“And ye, in any wise keep yourselves from the accursed thing, lest ye make yourselves accursed, when ye take of the accursed thing, and make the camp of Israel a curse, and trouble it.”
My Notes
What Does Joshua 6:18 Mean?
Before Jericho's walls fall, Joshua delivers a critical warning: stay away from the "accursed thing" (cherem—anything devoted to destruction, dedicated to God by being destroyed). The devoted items belong to God. Taking them doesn't just steal from God. It makes the thief accursed—and transfers the curse to the entire camp. One person's taking contaminates the whole community.
The chain of contamination is explicit: you take the accursed thing → you become accursed → the camp becomes a curse → the camp is troubled. The sin doesn't stay with the sinner. It migrates. The individual choice produces communal consequences. Achan's sin in chapter 7 will prove this chain precisely: one man takes a garment and some gold, and Israel loses the next battle, thirty-six men die, and the nation is paralyzed until the hidden sin is exposed.
The word cherem carries the idea of something devoted—irrevocably given to God, usually by destruction. The devoted items aren't just forbidden. They're sacred in their destruction. They belong to God the way a burnt offering belongs to God: by being consumed. Taking what was devoted to destruction is stealing from God's altar—redirecting what was meant for Him to your own tent.
Reflection Questions
- 1.Is there something in your 'tent' that belongs to God—something you've taken that was devoted to Him?
- 2.If one person's hidden sin contaminates the whole camp, what might your hidden choices be costing your community?
- 3.The cherem was sacred by destruction. What has God asked you to destroy—to release, to surrender—that you're holding onto?
- 4.Achan's taking caused thirty-six deaths. How seriously do you take the communal consequences of private sin?
Devotional
Don't touch the devoted thing. It belongs to God. Taking it doesn't just steal from Him. It makes you a curse. And your curse contaminates the camp. One person's hidden sin brings consequences on everyone. The individual choice produces communal disaster.
The chain is specific and unbreakable: you take → you become accursed → the camp becomes cursed → the camp is troubled. The contamination migrates from the individual to the community without stopping. Achan will prove this in the next chapter: one man's hidden garment and gold cause thirty-six deaths and a military defeat that demoralizes the entire nation. The connection between private sin and public consequence is direct, measurable, and devastating.
The cherem—the devoted thing—belongs to God by destruction. It's not just forbidden fruit. It's sacred in its destruction. The items from Jericho were dedicated to God by being burned. Taking them is stealing from God's fire. Redirecting what was meant for the altar to your own tent. The theft isn't horizontal (stealing from Jericho). It's vertical (stealing from God).
If you've been taking what belongs to God—redirecting what was devoted to Him toward your own purposes—the Jericho warning applies. The accursed thing doesn't just affect you. It contaminates your camp—your family, your community, your team. The hidden thing in your tent that nobody knows about is already producing consequences that everybody experiences. The camp's trouble traces back to your taking. The trouble won't stop until the taking is exposed and the devoted thing is dealt with.
Commentary
Trusted original commentary from respected historical Bible scholars and theologians.
And you in any wise keep yourselves from the accursed thing,.... From laying hold on, secreting, and enjoying as their…
The people had religiously observed the orders given them concerning the besieging of Jericho, and now at length Joshua…
in any wise keep yourselves A warning, which Achan neglected to the destruction of himself and his family. See chap. 7.
Cross References
Related passages throughout Scripture