Joshua 7-13

“When I saw in the plunder a beautiful robe from Babylonia, two hundred shekels of silver and a bar of gold weighing fifty shekels, I coveted them and took them” (7:20). Sadly, Israel’s great victory over Jericho was marred by what happened afterward: Achan gave in to temptation and stole the treasures of the city. God had clearly commanded the Israelites not to touch the plunder; it was corrupted and “devoted to destruction”. Achan’s theft weakened the whole army, leading to disaster.

“You cannot stand against your enemies until you remove them” (7:13). Through Achan’s rebellion, Israel learned the price of hidden sin. They could only be victorious against their enemies when they had clean hearts before the Lord.