INTRODUCTION
There are principles of interpretation that biblical scholars have created over time to assist the Bible student in rightly dividing the Word of Truth. In examining the record of these second-generation Israelites entering into the promised land as it is revealed in Joshua 7 and 8, we can utilize one of these principles to assist our study.
This principle is titled “The Application Principle.” By definition it is “The principle by which an application of truth may be made only after the correct interpretation has been learned.” This principle and its definition are given in J. Edwin Hartill’s Principles of Biblical Hermeneutics.” This article will focus on the events surrounding the destruction of Jericho.
JOSHUA, ISRAEL’S NEW LEADER
Joshua is now the leader of the nation, and in Joshua chapter 1, God has made some amazing promises to him. The LORD said unto Joshua, "Every place that the sole of your foot shall tread upon, that have I given unto you as I said unto Moses. . . . There shall not any man be able to stand before thee all the days of thy life: as I was with Moses, so I will be with thee: I will not fail thee, nor forsake thee. Be strong and of a good courage: for unto this people shalt thou divide for an inheritance the land, which I sware unto their fathers to give them. Only be thou strong and very courageous, that thou mayest observe to do according to all the law, which Moses my servant commanded thee: turn not from it to the right hand or to the left, that thou mayest prosper whithersoever thou goest" (Joshua 1:3, 5-8).
As Joshua assumed command, he instructed the nation in preparation for taking the land that God had promised them. He begins by instructing the Reubenites, the Gadites, and half the tribe of Manasseh as to their obligations to the rest of the nation (See Joshua 1:10-15). The people in their excitement and anticipation of entering the promised land, made a solemn vow, "All that thou commandest us we will do, and whithersoever thou sendest us, we will go. According as we hearkened unto Moses in all things, so will we hearken unto thee: only the LORD thy God be with thee, as he was with Moses. Whosoever he be that doth rebel against thy commandment, and will not hearken unto thy words in all that thou commandest him, he shall be put to death: only be strong and of a good courage" (Joshua 1:16-18).
PREPARATIONS FOR THE FALL OF JERICHO
It was the LORD God who gave Joshua the instructions for the fall of Jericho. Immediately, Joshua shared those instructions with the people (See Joshua 6:1-16). At the time the people heard the long blast of the trumpets, Joshua said, “Shout; for the LORD hath given you the city” (Joshua 6:16b). It was then that Joshua told the people a very important aspect of the fall of Jericho: "And the city shall be accursed, even it, and all that are therein, to the LORD: only Rahab the harlot shall live, she and all that are with her in the house, because she hid the messengers that we sent. And ye, in any wise keep yourselves from the accursed thing, lest ye make yourselves accursed, when ye take of the accursed thing, and make the camp of Israel a curse, and trouble it. But all the silver, and gold, the vessels of brass and iron, are consecrated unto the LORD: they shall come into the treasury of the LORD" (Joshua 6:17-19, emphasis added).
The word “accursed” means “sanctified” or “under the ban” or “a thing set apart.” The point is that all the spoils of the victory belonged to the LORD for He is the sole victor in the fall of Jericho.
FAILURE AT AI
In Joshua chapter 7, the preparations made to siege and defeat the little city of Ai are recorded. Joshua followed the same pattern as he did with Jericho. He sent spies to reconnoiter the city. When the spies returned, this was their message: “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 labour thither; for they are but few” (Joshua 7:3). As expected, Joshua heeded their advice, but the outcome was not what was expected. Notice the following: "So there went up thither of the people about three thousand men: and they fled before the men of Ai. 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" (Joshua 7:4-5).
Joshua’s response is totally unexpected. The text says, "And Joshua rent his clothes, and fell to the earth upon his face before the ark of the LORD until eventide, he and the elders of Israel, and put dust upon their heads. 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 of Jordan!" (Joshua 7:6-7).
Evidently Joshua had forgotten his warning to the people that should they take of the accursed thing, that they would “make yourselves accursed, when ye take the accursed thing, and make the camp of Israel a curse and trouble it” (Joshua 6:18b).
This is the same kind of response as the people gave to the report of the twelve spies at Kadesh (See Numbers 13 and 14).
GOD’S RESPONSE
You can sense the anger of the LORD as He responds to Joshua. "And the LORD said unto Joshua, Get thee up; wherefore liest thou thus upon thy face? 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, dissembled also, and they have put it even among their own stuff. Therefore the children of Israel could not stand before their enemies, because they were accursed: neither will I be with you any more, except ye destroy the accursed from among you" (Joshua 7:10-12).
GOD’S OMNISCIENCE
Even before the attempted siege of Ai, we are told in Joshua 7:1 that God already knew that Israel had transgressed in the accursed thing.
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.
God’s knowledge of all things is unfettered by the perceived secret sins of men, and we all have them. God knew who it was that committed the trespass. In Hebrews 4:12-13 is an interesting passage revealing God’s omniscience, For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of the soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in his sight: but all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do.
Achan had taken the spoil and buried it in the center of his tent. He thought that no one could possibly know. But God knew! God knows everything we do and/or think. King David acknowledges that in Psalm 139 saying, "O LORD, thou hast searched me, and known me. Thou knowest my down sitting and mine uprising, thou understandest my thoughts afar off. Thou compassed my path and my lying down, and art acquainted with all my ways. For there is not a word in my tongue, but, lo, O LORD, thou knowest it altogether" (Psalm 139:1-4).
Achan’s sin was uncovered through an elaborate process of bringing the tribes before Joshua per the instruction of the LORD (See Joshua 7:1-25). The consequence was tragic, “all Israel stoned him with stones, and burned them with fire, after they had stoned them with stones” (Joshua 7:25).
APPLICATION
The interpretation of these events have been adequately set forth above. That being done, we are now able to make accurate applications to this Old Testament narrative.
It is tantamount to accurately declare who Achan was. He was part of the second generation of the Israelites delivered by the power of God from their bondage in Egypt. Due to the failure of the first generation to enter the southland at Kadesh, forty years of wandering in the wilderness followed, as those who did not believe God’s promise perished. Therefore, it is not a stretch for us to say that Achan was a delivered Israelite. He was a participant in the covenant of God, having been circumcised after arriving at the Transjordan, the eastern side of the Jordan River.
Achan is a representative figure, a type, of those who belong to the Lord under the covenant of grace; the illustration is not speaking about loss of salvation. That would be an absurd conclusion. However, the illustration is speaking about disobedience, judgment and punishment.
When we look into the New Testament texts, we find that Achan’s consequence is similar to disobedient children of grace. Notice the passage in Hebrews 10 as a for instance: "Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering: (for he is faithful that promised;) And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works: Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching. For if we sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins. But a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries. He that despised Moses’ law died without mercy under two or three witnesses: . . .For we know him that hath said, Vengeance belongeth unto me, I will recompense, saith the Lord. And again, The Lord shall judge his people. It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God" (Hebrews 10:23-28, 30-31, emphasis added).
This passage in Hebrews is an exhortation and a warning to those who stray from the faith and absent themselves from the assembly of the saints. It is, indeed, a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. The pronouns “us” and “we” assure us that this passage is speaking about those chosen in Christ before the foundation of the world.
There are a couple of New Testament examples of this Achan-type judgment I would like to address at this time. The first is found in Acts chapter 5. In this passage, we have an incident where a man named Ananias and his wife Sapphira sold some property. How much is not disclosed. They must have made a vow to God and made it known to the Jerusalem congregation. However, Scripture notes that they “kept back part of the price” (Acts 5:2), and the remaining portion was brought and laid at the apostles’ feet. I stated earlier in this article that God is omniscient; that is, He knows everything about us. Ananias and Sapphira must not have understood this when they held back a portion. The wisdom of Solomon in the book of Ecclesiastes declares “Better is it that thou shouldest not vow, than that thou shouldest vow and not pay” (Ecclesiastes 5:5).
The Apostle Peter must have received divine revelation about the matter. As soon as the portion was laid at the apostles’ feet, Peter spoke to Ananias and said "Ananias, why hath Satan filled thine heart to lie to the Holy Ghost, and to keep back part of the price of the land? . . . why hast thou conceived this thing in thine heart? Thou hast not lied unto men, but unto God. And Ananias hearing these words fell down, and gave up the ghost: and great fear came on all them that heard these things" (Acts 5:3-5).
When Ananias’ wife showed up about three hours later, Scripture indicates she did not know what had happened with her husband. As she came into the presence of the apostles, Peter said, “. . . Tell me whether ye sold the land for so much? (Acts 5:8). Ananias’ wife answered him saying “. . . Yea, for so much” (Acts 5:8). Peter responded harshly, "How is it that ye have agreed together to tempt the Spirit of the Lord? Behold, the feet of them which have buried thy husband are at the door, and shall carry thee out. Then fell she down straightway at his feet, and yielded up the ghost: and the young men came in, and found her dead, and, carrying her forth, buried her by her husband" (Acts 5:9-10).
Achan-type judgment was rendered to Ananias and Sapphira because of their hypocrisy.
It is important to emphasize that God is not only omniscient, as noted earlier, but He is also immutable. That is, He does not change. The Old Testament prophet Malachi states “For I am the LORD, I change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed” (Malachi 3:6). Similarly in the New Testament in Hebrews 13:3 we read, “Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever.”
A more startling Achan-type sin is disclosed in 1 Corinthians 5. Paul, in writing to the church at Corinth, states “It is reported commonly that there is fornication among you, and such fornication as is not so much as named among the Gentiles, that one should have his father’s wife” (1 Corinthians 5:1). The apostle chastises the church for having not excommunicated the man for this evil deed. Paul then states that he does not have to be present to judge the guilt of this man. He then follows that with In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, when ye are gathered together, and my spirit, with the power of our Lord Jesus Christ, To deliver such an one unto Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus (1 Corinthians 5:4-5).
As it was with Achan, so it is with these offenders in the New Testament. It is not the loss of one’s salvation. It is the exercise of temporal judgment upon each.
CONCLUSION
In each of these incidents, God’s judgment is realized for disobedience, hypocrisy and moral transgressions. God is no less pleased with sin amongst the elect than He is with sin amongst the reprobate. Our Lord always provides a way for forgiveness and healing. Notice the marvelous passage in 2 Chronicles 7:14 where God states “If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.”
There is a statement by J. Edwin Hartill regarding the sin of Achan. He remarks, “Until sin is purged, God’s hand is withheld” (Hermeneutics 47). I understand that concept perfectly. Just as Israel failed in their attempt to siege Ai, I find myself falling short of my goals. I know why! It is unaddressed sin in my life.