Joshua 7:1–8:2
IF I FALL, I WILL RISE!
Proverbs 24:16 says:
16 for though the righteous fall seven times, they rise again, but the wicked stumble when calamity strikes. (Proverbs 24:16)
The fact that we are believers does not mean we will have no problems in our lives. But God has appointed ways for us to resolve these problems of ours. Even if we fall, there is a way for us to get back up. God has not planned defeats for us. The blame for our failures is not His. Yet, knowing that they will happen, He has provided ways and paths for setting things right – strategies for recovery. Through them our failures can be turned into successes and our defeats into victories. In Joshua chapters 7 and 8 we have an example of this. The first assault against Ai (the city of Ai, which was in the Promised Land) turned out to be a defeat, but God turned it into a victory. In a moment we will look at how this happened.
But before that, let me point you to one more verse – Micah 7:8–10.
8 Do not gloat over me, my enemy! (Micah 7:8)
Perhaps there are people who watch us, and when we sin, when we fall, when we fail, they – because they are our enemies – gloat and rejoice that we have failed. But here Micah says:
8 Do not gloat over me, my enemy! Though I have fallen, I will rise. (Micah 7:8)
This must be our attitude: “Though the righteous fall seven times, they rise again! If I fall, I will rise! No one is guaranteed against sinning, but even if we do sin, we must not remain in the sin; rather, always, always, always, always, always, always… we must get back up!
Though I sit in darkness, the Lord will be my light. 9 Because I have sinned against him, I will bear the Lord’s wrath, (Micah 7:8–9)
When David sinned, he “bore the Lord’s wrath.” When Israel sinned, it too “bore the Lord’s wrath”!
until he pleads my case and upholds my cause. He will bring me out into the light; I will see his righteousness. (Micah 7:9)
Glory to God! For God punishes, but He also heals! He wounds, but He also binds up! Glory to God!
10 Then my enemy will see it and will be covered with shame, she who said to me, “Where is the Lord your God?” My eyes will see her downfall; even now she will be trampled underfoot like mire in the streets. (Micah 7:10)
So this is what we will speak about – how to turn our defeats into victories. But we will begin with the causes of defeat, so that we can avoid them. Because the best remedy is prevention – not waiting until we fall seriously ill and only then looking for medicine, but taking measures in advance so that we avoid the causes of illness and do not get sick at all.
THE CAUSES OF THE DEFEAT
Reading carefully the beginning of chapter 7 of the book of Joshua, we can notice three causes of Israel’s defeat. Very often these are also the causes of our defeats in the fight against Satan and this world.
COMPROMISE WITH SPIRITUAL PRINCIPLES (SIN) – v.1
The first cause of defeat is the making of compromises – the breaking of God’s principles (v.1).
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. (Joshua 7:1)
In the previous chapter we see how Joshua expressly commanded the Israelites not to take anything of the devoted things (Joshua 6:18).
18 But keep away from the devoted things, so that you will not bring about your own destruction by taking any of them. Otherwise you will make the camp of Israel liable to destruction and bring trouble on it. (Joshua 6:18)
All the spoils, all the plunder, the silver and the gold, were to be dedicated to God and brought into the Lord’s treasury (Joshua 6:19). In the Bible we see a spiritual principle, namely, that the first things usually belong to the Lord – the firstborn males (of both people and animals), the first grain, the firstfruits… In the Old Testament all these things belonged to God – as a sign of honor and acknowledgment for the sparing of the Hebrew firstborn during the tenth plague, and for the fact that everything the Hebrews had came from Him. And here we see that the first captured city of the Promised Land – Jericho – also had to belong to God, to be offered up as a kind of “burnt offering to the Lord.” That is why God said: “You shall take no spoils from it. Instead, you shall burn it to the ground, and every person and animal in the city shall be destroyed (6:21), and all its wealth shall be brought as a sacrifice to Me (6:24).”
In this first verse of chapter 7, which we have just read, there are four remarkable things. The first of them is that it does not say that only Achan committed the offense; it says that “the Israelites were unfaithful in regard to the devoted things.” Notice, God speaks as though the whole nation had committed the sin, when it was not the whole nation that had committed it, but one single man. This verse shows us that God evidently looks upon His people – and upon the church today as well – as one whole. It shows us that by our actions we can bring harm not only upon ourselves but upon the entire church. God’s anger “burned” not only against Achan but “against Israel.” One sinned, and all suffered.
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. (Joshua 7:1)
Again I stress that our responsibility as Christians is not only personal but also communal – what we do affects not only us but the whole community. And I think each one of us must ask this question: “Could it be that I am to blame for the lack of growth in our church?” Let us examine ourselves! We must be very careful, because we are one body, and we influence one another – both in a positive sense – when we help one another, and in a negative sense – when one part suffers, “every part suffers with it” (1 Corinthians 12:26). That is why, if there is an infection in a certain part, in the worst case it is amputated. As in Corinth, where one man had “his father’s wife” – his father’s second wife. He was sleeping with her – a sexual immorality of a kind that, the apostle Paul says, “even pagans do not tolerate” (1 Corinthians 5:1). But even though this was something detestable to God, the believers in that church tolerated it and were even proud – so “in the Spirit” that what they did with their bodies did not affect them at all (1 Corinthians 5:2). However, the apostle Paul told them: “Get rid of the old yeast (1 Corinthians 5:7)! Expel the wicked person from among you! (1 Corinthians 5:13).” You see, this man had to be expelled from the church and, so to speak, “placed under quarantine,” so that he would stop infecting it and so that he himself might be given the opportunity to be saved. That is why, in 1 Corinthians 5:3–5, the apostle Paul says:
3 For my part, even though I am not physically present, I am with you in spirit. As one who is present with you in this way, I have already passed judgment in the name of our Lord Jesus on the one who has been doing this. 4 So when you are assembled and I am with you in spirit, and the power of our Lord Jesus is present, 5 hand this man over to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, so that his spirit may be saved on the day of the Lord. (1 Corinthians 5:3–5)
Why did the apostle Paul do all this? Because without such an expulsion there could be no blessing. And here, in Joshua, we see the same thing with Achan. God had told them that they must not take of the devoted things, but Achan did it, and this led to the defeat of the whole people of God and to God’s wrath being brought upon them – because of one, all suffered. So let us examine ourselves – even though our sin is secret and hidden, let it not be that we are the ones because of whom others suffer!
The second remarkable thing about Achan’s sin is that in it we see that when a person violates God’s will, he usually commits not just one but several sins at once – a whole complex of sins. In v.11 God tells us how Achan’s sin looked through His eyes.
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. (Joshua 7:11)
Notice, not only taking of the devoted things, but also violating the covenant, and stealing, and lying, and hiding what was stolen among their own belongings. This shows us that when we break one of our principles as Christians, it inevitably inflicts damage on our entire value system. This is one more reason to watch our conduct and to be careful about what we do.
The third remarkable thing in this verse is that sin can be hidden from people, but not from God. No one knew that Achan had taken of the devoted things. No one saw him. Everything was “hushed up and covered over.” But not for God. He is all-knowing, and according to Psalm 19:12 He knows not only our open sins but our hidden ones as well.
12 But who can discern their own errors? Forgive my hidden faults. (Psalm 19:12)
The fourth remarkable thing in this verse is that sin always provokes God’s wrath. There is no sin about which God would say: “Ah, this one? This is insignificant; you can get away with it…” No. Sin never remains without consequences. We must not allow ourselves to have or to create illusions in this regard! Sin will always be punished. In Proverbs 11:21 we read:
21 Be sure of this: The wicked will not go unpunished, but those who are righteous will go free. (Proverbs 11:21)
Even if our left hand were turned into a right hand, so that they could overlap – something that will never happen – still “the wicked will not go unpunished,” that is, there is no escape – sin will always be punished. Sin is like a seed that gives birth to death. In the New Testament, in Galatians 6:8, the apostle Paul says that “whoever sows to please their flesh, from the flesh will reap destruction.” How do you sow to please your flesh? By committing sin. In Numbers 32:23 the Holy Spirit warns us:
23 … and you may be sure that your sin will find you out. (Numbers 32:23)
The world is like one enormous supermarket – we are born, we enter this supermarket, and we can “buy” and do whatever we want – God has given us free will – we can sanctify ourselves, and we can also sin, but we must know that at the exit there is a checkout, there is an inspection, and every one of us will have to answer for what we have “bought,” and if it is sin – to pay for it. In 2 Corinthians 5:10 it is said:
10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each of us may receive what is due us for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad. (2 Corinthians 5:10)
RAILS, TEMPLATES, AND ROUTINE ACTIONS – v.2
And so, the first cause of defeat is the making of compromises – the breaking of God’s principles – in other words, sin. Sin is the fundamental cause of defeat. The second cause of defeat is falling into routine – this is when we begin to do things mechanically, without taking the trouble to seek God’s guidance for everything in our lives. This happens when we fall into a state of spiritual laziness or burnout and stop praying. The responsibility for the defeat at Ai lay not only with Achan but also with Joshua, because he was the leader. If he had sought God before attacking Ai, just as he had sought God before assaulting Jericho, then God would surely have revealed the problem to him beforehand, and Israel would not have suffered this loss and this defeat. But instead of the usual humility, in this case we see in Joshua a self-confidence and a slipping into the rails of tradition – doing things in the old ways, without thinking, without asking yourself why you are doing exactly this and not something else, without seeking guidance from God in prayer. When you sing simply because you have to sing, when you go to church simply because you have to go, and not out of love for God – then you have fallen into routine. If there was one thing Joshua knew how to do, it was to send spies – because first, he himself had been sent as a spy into the Promised Land; then he sent spies into Jericho; and now, without inquiring of the Lord, he sent spies into Ai as well, just as he had sent them into Jericho (v.2).
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. (Joshua 7:2)
What Joshua knew how to do was to spy out the land. Very often, when God grants us a victory in our lives, we relax, and instead of continuing to seek Him at the previous pace, we let up and begin to think that no matter what we do, we are destined for success. We must know, however – just as Joshua learned – that Ai is not Jericho. The new enemies, the new problems we face are not like the old ones. In our lives we continually run into new and new things, and perhaps our strategy for dealing with these problems must be different from our old strategy. Perhaps before we did church one way and it was successful, but now we live in a different time and we must change that way – so that it fits the new time, rather than doing things by tradition. Ai would not be taken by a seven-day march around it. If the Israelites had marched around it and shouted as at Jericho – I am sure they would have been disappointed, because God had not told them to do so. “Not every day is Easter.” Life is very varied; situations differ. Therefore, we must not take it for granted that just because something “worked” in a given situation and for a given person, it will work for all situations and for all people. There are no “universal” solutions. That is why we continually need God’s nearness and the guidance of the Holy Spirit.
LETTING UP, SELF-CONFIDENCE, UNDERESTIMATING THE ENEMY, AND FOLLOWING HUMAN OPINIONS – v.3
The first cause of Israel’s defeat at Ai was sin – the breaking of God’s principles. The second cause of defeat was slipping into traditions – doing things out of inertia or by the templates of past victories, but without inquiring of the Lord. The third cause of defeat is letting up, self-confidence, underestimating the adversary and the situation, and, again, the lack of guidance from the Holy Spirit – the following of human opinions. Unlike at Jericho, at Ai the Israelites underestimated their adversary and let up. Joshua and his generals decided that the battle with Ai did not require the whole army to be engaged – that just two or three thousand men would be enough (v.3).
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.” (Joshua 7:3)
Very often we too are misled in the same way. We think that it is not justified to invest so much effort and resources in our ministry and in the battle with the enemy. These are thoughts like:
- “There’s no need to pray so much; a short little prayer is enough…”
- “There’s no need to be so regular at the church services – it’s enough to go only on Sundays, or once a month…”
- “There’s no need for everyone to go help on the work day – let only the older ones go…”
- “There’s no need for me to give my whole tithe – let only those who are on the spiritual council give…”
- “There’s no need for everyone to share the gospel – let only the evangelists do it…”
The list could go on endlessly, but these are all snares that lead to defeat.
And so, the three causes of the defeat at Ai were:
- The breaking of God’s principles – taking of the devoted things;
- Doing things out of inertia – without inquiring of God – Joshua did what he knew how to do – to send spies.
- Underestimating the problems and following human opinions – Joshua did not inquire of God but relied on the opinion of people, and so the whole army did not go against Ai, but only three thousand men.
THE CONSEQUENCES OF THE SIN
FLEEING BEFORE THE ENEMY
What were the consequences of these three mistakes, of these three causes of defeat?
First, fleeing before the enemy and “turning our backs before our enemies” (Joshua 7:8). Sin causes God to withdraw from us and to leave us to fend for ourselves against Satan. But without Him we are far too weak to cope with our struggles and our adversaries. In this case the Israelites outnumbered their adversaries – even though they were three thousand men, they were still more numerous than the men of Ai, for the men of Ai were “only a few.” But even though they outnumbered them – even so – they lost the battle. Before this, and on many other occasions, the Israelites were always fewer than their enemies, but God gave them the victory; yet in this case – they were the majority, but they lost. They were more, but even so, they “fled” (v.4).
4 So about three thousand went up; but they were routed by the men of Ai, (Joshua 7:4)
Sin brings with it a curse and death. In v.12 the Lord says why the Hebrews were turned to flight by the men of Ai:
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 anymore unless you destroy whatever among you is devoted to destruction. (Joshua 7:12)
DISCOURAGEMENT
The first consequence of the sin was fleeing before the enemy. The second consequence is discouragement (v.5).
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. (Joshua 7:5)
These thirty-six men are the only loss reported for the entire military campaign for the conquest of the Promised Land – there is no mention of any other casualties. Even though this was not a large loss – “thirty-six men” – “the hearts of the people melted in fear and became like water.” The casualties from the battle were not many in number, but this victory of their adversaries caused God’s people to be terrified. For until this moment God had been laying fear upon the nations that were to be driven out of the Promised Land, and they lost their battles out of fear of God and His people. You cannot fight if you are paralyzed by the fear that you will be killed. In Exodus 23:27 God promised His people:
27 “I will send my terror ahead of you and throw into confusion every nation you encounter. I will make all your enemies turn their backs and run. (Exodus 23:27)
And this was fulfilled. Remember what Rahab the prostitute said to the two spies whom she hid on the roof of her house (Joshua 2:9–11):
9 and said to them, “I know that the Lord has given you this land and that a great fear of you has fallen on us, so that all who live in this country are melting in fear because of you. 10 We have heard how the Lord dried up the water of the Red Sea for you when you came out of Egypt, and what you did to Sihon and Og, the two kings of the Amorites east of the Jordan, whom you completely destroyed. 11 When we heard of it, our hearts melted in fear and everyone’s courage failed because of you, for the Lord your God is God in heaven above and on the earth below. (Joshua 2:9–11)
So God had given these nations a fear of His people, and they could not wage war successfully against Israel, because they simply trembled and melted with fear. Now, however, it came about that the Israelites, who were supposed to be brave and to have faith and confidence that God was with them and that the victory belonged to them because God “delivered their enemies into their hands” – they themselves became afraid. And they said to themselves: “Oh, look now, we supposedly thought that God was with us, that we were invincible, and yet look what happened… these few men of Ai defeated us, turned us to flight, and struck us down on the slopes.” This was very frightening for them. And Joshua, who was the leader at that time, was shaken. He tore his clothes, fell on his face before the Lord, and put dust on his head (v.6).
When we speak of fleeing before the enemy, and of discouragement and fear of the adversary, we must know that these things can be applied in full force to Satan and our spiritual opponents. When there is sin in our lives, we cannot be successful against the forces of evil. When there is sin in our lives, we cannot be bold and cast out demons.
BLAMING GOD FOR OUR FAILURES
And so we are examining the consequences of the sin that we see in this chapter. The first is fleeing before the enemy, death, and a curse. The second is discouragement. The third is blaming God for our failures (v.7a).
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? (Joshua 7:7)
As if God were to blame for their defeat. Are we not often like this too? We sin, the cause of the defeat is in us, and yet we are ready to blame everyone else, to turn even God into a “scapegoat,” but not to look for the cause of the failure within ourselves.
LOOKING BACK AND SETTLING FOR PAST VICTORIES
The fourth consequence of the sin is looking back and settling for past victories (v.7b).
7 … If only we had been content to stay on the other side of the Jordan! (Joshua 7:7)
“The lands we conquered east of the Jordan are enough for us. They may not be sufficient as territory, but we will divide them up among ourselves…” Sin robs us of the desire to reach our potential in Christ. Sin robs us of the boldness to ask for and to strive toward God’s best in our lives. When we sin, and there is persistent sin in our lives, we no longer have the boldness to ask for God’s best for our lives.
DEPRESSION AND FEAR
Fifth, depression and fear (vv.8–9).
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?” (Joshua 7:8–9)
Fear – fear of death, fear of destruction. Never did Joshua sound as desperate and frightened as he did at this moment.
STRATEGIES FOR TURNING DEFEATS INTO VICTORIES
And so, we have seen the causes of the defeat, we have seen the consequences of those causes. Now we will turn to the strategies for turning defeats into victories.
REPENTANCE – v.6
What did Joshua do in this situation, and how did he turn his defeat into a victory? For we see that in the end he did take Ai. What should we do in order to turn our defeat into a victory? First, we need REPENTANCE (v.6).
6 Then Joshua tore his clothes and fell facedown 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. (Joshua 7:6)
Joshua “tore his clothes,” “fell facedown to the ground,” and put dust on his head as a sign of brokenness, as a sign of humility, as a sign of repentance. He knew that the problem was spiritual, and that it could be solved only in a spiritual way. And he said:
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?” (Joshua 7:8–9)
Notice that Joshua based his repentance and his intercessory prayer on God’s name. He said: “What then will you do for your own great name?” For God has given us His name! Glory to God! Just think, we are called “the church of Jesus Christ.” We are the body of Christ. And the body has the same name as the head! And God has mercy on us, God loves us, and therefore He rejoices when we repent, and He accepts us and He forgives us. God delights to forgive us, but He will forgive us only if we repent of our sin. In 1 John 1:6–2:2 we read:
6 If we claim to have fellowship with him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live out the truth. 7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin. 8 If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. 10 If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word is not in us. 1 My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have an advocate with the Father—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. 2 He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world. (1 John 1:6–2:2)
EXAMINATION AND REVELATION – vv.10–18
The first strategy for turning our defeats into victories is repentance. The second is examining ourselves and searching out the cause of our failure.
10 The Lord said to Joshua, “Stand up! What are you doing down on your face? (Joshua 7:10)
Glory to God! God always has a plan, God always has a way! But notice here that Joshua was a prophet. He knew God’s voice, and he spoke to God and God answered him. He shared his problem with God in prayer, and God gave him an answer in words. This is precisely why we must know God’s voice, because they were in a difficult situation, they needed wisdom, and then Joshua humbled himself, repented, prayed to God, and God said to him: “Stand up! What are you doing down on your face? Israel has sinned…” He revealed to him the cause, and this is usually the most common cause of our failure – sin. “Israel has sinned, why are you surprised?” And notice, however, He did not say “Achan has sinned,” but “Israel has sinned.” This is precisely why we must know that each one of us is responsible not only for himself but for the entire church.
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. (Joshua 7:11)
Look, the Israelites had done nothing. But God said, “They have done it,” because He does not look at each one separately, but He looks at them all as one whole.
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 anymore unless you destroy whatever among you is devoted to destruction. (Joshua 7:12)
There it is, the cause… God revealed the cause. We must search out the cause, and God revealed the cause to him. So what it comes down to is that we always lose when God separates Himself from us. I have told you – this is the foundation of spiritual warfare. Satan tries in some way to make us sin – he tempts us, he lies to us that our sin will have no consequences, he offers us wonderful things. But he knows – as we too ought to know very well – that when we sin, God withdraws from us – the Holy Spirit is gone. And we want God’s presence, we say: “Holy Spirit, come!” But how can the Holy Spirit come when there is sin in the church? So the sin – must be removed. And each one of us is responsible before God… Because no one can go and meddle in another’s life and say to him: “You are sinful, confess your sin!” We have no right to say such a thing to anyone whatsoever. But the sin must be removed. Each one must examine himself. “The camp” must be cleansed!
God gave Joshua a solution – and this solution was connected with examining, confessing, and punishing the sin.
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. (Joshua 7:13)
Look, God named first, in most general terms, what the character of the sin was. But at the very beginning He did not name the man. God did this in order to give Achan the opportunity to repent, but he did not do so.
URIM AND THUMMIM
14 ‘In the morning, present yourselves tribe by tribe. The tribe the Lord chooses shall come forward clan by clan; the clan the Lord chooses shall come forward family by family; and the family 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!’ (Joshua 7:14–15)
Evidently the Israelites and their leaders, the priests, had a special way by which to give the Lord the possibility to “choose” or to point out. I think this happened through the Urim and Thummim. These were two precious stones that were in the pouch of the high priest’s breastpiece. And we do not know exactly how this happened, since it is not described in the Bible, but in some way God spoke through these stones – either they lit up, or something else happened, but God spoke in some way and it was evident to all. Through the Urim and Thummim, however, God did not give long messages, but answered only with “yes” and “no.” For here it says that they came forward tribe by tribe, clan by clan, and family by family, and there was a sign that showed who had done the “outrageous thing” of violating God’s express commands while thinking he would not be caught. In Proverbs 16:33 it is said:
33 The lot is cast into the lap, but its every decision is from the Lord. (Proverbs 16:33)
I do not believe that this holds true for every single lot, but for the way in which God spoke to Israel. There was a “consecration” and a series of preparatory rituals of cleansing, which created the fitting atmosphere for this way of God giving concrete direction. Moreover, Joshua had been specially instructed to use the Urim and Thummim to inquire of the Lord, already from the time of Moses. In Numbers 27:18–21 we read:
18 So the Lord said to Moses, “Take Joshua son of Nun, a man in whom is the spirit of leadership, and lay your hand on him. 19 Have him stand before Eleazar the priest and the entire assembly and commission him in their presence. 20 Give him some of your authority so the whole Israelite community will obey him. 21 He is to stand before Eleazar the priest, who will obtain decisions for him by inquiring of the Urim before the Lord. At his command he and the entire community of the Israelites will go out, and at his command they will come in.” (Numbers 27:18–21)
So in fact, God led through Eleazar, and this leading was carried out through the decision of the Urim and Thummim, or through the decisions that these two stones indicated. In Exodus 28:30 the following is said about the Urim and Thummim:
30 Also put the Urim and the Thummim in the breastpiece, so they may be over Aaron’s heart whenever he enters the presence of the Lord. Thus Aaron will always bear the means of making decisions for the Israelites over his heart before the Lord. (Exodus 28:30)
You see, the Urim and Thummim were placed in the high priest’s breastpiece, which was called the “breastpiece for making decisions,” since these two stones served for determining the best and truest decision for every situation for the Israelites. According to the Zondervan NIV Study Bible, in Hebrew “Urim” begins with the first letter of the Hebrew alphabet – “aleph” – and means “curses” or “oaths.” “Thummim” begins with the last letter of the Hebrew alphabet – “tav” – and means “perfections.” The breastpiece for making decisions was attached to the ephod of the high priest, which was a special priestly garment; therefore, often when the ephod is mentioned, it also implies the breastpiece, which was part of the ephod, and the Urim and Thummim, which in turn were kept in the breastpiece (1 Samuel 2:28).
David also used the Urim and Thummim to inquire of the Lord (1 Samuel 30:7–8). In 1 Samuel 23:6–13 we read:
6 (Now Abiathar son of Ahimelek had brought the ephod down with him when he fled to David at Keilah.) (1 Samuel 23:6)
If there was an ephod, then there was also a breastpiece for making decisions, and if there was a breastpiece, then there were also the Urim and Thummim.
7 Saul was told that David had gone to Keilah, and he said, “God has delivered him into my hands, for David has imprisoned himself by entering a town with gates and bars.” 8 And Saul called up all his forces for battle, to go down to Keilah to besiege David and his men. 9 When David learned that Saul was plotting against him, he said to Abiathar the priest, “Bring the ephod.” 10 David said, “Lord, God of Israel, your servant has heard definitely that Saul plans to come to Keilah and destroy the town on account of me. 11 Will the citizens of Keilah surrender me to him? Will Saul come down, as your servant has heard? Lord, God of Israel, tell your servant.” And the Lord said, “He will.” 12 Again David asked, “Will the citizens of Keilah surrender me and my men to Saul?” And the Lord said, “They will.” 13 So David and his men, about six hundred in number, left Keilah and kept moving from place to place. When Saul was told that David had escaped from Keilah, he did not go there. (1 Samuel 23:7–13)
Here again we see that through the Urim and Thummim God did not give long messages, but answered only with “yes” and “no.” In this case He answered both of David’s questions with “yes.”
And so, in the Old Testament the leaders inquired of the Lord through the Urim and Thummim. But how do we inquire of the Lord in the New Testament? We do not have the Urim and Thummim, so what do we do? We inquire through the Holy Spirit. In Acts 5:1–11 we read of a case similar to that of Achan. But then there was no going forward and pointing out of the guilty one; rather, the Holy Spirit revealed directly to Peter who the guilty one was.
1 Now a man named Ananias, together with his wife Sapphira, also sold a piece of property. 2 With his wife’s full knowledge he kept back part of the money for himself, but brought the rest and put it at the apostles’ feet. 3 Then Peter said, “Ananias, how is it that Satan has so filled your heart that you have lied to the Holy Spirit and have kept for yourself some of the money you received for the land? 4 Didn’t it belong to you before it was sold? And after it was sold, wasn’t the money at your disposal? What made you think of doing such a thing? You have not lied just to human beings but to God.” 5 When Ananias heard this, he fell down and died. And great fear seized all who heard what had happened. 6 Then some young men came forward, wrapped up his body, and carried him out and buried him. 7 About three hours later his wife came in, not knowing what had happened. 8 Peter asked her, “Tell me, is this the price you and Ananias got for the land?” “Yes,” she said, “that is the price.” 9 Peter said to her, “How could you conspire to test the Spirit of the Lord? Listen! The feet of the men who buried your husband are at the door, and they will carry you out also.” 10 At that moment she fell down at his feet and died. Then the young men came in and, finding her dead, carried her out and buried her beside her husband. 11 Great fear seized the whole church and all who heard about these events. (Acts 5:1–11)
The Holy Spirit is the one who reveals to us the causes of our defeats today. Several of His gifts are connected with this – a message of wisdom, a message of knowledge, the discerning of spirits, prophecy, speaking in tongues, and the interpretation of tongues… Moreover, the apostle Paul says that “no one knows a person’s thoughts except their own spirit within them” (1 Corinthians 2:11). So we do not need someone to tell us what is within us – we ourselves know. Our spirit knows what is inside us, our spirit knows what is in our heart, our spirit knows what our sin is. But let us not hold on to sin in our heart; rather, let us confess it and forsake it. Otherwise, we will not have victory in life. In Proverbs 28:13 it is said:
13 Whoever conceals their sins does not prosper, but the one who confesses and renounces them finds mercy. (Proverbs 28:13)
THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN REPENTANCE AND REGRET
16 Early the next morning Joshua had Israel come forward by tribes, and Judah was chosen. 17 The clans of Judah came forward, and the Zerahites were chosen. He had the clan of the Zerahites come forward by families, and Zimri was chosen. 18 Joshua had 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. (Joshua 7:16–18)
This whole process of “choosing” speaks to us of searching our heart, examining ourselves, and reviewing our lives. “Is it I, Lord?” This is what we must do, and once we have found the sin within ourselves – to confess it, to repent of it, and to forsake it.
Sadly, during all this time Achan did not confess his sin. Can you imagine? He is there, and they begin to search and gradually to draw near to him. First, out of the twelve tribes they catch one tribe, and so on. It is as though right up to the last moment Achan believed Satan’s lie that he could sin, could make a compromise, could break God’s holy command and remain uncaught, with no consequences. This, in fact, is the difference between repentance and regret. Repentance is when, upon realizing your sin, right at the very beginning – you confess it before God; if it concerns someone else – you confess it to that person as well; and if you have harmed someone in some way, you go and make restitution for the damage. But Achan kept quiet, because he thought he could slip past it, could get away with it. Perhaps he thought that no one would be caught… or perhaps he thought that someone else would be caught. And that is even more contemptible – for you to sin, and while they are catching, accusing, and punishing someone else for your own sin, for you to keep hiding so as not to give yourself away… When everything became evident, and there was nowhere left to flee, Achan wept, but by then he had nothing left to hide, because everything had become plain. The proof that he had committed the offense was visible, was right there – and by then it was already too late. (So now is the time for repentance, and not when one day we stand in God’s presence and God lists off all our offenses.) And then Achan was full of regret – and that is regret, whereas the other is repentance – sorrow that you will be punished, that you will be put to death, and not sorrow that you committed the sin and by doing so violated God’s commands and were disobedient to Him.
ROOTING OUT THE SIN (vv.18–25)
19 Then Joshua said to Achan, “My son, give glory to the Lord, the God of Israel, and honor 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.” (Joshua 7:19–21)
One shekel is 11.5 grams. Two hundred shekels of silver are 2.3 kilograms, and fifty shekels of gold are 575 grams. So this was no small amount of gold and silver. In this verse we see the progression of sin, and it is: “I saw” → “I coveted” → “I took.” We must be careful about where and at what we look, and cut off sin while it is still in the bud. The lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life – these are the main ways in which Satan tempts us (1 John 2:16). He knows that we are made in such a way that we give in to these temptations. Our problem is not that we do not know what God’s will is. Our problem is that, even though we know it, we still violate it, hoping that our sin will remain without consequences. I do not say “unnoticed,” but “without consequences,” because we know that God is omnipresent and all-knowing, and that nothing will remain unnoticed by Him, but we think that God will simply be merciful; we hope that somehow, in some marvelous way, we will get away with it. This is exactly what Achan did. He knew God’s words, because Joshua had said: “Keep away from the devoted things!” He knew that what he was doing was sin, because, if he had not considered it sin, he would not have buried in the ground the plunder he had taken – he would not have dug a hole and hidden it, would he? And why did Achan dig a hole and hide what he had taken – so that his sin would not be seen. But what does Proverbs 28:13 say?
13 Whoever conceals their sins does not prosper, but the one who confesses and renounces them finds mercy. (Proverbs 28:13)
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. (Joshua 7:22–23)
What had been taken away, what had been stolen from the Lord, had to be restored. What had been taken had to be returned.
So let us consider – could it be that there is something belonging to the Lord which we have taken?
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. (Joshua 7:24–26)
Achor means “trouble.” Why did Joshua and all Israel stone Achan and burn him on a fire? Because the Lord had said: “My presence will not come back to you, and I will not be with you anymore unless you destroy whatever among you is devoted to destruction” (v.12). And also, in v.15 He had commanded:
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! (Joshua 7:15)
May God keep us! Someone may say: “Why was God so severe with this offender?” Israel had to understand that things cannot be that way. You cannot sin and remain unpunished. You cannot break God’s laws and God’s commands. Because if God overlooks sin and does not punish it, everyone will say: “Ah, if that’s how it is, then I too can sin… God is merciful, there’s no problem…” But what we see in this chapter is that God is “love” (1 John 4:8), yet He is also “a consuming fire” (Deuteronomy 4:24; Hebrews 12:29). It is like the two sides of one and the same coin – if we take this coin to be God, then on one side of it is written “God is love,” and on the other: “God is a consuming fire.” And God punished Achan out of love as well. Because the people saw the punishment of the wicked one, and their fear of God increased. And the beginning of wisdom is the fear of the Lord – so that they would not sin, so that nothing worse would befall them (Exodus 20:20).
So let each one examine himself, let each one confess his sin, so that we may have improvement, so that we may have growth.
RESTORATION AND RETURN – 8:1–2
1 Then the Lord said to Joshua, “Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged. Take the whole army with you, and go up and attack Ai. For I have delivered into your hands the king of Ai, his people, his city and his land. 2 You shall do to Ai and its king as you did to Jericho and its king, except that you may carry off their plunder and livestock for yourselves. Set an ambush behind the city.” (Joshua 8:1–2)
Notice, God said that this time an “ambush behind the city” must be set for the city, rather than marching around it as at Jericho. And God also said: “This time the plunder will be for you.” In the last verse of chapter 7 it is said that because of Achan’s sin, Israel passed through Achor – the valley of God’s wrath, the “valley of trouble.” But he did not remain there – with God’s help Joshua and Israel went forward. Later, in two places in the Old Testament, this valley is mentioned. First the prophet Isaiah mentions this valley. In Isaiah 65:10 it is said:
10 Sharon will become a pasture for flocks, and the Valley of Achor a resting place for herds, for my people who seek me. (Isaiah 65:10)
Here the words “a resting place for herds” paint for us a picture of peace and prosperity. That is, the “valley of trouble” will become a “valley of peace and prosperity.”
Not only Isaiah, but the prophet Hosea also speaks of change and healing, using precisely this transformation of the Valley of Achor (Hosea 2:15).
15 There I will give her back her vineyards, and will make the Valley of Achor a door of hope. There she will respond as in the days of her youth, as in the day she came up out of Egypt. (Hosea 2:15)
The valley of “Trouble” becomes a “Door of Hope.” God heals, God restores; our God is a God who turns the valley of trouble into a “door of hope”! But this comes about through repentance, through finding the cause, and through making restitution for the damage.
Therefore, when we have sinned, when we have failed, instead of continuing to be discouraged and to lick our spiritual wounds, we must seek the Lord, because He is the only one who can forgive us, heal us, and restore us. As it is said in Job 5:17–18:
17 “Blessed is the one whom God corrects; so do not despise the discipline of the Almighty. 18 For he wounds, but he also binds up; he injures, but his hands also heal. (Job 5:17–18)