I was enjoying the happy ending of chapter 6 so much that I forgot to mention that Joshua pronounced a curse on Jericho:
“Joshua laid an oath on them at that time, saying, “Cursed before the Lord be the man who rises up and rebuilds this city, Jericho. “At the cost of his firstborn shall he lay its foundation, and at the cost of his youngest son shall he set up its gates.”
Joshua 6:26 ESV
Tuck that away. It’s going to take a few centuries, but in the days of evil King Ahab, some dude is going to rebuild Jericho. And this is exactly what’s going to happen to him.
Moving on…
So Jericho is defeated. The army is feeling pretty good. Israel is celebrating a big win. But there’s a problem that no one has realized yet. There is “sin in the camp” and it’s going to effect the next battle at the city of Ai.
First off, English lesson. Let’s talk about pronunciation. Usually, English-speakers pronounce this city like saying the names of the letters A I. As in, Artificial Intelligence. Joshua didn’t attack artificial intelligence (though his prophetic namesake, Yashua, may end up doing just that and the name of this city will turn out to be prophetic)
Dun dun DUN! 😳😨
The name of the city is actually a diphthong.
😬 I used to think diphthong was pronounced dip-thong.
🤓 It’s pronounced diff-thong.
😐 That’s good. Cuz the other sounds a touch inappropriate. But “diff-thong” sounds like it ought to be an insult synonymous with nincompoop.
🤓 If I looked at someone over the top of my glasses and said, “You’re such a diphthong,” they’d probably feel insulted.
🤔 What exactly is a diphthong?
🤓 A diphthong (according to Google) is:
- A complex speech sound or glide that begins with one vowel and gradually changes to another vowel within the same syllable, as (oi) in boil or (ī) in fine.
- A coalition or union of two vowel sounds pronounced in one syllable; as, ou in out, oi in noise
If I had been an English teacher I would’ve been the Mrs. Frizzle of English teachers.
Say “way.” Now slower. Say it again really slowly. Waaaaayyee.. Hear how there’s an A sound that slides into an ee sound?
In some regions, this is nearly a 2-syllable word: way-ee. Imagine Reba McEntire singing it. 😉 You actually need a little bit of the ee sound at the end. Try to say “way” without it. It sounds like weh. Robotic.
Ok. Now that we’ve had our 4th grade refresher on diphthongs, let’s tackle Ai.
If you look it up in Strong’s, the pronunciation is written ah-ee. This is essentially the sound of the letter I.
Say “I” really slow. No- I mean REALLY slow.
Ahhhhhhh—eeeeee. See? Diphthong.
The sound of the name of the letter I is how you pronounce the name of the city of Ai.
Well done class.
Ai is not a very big city so they don’t send a big group to attack it. But they end up getting chased outa the country by the men of Ai.
That’s not what’s supposed to happen. And Joshua is puzzled. God has promised to defeat the Canaanites and on only their 2nd battle, they’re losing. So Joshua prays about it.
The Lord’s response is something we can all apply to ourselves.
”The Lord said to Joshua, “Get up! Why have you fallen on your face? Israel has sinned; they have transgressed my covenant that I commanded them; they have taken some of the devoted things; they have stolen and lied and put them among their own belongings. Therefore the people of Israel cannot stand before their enemies. They turn their backs before their enemies, because they have become devoted for destruction. I will be with you no more, unless you destroy the devoted things from among you.”
Joshua 7:10-12 ESV
If you’ve got sinful stuff hidden that the Lord has told you to get out of your life and you haven’t obeyed… Get up. Quit praying for revelation. You’re wasting your time. You’re gonna get your rear-end handed to you by the Enemy until you get that mess out of your life permanently.
Because Israel has allowed something that was assigned to destruction to be in their midst, they themselves have become assigned to destruction.
So the Lord uses the casting of lots to identify the guilty party. Notice that the clan of the Zerahites was selected. Judah fathered twins by his daughter-in-law, Tamar. One was Parez. He was the ancestor of Salma – the hero in yesterday’s reading. Salma married Rahab. (And if I made a movie of Jericho, I’d cast Salma as one of the spies that Rahab hid and they’d have an adorable meet-cute scene. 🥰) Now today we have the other branch of Judah’s family tree. Achan is the counterpoint to Salma. Where Salma’s choice rescued Rahab from defeat, Achan’s choice causes Israel’s defeat.
Joshua had given CLEAR instructions before Jericho fell about what they were to do with the plunder:
“But you, 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. But all silver and gold, and every vessel of bronze and iron, are holy to the Lord; they shall go into the treasury of the Lord.”
Joshua 6:18-19 ESV
The Hebrew word for “trouble” is akar. It’s spelled Ayin, Kaf, Resh.
The guy who cased the problem is called Akan: Ayin, Kaf, Nachash. His name means “troublesome.”
Now, I don’t know if he was a fussy baby and his parents actually named him that, or if this was a kind of nickname given to him because of this incident because it’s what he’s remembered for.
When the lot falls for Achan, Joshua tells him to ‘fess up. And he admits that he has sinned. Look what he says…
“I saw among the spoil a beautiful robe from Shinar, two hundred shekels of silver, and one bar of gold that weighed fifty shekels; I coveted them and took them. They are hidden in the ground inside my tent, and the silver is under it.”
Joshua 7:21 LEB
This is the progression of sin in a nutshell.
- I saw.
- I coveted (desired).
- I took.
- I hid.
It’s like a mathematical formula. Look how it fits the Fall narrative in Eden.
- Eve saw the fruit.
- She desired it.
- She took it and they ate.
- Adam & Eve hid themselves.
Look how it fits the narrative of David with Bathsheba…
- David sees Bathsheba bathing.
- He desires her.
- He takes her.
- He attempts to hide his sin, eventually murdering Uriah, Bathsheba’s husband.
See. Desire. Take. Hide.
That’s the progression of sin.
Now check this out…
Remember we said that Hebrew word for “trouble” is akar?
It’s spelled Ayin, Kaf, Resh.
And Achan is spelled Ayin, Kaf, Nachash and means “troublesome.”
I’m gonna screenshot this from Fathersalphabet.com or you’ll think I’m making this up…
See. Take. Man. This is the word for trouble. The man who sees and takes = trouble.
The name Achan is:
Achan literally does what his name means. He sees the stuff. He desires it. He takes the shiny things and hides them. And it brings trouble on Israel.
Eve saw and took the “shiny object” that the Nachash in the garden tempted her with.
Beware the latest “shiny object” in our world today. ✨
We used to sing a song in children’s church that went… “Oh be careful little eyes what you see…” 👀 That’s a timeless warning.
Looking can quickly turn to desiring and before we know it, we’ve taken something forbidden and then try to cover it up.
In Achan’s case it ends up bringing death to his entire family. That should be powerful motivation to confess and get help before hidden sin destroys our loved ones.
Sin always effects the people around the sinner- whether they are aware of the sin or not.
There is no such thing as a sin that “doesn’t hurt anyone.”
They haul Achan’s whole family out to the Valley of Achor (Trouble) and execute them there. His entire legacy is cut off from the future of Israel. His descendants will not participate in the future blessings.
You can’t allow the Tempting Troubler to stay. In Hebrew it’s (right to left) 🐍🤏🏽👀
The direction of the letters matters. The eyes are looking at the grasping hand which is reaching for the shiny serpent. 😳
And until that forbidden stuff is taken out and burned and buried, you can forget about winning any battles. Don’t even bother praying for help. Yahweh told Joshua, “Get up! Why are you on your face?” God’s not going to help the disobedient. The order is always: Obedience first. Victory after.
And that’s exactly what happens for Israel. They get rid of Achan and his forbidden fruit and the next time they go up against Ai, they are more than conquerers.
Here is a really good (32min) video about the Battle of Ai with footage from the archeological sites, aerial views of the location, and history of the archaeological work there.
If you or someone you love is in “Trouble,” the Lord can turn your valley of Achor (which means trouble) into an open door. That’s what He will eventually do for Israel. After years of idolatry and sin… after years of seeing and desiring and taking and hiding… and after a severe punishment… look what the LORD says to His wayward people…
“Therefore, Look! I am going to allure her and bring her into the desert, and I will speak tenderly to her. From there I will give her her vineyards, and the Valley of Achor as a doorway of hope. And there she will respond, as in the days of her youth, just as in the day of her coming out of the land of Egypt.” Hosea 2:14-15 LEB
The place where the Troublemaker is buried is the where the door of hope opens.
To The Reader 