1 But the people of Israel broke faith in regard to the devoted things, for Achan the son of Carmi, son of Zabdi, son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, took some of the devoted things. And the anger of the LORD burned against the people of Israel.
2 Joshua sent men from Jericho to Ai, which is near Beth-aven, east of Bethel, and said to them, “Go up and spy out the land.” And the men went up and spied out Ai. 3 And they returned to Joshua and said to him, “Do not have all the people go up, but let about two or three thousand men go up and attack Ai. Do not make the whole people toil up there, for they are few.” 4 So about three thousand men went up there from the people. And they fled before the men of Ai, 5 and the men of Ai killed about thirty-six of their men and chased them before the gate as far as Shebarim and struck them at the descent. And the hearts of the people melted and became as water.
6 Then Joshua tore his clothes and fell to the earth on his face before the ark of the LORD until the evening, he and the elders of Israel. And they put dust on their heads. 7 And Joshua said, “Alas, O Lord GOD, why have you brought this people over the Jordan at all, to give us into the hands of the Amorites, to destroy us? Would that we had been content to dwell beyond the Jordan! 8 O Lord, what can I say, when Israel has turned their backs before their enemies! 9 For the Canaanites and all the inhabitants of the land will hear of it and will surround us and cut off our name from the earth. And what will you do for your great name?”
10 The LORD said to Joshua, “Get up! Why have you fallen on your face? 11 Israel has sinned; they have transgressed my covenant that I commanded them; they have taken some of the devoted things; they have stolen and lied and put them among their own belongings. 12 Therefore the people of Israel cannot stand before their enemies. They turn their backs before their enemies, because they have become devoted for destruction. I will be with you no more, unless you destroy the devoted things from among you.
(ESV)
STOP! Think a little 🤔 What is God saying to you?
- What is the writer saying?
- How do I apply this to my life?
This chapter opens with the word “but,” a word that has so often negates everything that goes before. Israel is rejoicing at the conquest of Jericho, but…. The problem was Israel broke faith. Israel didn’t do what God had required of them. How many had been disobedient? Only one. Just one man had been unfaithful but God deemed Israel to have been unfaithful.
Joshua, believing that God was with them, sent spies to Ai their next planned conquest. The spies came back saying they didn’t need to send all the people of Israel, just two or three thousand men would do it because the city was small. So Joshua sends a small army against a small city and they are chased back and thirty-six of their men are killed because God was not with them.
Joshua fell before the Lord and pleaded to know why God had abandoned them and handed them over to the hands of the Amorites. Joshua seemed to blame God and didn’t consider that the reason for their defeat might lie elsewhere. Joshua knew that word of their defeat would spread and then they would be surrounded and eliminated. What then would become of God’s great name [if His people were wiped out]?
God’s response was that the fault didn’t lie with Him, it lay squarely with the people of Israel who had sinned. Even though only one man had sinned, God used plural pronouns. He held the entire nation responsible because they collectively had sinned, not kept His covenant and had taken some of the devoted things, lied, and hidden them among their own belongings. Because of their sin they could not stand before their enemies. Instead of the land of Canaan being devoted to destruction, Israel had now become devoted to destruction. God would no longer be with them unless they destroyed the things devoted to destruction that were in their possession.
Only one man out of the entire nation of Israel sinned—but God noticed. Everyone was righteous except one, but God noticed. God cannot tolerate sin. In our own lives, we may do many, many things right and fail in only one area, but God notices and God cannot tolerate sin. Even if we have the tiniest blemish, we are unworthy of God’s presence. That’s why we so desperately need Jesus. We need the one who is perfect to be perfection for us. We need Christ’s righteousness so we can be in God’s presence and He can be with us. Even with Christ’s righteousness, we cannot allow sin to perpetuate in our lives and expect to live in fellowship with God. We must destroy the things that cause us to sin through repentance at the cross and removing the temptation from our lives. Is there any sin you are trying to hide from God that you need to confess and turn from?
Major Stories of the Bible Reading Plan
Scouting Canaan: Numbers 13-14