Choices have Consequences - The Life of Achan
(Rob McLeod)
To say that life for the nation of Israel was looking ‘up’ would be an understatement. They had recently, and miraculously, crossed the Jordan River and entered the highly anticipated “good land.” They had finished approximately 40 years of wandering in the wilderness as their parents’ faithless generation died off (Numbers 14:26-38). Most recently they had conquered Jericho, a well-fortified city with formidable stone walls. Next to conquer was the considerably smaller city of Ai. At this stage the Israeli spies were so confident of military success that they advised Joshua “Do not let all the people [Hebrew soldiers] go up, but let about two or three thousand men go up and attack Ai. Do not weary all the people there, for the people of Ai are few” (Joshua 7:3). Joshua, the newly installed leader of Israel, heeded their advice. A thorough and humiliating defeat soon followed. Joshua 7:5 records that “about 36 men” were killed by the men of Ai and the remaining Israelite soldiers were chased from the battle site. As a result “the hearts of the people melted and became like water.”
At this stage Joshua did the right thing. He “fell to the earth on his face” and prayed. There was a strong tone of frustration in Joshua as he implored the Lord: “Why have You brought this people over the Jordan at all—to deliver us into the hand of the Amorites, to destroy us? Oh, that we had been content, and dwelt on the other side of the Jordan!” (Joshua 5:7) The grief and bewilderment that Joshua felt in the moment was so strong that he actually said that it would have been better for Israel to not have entered the promised land to the west of the Jordan River. Wow. This after almost 40 years of arduous waiting. I love the Lord’s response: “So the LORD said to Joshua: ‘Get up! Why do you lie thus on your face? Israel has sinned, and they have also transgressed my covenant which I have commanded them’” (Joshua 7:10-11).
The reason for Israel’s defeat at Ai was actually quite simple. It was not that they had brought too few soldiers to the battle and it wasn’t due to Ai having a more skilled military. It was because Israel had sinned. The “sin” that the Lord was referring to in Joshua 7:10-11 was committed during the battle for Jericho. Prior to this battle Israel had been specifically instructed by the Lord to not take any of the spoil for themselves. Only certain vessels of bronze and iron as well as some silver and gold were to be kept for the nation’s treasury. Everything else was to be destroyed or left behind. Everyone in Israel followed this instruction except for one man, Achan. This, the Lord explained, was the reason for their defeat at Ai. The Lord spoke to Joshua: “There is an accursed thing in your midst, O Israel; you cannot stand before your enemies until you take away the accursed thing from among you” (Joshua 7:13).
The next morning the Lord revealed to Joshua that Achan was the perpetrator. Achan, standing before Joshua, confessed his sin. Achan revealed “When I saw among the spoils a beautiful Babylonian garment, two hundred shekels of silver, and a wedge of gold weighing fifty shekels, I coveted them and took them. And there they are, hidden in the earth in the midst of my tent, with the silver under it” (Joshua 7:21). In response Joshua pronounced a death sentence upon Achan and his entire family. Joshua 7:24-25 records: “Then Joshua, and all Israel with him, took Achan the son of Zerah, the silver, the garment, the wedge of gold, his sons, his daughters, his oxen, his donkeys, his sheep, his tent, and all that he had, and they brought them to the Valley of Achor. And Joshua said, ‘Why have you troubled us? The LORD will trouble you this day.’ So all Israel stoned him with stones; and they burned them with fire after they had stoned them with stones.”
Application and Discussion
The preceding Scripture is incredibly sobering. I believe that the primary takeaway from this account is that our sin affects others, not just ourselves. First of all, the Lord attributes the death of the 36 men in Joshua 7:5 to be a direct consequence of Achan’s disobedience at Jericho. Many of these deceased men were likely husbands and fathers. As such, their families were also directly impacted by Achan’s sin. In addition, the defeat at Ai left Israel temporarily despondent in their spirit and drained them of desire to remain in their land of inheritance. We must realize that our sin has consequences. There is a spiritual battle going on at every moment. All of our actions and decisions have either God-honouring or Spirit-quenching consequences. Some consequences are immediate and observable while other consequences build slowly and are not observed for some time. I am pretty confident that Achan felt he could get away with his theft and that very few people, if any, would be negatively affected by his decision. Perhaps after living in the wilderness for so many years he felt a little entitled to indulge himself with a few of the riches in the new land. Men, we may act similarly at times. Sure we may not be hiding the spoils of war in our house but we can very much act like Achan in our daily decision making. For example, we may know that the Lord has given us clear instructions on a matter but we are still seeking to pleasure our flesh anyways. Perhaps we are justifying ‘small’ extra-marital sexual lusts and indulgences. Perhaps we think we really deserve a purchase that we can’t financially afford. Perhaps we are apathetic in spiritually leading our families. Perhaps we have justified not being in the Word or committed to a local church fellowship. All of these choices will have consequences—and not good ones I might add. Wherever your discontentment and lust takes you, recall that all covetousness is as idolatry. You cannot maintain true fellowship with the Lord while entertaining Satan’s ways. You can be assured that there will be unattractive consequences, whether now, a few years from now, or in eternity when you stand before the Lord.
From this account in Joshua 7 one sees the direct consequences that Achan’s immediate family faced due to their father’s sin. Scripture records (Joshua 7:24) that Achan’s sons and daughters were stoned with him. This is an incredible example of how our ‘small’ sins can have devastating effects upon those that are under our care. It is possible that Achan’s family helped him to conceal the stolen goods as they were hidden beneath the family’s tent. However, Scripture does not present this as a definitive explanation for their capital punishment. We are left to conclude that our actions as men have direct implications upon innocent ones around us.
Perhaps, somewhat surprisingly, the account of Achan’s demise actually provides us with a happy life lesson. It is this: as much as our poor decisions can have devastating effects on others, conversely, our God-honouring decisions can have tremendous advantageous effects upon the spiritual growth of our families and church community. No decision is made in a vacuum. It is not only poor decisions that profoundly affect people. Rather, all of our life choices can be viewed as opportunities to bless those around us. This can be accomplished by choosing to please the Lord rather than our fleshly appetites! Let us not exchange our good spiritual health, or the health of those around us, for the very temporary pleasure of sin. I can guarantee you that the clothing and money that Achan stole would have brought only fleeting satisfaction. This is the nature of sin.
