Joshua 7
DOYLYChap. VIII. ver. 2. — only the spoil thereof.] Only with this difference, that, whereas they were not to meddle with any of the spoil of Jericho, for their own use, in this instance they were permitted to take it for a prey unto themselves. Pyle.
— behind it.] On the west of it; for they were now in Gilgal, which lay eastward. Bp. Patrick.
Joshua 7:3
- — thirty thousand mighty men] Some think that thirty thousand men were all that were employed in this expedition, and that the five thousand men (ver. 12) formed the whole of those placed in ambush: according
city; for they will say, They flee before us, as at the first: therefore we will flee before them.
Joshua 7:6
- And Joshua rent his clothes, &c.] The behaviour of the people here is very remarkable. Ai could not muster much above 6,000 men; against whom were to be opposed all the myriads of Israel. But an advanced body was defeated, and thirty-six of the Israelites slain: upon which it is said, “the hearts of the people melted, and became as water. And Joshua rent his clothes, and fell to the earth upon his face before the ark of the Lord until the eventide, he and the elders of Israel, and put dust upon their heads.” But wherefore was all this humiliation shewn? and why this general consternation at so inconsiderable a loss? This was the people, who were led on with a prospect of gaining the land of the Hivites and Amorites, and other powerful nations; and who were to be opposed to the sons of Anak, men of great stature and prowess, that had cities walled to heaven. We see that they faint at the first check. How could any leader, with such people, and under such circumstances, entertain the least views of conquest? There were certainly none entertained by their leader, either from himself, or from his people. All his confidence was in the God of his fathers; and the whole history must be set aside, unless the interposition of the Deity be admitted. All the operations, which at first sight may appear strange, are calculated for this purpose, to shew throughout that God was the chief agent. This was particularly affected in the downfall of the city of Jericho, which was brought about merely by the priests of God, and the people going in procession round it for seven days, without the least military operation of the army. By these two events, they were shewn plainly the great object to which
VOL. I.
Joshua 7:7
7.—wherefore hast thou] This is not a sinful expostulation with God, but only a confession of his ignorance why these events were permitted. “Would to God,” he adds, “we had been content.” As far as he could apprehend, they had better have rested satisfied with what they had in possession, than be thus defeated in the attempt to acquire more. Bp. Patrick.
9.—what wilt thou do unto thy great name? He feared that God would suffer the glory of all His miracles to be lost, and be thought unable to accomplish what he had begun to do to His people. Bp. Patrick. If those who had experienced so many miracles of God’s mercies, and were the peculiar people whom He vouchsafed to love, should be driven back by a nation which knew not, or cared not for, His name and religion, Joshua could not see how God’s own honour could be preserved. From such jealousy and apprehensions proceed all the passion and impatience which good and pious men express in great calamities. For this will always be a prevailing mode of reasoning, as it was in the days of Joshua. There will always be too many who will question God’s providence from what He suffers his children to undergo. Lord Clarendon.
Joshua 7:8
- — set the city on fire:] Set on fire some parts of the city, as a token they were possessed of it. For they were to take the spoil of the city before they burnt it, ver. 28. Bishop Patrick.
Joshua 7:13
- — went that night into the midst of the valley.] He went apart, it is probable, to pray to God for a blessing on his enterprise. In the next verse, “when the king of Ai saw it,” means, “when he was informed that the city was invested on the north side.” Bp. Patrick.
Ai is burned, and the king thereof is hanged.
pointed, before the plain; but he wist not that there were liers in ambush against him behind the city.
Joshua 7:14
14.—the tribe which the Lord taketh] It is probable that this was done by lot, though it is not expressly so stated. The Jews affirm, that all the tribes were made to pass before the ark, and that the culpable tribe remained immovable: but the casting of lots is frequently mentioned in Scripture on similar occasions, as in the election of Saul, 1 Sam. x. 20; and in the affair of
Achan is taken by lot, and put to death. Before CHRIST 1451.
the morning, and brought Israel by their tribes; and the tribe of Judah was taken:
Joshua 7:18
- — stretched out the spear] Joshua hoisted up a spear, (most probably with a flag upon the top of it, so as to be visible at a distance,) as a signal for the ambuscade to enter the town; God giving direction as to the very point of time when to put it in execution. Pyle.
Joshua 7:19
- — pter — glory to the Lord God] By acknowledging that nothing can be hid from Him who knoweth the greatest secrets. Bp. Patrick. As thou hast offended and dishonoured God by thy sin, so now give honour to His omniscience and justice, who hath found thee out in thy sin, by acknowledging this heinous offence, whereby thou hast provoked God’s anger against His people. Bp. Hall.
We give glory to God, not only when we promote His honour, and acknowledge His supreme dominion, but also, when we confess to Him our past sins, with true humiliation, and a just sense of the unworthiness and ungratefulness of sin. Thus in the words of Joshua to Achan; the sense of which is, “Acknowledge that nothing can be hid from God’s all-seeing eye, and that to Him there is no secret nor shadow of darkness, where the workers of iniquity may hide themselves.” Dr. S. Clarke.
Joshua 7:21
- — a goodly Babylonish garment.] There was anciently a city called Arech, situated in Babylonia on the Tigris, and famous for weaving; here perhaps this garment was made. Pragm. to Calmet.
Joshua 7:24
- — his sons, and his daughters.] These were punished, because, perhaps, they were privy to their father’s stealth, and concealed it. But some think Achan alone was stoned, (as we read in the next verse, “all Israel stoned him with stones,”) and that his children were brought forth to be spectators of it; and when it is said, in the conclusion of the next verse, “they stoned them with stones,” it relates to his oxen, asses, and sheep, which were stoned with him. Bp. Patrick. The actor alone does not smart with sacrilege; all that concerns him is enwrapped in judgment. Those that defile their hands with holy things, are enemies to their own flesh and blood. God’s first revenge are so much the more fearful, because they must be exemplary. Bp. Hall.
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.
Joshua 7:25
- — troubled] Joshua, by the Hebrew word Achar, which signifies “to trouble,” alludes to the name of Achan: from henceforward they called him Achar, the troubler of Israel. Bp. Patrick.
Joshua, that true captain and faithful judge, made petition in his anguish and distress to Almighty God to shew him the cause of His wrath towards him, when his army was smitten and plagued. He obtained his prayer, and learnt that for one man’s fault all the rest were punished. For the covetousness of Achan, who hid his money, as he thought, from God, many thousands were in agony, and fear of death. As soon as Joshua knew it, he straightway purged his army, and took away “the evil thing out of Israel,” that is, wickedness from the people. For he called Achan before the people, and said, “Give glory to God, and make confession unto Him;” and forthwith he told the truth, and then he and his whole house suffered death. A godly ensample this, for all magistrates to follow. Joshua was the pattern of a true judge; he was no gift-taker, he was no winker; he was no by-walker. Bp. Latimer. The history of the foregoing chapter furnishes us with several useful reflections. 1st, In Achan, who, contrary to the most express prohibition, took of the accursed or devoted thing, we have an instance of the fatal effects of the love of riches, and a proof that nothing is sacred to those who are slaves to this passion. 2dly, The defeat of the children of Israel before Ai, occasioned by Achan’s sacrilege, proves that the sin of one man may bring down the curse of God upon the publick, and that injustice and sacrilege deprive men of the Divine protection. 3dly, The wonderful manner of discovering Achan by lot must needs have filled the people with dread, and proves that no sin can escape the knowledge and the vengeance of the Almighty. 4thly, The tragical end of Achan shews that ill gotten wealth is never long possessed, and that a curse attends the sacrilegious and unjust. 5thly, This instance of severity must
Before CHRIST 1451. poored. God encouraged Joshua. Ai is taken by stratagem. Before CHRIST 1661. ¶ That is, trouble.
- — were twelve thousand.] The men of Beth-el seem to be included in this number, agreeably to the report of the spies, chap. vii. 3. The folly of these people in attempting with so small a number to oppose the Israelites, is hence more apparent: the Deity in His wisdom commanded that the Israelites should subdue them, not by force, but by stratagem, in order to make
Joshua 7:29
- — the king of Ai he hanged &c.] Being the head of a very wicked people, he was fit to be made a publick spectacle of God’s displeasure. Bp. Patrick.
Joshua 7:30
- Then Joshua built an altar] As mount Ebal, on which he built this altar, was near to Shechem, and a great way distant from Ai, therefore we must suppose that what is related was not done till they possessed the country about Shechem. Bp. Patrick. After the conquests related in chapters x, xi, and all that happened in chapters xv, xvi, and xvii. Dr. Wells.
Joshua 7:32
- — wrote — upon the stones a copy of the law] He Numb. 31. 25, 26. Ver. 2. Chap. 7. 25. Exod. 20. 25. Deut. 27. 6.