God of the Valleys – The Valley of Trouble

God of the Valleys – The Valley of Trouble.

“Then Joshua and all the Israelites took Achan, the silver, the robe, the bar of gold, his sons, daughters, cattle, donkeys, sheep, goats, tent, and everything he had, and they brought them to the Valley of Achor. Then Joshua said to Achan, ‘Why have you brought trouble on us? The Lord will now bring trouble on you!’ And all the Israelites stoned Achan and his family and burned their bodies. They piled a great heap of stones over them, which remains to this day. That is why the place has been called the Valley of Trouble ever since. So the Lord was no longer angry.” (Joshua 7:24-26).

The Valley of Achor, which is the Hebrew word for Trouble, lies between Ai and Jericho, not far from Jerusalem. The Israelite military and priesthood came to this valley fresh from a dramatic victory at Jericho. The supposedly impregnable walled city was destroyed by the cooperation of the army and priesthood as instructed by the almighty Yahweh. The soldiers and priests were all eyewitnesses, participants even, in this unforgettable conquest. The overpowering might of God was on full display, as well as the profound importance of following God’s instructions down to the tiniest detail. Somehow, a soldier named Achan had a tragically short memory and extremely weak willpower. The Israelite army marched a short distance away from Jericho to a city called Ai in the Valley of Achor. Prospects for another victory were looking good.

(1.)  The Lord made it clear that everything in Jericho was to be utterly destroyed. No one was to take any of the plunder from the city for themselves. Anything to do with Jericho was unholy and taken off the face of the earth. The only exception was the precious metals that were found in the plunder, which were to be taken for use in the Tabernacle treasury. Those metals were to be considered set apart for the Lord’s use, holy to the Lord. “Do not take any of the things set apart for destruction, or you yourselves will be completely destroyed, and you will bring trouble on the camp of Israel. Everything made from gold, silver, bronze or iron is sacred to the Lord and must be brought into His treasury.” (Joshua 6:18).

(2.)  Even though Ai was considered to be a key Canaanite stronghold, Joshua thought it was ready for the taking, an easy victory for sure. Perhaps that overconfidence kept him from inquiring from the Lord as to battle plans and His blessing on the whole endeavor at Ai. If Joshua had bothered consulting with the Lord as he should have done, Joshua may have been told by the Lord that there was trouble ahead, and that the Israelites would not receive His blessing or involvement in the battle. Yahweh would have told Joshua that He would not bless the Israelites as He had at Jericho.

(3.)  The Israelite Achan should have known better. He was the “troubler of Israel,” because he chose to keep some of the plunder from Jericho for himself. He secretly kept a luxurious Canaanite robe, and some gold and silver, and buried it for safe keeping in his tent. Achan unwisely chose to disobey the Lord’s direct command to destroy everything from Jericho except the precious metals. He not only kept a piece of property from Jericho, but he also kept some precious metals. This was the first incidence of disobedience since the Israelites crossed into the Promised Land, and Yahweh was determined to make this punishment memorable for all the Israelites. Even after the Lord gave Achan an entire night to do some soul-searching and come to himself and confess his sin, Achan refused to do so. The result was tragically and dramatically severe. Achan and his entire family and everything he owned were destroyed, just as the Lord had promised in His instructions earlier. Achan and his entire family were stoned to death and their bodies were burned for good measure. For Israel, this of course would be an unforgettable event.

(4.)  One may wonder if the punishment fit the crime, asking why the punishment was so severe. It’s interesting that the Lord called Achan’s sin “a disgraceful thing.” The Hebrew word used there was usually reserved for sexual perversion. In other words, what Achan did was an abomination in God’s eyes. Achan’s sin was a sacrilege, an insult to God’s holiness, since the precious metals were intended for use in the Tabernacle. The Tabernacle represented the very Presence of God. The Lord took Achan’s sin personally. Whatever is done to the Tabernacle of His Presence, is done to Him. Also, Achan’s disobedience resulted in the immediate withdrawal of God’s partnership with the military campaign of Israel. This “unblessing” led to the deaths of thirty-six Israelite soldiers. Human life is sacred to the Lord, and the loss of thirty-six human beings was a stench in God’s nostrils. Unfortunately, Achan didn’t feel any remorse until he was caught red-handed. His confession has the feel of a forced apology after the fact. One can see why God had “fierce anger” over Achan’s disobedience.

(5.)  Does it seem fair that Achan’s whole family was executed for something the father did? There is no explanation given for this harsh penalty for the father’s disobedience. God only knows, and He always has His reasons. Perhaps the family helped Achan bury and hide the plunder in the family tent. Maybe they even encouraged Achan to steal the plunder in the first place. Perhaps the children were at that accountable age when they started to demonstrate the sins of their father, and the Lord didn’t want that attitude to spread in the Israelite nation. God considered the whole family tainted and guilty as charged. So down they went as the father led the way to.

(6.)  The entire Israelite army was punished for what one soldier did. The Lord considered the group guilty for one man’ sin. The Lord withdrew His blessing from the whole army for Achan’s sin. It looks like the Lord thought of Israel in terms of an organic whole, a community in which the actions of one affect the life of the whole. If one is defiled, the whole is defiled, or soon will be. If one part of the body has an infectious disease, the whole body has to receive treatment. In the person of Achan, the nation of Israel broke the covenant and disobeyed God in their relationship to Him. So the Lord asked Joshua to make sure that the whole army participated in the purification procedure during the process of discovering Achan’s sin. (Joshua 7:13).

(7.)  All the stones that were used in the family execution were put into a huge pile of stones there in the Valley of Achor as a memorial for what had occurred. The stone memorial was to remind the Israelites to obey the Lord or destruction would come. It was placed there as a warning to consider the consequences of disobedience to the Lord, and how they needed to continue depending on the Lord for their march through the Promised Land.

(8.)  If only Achan could have exercised a little self-control after the victory at Jericho. In virtually all the battles that followed after Jericho in Canaan, the Lord had given His approval to take plunder for themselves. The irony is that Achan could have had all the plunder he wanted if he had just waited to the very next battle.

(9.)  Once Achan and his family were executed, the Lord’s anger dissipated, and the Israelites won a resounding victory over Ai.