thirty-six dead soldiers have a right to see the guilty man executed, but the whole nation needs to have the seriousness of such sin imprinted upon their minds and hearts. The suspense of the bringing forward of each group and the casting of lots is intended, in my opinion, to create a solemn and reverent atmosphere. This God is not a God to be trifled with. The Lord is the best friend anyone can have, but when a person makes himself God's enemy as Achan did with his deliberate covetous disobedience, "it is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God". (Hebrews 10:31)
Achan caused a major defeat for Israel. Defeat has a way of bringing discouragement and doubt, which are emotions the Lord wants to spare His covenant people. This defeat has brought the scorn of the nations of the promised land, emboldening them enough to blaspheme the name of the Lord and declare that He either isn't strong enough to defend His people or that He has broken His promise to His people. The safety of Israel is at stake. The holy name of the Lord is at stake too, which means the souls of the heathen tribes of the land of Canaan are at stake, for if the Lord's name is not lifted up, who will turn to Him? We've already seen one heathen woman (Rahab of Jericho) turn to the Lord because she has heard of His power and glory. Who's to say many others won't turn to Him from idols if His name is lifted up and glorified as it should be? But if the pagan tribes of Canaan can find it in their hearts to laugh at Him due to Israel's defeat, there's no hope for any of these lost people to give their hearts to the Lord. They will not regard Him as holy. They will not regard Him as Lord of lords and King of kings. They may still believe He exists but they will consider Him one of many gods, and not necessarily the most powerful of all the gods.
Joshua undertakes the process the Lord prescribed for him to find the guilty party. "Early the next morning Joshua had Israel come forward by tribes, and Judah was chosen. The clans of Judah came forward, and the Zerahites were chosen. He had the clan of the Zerahites come forward by families, and Zimri was chosen. Joshua had his family come forward man by man, and Achan son of Karmi, the son of Zimri, the son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, was chosen." (Joshua 7:16-18) Achan could have put a stop to this long process right away by confessing his sin. Or he could have fled the camp in fear for his life. But he does neither and I can't help wondering if that's because he doesn't believe he will be discovered. If that's the case, then he doesn't believe the Lord means what He says. He doesn't believe the Lord will do what He says He will do. But Achan is wrong and this warning, issued by Moses, is about to come true in his life: "You may be sure that your sin will find you out." (Numbers 32:23) Achan lived many centuries before Christ but the Lord Jesus said a similar thing to what Moses said in the book of Numbers. Jesus warned: "There is nothing hidden that shall not be disclosed, and nothing concealed that will not be known or brought out into the open." (Mark 4:22, Luke 8:17)
"Then Joshua said to Achan, 'My son, give glory to the Lord, the God of Israel, and honor Him. Tell me what you have done; do not hide it from me.'" (Joshua 7:19) Joshua urges Achan to make a full confession. Though the fate of Achan's body has already been determined (the Lord said the guilty party was to be put to death), the fate of Achan's soul still hangs in the balance. Will he cling to sin or will he repent, confess, and accept the Lord as his Lord? Will he remain far from the Lord or will he give his heart to Him? Joshua feels deeply sorry for Achan and gently refers to this younger man as "my son" in order to encourage him to recognize his wrongdoing, confess it, and turn to the Lord for salvation. (Achan is not necessarily a young man but he's younger than Joshua who is about eighty at this time.) Although Achan believes the Lord exists, I think he is like many in our own day who believe there is a God who created all things but who have no desire to serve Him. I think Achan persuaded himself that his sin would not be found out and that he would not have to answer to anyone---in this life or in the next---for his actions.
Join us tomorrow as we conclude Chapter 7 with Achan's confession and the discovery of the hidden loot. Capital punishment will be carried out on Achan, for he is solely responsible for the deaths of thirty-six good men. He is solely responsible for thirty-six new widows in Israel. He is solely responsible for a number of children growing up without a father. The principle "a life for a life" will be carried out when we study the remainder of our chapter tomorrow.
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