Observe, Reader! the tribe of Judah, out of which our Lord, after the flesh, sprang, had an Achan in it. And only of twelve disciples the Lord had a Judas. Dearest Redeemer! let me pause to admire and adore thy wonderful condescension! In all things, and in all alliances, how precious is it to see thee going before us! Hebrews 2:17-18 . read more
16-26 See the folly of those that promise themselves secrecy in sin. The righteous God has many ways of bringing to light the hidden works of darkness. See also, how much it is our concern, when God is contending with us, to find out the cause that troubles us. We must pray with holy Job, Lord, show me wherefore thou contendest with me. Achan's sin began in the eye. He saw these fine things, as Eve saw the forbidden fruit. See what comes of suffering the heart to walk after the eyes, and what... read more
Achan Found Guilty and Punished v. 10. And the Lord said unto Joshua, Get thee up; wherefore liest thou thus upon thy face? This direct answer of Jehovah implied that Joshua had no reason to doubt the faithfulness of the Lord, but that the fault lay with the people. v. 11. Israel hath sinned, and they have also transgressed My covenant which I commanded them. It was Israel that had broken faith by setting aside the obligations of the covenant of Jehovah; for they have even taken of the... read more
2. Achan’s TheftJoshua 7:0a. The Crime1But the children [sons] of Israel committed a trespass in the accursed thing [in respect to what was devoted]: for [and] Achan, the son of Carmi, the son of Zabdi, the son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, took of the accursed thing [of what was devoted]: and the anger of the Lord [Jehovah] was kindled against the children [sons] of Israel.b. Its evil Effects in the unfortunate Expedition against AiJoshua 7:2-52And Joshua sent men from Jericho to Ai, which... read more
the Troubler Found and Removed Joshua 7:16-26 When God deals with sin He traces its genealogy. Twice over we have the list of Achan’s ancestors, Joshua 7:1 ; Joshua 7:18 . To deal with sin thoroughly we need to go back to its sources. See James 1:14-15 . How Achan’s heart must have stood still as he beheld the closer approach of detection, like the contracting walls of a chamber of horrors. One by one we pass before the eye of Omniscience, as a ship’s company before the quarantine officer.... read more
This chapter opens with a significant and ominous "But." So far we have had the record of remarkable progress but! We now see the triumphant people defeated and flying and the reason is declared. It was the sin of a man, but it was also the sin of the nation. Israel had now become a nation in very deed, and therefore no one person could act alone. Individualism is a far more tremendous responsibility when it has ceased to be mere individualism. The sin of the one became the sin of the... read more
Sin Will Find You Out Joshua 7:11-26 INTRODUCTORY WORDS The question of sin is ever paramount in the Word of God. It was sin that made necessary the death of Christ upon the Cross. In spite of this, we would like to discuss with you for a while, the world's attitude toward sin, in contrast with the Divine attitude. 1. Men belittle the heinousness of sin, while God magnifies it. (1) Men belittle sin inasmuch as they deny its existence. How many there are in these days of revelry and... read more
‘So Joshua rose up early in the morning, and brought Israel near by their tribes, and the tribe of Judah was selected.’ Joshua always rose early on special occasions. Perhaps it was in order to pray before acting. Or perhaps he was concerned to obey YHWH as quickly as possible. (How good it would be if we also were so eager to do God’s will). And he brought Israel near, by their tribes. Perhaps he had twelve sticks with their tribal names on and these were tossed in some way by the priest.... read more
‘ And he brought the family of Judah near, and he selected the family of the Zerahites. And he brought the family of the Zerahites near, man by man, and Zabdi was selected. And he brought near 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 selected.’ We notice here that the same word is used for the ‘family’ of the full tribe of Judah (some manuscripts, also LXX and Vulgate, have ‘the families’, probably to remove the... read more
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The People's Bible by Joseph Parker - Joshua 7:1-26
Curious Conjunctions Joshua 7:0 APART from the main course of this narrative, there are some conjunctions of names which are full of interest, and full also of spiritual instruction and comfort. We have to go in search of some beautiful things: they do not always lie upon the broad and open surface. The loveliest parts of a country are not always seen by travellers who keep on the highway: they lie apart, they have to be sought for; there are little dells, waterfalls, tarns, and natural... read more