Verse-by-Verse Commentary
The Book of Joshua
Chapter 7: The Sin of Achan
After the triumph of Jericho comes a stunning defeat. Israel goes up against tiny Ai and is routed, and the hearts of the people melt like water. Joshua falls on his face before God, but the LORD tells him to get up: there is sin in the camp. One man, Achan, took of the accursed thing, saw, coveted, and hid it, and his hidden sin brought defeat on the whole nation. Here we learn the seriousness of sin, how one person's disobedience can hinder a whole people, the anatomy of temptation, and the God who cannot go with a people who cling to what He has condemned.
About This Commentary
This is a verse-by-verse study of Joshua chapter 7. For each section you will find the KJV text, the Hebrew words that sharpen the meaning, plain explanation, and a Gospel Focus. Here Israel is defeated at Ai because of Achan's hidden sin, the accursed thing is exposed, and judgment falls in the valley of Achor. Every Scripture quotation is from the King James Version.
Setting the Stage
Routed at Ai
A tiny city turns back Israel; hearts melt like water.
Sin in the Camp
God will not go with a people who keep the accursed thing.
Saw, Coveted, Took
The anatomy of temptation, and the hidden spoil.
The Valley of Trouble
Judgment falls, and God's anger is turned away.
There Is an Accursed Thing in the Midst of Thee (Joshua 7:1-15)
Israel is routed at Ai, and when Joshua cries out to God, the LORD reveals the cause: hidden sin in the camp, which must be removed before He will go with them again.
Israel Hath Sinned
"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. And Joshua sent men from Jericho to Ai, which is beside Bethaven, on the east side of Bethel, and spake unto them, saying, Go up and view the country. And the men went up and viewed Ai. And they returned to Joshua, and said unto him, Let not all the people go up; but let about two or three thousand men go up and smite Ai; and make not all the people to labour thither; for they are but few. So there went up thither of the people about three thousand men: and they fled before the men of Ai. And the men of Ai smote of them about thirty and six men: for they chased them from before the gate even unto Shebarim, and smote them in the going down: wherefore the hearts of the people melted, and became as water. And Joshua rent his clothes, and fell to the earth upon his face before the ark of the LORD until the eventide, he and the elders of Israel, and put dust upon their heads. And Joshua said, Alas, O Lord GOD, wherefore hast thou at all brought this people over Jordan, to deliver us into the hand of the Amorites, to destroy us? would to God we had been content, and dwelt on the other side Jordan! O Lord, what shall I say, when Israel turneth their backs before their enemies! For the Canaanites and all the inhabitants of the land shall hear of it, and shall environ us round, and cut off our name from the earth: and what wilt thou do unto thy great name? And the LORD said unto Joshua, Get thee up; wherefore liest thou thus upon thy face? Israel hath sinned, and they have also transgressed my covenant which I commanded them: for they have even taken of the accursed thing, and have also stolen, and dissembled also, and they have put it even among their own stuff. Therefore the children of Israel could not stand before their enemies, but turned their backs before their enemies, because they were accursed: neither will I be with you any more, except ye destroy the accursed from among you. Up, sanctify the people, and say, Sanctify yourselves against to morrow: for thus saith the LORD God of Israel, There is an accursed thing in the midst of thee, O Israel: thou canst not stand before thine enemies, until ye take away the accursed thing from among you. In the morning therefore ye shall be brought according to your tribes: and it shall be, that the tribe which the LORD taketh shall come according to the families thereof; and the family which the LORD shall take shall come by households; and the household which the LORD shall take shall come man by man. And it shall be, that he that is taken with the accursed thing shall be burnt with fire, he and all that he hath: because he hath transgressed the covenant of the LORD, and because he hath wrought folly in Israel."
Word Study
"accursed thing," Hebrew cherem (חֵרֶם). The word means something devoted to God, set apart irrevocably, either for His service or, as here, for destruction under His judgment; it is "the accursed thing," the ban. Jericho and all in it had been placed under cherem, wholly given to the LORD; to take any of it for oneself was to steal what belonged to God and to bring oneself under the same ban. "Israel hath sinned... for they have even taken of the accursed thing." Notice how God speaks of it: not "Achan hath sinned," but "Israel hath sinned." One man took the cherem, yet the whole nation was reckoned guilty and defeated, "the children of Israel could not stand before their enemies... because they were accursed." This teaches the sobering truth of corporate solidarity: sin is not merely private; hidden sin in one member can hinder and defile a whole people. Paul warned the church the same way: "know ye not that a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump?" (1 Corinthians 5:6), and "purge out therefore the old leaven." God, who had been with Israel, now says, "neither will I be with you any more, except ye destroy the accursed from among you." His presence and His holiness cannot coexist with tolerated, hidden sin. So cherem preaches the seriousness of sin and the necessity of holiness in the camp. What God has condemned we must not touch or keep; hidden sin defeats God's people; and there is no going forward in His power until the accursed thing is put away. God calls His people to be clean, for He will not walk with a people who cling to what He has cursed.
Explanation
One man sinned, yet the text says "the children of Israel committed a trespass," and "Israel hath sinned." Achan's hidden theft made the whole nation guilty, and God withdrew the presence that had toppled Jericho — so a handful of defenders at little Ai routed the army that had just taken an impregnable fortress. And when Joshua falls on his face in prayer, God's answer is bracing: "Get thee up; wherefore liest thou thus upon thy face?" There was no more praying to be done until the sin was dealt with. Some defeats are not answered by more devotion but by removing the accursed thing from the camp.
Gospel Focus
The chapter opens with a heavy "But": right after the glory of Jericho comes hidden sin and sudden defeat. Israel, so confident, sends only a few thousand men against little Ai, and they are routed; thirty-six men fall, and "the hearts of the people melted, and became as water." The nation that made Jericho's walls fall now cannot stand before a village. Joshua is devastated, tearing his clothes, falling before the ark, crying, "wherefore hast thou at all brought this people over Jordan... to destroy us?" His grief is real, but his diagnosis is wrong; he assumes God has failed them. God's answer is bracing: "Get thee up; wherefore liest thou thus upon thy face? Israel hath sinned." There are times to pray, and times to get up and deal with sin; prayer is no substitute for obedience when God has shown the problem. The cause of defeat was not God's weakness but sin in the camp: someone had "taken of the accursed thing, and have also stolen, and dissembled also, and... put it even among their own stuff." The sin was hidden, secret, buried, yet it stripped the whole nation of God's presence in battle. This is the great lesson: unconfessed, hidden sin among God's people robs them of His power. God will not go with a people who tolerate what He has condemned; "neither will I be with you any more, except ye destroy the accursed from among you." The remedy is consecration and cleansing: "Sanctify yourselves... take away the accursed thing from among you." For the Apostolic reader this is a searching word. When we face defeat where we expected victory, the first question is not whether God has failed but whether there is hidden sin we have tolerated, in our own hearts or in the camp. God's presence and power are bound up with holiness. There is no moving forward, no standing before our enemies, until the accursed thing is confessed and put away.
The Valley of Achor (Joshua 7:16-26)
Achan is singled out, confesses the anatomy of his sin, and is judged with his household in the valley of Achor, and the fierce anger of the LORD is turned away.
I Saw, I Coveted, I Took
"So Joshua rose up early in the morning, and brought Israel by their tribes; and the tribe of Judah was taken: And he brought the family of Judah; and he took the family of the Zarhites: and he brought the family of the Zarhites man by man; and Zabdi was taken: And he brought his household man by man; and Achan, the son of Carmi, the son of Zabdi, the son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, was taken. And Joshua said unto Achan, My son, give, I pray thee, glory to the LORD God of Israel, and make confession unto him; and tell me now what thou hast done; hide it not from me. And Achan answered Joshua, and said, Indeed I have sinned against the LORD God of Israel, and thus and thus have I done: When I saw among the spoils a goodly Babylonish garment, and two hundred shekels of silver, and a wedge of gold of fifty shekels weight, then I coveted them, and took them; and, behold, they are hid in the earth in the midst of my tent, and the silver under it. So Joshua sent messengers, and they ran unto the tent; and, behold, it was hid in his tent, and the silver under it. And they took them out of the midst of the tent, and brought them unto Joshua, and unto all the children of Israel, and laid them out before the LORD. And Joshua, and all Israel with him, took Achan the son of Zerah, and the silver, and the garment, and the wedge of gold, and his sons, and his daughters, and his oxen, and his asses, and his sheep, and his tent, and all that he had: and they brought them unto the valley of Achor. And Joshua said, Why hast thou troubled us? the LORD shall trouble thee this day. And all Israel stoned him with stones, and burned them with fire, after they had stoned them with stones. And they raised over him a great heap of stones unto this day. So the LORD turned from the fierceness of his anger. Wherefore the name of that place was called, The valley of Achor, unto this day."
Word Study
"coveted," Hebrew chamad (חָמַד). The word means to desire, to covet, to take pleasure in and long to possess; it is the very verb of the tenth commandment, "Thou shalt not covet" (Exodus 20:17), where "covet" renders chamad. In Achan's own confession we see the whole anatomy of sin laid bare: "When I saw... then I coveted (chamad)... and took them... they are hid." Sin follows a well-worn path. First he saw, the eye fell on the forbidden thing; then he coveted, desire was kindled in the heart; then he took, the will acted; then he hid, shame concealed the deed. It is the same progression as Eve in Eden: she "saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes... she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat" (Genesis 3:6); and David with Bathsheba: he saw, he desired, he took. James traces the same chain: "when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death" (James 1:15). Covetousness is the hinge; the longing of the heart for what God forbids turns seeing into taking. And Achan coveted only a garment, some silver, and a wedge of gold, small spoil, hidden in a tent, yet it cost thirty-six lives, his own household, and nearly the whole nation's standing before God. So chamad exposes the deadly path of temptation and the true cost of secret sin. Guard the eye, mortify the covetous desire before it acts, and never imagine that hidden sin is small or private; it defiles, it spreads, and its wages is death.
Explanation
Achan's own confession lays bare the anatomy of every sin: "I saw... I coveted... and took... and hid." It is the exact path Eve walked in Eden — she saw, she desired, she took (Genesis 3:6) — and the path James traces from lust to sin to death (James 1:15). The eye lingers, the heart craves, the hand reaches, and then comes the hiding. The stolen goods, buried in his tent, cost Achan and his house everything in the valley of Achor ("trouble") — yet even that dark valley God would one day promise to make "a door of hope" (Hosea 2:15).
Gospel Focus
God exposes the hidden sin through a solemn process, tribe by tribe, family by family, man by man, until "Achan... was taken." No one can hide from God; "be sure your sin will find you out" (Numbers 32:23). Then Joshua speaks words that breathe both justice and grace: "My son, give, I pray thee, glory to the LORD God of Israel, and make confession unto him." To confess sin truly is to "give glory to God," to agree with His verdict, to own the truth, to stop hiding. Achan confesses fully: "Indeed I have sinned against the LORD," and lays bare the whole course of his sin, "I saw... I coveted ... I took... they are hid." The stolen goods are dug up and "laid... out before the LORD," the secret sin now open before God and all Israel. The judgment that follows is severe: Achan and his household are taken to "the valley of Achor" and destroyed, and "the LORD turned from the fierceness of his anger." The name Achor means "trouble", "Why hast thou troubled us? the LORD shall trouble thee this day", and the valley became a lasting reminder that sin troubles the whole people of God. Yet even here the gospel shines. Achan's confession, though it did not spare his life under the old covenant's justice, models the confession that saves under the new: to give glory to God and hide our sin no more, "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins" (1 John 1:9). And the valley of Achor itself becomes, in the prophets, a place of hope: God promises to give "the valley of Achor for a door of hope" (Hosea 2:15). The very place of judgment for sin becomes, in God's grace, a doorway of hope, a shadow of the cross, where sin was judged in full so that a door of hope might open for all who believe. For the Apostolic reader the chapter warns and comforts. Hidden sin troubles God's people and must be confessed and put away; but the God who judges sin also opens a door of hope, forgiving all who give Him glory and hide their sin no more. Where sin abounded, in the valley of trouble, grace can plant a door of hope.
Chapter 7 in Review
Joshua 7 turns from victory to defeat. Because Achan "took of the accursed thing," Israel is routed at Ai, and "the hearts of the people melted, and became as water." When Joshua grieves before the ark, God tells him to get up: "Israel hath sinned... neither will I be with you any more, except ye destroy the accursed from among you." The people are sanctified and searched, and Achan is taken. Joshua urges him, "give... glory to the LORD... and make confession," and Achan confesses the whole path of his sin: "When I saw... then I coveted... and took." He and his household are judged in "the valley of Achor," "so the LORD turned from the fierceness of his anger."
For the Apostolic reader this chapter teaches the deadly seriousness of sin among God's people. One man's hidden, secret sin, only a garment, some silver, a wedge of gold, buried in a tent, robbed a whole nation of God's presence and cost many lives. Sin is never merely private; "a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump," and God will not go forward with a people who tolerate what He has condemned. The chapter also lays bare the anatomy of temptation in Achan's own words, "I saw... I coveted... I took... they are hid", the same path that felled Eve and David: the eye, the covetous heart, the acting will, the hiding shame. We are warned to guard the eye and mortify covetous desire before it acts, and never to imagine hidden sin is small. Yet even in this dark chapter the gospel shines. True confession is to "give glory to God" and hide our sin no more, the very confession that, under the new covenant, brings forgiveness, "if we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive." And the valley of Achor, the place of trouble and judgment, God later promises to make "a door of hope", a shadow of the cross, where sin is fully judged so that hope may open for all who believe. So we keep the camp clean, we confess and forsake hidden sin, and we trust the God who judges sin yet opens, in the very valley of trouble, a door of hope.
- One man's hidden sin brought defeat on the whole nation: sin is never merely private (7:1, 11-12).
- God will not go with a people who cling to what He has condemned (7:12).
- There are times to stop praying and get up and deal with sin (7:10).
- The anatomy of sin: "I saw... I coveted... I took... they are hid" (7:21).
- True confession is to "give glory to God" and hide sin no more (7:19; 1 John 1:9).
- The valley of Achor (trouble) becomes, in grace, "a door of hope" (7:26; Hosea 2:15).
Questions for Reflection
- Is there a hidden "accursed thing" you are clinging to that hinders God's power?
- When you face defeat, do you examine your heart for tolerated sin?
- Where does covetousness begin in you, and how can you stop it before it acts?
- Will you give glory to God by confessing and forsaking your sin, and find the door of hope?
References & Sources
Scripture is quoted from the King James Version (KJV). Supporting passages are listed so every claim can be verified in its own setting. The accursed thing; corporate guilt; God's holiness: Joshua 7:1-13; Joshua 6:18; Deuteronomy 7:26; 1 Corinthians 5:6-7; Numbers 32:23. Prayer and the call to act: Joshua 7:6-10; Exodus 14:15; 1 Samuel 16:1. The anatomy of sin; covetousness: Joshua 7:16-21; Exodus 20:17; Genesis 3:6; 2 Samuel 11:2-4; James 1:14-15; 1 John 2:16. Confession as giving glory to God: Joshua 7:19; 1 Samuel 6:5; John 9:24; 1 John 1:9; Proverbs 28:13. The valley of Achor and the door of hope: Joshua 7:24-26; Hosea 2:15; Isaiah 65:10. If anything here does not look right, a verse, a reference, or a wording, please tell us at info@FruitBearers.net. Thank you for helping us keep Bible Learning error free.
- The accursed thing; one man's sin defeats the nation: Joshua 7:1-13; 1 Corinthians 5:6-7; Deuteronomy 7:26.
- Get up and deal with sin; consecrate and search the camp: Joshua 7:10-15; Numbers 32:23.
- The anatomy of sin: "I saw... I coveted... I took": Joshua 7:16-21; Exodus 20:17; Genesis 3:6; James 1:15.
- Confession gives glory to God; the valley of Achor becomes a door of hope: Joshua 7:19, 24-26; 1 John 1:9; Hosea 2:15.