Tag: judgment

After successfully defeating Jericho, the children of Israel carried their invasion of Canaan to the city of Ai.  Because Ai was a less populous city than Jericho, Joshua committed only three thousand soldiers to the fight.  Surprisingly, Israel was thoroughly routed.  Confounded by Israel’s failure, Joshua asked God why He brought Israel across the Jordan only to be defeated by the land’s inhabitants.  God offers a simple reason:  you lost because there is sin in the camp.  As the seventh chapter of Joshua unfolds, we learn about Achan, an Israelite who grew a little too greedy in Jericho.  Achan ignored God’s explicit instructions and took for himself a beautiful Babylonian cloak as well as silver and gold.  He buried these treasures underneath his tent, hiding his transgression from everyone except God.