“On the seventh day, they got up at daybreak and marched around the city seven times in the same manner, except that on that day they circled the city seven times. The seventh time around, when the priests sounded the trumpet blast, Joshua commanded the army, “Shout! For the Lord has given you the city! The city and all that is in it are to be devoted to the Lord. Only Rahab the prostitute and all who are with her in her house shall be spared, because she hid the spies we sent. But keep away from the devoted things, so that you will not bring about your own destruction by taking any of them. Otherwise you will make the camp of Israel liable to destruction and bring trouble on it. All the silver and gold and the articles of bronze and iron are sacred to the Lord and must go into his treasury.”” ‭‭Joshua‬ ‭6:15-19‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Basically God is saying “don’t get entangled with the treasures of Jericho. This first city conquered is a first fruit to the Lord. All of the precious metals are set apart for my treasury. If you get entangled with this treasure, trouble will not be far behind.”

Everybody say, “Don’t get entangled!”

Too late. Someone got entangled, tempted, lured away by the silver and gold.

Everybody say “who was it?”

Read with me and let’s out.

“But the Israelites were unfaithful in regard to the devoted things; Achan son of Karmi, the son of Zimri, the son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, took some of them. So the Lord’s anger burned against Israel.” - ‭‭Joshua‬ ‭7:1‬ ‭NIV‬‬

So what happens? Israel goes to take the next city, Ai and the Lord doesn’t go with them into battle. They proudly send only 3000 men to take the city and they get beat up. Thankfully only losing 36 men.

Verse 6 “Then Joshua tore his clothes and fell facedown to the ground before the ark of the Lord, remaining there till evening. The elders of Israel did the same, and sprinkled dust on their heads.”

Joshua starts complaining like “Lord did you bring us here across the Jordan to destroy us? Now the Caananites and the gerbeshites, and the shiteshites will no longer be afraid of us. Ahhhhh. Whyyy?

And Lord is like “stand up, get up off of your face. there has been an entanglement!”

Someone among you has taken the treasure set apart for my purpose.

Then again in verse 13 God says

“Go, consecrate the people. Tell them, ‘Consecrate yourselves in preparation for tomorrow; for this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: There are devoted things among you, Israel. You cannot stand against your enemies until you remove them.”

You see it was supposed to be Get Ready, Get Set Apart, and Gooooo!!!

But now it’s get ready, get set apart, set back! Now get set apart again….

So let's look at this from the Book of Hebrews

Therefore, since it remains for some to enter it, and those who formerly had good news preached to them failed to enter because of disobedience, Hebrews 4:6

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, 2 fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Hebrews 12:1-2 NIV