The Word for Today with Ray

Monday, May 18, 2026

A Great Heap of Stones Over Achan - Joshua 7:26

In the book of Joshua, we learned how “Joshua, and all Israel with him, took Achan the son of Zerah, and the silver, and the garment, and the wedge of gold, and his sons, and his daughters, and his oxen, and his asses, and his sheep, and his tent, and all that he had: and they brought them unto the valley of Achor. And Joshua said, Why have you troubled us? the LORD shall trouble you this day. And all Israel stoned him with stones, and burned them with fire, after they had stoned them with stones”, and in chapter seven and verse twenty-six of the book of Joshua, we learn how, “they raised over him a great heap of stones unto this day” where we read,

And they raised over him a great heap of stones unto this day. So the LORD turned from the fierceness of his anger. Wherefore the name of that place was called, The valley of Achor, unto this day.

The verse reads, “And they raised over him a great heap of stones unto this day. So the LORD turned from the fierceness of his anger.” Joshua or the writer began with the words, “and they raised over him” which means “and they, the people of Israel, fixed, set and established above him, Achan” “a great heap of stones” or “a massive and large billow, wave or pile of rocks” “unto this day” which means “to that particular sunrise to sunset” . “So the LORD” or “wherefore, therefore, then and on this account Jehovah who is the existing One and the proper name for the One True God” “turned from the fierceness of his anger” which means “revolved, rotated and drew back separate and apart from his, Jehovah God’s, heated, burning and furious wrath that wrinkles the nostrils and nose”. Joshua or the writer shared how the people of Israel established a pile of rocks over “Achan and his family” which remained in place to that very “day”, and that act caused Jehovah God to draw back from is furious wrath.

The verse goes on to say, “Wherefore the name of that place was called, The valley of Achor, unto this day.” Joshua or the writer continued with the words, “wherefore the name” which means “therefore, then and on this account the reputation, fame, glory and title” “of that place was called” or “belonging to that location was proclaimed, commissioned and appointed as”, “the valley of Achor” which means “the lowland or open country belonging to Achor whose name means trouble or disturbance”, “unto this day” or “to that particular sunrise to sunset”. Joshua or the writer shared how the location was designated as the lowland pertaining to disturbance and trouble to that very “day”.

When we think through the words in this verse, we learn through Joshua or the writer how a massive amount of rocks were established above the place where “Achan and his family” were “stoned to death” and burned with fire. The people of Israel named that location as the lowland of disturbance and trouble. “Achan’s” sin caused all of “Israel” to be affected, and as with sin, it leaves it’s mark on the perpetrator and others. God knows this, and because He loves us, He sent His Son Jesus into the world to die on the cross for the sins of all mankind and raised Him from the grave after three days. When we surrender our lives to Him as our personal “Savior and Lord”, He will forgive our sins, grant us everlasting life and equip us with His Holy Spirit who will guide us into all truth and give us the power to resist temptation and to confess all our sins to God who will cleanse us from all unrighteousness. (See John 16:13; Acts 1:8; 1 John 1:9)

Next time we begin a new chapter and learn how, “the LORD said unto Joshua, Fear not, neither be you dismayed”, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.

Until tomorrow…there is more…

See more devotionals on the website "thewordfortodaywithray.com" or look for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, “One Year in the Sermon on the Mount” and the new poetry book "Random Mushrooms Volumes I and II" and the new novel "Elizabeth County" in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com ; http://www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore. All references are from "Strongs Concordance".

Why Have You Troubled Us? - Joshua 7:25

In the book of Joshua, we learned how, “Joshua, and all Israel with him, took Achan the son of Zerah, and the silver, and the garment, and the wedge of gold, and his sons, and his daughters, and his oxen, and his asses, and his sheep, and his tent, and all that he had: and they brought them unto the valley of Achor”, and in chapter seven and verse twenty-five of the book of Joshua, we learn how, “Joshua said, Why have you troubled us?” where we read,

And Joshua said, Why have you troubled us? the LORD shall trouble you this day. And all Israel stoned him with stones, and burned them with fire, after they had stoned them with stones.

The verse reads, “And Joshua said, Why have you troubled us? the LORD shall trouble you this day.” Joshua or the writer began with the words, “and Joshua said” which means “and Joshua whose name means Jehovah is salvation uttered, declared, proclaimed and asked”, “why have you troubled us” or “for what reason and cause have you, Achan, disturbed, stirred up and caused calamity among us, Joshua and the people of Israel”? “the LORD” which means “Jehovah who is the existing One and the proper name for the One True God” “shall trouble you this day” or “will disturb, stir up and cause calamity toward you, Achan, this particular sunrise to sunset”. Joshua asked “Achan” for the reason that he stirred up calamity against him and the people of Israel, and Joshua told him that calamity by Jehovah God would be stirred up against him that very “day”.

The verse continues, “And all Israel stoned him with stones, and burned them with fire, after they had stoned them with stones.” Joshua or the writer added the words, “and all Israel” which means “and each, every, the whole and everyone within Israel whose name means God prevails and is the name of the descendants and the nation of the descendants of Jacob” “stoned him with stones” or “slayed or killed him, Achan, by the use of throwing rocks and stones at Achan and his family”, “and burned them with fire” which means “and kindled them, Achan and his family, by the use of fiery fire”, “after they had stoned them with stones” or “following the time they, the people of Israel, slayed or killed them, Achan and his family, by the use of throwing rocks or stones at them”. Joshua or the writer shared how everyone within “Israel” threw rocks at “Achan” and his family until they were dead, and they used fiery fire to “burn” them following their death.

When we meditate upon words in this verse, we discover such a horrible consequence for “Achan and his family” because he took the “accursed thing”. Everyone within “Israel” was involved, and they threw rocks at “Achan and his family” until they were dead. Afterward they burned “Achan and his family” with fire. Sin had left it’s mark, and “Achan and his family” paid the penalty of death for his violation to God’s command. God knows we all have sinned and come short of his glory, and the consequences of those sins is death. (See Romans 3:23; 6:23) Ezekiel the prophet said, “Behold, all souls are mine; as the soul of the father, so also the soul of the son is mine: the soul that sins, it shall die”, and “the soul that sins, it shall die. The son shall not bear the iniquity of the father, neither shall the father bear the iniquity of the son: the righteousness of the righteous shall be upon him, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon him.” (See Ezekiel 18:4, 20) God sent His Son Jesus into the world to die on the cross for our sins and in our place, and He raised Him from the dead after three days so when we put our faith and trust in Him as our “Savior and Lord”, He will forgive our sins, grant us everlasting life and put His Holy Spirit within us to guide us into all truth and give us the power to resist temptation and sin that have consequences that are far beyond what we can imagine or think.

Next time we learn how “they raised over him a great heap of stones unto this day”, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.

Until tomorrow…there is more…

Sunday, May 17, 2026

Achan Carried to the Valley of Achor - Joshua 7:24

In the book of Joshua, we learned how Achan began to confess his sin of taking the accursed thing by saying, “Then I saw among the spoils a goodly Babylonish garment, and two hundred shekels of silver, and a wedge of gold of fifty shekels weight, then I coveted them, and took them; and, behold, they are hid in the earth in the midst of my tent, and the silver under it. So Joshua sent messengers, and they ran unto the tent; and, behold, it was hid in his tent, and the silver under it. And they took them out of the midst of the tent, and brought them unto Joshua, and unto all the children of Israel, and laid them out before the LORD”, and in chapter seven and verse twenty-four of the book of Joshua, we learn how, “Joshua, and all Israel with him, took Achan … to the valley of Achor” where we read,

And Joshua, and all Israel with him, took Achan the son of Zerah, and the silver, and the garment, and the wedge of gold, and his sons, and his daughters, and his oxen, and his asses, and his sheep, and his tent, and all that he had: and they brought them unto the valley of Achor.

The verse reads, “And Joshua, and all Israel with him, took Achan the son of Zerah, and the silver, and the garment, and the wedge of gold, and his sons, and his daughters, and his oxen, and his asses, and his sheep, and his tent, and all that he had:” Joshua or the writer began with the words, “and Joshua” whose name means “Jehovah is salvation”, “and all Israel with him” or “and each, every, the whole and everyone of the people of Israel whose name means God prevails and is the name of the descendants and the nation of the descendants of Jacob”, “took Achan the son of Zerah” which means “seized and lay hold of Achan whose name means troubler the male offspring and progeny belonging to Zerah whose name means rising”, “and the silver” or “and the silver metal”, “and the garment” which means “and the article of clothing”, “and the wedge of gold” or “and the tongue-shaped gold metal”, “and his sons” which means “and his, Achan’s, male offspring and progeny”, “and his daughters” or “and his, Achan’s, female offspring and progeny”, “and his oxen” which means “and his, Achan’s, oxen, bulls or cattle”, “and his asses” or “and his, Achan’s, donkeys”, “and his sheep” which means “and his, Achan's small cattle such as sheep”, “and his tent” or “and his, Achan’s, temporary dwelling place”, “and all that he had” which means “and each, every, the whole and everything that he, Achan, held, owned and possessed”. Joshua or the writer shared how “Achan, the silver, the garment, the gold, his sons, daughters, oxen, donkeys, sheep, temporary dwelling place and everything Achan possessed” were seized by “Joshua”.

The verse goes on to say, “and they brought them unto the valley of Achor.” Joshua or the writer continued with the words, “and they brought them” which means “and they, the people who gathered and carried everything Achan possessed” “unto the valley of Achor” or “to the lowland and open country belonging to Achor whose name means trouble or disturbance”. Joshua or the writer shared how everything “Achan” possessed was gathered together and carried to the lowland of “Achor” for the reason we shall discover in our next verse.

When we consider the words in this verse, we discover the next step taken by Joshua to eradicate the sin from the people of Israel. Everything “Achan” owned and possessed including his family were taken to the lowland of “Achor” which means “trouble or disturbance”. When we use our imaginations we can almost see this process and the difficulty it caused for everyone involved. Sin has consequences, and “Achan’s” sin not only affected him, but also his family and the people of Israel. This is not the way God wanted it to be, and He doesn’t want this for our lives either. God loves us so much that He has given us commands that keep us from these horrible consequences, and He sent His Son Jesus into the world to be crucified on the cross for the sins of all mankind and raised Him from the dead after three days so when we yield our lives to Him as our “Savior and Lord”, He will forgive our sins, grant us everlasting life and put His Holy Spirit within us to guide us into all truth and keep us following His ways so we need not suffer for our wrongdoing.

Next time we learn how “Joshua said, Why have you troubled us?”, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.

Until tomorrow…there is more…

The Accursed Brought Out of the Tent - Joshua 7:23

In the book of Joshua, we learned how Achan began to confess his sin of taking the accursed thing by saying, “then I saw among the spoils a goodly Babylonish garment, and two hundred shekels of silver, and a wedge of gold of fifty shekels weight, then I coveted them, and took them; and, behold, they are hid in the earth in the midst of my tent, and the silver under it. So Joshua sent messengers, and they ran unto the tent; and, behold, it was hid in his tent, and the silver under it”, and in chapter seven and verse twenty-three of the book of Joshua, we learn how, “they took them out of the midst of the tent, and brought them unto Joshua” where we read,

And they took them out of the midst of the tent, and brought them unto Joshua,

and unto all the children of Israel, and laid them out before the LORD.

The verse reads, “And they took them out of the midst of the tent, and brought them unto Joshua, …” Joshua or the writer began with the words, “and they took them” which means “and they, the envoys, removed them, the garment, gold and silver” “out of the midst of the tent” or “from the middle of Achan’s temporary dwelling place”, “and brought them unto Joshua” which means “and carried them, the garment, gold and silver, to Joshua whose name means Jehovah is salvation”. Joshua or the writer shared how the envoys he dispatched removed the garment, gold and silver from Achan’s temporary dwelling place and carried them to “Joshua”.

The verse continues, “… and unto all the children of Israel, and laid them out before the LORD.” Joshua or the writer added the words, “and unto the children of Israel” which means “and to the offspring and progeny belonging to Israel whose name means God prevails and is the name of the descendants and the nation of the descendants of Jacob”, “and laid them out” or “and cast down and displayed them, the garment, gold and silver” “before the LORD” which means “in front and in the presence of Jehovah who is the existing One and the proper name for the One True God”. Joshua or the writer said the envoys also carried the “accursed objects” to the offspring of “Israel” where they displayed them in the presence of Jehovah God.

When we think through the words in this verse, we see how the envoys carried the garment, gold and silver back to Joshua and the offspring of Israel, and they displayed them in the presence of Jehovah God. In other words, the evidence of the violation of God’s command was now before all the people of “Israel”. Sin was openly shown, and everyone in “Israel” knew about it. We can only imagine the shame and guilt “Achan” had during this moment, and perhaps, we too can relate to this embarrassment either in our imaginations or in reality. God knows we are sinners, and He loves us and cares for the damage sin causes in our lives. He sent His Son Jesus into the world to die on the cross for the sins of all mankind, and He raised Him from the dead three days later so when we yield our lives to Him as our “Savior and Lord”, He will forgive our sins, grant us everlasting life, cleanse us from all unrighteousness and put His Holy Spirit within us to guide us into all truth so our “sin” not only acknowledged, but also removed..

Next time we learn how “Joshua, and all Israel with him, took Achan … to the valley of Achor”, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.

Until tomorrow…there is more…

Joshua Sends Messengers to the Tent - Joshua 7:22

In the book of Joshua, we learned how Achan began to confess his sin of taking the accursed thing by saying, “then I saw among the spoils a goodly Babylonish garment, and two hundred shekels of silver, and a wedge of gold of fifty shekels weight, then I coveted them, and took them; and, behold, they are hid in the earth in the midst of my tent, and the silver under it”, and in chapter seven and verse twenty-two of the book of Joshua we learn how, “Joshua sent messengers, and they ran unto the tent” where we read,

So Joshua sent messengers, and they ran unto the tent;

and, behold, it was hid in his tent, and the silver under it.

The verse reads, “So Joshua sent messengers, and they ran unto the tent;” Joshua or the writer began with the words, “so Joshua sent messengers” which means “wherefore, therefore, then and on this account Joshua whose name means Jehovah is salvation dispatched and assigned envoys”, “and they ran unto the tent” or “and they, the envoys, darted and moved swiftly to the temporary dwelling place”. Joshua or the writer shared how “Joshua” dispatched envoys who swiftly darted toward “Achan’s” temporary dwelling place.

The verse goes on to say, “and, behold, it was hid in his tent, and the silver under it.” Joshua or the writer continued with the words, “and behold” which means “and lo, look and consider”, “it was hid in his tent” or “it, the Babylonian garment and the gold, were concealed and made secret within his, Achan’s, temporary dwelling place”, “and the silver under it” which means “and the silver metal beneath the temporary dwelling place”. Joshua or the writer shared how the envoys discovered the garment, the gold and the silver within Achan’s temporary dwelling place.

When we meditate upon the words in this verse, we discover how Joshua acted upon the information he received from “Achan”. He dispatched envoys to inspect “Achan’s” dwelling place, and they found the Babylonian garment, the gold and the silver just as “Achan” said. Although “Achan” hid these items from other people, he was unable to hide them from God. The same may be said for sin that is in our lives. God is omniscient, and every sin and wrong we have committed and commit are known by Him. Because those sins lead to death (See Romans 6:23), He sent His Only Begotten Son Jesus into the world to die on the cross for the sins of all mankind and raised Him from the dead after three days so when we put our faith and trust in Him as our “Savior and Lord”, He will forgive our sins, grant us everlasting life and equip us with His Holy Spirit who will guide us into all truth and help us to acknowledge and confess the sin that is “concealed” within our lives.

Next time we learn how “they took them out of the midst of the tent, and brought them unto Joshua”, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.

Until tomorrow…there is more…

When Achan Saw the Spoils - Joshua 7:21

In the book of Joshua, we learned how, “Achan, the son of Carmi, the son of Zabdi, the son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, was taken. And Joshua said unto Achan, My son, give, I pray you, glory to the LORD God of Israel, and make confession unto him; and tell me now what you have done; hide it not from me. And Achan answered Joshua, and said, Indeed I have sinned against the LORD God of Israel, and thus and thus have I done”, and in chapter seven and verse twenty-one of the book of Joshua, we learn how “Achan” told what happened, “when I saw among the spoils”, where we read,

When I saw among the spoils a goodly Babylonish garment, and two hundred shekels of silver, and a wedge of gold of fifty shekels weight, then I coveted them, and took them; and, behold, they are hid in the earth in the midst of my tent, and the silver under it.

The verse reads, “When I saw among the spoils a goodly Babylonish garment, and two hundred shekels of silver, and a wedge of gold of fifty shekels weight, then I coveted them, and took them;” Joshua or the writer began with the words, “when I saw among the spoils” which means “at the time and moment I, Achan, noticed, discerned, distinguished and observed in the midst and middle of the prey, plunder and booty” “a Babylonish garment” or “an article of clothing from Shinar which later became known as Babylonia or Chaldea”, “and two hundred shekels of silver” which means “and two hundred weights of silver metal”, “and a wedge of gold of fifty shekels weight” or “and a tongue-shaped ingot of gold metal of fifty weights”, “then I coveted them” which means “at that time I, Achan, desired, took pleasure and delighted in the garment, silver and gold”, “and took them” or “and seized, captured and lay hold of them, the garment, silver and gold”. “Achan” confessed to Joshua that he observed, desired and seized the article of clothing from Babylon, the two hundred measures of silver metal and the tongue-shaped gold.

The verse continues, “and, behold, they are hid in the earth in the midst of my tent, and the silver under it.” Joshua or the writer added Achan’s words, “and behold” which means “and lo, look and consider”, “they are hid in the earth” or “they, the garment, silver and gold, are concealed and made secret within the land or ground” “in the midst of my tent” which means “within the middle or midst pertaining to my temporary dwelling”, “and the silver under it” or “and the silver metal is beneath the garment and gold”. “Achan” told Joshua the items he seized were located in the ground in the middle of his temporary dwelling place and the silver metal was beneath them.

When we consider the words in this verse, we learn how “Achan” was forthright in declaring that he took the garment, silver and gold. He “saw” them, desired them and seized them even though he knew what he was doing was wrong. This same thing happed with Adam and Eve in the garden (See Genesis 3:6), and it happened all throughout the Bible. John the apostle wrote, “For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.” (See 1 John 2:16), and even Jesus was tempted in this manner. (See Luke 4:1-13) God knows we have sin in our lives, and that sin leads to death. (See Romans 3:23; 6:23) For this reason He sent His Son Jesus into the world to die on the cross for the sins of all mankind and raised Him from the dead after three days. When we yield our lives to Him as our “Savior and Lord”, He will forgive our sins, grant us everlasting life and put His Holy Spirit within us to guide us into all truth and give us the ability to follow that truth so sinful activities, even if they look delightful, do not cause us to violate His ways.

Next time we learn how “Joshua sent messengers, and they ran unto the tent”, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.

Until tomorrow…there is more…