Achan stoned to death Engraving by Gustave Dore Wikimedia Commons
Victory at Jericho Followed by Disaster at Ai
After the spectacular victory at Jericho, the Israelites under Joshua pressed on to attack the town of Ai. The problem was they disobeyed God's instructions by one man's secret sin and by Joshua failing to seek God's instructions for attacking the town. The results were disastrous for both the individual and the people because God could not allow their sin to go unpunished.
Failure to Seek God's Instructions
The problem was in their excitement at the miraculous capture of Jericho, Joshua listened to the advice of his spies about attacking the town instead of waiting on God's instructions as he had at Jericho. The result was the spies he had sent to scout out the situation brought back a report suggesting the town could be taken by just two or three thousand men and there was no need to involve the rest of the troops who were weary from the fighting at Jericho. The result was the attack was repelled and thirty-six of the troops were killed. Worse still was the effect the defeat had on the morale of the men who survived.
God Sees & Exposes Secret Sin
But the major reason for the defeat was that Israel had disobeyed God's explicit instructions not to touch any of the plunder from the victory that was set aside for his glory. It transpired that a man named Achan had secretly stolen and hidden some of the plunder for his wife and himself.
Joshua got face down on his hands and knees from dawn to dusk asking the LORD why they had suffered such a defeat. But God was not impressed by this display of apparent remorse.
" Get up and stop grovelling," he said. "Israel has sinned; they have violated my covenant, which I commanded them to keep. They have taken some of the devoted things; they have stolen, they have lied, they have put them with their own possessions. That is why the Israelites cannot stand against their enemies; they turn their backs and run because they have been made liable to destruction. I will not be with you anymore unless you destroy whatever among you is devoted to destruction. Go, consecrate the people. Tell them, ‘Consecrate yourselves in preparation for tomorrow; for this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: There are devoted things among you, Israel. You cannot stand against your enemies until you remove them.'" (Joshua 7:11-13)
Achan Identified As The Culprit
The culprit was identified by a process of elimination the following day, when the clans of Israel were lined up and came forward one by one. It ended with Achan being identified as the one who had kept some of the plunder God had said they were not to keep for themselves.
Then Joshua said to Achan, “My son, give glory to the Lord, the God of Israel, and honor him. 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: RepentanceI saw in the plunder a beautiful robe from Babylonia, two hundred shekels of silver and a bar of gold weighing fifty shekels, I coveted them and took them. They are hidden in the ground inside my tent, with the silver underneath."
Men were sent to his tent and returned with everything Achan had hidden. A sudden silence fell on the assembled crowd before Joshua spoke.
" Why have you brought this trouble on us? The Lord will bring trouble on you today.”
Then all Israel stoned Achan, and after they had stoned the rest, they burned them. Over Achan they heaped up a large pile of rocks, which remains to this day. Then the Lord turned from his fierce anger. Therefore, that place has been called the Valley of Achor (meansingTrouble ) ever since.
Obedience Brings Blessings & Victory
Then the Lord said to Joshua, “Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged. Take the whole army with you, and go up and attack Ai. For I have delivered into your hands the king of Ai, his people, his city and his land. You shall do to Ai and its king as you did to Jericho and its king, except that you may carry off their plunder and livestock for yourselves. Set an ambush behind the city.” (Joshua 8:1-2)
This time Joshua had clear instructions from God on how to attack Ai, God had guanteed them victory and said they could carry off the plunder for themselves.
The main point of the battle strategy was to set an ambush for the inhabitants of Ai behind the town and make a feigned withdrawal from the front line to make the enemy think they were running away.
Joshua took thirty thousand of his troops and gave them explicit orders.
" “Listen carefully. You are to set an ambush behind the city. Don't go very far from it. All of you be on the alert. I and all those with me will advance on the city, and when the men come out against us, as they did before, we will flee from them. They will pursue us until we have lured them away from the city, for they will say, ‘They are running away from us as they did before.’ So when we flee from them, you are to rise up from ambush and take the city. The Lord your God will give it into your hand. When you have taken the city, set it on fire. Do what the Lord has commanded. See to it; you have my orders.”
That night they set the ambush and the next morning launched the attack. Following the orders Joshua had given his troops, the whole town of Ai including its king thought the Israelites were running away and left the town unprotected. Joshua's troops in the ambush entered the town and set it on fire. The result was the slaughter of the inhabitants of Ai and the capture of the king, who was impaled on a pole until evening, when the body was taken down and buried under a heap of stones.
Joshua Builds an Altar & Renews the Covenant
Then Joshua built on Mount Ebal an altar to the Lord, the God of Israel, as Moses the servant of the Lord had commanded the Israelites. He built it according to what is written in the Book of the Law of Moses—an altar of uncut stones, on which no iron tool had been used. On it they offered to the Lord burnt offerings and sacrificed fellowship offerings. There, in the presence of the Israelites, Joshua wrote on stones a copy of the law of Moses. (Joshua 8:30-32)