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The last key instruction is that the only things that are to survive the
destruction of Jericho are those that
can be passed through fire, such as silver and gold;
and these are to be devoted to the Lord and given to his treasury. In the ancient world,
booty belonged to the victorious king, so the law regarding the plunder going into the
treasury recognizes Yahweh as Israel’s king. The importance of this is emphasized in a
dire warning:
Keep yourselves from the things devoted to destruction, lest when you have
devoted them you take any of the devoted things and make the
camp of Israel a
thing for destruction, and bring trouble upon it. (Jos 6:18)
Unfortunately, this is precisely what happens. A soldier named Achan comes upon a
beautiful mantle from Shinar and much silver and gold, and in the same chilling language
of the fall of Adam and Eve, the author of Joshua tells us that he saw, coveted, and took
it (Jos 7:21). Thus, Israel’s new creation of the Promised Land is now likewise marked by
transgression against God’s law and a fall from grace.
Israel, not knowing Achan’s sin, moves next to
fight against a smaller city, Ai, and
unexpectedly suffers a humiliating defeat. Joshua, realizing that Israel must have sinned,
convenes the people, and Achan, singled out by lot, confesses. Joshua declares, “Why did
you bring trouble on us? The L
ORD
brings trouble on you today” (Jos 7:25). Israel goes
on to capture Ai, only after Achan and his family are stoned to death. Joshua names the
valley of the stoning
Achor, a rare word meaning “trouble,” which connotes death related
to violation of the sacred. Achan violated the covenant by transgressing the law out of
covetousness. The word
achor is also found in Genesis 34, where Jacob’s sons enter into
covenant with the Shechemites in order to deceitfully slay them for the
rape of their sister
Dinah. Jacob fears that this covenant violation will bring down
achor upon Jacob’s family
(Gn 34:30). Similarly, in Judges, the foolish Jephthah makes a rash oath that will cost his
daughter her life, an oath that is said to bring
achor (Jgs 11:35). Still later,
achor will
describe a rash oath that King Saul makes that condemns his innocent son Jonathan. The
point is that oath breaking brings deadly consequences, a lesson Israel desperately needs
to learn to survive as God’s people in the land.
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Human Solidarity, for Good and Bad
The sin of Achan demonstrates the uncontainable nature of sin and its consequences. Just as
Achan’s sin hurts all of Israel, our sin too affects those around us. As Pope John Paul II wrote in
his
Apostolic Exhortation on Reconciliation and Penance, “To speak of social sin means in the first
place to recognize that, by virtue of human solidarity which is as mysterious and intangible as it
is real and concrete, each individual’s sin in some way affects others. This is the other aspect of
that solidarity which on the religious level is developed in the profound and magnificent mystery
of the communion of saints, thanks to which it has been possible to say that ‘every soul that rises
above itself, raises up the world.’ ” Just as one’s
virtuous act raises others up, so too one’s sinful
act has the effect of dragging others down. In other words, there is no sin, not even the most
intimate and secret one, the most strictly individual one, that exclusively concerns the person
committing it. With greater or lesser harm, every sin has repercussions on the
whole human
family.
The irony in the Jericho story is that the faithfulness of a foreign harlot, who hides
two spies, brings salvation for herself and her whole family—as well as acceptance into
God’s people—whereas the insider Achan brings ruin upon himself and his entire family
for hiding treasure dedicated to God. The lesson contained in this sharp contrast is
stunning: what matters most is obedience and fidelity to Israel’s God. This fidelity is open
to all, a lesson the Gibeonites will soon exploit.
Gibeon: Covenant by Craftiness
The report of Israel’s victories quickly spreads throughout the land. The Jebusite king
of Jerusalem, Adonizedek, and the other kings of the southern half of the Promised Land,
including much of the coastland, decide to unite and fight Israel. The
people of Gibeon,
however, devise a plan to join themselves to God’s people rather than fight them. The
Gibeonites pretend that they have made a long journey from a faraway land. Declaring to
Joshua that they have heard reports of the Lord’s wonders against all who opposed Israel,
they ask to enter into a covenant with Israel and its God. The deception works and a
covenant is made. When Joshua finally
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discovers that these are not foreigners, but
actually inhabitants of Canaan, he can do nothing because the covenant is irrevocable.
Gibeon’s deliverance is reminiscent of Israel’s own deliverance. Once again, a people
doomed to perish, as Israel was after the golden calf, is saved from destruction because of
their covenant with Yahweh. Israel stood under judgment because of their apostasy and
rebellion but was repeatedly spared because of God’s covenant promises. Covenants can
save, and Gibeon is both a reminder and metaphor for Israel.
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