Joshua 7:16-26 – The Severity of the LORD’s Burning Anger

Are you shocked as you read the closing verses of this chapter? It was not only Achan but also his family, livestock and possessions that suffered the extreme punishment (v24, 25). Such severity will disturb some of us, but we need to ask why such a seemingly harsh penalty? Verse 15 contains the answer, especially the second half of the verse: “And he who is taken with the devoted things shall be burned with fire, he and all that he has, because he has transgressed the covenant of the LORD, and because he has done an outrageous thing in Israel”.

What had been done was “an outrageous thing” – or “a disgraceful thing”, as some Bibles say. Verse 15 clearly shows that the penalty is so severe because sin is so serious. The severity of the judgment is an indicator of the enormity of the sin. Our problem here is, as sinners, we don’t think breaking the LORD’s covenant (v15) is that big a deal. We really can’t understand God’s anger because sin doesn’t bother us much. That’s why passages like this shock us. That’s why we can’t understand Jesus when He says we should be willing to go to any extreme to avoid sin (Matt. 5:29, 30). This is baffling to us because we don’t share Jesus’ alarm over sin.

Joshua 7 declares that we can’t treat cancer with vitamin pills. It requires radical surgery. Even if we didn’t think the cancer was that big a deal – that doesn’t change God’s view or what needs to be done.

A heap of stones was set up as a lasting monument to the LORD’s burning anger against deliberate rebellion. Just as there had been a monument erected in chapter 4 to God’s saving help, now there would be also be a monument to His destroying wrath. Even the name of the place (Achor – v26 – meaning ‘trouble’) would have reminded them of the name of Achan. This lesson was too important for Israel to forget.