Joshua 7:1-5

¹But the Israelites were unfaithful in regard to the devoted things; Achan son of Karmi, the son of Zimri, the son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, took some of them. So the Lord’s anger burned against Israel. ²Now Joshua sent men from Jericho to Ai, which is near Beth Aven to the east of Bethel, and told them, “Go up and spy out the region.” So the men went up and spied out Ai. ³When they returned to Joshua, they said, “Not all the army will have to go up against Ai. Send two or three thousand men to take it and do not weary the whole army, for only a few people live there.” ^4So about three thousand went up; but they were routed by the men of Ai, ⁵who killed about thirty-six of them. They chased the Israelites from the city gate as far as the stone quarries and struck them down on the slopes. At this the hearts of the people melted in fear and became like water.

Military Cadets

Have you ever visited a military academy? How do you appreciate cadets when they march in uniform? They sure look very wonderful to watch, right? Imagine when the military cadets are in marching formation, and one cadet is not marching in sync with the rest, that would destroy the beauty of formation.
In the military academy, there’s an unwritten code of conduct that the offense of one cadet is the offense of the whole platoon of cadets. The offender would not suffer the penalty alone. The whole platoon of cadets would suffer the consequences of the offense of one cadet.

The maxim: The offense of one is offense of all has biblical root. When one Israelite ignored the Lord’s instruction, the Israelites as community were called unfaithful. One defied an instruction, the community suffered the consequence.

1. Defy

¹But the Israelites were unfaithful in regard to the devoted things; Achan son of Karmi, the son of Zimri, the son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, took some of them. So the Lord’s anger burned against Israel.

The Israelites were defeated when one Israelite defied the Lord. Achan gave in to the temptation of taking some of the things devoted to the Lord. Jericho was the first city they conquered, and the Lord instructed the Israelites to destroy everything, living or not. Things that cannot be destroyed by fire like gold, silver, bronze, and iron were to be stored in the treasury of the Lord’s house.
Why would God desire the plunder or the goods they hoarded or took from the first city they conquered? Has God not created gold and precious stones? Why did God want to get the first share from the Israelite victory?

God does not need gold or silver. He can instantly create more gold or silver than can be found on earth. Joshua instructed that the gold, silver, bronze and iron to be stored in the treasury of the Lord’s house as testing of obedience among the Israelites. Will they act as one? Do they have one mind?

Anti-War

Many people hate war. An NBA player escaped a dinner with the Military Academy cadets supposing that “it has nothing to do with the cadets.” “I have a lot of respect for the troops and the sacrifice that they bring for this country. It’s just hard for me to see kids killing kids. It’s my views. But it was cool just to be able to spend a little time with them, talk to them and just — they have a huge responsibility — to be able to talk to them about that,” the NBA player explained.
His respect for his personal views is great than his respect for the troops.
People talk about respect but don’t necessarily grasp the essence of respect. The NBA player said that he respected the troops but by his escaping the dinner, he disrespected their host and his team mates. His teammates may not be very vocal about respect or war but they showed respect to their host.
The question is: What is the acceptable standard of respect? As believers, God’s word is our standard. Human interpretation is needed but it’s not ultimate. God would decide if our interpretation and practices are acceptable to Him or not.

When Achan took some of the devoted things, he might have interpreted that God and his fellow Israelites would understand his action. Anyway, God does not need what he took. Or, he might have interpreted that God and his fellow Israelites will overlook his minor naughtiness. He did not anticipate that his minor mischief has caused the whole Israelite community to be defeated.

2. Defeat

²Now Joshua sent men from Jericho to Ai, which is near Beth Aven to the east of Bethel, and told them, “Go up and spy out the region.” So the men went up and spied out Ai. ³When they returned to Joshua, they said, “Not all the army will have to go up against Ai. Send two or three thousand men to take it and do not weary the whole army, for only a few people live there.”

The Israelites initiated and suggested to Joshua what they should do. Joshua didn’t ask for opinion. What made the Israelites think that they can easily defeat the people of Ai? Before they attacked Jericho, they waited for instruction. They were successful. But against Ai, they didn’t wait for instruction from Joshua.
They think that they will be victorious against Ai because they defeated Jericho. There were only few people in Ai compared to Jericho. So, they concluded that they can easily defeat the people of Ai. To their surprise they were routed. The people of Ai defeated them, and at least 36 men were killed.

⁴So about three thousand went up; but they were routed by the men of Ai, ⁵who killed about thirty-six of them. They chased the Israelites from the city gate as far as the stone quarries and struck them down on the slopes. At this the hearts of the people melted in fear and became like water.

Where did their courage go? Where did their strength go? Where did their confidence go? Why did they melt in fear before the few people of Ai? Who cause them to be defeated? Joshua knew there was something wrong.
Achan defied Joshua’s instruction not to take anything devoted to the Lord. Observe: Against Ai, the Israelites did not seek or wait for instruction. They were over confident. They assumed that they can defeat the few people of Ai. They voice out their opinion. They suggested to Joshua what to do instead of waiting for his instruction. Do you suppose that those were results of Achan’s sin?

King Saul

In 1 Samuel 15:1-3, 9-15, ¹Samuel said to Saul, “I am the one the Lord sent to anoint you king over his people Israel; so listen now to the message from the Lord. ²This is what the Lord Almighty says: ‘I will punish the Amalekites for what they did to Israel when they waylaid them as they came up from Egypt. ³Now go, attack the Amalekites and totally destroy all that belongs to them. Do not spare them; put to death men and women, children and infants, cattle and sheep, camels and donkeys.’”
⁹But Saul and the army spared Agag and the best of the sheep and cattle, the fat calves and lambs—everything that was good. These they were unwilling to destroy completely, but everything that was despised and weak they totally destroyed. ¹⁰Then the word of the Lord came to Samuel: 1¹“I regret that I have made Saul king, because he has turned away from me and has not carried out my instructions.” Samuel was angry, and he cried out to the Lord all that night.
¹²Early in the morning Samuel got up and went to meet Saul, but he was told, “Saul has gone to Carmel. There he has set up a monument in his own honor and has turned and gone on down to Gilgal.” ¹³When Samuel reached him, Saul said, “The Lord bless you! I have carried out the Lord’s instructions.”
1⁴But Samuel said, “What then is this bleating of sheep in my ears? What is this lowing of cattle that I hear?” ¹⁵Saul answered, “The soldiers brought them from the Amalekites; they spared the best of the sheep and cattle to sacrifice to the Lord your God, but we totally destroyed the rest.”

Can you trace the similarity of what happen during the time of Joshua and King Saul? The Israelites obeyed God partially but not completely. Achan thought that he can save his future. King Saul thought that he was humanitarian by saving the life of Agag. The people decided what to do, and not the leader.

Many churches are actually doing similar mistake. Many Christians have no idea when to listen to God appointed leaders and when to decide on their own. The Israelites were victorious over Jericho when they listen to the instruction God gave to His chosen leader Joshua. But when the Israelites decided how they should attack the few people of Ai, they were defeated.
But why did Joshua not speak up? Was Joshua scared of the people? These days, many church leaders, including pastors are scared of the people. Like Joshua and King Saul, they won’t dare to speak up for fear that influential people might not support their programs.

As Bible believing church, when we work as a church, we should learn listen to God’s chosen leaders. Know the church Constitution and By-Laws for you to know how to behave properly as church members.
But in your individual life, be sure to seek God’s wisdom. When you seek for advice, ask God to help you decide which advice you should follow. To obey God is to respect God. God blesses both the obedient and respectful believer.

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