Joshua 7:1 - Meaning and Application

The story in this chapter begins with a “but.” The Lord was with Joshua, and his fame spread through all that land, so the previous chapter left no doubt that he would keep going as he had begun, conquering and still conquering. He did what was right and followed God’s directions in everything. But the children of Israel broke faith, and that turned God against them. After that, even Joshua’s name, fame, wisdom, and courage could not help them. If we lose God’s favor, we lose the support of our friends, who cannot help us unless God is with us.

I. Achan sinned (Joshua 7:1). Here the sin is only mentioned in general terms, and we will later hear a fuller account from Achan’s own mouth. The sin was taking what had been devoted to destruction, in disobedience to God’s command and in defiance of his warning (Joshua 6:18). At Jericho, they were told not to spare any lives and not to keep any treasure for themselves. We do not read of any breach of the first command, since there were none on whom they showed mercy, but they did break the second. Mercy was set aside and gave way to God’s law, but greed was allowed in. The love of the world is like a bitter root, and it is one of the hardest sins to pull out.

Still, Achan’s story strongly suggests that he alone among the thousands of Israel was guilty in this matter. If more had been guilty in the same way, we would surely have heard of it. It is surprising that there were not more. The temptation was strong. It was easy to say how sad it was that so many valuable things should be burned, and to ask, “Why this waste?” In a city taken by force, each man thinks he has a right to whatever he can seize. It was also easy to promise themselves secrecy and no punishment. Yet by God’s grace, the Israelites had been shaped by the commands of God, like circumcision and the Passover, which they had recently received, and by God’s dealings with them. So they feared God’s command and judgment, and they willingly denied themselves in obedience to him.

Even so, though one person sinned, the children of Israel are said to have committed the trespass, because one of their body did it, and he had not yet been cut off or rejected by them. They did it in the sense that Achan’s guilt brought trouble on the whole community to which he belonged. This should warn us to guard against sin ourselves, so that we do not defile or trouble many others (Hebrews 12:15). It also warns us not to join ourselves to sinners or share in their plans, or we may share in their guilt. Many careful business owners have been ruined by a careless partner. And we should watch over one another to help stop sin, because other people’s sins can also hurt us.

II. The camp of Israel suffered for that sin. The Lord’s anger burned against Israel. He saw the offense, even if they did not, and he took steps to make them see it too. Sooner or later, secret sins will be brought to light. If people do not investigate them, God will, and his search will awaken theirs. Many times a whole community is under guilt and judgment without knowing it, until the fire breaks out. Here it broke out quickly.

Joshua sent a small force to capture the next city in their path, Ai. Only 3,000 men were sent, because his spies reported that the place was small and did not need a larger army to take it (Joshua 7:2, 3). Perhaps this showed blameworthy confidence, or rather false security, in sending so few. It may also have come from a desire to save effort, since they did not want all the people to go there. Perhaps the people were less eager to attack because they had been denied the plunder of Jericho, and the spies were willing to please them. Yet when Jericho was taken, even though God would bring down the walls by his own power, all the people still had to work, even if only by marching around the city. It did not bode well that God’s Israel was already thinking much about how to avoid labor. We are still called to work out our own salvation, even though it is God who works in us.

It often ends badly to think too little of an enemy. “They are only a few,” the spies said, but even that few was too many for Israel at that moment. Remembering that we wrestle with rulers and powers should make us more careful and diligent in our Christian battle.

The detachment Joshua sent was driven back in its first attack, with some loss (Joshua 7:4, 5). They fled before the men of Ai, feeling strangely discouraged, while their enemies rushed out against them with more strength and determination than they expected. In their retreat, about thirty-six men were killed. That was not a large loss out of so many, but it was a shocking surprise to men who expected nothing but an easy, cheap, certain victory. And, as it turned out, it was well that only 3,000 men were sent. If the whole army had gone, they would have been no better able to stand their ground, since they were under guilt and judgment. To that larger force, the defeat would have been far more painful and shameful.

Still, the defeat was bad enough. It served, first, to humble God’s people and teach them always to rejoice with trembling. Let the one who puts on armor not boast as if he were taking it off. Second, it hardened the Canaanites and made them more secure, even after the fear they had felt, so that their ruin, when it came, would be more terrible. Third, it showed God’s displeasure against Israel and called them to put away the old leaven, that is, to remove hidden sin from among them. That last purpose was the main one in their defeat.

The retreat in disorder threw the whole camp of Israel into fear. The people’s hearts melted, not so much because of the loss as because of the disappointment. Joshua had assured them that the living God would surely drive out the Canaanites from before them (Joshua 3:10). How could this defeat fit with that promise? To every thoughtful person among them, it seemed to show God’s displeasure and to point to something even worse. So it is no surprise that they were so stunned. If God turns against them and fights against them, what will happen to them? True Israelites tremble when God is angry.