Joshua 7:10-15

Joshua 7:10-15

[10] And the LORD  said  unto Joshua,  Get thee up;  wherefore liest  thou thus upon thy face?  [11] Israel  hath sinned,  and they have also transgressed  my covenant  which I commanded  them: for they have even taken  of the accursed thing,  and have also stolen,  and dissembled  also, and they have put  it even among their own stuff.  [12] Therefore the children  of Israel  could  not stand  before  their enemies,  but turned  their backs  before  their enemies,  because they were accursed:  neither will I be with you any more,  except  ye destroy  the accursed  from among  [13] Up,  sanctify  the people,  and say,  Sanctify  yourselves against to morrow:  for thus saith  the LORD  God  of Israel,  There is an accursed thing  in the midst  of thee, O Israel:  thou canst  not stand  before  thine enemies,  until ye take away  the accursed thing  from among  [14] In the morning  therefore ye shall be brought  according to your tribes:  which the LORD  taketh  shall come  according to the families  which the LORD  shall take  shall come  by households;  which the LORD  shall take  shall come  man  [15] And it shall be, that he that is taken  with the accursed thing  shall be burnt  with fire,  he and all that he hath: because he hath transgressed  the covenant  of the LORD,  and because he hath wrought  folly  in Israel. 

What does Joshua 7:10-15 Mean?

Contextual Meaning

God reminded Joshua that he should not look for the reason for Israel"s defeat in God but in Israel.
"The first three clauses [1] describe the sin in its relation to God, as a grievous offense; the three following according to its true character, as a great, obstinate, and reckless crime." [2]
Israel resorted to the casting of lots when no eyewitness could testify against a criminal (cf. 1 Samuel 14:41-42; Jonah 1:7; Proverbs 18:18). Probably the high priest used the Urim and Thummim to identify Achan (cf. Numbers 27:21).
The burning of a criminal after his stoning was one way of emphasizing the wickedness of his crime ( Leviticus 20:14; cf. Deuteronomy 13:15-16). It was a "disgraceful thing" ( Joshua 7:15) to steal something under the ban (devoted to God).