Joshua 7 Achan needed his things

seekeroftruth

Well-Known Member
Joshua 7:1 But the Israelites were unfaithful in regard to the devoted things[a]; Achan son of Karmi, the son of Zimri,(b) the son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, took some of them. So the Lord’s anger burned against Israel.

2 Now Joshua sent men from Jericho to Ai, which is near Beth Aven to the east of Bethel, and told them, “Go up and spy out the region.” So the men went up and spied out Ai.

3 When they returned to Joshua, they said, “Not all the army will have to go up against Ai. Send two or three thousand men to take it and do not weary the whole army, for only a few people live there.” 4 So about three thousand went up; but they were routed by the men of Ai, 5 who killed about thirty-six of them. They chased the Israelites from the city gate as far as the stone quarries and struck them down on the slopes. At this the hearts of the people melted in fear and became like water.​

a. Joshua 7:1 The Hebrew term refers to the irrevocable giving over of things or persons to the Lord, often by totally destroying them; also in verses 11, 12, 13 and 15.
b. Joshua 7:1 See Septuagint and 1 Chron. 2:6; Hebrew Zabdi; also in verses 17 and 18

This is from the easy English site.

Achan had kept some of the valuable things that he found in Jericho. God had told the Israelites that they must not do this. Achan’s action would have a big effect on the events that followed. The sin of one man brought trouble to all Israel.

As usual, Joshua planned the next attack with care. As usual, he sent men to look at the small town, Ai.

Ai was a small town. About 12 000 people lived there. It should not take many Israelites to defeat this small town.

Only 3000 men attacked Ai. Israel suffered defeat. The men from Ai killed 36 Israelites. The Israelites were afraid. Earlier, the people of Canaan were afraid. Now they made Israel to feel afraid.​

This is from the Bible.org site.

… the battle confronting Israel was not simply a religious war; it was a theocratic war. Israel was directly ruled by God and the extermination was God’s direct command (cf. Exod. 23:27-30; Deut. 7:3-6; Josh 8:24-26). No other nation either before or after Israel has been a theocracy. Thus, those commands were unique. Israel as a theocracy was an instrument of judgment in the hands of God

If one little idol slipped into the mind of one little human... the whole plan would go off kilter.

Exodus 20:3

“You shall have no other gods before me.

God has to be everything to these people. Every single human in Joshua's army had to be completely devoted to God. They had to obey every single command, every single instruction, and every single request from God to the very best of their ability. There could be no weak link. When that man reached out and took that little shiny thing from Jericho.... he had purposely gone against the explicit instruction.

Yes... the coffers were full. Yes... the soldiers gathered gold and silver to put in the coffers.... that were already full... I get that.... God didn't need that little shiny thing.... it would make a wonderful memory of the defeat of Jericho. The problem is.... he was told not to do it. Every time God gets His humans all lined up to be the best humans in the world, a human goes out and finds a shiny little idol.

Humans are like magpies. Shiny idols attract them....

:coffee:
 
Last edited:
Top