Joshua 7:1-26 - Defeat at Ai

Introduction: From Victory to Vulnerability

It is good to be with you tonight. If you are a guest with us, welcome to the Well Community Church. I am so grateful that you took the time out of your workday to come and hang out with us for a bit. If you have a Bible, you are never going to believe where we are tonight. Last week, we were in chapter six. This week, you guessed it, we are in chapter seven.

One of the things we do here at The Well, and have done now for over twenty years, is we pick a book of the Bible and just grind through it. Hopefully, that has been helpful for you to understand who our God is. We try to minor in opinion and major in the text, and I hope that has been encouraging for you.

Last week, we covered the fall of Jericho in chapter six. This was a battle that even I, as a kid who didn’t grow up in church, remember. For us, Sunday football was our religion, but even I knew this story. The walls literally collapsed on themselves in the most ridiculous and ludicrous battle plan ever created. It made no logical sense whatsoever, but that was the point. It wasn’t about Joshua or their military prowess; it was about the power of God. With a bunch of people shouting, the walls fell down. The city was destroyed, and it was an incredible victory for the people of God.

Now, as we head into chapter seven, I want you to consider something: it is really not the hard times that are going to be the most difficult for you. Most everyone turns to God when things are hard. The real difficulty comes when things are good. When things are going well, we start believing our own press. We think we have a handle on life. We think we are doing great and don’t really need God yet. In chapter seven, you see that pendulum swing from incredible dependence on God to a natural swing toward autonomy.

Joshua 7:1 (NASB)

But the sons of Israel acted unfaithfully in regard to the things under the ban, for Achan, the son of Carmi, the son of Zabdi, the son of Zerah, from the tribe of Judah, took some of the things under the ban, therefore the anger of the LORD burned against the sons of Israel.

The Danger of Believing Your Own Press

We are going to talk more about this character Achan later, but there is a point to be made first based on what happens next. Joshua, apparently unaware of what Achan had done, sends men out from Jericho to Ai. He tells them to go up and spy out the land.

Joshua 7:2-3 (NASB)

Now Joshua sent men from Jericho to Ai, which is near Beth-aven, east of Bethel, and said to them, ‘Go up and spy out the land.’ So the men went up and spied out Ai. They returned to Joshua and said to him, ‘Do not let all the people go up; [only] about two or three thousand men need go up to Ai; do not make all the people toil up there, for they are few.’

They return to Joshua and say, “Look, don’t let all the people go up. Only about two or three thousand men are needed. Don’t make everyone toil up there because the people of Ai are few.” So, about 3,000 men went up.

Does that make you nervous so far? What have you not seen yet? Does Joshua pray? Does he seek the Lord? The battle plan for Jericho came directly from the Lord, but do you see the Lord here at all? No, you don’t. And it should make you really nervous. They send out spies because they have done that before. They decide not to send everyone because they think they are strong enough to take them on their own. Everything reeks of the flesh. Everything screams of logic and someone doing what they think is right in their own mind. As you can imagine, it doesn’t turn out well.

Joshua 7:4-5 (NASB)

So about three thousand men from the people went up there, but they fled from the men of Ai. The men of Ai struck down about thirty-six of their men, and pursued them from the gate as far as Shebarim and struck them down on the descent, so the hearts of the people melted and became as water.

The men of Ai struck down about thirty-six Israelites and pursued them from the gates. The hearts of the people of God melted and became as water. What a contrast! The hearts of the people of Jericho had melted for fear of God because God is amazing, but here the people of God are failing because they went to battle without Him.

There are two lessons in this chapter: one is implicit, and the other is explicit. The implicit lesson is found in these early verses. It is sad because they aren’t just defeated; it’s why they are defeated. I look at Joshua and ask, “If the battle is the Lord’s, why didn’t you pray? Why didn’t you open yourself to God? Why are you just going through the motions?”

It is possible that by the end of chapter six, Joshua had begun to believe his own press. He was trending. People thought he was a “blue check” big deal. He might have started to feel that way himself. The Bible doesn’t explicitly say that, but there is an argument from silence here. This is not the same Joshua we have seen before. He is logically riding the wave of fame from Jericho, trusting in himself and resting on previous success.

Before we throw stones at Joshua, understand that we are cut from the same cloth. How many of you have had something happen where God came through big time, and two seconds later you did something stupid? Our problem is often not our vulnerabilities, but our victories. As the scripture warns, if you think you are standing firm, you better take heed lest you fall.

1 Corinthians 10:12 (NASB)

Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed that he does not fall.

If you are dealing with an addiction or a “flesh residue” issue—whether it’s pride, anger, gluttony, or anything else—and you experience a victory, that is the moment you need to batten down the hatches. As soon as you think, “I’m doing good,” is exactly when you are prone to fall.

Planning in Pencil: The Necessity of Dependence

We need to remember the wisdom of the Proverbs when it comes to our understanding versus God’s.

Proverbs 3:5-7 (NASB)

Trust in the LORD with all your heart And do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He will make your paths straight. Do not be wise in your own eyes; Fear the LORD and turn away from evil.

Proverbs 19:21 (NASB)

Many plans are in a man’s heart, But the counsel of the LORD will stand.

Whether it is in your business, your marriage, or any situation in life, when we disregard God and pursue what makes sense to our own spreadsheets, we are in trouble. No offense, but you aren’t that smart, and neither am I. We need God in every decision and every moment. Proverbs 16 hammers this point home repeatedly.

[SCRIPTURE: Proverbs 16:1, 3, 9, 18]

This doesn’t mean you can’t plan or have a strategy. It just means you shouldn’t do it without God. Don’t do it in your own strength or wisdom. At The Well, we talk about “planning in pencil.” Make plans, yes, but keep the eraser handy. If the Lord wants to change the direction, I’d rather be obedient than stubborn.

It is not our strength that God uses most effectively; it is our weakness. When the Apostle Paul struggled with a “thorn in his flesh,” he prayed for God to remove it. God said no, explaining that His strength is actually perfected in our weakness.

2 Corinthians 12:9 (NASB)

And He has said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.’ Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me.

In our strength, we don’t think we need God. We think we have a handle on things. But in our weakness, we cry out to Him. Joshua seems to have quickly forgotten the Lord’s leading. As a leader, this passage is haunting to me. The Well Community Church is a healthy, impactful church, but it would only take a moment of us saying, “Look what we did,” for God to say, “I’ll go find another.” God is not impressed with us; He responds to our obedience.

The greatest expression of leadership is not strength, but weakness. Stay low, stay humble, and stay prayerful. The healthiest place you can be is humble. That is the end destination for every follower of Jesus. You can humble yourself under the mighty hand of God, or you can be stiff-necked and let Him do it for you. He fights dirty, He will win, and you will end up humbled either way.

1 Peter 5:5-7 (NASB)

You younger men, likewise, be subject to [your] elders; and all of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, for GOD IS OPPOSED TO THE PROUD, BUT GIVES GRACE TO THE HUMBLE. Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time, casting all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you.

Joshua’s Response and the Reality of Sin

When the army is defeated, Joshua recognizes something is wrong. He tears his clothes and falls on his face before the Ark.

Joshua 7:6-9 (NASB)

Then Joshua tore his clothes and fell to the earth on his face before the ark of the LORD until the evening, [both] he and the elders of Israel; and they put dust on their heads. Joshua said, ’Alas, O Lord GOD, why did You ever bring this people over the Jordan, [only] to deliver us into the hand of the Amorites, to destroy us? If only we had been willing to dwell beyond the Jordan! ’O Lord, what can I say since Israel has turned [their] back before their enemies? ‘For the Canaanites and all the inhabitants of the land will hear of it, and they will surround us and cut off our name from the earth. And what will You do for Your great name?’

Joshua is mourning and repenting. He knows he can’t do this without the Lord. He realizes that if God isn’t with them, they would have been better off staying on the other side of the Jordan. They have lost their momentum, and their enemies are no longer afraid of them.

But we have to ask: why did this happen? While the implicit reason was Joshua’s lack of consultation with God, the explicit reason is stated clearly in the text. God tells Joshua exactly what the problem is.

Joshua 7:10-12 (NASB)

So the LORD said to Joshua, ’Rise up! Why is it that you have fallen on your face? ’Israel has sinned, and they have also transgressed My covenant which I commanded them. And they have even taken some of the things under the ban and have both stolen and deceived. Moreover, they have also put [them] among their own things. ’Therefore the sons of Israel cannot stand before their enemies; they turn [their] backs before their enemies, for they have become accursed. I will not be with you anymore unless you destroy the things under the ban from your midst.

God says, “The issue is not me. The issue is sin in the camp.” Someone had taken things that were under the ban—things that were supposed to be set apart for God alone. Joshua wasn’t aware of Achan’s theft, but God was. And God is clear: “I will not be with you anymore unless you destroy the things that are under the ban.”

Joshua 7:13-15 (NASB)

’Rise up! Consecrate the people and say, ’Consecrate yourselves for tomorrow, for thus the LORD, the God of Israel, has said, ‘There are things under the ban in your midst, O Israel. You cannot stand before your enemies until you have removed the things under the ban from your midst.’ ’In the morning then you shall come near by your tribes. And it shall be that the tribe which the LORD takes [by lot] shall come near by families, and the family which the LORD takes shall come near by households, and the household which the LORD takes shall come near man by man. ‘It shall be that the one who is taken with the things under the ban shall be burned with fire, he and all that belongs to him, because he has transgressed the covenant of the LORD, and because he has committed a disgraceful thing in Israel.’’

The Opportunity for Grace

God instructs Joshua to have the people consecrate themselves. To consecrate means to set aside to be holy. The next morning, God would reveal the culprit through a process of elimination—by lot. This is like flipping a coin or throwing dice to narrow down the tribe, the family, the household, and finally the man.

Think about this: the judgment didn’t come that night. It came in the morning. This means Achan had a chance. He had all night to turn to God, to repent, and to say, “It was me. I did it. I own it.” God, in His grace, gave him an opportunity to sleep on it. But Achan didn’t take it.

One thing about sin is that you can’t hide it forever. Some of us are sneaky and can hide it longer than others, but it eventually comes to light.

1 Timothy 5:24-25 (NASB)

The sins of some men are quite evident, going before them to judgment; for others, their [sins] follow after. Likewise also, deeds that are good are quite evident, and those which are otherwise cannot be concealed.

When King David tried to hide his sin with Bathsheba, he described his body wasting away and the hand of God being heavy upon him.

Psalms 32:3-5 (NASB)

When I kept silent [about my sin], my body wasted away Through my groaning all day long. For day and night Your hand was heavy upon me; My vitality was drained away [as] with the fever heat of summer. Selah. I acknowledged my sin to You, And my iniquity I did not hide; I said, ‘I will confess my transgressions to the LORD’; And You forgave the guilt of my sin. Selah.

If you are holding onto something you have never put words to, I encourage you to own it. The things you don’t own in your story will eventually own you. Trying to hold that stuff in breaks you inside. God gives us the opportunity to repent and turn. He is light, and He wants us to walk in the light.

1 John 1:5-9 (NASB)

This is the message we have heard from Him and announce to you, that God is Light, and in Him there is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with Him and [yet] walk in the darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth; but if we walk in the Light as He Himself is in the Light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin. If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

We often think relationship is formed by our “false self”—the version of us that looks perfect while hiding sin. But a false self cannot be truly loved. God is not interested in your false self; He is interested in the real you, even if the real you is a hot mess. That is the beauty of the gospel. We are called to confess our sins not just to God, but to one another.

James 5:16 (NASB)

Therefore, confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another so that you may be healed. The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much.

Acts 19:18 (NASB)

Many also of those who had believed kept coming, confessing and disclosing their practices.

Confession is a bit of a lost art. I think the exposure to certain religious traditions has made people wary of it, but it’s really just about walking in the light and being honest about who you are.

The Exposure of the Heart

Achan waited all night, and his heart only hardened. The next morning, the process began.

Joshua 7:16-23 (NASB)

So Joshua arose early in the morning and brought Israel near by tribes, and the tribe of Judah was taken. He brought the family of Judah near, and he took the family of the Zerahites; and he brought the family of the Zerahites near man by man, and Zabdi was taken. He brought his household near man by man; and Achan, son of Carmi, son of Zabdi, son of Zerah, from the tribe of Judah, was taken. Then Joshua said to Achan, ‘My son, I implore you, give glory to the LORD, the God of Israel, and give praise to Him; and tell me now what you have done. Do not hide it from me.’ So Achan answered Joshua and said, ‘Truly, I have sinned against the LORD, the God of Israel, and this is what I did: when I saw among the spoil a beautiful mantle from Shinar and two hundred shekels of silver and a bar of gold fifty shekels in weight, then I coveted them and took them; and behold, they are concealed in the earth inside my tent with the silver underneath it.’ So Joshua sent messengers, and they ran to the tent; and behold, it was concealed in his tent with the silver underneath it. They took them from inside the tent and brought them to Joshua and to all the sons of Israel, and they poured them out before the LORD.

Can you imagine what Achan was thinking as the scope narrowed? The crosshairs were moving closer and closer. When he is finally caught, Joshua implores him to give glory to God and tell the truth. Achan finally confesses that he saw a beautiful mantle, some silver, and a bar of gold, and he coveted them. He buried them inside his tent.

This is a catastrophic tale because our God is holy. He has no tolerance for sin and will not allow it to remain. He deals with this wickedness in a profound way. Now, you might look at the judgment that follows and think it is harsh.

Joshua 7:24-26 (NASB)

Then Joshua and all Israel with him, took Achan the son of Zerah, the silver, the mantle, 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. Joshua said, ‘Why have you troubled us? The LORD will trouble you this day.’ And all Israel stoned them with stones; and they burned them with fire after they had stoned them with stones. They raised over him a great heap of stones that stands to this day, and the LORD turned from the fierceness of His anger. Therefore the name of that place has been called the valley of Achor to this day.

God still cannot look upon wickedness with favor. This is where the world often misunderstands the gospel. They think that when we trust Christ, we become perfect, and that’s why we can have a relationship with a perfect God. That is wrong. The church is not full of perfect people; it is full of people who serve a perfect God and have embraced a perfect Savior.

If God punishes wickedness, why hasn’t He punished us? The answer is: He has. He punished Christ in our place.

2 Corinthians 5:21 (NASB)

He made Him who knew no sin [to be] sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.

Because the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Jesus. When we trust in Him, our sin and judgment go to Jesus, and His righteousness comes to us. It’s called double imputation. In Christ, we are fully forgiven, fully accepted, and fully loved, even though we know exactly who we are on the inside.

Conclusion: The Cost of Sin and the Call to Humility

For those who have never embraced Jesus, the Bible says they are storing up wrath for the day of judgment. That is why we say to you what Joshua wanted to say to Achan: Confess now. Turn to God now. Don’t wait until you are caught.

Sin always over-promises and under-delivers. It takes you farther than you want to go, keeps you longer than you want to stay, and costs you more than you want to pay. Most importantly, sin always impacts more than just yourself. It is a lie from the devil that your sin only affects you. You can’t control the shrapnel. When you pull the pin on the grenade of sin, it hits everyone around you.

As we wrap up, remember the two lessons. First, the warning against doing anything without consulting God. Why would we want to move without His guidance? Second, God will not tolerate sin in the camp.

I have been praying about this for our church. We are about to embark on one of the most aggressive relocations in our city’s history. The problem won’t be God, and I pray it won’t be an arrogant leader, because I am on my face before Him. But I can’t control the sin in the camp. I’m nervous because if this was true in Joshua’s day, it could be true in ours.

Now, praise God we are in a different dispensation. We aren’t going to take you outside and stone you. But God is encouraging us to turn to the gospel and yield our lives to Christ. If we walk in humility and honesty, there is no battle He can’t win.

I am so grateful that Christ took the shot for us. He was bruised for our iniquities so that we could have life.

Isaiah 53:5 (NASB)

But He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; The chastening for our well-being [fell] upon Him, And by His scourging we are healed.

What more can we do in response to a God who loves us that much than to say, “God, everything I have is yours”?

Prayer

God, I am so thankful for your Word and this reminder from centuries ago. Lord, we want to be open to you. We want to own our stuff—the things we are ashamed of or that fill us with guilt. Would you meet us in your grace? Help us to confess early and often, to walk in light and humility. Thank you for Christ and the privilege of being made new. We are not slaves to who we used to be. Help us to keep our hands open to you and seek you with all that we are. We pray this in Jesus’ name, Amen.