C04 Achan's Sinful Action Poem by Simple Simon

It was God's command,
That in Jericho's land,
No one shall lay hand
On things to be destroyed.

A man by name Achan,
From Judah tribe, was one,
A disgruntled greedy leader,
Who disobeyed the Lord's order.

So, Israelites faced defeat
And they had to retreat,
From their attack this time,
As God was not with them,

The Lord became so furious
With the Israelites for this,
That He told Joshua, 'Listen,
The promise has been broken.'

'Some of your men
Have stealthily taken
Things to be destroyed;
Thus, they've betrayed!

'So, Israelites cannot win
As a result of this sin.
I'll not stay with you,
Unless what I say, you do.'

'Now, call all the people.
And find out who stole
The condemned articles
And other sinful materials.'

'At once, burn them
Who had brought shame
On Israel by their action.
For the rest, it's a caution.'

What God said, Joshua did.
From the people, he picked,
Finally Achan, the culprit,
Who, in turn, confessed it.

Achan said, 'Against the Lord,
It's true, I've sinned.
A Babylonian cloak,
A beautiful one, I took.'

'A few pieces of silver,
And a small gold bar,
I buried them all in a heap
Inside my tent, down deep.'

Joshua had them brought,
And he was quite upset,
O'er Achan's breach of trust,
As God's will, it went against.

Achan was stoned to death,
Although he admitted the truth,
As he committed a fraud,
In disobedience to the Lord,

With him, the family of his,
And the stolen properties,
They burnt them on the spot
To the ground, the whole lot.

A pile of stones all huge, they laid,
Over the place, where he had died.
This part continues to be called,
A 'Trouble valley' of the world.