Notice that while Achan and Achan alone took from Jericho some of the booty that was supposed to be dedicated to God, God’s word says that “the sons of Israel acted unfaithfully in regard” to those things. For one man’s sin, God held the entire nation responsible and refused to be with them in their conquest of the Promised Land until the wrong was righted. Does He do the same with His New Covenant people today? Could the sin of one individual in the church prevent Him from blessing the work of the entire church? What does the whole counsel of Scripture say about that? Certainly this account teaches that sin can have consequences beyond the sinner. One cannot rightly claim that his sin is his affair and doesn’t impact anyone else.
Already after their first victory they were confident enough not to consult God about the plan for attacking Ai; they devised their plan without His instruction. Again, the actions of God’s Old Testament people teach us New Testament people about what we are capable of. This is a human tendency against which I need to be on my guard.
Why didn’t God stop them from going out against Ai, such as by the captain of the Lord’s hosts showing up again? That could have saved the 36 lives that were lost, as well as the humiliation of defeat. Remember where else God didn’t show up: in the Garden of Eden. He also didn’t tip off the Israelites to prevent the Gibeonites’ deceiving them into making a covenant. The result would require Him to impose the consequences of allowing the Gibeonites to be a snare to Israel, interfering with His future relationship with them. What do these matters teach you about the need to consult God before acting? Should you make that commitment today to do so, and ask the Holy Spirit to remind you as needed?
Joshua knew that the inhabitants of the land would hear about their defeat at Ai and lose their fear of Israel, costing them a huge advantage in battle. God was willing to destroy that advantage in order to deal with the sin. Think what God might be willing to do to expose and excise sin in your life. Isn’t it preferable to confess it and repent of it, getting His help to overcome it?
Achan’s sons and daughters and all his animals were killed as part of his punishment. That seems harsh, but look at the consequences that one man’s sin had on the nation. It’s possible that his family knew about his illicit treasure, living in close quarters. Whether they did or not, God wanted the sin removed thoroughly. Jesus taught that if your hand or your eye causes you to sin, you need to remove it. Sin requires harsh remedy because it’s deadly. If we fail to understand that, it’s because we live in the midst of it and lack perspective that reveals the truth, because we are marred by it ourselves, and/or because the enemy is deceiving us. It is critical that we have a true understanding of sin so that we hate it as God hates it, and thus are motivated to remove it from our own hearts and lives. Rather than be offended at the harshness of the punishment, we need to learn from this account and others like it how awful sin is and meriting complete removal from our lives.
That the Israelites kept the covenant with Gibeonites even though it had been made in deceit, tells of the importance to God of keeping a covenant. He expects us to keep our word even at hurtful cost to us. This was a day when most people had the value of honesty only to their own people; it was okay, even admirable, to deal deceitfully with other people in order to get what one wanted from them. God did not allow His people the same self-serving value of faithfulness to their word. He hasn’t changed, and we need to be characterized by the same faithfulness. If we are, we will certainly stand out in this world that values faithfulness only when it benefits self, won’t we? That would be making Jesus visible to the world in an admirable way.