And ye shall be brought near in the morning according to your tribes; and it shall be, that the tribe which Jehovah taketh shall come forward by families, and the family which Jehovah taketh shall come forward by households; and the household which Jehovah taketh shall come forward man by man.
One hidden theft had already cost Israel a defeat at Ai, and God's answer was not a battle plan but a summons to court. Why did God, who already knew the thief, make the whole nation come forward group by group until the one guilty man stood alone?
Everyone must appear, because God counted one man's theft as the nation's sin. Commentators explain why.
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.
Israel had just lost a battle, so the trouble looked military. Commentators put the problem elsewhere.
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.
The verse says the LORD takes the tribe, though men do the bringing forward. How? One writer answers from the way Israel made other choices.
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.
Handing the search to God was a mercy to the innocent. The many were suffering for what one man had done.
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.
God could have named Achan in a sentence. Instead the circle tightens from tribe, to clan, to household, to one man.
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.
A thief might reason that no one would ever find one tent among thousands. God's presence in the camp cut both ways.
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.
A whole night lay between the command and the search. Each narrowing step gave Achan a fresh chance to speak first.
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.
- One — one man's theft became the nation's sin. God's presence bound the camp into one body, and that body could not shelter unjudged evil.
- All — so God summoned all. Every tribe came forward as if under suspicion, and the manhunt became a search of every conscience.
- Narrowed — tribe, clan, household, man. God took the matter into His own hands, so the search cleared the innocent and found the guilty.
- Missed — Achan had a night and four public steps in which to speak. He silenced his conscience each time, until exposure replaced confession.
- Restored — the issue was never firepower but holiness. Israel could not face its enemies until it put the evil away.
And it shall be, that he who is taken with the accursed thing shall be burned with fire, he and all that he hath, because he hath transgressed the covenant of Jehovah, and because he hath wrought wickedness in Israel.
In one breath God names the sentence and the reason: fire, a broken covenant, an outrageous act. Why should a hidden theft of silver, gold and a garment count as an attack on the whole nation's standing with God?
What Achan took was small next to the plunder of a whole city. Commentators point elsewhere — to the command he broke and the moment he broke it.
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.
Readers stumble over the severity long before they stumble over the theft. One writer answers that objection twice. First he points to the relationship Israel stood in with God. Then he points to the first sin and what it cost the world.
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!
The sentence reaches past the man to his household and his goods. One writer explains why that is not the punishing of children for a father's sin.
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.
God could have named Achan at once. Instead He sifted the nation tribe by tribe, family by family, man by man. Commentators see goodness in both the delay and the result.
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.
Achan sinned alone, yet the whole nation had to deal with it. One writer places that shared holiness beside personal holiness, and says Christians neglect it.
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.
- Covenant — Achan's theft was small in value, but it broke an express command of God. One man's sin can spread through a whole community.
- Relationship — God had taken Israel into relationship with Himself. That is why He would not ignore sin among them, and why the penalty was not out of proportion.
- Household — Achan's family shared the sentence because they knew and said nothing. Israel's law never put children to death for a father's sin.
- Search — the sifting of tribe, family and man humbled everyone before it named one man. All judged themselves instead of resenting Achan.
- Shared holiness — personal purity was not enough. The whole people had to put away the evil that had come among them.
And Joshua rose early in the morning, and caused Israel to come forward by their tribes, and the tribe of Judah was taken.
After Israel's defeat at Ai, God told Joshua that a thief hid in the camp, and that the whole nation must come before Him tribe by tribe. This verse is the morning that search began, and the first circle closed on Judah.
Joshua does not put off the painful work. Why the hurry? God's name was at stake:
"So Joshua rose early in the morning." He was as serious about this as he was about the fall of Jericho… God was faithful; but Joshua wanted people to clear God's name, so that others would fear Him — and his own soul was in it too.
God already knew the guilty man. So why line up the whole nation?
The Lord could have exposed Achan as the offender at once. Instead, in His great wisdom, He made all the tribes come forward as though all were under suspicion (v.14). This would call for serious heart searching among them all. The point was not to stir up resentment against Achan, but to humble everyone by the evil. Step by step the process would narrow down to the one man whom the Lord had already judged must be burned with fire (v.15).
The same pattern speaks to any Christian community where open sin appears today:
When open sin appears in a Christian community, it should first of all humble everyone, in keeping with how serious the sin is. The sin may show, more or less, the moral condition of that community. That humbling is not over once the offender is judged, though judging him is a necessary part of true repentance.
The search closes in by stages, from a whole nation down to one man:
How searching are God's ways! First, all twelve tribes are summoned, so that the wrongdoer would come to light. Then one tribe is singled out. Nearer still — the family! And nearer yet — the very household; and, last of all, "man by man"! So the all-searching eye of the Lord reads the sinner through and through. Out of six hundred thousand people, He marks him off before the assembled thousands of Israel.
The same writer asks why God dealt so severely with one theft:
Our God is a consuming fire. He cannot tolerate evil in the ways of His people. This accounts for the solemn scene before us… How could God approve evil in His people? How could He go on with it? What was He to do with it?… The very fact that He took them into relationship with Himself was the reason He dealt with them in holy discipline.
Achan was no nobody. His family tree ran straight back to Judah:
One unhappy man in the camp of Israel had secretly sinned, and by that he had brought disaster on his brothers. Achan was not an unknown person in Israel; he was of the royal tribe of Judah. He was the great-great-grandson of Judah himself. From that tribe the Messiah Himself would come in due time.
Achan had three chances to speak as the circle closed. He took none of them:
But look, Achan's tribe, the tribe of Judah, is taken by lot. Will he not confess now? No, his mouth is closed. Then his family is taken; and then his household; but he still refuses to come forward. Then the lot falls on him. His chance to confess is gone. All Israel knows he is the offender. His was the sin that brought disaster on the nation.
The text does not name the method. Commentators take it to be the lot — and the lot was never blind chance:
By looking at 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 of discovery… So in Proverbs the LORD disposes of the lot, that is, He uses it to guide.
What the lot did then, Scripture does now — with an escape route Achan refused:
Today the lot is set aside because God works by the Holy Spirit through the written word. The living word of God discerns the thoughts and intentions of the heart. It makes everything naked and open to the eyes of Him with whom we have to do (Heb. 4:12-13). If we judge ourselves by that word, we shall not be judged publicly by the Lord.
- Search begins — Joshua rose early. Clearing God's name mattered to him as much as winning Jericho.
- Search widens — all twelve tribes stood under suspicion. God wanted a humbled nation, not a nation angry at one man.
- Search narrows — tribe, then family, then household, then one man. God's eye read him out of six hundred thousand.
- Search reaches the top — the tribe taken was Judah, the royal line. Privilege gave no cover.
- Search today — Achan kept silent at every stage. Judging ourselves by God's word spares us the exposure he chose.
And he caused the families of Judah to come forward, and he took the family of the Zarhites. And he caused the family of the Zarhites to come forward man by man, and Zabdi was taken.
Commentary for this verse has not been generated yet.
And he caused his household to come forward man by man, and Achan, the son of Carmi, the son of Zabdi, the son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, was taken.
God had told Joshua that the search would narrow step by step: tribe, then family, then household, then man by man. This verse is where it closes. The whole nation hears one name, and with it the names of his father, grandfather and great-grandfather.
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Watch the stages of the search one by one.
How searching are God's ways! First, the twelve tribes are summoned, so that the wrongdoer might be revealed. Then, one tribe is fixed upon. Nearer still — the family is fixed upon! And nearer yet — the very household is singled out; and, last of all, "man by man"! So, out of six hundred thousand people, the all-searching eye of the Lord reads the sinner through and through. He marks him off before the assembled thousands of Israel.
The same power was at work here as at the city they had just taken.
But how is the evil to be discovered? The presence of God reveals it. The same power that had levelled the walls of Jericho detected, revealed, and judged the sin of Achan.
The verse traces Achan back through Carmi and Zabdi to Zerah, and ties him to Judah. That line of descent is not filler; it tells us his standing.
Achan was a prince in Israel. Sin and sorrow often come in through the leaders, not through the rank and file of God's army. Achan coveted the garment of Shinar, the silver, and the wedge of gold, and he hid them in his tent. So the very things God had forbidden anyone to touch were found in the middle of Israel.
Another writer weighs what that line of descent meant.
Achan was not an obscure person in Israel; he was of the royal tribe of Judah. He was the great-great-grandson of Judah himself. In due time, Messiah Himself would come from that tribe.
Achan watched the circle close around him. At every stage he said nothing.
The Lord had ordered that lots should be cast the next morning, and by His own disposing of the lots the secret sinner would be discovered... But look, Achan's tribe, the tribe of Judah, is taken by lot. Will he not confess now? No, his mouth is closed. Then his family is taken; and then his household; but he still refuses to come forward. Then the lot falls on him. His chance to confess is lost. All Israel knows he is the offender.
One writer sees his silence as a gamble, and looks ahead to a far larger day of exposure.
Achan had plenty of time to confess his guilt, but it seems he was hoping right to the end that he might not be exposed. How foolish is the unbelief of greed! God waits patiently now. If people will not confess their guilt to Him, how humiliating it will be when their guilt is exposed at the Great White Throne! (Rev. 20:11-12)
Naming one guilty man may look harsh. One writer reads it as goodness toward everyone else.
God would make them all feel that they were involved. Yet in His own goodness He arranges for the one offender to be brought out. They are now waiting on God and humbling themselves because of it. So when His people are unwatchful and prayerless, all share in the sorrow. But when they draw near to God, the sorrow is traced home to the one who is guilty.
The lot was God's instrument that morning. Today He uses another, and it reaches deeper.
The Lord made Achan's secret sin plain. What had been done in secret was announced from the housetops. The lot fell on the guilty person in sight of all Israel... Today the lot is set aside because God works by the Holy Spirit through the written word. The living word of God discerns the thoughts and intentions of the heart. It makes everything naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account (Heb. 4:12-13). If we judge ourselves by that word, we shall not be judged publicly by the Lord.
So the tent to search is not someone else's.
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 own feet in his own tent, where he himself had put it... Let the one who is guilty of worldliness like Achan confess it in his own tent and forsake it. Otherwise he may be publicly exposed and judged in the valley of Achor.
- Hidden — one man hid his theft in his own tent and told nobody. The defeat at Ai traced straight back to it.
- Hunted — God narrowed the search from twelve tribes to one family, one household, one man. His eye read the sinner through and through before the whole nation.
- Honoured — the verse names Carmi, Zabdi, Zerah and Judah. Achan was a prince of the royal tribe, the line Messiah would come from.
- Hardened — every step of the search invited him to speak. His mouth stayed shut until the choice was taken from him.
- Here — the lot is gone, but God's word still lays the heart open. Judge yourself by it now, in your own tent, before the Lord judges you publicly.