XV THE WEDGE OF GOLD

HERE was a soldier in the army of Joshua whose name was Achan. He had taken part in the siege of Jericho. He had marched before the Ark around the city; he had joined in with all his might when the army shouted with a great shout; and he had rushed with the others into the streets when the walls fell flat.

Now Joshua had given strict orders that no man should take anything for himself. All the gold and silver and whatever else was of value was to be saved for the Lord: it was to be put into the common treasury. But Achan had stolen something.

The citizens of Jericho were neither strong nor brave to fight, but they were rich. The sun beat down upon the town, and the mist came drifting in from the river, and it was very hot there, and the heat made the people weak; but they lived in handsome houses, and wore fine clothes every day, and had money to spend. To Achan, who had been born in the wilderness, and had never known any other roof than the top of a tent, and had never seen a city in all his life, the houses of Jericho seemed like the magic treasure houses of the fairy stories.

So when Achan came with the other soldiers, running though the Jericho streets, and breaking into the houses, he looked about him with great surprise. And when, at last, in one house he found a wedge of gold, it blazed in his eyes like the sun shining in the clear sky at noon. Beside the gold was a glittering pile of two hundred pieces of silver, and a splendid cloak made in Babylon, stiff with embroidery and colored like a jewel. And Achan was so dazzled by these riches that he did not see the difference between right and wrong. He took them for his own. Under his gown he hid them, and back he hurried to his tent, and then he dug a hole in the earth in the middle of the tent and buried them.

The next day, Joshua sent two spies to visit the next city, which was called Ai. And they came back and reported that Ai was only a small town, and that there was no need to send the whole army to take it. Three thousand men, they said, would be enough. Now Ai was built upon a hill. So up the soldiers climbed, expecting a quick and easy victory, but the men of Ai came out to meet them like a pack of bears and tigers, and the men of Israel turned their backs like scared sheep, and ran away down the hill as fast as they could go, and the men of Ai after them. So it was a great defeat.

And Joshua was troubled exceedingly, and he and all his captains tore their clothes and threw dust upon their heads, and lay down on the ground before the Ark all day; for that was the custom when men were in great distress of mind.

And as the night came on, Joshua cried, “O Lord God, why hast thou brought us into this land to give us into the hands of our enemies to destroy us? O Lord, what shall I say when the men of Israel turn their backs before their enemies?”

And God said, “Get up, Joshua. Why do you lie upon the ground? There is a thief in the camp. One of your soldiers has disobeyed your orders. Find him, and punish him; then shall you have victory instead of defeat.”

So the first thing the next morning, Joshua made the army pass before him in a long procession, tribe after tribe, and he chose the tribe of Judah. Then he made the tribe of Judah pass before him, family by family, and he chose the family of Zerah. Then he made the family of Zerah pass before him, household by household, and he chose the household of Carmi. Then he made the household of Carmi pass before him, man by man, and he chose Achan. And there was Achan discovered before all the people.

And Joshua said, “My son, tell me what you have done. Do not hide anything from me.”

And Achan answered, “I have sinned against the Lord God of Israel. When we took Jericho, I saw a shining wedge of gold, and a goodly garment, and a pile of silver pieces, and I coveted them and carried them away and hid them in my tent. There they are, buried in the earth.”

So Joshua sent messengers, and they ran to Achan’s tent, and there they found even as Achan had said. And they took the gold and silver and the garment and brought them to Joshua. And Joshua led Achan apart into a valley, and said, “Why hast thou troubled Israel? The Lord shall trouble thee this day.” And Joshua commanded, and the soldiers stoned Achan with stones until he died, and a great heap of stones was piled upon his body.

Then Joshua attacked Ai again. But this time he was more careful. He sent a great company of soldiers by night into an ambush behind the town. And in the morning he marched up the hill, and when the men of Ai came out again, very bold and fierce, he pretended to be frightened and made his soldiers run away, so that the men of Ai ran after them. All the men of Ai ran out of the town

SO THEY STONED ACHAN

after the men of Israel. Then suddenly Joshua stopped and lifted up his spear, and the soldiers in the ambush saw it and they ran into Ai and began to burn the town. And the men of Ai looked back, and there was the whole town on fire. So they were between two armies. The army of the ambush was at the top of the hill, and the army which had pretended to run away was at the bottom. Thus the men of Ai were defeated with a great defeat.