1 BUT the children of Israel committed a trespass in the accursed thing: for Achan, the son of Carmi, the son of Zabdi, the son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, took of the accursed thing: and the anger of the Lord was kindled against the children of Israel.
2 And Joshua sent men from Jericho to Ai, which is beside Beth-aven, on the east side of Beth-el, and spake unto them, saying, Go up and view the country. And the men went up and viewed Ai.
3 And they returned to Joshua, and said unto him, Let not all the people go up; but let about two or three thousand men go up and smite Ai; and make not all the people to labour thither; for they are but few.
4 So there went up thither of the people about three thousand men: and they fled before the men of Ai.
5 And the men of Ai smote of them about thirty and six men: for they chased them from before the gate even unto Shebarim, and smote them in the going down: wherefore the hearts of the people melted, and became as water.
6 And Joshua rent his clothes, and fell to the earth upon his face before the ark of the Lord until the eventide, he and the elders of Israel, and put dust upon their heads.
7 And Joshua said, Alas, O Lord God, wherefore hast thou at all brought this people over Jordan, to deliver us into the hand of the Amorites, to destroy us? would to God we had been content, and dwelt on the other side Jordan!
8 O Lord, what shall I say, when Israel turneth their backs before their enemies!
9 For the Canaanites and all the inhabitants of the land shall hear of it, and shall environ us round, and cut off our name from the earth: and what wilt thou do unto thy great name?
10 And the Lord said unto Joshua, Get thee up; wherefore liest thou thus upon thy face?
11 Israel hath sinned, and they have also transgressed my covenant which I commanded them: for they have even taken of the accursed thing, and have also stolen, and dissembled also, and they have put it even among their own stuff.
12 Therefore the children of Israel could not stand before their enemies, but turned their backs before their enemies, because they were accursed: neither will I be with you any more, except ye destroy the accursed from among you.
13 Up, sanctify the people, and say, Sanctify yourselves against to morrow: for thus saith the Lord God of Israel, There is an accursed thing in the midst of thee, O Israel: thou canst not stand before thine enemies, until ye take away the accursed thing from among you.
14 In the morning therefore ye shall be brought according to your tribes: and it shall be, that the tribe which the Lord taketh shall come according to the families thereof; and the family which the Lord shall take shall come by households; and the household which the Lord shall take shall come man by man.
15 And it shall be, that he that is taken with the accursed thing shall be burnt with fire, he and all that he hath: because he hath transgressed the covenant of the Lord, and because he hath wrought folly in Israel.
16 So Joshua rose up early in the morning, and brought Israel by their tribes; and the tribe of Judah was taken:
17 And he brought the family of Judah; and he took the family of the Zarhites: and he brought the family of the Zarhites man by man; and Zabdi was taken:
18 And he brought his household man by man; and Achan, the son of Carmi, the son of Zabdi, the son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, was taken.
19 And Joshua said unto Achan, My son, give, I pray thee, glory to the Lord God of Israel, and make confession unto him; and tell me now what thou hast done; hide it not from me.
20 And Achan answered Joshua, and said, Indeed I have sinned against the Lord God of Israel, and thus and thus have I done:
21 When I saw among the spoils a goodly Babylonish garment, and two hundred shekels of silver, and a wedge of gold of fifty shekels weight, then I coveted them, and took them; and, behold, they are hid in the earth in the midst of my tent, and the silver under it.
22 So Joshua sent messengers, and they ran unto the tent; and, behold, it was hid in his tent, and the silver under it.
23 And they took them out of the midst of the tent, and brought them unto Joshua, and unto all the children of Israel, and laid them out before the Lord.
24 And Joshua, and all Israel with him, took Achan the son of Zerah, and the silver, and the garment, and the wedge of gold, and his sons, and his daughters, and his oxen, and his asses, and his sheep, and his tent, and all that he had: and they brought them unto the valley of Achor.
25 And Joshua said, Why hast thou troubled us? the Lord shall trouble thee this day. And all Israel stoned him with stones, and burned them with fire, after they had stoned them with stones.
26 And they raised over him a great heap of stones unto this day. So the Lord turned from the fierceness of his anger. Wherefore the name of that place was called, The valley of Achor, unto this day

1 But the children of Israel committed a trespasse in the accursed thing: for Achan the sonne of Carmi, the sonne of Zabdi, the sonne of Zerah, of the tribe of Iudah, tooke of the accursed thing: and the anger of the Lord was kindled against the children of Israel.

2 And Ioshua sent men from Iericho to Ai, which is beside Beth-auen, on the East side of Bethel, and spake vnto them, saying, Goe vp and view the countrey. And the men went vp, and viewed Ai.

3 And they returned to Ioshua, and said vnto him, Let not all the people goe vp: but let about two or three thousand men goe vp, and smite Ai, and make not all the people to labour thither, for they are but few.

4 So there went vp thither of the people about three thousand men, and they fled before the men of Ai.

5 And the men of Ai smote of them about thirty and sixe men: for they chased them from before the gate euen vnto Shebarim, and smote them in the going downe: Wherefore the hearts of the people melted, & became as water.

6 And Ioshua rent his clothes, and fell to the earth vpon his face, before the Arke of the Lord, vntill the euentide, he and the Elders of Israel, and put dust vpon their heads.

7 And Ioshua said, Alas, O Lord God, wherefore hast thou at all brought this people ouer Iordan, to deliuer vs into the hand of the Amorites, to destroy vs? Would to God we had bene content, and dwelt on the other side Iordan.

8 Oh Lord! what shall I say, when Israel turneth their backes before their enemies?

9 For the Canaanites, and all the inhabitants of the land shall heare of it, and shall enuiron vs round, and cut off our name from the earth: and what wilt thou doe vnto thy great Name?

10 And the Lord saide vnto Ioshua, Get thee vp; wherefore liest thou thus vpon thy face?

11 Israel hath sinned, and they haue also transgressed my Couenant which I commaunded them: for they haue euen taken of the accursed thing, and haue also stollen, and dissembled also, and they haue put it euen amongst their owne stuffe.

12 Therefore the children of Israel could not stand before their enemies, but turned their backs before their enemies, because they were accursed: neither will I bee with you any more, except yee destroy the accursed from amongst you.

13 Up, sanctifie the people, and say, Sanctifie your selues against to morrow: for thus saith the Lord God of Israel, There is an accursed thing in the midst of thee, O Israel: thou canst not stand before thine enemies, vntill ye take away the accursed thing from among you.

14 In the morning therefore ye shal be brought, according to your tribes: and it shall be that the tribe which the Lord taketh, shall come according to the families thereof, and the familie which the Lord shall take, shal come by housholdes: and the housholdes which the Lord shall take, shal come man by man.

15 And it shalbe that he that is taken with the accursed thing, shall bee burnt with fire, he, and all that hee hath: because he hath transgressed the couenant of the Lord, and because hee hath wrought folly in Israel.

16 So Ioshua rose vp earely in the morning, and brought Israel by their tribes, and the tribe of Iudah was taken.

17 And hee brought the familie of Iudah, and he tooke the familie of the Zarhites: and he brought the familie of the Zarhites, man by man, and Zabdi was taken.

18 And hee brought his houshold, man by man, and Achan the sonne of Carmi, the sonne of Zabdi, the sonne of Zerah, of the tribe of Iudah, was taken.

19 And Ioshua said vnto Achan, My sonne, giue, I pray thee, glory to the Lord God of Israel, and make confession vnto him, and tel me now, what thou hast done, hide it not from me.

20 And Achan answered Ioshua, and said, Indeed I haue sinned against the Lord God of Israel, and thus and thus haue I done.

21 When I saw among the spoiles a goodly Babylonish garment, and two hundred shekels of siluer, and a wedge of gold of fiftie shekels weight, then I coueted them, and tooke them, and behold, they are hid in the earth in the midst of my tent, and the siluer vnder it.

22 So Ioshua sent messengers, and they ran vnto the tent, and behold, it was hid in his tent, and the siluer vnder it.

23 And they tooke them out of the midst of the tent, and brought them vnto Ioshua, and vnto all the children of Israel, and laid them out before the Lord.

24 And Ioshua and all Israel with him tooke Achan the sonne of Zerah, and the siluer, and the garment, and the wedge of golde, and his sonnes, and his daughters, and his oxen, and his asses, and his sheepe, and his tent, and all that he had: and they brought them vnto the valley of Achor.

25 And Ioshua said, Why hast thou troubled vs? the Lord shall trouble thee this day. And all Israel stoned him with stones, and burned them with fire, after they had stoned them with stones.

26 And they raised ouer him a great heape of stones vnto this day: so the Lord turned from the fiercenesse of his anger: Wherefore the name of the place was called, The valley of Achor, vnto this day

I == Josh 22:20 ; 1st Chr 2:7

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

IV == Lev 26:17 ; Deut 28:25

 

V == Lev 26:36 ; Josh 2:9 , 11 ; Ps 22:14

 

 

 

VI == Gen 37:29 , 34 ; 1st Sam 4:12 ; 2nd Sam 1:2 ; 13:19 ; Neh 9:1 ; Job 2:12

VII == Ex 5:22 ; 2nd Kings 3:10

 

 

 

 

IX == Ex 32:12 ; Num 14:13 ; Ps 83:4

 

 

 

 

XI == Josh 6:17-18 ; 7:1 ; Acts 5:1-2

 

 

 

XII == Num 14:45 ; Deut 7:26 ; Josh 6:18 ; Judg 2:14

 

 

XIII == Ex 19:10 ; Josh 3:5

 

 

 

 

XIV == Prov 16:33

 

 

 

 

 

XV == Gen 34:7 ; Josh 7:11 ; Judg 20:6 ; 1st Sam 14:38-39

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

XVIII == 1st Sam 14:42

 

 

XIX == Num 5:6-7 ; 1st Sam 6:5 ; 14:43 ; 2nd Chr 30:22 ; Ps 51:3 ; Jer 13:16 ; Dan 9:4 ; John 9:24

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

XXIV == Josh 7:26 ; 15"7

 

 

 

 

XXV == Deut 17:5 ; Josh 6:18 ; 1st Chr 2:7 ; Gal 5:12

 

XXVI == Deut 8:29 ; 13:17 ; Josh 7:24 ; 2nd Sam 18:17 ; 21:14 ; Isa 65:10 ; Lam 3:53 ; Hos 2:15

 

1 But the Israelites violated the ban; Achan, son of Carmi, son of Zerah, son of Zara of the tribe of Judah, took goods that were under the ban, and the anger of the LORD flared up against the Israelites.

2 Joshua next sent men from Jericho to Ai, which is near Bethel on its eastern side, with instructions to go up and reconnoiter the land. When they had explored Ai,

3 they returned to Joshua and advised, "Do not send all the people up; if only about two or three thousand go up, they can overcome Ai. The enemy there are few; you need not call for an effort from all the people."

4 About three thousand of the people made the attack, but they were defeated by those at Ai,

5 who killed some thirty-six of them. They pressed them back across the clearing in front of the city gate till they broke ranks, and defeated them finally on the descent, so that the confidence of the people melted away like water.

6 Joshua, together with the elders of Israel, rent his garments and lay prostrate before the ark of the LORD until evening; and they threw dust on their heads.

7 "Alas, O Lord GOD," Joshua prayed, "why did you ever allow this people to pass over the Jordan, delivering us into the power of the Amorites, that they might destroy us? Would that we had been content to dwell on the other side of the Jordan.

8 Pray, Lord, what can I say, now that Israel has turned its back to its enemies?

9 When the Canaanites and the other inhabitants of the land hear of it, they will close in around us and efface our name from the earth. What will you do for your great name?"

10 The LORD replied to Joshua: "Stand up. Why are you lying prostrate?

11 Israel has sinned: they have violated the covenant which I enjoined on them. They have stealthily taken goods subject to the ban, and have deceitfully put them in their baggage.

12 If the Israelites cannot stand up to their enemies, but must turn their back to them, it is because they are under the ban. I will not remain with you unless you remove from among you whoever has incurred the ban.

13 Rise, sanctify the people. Tell them to sanctify themselves before tomorrow, for the LORD, the God of Israel, says: You are under the ban, O Israel. You cannot stand up to your enemies until you remove from among you whoever has incurred the ban.

14 In the morning you must present yourselves by tribes. The tribe which the LORD designates shall come forward by clans; the clan which the LORD designates shall come forward by families; the family which the LORD designates shall come forward one by one.

15 He who is designated as having incurred the ban shall be destroyed by fire, with all that is his, because he has violated the covenant of the LORD and has committed a shameful crime in Israel."

16 Early the next morning Joshua had Israel come forward by tribes, and the tribe of Judah was designated.

17 Then he had the clans of Judah come forward, and the clan of Zerah was designated. He had the clan of Zerah come forward by families, and Zabdi was designated.

18 Finally he had that family come forward one by one, and Achan, son of Carmi, son of Zabdi, son of Zerah of the tribe of Judah, was designated.

19 Joshua said to Achan, "My son, give to the LORD, the God of Israel, glory and honor by telling me what you have done; do not hide it from me."

20 Achan answered Joshua, "I have indeed sinned against the LORD, the God of Israel. This is what I have done:

21 Among the spoils, I saw a beautiful Babylonian mantle, two hundred shekels of silver, and a bar of gold fifty shekels in weight; in my greed I took them. They are now hidden in the ground inside my tent, with the silver underneath."

22 The messengers whom Joshua sent hastened to the tent and found them hidden there, with the silver underneath.

23 They took them from the tent, brought them to Joshua and all the Israelites, and spread them out before the LORD.

24 Then Joshua and all Israel took Achan, son of Zerah, with the silver, the mantle, and the bar of gold, and with his sons and daughters, his ox, his ass and his sheep, his tent, and all his possessions, and led them off to the Valley of Achor.

25 Joshua said, "The LORD bring upon you today the misery with which you have afflicted us!" And all Israel stoned him to death

26 and piled a great heap of stones over him, which remains to the present day. Then the anger of the LORD relented. That is why the place is called the Valley of Achor to this day.

v 1. In 6:18, 19 Joshua gave a very specific command that if anyone partook of the accursed things of Jericho they would be accursed and the camp of Israel be made a curse. Nothing could have been plainer, there was no misunderstanding! “But”, one man disobeyed and brought God’s wrath on the whole camp.

v 2-5. Several things contributed to the defeat. The scouts were overconfident because of the smashing victory God had given and were trusting in their own strength. (It is the Lord who gives us victory over sin.) b. Joshua hadn’t prayed, he listened to them instead of asking of God, and c. only sent out a relatively small army, cp 8:1. d. According to 1:3 and Deut. 3:28, Joshua should have gone along to lead them, but apparently he did not. But they still would have lost, because of the disobedience to the command of 6:18,19.

v 6-9. Joshua and the leaders were in deep grief and blamed God. They knew it could lead to defeat by the enemies, and the name of God reproached before them.

 

 

 

 

 

v 10-15. There is a time to pray and a time for action, instead of prayer, and this was the time for action. He needed to deal with sin in the camp. God gave instructions how to find out the guilty party by casting lots, and the judgment would be death by stoning, v 25, then the body to be burned with all that he had. No one protested.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

v 16-21. Joshua did not delay but arose early for the task. Casting lots was the accepted way then, because the Lord determined on whom the lot would fall. Joshua was kindly but firm with Achan as he asked for a confession. He confessed in full, even to telling the location, but only because he had come to the point where there was no denying what he did. Many are more ashamed of being found out than of their sin.

 

 

 

 

 

 

v 22-23. Messengers found things just as Achan said, and spread them out as restitution before the Lord.

 

v 24-26. The things stolen as well as all Achan’s other possessions were taken to the place of his death to be buried under the pile of stones with him. God did not want this polluted wealth even in His treasury. Achan’s family was also killed because they had been silent accomplices to his sin. The place was named Achor, meaning trouble, because of all the trouble he had brought upon Israel. We must be careful, because one sinning person can do much harm to a local church.