After the tremendous victory they experienced at Jericho, Israel was defeated by the men of the city of Ai. Joshua asked the Lord why this had happened, and the Lord revealed that sin had occurred: “Israel has sinned. They have violated My covenant that I appointed for them. They have taken some of what was set apart. They have stolen, deceived, and put the things with their own belongings. This is why the Israelites cannot stand against their own enemies. They will turn their backs and run from their enemies, because they have been set apart for destruction. I will no longer be with you unless you remove from you what is set apart” (Joshua 7:11-12).
Earlier, verse 1 explained, “The Israelites…were unfaithful regarding the things set apart for destruction. Achan son of Carmi, son of Zabdi, son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, took some of what was set apart, and the LORD’s anger burned against the Israelites.” What were “the things set apart for destruction”? We find out when we read Achan’s confession.
When he was confronted, Achan confessed, “It is true. I have sinned against the LORD, the God of Israel. This is what I did: When I saw among the spoils a beautiful cloak from Babylon, 200 silver shekels, and a bar of gold weighing 50 shekels, I coveted them and took them. You can see for yourself. They are concealed in the ground inside my tent, with the money under the cloak” (Joshua 7:20-21). Verse 22 goes on to say, “So Joshua sent messengers who ran to the tent, and there was the cloak, concealed in his tent, with the money underneath.”
Joshua 6:18-19 sheds light on why such things were not to be taken and hidden. Joshua gave his men a special warning before they raided Jericho: “But keep yourselves from the things set apart, or you will be set apart for destruction. If you take any of those things, you will set apart the camp of Israel for destruction and bring disaster on it. For all the silver and gold, and the articles of bronze and iron, are dedicated to the LORD and must go into the LORD’s treasury.”
In speaking to Aaron about the priesthood in Numbers 18:14, the Lord used the same word we find in Joshua 7:1. He said, “Everything in Israel that is permanently dedicated to the LORD belongs to you.” Ezekiel 44:28-29 contains the same Hebrew word and a similar message regarding the priesthood and the things devoted to God. Thus, the things dedicated to God might be destroyed, or they might be consumed or used by the priests. Either way, they belonged to God and were not to be taken—or even treated casually.
Stealing from God is a very serious offense. This backdrop sheds light on Malachi’s words in Malachi 3:8-11. “‘Will a man rob God? Yet you are robbing Me!’ You ask: ‘How do we rob You?’ ‘By not making the payments of the tenth and the contributions. You are suffering under a curse, yet you—the whole nation—are still robbing Me. Bring the full tenth into the storehouse so that there may be food in My house. Test Me in this way,’ says the LORD of Hosts. ‘See if I will not open the floodgates of heaven and pour out a blessing for you without measure. I will rebuke the devourer for you, so that it will not ruin the produce of your land and your vine in your field will not fail to produce fruit,’ says the LORD of Hosts.” While tithing is not directly commanded in the New Testament, Jesus did commend it by implication in Luke 11:42.
Copyright © 2016 B. Nathaniel Sullivan. All rights reserved.
Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture quotations in this article are taken from the Holman Christian Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2009 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Holman Christian Standard Bible®, Holman CSB®, and HCSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers.