Posted by George [GeorgeJParrishJr] on April 04, 1999 at 12:52:46 {th2VaRoznY/CPYT8orz2rCC1odI6Hg}:
Then Joshua said to Achan, "My son, I implore you, give glory to the LORD, the God of Israel, and give praise to Him; and tell me now what you have done. Do not hide it from me." So Achan answered Joshua and said, "Truly, I have sinned against the LORD, the God of Israel, and this is what I did: when I saw among the spoil a beautiful mantle from Shinar and two hundred shekels of silver and a bar of gold fifty shekels in weight, then I coveted them and took them; and behold, they are concealed in the earth inside my tent with the silver underneath it." - Joshua 7:19-21; New American Standard Bible.
Achan confessed his sin and punishment was forthcoming. But the various texts present slightly different accounts of what happened next.
Please consider:
"And Joshua took Achar the son of Zara, and brought him to the valley of Achor, and his sons, and his daughters, and his calves, and his asses, and all his sheep, and his tent, and all his property, and all the people were with him; and he brought them to Emec Achor. And Joshua said to Achar, Why hast thou destroyed us? the Lord destroy thee as at this day. And all Israel stoned him with stones. And they set up over him a great heap of stones; and the Lord ceased from his fierce anger. Therefore he called the place Emecachor until this day." - The Septuagint; L. Brenton.
"And Joshua and all Israel with him took Achar the son of Zerah and the silver and the tapestry and the wedge of gold and his sons and his daughters and his oxen and his asses and his sheep and his tent and all that he had; and they brought them to the valley of Achar. And Joshua said to him, Why have you troubled us? The LORD shall trouble you this day. And all Israel stoned him with stones, both him and all that he had, and burned them with fire. And they raised over him a great heap of stones which remain to this day. So the LORD turned from his fierce anger. Therefore the name of that place is called the Valley of Achar, to this day." - Holy Bible from the ancient Eastern Text; G. Lamsa.
"Then Joshua and all Israel with him, took Achan the son of Zerah, the silver, the mantle, the bar of gold, his sons, his daughters, his oxen, his donkeys, his sheep, his tent and all that belonged to him; and they brought them up to the valley of Achor. And Joshua said, "Why have you troubled us? The LORD will trouble you this day." And all Israel stoned them with stones; and they burned them with fire after they had stoned them with stones. And they raised over him a great heap of stones that stands to this day, and the LORD turned from the fierceness of His anger. Therefore the name of that place has been called the valley of Achor to this day. - New American Standard Bible.
The Insight book says, that Achan's family "could hardly have been ignorant of what he had done." This reasoning is probably correct. That being the case his family was stoned, not for stealing what belonged to God, but for keeping it a secret and bringing God's wrath upon the whole congregation. Thus, the principle is set forth that no one is to protect others who are guilty of sinning against God even if they be members of the same family and congregation.
What will happen to Jehovah's Witnesses (and those who support them) who know that the Achan class of the Governing Body has buried the truth about Jesus in their tent at Bethel, New York?
George J. Parrish Jr.