taketh shall come according to the families thereof; and the family which the Lord shall take shall come by households; and the households which the Lord shall take shall come man by man. 15. And it shall be, that he that is taken with the accursed thing shall be burnt with fire, he and all that he hath; because he hath transgressed the covenant of the Lord, and because he hath wrought folly in Israel.
We have here God's answer to Joshua's address, which, we may suppose, came from the oracle over the ark, before which Joshua had prostrated himself, v. 6. Those that desire to know the will of God, must attend with their desires upon the lively oracles, and wait at wisdom's gates for wisdom's dictates, Prov. 8. 34. And let those that find themselves under the tokens of God's displeasure, never complain of him, but complain to him, and they shall receive an answer of peace. The answer came immediately, while he was yet speaking, Isa. 65. 24. as that of Daniel, ch. 9. 20, &c.
I. God encourages Joshua against his present despondencies, and the black and melancholy apprehensions he had of the present posture of Israel's affairs, v. 10, "Get thee up, suffer not thy spirits to droop and sink thus, wherefore liest thou thus upon thy face? No doubt, Joshua did well to humble himself before God, and mourn as he did, under the tokens of his displeasure; but now God tells him, it was enough, he would not have him continue any longer in that melancholy posture, for God delights not in the grief of penitents when they afflict their souls, further than as it qualifies them for pardon and peace; the days even of that mourning must be ended. Arise, shake thyself from the dust, Isa. 52. 2. Joshua continued his mourning till even-tide, v. 6. so late, that they could do nothing that night toward the discovery of the criminal, but were forced to put it off till next morning. Daniel (ch. 9. 21.) and Ezra (ch. 9. 5, 6.) continued their mourning only till the time of the evening sacrifice; that revived them both, but Joshua went past that time, and therefore is thus roused; "Get thee up, do not lie all night there." Yet we find that Moses fell down before the Lord forty days and forty nights, to make intercession for Israel, Deut 9. 18. Joshua must get up because he has other work to do than to lie there; the accursed thing must be discovered and cast out, and the sooner the better; Joshua is the man that must do it, and therefore it is time for him to lay aside his mourning weeds, and put on his judge's robes, and clothe himself with zeal as a cloke; weeping must not hinder sowing, nor one duty of religion justle out another. Every thing is beautiful in its season. Shechaniah perhaps had an eye to this in what he said to Ezra upon a like occasion. See Ezra 10. 2··4.
II. He informs him of the true and only cause of this disaster, and shows him wherefore he contended with them, v. 11, Israel hath sinned. "Think not that God's mind is changed, his arm shortened, or his promise about to fail; no, it is sin, it is sin, that great mischief-maker, that has stopped the current of divine favours, and has made this breach upon you." The sinner is not named, though the sin is described; but it is spoken of as the act of Israel in general, till they have fastened it upon the particular person, and their godly sorrow have so wrought a clearing of themselves, as their's did, 2 Cor. 7. 11. Observe how the sin is here made to appear exceeding sinful. 1. They have transgressed my covenant, an express precept with a penalty annexed to it. It was agreed, that God should have all the spoil of Jericho, and they should have the spoil of the rest of the cities of Canaan, but in robbing God of his part, they transgressed this covenant. 2. They have even taken of the devoted thing, in contempt of the curse which was so solemnly denounced against him that should dare to break in upon God's property, as if that curse had nothing in it formidable. 3. They have also stolen; they did it clandestinely, as if they could conceal it from the divine omniscience, and they were ready to say, The Lord shall not see, or will not miss so small a matter out of so great a spoil. Thus thou thoughtest I was altogether such a one as thyself. 4. They have dissembled also. Probably, when the action was over, Joshua called all the tribes, and asked them, whether they had faithfully disposed of the spoil according to the divine command, and charged them, if they knew of any transgression, they should discover it; but Achan joined with the rest in a general protestation of innocency, and kept his countenance, like the adulterous woman that eats and wipes her mouth, and says, I have done no wickedness. Nay, 5. They have put the accursed thing among their own goods, as if they had as good a title to that as to any thing they have; never expecting to be called to an account, nor designing to make restitution. All this Joshua, though a wise and vigilant ruler, knew nothing of, till God told him, who knows all the secret wickedness that is in the world, which men know nothing of. God could at this time have told him who the person was that had done this thing, but does not. (1.) To exercise the zeal of Joshua and Israel, in searching out the criminal. (2.) To give the sinner himself space to repent and make confession. Joshua, no doubt, proclaimed immediately throughout the camp, that there was such a transgression committed, upon which, if Achan had surrendered himself, and penitently owned his guilt, and prevented the scrutiny, who knows but he might have had the benefit of that law which accepted of a trespass-offering, with restitution, from those that had sinned through ignorance in the holy things of the law? Lev. 5. 15, 16. But Achan never discovering himself till the lot discovered him, evinced the hardness of his heart, and therefore he found no mercy.
III. He awakens him to inquire further into it, by telling him, 1. That this was the only ground for the controversy God had with them, this, and nothing else; so that when this accursed thing was put away, he needed not fear, all would be well, the stream of their successes, when this one obstruction was removed, would run as strong as ever. 2. That if this accursed thing were not destroyed, they could not expect the return of God's gracious presence; in plain terms, neither will I be with you any more as I have been, except ye destroy the accursed, that is, the accursed person, who is made so by the accursed thing. That which is accursed, will be destroyed; and they whom God has intrusted to bear the sword, bear it in vain, if they make it not a terror to that wickedness which brings these judgments of God on a land. By personal repentance and reformation, we destroy the accursed thing in our own hearts, and unless we do that, we must never expect the favour of the blessed God. Let all men know that it is nothing but sin that separates between them and God, and if that be not sincerely repented of and forsaken, it will separate eternally.
IV. He directs him in what method to make this inquiry and prosecution. 1. He must sanctify the people, now over-night, that is, as it is explained, he must command them to sanctify themselves, v. 13. And what can either magistrates or ministers do more toward sanctification? They must put
