"It is true," Achan replied, "I have sinned against the LORD, the God of Israel. This is what I did: Achan repliedThis phrase introduces Achan's response to Joshua's inquiry. The name "Achan" is derived from the Hebrew root "עָכָן" (Akan), which means "troubler." This is significant as Achan's actions brought trouble upon Israel. In the context of ancient Israel, names often held prophetic or descriptive significance, and Achan's name foreshadows the consequences of his sin. His reply is a moment of confession, a critical step in the process of repentance and restoration. “It is true
Achan begins his confession with an admission of truth. The Hebrew word for "true" is "אָמֵן" (amen), which conveys certainty and faithfulness. This acknowledgment is crucial in the biblical narrative, as truth is a foundational principle in the relationship between God and His people. Achan's admission contrasts with the deceit that led to Israel's defeat at Ai, highlighting the importance of truthfulness in the community of faith. I have sinned against the LORD, the God of Israel
Here, Achan explicitly states his transgression. The Hebrew word for "sinned" is "חָטָא" (chata), meaning to miss the mark or to err. This confession is directed towards "the LORD, the God of Israel," emphasizing the covenant relationship between God and His people. Achan's sin is not just a personal failure but a breach of the covenant, affecting the entire community. This highlights the communal nature of sin and its consequences in the biblical context. This is what I did
Achan proceeds to detail his actions, which is a necessary part of genuine confession. The phrase underscores the importance of taking responsibility for one's actions. In the biblical narrative, confession is not merely an acknowledgment of wrongdoing but involves a detailed account of the sin committed. This transparency is essential for reconciliation and restoration within the community and with God. Persons / Places / Events 1. AchanA member of the tribe of Judah who disobeyed God's command by taking forbidden items from Jericho, leading to Israel's defeat at Ai. 2. JoshuaThe leader of Israel who succeeded Moses and led the Israelites into the Promised Land. He confronted Achan about his sin. 3. The LORD, the God of IsraelThe covenant God of Israel, who had given specific instructions regarding the spoils of Jericho. 4. JerichoThe first city conquered by the Israelites in the Promised Land, where God commanded that all spoils be devoted to Him. 5. AiThe city where Israel faced defeat due to Achan's sin, highlighting the consequences of disobedience. Teaching Points The Seriousness of SinAchan's account reminds us that sin has serious consequences, not just for the individual but for the community. We must take sin seriously and strive to live in obedience to God's commands. The Importance of ConfessionAchan's confession, though late, shows the necessity of acknowledging our sins before God. Confession is a crucial step in the process of repentance and restoration. God's Holiness and JusticeThe incident underscores God's holiness and the need for His people to be set apart. God's justice requires that sin be addressed, but His mercy is available through repentance. Community Impact of Personal SinAchan's sin affected the entire nation of Israel, illustrating how personal sin can have broader implications. We must be mindful of how our actions impact others. The Path to RestorationWhile Achan faced severe consequences, the broader biblical account shows that God provides a path to restoration through repentance and faith in Christ. Bible Study Questions 1. How does Achan's confession in Joshua 7:20 illustrate the biblical principle of confession found in other scriptures like 1 John 1:9? 2. In what ways can personal sin affect the community of believers, as seen in the account of Achan and the defeat at Ai? 3. How does the account of Achan challenge us to examine areas of disobedience in our own lives? 4. What steps can we take to ensure that we are living in obedience to God's commands, avoiding the pitfalls of hidden sin? 5. How can we apply the lessons from Achan's account to foster a culture of accountability and confession within our church or small group? Connections to Other Scriptures Leviticus 5:5This verse discusses the requirement for confession when one becomes aware of their sin, similar to Achan's confession. Proverbs 28:13This verse emphasizes the importance of confessing and renouncing sin to receive mercy, which relates to Achan's admission of guilt. 1 John 1:9This New Testament verse highlights the promise of forgiveness and cleansing when we confess our sins, echoing the need for confession seen in Achan's account. Numbers 32:23This verse warns that sin will find you out, which is evident in Achan's hidden sin being revealed. Hebrews 4:13This verse speaks to the fact that nothing is hidden from God's sight, reinforcing the idea that Achan's sin could not remain concealed. People Achan, Amorites, Canaanites, Carmi, Israelites, Joshua, Zabdi, Zarhites, Zerah, Zerahites, ZimriPlaces Ai, Beth-aven, Bethel, Jericho, Jordan River, Shebarim, Shinar, Valley of AchorTopics TRUE, Answereth, Answering, Indeed, Joshua, Replied, Sinned, Thus, Truly, Truth, WrongDictionary of Bible Themes Joshua 7:20 1461 truth, nature of
6740 returning to God Joshua 7:1-26 6173 guilt, and God
8479 self-examination, examples Joshua 7:11-26 8716 dishonesty, examples Joshua 7:20-21 5413 money, attitudes
5555 stealing
5615 weights
6624 confession, of sin
8718 disobedience
8810 riches, dangers Joshua 7:20-24 8780 materialism, and sin Library Achan's Sin, Israel's Defeat
'But the children of Israel committed a trespass in the accursed thing: for Achan, the son of Carmi, the son of Zabdi, the son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, took of the accursed thing: and the anger of the Lord was kindled against the children of Israel. 2. And Joshua sent men from Jericho to Ai, which is beside Beth-aven, on the east side of Beth-ei, and spake unto them, saying, Go up and view the country. And the men went up and viewed Ai. 3. And they returned to Joshua, and said unto him, Let …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy ScriptureWhether one Can, Without a Mortal Sin, Deny the Truth which Would Lead to One's Condemnation?
Objection 1: It would seem one can, without a mortal sin, deny the truth which would lead to one's condemnation. For Chrysostom says (Hom. xxxi super Ep. ad Heb.): "I do not say that you should lay bare your guilt publicly, nor accuse yourself before others." Now if the accused were to confess the truth in court, he would lay bare his guilt and be his own accuser. Therefore he is not bound to tell the truth: and so he does not sin mortally if he tell a lie in court. Objection 2: Further, just as …
Saint Thomas Aquinas—Summa Theologica Contention Over the Man Born Blind.
(Jerusalem.) ^D John IX. 1-41. [Some look upon the events in this and the next section as occurring at the Feast of Tabernacles in October, others think they occurred at the Feast of Dedication in December, deriving their point of time from John x. 22.] ^d 1 And as he passed by, he saw a man blind from his birth. [The man probably sought to waken compassion by repeatedly stating this fact to passers-by.] 2 And his disciples asked him, saying, Rabbi, who sinned, this man, or his parents, that he should …
J. W. McGarvey—The Four-Fold Gospel The Eighth Commandment
Thou shalt not steal.' Exod 20: 15. AS the holiness of God sets him against uncleanness, in the command Thou shalt not commit adultery;' so the justice of God sets him against rapine and robbery, in the command, Thou shalt not steal.' The thing forbidden in this commandment, is meddling with another man's property. The civil lawyers define furtum, stealth or theft to be the laying hands unjustly on that which is another's;' the invading another's right. I. The causes of theft. [1] The internal causes …
Thomas Watson—The Ten Commandments Confession of Sin --A Sermon with Seven Texts
The Hardened Sinner. PHARAOH--"I have sinned."--Exodus 9:27. I. The first case I shall bring before you is that of the HARDENED SINNER, who, when under terror, says, "I have sinned." And you will find the text in the book of Exodus, the 9th chap. and 27th verse: "And Pharaoh sent, and called for Moses and Aaron, and said unto them, I have sinned this time: the Lord is righteous, and I and my people are wicked." But why this confession from the lips of the haughty tyrant? He was not often wont to …
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 3: 1857 Restraining Prayer: is it Sin?
"Thou restrainest prayer before God."--JOB xv. 4. "What profit should we have, if we pray unto Him?"--JOB xxi. 15. "God forbid that I should sin against the Lord in ceasing to pray for you."--1 SAM. xii. 23. "Neither will I be with you any more, except ye destroy the accursed from among you."--JOSH. vii. 12. Any deep quickening of the spiritual life of the Church will always be accompanied by a deeper sense of sin. This will not begin with theology; that can only give expression to what God works …
Andrew Murray—The Ministry of Intercession The Practice of Piety in Glorifying God in the Time of Sickness, and when Thou Art Called to Die in the Lord.
As soon as thou perceivest thyself to be visited with any sickness, meditate with thyself: 1. That "misery cometh not forth of the dust; neither doth affliction spring out of the earth." Sickness comes not by hap or chance (as the Philistines supposed that their mice and emrods came, 1 Sam. vi. 9), but from man's wickedness, which, as sparkles, breaketh out. "Man suffereth," saith Jeremiah, "for his sins." "Fools," saith David, "by reason of their transgressions, and because of their iniquities, …
Lewis Bayly—The Practice of Piety Exposition of the Moral Law.
1. The Law was committed to writing, in order that it might teach more fully and perfectly that knowledge, both of God and of ourselves, which the law of nature teaches meagrely and obscurely. Proof of this, from an enumeration of the principal parts of the Moral Law; and also from the dictate of natural law, written on the hearts of all, and, in a manner, effaced by sin. 2. Certain general maxims. 1. From the knowledge of God, furnished by the Law, we learn that God is our Father and Ruler. Righteousness …
John Calvin—The Institutes of the Christian Religion Of a Private Fast.
That we may rightly perform a private fast, four things are to be observed:--First, The author; Secondly, The time and occasion; Thirdly, The manner; Fourthly, The ends of private fasting. 1. Of the Author. The first that ordained fasting was God himself in paradise; and it was the first law that God made, in commanding Adam to abstain from eating the forbidden fruit. God would not pronounce nor write his law without fasting (Lev. xxiii), and in his law commands all his people to fast. So does our …
Lewis Bayly—The Practice of Piety The Knowledge of God
'The Lord is a God of knowledge, and by him actions are weighed.' I Sam 2:2. Glorious things are spoken of God; he transcends our thoughts, and the praises of angels. God's glory lies chiefly in his attributes, which are the several beams by which the divine nature shines forth. Among other of his orient excellencies, this is not the least, The Lord is a God of knowledge; or as the Hebrew word is, A God of knowledges.' Through the bright mirror of his own essence, he has a full idea and cognisance …
Thomas Watson—A Body of Divinity Beth-El. Beth-Aven.
Josephus thus describes the land of Benjamin; "The Benjamites' portion of land was from the river Jordan to the sea, in length: in breadth, it was bounded by Jerusalem and Beth-el." Let these last words be marked, "The breadth of the land of Benjamin was bounded by Jerusalem and Beth-el." May we not justly conclude, from these words, that Jerusalem and Beth-el were opposite, as it were, in a right line? But if you look upon the maps, there are some that separate these by a very large tract of land, …
John Lightfoot—From the Talmud and Hebraica The Covenant of Works
Q-12: I proceed to the next question, WHAT SPECIAL ACT OF PROVIDENCE DID GOD EXERCISE TOWARDS MAN IN THE ESTATE WHEREIN HE WAS CREATED? A: When God had created man, he entered into a covenant of life with him upon condition of perfect obedience, forbidding him to eat of the tree of knowledge upon pain of death. For this, consult with Gen 2:16, 17: And the Lord commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt …
Thomas Watson—A Body of Divinity The Holiness of God
The next attribute is God's holiness. Exod 15:51. Glorious in holiness.' Holiness is the most sparkling jewel of his crown; it is the name by which God is known. Psa 111:1. Holy and reverend is his name.' He is the holy One.' Job 6:60. Seraphims cry, Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts, the whole earth is full of his glory.' Isa 6:6. His power makes him mighty, his holiness makes him glorious. God's holiness consists in his perfect love of righteousness, and abhorrence of evil. Of purer eyes than …
Thomas Watson—A Body of Divinity Second Great Group of Parables.
(Probably in Peræa.) Subdivision F. Parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus. ^C Luke XVI. 19-31. [The parable we are about to study is a direct advance upon the thoughts in the previous section. We may say generally that if the parable of the unjust steward teaches how riches are to be used, this parable sets forth the terrible consequences of a failure to so use them. Each point of the previous discourse is covered in detail, as will be shown by the references in the discussion of the parable.] …
J. W. McGarvey—The Four-Fold Gospel Joshua
The book of Joshua is the natural complement of the Pentateuch. Moses is dead, but the people are on the verge of the promised land, and the story of early Israel would be incomplete, did it not record the conquest of that land and her establishment upon it. The divine purpose moves restlessly on, until it is accomplished; so "after the death of Moses, Jehovah spake to Joshua," i. 1. The book falls naturally into three divisions: (a) the conquest of Canaan (i.-xii.), (b) the settlement of the …
John Edgar McFadyen—Introduction to the Old Testament Links Joshua 7:20 NIVJoshua 7:20 NLTJoshua 7:20 ESVJoshua 7:20 NASBJoshua 7:20 KJV
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