An Achan in the Camp
"Israel hath sinned... neither will I be with you any more, except ye destroy the accursed from among you." — Joshua 7:11–12
A House Under Siege
A family had been in effective street ministry for a couple of years, bringing many people to Christ. As a result, the attacks against them intensified steadily.
By the time they sought help they were living in a house under siege.
The husband had suffered a near-fatal illness, highly unusual for a man of his age. Their three-month-old baby struggled constantly with illness and inexplicable episodes of screaming. Objects flew around the house. The temperature in whatever room the family gathered in would drop within minutes — so far that ice formed on the windows in midsummer. They were woken by loud growling from various parts of the house. Sometimes blood appeared and ran down the walls.
They had repeatedly anointed, sealed, and attempted to cleanse the house. They had searched it from top to bottom for familiar objects.
Nothing helped. The whole family was terrified.
Why Nothing Worked
After much fasting and prayer, the answer came: they had an Achan in their camp.
Someone in the family was providing a legal doorway through which the attacks could operate. That was why they could not seal the house and why no amount of cleansing held.
The daughter, eighteen, was the child of the mother's first marriage — a marriage ended when the mother discovered the father had been abusing her. The parents did not know the daughter was demonically inhabited. They did know she was the only one of four children who steadily refused the Lord and remained continuously rebellious.
She was the Achan.
What They Had to Do
Her parents labored in prayer, fasting, and counsel with her for several weeks. She enjoyed the powers she had learned to use, and she refused to give up her rebellion and bitterness. Because of that refusal, her parents could not free her.
Finally the Lord told them they must bring their household into order.
With many tears they told her she had to move out. They continued to support her financially until she could find work. But they did not permit her to return home, and they told her she could not do so unless she committed her life fully to the Lord and commanded everything to leave her.
Immediately, all activity in the house stopped.
They were all battered and ill, but God steadily healed and strengthened them, and eventually they resumed their ministry.
The Principle
"Israel hath sinned... neither will I be with you any more, except ye destroy the accursed from among you." (Joshua 7:11–12)
Israel could not stand before its enemies while an accursed thing was hidden in the camp. It did not matter how many soldiers they had or how sincere they were.
We cannot take the offensive against darkness with an Achan in our camp.
That is not cruelty. It is the plain arithmetic of a war fought on legal ground.
Point to Ponder
They anointed, sealed, cleansed, and searched — and nothing held, because the doorway was a person.
Verse to Remember
"Israel hath sinned... neither will I be with you any more, except ye destroy the accursed from among you." — Joshua 7:11–12
Question to Consider
Have I done everything I know to do and found that it will not hold?
Today's Practice
If you have cleansed your house repeatedly and it does not stay clean, stop searching for objects and start asking a different question.
Pray this, and be genuinely willing to hear the answer:
"Father, is there an Achan in my camp? Is there a person in this household providing a legal doorway I have not recognized? Show me plainly."
Then wait. Do not guess, and above all do not accuse anyone on a suspicion. This is not license to blame a difficult family member for your troubles.
If He shows you something, note carefully what those parents did before they acted:
- They labored in prayer and fasting for weeks.
- They talked with her, at length.
- They gave her a real opportunity to repent.
- They continued to provide for her financially afterward.
- They left the door open on stated conditions.
Every one of those steps came before the hard one. Do not skip to the ending.
Prayer
Father, I have done everything I know to do and my house will not stay clean. I am asking You a question I have been avoiding.
Is there an Achan in my camp?
Show me the truth, and guard me while You do it. Do not let me accuse anyone out of frustration or blame someone who is merely difficult. I want Your answer, not my suspicion.
And if You show me something, give me what those parents had: weeks of patient prayer, honest conversation, a real offer of freedom, and provision that continues even if the answer is no.
Give me the courage to do the hard thing if it comes to that — and the love to do it with many tears rather than with relief.
Bring this household into order. In the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
We cannot take the offensive with an accursed thing hidden in the camp. Israel learned it at Ai.