The Valley of Achor literally means “Valley of Trouble.” It was named after a guy named Achan. The Israelites had just won an astounding victory in Jericho by following God’s crazy battle plan. He told them to walk around the city once every day for seven days, and seven times on the seventh day, then to blow their trumpets. When they did, three tiers of seemingly impenetrable walls crumbled to the ground. All they had to do was go in and take over! (Read this amazing story in Joshua 7).
God had instructed the Israelites to destroy everything and everyone and devote it completely to Him. He didn’t want His people to be tempted into the idol worship that had brought judgment on Jericho and the surrounding nations of the Promised Land. However, Achan couldn’t resist. He stole what wasn’t his (Josh. 7).
Later he admitted, “When I saw in the plunder a beautiful robe from Babylonia, two hundred shekels of silver and a bar of gold weighing fifty shekels, I coveted them and took them. They are hidden in the ground inside my tent, with the silver underneath” (Josh. 7:21). But he didn’t confess until after the Israelites had lost thirty-six men in a battle against Aai. Achan’s secret sin affected the entire nation and brought them all to the Valley of Trouble.
What troubles have you faced in your life? Have you experienced death, or tremendous loss or pain because someone else did wrong? I’ve been in the Valley of Trouble several times in my life because of my own or someone else’s sin. Each time brought death and defeat, spawning grief and insecurity that sometimes took years to overcome. I wept in the Valley of Trouble. I mourned for all I lost and for wasted opportunities.
And yet, each time, God opened a new door for me, full of singing and hope for a bright new future. Now I can confidently write my name beside this verse in my Bible:
Hos. 2:15—”I will give her her vineyards from there,
And the Valley of Achor as a door of hope;
She shall sing there,
As in the days of her youth,
As in the day when she came up from the land of Egypt.”
Only God can help us find the door out of the Valley of Trouble. He can redeem what’s been lost. He can turn ashes into lush new growth that prompts us to sing and praise Him. God turns our deepest heartaches into testimonies of victory so we can share hope with others currently in the Valley of Trouble.
What a wonderful God He is!
“Love in the Heart of God” Zach Williams