Family Devotionals

  • Achan: Joshua 7-8

    The Israelites had been sternly warned that there was to be nothing taken from Jericho for personal gain. The city was under a “ban,” and all was devoted to the Lord. If one violated this, he would be “accursed and bring trouble” on the nation. That was clear enough.

    Achan must have thought he could get away with it (Joshua 7-8). He took some things that were under the ban, and “therefore the anger of the LORD burned against the sons of Israel.” This was not known, though, until they tried to attack the city of Ai.

    About three thousand men went to the city of Ai to attack it. However, “they fled from the men of Ai.” Israelites were being killed, and “the hearts of the people melted and became as water.” Obviously, God was not fighting for them on that occasion. But why? That’s what Joshua wondered.

    God told Joshua that Israel had sinned. So in order to find the guilty person, they would have to go through a process specified by God (lots). They eventually found that it was Achan, so he confessed that he had sinned. He and his family were stoned to death.

    We may learn from this that sin is serious business. We cannot disregard what God teaches and expect to go unpunished. Sin is an attack on the character of God Himself. We must not take that lightly.

    With the sin out of the camp, Israel could go back into battle with God on their side. After defeating Ai, Joshua built an altar. The people stood, half in front of Mt. Gerizim, the other half in front of Mt. Ebal, and the blessings and cursings of the Law were read to the people.

    Discussion
    1. What was the warning given to the children of Israel about Jericho? Who violated it? What was his punishment?

    2. What lessons can we learn about sin from this? Why is it such a problem according to God?

    3. After the sin was exposed and dealt with, what were the people able to do? How did they accomplish it?

    4. Read chapter 7:30-34 again along with Deuteronomy 28. Talk about the blessings and the cursings of the Law. Why is that such an important part of the Law of Moses?