Reference

Joshua 7:13

Up, sanctify the people, and say, Sanctify yourselves against to morrow: for thus saith the Lord God of Israel, There is an accursed thing in the midst of thee, O Israel: thou canst not stand before thine enemies, until ye take away the accursed thing from among you.
11

Israel hath sinned, and they have also transgressed my covenant which I commanded them: for they have even taken of the accursed thing, and have also stolen, and dissembled also, and they have put it even among their own stuff.

12

Therefore the children of Israel could not stand before their enemies, but turned their backs before their enemies, because they were accursed: neither will I be with you any more, except ye destroy the accursed from among you.

13

Up, sanctify the people, and say, Sanctify yourselves against to morrow: for thus saith the Lord God of Israel, There is an accursed thing in the midst of thee, O Israel: thou canst not stand before thine enemies, until ye take away the accursed thing from among you.

14

In the morning therefore ye shall be brought according to your tribes: and it shall be, that the tribe which the Lord taketh shall come according to the families thereof; and the family which the Lord shall take shall come by households; and the household which the Lord shall take shall come man by man.

15

And it shall be, that he that is taken with the accursed thing shall be burnt with fire, he and all that he hath: because he hath transgressed the covenant of the Lord, and because he hath wrought folly in Israel.

Why This Verse Was Tagged

Literal Fulfillment
Keyword Match
80% relevance

This verse contains specific terms directly associated with this theme.

Prophetic Methods of Communication
Keyword Match
80% relevance

This verse contains specific terms directly associated with this theme.

Counter-Arguments

The strongest case that this verse does not belong in this theme.

Literal Fulfillment

While the verse speaks of a concrete "accursed thing" and a physical consequence ("thou canst not stand before thine enemies"), the term "sanctify" and the idea of a spiritual impurity could be interpreted metaphorically, suggesting a need for spiritual cleansing rather than solely a physical removal.

Present / Ongoing Fulfillment

The verse describes a specific, historical event related to Achan's sin and its immediate consequences for Israel, not a general prophetic reality unfolding throughout the church age. The "accursed thing" refers to a concrete violation of God's command regarding the spoils of Jericho, not a metaphorical or ongoing spiritual state for the church.

Prophetic Methods of Communication

The verse describes a command given to a prophet (Joshua) to relay to the people, but it does not explicitly detail the *method* by which God communicated this command to Joshua. The phrase "thus saith the Lord God of Israel" indicates divine speech, but not the specific medium of that communication.