Something had gone terribly wrong. The people of Israel had been routed by the much small army of Ai, and 36 of their men had died in the process. And to make matters worse, Joshua and the leadership of Israel placed the blame for their loss on God, assuming that He had somehow abandoned them. But in Joshua 7:10-26, we are going to see that the problem was theirs, not God's. The fault was theirs. Someone had violated the command of God and taken plunder from the city of Jericho that was supposed to have been dedicated to God and placed in His treasury. One man sinned and the entire nation suffered. A single individual got greedy and the whole community was punished for his transgression. And while we may choose to label the response on God's part as unfair and a bit over-reactive, Joshua and the people were going to learn an invaluable lesson about the danger of sin and the holiness of God. One man's decision to disobey God had devastating consequences on the family of God. Sin is contagious and infects the corporate community like a cancer. So, God demanded that Achan be purged and the sin be atoned for.
