I just read in Joshua 7 the story of Achan and the sin in the camp. I am amazed at what transpires in this story. For those of you who are unfamiliar with it, let me lay it out for you.
God commanded Joshua to take the city of Jericho and God gave over the city to the Israelites in a dramatic and exciting way. There was one stipulation that God had though–no one was to take any of the possessions of the people of Jericho for themselves. All the gold and silver and clothing and jewelry had to be consecrated to God.
Achan, as he plunders the city, takes two hundred shekels of silver, a bar of gold and some beautiful robes and then hides them inside his tent. For Achan, I am sure he didn’t calculate the costs of such an action and probably thought he would have never been found out.
After the capture of Jericho, Joshua sets his eyes toward a town called Ai. Ai is a small town that was very fearful of the Israelites and their God. So Joshua was confident to send just 30,000 men and the end result is that they were defeated. Why–God told Joshua it was because there was sin in the camp.
As Joshua works himself through the people all the focus turns to Achan and Achan confesses what he has done. Now Joshua must obey another command of God and that is to destroy the perpetrator and everything he owns.
I wonder what Joshua and the people felt as they marched Achan, his family and the cows too to the slaughter.
If I was Joshua I am sure I would have argued that this punishment was too much and that if anything his family and possession didn’t have to die!!!
And yet God is exact about His plan that He wants us to do exactly what He asks of us.
The application for me is two-fold.
1) Make sure every area of my life is right before God, and
2) to follow the commands of God in the minutest of details.
Oh, and the story concludes with Joshua and the army heading right back to Ai and accomplishing the task set before them.
