Upon the fall of Jericho, the Sons of Israel faced the Canaanite city of Ai. They were confident after seeing the wall of Jericho collapse. God had fought for them. So they set out for Ai with only a partial contingent of their fighting force as the men of Ai were "few" in number. But . . . Israel was repelled and fled from the men of Ai.
Achan, of the tribe of Judah, had taken spoil from the ruins of Jericho. God had placed all Jericho under "ban", which meant it belonged to Him. No one in Israel was to seize spoil for themselves. All gold, silver, bronze, and iron were to be brought into the Lord's treasury for use in service of the Lord. But when Achan saw gold, silver, and a fine mantle in the ruins of Jericho, he coveted them and took these things for himself.
Seeing Achan's deed, God retracted His [protecting] presence from Israel. Therefore, Israel fled and fell before Ai. Joshua cried out to God in dismay--and learned of Achan's disobediance. Achan had taken what belonged to the Lord. God's [protection] would not rest on Israel while Achan remained within the camp. Only when death and fire took Achan, his complicit household, and all his belongings did God restore His [protecting] presence to Israel. With God's help, Israel defeated Ai.
Thus runs the story of Achan and Ai. To understand, one must investigate the story's context within the whole of Scripture. Was the story history, fiction, or a combination of the two?
"Holy, Holy, Holy" as sung by Audrey Assad
Old Testament references to Achan and Ai (no New Testament references found):
- Joshua 7:1-11, "But the sons of Israel acted unfaithfully in regard to the things under
the ban, for Achan, the son of Carmi, the son of Zabdi, the son of
Zerah, from the tribe of Judah, took some of the things under the ban,
therefore the anger of the LORD burned against the sons of Israel.
Now Joshua sent men from Jericho to Ai, which is near Beth-aven, east of Bethel, and said to them, 'Go up and spy out the land.' So the men went up and spied out Ai. They returned to Joshua and said to him, 'Do not let all the people go up; only about two or three thousand men need go up to Ai; do not make all the people toil up there, for they are few.' So about three thousand men from the people went up there, but they fled from the men of Ai . . .
Then Joshua tore his clothes and fell to the earth on his face before the ark of the LORD until the evening, both he and the elders of Israel; and they put dust on their heads. Joshua said, 'Alas, O Lord GOD, why did You ever bring this people over the Jordan, only to deliver us into the hand of the Amorites, to destroy us?' . . .
So the LORD said to Joshua, 'Rise up! Why is it that you have fallen on your face? Israel has sinned, and they have also transgressed My covenant which I commanded them. And they have even taken some of the things under the ban and have both stolen and deceived.'" - Achan - a historical man
- Why name the father, grandfather, great grandfather, and Israelite tribe of an imaginary man?
- What benefit is there in writing a story about an imaginary man that makes your people look frail in battle? What people would do this?
- What benefit is there in writing a story about an imaginary man that makes your national leader look weak?
- Ai - a historical city
- Why specify the location of Ai if Ai was an imaginary city?
- Why detail the words of the Israelite spies if they were spying out an imaginary Ai?
- Why number the Israelite soldiers who fought Ai if Ai was imaginary?
- Joshua 22:16-25, "Thus says the whole congregation of the LORD, 'What is this unfaithful act which you have committed against the God of Israel, turning away from following the LORD this day, by building yourselves an altar, to rebel against the LORD this day?' . . . do not rebel against the LORD, or rebel against us by building an altar for yourselves, besides the altar of the LORD our God. Did
not Achan the son of Zerah act unfaithfully in the things under the
ban, and wrath fall on all the congregation of Israel? And that man did
not perish alone in his iniquity.'
Then the sons of Reuben and the sons of Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh answered and spoke to the heads of the families of Israel. 'The Mighty One, God, the LORD, the Mighty One, God, the LORD! He knows, and may Israel itself know . . . truly we have done this out of concern, for a reason, saying, "In time to come your sons may say to our sons, 'What have you to do with the LORD, the God of Israel? For the LORD has made the Jordan a border between us and you, you sons of Reuben and sons of Gad; you have no portion in the LORD.' So your sons may make our sons stop fearing the LORD."'" - Achan - a historical man
- How can real tribes be rebellious like an imaginary Achan?
- Why name the obscure ancestor of an imaginary Achan?
- Why would Israel heed the death toll of an imaginary Achan's rebellion?
- Why fear God as a God who "knows" in the context of an imaginary Achan?
- I Chronicles 2:1-8, "These are the sons of Israel: Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Zebulun, Dan, Joseph, Benjamin, Naphtali, Gad and Asher.
The sons of Judah were Er, Onan and Shelah; these three were born to him by Bath-shua the Canaanitess. And Er, Judah’s firstborn, was wicked in the sight of the LORD, so He put him to death. Tamar his daughter-in-law bore him Perez and Zerah. Judah had five sons in all.
The sons of Perez were Hezron and Hamul. The sons of Zerah were Zimri, Ethan, Heman, Calcol and Dara; five of them in all. The son of Carmi was Achar, the troubler of Israel, who violated the ban. The son of Ethan was Azariah." - Achan - a historical man
- Why name the father of an imaginary Achan?
- Why list an imaginary Achan in the real genealogies of Israel?
- Why name an imaginary Achan to be a descendant of the real tribe of Judah?
- Why name an imaginary "troubler of Israel" in the royal tribe of David and Christ? How would this bring honor to that tribe?
- Joshua 9:1-6, "Now it came about when all the kings who were beyond the Jordan, in the hill country and in the lowland and on all the coast of the Great Sea toward Lebanon, the Hittite and the Amorite, the Canaanite, the Perizzite, the Hivite and the Jebusite, heard of it, that they gathered themselves together with one accord to fight with Joshua and with Israel. When the inhabitants of Gibeon heard what Joshua had done to Jericho and to Ai, they also acted craftily and set out as envoys, and took worn-out sacks on their donkeys, and wineskins worn-out and torn and mended, and worn-out and patched sandals on their feet, and worn-out clothes on themselves; and all the bread of their provision was dry and had become crumbled. They went to Joshua to the camp at Gilgal and said to him and to the men of Israel, 'We have come from a far country; now therefore, make a covenant with us.'"
- Ai - a historical city
- How could the fate of an imaginary Ai spread throughout a real geographical land?
- Why name all the peoples that heard of the fate of an imaginary Ai?
- Why associate an imaginary Ai with a real Jericho?
- How could an imaginary Gibeon hear the fate of a real Jericho?
- What did the real Gibeonites have to fear from the fate of an imaginary Ai?
- Wouldn't it be deceitful to write of the real leader Joshua overthrowing an imaginary Ai? How would such deceit prove helpful to a nation claiming to serve the one true God?
- Joshua 10:1-5, "Now it came about when Adoni-zedek king of Jerusalem heard that Joshua had captured Ai, and had utterly destroyed it (just as he had done to Jericho and its king, so he had done to Ai and its king), and that the inhabitants of Gibeon had made peace with Israel and were within their land, that he feared greatly, because Gibeon was a great city, like one of the royal cities, and because it was greater than Ai, and all its men were mighty. Therefore Adoni-zedek king of Jerusalem sent word to Hoham king of Hebron and to Piram king of Jarmuth and to Japhia king of Lachish and to Debir king of Eglon, saying, 'Come up to me and help me, and let us attack Gibeon, for it has made peace with Joshua and with the sons of Israel.' So the five kings of the Amorites, the king of Jerusalem, the king of Hebron, the king of Jarmuth, the king of Lachish, and the king of Eglon, gathered together and went up, they with all their armies, and camped by Gibeon and fought against it."
- Ai - a historical city
- How could a real Gibeon be greater than an imaginary Ai? How does one compare reality and fiction?
- Why name five Canaanite kings and the cities they ruled unless those kings really lived?
- Why name a Caananite king and the real city of Jerusalem he ruled unless that king really lived?
- How could a real Caananite king hear of the destruction of an imaginary Ai?
- Why would five real Canaanite kings have cause to fear at the fall of an imaginary Ai?
- Joshua 12:7-24, "Now these are the kings of the land whom Joshua and the sons of Israel defeated beyond the Jordan toward the west, from Baal-gad in the valley of Lebanon even as far as Mount Halak, which rises toward Seir; and Joshua gave it to the tribes of Israel as a possession according to their divisions, in the hill country, in the lowland, in the Arabah, on the slopes, and in the wilderness, and in the Negev; the Hittite, the Amorite and the Canaanite, the Perizzite, the Hivite and the Jebusite: the king of Jericho, one; the king of Ai, which is beside Bethel, one; the king of Jerusalem, one; the king of Hebron, one; the king of Jarmuth, one . . . the king of Dor in the heights of Dor, one; the king of Goiim in Gilgal, one; the king of Tirzah, one: in all, thirty-one kings."
- Ai - a historical city
- Why name an imaginary Ai alongside the real ancient cities of Jericho, Jerusalem, and Hebron?
- Why specify "thirty-one" city-state kings defeated by Joshua unless those kings and their cities (including Ai) really existed?
- Why write with geographical detail and drop in the name of an imaginary city Ai?
- Ezra 2:1-29, "Now these are the people of the province who came up out of the
captivity of the exiles whom Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon had
carried away to Babylon, and returned to Jerusalem and Judah, each to
his city. These came with Zerubbabel, Jeshua, Nehemiah, Seraiah, Reelaiah, Mordecai, Bilshan, Mispar, Bigvai, Rehum and Baanah.
The number of the men of the people of Israel: the sons of Parosh, 2,172; the sons of Shephatiah, 372 . . . the men of Bethlehem, 123; the men of Netophah, 56; the men of Anathoth, 128; the sons of Azmaveth, 42; the sons of Kiriath-arim, Chephirah and Beeroth, 743; the sons of Ramah and Geba, 621; the men of Michmas, 122; the men of Bethel and Ai, 223; the sons of Nebo, 52 . . ." - Ai - a historical city
- Why name Israelite settlers of an imaginary city Ai as captives of the real Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzer? Why give an enemy king that needless extra credit?
- How could real captives return home to an imaginary city of Ai?
- Why number captives returning to an imaginary city of Ai?
- What detail-oriented historian would reference an imaginary city of Ai?
- If Bethlehem was a real city, why not Ai?
