The following quote is taken from evilbible.com:
"God Commands Burning Humans - [The
Lord speaking] "The one who has stolen what was set apart for
destruction will himself be burned with
fire, along with everything he has, for he has broken the covenant of
the LORD and has done a horrible thing in Israel." (Joshua 7:15
NLT)
Let's
examine the story of Achan in Joshua chapter 7.
Since it always helps to examine a verse in context, you can read the
full chapter here:
Earlier, in the
Law, God specifically had commanded that none of the plunder that had been set
apart for destruction (see the earlier article on charam, things/people devoted to destruction) be kept by the
Israelites (Deuteronomy 7:25-26, 13:17).
The items were a holy offering to God, and were not to be tampered with
or stolen.
Just before this chapter, in Joshua
chapter 6, the Israelites had destroyed the city of Jericho after God had
caused the city walls to fall, and the city and everything in it was supposed
to be destroyed as an offering to God.
Just before they conquered the city, Joshua reminded the Israelites not
to take any of the items devoted to destruction; if they did, they themselves
would be completely destroyed (Joshua 6:17-19).
Achan, a man from the tribe of
Judah, deliberately disobeyed this command, and stole some of the items devoted
to destruction, then hid them among his possessions (verses 20-21). Because of his crime, the Lord withdrew his
protection from the Israelites, as he had warned them he would do if they
violated the Law. 36 Israelite men were
killed in battle because of what Achan had done (verse 5).
The punishment that God sentenced on
the one who took the items devoted for destruction was a very specific
punishment for a specific crime. It is
important to note here that Achan did not voluntarily confess when all of the
Israelites assembled before God. If he
had confessed immediately instead of waiting until all of the tribes and
families had been narrowed down to him, there is a chance that he and his
family might have been spared. When
David confessed his sin of adultery and murder (which was punishable by death),
God had mercy on him, and let him live (2 Samuel chapters 11-12). Likewise, when the city of Nineveh repented
of their sins after a warning from God that he was about to destroy them, he
had mercy and spared them (Jonah chapter 3).
If Achan had voluntarily confessed and repented instead of waiting until
Joshua forced him to confess, he might have been spared as well.
Unfortunately, that is not what
happened. Achan was forced to confess
after he was singled out, and they found the evidence that he had stolen what
was God's and lied about it. The
promised punishment was then carried out: he and his children, along with all
of his livestock and possessions, were destroyed. The Israelites stoned them to death and then
burned the bodies (verse 25); they were not burned alive, as evilbible.com
seems to suggest.
One question that is commonly asked
is, why were Achan's children killed as well?
After all, there is a verse in the Law that states that children should
not be executed for their parents' sins (Deuteronomy 24:16). The explanation here is that Achan's children
knew exactly what was going on, and yet they said nothing. If they had convinced their father to confess
or told Joshua what had happened themselves, they would have been spared. It is entirely possible that they were
accomplices in their father's crime, assisting him in stealing and hiding the
items. This is why they were executed as
well.
