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TOPIC: Pink, Arthur - Gleanings in Joshua (Other Topics in this Collection)
SUBJECT: 10.3-Sin, Defeat, Judgment (Concluded) 7:1-26
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Gleanings In Joshua
10. Sin, Defeat, Judgment (Concluded)
Joshua 7:1-26
Judgment
"So Joshua rose up early in the morning, and brought Israel by their tribes" (Josh. 7:16). Here we behold his willingness and readiness in obeying the command he had received (v. 14). However painful the task, there was no delay. In Joshua 3:1, we saw God's servant rising early to engage in a pleasant duty; here, there was equal alacrity when a distressing one was to be performed. Though a sore trial to flesh and blood, yet Joshua's heart was in this work; for he yearned to have the Lord's honor vindicated, and for the nation to be restored to His favor. Therein we have a further adumbration of the antitypical Joshua, of whom we read that after announcing "behold, the hour is at hand, and the Son of man is betrayed into the hands of sinners," at once added "Rise, let us be going" (Matthew 26:45, 46). Yet here, as everywhere, the Savior had the pre-eminence. There was no "rising early in the morning," for there was no retiring to rest for Him that night! Through all the hours of darkness He was hounded from pillar to post: from Gethsemane to appear before Annas, then sent from him to Caiaphas, from him to Pilate, from him to Herod, from him back to Pilate, from him to the cross: all the while on foot, His body a mass of bleeding wounds, without His eyes closing in slumber! Nevertheless, He advanced unto those who thirsted for His blood (John 18:4), ready to be led as a lamb to the slaughter.
"So Joshua rose up early, in the morning, and brought Israel by their tribes, and the tribe of Judah was taken." This must have come as a most painful shock to that tribe as a whole, as well as to Joshua himself. Wondrous things had been foretold of Judah. It was to be the royal and ruling tribe (Gen. 49:10). The Lord had laid honor on it by supernaturally endowing one of its men for special skilled work in connection with the furnishing of the tabernacle (Ex. 31:3-5). Of it sprang the illustrious Caleb (Num. 13:8). Judah was the tribe which took the lead when the nation was on march across the wilderness (Num. 10:14). His was to be the largest portion of Canaan (Deut. 34:2). And here their name was disgraced! Nor was this the first time, as a reference to Genesis 38:2, 15 and 16 will show-Achan being a direct descendant of the Zarah or Zerah of Genesis 38:30, in Joshua 7:18. "This was an allay to their dignity and might serve as a check to their pride. Many there were who were its glories, but here was one that was its reproach. Let not the best families think it strange if there be those found in them and descended from them that prove their grief and shame. Since Judah was to have the largest lot in Canaan, the more inexcusable is one of that tribe if, not content to wait for his own share, he break in upon God's property" (Matthew Henry).
Achan remained obdurate even now that it was made known that the guilty one belonged to the tribe of Judah. As he had not confessed his offense when Israel was repulsed at Ai and the hearts of the people melted and became as water (v. 5), so now he maintained silence, yea, continued doing so when his own "family" was singled out (v. 17) and when his particular "household" was identified (v. 18), But in a few more moments he was to receive proof of that Divine declaration "Be sure your sin will find you out" (Num. 32:29). He was also on the point of learning "he that covereth his sins shall not prosper" (Prov. 28:13). To "cover sin" is a keeping of it within our own bosom, a refusing to bring it out into the light by a frank confession of the same unto God. Pride restrains many therefrom: they have such a high esteem of themselves that even though guilty they are too self-opinionated to own their sins. With others, unbelief is what hinders: they who have no faith to be assured that God will cover repented sins, vainly attempt to do so themselves even while remaining impenitent. Fear and shame are what cause the majority to hide their sins. Sin is such a hideous monster that they will not own it as theirs. But whatever be the cause, they "shall not prosper."
"And he brought the family of Judah: and he took the family of the Zarhites, and he brought the family of the Zarhites man by man; and Zabdi was taken; he brought his household man by man: and Achan, the son of Carmi, the son of Zabdi, the son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah was taken" (vv. 17, 18). It should be borne in mind that all of the innocent were under a cloud of suspicion until the culprit himself was definitely recognized. Moreover, it was expedient for the benefit of future generations that no stigma should rest upon the guiltless. "The tribe, family, parentage of the offender were specified with exactness, that the infamy might not rest on the reputation of any other of the same name" (T. Scott). Achan "was taken" means that he was now identified by the "Urim," singled out by the unerring judgment given through the high priest. It was now made manifest before the whole congregation that the Divine justice had seized him. When the secret sins of men are brought to light God should be owned in it, and the perpetrator should acknowledge with the brethren of Joseph: "God hath found out the iniquity of thy servants"
(Gen. 44:16). "For there is nothing covered that shall not be revealed; neither hid, that shall not be known" (Luke 12:2).
"And Joshua said unto Achan, My son give, I pray thee, glory to the Lord God of Israel, and make confession unto Him, and tell me now what thou hast done, hide it not from me" (v. 19). Here again we must look beyond Joshua unto the One spoken of in Acts 17:31, "Because He hath appointed a day in which He will judge the world in righteousness by that Man whom He hath ordained." God Himself will judge, yet not immediately, but mediately through Christ. So here Achan was bidden to give glory to the Lord God, but Joshua at once added, "tell me what thou hast done, hide it not from me"! The expression "my son" was not here a term of tenderness or kindness (as it usually is with us), but a form of address used by one of eminence or authority unto an inferior, as Saul termed David "my son" (1 Sam. 24:16) and Joab designated Ahimaaz, the son of Zadok, "my son" (2 Sam. 18:22); conversely, a superior was owned as "father" (2 Kings 5:13; 6:21). Nevertheless, it is striking to note how mildly Joshua addressed Achan: "This is an example to all not to insult over those who are in misery, though they have brought themselves into it by their own wickedness, but to treat even offenders with the spirit of meekness, not knowing what ourselves should have been and done if God had put us into the hands of our own counsels" (Matthew Henry).
"And Joshua said unto Achan, My son, give I pray thee, glory to the Lord God of Israel and make confession unto him." Very striking and blessed is that' the honor of Jehovah was what was uppermost in His servant's heart and mind-as it ever was with the anti-typical Joshua (John 8:50; 12:23). But how could Achan's confession give glory to God? In many ways. It testified to the Divine omniscience in detecting and exposing his profane and stealthy conduct, picking him out from that vast multitude as the guilty one. It acknowledged God's holiness in abhorring his wickedness, thereby setting to his seal that "He is of purer eyes than to behold evil, and canst not look on iniquity" (Hab. 1:13). It witnessed to His justice, that God was righteous in being so displeased with him. It owned His veracity that "the soul that sinneth it shall die" (Ezek. 18:4). What is the glory of God but the sum of His perfections? It is by those perfections that He is made known to us both in the written and personal Word. And therefore to glorify Him is for us to recognize, acknowledge and be suitably affected by the Divine attributes; as conversely we are guilty of slighting Him when denying, either in word or act, His perfections. When we trample upon His Law we repudiate His authority. When we defy Him, we disdain His power. When we think to conceal sin from Him, we disown His omniscience.
"My son, give, I pray thee glory to the Lord God of Israel, and make confession unto Him." It is all too little realized by any of us that this is one of the ways appointed by God in which we glorify Him. In connection with the confessing of sin we are too apt to confine our thoughts unto the clearing of our conscience and being restored to fellowship. In other words, we are too much wrapped up in ourselves and too little occupied with the excellencies of the One we approach. A truly contrite soul will eye the dominion of God, acknowledging His right to rule over us and our duty to live in entire subjection to Him, and will bemoan his insubordination. He will eye God's righteousness and own that "His law is holy, and the commandment holy and just and good" (Rom. 7:12), and therefore that he is without excuse in breaking it. He will eye His long suffering, which has granted him space to repent, instead of cutting him off in the commission of sin. He will eye the abundant mercy of God, which has opened a way. for his pardon without compromising His holiness, laying hold of the promise: "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness" (1 John 1:9). Failure to confess sin is not only to deprive ourselves of comfort, but is to withhold from God that which is His due.
Acceptable confession is very much more than an exercise of our lips unless it issues from groanings within, our words are worthless and ineffectual. And there will be no inward groaning until we realize the sinfulness of our sins and are duly affected thereby. We shall never confess sin with a true sense of its infinite evil until we consider its contrariety to the nature and will of God, and perceive how it reflects dishonor upon the Divine perfection, particularly as it is a contempt of His authority and a direct opposition to His purity. Nor shall we ever confess our sins with brokenness of heart and confusion of face, until we are sensible of the vile ingratitude of them, as they are committed by those who are under the strongest obligations to the contrary. There will be no confession of sin with self-abhorrence until we recognize that it is aggravated by the light and privileges, the goodness and mercy, the exhortations and warnings, against which we have transgressed, for they greatly heighten our iniquities (Ezra 9:10-15). To affect our minds and consciences with the heinousness of sin, so as to be kept humble and filled with self-abasement, we need to meditate frequently upon what it cost Christ to make atonement for the same. The sincerity and fervor of our confession evince the depth of our hatred of sin.
"And Joshua said unto Achan . . . tell me now what thou hast done, hide it not from me." That "now" was a word of reproof and reproach because the offender had remained silent so long. Achan had delayed until it was impossible any longer to conceal his guilt-his confession being wrung from him by the preceding process. The earlier confession be made, the more God is honored, and the sooner will peace be restored to the conscience; but, better late than never. It is the fool who procrastinates; the apostate who defiantly refuses to do so. Fearfully solemn is that warning: "Give glory to the Lord your God before He cause darkness and before your feet stumble upon the dark mountains, and while ye look for light. He turn it into the shadow of death and make it gross darkness" (Jer. 13:16). Note that to "make confession" and "hide it not" are equivalent terms, and that not to confess is tantamount to a denial (John 1:20). Joshua's "tell me now what thou hast done, hide it not from me" makes known unto us what confession of sin is to consist of, namely, a frank and full acknowledgment of the offense, without any attempt at concealment or self-extenuation, however humiliating it may be. By so doing we bear witness that God's prohibition was a righteous one and that His punishment (or chastisement) is just.
"And Achan answered Joshua and said, Indeed I have sinned against the Lord God of Israel, and thus and thus have I done" (v. 20), which was no more a proof of his genuine contrition than was King Saul's acknowledgment, "I have sinned and transgressed the commandment of the Lord" (1 Sam. 15:24), or the remorseful avowal of Judas, "I have sinned in that I have betrayed the innocent blood" (Matthew 27:4). In what follows we are shown that confession of sin must be in detail. "When I saw among the spoils a goodly Babylonish garment, and two hundred shekels of silver, and a wedge of gold of fifty shekels weight, then I coveted them, and took them; and behold, they are hid in the earth in the midst of thy tent, and the silver under it" (v. 21). The temptation entered through the eye, and that excited the concupiscence of his corrupt heart: as the prophet said in a different connection, "mine eye affecteth my heart" (Lam. 3:51). How needful it is that we emulate the holy example of Job, who declared: "I have made a covenant with mine eyes" (Job 31:1). How earnestly should we cry unto God daily "Turn away mine eyes from beholding vanity: quicken Thou me in Thy way" (Ps. 119:37) - make me to view things as Thou dost, and to esteem or disesteem them according to the teaching of Thy Word. Had Achan regarded those objects with the eyes of faith, he had looked upon them as "accursed things," for so had God pronounced them!
"I saw . . . then I coveted them." Having viewed them with the eyes of unbelief, he lusted after them. What a solemn warning for each of us to heed! Covetousness has in it a far greater degree of malignity and is more highly provoking to God than is commonly thought. Colossians 3:5, declares that covetousness "is idolatry," for it is a bestowing upon the creature that respect and love which is due alone unto the Creator. When we mortify not our inordinate desire, we cherish a viper within our own bosom, for it gnaws at the very roots of contentment and gratitude (Heb. 13:5). When our desire exceeds the present portion God has allotted us, we are no longer satisfied with the same and are unable to enjoy and give thanks for it. "I coveted . . . them, I took them": thus he followed precisely the same order as did Eve (Gen. 3:6, and cf. James 1:14, 15). "And behold they are hid in the earth in the midst of the tent." There we behold both the "deceitfulness of sin" and the anxiety it brings. "No sooner had he got possession of his plunder than it became his burden! . . . so differently do the objects of temptation appear at a distance to what they do when apprehended and when the infatuation ceases" (T. Scott). They who yield to a spirit of covetousness "pierce themselves through with many sorrows" (1 Tim. 6:8-10).
"So Joshua sent messengers, and they ran unto the tent." The members of the congregation were as desirous and zealous to have Jehovah's honor vindicated as was their leader. "And behold it was hid in his tent and the silver under it. And they took them out of the midst of the tent, and brought them unto Joshua and unto all the children of Israel" (vv. 22, 25). This was done in order that conclusive evidence of Achan's guilt should be laid before the eyes of the whole nation, and thereby was brought to light the hidden things of darkness. By that procedure a solemn warning was given the people (and us) of the utter futility of any attempt to conceal anything from the eyes of Him which are "in every place, beholding the evil and the good" (Prov. 15:4). "And poured it out before the Lord" (v. 23): that is, either at the feet of His representative, the high priest, or more probably immediately before the ark of the covenant. The accursed things were not poured out "unto the Lord" for His acceptance, but before Him for His destruction-they were never brought into His treasury for use in His service, but totally destroyed, as the sequel shows.
"And Joshua and all Israel took Achan, the son of Zerah, and the silver, and the garment, and the wedge of gold, and his sons and his daughters, and his oxen and asses and his sheep, and all that he had, and they brought them into the valley of Achor" (v. 24). Here was unity of action. The whole nation was required to dissociate itself from the trespass and take part in punishing the culprit. For any not to concur therein would be to condone the sin-just as when any church members refuse to take part in a similar action. Achan and all pertaining to him were taken outside the camp-compare "take away from among yourselves" (1 Cor. 5:2)! Note how what followed gave force to, and shows an additional reason for, the "sanctify ourselves" of verse 13. For those who are themselves erring creatures to sit in judgment upon one of their fellows calls for unsparing self-judgment. Ere a church is in a meet condition to enforce a holy discipline it is required that its officers and members humble themselves before God and clear their own consciences, by confessing every known sin and pleading the cleansing blood of Christ. Only then can they act in godly fear and trembling. Only then will "he that is without sin among you let him first cast a stone no longer prevent them performing a necessary but painful duty.
"And Joshua said, Why hast thou troubled us? the Lord shall trouble thee this day. And all Israel stoned him with stones, and burned them with fire. after they had stoned them with stones" (v. 25). "By this severity against Achan the honor of Joshua's government-now in the infancy of it-was maintained; and Israel, at their entrance upon the promised Canaan, were minded at their peril, the provisos, and limitations of the grant by which they held it" (Matthew Henry). It is worthy of note that at the opening of the tabernacle worship we behold an instance of the severity of Divine judgment upon the two sons of Aaron (Lev. 10:1, 2), so here upon their entry into Canaan, and similarly at the dawn of Christianity in connection with the death of Ananias and Sapphira (Acts 5) we have examples of the same thing: designed no doubt to increase godly fear, promote dutiful circumspection, and prevent general wickedness. Such solemn demonstrations before the eyes of the people would render it the less easy for them to forget that their God was "a consuming fire" unto those who provoked Him
"The severity of the punishment must be estimated by the relation of Achan's crime to the whole plan of the conquest of Canaan. If the destruction of Canaan was indeed the execution of Divine vengeance, it must be kept entirely clear of all human motives, lest men should say that Jehovah had given His people license to deal with the Canaanites as seemed best for themselves. The punishment of Saul, (1 Sam. 15:21-23) and the repeated statement in Esther 9:10, 15, 16 (notwithstanding the king's permission in Esther 8:11), 'but on the spoil laid they not their hand" are illustrations of the same principle" (Ellicott). In addition, it is to be borne in mind that Achan deliberately transgressed the plain commandment of Deuteronomy 13:17, that he acted in contempt of the awful curse which Joshua had just previously denounced (Josh. 6:17-19), that he defied Jehovah at a time when His presence was so conspicuously manifest among His people, that his crime was not only one of theft but sacrilege (converting to his own use what was devoted to the Lord), and that his offense resulted in the people of God being put to shame in the sight of the heathen.
Our remaining space permits us to do no more than briefly point out that the above incident shadows forth most of the principal features of the Last Assize. (1) It is then there will be a full and final display of God's perfections and the Divine glory will shine forth conspicuously. (2) As "all Israel" here, so all mankind there, will stand before the antitypical Joshua. (3) As the tribe of Judah was marked off from the others, so will the goats then be separated from the sheep. (4) The hidden things of darkness shall then be brought to light. (5) As the innocent were cleared before the guilt were charged, so the righteous will be vindicated before the unrighteous are condemned. (6) As Achan made no attempt to deny his guilt or demur at his punishment, so the damned will concur with the justice of their sentence. (7) As all Israel united in the stoning of Achan's family, so the saints "will judge the world" (1 Cor. 16:2). (8) As the guilty were "burned with fire" after their death, so everlasting fire will be the portion of the lost. (9) As there was a permanent "memorial" unto the grace of God (Josh. 4:9), so unto His holiness (Josh. 7:26): the redeemed will for ever exemplify God's love, the reprobate His wrath.
Lack of space prevented our adding a word at the close of our last on the concluding verse of Joshua 7, so to it we now turn. "And they raised over him a great heap of stones unto this day. So the Lord turned from the fierceness of His anger. Wherefore the name of that place was called the valley of Achor [Trouble], unto this day." Three things are to be noted: the memorial to solemnly remind Israel of Achan's sin, the Lord's reconciliation, and the name given to the place of execution and appeasement. As the twelve stones taken out of Jordan were permanently pitched in Gilgal (Josh. 4:20-23) to perpetuate the memory of the miracle which the Lord had so graciously wrought there, so a great heap of stones was raised to mark the spot where the vengeance of the Holy One fell upon the one who had so grievously offended Him. That heap of stones was designed to serve as a terrible warning, against the crime of sacrilege, to rebuke those who imagine themselves secure in secret sins, and to furnish a witness of what an awful thing it is to be a troubler of God's people.
There is an instructive emphasis in the "so the Lord turned from the fierceness of His anger," teaching us that the assemblies of His people must exercise a strict and holy discipline (for the honor of His name) if they are to escape His governmental judgments and chastenings. Cast into its positive form that statement would read, when Israel had put away "the accursed thing" and dealt faithfully with the disturber of their peace, they were restored again to God's favor. Two further references are made in the Scriptures to this place, and very significant and blessed they are. Unto backsliding Israel the Lord declared His purpose to recover and restore her, saying, "I will give her vineyards from thence, and the valley of Achor for a door of hope" (Hosea 2:15): our putting away of the offensive thing-by repentance and reformation-affords ground for hoping that God will renew His favors unto us. "And Sharon shall be a fold of flocks, and the valley of Achor [where things are put right with God] a place for the herds to lie down in, for My people that have sought Me" (Isa. 65:10) - a promise which should be spiritualized and pleaded by each wayward but contrite saint.
10. Sin, Defeat, Judgment (Concluded)
Joshua 7:1-26
Judgment
"So Joshua rose up early in the morning, and brought Israel by their tribes" (Josh. 7:16). Here we behold his willingness and readiness in obeying the command he had received (v. 14). However painful the task, there was no delay. In Joshua 3:1, we saw God's servant rising early to engage in a pleasant duty; here, there was equal alacrity when a distressing one was to be performed. Though a sore trial to flesh and blood, yet Joshua's heart was in this work; for he yearned to have the Lord's honor vindicated, and for the nation to be restored to His favor. Therein we have a further adumbration of the antitypical Joshua, of whom we read that after announcing "behold, the hour is at hand, and the Son of man is betrayed into the hands of sinners," at once added "Rise, let us be going" (Matthew 26:45, 46). Yet here, as everywhere, the Savior had the pre-eminence. There was no "rising early in the morning," for there was no retiring to rest for Him that night! Through all the hours of darkness He was hounded from pillar to post: from Gethsemane to appear before Annas, then sent from him to Caiaphas, from him to Pilate, from him to Herod, from him back to Pilate, from him to the cross: all the while on foot, His body a mass of bleeding wounds, without His eyes closing in slumber! Nevertheless, He advanced unto those who thirsted for His blood (John 18:4), ready to be led as a lamb to the slaughter.
"So Joshua rose up early, in the morning, and brought Israel by their tribes, and the tribe of Judah was taken." This must have come as a most painful shock to that tribe as a whole, as well as to Joshua himself. Wondrous things had been foretold of Judah. It was to be the royal and ruling tribe (Gen. 49:10). The Lord had laid honor on it by supernaturally endowing one of its men for special skilled work in connection with the furnishing of the tabernacle (Ex. 31:3-5). Of it sprang the illustrious Caleb (Num. 13:8). Judah was the tribe which took the lead when the nation was on march across the wilderness (Num. 10:14). His was to be the largest portion of Canaan (Deut. 34:2). And here their name was disgraced! Nor was this the first time, as a reference to Genesis 38:2, 15 and 16 will show-Achan being a direct descendant of the Zarah or Zerah of Genesis 38:30, in Joshua 7:18. "This was an allay to their dignity and might serve as a check to their pride. Many there were who were its glories, but here was one that was its reproach. Let not the best families think it strange if there be those found in them and descended from them that prove their grief and shame. Since Judah was to have the largest lot in Canaan, the more inexcusable is one of that tribe if, not content to wait for his own share, he break in upon God's property" (Matthew Henry).
Achan remained obdurate even now that it was made known that the guilty one belonged to the tribe of Judah. As he had not confessed his offense when Israel was repulsed at Ai and the hearts of the people melted and became as water (v. 5), so now he maintained silence, yea, continued doing so when his own "family" was singled out (v. 17) and when his particular "household" was identified (v. 18), But in a few more moments he was to receive proof of that Divine declaration "Be sure your sin will find you out" (Num. 32:29). He was also on the point of learning "he that covereth his sins shall not prosper" (Prov. 28:13). To "cover sin" is a keeping of it within our own bosom, a refusing to bring it out into the light by a frank confession of the same unto God. Pride restrains many therefrom: they have such a high esteem of themselves that even though guilty they are too self-opinionated to own their sins. With others, unbelief is what hinders: they who have no faith to be assured that God will cover repented sins, vainly attempt to do so themselves even while remaining impenitent. Fear and shame are what cause the majority to hide their sins. Sin is such a hideous monster that they will not own it as theirs. But whatever be the cause, they "shall not prosper."
"And he brought the family of Judah: and he took the family of the Zarhites, and he brought the family of the Zarhites man by man; and Zabdi was taken; he brought his household man by man: and Achan, the son of Carmi, the son of Zabdi, the son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah was taken" (vv. 17, 18). It should be borne in mind that all of the innocent were under a cloud of suspicion until the culprit himself was definitely recognized. Moreover, it was expedient for the benefit of future generations that no stigma should rest upon the guiltless. "The tribe, family, parentage of the offender were specified with exactness, that the infamy might not rest on the reputation of any other of the same name" (T. Scott). Achan "was taken" means that he was now identified by the "Urim," singled out by the unerring judgment given through the high priest. It was now made manifest before the whole congregation that the Divine justice had seized him. When the secret sins of men are brought to light God should be owned in it, and the perpetrator should acknowledge with the brethren of Joseph: "God hath found out the iniquity of thy servants"
(Gen. 44:16). "For there is nothing covered that shall not be revealed; neither hid, that shall not be known" (Luke 12:2).
"And Joshua said unto Achan, My son give, I pray thee, glory to the Lord God of Israel, and make confession unto Him, and tell me now what thou hast done, hide it not from me" (v. 19). Here again we must look beyond Joshua unto the One spoken of in Acts 17:31, "Because He hath appointed a day in which He will judge the world in righteousness by that Man whom He hath ordained." God Himself will judge, yet not immediately, but mediately through Christ. So here Achan was bidden to give glory to the Lord God, but Joshua at once added, "tell me what thou hast done, hide it not from me"! The expression "my son" was not here a term of tenderness or kindness (as it usually is with us), but a form of address used by one of eminence or authority unto an inferior, as Saul termed David "my son" (1 Sam. 24:16) and Joab designated Ahimaaz, the son of Zadok, "my son" (2 Sam. 18:22); conversely, a superior was owned as "father" (2 Kings 5:13; 6:21). Nevertheless, it is striking to note how mildly Joshua addressed Achan: "This is an example to all not to insult over those who are in misery, though they have brought themselves into it by their own wickedness, but to treat even offenders with the spirit of meekness, not knowing what ourselves should have been and done if God had put us into the hands of our own counsels" (Matthew Henry).
"And Joshua said unto Achan, My son, give I pray thee, glory to the Lord God of Israel and make confession unto him." Very striking and blessed is that' the honor of Jehovah was what was uppermost in His servant's heart and mind-as it ever was with the anti-typical Joshua (John 8:50; 12:23). But how could Achan's confession give glory to God? In many ways. It testified to the Divine omniscience in detecting and exposing his profane and stealthy conduct, picking him out from that vast multitude as the guilty one. It acknowledged God's holiness in abhorring his wickedness, thereby setting to his seal that "He is of purer eyes than to behold evil, and canst not look on iniquity" (Hab. 1:13). It witnessed to His justice, that God was righteous in being so displeased with him. It owned His veracity that "the soul that sinneth it shall die" (Ezek. 18:4). What is the glory of God but the sum of His perfections? It is by those perfections that He is made known to us both in the written and personal Word. And therefore to glorify Him is for us to recognize, acknowledge and be suitably affected by the Divine attributes; as conversely we are guilty of slighting Him when denying, either in word or act, His perfections. When we trample upon His Law we repudiate His authority. When we defy Him, we disdain His power. When we think to conceal sin from Him, we disown His omniscience.
"My son, give, I pray thee glory to the Lord God of Israel, and make confession unto Him." It is all too little realized by any of us that this is one of the ways appointed by God in which we glorify Him. In connection with the confessing of sin we are too apt to confine our thoughts unto the clearing of our conscience and being restored to fellowship. In other words, we are too much wrapped up in ourselves and too little occupied with the excellencies of the One we approach. A truly contrite soul will eye the dominion of God, acknowledging His right to rule over us and our duty to live in entire subjection to Him, and will bemoan his insubordination. He will eye God's righteousness and own that "His law is holy, and the commandment holy and just and good" (Rom. 7:12), and therefore that he is without excuse in breaking it. He will eye His long suffering, which has granted him space to repent, instead of cutting him off in the commission of sin. He will eye the abundant mercy of God, which has opened a way. for his pardon without compromising His holiness, laying hold of the promise: "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness" (1 John 1:9). Failure to confess sin is not only to deprive ourselves of comfort, but is to withhold from God that which is His due.
Acceptable confession is very much more than an exercise of our lips unless it issues from groanings within, our words are worthless and ineffectual. And there will be no inward groaning until we realize the sinfulness of our sins and are duly affected thereby. We shall never confess sin with a true sense of its infinite evil until we consider its contrariety to the nature and will of God, and perceive how it reflects dishonor upon the Divine perfection, particularly as it is a contempt of His authority and a direct opposition to His purity. Nor shall we ever confess our sins with brokenness of heart and confusion of face, until we are sensible of the vile ingratitude of them, as they are committed by those who are under the strongest obligations to the contrary. There will be no confession of sin with self-abhorrence until we recognize that it is aggravated by the light and privileges, the goodness and mercy, the exhortations and warnings, against which we have transgressed, for they greatly heighten our iniquities (Ezra 9:10-15). To affect our minds and consciences with the heinousness of sin, so as to be kept humble and filled with self-abasement, we need to meditate frequently upon what it cost Christ to make atonement for the same. The sincerity and fervor of our confession evince the depth of our hatred of sin.
"And Joshua said unto Achan . . . tell me now what thou hast done, hide it not from me." That "now" was a word of reproof and reproach because the offender had remained silent so long. Achan had delayed until it was impossible any longer to conceal his guilt-his confession being wrung from him by the preceding process. The earlier confession be made, the more God is honored, and the sooner will peace be restored to the conscience; but, better late than never. It is the fool who procrastinates; the apostate who defiantly refuses to do so. Fearfully solemn is that warning: "Give glory to the Lord your God before He cause darkness and before your feet stumble upon the dark mountains, and while ye look for light. He turn it into the shadow of death and make it gross darkness" (Jer. 13:16). Note that to "make confession" and "hide it not" are equivalent terms, and that not to confess is tantamount to a denial (John 1:20). Joshua's "tell me now what thou hast done, hide it not from me" makes known unto us what confession of sin is to consist of, namely, a frank and full acknowledgment of the offense, without any attempt at concealment or self-extenuation, however humiliating it may be. By so doing we bear witness that God's prohibition was a righteous one and that His punishment (or chastisement) is just.
"And Achan answered Joshua and said, Indeed I have sinned against the Lord God of Israel, and thus and thus have I done" (v. 20), which was no more a proof of his genuine contrition than was King Saul's acknowledgment, "I have sinned and transgressed the commandment of the Lord" (1 Sam. 15:24), or the remorseful avowal of Judas, "I have sinned in that I have betrayed the innocent blood" (Matthew 27:4). In what follows we are shown that confession of sin must be in detail. "When I saw among the spoils a goodly Babylonish garment, and two hundred shekels of silver, and a wedge of gold of fifty shekels weight, then I coveted them, and took them; and behold, they are hid in the earth in the midst of thy tent, and the silver under it" (v. 21). The temptation entered through the eye, and that excited the concupiscence of his corrupt heart: as the prophet said in a different connection, "mine eye affecteth my heart" (Lam. 3:51). How needful it is that we emulate the holy example of Job, who declared: "I have made a covenant with mine eyes" (Job 31:1). How earnestly should we cry unto God daily "Turn away mine eyes from beholding vanity: quicken Thou me in Thy way" (Ps. 119:37) - make me to view things as Thou dost, and to esteem or disesteem them according to the teaching of Thy Word. Had Achan regarded those objects with the eyes of faith, he had looked upon them as "accursed things," for so had God pronounced them!
"I saw . . . then I coveted them." Having viewed them with the eyes of unbelief, he lusted after them. What a solemn warning for each of us to heed! Covetousness has in it a far greater degree of malignity and is more highly provoking to God than is commonly thought. Colossians 3:5, declares that covetousness "is idolatry," for it is a bestowing upon the creature that respect and love which is due alone unto the Creator. When we mortify not our inordinate desire, we cherish a viper within our own bosom, for it gnaws at the very roots of contentment and gratitude (Heb. 13:5). When our desire exceeds the present portion God has allotted us, we are no longer satisfied with the same and are unable to enjoy and give thanks for it. "I coveted . . . them, I took them": thus he followed precisely the same order as did Eve (Gen. 3:6, and cf. James 1:14, 15). "And behold they are hid in the earth in the midst of the tent." There we behold both the "deceitfulness of sin" and the anxiety it brings. "No sooner had he got possession of his plunder than it became his burden! . . . so differently do the objects of temptation appear at a distance to what they do when apprehended and when the infatuation ceases" (T. Scott). They who yield to a spirit of covetousness "pierce themselves through with many sorrows" (1 Tim. 6:8-10).
"So Joshua sent messengers, and they ran unto the tent." The members of the congregation were as desirous and zealous to have Jehovah's honor vindicated as was their leader. "And behold it was hid in his tent and the silver under it. And they took them out of the midst of the tent, and brought them unto Joshua and unto all the children of Israel" (vv. 22, 25). This was done in order that conclusive evidence of Achan's guilt should be laid before the eyes of the whole nation, and thereby was brought to light the hidden things of darkness. By that procedure a solemn warning was given the people (and us) of the utter futility of any attempt to conceal anything from the eyes of Him which are "in every place, beholding the evil and the good" (Prov. 15:4). "And poured it out before the Lord" (v. 23): that is, either at the feet of His representative, the high priest, or more probably immediately before the ark of the covenant. The accursed things were not poured out "unto the Lord" for His acceptance, but before Him for His destruction-they were never brought into His treasury for use in His service, but totally destroyed, as the sequel shows.
"And Joshua and all Israel took Achan, the son of Zerah, and the silver, and the garment, and the wedge of gold, and his sons and his daughters, and his oxen and asses and his sheep, and all that he had, and they brought them into the valley of Achor" (v. 24). Here was unity of action. The whole nation was required to dissociate itself from the trespass and take part in punishing the culprit. For any not to concur therein would be to condone the sin-just as when any church members refuse to take part in a similar action. Achan and all pertaining to him were taken outside the camp-compare "take away from among yourselves" (1 Cor. 5:2)! Note how what followed gave force to, and shows an additional reason for, the "sanctify ourselves" of verse 13. For those who are themselves erring creatures to sit in judgment upon one of their fellows calls for unsparing self-judgment. Ere a church is in a meet condition to enforce a holy discipline it is required that its officers and members humble themselves before God and clear their own consciences, by confessing every known sin and pleading the cleansing blood of Christ. Only then can they act in godly fear and trembling. Only then will "he that is without sin among you let him first cast a stone no longer prevent them performing a necessary but painful duty.
"And Joshua said, Why hast thou troubled us? the Lord shall trouble thee this day. And all Israel stoned him with stones, and burned them with fire. after they had stoned them with stones" (v. 25). "By this severity against Achan the honor of Joshua's government-now in the infancy of it-was maintained; and Israel, at their entrance upon the promised Canaan, were minded at their peril, the provisos, and limitations of the grant by which they held it" (Matthew Henry). It is worthy of note that at the opening of the tabernacle worship we behold an instance of the severity of Divine judgment upon the two sons of Aaron (Lev. 10:1, 2), so here upon their entry into Canaan, and similarly at the dawn of Christianity in connection with the death of Ananias and Sapphira (Acts 5) we have examples of the same thing: designed no doubt to increase godly fear, promote dutiful circumspection, and prevent general wickedness. Such solemn demonstrations before the eyes of the people would render it the less easy for them to forget that their God was "a consuming fire" unto those who provoked Him
"The severity of the punishment must be estimated by the relation of Achan's crime to the whole plan of the conquest of Canaan. If the destruction of Canaan was indeed the execution of Divine vengeance, it must be kept entirely clear of all human motives, lest men should say that Jehovah had given His people license to deal with the Canaanites as seemed best for themselves. The punishment of Saul, (1 Sam. 15:21-23) and the repeated statement in Esther 9:10, 15, 16 (notwithstanding the king's permission in Esther 8:11), 'but on the spoil laid they not their hand" are illustrations of the same principle" (Ellicott). In addition, it is to be borne in mind that Achan deliberately transgressed the plain commandment of Deuteronomy 13:17, that he acted in contempt of the awful curse which Joshua had just previously denounced (Josh. 6:17-19), that he defied Jehovah at a time when His presence was so conspicuously manifest among His people, that his crime was not only one of theft but sacrilege (converting to his own use what was devoted to the Lord), and that his offense resulted in the people of God being put to shame in the sight of the heathen.
Our remaining space permits us to do no more than briefly point out that the above incident shadows forth most of the principal features of the Last Assize. (1) It is then there will be a full and final display of God's perfections and the Divine glory will shine forth conspicuously. (2) As "all Israel" here, so all mankind there, will stand before the antitypical Joshua. (3) As the tribe of Judah was marked off from the others, so will the goats then be separated from the sheep. (4) The hidden things of darkness shall then be brought to light. (5) As the innocent were cleared before the guilt were charged, so the righteous will be vindicated before the unrighteous are condemned. (6) As Achan made no attempt to deny his guilt or demur at his punishment, so the damned will concur with the justice of their sentence. (7) As all Israel united in the stoning of Achan's family, so the saints "will judge the world" (1 Cor. 16:2). (8) As the guilty were "burned with fire" after their death, so everlasting fire will be the portion of the lost. (9) As there was a permanent "memorial" unto the grace of God (Josh. 4:9), so unto His holiness (Josh. 7:26): the redeemed will for ever exemplify God's love, the reprobate His wrath.
Lack of space prevented our adding a word at the close of our last on the concluding verse of Joshua 7, so to it we now turn. "And they raised over him a great heap of stones unto this day. So the Lord turned from the fierceness of His anger. Wherefore the name of that place was called the valley of Achor [Trouble], unto this day." Three things are to be noted: the memorial to solemnly remind Israel of Achan's sin, the Lord's reconciliation, and the name given to the place of execution and appeasement. As the twelve stones taken out of Jordan were permanently pitched in Gilgal (Josh. 4:20-23) to perpetuate the memory of the miracle which the Lord had so graciously wrought there, so a great heap of stones was raised to mark the spot where the vengeance of the Holy One fell upon the one who had so grievously offended Him. That heap of stones was designed to serve as a terrible warning, against the crime of sacrilege, to rebuke those who imagine themselves secure in secret sins, and to furnish a witness of what an awful thing it is to be a troubler of God's people.
There is an instructive emphasis in the "so the Lord turned from the fierceness of His anger," teaching us that the assemblies of His people must exercise a strict and holy discipline (for the honor of His name) if they are to escape His governmental judgments and chastenings. Cast into its positive form that statement would read, when Israel had put away "the accursed thing" and dealt faithfully with the disturber of their peace, they were restored again to God's favor. Two further references are made in the Scriptures to this place, and very significant and blessed they are. Unto backsliding Israel the Lord declared His purpose to recover and restore her, saying, "I will give her vineyards from thence, and the valley of Achor for a door of hope" (Hosea 2:15): our putting away of the offensive thing-by repentance and reformation-affords ground for hoping that God will renew His favors unto us. "And Sharon shall be a fold of flocks, and the valley of Achor [where things are put right with God] a place for the herds to lie down in, for My people that have sought Me" (Isa. 65:10) - a promise which should be spiritualized and pleaded by each wayward but contrite saint.