Joshua 7
quote:
24 Then Joshua, together with all Israel, took Achan son of Zerah, the silver, the robe, the gold wedge, his sons and daughters, his cattle, donkeys and sheep, his tent and all that he had, to the Valley of Achor. 25 Joshua said, "Why have you brought this trouble on us? The LORD will bring trouble on you today."
Then all Israel stoned him, and after they had stoned the rest, they burned them.
This happens because Achan has taken things for himself that were supposed to be given to the L
ORD (i.e., destroyed) after the sacking of Jericho. After God reveals to Joshua (through a long, drawn-out process, IMHO) that Achan is the culprit, and Achan confesses to his sin, he, his family, and all their property are destroyed.
My question is why? Giving Achan the death penalty for stealing loot from God seems extreme (though I guess it's similar to what happened to Ananias and Sapphira in Acts), but why the whole family, including the children and animals? Were they all in it together—a crime family (a precursor to the Mafia, if you will)? If so, why go through all the rigmarole to find out who they were? It's hard to imagine that an entire family of crooks could go wandering through the desert with other wanderers for any length of time without arousing suspicion.
Or is this simply another reason why Joshua as not regarded is historically accurate?
Unless there is some desire to approach this topic from the question in the last paragraph above (thus putting it in the Accuracy and Inerrancy forum), I believe this should go in Bible Study.