environ us round, and cut off our name from the earth: and what wilt thou do unto thy great name? 10 And the LORD said unto Joshua, Get thee up; wherefore liest thou thus upon thy face? 11 Israel hath sinned, and they have also transgressed my covenant which I commanded them for they have even taken of the accursed thing, and have also stolen, and dissembled also, and they have put it even among their own stuff. 12 Therefore the children of Israel could not stand before their enemies, but turned their backs before their enemies, because they were accursed: neither will I be with you any more, except ye destroy the accursed from among you. 13 Up, sanctify the people, and say, Sanctify yourselves against to morrow: for thus saith the LORD God of Israel, There is an accursed thing in the midst of thee, O Israel: thou canst not stand before thine enemies, until ye take away the accursed thing from among you. 14 In the morning therefore ye shall be brought according to your tribes: and it shall be, that the tribe which the LORD taketh shall come according to the families thereof; and the family which the LORD shall take shall come by households; and the household which the LORD shall take shall come man by man. 15 And it shall be, that he that is taken with the accursed thing shall be burnt with fire, he and all that he hath: because he hath transgressed the covenant of the LORD, and because he hath wrought 'folly in Israel. 16 ¶ So Joshua rose up early in the morning, and brought Israel by their tribes; and the tribe of Judah was taken: 17 And he brought the family of Judah; and he took the family of the Zarhites: and he brought the family of the Zarhites man by man; and Zabdi was taken: 18 And he brought his household man by man; and Achan, the son of Carmi, the son of Zabdi, the son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, was taken. 19 And Joshua said unto Achan, My son, give, I pray thee, glory to the LORD God of Israel, and make confession unto him; and tell me now what thou hast done; hide it not from me. 20 And Achan answered Joshua, and said, Indeed I have sinned against the LORD God of Israel, and thus and thus have I done: 21 When I saw among the spoils a goodly Babylonish garment, and two hundred shekels of silver, and a wedge of gold of fifty shekels 8 weight, then I coveted them, and took them; and, behold, they are hid in the earth in the midst of my tent, and the silver under it. 22 ¶ So Joshua sent messengers, and they ran unto the tent; and, behold, it was hid in his tent, and the silver under it. 23 And they took them out of the midst of the tent, and brought them unto Joshua, and unto all the children of Israel, and 'laid them out before the LORD. 24 And Joshua, and all Israel with him, took Achan the son of Zerah, and the silver, and the garment, and the wedge of gold, and his sons, and his daughters, and his oxen, and his asses, and his sheep, and his tent, and all that he had: and they brought them unto the valley of Achor. 25 And Joshua said, Why hast thou troubled us the LORD shall trouble thee this day. And all Israel stoned him with stones, and burned them with fire, after they had stoned them with stones. 26 And they raised over him a great heap of stones unto this day. So the LORD turned from the fierceness of his anger. Wherefore the name of that place was called, The valley of 10 Achor, unto this day. ISRAEL'S triumphant success at Jericho was recorded in the last chapter. They succeeded because they believed and obeyed the Lord's directions. Had there been no interruption in that obedience, their success would have been continued: but here we are told of a sudden check they met with, and a sad reverse. God had commanded them utterly to destroy the city, and all that was therein: only the silver and the gold they were to put into the treasury of the house of the Lord (ch. vi. 19). This was the Lord's command. One man presumed to violate that command. Achan the son of Carmi, when he saw some of the spoil, coveted it. A fine garment, some hundred shekels of silver, and a wedge of gold, he took, and secretly hid them in the earth in his tent (v. 21). As none of the people saw him do this, he thought no eye was privy to it. This was a trespass in The consethe "accursed thing" (v. 1). quence was, God was displeased; and the people could not stand before their enemies. This made Joshua pray; and the answer given to that prayer led to the detection and punishment of the guilty offender. What an evil thing is sin! What an evil thing is that "love of money, which is the root of all evil!" That covetous feeling led to this sin of stealing, and to all these recorded disasters. He wished to be rich. They "that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and sinful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition." (1 Tim. vi. 9.) Here it was that Balaam stumbled and fell: he "ran greedily after the reward." Here it was that Judas stumbled and fell: he coveted the "thirty pieces of silver," and went to his own place. Here it was that Ananias and Sapphira stumbled and fell: they "kept back part of the price,” and were struck dead for lying against the Holy Ghost. sinner pause before he committed his wicked deed, if he only considered, God's eye is upon me; and that a day is coming when God will "bring to light the hidden things of darkness?" What a day will that be! What discoveries will then be made! What hidden sins will then be made manifest! What confusion and dismay will then overwhelm the guilty and undone ! Oh, that men were wise! Oh, that they understood these things! Oh, that they would consider their latter end! CHAPTER VIII. 1 God encourageth Joshua. 3 The stratagem whereby Ai was taken. 29 The king thereof is hanged. 30 Joshua buildeth un altar, 32 writeth the law on stones, 33 propoundeth blessings and cursings. AN Here, too, it was this wretched man stumbled A and fell, and came to an awful end, as the chapter here records. Ah, "take heed and beware of covetousness." A man's life does not "consist in the abundance of the things which he possesseth." If the case were so, the rich would always be happy, and the poor would always be miserable. The case, however, is not so. He that has the favour of God in the faith of Christ, whether rich or poor, is a happy man: he that is not possessed of that faith, whatever else he may have, cannot but be miserable. (Luke xii. 15.) How easily can the Lord detect the crimes of men, and bring them to their deserved end! In this case, every thing seemed to favour the guilty culprit. No one knew what he had done: the things he had stolen were all hid in the earth in his tent; and when the several tribes were called forth, and the lot was cast, what probability was there, humanly speaking, that, amidst so many thousands of Israel, he should be found out? But God looks with an unerring eye. He saw the guilty thief in all his ways; he saw him steal the spoil, and take it to his tent; he saw him dig the hole in the earth, and put it therein. Mind this. You can hide nothing from God. Does he not see through the dark cloud? Can any hide himself, or any thing, however secretly done, that he cannot see him? If this truth were duly attended to, would it not tend to check evil? Would not many a ND the LORD said unto Joshua, Fear not, neither be thou dismayed: take all the people of war with thee, and arise, go up to Ai: see, I have given into thy hand the king of Ai, and his people, and his city, and his land: 2 And thou shalt do to Ai and her king as thou didst unto Jericho and her king: only the spoil thereof, and the cattle thereof, shall ye take for a prey unto yourselves: lay thee an ambush for the city behind it. 3 ¶ So Joshua arose, and all the people of war, to go up against Ai: and Joshua chose out thirty thousand mighty men of valour, and sent them away by night. 4 And he commanded them, saying, Behold, ye shall lie in wait against the city, even behind the city: go not very far from the city, but be ye all ready: 5 And I, and all the people that are with me, will approach unto the city: and it shall come to pass, when they come out against us, as at the first, that we will flee before them, 6 (For they will come out after us) till we have drawn them from the city; for they will say, They flee before us, as at the first: therefore we will flee before them. 7 Then ye shall rise up from the ambush, and seize upon the city: for the LORD your God will deliver it into hand. your 8 And it shall be, when ye have taken the city, that ye shall set the city on fire: according to the commandment of the LORD shall ye do. See, I have commanded you. 9¶ Joshua therefore sent them forth: and they went to lie in ambush, and abode between Beth-el and Ai, on the west side of Ai: but Joshua lodged that night among the people. 10 And Joshua rose np early in the morning, and numbered the people, and went up, he and the elders of Israel, before the people to Ai. 11 And all the people, even the people of war that were with him, went up, and drew nigh, and came before the city, and pitched on the north side of Ai: now there was a valley between them and Ai. 12 And he took about five thousand men, and set them to lie in ambush between Beth-el and Ai, on the west side of the city. 13 And when they had set the people, even all the host that was on the north of the city, and their liers in wait on the west of the city, Joshua went that night into the midst of the valley. 14 And it came to pass, when the king of Ai saw it, that they hasted and rose up early, and the men of the city went out against Israel to battle, he and all his people, at a time appointed, before the plain; but he wist not that there were liers in ambush against him behind the city. 15 And Joshua and all Israel made as if they were beaten before them, and fled by the way of the wilderness. 16 And all the people that were in Ai were called together to pursue after them: and they pursued after Joshua, and were drawn away from the city. 17 And there was not a man left in Ai or Beth-el, that went not out after Israel: and they left the city open, and pursued after Israel. 18 And the LORD said unto Joshua, Stretch out the spear that is in thy hand toward Ai; for I will give it into thine hand. And Joshua stretched out the spear that he had in his hand toward the city. 19 And the ambush arose quickly out of their place, and they ran as soon as he had stretched out his hand: and they entered into the city, and took it, and hasted and set the city on fire. 20 And when the men of Ai looked behind them, they saw, and, behold, the smoke of the city ascended up to heaven, and they had no 'power to flee this way or that way: and the people that fled to the wilderness turned back upon the pursuers. 21 And when Joshua and all Israel saw that the ambush had taken the city, and that the smoke of the city ascended, then they turned again, and slew the men of Ai. 22 And the other issued out of the city against them; so they were in the midst of Israel, some on this side, and some on that side: and they smote them, so that they let none of them remain or escape. 23 And the king of Ai they took alive, and brought him to Joshua. 24 And it came to pass, when Israel had made an end of slaying all the inhabitants of Ai in the field, in the wilderness wherein they chased them, and when they were all fallen on the edge of the sword, until they were consumed, that all the Israelites returned unto Ai, and smote it with the edge of the sword. 25 And so it was, that all that fell that day, both of men and women, were twelve thousand, even all the men of Ai. 26 For Joshua drew not his hand back, wherewith he stretched out the spear, until he had utterly destroyed all the inhabitants of Ai. 27 Only the cattle and the spoil of that city Israel took for a prey unto themselves, according unto the word of the LORD which he commanded Joshua. 28 And Joshua burnt Ai, and made it an heap for ever, even a desolation unto this day. 29 And the king of Ai he hanged on a tree until eventide: and as soon as the sun was down, Joshua commanded that they should take his carcase down from the tree, and cast it at the entering of the gate of the city, and raise thereon a great heap of stones, that remaineth unto this day. 30 Then Joshua built an altar unto the LORD God of Israel in mount Ebal, 31 As Moses the servant of the LORD commanded the children of Israel, as it is written in the book of the law of Moses, an altar of whole stones, over which no man hath lift up any iron and they offered thereon burnt offerings unto the LORD, and sacrificed peace offerings. 32 ¶ And he wrote there upon the stones a copy of the law of Moses, which he wrote in 1 the presence of the children of Israel. 33 And all Israel, and their elders, and officers, and their judges, stood on this side the ark and on that side before the priests | the Levites, which bare the ark of the covenant of the LORD, as well the stranger, as he that was born among them; half of them over against mount Gerizim, and half of them over against mount Ebal; as Moses the servant of the LORD had commanded before, that they should bless the people of Israel. 34 And afterward he read all the words of the law, the blessings and cursings, according to all that is written in the book of the law. 35 There was not a word of all that Moses THIS chapter relates the manner in which Ai was taken; the encouragement Joshua received from the Lord to go on in his appointed course; and what took place upon the destruction of the city. Many things are here to be noted and improved. Discouragements are no proof of being forsaken. Israel had met with a rebuke. So long as Achan's guilt was undetected, they could not succeed. Joshua was greatly distressed. But the Lord had not forsaken them. The rebuff was needful; it wrought for their good. Sin was brought to remembrance; the guilty was detected; and the evil done away. Do you meet with discouragements in your way? You cannot succeed; you obtain no blessing; your enemies seem to obtain the mastery over you. Why is this? Is there not a cause? Is there no "secret thing" with thee? Search and look. See that there be no Achan in the camp; no hidden iniquity; no troubler of your soul. If there be, you cannot prosper till that be done away. When that hath taken place, fear not the power or the number of the enemies of your soul. God hath given them all into your hand; and he will enable you to overcome them, and still to march on your way. But, though the wicked prosper for a time, they will perish at last. Because the people of Israel could not stand before them at the first, the men of Ai thought they should soon gain an easy victory. This was their snare. In that net they were taken; and utter destruction overtook them all. How often is this the case with the ungodly still! They think all is safe, when ruin is at hand. They cry, "Peace, peace, when there is no peace.' They say, "Peace and safety, when sudden destruction" is near. Thus perished the men of Ai, under the sword of Joshua. Thus perish the wicked in hell, under the wrath of God. Their false security deceives them. They are taken in their own net. They are cut off in their own sins; and perish in their strong delusions. Insidious disease, and the fatal stroke of death, lie in ambush for them. They are pressed on every side; and sink to rise no more. (1 Thess. v. 1-3.) Again, we observe, Joshua's grateful obedience. Moses had already given directions what they should do when they came to this place. Now Joshua did as the Lord thus commanded. They reared an altar, and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings. Then he wrote upon the stones a copy of the law of Moses, as the Lord commanded. And then he read, in the audience of the people, all that the law contained, not omitting a single word, according to the Lord's commandment (v. 30—35). Here are many things to be improved. You will always need pardon and peace. Wherever you are, or whatever you do, these blessings will always be needful. The blood of Christ, as your burnt offering, to pardon your sin; and the peace of Christ, to cheer your heart, as a Christian, you can never lay aside. However successful you may be in your spiritual warfare; whatever progress you may make in your Christian course; these blessings are always indispensable. Moreover, you should seek to have all the truth of Christ plain before you. Clearly, this is the Lord's will. Why was the law to be written on these stones; and written very plainly, as Moses commanded? That all the people might see and read the word and will of God. Why, again, did Joshua read all the words of this law, the blessing and the cursing, even to every word and tittle which that law contained? That all the people might hear; that they might all know what the Lord commanded; and that all might be prepared to obey. And why were they all mutually to respond to the blessing and the curse, as Joshua propounded? That they might all give their hearty assent and consent to the whole will of God. Thus should it be with us. All the truth and will of God should be laid up in our hearts, for our guidance and direction all the days of our life. CHAPTER IX. 1 The kings combine against Israel. 3 The Gibeonites by craft obtain a league. 16 For which they are condemned to perpetual bondage. A ND it came to pass, when all the kings which were on this side Jordan, in the hills, and in the valleys, and in all the coasts of the great sea over against Lebanon, the Hittite, and the Amorite, the Canaanite, the Perizzite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite, heard thereof; 2 That they gathered themselves together, to fight with Joshua and with Israel, with one 'accord. 3 ¶ And when the inhabitants of Gibeon heard what Joshua had done unto Jericho and to Ai, 4 They did work wilily, and went and made as if they had been ambassadors, and took old sacks upon their asses, and wine bottles, old, and rent, and bound up; 5 And old shoes and clouted upon their feet, and old garments upon them; and all the bread of their provision was dry and mouldy. 6 And they went to Joshua unto the camp at Gilgal, and said unto him, and to the men of Israel, We be come from a far country now therefore make ye a league with us. 7 And the men of Israel said unto the Hivites, Peradventure ye dwell among us; and how shall we make a league with you? 8 And they said unto Joshua, We are thy servants. And Joshua said unto them, Who are ye? and from whence come ye? 9 And they said unto him, From a very far country thy servants are come because of the name of the LORD thy God: for we have heard the fame of him, and all that he did in Egypt, 10 And all that he did to the two kings of the Amorites, that were beyond Jordan, to Sihon king of Heshbon, and to Og king of Bashan, which was at Ashtaroth. 11 Wherefore our elders and all the inhabitants of our country spake to us, saying, Take victuals with you for the journey, and go to meet them, and say unto them, We are your servants: therefore now make ye a league with us. 12 This our bread we took hot for our provision out of our houses on the day we came forth to go unto you; but now, behold, it is dry, and it is mouldy: 13 And these bottles of wine, which we filled, were new; and, behold, they be rent: and these our garments and our shoes are 17 And the children of Israel journeyed, and came unto their cities on the third day. Now their cities were Gibeon, and Chephirah, and Beeroth, and Kirjath-jearim. 18 And the children of Israel smote them not, because the princes of the congregation had sworn unto them by the LORD God of Israel. And all the congregation murmured against the princes. 19 But all the princes said unto all the congregation, We have sworn unto them by the LORD God of Israel: now therefore we may not touch them. 20 This we will do to them; we will even let them live, lest wrath be upon us, because of the oath which we sware unto them. 21 And the princes said unto them, Let them live; but let them be hewers of wood and drawers of water unto all the congregation; as gregation; as the princes had promised them 22 ¶ And Joshua called for them, and he spake unto them, saying, Wherefore have ye beguiled us, saying, We are very far from you; when ye dwell among us? 23 Now therefore ye are cursed, and there shall 'none of you be freed from being bondmen, and hewers of wood and drawers of water for the house of my God. 24 And they answered Joshua, and said, Because it was certainly told thy servants, how that the LORD thy God commanded his servant Moses to give you all the land, and to destroy all the inhabitants of the land. from before you, therefore we were sore afraid of our lives because of you, and have done this thing. 25 And now, behold, we are in thine hand as it seemeth good and right unto thee to do unto us, do. : 26 And so did he unto them, and delivered them out of the hand of the children of Israel, that they slew them not. 27 And Joshua made them that day |