Questions for Littles: Whom does it say committed a trespass in v1? But who had specifically done this? What did Joshua send men to Ai to do (v2)? What counsel did the men give (v3)? How many did Joshua send to fight (v4)? What happened to them? How many actually died (v5)? But what was the result in the hearts of the people of Israel? How did Joshua respond (v6)? In front of what did he respond like this? What does he ask God if the Lord about why He brought the people over the Jordan (v7)? What argument does Joshua make—what does he say is at stake in v9? What does the Lord tell Joshua to do in v10? Of what does He inform Joshua in v11? What will the Lord not do with them anymore until they remove the accursed thing from among them (12)? What is Joshua to do to the people in v13? What will the process be, to identify who has the accursed thing in v14? What must be done to the person who has it (v15)? What tribe, clan, family, and household does the Lord identify in v16-18? What does Joshua tell Achan to do in v19? What had Achan taken and where had he put them (v20-23)? What does Joshua say to Achan? What does all Israel do to him? What did they raise over him in v26? How does the Lord respond?In the passage for this week’s Old Testament reading, we learn how seriously the Lord takes His holiness, and just how seriously we ought to as well.
If the Lord says that something is set apart to Him, then it is entirely set apart to Him. There are no “little things.” We reveal that we just don’t get it, if we are horrified at what happens to Achan.
We should instead have been horrified that someone was willing to take even the smallest thing that had been set apart to destruction before the Lord. We should have been horrified that anyone was willing to value their possessions ahead of participating faithfully in the life of God’s people. We should have been horrified that, as the Lord continued to narrow down and single out Achan, he waited all the way until Joshua commanded him before he actually confessed.
The interesting thing is that people are going to a much worse fate than we read about here from Achan, and we seem to be bothered relatively little. Parents are leading their children in godless, worldly lives—bringing them along straight to the everlasting flames of Hell. Are we horrified at that?
Even more than the astonishment of horror, let us stir ourselves up to a great astonishment of trust and worship. For, though each one of us deserves far worse than Achan received, it was the Lord Jesus Himself, who never sinned in the slightest, that bore the fire of God’s wrath so that the Lord’s fierce anger would turn away from us. Praise the Lord!
What do you do with God’s holy day? Holy worship? Holy Word? Holy Name?Suggested songs: ARP24 “The Earth and the Riches?” or TPH230 “Holy, Holy, Holy”
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