Monday: The Sin of Achan
Daily Lesson for Monday 3rd of November 2025
Read Joshua 7:16-19. What does the entire procedure tell us about both God and Achan?
Instead of unveiling the identity of the transgressor, God sets up a procedure that reveals both His justice and grace. After explaining the reason for Israel’s defeat and calling for the sanctification of the people (Joshua 7:13), He allows a time span between the announcement of the procedure and its application, which gives Achan time to think, repent, and confess his sin.
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Similarly, his family (if they knew what had happened) has the opportunity to decide whether they want to be involved in the cover-up or refuse to be accomplices, like the sons of Korah, who avoided destruction by refusing to side with their father (compare with Numbers 16:23-33, Numbers 26:11).
The solution to the predicament follows the opposite direction to how it entered and plagued Israel: corporate guilt is eliminated and narrowed down from Israel to one tribe; from tribe to family; from family to household; and from household to individuals. Besides revealing the offender, the investigative process also cleared the innocent. This was an equally important aspect of the meticulous juridical procedure, where God Himself acts as witness to the unseen acts of Achan.
The reader almost can feel the tension as God zeroes in on Achan. Who cannot wonder at the man’s obstinacy in hoping that he could go undetected? Nothing is concealed from the penetrating eyes of the Lord (Psalms 139:1-16, 2 Chronicles 16:9), who knows what is hidden in the heart of a man (1 Samuel 16:7, Jeremiah 17:10, Proverbs 5:21).
It is important to notice the way Joshua addressed Achan: “My son.” This expression shows not only the age and leadership role of Joshua but also reveals the spirit in which this great warrior approached justice. His heart was full of compassion for Achan, even though he was called to execute judgment on the offender. Through his attitude, Joshua was again foreshadowing the sensitivity, kindness, and love of the One who “was never rude, never needlessly spoke a severe word, never gave needless pain to a sensitive soul. . . . He [Jesus] fearlessly denounced hypocrisy, unbelief, and iniquity, but tears were in His voice as He uttered His scathing rebukes.”—Ellen G. White, The Desire of Ages, p. 353.
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How does the realization that God knows all that you do, even your hidden things, impact how you live? How should it impact how you live? |
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Writing computer code back in the days before Artificial Intelligence took hold was pretty tough. Even when you knew and understood the algorithms, it was not uncommon for a 10000-line program to have a few “bugs” in it that were difficult to track down. (And I have a hunch that the problem still exists; I get “bug fixes” for widely used programs like Word several times a year.) I remember writing a B-tree indexing program to test the behaviour of one of our research systems and I noticed a small disturbance in the pattern of data only after we had indexed over 1 million items. It took 2 weeks and a lot of printouts to track down the bug, a missing asterisk, for me to get the program working correctly.
Small, well-hidden problems can have a big effect on the whole. We need to remember that a nation or church is much more complex than a computer program. And, in today’s world, we cannot draw lots and stone the perpetrators. I have been at Church meetings where there have been calls to expose the “Wolves in Sheep’s clothing”, only to find the enormous damage that action can have on entirely innocent people.
It does raise the issue of how we treat those sins which affect the whole church. In recent years most of us have become aware of the sexual abuse of minors within church organisations. It is a sin that is so often well hidden, buried in the middle of our tent. And when discovered, we have often tried to cover it up by moving the tent. Sometimes we are more concerned about the look of the church rather than accepting the gravity of what has happened and seeking to repair the damage. At the very least, the story of Achan should give us pause to consider how to best approach sin within the corporate body of the church.
Sadly! 38 soldiers had to die; a whole family - I've heard and read arguments within ourselves that maybe the wife, sons, and daughters may not have been innocent, that they saw or knew of Achan's concealment, but there's no argument that the donkeys, the oxen, and sheep were. What I am laboring over in my head, reading your comment, Maurice, is that during our silence or protection of image and reputation, innocent minors suffer and get defiled. This is how innocence dies, as we look the other way; we become enablers, and the perpetrators become more and more daring, sampling further iniquities under the same protection of image and reputation.
I have been wondering why the animals were also destroyed and why was it a public stoning? On the surface it seems unfair for the animals and the stoning seems like a brutal thing to do.
I feel the destruction of the animals relates to the worldview that was very strong in that part of the world - collective guilt. Plus the animals belonged to Achan so it was a way of wiping out all he had.
I don't think God takes any pleasure in the death of animals, but they die over and over again because of our sins. He preserved the animals in the flood, but many died in it too. We are to blame for that reality and one day the animals too will be rescued from this cycle of death.
I don't know the reasons for stoning - I have not studied it, but I am guessing that despite how brutal it seems, it probably was a fairly humane method of execution. A rock or two to the head and you would be unconscious. It's kind of like the guillotine in France. The thought of being beheaded is pretty gruesome, but I think it actually was much less painful than some of the methods used in other places. Lots of other nations had some pretty torturous methods of putting people to death during Bible times, but I think God would not operate that way.
Yes! Concealment within the church, is so similar to Achan's hiding within the tent- true. We always hear from the "grapevine", incidences of sexual harassment and molestation affecting the youth and single mother's orchestrated by the "powerful and prominent" leadership within the church. This whispers remain just that, at the expense of innocence. I see the similarity with the ban, and how if not checked, it may lead our churches into similar monuments of shame akin to "the Valley of Achor". Hey! thank you for this.
I was thinking exactly about that. While there are many, I cannot forget a story of a little girl who was raped by the prominent and well respected man, an elder and Sabbath School teacher. She was 7 then. He was investigated, but the church did NOT believe he is guilty, because he was such a good man and en exemplary leader. Only a very few people believed the family. If I remember correctly - the guy did go to jail but despite that, many in church still stood for him. The girl, on the other hand, had life long healing until at age of 23 she committed suicide. This story is a perfect example of being silent when one needs to speak, being wilfully blind and ignorant. If you ask me - those who supported the guy are just as guilty. 😔
We often think of sin as a private matter—something between me and God. But Scripture reminds us that sin, even when hidden, can affect far more than we imagine. Just as one small flaw in a computer program can cause the entire system to malfunction, one hidden sin can bring trouble to the whole community.
Maurice, I work with sexual crime and abuse cases. I can tell you as a professional and an Adventist - not dealing with this swiftly, justly and unapologetically - creates unspoken harm that it’s hard to grasp. It’s a cancer of the heart that goes extremely deep to the core of a being. It certainly requires tact and wisdom from above on how to deal with it especially with victims and their families (especially if they are in denial ) but not dealing with it or covering it up has horrific consequences. What I know from my practice is that the victim’s journey to healing is easier if they are believed, supported and the abuser is dealt with. Too often, however, it’s the opposite - they are not believed and THAT is what creates the biggest damage. If this happens in church then victims often lose faith in God or doubt His goodness since his representatives show that God doesn’t really care and the church is a show. So, if this is not “causing to stumble of God’s little ones, widows and orphans” at its finest, then I don’t know what is.
Sinners possibly know that the consequence of sin is death, but they remain unrepentant. Why is repentance not everybody's cup of tea? How possibly can sinners have the courage to repent their sins before it is too late?
“Be sure your sin will find you out.” (Numbers 32:23). The Psalmist also says, “If I say, ‘Surely the darkness will hide me, and the light become night around me,’ even the darkness is not dark to You; the night is bright as the day, for darkness is as light to You." (Psalm 139:11–12, ESV).
Once God’s investigation had begun, did Achan surely believe that he could escape God who knows all human secretes? Sin has got a terrible delusional effect. Sin blinds the mind and dulls the conscience. Sinners more often than not know the truth but assume that God does not see them. Achan’s story reminds us a number of important realities:
1. Sin is very deceitful – it promises gains but brings terrible losses
2. Sin is very contagious – the effect of sin is communal. Personal sin can impact many people.
3. Sin thrives in darkness – many things that are done in secrecy conceals the truth.
4. God cannot co-exist with sin – sinners who fail to repent will face God’s judgement.
5. Sin bring ruin – sin destroys all good things. Sin is a killer.
Human beings love to rationalise sin rather that admit wrongdoing. Human pride is the greatest obstacle to repentance and sin is very addictive (John 8:34). To break the bond demand divine intervention. Achan’s story is not just about one man’s downfall; it is a mirror of the human heart.
“Seek the Lord while He may be found; call upon Him while He is near.”?
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Achan flowed through a similar sequence of events toward sin, so reminiscent to Genesis 3:6 and 2 Samuel 11:2-4, check this out:
- Joshua 7:21
That deadly pattern of "saw", "attractive", desired, took and Achan was caught up in a pattern that led to the fall; the fall into selfishness; into self-gratification. He saw, it was beautiful to behold, it was desirable to have, then he took . What follows is hiding; David deceitfully tried to hide, leading to the ultimate hiding that led to the death of his loyal soldier Uriah the Hittite (2 Samuel 11:14-17). Adam and Eve would hide from their shame (Genesis 3:8-10).
It took Achan a lot of time to own up; the entire process from the tribe of Judah, which had the largest numbers (Numbers 26:22), to the families, Achan was still quiet; then the household, Achan was still quiet; until the question was asked directly to him, and then Achan confessed (Joshua 7:16-20).
There are two things I'm learning from this: 1) Temptations are very distracting, and we need to pray earnestly for God to keep us in focus on Him (Matthew 6:13). 2) When we fall, we should learn to quickly own up, confess, and plead for God's forgiveness (1 John 1:9, Proverbs 28:13). Achan was a consecrated soldier, but he fell to his desire, got caught up in denial before admitting his fault and the penalty was catastrophic.
This is a wake-up call! It truly makes one probe himself. So, simple but so deadly, are these stages - "saw," "coveted," "took," and "hidden." - Oh! Wow! 😨😱
King David saw, coveted, and took Bathsheba, and then had to cover up what he did, 2 Samuel 11:2-4 and onward from verse four.
Ananias and Sapphira, his wife saw how much they received from selling a possession (land), and by way of coveting, kept back part of the price, (they took some of the profit for themselves, thinking that the total amount of the selling price would be hidden from Peter)
Their sins had a way of finding them out! Acts 5:1-11.
Thank you, for this! Enlightening!
You made an excellent observation! I really appreciate how you broke down the concepts of "saw," "coveted," "took," and "hidden." These four elements are crucial and often lead us down the path of temptation. When we see something we desire, we begin to covet it, which may lead us to take it in some form. After that, it's usually about covering up our actions and hiding what we've done. This is a brilliant insight. Thank you so much! I had never considered it this way before, but it makes perfect sense to me now.
I was equally shocked how easily temptation can take a soul quickly into disaster. Thanks.
In a moment of deep despration and confusion Joshua cries, “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?” (Joshua 7:7). He could not understand why God’s promise of victory seemed to have failed. Like Joshua christians encounter times when circumstances appear to contradict faith. We believe that God is with us and will lead us to triumph, yet moments of defeat can leave us questioning His presence and purpose. These experiences are a challenge to trust that even in apparent setbacks, God is working to reveal what lies hidden within our hearts.
Achan’s sin was a solemn reminder of how easily the human heart can be led astray. His disobedience in taking what was devoted to God was born from the same temptation that has ensnared many: the love of money, greed, and the desire for what is not ours. As Scripture warns, “The love of money is the root of all kinds of evil” (1 Timothy 6:10). In pursuit of material gain, many compromise integrity and holiness, forgetting that no treasure on earth compares to the riches of God’s grace. Achan’s story teaches that secret sin brings communal consequences and that God’s holiness demands purity and obedience among His people.
The judgment upon Achan and his ultimate destruction in the Valley of Achor might seem harsh and arbitrary to modern readers, yet it reveals a timeless truth: God is holy and takes sin seriously. The heap of stones raised over Achan’s body stood as a sobering reminder of divine justice. Still, the story also points us to mercy and restoration, for the Valley of Achor later became known as “a door of hope” (Hosea 2:15). When we learn to wait on God and trust His provision, we discover the truth of Psalm 34:10: “The young lions suffer want and hunger, but those who seek the Lord lack no good thing.” Our task is to seek Him faithfully, trusting that His timing, justice, and mercy are always perfect.
The whole camp of Israel became contingent of the enormity of breaking one of Gods law. For instance, Cains sin of murder did not go unpunished, it weighted on his heart the rest of his life, because he did not ask for forgiveness and it was a lesson for all.
If someone cuts a hole in the ship under their own bunk only, is that no one else’s business?
The grace of God indeed touches everyone. It is patient, kind, and gives us room to repentbjust as Achan was given time to come forward before judgment fell. But often, we mistake that grace for permission or assume that God’s silence means approval.
Grace is not the absence of judgment it is the space before judgment, given in love so that we may turn back to God.
Sometimes, like Judas, we interpret Jesus’ gentle and kind approach as weakness or tolerance, instead of hearing it as a call to self-examination and repentance. Judas sat at the table of grace, received the bread from Christ’s hand, and yet did not allow that kindness to pierce his heart.
Reflection Thought:
How many times have we valued a kind approach—as Judas did as something “normal,” instead of letting it lead us to search our hearts and repent?
As we share in this discussion group, have we also come to value it merely as routine, or are we truly using it as a way to draw closer to God and examine our hearts? The day of reckoning is approaching, and God’s patience calls us to genuine repentance before His justice acts.
"Grace is not the absence of judgment it is the space before judgment, given in love so that we may turn back to God."
Beautiful!!! Thank you for sharing this.
The stories of Achan and Korah remind us that God’s judgments are never random — they are measured, righteous, and based on truth.
When Achan secretly stole from the spoils of Jericho, he hid the stolen goods in his tent. His entire family was destroyed with him because they were aware of the sin and kept silent. God’s command to destroy all that belonged to Achan revealed that sin concealed within the home corrupts everyone connected to it.
Korah’s story, however, is different. He led a rebellion against Moses and Aaron, defying God’s appointed leadership. When judgment came, the earth swallowed the rebels alive — yet “the children of Korah died not.” Some of his family evidently separated themselves from his sin and were spared. Later, these descendants became faithful temple musicians and writers of several psalms — a testimony of redemption after rebellion.
The key difference?
Achan’s household shared in his guilt, but Korah’s family chose to separate from it.
Lesson: God holds each person accountable for their choices. When we cover sin, we share its consequences. But when we turn away from it, God shows mercy and can restore even the most broken legacy.
Achan’s sin was more than theft it was robbing God of what was rightfully His (Joshua 7:11). The gold and silver he took were devoted to the Lord’s treasury, meant to honor God and advance His worship among Israel. When Achan hid those things for himself, he showed a heart that valued possessions more than obedience.
Similarly, in Malachi 3:8–10, God rebuked His people for withholding tithes and offerings, saying:
“Will a man rob God? Yet you rob me.”
When we keep back what belongs to God our resources, our time, or our devotion we repeat Achan’s mistake in another form.
God doesn’t need our money, but He desires our faithfulness and trust. He calls us to honor Him first, believing that He will supply all our needs.
Just as Achan’s hidden sin brought defeat to Israel, withholding from God can close the door to His blessings. But when we return to Him with open hearts and willing hands, He promises to “open the windows of heaven” and pour out a blessing we cannot contain (Malachi 3:10).
Adam and Eve experienced God's grace after they sinned. They were told that in the day that they ate of the tree of knowledge of good and evil that they would surely die. Adam lived over nine hundred years, but Adam and Eve did die as God said. Genesis 2:16,17; Genesis 3; Genesis 5:5.
What grace! with God, a thousand years are as a day!
If Achan had asked God for forgiveness as he was being stoned to death by the Israelites, could he still go to heaven when Jesus comes back again?
Yes, why not
I think he could, but if he was just doing this out of fear, it would not be sincere. I think he was hardened and that's why it's unlikely he truly repented.
Raul, Achan’s actions suggest that he had blasphemed the Holy Spirit. Despite clear warnings and repeated opportunities to repent, he deliberately disobeyed God and concealed his sin until he was exposed. His confession came only when he was caught, showing regret but not true repentance. By persistently resisting the Spirit’s conviction, Achan’s heart became hardened—illustrating the tragic result of rejecting the Holy Spirit’s voice.
It appears to me that most comments focus on how sin impacts the sinner - whether it is the right amount or the right method of punishment the sinner receives. Do we pay any attention to the right God has to defend His Righteousness when being attacked by the adversary using man to do so?
Is not, in every sinful act, the one revealed who made it his life’s purpose to tear down God’s Laws governing His Righteousness by any means possible? Would it not be better if we focused on the spiritual aspect, the true cost of war between ‘good’ and ‘evil’, as it manifests itself in every act of man? Rom.7:18.
After all, ultimately, it is God’s Holiness, His perfect Righteousness - the expression of who He is-, which is at stake! If we accept God’s judgements dealing with non-believers in the land given to the children of Israel, we cannot expect God to deal with His own differently – Psalm 89:14.
Man’s life is not in his flesh, it is in his spirit! Do we dare judge the ‘rightness’ of God’s Judgements, how He chooses to protect His Righteousness from attacks by the adversary aiming to undermine His Integrity?
Before considering joining the family of God, anyone seeking His Presence, needs to know that God cannot and does not tolerate sin in any form – Deut.32:4; 1 John 1:5; Psalm 5:4; Rev.15:3-4.
In regards to the final question, I think our inclinations are to try harder and worry more about God seeing us. I think it is actually Satan pushing those ideas on us. Knowing God sees us will not make us one bit more righteous. We might avoid certain acts, but our heart will change.
When you look at Psalm 139, David is not afraid that God sees everything he does. He rejoices in that fact. And so should we, because God is not against us. He doesn't see what we do and are to condemn us but to help us if we let Him.
What does this mean? Well, if you're struggling with a sin, take it to God. He knows it anyway and He can help you if you let Him. Running and hiding is what Adam and Eve did and it never works out well.
In our day and time, does God still punish the innocent ones due to the sins of some close family member?
God never arbitrarily punished anyone for the sins of others. God's justice emphasizes individual responsibility. While older biblical texts mentioned consequences affecting generations, later scripture (like Ezekiel 18:20) clarifies: "The soul who sins is the one who will die. The son will not share the guilt of the father..."
Though an innocent person is not directly punished by God for a family member's sin, they often suffer the real-world consequences (e.g., trauma, poverty) of those actions. God judges each person on their own deeds.
Thank you for your comment, Beverly. So the Israelite soldiers who died in the battle with Ai, suffered the real-world consequences of their leaders' neglect of consulting God and thus not discovering the sin of Achan and dealing with it. As we know, the death they suffered is but a sleep till Jesus comes. Those Israelite soldiers will be saved or lost for eternity, based on their own faith, nobody else's.
In Joshua 7, Israel went to fight Ai, confident after defeating Jericho yet they were defeated, and 36 men were killed.
Why? Because Achan disobeyed God and took from the accursed things of Jericho.
“Israel has sinned… therefore the children of Israel could not stand before their enemies.”Joshua 7:11–12.
The defeat wasn’t due to the soldiers’ personal guilt, but a corporate consequence of sin within the camp.
Were they innocent?
Yes — they were innocent of Achan’s sin, yet shared in its effects because they belonged to a covenant community.
In the Old Testament, Israel was one body the sin of one affected all.
Likewise, sin within the church weakens the whole body of Christ (1 Cor. 12:12–27).Their deaths were not punishment for their own guilt but a solemn reminder that hidden sin brings public consequences.
Joshua and the elders did not consult God before the battle (Joshua 7:2–4).
Had they sought His counsel, the hidden sin might have been exposed.
Confidence without prayer and dependence on God often leads to defeat.
God is just and merciful.
He knows every heart, and each soldier’s eternal destiny rested on personal faith and obedience, not on Achan’s failure.
Those who trusted in God died only a temporary death, awaiting resurrection among the faithful (Hebrews 11).
Achan’s sin brought death to many just as Adam’s sin brought death to all but Christ’s righteousness brings life to all who believe (Romans 5:18–19).
The soldiers of Ai were innocent victims of collective sin.
God allowed their death as a warning of sin’s seriousness yet each will be judged righteously.
Their story teaches that while sin affects others, salvation is personal and secured through Christ for all who trust in Him.
Before every battle in life, seek God’s counsel.
Confidence without consecration leads to defeat,
but repentance and faith turn defeat into victory.
Ezekiel is obviously the ideal God was working towards. However, the middle Eastern view of collective responsibility meant that people would be "punished" for the sins of others. All children that died when God pronounced judgment were in this category. This is true whether we talk about the flood, Dathan and Abiram's "little ones" (Numbers 27:27) who presumably were swallowed up with their rebellious fathers, and the children of the Caananite nations. I guess we could say these are real-world consequences in a way, though they are not natural. I would also suggest that they were being "laid to rest" which is not really a punishment. Eternal death is really the only absolute punishment.
God have mercy! To be like Jesus is a total miracle! There must be a lot of contemplation! How much love for His creatures!
What does the lesson mean when it talks of the enemy within? These are the sins that we do and conceal them without confessing them. This enemy within is our pride, greed,lust, covetousness, slander etc if left Unchecked it may lead to spiritual defeat n later death.God is merciful he ready to for give our sins