Joshua 7:1

THE DEFEAT AT AI

Contrasting sharply with the previous chapter, this one reveals a shocking setback to Israel's progress, namely, the defeat at Ai. Many Bible students have been impressed with the manner in which the experiences of Joshua parallel those of the early church in the Book of Acts.

(1) The glorious success of Pentecost was soon followed by the shameful episode of Ananias and his wife Sapphira. Here the great success at Jericho is quickly followed by the shameful defeat at Ai.

(2) Secret sin was, in both cases, the cause of the sudden reversal of fortune - that of Achan here, and that of Ananias and Sapphira in Acts.

(3) The capital punishment of the offenders was immediately enforced - that of Achan by Joshua, and that of Ananias and Sapphira by the Lord.

(4) The punishment in each case was executed in the presence of all of God's congregation.

(5) The original success of God's people was at once resumed in both cases.

(6) Greed, or covetousness on the part of the offenders was the cause of the trouble in both cases.

"But the children of Israel committed a trespass in the devoted thing; for Achan, the son of Carmi, the son of Zabdi, the son Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, took of the devoted thing: and the anger of Jehovah was kindled against the children of Israel."

Matthew Henry, and others, have pointed out that, "This chapter begins with a "BUT."[1] That word, with all that is entailed, echoes like a sour note in a symphony throughout the entire O.T. This also is echoed in the writings of the New Testament. The name "Herod" in Matthew 2:1, is exactly the same kind of change as that noted here.

We are amazed at Jamieson's comment on Achan's ancestry, which he called "infamous."[2] Yes, it is true enough that his ancestry is here traced back to the incestuous union between Judah and Tamar, but apparently Jamieson overlooked the fact that this is also the ancestry of the Lord Jesus Christ! Therefore, we must look to something else besides the ancestry of Achan to discover the cause of his sin.

There is no problem with the genealogy of Achan here, which contains only five names to cover the period reaching all the way back to Judah and Tamar. "In this genealogy (as in many others in the Bible) several generations are omitted."[3]

One of the significant things here is the fact that the sin of a SINGLE person could bring down the wrath of God upon the WHOLE congregation of Israel.