Achan sinned, and the consequences of his sin affected the community.  Yahweh was not with Israel until the matter had been cleared. 

Similarly, we must realize that our actions affect not only ourselves but our community.  It is the responsibility of the community to deal with any member's actions which negatively impact it (1Cor 5:6,7).

7:21      Achan’s sin is likened to that of Eve – Gen 2:6 ‘saw’ ‘coveted’ – (desired) ‘took’. So we see one of what will be come a number of occasions in Scripture when others emulate Eve’s sin.

7:1,19,20,21,22,23,24,25,26 - v1 - Achan took some of the devoted things; v19-26- Achan admits his guilt but all Israel stoned him in the Valley of Achor (NIV notes "Achor" means "trouble"); v24 - an interesting note is Achan was the son of Zerah and we remember  (Gen 38:28-30) Zerah had a scarlet chord on his wrist and was thus a sign of Christ's sacrifice applying; Hos 2:14,15,19,20,23 - perhaps Achan will be in the kingdom as the valley of Achor is called here the Valley of Hope, thus the scarlet chord perhaps applies to Achan too.

7:5,6,7,8,10 - Joshua becomes depressed and somewhat goes to pieces after an unexpected defeat. In v10 the Lord says "Stand up!" thus providing practical advice for us when we are depressed, disappointed, despondent, etc. that we are to pick ourselves up, be active, and not wallow in an imobilized state that will only make our depression worse...naturally, this is not to suggest that medical intervention may not be necessary in some situations.

V.2 After the sacking of Jericho, the next step was to penetrate into the hills above. Accordingly, spies went up the mountain pass to view the country. The precise site of Ai, or Hai, is pointed out to us in Gen 12:8, Gen 13:3

7:11 Whilst it was just Achan who had taken the spoil from Jericho as far as God was concerned all the nation had been involved. –‘Israel hath sinned’ ‘they’ ‘their’. That God did nothing immediately and the whole nation suffered when they came to take Ai indicates that some at least in the nation were aware of what Achan had did but had said nothing to Joshua.

7:16     Whilst the selection process was taking place Achan clearly knew that he was the one to blame – unless he had persuaded himself that his behaviour was not sinful. So he must have known that he would be found out, yet he remained silent. How often do we, when our heart convict us, remain silent?

V.1 The injunction had been made not to take any personal booty from Jericho  (6:17-19). 

In the very next campaign, against Ai, Yahweh would allow His people to take personal booty  (8:2,27).

The tale of two brothers

When you think about how many people are mentioned in the Bible, you begin to realise how little is said about each. God is selective with what He tells us because He's making specific, important points for us to learn. So no word is lost in the scriptures. So what does God mean by calling Achan "the son of Zerah" in v24?

In Gen 38:27-30 we have the tale of twin brothers. As they were being born, one was coming out first, but drew back (Zerah). One was last but struggled to come out first (Perez). In this chapter a big deal is made of the firstborn, and of two phrases in particular. A scarlet thread is placed around the wrist of Zerah as he came out: but then he drew back. Perez was last but broke through. In Hebrews we are told that only those who draw near to God will be saved (Heb 10:22) and those who draw back will be destroyed (Heb 10:39). The rest of the chapter mentions Achan in detail (Heb 10:26-31). There is, then, in scripture a clear commentary on the birth of these boys. They represent those who draw near/break through to God, or draw back from Him, even though at the time they knew nothing of it.

The lesson for us is clear. If we draw near to God in faith we will be accepted, like Jesus the son of Perez (Matt 1:3-16). If, however, we come to know God and accept Jesus His son, and then turn back, we will perish as Achan the son of Zerah (Heb 10:28-29).

Isaiah	Language	Luke
11:2	'spirit of wisdom'	2:40
11:2	'understanding'	2:47

The two fold use of this verse in Luke where it is applied to Jesus further confirms our understanding that this chapter speaks of Messiah. In particular we learn something of his childhood from this part of Isaiah 11. On reading the chapter it will be seen that the chapter speaks of his kingdom ( 11:4) and the way he will judge the world (11:4) and even the involvement of the gentiles in his kingdom (11:10)

11:9  The earth being full of the knowledge of the earth develops the assurance that God gave to Israel as they were turned back into the wilderness Num 14:21

V.1 The Branch is a clear reference to the Messiah, Jesus.  The Hebrew word for Branch is netzar.  Matthew quotes the prophets as having called Jesus a Nazarene (Matt 2:23).  However, there seems not to be a reference in the Old Testament that qualifies this.  It is true that Jesus' home town was Nazareth and, therefore, He was a Nazarene.  But where is the prophetical reference?  It is right here in Isaiah 11:1. Netzar is the root word for Nazarene (and also Nazareth).  

11:4  "With righteousness shall he judge" is quoted in Rev 19:11 showing that this is speaking of Jesus at his return.

11:12 The ‘ensign’ is not a flag or some such thing. The word has been used already in verse :10 and clearly is speaking of Jesus when he returns to the earth.

V.2 Jesus was given the Holy Spirit without measure (John 3:34).

V.5 Allusion is made here to the girdle of the High Priest which keeps intact His holy clothing (Exo 28:4).  The Lord wants us to do our best to keep our garments clean (holy and intact) (Rev 16:15). Nevertheless our own righteousness is like filthy clothing (Isa 64:6).  But because of the righteousness of Jesus, our High Priest, we can be covered.  And so, we can be presented faultless (without spot or blemish on our garments) before Him at the judgment (Jude 1:23-25).

Vs.11-13 When Jesus returns to earth, he will gather the Jews to the Land of Israel.

V.14 The enemies of Israel will be defeated, including the Palestinians (Philistines).  Jordan will be subject to Israel.   

Vs.15,16 Yahweh will create a holy highway to allow passage from north to south (Isa 19:23; 35:8).

11:4 ‘With the breath of his lips shall he slay the wicked’ is quoted by Paul -1Thess 2:8– showing that these words spoken by Isaiah so long ago are speaking of the time associated with the return of Christ.

As we saw with Achan, disobedience was met with harsh punishment. The laws of Christ are more merciful: if one sins, s/he can be forgiven.  However, this is not to be taken lightly (Rom 6:15).  It is the responsibility of the ecclesia to admonish with a view to recovery (vs.6,14,15). Sometimes ecclesias fail to take appropriate action for fear of being seen as judgmental.  This permissiveness is contrary to scripture. 

3:1 Having spoken about the way that he prays for the brethren and sisters in Thessalonica a number of times in both letters Paul now seeks the prayers of the brethren and sisters for him. Prayer for each other is a two way thing and builds fellowship.

3:3 Paul draws on Jesus’ words in his prayer – John 17:15 – when he says that the lord will keel the brethren from evil.

LET GOD DIRECT YOUR HEART INTO LOVE - v.5

2Thess 3:5 - "the Lord direct your hearts into the love of God"

John 13:35 - "By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another. "

Col 3:14 - "And above all these things put on charity, which is the bond of perfectness."

1Pet 4:8 - "And above all things have fervent charity among yourselves: for charity shall cover the multitude of sins. "

LOVE IS THE ANSWER!

3:6     Notice the repeated use of the word ‘disorderly’ <812> <814> which occurs four times in this letter. 3:6 ‘disorderly’ 3:7 ‘Behaved’ ‘disorderly’ 3:11 ‘disorderly’. Whilst the charge had often be levelled against the apostle Paul that he abused the hospitality of ecclesias he is clearly making the point here – and no one could deny it – that he had supported himself. This was a major plank in his argument against some in the ecclesia who were ‘idle’. So we see that our personal example impacts on others.

3:5 The way in which the Lord directs us to the love of God is through the words of Scripture. We must take care not to think that we can just sit back and, after prayer, expect that the way in which we think will be changed. It requires our personal application to reading Scripture and putting what we learn into practice in our lives.

V.6 When Paul talked about brethren who walked disorderly  he is talking about those who wilfully refused to work to support themselves.  These idle brethren (disorderly means idle from the Gr. ataktos) were not following the tradition (the precepts taught by the apostles concerning self-sufficiency). 

Paul cites his own sense of industry, as a living example, because he continued to work to support himself (v.7; Acts 18:1-3).  Paul still worked although he could have legitimately claimed support from others because he was an apostle doing the work of Yahweh (vs. 8,9). 

On top of their unwillingness to work, these idle brethren had become busybodies (v.11).  Busybodies have nothing better to do than to go around gossiping and causing trouble (1Tim 5:13).  This behavior is contrary to the Christ-like edification that brethren ought to have for each other (Rom 14:19). 

Paul's corrective solution for these idle busybodies is that they should be shunned in order that they might realize that their behavior is inappropriate for a follower of Christ (vs. 6,14).  But the warning to that idle brother should be made in the right spirit of brotherly love and not in heavy-handed self-righteousness (v.15).  That way, he is more likely to reflect on his error and correct it.  

Some, today, might be tempted to use the verses from this chapter, in a brusque manner, to withdraw from anybody they deem to be walking disorderly (breaking whatever rules).  However, the scripture does not support that kind of excommunication, either in its meaning or in its intent.  

3:17 That Paul makes the point that the letter truly was from him and was authenticated is a further indication that there were those in the first century who were seeking to undermine Paul’s teaching be writing letters which purported to be from Paul -2Thess 2:2