JOSHUA LESSON 7


     We will begin this lesson in Joshua 7:1 "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."

     In the last lesson, we found that God had forbidden the people
to take anything from this evil city. It appears, from this, that
Achan has done the very thing God had forbidden them to do. He has
been tempted, and taken of the accursed things. Notice, that this is
just one man who brought this terrible thing on the entire company of
Israelites. This is similar to one minister going bad, and all
Christendom suffering for it. Sin, of this nature, has an effect upon
this man, the family he was born into, the tribe he came from, his
immediate family, and the people of God in general. This cannot be
tolerated.

     Joshua 7:2 "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."

     This is the same as sending the spies to Jericho to search it
out. Joshua sent these men, so there is nothing wrong with them
searching out Ai, to take it.

     Joshua 7:3 "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."

     This is not a heavily fortified area, and it does not have many
people to fight. The Hebrew spies, say it will take only two or three
thousand men to take it.

     Joshua 7:4 "So there went up thither of the people about three
thousand men: and they fled before the men of Ai."

     Their confidence in their own ability sent them to a war not
blessed of their God, and Israel fled before them.

     Joshua 7:5 "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."

     When the Israelites saw they were defeated, they ran in fear.
Israel lost 36 men in this battle. The Israelites had become over
confident in their own ability, instead of knowing God had won Jericho
for them. When they saw their men killed, they ran in fear.

     Joshua 7:6  "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."

     This is a sign of great mourning. Joshua knows that God was not
with the men who went against Ai. He does not understand why God was
not with them. God had told them to take this land. He and the elders
fell on their faces before God and threw dust on their heads, trying
to reach God. This was near the ark, where the LORD's presence was.

     Joshua 7:7 "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!"

     These are words that came from Joshua, because he did not
understand why they had failed at Ai. He reminds God that this was
God's request for them to come and take this land. They would have
been perfectly satisfied with the land Gad, Reuben, and the half tribe
of Mannasseh received on the other side of Jordan. Joshua is like so
many Christians today. When troubles come, he immediately decides God
is not with them. It is almost as if he is blaming God for their
failure.

     Joshua 7:8 "O Lord, what shall I say, when Israel turneth their
backs before their enemies!"

     The only reason God allows Joshua to say all of this, is the fact
he is unaware of the problem. It is a shame for them to turn their
backs on the enemy. It is, also saying, their God is not sufficient
for these battles. Joshua sees this as a shame they have brought on
God.

     Joshua 7:9 "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?"

     This would give their enemies confidence to come against Israel.
The name of the LORD was glorified in the victories of Israel. This
will bring shame to the people of God and to the LORD. When
Christians, who are God's representatives on the earth, go bad, it
defames God, as well as the person.

     Joshua 7:10  "And the LORD said unto Joshua, Get thee up;
wherefore liest thou thus upon thy face?"

     This is almost a reprimand of Joshua by the LORD. He says, get up
from there, and find out the reason for the problem. It is not God's
fault that they failed, it is theirs. Praying to God will not fix
this.  Joshua must root out the problem, and deal with it.

     Joshua 7:11 "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."

     Now, we see the cause of the problem. Israel has sinned. God will
not bless them, when there is sin in the camp. God's blessings on
Israel depended on their obedience to His commands. They have done the
very thing He told them not to do. They have taken of the accursed
things.

     Joshua 7:12 "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."

     God has removed His blessings from the entire house of Israel,
until they rid themselves of this accursed thing and the accursed
people who did this. The people became accursed, when they took the
things.

     Joshua 7:13 "Up, sanctify the people, and say, Sanctify
yourselves against tomorrow: 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."

     Israel is like the church in this. They are thought of as one
body. They must remove the accursed, before the whole nation becomes
accursed. "Sanctify" is to set aside for the purposes of God. They
must ceremonially cleanse themselves, and be ready to stand before
God.  The sin in the camp must be removed, before God will go with
them in battle.

     Joshua 7:14 "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."

     All of the tribes must appear before the LORD. The LORD will
separate out the tribe where the problem is. Then, that tribe will
pass before the LORD, and He will separate out a family where the
problem is. The households of that family, in turn, will pass before
the LORD in judgement, and God will separate out the household with
the problem. The last judgement will separate the individual man that
caused the problem.

     Joshua 7:15 "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."

     The cleansing of the camp has to be with fire. The accursed
thing, and everyone who has come into contact with it, must be burned
to cleanse the camp. Even all his possessions shall be burned, because
they have become accursed, too. The sin is the breaking of the
covenant with the LORD.

     Joshua 7:16  "So Joshua rose up early in the morning, and brought
Israel by their tribes; and the tribe of Judah was taken:"

     God first revealed that the person was of the tribe of Judah.

     Joshua 7:17 "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:"

     Now, we see the family of Zabdi separated out as the guilty
family.

     Joshua 7:18 "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."

     The household of Achan was separated out.

     Joshua 7:19 "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."

     Now that God has singled Achan out, Joshua wants him to tell what
he has done, and repent.

     Joshua 7:20 "And Achan answered Joshua, and said, Indeed I have
sinned against the LORD God of Israel, and thus and thus have I done:"

     Achan knows he is caught, and begins to confess his sin in
detail.
He knows his only chance lies in forgiveness.

     Joshua 7:21 "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."

     One of the ten commandments of God is, "Thou shalt not covet". He
has broken God's law. He did not confess, until after he was found
out.  It is too late for forgiveness. The silver and gold belonged to
God, so he has stolen from the LORD. The garment was unclean and
should have been burned. He knew how bad this was, he had buried the
things in the floor of his tent.

     Joshua 7:22  "So Joshua sent messengers, and they ran unto the
tent; and, behold, [it was] hid in his tent, and the silver under it."

     This is immediately checked out, and found to be true.

     Joshua 7:23 "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."

     This is speaking of the accursed things found in the possession
of Achan. The sin is exposed to the entire camp. The punishment, here,
will serve as a warning to the others, not to commit a similar sin.

     Joshua 7:24 "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."

     The reason for all of Israel being involved in the punishment, is
to show their disgust of the sin committed. The family and everything
else Achan owned were accursed, because of their near contact with the
accursed thing. They were brought to be destroyed along with Achan.
The valley of Achor was above Jericho.  "Achor" means trouble.

     Joshua 7:25 "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."

     Notice, all Israel was involved in their stoning to show their
disapproval of their sin. After they were dead from the stoning, they
burned them and everything they owned. There would be nothing of it
left to contaminate the camp. Joshua's question is valid. They had
brought grief on all of the Israelites with their sins.

     Joshua 7:26 "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."

     We remember that, heaps of stones were done in memorials of
things that happened. This heap would be a constant reminder of what
sin will bring. It is correct for this place to be called valley of
trouble {Achor}. God is satisfied the sin is removed, and ceases His
anger.
















                         Joshua 7 Questions


1.  How had Israel committed a trespass against God?
2.  Who committed the sin?
3.  What tribe was he from?
4.  This one man bringing this terrible thing is similar to what for
    the Christians?
5.  Where did Joshua send spies?
6.  What report did the spies bring back to Joshua?
7.  How many men went to Ai to fight?
8.  What happened to them?
9.  How many of Israel died?
10. What did Joshua do in grief over the lost battle?
11. Who mourned with Joshua?
12. What rash statement does Joshua make to God?
13. The name of the LORD was glorified in the __________ of Israel.
14. When Christians go bad, it __________ God, as well as the person?
15. What does God tell Joshua to do, that is almost a reprimand?
16. What must Joshua do?
17. What was the sin?
18. When will God return to bless Israel?
19. How is Israel like the church in this?
20. What must they do, before standing before God?
21. By what process of elimentation shall God set the guilty person
    out?
22. What will happen to the person found with the accursed thing?
23. Who, besides Achan, was stoned to death?
24. What was done, after they were stoned to death?
25. What had Achan taken?
26. Who did the metals belong to?
27. Where had he hidden the accursed thing?
28. Who stoned them?
29. What was the purpose in this?
30. Who had Achan brought grief upon?
31. What does "Achor" mean?