Joshua 5 - 7

Joshua 5

The New Generation Circumcised

As soon as all the kings of the Amorites who were beyond the Jordan to the west, and all the kings of the Canaanites who were by the sea, heard that the LORD had dried up the waters of the Jordan for the children of Israel until they had crossed over, their hearts melted and there was no longer any spirit in them because of the people of Israel.

At that time the LORD said to Joshua, “Make sharp knives and circumcise the sons of Israel.” So Joshua made sharp knives and circumcised the sons of Israel at the hill of the foreskins.

And this is the reason why Joshua circumcised them: all the males of the people who came out of Egypt, all the men of war, had died in the wilderness on the way after they had come out of Egypt. All the people who came out had been circumcised, but all the people who were born on the way in the wilderness after they had come out of Egypt had not been circumcised.

For the children of Israel had walked forty years in the wilderness, until all the nation, the men of war who came out of Egypt, perished, because they did not obey the voice of the LORD; the LORD swore to them that he would not let them see the land that the LORD had sworn to their fathers, a land flowing with milk and honey.

So it was their children, whom he raised up in their place that Joshua circumcised. For they were uncircumcised, because they had not been circumcised on the way.

And when they were done circumcising all the people, they remained in their places in the camp until they were healed. And the LORD said to Joshua, “Today I have rolled away the reproach of Egypt from you.” And so the name of that place is called Gilgal to this day.

First Passover in Canaan

While the people of Israel were encamped at Gilgal, they kept the Passover on the fourteenth day of the month in the evening on the plains of Jericho. And the day after the Passover, on that very day, they ate of the produce of the land, unleavened cakes and parched grain. And the Manna ceased the day after they ate of the produce of the land. And there was no longer Manna for the people of Israel, but they ate of the fruit of the land of Canaan that year.

Captain of the LORD’S Army

And it came to pass, as Joshua was by Jericho, he lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, a man was standing before him with his sword drawn in his hand. And Joshua went to him and said to him, “Are you for us, or for our adversaries?”

And he said, “Nay, but as captain of the army of the LORD. Am I now come.”

And Joshua fell on his face to the earth and worshiped and said to him, “What does my lord say to his servant?”

And the captain of the LORD’S army said to Joshua, “Take off your shoes from your feet, for the place where you are standing is holy.” And Joshua did so.

When angels appear in the Bible, sometimes they are angels like we think of angels. They are messengers from God. But sometimes they are God himself! But if you notice, when you read in the Bible, where men have seen angels and bowed to worship them, the angel always warns them not to worship them, but to worship God only. And since this man did not tell Joshua to not worship him it would seem that this man, the Captain of the Lord’s Army, was Jesus Himself!

Joshua 6

The Fall of Jericho

Now Jericho was shut up inside and out because of the children of Israel. None went out, and none came in. And the LORD said to Joshua, “See, I have given Jericho into your hand, with its king and mighty men of valor. You shall march once around the city, with all the armed men. This you shall do for six days.

Seven priests shall carry seven trumpets of rams' horns in front of the ark. On the seventh day, march around the city seven times, with the priest blowing the trumpets. And when they make a long blast with the trumpets, then all the people shall shout with a great shout, then the wall of the city will fall down flat, and the people shall go up, everyone straight before him.”

So Joshua the son of Nun called the priests and said to them, “Take up the Ark of the Covenant and have seven priests carry seven trumpets of rams' horns in front of the ark of the LORD.”

And he said to the people, “Go forward. March around the city and let the armed men go before the ark of the LORD.”

When Joshua commanded the people, the seven priests carrying the seven trumpets of rams' horns before the LORD went forward, blowing the trumpets, and the Ark of the Covenant of the LORD followed them.

And the armed men walked ahead of the priests who were blew the trumpets, and the rear guard followed the ark, while the trumpets blew continually. But Joshua commanded the people, “Do not shout or make your voice heard, neither shall a word go out of your mouth, until the day I tell you to shout. Then you shall shout.”

The ark of the LORD circled the city, going about it once. And then they returned to the camp and spent the night there.

Joshua got up early the next morning, and the priests took up the ark of the LORD. The seven priests carrying the seven trumpets of rams' horns went forward, and marched before the ark of the LORD, and they blew the trumpets continually. The armed men walked ahead of them, and the rear guard followed the ark of the LORD, while the trumpets blew continually.

And the second day they marched around the city once, and returned to the camp. This they did for six days.

On the seventh day they rose up at dawn, and marched around the city in the same manner, except that day that they marched around the city seven times.

And the seventh time around, when the priests blew the trumpets, Joshua said to the people, “Shout, for the LORD has given you the city. The city and all that is within it shall be devoted to the LORD for destruction. Only Rahab the harlot and all who are with her in her house shall live, because she hid the messengers whom we sent.”

“But keep yourselves from the things that are cursed, unless you make yourself accursed, when you take the cursed thing, and make the camp of Israel cursed, and bring trouble down on it.”

“But all the silver and gold, and every vessel of brass and iron, are holy to the LORD; they shall go into the treasury of the LORD.”

So the people shouted, and the trumpets sounded. And as soon as the people heard the sound of the trumpet, the people shouted a great shout, and the wall fell down flat, and the people went up into the city, every man straight before him, and they took the city. And they utterly destroyed all that was in the city, both men and women, young and old, oxen, sheep, and donkeys, with the edge of the sword.

But to the two men who had spied out the land, Joshua said, “Go into the harlot's house and bring out from there the woman and all who belong to her, as you swore to her you would.” So the young men who had been spies went in and brought out Rahab and her father and mother and brothers and all who belonged to her. And they brought out all of her family and put them outside the camp of Israel.

And they burned the city with fire, and everything in it. Only the silver and gold, and the vessels of brass and of iron, they put into the treasury of the house of the LORD.  

But Rahab the harlot and her father's household and all who belonged to her, Joshua saved alive. And she has lived in Israel to this day, because she hid the messengers whom Joshua sent to spy out Jericho.

Joshua laid an oath on them at that time, saying, “Cursed before the LORD be the man who rises up and rebuilds this city, Jericho. At the cost of his firstborn shall he lay its foundation, and at the cost of his youngest son shall he set up its gates.”

So the LORD was with Joshua, and his fame was in all the land.

Joshua 7

Israel Defeated at Ai

But the children of Israel committed a trespass in the things that were accursed and was to be destroyed, for Achan the son of Carmi, son of Zabdi, son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, took some of the cursed things. And the anger of the LORD burned against the children of Israel.

Joshua sent men from Jericho to Ai, which is near Beth-aven, east of Beth-el, and said to them, “Go up and spy out the land.” And the men went up and spied out Ai. They returned to Joshua and said to him, “Do not have all the people go up, but let about two or three thousand men go up and attack Ai. Do not make all the people labor there, for they are but few.”

So about three thousand men went up there from the people. And they fled before the men of Ai, and the men of Ai killed about thirty-six of their men and chased them before the gate as far as Shebarim and struck them as they were fleeing. And the hearts of the people melted and became as water.

Then Joshua tore his clothes and fell to the earth on his face before the ark of the LORD until the evening, he and the elders of Israel, and they put dust upon their heads.

Joshua said, “Alas, O LORD God, why have you brought this people over the Jordan at all, to give us into the hands of the Amorites, to destroy us? Would that we had been content to dwell beyond the Jordan! O LORD, what can I say, when Israel has turned their backs before their enemies! For the Canaanites and all the inhabitants of the land will hear of it and will surround us and cut off our name from the earth. And what will you do for your great name?”

The Sin of Achan

The LORD said to Joshua, “Get up! Why have you fallen on your face? Israel has sinned; they have transgressed my covenant that I commanded them; they have taken some of the cursed things; they have stolen, and lied, and put them among their own things.”

“Therefore the children of Israel cannot stand before their enemies. They have turned their backs to their enemies, because they are accursed. I will be with you no more, unless you destroy the cursed things from among you.”

“Get up! Sanctify the people and say, ‘Sanctify yourselves for tomorrow; for thus says the LORD God of Israel, “There are cursed things in your midst, O Israel. You cannot stand before your enemies until you take away the accursed thing from among you.”

“In the morning therefore you shall bring the people according to your tribes: And it shall be that the tribe that the LORD takes shall come according to the families; and the family that the LORD takes shall come by households; and the household that the LORD takes shall come man by man.”

“And he who is taken with the accursed thing shall be burned with fire, he and all that he has, because he has transgressed the covenant of the Lord, and because he has done an outrageous thing in Israel.’”

So Joshua rose early in the morning and brought Israel by their tribes, and the tribe of Judah was taken; and he brought the family of Judah, and the family of the Zerahites was taken; and he brought the family of the Zerahites man by man; and Zabdi was taken: And he brought his household man by man; and Achan the son of Carmi, son of Zabdi, son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, was taken.

Then Joshua said to Achan, “My son, give glory to the LORD God of Israel and confess to Him. Tell me now what you have done; do not hide it from me.”

And Achan answered Joshua, “Indeed, I have sinned against the LORD God of Israel, and this is what I did: When I saw among the spoils a beautiful Babylonish garment, and 200 shekels of silver, and a bar of gold weighing 50 shekels, then I coveted them and took them. And see, they are hidden in the earth inside my tent, with the silver underneath.”

So Joshua sent messengers, and they ran to the tent; and behold, it was hidden in his tent with the silver underneath. And they took them out of the tent and brought them to Joshua and to all the children of Israel. And they laid them down before the LORD.

And Joshua and all Israel with him took Achan the son of Zerah, the silver, the garment, and the bar of gold, and his sons, and daughters, and his oxen, and donkeys, and sheep, and his tent, and all that he had. And they brought them up to the valley of Achor.

And Joshua said, “Why did you bring trouble on us? Now the LORD will bring trouble on you today.” And all Israel stoned him with stones. They burned them with fire and stoned them with stones. And they raised over him a great heap of stones that remains to this day. So the LORD turned from his burning anger, therefore, to this day the name of that place is called the Valley of Achor.

Achan’s sin affected the entire congregation of Israel. Thirty-six innocent men died because of Achan’s sin. He stole that which was “devoted to destruction” and so brought destruction upon others.

We fool ourselves if we think that our sin affects only us. Disobedience brings ruin even upon the innocent. Sins effects go beyond the initial sinner.

Also, the gold and silver Achan stole was stolen from God Himself. The precious metals were to be added to the treasury of the LORD, and in steatling them, Achan robbed God directly.

But why, we might ask, did God destroy Achan’s family as well? The Bible doesn’t give us God’s exact reasons for destroying Achan’s family, although Proverbs 15:27 says, “a greedy man brings trouble to his family.” In the case of Achan, all a person can do is speculate. Perhaps it was a lesson to be learned after Korah’s rebellion, which needed to be reinforced? Perhaps Achan’s family helped him hide the stuff and was, in fact, accomplices to the crime?

There is no way to know all of God’s reasons for what seems to us His harsh punishment of Achan and his family. He doesn’t always explain His reasoning to us, nor does He have to. The story of Achan and many other biblical narratives give us sufficient information to understand that God is holy and that He is not to be disobeyed without risking dire consequences.