Beginning of the End - Ellen G. White

by their own strength, gave solemn weight to the command
forbidding them to take any of the spoils. God had brought down
this fortress, and the city with all that it contained was to be devoted
to Him alone.
Achan Refuses to Repent
Of the millions of people in Israel there was only one man who
had dared to disobey the command of God. Achan's covetousness
was awakened by that costly robe from Shinar; even when it had
brought him face to face with death he called it "a beautiful
Babylonian garment." And he took the gold and silver devoted to
the treasury of the Lord--he robbed God of the first fruits of the land
of Canaan. Rarely is a violation of the tenth commandment even
rebuked. The enormity of this sin, and its terrible results, are the
lessons of Achan's history.
Achan had cherished greed for wealth until it became a habit,
binding him in chains almost impossible to break. He would have
been filled with horror at the thought of bringing disaster on Israel,
but his perceptions were deadened by sin, and when temptation
came, he became an easy victim.
We are as directly forbidden to covet as Achan was to take the
spoils of Jericho. We are warned, "You cannot serve God and
mammon." "Take heed and beware of covetousness." "Let it not
even be named among you" (Matthew 6:24; Luke 12:15; Ephesians
5:3). We have as examples the fearful ruin of Achan, of Judas, of
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