The History of the Old Testament Methodized, Chapter 4 · Section 99
SECT. XCIX.
JOſhua now ſent Spies to Ai, not to go into it (as thoſe ſent to Jericho did) but to bring him Intelligence in what poſture the City and Country thereabout was. The Spies return, and make a Report as if the place were of no great ſtrength, and might eaſily be taken by a few of the Iſraelites; and therefore there was no need to carry up the whole Hoſt of Iſrael againſt it. Let only about two or three thouſand (ſay they) go up and finite it. Joſhua accordingly ſent up about three thouſand againſt it. But the men of Ai couragiouſly ſallying out upon them, the Iſraelites fled preſently before them, which plainly ſhewed that God being offended with them for ſomething amiſs among them, did in an extraordinary manner ſtrike them with fear and aſtoniſhment. The men of Ai chaſed them from their City Gates to Shebarim, and killed 36 of them in the going down of the Hill, ſo that it ſeems the Iſraelies fled at the firſt On-ſet, and were ſlain only in flying. The whole people of Iſrael were extreamly terrified and diſmaid at this. For God ſeemed to have withdrawn his ſupporting Hand from them, and in ſuch a caſe the moſt ſtout and valiant will ſoon ſhrink and be afraid. Joſhua and the Elders of Iſrael hereupon rent their Clothes, *A Ceremony uſed in great Mournings, ſee 2 Sam. 1.11. Job 2.12. Ezek. 27.30.put duſt upon their Heads, and fell to the earth on their faces before the Ark. Neither was it their loſs ſo much as the apprehenſion of Gods diſpleaſure that ſo much afflicted them. God had promiſed that no man ſhould ſtand before them, [Ch. 1.5.] and that they ſhould drive out the Inhabitants out of the Land. Their flying therefore now before the Enemy, eſpecially in ſuch an inglorious manner, was a plain Demonſtration that God was offended with them, and had withdrawn his gracious preſence from them. And the ſmalleſt Affliction if it be looked upon as an effect of Gods anger, is very dreadful. Joſhua lying thus proſtrate before the Lord, ſaid, Alas, O Lord God, wherefore haſt thou at all brought this people over Jordan to deliver us into the hands of the Amorites to deſtroy us. I wiſh we had been content to have ſtaid and dwelt on the other ſide Jordan.*Joſhua ſeems here a little too much tranſported thorow humane frailty. O Lord what ſhall I ſay when Iſrael turneth their backs before their Enemies.
For the Canaanites, the Inhabitants of this Land will hear of it, and will inviron us round, and cut off our Name and Memorial from off the Earth, and what wilt thou then do to thy great Name? How wilt thou preſerve thy Glory, when the Canaanites ſhall ſay, Thou hadſt not power to ſubdue them, nor defend us againſt them, and thou waſt not able to give us this Land which thou hadſt promiſed us. See Deut. 33.27.
Then the Lord ſpake to Joſhua, ſaying, Get thee up, why lieſt thou proſtrate on thy face? Thou maiſt be ſure that ſomething is amiſs among you, that hath provok'd Me to forſake you. Know therefore, that one of the Children of Iſrael hath committed a high Treſpaſs againſt Me; He hath reſerved a part of the Spoils of Jericho, which as accurſed things ſhould have been burnt; He hath taken of that which I reſerved to my Self, viz. Gold and Silver, and hath done this cloſely, and cunningly, carrying the matter ſo, as if he had done no ſuch thing, or had not conſidered or regarded my Omniſcience; and he hath put what he ſtole among his own ſtuff, the more to conceal it. And this is the cauſe why the Children*The people being conſidered here Conjunctim, as one intire body, that which was done by one of the members, is here aſcrib'd to the whole body of Iſrael, ſee Joſh. 22.20. of Iſrael could not ſtand before their Enemies, becauſe one of them hath tranſgreſſed in the accurſed thing; And you muſt know, that I have alwayes juſt cauſe to puniſh any of my people for Sin in themſelves, though I take occaſion to ſtrike them ſometimes for the ſins of thoſe among whom they live. Therefore I tell you, there is an accurſed thing in the midſt of you, and you cannot ſtand before your Enemies till it be taken away; I will not be with you any more, except you deſtroy from among you the perſon that is found guilty of ſtealing the accurſed thing, and who is thereby become accurſed himſelf. He commands Joſhua therefore to go and call upon the people to ſanctifie themſelves, by legal Purifications, waſhing their Clothes, Abſtinence, Prayers, Devotions, and much more by purity of Heart and Affections, [ſee Exod. 19.10.] that they being thus prepared to appear in Gods preſence, the Offender might be diſcovered, and puniſhed, and the people freed from the Curſe which he had brought upon them.
The Lord further directs Joſhua how to find out the Offendor, viz. by caſting lots, firſt to find out his Tribe; then to caſt lots upon the ſeveral Families in that Tribe, to find the guilty Family; then to caſt lots to find the particular Houſhold in that Family; and laſtly, to find out the particular perſon in that Houſhold that had offended, whom he orders, when diſcovered, to be burnt with fire, (as the things anathematiz'd and accurſed were to be) after he hath been ſtoned as a preſumptuous Tranſgreſſor of Gods Commandment, [ſee Numb. 15.30, 35.] and that he and all that he hath ſhall be ſo ſerved, becauſe he hath trangreſſed the Covenant of the Lord, viz. the Commandment that he gave them, [Ch. 6.18.] and which they accepted of with a voluntary ſubmiſſion to the puniſhment therein threatned in caſe of Tranſgreſſion, and becauſe he had wrought folly and wickedneſs in Iſrael. And poſſibly the Lord was pleaſed to appoint this long way of trial, to try whither Achan would come in voluntarily, and confeſs his ſin; and therefore by his holding out ſo long, even till the lot fell upon his own perſon, there was a notable diſcovery made, how hardly men are brought to confeſs their ſecret ſins, and how prone they are to flatter themſelves, that their ſecret ſins ſhall not be diſcovered. Hereby alſo the Lord made known how the moſt caſual things, even caſting of lots, are governed by his Providence, [ſee Prov. 16.33.] a truth the fitter to be cleared to this people, becauſe the Land was ſhortly to be divided to them by lot. Joſhua the next morning calling the Tribes together, and proceeding in the way and method before preſcribed, Achan (a)He is called Achan, 1 Chron. 2.7. which ſignifies a Troubler, and the place of his Execution is called the Valley of Achor, v. 26. that is, the Valley of Trouble. He was the Grandchild of Zabdi, otherwiſe call'd Zimri, 1 Chron. 2.6.the Son of Carmi, the Son of Zabdi, the Son of Zerah, of the Tribe of Judah was taken.
Achan being thus taken, Joſhua ſaid unto him, My Son give I pray thee Glory to the Lord God of Iſrael, in acknowledging his Omniſcience, and make an humble and penitent confeſſion to him of thy ſin, and tell me truly what thou haſt done, hide it not from me. Achan ſaid, I have ſinned againſt the Lord; when I ſaw among the Spoils of Jericho a goodly Babyloniſh-Garment, and two hundred Shekels of Silver, and a Wedge of Gold of fifty Shekels, then I coveted them; and took them, and behold they are hid in the earth, and the Silver under the Garment. Joſhua ſent Meſſengers to the Tent, and they found the things which Achan had confeſſed, and brought them to Joſhua and the Elders of Iſrael, and expoſed them to the view of all before the Tabernacle of the Congregation, where the Ark was the Emblem of Gods preſence among them. Then Joſhua and the Iſraelites took Achan with the things he had ſtolen, together with his Children, and his Oxen, *From hence we may ſee that he had before a good Eſtate, and did not ſteal for want, but out of covetouſneſs.Aſſes and Sheep, his Tent, and all that he had, and carried them down to the Valley, (called afterwards upon this occaſion) the Valley of Achor. And Joſhua then ſaid to him, Why haſt thou troubled us; the Lord ſhall trouble thee this day. Then they ſtoned him and his Children, (who 'tis probable(b)Gods judgments are many times unſearchable, but always juſt, ſee Deut. 24.16. ſee Joſh. 22.20. Veriſimile eſt Domeſticos ejus fuiſſe Criminis Conſcios. Eſtius in loc. Beſides his Children had ſin enough in them otherwiſe for Gods juſtice to work upon, though they had no hand in this ſacrilegious act. either aſſiſted him in what He did, or living in the ſame Tent with him, knew what he had ſtolen, and hidden, and concealed it, and ſo tacitly conſented to it,) and afterwards burnt him, and his Children, and his Cattel, and all that he had ſtolen, and all that he had, and they raiſed over him a great heap of ſtones, as a Monument to warn Poſterity not to provoke God by tranſgreſſing his Commandments, as Achan had done; which Monument remained when this Hiſtory was written. And thus the Anger of the Lord was turned away from Iſrael.
Ch. 7. whole Chapter.