The Bible Says
Joshua 7:10-15 Meaning

In Joshua 7:10-15, God informs Joshua that someone in the community has broken His commands, leading to their recent military defeat. After the people of Ai killed thirty-six Israelite warriors, forcing them to retreat and causing terror in their camp, Joshua and the elders mourned their loss and bowed before the Ark of the Covenant. While lying on the ground, Joshua prayed to God. Unaware of the sin of Achan, who stole some items devoted to the tabernacle and destruction, Joshua blamed God for Israel’s defeat. He challenged God to think about His reputation should the Canaanite nations destroy Israel (vv. 6-9).

While Joshua’s face was still downward, the LORD commanded him to Rise up! (v. 10). In the Hebrew language, the verb rise up (“qûm”) is often used as an introductory verb to indicate urgency. In such cases, it means to get ready to act (see Numbers 22:20-21; Judges 4:14; 1 Kings 17:9; Jonah 1:2, Mark 5:41). In our passage, however, the verb “qûm” does have its literal meaning “to stand” or “to get up” because “Joshua fell to the earth on his face” (v. 6). Thus, after instructing the leader to get up, God asked him, Why is it that you have fallen on your face? (v. 10).

Joshua fell downward to mourn the loss of the Israelite soldiers and pray to the LORD. He could not understand why the people of Ai defeated his warriors (vv. 6-7). Joshua challenged God to think carefully about His character because the Israelites were His covenant people. Joshua’s point was that Israel’s removal from Canaan would humiliate Yahweh since the other nations would conclude that He was less powerful than their gods (vv. 8-9).

Nevertheless, the issue at stake pertained to the spiritual state of the Israelites. It had nothing to do with the power of their Suzerain God. Thus, after asking Joshua why he was on the ground, the LORD answered his prayer. He used that opportunity to reveal the reason for Israel’s defeat, moving from the general to the specifics. He declared: Israel has sinned (v. 11). The verb to sin (Hebrew, “chāṭāʾ”) means to miss the mark. It expresses specific human acts and behavior than are in error and out of step from God’s good design. The sinner ultimately violates a divine commandment because all sins are against God and His laws (Psalm 51:4; 1 John 3:4). That is what prompted God to tell Joshua that the Israelites have also transgressed My covenant which I commanded them (v. 11).

The Hebrew term for covenant is “berith.” It is an imposition or obligation (Judges 2:20, Psalm 111:9). To transgress means to cross a boundary established by God. The LORD established a covenant relationship with the Israelites, taking them as His possession and giving them a privileged position among all the other people groups (Exodus 19:4-6).

God was the Suzerain or Ruler, while Israel was the vassal (a client kingdom, in service to the Suzerain). God instructed the people to obey the terms of the covenant to receive His blessings. Israel willingly chose to enter into the covenant with God, "All the people answered together and said, 'All that the Lord has spoken we will do!'" (Exodus 19:8a). Failure to comply with the divine ordinances would result in calamities and misfortunes (Deuteronomy 28:15-68). If one party in the covenant failed to meet its obligations, the covenant is then broken and negative consequences would result.

During the conquest of Ai, the Israelites violated the covenant agreement. Regarding the recent victory over Jericho, God points to the covenant violation, saying: And they have even taken some of the things under the ban and have both stolen and deceived (v. 11). The term translated as ban (Hebrew, “sherem”) carries the idea of something devoted to destruction. It speaks of an act of obedience, which dedicates the enemy or their objects to God (Numbers 21:2, Deuteronomy 7:26, 13:14-17).

In our passage, the Israelites were commanded to destroy everything in Jericho to remain holy to the LORD (Deuteronomy 7:6). All precious metals were to be given to the treasury of the Lord (Joshua 6:19). However, one of the Israelites stole some spoils of Jericho for himself. Moreover, they have also put them among their own things, ignoring the LORD’s command (v. 11). Therefore, God stated: the sons of Israel cannot stand before their enemies; they turn their backs before their enemies (v. 12).

The Israelites had a shameful experience during their first attempt to conquer Ai. The people of Ai chased the Israelite army eastward, down the steep hills toward Jericho, slaying some of Israel’s soldiers and causing terror in their camp (vv. 4-5). Joshua and the Israelites did not know why God allowed that to happen. But God was in control. He wanted to show them the root of the problem because they had become accursed (v. 12). That means that they were under divine punishment. They could not achieve any more victories because they had transgressed God’s laws.

Earlier in the book, the LORD promised to be with Joshua, magnifying him and confirming his position as Israel’s leader (Joshua 3:7). God fulfilled His word through the miraculous crossing of the Jordan River. At that time, He exalted Joshua in the sight of all the Israelites. They esteemed him highly and followed his leadership (Joshua 4:14). God’s presence with the Israelite leader guaranteed his success over Jericho, causing him to become famous throughout the land (Joshua 6:27).

In our passage, however, the LORD declared He would withdraw His presence if the sin persisted: I will not be with you anymore unless you destroy the things under the ban from your midst (v. 12b). The Israelites had an important decision to make. They could either keep the devoted items or destroy them. If they chose to retain them, they would fall under divine punishment. God would guarantee their defeat and destruction. But if they decided to get rid of the stolen items, they would receive God’s protection and blessing. Their submission to God’s command would guarantee His presence among them, causing them to succeed in their endeavors (Deuteronomy 20:4).

Having told the people of Israel about the gravity of the situation, God explained how they could fix it and restore their communion with Him. He instructed Joshua to Rise up! meaning to begin to act (v. 13). Then, God stated: Consecrate the people (v. 13). The verb translated as consecrate is “qadash” in the Hebrew language. It means to be holy or set apart. The idea is to separate profane things from sacred ones. The verb consecrate often occurs in the context of ceremonial purification. For example, in Exodus 19, the LORD instructed Moses to “consecrate the people today and tomorrow” so they could meet Him on the third day on Mount Sinai (Exodus 19:10, 22). This ritual involved washing their “garments” and abstaining from sexual relations (v. 14).

In Joshua, God charged the new leader to consecrate the people, setting them apart from anything that failed to meet God’s standard of holiness.

The LORD asked Joshua to say to the Israelites, Consecrate yourselves for tomorrow, for thus the LORD, the God of Israel, has said: There are things under the ban in your midst, O Israel (v. 13). The people of God sinned and became ritually impure. Thus, God charged them to deal with the root of their sin and sanctify themselves. He added, You cannot stand before your enemies until you have removed the things under the ban from your midst. In other words, the Israelites would not win any more victories until they identified who possessed the devoted items and destroyed them.

God explained how to identify the culprit and the items devoted to destruction. He instructed Joshua to examine each tribal group: In the morning, you shall come near by your tribes (v. 14). A tribe contains several families tracing their origins to one ancestor. In Joshua’s day, there were twelve tribes of Israel, named after the sons and grandsons of Jacob, whom God named “Israel.” They were to gather the following day near the Ark of the Covenant to identify the guilty tribe. And it shall be that the tribe which the LORD takes by lot shall come near by families )(v. 14).

The term families (Hebrew, “mišpāḥâ”) in this context is broader than the nuclear family (a couple with their children). It refers to a large ethnic group of people. It includes parents, siblings, cousins, aunts, uncles, grandparents, etc. Through the selection process, God said He would move from this extended family to find the guilty family. Then, the family which the LORD takes shall come near by households, and the household which the LORD takes shall come near man by man (v. 14). Finally, this narrowing process would identify the perpetrator. It shall be that the one who is taken with the things under the ban shall be burned with fire (v. 15).

God issued a severe order for the guilty man. The Israelites would burn him with fire, he and all that belongs to him, just like they did to Jericho (Joshua 6:24). They would devote the perpetrator to destruction like the objects under the ban to satisfy God’s wrath because he had transgressed the covenant of the LORD. The guilty man crossed the boundary set by Yahweh. Therefore, he deserved death as punishment because he had committed a disgraceful thing in Israel (v. 15).

The phrase translated as a disgraceful thing occurs elsewhere in the Bible for sexual misconduct (Genesis 34:7; Judges 20:6). In our passage, it underscores the immoral action committed by the man who kept some of the items under the ban for himself. It was a betrayal of the covenant between God and His people. For this reason, the Israelites would devote that man to God to purge the sin among them.