The Israelites were very happy about their victory at Jericho. From their tents at Gilgal they could see the smoke rising above the ruins of the burning city. They knew God had given them this great victory, and they brought the gold and silver and iron and brass which they found in Jericho and placed it in the tabernacle at Gilgal. These treasures belonged to God.
While the people were rejoicing about their victory and about the riches that they had brought to the tabernacle, one man among them was uneasy. He tried to act as cheerfully as his neighbors acted, but all the while he did not feel cheerful. No one who is trying to cover up a wrong deed can feel cheerful. And Achan, for this was the man’s name, was trying to hide his sin. Indeed he had buried it out of sight down in the ground beneath his tent floor. No one except his sons and his daughters knew about that buried sin—so Achan supposed. And his sons and his daughters had promised never to tell. None of the Israelites knew that anything was lying hidden in the ground under the floor of Achan’s tent.
But God knew all about that buried sin. And God was very much displeased with Achan. He had commanded that no one should keep anything from the ruins at Jericho. And Achan knew about that command. Yet when he saw a very beautiful garment in one of the houses of Jericho, he thought, “This garment is too beautiful to be burned up with this city. I will keep it for myself. No one need know where I got it.” Then he saw some silver and a shining piece of gold. These he also wanted for himself, so he wrapped them carefully together and brought them to his own tent-home. There he dug down into the ground beneath his floor and buried his stolen treasure. No wonder Achan did not feel happy!
Soon after the victory at Jericho, the Israelites made an attack against another city. This second city was called Ai, and it stood on top of a hill. The spies whom Joshua had sent to Ai came back safely and told their brave leader that only a few soldiers would need to fight against that city, because it was not nearly so large and strong as Jericho had been.
This time only about three thousand men went out to battle. But they had not been gone long when they came hurrying back, not to tell about another great victory—oh, no!—for their enemies had chased them away and had even killed a few of their brave men.
When Joshua heard the sad news he tore his clothes and fell down on the ground before the ark of the covenant. He thought God had left him alone to tight with the Israelites against their many enemies. And now all the men of Israel were frightened because the men of Ai had been stronger than they. Joshua prayed and asked God why this trouble had happened. And God said, “I can not help the Israelites when they allow sin to lie covered up in their camp. I strictly commanded that no one should take anything for himself from Jericho, and some one has dared to dis-obey. If you will destroy that wicked person, I will help you again to drive your enemies away.”
The next day Joshua searched for the man Who had disobeyed God at Jericho. And in the tribe of Judah he found the guilty man. He took Achan and his sons and his daughters and brought them to a valley outside of the camp. There the Israelites threw stones at them and killed them and burned them up. And everything that belonged to Achan, and the stolen treasures which he had hidden away they brought out to this valley and burned to ashes. Then they piled a heap of stones above the ashes, that every one seeing the heap might remember how God punished the man who tried to hide his sin.
After this God spoke to Joshua again and said, “Do not be afraid of your enemies at Ai, for I will go with you. “Take a small army as before, but first send other men by night to hide in the woods behind Ai. When the king of Ai and his soldiers shall see you coming with a few men, they will rush out to drive you away as they did the first time. Then your men who are hiding behind the city can enter the gate and burn the city while the king and his soldiers are gone to chase you away.”
Joshua was careful to obey the words of the Lord, and when the king of Ai and his soldiers came running out of the city to drive the Israelites down the hill and away toward their camp at Gilgal, Joshua raised his spear high in the air. The men who were hiding behind Ai then came out of their hiding-place and entered the city and set fire to it. But Joshua’s men ran away as if they were frightened, and the king of Ai and his soldiers followed them. Perhaps they thought!, “What cowardly men these Israelites are!” But when they turned to go back home they saw that Joshua had caught them in a trap, for their home was burning behind them. And another army of Israelites was coming from the smoking ruins of their home city. So the people of Ai were destroyed, and all their gold and silver and entitle were taken by the Israelites. And God let the Israelites keep these riches for themselves.