Joshua 7:24,25
‘Then Joshua, and all Israel with him, took Achan the son of Zerah, the silver, the robe, the bar of gold, his sons, his daughters, his oxen, his donkeys, his sheep, his tent, and all that belonged to him; and they brought them up to the Valley of Achor. And Joshua said, “Why have you brought disaster on us? The LORD will bring disaster on you this day.” And all Israel stoned them with stones; and they burned them with fire after they had stoned them with stones.’
This is the result of an unfortunate incident in Israel’s history. Israel had just defeated Jericho and was on a high. As they traveled on they encountered a little community and Joshua sent a small band to deal with them. However the small number defeated and chased Israel. Joshua implored of God as to what happened. The answer was that someone had taken some of the spoil from Jericho and they would be at arms length with God until the person returned the items.
All the people were together and God miraculously pointed out Achan and his family. That brings us to today’s verses. I will say that many would have a problem with the children and animals being stoned as well. There are other occasions in the bible where the same thing was done to an enemy nation. I understand their concern.
I’ve got a couple of answers. The first is God is sending a message that would shock the nation into compliance. It’s frightening how Achan was identified. To see the tribe be chosen, then the family, then the individual. This is a deterent. We wouldn’t want to have that shame on us. We wouldn’t want our wife and children be punished for our sins.
My second comment is that this is to create fear for God. He means what He says. Yes, He loved Achan and his family. But He wanted to create that fear. It is good to fear God. Proverbs 9:10 says, “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.”
One may not agree with the punishment, but still fear God. They don’t bad mouth it or complain. They respect it and let it lie. They may even pray, “Lord, I do have a problem with this. Give me understanding.”
I’ve heard stories of two celebrities who turned from God because of the problems they had from the Bible. One was Brad Pitt. He didn’t like how God asks for credit and glory to be given Him. It’s ironic as Brad is a celebrity who get all type of attention. He probably markets his brand to get attention. The other one was Oprah. She didn’t like how God gets jealous. Which is odd as we all experience jealousy. It’s a threatening emotion. Apparently she wanted God to be above that. I think it makes Him relatable.
It’s ok to have a problem with God. However, don’t let it put distance between us and Him. Bring it to Him and ask for wisdom. I watched a show about Martin Luther. His understanding of God was limited. He was tortured in conscience and said he hated God. I also struggled with a guilty conscience. I didn’t dare say I hated Him. I did struggle with the imagined harshness. As he studied Romans, God gave him wisdom and he learned about grace and justification by faith. He never forsook God, but kept persisting.
Lord, help us to fear You. Let it keep us from sin. Let our actions not bring bad consequences to our families.