Reading… and Thinking

But 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.

— Joshua 7:1 (NIV)

Wait. One guy sinned, and the Lord was angry against the whole nation? Angry enough to defeat them in battle: other men died as a result! This has struck a lot of people as unfair. Especially as we read in Ezekiel, “The soul who sins shall die.” (Ezekiel 18:4, 20) Not someone else!

Various speculations have been offered. Perhaps grabbing stuff from Jericho was widespread, and Achan was chosen by lot as an example—but that leaves you with the same fairness question. Perhaps everyone knew what Achan had done, and were waiting to see what would happen, hoping they could get some too—but that doesn’t fit the record of needing to sift through everyone to find the culprit. And really, we need to trust that the important facts are here for us, anyway.

My feeling is that there are three important principles here:

1. Accountability. The Lord gave a specific command not to take anything devoted to destruction. This was their first conquest; the first fruits belong to God. The booty of Jericho was “devoted”—the same word used of a sacrifice. And God specifically told them that if anyone took any of it for himself, then he himself would become accursed, and would make Israel a curse, and would bring trouble on Israel. (chapter 6:18-19) God held Achan and Israel responsible in exactly the way He said He would.
2. When we do wrong, we put ourselves and others in jeopardy. Very often, our sin isn’t just a private matter between ourselves and God. Sinful behavior very often affects others, and it’s never in a good way. We don’t just live to ourselves; our lives are connected to other lives, and what we do affects them. Sometimes directly, sometimes indirectly.
3. God looks long term. The Ezekiel 18 “fairness” passage relates to our ultimate fate. As many writers in the Bible lament, in this life sometimes the wicked prosper and the righteous suffer. But in the final sense, every man and woman will live or die based on the life they have lived. (See for example Romans 2:5-11.) If we are looking for “fairness” in this life, our perspective is skewed. Rather, God promises that there will be justice, which isn’t the same thing. So “fairness” is the wrong question.

These principles apply in our own lives, of course, not just ancient Israel. God is the same. We are accountable to God. Our actions affect others, and sin we commit is very likely to harm other people. And we need to take a longer view when we’re inclined to complain about something being “unfair”. Easy enough to see these things, not so easy to live by them!