Joshua 7 – Study
For those who may wish to ‘study’ this chapter, the following simple resources are provided for you. Each passage has a four-Part approach to help you take in and think further about what you have read.
Passage: Josh 7:1-12
1 But the Israelites were unfaithful in regard to the devoted things; Achan son of Karmi, the son of Zimri, the son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, took some of them. So the Lord’s anger burned against Israel.
2 Now Joshua sent men from Jericho to Ai, which is near Beth Aven to the east of Bethel, and told them, ‘Go up and spy out the region.’ So the men went up and spied out Ai.
3 When they returned to Joshua, they said, ‘Not all the army will have to go up against Ai. Send two or three thousand men to take it and do not weary the whole army, for only a few people live there.’ 4 So about three thousand went up; but they were routed by the men of Ai, 5 who killed about thirty-six of them. They chased the Israelites from the city gate as far as the stone quarries and struck them down on the slopes. At this the hearts of the people melted in fear and became like water.
6 Then Joshua tore his clothes and fell face down to the ground before the ark of the Lord, remaining there till evening. The elders of Israel did the same, and sprinkled dust on their heads. 7 And Joshua said, ‘Alas, Sovereign Lord, why did you ever bring this people across the Jordan to deliver us into the hands of the Amorites to destroy us? If only we had been content to stay on the other side of the Jordan! 8 Pardon your servant, Lord. What can I say, now that Israel has been routed by its enemies? 9 The Canaanites and the other people of the country will hear about this and they will surround us and wipe out our name from the earth. What then will you do for your own great name?’
10 The Lord said to Joshua, ‘Stand up! What are you doing down on your face? 11 Israel has sinned; they have violated my covenant, which I commanded them to keep. They have taken some of the devoted things; they have stolen, they have lied, they have put them with their own possessions. 12 That is why the Israelites cannot stand against their enemies; they turn their backs and run because they have been made liable to destruction. I will not be with you any more unless you destroy whatever among you is devoted to destruction.
A. Find out:
- Why did the Lord’s anger come against Israel? v.1
- What was the recommendation of the spies? v.3
- What was the result? v.4,5
- What was Joshua’s response? v.6-9
- What did God say? v.10,11
- What did He warn? v.12
B. Think:
- How many wrong actions can you find here in respect of Israel?
- Why was Joshua so distraught? (see Joshua 1:5 & 8)
- How had the Lord expressed His anger?
C. Comment:
One man disobeyed God in respect of not plundering Jericho, one man took things that should have been destroyed, and the only other person who knew about it was the Lord. This man’s foolishness made God angry and so He simply said nothing and stood back. God’s anger is often expressed like this (see Romans 1:24,26,28 where God “steps back”). Ai was the next town to be taken and Israel, Joshua included, assumed the Lord would continue to be with them. When the spies came back they were casual: we can do this easily. Joshua himself was casual and didn’t bother to ask the Lord about it. He had yet to learn (despite all the years of training) to refer everything to God. Subsequently when they attacked Ai with a small force they were routed. Dismay set in!
Then and only then did Joshua and the other elders seek the Lord. After a reasonable period of waiting, the Lord spoke and revealed to Joshua the source of the problem. The lesson of this passage is not only about consequences of wrong actions (Galatians 6:7) but more about not taking the Lord for granted!
D. Application?
- Do we, as Christians, just assume we can be casual with God simply because we are saved?
- Every situation is different, we mustn’t assume things, but always maintain the relationship!
Passage: Josh 7:13-26
13 ‘Go, consecrate the people. Tell them, “Consecrate yourselves in preparation for tomorrow; for this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: there are devoted things among you, Israel. You cannot stand against your enemies until you remove them.
14 ‘“In the morning, present yourselves tribe by tribe. The tribe that the Lord chooses shall come forward clan by clan; the clan that the Lord chooses shall come forward family by family; and the family that the Lord chooses shall come forward man by man. 15 Whoever is caught with the devoted things shall be destroyed by fire, along with all that belongs to him. He has violated the covenant of the Lord and has done an outrageous thing in Israel!”’
16 Early the next morning Joshua made Israel come forward by tribes, and Judah was chosen. 17 The clans of Judah came forward, and the Zerahites were chosen. He made the clan of the Zerahites come forward by families, and Zimri was chosen. 18 Joshua made his family come forward man by man, and Achan son of Karmi, the son of Zimri, the son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, was chosen.
19 Then Joshua said to Achan, ‘My son, give glory to the Lord, the God of Israel, and honour him. Tell me what you have done; do not hide it from me.’
20 Achan replied, ‘It is true! I have sinned against the Lord, the God of Israel. This is what I have done: 21 when I saw in the plunder a beautiful robe from Babylonia, two hundred shekels of silver and a bar of gold weighing fifty shekels, I coveted them and took them. They are hidden in the ground inside my tent, with the silver underneath.’
22 So Joshua sent messengers, and they ran to the tent, and there it was, hidden in his tent, with the silver underneath. 23 They took the things from the tent, brought them to Joshua and all the Israelites and spread them out before the Lord.
24 Then Joshua, together with all Israel, took Achan son of Zerah, the silver, the robe, the gold bar, his sons and daughters, his cattle, donkeys and sheep, his tent and all that he had, to the Valley of Achor. 25 Joshua said, ‘Why have you brought this trouble on us? The Lord will bring trouble on you today.’
Then all Israel stoned him, and after they had stoned the rest, they burned them. 26 Over Achan they heaped up a large pile of rocks, which remains to this day. Then the Lord turned from his fierce anger. Therefore that place has been called the Valley of Achor ever since.
A. Find out:
- What did the Lord say they should do first? v.13a
- How should they find the guilty person? v.14
- What should happen to him? v.15
- How did it work out? v.11-18
- What had been taken? v.21
- What did they do with them? v.25,26
B. Think:
- Why do you think they dealt so severely with Achan and his family?
- What do you think would have been the effect in Israel if they had just let him off?
C. Comment:
We, in modern society today, take sin so lightly that what happened to Achan probably shocks us if we are really honest, but let’s consider the situation a little more fully. At the beginning of the book, we read how the Lord had promised them complete success if they were totally obedient to all He said. They have just gone through forty years in the wilderness as an entire nation because of their earlier unbelief and disobedience. This incident of Achan’s disobedience is the first act of disobedience since they entered the land. As Joshua had been told (5:15) this is holy ground, land chosen by the Lord. There is no room for sin by the chosen people, especially this early on!
If, at this point, they had just excused Achan then the way would have been wide open for anyone else to disregard God’s commands. Not only that, it would have misrepresented the holy character of God. Sin DOES deserve to be punished. It is purely God’s grace through Jesus that saves us. If we are repelled by what happened we find ourselves with a wrong attitude that says it is more concerned with a sinning man than with righteousness and the holiness of God. Perhaps we also don’t realize the wonder of our own salvation!
D. Application?
- Thank the Lord that although your sin means you deserve to die, Jesus has already died for you.
- Sin is wrong, is evil.