When the finger of God pointed him out as the guilty one, A'chan frankly confessed his sin at once. He said, "I have sinned against the LORD, and my guilt has been discovered before Is'ra-el. I stole a royal garment woven entirely of gold, an ingot of gold shaped like a wedge, and several pieces of silver. All these are hidden in my tent."
Josh'u-a sent men to search the tent, and there they found all the articles mentioned by A'chan. The value of the silver and gold was between seven and eight hundred dollars, and the royal garment was probably worth even more. A'chan had really stolen from the LORD, for it had been commanded that everything taken in Jer'i-cho should be consecrated to His service.
All the members of A'chan's family had known of his theft, and had probably aided him in hiding the stolen goods. For this reason they all received the same punishment as A'chan: they were stoned to death, and their bodies were burnt. The place where they were put to death was called A'chor, which means "trouble," and it was marked with a pillar of stones as a warning to all future generations.
All Is'ra-el now knew that the disgraceful defeat at Ai had not been caused by the superior strength of the enemy, but by the sin of A'chan. A golden wedge sinfully hidden in the camp of Is'ra-el was more to blame for their defeat than the many swords of the warriors of a heathen city.
Greatly encouraged by a special message from the LORD, Josh'u-a now planned a new attack upon the city of Ai. Soldiers were placed in strongholds at different points around the city, and the men of Ai were tempted to come out for battle. While these men were pursuing one group of He'brew soldiers, another group entered the city and set fire to it. The armies of Is'ra-el then turnt against the men of Ai in a great battle, and slew every one of them. The king was captured, and was later hanged upon a tree.
Under special permission granted by the LORD, all the cattle, sheep, and other property captured in the city of Ai were given to the soldiers who had take part in the attack.
After the destruction of Ai, the children of Is'ra-el continued their march across the mountains of central Ca'naan until they came to a place near the ancient city of She'chem. Here Josh'u-a built an altar of stones, and offered burnt sacrifices to God. All the children of Is'ra-el took part in the prolonged service of consecration which was then held.
At the high place where the Is'ra-el-ites gathered for this service two high mountains faced one another, with a narrow depression between them. The mountain to the north was called Mount E'bal, and the one to the south was called Mount Ger'i-zim. Josh'u-a divided the tribes of Is'ra-el into two groups, placing six tribes on Mount E'bal, and the other six on Mount Ger'i-zim. He then read to the assembled Is'ra-el-ites the Laws which had been given to Mo'ses. When he read the warnings of God against disobedience, and related the judgments to be imposed upon those who failed to keep God's Law, the children of Is'ra-el who stood on the slopes of Mount E'bal shouted, "Amen!" Then he read the promises and words of blessing for those who obeyed the Laws of God, and the Is'ra-el-ites upon Mount Ger'i-zim also joined in saying "Amen!"
