The Destruction of The Stolen Goods

Joshua 7:16–26
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Since God was the only one who knew who had sinned He chose to reveal the culprit by the method of drawing lots (vv. 16-18). As the lots were  drawn one by one they fell on the tribe of Judah, the family of the Zarhites, the household of Zabdi and finally on the trespasser himself, Achan. Joshua addressed Achan tenderly, but firmly (v. 19). Although he hated the sin, he did not despise the sinner. Achan’s response was straightforward and complete (vv. 20-21). He confessed his sin and gave no excuses. However, he did not express any sorrow for having disobeyed God’s Word or causing the defeat of Israel’s army and the death of 36 men. Joshua had some people run to Achan’s tent, where they found the silver, the gold, and the robe(vv. 22-24). They brought them back and put them in front of the sacred chest, so Joshua and the rest of the Israelites could see them.

The condition for restored favor with God was the destruction of the stolen goods and the death of Achan. As Achan’s crime had cast a shadow across the nation, so now “all Israel”  participated in the stoning of the man and his  entire family (v. 25). No trace of his flagrant act of revolt was permitted to remain. They raised over him a great heap of stones that remains to this day (v. 26).

Basically, Achan was caught in the same web of materialism that we face in  our day. It is estimated that the average American is bombarded by 1700 advertisements per day by the various forms of the media. The philosophy behind these advertisements is that we will only have complete, fulfilled and satisfied lives if we drive this car, use this hair spray or drink this beverage. Jesus warns us in Luke 12:15 - “Take heed, and beware of covetousness: for a man’s life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth." 

Application

Achan had disobeyed God’s command to destroy everything in Jericho; thus everything that belonged to Achan had to be destroyed. Sin has drastic consequences, so I should take drastic measures in my life to avoid it.