Message

---

Defeat and Victory at Ai

Joshua 7:1-8:35

Key Verse:7:13  “Go, consecrate the people. Tell them, ‘Consecrate yourselves in preparation for tomorrow; for this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: That which is devoted is among you, O Israel. You cannot stand against your enemies until you remove it.”

  Today’s story is about the defeat and victory of the Israelites during their war of conquest. This war story teaches us that the battle is the Lord’s and that victory comes from a right relationship with God. In order to regain right relationship with God, the Israelites went through a painful operation, the execution of Achan.  Through this event, God warns us about the serious consequence of one person’s sin to the whole community, which makes the difference between defeat or victory. Let’s see how God dealt with the sin of Achan and how Joshua and the Israelites were restored to victory after their repentance.

Before Joshua started the war of conquest at Ai, he mentioned Achan’s sin in verse 1. Joshua wanted to emphasize that Achan’s sin and his people’s unfaithfulness caused the defeat in their first skirmish.  Look at verse 1. “But the Israelites acted unfaithfully in regard to the devoted things; Achan son of Carmi, the son of Zimri, the son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, took some of them. So the Lord’s anger burned against Israel.” God saw the sin of one man, Achan, as the unfaithfulness of the whole Israelite nation. One is the beginning of the totality. Let’s see how one person’s sin was responsible for the defeat of the whole country.

Look at verse 2. Joshua sent men from Jericho to Ai. He told them, “Go up and spy out the region.” So the men went up and spied out Ai. The city of Ai was located on higher ground, around 15 miles away from Jericho. What was the spies’ report about Ai? They said, “Not all the people will have to go up against Ai. Send two or three thousand men to take it and do not weary all the people, for only a few men are there.” (3) Their judgment might have been right, or they might have underestimated the power of Ai. So about three thousand men went up; but they were routed by the men of Ai, who killed about thirty-six of the Israelites. They chased the Israelites from the city gate as far as the stone quarries and struck them down on the slopes. (4,5) Israel was defeated in their first battle. It was their first humiliating defeat after they came out of Egypt. Verse 5 says that at this the hearts of the people melted and became like water. No one expected their loss because they’d had a winning streak, one victory after another, since they left Egypt. Because of this, their humiliation, despair, and fear became great.

Look at verse 6. “Then Joshua tore his clothes and fell face down to the ground before the ark of the Lord, remaining there till evening. The elders of Israel did the same, and sprinkled dust on their heads.” Tearing clothes is a sign of great distress (Ge 37:34, Jdg 11:35) and sprinkling dust on their heads is an expression of mourning. The first action of Joshua was to turn to the Lord. In verses 7-9 Joshua said, “Ah, Sovereign Lord, why did you ever bring this people across the Jordan to deliver us into the hands of the Amorites to destroy us? If only we had been content to stay on the other side of the Jordan! O Lord, what can I say, now that Israel has been routed by its enemies? The Canaanites and the other people of the country will hear about this and they will surround us and wipe out our name from the earth. What then will you do for your own great name?” In his plea, Joshua mentioned two things; first, the safety of his people; second, the honor of God’s name. Joshua turned the responsibility of their defeat to God.

  How did God answer Joshua? Look at verses 10-12. “The Lord said to Joshua, “Stand up! What are you doing down on your face? Israel has sinned; they have violated my covenant, which I commanded them to keep. They have taken some of the devoted things; they have stolen, they have lied, they have put them with their own possessions. That is why the Israelites cannot stand against their enemies; they turn their backs and run because they have been made liable to destruction. I will not be with you anymore unless you destroy whatever among you is devoted to destruction.” God taught Joshua that the cause of their defeat was the sin of Israel. Their sin brought disaster to Israel. Israel violated God’s covenant. God had commanded them to keep away from the devoted things. (6:18) But, they took some of them for themselves. They stole, lied and took them out of their selfishness and greed. Their sin provoked God to anger. Their disobedience brought defeat and disaster.

  God gave Joshua directions for what to do next. Let us read verse 13 all together. “Go, consecrate the people. Tell them, ‘Consecrate yourselves in preparation for tomorrow; for this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: That which is devoted is among you, O Israel. You cannot stand against your enemies until you remove it.” The word ‘consecrate’ means ‘make sacred or holy’. It means to repent of our sins and purify ourselves before God. God said that the Israelites would never win unless they repent.  They cannot stand against their enemies until they remove it. What is ‘it’? It is the hidden sin of Israel, which caused their defeat. God instructed Joshua, telling him how to remove it in verses 14-16. “In the morning, present yourselves tribe by tribe. The tribe that the Lord takes shall come forward clan by clan; the clan that the Lord takes shall come forward family by family; and the family that the Lord takes shall come forward man by man. He who is caught with the devoted things shall be destroyed by fire, along with all that belongs to him. He has violated the covenant of the Lord and has done a disgraceful thing in Israel!” In order to find the guilty person, they had to cast lots. Proverbs 16:33 says, “The lot is cast into the lap, but its every decision is from the Lord.” By casting lots, one of the tribes was taken by the Lord so that the search results were narrowed until the Lord exposed the guilty persons. The lots may have been the Urim and Thummim from the ephod of the high priests. (Ex 28:30, 1Sa 2:28, 14:36-43)

  Early the next morning Joshua had Israel come forward by tribes, and Judah was taken. The clans of Judah came forward, and he took the Zerahites. He had the clan of the Zerahites come forward by families, and Zimri was taken. Joshua had his family come forward man by man, and Achan son of Carmi, the son of Zimri, the Son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, was taken. (16-18) Achan was the guilty person who had caused trouble for the whole nation. He was the trouble maker.

  How did Joshua investigate Achan? Look at verse 19. “Then Joshua said to Achan, “My son, give glory to the Lord, the God of Israel, and give him the praise. Tell me what you have done; do not hide it from me.” Joshua showed a fatherly attitude toward Achan by calling him, ‘my son’. Joshua appealed Achan to give glory to God through his honest confession of sins. The honest confession of sins is the way of honoring God.  How did Achan reply? In verses 20,21. He confessed his sins. “Achan replied, “It is true!  I have sinned against the Lord, the God of Israel. This is what I have done: When I saw in the plunder a beautiful robe from Babylonia, two hundred shekels of silver and a wedge of gold weighing fifty shekels, I coveted them and took them. They are hidden in the ground inside my tent, with the silver underneath.” Achan’s sin began in his eyes. When he saw the beautiful Babylonian clothes, silver and gold, he was tempted. Coveting is often the beginning of a sinful action. The tenth commandment is “You shall not covet”. (Ex 20:17) The same three verbs “I saw,” “I coveted,” “I took” are found in the story of the Fall (Ge 3:6) When the woman saw the forbidden fruit, it was desirable for gaining wisdom, so she took some of it and ate it. The words “desirable” and “covet” are from the same Hebrew root ‘hamad’. James 1:15 says, “Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.”  Likewise, there is a developing process in committing sin. When David saw Bathsheba bathing, he had a desire to lie with her. When his desire conceived, he took an action not knowing how serious its consequences would be. (2 Sa 11)

  Achan failed to master his covetousness. He had to see the plunder with the holy fear of God. But he saw it with the eyes of greed. The woman in the garden had to see the forbidden fruit with the holy fear of God. David should see the woman with the eyes of a father. Jesus saw the Samaritan woman with compassion. When we see opposite sex with compassion, not with passion, we keep our heart pure and holy. What we see does not cause trouble, but it is how we see that really does matter. Once Martin Luther said, “You cannot keep birds from flying over your head, but you can keep them from building a nest in your hair.” He meant that we must deny immoral imagination and control our thoughts and desires all the time. 

  Achan hid the plunder in the ground inside the tent. He hid them because he knew that he had done wrong. When he realized that he had done wrong, he should have repented right away. But, he did not do so. He acted as if nothing had happened. Soon, his guilt was revealed. By Joshua’s order, men ran to the tent and found hidden things under the ground in Achan’s tent. (22) Joshua, together with all Israel, took Achan and all his hidden stuffs, his sons and daughters, to the Valley of Achor, where a public trial for Achan was held. (24) Joshua said, “Why have you brought this trouble on us? The Lord will bring trouble on you today.” Then all Israel stoned him, and after they had stoned the rest, they burned them. (25) Achan and his sons and daughters were stoned to death according to Moses’ law (Ex 19:13, Lev 24:23, Nu 15:36). It is scary. Achan and all his sons and daughters were executed. Why? Achan could not hide the plunder in the ground in his tent without his children’s knowing it. As the head of family, Achan involved his whole household in his guilt and punishment. Still, the punishment of children for the sin of their father is an offense to our sense of justice. However, this punishment is an example of the severe discipline that becomes necessary in times of war. Special severity was required also because Israel was God’s agent in bringing severe judgment on the Canaanites. The story of Achan and the story of Ananias and Sapphira in Acts 5 are very similar. God’s first judgments are so much more fearful, because they must be exemplary.

  Still, some may wonder about the punishment on Achan who confessed his sins. According to 1 John 1:9, if we confess our sins, God is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.  It is true that God is willing to forgive our sins. God forgives when we repent of our sins and ask forgiveness of sin. But, Achan was not willing to repent. He hid his sin and kept quiet. He watched the long process of finding the guilty persons by casting lot. But, he did not identify himself as the criminal. If he had not gotten caught, he would not have confessed his sins. True repentance requires initiative and honest confession.  Achan lost his chance for repentance.  Look at verse 26. “Over Achan they heaped up a large pile of rocks, which remains to this day. Then the Lord turned from his fierce anger. Therefore that place has been called the Valley of Achor ever since.”  The removal of Achan’s sin satisfied God’s righteousness.  Israel was restored to God’s favor.

  We give thanks to God who sent his One and Only Son Jesus Christ as an atoning sacrifice. As we studied about Jesus, the atoning sacrifice, a couple months ago at our Easter conference; God punished Jesus on the cross in our place. By punishing Jesus in our place, God’s nature of righteousness was satisfied. We call this, “propitiation.” Jesus took our sins in his body and through faith in his blood we are justified. (Ro 3:24,25) According to Moses’ law, we deserve to be stoned to death because of our sins. But, we are justified and become righteous through Jesus who received punishment on the cross in our place.  Praise Jesus!

Chapter 8 tells us how God gave Joshua and Israel victory over Ai. God gave a detailed instructions and a cunning strategy to Joshua of how to conquer the city of Ai. First of all, Joshua divided his armies into two groups. Joshua enticed the king of Ai, pretending to have been defeated like before. But, while the king of Ai emptied the city, the Israelites who were hidden in ambush, attacked the city and burned it. Then, Joshua and the Israelites attacked Ai from both sides, catching them in the middle.  That day God gave a great victory to Joshua and the Israelites. (24) After the great victory, Joshua built an altar to the Lord on Mount Ebal.(30) On the altar he offered to the Lord burnt offerings and sacrificed fellowship offerings. (31) Joshua and all his people gave thanks to God and rendered all glory to the Lord. Afterward, Joshua read all the words of the law—the blessings and the curses—just as it is written in the Book of the Law. (34) Joshua knew that they must go back to the Bible. He knew that obeying the word of God is the only way to keep their hearts pure and holy. Psalm 119:9,10 says, “How can a young man keep his way pure? By living according to your word. I seek you with all my heart; do not let me stray from your commands. I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you.”

 

Today we learn that Achan’s hidden sin brought disaster to his whole nation. When Joshua removed Achan and his sins, they restored their victory. God wants us to consecrate ourselves. God wants to confess our hidden sins and ask forgiveness of sin. I have committed the sin of covetousness. I did not see women with the eyes of purity. I was not free from lustful thinking and desires. May the Lord Jesus forgive me and lead me not into temptation. Achan’s problem was covetousness. Eve’s problem and David’s problem was also covetousness. Covetousness is selfish greed for our neighbor’s wife, husband, children, animals or property. I pray that by removing our hidden sins we may prepare for tomorrow, that by removing our covetousness, we may prepare for the coming ISBC. The honest confession of sin is honoring of God’s name. The honest confession of sin is the key to victory. The honest confession of sin brings us into right relationship with God. May the name of God be highly exalted through our sincere and honest confession of sin.

---

Attachment

• Defeat and Victory at Ai-message-final.doc

---