Joshua 7:1-26

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Joshua

Brian Rowlands

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Chapter 7

Defeat then *victory at Ai – Joshua 7:1-8

v1 The *Israelites did not do as God had told them by Joshua. Achan was the son of Carmi. (Carmi was the son of Zimri. Zimri was the son of Zerah. He belonged to the *tribe of Judah.) Achan did not obey God. He took some of the things that belonged to God. So God was very angry with the *Israelites.

Verse 1 This verse is a link between the previous chapter and chapter 7. Achan had kept some of the valuable things that he found in Jericho. God had told the *Israelites that they must not do this. Achan’s action would have a big effect on the events that followed. The *sin of one man brought trouble to all *Israel.

We must be careful. The *sin of one Christian can affect a whole church.

v2 Now Joshua had sent men from Jericho to Ai. This is a city near to Beth Aven, and east of Bethel. He said to them, ‘Go up and look at the land near there secretly.’ So the men went to see what they could find out.

v3 The men came and spoke to Joshua. ‘There are not many men there. Do not make all the people tired. 2000 or 3000 men should be enough to take the city.’ v4 So about 3000 men went up to Ai. But the men in Ai made them run away. v5 And the men from Ai killed about 36 of the *Israelites. They chased the *Israelites from the gate of the city to the place where they cut building stones. They killed the *Israelites as they ran over the hill. When the *Israelites heard this, they were very afraid. They felt very weak.

Verse 2 As usual, Joshua planned the next attack with care. As usual, he sent men to look at the small town, Ai.

Verse 3 Ai was a small town. About 12 000 people lived there. It should not take many *Israelites to defeat this small town.

Verse 4, 5 Only 3000 men attacked Ai. *Israel suffered defeat. The men from Ai killed 36 *Israelites. The *Israelites were afraid. Earlier, the people of *Canaan were afraid. Now they made *Israel to feel afraid.

v6 Joshua tore his clothes. He lay down in front of the *ark of the *Lord. His face was down to the ground. He stayed there until evening. The leaders of *Israel did the same, and they put dirt on their heads. v7 ‘*Lord, ruler of all, We do not know why you brought this group of people over the Jordan’, said Joshua. ‘You certainly did not want the Amorites to kill us. We might have been happy if we had stayed on the other side of the Jordan! v8 *Lord, I do not know what to say now that the enemies of *Israel have won the fight. v9 The *Canaanites and other people who live here will hear about this. They will come round us and they will kill us all. Nobody will give honour to your great name.’

Verse 6 Joshua and the leaders of the people showed how unhappy they were. They tore their clothes and they put dirt on their heads. This was the usual way to show how sad you were. Joshua and the leaders of the people lay down in front of the *ark. This was to show God that they were sorry.

People could not usually see the *ark. It was too *holy. It was usually behind a curtain in the *Tent of Meeting. Only the *high priest could see it. Joshua was not a priest. People ask how he could see it.

There are a few possible answers to this question. Here are two possible answers:

• Perhaps the *Israelites carried the *ark to Ai. (They carried the *ark round Jericho.) They had not put the *ark back into the *Tent of Meeting.

• Or maybe Joshua was outside the *Tent of Meeting. But he knew that he was in front of the *ark.

Verses 7-9 Joshua started to blame God for the defeat. God had brought the *Israelites out of Egypt. But God had allowed the Amorites to defeat them.

Joshua was worried about the effects of the defeat. Other people would hear about it. Other people might defeat them. People would not think that God is great and good.

Joshua did not know why they had suffered defeat.

v10 The *Lord said to Joshua, ‘Stand up! You should not be lying on the ground. v11 *Israel has *sinned. They have not kept their promise. They did not do what I told them to do. I said that they must destroy everything that was not gold, silver or metal. They have taken some of these things. They took them. Then they said that they had not taken anything. They have hidden them with their own things. v12 That is why the *Israelites cannot stand against their enemies. They run away from their enemies now. The *Israelites have *sinned and their enemies can kill them. You must destroy everything that I told you to destroy. If you do not do this, then I will not continue to be with you.’

Verse 10-12 God told Joshua the real reason for the defeat at Ai. Someone had taken some of the valuable things that he found in Jericho. It was important for the *Israelites to obey God. God could not give them good things if they did not obey him.

Christians, too, must obey God. We have God’s instructions in the Bible. If we do not obey them, then God will not give us good things either.

v13 The *Lord continued, ‘Get up! Tell the people to make themselves *clean. Prepare for tomorrow, when you will meet with me! I, the *Lord God of *Israel say this, "*Israel, you have kept some of the things that I told you to destroy. You will not win the fight against your enemies until you have destroyed these things!" v14 So tell the people that in the morning they will come in front of me, one *tribe at a time. I will choose one *tribe to come in front. The groups of that *tribe will come in front of me, one by one. The group that I will choose will come in front of me, family by family. I will choose a family. Then the men of that family will come in front of me, one by one. v15 I will choose the man who has taken the things. Then you will burn him with the things that he has taken. You must burn him and all that he has and all his family. He has caused great trouble to *Israel. He made them ashamed, because he did not obey me.’

Verses 13-15 God must punish *sin! God told Joshua how he would punish this *sin. He would punish the person who had taken some of the valuable things. The *Israelites must kill the person who had taken some of the valuable things. God would show them who the person was.

Today we do not kill people who have *sinned. But we must warn them – see Titus 3:10. We must show them that they must change. When a Christian *sins, it can affect other Christians.

v16 Early the next morning, Joshua made the *tribes come in front of the *Lord, *tribe by *tribe.

• The *Lord chose the *tribe of Judah. v17 Groups of the *tribe of Judah came in front of the *Lord.

• The *Lord chose the group of Zerah. Families Zerah came in front of the *Lord.

• The *Lord chose the family of Zimri. v18 Joshua made each man of the family of Zimri come in front of him.

• The *Lord chose Achan. He was the son of Carmi, who was the son of Zimri. Zimri was the son of Zerah, of the *tribe of Judah.

v19 Then Joshua spoke to Achan. ‘My son’, he said, ‘Respect the *Lord, the God of *Israel! Tell me what you have done. Do not hide it from me.’ v20 Achan replied, ‘It is true! I have *sinned against the *Lord, the God of *Israel. This is what I have done. v21 I found a beautiful coat from Babylon. I also found about two kilos of silver and a gold bar that weighed half a kilo. I wanted them so much that I took them. They are in the ground under my tent. And the silver is there under the other things.’ v22 So Joshua sent people with a message. They ran to the tent. They found the things that Achan had hidden. The silver was under them. v23 They took the things from the tent and brought them to Joshua and the other *Israelites. Then they put them all in front of the *Lord.

v24 Then Joshua and all the people took Achan, the son of Zerah, to the valley of Achor. (‘Achor’ means trouble.) They took the coat, the gold and the silver with them. With him, they took his sons, daughters, cows, sheep and other animals and all that he had. v25 Joshua said, ‘You should not have caused so much trouble. The *Lord will cause trouble to you today!’ Then all the *Israelites threw big stones at him until he died. They killed his family and his animals with him. They also burnt his family and all that he had. v26 They put many big stones over him, that are still there. That is why the place is still called the valley of Achor. Then the *Lord’s anger ended.

Verses 16-18 We do not know how God showed that he had chosen Achan. God already knew that Achan had stolen some of the valuable things in Jericho. Now, God showed this to the rest of *Israel. We do not know how he did this.

There were many ways that God spoke to people in the *Old Testament:

• by God’s *spirit servants and *messengers, called angels – for example, Genesis 32:1

• by dreams – for example, Daniel 2

• by the special objects called Urim and Thummim which the *high priests wore – for example, 1 Samuel 30:7-8

• by throwing *lots – for example, 1 Samuel 14:41-42.

Verses 19-23 Joshua gave Achan the opportunity to confess his *sin. Achan confessed that he had done a wrong thing.

It is important that we confess our *sins to God. God will forgive us. Jesus died to pay the punishment for our *sins.

The people brought out the evidence of Achan’s *sin. They brought out the things that he had stolen. This was proof that Achan was guilty.

Verses 24-26 Achan suffered punishment for his *sin. The punishment was severe. It was a warning to the *Israelites. They must obey God.

The people punished Achan’s family. His family must have done wrong things as well (see Deuteronomy 24:16).

Verse 26 ‘The *Lord’s anger ended.’ God had punished Achan. God had dealt with the *sin. *Israel could now expect God to bless them.

victory ~ success in war or in a struggle.
Israelites ~ people from Israel. They are also called Hebrews and Jews.

Israel ~ all the people born from Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and their children; the people that God chose; or, the land that the Israelites lived in.
Jew ~ a person who was born from Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and their children. It is also a name for one of the Israelites.
tribe ~ the whole family of one of Jacob’s 12 sons.
sin ~ when we do not obey the rule of God; when we do not do what God wants us to do.
Israel ~ all the people born from Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and their children; the people that God chose; or, the land that the Israelites lived in.

Israelites ~ people from Israel. They are also called Hebrews and Jews.
Jew ~ a person who was born from Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and their children. It is also a name for one of the Israelites.
Canaan ~ another name for the promised land.

promised land ~ the land that God promised to give to Abraham and his family.
ark ~ the ark of the Lord, the ark of God or the ark of God’s promise; the Bible also calls it the ark of the Covenant (or agreement). It was a wooden box with gold all over the outside and inside. The Israelites kept the ark in the house of the Lord and only the high priest could see it. It is also called the ark of promise of the Lord of all the earth.

Lord ~ a name for God in the Bible. The original language of the Old Testament is called Hebrew. In the Hebrew language, there are two words that we translate as ‘Lord’. The Hebrew word ‘ADONAI’ means that God rules. God is our master. The Hebrew word ‘YHWH’ means that God never changes. God is always God.
covenant ~ an agreement between two people; or, an agreement between God and a person or people; or, an agreement between groups of people.
Israelites ~ people from Israel. They are also called Hebrews and Jews.

high priest ~ the most important priest.

Old Testament ~ the first part of the Bible, which the writers wrote before the life of Jesus.
Israel ~ all the people born from Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and their children; the people that God chose; or, the land that the Israelites lived in.
Jew ~ a person who was born from Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and their children. It is also a name for one of the Israelites.
Lord ~ a name for God in the Bible. The original language of the Old Testament is called Hebrew. In the Hebrew language, there are two words that we translate as ‘Lord’. The Hebrew word ‘ADONAI’ means that God rules. God is our master. The Hebrew word ‘YHWH’ means that God never changes. God is always God.

Old Testament ~ the first part of the Bible, which the writers wrote before the life of Jesus.
Canaanites ~ the people who used to live in Canaan, the promised land.

Canaan ~ another name for the promised land.

promised land ~ the land that God promised to give to Abraham and his family.
holy ~ description of God, God’s character; set apart, perfect, wonderful; completely good, with nothing bad in it. People can be holy if they belong to God. And, they should refuse to do evil things.'Tent of Meeting ~ a special tent where God met with his people.'high priest ~ the most important priest.
clean ~ when people do good things and think good thoughts.'Old Testament ~ the first part of the Bible, which the writers wrote before the life of Jesus.
spirit ~ part of a living person that we cannot see. Our spirit can speak to God and God can speak to our spirit. There are good spirits, like God’s Holy Spirit and his servants, called ‘angels’. And there are bad spirits like the devil and his servants.
messenger ~ a person that has something to tell other people; a person who brings messages.'lot, lots ~ a method to choose something by chance, or with God’s help.