Israel had just experienced another great miracle from God as he supernaturally brought down the walls of Jericho (Joshua 6), which moved them one step closer to inhabiting the land they had been promised by God (Genesis 13:12-18). Although God gave Israel the victory over the city of Jericho, He commanded them not to take any of the spoils for themselves because Jericho was God’s possession (Joshua 6:19); in fact, Joshua also commanded that no one build a city on top of the destroyed site of Jericho (6:26). Israel’s celebration of their victory over Jericho was short-lived when God’s anger burned against the nation for one man’s disobedience. Achan, of the tribe of Judah, had disobeyed the command of God and took for himself some of the spoils from Jericho (7:1). His sin was not immediately exposed but would eventually be discovered because of what occurred next in the history of Israel.
Joshua sent men to spy out Ai, which was the next city to be overtaken by Israel, and the spies returned to tell Joshua that only 2,000-3,000 soldiers were needed to defeat Ai (7:2-3). ”So about three thousand men went up there from the people, but they fled before the men of Ai. And the men of Ai struck down about thirty-six men, for they chased them from before the gate as far as Shebarim, and struck them down on the descent; therefore the hearts of the people melted and became like water” (7:4-5). After such a decisive victory over Jericho, Joshua and all of Israel could not understand why God would allow them to be defeated by a small nation like Ai. Joshua cried out to God for answers (7:6-9) and the Lord revealed to him that they had been defeated because of a disobedient action within the nation of Israel (7:10-11). Until Joshua dealt with the sin in Israel, God would withdraw His presence and they would not be able to stand against their enemies (7:12-13). Joshua immediately went into action and every individual from every tribe was brought before the Lord until the guilty person was exposed (7:14-18). Even though God could have pointed out Achan from the very beginning, He chose to involve all the tribes so that they could see the seriousness of disobeying God. As Achan stood before Joshua, he admitted that he had taken some of the spoils from Jericho and hidden them in his tent (7:19-21). Joshua sent messengers to Achan’s tent and they brought back the items he had taken from Jericho (7:22-23). ”Then Joshua, and all Israel with him, took Achan the son of Zerah, the silver, the garment, the wedge of gold, his sons, his daughters, his oxen, his donkeys, his sheep, his tent, and all that he had, and they brought them to the Valley of Achor. And Joshua said, ‘Why have you troubled us? The Lord will trouble you this day.’ So all Israel stoned him with stones; and they burned them with fire after they had stoned them with stones” (7:24-25). Although this punishment may seem harsh, God wanted the children of Israel to obey Him in all things and understand that disobedience would not be tolerated. If Israel was going to progress as a nation, they would need to learn to live in total obedience to God’s commandments.
Now that Achan’s sin had been exposed and punished, Israel was ready to go to battle against Ai. The Lord said to Joshua, “Do not be afraid, nor be dismayed; take all the people of war with you, and arise, go up to Ai. See, I have given into your hand the king of Ai, his people, his city, and his land. And you shall do to Ai and its king as you did to Jericho and its king. Only its spoil and its cattle you shall take as booty for yourselves. Lay an ambush for the city behind it” (8:1-2). Joshua obeyed the voice of the Lord and defeated the city of Ai (8:3-29). After his defeat of Ai, Joshua built an altar on Mount Ebal and wrote on the stones the law of Moses (8:30-32; see also Deuteronomy 27:1-26). After Joshua wrote the law of Moses on the stones, he read the entire law in the presence of Israel (8:33-35). This ceremony, prescribed by Moses and carried out by Joshua, was an important reminder about the blessings for obedience as well as the cursings for disobedience. Israel would need to be fully obedient to God in order to experience His presence among them.
Dear God, may I walk in daily obedience to You.
