Readings for today: Joshua 7-10
Today’s reading is a tough one. Ancient Near East justice was often brutal and terrifying and impacted more than just the individual who committed the crime. Achan broke faith with God. He took items dedicated to the Lord and hid them in his tent for personal gain. This was not just stealing, it was sacrilege. Taking what is holy and desecrating it. Notice the play on words in this passage. Devoting the spoils of war to destruction typically meant burning them in a great bonfire as an offering to the Lord. However, Achan kept some of the devoted things for himself therefore the anger of the Lord “burned” against the people of Israel. Furthermore, once the sin was discovered, they took Achan and his family and all his possessions and “burned them with fire” in the valley of Achor. We cannot fathom how such an act could ever be called just and good much less be commanded by the Lord but again, God speaks to us in cultural language we can understand and He works through our common cultural understandings to reveal His will.
This raises another difficult question for us. The idea of collective guilt. Achan sins by taking some of the devoted things but the Lord’s anger burns against the people of Israel. Thirty-six men die in the ensuing attack on Ai as God withdraws His protective hand in judgment. Many more are probably wounded in the assault as well. So much grief. So much pain. So much suffering. All because of one man’s sin. And God makes it very clear He holds Israel responsible for what Achan has done. “Israel has sinned; they have transgressed my covenant that I commanded them; they have taken some of the devoted things; they have stolen and lied and put them among their own belongings. Therefore the people of Israel cannot stand before their enemies. They turn their backs before their enemies, because they have become devoted to destruction.” (Joshua 7:11-12) Why did God not just kill off Achan? Why did He punish all of Israel for one individual’s transgression? How in the world can this be fair?
Once again, we are confronted with cultural distance. We have been raised in a modern, western context which elevates the individual above the community. We think of ourselves as independent agents first and members of a community second. When a person sins or commits a crime, they do the time. They pay the price. They suffer the consequences. Not their family. Not their community. Not the people they are connected to unless they were active accomplices. The Ancient Near East was a much different world. The people of Israel held a collective identity. They understood themselves to be members of a community first and individuals second. They saw themselves as intrinsically connected to each other so when one person sinned, all were culpable. All had a share in the guilt. All were accomplices in allowing such a thing to take place. By the way, this idea is replete throughout the Scriptures and it is one of the major reasons we struggle to bridge the gap between the world of the Bible and our world today.
Friends, the reality is we are not just individuals with a personal relationship with God. We are members of a body called the church that holds a collective identity before the Lord. What we say or do impacts those around us. Our individual sin creates a ripple effect in the community that does have consequences. We are our brother and sister’s keeper. We are responsible one for another. We are held accountable by God on some level for the way we contribute to the overall health and well-being of those around us whether it is in our families, among our friends, in our neighborhoods, schools, workplaces, and communities. Our actions or lack of actions matter to God and they make a significant difference in the world. Thankfully, God doesn’t just judge us collectively. He redeems us collectively as well. 1 John 2:2 says, “Christ is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world.” Thanks be to God for collective grace!
Readings for tomorrow: Joshua 11-14