Joshua 7:18, commentary and pictures

The verse records the final step of a God-directed sifting from tribe to family to household to man by man until Achan of Judah was taken as the one who had troubled Israel. His taking exposed deliberate coveting, stealing, and hiding of what God had forbidden and devoted to destruction, bringing an accursed thing into the midst of the camp. One man's transgression laid guilt, displeasure, and curse upon all Israel, so God could not be with them or give success in battle and they were driven back with loss of life. The accursed thing had to be removed by the destruction of Achan with his household and all he possessed, which wiped away the curse and turned away God's anger. The case therefore warns the church today to examine itself for hidden covetousness and sin that shuts out God's presence, to put it away by repentance and cleansing, lest blessing be withheld and destruction follow.

Investigation Identifying Achan

The verse records the final step of a God-directed, morning-by-morning sifting that narrowed from tribe to family to household and then man by man until Achan was taken. The lot first singled out Judah, then his family, then his household, and finally him personally as the individual. He is named with his full ancestry as Achan, the son of Carmi, the son of Zabdi, the son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, and identified as the one who had troubled Israel.

The Lord did not name Achan directly but showed the responsible men how to find him. He Himself pointed out the hidden wrongdoer through the solemn step-by-step process when the sin was covered and unknown.

Achan made no confession but braved it out as though innocent while the investigation narrowed until his guilt was fastened upon him. He remained silent even after hearing that the crime had been exposed, and his guilty fear became visible as he was pointed out. He confessed only when he could no longer hide it, and his admission came too late to benefit him. It did not show genuine repentance, because it lacked sorrow for sin, a changed purpose, and hatred of evil.

His identification was followed by a request for confession and by discovery of the stolen goods, establishing his guilt beyond question. This was done so the people would not charge God with injustice or Joshua with harshness before punishment. The taking and meeting of the penalty occurred at Gilgal, Israel's first encampment in the promised land.

Nature of Achan's Sin

The taking was for coveting, seizing, and secretly hiding what God had forbidden and devoted to destruction, a wedge of gold and a Babylonish garment, also called a Babylonian garment. By secreting them he brought an accursed thing into the midst of Israel. His secret keeping of the gold and the garment stands as dissembling and covering, a concealed sin whose influence is compared to wider harm through those joined to men in responsible positions.

The theft and concealment were deliberate, done with knowledge that taking the forbidden goods violated God's command. It was covetousness, theft, concealment, and misuse of what was dedicated to God, together with selfishness, greed, deception, dissembling, dishonesty, and falsehood. God sees hidden sin and brings it to light, regards these sins as grievous, and searches out those who cherish them to face His judgment, so that professed innocence cannot hide wrongdoing from Him. His sin cost thirty-six lives and was charged upon the whole camp.

His covetousness had not sprung up at once but had grown gradually into a settled, binding habit. That habit dulled his judgment and moral perception and made him an easy prey to temptation when it came, so that he took what God had forbidden. He would have been horrified at the thought of bringing disaster on Israel, yet his history shows the grave consequences and ruin that follow, exposing covetousness as a deadly yet common sin often treated lightly.

Hidden covetousness, selfishness, love of money, and love of the world can be gained imperceptibly and remain unrecognized in the heart, drying up sacrifice. Taking the sacrifice from God's altar, treating means lent as stewards as one's own, hoarding it up, and loving the world and its gain and increase require an entire change to sacrificing for God and self-denying sacrifice for the truth's sake. Unless rooted out by renewing covenant with God and renewing strength in Him, covetousness and love of the world bring sure destruction, so that those who hoard what God entrusted will have His prospering hand removed till all is snatched away in a moment and will perish with the world.

Taking means for personal use and demanding all one thinks one should have is robbing God's treasury and robbery in every sense of the word. It includes selfish appropriation of institutional and mission funds for one's own use, selling to the highest bidder, driving men in hard places, withholding means from the appointed field, becoming wise above what is written in the law, measuring self by self and comparing self with others, and double-dealing. God looks on workers in schools, institutions, and churches who do so exactly as He looked on the sin of Achan. Such men are not with God but are surrounded by an atmosphere of unbelief, cannot give the right mold to the work, cannot supply the necessities of laborers in hard fields who sacrifice part of their wages, and cannot rightly serve the work, and God sees every such case and will pass judgment on them. The hidden appropriation exposes abuse of the Spirit of God, lack of principle with perverted ideas that God hates, blindness in spiritual discernment with no real sense of justice and mercy and equity and truth, with excuses and unwillingness to make restitution, so that full clean work is required, with restitution of both principal and interest, before His censure is removed.

The hidden covetous spirit that took possession of Achan still works in men in important positions. It remains as a living, unrepented thing unless purged away by repentance, by making restoration, and by falling on the Rock and being broken. Without letting the Word of the Lord into the mind and receiving a thorough transformation of heart softened and subdued by the love of Christ, there is no hope for God's institutions. Then deceptions increasing blacker than velvet blind men who ought to know God and Jesus Christ, prayer with humble broken hearts is neglected, and God will surely humble those who will not humble themselves.

Sin Troubled All Israel

The singling out of Achan, son of Carmi, son of Zabdi, son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, man by man from his household, exposes how one man's hidden theft of what was devoted to destruction brought guilt, displeasure, rebuke and curse upon all Israel. While that forbidden, accursed thing — a golden wedge and a Babylonish garment coveted, taken and secreted — remained in the camp, God could not give success, be with them in battle, or bless them. Israel was therefore driven before enemies, defeated, discomfited and weakened, losing thirty-six lives, until the people were told to sanctify themselves against the morrow and the camp was cleansed. The searching out of the wrongdoer by God's searching Spirit shows that a wrong course pursued by one toward his brother turns God's light away from His people until the wrong is searched out and the cause of the oppressed is vindicated, and that professed innocence cannot hide grievous covetousness, theft, concealment and misuse of what was dedicated to God.

His sin was charged upon the whole camp, so the whole congregation suffered under God's offense even after He had done a great and glorious work for them by mighty power. His offense brought judgment on his household as well as curse upon Israel as a community. The sin in the midst barred God's way so He could not do what He wanted, just as unbelief kept the Redeemer from doing many mighty works.

His discovery when households were brought forward one by one revealed hidden sin among the people. It taught Israel that failing to be vigilant in uncovering sin among them brought God's rebuke for lack of vigilance.

The same reckoning holds for defects of character in any member or minister when the church makes light of them, for they are then charged to the whole church and the whole church stands under rebuke. Knowingly placing over the flock as minister a man of known weakness of character, little moral power and present darkness assumes his defects and makes them its own, dishonoring God and lowering the standard of righteousness. Such knowing tolerance of evil, hiding the eyes from it and walking contrary to God's will, brings guilt more grievous than that of Israel over Achan.

Punishment Cleansed the Camp

God required the accursed thing to be taken away and the people to sanctify themselves against the morrow, and Achan with his household and all that he possessed was destroyed, which wiped the curse from Israel, removed God's frown, and turned away His anger from Israel. The singling out man by man to Achan, son of Carmi, son of Zabdi, son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, led to the execution of the divine sentence against him as the guilty one who had coveted and secreted the forbidden spoil. Though the destruction looks terrible it was right, for the very same controlling principles had been brought into his family and that influence would have endangered Israel if left among them. God is jealous, cannot look upon iniquity, and cannot let falsehood, dissembling, dishonesty and iniquity pass without exposure.

The special duty and burden was laid upon Joshua to exercise discretion in promptly searching out, reproving and correcting prevailing hidden wrong so the frown might be turned away, and the same responsibility rests on those in high positions of trust to guard righteousness and judgment, not to pass by sin or leave things to drift, but to work diligently to separate the Achans from the camp. God has not changed but is the same in the gospel as in ancient Israel, still by His Spirit pointing out wrongdoers and showing He will not tolerate sin, deception, falsehood and moral corruption among His people. Those who act the part of Joshua will be questioned, doubted, found fault with and accused of a wicked fault-finding spirit, yet His warnings cannot be disregarded with impunity, and those who know the truth and hear His word daily and become careless will be held equally responsible with open transgressors when hidden sins cause loss of His favor.

Truth and purity require thorough work to cleanse the camp from Achans, for Achan stands for sin and sinners hidden under a cloak of godliness who contaminate others, and sin must be dealt with promptly so others are not contaminated and may fear God. Those in responsible positions must not suffer sin in a brother and must not cover up and excuse sin, but must show him he must either put away his sins or be separated and disfellowshipped from the church. Retaining those who do wickedly and refuse to hear admonition and warning and refuse to repent, after the record of Achan's exposure, is contrary to the will of God, dishonors God and insults heaven, for one who does evil and refuses to repent endangers the whole community. Backbiting is a corrupting evil that must likewise be purged before God can bless His people, and it is worse than Achan's sin. Cherishing envy and hatred against brethren, going as talebearers, accusing and condemning, blackening character, and carrying false reports that cause even the hearers to lose the Spirit of God, spreads not only in those who cherish it but as a root of bitterness whereby many are defiled, corrupting minds and spirits, and God cannot bless the church till it is purged unless the guilty repent and change their course.

Warnings for Church Today

Achan's being taken man by man stands as warning that covetousness brings destruction as surely as his sin did, and that covetousness and love of the world, unless rooted out, end in destruction for those who hoard what God entrusted, who will perish with the world unless they change. Hidden covetousness, selfishness, love of money and love of the world can be gained imperceptibly and unrecognized in the heart, drying up sacrifice, and taking the sacrifice from God's altar and treating means lent as stewards as one's own and hoarding it up, with loving the world and its gain and increase, requires an entire change to sacrificing for God and denying self for truth's sake through renewing covenant with God and renewing strength in Him. Without that change God's prospering hand is removed so that all is snatched away in a moment. Review of his case warns that temptation can lead to a fall even when feeling secure and facing great danger, teaching not to trust personal strength to resist but to recognize danger and learn humility from past mistakes.

Achans in the camp bring God's frown upon the whole church, for their corrupt hearts, selfishness, exaltation, love of self, and wanting to be foremost when God and brethren have not placed them there weigh God's people down with clogs, cause God's work to progress but little, discourage God's servants, and keep others from being added to the church. God gives such ones opportunity to reform and enlightens them as to their sins, but if they will not heed and be reformed He gives them up to their own ways to be filled with their own doings and in mercy rids the church of them, for which His peculiar people should praise God for the relief and remain unaffected by their influence. When the church suffers difficulty or spiritual decline, members should examine themselves with humility for hidden sin that shuts out God's presence, since one person's transgression could hold back God's blessing and weaken the whole community until the sin was found and put away. Each person now has an open case with God in a solemn time of opposition and must earnestly seek God's glory, put away everything offensive to Him, make straight paths for the feet, hold the fort, make an entire consecration of soul and body to God, and let conviction reach the heart in purification of the soul temple from defilement, not stopping till every sin is corrected and put away, lest God leave His people to apparent defeat.

God searches out concealed wrongdoing and vindicates those who trust in Him, for hidden guilt brought to light when households were examined one by one shows professed innocence cannot hide wrongdoing. Dishonesty involving sacred things dishonors God and will be brought to light, calling for full repentance and restitution. Such selfish taking of means belonging to God's cause by driving men in hard places and withholding means from the appointed field is robbery in every sense, an abuse of the Spirit of God and a lack of principle with perverted ideas that God hates, revealing blindness in spiritual discernment with no real sense of justice and mercy and equity and truth, with excuses and unwillingness to make restitution, so full clean work is required, with restitution of both principal and interest, before God's censure is removed. Sins equal to Achan's in the Wellington community help explain lack of success there, showing the same lesson applies to sin hidden in a person's home or heart, called the accursed thing that had to be dealt with because while it remained God could not give success against enemies, which can hinder God's blessing and harm others.

God's people must clear the way by discipline, by cleansing themselves from all filthiness of the flesh and perfecting holiness in the fear of the Lord, by hating sin while loving the sinner, by calling sin by its right name and putting it away instead of tampering with it until it no longer seems sinful, with every person responsible and cooperating so God can work, since sin in the camp barred His way so He could not do what He wanted, as unbelief hindered mighty works. This places responsibility on those who stand in high positions of trust to guard righteousness and judgment, to not pass by sin and transgression or leave things to drift, and to work diligently to separate the Achans from the camp, for God has not changed and by His Holy Spirit still points out the wrongdoers and will not tolerate sin, deception, falsehood and moral corruption, holding those who know the truth and hear His Word daily equally responsible with open transgressors if they become careless, so that hidden sins among them cause loss of His favor. Truth and purity require thorough work to cleanse the camp of the Achans, who stand for sin and sinners hidden in the church defiling the soul under a cloak of godliness, by promptly dealing with sin and sinners so others are not contaminated and may fear God, with those in responsible positions not suffering sin in a brother but showing him he must either put away his sins or be separated from the church. As a people professing to be reformers treasuring the most solemn, purifying truths, the standard must be elevated far higher, with church members stopping covering up and excusing sin and acting at all times as in God's presence, realizing the eye of God is ever upon them and character, motives, desires, purposes and most secret thought are as clear as sunlight to Him, and every Christian choosing poverty, reproach, separation from friends, losses, suffering and even death before dishonor or transgression of God's law and before defiling the soul with sin.