Joshua 7:11–15

The whole congregation is held responsible for the evil. "A little leaven leavens the whole lump." Unbelief may ask how all are involved in the sin of one. But the Word of God settles the question — "Israel has sinned" — "they have taken" — "they have stolen" — "they have lied." The assembly was one: one in privilege, one in responsibility. As such, the sin of one was the sin of all, and all were called to clear themselves thoroughly by putting away the accursed thing from among them.

Can we not see the wisdom of God in holding those associated with evil as responsible as the ones who do it? What guarantee would there be that evil would ever be judged? The whole company of Christians would be defiled by the presence of unjudged sin, because of the false tenderness or indifference of some.

But notice, it is not Achan, it is not only the wrongdoer, but Israel. There was no such identification before the crossing of the Jordan. The principle of an evil thing affecting the camp was always true, but now it is made far more precise and definite. The greater the blessing of God to His people, the greater their responsibility.

Where was the enormity of this sin? Achan had disobeyed God and broken His express covenant. The command was that all the perishable goods in Jericho should be burned with fire, and the silver and the gold devoted to Him in His treasury. But Achan disregarded this command. No doubt there was a vast amount of valuable treasure in Jericho, and Achan took only a small fraction of the whole. But this act of disobedience happened at the conquest of the very first of the many cities of Canaan. And it was the act of a responsible man in Israel. All must now learn how serious it is to ignore the word of Jehovah their Saviour, and that the sin of one man may leaven a community.

In the early days of Israel's history in Canaan, as in the early days of Christianity, we find God quick to judge evil among His people. He brought the secret sins of those who seemed to be for Him out into the light. Ananias and Sapphira, like Achan, "lied." But God is not deceived. It is for us to open our eyes to our own actions, and to seek to see ourselves as God sees us... Our secret sins are all bare in the light of His face. "All are naked and exposed to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account." Lying will sooner or later be shouted from the housetops.

There were other elements in that glory besides power. There was holiness. That holiness made it impossible for Him to give the approval of His presence where evil went unjudged... The same grace that had given them victory at Jericho would have given it at Ai, if things had been right. But they were not right, and so defeat, not victory, was the order of the day. How could there be victory with an accursed thing in the camp? Impossible! Israel must judge the evil, or Jehovah must judge Israel.

When Israel turned their backs at Ai, Achan was not expected to search the tents of his brothers for the cause. It was under his feet in his own tent, where he himself had put it. Depend upon it, the cause of the blight on the gatherings of believers at home and abroad is locked up in your heart and mine. There can be no revival of vitality and power until secret sins are brought to the light and judged individually before the Lord.

The whole assembly was involved in the evil. How was this? The divine presence gave a unity to the whole assembly; it bound them all together in such a way that all were involved in the sin of the one. It was one assembly, and so it was impossible for anyone to take independent ground. The sin of each was the sin of all, because God was in their midst, and He could not countenance unjudged evil. The congregation had to clear itself of the evil before the Lord could lead it to victory. Had He allowed them to triumph at Ai, it would have argued that He was indifferent to the sin of His people.

The people might have said: Does that concern us? How could we have known about a hidden thing, and not having known it, how are we responsible? To all that we reply that God always has the unity of His people before His eyes. He sees each person as part of one whole, responsible for the others. The suffering and sin of one is the suffering and sin of all. If that is true of Israel, how much more of us, the church of God — one body united by the Holy Spirit to the Head in heaven.

He had followed his natural inclinations; he began where we all begin, where the first man began. "I saw." His eyes were the way into his heart, but there was no sentinel to watch. It is through the eyes that the accursed thing takes possession of the heart and provokes it to lust: "I coveted them." "Then when lust has conceived, it brings forth sin": "I took them." The fine Babylonian garment could feed the pride of life. The silver and gold could satisfy every craving. They became Achan's prey — or rather, they made him their prey.

If the Lord is present to give victory over His enemies, He is also present to discipline His people. "Israel has sinned!" God does not say, One man has sinned — find him out. No; it is the six hundred thousand of Israel, because Israel is one nation. God cannot go on with unjudged evil. Weakness is no hindrance, wickedness is. Can God lend the sanction of His presence to evil? Never! If we are God's dwelling place, we must be holy.

Yet God also showed a way of escape. In the same verse He goes on to say, "neither will I be with you any more, except you destroy the accursed from among you." The outcome of Israel's battles depended on whether God could be with them, and this could only be so if they removed from among themselves what was cursed. Hidden and unjudged sin is the death knell to spiritual victory.

Separation from evil is always God's principle of action. If we are on God's ground, we separate by putting away the evil. If we are not on God's ground, we separate by coming out of the evil. Achan's sin brought defilement on Israel, and the Lord said, "I will be with you no more, unless you destroy the devoted things from among you." This is the first kind of separation. Israel was on God's ground, and the true principle was not to go out of Israel, but to put away the evil from it.

Where evil exists, judging it is the only way anyone can enter into the forgiveness and favour of God. So Hosea says that the valley of Achan (Achor) shall be a "door of hope," and she (Israel) shall sing there. And Isaiah says, "The valley of Achor shall be a place for the herds to lie down in." Hope shines nowhere so brightly as on the spot where sin has been judged. No place gives a sinner rest like the foot of the cross.

The whole assembly was involved in the evil. How was this? The presence of God gave a unity to the whole assembly; it bound them all together in such a way that all were involved in the sin of the one. It was one assembly, and so it was impossible for anyone to take independent ground. The sin of each was the sin of all, because God was in their midst, and He could not tolerate unjudged evil. The evil involved the whole congregation, and they had to clear themselves of it before the LORD could lead them on to victory. If He had let them win at Ai, it would have meant He was indifferent to the sin of His people.

But most of God's people do not understand the corporate side. Sadly, they go through the world without troubling themselves about their fellow Christians. Corporate responsibility is unknown to them.

The greater God's blessing to His people, the greater their responsibility. God's rich grace deals with all our evil and puts it away. Yet what dishonours Him after He has blessed us like this makes us nothing before the enemy. The worst evil disappears before the power of redemption. But an evil that people would count very small, if cherished or overlooked, later becomes a source of immense weakness in the presence of Satan. Is this a reason for distrust? Not in the least. It is the greatest possible reason for watchfulness and care.

Joshua must consecrate the people. That means separating them from normal daily life to focus on one important matter: a devoted thing was in their midst, and it had to be taken away. We might wonder why God did not deal with this without involving the whole congregation. But everyone had to learn in the open that God is a God of true holiness. Dealing with it in public would impress the seriousness of such sin on every person, and guard against further breaches. The war had to be put on hold, to show that God governs among His own.

God said, "Consecrate yourselves for tomorrow." We are called to consecrate ourselves before the moment of action, not at it. Why are we so often unable to judge evil and to act for God? Because we have not consecrated ourselves beforehand. Why is it that so often at the worship meetings our hearts are cold and our lips silent in praise? Because we have not obeyed the word: "Consecrate yourselves for tomorrow."

Yet God also showed a way of escape. In the same verse (7:12) He goes on to say, "I will be with you no more, unless you destroy the devoted things from among you." The outcome of Israel's battles depended on whether God could be with them, and this could only be so if they removed from among themselves what was devoted to destruction. Hidden and unjudged sin is the death knell to spiritual victory.

God would make them all feel that they were involved. Yet in His goodness He makes careful provision to bring out the one offender, now that they are truly waiting on God and humbling themselves over it. When they are unwatchful and prayerless, all share in the sorrow. But when His people draw near to God, He traces the sorrow home to the one who is guilty. They clear themselves by the very fact that they all humbled themselves before God.

The whole assembly was involved in the evil. How was this? God's presence made the whole assembly one. It bound them together so that the sin of the one involved them all. It was one assembly, and so it was impossible for anyone to take independent ground. The sin of each was the sin of all, because God was in their midst, and He could not tolerate evil that went unjudged. The whole congregation was involved, and had to clear itself of the evil before the Lord could lead it on to victory. If He had let them win at Ai, it would have meant that He did not mind the sin of His people.

Suppose the accursed thing gets in among the people who bear witness for God. Then our task is to sanctify ourselves and put the evil away from among us. It is not a question here of power, but of holiness and of obedience... To sanctify oneself is to separate oneself from all evil to God. It is impossible without holiness to have God with us.

By referring to Joshua 7:14-18 you will see how the lot was used to discern the mind of the LORD among His people. Though not stated in so many words, this would be the way the discovery was made. Strikingly, we find this way of choosing first used by the LORD in Leviticus 16:8. It was the divine way of making a selection between the two goats. Numbers 26:55, Joshua 13:6 and many other places show this to be the meaning.

God would make them all feel that they were involved. Yet in His own goodness He carefully provided that the guilty man himself should be brought out, now that they are waiting on God and humbling themselves because of it. So when they are unwatchful and prayerless, all share the sorrow. But when His people draw near to God, the sorrow is traced home to the one who is guilty. They clear themselves by all humbling themselves before God. This act shows that they are not willingly tolerating evil, so God takes the matter into His own hands and the offender is soon brought out.

The Lord could have exposed Achan as the offender at once. Instead, in His great wisdom, He made all the tribes come as though all were under suspicion. This would call for serious heart searching among all, so that they would not merely resent Achan but would all be humbled by the evil.

The sinner might try to tell himself that discovery was impossible. He might cling to the hope of escaping among the many thousands of Israel. Miserable delusion! He might be sure his sin would find him out. The same presence that secured blessing for each person was just as faithful in exposing the most secret individual sin.

The night passed, and Achan did not confess his sin... Surely he knows that discovery is near, that the lot will fall on him. "Achan, why not even now confess your sin? Why not own before the Lord that you have broken His command, and that the stolen goods are in your tent?" But his heart was hard. He had resisted the first whispers of his conscience, and now he would not listen to its shouts.

Achan had disobeyed God and broken His express covenant. God commanded Israel to burn all the perishable goods in Jericho with fire, and to devote the silver and the gold to Him in His treasury. Achan ignored that command. No doubt there was a vast amount of valuable treasure in Jericho, and Achan took only a small fraction of the whole. But this disobedience happened at the conquest of the very first of Canaan's many cities. And it was the act of a responsible man in Israel. All must now learn how serious it is to ignore the word of the Lord their Saviour. They must learn too that the sin of one man may spread through a community like leaven.

And may we not ask the one who objects: how could God approve of evil in His people? How could He go on with it? What should He do with it? He was about to judge the seven nations of Canaan. Could He then be indifferent to sin in His people? Most certainly not. His word is, "You only have I known of all the families of the earth; therefore I will punish you for all your iniquities." He took them into relationship with Himself, and that was the very ground of His dealing with them in holy discipline.

It is the height of folly for man to reason about the severity of divine judgment. It is just as foolish to reason about the seeming mismatch between the sin and the punishment. All such reasoning is false and irreverent. What brought in all the misery, the sorrow, the desolation, the sickness, pain and death? What brought all the untold horrors of the last six thousand years? What was the source of it all? Just the one little act — as man would call it — of eating a bit of fruit? But that little act was that terrible thing called sin — yes, rebellion — against God!

His sons and daughters shared this judgment. That shows they knew of his crime and did not report it, for in Israel children were not to be put to death for their father's sins (Deut. 24:16). Achan's animals were also destroyed, however. Israel raised a great heap of stones over the remains, a testimony to God's holiness in judgment.

The Lord could have exposed Achan as the offender at once. But in His great wisdom He made all the tribes come forward as though all were under suspicion. This would call for serious heart searching among them all. Then no one would feel mere resentment against Achan; instead the evil would humble them all.

God would make them all feel that they were involved. Yet in His own goodness He makes careful provision that the one offender should be brought out, now that they are waiting on God and humbling themselves because of it. So when they are unwatchful and do not pray, all share in the sorrow. But when His people draw near to God, the sorrow is traced home to the one who is guilty.

In Joshua 5 we have individual holiness, and in Joshua 7 corporate. Israel had to put away what had come into the middle of the congregation. Otherwise the nation would be defiled and share in the accursed thing. God's children rarely understand these two sides of practical holiness. Christians more often seek the first — individual holiness — and treat the second as unimportant.