Question about Achan

[Pastor_Bob]

II Kings 14:5 And it came to pass, as soon as the kingdom was confirmed in his hand, that he slew his servants which had slain the king his father. 6 But the children of the murderers he slew not: according unto that which is written in the book of the law of Moses, wherein the Lord commanded, saying, The fathers shall not be put to death for the children, nor the children be put to death for the fathers; but every man shall be put to death for his own sin.

This is a reference to the law of Moses that is stated in Deuteronomy 24:16, “The fathers shall not be put to death for the children, neither shall the children be put to death for the fathers: every man shall be put to death for his own sin.”

This begs the question why, in Joshua 7, Achan’s entire family was put to death for the sin of their father if the Levitical law expressly said that they should not.

Could it be that the entire family was complicit in Achan’s sin?

 

[rlvaughn]

Could it be that the entire family was complicit in Achan’s sin?

That might be a possibility, since the stuff was hid in the tent, and the whole family may have been aware of it. On the other hand, there is nothing of which I am aware in the text of Joshua 7 that suggests they were aware of it. And then there is the fact that "his oxen, and his asses, and his sheep, and his tent, and all that he had" were destroyed, all of which would not have been complicit in any moral way.

For my part, I think of this as a special case, with a curse initially pronounced by God (Joshua 6:18) and then the punishment also pronounced by God (Joshua 7:10-15).

Joshua 7:10,15 And the LORD said unto Joshua...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.

This was not a general case of a criminal punished under the law of Moses, but rather a case of sin exposed by God and punishment directed by God to a man who had brought his family under a curse.

 

[RighteousnessTemperance&]

Some thoughts.

Achan directly violated the command to burn everything and keep away from the devoted things, despite knowing that doing so would bring trouble to Israel and make Israel liable to destruction.

Some thirty six died in the next attack, where they were completely routed.

The fate of the faithless Achan and his household was that of the inhabitants of Jericho, in contrast to the fate of the faithful Rahab and her household.

 

[Van]

My thought too, complicit in the sin...

 

[rlvaughn]

The association of a man’s children and the curse of rebuilding Jericho is also worthy of note. This fate was ordained by God rather than a punishment under the law of Moses.

Joshua 6:26 And Joshua adjured them at that time, saying, Cursed be the man before the Lord, that riseth up and buildeth this city Jericho: he shall lay the foundation thereof in his firstborn, and in his youngest son shall he set up the gates of it.

1 Kings 16:34 In his days did Hiel the Beth-elite build Jericho: he laid the foundation thereof in Abiram his firstborn, and set up the gates thereof in his youngest son Segub, according to the word of the Lord, which he spake by Joshua the son of Nun.

 

[BroTom64]

A little off topic but. the account of the number who died at Ai has always made me wonder about number of casualties under Joshua during the conquest of Canaan. Joshua's response always made me wonder if Israel defeated their enemies with any casualties.

Joshua 7:6 ¶ 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.
7 And Joshua said, Alas, O Lord GOD, wherefore hast thou at all brought this people over Jordan, to deliver us into the hand of the Amorites, to destroy us? would to God we had been content, and dwelt on the other side Jordan!
8 O Lord, what shall I say, when Israel turneth their backs before their enemies!
9 For the Canaanites and all the inhabitants of the land shall hear of it, and shall environ us round, and cut off our name from the earth: and what wilt thou do unto thy great name?