Joshua 7:21, commentary and pictures

Achan admitted that he saw a beautiful Babylonian robe with silver and gold among the forbidden spoil of Jericho, let desire master him, took what God had banned and reserved for Himself, and buried it in his tent. His ruin grew from cherished greed that dulled judgment until seeing led to coveting, coveting to stealing from God, and stealing to hiding and deceit. That one hidden theft laid guilt upon all Israel, drew God's displeasure, withdrew His presence, and brought defeat and death in battle. Exposed by God after the loss, his confession came too late and from terror rather than repentance, yet it cleared the facts and vindicated God's justice before his stoning with his household in the Valley of Achor turned away wrath. Therefore hidden covetousness must be promptly searched out, confessed, and put away from God's people, for love of money and gain still withholds blessing and ends in certain destruction unless rooted out.

Verse Words and Setting

The verse is Achan's own confession of what he did with the spoil: when he saw a costly Babylonish garment with two hundred shekels of silver and a wedge of gold of fifty shekels weight, he coveted them, took them, and hid them in the earth in the middle of his tent with the silver under the rest. The coveting led to stealing and then to concealing what had been taken, and the confession names the objects and their weights exactly as they were afterward found. His admission came only after the investigation exposed him, after Israel's defeat and the search for the guilty one had begun, and it was too late to save him because he had kept silent while Israel suffered.

The confession admits sin against the Lord God of Israel, makes plain what was done, and makes plain the justice of God before Israel. It was given in answer to Joshua's charge to give glory to God by confessing and hiding nothing. It was required before punishment so the people would not charge God with being unmerciful and severe or reproach Joshua with harshness and severity, and so Israel would receive a lesson never to forget.

The setting is the capture of Jericho as the first step in the conquest of Canaan. That undertaking followed Joshua's withdrawing to seek assurance of divine guidance, when he met the armed Captain of the host of the Lord who is Christ the Exalted One, worshiped Him, and received assurance that Jericho with its king and mighty men of valor was given into his hand, with instruction for taking the city. Messengers sent by Joshua ran to the tent and found the goods hidden exactly as confessed, took them out, brought them to Joshua and to all Israel, and laid them out before the Lord. Achan had thought his sin secret and hidden from all human eyes except those of his own household, yet the discovery exposed the secret sin and showed that God knows hidden actions.

Achan's penalty was inflicted at Gilgal on the plain of Israel's first encampment in the promised land, following the march from there to the overthrow of Jericho and the conquest of Ai. Joshua with all Israel took Achan son of Zerah with the silver, the garment, the wedge of gold, his sons and daughters, oxen, asses, sheep, tent and all that he had to the Valley of Achor. There Joshua declared that trouble would come upon him, all Israel stoned him with stones, burned them with fire, raised over him a great heap of stones, and so the Lord turned from the fierceness of His anger.

The goodly Babylonish garment stands for things God appointed to destruction that are not to be desired or coveted. Such things are cursed of God and cannot be blessed by Him, and they are a snare to the soul leading to vanity, pride and self-exaltation. They are the idols of people estranged from God who have corrupted their ways and say they want their own way and not God's way, and the account was written for admonition as a lesson not to desire them. The wedge of gold stands for wealth of the highest earthly worth, yet experience gained in hard and hindered work for God is of more value because it gives assurance that the Lord is with the worker and guides him. The same wedge also pictures the worth of character and principles formed by obedience to the holy law of ten commandments as the standard of righteousness, which would make character as fine gold and principles as the golden wedge of Ophir, keeping in happiness and peace and bearing fruit in sanctified love and beauty of character.

Steps From Seeing to Hiding

Ruin began not with a sudden fall but with greed gradually fostered until it became a binding habit, and as sin dulled his judgment he became easy prey to temptation, lingered over it, and then gave in. When he saw the costly Babylonish robe with the silver and gold among the spoil, the sight stirred covetousness that moved from desire to selfish, greedy taking of what was forbidden and then to stealing and concealing it. He took what was devoted to destruction under the curse of Jericho after hearing the charge to keep from the accursed thing, in disobedience to a plain command.

What he seized included silver and gold reserved for the Lord's treasury and consecrated to be put into His house, and he knew they belonged to God so that taking them violated God's command and was theft and robbery of God. His act was covetousness leading to theft and embezzlement, taking what was dedicated to God and hiding it for self and family, with dissembling by pretending innocence under examination and failure to confess while Israel suffered adding deceit, falsehood and dishonesty terrible in God's sight. He treated the taking of the wedge of gold, Babylonish garment and silver commanded to be utterly consumed as a very small matter, but to God it was very serious sin against the Lord, regarded with great displeasure.

He felt no distress or remorse, did not reason from cause to effect that his theft brought the Lord's displeasure and defeat, and had no thought of making the wrong right by confession and humiliation of soul. The garment and gold picture hidden wrongdoing and misuse of what belongs to God, including coveting and taking what belongs to another, even affections and property.

Sin Brings Corporate Guilt

The coveting and hiding of goods devoted to destruction put an accursed thing in the midst of Israel, and the sin of one man was charged to the whole body. That hidden wrong brought God's frown and displeasure, His rebuke and curse upon all Israel, and success in battle was withheld until the accursed thing was dealt with. A wrong course pursued by one toward his brother turns the light of God from His people until the wrong is searched out and the cause of the oppressed is vindicated.

Israel was discomfited and driven before enemies, slain in battle because of one man's concealed theft. The loss included thirty-six lives, and thousands were killed in defeat while the stolen goods and transgression remained hidden in the camp. Though Achan held no holy office, his secret keeping of the Babylonian garment, silver, and gold still brought God's displeasure on all Israel.

God would not bless the people in battle while the theft remained hidden, for He would not serve with sin. He withdrew His presence from their armies until the accursed was destroyed from among them, and after He had done a great and glorious work for Israel by His mighty power His way was barred so He could not do what He would for them. The hidden golden wedge and Babylonish garment hindered God from blessing and leading Israel into battle, and allowed the enemy to triumph over them.

His private theft brought defeat, shame, and death upon Israel and suffering on the whole congregation. One person's cherished sin harmed the whole people, showing that concealed wrongdoing can burden and injure an entire community. To wipe the curse from Israel, Achan and his household with all they possessed were destroyed. After Achan received the divine sentence, the fierceness of God's anger was turned away and God again fought for Israel against Ai.

Confession Exposure and Punishment

Nothing hidden escapes divine sight, for the searching Spirit lays bare concealed guilt and knows what people misunderstand or hide from themselves and others. The theft beneath the tent was brought to light by God Himself after Israel had failed to keep watch for sin in its midst. What was buried in the earth was exposed, and the facts were made plain to the whole congregation.

The wrong was hidden and held back, with no willingness to confess or to relieve the church until investigation searched the sinner out. The admission came only after exposure, only after defeat in battle and after the search for the guilty one had begun. It came too late to save the man himself or to turn aside the consequences.

That confession was forced and not voluntary, drawn out in terror when crisis came and God spoke on behalf of His people. It did not spring from conviction of his true state, from a sense of how displeasing his course had been to God, from contrition, from change of purpose, or from hatred of evil. He had kept on in his course until hardened, knowing Israel was weakened before enemies because of his guilt yet with conscience unmoved to humble his proud rebellious heart and put the wrong away. Those who confess in this way show by further trial that they will not endure testing, for they are not in harmony with right and despise the straight testimony that reaches the heart.

Though too late to benefit himself, the confession from his own lips relieved the cause of God. It made clear what had been done, established the justice of the punishment, vindicated the character and honor of God, and gave Israel a lesson never to forget. God already knew where the goods were hidden and led Joshua to them, yet He required the acknowledgment from the sinner's own mouth so that the people would not charge Him with being unmerciful and severe nor reproach Joshua with harshness and severity. Christ Himself from the pillar of cloud directed the punishment.

As with Achan, so at the final judgment every deed will be brought vividly to the sinner's memory and guilt will be confessed. The same principles that controlled him had entered his family, making their influence dangerous to Israel, which is why the Lord required his destruction with his household. Yet this searching out of guilt also assures those who trust in Him that He can vindicate their cause.

Cleansing Sin from Church

Hidden, prevailing sin among God's people brings His frown and displeasure upon the whole body and must be promptly searched out, rebuked, corrected and removed so His frown may be turned away. Secret sin defiles the soul and contaminates the whole camp, so sin and sinners in the church must be promptly dealt with that others may not be contaminated. Truth and purity require thorough work to cleanse the camp from Achans, pictured by the coveted Babylonish garment and silver and gold hidden in the tent, which must be searched out, rebuked and removed before the Lord will bless the community. A person who will not put away sin must be separated from the church.

This searching work belongs to those upon whom God lays the burden and duty of it and who have the discretion of Joshua. Those who have no such special duty must not hinder them or question and doubt and find fault with them as having a wicked, fault-finding spirit. God is not to be trifled with and His warnings cannot be disregarded with impunity.

Those in responsible positions must not allow sin to remain in a brother but must show him that he must either put away his sins or be separated from the church. Sin within the community must not be covered up or excused, but as the camp had to be cleansed, the member must be required to put away sin or be separated. Death before dishonor or transgression of God's law is the rule rather than defiling the soul with sin through poverty, reproach, separation from friends, loss, or any suffering avoided, and all act as in God's presence under the eye that sees every secret thought, motive, desire and purpose. Those treasuring sacred, solemn, purifying truth must choose poverty, separation, loss, reproach, or any suffering rather than commit such sin, with death before dishonor or transgression as their motto. When such sin and sinners are in the church they must be promptly dealt with to cleanse the camp of the Achans, to elevate the standard far higher, and to cause others to fear God.

Those in the church who do wickedly and refuse to hear admonition and repent are as Achan was — deceived and deceiving — bringing guilt upon the whole body so that the saints are held accountable for their evil deeds. They must not be retained on the church books but must be visited, labored with, and if they still refuse to repent be separated from church fellowship by disfellowshipping. To keep unrepentant wrongdoers in the church is contrary to the will of God and is an insult to the God of heaven. God enlightens them as to their sins and gives them opportunity to reform, but when they will not heed and will not be reformed He in mercy rids the church of them and gives them up to their own ways to be filled with their own doings, where they injure His cause less from outside than they would injure it by their influence if they remained inside, while every honest one is enlightened as to their true state and remains with His peculiar people.

The defects of character in any church member or minister are charged to the whole church if the church makes light of them. By placing such a man over the church as minister the church assumes his defects and makes them its own and stands under the rebuke of God, as taking the accursed thing brought all ancient Israel under rebuke and caused God to withdraw His presence until the accursed was destroyed from among them. To do this knowingly, hiding the eyes from known evil and walking contrary to the will of God, is more grievous than the case of Israel with Achan. By knowingly overlooking a member's or minister's defects, the church takes those defects as its own and comes under rebuke.

God has not changed but is the same in the gospel as in ancient Israel, so hidden sins among His people still cause loss of His favor and dishonor Him by deception, falsehood and moral corruption. The gospel standard is no lower now than in Joshua's day but higher under increased light. Those who know the truth and hear His Word daily must not become careless and pass by sin and transgression in their midst, for they will be held equally responsible with open transgressors if they let things drift and confirm that sin is not exceedingly offensive to God. When principals and teachers do their duty in closely guarding righteousness and judgment, God by His Holy Spirit will point out the wrongdoers and demonstrate that He will not tolerate sin, and His people must work diligently to separate the Achans from the camp rather than hold their peace.

When a church faces difficulty or spiritual decline, its members should humbly examine themselves for concealed sin, since one person's concealed theft of valuable spoil in disobedience, hidden beneath the ground inside his tent, brought disaster and could keep God's displeasure upon the whole church until the wrongdoing was found and removed. Hidden sin among God's people hinders God's work and blessing and bars His way so that He cannot do what He would for them, even after He has done a great and glorious work by His mighty power. Sin must be called by its right name, hated while the sinner is loved, and put away by cleansing from all filthiness, because tampering with sin makes it seem less sinful to those who do it.

God rebuked Israel's lack of vigilance in discovering sin among them. That failure led the Israelites to resolve to act promptly and earnestly against sin, though their later zeal went to the opposite extreme.

Present Warnings and Applications

Covetousness, selfishness, love of money and love of the world gain upon the heart imperceptibly so that those who have it are not aware of it, dry up sacrifice, and unless rooted out end in certain destruction as surely as Achan perished with his household for coveting and secretly taking what did not belong to him. Seeing, coveting, taking and hiding devoted spoil for self is the sure path to perishing with the world, and taking means for self and for worldly gain and increase is taking the sacrifice from God's altar. Means are only lent by God and held as stewards, and when His prospering hand is removed all is snatched away in a moment, so the Israel of God must arise and renew strength by renewing and keeping covenant with Him through entire change, sacrificing for God and denying self for the truth's sake, for human loftiness is soon to be brought down and pride humbled when kings and nobles, rich and poor alike bow under withering plagues.

Holding back means from God is taking the golden wedge and goodly Babylonish garment and hiding them in the camp instead of giving all for Christ, and such hidden covetousness weakens the whole people as one Achan weakened the whole camp of Israel. When every church and almost every family has its Achan little success attends the work, and the power of the work depends on disinterested benevolence that supplies the treasury with means by personal example. Workers in schools, institutions and churches who measure themselves by themselves, compare themselves among themselves, grow dissatisfied over wages, take care that they receive all they think they should have, become wise above what is written, and appropriate treasury means for their own use commit Achan's sin of robbing God by covetous, selfish taking for one's own use of what belongs to God. An atmosphere of unbelief surrounds such a man, leading to double-dealing, God is not with him, he cannot give the right mold to the work nor supply the necessities of laborers in hard fields, and God sees every such case and will pass judgment on it.

Taking money belonging to God's cause is robbery in every sense of the word, done through selfishness at every point, lack of principle and perverted ideas, which God hates and which abuses His Spirit. The verse is fulfilled when means are kept from their rightful field, when men in hard places are driven, and when money is appropriated so it never comes to God's cause, while professing missionary spirit and willingness to do much yet doing scarcely anything and causing disappointment to others. It demands full restitution of both principal and interest, and those who make every excuse not to make that restitution blind their spiritual discernment until they have no real sense of what justice and mercy and equity and truth is. Concealed theft like Achan's admitting that he coveted and took valuable spoils and hid them beneath the ground inside his tent is the case to learn from when dishonest, scheming business practices dishonor God, calling for full repentance and restitution as evidence of a changed life.

The golden wedge and the Babylonish garment are temporal gain of far less worth than the blessing of God, which is often bartered away for such gain by letting down the standard of piety. This happens when Christ is not in the heart and in the home, when parents let children go on in sin without restraint and exert an influence that leads others away from righteousness, so the divine presence cannot remain in the home. The wedge of gold stands for wealth of the highest earthly worth, yet experience gained in hard and hindered work for God is of more value than that wedge, because it gives assurance that the Lord is with the worker and guides him. Hidden covetousness may persist even among outward worshipers and church members, leading people to conceal unlawful gains illustrated by coveting valuable spoils from Jericho, taking them despite command, and hiding them beneath the ground inside the tent, and to sacrifice conscience, integrity, usefulness and hope of heaven for possessions like the goodly garment and silver shekels.

The time of feeling secure is the time of greatest danger of stumbling and falling, for temptation must never be undervalued and cannot be met and resisted in one's own strength. Israel was warned to avoid idolatrous connections and even the borders of sin, because departing from God would bring ruin, while God is faithful both to His promises and to His warnings, a lesson to be applied personally. Wrongdoing hidden in a home or heart, as in Achan's confession of coveting and taking goods devoted to destruction and hiding them in his tent, can hinder God's blessing, for his sin was charged to all Israel and God withheld success in battle until the accursed thing was dealt with. Concealed theft of the hidden golden wedge and Babylonish garment brought God's displeasure on all Israel so that thousands died in battle because of one man's sin, showing that concealed wrongdoing can burden and injure an entire community and that God would not lead Israel into battle while such sin remained among them.

Hidden coveted sin kept in the midst of God's people blocks the Lord from working for them until it is searched out, rebuked and put out of the camp, with the golden wedge and Babylonish garment standing for concealed wrongs such as improper freedom of married men with women and girls and unwise, wasteful management, whose exposure and removal alone open the way for the Lord to act. A covetous spirit like that taking possession of Achan is working in men in important positions, remaining as a living, unrepented thing with no restoration made and no falling on the Rock and being broken. Unless leading men let the Word into the mind and humble themselves, there is no hope for the institutions, and deceptions enveloped in mist and fog, blacker than velvet, will come so that men never know at what they stumble. Backbiting — cherishing envy and hatred against brethren, going up and down as talebearers, accusing and condemning, blackening character, inspiring hearts with maliciousness, and carrying false reports that cause hearers to lose the Spirit — is worse than Achan's sin of coveting and taking forbidden spoils and hiding them in his tent. Its influence is not confined to those who cherish it, but as a root of bitterness it defiles many, corrupts minds and spirits, reaches beyond those who commit it, and God cannot bless the church till the church is purged of this evil unless those who practice it repent and change their course.

Concealment of a Babylonian garment and valuable metals that brought God's displeasure upon all Israel shows how concealed wrongdoing and dissembling can be even graver when influence reaches husbands and the wider work. Taking the wedge of gold and Babylonish garment with the silver from spoil commanded to be utterly consumed, though treated as a very small matter, was very serious sin against the Lord that kindled His anger against all Israel, withdrew His presence from their armies because He would not serve with sin, and allowed the enemy to triumph. The goodly garment stands for things appointed to destruction which are not to be desired or coveted, cursed of God and unable to be blessed by Him, a snare to the soul leading to vanity, pride and self-exaltation, the idols of people estranged from God who have corrupted their ways and say they want their own way and not God's way, written for admonition as a lesson not to desire such things. Those who claim to follow God while following their own way instead of His way become false signboards pointing in the wrong direction. Achans in the camp as individuals with corrupt hearts inside the church, whose selfishness, love of self, exaltation and wanting to be foremost when God and brethren have not placed them there, bring God's frown upon the whole church, weigh God's people down like clogs, make the work progress but little, discourage servants, and keep truth from taking effect and adding more to the church. God enlightens them as to their sins and gives opportunity to reform, but when they will not heed He in mercy rids the church of them and gives them up to their own ways to be filled with their own doings, where they find pasture with those of their kind and injure the cause less by lying tongues and misrepresentations from outside than by influence inside, while every honest one is enlightened as to their true state and remains with His peculiar people.