DEFEAT AT AI The people conquered Jericho, the huge and fortified city; but were defeated before ‘Ai’, the little village; “There is an accursed thing in their midst.”(Joshua 7: 13) God would no more be in their midst, until they take away the corrupt yeast, and be sanctified to Him. 1- The treason of ‘Achan’ 1 2- The defeat before Ai 2 -- 5 3- Joshua, the intercessor 6 -- 9 4- The reason for the defeat 10 -- 15 5- Taking away the corrupt yeast 16 -- 26 1- The treason of Achan: “But the children of Israel committed a trespass regarding the accursed things, for Achan the son of Carmi, the son of Zabdi, the son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, took of the accursed things; so the anger of the Lord burned against the children of Israel.” (Joshua 7: 1) It is not strange, that the great conquest over Jericho would end up by the treason and the accursed deed of Achan the son of Carmi, in the midst of the people of God; as that demonstrates the horrible human nature that pays back for God’s exalted free gifts, by denial instead of thanksgiving. Before the mighty walls of Jericho, it stands in humility, waiting for God’s amazing salvation; Yet, once the walls fall down, and the enemy submits, it commits a treason against the covenant of God !! Indeed, many mighty people, who could, by grace defeat Jericho, and destroy its greatness; in the corruption of their inner heart, were defeated before the tiny village of Ai, because of the accursed thing that infiltrated into their heart. Anyway, God allowed, for the inheritance to start with such a great victory, then to be directly followed by bitter defeat, to make of that a lesson for all future generations: that the conquest is from God, and the defeat is because of our wickedness. Whenever we conquer through the divine grace, we are committed, while thanking God for His gifts, to beware, lest evil would infiltrate into us, through our negligence, to come to face defeat before sins that may seem to us small and of no 109 importance. Concerning this, the apostle Paul says: “But I discipline my body and bring it into subjection, lest, when I have preached to others, I myself should become disqualified” ( 1 Corinthians 9: 27). And for this reason the author of the songs warns us, saying: “Catch us the foxes, the little foxes that spoil the vines; For our vines have tender grapes” (Song 2: 15). It is as though, the more, a minister preaches and produces fruit in the life of others, the more he should discipline his body and bring it into submission, for fear of its fall; Whenever the grapes become tender, the vinedresser would fear more, lest the little foxes would come and spoil it ... Whenever we gain conquest inside ourselves, or in the life of others, and enjoy the divine free gifts; as we offer our thanks to God, and our trust in His divine work increases, we should beware, lest the evil one would infiltrate into us through the little foxes of transgressions. St. Mark the Hermit says: [The devil presents to us little sins, that may seem to be of no importance before our eyes; as he, otherwise, would not be able to lead us to the greater sins] 1. In the text before us (Joshua 7: 1), we notice that when Achan sinned, the anger of God befell over all the people. The scholar Origen says: [We should not ignore this phrase; for, as one person commits a sin, he would bring about God’s wrath over the whole people. How could such catastrophe happen?! When the priests, the overseers of the people, intend to look as forgiving toward the sinners, to spare themselves provoking their sharp tongues, forgetting the firmness fitting for their priesthood; by that they do not conform with what is written: “Those who are sinning, rebuke in the presence of all, that the rest also may fear” (1 Timothy 5: 20); and also, “Put away from yourselves that wicked person” (1 Corinthians 5: 13). They do not care for the commandments of the Bible concerning the sinners: “If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault between you and him alone. If he hears you, you have gained your brother. But if he will not hear you, take with you one or two more, that ‘By the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established’. And if he refuses to hear them, tell it to the Church But if he refuses even to hear the Church, let him be to you like a heathen and a tax collector” (Matthew 18: 15) 2. 2- The defeat before Ai: . 1 الفيلوكاليا (ترجمة المؤلف): 1966 ، ص 126 2 In Jos. Hom. 7: 6. 110 It was not possible to start any action toward the strongly fortified Jericho, before God proclaimed to Joshua: “I have given Jericho into your hand, its king, and the mighty men of valor.”(Joshua 6: 2) But here, as the accursed thing infiltrated into the midst of the people; and before such a little village like Ai, we do not hear God’s voice proclaiming anything to Joshua; nor Joshua consulting God before sending men to spy, or deciding the number of men to fight ... If it happened that Joshua did consult the Lord, the Lord would have forbidden him of doing anything before taking away the corruption that infiltrated unseen into his people; and that painful defeat before Ai, would not have taken place. The spies despised the village of Ai, and said to Joshua: “Do not let all the people go up, but let about two or three thousand men go up and attack Ai. Do not weary all the people there, for the people of Ai are few.” (Joshua 7: 3) Indeed the people of Ai were few; but the people of God, after He forsook them, became, not only few, but as though nothing at all. And as the wise Solomon says: “The wicked flee when no one pursues; But the righteous are bold as a lion” (Proverb 28: 1). That is what God warned His people through the prophet Moses, saying: “But it shall come to pass, if you do not obey the voice of the Lord your God .., The Lord will cause you to be defeated before your enemies; you shall go out one way against them and flee seven ways before them; and you shall become troublesome to all the kingdoms of the earth. Your carcasses shall be food for all the birds of the air and the beasts of the earth, and no one shall frighten them away” (Deuteronomy 28: 15, 25, 26). So such was the error of the spies; having looked through a human eye, and disregarded the hidden secret of their conquest; that is the sanctified life in the Lord! They assumed that two or three thousand men are capable of striking Ai; although the situation first needed the striking of the inner corruption in the people. Actually, it ended up that all the people of war were needed to go up with Joshua, and to set two ambushes of thirty thousand mighty men of valor, and about five thousand men (Joshua 8: 5, 3, 12). The men of Ai struck down about thirty-six men of the Israelites (Joshua 7: 5); which is the same figure as the number of anointments of the Sacrament of ‘Myron’ (36), by which the priest anoints all the members of a newly baptized person thirty-six times, from the top of his 111 head, down to the toes of his feet. It is as though that weak ‘Ai’ has been capable of killing all members of the body, because of the accursed things inside the heart. A wicked thought, that we think as simple and of little importance; if we surrender to it, it would cause us to lose the purity of the whole body, and may cause us to lose all our life! The fruit of all this was: “The hearts of the people melted and became like water.”(Joshua 7: 5) That was the work of sin, that destroyed the whole people, caused them to lose their courage and strength, and made their heart become like water; flowing with no one to help or support. So do not be astonished to hear the prophet Jeremiah, feeling the activity of sin, say: “O my soul, my soul! I am pained in my very heart! My heart makes a noise in me; I cannot hold my peace, because you have heard, O my soul, the sound of the trumpet, the alarm of war” (Jeremiah 4: 19). And, having carried our sins, the Lord through the prophet says: “I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint; My heart is like wax; It has melted within me” (Psalm 22: 14). How horrible sin is! 3- Joshua the intercessor: “Then Joshua tore his clothes, and fell to the earth on his face before the ark of the Lord until evening, both he and the elders of Israel, and they put dust on their heads.” (Joshua 7: 6) Joshua, who stood as an intercessor for the people before God; tore his clothes and fell on his face before the ark of God till the evening, carried a symbolic portrait of the atoning intercession of our Lord Jesus. He, before whom the heavenly hosts tremble, ‘took off the clothes of His glory’ for our sake; descended to earth; and proclaimed the perfection of His love, realizing the reconciliation on the cross, in the evening. Of Him Isaiah said: “Because He poured out His soul unto death. And He was numbered with the transgressors” (Isaiah 53: 12); and John, the beloved, says: “And if anyone sins, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. And He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only, but also for the whole world” (1 John 2: 1, 2); and the apostle Paul says: “Therefore He is also able to save to the uttermost those who come to God through Him, since He ever lives to make intercession for them” (Hebrew 7: 25). His intercession was not through tearing His clothes, or falling on His face to the earth, as Joshua did; but though the eternal living God, 112 He put on a human body, to pour out His soul to death; He carried on our transgressions and weaknesses, to have them condemned in His body. To be numbered with the transgressors, He who knows no sin offered His life for the sake of humanity that chose to harbor animosity toward Him. He, who is alone, capable of delivering Himself to death, and, at the same time, of rising again; became for us a living intercessor, to offer us to His Father, as members of His living body; to find for us a place of comfort in His divine bosom. His intercession is not just words or screams, but He brought us into Him, to be justified by His blood, and to be counted as an object of pleasure to the Father. St. Augustine says: [There is only one Savior, our Lord Jesus Christ the Son of God, who prays for our sake, prays in us, and to whom we pray; As our Priest, He prays for us; Being our Head, He prays in us; And as our God, we pray to Him] 1. 4- The secret of defeat: God proclaimed to Joshua the secret of defeat, and offered him the cure: “Get up ! Why do you lie thus on your face? Israel has sinned, and they have also transgressed My covenant which I commanded them, for they have taken some of the accursed things... They become doomed to destruction; Neither will I be with you anymore, unless you destroy the accursed from among you. Get up, sanctify the people ...There is an accursed thing in your midst, O Israel; You cannot stand before your enemies until you take away the accursed thing from among you.” (Joshua 7: 10 - 13) In these phrases, it is to be noticed: (1) God says to Joshua twice, “Get up”: In the first time He says: “ Get up; Why do you lie on your face?” and in the second, “Get up; Sanctify the people”. It is as though God the Father, seeing the Son, voluntarily bearing death, is asking Him to rise ... And through His resurrection to sanctify the people; The incarnate Son rises, to let us also rise with Him without a sin! ... The Book of Joshua is the Book of Resurrection; as without it, no inheritance will be realized for us, neither shall we have a portion in the divine promises. (2) The secret of defeat, is that the believers will remain accursed; and forsaken by God, until they take away the accursed thing from their midst. One of them, by taking for himself what is accursed, 1 On Ps. 86. 113 carried its nature, and became himself accursed, he and his people with him. Acquiring evil would give us its nature, and acquiring the sanctified, would make us saints. Whoever acquires the vain sin would become vain, and whoever acquires God would bear in him the divine life, and would have new attributes according to the image of his Creator. (3) If the secret of our defeat is having the accursed in our midst, the cure will have to bear two integrated concepts: Taking away the accursed thing from our midst, and acquiring sanctification. The negative aspect, namely taking away evil, would not be enough, but there should be the positive aspects, namely acquiring the Holy Himself. That is why God commands Joshua to take away the accursed, and get up and sanctify the people. 5- Taking away the corrupt leaven: It was impossible for the people to enjoy the sanctified risen life, unless they take away the old leaven that corrupts the whole dough (1 Corinthians 5: 6); They had to completely take away the accursed thing, to get back to enjoy the permanent company of God. Here we notice the following: (1) Unfortunately, from the same tribe that provided the Holy Virgin St. Mary, who bows her head in obedience to God, to receive the dwelling of the Word in her womb, to deliver the Savior of the world, the Lion who comes from the tribe of Judah -- comes out Achan the son of Carmi, who brought the offense to the people and almost destroyed it! Probably God allowed this, to teach us to be aware of falling, and not to belittle the offense even what seems as simple and of little importance. The tribe, which is given the promises, produced him who deserved destruction. The divine honest and free gifts, offer us hope and certainty, yet we should be careful; lest we become like Achan who saw, coveted, took, and hid (Joshua 7: 21); saying: “When I saw among the spoils a beautiful Babylonian garment, two hundred shekels of silver, and a wedge of gold weighing fifty shekels, I coveted them and took them. And they are, hidden in the earth in the midst of my tent, wit the silver under it.” (Joshua 7: 21) The offense usually begins with unsanctified seeing, then coveting, then taking, to be followed by hiding the evil in the earth, in the middle of the tent. 114 (2) God did not forgive Achan for several reasons: The first was that his behavior was the first of its kind after their entrance into Canaan; so God wanted from the beginning to give them a lesson, demonstrating the seriousness of sin, and confirming the necessity of cutting it off. That was what happened to the man who was found gathering sticks on the Sabbath day -- the first one to break the Sabbath; God’s verdict on him was: “The man must surely be put to death; all the congregation shall stone him with stones outside the camp” (Numbers 15: 35). Also that was what happened with Ananias and his wife Sapphira, the first family to lie to the Holy Spirit, in the days of the apostles (Acts 5: 3). The second reason why God did not forgive Achan, was that he had enjoyed the divine blessings, and saw by his own eyes, how a way through the Jordan was opened for them to cross; and how the walls of Jericho fell down to let them inherit; That is why his wages were bitter and firm. If he chose to wait a little, he would have got his portion of the spoils from Ai and other battles to follow, as well as the inheritance in the land of promise; but he despised God’s blessings, and cared for earthly things, to end up losing these and those. The third reason for not forgiving him, was that he did not repent, and did not confess from the beginning, but waited until God revealed the tribe, the clan, and the family that sinned (Joshua 7: 16, 17), and finally his very name; then he had to confess ... He hid his crime and did not repent, even after the people’s defeat.. Anyway, Achan became a lesson to the whole Church along the generations, that the secret of defeat in the life of a believer or a congregation, is the accursed things in their midst. St. Athanasius the apostolic says: [When Achan was accused of theft, he could not claim that he was zealous in war; and when he was condemned, the whole congregation stoned him to death] 1. Finally, he turned into an example to all generations concerning the commitment of the believer to abolish every bit of sin in his life without arguing. Joshua the son of Nun abolished every trace of Achan and his belongings; in order to demonstrate to us that we should deliver in the hands of God -- our living Jesus, our inner life and behavior, to Him; who, alone, can uproot the roots of our sins, to leave no trace of evil. Let us hold fast to the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom every offense in us will be cut off that we do not perish; remembering the advice of the Lord to us, saying: “If your right eye causes you to sin, pluck it out and cast it from you; ... and if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and cast it 1 To the Bisgops of Egypt, 10. 115 from you; for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish, than for your whole body to be cast into hell “ (Matthew 5: 29, 30). (3) The body of the crime was: a- A beautiful Babylonian garment (Joshua 7: 21); a garment imported from ‘Shinar’, the region where the tower of Babel was built (Genesis 11: 2); and where some of Jews were captivated (Isaiah 11: 11; Zechariah 5: 11). If the garment refers to the body, coveting the Babylonian garment refers to body lust to enjoy the luxuries of nations. In the Book of Ezekiel, God rebukes Judah, because her sister Israel “lusted for the Assyrians, captains and rulers, clothed most gorgeously” (Ezekiel 23: 12). Achan bore the first seed of body lust with the Gentiles; so it was imperative to cut it off from its beginning ... He defiled the body, that God created sanctified! b- Two hundred shekels of silver (Joshua 7: 16). If the garment refers to body lusts, the two hundred shekels of silver refer to love of wealth ... to acquire silver on the expense of deprived brothers. Silver also refers to the word of God; So, as the wicked man does wrong to his sanctified body, defiling it; he likewise misunderstands the word of God, and hides it underneath the ground of his tent; namely, he uses it according to an earthly concept, on the account of the tent of his body, instead of receiving it to lift him up to the heavenly places, on the account of his spirit, as well as for the salvation of his body. c- A wedge of gold (Joshua 7: 16); which refers to the tongues of heathen philosophers, that look golden and glittery. The scholar Origen says: [I do not think that stealing a little gold was a sin big enough to defile his great Church ... The wedge of gold is the corrupt thoughts of philosophers that glitter like gold. Beware, lest you would be deceived by the splendor of their workmanship, and the sweetness of their golden tongue. Remember Joshua’s command that everything gold in Jericho is accursed. If you are reading the essays of poets, that tell about gods, do not be charmed by their eloquence; because if you take them to your tent, namely, let their teachings enter your heart, all the Church would be defiled. That was what the desperate Valentine and Basilides did; they stole the golden wedge of Jericho, and ventured to transfer the corrupt principles of philosophy to the Church, to defile the whole Church of God] 1. 1 In Jos. Hom. 7: 7. 116 d- Fifty shekels: The figure 50 refers to the spirit of freedom and unity. In the tabernacle of the Meeting, the two curtains were coupled to one another by 50 loops on each side (Exodus 26: 4, 5); all the loops were coupled together by 50 clasps of gold, a reference to the secret of unity between the two peoples (the Jews and the Gentiles), through the descent of the Holy Spirit on the day of the Pentecost; when they gained the Spirit of freedom in Jesus Christ, who also grants the unity. In the Jubilee -- the fiftieth year -- all slaves were liberated, the mortgaged land was redeemed and everyone enjoyed freedom ... Here, Achan received freedom to hide it underneath the ground of his tent; namely, used the sacred freedom on account of his body, and his worldly interests, to turn into looseness. In short what Achan did was that he defiled the sanctities and possibilities given to him by God for his comfort and peace, and used them for his self-destruction and perishment. He used the body (the garment) for lust, instead of making it a helper to the soul in the holy life; used the word of God, with a sinful mind, instead of getting lifted by it up to the heavenly places; used the mind in the glittering unconstructive philosophies, instead of using it for the glory of God; and used freedom, as a tool for the body, instead of using it, unhindered, as a secret of its setting forth to the bosom of God the Father.
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