Theological Commentary: Click Here
When the
Hebrew people plunder Jericho, there is one among their company who chooses not
to listen to God’s decree. Achan takes
some of the plunder because the temptation is too great. Joshua was clear in the prior chapters that
this first battle would have everything of value dedicated to the Lord as the
first fruit offering. Achan chooses not
to give.
As I see it,
Achan has multiple sins going on in this passage. He follows his greed. He is no longer obedient to God. He steals from the Lord. He makes his own lust for money an idol and
lifts it above the Lord. He knows it is
wrong and he hides the goods under his tent to make sure that he isn’t
discovered.
While Achan
doesn’t come out and confess the sin without being found out, he does at least
admit to the sin when God fids him. He
does seem to show a little sincerity about the admission.
Of course,
why wouldn’t he show some sincerity? The
attack on Ai failed because God has lifted his blessing that he placed upon the
Hebrew people. The Hebrew troops are
routed badly and the whole company of Hebrew warriors are on the verge of
collapse. Over thirty Hebrew people died
in the battle! Why wouldn’t Achan feel a
bit of sincerity about what he has done?
Naturally,
this leads to a discussion on consequences.
Achan’s greed leads to his death.
As I mentioned above, it led to multiple deaths of Hebrew people as
well. Achan’s sin has thrown the Hebrew
fighting force into doubting God. Do you
hear the prayer of Joshua and the people and how they doubt God’s ability to
hand Canaan to them? Achan’s sin has
dire consequences for his own life.
However, Achan’s sin has consequences within the community as well. That’s important to remember. Sin always has consequences. Those consequences often reach into the
community beyond us. Our sin often
reaches out to touch the lives of many that we don’t expect to taint in the
throes of our sin.
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