Today we conclude Chapter 7 which contains the account of Achan's sin and the defeat of Israel's soldiers at Ai.
You'll recall that the Lord specifically said that no one was to take anything from the city of Jericho except those items intended for the Lord's treasury (the silver, gold, bronze, and iron). But an Israelite soldier named Achan took for himself some of the items of precious metals along with a robe. In taking the metal items he was stealing from the Lord. In taking the robe he committed a sin of covetousness and possibly also a sin of idolatry since we will see in a moment that upon sight of the robe he instantly knew it was manufactured in Babylonia (Shinar, the location of the Tower of Babel where mankind carried out the first organized rebellion against God). Something about the robe told Achan its origin and it's likely because whatever was embroidered on it clearly marked its origin: perhaps images of the gods the Babylonians believed in. Above all, what Achan did was deliberately and with malice aforethought disobey a direct order from Almighty God, putting Israel in jeopardy as they engaged the nations of the promised land in battle and causing the death of thirty-six of his fellow Israelite soldiers.
In our last study session the Lord provided a way to reveal the identity of the wrongdoer in the sight of the entire congregation. Achan did not intend to come forward and admit his sin. The entire congregation deserved to know who caused their defeat at Ai and who caused thirty-six men to lose their lives. The entire congregation deserved to know who caused a number of Israelite women to become widows and who caused a number of Israelite children to become fatherless. When Achan's identity was revealed, Joshua urged him to confess his sin. That's where we pick up today.
"Achan replied, 'It is true! I have sinned against the Lord, the God of Israel. This is what I have done: When I saw in the plunder a beautiful robe from Babylonia, two hundred shekels of silver and a bar of gold weighing fifty shekels, I coveted them and took them. They are hidden in the ground inside my tent, with the silver underneath.'" (Joshua 7:20-21) To put this into perspective, at today's prices he took $1838 worth of silver and $35,860 worth of gold! Silver and gold weren't worth as much in Achan's day but things didn't cost as much in Achan's day either. So we see he took a lot of money that was intended to go into the Lord's treasury. The priests and their families relied on offerings brought to the Lord's house; the priests made their living from their work, as it should be, just like our church pastors today are paid a salary for full time ministry. The poor were helped out of the Lord's treasury. Widows orphans, and foreigners had their needs supplied out of the Lord's treasury. When Achan took the silver and gold he not only stole from the Lord but he stole from his fellow man. It could legitimately be said that he took food out of people's mouths and clothing from people's backs and shelter from over people's heads.
The Lord told Joshua that He would not go out with Israel's army until this situation was corrected, so as soon as Joshua learns the location of the loot he sends men to retrieve it. "So Joshua sent messengers, and they ran to the tent, and there it was, hidden in his tent, with the silver underneath. They took the things from the tent, brought them to Joshua and all the Israelites and spread them out before the Lord." (Joshua 7:22-23) The items speak for themselves. They testify against Achan at his trial. They are displayed in the sight of all Israel and in the sight of the Lord so that no one can ever claim the evidence was not presented at Achan's trial. No one related to Achan, who might be offended by his fate, can ever say that the Lord passed sentence on him without proof.
The sentence is to be death, as we learned earlier in our chapter. Achan will lose his life and so will the family members who lived in the tent with him. He could not have dug up the ground inside the tent and buried the items without his family members knowing about it. Yet no one objected to the presence of the items. No one was appalled enough by this sin to take the items and turn them in to Joshua. It is generally believed that Achan's family members were in agreement with him or else the Lord would not have sentenced them all to death. As we read the next section we must keep in mind that whenever the Bible says "sons and daughters" or "children" it does not have to mean minor children. Just as parents still refer to their grown offspring as "my sons and daughters" or "my children", I believe the sons and daughters of Achan were of an age to be held accountable for harboring the stolen items. "Then Joshua, together with all Israel, took Achan son of Zerah, the silver, the robe, the gold bar, his sons and daughters, his cattle, donkeys and sheep, his tent and all that he had, to the Valley of Achor. Joshua said, 'Why have you brought this trouble on us? The Lord will bring trouble on you today.' Then all Israel stoned him, and after they had stoned the rest, they burned them." (Joshua 7:24-25)
No mention is made of Achan's wife and that's likely because he was a widower, which lends further credence to the theory that his children were grown. Achan was apparently younger than Joshua since Joshua took on a fatherly attitude with him earlier in our chapter (Joshua was about eighty when Israel entered the promised land), but that doesn't mean Achan was a young father with small children. His wife had probably predeceased him and their grown children were still living in the household with him and were of the same greedy mind as he was when it came to the things he plundered from Jericho. Another theory is that his wife was still living but was not complicit in his sin but that, because she lived in a patriarchal society where she was under the authority of her husband, she was not in a position to object to what he'd done or report his sin to Joshua. Whatever the case, no wife was put to death along with Achan and his adult sons and daughters.
"Over Achan they heaped up a large pile of rocks, which remains to this day. Then the Lord turned from His fierce anger. Therefore that place has been called the Valley of Achor ever since." (Joshua 7:26) The word "Achor" means "trouble". Achan's actions brought trouble on his nation and on his own family. That's because sin doesn't affect only the one who commits it. We've all had trouble brought on us by other people's sins. We've suffered because of other people's poor decisions. We are all living in this world together and the things we do are capable of hurting other people. But on the positive side, the good things we do are capable of helping other people! Wickedness has far-reaching consequences but so does godliness.
As the children of the living God we are commanded: "Do not be overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good." (Romans 12:21) Another way of putting this is that we are not to be conformed to the ways of this world (the covetousness, the greed, the selfishness) but are to be transformed by the renewing of our minds. (Romans 12:2) How do we keep our minds fresh and new? By reading and meditating upon the word of God. By allowing God's holy precepts to guide our lives. By remaining in close communion with God our Savior. We won't live perfect lives as long as we live in this mortal flesh but that's not a license to give in to sin and remain in it, wallowing in it and reveling in it. If we stay in close communion with our Lord, we'll learn to quickly recognize His voice telling us we've gotten off track and we'll learn to quickly repent and get back on track. As I once heard someone say, the longer we walk with the Lord, the more we should become like Him. The more we should say the things He would say and do the things He would do. The more we behave like our Lord the more our honorable behavior will affect our fellow human beings in positive ways. Then no one can refer to us as troublemakers like Achan, but as people who bless those around them.
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