Wesley Corpus

The name of God is a great name, above every name. And whatever happens, we ought to pray, that this may not be polluted. This should be our concern more than any thing else: on this we should fix our eye: and we cannot urge a better plea than this, Lord, what wilt thou do for thy great name Let God in all be glorified, and then welcome his whole will! Upon thy face - This business is not to be done by inactive supplication, but by vigorous endeavours for reformation. Israel - Some or one of them. Transgressed my covenant - That is, broken the conditions of my covenant which they have promised to perform, whereof this was one, not to meddle with the accursed thing. Stolen - That is, taken my portion which I had reserved, Josh 6:19. Dissembled - Covered the fact with deep dissimulation. Possibly Achan might be suspected, and being accused, had denied it. Among their own stuff - Converted it to their own use, and added obstinacy to the crime. Were accursed - They have put themselves out of my protection, and therefore are liable to the same destruction which belongs to this accursed people. Sanctify yourselves - Purify yourselves from that defilement which you have all in some sort contracted by this accursed fact, and prepare yourselves to appear before the Lord, expecting the sentence of God for the discovery and punishment of the sin, and that the guilty person might hereby be awakened, and brought to a free confession of his fault. And it is a marvellous thing that Achan did not on this occasion acknowledge his crime; but this is to be imputed to the heart - hardening power of sin, which makes men, grow worse and worse; to his pride, being loath to take to himself the shame of such a mischievous and infamous action; and to his vain conceit, whereby he might think others were guilty as well as he, and some of them might be taken, and he escape. The Lord taketh - Which shall be declared guilty by the lot, which is disposed by the Lord, Prov 16:33, and which was to be cast in the Lord's presence before the ark. Of such use of lots, see 1Sam 14:41,42 Jon 1:7 Acts 1:26. Shall be burnt with fire - As persons and things accursed were to be.