Joshua 7 (résumé): Achan's Sin

God forbid the taking of spoil from the conquering of Jericho, but Achan, of the tribe of Judah, disobeyed. Achan kept a beautiful robe from Babylonia, 2.3 kilos of silver and 0.6 kilos of gold and this severely angered God, who withdrew his backing of Israel as a result. So it was that when the over confident Israelite army sent just 3,000 men to try and conquer the city of Ai they were routed and repelled losing 36 men in the battle. Joshua was shocked and dismayed so he went to ask God for the reason for the defeat. God told Joshua of the sin in the camp and that it would have to be discovered and dealt with for things to be able to return to normal. So Joshua selected different clans and families by lot and through this means identified the culprit Achan who confessed his sin. Achan was stoned to death together with his family, livestock, tent and the spoil from Jericho which he had kept. Then they were all burnt and covered with a memorial pile of rocks to abate the anger of God.