“the valley of Achor”

"the valley of Achor" (Josh. 7:24, 26), It means ‘the valley of trouble’.

Joshua and the Israelites were troubled.

They were troubled because they lost the war against Ai

Even though they won the war against Jericho.

The reason was that a man named Achan coveted (7:21) all that was in Jericho

that belonged to the Lord (6:17) and he took some of the things under the ban

and had both stolen and put them among his things (7:11).

This is transgression against God’s covenant which God commanded the Israelties

And the Israelites had sinned (vv. 1, 11).

Although God clearly commanded the Israelites,

“But as for you, only keep yourselves from the things under the ban,

so that you do not covet them and take some of the things under the ban,

and make the camp of Israel accursed and bring trouble on it” (6:18)

Achan covted “the spoil a beautiful mantle from Shinar and two hundred shekels of silver

and a bar of gold fifty shekels in weight” (7:21).

As a result, God wasn’t with the Israelites and thus they couldn’t stand before their enemies (vv. 12, 13)

And lost the war against the men of Ai (vv. 4-5).

So the hearts of the Israelites melted, became as water (v. 5) and they were troubled (v. 25).

This is what God said to them:

“I will not be with you anymore unless you destroy the things under the ban from your midst” (v. 12),

“There are things under the ban in your midst, O Israel.

You cannot stand before your enemies

until you have removed the things under the ban from your midst” (v. 13).

So all the Israelites took Achan, who had transgressed the covenant of the Lord

And had committed a disgraceful thing in Israel (vv. 15, 18),

With “the silver, the mantle, the bar of gold, his sons, his daughters,

his oxen, his donkeys, his sheep, his tent and all that belonged to him

and they brought them up to the valley of Achor” (v. 24).

And “all Israel stoned them with stones; and they burned them with fire

after they had stoned them with stones” and they raised over him a great heap of stones” (vv. 25-26).

Then the Lord turned from the fierceness of His anger (v. 26).

"Achor’s Valley, or desolate waste, There we’d bear the Gospel You gave,

Carry love through streets like Sodom’s Anywhere, to seek and to save!”

(Hymn “Call’d of God, We Honor the Call” v. 2)