Joshua · chapter 7 of 24
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Joshua 7 tells that Israel is defeated at Ai because Achan, of the tribe of Judah, took some of the devoted things from Jericho. Joshua falls before the Lord, who answers that Israel has sinned. Through the lot Achan is identified, and he confesses that he took a cloak, silver and a bar of gold. Achan and his family are stoned in the Valley of Achor.
After the fall of Jericho, Israel seems unstoppable, but Joshua 7 shows that the people's strength depends on their faithfulness to the Lord. A single act of disobedience, hidden in a tent, affects the whole community. The chapter is a painful contrast with the victory of the previous one and a warning about the holiness of the covenant.
The chapter opens with a troubling note: the Israelites acted unfaithfully regarding the devoted things, for Achan, son of Carmi, of the tribe of Judah, took some of what was devoted, and the Lord's anger burned against Israel. Joshua sends spies to Ai, who report that there is no need to send all the people; about three thousand men will do. They go up but flee before the men of Ai, who kill about thirty-six of them. The hearts of the people melt like water.
Joshua tears his clothes and falls on his face before the ark until evening, along with the elders of Israel. He complains to God for bringing them across the Jordan and fears that the Canaanites will hear and wipe them out, and for the honor of the Lord's name. God answers that he should get up: Israel has sinned, broken the covenant, taken what was devoted, stolen and lied. They cannot stand before their enemies until they remove what was devoted from among them.
In the morning the Lord orders them to come forward by tribes. The lot falls on Judah, then on the clan of Zerah, on Zabdi and on Achan. Joshua asks him to confess. Achan admits that he saw among the plunder a beautiful cloak from Shinar, two hundred shekels of silver and a bar of gold weighing fifty shekels, coveted them, took them and hid them in the ground inside his tent. The messengers find everything there. Israel brings Achan, the stolen goods and his family to the Valley of Achor, where they stone and burn them, and raise over them a great heap of stones. The Lord turns from the fierceness of his anger.
References follow ESV book names and verse numbers. Read each verse in your Bible before the explanation.
The narrator announces from the start that Achan took what was devoted and that the Lord's anger burned against Israel. Joshua and the people do not yet know it, and the reader understands why victory will turn into defeat.
The men of Ai kill about thirty-six Israelites and the people's hearts melt like water. The fear that the Canaanites once felt now falls on Israel.
The Lord says Israel cannot stand before their enemies until they remove what was devoted from among them. One person's sin affects the community, and God does not go with a people who tolerate what he forbade.
Achan confesses that he saw, coveted and took a cloak, silver and gold. The order of his verbs recalls how temptation works: one looks, desires and takes, and then hides.
6 questions with answers and references, ready for Sunday school, small group or a Bible quiz night.
Answer: He was from the tribe of Judah and took things that were devoted to the Lord. — Joshua 7:1
Answer: The Israelites fled, and the men of Ai killed about thirty-six of them. — Joshua 7:4-5
Answer: He tore his clothes and fell on his face to the ground before the ark of the Lord until evening, along with the elders. — Joshua 7:6
Answer: That he should get up, because Israel had sinned and could not stand until they removed what was devoted from among them. — Joshua 7:10-12
Answer: A cloak from Shinar, two hundred shekels of silver and a bar of gold weighing fifty shekels. — Joshua 7:21
Answer: The Valley of Achor. — Joshua 7:24-26
Joshua 7 reminds us that hidden sin is never merely private. Achan thought that burying what he stole under his tent would keep it secret, but its effects reached the whole people. In a small group we can talk about the importance of honesty, confession and communities where sin can be acknowledged without fear.
It also teaches us to pray honestly. Joshua complains to God frankly, and God does not rebuke him for it but shows him the root of the problem. When something goes wrong in a ministry or a family, besides praying it is wise to examine humbly whether there is something we need to confess or correct.
Joshua 7 ends with a heap of stones in the Valley of Achor and the Lord turned from his anger. The people have been cleansed, and in Joshua 8 God again promises victory over Ai with a new plan.
The text says that Achan and all that was his were brought to the Valley of Achor, but it does not explain the detail of each person's responsibility. Many interpreters think his family knew about or took part in hiding the goods, since they were buried inside the tent. It is a hard passage that underlines the seriousness of violating what was devoted.
The name is related to the Hebrew word for trouble, and in this chapter it recalls the trouble Achan brought on Israel. Later, prophets such as Hosea speak of the Valley of Achor as a door of hope, showing that God can turn a place of judgment into a place of restoration.