Achan Sins and is Punished, 1-26

The underlying theme here is ‘holiness’,

‘which in OT terms means the sphere that belongs specially to God and that cannot be entered in an unauthorized way by human beings.’ (McConville, art. ‘Jericho’ Dictionary of the Old Testament: Historical Books)

Let the people not presume on God’s holiness:

‘If Rahab, the Canaanite who found mercy, is a story of God’s grace in the midst of judgment (6:25), Achan’s story is a reminder of the holiness of God, on which no one may presume (24:19; Num. 17:11-13; Heb. 10:30-31). Ch. 7 recounts the first instance of disobedience in the Promised Land, an ominous event in light of the history that will follow (2 Kin. 17:7-20) and an occasion reminiscent of Gen. 3 (v. 21 note). The incident and its lesson for Israel are recalled in 22:18-20.’ (New Geneva)

The entire nation of Israel is implicated in Achan’s sin:

‘The concept of national solidarity, the notion that an individual’s acts affect the whole group, illuminates other scriptures (2 Sam 21:1-9; Acts 9:4; Col 1:24) and is the basis for the doctrine of humankind’s original sin in Adam and for the justification of the saints through Jesus Christ (Romm. 5:12-19).’ (NBC)

Note that the punishment of Achan’s deception at the beginning of the promised land is mirrored by the punishments of that of Anannias and Sapphira at the beginning of the early church, Acts 5:1-11.

7:1 But the Israelites disobeyed the command about the city’s riches. Achan son of Carmi, son of Zabdi, son of Zerah, from the tribe of Judah, stole some of the riches. The LORD was furious with the Israelites.
7:2 Joshua sent men from Jericho to Ai (which is located near Beth Aven, east of Bethel) and instructed them, “Go up and spy on the land.” So the men went up and spied on Ai. 7:3 They returned and reported to Joshua, “Don’t send the whole army. About two or three thousand men are adequate to defeat Ai. Don’t tire out the whole army, for Ai is small.”

The LORD was furious with the Israelites – But his anger is always righteous:

‘The anger of God is his personal righteous hostility to evil. Unlike ancient pagan conceptions of divine wrath, in the Bible God’s anger is never arbitrary or capricious. It is as much a part of the New Testament message as of the Old (Matt. 3:7; John 3:36; Rom. 1:18; Col. 3:6; 1 Thess. 1:10; Heb. 10:26-31; Rev. 6:16).’ (New Geneva)

Ai ‘means “ruin” (or possibly “heap”) in the Hebrew language. The city was almost the ruin of Joshua’s leadership (Josh. 7:1-9); it was the ruin of Achan and his family (Josh. 7:16-26); and it suffered complete ruin (Josh. 8:1-29).’ (Holman) The precise site of the city is unknown: the traditional site has been shown to have been uninhabited at the time of Joshua.

7:4 So about three thousand men went up, but they fled from the men of Ai. 7:5 The men of Ai killed about thirty-six of them and chased them from in front of the city gate all the way to the fissures and defeated them on the steep slope. The people’s courage melted away like water.

7:6 Joshua tore his clothes; he and the leaders of Israel lay face down on the ground before the ark of the LORD until evening and threw dirt on their heads. 7:7 Joshua prayed, “O, Master, LORD! Why did you bring these people across the Jordan to hand us over to the Amorites so they could destroy us? 7:8 If only we had been satisfied to live on the other side of the Jordan! O Lord, what can I say now that Israel has retreated before its enemies? 7:9 When the Canaanites and all who live in the land hear about this, they will turn against us and destroy the very memory of us from the earth. What will you do to protect your great reputation?”

“Why…?” – A question that can be asked either from faith or from disbelief:

‘This question comes to the lips of those who find their experience contradicting their understanding of the promises of God. It can be a rebellious question (as in Num. 14:3), but it can also express a true faith perplexed by circumstances (cf. Ps. 22:1).’ (New Geneva)

“Our name” – ‘The promise to Abraham included a “great name” (Gen. 12:2). Joshua’s prayer is based on the promises of God.’ (New Geneva)

“Your own great name” – ‘God’s reputation is at stake (Ex. 32:12; Num. 14:13-16; Ezek. 36:16-23).’ (New Geneva)

7:10 The LORD responded to Joshua, “Get up! Why are you lying there face down? 7:11 Israel has sinned; they have violated my covenantal commandment! They have taken some of the riches; they have stolen them and deceitfully put them among their own possessions. 7:12 The Israelites are unable to stand before their enemies; they retreat because they have become subject to annihilation. I will no longer be with you, unless you destroy what has contaminated you. 7:13 Get up! Ritually consecrate the people and tell them this: ‘Ritually consecrate yourselves for tomorrow, because the LORD God of Israel says, “You are contaminated, O Israel! You will not be able to stand before your enemies until you remove what is contaminating you.” 7:14 In the morning you must approach in tribal order. The tribe the LORD selects must approach by clans. The clan the LORD selects must approach by families. The family the LORD selects must approach man by man. 7:15 The one caught with the riches must be burned up along with all who belong to him, because he violated the LORD’s covenant and did such a disgraceful thing in Israel.’ ”
7:16 Bright and early the next morning Joshua made Israel approach in tribal order and the tribe of Judah was selected. 7:17 He then made the clans of Judah approach and the clan of the Zerahites was selected. He made the clan of the Zerahites approach and Zabdi was selected. 7:18 He then made Zabdi’s family approach man by man and Achan son of Carmi, son of Zabdi, son of Zerah, from the tribe of Judah, was selected. 7:19 So Joshua said to Achan, “My son, honor the LORD God of Israel and give him praise! Tell me what you did; don’t hide anything from me!” 7:20 Achan told Joshua, “It is true. I have sinned against the LORD God of Israel in this way: 7:21 I saw among the goods we seized a nice robe from Babylon, two hundred silver pieces, and a bar of gold weighing fifty shekels. I wanted them, so I took them. They are hidden in the ground right in the middle of my tent with the silver underneath.”

“Israel has sinned” – There is a corporate dimension to Achan’s sin, cf. Josh 2:18.

The procedure may have been carried out with the Urim and Thummim, Ex 28:30.

‘By confessing his sin Achan gave glory to God (19), for it entailed acknowledging God’s omniscience, sovereignty, truth, zeal and holiness. Significantly, unbelieving Achan misnamed the herem plunder. His view of holy war was wrong. For him Jericho was a prize he earned, not something the divine King won. Likewise materialists see the earth’s resources as theirs, not as the Lord’s.’ (NBC)

“Saw…coveted…took” – ‘There may be an allusion here to Gen. 3:6, where these three verbs occur in the same order. The pattern of the Garden of Eden has been repeated in the Promised Land: no sooner was the gift of God given than the recipients desired what was forbidden, and took it.’ (New Geneva)

7:22 Joshua sent messengers who ran to the tent. The things were hidden right in his tent, with the silver underneath. 7:23 They took it all from the middle of the tent, brought it to Joshua and all the Israelites, and placed it before the LORD. 7:24 Then Joshua and all Israel took Achan, son of Zerah, along with the silver, the robe, the bar of gold, his sons, daughters, ox, donkey, sheep, tent, and all that belonged to him and brought them up to the Valley of Disaster. 7:25 Joshua said, “Why have you brought disaster on us? The LORD will bring disaster on you today!” All Israel stoned him to death. (They also stoned and burned the others.) 7:26 Then they erected over him a large pile of stones (it remains to this very day) and the LORD’s anger subsided. So that place is called the Valley of Disaster to this very day.

Just as God’s mercy to Rahab extended to her family, Josh 6:23, so his punishment of Achan extended to his family too.

They also stoned and burned the others – ‘In biblical times families acted more as a single unit under the headship of the father than in western cultures. Families entered into covenant with God as a group, and they broke covenant collectively as here. Achan probably hid the plunder in the family tent with the full knowledge of his entire family (cf. Acts 5:1-2).’ (NBC)

The principle of corporateness is important in the Bible. ‘The one represents the many because of the corporate solidarity or oneness of the group. Thus the whole human race sinned in Adam. Because Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord, his whole family was saved. In Abraham the whole nation was chosen. Through the ministrations of one priest al the people are reconciled to God. And so it will develop until the ideas of representation and substitution become fixed in the concept of salvation.’ (Goldsworthy, According to Plan, 205).

Then to Lord turned from his fierce anger – ‘God’s wrath, being righteous, ceases when sin has been dealt with. This is fundamental to the New Testament teaching that the death of Christ is an atoning or propitiatory sacrifice (Rom. 3:25, 26).’ (New Geneva)