^{Joshua 7:16-26}

¹⁶ Early the next morning Joshua had Israel come forward by tribes, and Judah was chosen. ¹⁷ The clans of Judah came forward, and the Zerahites were chosen. He had the clan of the Zerahites come forward by families, and Zimri was chosen. ¹⁸ Joshua had his family come forward man by man, and Achan son of Karmi, the son of Zimri, the son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, was chosen.
¹⁹ Then Joshua said to Achan, “My son, give glory to the Lord, the God of Israel, and honor him. Tell me what you have done; do not hide it from me.”
²⁰ Achan replied, “It is true! I have sinned against the Lord, the God of Israel. This is what I have done: ²¹ When I saw in the plunder a beautiful robe from Babylonia, two hundred shekels of silver and a bar of gold weighing fifty shekels, I coveted them and took them. They are hidden in the ground inside my tent, with the silver underneath.”
²² So Joshua sent messengers, and they ran to the tent, and there it was, hidden in his tent, with the silver underneath. ²³ They took the things from the tent, brought them to Joshua and all the Israelites and spread them out before the Lord.
²⁴ Then Joshua, together with all Israel, took Achan son of Zerah, the silver, the robe, the gold bar, his sons and daughters, his cattle, donkeys and sheep, his tent and all that he had, to the Valley of Achor. ²⁵ Joshua said, “Why have you brought this trouble on us? The Lord will bring trouble on you today.” Then all Israel stoned him, and after they had stoned the rest, they burned them. ²⁶ Over Achan they heaped up a large pile of rocks, which remains to this day. Then the Lord turned from his fierce anger. Therefore that place has been called the Valley of Achor ever since.

Introduction

Many observers claim that the Bible has a lot of contradiction. For non-believers, those contradictions have painted a “Bad Boy Image” of God and His obedient servants. As believers, do we need to defend God? Do we need to defend the authenticity of the Bible? What situation are we to get involved in a discussion about our faith?
In 1 Peter 3:15, ¹⁵But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect…

Before venturing into spiritual discussion, especially with non-believers, make sure that you revere, acknowledge, or let Christ be the Lord in your heart. So, be sure that the Spirit of Christ prompts or inspires you to be involved or to say something about your faith. Another thing is… the Bible says, “Give an answer.” It did not say, “Argue!”
Be prayerful and know if the person is really seeking the truth or just trying to make an issue out of it, then, give an answer to their question with gentleness and respect. How about it? With gentleness and respect, you would avoid unpleasant argument.

The situation of Joshua’s obedience to God is one example of what skeptics view as contradiction in the Bible. Joshua obeyed the instruction of the Lord and brought the people tribe by tribe, clan by clan, family by family, and man by man. Achan was found guilty and he admitted that he sinned against the Lord.

1. Admit

¹⁶ Early the next morning Joshua had Israel come forward by tribes, and Judah was chosen. ¹⁷ The clans of Judah came forward, and the Zerahites were chosen. He had the clan of the Zerahites come forward by families, and Zimri was chosen. ¹⁸ Joshua had his family come forward man by man, and Achan son of Karmi, the son of Zimri, the son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, was chosen.
¹⁹ Then Joshua said to Achan, “My son, give glory to the Lord, the God of Israel, and honor him. Tell me what you have done; do not hide it from me.”
²⁰ Achan replied, “It is true! I have sinned against the Lord, the God of Israel. This is what I have done: ²¹ When I saw in the plunder a beautiful robe from Babylonia, two hundred shekels of silver and a bar of gold weighing fifty shekels, I coveted them and took them. They are hidden in the ground inside my tent, with the silver underneath.”

What prompted Achan to admit his violation? Was it because he cannot escape? He hid what he has stolen, right? Did God made him afraid and decide to admit his mistake? All the people of Israel, his parents, grandparents, relatives and friends were staring and pointing fingers at him, perhaps. When Achan admitted that he sinned against the Lord, does it suggest a repentant heart? Why did God not forgive him?
That seems to be contradiction to 1 John 1:9, ⁹ If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.

What does confess our sins means? To confess our sins is to be in full agreement with, align or admit the mistake we have done. Has Achan fully agreed with his violation? But why did the Lord not forgive him when he confessed or has fully admitted his violation?
Achan was forced to repent. When God told Joshua to bring the people together tribe by tribe, clan by clan, family by family, man by man, Achan had enough opportunity to bring himself forward and admit his sin. Achan waited until he was identified. It was like challenging God’s power to identify as the thief.
Should God forgive him? No! God knows Achan had no regret, no repentant heart. He waited to be identified. Nobody pointed at him. No witness against him. Did God fill his heart with fear and make him confess and not lie when Achan was identified?

King Saul

It’s similar behavior of King Saul when the Lord ordered him to attack and totally destroy the Amalekites. He partially obeyed God. In 1 Samuel 15:9, 14-15, ⁹ But 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.
¹⁴ But Samuel said, “What then is this bleating of sheep in my ears? What is this lowing of cattle that I hear?” ¹⁵ Saul 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.”

Saul hid their plunder from Samuel but Samuel knew it. He heard the bleating. Saul blamed the soldiers. He suggested that they will use the plunder for sacrifice, really? Did he really plan for sacrifice? Did Saul want to become rich quickly like Achan?
When Samuel ordered total annihilation and Saul spared Agag and the good animals, it gave Samuel a bad boy image which is similar to Joshua ordered the people to kill Achan. Nonetheless, Joshua attributed Achan’s death to the Lord.

2. Attribute

²² So Joshua sent messengers, and they ran to the tent, and there it was, hidden in his tent, with the silver underneath. ²³ They took the things from the tent, brought them to Joshua and all the Israelites and spread them out before the Lord.
²⁴ Then Joshua, together with all Israel, took Achan son of Zerah, the silver, the robe, the gold bar, his sons and daughters, his cattle, donkeys and sheep, his tent and all that he had, to the Valley of Achor. ²⁵ Joshua said, “Why have you brought this trouble on us? The Lord will bring trouble on you today.” Then all Israel stoned him, and after they had stoned the rest, they burned them. ²⁶ Over Achan they heaped up a large pile of rocks, which remains to this day. Then the Lord turned from his fierce anger. Therefore that place has been called the Valley of Achor ever since.
When Joshua attributed Achan’s punishment to the Lord, that should helped them know that the Lord is just to punish disobedience. The Israelites had to decide whether to have trouble as a community or remove the cause of trouble and destroy Achan.

Like Samuel and Joshua, when parents discipline naughty children, they earn bad person image. When leaders implement rules, they have bad boys image among violators. This is when praying earnestly becomes more significant when electing church leaders.
Watch out whom you follow! You might be following someone like King Saul who seemed repentant but actually wanted to save his reputation. In 1 Samuel 15:30, ³⁰ Saul replied, “I have sinned. But please honor me before the elders of my people and before Israel; come back with me, so that I may worship the Lord your God.”

Saul admitted his sin after Samuel discovered his defiance to the Lord. He had no remorse. Saul wanted to save his face before the elders of his people but not with God.
In contrast, Joshua had a bad boy image before the family, clan, tribe and friends of Achan when they destroyed Achan. Joshua did not seek honor before the elders of the people. He didn’t mind what others say. He was just crazy to obey the Lord’s instruction.

We are Crazy!

A church prayed, and decided to sell their current church building, and to buy a larger church property. One church leader said, “We are crazy! We will be soon on the street!” The church did not end up on the street. The Lord showed His miraculous power, and the church acquired a larger church property. The leader who said “crazy” was gone.

“Crazy!” That is exactly how non-believers think of the work of the Lord. Crazy, silly, impossible, impractical, or unusual things before people are things God loves to do.
The Israelites crossed the Jordan River at flood stage. The priests carrying the Ark of the Covenant just stepped into the water and stood in middle of the river. That was crazy idea, right? They should have called for engineers to build a bridge first, right?
The Israelites defeated Jericho by marching around the city. It’s crazy idea. They should have made catapults or ladders. The Israelites decided and sent just 3000 soldiers to attack Ai. Very practical but their practical idea failed. Victory is ordained by God.

Joshua and Samuel have earned “bad boy image” in the eyes of non-believers.
Whose idea, comment or decision do you prefer, God’s or human’s?
It says in Genesis 6:5, ⁵ The Lord saw how great the wickedness of the human race had become on the earth, and that every inclination of the thoughts of the human heart was only evil all the time.

Who should define what is good? Only God is good. God knows what is good. His works, thoughts and commands are good. Everything from God is good.
God’s perfect goodness cannot be fully appreciated by imperfect humans. By faith in Christ, believers become perfect before God. Believers appreciate God’s goodness.

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