Not Just Theft

            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.”

            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.”

            So Joshua sent messengers, and they ran to the tent, and there it was, hidden in his tent, with the silver underneath. They took the things from the tent, brought them to Joshua and all the Israelites and spread them out before the LORD.

            Then Joshua, together with all Israel, took Achan son of Zerah, the silver, the robe, the gold wedge, his sons and daughters, his cattle, donkeys and sheep, his tent and all that he had, to the Valley of Achor.  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. (Joshua 7:19-25)

 

     Sometimes we try to justify our sin with the idea that it doesn't hurt anyone, or at least, it doesn't hurt anyone else. Thirty-six soldiers died because of Achan's theft. It was only 1% of the force Israel had sent, but it was strategically a disaster. Some may say that this is evidence of God being malicious, capricious and generally mean. God shouldn't have punished Israel for one person's screw up. Even more, the Israelites shouldn't have stoned his whole family for what Achan had done.

        God was living up to the agreement Israel had ratified. He acted with great moderation. Those who have dealt with children or pets know that if you let misbehavior slide, it gets repeated, and expanded. The wisest thing to do is to stick to the rules established and to deal with the first violation clearly. When other children or pets are accessories before, during, or after the fact, they must be included in the punishment.

         Achan didn't steal a pack of gum. He stole a Babylonian robe, a considerable amount of silver and a hunk of gold. I don't know how he got them out of Jericho and to his tent, but I don't imagine they could go unnoticed as Achan dug a hole in his living room in which to hide them. The sins involved weren't just theft and lying. Achan's family's crimes included accessory to those crimes, conspiracy, violation of vows and treason. Those acts brought about the death of thirty six men and compromised the security of the nation of Israel. The penalty for all those crimes was known to Achan when he committed them.

            Some people might say, "But, the kids?" We don't know how many children there were, or how old they were. They could have been anywhere from newborn to their mid twenties. I am inclined to think that they were at least teens who were capable of deciding to go along with the sin or to expose it, and they chose to conceal. Achan's wife is not mentioned, so I'm inclined also to think that she had died before this incident took place. This is the problem with sin. It isn't just about us. It's about those connected to us who are affected by the consequences of our sins.  This sin had cost thirty six lives and would continue to cost more. The sin was not just theft and accessory to theft, it was treason and accessory to treason.