Total dedication; complete destruction
Joshua 7:1 – 8:29 Read it here
While it seems like the fall of Jericho would be enough to convince the Israelites to take God at his word, the grip of sin is great.
In taking Jericho, the instruction from God was to take no plunder…everything in the city was to be dedicated to God.
Dedicating plunder to God meant giving it as an irrevocable gift. Often this was done by destroying the thing that was given (like in a burnt offering), so that none would be left for misuse.
When one man, Achan, gives in to temptation and holds something back, God becomes angry.
The next city to be taken is called Ai. It seems that the Israelites have two strikes against them even before they attempt to conquer the city. First, the anger from Achan’s sin means God is not with them. Also, the plans for the conquest don’t appear to involve God at all; the military leaders depend solely on their own wisdom.
The Bible does not take the individualistic view of sin we are comfortable with but instead shows that God demands total dedication to his will, and holds the larger body responsible for the actions of the individual.
If we were to look at sin this way it would affect our approach to a lot of things. For example, how would our approach to crime change if we considered crime to be a community failing, in which we each played a part, rather than an individual failing of the persons involved?