seekeroftruth
Well-Known Member
Joshua 7:16 Early the next morning Joshua had Israel come forward by tribes, and Judah was chosen. 17 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. 18 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.
19 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.”
20 Achan replied, “It is true! I have sinned against the Lord, the God of Israel. This is what I have done: 21 When I saw in the plunder a beautiful robe from Babylonia,[c] two hundred shekels[d] of silver and a bar of gold weighing fifty shekels,[e] I coveted them and took them. They are hidden in the ground inside my tent, with the silver underneath.”
22 So Joshua sent messengers, and they ran to the tent, and there it was, hidden in his tent, with the silver underneath. 23 They took the things from the tent, brought them to Joshua and all the Israelites and spread them out before the Lord.
24 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. 25 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. 26 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[f] ever since.
19 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.”
20 Achan replied, “It is true! I have sinned against the Lord, the God of Israel. This is what I have done: 21 When I saw in the plunder a beautiful robe from Babylonia,[c] two hundred shekels[d] of silver and a bar of gold weighing fifty shekels,[e] I coveted them and took them. They are hidden in the ground inside my tent, with the silver underneath.”
22 So Joshua sent messengers, and they ran to the tent, and there it was, hidden in his tent, with the silver underneath. 23 They took the things from the tent, brought them to Joshua and all the Israelites and spread them out before the Lord.
24 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. 25 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. 26 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[f] ever since.
c. Joshua 7:21 Hebrew Shinar
d. Joshua 7:21 That is, about 5 pounds or about 2.3 kilograms
e. Joshua 7:21 That is, about 1 1/4 pounds or about 575 grams
f. Joshua 7:26 Achor means trouble.
There were twelve tribes represented in the hundreds of thousands of troops in God's theocratic government. God said he knew that one person in all those hundreds of thousands of troops had stolen something during the Jericho siege. This was definitely against orders.
Joshua assembled the troops as ordered. God pointed out the tribe... then the clan.... then the family... then the guy named Achan who God knew was guilty and whoop whoop Achan confessed. Achan wanted that robe and that little bit of gold and silver so bad... that he was willing to put his family at risk to have it.
Yes.... he did know that God might kill his family. That's how God worked.
This is from the blueletterbible.org.
Measured against the lives of thirty-six men and the welfare of the entire nation, what Achan gained was pretty insignificant. Truly, the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows (1 Timothy 6:10).
Think of how Achan could have rationalized his sin: "No one will know." "These things won't be missed." "Think of how I'll be admired in this beautiful Babylonian garment." "I'm not hurting anyone." "I deserve this." The excuses can go on and on, but they all fall short.
When we are at the terrible place Achan is, we all feel terrible about our sin, wishing we had never done it - may God help us to feel terrible about our sin before we do it!
Think of how Achan could have rationalized his sin: "No one will know." "These things won't be missed." "Think of how I'll be admired in this beautiful Babylonian garment." "I'm not hurting anyone." "I deserve this." The excuses can go on and on, but they all fall short.
When we are at the terrible place Achan is, we all feel terrible about our sin, wishing we had never done it - may God help us to feel terrible about our sin before we do it!
Let's see what a beautiful Babylonian garment looks like.... do you think this outfit would be worth the lives of thirty six people as well as the lives of a whole family?
I'll bet you, after Achan frantically dug a hole in his tent, and buried his loot.... I bet he figured God wouldn't know, God wouldn't care, God doesn't really exist.... and worst of all.... I won't get caught.... I'm smarter than God.
Exodus 20:17 “You shall not covet your neighbor’s house. You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his male or female servant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.”
I have a sudden urge to rid myself of Babylonian garments, silver and gold. I'm a magpie too!
Jesus had magpies in his family.... He knows....
