Joshua 7:10-26. What can I say the story is pretty straight forward.\u00a0 God had given strict instructions for the battle against Jericho.\u00a0 All the people and animals were to be killed, the gold, silver, bronze, and iron of the city were to be put aside for God (This would probably eventually be used for the priests and Levites although God may have had a future temple in mind.), and the city was to be burned.\u00a0 Unknown to Joshua someone had violated the ban (Hebrew \u201ccherem\u201d which means dedicated).\u00a0 In Joshua 6:18 God had warned that taking things that were supposed to be dedicated to Him would result in a curse on the whole group and that is what happened. So in the next battle God held back and the Israelites were defeated and about 36 of them died.<\/p>\n
While Joshua and the leaders were mourning and complaining to God, God spoke to Joshua.\u00a0 He basically told Joshua to get up and quit blaming Him.\u00a0 They had broken the rules and He had warned them.\u00a0 Then God went on and told Joshua how to figure out who had taken the stuff and what to do about it.\u00a0 God was even involved in showing who it was to Joshua.<\/p>\n
God revealed that a man named Achan was guilty.\u00a0 When Achan was confronted he admitted to what he had done.\u00a0 He said he saw the banned stuff and wanted it so he took it.\u00a0 This is the same exact language that is used in Genesis 3:6 when Eve saw the fruit and desired it and took it and we all know where that ended up (If you don\u2019t then read Genesis 3 and \u201cThe Old Testament Connection\u201d<\/a>).\u00a0 Sin (disobedience) has consequences and the consequences usually go past us.\u00a0 What we do effects others even if only by example.<\/p>\n The consequences for Achan and his family were severe death.\u00a0 But in the parallel in Genesis we see that the consequences of sin are worse that just physical death.\u00a0 When God warned Adam He told him that the very day he disobeyed he would die.\u00a0 Adam did not die physically that day (though the process no doubt began) but he did die spiritually.\u00a0 The idea behind the word death is the idea of separation.\u00a0 Physical death is the separation of the soul and the body.\u00a0 Spiritual death is the separation of our soul or spirit from God.\u00a0 That is why God (who sees and knows everything) asked Adam where he was.\u00a0 God knew but he was showing Adam that they no longer had a relationship.\u00a0 Spiritual death is much more tragic that physical death, though both are bad.<\/p>\n