Why Achan's family punished along with Achan after Achan sinned?

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Curt Hayashida
member, Community Bible Church (Non-denominational)
Vallejo, CA

It would appear that they died along with him. But it might be more correct to say that his punishment was to have his name utterly blotted out in Israel--which affected his posterity rather immediately.

There are few occasions in the Bible where God extends the judgmental consequences of one man's sin unto those who are in federal union, or closer federal union, with him. Beside Adam's sin, there is Achan's sin, David's sin of numbering the people, Saul's sin of murdering the Gibeonites, Eli's sin of not disciplining his sons. And there are probably others, depending on one's interpretation of the events.

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Rev. Bruce G. Buchanan
ChainOLakes Presbyterian Church, CentralLake, MI


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Passages like this one, or the killing of the Canaanite infants, become easier for me to get my head around when I remember that it is not really that unusual for God to kill someone. In fact, the general rule is that God kills every single person in history (Enoch and Elijah being commonly understood as exceptions, and folks like Lazarus getting a double whammy).

Speaking of animals, but also I believe of man:

Psa 104:29 When you hide your face, they are dismayed; when you take away their breath, they die and return to their dust.
Psa 104:30 When you send forth your Spirit, they are created, and you renew the face of the ground.

God doesn't owe us anything. As Creator, he gave us life, and he can take it away any time he wants to. And if he does it when we are mere infants, blessed be his Name, and if he waits until we're 100 years old, blessed be his Name.

Another critical observation here, and also with the Canaanite infants, is that this isn't the general rule of God's Law. The general rule is:

Deu 24:16 "Fathers shall not be put to death because of their children, nor shall children be put to death because of their fathers. Each one shall be put to death for his own sin.

I think (and perhaps others more knowledgeable can lend a yea or nay to this) than in those somewhat rare scriptural cases where children were put to death for the fathers, it was by a special prophetic directive, i.e. God specially said to do it, for his own reasons. In such a case, God's people didn't need any other reason to carry out the order. God's command was sufficient. But for us to emulate that as a general rule would be wrong.

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AV
Baptist
VA

There is a perspective of the covenant we are being taught repeatedly in Scripture. Achan was the representative of his family; as he perished, they likewise perished. All who are in Adam will perish, but those who are in Christ shall be saved.

In an individualistic Western mindset, that's not too appealing. On the other hand, Scripture says that the goods from Jericho were concealed in (under?) the floor of his tent. It is difficult to believe that his family did witness him bringing these things in, much less not know they were in the tent. If so, they were complicit in his sin. And it is also important to realize that our own personal sins are rarely "personal"; they often have drastic consequences that can affect others. There is no such thing as a harmless sin.

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Tim Phillips
Pastor, Midlane Park Presbyterian Church (ARP)
Louisville, KY
Husband of Scottish Lass
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This punishment has also to be seen in the context of original sin, it is a just judgement of God.

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Mike
London City Presbyterian Church
London
England

"Surely, we wish to be orthodox, but we must first learn what real orthodoxy is. Surely, we wish to be progressive, but we must first have a basis to progress from."

To piggy-back on that, he was essentially guilty in two ways-

1. Original sin as he just stated and God has the right to kill anyone based on His curse of death for all who are found in Adam.

2. As the Rev.'s just states, Achan was their Federal head in a more specific way than Adam. As Adam brought condemnation on all of us, so Achan brought it on his family.

You can see by what others have said then, even if Achan did nothing, God would be perfectly just in killing them all.

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Andrew DeShazo
Husband of Kathryn
Father of Phillip-Giles B. DeShazo
Deacon
Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church, Memphis, TN
"From out of the depth of unbroken Infinfity arose the Question, "Who am I?" And to that Question there is the answer, "I am God!" -Meher Baba, died 1969.

"I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." Christ, died 33 AD, ressurected three days later.