All the gold and silver plundered from the destruction of Jericho was to go into the treasury of the Lord (Joshua 6:19). Indeed, Joshua warned everyone to beware of greed, which might move people to take some of this plunder for themselves: and that would bring disaster on the whole nation of Israel (6:18).

But Achan son of Carmi son of Zabdi did indeed take some of it for himself. As a result God’s anger was aroused against the Israelites, and in their next battle they were suddenly confounded and filled with panic as they fled before their foes (7:1-5). To find the cause of this reversal, the lot was cast, tribe by tribe, clan by clan, family by family, until Achan was discovered (7:16-18).

When Achan saw that his crime was known, he confessed, “I am the one who sinned against the Lord God of Israel. This is what I did: when I saw among the spoil a beautiful mantle from Shinar, and two hundred shekels of silver, and a bar of gold weighing fifty shekels, then I coveted them and took them” (7:20-21).

So Achan and all his family and property were taken outside the camp, and stoned and their bodies burned, and then a great heap of stones piled upon the spot (7:25-26). It is a grim story – grim enough that some of the ancient commentators proposed that although Achan and his cattle were stoned and burned, his children were not killed but required to be witnesses to this judgment. Maybe so; yet the text as written certainly seems to indicate that all were killed. Either way, it was a devastating judgment. One man’s greed led to the death of 36 of his countrymen, and to the death or the poverty of his family.

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Help us, Lord. We so often imagine that our sin can’t be hurting anyone but ourselves, but that turns out not to be the case. Our family, our community, our nation all suffer in unexpected and severe ways. Teach us to turn from our greed to love you, heart and soul and mind and strength.