Joshua 7:20, commentary and pictures

Achan himself openly admitted he had sinned against the Lord God of Israel and owned the acts charged against him, specifying that he had coveted and taken a Babylonish garment, two hundred shekels of silver and a wedge of gold and hidden them in his tent. His theft was deliberate disobedience in taking what was appointed to destruction and consecrated to God's treasury, rooted in covetousness and love of money that hardened into habit and led to falsehood, theft and concealment. His acknowledgment came only after exposure by lot and searching, in terror to escape punishment rather than from genuine repentance, so it vindicated God's justice but came too late to save him. One man's hidden sin put guilt and a curse upon all Israel, causing defeat and loss of life until he and all he had were destroyed and the wrath was turned away. The case warns that cherished covetousness and concealed wrong still withhold God's blessing and must be openly confessed, forsaken and put away now, with full restitution where due, lest the same destruction follow.

Historical Setting and Context

The confession belongs to the taking of Jericho as the first step in the conquest of Canaan, after Joshua sought assurance of divine guidance and met Christ as Captain of the host of the Lord, who promised Jericho with its king and its mighty men of valor into his hand and gave instruction for capturing the city. It was spoken before its dire penalty at Gilgal, the plain of Israel's first encampment in the promised land from which Israel had marched to the overthrow of Jericho and the conquest of Ai to which the sin belonged. That ground remained memorable for later thrilling associations where Samuel and Saul stood.

The speaker was brought to light through successive lots and searching until he was exposed and identified as the man whose concealed theft was charged against him. He at last confessed with his own mouth that he had sinned against the Lord God of Israel and told plainly what he had done, acknowledging his guilt before the investigation confirmed it. He had thought his sin was secret and hidden from all human eyes except those of his own household, but his own testimony exposed it.

What he disclosed was coveting after he saw among the spoils a Babylonish garment, two hundred shekels of silver, and a wedge of gold of fifty shekels weight, taking them and hiding them in the earth in the midst of his tent with the silver underneath. His testimony was then proved true when messengers found the goods hidden in his tent. His failure to confess earlier shows how sin hardens the heart, for yielding to covetousness led him farther than he had first intended, and his case shows that one person's sin can bring shame, defeat, and loss upon the whole community while hidden wrongdoing will ultimately be exposed and confessed.

What Achan Confessed

With his own mouth he openly admitted that he had sinned against the Lord God of Israel and acknowledged that he had done the acts charged against him. The admission was made after he was urged to confess so that God's honor and justice would be clear to Israel. It began the disclosure of what he had coveted and taken, leading into a specific account of his wrongdoing. His confession acknowledged his guilt before the investigation confirmed it by finding the stolen goods hidden in his tent.

What he disclosed was coveting after seeing among the spoils a Babylonish garment, two hundred shekels of silver, and a wedge of gold of fifty shekels weight. He took them and hid them in the earth in the midst of his tent with the silver underneath. They were property appointed for utter destruction and consecrated to the treasury, including money and goods dedicated to God. His own testimony to this was then proved true when messengers found the goods hidden in his tent. The surrounding account identifies the same hidden theft as a golden wedge and a Babylonish garment, and as a gold bar and a Babylonian garment, whose concealment brought defeat and death.

He had thought his sin was secret and hidden from all human eyes except those of his own household, while presenting himself as innocent. But the Lord knew his concealed actions, and his concealed sin was exposed by God's searching Spirit. God searched out the hidden guilt, showing that He knows what people misunderstand and will uncover wrongdoing and vindicate those who trust Him. No one who cherishes such selfishness, avarice, and deception can escape divine notice, for as He searched out Achan and pronounced a curse upon him, so He will bring hidden wrongdoing to light and judge it.

His confession from his own lips made the facts and his guilt plain to Israel. It showed that the judgment was for his actual wrongdoing and vindicated the character and justice of God in dealing with him. In this way the people could see the justice of the judgment rather than accuse God of severity or His servants of harshness. The Lord already knew where the stolen goods were and had told Joshua where they were without naming the guilty one, but the honor of God had to be vindicated by confession from the sinner's own lips.

Nature of Achan's Sin

At its root the wrong acknowledged was covetousness, selfishness, avarice, love of money and love of the world, taking the sacrifice from God's altar by treating means only lent as stewardship as his own and hoarding it up. That evil gains upon the heart gradually and imperceptibly until it becomes a binding habit, so that those who have it are not aware of it. As greed deepens the moral sense is dulled and deadened, the sacrifice of God's people is dried up, and a man yields to temptation he would once have been horrified to consider, bringing ruinous results often treated lightly.

It was deliberate disobedience after hearing the charge that Jericho and all in it were accursed to the Lord, that Israel must keep from the accursed thing lest they make themselves accursed and make the camp a curse and trouble it, and that all silver and gold and vessels of brass and iron were consecrated to the Lord for His treasury. Yet he coveted what God had appointed to utter destruction and was even ready to steal the gold and silver plainly specified for God, taking the wedge of gold and the Babylonish garment from spoil commanded to be utterly consumed while knowing this violated God's command. What he thought a very small matter was in God's sight very serious, kindling anger, withdrawing presence from the armies because God would not serve with sin, and permitting the enemy to triumph.

The acknowledgment means falsehood, dissembling, dishonesty, theft, embezzlement of what was dedicated to God, and concealment under examination, including hiding a golden wedge and a Babylonish garment and presenting himself as innocent while concealing covetousness and theft. Concealing and dissembling about sin made the wrongdoing in view even more grievous, and such covetousness, theft, embezzlement and deceit, including misuse of goods owed to God, are regarded as grievous and terrible in God's sight. The act brought a blot and stain upon the people and the loss of thirty-six lives, so the sin had to be put out of the camp.

He took for his own use what belonged to God and thus robbed the treasury, appropriating money and goods dedicated to God and hiding them. In God's sight it is the same when workers in His institutions compare wages, think themselves favored, sell themselves to the highest bidder, become wise above what is written, withhold and divert means belonging to His cause from needy and hard fields such as the Southern field, drive men in hard places, work in crooked lines through selfishness at every point, and selfishly appropriate money that did not come to His cause, as in the Norman case. Such conduct is robbery in every sense of the word, dishonest practice in handling sacred work that dishonors God, abuse of the Spirit, lack of principle and perverted ideas which God hates, calling for repentance and full restitution of both principal and interest rather than partial, trifling, divided restoration, with failure showing blinded discernment and no real sense of justice, mercy, equity and truth.

The same principles that controlled him had been brought into his family, so his influence was dangerous to the children of Israel. Those who claim to follow God while following their own way instead of God's way let the standard of piety trail in the dust and become false signboards pointing the wrong direction.

Belated Forced Confession

Achan hid his wrong and would not confess it freely, keeping silent even after Israel's defeat at Ai and through the searching inquiry for the guilty man. He showed no earlier remorse, distress, self-examination, or thought of setting the wrong right by confession and humiliation of soul. While Joshua mourned over the defeat he himself was untroubled, never asking whether his theft of the golden wedge and Babylonish garment had caused it and never connecting the Lord's withdrawn presence to his own stealing. He knew Israel had been made weak before its enemies through his guilt, yet his conscience did not move him to humble his proud, rebellious heart before God and put the wrong away to relieve the people.

His acknowledgment came only after his guilt was exposed by investigation, forced out when he was searched out and taken. It was made in terror when crisis came and God spoke in behalf of His people, in hope of escaping the consequences and avoiding punishment. It did not spring from genuine repentance, sorrow for sin, conviction of his true state, sense of how displeasing his course had been to God, or changed purpose. It therefore came too late to save him or to bring him any saving benefit, though a confession made at the right time is accepted to relieve the people of God, and his might still relieve the cause.

The verse thus marks the difference between freely confessing known sin from a repentant heart and merely admitting facts already proved after they have been proved. It warns that confessions wrung out when judgment is final cannot save the sinner.

His failure to confess earlier shows how sin hardens the heart, for yielding to covetousness led him farther than he first intended until greed grown gradually into habit deadened his moral sense. He persisted in a hardened, proud, rebellious course even while knowing Israel was made weak before its enemies because of him. His course patterns those who have been a cloud of darkness standing directly in the way of God's working by murmuring and discouragement, who become alarmed at the length they have gone and then acknowledge they have sinned. Those controlled nearly all their lives by a spirit as foreign to the Spirit of God as his, held so long by Satan's power that they seem blinded, will be very passive when decided action is required, claim to be on neither side, have no inclination to stand in defense of right, and refrain from taking a determined course on the wrong side not from a clear sense of right but because they dare not. Such confessors are not in harmony with right, will not endure one test or proving of God, despise the straight testimony that reaches the heart, and would rejoice to see everyone who gives reproof silenced; given another test, another proving, they show themselves no better prepared to stand free from rebellion and sin but inclined ever to the side of wrong, and when the call comes for those on the Lord's side to move decidedly to vindicate the right they manifest their true position. That same spirit, still working in men in important positions, remains as a living, unrepented thing with no restitution made and no falling upon the Rock and being broken.

Effect on Israel and Vindication

One man's concealed theft placed an accursed thing in the midst of Israel and brought guilt and a curse upon all Israel. His hidden wrong brought God's displeasure and wrath upon the whole people, so that Israel was driven before its enemies and could not stand before them. That defeat cost thirty-six lives and discomfited the entire army, for God could not give success or manifest His power while the sin remained hidden in the camp. He withdrew His presence and would not serve with sin, and the sin barred His way as unbelief elsewhere kept the Redeemer from doing many mighty works, so He permitted the enemy to triumph until the accursed thing was taken away.

Though he held no holy office his sin was charged upon the whole camp and affected the entire congregation. The sin of the one man brought suffering upon all Israel and brought God's wrath upon them. When exposed he with all his household and all they possessed was destroyed. After the divine sentence was carried out the wrath was turned away and the curse was wiped from Israel.

God searched out the hidden guilt that Israel had not been vigilant to discover among them. In doing so He showed that He knows what people misunderstand or misinterpret, and that He will uncover wrongdoing and vindicate those who trust Him. His dealing rebuked Israel's failure to discover sin among them and taught them to act promptly against sin, though their later zeal led them to suspect their brethren without first learning the facts.

He is a jealous God and it is fearful to trifle with Him. His displeasure rests upon His people and He will not manifest His power in their midst while sins exist among them and are fostered by those in responsible positions. Hidden sin in a home or heart obstructs His blessing and bars His way so He cannot do what He would for them, even after He has done a great and glorious work by His mighty power. The necessary work is to take responsibility, keep discipline, hate the sin but love the sinner, call things by their right name, put sins away instead of tampering with them, and cleanse from all filthiness to perfect holiness so He can clear the way and work.

Warnings and Duties Today

Achan's fall warns that temptation can bring a grave fall even when a person feels secure, so danger must never be underestimated and past mistakes must be reviewed humbly without trusting personal strength to meet and resist temptation. All are to shun even the borders of sin and to avoid idolatry and close ties with idolaters, remembering that departing from God brings ruin. Covetousness, selfishness, love of money and love of the world among Sabbath-keepers, the Israel of God, will bring the same sure destruction that came upon Achan unless the evil is rooted out. It grows imperceptibly so that those who cherish it are not aware of it, taking the sacrifice from God's altar by loving the world and its gain and increase, treating means only lent by God as stewards as their own and hoarding it up until, when His prospering hand is removed, it is all snatched away in a moment. Unless there is an entire change they will perish with the world, and the Israel of God must renew strength in God by renewing and keeping covenant with Him through sacrifice for God and self-denial for truth's sake, for human loftiness is soon to be brought down and pride humbled when withering plagues fall on kings and nobles, rich and poor alike.

Sin cherished in the midst withholds blessing until it is purged out, for God could not give success against enemies while the accursed thing remained, and hidden sin in a home or heart obstructs His blessing until removed. Its corrupting power reaches beyond the one who cherishes it to corrupt minds and spirits and defile the souls of many. Backbiting, envy, talebearing, accusing, condemning, blackening character, and carrying false reports spreads even more widely and is even worse than that sin, and deliverance requires repentance and a change of course before God can bless. Hidden wrong must be searched out and dealt with promptly and thoroughly with Joshua-like discretion, and the sinner must put away sin or be separated and disfellowshipped lest others be contaminated. The church shares responsibility when it knowingly overlooks the defects of a member or minister, makes light of evil, or allows deception, falsehood and moral corruption to drift along in silence as if sin were not exceedingly offensive to God.

Those who are deceived and deceiving, who refuse admonitions and warnings and do wickedly refusing to repent, are as Achan in the camp and are not to be retained but separated from fellowship, for to keep their names on the books holds the saints accountable and is contrary to God's will and an insult to the God of heaven. Sins must be confessed openly in humility instead of being covered, and now in days of peril is the time to confess and forsake them so they may go beforehand to judgment and be blotted out in cleansing from all filthiness of flesh and spirit and perfecting holiness in the fear of God. Such confession with a living connection with heaven, hiding in God under the protecting care of Jesus and holy angels, is the defense against disasters by sea and land, the noisome pestilence, and dangers seen and unseen, and is especially urgent for those professing to be depositaries of God's law to build up the old waste places and raise up foundations of many generations by departing from all iniquity and walking humbly without delay. Dishonest practices in handling sacred work dishonor God and call for repentance and restitution, as in withholding and diverting means belonging to His cause from the Southern field. That course means dissembling and stealing and working in crooked lines through selfishness at every point, taking means from the field, driving men in hard places, and appropriating money that did not come to God's cause, as in the Norman case, which is robbery in every sense, abuse of the Spirit, lack of principle and perverted ideas which God hates. It requires full restitution of both principal and interest, not a partial, trifling, divided restoration, and failure shows men not walking in the light, needing spiritual eyesight anointed, without the working of the Holy Spirit, with blinded discernment and no real sense of justice and mercy and equity and truth, revealing insincerity, unwillingness, excuses, and determination not to do the work despite plain light.

Those who stand in high positions of trust bear special responsibility, for God has not changed since ancient Israel, as shown when Ananias and Sapphira were slain for lying to the Holy Spirit. Those who know the truth and hear His Word daily become equally responsible with open transgressors if they become careless and pass by sin in their midst, and hidden sins cause loss of favor and bar His way so He cannot do what He would for them, just as unbelief kept the Redeemer from doing many mighty works in certain places despite the great and glorious work He had done by mighty power. Leaders must closely guard righteousness and judgment, give youth a right impression of what constitutes sin and uncleanness and rottenness of character, hate the sin but love the sinner, call things by their right name, put sins away instead of tampering with them, cleanse the soul temple from all filthiness, and work diligently to separate the Achans from the camp, and when principals and teachers do their duty God by His Spirit will point out wrongdoers and show He will not tolerate sin. The camp must be cleansed by more thorough work of truth and purity, elevating the standard far higher, for sin and sinners practicing iniquity under the cloak of godliness while professing to be reformers treasuring sacred, solemn, purifying truth bring the heaviest retribution. Rather than defile the soul with sin, poverty, reproach, separation from friends, losses, any suffering, and even death before dishonor or transgression of God's law must be chosen, acting at all times as in God's presence with His eye ever upon them and the most secret thought known to Him, with character, motives, desires and purposes as clear as sunlight to the Omniscient.