New International Reader s Version - NIrV - 1996
Joshua 7
1
But the people of Israel weren't faithful to the Lord. They didn't do what they were told to do with the things that had been set apart to him in a special way to be destroyed. Achan had taken some of those things. So the Lord's anger burned against Israel. Achan was the son of Carmi. Carmi was the son of Zimri. And Zimri was the son of Zerah. They were from the tribe of Judah.
Reference
People
Curse
Joshua 22:20
Parallel theme
Ecclesiastes 9:18
Jonah 1:7
Ezra 9:6
References Israel
1 Chronicles 21:7
References Lord
Joshua 22:18
Joshua 22:16
2 Chronicles 24:18
2 Samuel 24:1
Daniel 9:7
2
Joshua sent men from Jericho to Ai. Ai is near Beth Aven east of Bethel. Joshua told the men, "Go up and check out the area around Ai." So the men went up and checked it out.
Reference
📍 Beth-aven
3
Then they returned to Joshua. They said, "The whole army doesn't have to go up and attack Ai. Send only two or three thousand men. They can take the city. Don't make the whole army go up there. Ai only has a few men."
Reference
5
They chased the men of Israel from the city gate all the way to Shebarim. They killed about 36 of them on the way down. So the hearts of the people of Israel melted away in fear.
Reference
📍 Shebarim
6
Joshua and the elders of Israel became sad. Joshua tore his clothes. He fell in front of the ark of the Lord with his face to the ground. He remained there until evening. The elders did the same thing. They also sprinkled dust on their heads.
Reference
7
Joshua said, "Lord and King, why did you ever bring these people across the Jordan River? Did you want to hand us over to the Amorites? Did you want them to destroy us? I wish we had been content to stay on the other side of the Jordan!
Reference
Parallel theme
Psalm 116:11
Exodus 17:3
Matthew 17:17
Matthew 17:20
References God
Exodus 16:3
References Lord
Hebrews 12:5
2 Kings 3:10
Numbers 14:3
9
The people of Canaan will hear about it. So will everyone else in the country. They will surround us. They'll wipe our name from the face of the earth. Then what will you do when people don't honor your great name anymore?"
Reference
Parallel theme
Exodus 32:12
Psalm 83:4
John 12:28
Deuteronomy 9:28
Joel 2:17
Ezekiel 20:9
Numbers 14:13
11
"Israel has sinned. I made a covenant with them. I commanded them to keep it. But they have broken it. They have taken some of the things that had been set apart to me in a special way to be destroyed. They have stolen. They have lied. They have taken the things they stole and have put them with their own things.
Reference
12
"That is why the men of Israel can't stand up against their enemies. They turn their backs and run. It is because I have decided to let them be destroyed. You must destroy the things you took that had been set apart to me. If you do not, I will not be with you anymore.
Reference
Curse
Deuteronomy 7:26
Joshua 6:18
Parallel theme
Isaiah 59:2
Numbers 14:45
References Israel
Judges 2:14
13
"Go. Set the people apart. Tell them, 'Make yourselves pure. Get ready for tomorrow. Here is what the Lord, the God of Israel, wants you to do. He says, "People of Israel, you have kept some of the things that had been set apart to me in a special way to be destroyed. You can't stand up against your enemies until you get rid of those things."
Reference
14
" 'In the morning, come forward tribe by tribe. The tribe the Lord chooses will come forward group by group. The group the Lord chooses will come forward family by family. And the men in the family the Lord chooses will come forward one by one.
Reference
15
" 'Anyone who is caught with the things that had been set apart to the Lord will be destroyed by fire. Everything that belongs to that person will also be destroyed. He has broken the Lord's covenant. He has done a very terrible thing in Israel!' "
Reference
16
Early the next morning Joshua had Israel come forward by tribes. The tribe of Judah was picked.
17
The groups of Judah came forward. Joshua picked the group of Zerah. He had the group of Zerah come forward by families. The family of Zimri was picked.
Reference
Parallel theme
Numbers 26:20
18
He had their men come forward one by one. Achan was picked. Achan was the son of Carmi. Carmi was the son of Zimri. And Zimri was the son of Zerah. Zerah was from the tribe of Judah.
Reference
Parallel theme
Numbers 32:23
19
Joshua spoke to Achan. He said, "My son, the Lord is the God of Israel. So give him glory by telling the truth! Give him praise by admitting you have sinned! Tell me what you have done. Don't hide it from me."
Reference
Glory
1 Samuel 6:5
Jeremiah 13:16
Parallel theme
1 Samuel 14:43
Prayer
Daniel 9:4
References God
John 9:24
2 Chronicles 30:22
20
Achan replied, "It's true! I've sinned against the Lord, the God of Israel. Here is what I've done.
Reference
Sin
Psalm 38:18
21
I saw a beautiful robe from Babylonia among the things we had taken. I saw five pounds of silver. And I saw a gold bar that weighed 20 ounces. I wanted them, so I took them. I hid them in the ground inside my tent. The silver is on the bottom."
Reference
22
So Joshua sent some messengers. They ran to Achan's tent. And there was everything, hidden in his tent! The silver was on the bottom.
23
They brought the things out of the tent. They took them to Joshua and all of the people of Israel. And they spread them out in the sight of the Lord.
24
Then Joshua and all of the people grabbed hold of Achan, the son of Zerah. They took the silver, the robe and the gold bar. They took Achan's sons and daughters. They took his cattle, donkeys and sheep. They also took his tent and everything he had. They took all of it to the Valley of Achor.
Reference
📍 Valley of Achor
25
Joshua said to Achan, "Why have you brought this trouble on us? The Lord will bring trouble on you today." Then all of the people killed Achan by throwing stones at him. They also killed the rest of his family with stones. They burned all of them up.
Reference
Parallel theme
Deuteronomy 17:5
Leviticus 24:14
References Israel
Joshua 6:18
1 Chronicles 2:7
Leviticus 20:2
26
They placed a large pile of rocks on top of Achan's body. The place has been called the Valley of Achor ever since. That pile is still there to this very day. After the people killed Achan, the Lord turned his burning anger away from them.
Reference
📍 Valley of Achor
Parallel theme
Isaiah 65:10
Hosea 2:15
Joshua 7:24
Lamentations 3:53
2 Samuel 18:17
References Lord
Deuteronomy 13:17
Resurrection
Joshua 8:29
Chapter Summary
Joshua chapter 7 describes Israel's victory at Jericho followed by a quick loss at Ai. The chapter explains that the disobedience of one person led to the problems of the whole nation and introduces the reader to Achan, who took some of the things left at Jericho that the Lord had commanded Israel to leave behind. His trespass was discovered when the children of Israel lost the battle at Ai, and the chapter ends with Achan and his belongings being judged.
Following the conquest of Jericho, Israel appeared to be on the verge of total victory. Joshua sent messengers with gifts to Ai, a small city nearby nestled between Beth-aven and Bethel to the east. The spies returned with the opinion that a few thousand soldiers would be more than enough for a city so small and insignificant compared to Jericho. Joshua sent out around three thousand soldiers according to their suggestion, and the men of Ai attacked them. The enemy killed about thirty-six of Israel's soldiers and chased the remainder of them to Shebarim and struck them down along the way.
The people of Israel were horrified at the sight of their friends' mangled bodies. Their strength was crushed, and the entire nation was stunned. The success at Jericho was so overwhelming that the people of Israel failed to grasp the gravity of what had just occurred.
Joshua tore his clothes and fell before the ark of the Lord until evening. Joshua and the elders of Israel mourned and covered their heads with dust, and Joshua prayed that the Lord would not make them a byword among the people of Canaan. If the people failed completely at this point, the neighboring nations and their enemies would be emboldened and attack them.
God told Joshua to get up, telling him that Israel had sinned. They had violated the covenant of the Lord by removing some of the things of Jericho that had been assigned to the Lord. The people of Israel had failed to separate themselves from the things of the world and were thus powerless before their enemies. God told Joshua that someone had taken some of the things of Jericho, and the nation had become guilty because of the one man.
One of the messages of Joshua 7 is that Israel's faith in God was bound up with a sense of national unity. There was no room for complacency or thinking that just because they had succeeded at one task, they would automatically succeed at the others. The defeat at Ai had shown them that something was amiss.
God told Joshua to sanctify the people and that he would determine who had taken possession of the things of Jericho. Joshua brought the people together and began narrowing things down until it was obvious which tribe, family, and household had committed the trespass. He narrowed it down to Achan, the son of Carmi.
Joshua spoke to Achan and told him to bring glory to the Lord God of Israel by confessing what he had done. Achan told him that he had seen a precious Babylonish garment, two hundred shekels of silver, and a wedge of gold worth fifty shekels. He had coveted the things and carried them off with him despite the prohibition.
He had seen the things of Jericho, been attracted to them, and taken them despite knowing what he was doing. Achan had hidden them beneath the earth in his tent with the silver beneath it. His confession aligned with what God had said regarding the trespass. Joshua sent messengers to Achan's tent and dug up the things that he had taken, and they brought them up to Joshua and the people of Israel and laid them before the Lord.
The rest of the chapter talks of the punishment for Achan and his family. The people of Israel stoned him and burned the things he had taken and the man and his household with them, making a heap of stones over them. The valley was called the valley of Achor, the valley of trouble, for the trouble that Achan had brought upon the house of Israel.
Achan's punishment is hard to stomach because, in addition to himself, the reader must wonder about the rest of his family and the belongings that he took with him. The chapter deals in the context of a covenant between God and the people of Israel. One man's trespass had affected the whole nation, and it was a necessary lesson before they could move forward in their battles with the daughters of Canaan.
The contrast with Joshua 6 is that the victory at Jericho was complete and utter because Israel obeyed the voice of Joshua and God. Their disobedience at Ai, however, meant that the whole nation was punished. It was the transgression of one man that caused the problems, but the entire nation suffered for it.
There is also a lesson to be learned about hidden sins. Achan did not think that what he was doing was wrong, for he stole the things and hid them in his tent. But not long afterward, the sins were discovered because the Lord had brought the matter to light. It was only when the people of Israel lost the battle at Ai that the fault was discovered.
There is a lesson here for the importance of being obedient even to the slightest edicts that God brings. Joshua had sent messengers with gifts to Ai, and when the spies came back saying that only a few thousand men were necessary for the task, they did not realize that there was something wrong in their camp. Not only did they need more men for the task, but they had to contend with the fact that the whole camp was defiled by the trespass of one of their own.
The defeat at Ai was the turning point of the war. The Valley of Achor marked Israel's turning point, for from this point onwards, they would march towards victory after victory. Israel had been given specific instructions as to what could be taken from Jericho and what could not. Achan, however, gave into temptation and took some of the things of Jericho. Israel suffered because of the sins of one man, and thirty-six men were slain because of the trespass of one. It is this disobedience that God is speaking out against in Joshua 7. The people of Israel had been victorious before in Jericho but failed at Ai because of their failure to obey the voice of Joshua and the Lord.
The chapter ends with the Lord turning away from Israel, and it is important to remember that while the immediate issue was dealt with, the troubles continued. Israel would have to fight at Ai again but would succeed after dealing with the problem.
Following the conquest of Jericho, Israel appeared to be on the verge of total victory. Joshua sent messengers with gifts to Ai, a small city nearby nestled between Beth-aven and Bethel to the east. The spies returned with the opinion that a few thousand soldiers would be more than enough for a city so small and insignificant compared to Jericho. Joshua sent out around three thousand soldiers according to their suggestion, and the men of Ai attacked them. The enemy killed about thirty-six of Israel's soldiers and chased the remainder of them to Shebarim and struck them down along the way.
The people of Israel were horrified at the sight of their friends' mangled bodies. Their strength was crushed, and the entire nation was stunned. The success at Jericho was so overwhelming that the people of Israel failed to grasp the gravity of what had just occurred.
Joshua tore his clothes and fell before the ark of the Lord until evening. Joshua and the elders of Israel mourned and covered their heads with dust, and Joshua prayed that the Lord would not make them a byword among the people of Canaan. If the people failed completely at this point, the neighboring nations and their enemies would be emboldened and attack them.
God told Joshua to get up, telling him that Israel had sinned. They had violated the covenant of the Lord by removing some of the things of Jericho that had been assigned to the Lord. The people of Israel had failed to separate themselves from the things of the world and were thus powerless before their enemies. God told Joshua that someone had taken some of the things of Jericho, and the nation had become guilty because of the one man.
One of the messages of Joshua 7 is that Israel's faith in God was bound up with a sense of national unity. There was no room for complacency or thinking that just because they had succeeded at one task, they would automatically succeed at the others. The defeat at Ai had shown them that something was amiss.
God told Joshua to sanctify the people and that he would determine who had taken possession of the things of Jericho. Joshua brought the people together and began narrowing things down until it was obvious which tribe, family, and household had committed the trespass. He narrowed it down to Achan, the son of Carmi.
Joshua spoke to Achan and told him to bring glory to the Lord God of Israel by confessing what he had done. Achan told him that he had seen a precious Babylonish garment, two hundred shekels of silver, and a wedge of gold worth fifty shekels. He had coveted the things and carried them off with him despite the prohibition.
He had seen the things of Jericho, been attracted to them, and taken them despite knowing what he was doing. Achan had hidden them beneath the earth in his tent with the silver beneath it. His confession aligned with what God had said regarding the trespass. Joshua sent messengers to Achan's tent and dug up the things that he had taken, and they brought them up to Joshua and the people of Israel and laid them before the Lord.
The rest of the chapter talks of the punishment for Achan and his family. The people of Israel stoned him and burned the things he had taken and the man and his household with them, making a heap of stones over them. The valley was called the valley of Achor, the valley of trouble, for the trouble that Achan had brought upon the house of Israel.
Achan's punishment is hard to stomach because, in addition to himself, the reader must wonder about the rest of his family and the belongings that he took with him. The chapter deals in the context of a covenant between God and the people of Israel. One man's trespass had affected the whole nation, and it was a necessary lesson before they could move forward in their battles with the daughters of Canaan.
The contrast with Joshua 6 is that the victory at Jericho was complete and utter because Israel obeyed the voice of Joshua and God. Their disobedience at Ai, however, meant that the whole nation was punished. It was the transgression of one man that caused the problems, but the entire nation suffered for it.
There is also a lesson to be learned about hidden sins. Achan did not think that what he was doing was wrong, for he stole the things and hid them in his tent. But not long afterward, the sins were discovered because the Lord had brought the matter to light. It was only when the people of Israel lost the battle at Ai that the fault was discovered.
There is a lesson here for the importance of being obedient even to the slightest edicts that God brings. Joshua had sent messengers with gifts to Ai, and when the spies came back saying that only a few thousand men were necessary for the task, they did not realize that there was something wrong in their camp. Not only did they need more men for the task, but they had to contend with the fact that the whole camp was defiled by the trespass of one of their own.
The defeat at Ai was the turning point of the war. The Valley of Achor marked Israel's turning point, for from this point onwards, they would march towards victory after victory. Israel had been given specific instructions as to what could be taken from Jericho and what could not. Achan, however, gave into temptation and took some of the things of Jericho. Israel suffered because of the sins of one man, and thirty-six men were slain because of the trespass of one. It is this disobedience that God is speaking out against in Joshua 7. The people of Israel had been victorious before in Jericho but failed at Ai because of their failure to obey the voice of Joshua and the Lord.
The chapter ends with the Lord turning away from Israel, and it is important to remember that while the immediate issue was dealt with, the troubles continued. Israel would have to fight at Ai again but would succeed after dealing with the problem.