Joshua 7

After the great victory at Jericho, Israel is stunned by a defeat at tiny Ai. God shows Joshua that the cause is hidden sin: Achan secretly kept goods that God had set apart. Once the sin is exposed and judged, the way is cleared for God’s presence and blessing to return.

Joshua 7:1

Before the defeat is told, we learn its cause. Jericho’s goods were set apart for God, and Achan took some. One man’s secret act is called a failure of the whole nation, and God’s anger burns against them all. Hidden sin is never merely private among God’s people.

BSA: acted unfaithfully (“committed a trespass”): The word describes a breach of trust, taking what belongs to God as if it were one’s own.

Hebrew: חֵרֶם (cherem, H2764) — “a thing set apart for God, devoted to destruction.” Jericho’s goods belonged wholly to God and were not for personal gain. To touch them was to take what was His.

See also: Joshua 6:18-19.

Joshua 7:2-3

Joshua sends scouts to Ai, a small town up in the hills near Bethel. They report that it is weak and that a few thousand men will do. The advice sounds sensible, but nobody is recorded as asking the LORD, and confidence is resting on the numbers.

See also: Joshua 9:14.

Joshua 7:4-5

The attack fails badly. Israel flees from the gate down the slopes, and about thirty-six die. The loss is small, but the shock is huge, because the army that crumbled Jericho’s walls now runs. Their courage drains away.

BSA: melted (“became weak, lost courage”): Their hearts lost all firmness, the same fear Canaan had felt toward Israel.

Hebrew: וַיִּמַּס (wayyimmas, H4549) — “and it melted.” The same word was used of the Canaanites’ hearts in Joshua 2:11. Now the fear that was meant for Israel’s enemies has landed on Israel.

See also: Joshua 2:11.

Joshua 7:6

Joshua and the elders mourn before the ark, the sign of God’s presence, from morning until evening. Torn clothes, faces on the ground and dust on their heads were the ways of showing grief and humility. They know something is badly wrong, though they do not yet know what.

BSA: tore (“rent, ripped apart”): Ripping one’s garments showed grief too deep for words.

Joshua 7:7-9

Joshua pours out his heart. His complaint sounds like the grumbling of the wilderness generation, wishing they had never crossed the Jordan. Yet underneath is a real concern for God’s honor: if Israel is wiped out, what becomes of God’s great name? Honest prayer, even clumsy prayer, is welcome.

BSA: name (“identity, honor, character”): God’s name stands for who He is, and Joshua fears His reputation will suffer before the nations.

See also: Numbers 14:2-3; Exodus 32:11-12.

Joshua 7:10-11

God tells Joshua to get up. This is a time for dealing with sin, not for lying on his face. The LORD says plainly that Israel has sinned. They broke His covenant, took what was devoted, and added theft, lying and hiding. The defeat had a clear moral cause.

BSA: transgressed (“broken, disobeyed”): Taking the devoted goods broke a clear command that God had given the people.

Joshua 7:12

Because Israel shared in the guilt, they themselves had come under the same ban as the goods. God warns that He will not remain with them unless the sin is removed. His presence, not their numbers, had been their strength.

BSA: set apart (“devoted, doomed”): By taking what was under the ban, the people had put themselves under the same ban.

See also: Deuteronomy 7:26.

Joshua 7:13

God gives Joshua a way forward. The people must prepare themselves, setting themselves apart for the LORD, and the sin must be removed. Victory is not promised until they deal with it. Cleansing comes before progress.

BSA: consecrate (“set apart, make holy”): They were to turn from the unclean thing and present themselves to God.

Joshua 7:14-15

The guilty one will be found step by step, by tribe, clan, family and then man by man. The LORD Himself does the selecting. The penalty is severe because the act was a breach of the covenant and a shameful thing in Israel.

BSA: outrage (“folly, wickedness”): The word means a senseless, shameful act that is out of place among God’s people.

Hebrew: נְבָלָה (nevalah, H5039) — “outrage, disgraceful folly.” It names an act that is both foolish and wicked. It is a disgrace that stains the whole community.

Joshua 7:16-18

Early the next morning Joshua carries out God’s instructions. The lot narrows from Judah to the Zerahites, to Zabdi’s family, and finally to Achan. The slow narrowing gave Achan every chance to confess, and he stayed silent to the end. His name means trouble.

BSA: selected (“taken, chosen by God, captured”): Achan was caught by God Himself, not by guesswork.

See also: Proverbs 16:33.

Joshua 7:19

Joshua speaks to Achan gently, calling him my son, and asks him to give glory to God by telling the truth. Confession honors God because it admits that He sees everything and is just. The invitation is to stop hiding.

BSA: give glory (“honor, praise, and worship”): Owning up to sin is a way of honoring God as the One who sees and judges rightly.

Hebrew: תּוֹדָה (todah, H8426) — “confession, also thanksgiving.” This Hebrew word is also used for praise and thanks. Confessing is treated as a way of acknowledging who God is.

See also: 1 John 1:9; Proverbs 28:13.

Joshua 7:20-21

Achan admits it. He saw, he coveted, he took, and he hid. This is the same pattern as in Eden. A beautiful robe from Babylonia, silver and gold seemed small prizes against God’s command, but desire led step by step to disobedience.

BSA: coveted (“desired, lusted after”): The sin began in wanting what God had forbidden.

Hebrew: וָאֶחְמְדֵם (wa’echmedem, H2530) — “and I coveted them.” The verb means to desire strongly. It is the same word used in the commandment against coveting.

See also: Genesis 3:6; Exodus 20:17.

Joshua 7:22-23

The messengers run to the tent and find everything just as Achan said. They bring the goods out and lay them before the LORD. Sin buried under the tent floor cannot stay hidden from God, and the evidence is now in the open.

BSA: spread them out (“laid them down, poured them out”): The stolen goods were set openly in God’s presence for all to see.

Joshua 7:24

Achan, the stolen goods, and his household and possessions are brought to the Valley of Achor. This is a hard scene. The text does not explain exactly how his family was involved, though the goods were buried in the tent they shared. Everything connected with the devoted things comes under the ban.

BSA: Valley of Achor (“the valley of trouble, punishment”): The place name carries the meaning of the trouble Achan brought.

Joshua 7:25

Joshua’s words play on Achan’s act: you troubled us, and the LORD will trouble you. The people stone Achan and the others, then burn the bodies. Sin that seemed private had cost lives at Ai and now costs more. The scene shows how seriously God treats His covenant.

BSA: trouble (“caused us so much distress, stirred up affliction”): Achan’s act brought distress on the whole nation, and the same word returns on him.

Hebrew: עָכַר (akhar, H5916) — “to trouble, bring disaster upon.” This sounds like the name Achan and the place name Achor. The whole story is built on this wordplay.

Joshua 7:26

A great heap of stones is raised as a lasting warning, and the LORD turns from His burning anger. The valley keeps the name Achor, trouble. Later, God promises to turn this valley of trouble into a door of hope, so judgment is not the last word.

BSA: burning anger (“fierce wrath, intense indignation”): God’s anger was real and strong, and it ended when the sin was dealt with.

See also: Hosea 2:15; Isaiah 65:10.