Hosea 2:14-15
14 “Therefore, behold, I will allure her
and lead her to the wilderness,
and speak to her tenderly.
15 There I will give back her vineyards
and make the Valley of Achor
into a gateway of hope.
There she will respond as she did
in the days of her youth,
as in the day she came up out of Egypt.
Hosea 2:14 Hosea 2:14-15, Joshua 6, 7; John 11:50
Joshua 6:17-19
17 Now the city and everything in it must be devoted to the LORD for destruction. Only Rahab the prostitute and all those with her in her house will live, because she hid the spies we sent.
18 But keep away from the things devoted to destruction, lest you yourself be set apart for destruction. If you take any of these, you will set apart the camp of Israel for destruction and bring disaster upon it.
19 For all the silver and gold and all the articles of bronze and iron are holy to the LORD; they must go into His treasury.”
Joshua 7:1
The Israelites, however, acted unfaithfully regarding the things devoted to destruction. Achan son of Carmi, the son of Zabdi, the son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, took some of what was set apart. So the anger of the LORD burned against the Israelites.
Joshua 7:11-12
11 Israel has sinned; they have transgressed My covenant that I commanded them, and they have taken some of what was devoted to destruction. Indeed, they have stolen and lied, and they have put these things with their own possessions.
12 This is why the Israelites cannot stand against their enemies. They will turn their backs and run from their enemies, because they themselves have been set apart for destruction. I will no longer be with you unless you remove from among you whatever is devoted to destruction.
Romans 5:12
Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, so also death was passed on to all men, because all sinned.
James 2:10
Whoever keeps the whole law but stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it.
Joshua 7:13-14
13 Get up and consecrate the people, saying, ‘Consecrate yourselves for tomorrow, for this is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: Among you, O Israel, there are things devoted to destruction. You cannot stand against your enemies until you remove them.
14 In the morning you must present yourselves tribe by tribe. The tribe that the LORD selects shall come forward clan by clan, and the clan that the LORD selects shall come forward family by family, and the family that the LORD selects shall come forward man by man.
Joshua 7:18
And he had the family of Zabdi come forward man by man, and Achan son of Carmi, the son of Zabdi, the son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, was selected.
Joshua 7:20-21
20 “It is true,” Achan replied, “I have sinned against the LORD, the God of Israel. This is what I did:
21 When I saw among the spoils 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.”
A cloak from Shinar
Two Hundered Shekels of Silver
A Gold Bar of Fifty Shekels
Exhaustive—Found the Guilty
Transparent—In the Open
Complete—Achen and His Family Removed
Joshua 7:24-26
24 Then Joshua, together with all Israel, took Achan son of Zerah, the silver, the cloak, the bar of gold, his sons and daughters, his oxen and donkeys and sheep, his tent, and everything else he owned, and brought them to the Valley of Achor.
25 “Why have you brought this trouble upon us?” said Joshua. “Today the LORD will bring trouble upon you!” And all Israel stoned him to death. Then they stoned the others and burned their bodies.
26 And they heaped over Achan a large pile of rocks that remains to this day. So the LORD turned from His burning anger. Therefore that place is called the Valley of Achor to this day.
Hosea 2:14-15
14 “Therefore, behold, I will allure her
and lead her to the wilderness,
and speak to her tenderly.
15 There I will give back her vineyards
and make the Valley of Achor
into a gateway of hope.
There she will respond as she did
in the days of her youth,
as in the day she came up out of Egypt.
God would call Israel to the wilderness again
Valley of Achor becomes A Gateway of Hope
Achan, the man who walked with his eyes and not with faith, had to die.
One man had to die so the people could enter God's blessing
John 11:50
You do not realize that it is better for you that one man die for the people than that the whole nation perish.
Jesus took the role of Achan, but not because He Himself had lived a fleshly life or because He had robbed God. We were the ones who did that.
As a gift, God gave us the valley of Achor, the death of a man in our place, so that we might press on to the fullness of God's blessing. In the cross of Jesus the words of Hosea are fulfilled. The hill of Calvary is the valley of Achor, and the death of a condemned man is the door of hope for us all.
–McClister, Beneath The Cross: I Will Alure Her
Hosea 2:14-15, Joshua 6, 7; John 11:50