Joshua 7:3–4: “And they returned to Joshua and said to him, ‘Do not let all the people go up, but let about two or three thousand men go up and attack Ai. Do not weary all the people there, for the people of Ai are few.’ So about three thousand men went up there from the people, but they fled before the men of Ai.”

March 28th, 2023 by Pastor Ed in devotional

The children of God had an easy victory over Jericho, and Joshua sent men to spy out another part of the land, Ai.  The people had developed a “We can do it; no sweat” attitude. We notice that there is no mention of prayer before going out to battle this time. There is also no mention of a personal time of prayer for Joshua after victory of the stronghold of Jericho. We find nothing comparable to the time he spent before the Lord on his face with his sandals removed in surrender and submission. There was also no Gilgal consecration experience of circumcision or celebration of the Passover. It seems the enemy of God, pride and self-confidence, had replaced humility and brokenness. The last part of verse 4 says, “but they fled” before the men of Ai. Strangely there isn’t any mention of fighting going on, just running on the part of God’s children. It appears that as soon as Israel came to the gate of the city, the army of Ai came running out, and the children of Israel turned and fled. Why? God wasn’t with them and they didn’t have enough courage of their own to even put up a fight.

In addition to not seeking the Lord before going into battle against Ai, there was also sin among the people. Achan, of the tribe of Judah, had secretly taken some of the things from Jericho that they had been forbidden to take. It turns out there is no such thing as a secret sin. No one’s sin is ever just his business alone. No matter how secret a sin might be, its effects spill over into the lives of others. In this case, Achan’s sin affected the entire people. Achan and his family were taken outside the camp, stoned to death, and then burned with all his possessions. The list of possessions given makes it clear that Achan was already a wealthy man by the standards of his day. So we must conclude that Achan’s theft was inspired by greed not need. The consequence to Achan and his family may seem extreme but that is only because we have a tame, docile view of sin. We need to be afraid of the contagious power of sin. They piled stones over Achan and his family and left them as a lasting monument because God wanted His people and us to remember the terrible consequences of sin.  Hidden sin must be brought into the light. We can do it now through confession and repentance, falling on God’s grace, or God will deal with it later, more severely.

“LORD, please forgive our sin this day. We turn from it and ask You to change our heart’s response, learning to hate it in our own lives more deeply.”

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Joshua 7 KJV

¹ But the children of Israel committed a trespass in the accursed thing: for Achan, the son of Carmi, the son of Zabdi, the son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, took of the accursed thing: and the anger of the LORD was kindled against the children of Israel.   ² And Joshua sent men from Jericho to Ai, which is beside Beth-aven, on the east side of Beth-el, and spake unto them, saying, Go up and view the country. And the men went up and viewed Ai. ³ And they returned to Joshua, and said unto him, Let not all the people go up; but let about two or three thousand men go up and smite Ai; and make not all the people to labour thither; for they are but few.  ⁴ So there went up thither of the people about three thousand men: and they fled before the men of Ai. ⁵ And the men of Ai smote of them about thirty and six men: for they chased them from before the gate even unto Shebarim, and smote them in the going down: wherefore the hearts of the people melted, and became as water.  ⁶ And Joshua rent his clothes, and fell to the earth upon his face before the ark of the LORD until the eventide, he and the elders of Israel, and put dust upon their heads. ⁷ And Joshua said, Alas, O Lord GOD, wherefore hast thou at all brought this people over Jordan, to deliver us into the hand of the Amorites, to destroy us? would to God we had been content, and dwelt on the other side Jordan! ⁸ O Lord, what shall I say, when Israel turneth their backs before their enemies!  ⁹ For the Canaanites and all the inhabitants of the land shall hear of it , and shall environ us round, and cut off our name from the earth: and what wilt thou do unto thy great name? ¹⁰ And the LORD said unto Joshua, Get thee up; wherefore liest thou thus upon thy face? ¹¹ Israel hath sinned, and they have also transgressed my covenant which I commanded them: for they have even taken of the accursed thing, and have also stolen, and dissembled also, and they have put it even among their own stuff. ¹² Therefore the children of Israel could not stand before their enemies, but turned their backs before their enemies, because they were accursed: neither will I be with you any more, except ye destroy the accursed from among you. ¹³ Up, sanctify the people, and say, Sanctify yourselves against to morrow: for thus saith the LORD God of Israel, There is an accursed thing in the midst of thee, O Israel: thou canst not stand before thine enemies, until ye take away the accursed thing from among you. ¹⁴ In the morning therefore ye shall be brought according to your tribes: and it shall be, that the tribe which the LORD taketh shall come according to the families thereof; and the family which the LORD shall take shall come by households; and the household which the LORD shall take shall come man by man. ¹⁵ And it shall be, that he that is taken with the accursed thing shall be burnt with fire, he and all that he hath: because he hath transgressed the covenant of the LORD, and because he hath wrought folly in Israel.  ¹⁶ So Joshua rose up early in the morning, and brought Israel by their tribes; and the tribe of Judah was taken: ¹⁷ And he brought the family of Judah; and he took the family of the Zarhites: and he brought the family of the Zarhites man by man; and Zabdi was taken: ¹⁸ And he brought his household man by man; and Achan, the son of Carmi, the son of Zabdi, the son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, was taken. ¹⁹ And Joshua said unto Achan, My son, give, I pray thee, glory to the LORD God of Israel, and make confession unto him; and tell me now what thou hast done; hide it not from me. ²⁰ And Achan answered Joshua, and said, Indeed I have sinned against the LORD God of Israel, and thus and thus have I done: ²¹ When I saw among the spoils a goodly Babylonish garment, and two hundred shekels of silver, and a wedge of gold of fifty shekels weight, then I coveted them, and took them; and, behold, they are hid in the earth in the midst of my tent, and the silver under it.  ²² So Joshua sent messengers, and they ran unto the tent; and, behold, it was hid in his tent, and the silver under it. ²³ And they took them out of the midst of the tent, and brought them unto Joshua, and unto all the children of Israel, and laid them out before the LORD.  ²⁴And Joshua, and all Israel with him, took Achan the son of Zerah, and the silver, and the garment, and the wedge of gold, and his sons, and his daughters, and his oxen, and his asses, and his sheep, and his tent, and all that he had: and they brought them unto the valley of Achor. ²⁵ And Joshua said, Why hast thou troubled us? the LORD shall trouble thee this day. And all Israel stoned him with stones, and burned them with fire, after they had stoned them with stones. ²⁶ And they raised over him a great heap of stones unto this day. So the LORDturned from the fierceness of his anger. Wherefore the name of that place was called, The valley of Achor, unto this day.