Under the watch of a HOLY God.

"Achan . . . Achan . . . why?"

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?

Grace, for one man's sake.

 

"Who Am I" by Casting Crowns

Genesis 6:5-19, "Then the LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great on the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. The LORD was sorry that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart. The LORD said, 'I will blot out man whom I have created from the face of the land, from man to animals to creeping things and to birds of the sky; for I am sorry that I have made them.' But Noah found favor in the eyes of the LORD . . . 'Behold, I, even I am bringing the flood of water upon the earth, to destroy all flesh in which is the breath of life, from under heaven; everything that is on the earth shall perish. But I will establish My covenant with you; and you shall enter the ark—you and your sons and your wife, and your sons’ wives with you. And of every living thing of all flesh, you shall bring two of every kind into the ark, to keep them alive with you; they shall be male and female.'"


Identity of Noah in Scripture:

• Isaiah 54:9-10, “'For this is like the days of Noah to Me,
              When I swore that the waters of Noah
              Would not flood the earth again;
              So I have sworn that I will not be angry with you
              Nor will I rebuke you. 
     'For the mountains may be removed and the hills may shake,
            But My lovingkindness will not be removed from you,
            And My covenant of peace will not be shaken,'
            Says the LORD who has compassion on you."

• Noah: Portrayed as a historical man. Why would God swear to not flood the earth again in a similar manner to a flood that never happened?
• As surely as God has established a covenant of peace, so surely must He have also established a covenant to never again flood the whole earth (after just such an event).

• Ezekiel 14:12-16, "Then the word of the LORD came to me saying, 'Son of man, if a country sins against Me by committing unfaithfulness, and I stretch out My hand against it, destroy its supply of bread, send famine against it and cut off from it both man and beast, even though these three men, Noah, Daniel and Job were in its midst, by their own righteousness they could only deliver themselves,' declares the Lord GOD. 'If I were to cause wild beasts to pass through the land and they depopulated it, and it became desolate so that no one would pass through it because of the beasts, though these three men were in its midst, as I live,' declares the Lord GOD, 'they could not deliver either their sons or their daughters. They alone would be delivered, but the country would be desolate.'"
• Noah: Portrayed as a historical man. How could imaginative individuals have the righteousness to deliver themselves from real judgment?
• It is needlessly confusing to say Noah's children were saved in the original imaginative story of Noah, whereas they would not be saved in the real context of the faithless nation of Israel.

• Hebrews 11:1-7, "Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. For by it the men of old gained approval. By faith we understand that the worlds were prepared by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things which are visible . . . By faith Enoch was taken up so that he would not see death; AND HE WAS NOT FOUND BECAUSE GOD TOOK HIM UP; for he obtained the witness that before his being taken up he was pleasing to God. And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him. By faith Noah, being warned by God about things not yet seen, in reverence prepared an ark for the salvation of his household, by which he condemned the world, and became an heir of the righteousness which is according to faith."
• Noah: Portrayed as a historical man. Does God really warn imaginative individuals of future judgment?
• Just as real, New Testament Christians are approved by faith, so also must a real man Noah have set an example of being approved by faith.

• I Peter 3:18-20, "For Christ also died for sins once for all, the just for the unjust, so that He might bring us to God, having been put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit; in which also He went and made proclamation to the spirits now in prison, who once were disobedient, when the patience of God kept waiting in the days of Noah, during the construction of the ark, in which a few, that is, eight persons, were brought safely through the water."
• Noah: Portrayed as a historical man. How do you say that a real God was patient during an imaginative story?
• How could Christ have made a proclamation to spirits of men said to die in an imaginative story?
• Only eight people survived this flood in the time of Noah--indicating it was very large-scale.

• II Peter 2:4-10, "For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but cast them into hell and committed them to pits of darkness, reserved for judgment; and did not spare the ancient world, but preserved Noah, a preacher of righteousness, with seven others, when He brought a flood upon the world of the ungodly; and if He condemned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah to destruction by reducing them to ashes, having made them an example to those who would live ungodly lives thereafter . . . then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from temptation, and to keep the unrighteous under punishment for the day of judgment, and especially those who indulge the flesh in its corrupt desires and despise authority."
• Noah: Portrayed as a historical man. Just as fallen angels have been committed to judgment, so also all the ancient world, excepting only Noah and his seven family members, were judged by God.
• Believing that "the Lord knows how to rescue" Christians from temptation is said to be just as sure as saying that a real man Noah, and his family, were rescued from the ungodliness of the ancient world.

 

Adam&Eve--In light of present-day facts

We have no ability to interrogate a first-hand witness. So, the next alternative must be examination of present-day facts. How believable is the Genesis account of Adam and Eve in view of "modern" knowledge?

Some facts/customs/widespread beliefs compared to Scripture:

• Basis for clothing only worn by mankind
• This fact is readily known. Animals may have fur and/or feathers, but they do not go to the trouble to make clothing for themselves.
• Genesis 3:6-7, "When the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was desirable to make one wise, she took from its fruit and ate; and she gave also to her husband with her, and he ate. Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loin coverings."
• Basis for observance of the week
• The week is not only clearly present in the US calendar, but is also recognized by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO).
• Genesis 2:1-3, "Thus the heavens and the earth were completed, and all their hosts. By the seventh day God completed His work which He had done, and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had done. Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because in it He rested from all His work which God had created and made."--How would billions of years of evolution yield this observance?
• Basis for long, painful labor in childbirth only seen in mankind
• This is recognized by even scientists.
• Genesis 3:11-16, "And He said, 'Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?' . . . "To the woman He said,
              'I will greatly multiply
              Your pain in childbirth,
              In pain you will bring forth children;
              Yet your desire will be for your husband,
              And he will rule over you.'"
• Basis for human agriculture/toiling over the ground to raise crops
• Setting aside the cases of certain termites, ants, and ambrosia beetles, this practice is not seen among the claimed close evolutionary ancestors of man.
• Genesis 3:17-19, "Then to Adam He said, 'Because you have listened to the voice of your wife, and have eaten from the tree about which I commanded you, saying, "You shall not eat from it";
              Cursed is the ground because of you;
              In toil you will eat of it
              All the days of your life.
        Both thorns and thistles it shall grow for you;
              And you will eat the plants of the field;
        By the sweat of your face
              You will eat bread,
              Till you return to the ground,
              Because from it you were taken;
              For you are dust,
              And to dust you shall return.'"
• Basis for man's unique moral awareness
•  Recognized by Darwin and now within modern psychology
•  Genesis 3:5-6, "'For God knows that in the day you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.' When the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was desirable to make one wise, she took from its fruit and ate; and she gave also to her husband with her, and he ate."
• Basis for man's unique intelligence
• Globally apparent from mankind's unrivaled achievements: space exploration as Earth dwellers, deep-sea exploration as land-dwellers, nanotechnology, computers, cars, sky-scrapers, instant long-distance communication, etc.
• Genesis 1:26, "Then God said, 'Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; and let them rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over the cattle and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.'"
• Basis for belief in a Supernatural Being
• There is a significant percentage of people worldwide who believe in God.
• Genesis 3:8, "They heard the sound of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God among the trees of the garden."
• Basis for discipline/punishment
• The practice of discipline or punishment is clear through worldwide child discipline, police, governmental courts, and prisons or correctional facilities.
• Genesis 3:22-23, "Then the LORD God said, 'Behold, the man has become like one of Us, knowing good and evil; and now, he might stretch out his hand, and take also from the tree of life, and eat, and live forever'— therefore the LORD God sent him out from the garden of Eden, to cultivate the ground from which he was taken."
• Basis for mankind's dominion over the Earth
• Clear from the existence of zoos, agriculture, industrialization, rapid transportation, etc.
• Genesis 1:27-28, "God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. God blessed them; and God said to them, 'Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it; and rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over every living thing that moves on the earth.'"
• Basis for family household of a man and woman, providing care for any young children.
• Shown in research by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)
• Genesis 2:22-24, "The LORD God fashioned into a woman the rib which He had taken from the man, and brought her to the man. The man said,
              'This is now bone of my bones,
              And flesh of my flesh;
              She shall be called Woman,
              Because she was taken out of Man.'
  For this reason a man shall leave his father and his mother, and be joined to his wife; and they shall become one flesh."
• Beginning of marital conflict/heartache/divorce
• A widely enough known problem to stimulate much research. Some 2010 research.
• Genesis 3:11-13, "And He said, 'Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?' The man said, 'The woman whom You gave to be with me, she gave me from the tree, and I ate.' Then the LORD God said to the woman, 'What is this you have done?' And the woman said, 'The serpent deceived me, and I ate.'"
• Basis for lifelong marriage
• Recognized by US census (see page 4).
• Genesis 2:22-24, seen above under family household
• Basis for racial equality
• What the American Civil War/War between the States was fought over.
• Genesis 3:20, "Now the man called his wife’s name Eve, because she was the mother of all the living."
• Basis for value of women/a two-gender humanity rather than a single-gender
• Recognized so strongly today that this is a political pitfall for those who don't choose their words carefully.
• Genesis 2:18, "Then the LORD God said, “It is not good [emphasis added] for the man to be alone; I will make him a helper suitable for him.”

 

Where, O where is the "I didn't know!" clause . . .

Gen. 2:15-17, "Then the LORD God took the man and put him into the garden of Eden to cultivate it and keep it. The LORD God commanded the man, saying, 'From any tree of the garden you may eat freely; but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat from it you will surely die.'”

• "Eden": Hebrew ‘ê-ḏen (Strong's 5731) - after the Fall in Gen. 3, the exact word reappears in: Gen. 4:16, where Cain "settled in the land of Nod, east of Eden."; Ezekiel 31:9-18, where Assyria is described as a tree excelling in beauty beyond all the trees in the garden of Eden; and Joel 2:3, where a great multitude is advancing on Zion, with the land before them appearing as Eden, while they leave behind them desolate wilderness.

• "cultivate": Hebrew lə-‘ā-ḇə-ḏāh (Strong's 5647) - only occurrence of exact word in Scripture. Compare to la-‘ă-ḇōḏ  in the post "Contradictory Creation account? (Gen. 2:5-7)".

• 1st "eat": Hebrew tō-ḵêl (Strong's 398) - Exact word occurs a total of 17 times in Scripture. Outside of Genesis the word is translated 9 out of 16 times as eating food for one's physical body. The 7 exceptions are: devouring/consuming fire in II Sam. 22:9, Job 31:12, Psalm 18:8 (which quotes II Sam. 22:9), and Psalm 50:3; "you shall eat of the fruit of your hands" in Psalm 128:2; "does not eat the bread of idleness" in Proverbs 31:27; "For wickedness burns like a fire; It consumes briars and thorns" in Isaiah 9:18.

[1/10/2016 update:

• 2nd "eat": Hebrew ṯō-ḵal (Strong's 398) - Out the 35 occurrences in Scripture, the word 29 times refers to eating food for physical nourishment. The 6 exceptions are: ". . . And dust you will eat all the days of your life;" (Gen. 3:14), ". . . the ashes [to] which the fire reduces the burnt offering . . ." (Lev. 6:10), and a devouring sword (Deut. 32:42, 2 Samuel 2:26, 2 Samuel 11:25, and Nahum 2:13).

• 3rd "eat": Hebrew ’ă-ḵā-lə-ḵā (Strong's 398) - Only occurrence of exact word in Scripture.

]

• "knowledge": Hebrew had-da-‘aṯ (Strong's 1847) - Seven total occurrences of exact word in Scripture. Outside of the 2 occurrences in Genesis 2, where it refers to the tree of knowledge of good and evil, the word is translated as: skill in craftmanship (I Kings 7:14), "what it means to know [God]" (Jer. 22:16), "'many will go back and forth, and knowledge will increase.'" (Daniel 12:4), and knowledge of God and/or His laws (Hosea 4:6--had-da-‘aṯ appears twice).

• "good": Hebrew ṭō-wḇ (Strong's 2896) - Exact word occurs 271 times in Scripture. The only other time the word is associated with the same word for evil is in reference to little children with no knowledge of good or evil (Deut. 1:39).

•  "evil": Hebrew wā-rā‘ (Strong's 7451) - Exact word occurs 7 times in Scripture. Outside of the Genesis Fall of Man passage, the word is translated: Judah's fear that evil (or death) will befall his father Jacob if his youngest brother Benjamin does not return from Egypt (Gen. 44:34), the above Deut. 1:39 passage, and "Break the arm of the wicked and the evildoer . . ." (Psalm 10:15).

• "day": Hebrew bə-yō-wm (Strong's 3117) - Not necessarily a specific, 24-hour day. The word is also used to refer to a longer period of time, a recurring sabbath day, the 1st or another day of a month, "when", etc. See post "Just 31 verses until Creation climax--and then?".

• "die": Hebrew tā-mūṯ (Strong's 4191) - Exact word occurs 33 times in Scripture. The word predominantly refers to physical death meted out as punishment, except in: Job 12:2, "with you wisdom will die"; Isaiah 66:24, "For their worm will not die . . ."; Jer. 34:5, "You [King Zedekiah of Judah] will die in peace . . ."; and perhaps Zechariah 11:9, "What is to die, let it die . . ."

We see physical death all around us. How could mankind inherit death, and not inherit an understanding of what is good and what is evil? The two seem inseparable to me.