The Fall at Ai: The Church in the Hands of an Angry God

The Angry Almighty (vv.1-5)

Verse 1 sets the tone for everything that takes place in the next chapter, and much like the book of Job, we’re more informed than the participants in the story. What we know that Joshua and the other 99.99% of Israel does not know is that Achan has taken some of what was set apart. As a result, YHWH’s anger burned against the Israelites. This idea of God’s anger bookends this entire chapter, and that’s a clue to us that everything that happens between Vs.1 and Vs.26 deals with the Lord’s wrath. No matter what happens, we must bear this context in mind. And note how the Scripture describes this, how it relays the message to us:

All of Israel is guilty. The opening of the verse, The Israelites…were unfaithful.

The terms that Israel’s unfaithfulness are described as, the word unfaithful is a term that typically described a wife’s unfaithfulness to her husband. Essentially, God’s accusation is that spiritually, Israel has played the part of a harlot.

Finally, all of Israel is guilty, but Achan is singled out for bringing this guilt upon Israel.

We need to hold these things in mind: spiritual unfaithfulness, one man’s failure, and the community’s guilt. All of this laid out in verse 1. But let’s see what happens because of it — Josh.7:2-5.

First, contrary to what we may contemplate about this Scripture…you know, Joshua’s failure to consult God (there’s no record of seeking divine wisdom) or trust in human ability (the spies only mention what they are capable of with no reference to God’s promises), the truth of the matter has already been laid out for us in verse 1 — Israel’s failure and defeat at Ai is because the LORD’s anger burned against the Israelites.

Wrestle with this difficult fact: Israel is defeated, YHWH’s anger burned against the ENTIRE nation because of one man’s spiritual infidelity. Our rugged individualism cries at this point: “NOT FAIR!” But church, we would be better served to tremble before the burning anger of a holy God than we would to try to convince ourselves of the “unfairness” of a sovereign, all-wise, and omniscient God. He has not propped us up in a position to make judgment calls on His actions. As a matter of fact, think back to when we first started studying Joshua and we made note of how Joshua is a prophetic book, using narrative to unveil the character and nature of God. This is one of those moments where the Scripture is pulling back the curtain on just how serious God is about holiness. As a part of the covenant community of faith, one person’s disobedience taints and stains the entire community, reminding us that sin is not near as tame as we think it is. And, what a lie Satan has sold us and convinced us of, that sin, if you’re not caught, is simply a personal issue. Israel’s defeat at the hands of Ai, which literally means “The Ruin,” their ruin at the hands of a place already in shambles, reminds us sin is never isolated and its effects never contained.

The Perplexed Prophet (vv.6-9)

Now remember, we know more than Joshua and the elders know at this point. Joshua’s response shows his utter grief as he tore his clothes and fell facedown, staying there until evening. Everything they do, from tearing their clothes, to falling flat before God’s presence, to putting dust on their heads, it’s all a sign of their grief. And after this, Joshua finally speaks. Almost everything he says mirrors Israel’s complaint in the desert. Why have you brought us here? Did we come just to die? It’s as if Joshua has become utterly short-sighted. It’s a good thing we don’t struggle with that, right? All Joshua seems to be able to focus on is the defeat at Ai. So much so does this dominate his thoughts that he goes so far to say it would’ve been better for Israel to stay stuck across the Jordan. Never mind the promise that God would perpetually be with Israel so long as they were faithful to His covenant. Pay no mind to the miracle at the Jordan river that caused the hearts of kings everywhere to melt away in fear. Forget about the fact that God provided for Israel through the produce of Canaan and there was no longer any need for manna. Israel was defeated at Ai, and that’s all Joshua could see. Sometimes we prefer the certainty of the past, no matter the situation, rather than the perils of the present, no matter the future blessing.

But there is one thing that sets Joshua prayer apart from the complaints of the wandering generation, and it’s that last line: Then what will you do about your great Name? Church, there is a vast chasm between voicing our concern and frustration and complaint TO God and voicing our complaint and frustration ABOUT God. Joshua’s prayer essentially says, “if they destroy us, it reflects directly on Your character, God.” It is a quite beautiful thing Scripture teaches us through Joshua here. As Matthew Henry notes, “We cannot urge a better plea than this, Lord, ‘what will you do for Your great name?’ Let God in all (things) be glorified, and then welcome His whole will.” The perplexed prophet, faced with the uncertainty of what has just happened, heart heavy with seemingly no hope on the horizon, pleads both his danger and YHWH’s honor. In times of uncertainty, we would do well to do the same.

The Dangerous Dilemma (vv.10-12)

As Joshua speaks, the Lord answers. Finally Joshua is clued in to what we’ve known: Israel has sinned and violated God’s covenant…appointed for them. How? Someone in the camp has taken what was to be set apart and devoted to God, they’ve stolen, and they’ve been deceitful about those things. Because of this disobedience, God says, Israel cannot stand against their enemies, because THEY HAVE BEEN SET APART FOR DESTRUCTION. Let us understand what YHWH is saying — because you failed to utterly destroy what I said was to be utterly destroyed, because you have failed to honor Me in everything, you now are set apart to share in the same fate as the things you failed to deal with initially.

At this point, Israel shares in the same fate as the pagan Canaanites. In essence, Israel has become Canaanized at this point and deserves Canaan’s fate. God is not interested in a double standard for Israel and Canaan. If Canaan persists in rebellion, it reserves its just destruction, and if Israel persists in its rebellion, she, too, will receive her just destruction. Being devoted to the same fate as Jericho proves now Israel’s complete association, through Achan’s sin, with the pagans. Again, remember one person’s sin has brought this fate on the ENTIRE community. We must wrestle with this fact because, again, we think sin is such an isolated thing. “As long as it doesn’t hurt anyone else, what does it matter?” is the mantra and attitude toward sin today, and Joshua seven reminds us that IT DOES HURT OTHERS!

The seriousness of the situation is finally underscored in the last part of Josh.7:12 — I will no longer be with you unless you remove from among you what is set apart. There is no more grave threat than the removal of God’s presence. There is nothing more crucial for God’s people than the continual presence of God! We are reminded of this truth when David prays His Psalm of Repentance in Ps.51 — don’t take Your Holy Spirit from me, and it is a theme of the final book of the Bible when the churches of Revelation 2-3 all face the removal of the lamp stand of God’s presence. Further, so important is God’s continual and on-going presence with His people that God seals believers with His Holy Spirit. And, yes, once He seals us, He doesn’t take it, we would do well to remember that we can grieve and quench the Spirit’s work in our life and when we do, we WILL NOT be filled…the idea there is controlled…by the Holy Spirit. In other words, we won’t experience the power of God in our life and by extension, we won’t see God things happening. Let’s hit the pause button, because I want to circle back around to this, because this part, this last part of verse 12, is the hinge and point of the passage.

The Sweeping Sanction (vv.13-26)

God reveals His plan, and His plan is total. The person who is revealed to be in sin must be burned, along with everything he has. God reveals the person to be Achan, son of Carmi, of the tribe of Judah. Achan has the pedigree…you could even ask of him, because of his lineage, if he could have been the seed that would crush the head of the serpent, and instead, he’s the one that brings Israel’s first defeat in Canaan and starts the process of Israel looking more and more like Canaan. Bear in mind that even though we’ve seen a lot of faithfulness in first six chapters of Joshua, Israel’s past, much like our own process of becoming more godly, their past was checkered! It got to the point that Israel is eventually kicked out of this very land that God has given them, and YHWH goes so far as to call them “Not My People” and “Not Loved!” But, I digress...

Achan is singled out, and Joshua tells him to give glory to God, a way of saying “tell the whole truth about your sin.” And Achan does. He admits his covetousness, the very same word forbidden in the Ten Commandments, and tells Joshua how he took the cloak from Babylon, five pounds of silver, and a bar of gold weighing a pound and a quarter. Now some scholars have made the argument that all of this together would be about a lifetime’s worth of wages for the average person in Joshua’s day. To say the least, it was a significant sum, which begs the question, what compromise would you be willing to make for a lifetime’s worth of riches? Or, even more convicting, what compromises have you or do you make for the sake of just a little monetary gain?

Well, Joshua sends some messengers and they find things just as Achan said. They spread…out the goods, or “pour out” the goods in YHWH’s presence. It’s the root of the word used for pouring out oil for anointing and religious rites, and they do it in God’s presence, a way of pleading for God to act as a witness that nothing has been withheld from Him. Then, all of Israel participates in stoning, burning, and burying Achan, his sons and daughters, his ox, donkey, and sheep, his tent, and all that he had. Utter destruction for all of Achan’s household, and all of Israel had to participate in the judgment, 1.) so that no single person bears the weight of their sacrifice and death, but more importantly, 2.) all of Israel had to participate in purging the evil from its midst. As the sacrifice is finished, it’s a buried under a large pile of rocks and it’s hard not to see the connection of the pile of stones taken from the Jordan, a memorial to what YHWH had done. One memorial was a reminder of YHWH’s faithfulness when Israel obeyed, the other a reminder of YHWH’s judgment when Israel strays. Then, the Scripture notes, the LORD turned from His burning anger.

Call to Repentance

I’ve got a question for us today as we turn to our time of response. It’s a simple question. It begs you to be honest with yourself before God, so give glory to the LORD, the God of Israel, and make a confession to Him. Here it is, and we’ll Matthew will sing and the altar will be open and I encourage you to respond…don’t let pride get in the way, don’t let fear of others may think stop you, and yes, I do ask you to come to the altar this morning, because there is something in the physical response of moving when God convicts us that reveals a seriousness to our conviction and commitment, but here it is: Are we missing a genuine move of the Spirit in our midst because there is sin in my camp and sin in your camp that we have been unwilling to deal with? If there is sin in your life that you’d rather sweep under the rug, dismiss as insignificant, or overlook because, “that’s just the way you are,” join me at the altar as we confess before the Lord today.