From horror to hope

Joshua 7 tells the horrifying story of a man’s greed. The Hebrews devoted Jericho utterly to God—in other words, killed and destroyed everything.

But Achan stole some gold, silver and a robe for himself. He was found out. He, his family, his livestock, his possessions were stoned and burned. A pile of stones was heaped up as a marker.

Achor was a place like Pearl Harbor, Auschwitz, Hiroshima, the World Trade Center.

But the prophets turned that around.

14 Therefore, I [the Lord] will now allure her [Israel],
     and bring her into the wilderness,
     and speak tenderly to her.
15 From there I will give her her vineyards,
     and make the Valley of Achor a door of hope.
There she shall respond as in the days of her youth,
     as at the time when she came out of the land of Egypt. 

Hosea 2:14-15 (NRSV)

9 I will bring forth descendants from Jacob,
     and from Judah inheritors of my mountains;
my chosen shall inherit it,
     and my servants shall settle there.
10 Sharon shall become a pasture for flocks,
     and the Valley of Achor a place for herds to lie down,
     for my people who have sought me. 

 Isaiah 65:9-10 (NRSV)

The Hebrew Bible was compiled and transmitted in its final stages by people who’d lost everything. The enemy had destroyed the Temple and exiled the people from their land.

But the scribes preserved the stories. They kept hope alive.

And in so doing they made our desolate places valleys of hope.