How does Joshua 7:20 connect to the commandment against coveting in Exodus 20:17? Setting the backdrop Joshua 7 records Israel’s first defeat in the Promised Land. The loss at Ai exposes hidden sin within the camp, driving Joshua to seek the LORD. The spotlight turns to Achan. Tracing the sin: Achan’s confession “‘It is true. I have sinned against the LORD, the God of Israel. This is what I did:’” (Joshua 7:20) Joshua 7:21 adds the details: • “I saw among the spoil a beautiful cloak from Shinar, two hundred shekels of silver, and a bar of gold weighing fifty shekels. • I coveted them and took them. • They are hidden in the ground inside my tent, with the silver underneath.” The heart issue: coveting defined Exodus 20:17: “You shall not covet your neighbor’s house. You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his manservant or maidservant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.” Key elements of coveting: • An inward, unchecked desire for what God has not given. • A focus on “anything that belongs to your neighbor.” • A violation that begins in the heart before any outward act occurs (cf. James 1:14-15). Linking the two passages • Achan’s own words—“I coveted”—echo the commandment’s prohibition, showing a direct transgression of Exodus 20:17. • The items belonged to the LORD by decree (Joshua 6:18-19); Achan treated them as personal property, effectively coveting what belonged to another. • The sequence “saw → coveted → took” mirrors the pattern of sin introduced in Genesis 3:6 and warned against in 1 John 2:16. Consequences of coveting • Personal: Achan and his household faced death (Joshua 7:24-26). • Communal: Thirty-six soldiers died; the nation’s progress stalled; God’s presence was withheld until the sin was judged (Joshua 7:11-12). • Spiritual: Coveting proved as destructive as idolatry or murder, underscoring that the Ten Commandments guard both heart and community (cf. Romans 7:7-8). Lessons for today • Coveting is not a private matter; hidden desires inevitably surface in visible acts. • Victory and fellowship with God depend on heart obedience as much as outward conformity (Psalm 66:18). • Contentment, not accumulation, brings rest (Hebrews 13:5; 1 Timothy 6:6-10). Summary connection Joshua 7:20-21 illustrates Exodus 20:17 in living color: Achan’s confession reveals how coveting begins in the heart, leads to theft and deception, and invites judgment on both individual and community. The episode urges wholehearted obedience to the commandment that guards the heart’s desires before they birth destructive deeds. |
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