Achan’s Sin and Punishment (3)

And it shall be, that he that is taken with the accursed thing shall be burnt with fire, he and all that he hath: because he hath transgressed the covenant of the Lord, and because he hath wrought folly in Israel (Josh. 7:15).

A reader asks, "Would you please explain to me what was the accursed thing mentioned in Joshua 7:15, and why was the punishment so severe?"

In the last two articles in the News, I set forth the history of the sin of Achan, and I explained why the punishment was so severe. I pointed out that the whole nation of Israel suffered for Achan’s sin because of the biblical principle of corporate responsibility. Nevertheless, the primary responsibility rested with Achan who stole some of the accursed things from Jericho. Achan was responsible for the death of 36 soldiers.

Now I’ll answer the question, "What was the accursed thing?"

First, the accursed thing was the Babylonian garment, the 200 shekels of silver and the 50 shekel wedge of gold (7:21). It was accursed because it came from Jericho.

Everything in Jericho was accursed (6:17), because the inhabitants of Jericho were under the curse of God. They were wicked idolaters, corrupt in morals—as the public harlotry of Rahab showed—and so wicked that they had filled the cup of iniquity and had become ripe for judgment.

Moreover, many of the possessions of the citizens of Jericho were used directly in their idolatry. Their other possessions were also used in sin in various ways. Because of Adam’s sin, the curse came on all the creation. When the wicked continue to use the things of this world to sin, these things are accursed, and the wicked along with them.

Simply to take of that which was accursed was to participate in the sins of Jericho. This can easily be seen in the sin of Achan. Achan himself admitted that he coveted these things (7:21). That is, he wanted that which God had not given him. He violated the tenth commandment. He committed this sin because he wanted Jericho’s riches for himself to use for his own personal pleasure and not in the service of God. He committed the same sin as the citizens of Jericho, which city God destroyed.

You may say that Achan did not intend to use the things he stole for purposes of idolatry or immorality. That may be true, although we do not know with certainty. There was plenty of idolatry and immorality in Israel, as is evident from the worship of the golden calf at Sinai. But even if he did not want to use these things for such outward expressions of the lusts of his heart, he wanted them for his own personal pleasure, just as Jericho’s citizens did. As such, it was a transgression of God’s covenant, that if Israel would walk in the ways of the Lord, God would be their God and they would be His people (11). But if Israel sought the things of Canaan for the purpose of becoming like the Canaanites, God would destroy them, as ultimately He did.

The sin of Jericho, basically repeated in the heart of Achan, was terrible. It was the sin of using God’s good gifts for one’s self and the service of idols rather than for the glory of God who had made them all. If, therefore, Jericho was destroyed because of its sin, Achan must be destroyed for the same sin, especially because Achan knew far more about the will of God than the citizens of Jericho. Achan had heard God’s law thunder from Sinai; Jericho had not.

We must consider another point. Previously, I called attention to the fact that the word used in the Hebrew text can mean either "accursed" or "devoted." Why did the Holy Spirit, who inspired the Scriptures, chose this word with these two meanings?

It is striking that not all that was in Jericho had to be burned with fire. We are told that God commanded Joshua that "all the silver, and gold, and vessels of brass and iron, are consecrated unto the Lord: they shall come into the treasury of the Lord" (6:19). To be consecrated to the Lord is the same as being devoted to the Lord. So the stuff of Jericho was both accursed and devoted: accursed when it was used in the service of sin, and devoted when it was put into the Lord’s treasury and used for His service.

When Jericho (and Achan) used these things for sin, Jericho (and Achan) were accursed. And, as long as the accursed thing was in the camp of Israel, Israel was accursed. They lost 36 fighting men! But when the things of Jericho were put into the Lord’s treasury, they were devoted to the Lord. Those who used them in the service of God were also devoted to the Lord, and God’s blessing was on them.

The Lord’s treasury was a unique expression of consecration to the Lord, because it was in the tabernacle, and, later, in the temple. These earthly things, themselves under the curse, are now devoted to God and are, therefore, pure and blessed.

Thus the punishment which Achan received for his dreadful sin (7:23-26) was just and right. God is so holy that all must be devoted to Him, and that which is not devoted to Him is accursed.

The valley where Achan was stoned was called the Valley of Achor (7:26). The name Achor is a play on Achan’s name, and the word means "troubling," because Achan had troubled Israel. Two prophets point to God’s gracious work in connection with that valley. Isaiah 65:10 reads: "And Sharon shall be a fold of flocks, and the valley of Achor a place for the herds to lie down in, for my people that have sought me." Hosea 2:15 prophesies, "And I will give her her vineyards from thence, and the valley of Achor for a door of hope: and she shall sing there, as in the days of her youth, and as in the day when she came up out of the land of Egypt."

Next time (DV), we’ll consider some practical implications of this history of Achan.